Month: March 2012
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BULLETIN: Greater San Francisco Investment Adviser ‘Conjured Up An Accounting Firm’ To Dupe Hedge-Fund Clients, SEC Says; James Michael Murray Of Market Neutral Trading LLC Sued Civily, Charged Criminally
EDITOR’S NOTE: Law enforcement has warned that “shell companies” are playing an increasingly larger role in criminal schemes, as scammers turn to them to sanitize their capers, disguise fraud, disarm skeptical investors and keep large sums of cash flowing. The threat to the U.S. economy and the corrosive effects on legitimate commerce cannot be overstated…
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BULLETIN: BurnLounge MLM Operators, Top Promoters Ordered To Pay Nearly $17 Million In FTC Pyramid-Scheme Case
BULLETIN: A federal judge in California has ordered the operators and top promoters of the BurnLounge MLM scam to pay nearly $17 million. The FTC brought the BurnLounge pyramid-scheme case in 2007, saying the program “primarily provided payments to participants for recruiting of new participants, not on the retail sale of products or services.” In…
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BULLETIN: 2 Michigan Men Arrested In Alleged Ponzi Scheme Targeting Senior Citizens; Jeffrey Ripley, Danny Lee VanLiere Charged With Racketeering, Jailed; 96 Felony Counts Filed Against Men And Their Company
BULLETIN: A joint investigation by offices of Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette and Commissioner Kevin Clinton of the Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation has led to criminal charges of racketeering against two men accused of targeting the elderly in a $9 million Ponzi scheme. Charged in the alleged caper were Jeffrey Ripley, 59, of…
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BULLETIN: Authorities Identify Suspect In Washington State Courthouse Shooting; ‘Wanted’ Poster Issued For Steven Daniel Kravetz, 34: [UPDATE: APPREHENDED]
BULLETIN: (UPDATED at 8:35 P.M. ET U.S.A.) The Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office now confirms that Steven Daniel Kravetz has been apprehended. Local media are reporting his mother negotiated his surrender, which occurred without incident. Our earlier story is below . . . Authorities in Grays Harbor County, Wash., have identified Steven Daniel Kravetz as…
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BULLETIN: Shooting, Stabbing Reported At Courthouse In Washington State; Sheriff’s Detective And Judge Were Wounded
BULLETIN: Multiple media outlets are reporting that a judge was stabbed and a sheriff’s detective shot with her own weapon at the Grays Harbor County Courthouse in Montesano, Wash. The alleged assailant reportedly is on the loose, possibly with the detective’s handgun. A massive manhunt reportedly is under way. Early reports suggest the victims survived.…
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6 Pitchmen Who Raised Funds Plowed Into Jeffrey Mowen’s Ponzi Sanctioned By SEC On Heels Of Long-Running Lawsuit; Alleged Offering Fraud’s Advertised Monthly Payout Rate 20 Times LOWER Than JSS Tripler/JustBeenPaid
UPDATED 7:43 A.M. ET (MARCH 9, U.S.A.) If ever there has been a cautionary tale for HYIP pitchmen, it is Jeffrey Lane Mowen’s Utah Ponzi scheme. Mowen and at least six promoters ended up inspiring litigation on multiple fronts, with Mowen charged criminally. At issue was Mowen’s Forex Ponzi scheme, which allegedly was funded in…
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RECOMMENDED READING: Kautilya Nandan Pruthi, Author Of Britain’s Largest Ponzi Swindle, Sentenced To More Than 14 Years And Faces Deportation; While Con Man Faces Years Behind Bars, The Purported Return Rate of JSS Tripler/JustBeenPaid Dwarfs That Of ‘Britain’s Bernard Madoff’
This is a links post on the prison sentence of more than 14 years handed down to Kautilya Nandan Pruthi, the so-called Bernard Madoff of Britain. See The Sun’s coverage here. Outtake (italics added): “Judge Michael Gledhill QC said: “You are an extremely intelligent, articulate, sophisticated and plausible liar. In short, a professional fraudster.” See…