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Tag: SEC

BULLETIN: Another Alleged Forex Ponzi Scheme — This One In Texas; CFTC Says Convicted Felon And Known Securities Swindler Ran New Scam By Trading In Accounts In Wife’s Name

A Texas man with federal convictions two decades ago in Utah on charges of securities fraud, mail fraud, making false statements and conspiracy started a Forex Ponzi scheme in 2008 and stole at least $750,000 from investors, according to a CFTC complaint originally filed under seal earlier this month. U.S. District Judge Richard Schell of…

Feb 18, 2011
SEC: 77-Year-Old Amish Man Ran $33 Million Fraud Scheme Targeted At Fellow Amish; Meanwhile, CFTC Says North Carolina Pastor And Colleague Ran Forex Ponzi Scheme

UPDATED 2:50 P.M. ET (U.S.A.) A 77-year old Amish man in Sugarcreek, Ohio, ran a fraud scheme that gathered at least $33 million and affected 2,600 investors in 29 states, the SEC has alleged. Monroe L. Beachy’s long-running scheme mostly targeted fellow Amish, the agency charged. The scheme, which operated under the name of A&M Investments…

Feb 18, 2011
AN HYIP PARANOIA-MAKER: Undercover Agent Listens To Alleged Bankrupt Fraudster’s Pitch In ‘Hooters’; SEC Files Emergency Action Alleging Christopher Love Blackwell At Helm Of Massive Fraud Scheme

EDITOR’S NOTE: This developing story on the alleged actions of accused securities schemer Christopher Love Blackwell is apt to cause paranoia among HYIP and prime-bank fraudsters, including criminals who populate online forums such as TalkGold and MoneyMakerGroup. It features the presence of a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) undercover operative who allegedly infiltrated Blackwell’s scheme…

Feb 10, 2011
TalkGold Ponzi And Criminals’ Forum Deletes ‘Sticky’ Thread On InstaForex; Firm Named Defendant In CFTC Sweep Used Payment Processor Whose Contact Person Is Referenced In International Money-Laundering And Narcotics Case

The TalkGold Ponzi scheme and criminals’ forum has deleted a “sticky” thread reportedly paid for by InstaForex, a dubious company named a defendant in a registration sweep conducted by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission last month. The PP Blog reported two days ago that InstaForex was using TalkGold to promote a scheme by which…

Feb 10, 2011
SPECIAL REPORT: Forex Firms Named In CFTC Sweep Used Same Offshore Processor As Alleged Imperia Invest Fraud; Name Of Man Linked To ‘Perfect Money’ Appears In Ponzi Forfeiture Complaint In Which Feds Tied Cash To International Narcotics Trade

SPECIAL REPORT: UPDATED 2:27 P.M. ET (U.S.A., FEB. 9) Federal court and web records show that at least three of the 14 purported Forex dealers named defendants in a major sweep of unregistered firms last month by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission advertised that they accepted funds from Perfect Money. Perfect Money is a murky…

Feb 8, 2011
EDITORIAL: On Club Asteria, FxPowerPro And DisasterClub — And What The U.S. State Department Could Do To Contain The Danger Posed By The Talk Gold Ponzi And Criminals’ Forum And Others Of Its Ilk Worldwide

Let’s start with the chaos in Egypt this week. Protesters have streamed into the streets to demand that President Hosni Mubarak step down after three decades of autocratic rule. The government initially reacted by shutting down the Internet. As tensions rose, protesters, activists and journalists covering the events were beaten. Some of the protesters were…

Feb 4, 2011
BULLETIN: Florida — Again: Multiagency Probe Leads To Federal Criminal Charges Against 9 People In Interconnected Ponzi And Fraud Schemes

BULLETIN: An investigation by the U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Miami Police Department has led to criminal charges against nine defendants in three Florida fraud schemes that allegedly were interconnected. Seven of the defendants were indicted. Two others were charged via criminal information, and the…

Feb 3, 2011
URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: Accused Fraudster Andy Bowdoin Enters Defense That Could Provide Legal Cover For Autosurf Ponzi Schemes If He Wins Case; ASD Operator Claims Business Model Stands Up To ‘Howey Test’ Scrutiny

BULLETIN: In an argument that almost certainly will give comfort to operators of some of the most corrupt and insidious businesses on the Internet, AdSurfDaily President Andy Bowdoin has advised a federal judge that his company and business practices are legitimate because they stand up to scrutiny when the “Howey Test” is applied. Bowdoin, 77, made…

Feb 1, 2011
‘FRAUD CREEP’: The Two-Word Term That Explains How Crime Expands On The Internet To Affect Tens Of Thousands Of Victims At A Time

EDITOR’S NOTE: Our definition of “fraud creep” — and suggestions on the context in which the term should be applied — appears lower in this story. First, some background . . . Investigators now are counting victims of massive, web-based fraud schemes tens of thousands at a time. Such scams pose both budgetary and logistical…

Jan 22, 2011
URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: New York Man Arrested After Threatening To Kill CFTC, SEC, NFA And FINRA Regulators; Vincent McCrudden Used Emails, Website To Terrorize Officials, Prosecutors Charge

A New York man sued by the CFTC last month for registration violations has been arrested on criminal charges of threatening to kill 47 current or former market regulators, federal prosecutors said. Vincent P. McCrudden, 49, who recently had been living in Singapore, was arrested yesterday by the FBI at Newark Liberty International Airport after…

Jan 14, 2011
EDITORIAL: ASD By The Numbers: Why America And The World Should Be Shocked — And Why Serial Autosurf And HYIP Promoters Should Be Prosecuted

UPDATED 12:04 P.M. ET (U.S.A.) In court filings this week in the AdSurfDaily autosurf Ponzi scheme case, federal prosecutors in the District of Columbia revealed a series of jaw-dropping numbers. The biggest of these is 500,000 — the number of pages of emails gleaned so far in the investigation, which began in July 2008. Because…

Jan 13, 2011