We are reviewing the scenes playing out in the crystal ball that nearly twenty years of protecting investors (including six in the Enforcement Division of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) has given me.  Today I see pitches for cleverly-disguised scams tied to companies that will supposedly benefit from a change in adminsitratiions in Washington - alternative energy companies. (more…)

Financial criminals stay up to date on current events.  It helps them craft schemes that seem more plausible.  Every fall heralds the emergence of commodities scams related to heating oil.  Every significant movement in the value of the dollar brings an increase in currency trading schemes.  Even a whiff of inflation results in the rollout of dozens of gold scams.  There is something about seeing something in the news that makes investors believe that an investment that addresses the topic is on the leading edge of a wave of potential profits.

Through two decades of protecting investors both at the SEC and in private practice, I have seen this too many times to believe that there are not hundreds of scam artists honing their pitch for investments in allegedly green energy solutions.  A recent story in Forbes details one such scam. (more…)