Eugene Chusid: ‘Mr. Get Rich Quick’
A look at the sordid business career of Eugene Chusid, one of the architects of an investment scam known as Le Club Privé.
Religion and high interest rates in St. Vincent
Offshore Alert has uncovered an offshore bank that is chartered in Grenada but is operating without a license in St. Vincent, where it is offering depositors annual interest of between 25 and 35 per cent. DIAK Bank is run by Clifford Pitt, a U. S. national who has no prior banking experience and who is described in promotional material as a 'minister of religion' and 'Professor of Theology'.
Bank of Bermuda targeted in class action lawsuit
The Bank of Bermuda (Cayman) Limited is a defendant in a class action civil lawsuit filed in the United States on behalf of over 1,000 victims of an alleged $300 million Ponzi scheme known as Cash 4 Titles. The bank appears to be the 'deep pocket' of the eight named defendants in the complaint, which has been filed in Miami, Florida, under the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
FIBG put into receivership, more amazing revelations from Grenada
After allowing tens of millions of dollars to disappear and the crooks to flee the island, Grenada's government finally took over the First International Bank of Grenada this month. Government accountant Garvey Louison was appointed Receiver of FIBG on August 1 and immediately started preparing to liquidate the bank and all of its sub-banks.
SEC lawsuit leads to closure of 21st Century Banking Group
Grenada-registered 21st Century Banking Group is closing down after the US Securities & Exchange Commission froze the assets of the investment group that operated the offshore bank. In a lawsuit filed at the US District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, the SEC has accused six defendants of defrauding 330 investors out of $29.1 million raised since January, 1998.
Stock Generation out of business
Dominica-registered Stock Generation, which was a Ponzi scheme dressed up as an Internet investment game, appears to be out of business.
Offshore Financial Centers capitulate to international pressure
The governments of offshore financial centers have moved with unprecedented haste in changing their regulatory and supervisory systems in order to be removed from international 'hit lists'.Rather than attempt to group together and negotiate with foreign agencies from a position of strength, many governments have capitulated to international pressure and rushed through emergency legislation.
US criminally indicts 11 in alleged $95 million investment fraud
The US government has criminally indicted 11 people, including four attorneys, for an alleged $95 million investment fraud in which money was partially laundered by an Antigua-based 'paper' bank called 'AMPAC Bank and Trust' that maintained accounts with the Bank of Bermuda in Bermuda.
FIBG chairman calls for ‘positive energy’ to turn bank around
On July 4, 2000, not long before Adrian Ball's audit of the First International Bank of Grenada was completed, the bank's chairman, Richard Downes, sent an extraordinary letter to FIBG's depositors.In the 10-page letter, Downes acknowledged that FIBG was "experiencing a severe cash-flow problem" and asked clients for their "forgiveness".He then called on depositors to help to overcome the problems through "the flow of positive energy" in order to "reverse the polarities" of the "negative energy" surrounding the bank.
UK accountant declares FIBG solvent, triggers disbelief
In a development that will astound many businessmen in the region, a UK-based chartered accountant appears to have given the First International Bank of Grenada a clean bill of health.
Q&A with Stirling Cooke over potential liabilities from Transamerica arbitration rulings
Inside Bermuda recently carried out a question and answer session with Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings about its potential liability as a result of last year's Transamerica arbitration rulings, the departure of long-standing associate Reg Billyard, who was portrayed extremely negatively in both arbitration rulings and a new lawsuit filed against it by AXA Re in relation to Hollywood movies.
Major countries strike hard against offshore centers
The high stakes poker game between onshore and offshore governments lost six players recently but another 35 have 12 months to decide whether the OECD is bluffing with the threat of sanctions.Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Cyprus, Malta, Mauritius and San Marino have all signed an 'Advanced Letter of Commitment' agreeing to co-operate with international tax investigations.
Terry Neal denies Exchange Bank and Trust was operated from Nevis
Nevis-based offshore provider Terry Neal has denied that his firm Nevis American Trust Co. Ltd. operated Exchange and Bank Trust from the island, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.Nauru-registered EBT, which was not licensed in Nevis, is being investigated in the US and Canada for allegedly laundering the proceeds of securities fraud and has had US$16.9 million of assets frozen in Vancouver.
Reg Billyard retires, leaves behind carnage
Bermuda-based broker Reg Billyard, whose alleged malpractice has contributed to chaos in world reinsurance markets, appears to have left the industry.
Billyard retired as President of JEH Re Underwriting Management (Bermuda) Ltd. in May and moved from Bermuda to his native England.
Former SG Hambros COO charged with $700 million offense
Craig Major has been criminally charged with issuing false letters of credit for amounts totaling $700 million while serving as Chief Operating Officer for SG Hambros Bank & Trust (Bahamas) Ltd. in Nassau.As COO, Major had approximately 80 staff under him at the bank and, before his current problems, had been publicly held out as a role model for Bahamians by Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham.
Barbados attorney Yolande Bannister appears to drop two suspect banks
Barbados-based attorney Yolande Bannister claims that her law and company management firms no longer represent two fraudulently-run banks.
Offshore Alert has previously reported that Bannister's Alpha & Omega Law Chambers/YBG Management in Bridgetown, Barbados, served as the administrative office for the crooked Digital Commerce Bank.
SEC freezes the assets of Dominica-based Stock Generation
The SEC has frozen the assets of Dominica-registered Stock Generation, which Offshore Alert exposed nine months ago as operating a Ponzi scheme masquerading as an Internet investment game.In doing so, the SEC has acknowledged the co-operation of the Economic Crime Division of the Central Criminal Police of Estonia, a country where Stock Generation maintained bank accounts.
German police investigate Marc Harris
The Panamanian authorities have received yet another request for assistance from a foreign agency investigating alleged crimes involving The Harris Organization financial services group.
La Prensa, which is the main newspaper in Panama, reported in June that Interpol in Wiesbaden, Germany, had submitted a written request for help to their counterparts in Panama on March, 8, 2000.
According to La Prensa, the Germans are investigating an alleged fraud committed in Germany and Switzerland and allegedly involving Heinz Richard, 52, someone called 'Hintermeier' and a company named Victus Commerz AG.
More revelations about the great Grenada banking scandal
Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, the great Grenada banking scandal reached new levels of farce this month.One bank is operating without a banking licence, another is capitalized by a painting and the First International Bank of Grenada was still open for business at the end of June. Open, that is, to accept deposits but not to pay interest to its depositors, many of whom have complained to the island's regulators that they have not received interest payments for several months.Even allowing for corruption and incompetence, the refusal of the Grenada government to close down FIBG has led to one of the most bizarre situations in the history of offshore banking.
16 defendants added to Cash 4 Titles lawsuit
The US Securities & Exchange Commission has added 16 defendants to a lawsuit filed in connection with an alleged $300 million Ponzi scheme known as Cash 4 Titles.Several of them are legal entities registered in the Cayman Islands and the Bahamas, where most of the proceeds of the US-based scheme were allegedly laundered.
Bank of Bermuda still seeks 60-40 ownership exemption
Bank of Bermuda CEO Henry Smith became caught up in a public controversy recently over the bank's efforts to be exempted from a law the restricts foreign ownership of local companies to 40 per cent.
Sale of unregistered stock in Bahamas-based IBC comes to a halt
An offering memorandum for shares in a Bahamas-registered IBC was taken off the Internet recently immediately after Offshore Alert began asking questions about it.Offshore Alert had downloaded a "Memorandum" relating to the sale of up to 2.5 million shares for $10 each in a company called ecombahamas.com Ltd., which was incorporated on August 3, 1999.
Regulators freeze assets in $40 m ‘fraud’ case
As Bermuda struggles to cope with a recent influx of investment scam operators, one of the schemes heavily promoted on the island has had its assets frozen in the United States. The United States District Court for the Western District of Washington State issued a temporary restraining order on May 10 against several parties accused by the SEC of committing a $40 million fraud. Defendants in the lawsuit are John Wayne Zidar, John Wesley Matthews, Elizabeth Anne Phillips, Oakleaf International, Rosewood International and Meliorations Management Teem.
Another Harris Organization client on his way to jail, stock fraud continues
Harris Organization client and business partner Brent Wagman has pleaded guilty to securities fraud and criminal contempt of court in Texas.Wagman, 42, is due to be sentenced on August 3 and faces up to five years in prison for masterminding a scheme that defrauded mainly elderly Americans out of approximately $30 million.
Business card belies former plumber’s bank directorship denials
Parties involved with Grenada-registered Meridian Investment Bank are still denying that former plumber Sheldon Mickelson and Burdett Streeter are directors of the bank, despite evidence to the contrary.The denials on behalf of Mickelson are particularly bizarre since he has recently been handing out business cards in the US that read 'Meridian Investment Bank Ltd., Sheldon Mickelson, Director'.
Regulators freeze assets of bank controlled by Terry Neal
A Nauru-registered bank that is operated out of Nevis by offshore provider and author Terry Neal is at the centre of a major stock fraud investigation in the United States and Canada.Investigators allege that Exchange Bank and Trust helped launder millions of dollars from illegal trading in US stocks through bank and brokerage accounts in Vancouver and Nevis-registered entities.
Stirling Cooke under investigation by Lloyd’s of London
Stirling Cooke has disclosed that its UK-based subsidiaries are being investigated by Lloyd's of London following the apparent insolvency of a Lloyd's syndicate known as the Alan R. Bird syndicate.
The Bird syndicate is believed to have become insolvent following an arbitration ruling on December 9, 1999 that rescinded reinsurance contracts with Transamerica Occidental Life Insurance Co., primarily on the grounds that Stirling Cooke, in its capacity as broker, had orchestrated an "abnormally tight" reinsurance spiral.
A look at the dubious GTrade ‘stock exchange’ and its principal, Andy Mann
Nevis-based Hanver Trust Company boss Robin Cotterell, who was arrested on May 23 for allegedly laundering the proceeds of securities fraud, is also the chairman of a dubious Internet stock exchange, Offshore Alert can reveal.
Cotterell has set up several companies and provided a number of services to the 'exchange', which is known as GTrade, and his firm may have even partially operated it in Nevis without a licence.
Robin Cotterell arrested after FBI sting involving a client
Nevis-based trust officer Robin Cotterell, who was arrested recently in the US Virgin Islands for alleged money laundering, was set up in an FBI undercover operation involving a client, Offshore Alert can disclose.
Grenada regulator Michael Creft is ‘apparently corrupt’, says FIBG auditor
Grenada's Registrar of Offshore Financial Services, Michael Creft, was described last year as being "apparently corrupt" by the first accountant who attempted to audit the books of the First International Bank of Grenada. In a letter to Prime Minister Keith Mitchell, Lauriston Wilson wrote that Creft's actions relating to FIBG were "suspect and lead to the inescapable conclusion that he is apparently corrupt".
Attorney Scott Grant accused of selling sham offshore credit union
Attorney Nigel Scott Grant has been reported to the California Bar Association by a client who claims to have been ripped off over the purchase of a Nevis-registered 'credit union'. California-based Johnson Richards & Co. is seeking to recover about $53,000 in legal fees and other costs allegedly paid to acquire a fully-functioning credit union from Grant and prepare for its operation.
Meridian Investment Bank run by former plumber
One of the banks linked with the First International Bank of Grenada group is co-owned and partly run by a former plumber and two former bankrupts, Offshore Alert can reveal. The ex-plumber is Florida resident Sheldon A. Mickelson, 40, who we have been told by two sources is one of the senior partners in Meridian Investment Bank, which is one of the many 'sub-banks' sponsored by FIBG.Â
John Head accused of self-interest by ESG Re shareholder
One of the major shareholders of Bermuda-based ESG Re has accused the company's chairman, John Head III, of overpaying himself while simultaneously ruining the company through mismanagement. The criticism of Head came in a letter from private investment management firm SC Fundamental LLC to the ESG Re's Board of Directors.
U. S. regulator issues warning against Digital Commerce Bank
The Caribbean Bank of Commerce, which had its banking license revoked in Antigua last year, has been up to its old tricks again. On March 29, 2000, the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency put out a warning about something calling itself Digital Commerce Bank Ltd., which is one of the names CBC now operates under.
UK pressures offshore centers to report suspicious tax transactions
Anyone who still has doubts that UK Overseas Territories such as the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands and the Turks & Caicos Islands will be forced to co-operate with foreign tax investigations should read a paper published by the UK Treasury in February. Titled 'Exchange of Information and the Draft Directive on Taxation of Savings', it makes it clear that UK Overseas Territories are being pressured not only to co-operate with requests for information on tax matters but to take the initiative and report suspicious tax-related transactions.
Bear Stearns accused of preferential treatment over failed BVI fund
Bear Stearns has been accused of tipping off privileged clients so that they could cash out of the BVI-registered Manhattan Investment Fund before it collapsed in January with losses of about $450 million. It has also been claimed that the broker exceeded "generally accepted margin limitations" in extending credit to the fund, thus contributing to the size of its losses.
Imperial Consolidated Group’s links to High Yield Investment Programs
Offshore Alert has obtained documents which implicate the Imperial Consolidated Group in the sale of investment programs purporting to offer guaranteed returns of as much as 30 per cent per month. In one program, Imperial Consolidated offers to pay a return of 9.25 per cent per month while simultaneously paying a 40 per cent commission to brokers who introduce investors.
Harris Organization associate deported from Panama
A fugitive American businessman who has been helping The Harris Organization run investment schemes through IBCs set up in the Bahamas and the BVI was deported this month from Panama to the US. Within days of his deportation, Brent A. Wagman was criminally indicted in Texas on charges of masterminding a scheme that defrauded mainly elderly victims of approximately $30 million.
Nevis-based offshore provider criminally indicted in Utah
Raymond David Finzer, Managing Director of the Nevis-based LIFE Offshore Group, has been criminally indicted in the United States on charges of mail fraud, wire fraud, money laundering and aiding and abetting. Finzer, 46, and co-defendants Ned Richard Hart, who was a client of Finzer's, and Christian G. Cooper were indicted on March 1 at the US District Court for the District of Utah (Central Division).
Regulators dither over First International Bank of Grenada
There has been considerable activity in Grenada over the last month as regulators belatedly try to get to grips with the fact that at least one-third of all banks incorporated on the island appear to be scams. The Grenada International Financial Services Authority, a newly-formed body designed to better regulate the offshore sector, has held several meetings to discuss the First International Bank of Grenada.
Trouble in Paradise: PLP threatens to derail the Bermuda gravy train
There are signs that the relatively new Bermuda government is in the early stages of antagonizing international businesses in a scenario that is eerily similar to the Bahamas of 30 years ago. Over the last six weeks, the Progressive Labour Party has raised payroll tax from 12 to 12.75 per cent and announced plans to restrict the length of many work permits to six years and make employers report the racial composition of their workforce and of people interviewed for job vacancies.
Bank of Bermuda (Cayman) officers fired over handling of client accounts
Three officers of the Bank of Bermuda (Cayman) have been fired following an internal investigation into the bank's handling of accounts controlled by allegedly crooked client Michael Gause. The Bank of Bermuda confirmed that it terminated the employment of Michael Day, Marc Vanmarsenille and David Spohr on December 8, 1999 following their suspensions a month earlier.
TAC International accused of $12 million fraud
Two men accused of running a Bahamas-based scheme that allegedly defrauded thousands of Americans out of more than $12 million were criminally indicted in North Carolina this month. Craig Southwood and Douglas R. Walker, who ran Bahamas-registered TAC International, have each been charged with 17 counts of federal conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering.
Simon Samuels sets up yet another company doomed to failure
Simon J. Samuels, a former Bermuda resident who specializes in working for insurers with fake capital, has set up a new company in Nevada. He is a Director and Manager of R&W Management LLC, which was incorporated in Nevada on December 1, 1999.
Business as usual for New Utopia after settling SEC lawsuit
Ever wondered how you could commit fraud and effectively get away with it even when caught? The case of Lazarus Long, head of the New Utopia fake offshore jurisdiction project, shows how it can be done. Long (a.k.a. Howard Turney) took in $24,000 over 10 months from investors who bought into his dream of building a new offshore center on stilts on shallow coral reefs 100 miles off the coast of the Cayman Islands, according to the SEC. However, he paid no financial penalty and continues to operate his business.
Criminal indictment against Suisse Security Bank & Trust client
Bahamas-based Suisse Security Bank & Trust, whose dubious clients have been exposed in the last two editions of Offshore Alert, is the banker to yet another allegedly fraudulent investment scheme, we can disclose. Although not a defendant, the bank is mentioned in a criminal indictment filed at the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California against Larry W. Wilcoxson, David Baxter, C. William Gordin, Roxanne Albaugh and John R. Witzke.
Imperial Consolidated Group launches new offshore credit card
Bahamas-based Imperial Consolidated Securities, which has had several scrapes with regulators over the way it promotes its mutual funds, has launched a new offshore credit card with an aggressive promotional campaign that repeats claims that its funds guarantee returns of up to 18 per cent per year. "The Imperial Consolidated HINT MasterCard can be used like a regular credit card but the card offers superb advantages when used in conjunction with Imperial Consolidated mutual funds," states promotional literature.
More lawsuits following collapse of $500 million hedge fund
The barrage of litigation surrounding the collapse in January of BVI-registered Manhattan Investment Fund and the disappearance of nearly $500 million continued this month. Five lawsuits were filed at Bermuda Supreme Court during February to go along with the four that were filed at the same court the previous month and one in New York.
FIBG reports fictitious net income of $60 billion
The founding chairman of the First International Bank of Grenada has informed Grenada's chief offshore regulator, Michael Creft, that FIBG has made a net income of $60 billion in its first two years in business. The astonishing claim is made in a rambling, 26-page letter sent by Van A. Brink (a.k.a. Gilbert Allen Ziegler) to Creft on December 23, 1999 in an effort to assuage the regulator's concerns about the bank.
Nine charged with money laundering at Euro Bank
Cayman Islands police have brought charges against nine people as part of an investigation into the alleged laundering of $25 million through Euro Bank Corp. (in liquidation). Four of the accused are residents of the Cayman Islands - including three former officers of the bank, while the other five live in California.
