Fraud

Florida based businessman David H. Siegel looks set to become the latest suspected investment fraudster to choose money over prison.The SEC filed a contempt of court motion against 65 year old Siegel on September 27, 2002 after he failed to

Thierry Nano, who is wanted in the United States on suspicion of money laundering, has filed a civil complaint in New York against the liquidator of his offshore banks.Defendants in the action are PricewaterhouseCoopers and Marcus A. Wide, a PWC

A twice bankrupt businessman who once fell victim to a foreign currency exchange scam is promoting his own Forex scheme and telling participants it is "realistic" to expect monthly returns of four per cent.Maurice Lewis Mills, 37, operates Washington State-based Sterling forex LLC, which claims it has "fulfilled CFTC Compliance requirements to offer forex trading advisory services to U.S. Clients".

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in the United Kingdom into Neil Edward Walker, James George Thomas Brooman, Ian David Cale, Irnraan Abid Karim, Barrie John Connor, Timothy Theobald, David Hodgson, Simon Morley, Craig Mark Ireland and Iftekhar Ahmed for alleged tax fraud.

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in Poland into Zbigniew Bentyn for alleged tax fraud.

Section 304 Supplemental Petition for Assistance in Insolvency Proceedings in the Bahamas by Raymond Winder, as the Foreign Representative of Suisse Security Bank and Trust Ltd., at the U. S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

The Genesis Fund Ltd. Equity Recovery Plan - September 24, 2002

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in Belgium into Jozef Lernout, Pol Hauspie and Lernout & Hauspie for alleged fraud.

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in Brazil into allegations of money laundering, corruption, deviation of public funds and illegal trading in false securities involving Wagner Baptista Ramos and others.

Complaint in Endovasc Ltd. Inc. v. J.P. Turner & Co. LLC, KCM Group LLC, Kingdon Capital Management LLC, The Keshet Fund LP, Sichenzia Ross & Friedman LLP, Keshet LP, Nesher Ltd., Talbiya B. Investments Ltd., Balmore Funds SA, David Grin, LH Financial Services Corp., Laurus Master Fund Ltd., Laurus Capital Management LLC, Celeste Trust Reg, and Patrick Power at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Criminal Complaint in USA v. Sylvia Hermann, a.k.a. Sylvia A. Ilcken, at the U. S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in Poland into Mariella LLC for alleged tax fraud.

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in Jamaica into Money Traders Investment Ltd. and Ewart Gilzean for alleged fraud.

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in Italy into Marco Bourelly and Fausto De Berardinis for alleged bank fraud.

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in France into Jean-Paul Roca, Bernard Mathieu and others for alleged fraud and forgery.

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in Ukraine into suspected tax evasion by persons in connection with the purchase of natural gas from Russia by Naftogas Ukrainy.

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in Belgium into Jozef Lernaut, Pol Haupsieof Lernaut & Hauspie and Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products for alleged fraud, forgery, insider dealing and price manipulation.

Defendant's Objection to Presentence Report and Motion for Downward Departure in USA v. Richard F. Downes at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in Germany into Edmund Ballier, Friedrich-Karl Gradl, Detlev Pinnow, Gerd Ullrich, Fritz-Heinz Bosking, Wolfgang Hummer, Philipp Schauer, Ludwig Schauer and others for alleged fraud.

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in Switzerland into Hans Josef Ludwig, Georg Eduard von Boguslawski, Robert Schoch and Lidia Santangelo-Ortoleva for alleged fraud involving Henderson Pacific Private Bank and Henderson Pacific Financial Services AG.

Bermuda-based Norwegian con man Vidar Lunoe, whose fraud victims included his own friends, was sentenced to three and a half years in prison on August 14.Lunoe, who also has British citizenship, admitted defrauding victims out of $1,078,000 during proceedings at Bermuda Magistrates Court.

Recently-Filed Actions by Securities Regulators Around the World.

An underwriter who helped cause one of Bermuda's biggest ever insurance failures is awaiting trial in the United States on insurance fraud charges relating to another company.Michael Leslie Hodnett, a 54-year-old British national, has been charged with five counts of fraud and five counts of insurance crimes affecting interstate commerce at Federal court in Florida.

A new investment scam that has arisen out of the ashes of the failed Imperial Consolidated Group is being run along virtually identical lines, OffshoreAlert can reveal. Potential investors in a British Virgin Islands-registered firm doing business as 'Property International' are being offered annual interest rates of 18 per cent by Imperial's former management and promoters.

Two businessmen whose interests have included Bahamas investment firms and a Bermuda reinsurer have been criminally indicted in the United States for their alleged involvement in a massive investment fraud.Jon Knight, 56, and J. Anthony Huggins, 63, stole $6.5 million from an account at the Bank of Butterfield in the name of British Virgin Islands-registered Evergreen Security, according to the complaint.

In the 'Corruptions Perceptions Index 2002' recently published by Transparency International, Costa Rica was perceived to be the 40th most corrupt of 102 countries reviewed.That might change, however, following two recent incidents in a country that has become a magnet for North American investment fraudsters fleeing criminal investigations in their home countries.

CIBC Bank and Trust (Cayman) and three of its subsidiaries are being sued for fraud and negligence in the United States over the alleged mismanagement of a trust account.The lawsuit was filed on August 7, 2002 at the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

A United States-based promoter of sham offshore investment products has been sentenced to eight years in prison after being convicted of securities fraud in Texas. Cameron O. Bailey was also fined a total of $6,000 and ordered to pay restitution to his victims when he was sentenced on August 29, 2002 at the 283rd District Court for Dallas, in Dallas County, Texas.

The farce that is Brek Energy continued in August with the reporting of yet another quarterly loss and a restatement of previous earnings because the firm had classified some expense as revenue.Brek, into which the Bank of Bermuda and clients of Bermuda-based Lines Overseas Management invested in excess of $28 million, reported a net loss of $3.4 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2002.

Bahamas accountant Michael M. Hepburn, who has been arrested and charged with money laundering in Miami, has a history of involvement with crooked companies, OffshoreAlert can reveal. Hepburn, 54, has provided fake audits for several offshore insurers that have collapsed amid heavy losses and allegations of impropriety, including Paramount Reinsurance Ltd., formerly First Reinsurance Ltd., of Barbados; and Alpine Assurance Ltd. and Savoy Reinsurance Co. Ltd., both of the Turks & Caicos Islands.

Two men whose involvement in sham offshore credit unions was exposed by OffshoreAlert last year have been charged with defrauding a 100-year-old widow out of more than $6 million in the United States.Dale A. Erickson, 53, and Darryl K. Willis were arrested on June 27, 2002 in Connecticut and Montana, respectively, and are currently in custody, with bail set at $2.5 million for Erickson and $100,000 cash, plus conditions, for Willis.

A Beverly Hills lawyer who tried to defraud an ACE-owned insurance company over a sunken yacht has been imprisoned for seven and half years, according to a report in The Royal Gazette newspaper.Rex K. DeGeorge was also fined $2.8 million for filing a fraudulent claim with Cigna Property and Casualty Insurance Company, reported the newspaper.

Investors Bank and Trust Ltd., formerly known as Overseas Development Bank and Trust Ltd., has been taken over by regulators in its home jurisdiction of Dominica.PricewaterhouseCoopers was appointed controller of the bank on August 20, 2002 because IBT was "insolvent" and "unable to meet its obligations", according to Prime Minister Pierre Charles.

Five Bermuda residents, including Marsh Management's second-ranking officer on the island, are among worldwide victims of a massive investment fraud. Rory Gorman was a client of the Imperial Consolidated Group, which went into administration in the United Kingdom in June with liabilities of $345 million. Gorman is the Managing Director/Client Services of Marsh Management Services (Bermuda) Ltd., which describes itself as the "world leader in the management of captive insurance companies".

Canadian authorities who took part in Operation 'Bermuda Short' which led to 58 indictments, including two directors of a Bermuda-based firm, have praised offshore regulators for their level of co-operation."It's a fallacy that offshore centers do not co-operate with such investigations," said Garry W. G. Clement, Superintendent with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, told OffshoreAlert. 

New evidence obtained by OffshoreAlert shows that THREE convicted drug dealers are beneficial owners of the British Virgin Islands-registered parent of The Harris Organization financial services group. The traffickers all own preferred shares, which purport to pay annual interest of 10% in the case of Wallace Stull and James Somerville, and 7% for Lawrence Boulanger.

Selected Clients of The Harris Organization - August 31, 2002

Letter to the Editor of OffshoreAlert from the son of an alleged victim of Marc Harris.

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in Ecuador into Roberto Isaias Dassun, Daniel Eduardo Rodriguez Galarza and others regarding suspected fraud and corruption involving Filanbanco SA.

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence from Pinebank - pursuant to a request for judicial assistance from the United Kingdom - for a criminal investigation into "Kevin Dooley, John Silver and others for theft and conspiracy to defraud".

Order of Dismissal in Cavett, Turner & Wyble, LLP, Golden Eagle Financial Group, Inc., Gilbert I. Low, P.C., Gilbert I. Low, R. Leldon Sweet, M.D., P.A., and R. Leldon Sweet, M.D. v. Tracy L. Sunderlage, Carey L. Sunderlage, Sunderlage Resource Group, Inc., Professional Benefit Trust, Inc., Professional Benefit Trust, Ltd., PBT Administration, LLC, The Professional and Small Business Council, Inc., Independent Trust Corporation, First Fidelity Trust Co., Ltd., Handler, Thayer & Duggan, LLC, and Thomas J. Handler at the U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner for a criminal investigation in the United Kingdom into alleged fraud by James Cadwell, Richard Pope and David Curley.

Judgment in a Criminal Case in USA v. Brian Boeger at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Former offshore bankers Julien Giraud and Brian Boeger have each been sentenced to 37 months in prison in the United States.Giraud was also fined $7,500 and they were both ordered to jointly and severally pay $194,000 in restitution.

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in Spain into Nicolas Spaccapietra, a.k.a. Jorge Morasso, for alleged fraud and forgery.

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in Spain into Lesvia Ugueth Pinilla Peralta, Elmer Gonzalo Valencia Jimenez, Yesid Espinosa Chia and Alfonso Rojas Ospina for alleged fraud and extortion.

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in Mexico into Casa de Cambio Arbitraje SA de CV for alleged fraud.

Fifty-eight people have been criminally indicted in the United States following a two-year undercover investigation into white-collar crime. As of lunch-time today, 53 of those indicted had been arrested, including Bahamas-based accountant Michael Hepburn, who helps to operate Barbados-licensed Keywest Swiss Investment Bank.

A worldwide mareva injunction has been issued in the United Kingdom against Lincoln Fraser and Jared Brook, who co-founded the fraudulently-operated Imperial Consolidated Group. The injunction freezes all personal and business assets belonging to Fraser and Brook.

Letter to the Editor concerning Marc M. Harris from attorney Lee Tupper, of Tupper Jonsson & Yeadon, representing Georgia Pacific Securities.