Investment

SHOWING:

8151 to 8200 of 8719 results
  

Sort By:

Search

Filter By:

Topics

show more show less

Jurisdictions

show more show less

Allegations

show more show less

Events

Third sham bank linked with The Harris Organization

July 31, 2001
The Harris Organization financial services group has set up yet another Internet bank that is being operated without a license.Operating from a web-site at www.ginvestmentgroup.com, G Investment Group claims that it is "a diversified financial services company providing clients a broad range of international structures involving financial, asset protection and investment opportunities".

Caribbean Bank of Commerce boss sent to prison

July 31, 2001
Eugene Chusid, who has recently been implicated in an investment scam known as Le Club Privé, has been imprisoned for 37 months for another fraud involving the Caribbean Bank of Commerce, of Antigua.Chusid was also fined $250,000 and ordered to pay restitution of $360,000 when he was sentenced at the US District Court for the Southern District of New York on July 17, 2001.

David Rowe linked with plaintiff in alleged advance fee fraud

July 31, 2001
A Canadian businessman who is currently in prison awaiting trial for an alleged offshore banking fraud was an agent for a US-based firm that itself was a victim of fraud, according to a civil lawsuit.David Rowe, who at one time was President and CEO of Grenada-registered Cambridge International Bank and Trust, is mentioned along with CIBT in a civil complaint filed at Federal Court in Oklahoma.

Bank of Bermuda settles Cash 4 Titles lawsuit after losing jurisdiction ruling

July 31, 2001
The loss of a key ruling on the issue of jurisdiction seems to have been the catalyst behind the Bank of Bermuda's decision to settle two civil lawsuits for an amount not to exceed $67.5 million. An application for preliminary approval of a settlement agreement with victims of the Ponzi scheme known as Cash 4 Titles was filed with the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida on July 3. 

Donald Wallace jailed for contempt

July 31, 2001
A man who operated a prime bank note scam through a Cayman Islands-registered entity called Kenton Capital Ltd. has been held in contempt of court in the United States.Donald C. Wallace, who was President of Kenton Capital, was held in contempt by the U. S. District Court for the District of Columbia on July 12, 2001 for failing to satisfy a judgment obtained by the SEC on September 30, 1998.

Mexican police arrest Andy Mann

July 31, 2001
Joseph Andy Mann, who is a client of Nevis-based offshore provider Robin Cotterell, was arrested on or around July 23 in Mexico, where he lives.At the end of the month, he was still in custody pending the outcome of extradition proceedings, said a source.

First Nevisian group opens up in the Dominican Republic

July 31, 2001
The First Nevisian stockbroking and corporate services group, which is now known as The FN Group, has opened an office in the Dominican Republic, where it plans to relocate much of its business from Nevis.And the official line is still that Keith King "retired" from the group two years ago, even though he is listed as the administrative contact for its new Internet domain name of 'thefngroup.com', which was only created 12 months ago on June 20, 2000.

Imperial Consolidated firm fined for contempt of court

July 31, 2001
A subsidiary of Imperial Consolidated PLC has been fined GBP12,500 (US$17,845) after pleading guilty to contempt of court in England. The fine and costs of GBP8,516.88 (US$12,157) were handed down to Mirfield Financial at the High Court of Justice, Queen's Bench Division, Leeds District Registry, Mercantile Court, on July 18, 2001.

PILL offers clients ‘no ID credit cards’ – 100% approved!

July 31, 2001
The Bahamas-based multi-level marketing group Prosper International League Ltd., known as PILL, has promised to review the wording of a new marketing initiative after OffshoreAlert pointed out apparent inaccuracies and misrepresentations.

Imperial Consolidated postpones deposition again

July 24, 2001
Imperial Consolidated, which is suing the publisher of OffshoreAlert for libel, has, for the second time, postponed the deposition of its corporate representative, which was scheduled to take place tomorrow.

Andy Mann arrested in Mexico

July 24, 2001
Joseph Andy Mann, who is a client of Nevis-based offshore provider Robin Cotterell, has been arrested in Mexico, where he lives. In arresting 63-year-old Mann, the Mexican authorities were executing an arrest warrant issued in New York in June, 2000.

Lincoln Fraser and Jared Brook banned as company directors

July 20, 2001
Lincoln Fraser and Jared Brook, co-founders of the Imperial Consolidated Group, have each been disqualified from acting as a director of a company for four years in the United Kingdom. The disqualification was ordered at Blackpool County Court, in England, on Thursday, July 12, 2001, following an application by the Official Receiver, which is an executive agency of the Department of Trade and Industry, a government body.

Bank of Bermuda settles Cash 4 Titles litigation

July 9, 2001
The Bank of Bermuda has settled two lawsuits filed on behalf of victims of the Cash 4 Titles Ponzi scheme, whose losses have been estimated at up to $300 million.The settlement requires the bank to pay up to 50 per cent of "actual losses" suffered by participants in the Cash 4 Titles scheme, according to a press release issued on July 9, 2001 by the Bank of Bermuda.

Tri-West courier arrested while carrying $4.5 million

June 30, 2001
Tri-West Investment Club, which raised approximately $50 million from more than 6,000 people by promising monthly returns of ten per cent, has stopped payments after its founder was arrested in Mexico.Alyn Richard Waage, 55, was arrested carrying $4.5 million in cashiers' checks and money orders after he landed at Puerto Vallarta on a leased Lear Jet in April, according to international press reports.

Sham insurer run by Harris Organization sued by victims

June 30, 2001
A sham insurer operated by The Harris Organization financial services group of Panama is being sued by creditors of Lifeblood Biomedical Inc., which is in bankruptcy in the United States.Threshold Insurance Services Ltd. has been accused of providing "fictitious insurance coverage" for about $10 million of Promissory Notes issued by Lifeblood Medical, which itself was a sham firm.

John McGarrity given bail and an ankle bracelet

June 30, 2001
Former Bermuda and Bahamas insurance businessman John Keith McGarrity is currently out on bail and wearing an ankle bracelet around Tampa, Florida after being arrested in Texas on May 31.McGarrity was detained after entering the US on a fake passport in Houston, according to a regulatory source.

Meridian Investment Bank principal accused of fraud

June 30, 2001
A civil fraud lawsuit has been filed in Florida against a former plumber who is a principal of Grenada-registered Meridian Investment Bank. Sheldon Mickelson was named as a defendant in a lawsuit filed at the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit of Florida for Broward County on June 12, 2001. Plaintiffs Atul Bisaria and Deventra Sharma claim that Mickelson and two co-defendants, Mario C. Turcotte and Arthur Godin, defrauded them in a land deal.

Elderly client claims Sabourin and Sun cleaned her out

June 30, 2001
A 61-year-old woman is suing Canada-based offshore provider Peter Sabourin to recover CDN$876,451 that was allegedly defrauded from her trading account, leaving her destitute.Judith Laiken claims that Sabourin, who is described in court filings as a former school janitor, wiped out her entire account within six months of it being opened in March, 1999.

Lines Overseas Management paid $50,000 in 1997 to settle client lawsuit

June 30, 2001
Bermuda-based investment firm Lines Overseas Management and a former employee at its office in the Cayman Islands paid $50,000 in 1997 to settle a lawsuit brought by a disgruntled client, we can disclose.LOM and Andrew C. McAlpine were accused of fraud and mismanagement by Plaintiffs Vokoban Corporation and VAM International, which opened a $500,000 brokerage account with LOM in 1996.

British Trade & Commerce Bank sued in Tennessee

June 30, 2001
Dominica-based British Trade and Commerce Ltd., which went into receivership earlier this year, has been named as a defendant in a lawsuit filed in the United States.The lawsuit was filed by Global 3000 LLP, a Delaware Limited Partnership, and Herbert Beck at the U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee on June 14, 2001.

Ken Dart lawsuit halted pending Isle of Man settlement

June 30, 2001
A civil racketeering lawsuit in which a Russian industrial firm was seeking $150 million against Cayman resident Ken Dart, Dart Management Inc. and two of its employees has been stayed pending a settlement.

Fund manager Ian Renert signed documents in names of pet geese, claims SEC

June 30, 2001
Investment advisor Ian Renert has been portrayed in a lawsuit as a bungling fraudster who genuinely believes that bank debenture trading programs exist and who signed mutual fund documents in the names of his pet geese.Renert, who controlled 36 mutual fund firms that were mostly incorporated in the Bahamas, has been accused of defrauding at least 850 investors who invested $22 million from June, 1997 to April, 1999.

First Ecom.com buys Bank of Bermuda out of FEDS

June 30, 2001
Loss-making First Ecom.com Inc. announced on June 19, 2001 that it had acquired the 50 per cent of the shares of First Ecommerce Data Services Ltd. that it did not already own from the Bank of Bermuda for $4.25 million.

Judgment entered against client of Terry Neal’s Exchange Bank and Trust

June 30, 2001
A client of Exchange Bank and Trust, which is operated illegally in Nevis by Terry Neal-controlled Nevis American Trust Company, has lost a stock fraud lawsuit filed by the SEC in the United States.Judgments were entered against Stephen C. Sayre, Independent Financial Reports Inc. and Silver Screen Industries Inc. at the US District Court for the Central District of California on May 24, 2001.

Businessmen indicted over Evergreen Security alleged fraud

June 30, 2001
Three businessmen have been criminally indicted in the United States for allegedly stealing $27.7 million from British Virgin Islands-registered  mutual fund Evergreen Security Ltd.William J. Zylka, James P. Conroy and Martin W. Boelens Jr. were each charged with two or more counts of Grand Larceny at the Supreme Court of the State of New York on June 7, 2001.

DIAK Bank sued for alleged fraud

June 30, 2001
A Grenada-registered bank that is operated from St. Vincent without a license is being sued for alleged fraud in the United States.DIAK Bank and one of its directors, Kenneth R. Lagonia, are both defendants in a lawsuit filed at the US District Court for the District of Montana on January 17, 2001.

Would-be investor in Resource Underwriters accused of fraud

June 30, 2001
The potential embarrassment that Bermuda avoided by not granting a license to Robin Spencer-Arscott's Resource Underwriters in 1997 has been hammered home by an SEC lawsuit filed in the United States.The man whom Spencer-Arscott claimed was providing Resource's $30 million start-up capital, New York State-based Steven Blumhagen, has been accused of masterminding a $12 million investment fraud.Steven D. Blumhagen and his wife, Susan, who are both 50, are defendants in a civil lawsuit filed last year at the United States District Court for the Western District of New York.

Third Cash 4 Titles lawsuit filed against Bank of Bermuda

June 30, 2001
Another civil lawsuit has been filed in the United States against the Bank of Bermuda in relation to the Cash 4 Titles Ponzi scheme that collapsed in 1999 with debts estimated at $300 million.The lawsuit was filed on behalf of more than 170 plaintiffs from various parts of the United States at the Circuit Court of Shelby County, Alabama on April 26, 2001.

Imperial Consolidated founders take back control of hotel

June 30, 2001
Imperial Consolidated Group founders Lincoln Fraser and Jared Brook have bought a vacant hotel in Morecambe, England that was the primary cause of their financial problems a few years ago. They bought the Midland Hotel through a UK-based firm they control called Kalber Leisure Ltd. for between GBP350,000 and GBP500,000 (US$496,000-US$708,000) on June 11, 2001, according to the local press.

UK Official Receiver declines to halt Grant-St. James bankruptcy

June 30, 2001
Since last month's story about clients of Nevis-based Global Dominion Financial Services being unable to redeem their investments, OffshoreAlert has discovered that the firm's head is an undischarged bankrupt in the UK.Nicolas Eugene Grant-St. James, 38, who was a clothes salesman prior to going into offshore services, was declared bankrupt at the High Court in London on June 16, 1998.

Police investigate collapse of Atlas Securities

June 30, 2001
Police are investigating Wayne Turner and his son, Scott, for allegedly misappropriating an estimated $8 million from clients of Atlas Securities Inc., of the Turks & Caicos Islands.TCI police began an investigation after a KPMG audit apparently turned up evidence that the Turners had used client funds to cover margin calls relating to their personal trading accounts.

Six more bank licenses revoked in Grenada

June 25, 2001
Regulators in Grenada have revoked the licenses of six more offshore banks, at least two of which were linked to the First International Bank of Grenada and stopped operating months ago.   The banks are Anglo-American Limited, Rahab Trust and Management, Wellington Bank and Trust, Caribbean Merchant Bank, Crown Meridian Bank and Bern Savings.

SEC sues Ian Renert and Hawthorne-Sterling

June 9, 2001
The Securities & Exchange Commission has filed a civil lawsuit against US-based Ian Laurence Renert and his unregistered, Bahamas-based mutual fund group Hawthorne-Sterling & Co., for an alleged $22 million fraud.   As part of the complaint, an emergency order freezing the assets of both parties was granted on June 7, 2001 by the US District Court in Connecticut.

Nevis-based offshore provider is an undischarged bankrupt in the UK

June 7, 2001
OffshoreAlert can today confirm that the man who runs Global Dominion Financial Services in Nevis, whose approximately 200 clients are unable to redeem investments of more than US$6 million, is currently an undischarged bankrupt in the United Kingdom.   Former clothes salesman Nicolas Grant-St. James was declared bankrupt in the UK High Court on June 16, 1998 (Case number 2849 of 1998) and is due to be discharged, by expiry of time, in nine days time on 16 June 2001.

John McGarrity arrested in Texas

June 4, 2001
John Keith McGarrity, who is a former insurance officer in both Bermuda and the Bahamas, was arrested on May 31 in Houston, Texas after entering the United States on a fake passport, according to a US regulatory source.   A bond hearing was held on Friday, June 1 and we do not yet know whether he was released or remanded in custody.

Newt Utopia: The use of historical bonds in investment scams

May 31, 2001
Historical bonds have been used in numerous international frauds over the years and have cost suckers many hundreds of millions of dollars. So how do these old worthless bundles of pretty paper get used as "authentic" documents to part the

Insider Talking: May 31, 2001

May 31, 2001
Ned Richard Hart, who was criminally indicted on February 23, 2000 along with Nevis based offshore provider Raymond David Finzer and Christian G. Cooper, pleaded guilty to one count each of fraud and money laundering on May 21, 2001 at

MRM boss Robert Mulderig part of $112 million financing consortium

May 31, 2001
Mutual Risk Management Chairman and CEO Robert Mulderig was part of the consortium that recently agreed to inject $112.5 million into the ailing company, it has been disclosed.Mulderig's participation was publicly released for the first time in a filing with

OBNR Poll: One in five expects annual offshore returns of 100% and higher

May 31, 2001
The final results of our long-running poll to gauge investors' expectations when going offshore showed that 22 per cent of voters expected guaranteed annual returns of 100 per cent and higher. Offshore Business News & Research, which publishes OffshoreAlert, closed the poll on May 9, 2001 after exactly 500 people had voted since it commenced on September 29, 2000.

Offshore firms defendants in new lawsuit against Grenada bank

May 31, 2001
Bermuda-based investment firm Lines Overseas Management and Turks & Caicos Islands-based RBC Dominion Securities are among 72 defendants in a civil fraud lawsuit filed in the United States by clients of Cambridge International Bank & Trust, of Grenada. They are in good company, with fellow defendants including household names such as J&H Marsh McLennan and Lloyds TSB Bank (Isle of Man).

Global Dominion clients unable to redeem investments

May 31, 2001
About 200 people who invested more than $6 million through Nevis-based Global Dominion Financial Services are unable to redeem their investments, OffshoreAlert can reveal. One investor, a 39-year-old disabled woman residing in Washington State, is due to have her house repossessed on June 24, 2001 because she cannot meet her mortgage payments.

Bahamas arbitrators issue award against Robin Cotterell client

May 31, 2001
A Bahamas arbitration tribunal has awarded nearly $500,000 against a Nevis-registered entity managed by Robin Cotterell on behalf of American fugitive Joseph Andrew Mann. The award was handed down on February 21, 2001 in favor of Nevada-registered Basic Capital Management for breach of contract against International Depository Trust Corp.

First Ecom.com moves into oil and gas as losses mount

May 31, 2001
E-commerce firm First Ecom.com, whose principal shareholders include the Bank of Bermuda, clients of Bermuda-based investment firm Lines Overseas Management and various offshore entities, is fast becoming a lemon of gargantuan proportions. Faced with unrelentingly dire operating results, the firm took the drastic measure in May of announcing that it was using some of the $28 million of capital that it still has left to buy a Nevada-registered oil and gas exploration company called Gasco Energy Inc.

Imperial Consolidated changes web-site and postpones deposition

May 31, 2001
OffshoreAlert's investigation into the Imperial Consolidated Group reached high farce in May when the firm gave a number of Pythonesque answers to questions that we submitted to its UK-based Public Relations firm, Luther Pendragon. Perhaps the most comical response was a claim that it was prevented by UK law from disclosing the qualifications and experience of a 25-year-old man listed as General Manager of Grenada-based Imperium Bank.

Burdett Streeter sued for alleged fraud in the California

May 31, 2001
A man who at one time was listed as a Director of Grenada-registered Meridian Investment Bank has been accused of defrauding 59-year-old twin sisters out of $550,000 in a civil lawsuit filed in the United States. California-based Burdett Hale Streeter is alleged to have conned the women out of their savings by selling them into a "High Yield Investment Program" and other schemes that were described as "risk free".

John Wayne Zidar placed in custody pending trial

May 31, 2001
John Wayne Zidar and four others who were allegedly involved in a multi-million dollar investment fraud that was heavily promoted in Bermuda, as well as other countries, were arrested in April and are currently being held in custody after being criminally indicted at the U. S. District Court for Western Washington on March 28, 2001.

Another dubious Grenada bank run by an American dentist

May 31, 2001
OffshoreAlert has come across another dubious Grenada-registered offshore bank that is operated by an American dentist. Lincoln Investment Bank Ltd., which is run by Dr. Thomas E. Miller, of North Platte, Nebraska, has been offering depositors annual interest of up to 144 per cent.