Articles Posted in Scams

On February 8, 2013, the SEC announced charges that it brought against an individual living in Illinois and two companies behind a $150 million investment scheme that defrauded foreign investors seeking profitable returns and a legal path to U.S. residency through a federal visa program. The SEC alleged that Anshoo R. Sethi created two entities, A Chicago…

In July 2012, The Doss Firm, LLC filed a class-action lawsuit against SCANA Energy in the United States District Court of the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division. The complaint alleged that SCANA overcharged hundreds of thousands of Georgia customers for their natural gas usage in violation of Georgia’s Natural Gas Competition and Deregulation Act. Subsequent to…

On February 11, 2013, Kevin Patrick Loughery was charged with wire fraud. Loughery is the co-founder of Geometrix, an Atlanta start-up company. Loughery allegedly committed wire fraud and defrauded investors out of approximately $800,000.00. U.S. Attorney Sally Yates stated “instead of keeping his business investors’ funds secure in an escrow account, the defendant is charged with…

On February 10, 2013, the New York Times published an article entitled Complex Investments Prove Risky as Savers Chase Bigger Payoff which detailed how regulators across the country are still seeing an increase in losses and fraud cases revolving around complex yield producing products. Since traditional income-producing like, CDs, currently offer low interest rates crisis, many retirement…

On February 5, 2013, the Federal Trade Commission’s stance to crack down on tax relief companies took a major step forward. American Tax Relief LLC agreed to pay $15 million to settle claims that they operated a scheme that falsely advertised debt-relief services that they company never provided. The scheme took in more than $100 million by falsely claiming…

On January 30, 2013, the SEC charged five former real-estate executives with defrauding investors in an investment scam. The investors were led to believe that they were funding the development of five-star destination resorts in Florida and Las Vegas when they were actually buying into a ponzi scheme. The SEC alleged in the complaint that Cay…

On January 29, 2013, the SEC charged Firas Hamdan, a day trader in Sugar Land, TX, with “defrauding investors in his supposed high-frequency trading program and providing them falsified brokerage records that drastically overstated assets and hid his massive trading losses.” “The SEC alleges that Firas Hamdan particularly targeted fellow members of the Houston-area Lebanese and…

On July 16, 2009, our blog published an article entitled The Gresham Company Charged in $15 Million Ponzi Scheme. As we previously described, Gresham promised monthly returns of 5 to 10 percent with very little risk. He would then pay off certain individuals with money invested by new individuals. It is said by the SEC that…

On December 19, 2012, Bishop Wiley Jackson, and his brother Rodney Jackson, with Gospel Tabernacle Church were indicted on eight (8) counts of criminal charges for running an investment scheme. The indictment charges the Jackson brothers with: The sale of unregistered securities (O.C.G.A 10-5-5(a)(1)(3)); The sale of securities by one who is not a registered salesman…

In the recent Massachusetts Securities Division suit against LPL Financial over non-traded REITs, Inland American Real Estate Trust was targeted. So who exactly is Inland American? In short, Inland American is the industry’s largest non-traded real estate investment trust. According to their website, Inland American Real Estate Trust, Inc. is a publicly traded Maryland corporation sponsored by their…