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More indictments alleging financial crime in Grenada

March 31, 2002
Four people have been criminally indicted in relation to an alleged Ponzi scheme involving Grenada that investigators say defrauded at least 700 investors out of more than $39 million. Two of the main vehicles allegedly used in the scheme were Grenada-registered Rahab Trust and Management Company and Caribbean Merchant Bank, whose banking licenses were revoked last year.

Newt Utopia: A tale of fraud and murder

February 28, 2002
Donald Alan Mueller was a salesman by heart and by vocation. He operated, for many years, as a real-estate business in Ohio.  He worked with customers and had good days and bad days. But even on his good days he could be described, at best, as "difficult".  Sometime in the 1990s Mueller became involved with a group of strict constitutionalists similar to groups that went on to media fame and fortune such as the 'Freemen of Montana'. Specifically, Mueller was a member of the Americans for a Constitutional Republic, an organization that doesn't recognize the authority of the police, state or courts.

Merrill Scott reinvents itself with a new name and allegedly stolen property

February 28, 2002
Items that were stolen from the premises of Merrill Scott and Associates four days after an SEC lawsuit was filed against the firm were allegedly found in the office of a new firm set up by former employees. That is a claim being made by the attorney who has been appointed Receiver for the Merrill Scott group, which was based in Salt Lake City, Utah, and the Bahamas.

Claims of fraud against offshore ‘banc’

February 28, 2002
It has been brought to OffshoreAlert's attention that funds are being solicited from the public in the name of Bancommerce Ltd., whose literature creates the impression that it is licensed in St. Lucia. A client of this business, who claims it has defrauded him of $20,000 through a product called an "Instruction of Invoice", is currently taking steps to try to recover his money.

Cash 4 Titles settlement opt-outs sue Bank of Bermuda

February 28, 2002
A new lawsuit has been filed against the Bank of Bermuda by victims of the Cash 4 Titles Ponzi scheme who have opted out of a $67.5 million settlement agreement with the bank. More than 40 plaintiffs filed an action under the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida on February 11, 2002.

Ralph Hines arrested in investigation into Keem Kalfon scheme

February 28, 2002
Nine days after our article last month exposing a fraudulent offshore investment scheme linked with Keem Kalfon, one of the alleged participants was arrested in the United States. Ralph Glen Hines, 49, was arrested on February 9 and is currently in custody in his home state of North Carolina after failing to meet his $5 million bail requirement.

Updates on cases against Giraud, Boeger, Downes, Butson and Nano

February 28, 2002
Following the convictions of William Abraczinskas and Malcolm West for money laundering only three months after their arrest, five more offshore bankers who were indicted in the same month must wait to see how the cases against them develop. Julien Giraud, of Dominica; Brian Boeger, of the United States; Richard F. Downes and Pamela Butson, who live in Spain; and Thierry Nano, formerly of St. Vincent & The Grenadines, all still have cases pending.

Cayman Reinsurance Group accused of fraud

February 28, 2002
A civil complaint has been filed in the United States by plaintiffs claiming to have been defrauded by a Cayman-registered group whose advisors allegedly included former British MP Geoffrey Dodsworth. The action was filed at the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida on January 18, 2002 by Anne W. Hvide and Raymond B. Vickers, who are Trustees for the Hans J. Hvide Trust.

Alpha Toronto denies link with Bermuda-registered fund

February 28, 2002
A new group that is operated from the same offices as Imperial Consolidated by people who are described as ex-Imperial employees has denied that it has become involved with a Bermuda-registered mutual fund. A spokesman for Alpha Toronto described as "incorrect" an article that was recently published in a magazine operated by British-based Charterhouse Communications.

Litigation involving Montaque Securities International

February 28, 2002
Bahamas-based investment firm Montaque Securities International is involved in two unrelated lawsuits filed over the last five months, one as a plaintiff and the other as a defendant. In an action filed in the United States, Montaque claims that it was defrauded of $1.5 million that it loaned a client to establish a mutual fund in Germany.

Southwest Income Trust et al v. Philip Galanis et al: Motion for Determination of Good Faith Settlement

February 15, 2002
Motion for Determination of Good Faith Settlement in Jack G. Larsen, as Receiver for Southwest Income Trust, Advantage Income Trust, and Investors Trading Trust v. Lauriel Investments, Inc., Charles Smith, Standard Industrial Capital, Inc., Glen Roger Thompson, Progressive Growth Management Group, Ltd., Richard M. Kubany, Paul W. Floyd, III; James M. Floyd, Philip C. Galanis, Paul F. Clarke, and Ernst & Young at the U. S. District Court for the District of Arizona.

Grenada-licensed VistaBank accused of fraud

January 31, 2002
Grenada-licensed VistaBank Ltd. and its President, Carl H. Lane, have been named as defendants in three separate lawsuits field recently in the United States. In two of the actions, the plaintiffs have alleged fraud against the bank, while the other complaint accuses Lane of ignoring an order to stop operating the bank from Atlanta, Georgia without a license.

Creditors fight for control of bankrupt firm’s transferred assets

January 31, 2002
A legal battle is taking place in the United States for control of assets that once belonged to a now bankrupt oil and gas exploration firm whose shares were promoted at offshore conferences. Creditors of Kentucky-based Robo Exploration Inc., formerly known as Robo Enterprises Inc., are investigating whether the transfer of its assets prior to bankruptcy amount to a fraudulent conveyance.

Power Securities clients chase their money

January 31, 2002
Investors who placed over US$2 million with Power Securities Ltd. in the Bahamas are preparing to take legal action against the firm and its principal, Canadian businessman Les McIntosh. They have told OffshoreAlert that they have been unable to redeem their investments with the firm, which has since closed down its Nassau office.

US court freezes assets of Merrill Scott & Associates

January 31, 2002
A United States court has appointed a receiver for and frozen the assets of an offshore investment group that has been accused by the SEC of operating a Ponzi scheme that took in at least $25 million. David K. Broadbent was appointed receiver on January 23, 2002 for the defendants in a civil lawsuit that had been filed eight days earlier by the SEC at the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah.

Keem Kalfon denies involvement in fraudulent letter

January 31, 2002
Conman Keem Kalfon is being falsely passed off as the chairman of The Sovereign Society investment group as part of a fund-raising effort for get-rich-quick schemes, OffshoreAlert can reveal. Those responsible are also falsely claiming they control British-based investment trust Gresham House PLC, which has been one of the world's best-performing investment vehicles over the last ten years.

Jerry Nims in more hot water as 3-D farce continues

January 31, 2002
A company whose beneficial owners include several Bermudians, including former Premier Sir David Gibbons is being sued in the United States. Orasee Corporation is a defendant in a civil lawsuit filed at the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York on December 13, 2001.

Stirling Cooke and First Ecom.com face NASDAQ de-listing

January 31, 2002
Bermuda-based insurance broker Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings and offshore-owned electronic payments processor First Ecom.com, which is funded largely with offshore money, face having their shares de-listed from in the first half of 2002 unless their stock prices improve. They have until February 11 to get their stocks above the $1 minimum bid that is required for continued listing on the NASDAQ National Market.

Clients seek return of money from Addison International & Triology Fund

January 31, 2002
OffshoreAlert has received a complaint from a client who claims he is unable to redeem an investment made with Bahamas-registered Addison International Ltd., which is apparently run from the United States. The client, who is based in the U.S., claims that he placed $400,000 with Addison International in mid-1999 after the firm's principal told him: "If I don't return four per cent per month, you should fire me."

‘Risk proportional to reward’, says Gresham House chairman

January 31, 2002
After being alerted to a fraudulent letter linked with Keem Kalfon's group, Gresham House PLC Chairman Alfred P. Stirling issued a general warning to investors about being approached by anyone purporting to offer high investment returns. Stirling stressed that risk was proportional to reward in investment products.

Verlin Swartzendruber (a.k.a. Joseph Severin) discusses high returns in Grenada

December 31, 2001
Verlin D. Swartzendruber, 58, has joined the growing band of Americans who have obtained Grenada passports under second names and started raising funds from the island with the lure of high returns. Under his new name of Joseph Severin, Swartzendruber runs Grenada-registered Preferred Trust and Management Ltd, which raises money through continuous stock offering in various companies it manages.

Robo Enterprises files for bankruptcy

December 31, 2001
An oil and gas company which was promoted as an investment opportunity at Institute of Global Prosperity conferences has filed for bankruptcy amid allegations of fraud.Robo Exploration Inc., a.k.a. Robo Enterprises Inc., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection at the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Kentucky on October 23, 2001.

Imperial Consolidated loses lawsuit, accused by judge of backdating documents

December 31, 2001
Imperial Consolidated, whose operations include an offshore bank and offshore mutual funds, has lost a defamation lawsuit that it brought in New Zealand against a former broker. In a judgment in the High Court of New Zealand on December 18, 2001, Judge William Young ruled that defendant David Frederick Stewart was being truthful when he criticized the group on a web-site.

First Cayman Bank loot used to pay off fraud judgment, claim liquidators

December 31, 2001
Part of the estimated $5.5 million allegedly looted from the First Cayman Bank/Gulf Union Bank group in 1997 went to satisfy a $1.75 million fraud judgment in the United States, according to the liquidators.The fraud had been committed by Sheikh Abdus Shimmy Qureshi and his now defunct Florida firm Escue Management Inc., it was alleged.

Grenada-Montenegro banker plays down links to Melchizedek

December 31, 2001
A principal of two offshore banks has told OffshoreAlert that he no longer has anything to do with the Dominion of Melchizedek, despite his name appearing on literature associated with the fake nation.Peter Drakoulakos, who heads Euro Credit Bank A.D., of Montenegro, and Euro Caribbean Bank Ltd., of Grenada, was once listed as the South American "Ambassador" for Melchizedek on its web-site.

Evergreen Trustee wants offshore trust company to turn over documents

December 31, 2001
OffshoreAlert reported last month that R.W. Cuthill, Jr., the Trustee of Evergreen Security Ltd., had filed an Adversary Proceeding against Costa Rica-based Intrados S.A. at the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida, where Evergreen has been in bankruptcy since January 23, 2001.

Man swindled $1 m from investors in Nevis ‘hedge fund’, claims SEC

December 31, 2001
A 26-year-old man defrauded 14 investors of approximately $1.17 million through a scam involving a Nevis-registered "hedge fund", according to a complaint filed in the United States by the SEC.Peter W. Chabot raised the funds from June, 1999 to December, 2001 but, instead of putting it into 'The Synergy Fund', he used it to fund his "extravagant lifestyle", according to the complaint.

Philip Johnston identified as President of offshore firm accused of fraud

December 31, 2001
Evidence has emerged that the President of a 'paper' offshore securities firm accused of fraud in the United States was attorney Philip W. Johnston, a Canadian who once had a law firm in the Turks & Caicos Islands.Details of Johnston's alleged involvement in TCI-registered Carib Securities Ltd. is contained in a civil lawsuit that is on-going at the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Unlicensed offshore ‘credit unions’ offer high yield products to members

December 31, 2001
A United States firm has been forming IBCs in Panama and selling them to North Americans at a huge mark-up on the basis that they are "financial institutions", OffshoreAlert can reveal.At least five of the IBCs are currently offering investment products and services from web-sites hosted in Montana or the Bahamas even though none holds a license.

Reorganization continues at scandal-plagued Imperial Consolidated

December 31, 2001
Michael Gilbert, who was severely criticized by a New Zealand judge in a recent court ruling (see separate story), is part of a reorganization that involves the Imperial Consolidated Group and companies with the prefix 'Alpha'.The firm that he is a director of changed its name from Imperial Consolidated (New Zealand) Ltd. to Alpha Equities Asia-Pacific (NZ) Ltd. on November 29, 2001.

Insider Talking: November 30, 2001

November 30, 2001
Imperial Consolidated founders Lincoln Fraser and Jared Brook have been given additional time to wind up their business affairs before their four year disqualification as company directors in England and Wales becomes effective. A judge sitting at Blackpool County Court

Former AFC Re owner sued for return of loans from investment fraud firm

November 30, 2001
A fund manager whose interests have included a Bermuda reinsurer and a Bahamas bank is being sued for $8.5 million by the Bankruptcy Trustee of a fraudulently run offshore investment firm.The defendants are Atlantic Portfolio Analytics and Management Inc., a.k.a.

Stirling Cooke discloses that CIRCL is insolvent

November 30, 2001
Goldman Sachs controlled Stirling Cooke Brown's problems worsened this month as the firm announced that its reinsurance subsidiary, Comp Indemnity Reinsurance Company Ltd., had become insolvent.News of CIRCL's insolvency was contained in the firm's 10Q filing with the SEC on

Overseas Development Bank & Trust facing liquidation

November 30, 2001
An application may be made to wind up Dominica based Overseas Development Bank & Trust in the first week of December if it does not honor a demand for payment from a creditor, we have been told.Attorney Michael Bruney told

St. Vincent: Money Talks and Nano Walks

November 30, 2001
A claim by St Vincent &the Grenadines that it is serious about combating financial crime was dealt a blow on November 22 when it allowed suspected money launderer Thierry Nano to avoid an arrest warrant.Nano flew from the island on

Bermuda Commodities Exchange goes into liquidation

November 30, 2001
The AIG sponsored Bermuda Commodities Exchange, which was trying to pioneer the trading of insurance derivatives,, has gone into voluntary liquidation.A legal notice published in Bermuda stated that the Exchange "cannot by reason of its liabilities continue its business".The Bermuda

Canadian Venture Exchange blocks offshore firm’s reverse merger attempt

November 30, 2001
The Canadian Venture Exchange has blocked a reverse merger attempt by a firm offering online stockbroking products to offshore investment firms.British Virgin Islands domiciled Blue Chip Online Ltd., whose President is Canadian businessman Richard Czerlau, had been trying to reverse

Scott Turner hits out ahead of meeting of Atlas Securities creditors

November 30, 2001
Canadian businessman Scott Turner, who is subject to an arrest warrant in the Turks & Caicos Islands for suspected fraud, has issued a letter attacking other members of his failed stockbroker Atlas Securities Inc.Nowhere in the five page letter, which