Category: The Economy
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Colorado Securities Commissioner Tells Durango Herald: ‘They Want So Badly To Believe In The Tooth Fairy’
Joe Hanel, the Denver correspondent for the Durango Herald, has written a series of reports that delves into the symphony of the bizarre surrounding Ponzi schemer Frederick H.K. Baker, who once was immersed in the HYIP world but now is in prison. If you’ve been wondering about the psychology of Ponzi schemes — perhaps particularly…
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UPDATE: Sentencing For Legisi HYIP Operator Gregory McKnight Postponed Again Pending Depositions; Now Set For May 7
Sentencing for Gregory N. McKnight, the operator of the Legisi HYIP Ponzi scheme, has been postponed until May 7. McKnight had been scheduled to be sentenced today. The postponement marks at least the fourth in the case. McKnight pleaded guilty to wire fraud a year ago this month. The docket of the case in federal…
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Woman Sentenced To 80 Years In Texas State Prison For Felony Theft In Case That Flowed From Ponzi And Fraud Scheme
Karen Patricia Bowie, whom the SEC described in 2009 as a citizen of Canada who bought a house in Maine with fraud proceeds from the Titan Wealth Management LLC Ponzi scheme in Texas, has been sentenced to 80 years in Texas state prison. The Texas State Securities Board described Bowie, 61, as a “foreign notes…
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Judge Orders More Than $22.8 Million In Penalties, Restitution For Trader’s International Return Network (TIRN); ‘Program’ Was Pitched On Ponzi Boards
David Merrick, the operator of Trader’s International Return Network (TIRN) fraud scheme, already is serving a TIRN-related, 97-month prison sentence for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering, and securities fraud, plus one count of money laundering. And now a federal judge has imposed addition sanctions, ordering Merrick and TIRN — a presence on Ponzi…
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BULLETIN: Alabama Governor Says Killer Who Took Child Hostage After Shooting School-Bus Driver Is Dead
BULLETIN: (UPDATED 6:05 P.M. ET U.S.A.) “Shortly after 3:00 p.m., I spoke with Colonel Hugh McCall of the Department of Public Safety and Homeland Security Director Spencer Collier,” said Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley in a statement. “They informed me that law enforcement had breached the bunker, the child was safe and the abductor was killed.”…
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URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: Purported Charity ‘We The People Inc. Of The United States’ Was ‘Only A Front To Sell Bogus Investment Products’ To Senior Citizens, SEC Charges
URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: (UPDATED 3:14 P.M. ET U.S.A.) The SEC has gone to federal court in the Southern District of Florida, alleging that an enterprise known as “We The People Inc. of the United States” (We the People) was a “front” that covered up a fraud scheme aimed at senior citizens in multiple…
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UPDATE: Suspects Still At Large In Murder Of Texas Prosecutor; Kaufman County Crime Stoppers Offers Up To $71,500 Award For Info Leading To Arrest/Indictment
Authorities have released the identity of the Kaufman County, Texas, prosecutor shot and killed last week near the Kaufman courthouse. The victim was Mark Hasse, an assistant district attorney who once worked as a prosecutor in the Dallas County D.A.’s office. Hasse was 57. An intense investigation involving multiple agencies is under way. Here is…
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FOR ZEEKERS: Receiver Shows Judge Preliminary Mock-Up Of Online Claims Form; Kenneth D. Bell Says He’ll Seek Court Approval For Claims Process By End Of First Quarter
Kenneth D. Bell, the court-appointed receiver in the Zeek Rewards Ponzi-scheme case, has proposed a process by which claims would be filed online. Filers would proceed through a series of screens to enter information and would be permitted to upload information to substantiate their claims. The proposed filing process — still in preliminary form —…