IBP, Inc. et al v. Andrew J. Zahn et al: Amended Complaint
Amended Complaint in IBP, Inc. and Foodbrands America, Inc. v. Andrew Joseph Zahn and Philip Sexauer at the U. S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
USA v. Yen Lung Chen: Criminal Complaint & Arrest Warrant
Criminal Complaint and Arrest Warrant in USA v. Yen Lung Chen at the U. S. District Court for the District of South Carolina.
USA v. Panageontis Papadakis: Criminal Complaint
Criminal Complaint in USA v. Panageontis Papadakis at the U. S. District Court for the District of South Carolina.
USA v. Sendjer Shefket: Criminal Complaint & Arrest Warrant
Criminal complaint and arrest warrant against Sendjer Shefket for alleged investment fraud at the U. S. District Court for the District of South Carolina.
Belgium: Global Security Management Association Inc.
Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in Belgium into Global Security Management Association Inc. for alleged fraud.
Condor Insurance sued by home-based ‘$9 billion’ investment fund
An unlisted investment fund claiming to have $9 billion of assets but operated from a private residence in Florida is suing an offshore insurer based on an island that purports not to license such firms.Florida registered Growth Fund Partnership Inc.
Lancer Offshore, suspends cash redemptions and sues New York Post
Lancer Offshore Inc., which is registered in the British Virgin Islands and listed on the Irish Stock Exchange, has brought a libel lawsuit against the New York Post - one month after notifying investors it was effectively suspending cash redemptions.
The libel action was filed at New York State Supreme Court on February 14, 2003 after the Post published three negative articles about the Fund, which purports to have assets valued at $1 billion, and/or its principal, Michael Lauer.
Global Prosperity founders and former judge accused of fraud
A civil complaint has been filed against a group that has made a fortune by persuading U. S. citizens they are legally not required to pay income tax and by promoting fraudulent get-rich-quick schemes at conferences in offshore centers such as Aruba, Bermuda and the Bahamas.
Plaintiff David Wayne Starkey claims he followed the tax advice only to end up being sentenced to eight months in prison in August, 2000 for willful failure to file a return.
Cayman-based businessman takes stake in distressed Bermuda insurance firm
Cayman Islands-based businessman Kenneth B. Dart, whose family made a fortune in the Styrofoam cup business, has acquired a 5.7 per cent stake in financially crippled Mutual Risk Management.
Dart's firm Ross Financial Corporation, which is domiciled in Cayman, has acquired 2,377,600 common shares, according to a Dart-signed document dated February 13, 2003 that was filed with the SEC.
Former trader for Bahamas scam firm sued in United States
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.
Hunt for Imperial Consolidated assets moves to the United States
The former Managing Director of Imperial Consolidated's offshore bank tried to remove its $500,000 security deposit with MasterCard International four months AFTER the bank went into provisional liquidation.
That is an allegation contained in a petition filed at the U. S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York on February 7, 2003 by Marcus Wide, Provisional Liquidator of Imperium Bank.
New Cash 4 Titles lawsuits filed against Bahamas firms
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.
Whatever you do, don’t mention the $300 million fraud
OffshoreAlert has obtained details of yet another unregistered securities offering being carried out by former officers of the Imperial Consolidated Group, including ex-British policeman Gary Alexander Lyons.
Anglo Canadian Securities Inc., which is based in Canada and the UK, is raising funds for a personal injury litigation product that is virtually identical to one previously offered by Imperial.
Banc Caribe owner criticizes regulators
A part owner of the latest offshore bank to be closed down in Dominica has accused regulators of acting on incorrect information supplied by disgruntled management who had been fired only days before.
"The government has made a dirty deal with the old management," said Ferdinand Hoischen, a German lawyer who beneficially owns Banc Caribe with Jonas Persson, of Sweden. "This is very political."
Dubious offshore insurer sued by unregulated ‘$9 billion’ US investment fund
An unregulated investment fund claiming to have $9 billion of assets but operated from a private residence in Florida is suing an offshore insurer based on an island that purports not to license such firms.
Florida-registered Growth Fund Partnership Inc. is claiming breach of contract and fraud against Nevis-registered Condor Insurance Ltd. regarding a financing deal.
Former Harris Organization officer admits role in Millennium Fund scam
Bill Amos, a former officer with The Harris Organization financial services group of Panama, has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud in the United States.
Amos, 49, whose full name is William Earl Amos Jr., admitted the charge last year and has already been sentenced, said a spokesman for the U. S. Attorney's Office in Alabama.
Two more Grenada offshore bankers charged with fraud
Two principals of a Grenada-licensed offshore bank whose directors included a former Governor-General, an ex-Prime Minister and two Justices of the Peace have been criminally charged in the United States. Noel E. H. Tait, a former staff dentist with the Department of Corrections in Washington D. C., and Douglas E. Castle were each charged with one count of wire fraud on January 30, 2003 at the U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Imperial Consolidated Ltd.: Section 304 Petition (England)
Section 304 Petition for Assistance in Insolvency Proceedings in the United Kingdom by Philip Lyon and Alistair Wood, as the Foreign Representatives of Imperial Consolidated Ltd., a.k.a. Imperial Consolidated Group Plc and Imperial Consolidated Plc, at the U. S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
Class action lawsuit against forex firm exposed by OffshoreAlert
A class action complaint has been filed against online currency trading firm GAIN Capital on behalf of at least 200 people allegedly defrauded out of $10 million in a forex scam first exposed in OffshoreAlert.
GAIN Capital Inc., of New Jersey, is a defendant along with an independent broker, Sterling forex LLC, and Sterling forex's principal, Maurice Lewis Mills, both of Bellevue, Washington.
Omnicorp Bank principals start new scheme
Following the collapse of their insolvent financial group in St. Vincent & the Grenadines amid suspicions of fraud, the principals of Omnicorp Bank and its affiliates are starting a new investment scheme based in Cyprus.
The management is the same as Omnicorp's and includes Canadians Nelson Bayford, Lloyd Merrifield and Gary L. Moore, the latter of whom settled an SEC stock fraud lawsuit in 2000 by agreeing to disgorge $24,175.
SEC case against Kenneth Lagonia dismissed
An SEC lawsuit alleging fraud against Kenneth Lagonia, once listed as a director of DIAK Bank, which is licensed in Grenada but apparently based in St. Vincent, has been dismissed at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Lincoln Fraser staves off bankruptcy (for now)
Imperial Consolidated co-founder Lincoln Fraser has staved off personal bankruptcy - at least for the time being - after a commercial rent debt of £16,599 (US$26,600) was paid at the eleventh hour.
A petition to have Fraser declared bankrupt was due to be heard at Grimsby County Court, England on January 20, 2003. It did not proceed after payment in full was made earlier in the month, said a spokesman for the petitioning creditor, Nadan Properties Ltd., of London.
Has anyone seen Steve Saemmler Klein?
Belize-based offshore provider Grupo CAT appears to have gone out of business following the disappearance of its principal, Steve Saemmler Klein.
Over the last month, the group's telephone lines have been disconnected and several of its web-sites are no longer accessible.
Evergreen Trustee sues Bank of Butterfield, Lions Gate Management et al
Bermuda-based Bank of Butterfield and Bahamas-based offshore provider Lions Gate Management have been named as defendants in the latest wave of lawsuits filed by the Bankruptcy Trustee of Evergreen Security, an unlicensed mutual fund which defrauded its investors of over $200 million.
Twenty-two new actions were filed at the U. S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida, in Orlando, on January 23, 2003 and four previously-dismissed lawsuits have been reopened, said Bankruptcy Trustee Bill Cuthill.
Client accuses European Federal Union Bank of fraud
A current scam being carried out in the name of European Federal Union Bank may be a successor to a similar fraud perpetrated by the British Bank of Trade & Commerce, a.k.a. British Bank of Commerce.
The principals of both businesses are Costa Rica-based John W. Haas and Andover Garcia, according to a representative of clients claiming to have been defrauded of approximately $130,000 by EFUB.
Bank of Butterfield sued for $115 million by Evergreen Security Bankruptcy Trustee
Bermuda-based Bank of Butterfield is being sued for $115 million by the by the Bankruptcy Trustee of Evergreen Security, an unlicensed mutual fund which defrauded its investors of over $200 million.
The Bank is being sued in its capacity as a custodian for Evergreen, as is Bear Stearns, which is a defendant in a separate action.
SEC investigates LOM business partner
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 & Exchange Commission in the United States.
KPMG (TCI) sued by Atlas Financial Group clients
A civil complaint has been filed in the United States against failed Turks & Caicos Islands-based Atlas Financial Group, its auditor, KPMG, and several current or former officers.
Among the defendants are the Managing Director of KPMG (TCI), Gary Brough, 40, who is British; and the accounting firm's former Director of Corporate Finance,Robert Gass, 38, who is Canadian. AFG founders Wayne Turner and his son, Scott Turner, who are both Canadian nationals, are also defendants.
ARM Trust principal accused of fraud by SEC
A United States-based businessman set about cheating people he had defrauded once before while he was awaiting sentencing for the first crime, according to an SEC lawsuit.
Frank Ray Johnson was convicted of fraud in 1999 after more than 9,000 investors were cheated out of millions of dollars in a scheme known as International Benevolent Fund Trust.
Endovasc Ltd. Inc. v. JP Turner & Co. LLC et al: Second Amended Complaint
Second Amended Complaint in Endovasc Ltd. Inc. v. J.P. Turner & Co. LLC, KCM Group LLC, The Keshet Fund LP, Keshet LP, Nesher Ltd., Talbiya B. Investments Ltd., Balmore Funds SA, David Grin, LH Financial Services Corp., Laurus Master Fund Ltd., Laurus Capital Management LLC, Celeste Trust Reg, Patrick Power, John Clark, Abraham Grin, Talbiya Ltd., and Keshet Management Inc. at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
The complicated world of Morison Anderson
Letter to the Editor of OffshoreAlert from Morison Anderson LLC.
‘I’m not chief trader of Sterling forex Fund,’ writes Igor Toshchakov
Letter to the Editor from Igor Toshchakov, of Igrok Trading International LLC.
United Kingdom: Kevin Dooley et al (Washington)
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".
Spencer Rawlins v. Sterling forex LLC et al: Class Action Complaint
Class Action Complaint alleging fraud in Spencer Rawlins v. Sterling forex LLC, Maurice L. Mills, and GAIN Capital Inc. at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Offshore investors accuse fund manager of swindling them
Investment vehicles registered in Bermuda, the Isle of Man and Delaware claim to have been cheated out of more than $9.5 million by the manager of an investment fund.The culprit was Sloane Robinson Investment (Cayman) Ltd., which was the General Partner and Manager of the S. R. Global International Fund L. P., according to a civil lawsuit.
Six class action lawsuits filed against Annuity & Life Re
No fewer than six class action lawsuits were filed against Annuity & Life Re (Holdings) Ltd. in December, 2002 at federal court in Connecticut.The complaints, which will eventually be consolidated into one action, were filed less than a month after the firm announced it was re-stating its financial results for 2001, 2001 and the first half of 2002, causing its share price to plummet by as much as 44 per cent.
Doubts raised about latest Imperial Consolidated spin-off
Citigroup has cast doubt on the legitimacy of a new investment scheme whose participants include two key players in the $345 million fraud perpetrated by the Imperial Consolidated Group.Edouardos Stamatiou and Robert Raven are involved in an attempt by United Financial Corporation S. A. to sell $110 million one-year Certificates of Deposit bearing annual interest of up to 14 per cent.
Bermuda company director pleads guilty to fraud conspiracy
Offshore businessman Paul D. Lemmon, who was arrested in the widely-publicized 'Bermuda Short' operation, has entered into a plea bargain agreement with Federal prosecutors in Florida.Lemmon, a 40-year-old Canadian national, has agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud in a case in which he is a co-defendant with Mark Valentine.
Terry Dowdell pleads guilty to fraud
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.
Interpol seeks arrest of Costa Rica-based investment promoters
Two businessmen who operated high yield investment programs in Costa Rica have been placed on Interpol's list of 'Wanted' fugitives.Costa Rican national Luis Enrique Villalobos Camacho, 62, is wanted for fraud and money laundering, while Luis Angel Milanes, 52, who has Cuban and United States citizenship, is wanted for fraud.
Ian Renert may be target of criminal investigation
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.
Morrison Cross victims targeted in recovery scam
Victims of a securities fraud perpetrated by Panama-based Morrison Cross Financial Investments are being contacted by a bogus law firm offering 'assistance' in recouping their investments.OffshoreAlert has obtained a copy of a letter sent to an MCFI client on November 26, 2002 by "Bruce Porter" of "Carter Sprott & Porter LLP", with an address and telephone number in Texas.
Keem Kalfon-associate imprisoned for eight years for investment fraud
Ralph Glen Hines, who claims to have been a business partner of suspected con man Keem Kalfon, has been sentenced to eight years and four months in prison for perpetrating an investment fraud.Hines, 50, of Raleigh, North Carolina, was sentenced on December 17, 2002 at the U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina after previously pleading guilty to two counts of fraud.
Businessmen plead ‘no contest’ to defrauding elderly woman
Two men previously exposed by OffshoreAlert for promoting and operating sham offshore credit unions have pleaded "no contest" to defrauding a 101-year-old woman out of more than $6 million.Dale A. Erickson, 53, and Darryl K. Willis, 63, entered into plea agreements with state prosecutors at Montana Third Judicial District Court, Powell County on December 16, 2002.
Switzerland: Lothar Trinks at al
Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in Switzerland into Lothar Trinks and Christina Kaiser for alleged fraud, embezzlement, disloyal management of business, forgery of documents, and money laundering.
Germany: Klaus Conradi et al
Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in Germany into Klaus Conradi, Sebastian Josef Hilger and Andreas Pfeiffer for alleged fraud.
Forex trader Sterling forex closes after OffshoreAlert story and CFTC action
Five weeks after being exposed in the September 30, 2002 edition of OffshoreAlert, Washington state based Sterling forex LLC has stopped operating and its clients have incurred substantial losses.The firm sent its clients a letter on November 15 stating that
Insider Talking: 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
IMT promotes ‘High Yield investments’ at Dominica’s airport
Peddlers of "High Yield Investments" normally solicit business in hushed tones at churches and private offices, so dubious are their products.Not so International Management & Trust Services Inc., which has the words emblazoned in large, upper case letters on a
Mazars Neville and Pannell Kerr Forster fall out over Imperial Consolidated
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