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Tag: FINRA

MORE BAD NEWS FOR PONZI PURVEYORS: Upstart Ponzi Operator Sued By SEC After Assists From FINRA, Texas State Securities Board, Agency Says; Gregory Todd Froning Confronts Civil, Administrative Actions

EDITOR’S NOTE: Online HYIP and autosurf purveyors and their fellow “mini-Madoffs” may find the brick-and-mortar case of Gregory Todd Froning at once unsettling and instructive. In yet-another development apt to create unease in the HYIP and autosurf Ponzi worlds, a new court action by the SEC demonstrates that even “small” operators in the universe of…

Aug 3, 2010
Judge Extends Asset Freeze In Matt Gagnon Fraud Case; Issues Order To Preserve Evidence And Require Weekly Financial Report To SEC

A federal judge has extended the freeze on the assets of a website operator accused by the SEC of shilling for a Ponzi schemer and then trying to extort money from the schemer when the fraud was collapsing. Severe restrictions placed on Mazu.com operator Matt Gagnon by U.S. District Judge George Caram Steeh of the…

Aug 2, 2010
Clawback Actions Begin In Trevor Cook Case; Receiver Says Millions Of Dollars Of ‘Preferential Transfers’ To Investors Occurred After SEC Paid ‘Surprise’ Visit

EDITOR’S NOTE: R.J. Zayed, the court-appointed receiver in the Ponzi and Forex fraud case brought by the SEC and CFTC against Trevor Cook and Pat Kiley, has said many investors were made destitute by the scheme. Not all investors lost their money, however. Yesterday Zayed filed petitions to claw back millions of dollars in “preferential…

Jul 24, 2010
THE MODERN PONZI: Federal Judge Orders Parties Not To ‘Harass’ Receiver In Mantria/Speed Of Wealth Case; Dozens Of Companies Now Ensnared In Litigation

A federal judge has issued an order that effectively puts a court-appointed receiver in control of dozens of entities related to Mantria Corp. and Speed of Wealth LLC in a search for “recoverable assets.” One of the receiver’s duties is to determine if fraudulent transfers occurred between or among companies, according to the order. The…

May 4, 2010
FINRA/SEC Move Against New York Firm; Second Major Case In 24 Hours; Clients Suspect Colossal Ponzi Fraud At McGinn, Smith & Co.

Another investigation into allegations of spectacular financial fraud is under way in New York. The case against McGinn, Smith & Co. of Albany is the second to rock the state in the past 24 hours. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) filed a complaint against the company and its president David L. Smith yesterday. The…

Apr 20, 2010
SUNDAY NEWS AND NOTES: South Carolina Ponzi Victims Included Widows, Alzheimer’s Patients, Seniors And Amputee; ‘Shocks The Conscience,’ FINRA Says

EDITOR’S NOTE: These briefs are based on information from recent Ponzi or fraud schemes. As noted yesterday and previously, the United States has formed a Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. Cases such as the ones below are part of the reason why. SOUTH CAROLINA AND TENNESSEE: Among the more than 30 victims in the Oren…

Jan 10, 2010
FINRA Issues Alert On ‘Green Energy’ Scams In Wake Of SEC’s Ponzi Allegations Against Mantria/Speed Of Wealth

As the year of the Ponzi scheme comes to a close, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has issued an Investment Alert warning the public about a relatively new form of fraud: “green energy investments” that trade on investors’ affinity for keeping the planet clean. Such schemes “promise large gains from investing in companies purportedly involved…

Dec 30, 2009