A year after Bernard Madoff went to prison for masterminding the largest-ever Ponzi scheme, lawyers and regulators say a growing number of these scams are preying on investors and their hunger for high yields.Razor-thin interest rates are squeezing the flow of income to Americans putting savings into CDs, money-market accounts and bonds.
Posts Tagged ‘Real Estate Investment’
Uptick in Ponzi Scheme Filings At FINRA Arbitration
August 2nd, 2010 
Before You Invest 
Posted in Finance Fraud 
Tags: Arbitration, Bernard Madoff, Broker Dealers, Charles Ponzi, Financial Crisis, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Investment Business, Money Market Accounts, Namesake, Phony Investment, Ponzi Scheme, Ponzi Schemes, Promissory Notes, Real Estate Investment, Real Estate Investment Trusts, Reits, S Broker, Scams, Stock Markets, Uptick 
Comments OffWexTrust Capital’s Steven Byers Pleads Guilty
April 14th, 2010 Before You Invest One of the co-founders of WexTrust Capital, Steven Byers, pleaded guilty to charges stemming from his now defunct real estate investment company. Byers, 47, defrauded investors through a real estate fund sold as a private placement deal. Beginning in 2006, Byers lured investors into his fund with, among other things, fake statements regarding his ownership of seven properties plotted for lease to the US government.
Posted in Finance Fraud Tags: Byers, Faces, False Information, False Statements, Federal Prison, Founders, Guilty One, Investors, Money, Private Placement, Promises, Real Estate Fund, Real Estate Investment, Real Estate Investment Company, Unrelated Projects, Us Government, Wextrust Capital Comments OffInland Western Retail Real Estate
December 2nd, 2009 Before You Invest A week after the first sale of commercial-mortgage-backed securities in more than a year, another deal is about to hit the market in the latest sign that capital markets are easing for corporate borrowers like real-estate investment trusts.Inland Western Retail Real Estate Trust Inc., which owns some 300 retail properties nationwide, closed on Tuesday on $625 million in new financing from J.
Posted in Finance Fraud Tags: Capital Markets, Commercial Mortgage Backed Securities, Corporate Borrowers, Debt Markets, Insurance Companies, J P Morgan, J P Morgan Chase, J P Morgan Chase Co, Mortgage Backed Securities, Pension Funds, Private Placements, Private Real Estate, Real Estate Investment, Real Estate Trust, Reit, Retail Properties, Retail Real Estate, Securities And Exchange Commission, Selling Shares, Trust Inc 1 Comment »The Devolution of DBSI
November 18th, 2009 Before You Invest Investors in DBSI Inc. are only now getting a clear thought of what was going on at the Idaho-based commercial real estate investment company. There was small indication to investors that financial issues existed at DBSI until a notice they received six weeks prior to the company filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.
Posted in Finance Fraud Tags: Actuality, Amount Of Time, Bankruptcy Proceedings, Cash Shortages, Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, Commercial Real Estate, Commercial Real Estate Investment, Devolution, Dividend, Investment Property, Investor Funds, Markup, New Investor, Ponzi Scheme, Real Estate Investment, Real Estate Investment Company, Securities Law, Six Weeks, Tenant Improvements, Viable Enterprise No Comments »Kenneth Neely – Ponzi Scheme Operator Pleads Guilty
November 4th, 2009 Before You Invest A former St. Charles County stockbroker has admitted to a Ponzi scheme that cost investors hundreds of thousands of dollars.The stockbroker, 56-year-ancient Kenneth Neely of St. Peters, pleaded guilty Wednesday to mail fraud in U.S. District Court in St. Louis. He will be sentenced in January.Meanwhile, Secretary of State Robin Carnahan announced that her office has issued a stop and desist order shutting down the Ponzi scheme.Carnahan says Neely directed his clients from two different brokerage firms to invest in a nonexistent real estate investment trust.Regulators have accused Neely of defrauding at least 25 investors of more than $600,000.
Posted in Finance Fraud Tags: Brokerage Firms, Cease And Desist Order, Estate Investment Trust, Fraud, Hundreds Of Thousands, Investors, Mail, Neely, Ponzi Scheme, Real Estate Investment, Real Estate Investment Trust, Regulators, Secretary Of State, St Charles County, St Peters, State Robin Carnahan, Stockbroker, Thousands Of Dollars No Comments »SEC halts alleged Ponzi scheme in Detroit
July 31st, 2009 Before You Invest The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has went to halt a Ponzi scheme that is allegedly being conducted by two firms in Detroit.It has obtained a court order against Michigan residents John Bravata and Richard Trabulsy after they were accused of misusing investors’ money.The pair obtained over $50 million from more than 440 investors who believed they were buying into a real estate fund that offered annual returns of up to 12 per cent.But, at least half the money was used to make payments to early investors, with a proportion of it being spent on personal items, the SEC states.”Investors thought they were investing in a safe and profitable real estate investment fund,” Merri Jo Gillette, director of the SEC’s office in Chicago, stated.
Posted in Finance Fraud, Fraud, Ponzi Scheme Tags: 50 Million, Bravata, Gillette, Investing, Investors, Michigan Residents, Money, Ponzi Scheme, Proportion, Real Estate Fund, Real Estate Investment, Real Estate Investment Fund, Sec States, Securities And Exchange, Securities And Exchange Commission No Comments »SEC Halts $50 Million Ponzi Scheme
July 29th, 2009 Before You Invest The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said it halted a $50 million Ponzi scheme near Detroit that raised money for a real-estate investment fund and targeted the elderly. A federal judge in Michigan agreed to freeze assets after the SEC sued John Bravata, 41, and Richard Trabulsy, 26, claiming they lured more than 400 investors by promising 8 percent to 12 percent annual returns, the agency said today in a statement.
Posted in Finance Fraud Tags: 1 Million, 50 Million, Assets, Bravata, Exotic Vacations, Federal Judge, Ferrari, Gambling Debts, Gillette, Jewelry, Luxury Homes, Maserati, Merri, Mortgage, Prospective Investors, Real Estate Investment, Real Estate Investment Fund, Regional Office, Securities And Exchange, Securities And Exchange Commission No Comments »
