It’s hard to know if your money is where your broker tells you it is.  And after all the scams hitting the news in the past few months, the thought is more frightening than ever.  But to the un-trained eye, how would you know what to look for on your statements? And if you’re receiving interest payments, then it’s safe to assume that everything is ok, right? 

Investors in Gen-See Capital Corp probably assumed so.  They believed that President and Owner, Richard S. Piccoli, had invested their money in “high quality” mortgages, as he said.  They also had no idea that the “return” they were receiving was actually being paid by new investor money.          (more…)

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed an emergency action to halt an alleged $50 million Ponzi scheme.  The scheme was allegedly conducted by Joseph S. Forte of Broomall, Pennsylvania, and his company, Joseph Forte, LP.  According to the complaint, from at least February 1995 to the present, Forte has raised approximately $50 million from about 80 investors through the sale of securities and limited partnerships in Forte LP.  (more…)

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed an emergency action against Creative Capital Consortium, LLC, Creative Capital Concepts, LLC, and its principal, George L. Theodule, to halt an alleged Ponzi scheme and affinity fraud.  According to the complaint, Theodule raised at least $23.4 million from thousands of investors in the Haitian-American community through a network of purported investment clubs created for the sole purpose of directing funds to Theodule and Creative Capital.  (more…)

While Bernard Madoff’s scam does seem to be all over the headlines, it’s not the only Ponzi scheme reeking havoc. Jim Walsh, a Courier- Post staff writer wrote a great article detailing another $1.3 million Ponzi scheme that was aimed at senior citizens.  (more…)

MARIETTA, GEORGIA – December 16, 2008For former SEC Enforcement Branch Chief, Pat Huddleston, the Madoff fraud came as no surprise.  “There were warning signs,” he says. “Madoff was clever, but his secretiveness and his supposed track record would have been enough for us to warn our clients away from him.”  Huddleston’s company, Investor’s Watchdog LLC, investigates brokers and unregistered investments, pre-investment, to protect its clients from reckless brokers and financial scams.

Huddleston doesn’t blame the victims, though.  “As much as we like to think of ourselves as smart and good judges of character,” he says, “no investor is immune from a financial scam.”  Huddleston says that we all have a natural optimism that tells us that things like this can’t happen to us.  “You can’t overcome that on your own,” he says.  That’s where Investor’s Watchdog comes in.  Using Huddleston’s SEC experience, the company gives investors the objective, often sobering, perspective they need before choosing to risk any part of their life savings.

Investor’s Watchdog has helped investors avoid the nightmare that Madoff’s victims are suffering through.  For proposed hedge fund investments, Investor’s Watchdog does a thorough review of all offering documents and an investigation of the people involved before issuing a Safety Rating that reflects IW’s opinion on whether the investment is legitimate.

Huddleston served in the SEC’s Enforcement Division from 1990 to 1996, and was an Enforcement Branch Chief in the Atlanta office from 1992 to 1996 before returning to private practice to represent individual investors.  He is currently serving as court-appointed Receiver in three fraud cases commenced by the SEC.

For additional information about this topic, or to schedule an interview with Pat Huddleston, please contact Lauren Bowman at 866.423.WDOG X106 or email at [email protected].  www.investorswatchdog.com # # #

Daryl Batts, a former youth pastor, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, according to Greenvilleonline.com.  Staff writer, Eric Connor, did a great job outlining Batts’ pyramid scheme that defrauded investors of $12 million over the past few years.  (more…)

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Marc Dreier with raising at least $113 million from the sale of bogus promissory notes. According to the complaint, Dreier is the founder and managing partner of Dreier LLP. 

According to the complaint, since October 2008, Dreier allegedly sold fake promissory notes to three investors and a former client of Dreier LLP. (more…)

Jeff German wrote a great article for the Las Vegas Sun detailing Hans Seibt’s alleged scam to defraud the elderly.  According to the article, Seibt, who owned HSLV Development Corp., convinced people to invest in undeveloped land in Pahrump, Nevada, by promising a 12 percent return.  Many of his victims were seniors who turned over their retirement accounts and life savings. (more…)

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed an enforcement action against Jack A. Calvin in March of 2003 and obtained a default judgment in December of 2003.  The Court found Calvin, of Ozark, Missouri, liable for securities fraud and ordered him to pay  $6,114,283.    (more…)

You may think that the Nigerian e-mail scam is a thing of the past.  Since there’s been so much education around it, surely scamsters would have run out of easy targets.  But according to a recent article from the Associated Press, the opposite is true. (more…)