Investment

Michael Gause, who was one of the principals of the Cayman based Ponzi scheme known as Cash 4 Titles, has been sentenced to ten years and seven months in prison in the United States. Gause was also ordered to pay

A civil complaint has been filed in the United States against a now defunct Grenada licensed offshore bank and its principals by a client seeking the recovery of $6 million. In an action brought at the Circuit Court for the

Goldman Sachs, which took Stirling Cooke Brown public in 1997 without disclosing its principals' history of fraud, has finished bottom of an IPO performance league table for the London market.

The Imperial Consolidated Group has offshore liabilities of approximately $170 million and has so far been unable to provide evidence to regulators that it has any substantial assets, OffshoreAlert can reveal. Imperial has not even been able to produce any books, let alone assets, according to a source who is familiar with the current investigation into the group by Grenada's Ministry of Finance.

Seventy-six new lawsuits have been filed by the Bankruptcy Trustee of a fraudulently-run offshore 'mutual fund' known as Evergreen Security, which is insolvent by approximately $200 million. The actions, which have been filed in Florida, seek to reclaim more than $8.1 million that was allegedly fraudulently transferred by way of commissions to promoters of Evergreen.

Indictment filed by USA against Alvin Irwin Moss, Frederick John Collier, Avraham Zohar, a.k.a. Avy Zohar; Richard Titterington, Geoffrey L. Feldman, Sherrie-Lee Doreen Cave, Peter James O'Sullivan, Rosalind Rose, Wayne Budd, Thomas Montgomery Bayer, Robert Murray Bohn, Stacy Layne Beavers, Beverly Ann Moss, Jeffery Allen Moss, Larry Charles Moss, Michael Joseph Harkin and Michael Elliot Cole at the U. S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee.

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in Spain into Alberto Ortega Diaz, Fernando Heras Castan, Pedro M. Llorente Malo, Francisco Javier Munoz Ponce, David Santiago Suarez, Manuel A. Diaz Fernandez, Ignacio Jose Correa Sureda and Santiago Maroto Illera for alleged securities fraud involving Port Kenny Holding SL.

Complaint filed by Rani Jarkas against CIBC Oppenheimer Corp. and David Carey at California Superior Court, San Francisco County.

The Provisional Liquidator of Bahamas-based Suisse Security Bank and Trust has won a partial legal victory in his attempt to recover the bank's assets and protect it from lawsuits in the United States.

A company operated by David G. Rose, who promotes unregistered oil and gas shares at offshore conferences, has lost a judgment in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.On March 28, 2002, Judge Martin Feldman ruled that Nevada-registered Rose Energy Ltd. had forfeited its interest in an oil, gas and mineral well at Jefferson Parish, Louisiana.

A change of plea hearing has been set for May 9 for Rodolfo A. Requena, the former Chairman and President of Dominica-based British Trade and Commerce Bank who is charged with money laundering.Requena, 51, previously pleaded not guilty to one count of money laundering and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Recently-filed warnings from securities regulators around the world.

Former offshore banker Kenneth Payne has been sentenced to 17 years and seven months in prison after pleading guilty to five counts of mail fraud and one count of money laundering in the United States.Payne, who helped to operate the now defunct 21st Century Banking Group, in Grenada, was sentenced on April 12, 2002 at the United States District Court for the District of Southern Indiana.

As more evidence emerges casting doubt on the business affairs of alleged investment fraudster Keem Kalfon, he has set up a web-site where he denounces his critics as "Jew haters" and "cowards".Kalfon set up the site at www.keemkalfon.com in April after OffshoreAlert began reporting about his involvement in alleged investment fraud.

The future of the Imperial Consolidated Group has been thrown into doubt after regulators in Grenada took administrative control of its offshore bank. Imperium Bank cannot make any financial disbursements without the consent of PricewaterhouseCoopers, which is conducting a 15-day review of its books at the behest of the government.

Former offshore banker David Frank Rowe has filed for bankruptcy in the United States citing liabilities of $33.1 million and cash assets of just ten dollars. His biggest liability is listed as $30 million relating to a breach of contract claim by the now-defunct, Grenada-based Cambridge International Bank and Trust, of which he was a principal.

The secondary listing of Bank of Bermuda shares on Nasdaq, effective April 23, has created arbitrage opportunities for traders.Between its U.S. listing debut and the end of April, the bank's stock closed at a higher price on Nasdaq than the BSX on day, once by as much as $1. Nasdaq volume was more than 12 times greater.

Arthur Andersen has caused outrage in Arizona by backing out of a $217 million fraud settlement, apparently because its Bermuda-registered captive was unwilling or unable to cover the loss.The accounting firm then compounded its critics by failing to fully comply with a subpoena duces tecum issued by the Arizona Attorney General on April 2.The subpoena required the production - within 48 hours - of documents showing the financial condition of the Arthur Andersen group and Professional Services Insurance Company Ltd., of Bermuda.

Four men have agreed to plead guilty to criminal charges relating to the 'Evergreen Security' investment scam, which defrauded approximately $200 million from more than 2,000 investors.They are Thomas Spencer, 51; Robert W. Boyd, 55; and Martin W. Boelens Jr., 45, all of Orlando, Florida; and Anthony V. Micciche, 72, of Tampa, Florida.Spencer and Boyd are shareholders of Bahamas-based Surety Bank and Trust (in liquidation), which ended up with some of the proceeds from the fraud.

Grenada's Minister of Finance, Anthony Boatswain, has publicly announced that a review is being carried out of three offshore banks: Imperium Bank, AvantGuard Bank and CornerStone International Savings and Investment Bank.

Application for the issuance of Letters Rogatory by the USA regarding evidence in Costa Rica that is required for a criminal investigation into Tim Ray Sacora, Michael Wolf, Gibraltar Bank of Commerce, Banco Solidario de Costa Rica, Florida Secured Funding, and Senior Marketing Consultants Inc. for suspected fraud and money laundering.

Bahamas-based businessman Yank Barry, who is a twice convicted criminal, will be the subject of an investigative Canadian television program due to air at 10 PM EST, Sunday, April 21, 2002.   Barry will be featured on CTV's 'W-Five' program, which is Canada's equivalent of '60 Minutes' in the United States.

A complaint against Florida-based RK Grace and Co. and its principal, John D. Kaweske, has been made to the National Association of Securities Dealers by clients of its now-defunct Panama arm. OffshoreAlert understands that at least two separate clients of the Panamanian operation claim they cannot redeem investments totaling in excess of $250,000.

Recently-filed warnings from securities regulators around the world.

A Spanish court has issued an order that allows an international arms dealer and a related firm to freeze $8.5 million of assets belonging to the Imperial Consolidated Group. The order was issued on March 8, 2002 by the Court of the First Instance, in Marbella against Imperial Consolidated Inc., of Delaware; Imperium Bank, of Grenada; and Consolidated Mining Corporation Inc., of the Bahamas.

Ernst & Young (Bahamas), its Senior Partner, Paul Clarke; and its former Managing Partner, Bahamian politician Philip Galanis, have agreed to pay $3 million to settle a civil lawsuit alleging racketeering. Details of the settlement are contained in documents that were recently filed at the United States District Court for the District of Arizona.

Four people have been criminally indicted in relation to an alleged Ponzi scheme involving Grenada that investigators say defrauded at least 700 investors out of more than $39 million. Two of the main vehicles allegedly used in the scheme were Grenada-registered Rahab Trust and Management Company and Caribbean Merchant Bank, whose banking licenses were revoked last year.

Recently-filed warnings from securities regulators around the world.

Donald Alan Mueller was a salesman by heart and by vocation. He operated, for many years, as a real-estate business in Ohio.  He worked with customers and had good days and bad days. But even on his good days he could be described, at best, as "difficult".  Sometime in the 1990s Mueller became involved with a group of strict constitutionalists similar to groups that went on to media fame and fortune such as the 'Freemen of Montana'. Specifically, Mueller was a member of the Americans for a Constitutional Republic, an organization that doesn't recognize the authority of the police, state or courts.

Items that were stolen from the premises of Merrill Scott and Associates four days after an SEC lawsuit was filed against the firm were allegedly found in the office of a new firm set up by former employees. That is a claim being made by the attorney who has been appointed Receiver for the Merrill Scott group, which was based in Salt Lake City, Utah, and the Bahamas.

It has been brought to OffshoreAlert's attention that funds are being solicited from the public in the name of Bancommerce Ltd., whose literature creates the impression that it is licensed in St. Lucia. A client of this business, who claims it has defrauded him of $20,000 through a product called an "Instruction of Invoice", is currently taking steps to try to recover his money.

A new lawsuit has been filed against the Bank of Bermuda by victims of the Cash 4 Titles Ponzi scheme who have opted out of a $67.5 million settlement agreement with the bank. More than 40 plaintiffs filed an action under the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida on February 11, 2002.

Nine days after our article last month exposing a fraudulent offshore investment scheme linked with Keem Kalfon, one of the alleged participants was arrested in the United States. Ralph Glen Hines, 49, was arrested on February 9 and is currently in custody in his home state of North Carolina after failing to meet his $5 million bail requirement.

Following the convictions of William Abraczinskas and Malcolm West for money laundering only three months after their arrest, five more offshore bankers who were indicted in the same month must wait to see how the cases against them develop. Julien Giraud, of Dominica; Brian Boeger, of the United States; Richard F. Downes and Pamela Butson, who live in Spain; and Thierry Nano, formerly of St. Vincent & The Grenadines, all still have cases pending.

A civil complaint has been filed in the United States by plaintiffs claiming to have been defrauded by a Cayman-registered group whose advisors allegedly included former British MP Geoffrey Dodsworth. The action was filed at the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida on January 18, 2002 by Anne W. Hvide and Raymond B. Vickers, who are Trustees for the Hans J. Hvide Trust.

A new group that is operated from the same offices as Imperial Consolidated by people who are described as ex-Imperial employees has denied that it has become involved with a Bermuda-registered mutual fund. A spokesman for Alpha Toronto described as "incorrect" an article that was recently published in a magazine operated by British-based Charterhouse Communications.

Bahamas-based investment firm Montaque Securities International is involved in two unrelated lawsuits filed over the last five months, one as a plaintiff and the other as a defendant. In an action filed in the United States, Montaque claims that it was defrauded of $1.5 million that it loaned a client to establish a mutual fund in Germany.

Letter to the Editor of OffshoreAlert from "Dr." Keem Kalfon, faxed from 41 1 274 2715.

Motion for Determination of Good Faith Settlement in Jack G. Larsen, as Receiver for Southwest Income Trust, Advantage Income Trust, and Investors Trading Trust v. Lauriel Investments, Inc., Charles Smith, Standard Industrial Capital, Inc., Glen Roger Thompson, Progressive Growth Management Group, Ltd., Richard M. Kubany, Paul W. Floyd, III; James M. Floyd, Philip C. Galanis, Paul F. Clarke, and Ernst & Young at the U. S. District Court for the District of Arizona.

Letter to the Editor of OffshoreAlert from Ronald J. Usauskas regarding Addison International and Triology Fund.

Grenada-licensed VistaBank Ltd. and its President, Carl H. Lane, have been named as defendants in three separate lawsuits field recently in the United States. In two of the actions, the plaintiffs have alleged fraud against the bank, while the other complaint accuses Lane of ignoring an order to stop operating the bank from Atlanta, Georgia without a license.

A legal battle is taking place in the United States for control of assets that once belonged to a now bankrupt oil and gas exploration firm whose shares were promoted at offshore conferences. Creditors of Kentucky-based Robo Exploration Inc., formerly known as Robo Enterprises Inc., are investigating whether the transfer of its assets prior to bankruptcy amount to a fraudulent conveyance.

Investors who placed over US$2 million with Power Securities Ltd. in the Bahamas are preparing to take legal action against the firm and its principal, Canadian businessman Les McIntosh. They have told OffshoreAlert that they have been unable to redeem their investments with the firm, which has since closed down its Nassau office.

Recently-filed warnings from securities regulators around the world.

A United States court has appointed a receiver for and frozen the assets of an offshore investment group that has been accused by the SEC of operating a Ponzi scheme that took in at least $25 million. David K. Broadbent was appointed receiver on January 23, 2002 for the defendants in a civil lawsuit that had been filed eight days earlier by the SEC at the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah.

Conman Keem Kalfon is being falsely passed off as the chairman of The Sovereign Society investment group as part of a fund-raising effort for get-rich-quick schemes, OffshoreAlert can reveal. Those responsible are also falsely claiming they control British-based investment trust Gresham House PLC, which has been one of the world's best-performing investment vehicles over the last ten years.

A company whose beneficial owners include several Bermudians, including former Premier Sir David Gibbons is being sued in the United States. Orasee Corporation is a defendant in a civil lawsuit filed at the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York on December 13, 2001.

Bermuda-based insurance broker Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings and offshore-owned electronic payments processor First Ecom.com, which is funded largely with offshore money, face having their shares de-listed from in the first half of 2002 unless their stock prices improve. They have until February 11 to get their stocks above the $1 minimum bid that is required for continued listing on the NASDAQ National Market.

OffshoreAlert has received a complaint from a client who claims he is unable to redeem an investment made with Bahamas-registered Addison International Ltd., which is apparently run from the United States. The client, who is based in the U.S., claims that he placed $400,000 with Addison International in mid-1999 after the firm's principal told him: "If I don't return four per cent per month, you should fire me."

After being alerted to a fraudulent letter linked with Keem Kalfon's group, Gresham House PLC Chairman Alfred P. Stirling issued a general warning to investors about being approached by anyone purporting to offer high investment returns. Stirling stressed that risk was proportional to reward in investment products.