January 7, 2010 – Richard Elkinson, 76 of Framingham, Massachusetts, was allegedly operating an investment scam out of his home through his company Northeast Sales. The criminal complaint filed by U.S. Attorney, Carmen M. Ortiz’ office claims that Elkinson raised $29 million from 130 investors over the last 20 years. On…
December 21, 2009 – Michael Bowen, 57 from Rancho Cucamonga, California, operated a Ponzi scheme by selling unregistered securities, purportedly investments in helicopter and storage facilities. These included Eagle Development Enterprises, Inc., Eagle Storage & Development, LLC, and Eagle Aviation Sales & Leasing, LLC. The SEC‘s complaint, filed in a federal court in…
December 9, 2009 – Rockford Funding Group LLC, a New York financial firm controlled by Genadi Yagodayev, was an investment scam, according to the Securities Exchange Commission. Rockford lured customers who believed that they were investing in “Fixed Dividend Contracts,” which purportedly generated 15 percent per year or more from…
December 7, 2009 – Striker Petroleum, LLC, a Dallas based oil and gas company controlled by Mark S. Roberts, 58, and Christopher E. Pippin, 35, was a massive Ponzi scheme, according to the complaint filed by the SEC last week. According to the SEC complaint, Striker raised approximately $57 million from…
November 26, 2009 – Trevor G. Cook and Patrick J. Kiley, both Minnesota residents, allegedly operated a foreign currency investment scam through their four main entities: UBS Diversified Growth LLC, Universal Brokerage FX Management LLC, Oxford Global Advisors LLC, and Oxford Global Partners LLC. According to the complaint filed by…
November 24, 2009 – The SEC alleges that Derek A. Nelson ran a Ponzi Scheme using fictitious companies: Capital Mountain Holding Corporation (“CMHC”), Systems XXI, Act I, LLC, and Systems XXI, Act II, LLC. In a Complaint filed last week in federal court for the Northern District of Texas, the…
November 18, 2009 – Mantria Corporation and Speed of Wealth, LLC operated a ponzi scheme, claims the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in a complaint just filed in federal Court in Colorado. The SEC has filed a civil action against Mantria Corporation, Troy B. Wragg, Amanda E. Knorr, Speed of Wealth, LLC, Wayde M. McKelvy,…
November 14, 2009 – The Boston Law Offices of the attorney and Washington D.C. based, Steven Berk (Berk Law), in conjunction with Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, has filed a class action against JPMorganChase as the successor in interest to Washington Mutual (“WAMU”) in the US District Court for the Northern District…
October 23, 2009 – Milton Retana, 43 from Norwalk, California, was arrested in December 2008 for allegedly running a $62 million Ponzi scheme that involved over 2000 investors. Retana perpetrated the alleged scam through his company Best Diamond Funding, a real estate brokerage and mortgage lending firm. According to the…
October 23, 2009 – The SEC and CFTC have filed civil actions against David F. Merrick and his Trader’s International Return Network ( TIRN ), and Merrick’s other corporate shells, most of them registered in Florida. The government alleges that Merrick and TIRN operated a $22 million Ponzi scheme, raising…