The Five Dumbest Things on Wall Street This Week

1. A Fraud He Went a-Courtin', Uh-Huh

We at the Five Dumbest Things Research Lab tend to wax indignant over schemes to scam investors out of millions of dollars. But this time around, we'll make an exception.

The beneficiary here is one Paul Tetu, described by the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday as a 63-year-old "aspiring screenwriter, novelist and movie producer."

For the past five years, says the SEC, Tetu has been placing advertisements in The Wall Street Journal and other newspapers promising investors annual risk-free returns of 70% to 100% through "exclusive secret trading programs." ...