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Let's say you had $14.25 million of other people's money and absolutely no scruples. How would you spend it?
Probably not exactly the way Stanley Pophal did. Since this is Common Tread and not Snow World, you probably wouldn't have blown the money on hundreds of vintage snowmobiles. But Pophal also had a thing for motorcycles, and his taste was just as specific there, too.
Since you've likely never heard of this case, here's the short version. From 2019 to 2025, Pophal, of Wausau, Wisconsin, ran what was basically a Ponzi scheme. He promised investors 20% returns, according to the FBI, which he said he would make through investments in cryptocurrency, precious metals, artificial intelligence enterprises, and flipping real estate. He said he could ensure the returns because of his connections in the finance world and he promised to personally back investors' money with his own wealth.
In reality, in a classic Ponzi scheme, Pophal used new investor money to pay earlier investors. He pleaded guilty to federal charges in June and is scheduled to be sentenced in September.
What makes all this at least mildly interesting for a motorcycle website like Common Tread is how he decided to spend some of that money.
A Captain America replica sold for what?
To try to recover at least some of the investors' money, federal authorities are auctioning off Pophal's collection of snowmobiles, motorcycles, and other vehicles. There are so many vehicles, they are being auctioned off in three online auctions by a Wisconsin firm, Apple Auctioneering Co. The first of the three auctions, involving 153 vehicles, ended yesterday.
In addition to his intense interest in old snowmobiles, Pophal also had a thing for vintage dirt bikes and motocrossers, as well as small-bore two-stroke sport bikes. Among some of the motorcycles sold off in the first round of the auction were a 1978 Kawasaki KX250, a 1980 Yamaha YZ125, a 1985 Honda CR125R, and other dirt bikes. But there were also a 2000 Aprilia RS50, a 1991 Suzuki RGV250, and a 1989 Honda NSR250R, among the sport bikes.
But the one motorcycle that really caught my attention, both because it was a total outlier and because of the price eventually paid for it, was a 1956 Harley-Davidson Panhead chopper styled to be a replica of the Captain America bike from "Easy Rider." The bike drew 182 bids and eventually sold for $37,500.
That got my attention because two years ago I wrote about how the stars and stripes helmet worn by Peter Fonda character Wyatt in the 1969 movie was up for sale with an asking price of $25,000 and didn't even draw a single bid. The helmet was an authentic collectible from the movie. The chopper auctioned off yesterday was a fairly close copy.
Of course this is not the first time that ill-gotten gains have been spent on amassing a motorcycle collection, as we saw last year with the seizure of the motorcycles in Mexico that belonged to alleged drug kingpin and former Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding.
I hope someone enjoys their new chopper, though I suspect that will be through displaying it, not riding it. Personally, I think I'd have gone for the 1992 Honda NSR250R in Rothmans livery for $6,950, instead, and saved $30,000.
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