Ilka Barría

The United States Probation Service has recommended that former offshore provider Marc Harris be sentenced to between 15.66 and 19.58 years in prison.The recommendation is contained in a Pre Sentence Investigation report that will be read by U. S. federal

The 72 year old principal of a Panama domiciled company that allegedly provided sham insurance for investment scams has been arrested in Belgium, where he is based.Hendrik Rienstra, of New England International Surety Co. Inc., was among six people arrested

After months of ignoring blatant illegalities, Panamanian regulators finally acted against The Harris Organization financial services group this month and suspended its business operations. However, an Order by La Comisión Nacional de Valores (National Securities Commission) was itself suspended by the Panamanian Supreme Court following an application by The Harris Organization.

Marc M. Harris, head of The Harris Organization financial services group, has been criminally charged with investment fraud in Panama, according to La Prensa newspaper.Current Harris Organization officer Ilka M. Barria and former employees Alan McAloon, Kenneth Taylor and Christine Ledezma have also apparently been charged.

Offshore promoter Adam Starchild's criminal past, Cayman politicians receive huge pay increases, clients of Marc Harris' Threshold Insurance Services claim to have been ripped off.

The Department of Banking and Finance in Florida is investigating an alleged scam involving two insurance companies run by The Harris Organization financial services group of Panama. It has been alleged that investors were duped into investing funds with Florida-registered Lifeblood Biomedical Inc. on the grounds that their investment was fully insured by Threshold Insurance Services Ltd. and Caribbean General Insurance Corporation, which are both operated by The Harris Organization. However, following the collapse of Lifeblood Biomedical last year after raising $10 million, the insurance companies have refused to pay investors' claims, alleging that agreements on their letterhead and signed by the President of both insurers, Ilka M. Barria, are bogus.