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

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Moises Pacheco, of Chula Vista, California, and his companies, Advanced Money Management, Inc. (AMM), and Business Development & Consulting Co. (BD&C), with securities fraud.  According to the SEC, Pacheco used five self-styled hedge funds - AP Premium Value Funds I through IV and Capital Partnership Group, to raise $14.7 million from more than 200 people.  Also according to the Commission, Pacheco’s used principal invested by later investors to pay supposed profit distributions to earlier investors, in classic Ponzi fashion. According to the SEC’s complaint: 

(more…)

Stanley Chais of Beverly Hills, California and New York, New York enjoyed a reputation as an investing wiz.  His California-based investment advisory business prospered for decades as investors clamored to get into one of his three investment partnerships, the Lambeth, Popham, and Brighton Funds.  In a case filed this week, the SEC claims that he did exactly squat, relying instead on his good friend Bernard Madoff, with whom Chais invested all of the assets of his three Funds, while charging his clients $250 million in fees.  ”Despite the fact that Chais turned all of the Funds’ assets over to Madoff, many of the Funds’ investors had never heard of Madoff before the collapse of his Ponzi scheme, and had not known that Chais invested with Madoff until Chais informed them after Madoff’s arrest.”

(more…)

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged two California men, Peter C. Son and Jin K. Chung, with running an $80 million Ponzi scheme that targeted Korean-Americans.  (more…)

Investor’s Watchdog has been warning of an uptick in scams centered on certificates of deposit.  Last week, the SEC alleged that two northern-California men have been running one such scheme.  Specifically, the SEC charged  Bich Quyen Nguyen, Johnny E. Johnson, and their entities, Sun Group and Sun Investment Savings and Loan with raising more than $9 million by selling supposed certificates of deposit. (more…)

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has stopped a hedge fund fraud in Beverly Hills, California.  The scam raised $38 million from just 20 investors, making it a good example of “the long con” - a con designed to steal big amounts from a limited number of people.  Specifically, the SEC alleges that Bradley L. Ruderman (”Ruderman”) raised at the money through two hedge funds - Ruderman Capital Partners and Ruderman Capital Partners A.  “The SEC alleges that Ruderman defrauded his hedge fund investors by misrepresenting to them the hedge funds’ investment returns and the assets under management.” (more…)

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Sherman Oaks, California broker Davis A. Williams and a brokerage firm he controlled - Morgan Peabody, Inc. - with selling bogus investments then stealing the money to fund his lavish lifestyle.  Specifically:  (more…)

Affinity fraud is running rampant and, according to the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA), it is one of the top ten scams operating today.  Because people are scared of all the Madoff-like stories in the news, they are looking for a “trustworthy” investment.  And who better to trust than someone you have a connection with?  (more…)

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has halted the operations of an unregistered broker-dealer, Finbar Securities Corp. (Finbar), and its president, Robert Tringham (Tringham).  Tringham, of Diamond Bar, California, is a British national who also maintains a home in Portland, Oregon.  According to the SEC’s complaint, he raised at least $6.4 million from investors in the U.S. and abroad and falsely represented that Finbar was a registered broker-dealer.  The complaint further alleges that Finbar has never been registered with the SEC and that Tringham has never been associated with any registered broker or dealer.  (more…)

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has closed down another alleged Ponzi scheme.  Specifically, the SEC has charged Delilah Proctor, Shauntel McCoy, both of southern California, and their companies - Sun Empire and ECAM, a/k/a Empire Capital Asset Management - with running a diverse series of investment frauds.  According to the SEC’s complaint: (more…)

The Securities and Exchange Commission has halted another alleged Ponzi scheme, this one operated by two men from Northern California.  The Commission charged Anthony Vassallo, his company - Equity Investment Management and Trading, Inc. (EIMT) - and Kenneth Kenitzer with securities fraud, alleging that the defendants: (more…)