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Tag: FINRA

Now, Boat-Sharking For ‘Biwako Bank Limited’: Promos Appear On Facebook Site For Profitable Sunrise And Claim Enterprise Is ‘Japan’s Strongest Bank’

Biwako Bank Limited caught our attention yesterday after a boat-shark appeared on a Facebook Profitable Sunrise site to promote it while making this claim: “**THIS IS NOT AN HYIP , THIS IS A BANK**” The claim is at odds with a claim on the MoneyMakerGroup Ponzi forum that Biwako has a “GoldCoders’ HYIP Manager License.”…

Apr 29, 2013
UPDATE: WordPress Boots Alleged Profitable Sunrise Pitchman Named In CONSOB Action

WordPress has booted a Blogger named in an April 2 order by CONSOB, the Italian securities regulator. The Blog of Daniele Verzari now carries this message: “vdprojectitaly.wordpress.com is no longer available. “This blog has been archived or suspended for a violation of our Terms of Service . . .” HYIP schemes spread in part through…

Apr 4, 2013
On The High Seas Of Facebook, The Search For New HYIP Blood In The Water Intensifies After ‘Profitable Sunrise’ Goes Missing

“HYIPs use an array of websites and social media — including YouTube, Twitter and Facebook — to lure investors, fabricating a ‘buzz’ and creating the illusion of social consensus, which is a common persuasion tactic fraudsters use to suggest that ‘everyone is investing in HYIPs, so they must be legitimate.’” — The Financial Industry Regulatory…

Mar 27, 2013
In Wake Of Profitable Sunrise Alert, British Columbia Issues 2 More Warnings Against HYIPs; Like Profitable Sunrise, Both ‘Programs’ Had Presence On TalkGold And MoneyMakerGroup Ponzi Forums

EDITOR’S NOTE: Thanks to PP Blog reader “Tony” for pointing us to the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) warning against the Lucra Fund and Goldenarium HYIP schemes. Earlier this month, BCSC issued a warning on the Profitable Sunrise scheme. The British Columbia Securities Commission has issued warnings on HYIP “programs” known as Lucra Fund and…

Mar 23, 2013
LETTER TO READERS: Our Choice For The Most Important PP Blog Post Of 2012

Dear Readers, The PP Blog’s choice for the “Most Important” story to appear on the Blog in 2012 is this one, dated July 28: “Site Critical Of Zeek Goes Missing After HubPages Receives Trademark ‘Infringement’ Complaint Attributed To Rex Venture Group LLC — But North Carolina-Based Rex Not Listed As Trademark Owner; Florida Firm That…

Dec 27, 2012
‘Investor-Fraud Summits’ Set For 6 U.S. Cities: Stamford, Conn.; Nashville, Tenn.; San Francisco; Denver; Cleveland And Miami

What: Investor Fraud Summits. Where/When: Stamford, Conn. (today from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. EDT at the University of Connecticut – Stamford Campus); Nashville, Tenn. (Oct. 4 from 8:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. EDT at Vanderbilt University Law School’s Flynn Auditorium located at 131 21st Avenue South) ; San Francisco (Oct. 9, in Walnut Creek,…

Oct 1, 2012
SEC: California Scammer Traded On Agency’s Name To Sanitize $60 Million Fraud And Ponzi Caper; John A. Geringer And GLR Capital Management Charged With Fraud Amid Allegations ‘Fund’ Claimed Handsome Return Before It Even Existed

“Geringer painted the picture of a successful fund weathering America’s financial crisis through a diversified, conservative investment strategy. The reality, however, was the complete opposite. Geringer lost millions of dollars in the market, tied up remaining investor funds in a pair of illiquid private companies, and lied about it in phony account statements.” — Marc…

May 28, 2012
BULLETIN: SEC Says Boston Church Scammed By Fraudster While Dual Probes Were Under Way; Federal Judge Freezes Assets Of Arnett L. Waters; A.L. Waters Capital LLC And Moneta Management LLC Also Charged

BULLETIN: Arnett Lanse Waters, 62, of Milton, Mass., was “permanently barred” on March 9 “from association with any” Financial Industry Regulatory Authority member for failing to provide testimony” in a FINRA probe, the SEC said. This ban occurred after Waters — in 1993 — was “censured and barred for two years by the New York…

May 7, 2012
UPDATE: JSS Tripler 2 And Associated Scams Get More Bizarre By The Day: After Purported Bout With Dengue Fever, ‘Dave’ Purportedly Gets Married; Cashouts Now Reportedly Delayed Due To Wedding And Script Glitch — As Members Encouraged To Carry Out Blog-Posting ‘Tasks’

This will be a familiar refrain to many readers of the PP Blog: In July 2010, the Blog reported that the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) had launched a public-awareness campaign about HYIP fraud. FINRA called the HYIP sphere a “bizarre substratum of the Internet.” Just a month earlier — in June 2010 — the…

Apr 15, 2012
Day After SEC Announces Judgments Totaling $4.2 Million Against Serial HYIP Pitchman, Another Serial Pitchman — ‘Ken Russo’ — Makes ‘I Got Paid’ Post On TalkGold For JSS Tripler/JustBeenPaid; Separately, McAfee’s ‘Site Advisor’ Declares JBP Pages ‘Dangerous’

In a 29-page court order announced yesterday by the SEC, U.S. District Judge George Caram Steeh of the Eastern District of Michigan laid out the case of willful blindness against serial HYIP pitchman Matthew John Gagnon. That case now has resulted in court-ordered judgments of more than $4.2 million against Gagnon, who also was named…

Mar 29, 2012
BULLETIN: CFTC Moves Against Alleged Texas Forex Fraudster Christopher B. Cornett; Agency Says Huckster Is Convicted Felon Once Banned By NASD; 5 International Law-Enforcement Agencies Assisted In Probe

BULLETIN: The CFTC has gone to federal court in Texas, alleging that Christopher B. Cornett of the town of Buda was operating a Forex- pool fraud and misappropriation scheme that gathered more than $14 million in phases between June 2008 and October 2011. Cornett has been charged civilly with fraud, which allegedly operated through entities…

Feb 8, 2012