Tag: SEC Division of Enforcement
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Stephen L. Cohen, SEC Official Who Introduced World To Zeek Case, Leaving Agency After Nearly 12 Years
“The obligations to investors drastically exceed the company’s cash on hand, which is why we need to step in quickly, salvage whatever funds remain and ensure an orderly and fair payout to investors. ZeekRewards misused the power of the Internet and lured investors by making them believe they were getting an opportunity to cash in…
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SEC Enforcement Chief References Investor Alert On ‘Pyramid Schemes Posing As Multi-Level Marketing Programs’ In Congressional Testimony Today, Says ‘Coordinated Effort’ To Disrupt Them Under Way
“The staff also has recently seen what appears to be an increase in pyramid schemes . . . under the guise of ‘multi-level marketing’ and ‘network marketing’ opportunities . . . These schemes often target the most vulnerable investors, and social media has expanded their reach. The Division is deploying resources to disrupt these schemes…
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URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: SEC Charges Alleged HYIP Operators Who Ran ‘Profits Paradise’ From India; Scammers Allegedly Used Fake Names And Engaged In Wanton Deception
URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: (Updated 9:33 p.m. ET U.S.A.) The SEC has charged two Indian nationals with running an HYIP scheme known as “Profits Paradise” that reached into the United States and offered “extraordinary” returns of up to 480 percent in 240 days, plus “compounding.” As is typical in HYIP schemes, the “program” gained…
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BULLETIN: Entities Operating As Fleet Mutual Wealth Limited And MWF Financial Are Online Frauds, SEC Says; ‘Program’ Has Presence On TalkGold And MoneyMakerGroup Ponzi Forums; Money Ordered Frozen In SolidTrustPay, EgoPay And Perfect Money Accounts
BULLETIN: (7th Update 8:51 p.m. ET U.S.A.) Entities known as Fleet Mutual Wealth Limited, MWF Financial Limited and Mutual Wealth are frauds that filed invalid forms with the SEC to dupe the masses, the SEC said. An associated web domain styled MutualWealth.com also is a fraud, the SEC said in a statement and emergency court…
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URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: Zeek Rewards Figures Dawn Wright-Olivares And Daniel Olivares Charged Criminally, Sued Civilly
URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: (21st update 5:49 p.m.) Zeek Rewards figures Dawn Wright-Olivares and Daniel Olivares of Clarksville, Ark., have been charged criminally by federal prosecutors in the Western District of North Carolina and sued civilly by the SEC. Among the criminal allegations are tax-fraud conspiracy and investment-fraud conspiracy, according to a charging document.…
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URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: SEC: Las Vegas-Based Ponzi Scheme Targeted Japanese Investors, Gathered At Least $800 Million, Planned To Have New Marks Prop Up The Massive Swindle — And Started In 1998
URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: (SECOND UPDATE 4:28 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) The SEC says Edwin Fujinaga and his company MRI International Inc. were operating a Ponzi scheme from 1998 onward that gathered at least $800 million and targeted Japanese and other investors. After MRI received a letter in March 2013 from the SEC instructing it…
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BULLETIN: ‘Bags Of Cash And A Rolex’: KPMG Auditor Charged In Alleged Insider-Trading Scheme Involving Herbalife, Others; SEC Says Tips Went To Auditor’s Golfing Buddy In The Jewelry Business
BULLETIN: (UPDATED 4:44 P.M. EDT U.S.A.) The SEC has gone to federal court in the Central District of California, accusing a former KPMG “lead partner” and auditor of KPMG’s Herbalife account of insider trading by providing nonpublic information on Herbalife and other companies to a golfing buddy. Scott London, 50, of Agoura Hills, Calif., was fired…
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URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: New Filings By SEC Suggest Zeek Probe Began In April 2012 Or Earlier; Agency, Receiver Oppose Motions To Intervene By Possible Clawback Targets
UPDATED 9:46 A.M. ET (JAN. 13, U.S.A.) New court filings by the SEC in the Zeek Ponzi scheme case in the Western District of North Carolina strongly suggest that the Zeek probe was under way at least by April 17, 2012. On that date, according to the filings, an IT specialist for the SEC was…
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BULLETIN: SEC: Asset Manager Hid Madoff Losses, Boasted ‘Benchmark-Beating Returns,’ Recruited New Investors, Missed Redemptions — And Blamed MF Global Collapse
EDITOR’S NOTE: Scams undermine faith in legitimate markets. This is a case in which a purportedly legitimate asset manager allegedly is using the sort of explanations/excuses commonly used by Ponzi-forum hucksters. ** ________________________________________________ ** BULLETIN:The SEC has gone to federal court in the Northern District of Illinois, alleging that asset manager Nikolai Battoo duped investors…