Lifeblood Biomedical Inc.

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.

Former Bermuda-based underwriter John McGarrity has disappeared in the middle of several investigations into him for alleged fraud. McGarrity, who was President of the now-defunct Amberco Brokers Ltd. in the 1980s, had most recently been working in the Bahamas.

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.