BULLETIN: Now, An Affinity-Fraud Scheme Targeting Lebanese And Druze Communities, SEC Says; Agency Seeks Asset Freeze Against Firas Hamdan And FAH Capital Partners
BULLETIN: The SEC has gone to federal court in Houston, alleging that Firas Hamdan was conducting an affinity-fraud scheme targeted at the Lebanese and Druze communities. The agency is seeking an asset freeze against Hamdan and his unregistered company, FAH Capital Partners Inc. The scheme is alleged to have gathered about $6 million over five […]
URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: SEC Charges Shervin Neman In Alleged Ponzi Scheme Targeted At Los Angeles Persian-Jewish Community; Federal Judge Issues Emergency Asset Freeze
URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: The SEC has gone to federal court in Los Angeles, alleging that a California man was operating a $7.5 million Ponzi scheme targeted at the Persian-Jewish community. U.S. District Judge Jacqueline H. Nguyen has issued an emergency asset freeze. Charged in the alleged affinity-fraud caper was Shervin Neman, 30, of […]
URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: SEC Charges Ephren W. Taylor II In Alleged Ponzi Scheme Targeting African American Church Congregations; Media Darling Hailed Himself A ‘Social Capitalist’ And Youngest Black CEO Of A Public Company
“Ephren Taylor professed to be in the business of socially-conscious investing. Instead, he was in the business of promoting Ephren Taylor. He preyed upon investors’ faith and their desire to help others, convincing them that they could earn healthy returns while also helping their communities.” — David Woodcock, director of the SEC’s Fort Worth Regional […]
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 […]
UPDATE: Kenneth Wayne Leaming Pleads Not Guilty At Arraignment On New Federal Charges; AdSurfDaily Figure And Purported ‘Sovereign Citizen’ Sent Back To Jail After Proceeding; Trial Date Set Next Month
AdSurfDaily figure and purported “sovereign citizen” Kenneth Wayne Leaming has pleaded not guilty to all six felony counts contained in a grand-jury indictment returned Jan. 26. U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen L. Strombom presided over Leaming’s arraignment at 1:30 p.m. PT in Tacoma, Wash. Leaming, 56, of Spanaway, Wash., remained in federal custody after the proceeding. […]
‘Uniform’ Ponzi Swindler Richard Elkinson, 78, Sentenced To 102 Months In Federal Prison; 20-Year Scheme Collapsed After Arrest Of Bernard Madoff
Richard Elkinson, the 78-year-old Ponzi swindler whose promissory notes scheme gathered $29 million over 20 years, has been sentenced to 102 months in federal prison. Elkinson resided in Framingham, Mass., and told investors he was in the business of providing uniforms to the government and other entities. But it was all a scam that lured […]
3 PONZI/FRAUD CAPSULES: (1) Washington State Woman Jailed In Alleged $126 Million Ponzi Scheme; (2) Charity, Church, Investors In Metro Washington, D.C., Allegedly Scammed In $27M Ponzi; (3) South Florida Man Sentenced To More Than 12 Years In $29.5M ‘Gold’ Scam
EDITOR’S NOTE: This information is presented in the form of briefs, with links to external sources. 1.) Doris E. Nelson, arrested/jailed in Spokane, Wash., region, last week after federal raid in April 2010. SEC filed civil charges in September 2011. The allegations against Nelson and multiple companies in Nevada, Utah and Canada are alarming, but […]
FLORIDA — AGAIN (BOCA RATON VIA NEW YORK): John A. Mattera, Purported Philanthropist, Arrested By Feds And Sued By SEC Amid Allegations He Set Up Scam Using Names Of Groupon And Facebook; Suspect Also Traded On Name Of Red Cross; Investigators Call Him A Recidivist Felon
EDITOR’S NOTE: So, you recognize the power of the names of Groupon and Facebook and want to trade on their magnetism to drive traffic to your purported “opportunity” — and you want to further sanitize your scheme by describing yourself as a philanthropist and trading on the name of a charity such as the American […]