Bahamas

Insider Talking: June 30, 2003

June 30, 2003

The Bank of Bermuda sacked 14 staff in June after catching them distributing pornographic e-mails, reported The Royal Gazette newspaper; Imperial Consolidated co-founders Jared Brook and Lincoln Fraser are close to being arrested by the Serious Fraud Office in the United Kingdom, according to the June 12, 2003 edition of 'Private Eye', a British satirical magazine; Meanwhile, UK-registered financial services firm Kingsbridge Holdings PLC has partly blamed its "very disappointing" loss of £1.397 million (US$2.3 million) for the six months ended February 28, 2003 on Imperial Consolidated; While owners of web-sites in the United States are legally protected against libel actions from people who believe they have been defamed on Internet message boards, that does not appear to be the case in the Cayman Islands; In the United States, where there is a tax protester, there is usually an illegal offshore investment scheme not far behind and Eddie Ray Kahn, who lives in Sorrento, Florida, is no exception; The British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission issued a warning about Richmont Investments Inc. on April 10, 2003; Former Bank of Bermuda (Cayman) officer Marc Vanmarsenille, who lost his job in the aftermath of the Cash 4 Titles fiasco, is a defendant in a civil lawsuit filed at the Turks & Caicos Islands Supreme Court on November 7, 2002; At the same court, a lawsuit has been filed against TCI-registered Sealand Housing Corporation in an attempt to collect on a judgment awarded in the UK High Court; Two businessmen previously exposed in OffshoreAlert for their involvement in the sale and operation of sham offshore credit unions involving Nevis, Panama and the United States have each been sentenced to 25 years in prison, ten of which is suspended, for defrauding a 101-year-old woman out of her life savings; and If creditors of Bahamas-based Suisse Security Bank & Trust were wondering why the winding-up of the bank is taking so long, they should read the prelude to the recently-released written judgment by Bahamas Supreme Court Justice Austin Davis in which he turned down the bank's attempt to regain its banking license, which was suspended on March 5, 2001 and revoked on April 2, 2001.

Leadenhall Bank credit card-holders targeted by Manhattan District Attorney

June 30, 2003

Credit cards issued by Bahamas-based Leadenhall Bank & Trust and other offshore banks were used to access over $100 million in 2001 alone by residents of New York's tri-state area, according to Manhattan's District Attorney. Robert M. Morgenthau made the claim in a press release issued on June 26, 2003 when he disclosed that one Leadenhall client had pleaded guilty to tax evasion and another was under investigation.

Principals of Bahamas bank accused of hiding assets

June 30, 2003

The principals of Bahamas-based Suisse Security Bank & Trust have allegedly put more than $31 million of client funds in jeopardy due to their "interference and obstruction" with its provisional liquidation.This includes $5.5 million in cash that was transferred out of an account at Barclays Bank in Nassau in April, 2001 after the bank was closed down by regulators, according to investigators.

$130 million judgment against securities fraudster

June 22, 2003

A federal court in the United States has entered a $130 million judgment against a businessman who perpetrated an investment fraud using several offshore structures. The judgment, entered on June 6, 2003 at the U. S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia, requires Terry Dowdell to pay disgorgement of $121.2 million, $8.6 million in prejudgment interest and a fine of $1 million.

David Tedder convicted of four felony counts

June 14, 2003

U.S.-based asset protection attorney David Hampton Tedder, who has been implicated in many investment scams over the years, was convicted of four felony counts in Wisconsin on June 10, 2003 after a week-long trial.Tedder, 56, of Winter Park, Florida, was convicted of conspiracy to violate the wire wagering act, and conspiracy to launder over $10,000,000 in gambling profits.

Judge calls Imperial Consolidated principals ‘greedy and unscrupulous’

May 31, 2003

The Imperial Consolidated Group swindled the United States Securities & Exchange Commission out of approximately $1 million in 1998, according to evidence contained in a judgment at the High Court in the United Kingdom. It was part of a catalog

Peter Sabourin abandons indebted weight-loss business

May 25, 2003

Notwithstanding the fact that he weighs approximately 500 pounds, janitor turned offshore promoter Peter Sabourin has achieved the difficult task of disappearing - leaving behind a mountain of debt.Sabourin, a 43 year old Canadian national, abandoned his weight loss business

USA v. Jack Kronis: USA’s Motion for Downward Departure

May 19, 2003

USA's Motion for Downward Departure in USA v. Jack Kronis at the U. S. District Court for the Western District of New York.

‘Former Judge’ John Rizzo indicted for alleged tax evasion

April 30, 2003

Yet another person associated with the Global Prosperity Group, which promotes tax and investment fraud at offshore conferences, has been criminally indicted in the United States on tax-related charges.John J. Rizzo, who owns a home in the Bahamas, hid his income from the sale of a tax evasion product known as the Millennium 2000 Reliance Defense Program, accroding to the indictment.Rizzo, 51, a.k.a. John Rizzo-Nix; his wife, Carol Ann Rizzo, 57, a.k.a. Carol Rizzo-Nix; and Cheryl A. Cully were indicted on April 4, 2003 at the U. S. District Court for the District of Arizona.

Forfeiture complaint filed against Euro Bank account

April 30, 2003

The United States government has filed a forfeiture complaint against an offshore bank account that it claims contains some of the proceeds of an advance fee fraud that cheated more than 400 people out of at least $60 million.The action was filed on February 23, 2003 at the U. S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida against a bank account in the name of Nevis-registered Rosie Capital LLC at Euro Bank Corp. (in liquidation), of the Cayman Islands.

Citibank (Bahamas) sued over distribution of dead client’s assets

April 30, 2003

Citibank (Bahamas) Ltd. is being sued in New York by three Italian nationals who claim they have been cheated out of more than $1 million.The dispute relates to the Estate of Carlo Palazzi, a client of Citibank's New York and Bahamas operations who died on May 13, 2000.Silvio Villa, Michelina Capasso and Pierangela Melis, all of Rome, Italy, claim that Palazzi made them his beneficiaries in a hospital bedside telephone call to Citibank just four days before he died.

Investors in failed Cayman fund file fraud lawsuit

April 30, 2003

A lawsuit alleging fraud has been filed by multiple plaintiffs who say they invested approximately $79 million in three failed hedge funds, including Cayman Islands-domiliced Bristol Fund.

Ukraine: Pavel Lazarenko et al (2003)

April 23, 2003

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in Ukraine into Pavlo Ivanovych Lazarenko, Mykola Ivanovych Agafonov, Petro Mykolayovych Kyrychenko and Igor Oleksandrovych Polozhentsev for alleged embezzlement.

Estate of cancer victim sues asset protection firm

March 31, 2003

Asset protection firm Merrill Scott & Associates (in Receivership) helped a U. S.-based doctor hide millions of dollars from his creditors, including a woman dying from cancer, it has been alleged. MSA set up offshore structures for Dr. Thomas Shelton Powers in several offshore centers, including the Bahamas, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Nevis and Panama, according to a complaint filed at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas on December 24, 2002.

IRS takes action against Leadenhall Bank clients

March 31, 2003

The IRS and the United States Department of Justice have taken legal action to obtain records from MasterCard accounts at Bahamas-based Leadenhall Bank & Trust.

UK attorney awaits sentencing for offshore tax fraud scheme

March 31, 2003

A former attorney with UK solicitors Radcliffes Le Brasseur is still awaiting sentencing in the United States six months after admitting his part in a scheme to defraud the IRS using offshore structures. Jeremy A. Franks pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit fraud at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio on September 27, 2002 and was released on bail of $100,000.

Insider Talking: February 28, 2003

February 28, 2003

Christopher Stone, ex-Managing Director of now-defunct, Dominica-based Investors Bank and Trust Ltd. was released from custody in Belgium in February on bail of 125,000 Euros, said a source; A default judgment for $130 million was entered against Bahamas-registered Vavasseur Corp. at the U. S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia on February 21, 2003 for its part in an international Ponzi scheme; Grenada Supreme Court issued a $125 million judgment against Van Arthur Brink, a.k.a. Gilbert Allen Ziegler, former head of the First International Bank of Grenada; Allen Wheatley, former Financial Secretary of the British Virgin Islands, was sentenced to serve five months in prison on February 17 after being found guilty of corruption charges; Cayman Islands-based businessman Kenneth Dart has acquired a 5.7 per cent stake in financially crippled, Bermuda-based insurance firm Mutual Risk Management; British trader Sean Alexander Quinn, 36, was released from prison in Barbados on December 5, 2002 after pleading guilty to an amended charge of money laundering; Receivers for the fraudulently-operated asset planning group Merrill Scott & Associates have found $1.03 million of assets in the Cayman Islands; The Bahamas Ministry of Finance expects to receive a report on the status of the financially-troubled Bahamas International Securities Exchange in the first week of March, 2003; The number of companies incorporating in the Cayman Islands has steadily decreased over the last three years, according to a report by Cayman Net News based on information provided by the Registry General; Florida-based Briton Edward Myles Chism Jr., 63, was taken into custody in Florida on February 7, 2003 - one day after being criminally indicted on three counts of tax evasion at federal court in Miami; Bermuda may be about to lose its grip at the top of the offshore world; and The Irish Minister for Justice has applied to Ireland's High Court for an order directing the Cayman Islands branch of Ansbacher International to pay US$3.1 million to cover the costs of a long-running inquiry into corruption and tax evasion.

George Wilson released from prison on a technicality

February 28, 2003

Bahamas-based businessman George L. J. Wilson has been released from prison in the United States on a technicality three years into a 20-year prison sentence after being convicted in 1999 of multiple counts of conspiracy to commit money laundering, money laundering, mail fraud, and engaging in monetary transactions involving property derived from specified unlawful activity, following a jury trial at the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

Former trader for Bahamas scam firm sued in United States

February 28, 2003

An unregulated commodities trader who was involved with a Bahamas-based offshore firm accused last year of fraud has had similar allegations brought against him in the United States Robert L. Schillaci is a defendant in a civil lawsuit filed at the U. S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on November 21, 2002.

New Cash 4 Titles lawsuits filed against Bahamas firms

February 28, 2003

The Receiver of the Cash 4 Titles Ponzi scheme, which is estimated to have caused losses to investors of more than $300 million, has filed a lawsuit in the United States against three Bahamas-based firms. Leadenhall Bank and Trust Ltd., Axxess International Ltd. and Axxess International (Bahamas) Ltd. are defendants in an action filed at the U. S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on November 27, 2002.

Insider Talking: January 31, 2003

January 31, 2003

In all of the hullabaloo surrounding the collapse of the Euro Bank trial in Cayman after the judge determined that the island's senior anti-money laundering officer, Brian Gibbs, had lied and destroyed evidence, it was easy to overlook a snippet in Gibbs' November 26, 2002 witness statement about Johnny Johnson; An order for the extradition of offshore banker William Cooper from Antigua to face a money laundering indictment in the United States was thrown out by a judge in Antigua on January 13, 2003 because the application was made before an extradition treaty between the two countries was ratified and before money laundering was criminalized on the Caribbean island; Edouardos Stamatiou, whose Argentina-based firm Tucuman Land Holdings Ltd. received £151 million ($237 million) of the $345 million defrauded from clients of the Imperial Consolidated Group and won't give it back, is a former principal of The Cayman Financial Brokerage House, which … surprise, surprise … was forcibly closed down in October, 1999; Another post-Imperial Consolidated scam, known as Property International, is in financial trouble after not very long in business; And, to conclude our segment on Imperial Consolidated, we have been passed the name of yet another company which allegedly brokered client funds into the fraudulently-operated group - Lighthouse Strategies; Canadian national David Voth has been fined CDN$12,000 in Canada for failing to file tax returns; Bahamas-based Suisse Security Bank & Trust, which is in provisional liquidation, has asked a U. S. judge to order two parties who unsuccessfully sued the bank in New York to place $1.3 million into court to cover its legal fees and damages; Trading on the over-the-counter market of shares in a company that Bermuda-based Lines Overseas Management was helping to do a reverse take-over of has been temporarily suspended pending an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission in the United States; and Famed U. S. attorney Johnnie Cochrane may be helping to broker a settlement in the long-running battle for control of the assets of Eurofed Bank in Antigua.

United Kingdom: Kevin Dooley et al (Washington)

January 13, 2003

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence from Asia, Europe and Americas Bank - pursuant to a request for judicial assistance from the United Kingdom - for a criminal investigation into "a high Yield investment scheme in which 8 investors made investments after having been promised up to 1200% return on their 9 funds, only to see the funds disappear without any return".

Insider Talking: December 31, 2002

December 31, 2002

UK-based Capital City Finance Limited, which was formed on August 20, 2001 as a spin-off from the Imperial Consolidated Group, is three and a half months overdue with the filing of its annual return with Companies House for England and Wales; If clients of St. Vincent-licensed Omnicorp Bank needed further evidence that they are being taken to the cleaners by the bank's management, there has been plenty of it recently; Investment fraudster Tracy Calvin Dunlap, Jr. was sentenced to 27 years in federal prison on December 19, 2002 at the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina.; Steve Saemmler Klein, who operates a dubious Belize-based offshore group known as Grupo CAT, has apparently gone missing; and Alyn Richard Waage, 56, of Canada, and James Michael Webb, 40, of California, were extradited on December 19, 2002 from Costa Rica to Sacramento, California to face numerous federal charges relating to the Tri-West Investment Club, an Internet-based investment fraud scheme that allegedly netted more that $60 million.

Terry Dowdell pleads guilty to fraud

December 31, 2002

A business associate of the now-closed Overseas Development Bank & Trust Ltd., of Dominica, has pleaded guilty to 20 felony charges, including securities fraud, money laundering and wire fraud.The charges relate to a multi-million dollar fraudulent trading program that Terry L. Dowdell operated through his Bahamas-registered firm, Vavasseur Corporation, starting in 1998.

US indicts Jerome Schneider and Eric Witmeyer

December 31, 2002

Offshore promoter Jerome Schneider and his alleged business partner, Eric J. Witmeyer, are expected to be arraigned next week after they were criminally indicted in the United States.Although they were indicted on December 19, 2002, neither was required to put in a court appearance by year-end, which prosecutors said was due to the difficulties of the Holiday season.

Ian Renert may be target of criminal investigation

December 31, 2002

Former offshore fund manager Ian Renert might be facing criminal action in the United States to go along with a civil lawsuit alleging securities fraud that was brought against him by the SEC.Documents filed in the civil case indicate that Renert is also being investigated by the United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut.

Insider Talking: November 30, 2002

November 30, 2002

The British Columbia Securities Commission has scheduled a hearing for December 10 11, 2002 to consider applications to vary asset freeze orders relating to accounts at the Bank of Montreal in Vancouver that were frozen in 2000 as part of

Mazars Neville and Pannell Kerr Forster fall out over Imperial Consolidated

November 30, 2002

Imperial Consolidated's UK administrator is seeking an investigation into the sale of group assets to Imperial's ex management by accounting firm Pannell Kerr Forster.Mazars Neville Russell has also indicated that it may challenge fees that were paid to PKF for

Former offshore insurance officer flees US despite monitoring device

November 30, 2002

A suspected fraudster who has worked in the insurance industry in Bermuda and the Bahamas has gone on the run again despite being fitted with an electronic monitoring device.John Keith McGarrity was fitted with the monitoring device after being arrested

Vancouver regulators raid boiler room that promoted stock of Brek Energy

November 30, 2002

A raid on an alleged boiler room in Vancouver is further evidence that the Bank of Bermuda may have been conned out of $14.3 million when it invested in First Ecom.com Inc.

Bank of New York to acquire assets of International Fund Administration Ltd.

October 31, 2002

The Bank of New York has signed an agreement to acquire the assets of International Fund Administration Ltd.

Martin Chambers suspected of death threat against Bahamas accountant

October 31, 2002

A bail ruling at Federal Court in Miami indicates that prosecutors believe a Canadian businessman may have been behind an alleged death threat against one of his co-defendants, Bahamas accountant Michael Hepburn.In a decision dated October 16, 2002, District Court Judge Ursula Ungaro-Benages allowed an appeal by the U. S. Government against an earlier order granting bail to 62-year-old Martin G. Chambers.

Brazil: Overland Advisory Services

October 23, 2002

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in Brazil into alleged corruption and bribery involving MetroRED Telecommicacoes Ltda., Overland Advisory Services, Agua Nova Comercio e Servicos Ltda, Caio Fabio D'araujo Filho, Paulo Sergio Rosa, Oscar de Barros, Jose Maria Teixeira Ferraz, Jorge Luiz Frederich Vital, Plinio Guilherme da Silva, Walter Coronado Antunes Filho, Reynaldo Emygdio de Barros and Celso Roberto Pitta.

Insider Talking: September 30, 2002

September 30, 2002

The Imperial Consolidated fraud has taken a further turn for the bizarre with the distribution in September of several press releases, masquerading as news stories, by a newly incorporated British company called Matrix International (Management) Ltd., whose commercial address is

Michael Hepburn released on bail in Florida

September 30, 2002

Bahamas based accountant Michael Hepburn has been released on $100,000 bond at federal court in Miami, where he has been indicted on five counts of money laundering.Hepburn, 52, posted bond on September 5, 2002 and is residing at his daughter's

Default judgment entered against Eric Resteiner

September 30, 2002

A United States national who was once appointed a 'Roving Ambassador' to the Caribbean island of Grenada has had a $30 million default judgment entered against him in the United States.Eric E. Resteiner, a one time resident of the Bahamas,

Suisse Security Bank & Trust Ltd.: Section 304 Supplemental Petition (Bahamas)

September 24, 2002

Section 304 Supplemental Petition for Assistance in Insolvency Proceedings in the Bahamas by Raymond Winder, as the Foreign Representative of Suisse Security Bank and Trust Ltd., at the U. S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

USA v. David Tedder: Criminal Indictment

September 12, 2002

Indictment in USA v. David Hampton Tedder at the U. S. District Court for the Western District Court of Wisconsin.

Insider Talking: August 31, 2002

August 31, 2002

European Federal Union Bank Ltd. falsely claims to be based in Antigua; Barbados Central Bank revokes license of Keywest Swiss Investment Bank Inc.; DIAK Bank's Clifford Pitt fails in an attempt to quash a subpoena duces tecum; John Wayne Zidar is gound guilty of fraud and money laundering; US federal court approves IRS motion to serve John Doe summons on MasterCard International for investigation into tax evasion using offshore credit cards; Offshore bankers Julien Giraud and Brian Boeger have each been sentenced to 37 months in prison in the United States; and an auction of property belonging to Imperial Consolidated is due to take place in England.

More criminal indictments in Evergreen Security investigation

August 31, 2002

Two businessmen whose interests have included Bahamas investment firms and a Bermuda reinsurer have been criminally indicted in the United States for their alleged involvement in a massive investment fraud.Jon Knight, 56, and J. Anthony Huggins, 63, stole $6.5 million from an account at the Bank of Butterfield in the name of British Virgin Islands-registered Evergreen Security, according to the complaint.

Arrested Bahamas-based accountant has history of involvement with fraudulent companies

August 31, 2002

Bahamas accountant Michael M. Hepburn, who has been arrested and charged with money laundering in Miami, has a history of involvement with crooked companies, OffshoreAlert can reveal. Hepburn, 54, has provided fake audits for several offshore insurers that have collapsed amid heavy losses and allegations of impropriety, including Paramount Reinsurance Ltd., formerly First Reinsurance Ltd., of Barbados; and Alpine Assurance Ltd. and Savoy Reinsurance Co. Ltd., both of the Turks & Caicos Islands.

Canadian policeman praises offshore authorities for ‘Operation Bermuda Short’ co-operation

August 31, 2002

Canadian authorities who took part in Operation 'Bermuda Short' which led to 58 indictments, including two directors of a Bermuda-based firm, have praised offshore regulators for their level of co-operation."It's a fallacy that offshore centers do not co-operate with such investigations," said Garry W. G. Clement, Superintendent with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, told OffshoreAlert. 

Three convicted drug dealers own preferred shares in The Harris Organization

August 31, 2002

New evidence obtained by OffshoreAlert shows that THREE convicted drug dealers are beneficial owners of the British Virgin Islands-registered parent of The Harris Organization financial services group. The traffickers all own preferred shares, which purport to pay annual interest of 10% in the case of Wallace Stull and James Somerville, and 7% for Lawrence Boulanger.

United Kingdom: Kevin Dooley et al (Florida)

August 28, 2002

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence from Pinebank - pursuant to a request for judicial assistance from the United Kingdom - for a criminal investigation into "Kevin Dooley, John Silver and others for theft and conspiracy to defraud".

United Kingdom: James Cadwell et al

August 21, 2002

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner for a criminal investigation in the United Kingdom into alleged fraud by James Cadwell, Richard Pope and David Curley.

58 suspected fraudsters and money launderers indicted in ‘Operation Bermuda Short’

August 15, 2002

Fifty-eight people have been criminally indicted in the United States following a two-year undercover investigation into white-collar crime. As of lunch-time today, 53 of those indicted had been arrested, including Bahamas-based accountant Michael Hepburn, who helps to operate Barbados-licensed Keywest Swiss Investment Bank.

Actions From Regulators Around the World

July 31, 2002

Basic details of warnings and actions by regulators around the world.

Newt Utopia: Legal Infrastructure and its impact upon an economy, Offshore Banks having staff problems, and Chinese Bonds

July 31, 2002

Legal Infrastructure and its impact upon an economy; Offshore Banks having staff problems; and Chinese Bonds.

Insider Talking: July 31, 2002

July 31, 2002

Hendrik Rienstra, 73, the principal of sham Panama-registered insurer New England International Surety Co. Inc., has died.; OffshoreAlert has uncovered three new names associated with the business activities of crooked financial services provider Marc M. Harris, who has moved his operations to Nicaragua after running up massive debts in Panama, leading to an application from a creditor to wind up his company and an eviction notice issued by his commercial landlord; Police in the UK have charged a fourth person, Francois M. Verkaeren, with conspiracy to commit fraud in connection with an investigation into the business practices of Merrion Reinsurance Company, which is located in Dublin, Ireland; The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has announced that two residents of the Turks & Caicos Islands - Michael Witt, 45, and his partner, Tina Grenier, 41 - have been arrested and charged with various narcotics, money laundering and possession of crime offenses and their US$1 million property restrained in an operation codenamed 'Oilsheik'; and Local newspapers in the Bahamas have suddenly become excited over a criminal indictment that was issued in the United States as long ago as June 15, 1999.

Two new lawsuits filed in Evergreen Security bankruptcy

July 31, 2002

Two new civil lawsuits have been filed against parties believed to have contributed to the collapse of Evergreen Security, an unlicensed 'mutual fund' that is believed to have defrauded investors of approximately $200 million.On July 9, 2002, Evergreen's Bankruptcy Trustee, Bill Cuthill Jr., announced he had sued Bahamas resident Greg A. White for an amount that could exceed $50 million.