CDs | Investor's Watchblog

The Strategy That Never Slumps

On September 9, 2011, in CDs, Florida, Florida, SEC, Scams, Securities Industry (general), The Vigilant Investor, by IW Dog

Investment fraud never slumps because it isn’t tied to the rules of markets or economies.

Investments go up and down. In 2009 we saw just how quickly they can plunge. Over the past several weeks the market has seemed bi-polar; long steep losses followed by tremendous rallies. But, within the investment industry there is one segment that never slumps. And I don’t mean “rarely,” I mean “never.’ Investment fraud never slumps because it isn’t tied to the rules of markets or economies. When the market is up, people want to ride it to big gains. When the market is down, people want to preserve their principal and eek out stable income if possible. When the market is bi-polar, people want stability. Investment scams can promise whichever of those things people most want at the moment. This week TCPalm.com posted an article that illustrates the challenge. It reads, in part: (more…)

Michigan School District Fraud Highlights Institutional Investors’ Choice

On September 29, 2010, in CDs, Michigan, Michigan, Ponzi schemes, Scams, Securities Industry (general), by IW Dog

Smart institutional investors, like smart individual investors, take proactive steps to protect the money for which they are responsible. If there is a fraud targeting their institution, they uncover it and report it to authorities rather than the other way around.

Mona Shores, Michigan is just a few miles south of Muskegon, across Lake Michigan from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Mona Shores School District is the latest institutional investor to learn that only professional due diligence can keep investor funds safe. According to an article from Lynne Moore of the Muskegon Chronicle, the FBI has arrested and charged Dante DeMiro of Southfield, Michigan, with taking $3.5 million from the Mona Shores School District under the pretense of investing that money in certificates of deposit at various banks. According to prosecutors, DeMiro did not invest that money, but instead used it to make Ponzi payments to previous victims Lapeer County, Michigan (east of Flint), and Comstock Township, Michigan (suburban Kalamazoo). Moore writes: (more…)

Tagged with: Broker Snapshot • Comstock Township • Constant Patrol • Dante DeMiro • due diligence • endowment • financial adviser • financial advisor • fraud • hedge fund • Huddleston • institutional investor • investment adviser • investment advisor • Investors Watchdog • Investor’s Watchdog • Lapeer County • Mona Shores • mona shores school district • pension fund • Private Equity • QualifEye • RIA • scam • scheme • school district • Securities and Exchange Commission • Winnow

Texas Securities Regulator’s Findings Confirm IW’s Observations

On August 18, 2010, in CDs, Oil and Gas, Scams, Securities Industry (general), Texas, by IW Dog

Investor’s Watchdog has investigated three oil and gas investment opportunities in the past 30 days and rated two of them in the 40s on IW’s 40-80 Safety Scale, indicating a high probability that those investments are fraudulent.

We’ve warned before that fraud never flags and that investors are especially at risk in a down economy. Texas securities regulators have confirmed that observation through the number of enforcement actions they have commenced. In a recent story for statesman.com, Brian Gaar writes: (more…)

Tagged with: Allen Stanford • Broker Snapshot • Constant Patrol • Denise Voigt Crawford • due diligence • endowment • financial adviser • financial advisor • fraud • hedge fund • Huddleston • investment adviser • investment advisor • Investors Watchdog • Investor’s Watchdog • pension fund • Private Equity • QualifEye • RIA • scam • scheme • SEC • Securities and Exchange Commission • Winnow

SEC Brings Emergency Enforcement Action Against Los-Angeles Based Radio Show Host

On January 14, 2010, in Affinity Fraud, CDs, California, California, Investor Protection, Investors at Risk, SEC, Scams, Securities Industry (general), by Investor's Watchblog

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has filed an emergency enforcement action to halt an alleged affinity fraud targeting the Iranian-American community. According to the SEC, John Farahi, Gissou Rastegar Farahi, and Elaheh Amouei, and their company, NewPoint Financial Services, Inc., hosted a financial radio show broadcast in Farsi. The SEC claims that they used that [...]

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has filed an emergency enforcement action to halt an alleged affinity fraud targeting the Iranian-American community. According to the SEC, John Farahi, Gissou Rastegar Farahi, and Elaheh Amouei, and their company, NewPoint Financial Services, Inc., hosted a financial radio show broadcast in Farsi. The SEC claims that they used that show to market debentures, promising that the debentures were low-risk, and that investor money was used to buy FDIC-insured instruments and corporate bonds backed by the government’s Troubled Asset Relief Program (“TARP”).

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UK Authorities Assist in Stanford Case by Freezing $100 Million

On August 25, 2009, in Antigua, CDs, Investor Protection, Investors at Risk, SEC, Scams, Securities Industry (general), by Investor's Watchblog

Britain’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has frozen $100 million in assets under the control of Alan Stanford, who has been accused of running an $8 billion Ponzi scheme through the sale of certificates of deposit. At the request of the SEC and the U.S. Justice Department the SFO found the money in British bank accounts and obtained an [...]

Britain’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has frozen $100 million in assets under the control of Alan Stanford, who has been accused of running an $8 billion Ponzi scheme through the sale of certificates of deposit. At the request of the SEC and the U.S. Justice Department the SFO found the money in British bank accounts and obtained an order freezing those assets within five hours of getting the request. (more…)

Sir Allen Arrested

On June 19, 2009, in CDs, Investor Protection, Investors at Risk, Ponzi schemes, SEC, Securities Industry (general), by Investor's Watchblog

The FBI took Allen Stanford into custody yesterday on as-yet undisclosed criminal charges. In February, the Securities and Exchange Commission sued the Texas billionaire alleging that he operated a Ponzi scheme of staggering proportions.

The FBI took Allen Stanford into custody yesterday on as-yet undisclosed criminal charges. In February, the Securities and Exchange Commission sued the Texas billionaire alleging that he operated a Ponzi scheme of staggering proportions.

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Just As Predicted

On March 31, 2009, in Baby Boomers, CDs, Investor Protection, Investors at Risk, Retirees, SEC, Scams, Securities Industry (general), Senior Citizens, Texas, Uncategorized, by lbowman

If you’ve looked into Investor’s Watchdog’s crystal ball, you’ve been expecting to hear about CD scams. So, it should come as no surprise that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed an emergency action to halt an alleged on-going Ponzi scheme that has raised over $68 million through the sale of allegedly bogus certificates of [...]

If you’ve looked into Investor’s Watchdog’s crystal ball, you’ve been expecting to hear about CD scams. So, it should come as no surprise that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed an emergency action to halt an alleged on-going Ponzi scheme that has raised over $68 million through the sale of allegedly bogus certificates of deposit (CDs). The Commission’s complaint alleges that defendants Michael J. Wise and Kristi M. Hoegel ran the scheme through several companies they controlled, including Millennium Bank of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, United Trust of Switzerland S.A., UT of S, LLC and Millennium Financial Group, U.S. (more…)

Allen Stanford - SEC Shuts Down Alleged $8 Billion Scam Involving Certificates of Deposit

On February 18, 2009, in CDs, Investor Protection, Investors at Risk, SEC, Scams, Securities Industry (general), by Investor's Watchblog

We’ve been predicting that scam artists would begin centering their schemes on certificates of deposit. Financial criminals follow the headlines, because the news helps them establish creditability. The biggest story in the news for the past few months has been the world-wide financial collapse. In turbulent times, people want safety and security. So . . . [...]

We’ve been predicting that scam artists would begin centering their schemes on certificates of deposit. Financial criminals follow the headlines, because the news helps them establish creditability. The biggest story in the news for the past few months has been the world-wide financial collapse. In turbulent times, people want safety and security. So . . . along come sales pitches for certificates of deposit. (more…)