FBI: Convicted Murderer And Cross-Border E-Bullion Fraudster James Fayed Was Scamming The Scammers

Source: FBI graphic from Jan. 4, 2016, retrospective on the E-Bullion case from 2008.

Source: FBI graphic from Jan. 4, 2016, retrospective on the E-Bullion case from 2008.

Still pushing Ponzi-board schemes in the age of cross-border fraud and terrorism?

In a retrospective on the 2008 E-Bullion case, a retired FBI special agent says convicted murderer James Fayed was scamming HYIP scammers.

“He just pocketed the money from all these high-yield investment programs after they ran,” said Maura Kelley. “And the money continued to come in because the word didn’t get out right away that they weren’t paying. And people were still investing.”

In 2011, Fayed, then 48, was sentenced to death for the brutal contract slaying of Pamela Fayed, his wife and a potential witness against him. Indeed, the effective bagman for a host of Ponzi-board swindles ultimately turned to homicide in a bid to cover his tracks.

Pamela was stabbed 13 times and left to die outside a Los Angeles-area parking garage.

As the PP Blog reported in 2010, E-Bullion was a conduit for the AdSurfDaily Ponzi scheme.

And, the Blog noted in 2011:

E-Bullion has been linked to multiple Ponzi schemes, including Legisi, Gold Quest International and FEDI. The FEDI scheme has been linked to Abdul Tawala Ibn Ali Alishtari, also known as Michael Mixon. Ali Alishtari pleaded guilty in 2009 to financing terrorism and fleecing investors in the FEDI scheme.

So, a man with murder in his heart also was supplying financial services to Ali Alishtari, an HYIP swindler who believed he was funding the purchase of night-vision goggles for a terrorist training camp in Afghanistan.

Upon the conviction of Alishtari, U.S. Attorney Peeet Bharaha of the Southern District of New York offered remarks. As the PP Blog noted, here is part of what Bharaha and the FBI said:

“Alishtari . . . admitted that he stole millions from investors and knowingly financed what he believed to be tools of terror. In enriching himself, Alishtari displayed a deliberate disregard for the financial and personal security of others.”

Investigators said Alishtari “facilitated the transfer of $152,000, with the understanding that the money would be used to fund training for terrorists.

“In the latter half of 2006,” according to investigators, “Alishtari agreed to discreetly transfer these funds for an undercover officer, believing that the money was going to be used to purchase night vision goggles and other equipment for a terrorist training camp in Afghanistan. During his guilty plea, Alishtari admitted that he sent the money from the United States knowing that the funds were to be used to help finance alleged terrorist activity in Pakistan and Afghanistan.”

Read the FBI’s retrospective on E-Bullion, titled “Fool’s Gold.”

See the PP Blog’s long-running tag archive on references to E-Bullion.




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2 Responses to “FBI: Convicted Murderer And Cross-Border E-Bullion Fraudster James Fayed Was Scamming The Scammers”

  1. I said years ago that it would be very easy for any of the anonymous payment processors to just keep the money leftover when HYIP programs failed. I even have the opinion that they could at least try to justify it by calling whatever they pocketed as “fees” associated with fraudulent schemes, maybe tossing out a twig of cover by refunding a few customers a few pennies on the dollar (which we know that STP has done in the past) when an operator disappears.

    I’d love to see an audit of any of the familiar processors, I’m sure it would be interesting reading.