Investors Beware of Securities Scams
Let the Investor Beware
It’s a Bull Market For Securities Scams
09/21/05
It’s heartbreaking: investigating bogus investment schemes that have robbed hard-working Americans of thousands of dollars—and sometimes their entire life savings. We’ve seen it happen again and again over the years...and recently, too, as you’ll see.
Don’t let it happen to you.
What should you be on the look out for? Anything that sounds too good to true. Especially offers of risk-free, guaranteed investments with very high rates of return.
Here are just a few recent examples from cases we’ve helped investigate:
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A businessman and his daughter aggressively peddled—mainly to retirees and seniors—no risk, high-yield investments in a variety of businesses. The pair allegedly pocketed over $1 million in commissions, but investors got next to nothing and were never notified when the companies went belly up. On 8/3, the two were indicted in Ohio.
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A Florida executive billed his “Dreamkeeper Program” as the “path to financial freedom,” guaranteeing a 10 percent return every month for 10 months. In fact, it was an illusory Ponzi scheme that lined his own pockets and fleeced investors out of at least $10 million. On 8/3, he received a 175-month sentence following an earlier guilty plea.
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A pair of lawyers—one posing as a wealthy humanitarian—borrowed over $8 million from investors in exchange for notes that offered high rates of return and were supposedly guaranteed by government-backed securities. Turns out, the lawyers never repaid the loans...and never had any securities to guarantee them in the first place. They were convicted at trial and sentenced on 8/8 in Sacramento, California.
Want the full skinny on how to steer clear of major investment scams? See our Common Fraud Schemes webpage. And visit our Be Crime Smart webpage for more tips on how to protect yourself from frauds and crime.
In the meantime, we are working hard to investigate—and prevent wherever possible—a range of frauds that impact investors...whether it’s the classic con jobs or accounting trickeries in corporate suites.