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A Boise man discovered most of his retirement savings disappeared after what he thought was a good investment.

ABC’s Brian Ross has been working on this story for weeks. It focuses in on Al Smith, a Boise truck stop manager.

Smith, who’s weeks away from retirement, has always been a smart investor. "I wouldn't invest in a company unless I study them for awhile," said Smith.

Smith invested in a Chinese coal company that actually made him money at first, but then one day, on vacation, Smith noticed the stock was in a free fall. What he learned later broke his heart and his wallet. Smith said, “The chairman of the company decided he would take all the money from that company and invest it back to another coal company. He basically formed a shell company from Puda Coal and that's what's left of it now."

When Ross was asked how something like this could happen, he said, “Well what happened was Nasdaq pursued companies in China that sell their stocks here and investors like Al Smith in Boise, if it's on Nasdaq and the NYSE think it must be okay. It turns out that wasn't the case."

Smith realizes the chances that he'll see any return from his initial investment in Puda Coal are slim to none, but through a class action lawsuit, he and others will keep trying.

For now, he has this advice, "I'd be very careful. I now know there's no investment in foreign stock for me."