Investor's Watchdog.com: Stock, finance and investment protection for investors

The FBI has added Semion Mogilevich to its list of Most Wanted Fugitives.  You have never heard of him, but he may be the man who takes everything you have worked and saved for.According to a CNN report, Mogilevich was the mastermind behind a $150 million financial scam in which he created the illusion of a profitable publicly traded company and sold the worthless shares to investors who believed the lie.  The scam centered on a company called YBM of Newtown, Pennsylvania.  Supposedly, YBM made magnets.  It was all an elaborate ruse.  It is also the future of investment fraud.

CNN reports that authorities have determined that “the scheme involved preparing bogus financial books and records, lying to Securities and Exchange Commission officials, offering bribes to accountants and inflating stock value of YBM.”  According to the FBI:

Mogilevich, who has an economics degree from Ukraine, is known for his ruthless nature but also his business acumen, which led to his nickname, “the Brainy Don.”

“He has a very sophisticated, well-educated, loyal group of associates that he works with,” [FBI special agent] Dixon said.  ”He hires top-notch consultants, attorneys, risk management firms to assist him and protect him in his criminal ventures.”

This level of preparation is not unusual.  You put yourself at serious risk by thinking otherwise.  Before you invest in the latest hot stock or any unregistered investment, do what banks do when they move cash: hire private protection.