Investment

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

Sterling International Bank sued in Canada

May 23, 2003

A 'paper' company registered on the Caribbean island of Nevis has filed a lawsuit in Canada against an insolvent offshore 'shell' bank in an effort to recover $1.08 million that it claims to have deposited. Nevis-domiciled Kachina Inc., formerly Praxis Inc., is seeking a judgment for $1,088,588 against Sterling International Bank Inc., which, according to the complaint, was licensed in Nauru on November 28, 1994 and went into provisional liquidation on September 27, 2000.

Bank Crozier proposes reconstruction plan in Grenada

May 22, 2003

Grenada's oldest offshore bank, Bank Crozier Ltd., will this week submit a reconstruction plan to the local regulator in an attempt to stave off liquidation.Peter Johansson, the bank's CEO, told OffshoreAlert that $2.6 million of new capital has been pledged

Costa Rica: Luis Enrique Villalobos Camacho et al

May 21, 2003

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in Costa Rica into Osvaldo Villalobos Camacho, Luis Enrique Villalobos Camacho and Freddy Villalobos Camacho for allegedly laundering the proceeds of narcotics trafficking by Bertrand Henri St-Onge, Sandra Kerwin St-Onge, Luc St-Onge, Richard Rivers and Norman Denault.

Imperial Consolidated founder ordered to turn over bank records

May 20, 2003

A U.K. High Court judge today ordered bankrupt British businessman Lincoln Julian Fraser to turn over his bank records to the administrator of his failed Imperial Consolidated Group, which went bust in June, 2002 with liabilities of approximately $345 million.He

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.

Geoffrey Alfred Brew: Disqualification

May 19, 2003

Disqualified Directors - Geoffrey Alfred Brew - Isle of Man Financial Supervision Commission.

Bank of Montreal accused of breaching asset freeze order

May 17, 2003

The Bank of Montreal has been summoned to attend a hearing before the British Columbia Securities Commission on May 21 to answer an allegation that it breached an asset freeze order. The allegation concerns accounts controlled by Exchange Bank and Trust,

BVI regulator acts against Lancer Offshore

May 15, 2003

An insolvent offshore hedge fund has been given a reprieve for now, at least from being forced into administration after it found out about an ex parte court application before it was heard.An application to place Lancer Offshore Inc. and

$3 m fraud judgment against associates of Charles Givens and David Tedder

May 15, 2003

A Florida court has awarded $2.97 million against three parties who were part of a scheme to defraud a now defunct financial adviser which was itself perpetrating a 'get rich quick' scam.The judgment was entered on April 2, 2003, the

Former Government scam buster sentenced to six months in prison

May 15, 2003

A United States Treasury officer whose job involved warning the public about investment fraud has been sentenced to six months in prison after he admitted receiving $15,000 in return for providing information to someone who turned out to be a fraudster. James Lynn Kramer-Wilt was sentenced on May 12 at the U. S. District Court for the District of Eastern Texas. He is due to begin his prison term on June 23, 2003. Kramer-Wilt had pleaded guilty to one count of "willful receipt of unlawful compensation from a source other than the executive branch of the United States Government".

Offshore fund head John Lipton arrested in Costa Rica

May 15, 2003

A man who headed an offshore fund that collapsed last year amid allegations of impropriety has been arrested in Costa Rica and criminally charged with fraud. United States national John Sherman Lipton, who has homes in Costa Rica and California, was taken into custody in early May, according to a report in A. M. Costa Rica on May 14, 2003.

Imperial Consolidated founders declared bankrupt

May 7, 2003

Lincoln Julian Fraser and Jared Bentley Brook, co-founders of the Imperial Consolidated Group, were both declared bankrupt at Grimsby County Court, England on May 2, 2003. It is the second bankruptcy in just over seven years for Fraser at the age of just 31-years-old.

Lancer Offshore Inc. et al(2)

May 7, 2003

Press Release about Lancer Offshore Inc. and The OmniFund Ltd. by the British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission.

Lincoln Fraser and Jared Brook: Bankruptcy

May 7, 2003

Press Release by petitioning creditor Deighton International regarding bankruptcy orders against Lincoln Fraser and Jared Brook over debts associated with the Midland Grand Hotel in Morecambe, England.

Germany: Olaf Weiland

May 5, 2003

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in Germany into Olaf Weiland for alleged investment fraud.

Nauru bank lawsuit on verge of dismissal due to lack of funds

April 30, 2003

A Nauru-licensed offshore 'bank' whose principal representative lives in Florida has filed a civil lawsuit in the United States regarding a bizarre loan deal turned sour.However, the action is on the verge of being thrown out on the grounds that United Bank and Trust has not met a statutory filing requirement, apparently because it has no funds, according to court documents.

Taiwanese bank sues Nauru for return of loan after island withdraws diplomatic recognition

April 30, 2003

The Taiwan-based International Commercial Bank of China has filed a lawsuit against the Republic of Nauru in an attempt to recover US$12.8 million allegedly owed under a loan arrangement.One of the ways in which Nauru is in default of the loan is through its termination of diplomatic relations with Taiwan, according to the complaint, filed at Federal Court in New York on March 19, 2003.

Investor sues house painter-turned-forex trader

April 30, 2003

A collapsed offshore forex fund whose head trader was a house painter is being sued by an investor that claims to have lost $4.817 million.The investor, Nevis-registered Worldwide Financial Services LLC, claims the fund, known as Orion International, was operated as a Ponzi scheme.

Lancer investment partnership files for bankruptcy, pop star among creditors

April 30, 2003

American pop star Britney Spears and jailed former Sotheby's Chairman Alfred Taubman are among investors in the Lancer Offshore Fund Group, which has collapsed amid suspicions of securities fraud.They were among 110 "Equity Security Holders" listed by one of the group's investment partnerships, Lancer Partners, when it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Connecticut on April 16, 2003.

Ness Motley law firm ordered to produce financial records in dispute with ex-client

April 30, 2003

A United States law firm accused of lining its own pockets by cutting a deal with a telemarketing fraudster to the detriment of one of its clients - an asset recovery firm whose investors include Lines Overseas Management - has been ordered by a court to produce all of its financial statements and tax returns from 2000 to the present.The order to compel South Carolina-based Ness Motley Loadholt Richardson & Poole to produce the documents was issued by the U. S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on March 14, 2003 upon application by plaintiffs Interclaim Holdings Ltd. and Interclaim Recovery Ltd., whose operations are based in Ireland and ultimately owned by a Bermuda company.

Imperial administrator bills US$1.9 million for nine months of work

April 30, 2003

Mazars Neville Russell, a firm of business advisers and accountants, has billed £1.2 million (US$1.9 million) for its first nine months as administrator of the Imperial Consolidated Group.

Offshore bank owner Ferdinand Hoischen arrested in Germany

April 30, 2003

An offshore banker and an associate have been arrested in Germany on charges of perpetrating an $82 million fraud against approximately 7,000 investors, most of whom are believed to be German nationals.Ferdinand Hoischen, 53, of Vetlanda, Sweden, and Jonny Franke, 49, of Pirna, Germany, were arrested on Monday, March 31, 2003, according to a source who is familiar with the investigation.

Lawsuit filed against Exchange Bank & Trust

April 30, 2003

Exchange Bank & Trust, which was licensed as an offshore bank in Nauru and operated in Nevis, is being sued for $3 million by a client in British Columbia.The civil lawsuit was filed at the Supreme Court of British Columbia on April 24, 2003 by Umbrella LLC, which is registered in Nevis and based in Vancouver.

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.

ESG Re officers buy stock

April 30, 2003

ESG Re senior officers have been buying the firm's shares recently, notwithstanding its awful performance, culminating in its de-listing by Nasdaq effective February 3.

Annuity & Life Re and AlphaStar Insurance receive de-listing notifications

April 30, 2003

Problem firms Annuity & Life Re (Holdings) and AlphaStar Insurance Group, formerly known as Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings, face being de-listed from NYSE and Nasdaq, respectively.

Default judgment entered against Cayman Reinsurance

April 30, 2003

A Florida court has granted a motion for a default judgment against two Cayman companies which allegedly defrauded a United States citizen of $550,000.The order was entered against Cayman Reinsurance Group and CRG Advisors Ltd. on March 26, 2003 after their registered agent, Cayman-based law firm Walkers, did not respond to a complaint filed in 2002. The case against co-defendants Wentworth Capital Ltd., of Switzerland; and Frank C. Blunt Jr., Ann Wentworth Blunt and Gavin C. Blunt, all of Florida, is ongoing.

Clifford Pitt investigators target offshore bank accounts

April 30, 2003

The FBI has obtained a civil seizure warrant for accounts held at the Global Bank of Commerce in Antigua that were used in an alleged $20 million scam.The warrant was issued on March 13, 2003 by the U. S. District Court for the District of Colorado and is part of a criminal investigation that involves St. Vincent-based businessman Clifford Pitt.

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.

Agora newsletter group accused of securities fraud by SEC

April 30, 2003

Baltimore-based Agora Inc., whose business empire includes investment newsletters and clubs, is being sued by the SEC for an alleged securities fraud that earned it more than $1 million.The SEC has accused Agora of routinely making massive profits by disseminating false information about public stocks to its more than 21,500 paid-for subscribers around the world.

Switzerland: Gunter Tschudinet al

April 22, 2003

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in Switzerland into alleged fraud, theft and money laundering by Gunter Tschudin, Gabriele Borjan, Raymond Schmitt and Luigi Piffaretti.

Rani Jarkas v. CIBC Oppenheimer Corp. et al: Dismissal of Complaint

April 17, 2003

Dismissal with prejudice of a complaint filed by Rani Jarkas against CIBC Oppenheimer Corp. and David Carey at California Superior Court, San Francisco Court.

Gary B. Liebschner v. Robert Bales et al: Arbitration Award

April 16, 2003

Arbitration Award in 2003 against Robert Bales, currently suspected of murdering 16 civilians in Afghanistan while serving as a Sergeant in the U. S. Army, and others for defrauding a client.

Citicorp Diners Club, Inc. v. Rani Jarkas: Judgment

April 11, 2003

Judgment in the case of 'Citicorp Diners Club, Inc. vs. Rani Jarkas' at California Superior Court, San Francisco County.

USA v. Serdar Kalaycioglu et al: Superseding Indictment

April 10, 2003

Superseding Indictment in USA vs. Serdar Kalaycioglu, Mario Turcotte, Richard Carson, and Sheldon Mickelson at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

USA v. Sylvia Hermann et al: Criminal Indictment

April 9, 2003

Indictment in USA v. Sylvia Hermann and Ali A. Yawar at the U. S. District Court for the Central District of California.

SEC v. Agora Inc. et al: Complaint

April 9, 2003

Complaint alleging securities fraud filed by the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission against Agora Inc., Pirate Investor, LLC and Frank Porter Stansberry at the U. S. District Court for the District of Maryland.

Germany: Bodo Schnabel et al

April 1, 2003

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in Germany into Bodo August Schnabel and Ingrid Schnabel for alleged fraud.

Dutch regulator acts against offshore firms

March 31, 2003

The Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets has issued a public warning against several offshore firms involved in a "fine wine" trading scam. On January 23, 2003, the AFM advised investors "not to take up offers of securities" by Ocean International Marketing B.V., of Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Seed International Ltd., of the Cayman Islands; Cupidus.com Ltd. and Cupidus.com (Turks & Caicos) Ltd.

Lancer Offshore losses could be as high as $400 million

March 31, 2003

Investors in a British Virgin Islands-registered offshore hedge fund with ties to convicted or suspected fraudsters might be staring at losses totalling $400 million. That is the capital contribution believed to have gone into Lancer Offshore Inc., much of whose "assets" comprise interests in dubious, loss-making, penny stock firms whose shares are thinly-traded.

Kenneth Weare criminally indicted

March 31, 2003

A man suspected of operating an investment scam based in Colorado and Belize has been criminally indicted in the United States. Kenneth Roy Weare, 56, of Lakewood, Colorado, was indicted on March 25, 2003 for wire fraud, mail fraud and engaging in Monetary Transactions in Property Derived from Unlawful Activity.

Bankruptcy petitions filed against Imperial Consolidated founders

March 31, 2003

Bankruptcy petitions have been filed against Lincoln Fraser and Jared Brook, co-founders of the fraudulently-operated Imperial Consolidated Group, which collapsed owing more than $300 million. The petitions were filed at Grimsby County Court, England on March 7, 2003 and are scheduled to be heard on May 2, 2003, according to a court spokesperson.

Ian Calvert Bleasdale arrested in Panama

March 31, 2003

A fugitive investment fraudster was arrested and deported to Costa Rica after being tracked down in Panama by two of his victims on March 8, 2003, according to a report in The Tico Times newspaper. Ian Calvert Bleasdale, 62, a British-born, naturalized Canadian, will now stand trial on five counts of fraud, reported the newspaper on March 14.

Global Prosperity Group representatives agree to turn in clients to IRS

March 31, 2003

Two senior members of the tax evasion/investment fraud organization known as the Global Prosperity Group and the Institute of Global Prosperity, one of whom organized a conference in Bermuda in 1998, have pleaded guilty to tax evasion in the United States. Worryingly for tens of thousands of U. S. residents who are believed to be IGP clients, Margo E. Jordan and Shoshanna B. Szuch have agreed to co-operate with investigations into others in return for leniency.

Dozens arrested as FBI targets investment fraudsters at home and abroad

March 31, 2003

Dozens of people in the United States and six other countries have been targeted in a massive police clampdown on alleged perpetrators of high yield investment frauds. Some of the people targeted in the clampdown were: Charles Ellis Halvorsen, Christopher Michael Taylor, William Joseph "Bill" Herisko, Leonard Kalish, Seymour "Sy" Taub, Mario Piccolino, Elson Quon Lui, Nicholas Roblee, a. k.a. Nicholas Richmond, Linda June Eaton, Joseph Lawrence Finney, Raj Mallick, Ronald Gaopalelwe Mokwena, Jack Louis Schrold, William Bruce Harper, John Cocoman, Gregory Smith, Larry Taylor, Rebecca Taylor, James "Doc" McCall, Victor Carl Vaccaro, Robert Downing II, Thomas Patterson, Antonius Maria Heijnen, Rudolfo Nieto, Henry Young, Charles Judson "Judd" Strader, Marion "Bowden" Atherton, James Joseph Honse, Harry Livingston, Alexander Moorehead Sr., Mark Scott Petkovich, Kenneth Samuel Harrison, Rosemary O'Connor, Garrett Oldhouse, Pamela Weeks Clark, Kitten Otto, William Patrick Bailey, Peter Johnson, Harmondev "Hardev" Bal, George Rieg, Alok Basudev, Kevin McKee, Sendjer Shefket, Yen Lung Chen, Tom Hauser, Karl Kortmeyer, and Marius Vermaak.

Offshore banker implicated in investment fraud scheme

March 31, 2003

Offshore banker Clifford Pitt, who heads DIAK Bank, which is licensed in Grenada but appears to be managed in St. Vincent & the Grenadines, has been implicated in a fraudulent "high-yield" investment fraud. Pitt assisted Leon F. Harte and Norman Schmidt in a scheme to defraud Colorado-based individuals and institutions out of approximately $20 million, according to the U. S. Government.

Praise the Lord! (Or should that be Mammon?)

March 31, 2003

A man whose public relations firm published several statements on behalf of the Imperial Consolidated Group that turned out to be false and now represents a spin-off firm peddling a similarly fraudulent investment product actually fancies himself as a moral-minded man of God. George Pitcher is training to become a religious minister in the UK who will, inter alia, advise journalists on morality and ethics, reported The Independent newspaper on March 25, 2003.

US Treasury officer pleads guilty to receiving ‘unlawful compensation’ from fraudster

March 31, 2003

A United States Treasury officer whose job involved warning the public about investment fraud has admitted receiving money for providing information to someone who turned out to be a fraudster. James Lynn Kramer-Wilt pleaded guilty on January 30, 2003 to one count of "willful receipt of unlawful compensation from a source other than the executive branch of the United States Government". He is currently awaiting sentencing at the U. S. District Court for the District of Eastern Texas and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

Offshore bankers plead guilty to fraud

March 31, 2003

A dentist and his accomplice who defrauded $1.2 million from clients of their Grenada-licensed offshore shell bank that was capitalized with just $300 have entered into plea agreements in the United States. Dr. Noel E. H. Tait and Douglas E. Castle each pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud at the U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on March 14 and March 27, 2003, respectively.