Behind the Scams BlogCast: The Water Scam

Welcome to another BlogCast from Behind the Scams, where we transform our podcast episodes into written stories so you can read, listen, or do both. This case exposes how investors were lured into a fraudulent scheme involving bonds backed by vending machines that never even existed.

We’ve embedded the full podcast episode above so you can listen right here. The podcast is also available on all major podcast platforms, and you’ll find direct links listed just below the embedded player above, simply click to visit your preferred platform. You can also explore this episode, and all our other episodes, on our Behind the Scams podcast page. 

Introduction

Picture this, let’s just say you get a pitch for the most boring-sounding investment ever—water vending machines. Fast forward, and you’re 50 million dollars lighter, holding collateral that exists only in PowerPoint, while the crook in charge is applying for a second mortgage on the same bag of chips machine you kind-of-sort-of own.

Welcome to the wild, waterless world of the Water Station Ponzi scheme. Pour yourself a glass (of anything but Water Station’s product) and dive in, as we break down the comedy, tragedy, and financial pipe dreams that rocked investors from Main Street to Wall Street.

A Mirage in the Desert: The Fool’s Gold of Water Vending Machine Investment Fraud

When it comes to water vending machine investment fraud, Ryan Ware and Water Station Management LLC didn’t just sell a dream—they sold a full-blown desert mirage. The pitch was irresistible: invest $8,500 per machine, and you’d own a piece of a “proprietary” water vending empire, raking in passive income while sipping umbrella drinks. As Ware himself promised,

‘Ware claimed that for an investment of eight thousand five hundred dollars per machine, you, the investor, would fund the manufacture of a water vending machine.’

Sounds like a solid deal, right? After all, who wouldn’t want to own a tangible asset that pays you while you sleep? Investors—especially military veterans seeking safe, steady income—lined up, checkbooks in hand. The company’s marketing was a masterclass in mixing technical jargon with the sweet music of “easy money.”

• 15,000 machines sold to investors


• Only about 6,000 real machines existed (and most weren’t even profitable)


• Over 250 defrauded investors from 2016 to 2024

But here’s where the oasis turns into a sand trap. Most of those water vending machines were as real as a mirage at high noon. In fact, thousands of machines were nothing more than lines on a PowerPoint slide—phantom assets sold and resold in a dizzying Ponzi scheme. Even the machines that did exist often sat idle, generating more dust than dollars.

Take Sue’s neighbor, for example—a retired veteran who thought her investment in Water Station would fund a Hawaiian vacation. Instead, she got a front-row seat to a bankruptcy proceeding. Turns out, the only thing flowing was her money… straight into the fraudster’s pocket.

So, was this marketing genius or scam artistry? Ware’s pitch blurred the line between a good business idea and a good old-fashioned con. He dazzled investors with talk of “joint ventures” and “proprietary technology,” making the <str