Report By Small-Town Newspaper In Colorado Leads To Forex Ponzi Scheme Arrest In Chicago; FBI Nabs Mark Akins After Durango Herald Readers Provide Tips

A fugitive suspected of helping organize a Forex Ponzi scheme that traded on a claim that a special “algorithm” led to hefty profits has been arrested in Chicago after a small-town Colorado newspaper 1,350 miles away reported he was wanted.

The Durango Herald, which has a circulation of 9,400 and has received awards from the Associated Press, the Society of Professional Journalists and the Colorado Press Association over the years, reported earlier this month that Mark Akins was wanted for a scheme that allegedly had operated in Durango.

Akins was accused of being the “gatekeeper” for the scheme, which netted at least $1.2 million and affected 70 investors.

Also charged in the case was Frederick H.K. Baker of Utah. Baker already has made an initial court appearance in Utah. Akins is scheduled to make an appearance in Illinois next week, the Herald reported.

After reading the Herald report that Akins was wanted, a woman contacted the newspaper to say she believed Akins was living in Chicago. The newspaper referred her to law enforcement.

A reader in Chicago, meanwhile, said he contacted the FBI after reading the story, the Herald reported.

The reader then emailed the paper to report that Akins had been arrested in the Windy City.

“We saw your article and notified the FBI and he was arrested on Thursday night,” the reader told the newspaper.

Read the Herald’s first story.

Read the Herald’s follow-up story about the arrest of Akins.

Claims of miraculous trading algorithms and fool-proof software are common in the universe of Forex hucksters.

Robert Mihailovich Sr., a convicted felon, was charged by the CFTC last year with presiding over a Forex fraud that purportedly used a “mass sub-algorithm.” Mihailovich allegedly started the new scam after his release from prison in 2007.

Enrique F. Villalba was charged last year with presiding over a futures fraud that allegedly used a unique “momentum filter.”

Earlier this month, Jacob Juma Omukwe was charged in a Forex caper in which it was alleged he used software to trick customers into believing their money was segregated for safety.

Anthony Eugene Linton was charged in January in a case that alleged he told customers that his miraculous software system let them “profit every time.”