Ponzi Scheme News

Steven Palladino – Florida Investment Capital Fraud and Misrepresentation FINRA Arbitration and Litigation Attorney

Published on: May 2, 2013 | By Russell L. Forkey, P.A.

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Steven Palladino, et al., Civil Action No. 13-11024-DPW

Commission Obtains Temporary Restraining Order and Asset Freeze Against Massachusetts Man Who Defrauded Investors of At Least $5.5 Million

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently announced that, on April 30, 2013, it filed an emergency enforcement action in federal district court in Massachusetts and obtained a temporary restraining order, asset freeze, and other emergency relief against Steven Palladino, of West Roxbury, Massachusetts and his Massachusetts-based company Viking Financial Group, Inc. The Commission’s Complaint alleges that, since at least April 2011, Palladino and Viking made material misrepresentations in raising at least $5.5 million in investment funds from approximately 30 investors. The Commission alleges that Palladino and Viking falsely promised investors that their money would be used to conduct the business of Viking, which was to make to short-term, high interest loans to developers and small businesses unable to obtain traditional financing loans. The Complaint further alleges that Palladino falsely told investors that the loans made by Viking would be secured by first interest liens on non-primary residence properties and misrepresented that investors would be paid back their principal, plus monthly interest at rates generally ranging from 7-15%, from payments made by borrowers on the loans. According to the Complaint, however, the Defendants made very few real loans to borrowers, and instead used investors’ funds largely to make payments to earlier investors and to pay for the Palladino family’s substantial personal expenses, including cash withdrawals and hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on gambling excursions, vacations, luxury vehicles, and tuition.

Jeffrey Stebbins and Corbin Jones – Florida Stockbroker Fraud and Misrepresentation FINRA Arbitration and Litigation Attorney

Published on: May 1, 2013 | By Russell L. Forkey, P.A.

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jeffrey Stebbins and Corbin Jones, Civil Action No. CV 13-755-PHX-SRB

SEC Charges Two Arizona-Based Brokers with Defrauding Investors in Tankless Water Heater Venture

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona, charging two former brokers in Arizona with stealing investments in a project to develop tankless water heaters.

“Pump-and-Dump” – Microcap Stock – South Florida Securities and Brokerage Fraud and Misrepresentation FINRA Arbitration and Litigation Attorney

Published on: March 18, 2013 | By Russell L. Forkey, P.A.

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Carrillo Huettel LLP, Luis J. Carrillo, Wade D. Huettel, Gibraltar Global Securities, Warren Davis, John B. Kirk, Benjamin T. Kirk, Dylan L. Boyle, James K. Hinton Jr., Luniel de Beer, Joel P. Franklin, Pacific Blue Energy Corporation, Tradeshow Marketing Company Ltd., and Dr. Luis Carrillo, Civil Action No. 13 Civ. 1735 (GBD) (S.D.N.Y.)

SEC CHARGES SAN DIEGO LAWYERS AND OTHERS IN AN INTERNATIONAL MARKET MANIPULATION SCHEME

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently charged a group of Canadian stock promoters, two San Diego attorneys, a Bahamas-based broker-dealer, and other participants in an international “pump-and-dump” scheme involving two publicly-traded U.S. companies, Pacific Blue Energy Corporation (Pacific Blue) and Tradeshow Marketing Company Ltd. (Tradeshow).

Delsa U. Thomas, The D. Christopher Capital Group, LLC and The Solomon Fund LP – Florida Investment Advisor Ponzi Scheme and Investment Fraud and Mismanagement FINRA Arbitration and Litigation Attorney

Published on: February 20, 2013 | By Russell L. Forkey, P.A.

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Delsa U. Thomas, et al., Civ. Action No. 3:13-cv-00739-L (N.D. Tex., Dallas Division, filed February 14, 2013)

SEC Sues Dallas Investment Adviser Principal for Conducting a Fraudulent High-Yield Investment Scheme

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently charged a Dallas investment adviser principal with defrauding investors out of $2.3 million in a high-yield investment scheme. The Commission’s complaint, filed in Dallas federal court, alleges that Delsa U. Thomas, The D. Christopher Capital Group, LLC (“DCCMG”), and The Solomon Fund LP, lied to investors about the safety and potential returns of the investments. For example, the complaint alleges that Thomas promised that $1 million in investor funds would remain safely invested in U.S. Treasury securities and would yield 650 percent returns in 35 banking days, supposedly from profits in Thomas’s high-yield investment program. While Thomas did purchase U.S. Treasury securities, she immediately margined those securities, commingled the margin proceeds with other investor funds, and sent the funds to a foreign intermediary, none of which was disclosed to investors. According to the Commission, Thomas used other investor funds to make Ponzi payments to investors in earlier investment programs she had sold, and for personal expenses. Finally, the complaint alleges that DCCMG was improperly registered with the Commission as an investment adviser, a violation that Thomas aided and abetted.

Benjamin C. Dalley, Randolph M. Taylor, William B. Mitchell – Florida Ponzi Scheme and other Fraudulent Conduct FINRA Arbitration and Litigation Attorney

Published on: February 11, 2013 | By Russell L. Forkey, P.A.

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Garfield Taylor, Inc., et al., Civil Action No. 1:11-CV-02054-RLW (District Court for the District of Columbia)

SEC OBTAINS JUDGMENTS AGAINST FORMER OFFICERS OF GIBRALTAR ASSET MANAGEMENT GROUP, LLC

Recently, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that the Honorable Robert L. Wilkins, United States District Judge for the District of Columbia, entered final judgments on January 16, 2013, against three defendants to settle charges related to their collaboration in a multi-million dollar Washington-area Ponzi scheme operated through Gibraltar Asset Management Group, LLC and Garfield Taylor, Inc. (GTI):

John A. Geringer, Christopher A. Luck and Keith E. Rode – Florida Ponzi Scheme Securities and Investment Fraud FINRA Arbitration and Litigation Attorney

Published on: December 27, 2012 | By Russell L. Forkey, P.A.

Securities and Exchange Commission v. GLR Capital Management, LLC, GLR Advisors, LLC, John A. Geringer, and Relief Defendant GLR Growth Fund, L.P., Civil Action No. 12-02663

SEC FILES CHARGES AGAINST TWO OTHERS IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA FUND MANAGER’S $60 MILLION SCHEME

Recently the Securities and Exchange Commission filed additional charges in its case against a Northern California fund manager accused of running a $60 million Ponzi-like scheme.

Timothy S. Durham, Rick D. Snow and James F. Cochran – Florida Securities and Investment Fraud and Theft FINRA Arbitration and Litigation Attorney

Published on: December 5, 2012 | By Russell L. Forkey, P.A.

Former Fair Finance Company CEO Sentenced to 50 Years in Prison for Conducting $200 Million Fraud Scheme

The Securities and Exchange Commission (Commission) announced that on November 30, 2012, Timothy S. Durham, former CEO of Ohio-based Fair Finance Company (Fair Finance), was sentenced to 50 years in prison for orchestrating a $200 million scheme that defrauded more than 5,000 investors over almost five years. Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana also sentenced James F. Cochran, Fair Finance’s board chairman, to 25 years in prison, and Rick D. Snow, the firm’s chief financial officer, to a 10-year prison term. According to U.S. Attorney Joseph Hogsett in Indianapolis, Durham’s sentence is the longest white-collar fraud sentence in Indiana history.

On June 20, 2012, a federal jury in Indiana convicted Durham, age 50, of securities fraud, conspiracy and 10 counts of wire fraud. Cochran, age 57, and Snow, age 49, were also found guilty on conspiracy and securities fraud charges for their roles in the Fair Finance scheme.

James F. Ellis – Wilton Manors, Florida Ponzi Scheme and Investment Fraud FINRA Arbitration and Litigation Attorney

Published on: November 9, 2012 | By Russell L. Forkey, P.A.

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Ellis, Civil Action No. 0:12-cv-62211

SEC Charges South Florida Man with Recruiting Victims of Ponzi Scheme

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently charged a South Florida man with defrauding at least 14 investors by soliciting them to invest in a Ponzi scheme. A significant number of the victims were members of the gay community in Wilton Manors, Florida and included inexperienced, unaccredited investors.

Oscar Hernandez, Midway Trading Company, LLC and Conquest Investment Group, Inc. – Florida NFA Arbitration and Litigation Attorney

Published on: October 17, 2012 | By Russell L. Forkey, P.A.

Federal Court Orders Oscar Hernandez and His Companies to Pay $1.4 Million in Penalties and Bars Him from the Commodities Industry for Operating a Commodity Pool Ponzi Scheme

In a related criminal proceeding, Hernandez sentenced to 57 months imprisonment and ordered to pay restitution

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) recently announced that it obtained a federal court order requiring defendants Oscar Hernandez of Miami, Fla., and Midway Trading Company, LLC (Midway) and Conquest Investment Group, Inc. (Conquest), both Florida companies owned and controlled by Hernandez, to pay a $1.4 million civil monetary penalty to settle CFTC charges that they operated a multi-million dollar commodity pool Ponzi scheme and misappropriated customer funds for personal use.

Bradley A. Holcom and Jose L. Pinedo – South Florida Senior Investment and Securities Fraud FINRA Arbitration and Litigation Attorney

Published on: September 28, 2012 | By Russell L. Forkey, P.A.

SEC v. Bradley A. Holcom, Civ. No. 3:12-cv-01623 (S.D. Cal.);

SEC v. Jose L. Pinedo, Civ. No. 3:12-cv-01620 (S.D. Cal.).

September, 2012: