March 4th, 2010 
Before You Invest The Securities and Exchange Commission obtained an asset freeze and other emergency relief to halt an ongoing Ponzi scheme targeting retired bus drivers living in the Los Angeles area.
The Commission alleges that Thomas L. Mitchell, (“Mitchell”), through his investment advisory firm Mitchell, Porter & Williams, Inc.
Posted in Finance Fraud 
Tags: Ab3, Advisory Firm, Bus Drivers, Bus Operators, Complaint Alleges That, Emergency Relief, Investing In Stocks, Investment Trust, Investor Money, Living Expenses, Lump Sum Payment, Mitchell Porter, Mpw, New Investor, Ponzi Scheme, Promissory Note, Retirement Money, Retirement Pensions, Securities And Exchange Commission, Stocks Bonds 
Comments Off March 4th, 2010 Before You Invest 
Gaston E. Cantens and Teresita Cantens are the founders and co-owners of Royal West Properties Inc
The federal agency also alleged that the Cantens used $20 million from investors to pay themselves exorbitant salaries, to invest in other projects and to divert some $1 million to their children and grandchildren in the form of alleged “consulting fees.”
SEC officials said the Cantens were not registered with the federal government to make securities offerings to investors.
According to a statement, the SEC says that the Miami couple, who founded Royal West Properties Inc.
Posted in Finance Fraud Tags: Business Difficulties, Business Operations, Collapse, Downfall, Educational Institutions, Exorbitant Salaries, Grandchildren, Inve, Investor Funds, Latin American Investors, Miami Businessman, New Investor, Ponzi Scheme, Principal And Interest, Promissory Notes, Real Estate Investments, Sec Charges, Sec Officials, South Florida Community, Teresita Comments Off February 24th, 2010 Before You Invest
(Bloomberg) — Florida money manager Arthur Nadel pleaded guilty to 15 fraud counts, 13 months after he disappeared for two weeks in January 2009 as state authorities began investigating investor complaints about missing money. U.S.
Posted in Finance Fraud Tags: Asset Values, Count Indictment, District Court Judge, Federal Defenders, Guilty Pleas, Investor Complaints, Judge John Koeltl, Mail Fraud, Mark B, Maximum Prison, Missing Money, Money Manager, Nadel, New Money, Plea Agreement, Ponzi Scheme, Sarasota Florida, Securities Fraud, State Authorities, Wire Fraud Comments Off February 20th, 2010 Before You Invest Lawyers for Allen Stanford have called for the case alleging he masterminded a $7 billion Ponzi scheme to be thrown out of court.
According to Mr Stanford’s attorneys, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has not managed to lay out a strong enough case against the businessman.
Christina Sarchio, his legal representative, told Bloomberg that the latest’s SEC complaint, which is 32 pages long, does not stand up to examination.
“It doesn’t really have any specifics about what Allen Stanford said, to whom he said it or how the SEC even has jurisdiction over the certificates of deposit, because they’re not securities,” she said.
Mr Stanford, who is awaiting a trial scheduled to take place in January 2011, has been accused of carrying out a “massive” fraud that involved the sale of certificates of deposit through banks.
Last September, Mr Stanford had his nose broken in a prison brawl and had to spend two days in hospital before being returned to his cell.
Posted in Finance Fraud Tags: Attorneys, Banks, Businessman, Certificates Of Deposit, Christina, Days In Hospital, Jurisdiction, Last September, Lawyers, Legal Representative, Massive Fraud, Ponzi Scheme, Securities And Exchange, Securities And Exchange Commission, Specifics, Stanford Comments Off February 12th, 2010 Before You Invest Bernie Madoff’s brother and his two sons are under investigation for alleged tax fraud, it has been reported.
Insider sources told the Wall Street Journal that Peter Madoff, the brother of the notorious Ponzi scheme fraudster, and sons Andrew and Mark Madoff are under investigation from US prosecutors.
Peter Madoff was chief compliance officer of Bernard L Madoff Investment Securities, while the two sons helped run the company’s market-making unit, which was not involved in the multi-billion Ponzi scheme.
However, the nature of the alleged offences has not been revealed, while representatives of the three men have denied they had any knowledge of fraudulent activities.
Last September, the three men, along with a niece of Bernie Madoff, were targeted in a $198 million lawsuit pertaining to the Ponzi scheme.
The court-appointed trustee Irving Picard claimed that all four of them held executive positions within the firm and should have known about the fraud, which went on for 20 years.
“Whether or not they have a criminal problem we will pursue them as far as we can pursue them,” said Mr Picard at the time.
“If that leads to bankrupting them – then that’s what will happen.”
Posted in Finance Fraud Tags: Bernie Madoff, Chief Compliance Officer, Executive Positions, Family Members, Fraudster, Fraudulent Activities, Insider Sources, Investment Securities, Last September, Niece, Peter Madoff, Picard, Ponzi Scheme, Prosecutors, S Market, Sons Andrew, Tax Fraud, Three Men, Trustee, Wall Street Journal Comments Off January 15th, 2010 Before You Invest 
A fund manager who called himself the “Chinese Warren Buffet” has been arrested in Toronto for running a Ponzi scheme which duped investors out of an estimated $30 million.
Weizhen Tang was arrested at Toronto’s airport and stands accused of defrauding as many as 100 clients, with one losing as much as $2.4 million.
The 51 year-old is thought to have operated the scheme between January 2006 and March 2009, which asked for a minimum commitment of $150,000 from investors.
He worked through online business Oversea Chinese Fund Limited Partnership and advertised opportunities in foreign exchanges, options and mutual funds across China and Hong Kong.
The investment adviser stands accused of securities fraud, illegal distributions of securities and unregistered trading in securities by the Ontario Securities Commission.
Mr Tang is due to appear in court on April 19th.
He was supposed to return to Canada from China on December 29th but failed to show.
An investigation into his activities was originally launched by the Toronto police during April 2009.
Posted in Finance Fraud Tags: 30 Million, Business Partnership, China, Chinese Fund, Distributions, Foreign Exchanges, Hong Kong, Investment Adviser, Investors, Limited Partnership, Minimum Commitment, Mr Tang, Mutual Funds, Ontario Securities Commission, Ponzi Scheme, Running, Securities Fraud, Toronto Airport, Toronto Police, Warren Buffet No Comments » January 15th, 2010 Before You Invest Bradley Ruderman, the founder and manager of Ruderman Capital located in Beverly Hills, California, has been sentenced to 121 months in federal prison following his guilty plea in a fraud case against him. Ruderman was charged with running a Ponzi scheme that targeted family members and close friends.
Posted in Finance Fraud Tags: 1 Million, Amount Of Money, Beverly Hills California, Capital Partners, Client Statements, Close Friends, Credit Card Charges, Family Members, Federal Prison, Fraud Case, Guilty Plea, Hedge Fund Manager, Hedge Funds, Malibu, Personal Expenses, Ponzi Scheme, Prison Sentence, Restitution, Sporting Events, Summer House No Comments » January 14th, 2010 Before You Invest The death of financier Danny Pang, who was found dead in September while facing U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charges of running a massive Ponzi scheme, has been ruled a suicide, coroner’s officials said on Monday.
“We did determine that the cause of death was suicide due to the combined effects of multiple drugs,” a spokeswoman for the Orange County Coroner’s Office told Reuters.
She said the drugs found in Pang’s system included the painkillers oxycodone, oxymorphone and hydrocodone, among others.
Police had earlier said there was no sign of foul play and had called the financier’s death a probable suicide.
Pang, 42, was found unconscious in his home on Sept 12 and pronounced dead later that day at Hoag Memorial Hospital in Newport Beach.
Posted in Finance Fraud Tags: Bank Transactions, Civil Lawsuit, Commission Charges, Equity Management, Hoag Memorial Hospital, Management Group Inc, Newport Beach, Orange County Coroner, Oxycodone, Oxymorphone, Pang, Personal Assets, Ponzi Scheme, Private Equity Management Group, Reuters, S System, Securities And Exchange Commission, Sign Of Foul Play, Toxicology Tests, U S Bank No Comments » December 16th, 2009 Before You Invest When Bernie Madoff’s $65 billion Ponzi scheme unraveled at the end of 2008, many in the industry wondered how he did it, how otherwise savvy investors were lured into it, and how regulators failed to stop it.
Posted in Finance Fraud Tags: Advisory Business, Bernie Madoff, Broker Dealer, Brokerage Firm, Chicago Board Options, Chicago Board Options Exchange, Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), Classmates, Dealer Business, Electronic Stock Market, Electronic Trading, Fund Of Hedge Funds, Konig, Membership Deal, Money Deposit, Money Manager, Nasdaq Stock, Ponzi Scheme, S 65, Savvy Investors No Comments » December 11th, 2009 Before You Invest James Nicholson, a Saddle River hedge fund manager accused of bilking investors of as much as $160 million, has tentatively agreed to plead guilty to charges his Westgate Capital Management LLC was a Ponzi scheme.
A plea hearing is set for noon Friday in federal court in Manhattan, according to a court order signed by U.S.
Posted in Finance Fraud Tags: 5 Million, Attorneys, Capital Management Llc, Criminal Case, Currency Transactions, District Judge, Edwards, Federal Prosecutors, Guilty Plea, Hedge Fund Manager, Investment Adviser, James Nicholson, Mail Fraud, Manhattan, Ponzi Scheme, Redemption, Retirement, Richard Sullivan, S College, Saddle River No Comments »
