May 22, 2010 – Edward Allen and David Olson operated their real estate company, A & O Investments, LLC, as a Ponzi scheme according to the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The SEC’s complaint filed in an Ohio federal court claims that from September 2005 to December 2008 Allen and…
May 10, 2010 – Victims of the Millennium Bank Ponzi scheme have survived a motion to dismiss filed by Defendant JPMorgan Chase Bank in their class action lawsuit. The complaint alleges that the bank aided and abetted the perpetrators of a $200 million Ponzi scheme which operated out of offices…
April 22, 2010 – Nevin Shapiro allegedly operated Capitol Investments USA, Inc. (“Capitol”), a Miami based grocery diverter, as an investment fraud. According to the complaint filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), Shapiro’s fraud raised $900 million from at least 60 investors across the country. According to…
April 5, 2010 – IRA custodians, Zia Trust, Inc., Sunwest Trust, Inc., and Sterling Trust Company, hold funds as custodians for investors with self-directed Individual Retirement Accounts (“IRAs”). It is now being alleged that at least one of these companies actively promoted investments with Douglas Vaughan, and his fictitious entities, now accused by…
March 30, 2010 – Enrique Villalba allegedly used his various business entities Money Market Alternative, L.P., Money Market Alternative Ltd., Money Market Plus, and Hybrid Money Market Management LLC to perpetrate a $39 million Ponzi scheme. In an Ohio federal court on Monday, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filed…
March 24, 2010 – Douglas Vaughan allegedly ran his entities The Vaughan Company, Realtor’s Inc., and Vaughan Capital, LLC as an investment scam that robbed approximately 600 investors of $80 million. On Tuesday, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filed a complaint in a New Mexico federal court against Vaughan…
March 4, 2010 – The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filed a complaint against Gaston Cantens and Teresita Cantens for allegedly running their real estate firm, Royal West Properties, Inc., as a Ponzi scheme. According to the complaint, the Cantens’ raised over $135 million from over 400 investors, who were primarily…
February 23, 2010 – Lawrence “Lee” Loomis and his father-in-law John Hagener were allegedly running an investment scam through their entities Loomis Wealth Solutions, LLC and Lismar Financial Services, LLC. According to a complaint filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) today in a California federal court, the two…
January 13, 2010 – Neil Moody and his son, Christopher Moody, have been linked by the SEC to a hedge fund scam run by Arthur Nadel. The Moodys used Nadel as the sole investment adviser for their Sarasota, Florida based hedge funds: Valhalla Investment Partners, L.P., Viking IRA Fund, LLC, and Viking…
January 8, 2010 – The SEC alleges Richard Elkinson operated an investment scam that bilked 130 investors out of at least $28 million dollars, based on a civil complaint filed yesterday. According to the complaint, which was filed in a federal court in Massachusetts, Elkinson ran the scam out of…