Investment

Brian Lines today became the first management casualty of the SEC's two ongoing securities fraud investigations into Bermuda-based Lines Overseas Management.LOM announced Lines had "retired" as "director, President and employee", effective July 1, 2005, even though he is just 42-years-old.

Liquidators of Cayman Islands-based securities broker SEGOES Services Ltd., formerly SEGOES Securities, are still unclear as to the extent of its insolvency.In a press release on June 6, 2005, nearly five weeks after they took control of the company, they stated they had identified total assets of US$13 million.

The U. S. District Court for the Central District of California has granted summary judgment in favor of the SEC and against a publicly-traded firm that was closely associated with a closed-end investment fund that was once listed on the Bermuda Stock Exchange.

A top British law firm helped a serial fraudster client - Bill Godley - set up an investment scheme that wiped out a Japanese pension fund, OffshoreAlert can reveal. Charles Russell solicitors drew up contracts, attended a planning meeting in Portugal, helped with an offshore bank account, and was even asked to help prepare a "due diligence" report to give credibility to the scheme, known as 'Invaro'. The law firm has received more than £2 million ($3.5 million) in legal fees from Godley-related parties, including a Bahamas IBC, said a source.

Complaint in Christopher R. Barclay, Trustee in Bankruptcy of Midland Euro Exchange, Inc., Midland Euro, Inc., Midland Group, Inc., Moshe Leichner, and Zvi Leichner v. Lines Overseas Management Limited at the U. S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District Court of California.

Due to a loss of clients and reputation amid a slew of widely-publicized fraud allegations, offshore broker Lines Overseas Management claims to be scaling back its activity in U. S. penny stocks. Effective June 30, 2005, LOM Holdings Limited says the group will "dramatically curtail client activity in the US bulletin board and pink sheet over the counter market".

Affidavit of Sydney Saunders in The Attorney General of the Bahamas v. Giuseppe Joseph Castiglione, Michael Castiglione, Banakor Swisse SA, BSB Corporate Services Limited, Banakor Swiss Holdings (Nassau) Limited, and Royal Bank of Canada (Bahamas) Limited at Bahamas Supreme Court.

The amount of client funds misappropriated from offshore stock-broker SEGOES Services Ltd. may exceed US$15 million, according to the first interim report to creditors. That is how much was transferred from a group account "to a beneficiary as yet unidentified" on November 17, 2004, stated Kenneth Krys and Christopher Stride, whose status changed from joint provisional liquidators to joint liquidators on May 20 after it was determined the SEGOES group could not continue as a going concern and should be wound-up.

Offshore investment firm Lines Overseas Management, which is headquartered in Bermuda and has offices in Cayman, the Bahamas and England, claims to have spent US$2.75 million over the last two years on legal fees concerning two securities fraud investigations into its activities by the Securities and Exchange Commission; The International Financial Services Authority in St. Vincent & the Grenadines has revoked these Class I banking licenses: Horizon International Bank Limited, on April 4, 2005; Transglobal Bank Limited, on April 13, 2005; and Triton Capital Bank Limited, on April 13, 2005; How times have changed. On May 26, 2005, something happened that would have been unthinkable when OffshoreAlert was launched in 1997: the Cayman Islands Government issued a press release lauding its co-operation with U. S. authorities in clamping down on financial crime and disclosing that Cayman Islands Chief Justice Anthony Smellie; and OffshoreAlert has unearthed yet another red-flag concerning GISBeX, a Costa Rica-based stock exchange that purports to specialize in securities offered under Regulation S of the Securities Exchange Act in the United States and operates from a web-site at www.gisbex.com.

A New York-based attorney with a conviction for securities fraud is an insider in a penny stock firm controlled by the principals of Bermuda-based Lines Overseas Management, OffshoreAlert can reveal. The involvement of Edward Marvin Grushko casts further suspicion on River Capital Group Inc., which is raising money from the public by claiming it intends to operate as a Bermuda insurer without disclosing that two licensing applications were turned down by the Insurance Admissions Committee of the Bermuda Monetary Authority last year and that no further application has been made since then.

Five people in California and three others in Costa Rica were arrested in May for allegedly swindling hundreds of investors out of tens of millions of dollars from 1994 to 2002 in an offshore investment scam.The arrests followed an 83-count indictment - unsealed on May 13, 2005 - at the U. S. District Court for the Central District of California concerning an unlicensed investment fund known as the Genesis Fund.

Article based on an application to collect evidence for a criminal investigation into alleged investment fraud - pursuant to a request for judicial assistance from the United Kingdom - that was filed at federal court in the USA on April 28, 2005. Individuals and businesses mentioned in the request for assistance include Kevin Dooley, Trevor Prider, Dooley & Co., CFC Finance Ltd., JPMorgan Chase, Chase Manhattan Bank, Citco Banking Corporation, Golconda Partners Ltd., Woodborough Corporation Ltd., Ken Wiseman II, Wiseman Hedge Fund, Barclays Bank, Fiserv Correspondent Services Inc., JD Horwood, Imhoff Clearing Corporation, Imhoff Clearing Corporation, National Westminster Bank, First National Bank, Crystal Cathedral, Somerset Auctions Inc., Steven Thomas Antiques, Nelson Storage, Irvine Regional Hospital and Medical Center, The Inside Story, Abe Corporation, RAD Industries Inc., Majestic Marble & Granite, and US Remodelers Inc.

Section 304 Petition for Assistance in Insolvency Proceedings in the Bahamas by Clifford Johnson and Wayne Aranha, as the Foreign Representatives of Globe-X Management Limited and Globe-X Canadiana Limited, at the U. S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

Bermuda based stock broker Lines Overseas Management has been caught up in yet another securities fraud investigation being carried out by the Securities & Exchange Commission in the United States.LOM was named as a relief defendant in a civil complaint

Law Investments Limited -  Enforcement Actions - Isle of Man Financial Supervision Commission

Second Amendment Complaint in U.S. Bank N.A. v. Eel River Investment Company, Veril L. Olsen, Michael D. Ross, John E. Breazile, Michael Sullivan, Sterne Agee & Leech Inc., Eel River Acquisition Corporation, Ross Williamson & Loitz PLLC, Sendjer Shefket, of England; Target International Funds Ltd., of England, and Eel River Lumber Products LLC at the U. S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.

Notice by Cayman Islands Monetary Authority that SEGOES Services Ltd., f.k.a. SEGOES Securities Ltd., has gone into liquidation.

Husband-and-wife investors in the fraudulently-operated Imperial Consolidated Group have won a judgment for their full loss of £500,000 (US$924,769) against an independent financial adviser. The IFA, Caroline Ockwell & Co., was found to have been negligent in recommending an unregulated offshore investment fund offering a 15 per cent annual return to retired British farming couple Edward Arthur Seymour and Pauline Mary Seymour. However, Ockwell is only liable for one-third of the judgment after it secured a judgment for two-thirds of the award against financial services firm Zurich IFA Limited, whose Isle of Man office recommended the investment product to Ockwell.

Letter to the Editor of OffshoreAlert from Rebeca Gonzalez regarding SEGOES Securities.

Letter to the Editor of OffshoreAlert from James Fontanetta regarding SEGOES Securities.

Supplemental Affidavit of Det. Sgt. Bernard Young in The Attorney General of the Bahamas v. Giuseppe Joseph Castiglione, Michael Castiglione, Banakor Swisse SA, BSB Corporate Services Limited, Banakor Swiss Holdings (Nassau) Limited, and Royal Bank of Canada (Bahamas) Limited at Bahamas Supreme Court.

The principal owner of a failed offshore stock broker known as SEGOES has filed a suspicious activity report against two of its former officers and a penny stock promoter.John Kaweske, a U. S. national with Caymanian status, supplied information to

Section 304 Petition for Assistance in Insolvency Proceedings in Dominica by Marcus Wide, as the Foreign Representative of Tradex Ltd., at the U. S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California.

Less than three months after being featured in OffshoreAlert, the operator of an unlicensed, Bahamas-based investment fund has been arrested in New York.Derek Guise Turner, a New Zealand national, was arrested in Long Island on April 18 - three days after a sealed criminal complaint alleging fraud was filed against him at the U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Offshore stock-broker SEGOES Services Ltd. has gone out of business amid a police investigation in Cayman and concerns that clients have been defrauded of millions of dollars.The firm, formerly known as SEGOES Securities Ltd., went into provisional liquidation by order of the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands on April 29 following a petition the same day by two clients in British Columbia, Canada with a claim totaling US$400,000.

Former hedge fund boss Michael Lauer's "girlfriends" and stock "valuation shills" are among the defendants in the latest lawsuit filed in Miami by the Receiver of the Lancer Offshore group. "Lauer would often use the Girlfriends to assist him in violating his duties to the Funds by placing valuable assets, including aircraft and cash, in their names in an effort to prevent investors and/or the SEC from seizing such assets," stated the complaint.

Article based on a complaint to extradite Ronald Bautista Geronimo and Jinky Geronimo from the USA to the Philippines to stand trial for alleged fraud, filed at the U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of California on March 30, 2005.

Four current or former employees of Cayman Islands-based Caledonian Bank and Trust Limited are potential targets for legal action concerning the failure of a wine-based investment scheme.First, however, liquidator Christopher Johnson needs to raise money to fund any litigation and he intends to seek court permission to sell 285,717 bottles of wine - valued at €1,856,055 (US$2.4 million) - that are stored in a warehouse in Switzerland.

A penny stock firm controlled by the senior officers of Bermuda-based investment firm Lines Overseas Management reported a net loss of $778,928 for the 12 months ended December 31, 2004, according to its recent 10K filing with the SEC, increasing its deficit to $1.08 million.However, River Capital Group Inc.'s share price soared during the year, hitting a high of $6.50 on the Pink Sheets market, despite the firm having no full-time employees, no revenue and, some would say, no future.

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence - pursuant to a request for judicial assistance from the United Kingdom - for a criminal investigation into "Kevin Dooley (now deceased), Trevor Prider and others for their involvement in and management of a massive investment fraud scheme resulting in the loss of millions of dollars to original investors".

British police today arrested Bill Godley and took him away for questioning about the collapsed investment group known as Imperial Consolidated, of which he is a former CEO. Godley, a 57-year-old South African national who is believed to reside in Portugal and South Africa, was picked up by officers in London in the early afternoon, local time.

A newsletter writer has "fled" the United States to avoid being questioned by the SEC about alleged securities fraud by offshore investment firm Lines Overseas Management, it has been claimed.The allegation was among new details that were released by the SEC in a filing on March 31, 2005 at the U. S. District Court for the District of Columbia, where the Commission is seeking to enforce four subpoenas served on LOM and its Managing Director, Scott Lines, last year concerning two separate investigations into the trading of shares issued by Sedona Software Solutions Inc. and SHEP Technologies Inc., both of Vancouver, Canada, and HiEnergy Technologies Inc., of Irvine, California.

Criminal Complaint in USA v. Derek Guise Turner at the U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Motion for Temporary Restraining Order in U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Z-Par Holdings Inc., Z-Par Investment Fund II, Larry Michael Parrish, and Michael Edward Zimmerman, as defendants, and Edward Akopian and Capital Ban Corp., as relief defendants, at the U. S. District Court for the District of Maryland.

Complaint in U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Z-Par Holdings Inc., Z-Par Investment Fund II, Larry Michael Parrish, and Michael Edward Zimmerman, as defendants, and Edward Akopian and Capital Ban Corp., as relief defendants, at the U. S. District Court for the District of Maryland.

Complaint in Alejandro Burillo v. Chuck Blazer, a.k.a. Charles Gordon Blazer, and Multisport Games Development, Inc. at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

SEC's Closing Argument and Trial Brief in a securities fraud complaint against Agora, Inc., Pirate Investor, LLC and Frank Porter Stansberry at the U. S. District Court for the District of Maryland.

Former Lancer Offshore boss Michael Lauer may soon be incarcerated and fined for breaching court orders freezing his assets and requiring his co operation with the SEC's investigation into his affairs.In a report dated March 22, 2005, U. S. Magistrate

Three former senior officers of The Harris Organization, which defrauded clients out of tens of millions of dollars before collapsing in 2002, are back in business in Panama. Lawrence George Gandolfi, 65, a.k.a. Larry Gandolfi Christopher Glover Davy, 60, and

The liquidators of an offshore hedge fund that collapsed owing approximately $300 million have filed a civil complaint in New York against its former controllers, auditor and administrator.The complaint was filed by Theo Bullmore and Philip Stenger, as joint official

Segments of Bermuda's insurance industry are in chaos as law enforcement and regulatory agencies in the United States crank up their investigations into offshore transactions.AIG's local operation appears to be in melt down, while finite risk reinsurer Inter Ocean Reinsurance

Two more suspected fraudsters have been arrested in the United States in connection with the criminal activities of the First International Bank of Grenada group.Taansen Fairmont Sumeru, a.k.a. David Freeston, of Santa Barbara, California, and JeRu Harold Hall, a.k.a. Jerome

The auditor of River Capital Group Inc., which appears to be controlled by investment firm Lines Overseas Management and is associated with ex-Aon (Bermuda) boss Robin Spencer-Arscott, has resigned.No explanation for the resignation of Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based Sweeney, Gates & Co. was given in an SEC filing on March 3, 2005 other than to state there were no accounting disagreements.

Complaint alleging securities fraud in U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Pension Fund of America L.C., of Florida; PFA Assurance Group Ltd., of the Cayman Islands; PFA International Ltd., of the Cayman Islands; Claren TPA LLC, of Florida; Luis M. Cornide, of Florida, and Robert de la Riva, of Florida, at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Emergency Ex Parte Motion for Temporary Order Freezing Assets in U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Pension Fund of America L.C., of Florida; PFA Assurance Group Ltd., of the Cayman Islands; PFA International Ltd., of the Cayman Islands; Claren TPA LLC, Luis M. Cornide, and Robert de la Riva, all of Florida, at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Settlement Agreement in Bartlett Richards, James Donigan, George Rezny, James Klouda, Shirley Wong, Robert Petry, Richard Almandi, Eugene Huske, Steven Schweitzer, Rod Kenley, Joseph Klouda, Robert Hayes, John Slevin, Jr., John Slevin, James Bencivenga, Charles Neumann, The Gasparini Family Trust, Innovative Technology Partners II, LP, Sandy Shores Investment Co., LLC, Robert Haveman, The Elsa D. Prince Living Trust, Ron Piasecki, Jim Menz, Antonio Vigneri and Linda Vigneri v. Andrew Joseph Zahn, Mark Polinsky, Allen Sutker, Edward Gourley, Craig Guttman, Michael Seedman, and Rick Mills at the U. S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Public Warning by Spain's Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores against Millenium Business Services, S.L., whose participants were identified as Richard Sinclair Pope, Alexander Giles Martin, Harrington Advisory Services SL, and Richmond Royce Advisory Services SL.

Failed hedge fund Evergreen Security has recovered $3.7 million from Bahamas-based Surety Bank & Trust Ltd. (in liquidation). The recovery represents funds that were allegedly stolen by Thomas Spencer and Robert Boyd, who were founders of Evergreen and shareholders of the bank.

Letter to Mark Francis from Warren Tobias, representing Joseph Castiglione.

For the second time in 57 days, a British Columbia Securities Commission panel has ruled not to ban offshore investment firm Lines Overseas Management from the local market. In a decision on March 4, 2005, the panel determined that, although it was still concerned about LOM's activities, its staff had not met their burden of providing sufficient evidence to justify an order prohibiting LOM, affiliated firms and its senior officers from trading on behalf of undisclosed beneficial owners. However, the panel left open a window of opportunity for its staff by concluding that: "If the Executive Director wishes to pursue the matter, the necessary evidence should be gathered and a notice of hearing issued."