The wolves are out there, and their sheep suits are custom-made.
Scam artists do not feel constrained by the law. They are not the least bit intimidated by the prospect of a civil lawsuit or even criminal prosecution.
The financial crisis of 2008 flushed out many scams, including Bernard Madoff’s record-setter, as investors demanded redemptions that scam artists could not produce. We have been tracking the building of the post-Madoff wave of scams. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) believes that it has found another scam in that wave.
Twelve years is a long time to run a Ponzi scheme. Bernard Madoff aside, most collapse within five years. Yet, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) claims that Enrique F. Villalba, Jr, of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio began raising money from his alleged victims in 1998. A look at the specific allegations shows why Villalba, if the allegation are true, was able to keep a scam running for that long.
James Terry Brinley of Millington, Tennessee pleaded guilty this week “to carrying out a Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors of about $3.5 million.”
In the summer of 2009, two members of Investor’s Watchdog’s investigative team noticed an ad in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, offering to turn $250,000 into $1 million in a matter of months, “guaranteed.” We forwarded the ad to the Atlanta office of the SEC, which passed it along to the Tennessee Securities Division. Yesterday we learned that [...]
Dennis Bolze told prospective investors that he was a successful stock trader. More than 100 people believed him. Operating from offices in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, he ultimately raised approximately $20 million, more than enough to build a 16,000 square foot mansion and treat himself to finest of what money can buy. According to federal authorities Bolze used money [...]
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a civil injunctive action against Michael J. Park, doing business as Park Capital Management Group (PCMG). According to the SEC, the defendants engaged in fraud by convincing investors to open accounts with PCMG, promising them substantial returns through publicly traded securities and trade pools that PCMG managed.
Your stockbroker probably drives an expensive foreign car. If you live near a lake or the ocean, he has at least one boat. If there is a swanky neighborhood in your town, that’s where he lives. So, when he tells you that he has an outside thriving business that he can let you invest in, why not jump in, [...]
CPA Involved in Ponzi Loses License
This case reminds us that Ponzi scamsters often work through accountants and insurance agents because those people often have a long list of clients who have trusted them for years.