Steven King was probably chosen for these reasons:
1. His communication and public speaking skills
2. Explaining how to continue to dangle that proverbial partnership "carrot" while not making a meaningful partnership come to "fruition" in over 13 years.
A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation where the operator, an individual or organization, pays returns to its investors from new capital paid to the operators by new investors, rather than from profit earned through legitimate sources.