According to the Associated Press, Morgan Stanley has agreed to pay more than $7 million to settle regulatory claims of misconduct, arising from the actions of two former brokers, Michael J. Kazacos and David M. Isabella. These brokers were employees of Morgan Stanley’s Rochester branch office. It is said that the settlement resolves claims that Morgan…
DetailsAccording to the Atlanta Journal Constitution (AJC), Frederick Barton pled guilty today to defrauding a 90-year-old woman, who has Alzheimer’s disease, of almost her entire life savings. Barton will be sentenced for wire fraud on June 23rd. Barton was fired in 2002 from a national brokerage firm. Thereafter, he began his own investment firms, Barton…
DetailsThe Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has issued an alert warning investors to look out for several red flags of fraud. To avoid becoming a victim of investment fraud be on the lookout for the following red flags: 1) Guarantees: Always remember that all investments have a certain degree of risk. Beware of anyone who guarantees performance of an…
DetailsAccording to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Wendell Ray Spell, of Gainesville, Georgia, pled guilty Tuesday to federal charges relating to a Ponzi scheme. Authorities say that the scheme defrauded investors out of more than $60 million dollars. It was alleged by authorities that Spell, who ran a construction equipment company, lured more than 50 individuals to invest…
DetailsIn a telephone conference today, Bart Chilton, the commissioner of the Washington-based Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) referred to the recent discovery of unprecedented numbers of ponzi schemes as “rampant Ponzimonium.” According to a Reuters article published today, Mr. Childers was making a play on the word “Lollapalooza,” a popular music festival. In that article, Mr. Chilton was…
DetailsIt is no secret that the financial markets are down and investors are looking for safe investments. It is also no secret that interest rates on CDs and money market account are very low. The combination of volatile markets and a low interest rate environments create a perfect storm for sales pitches related to deferred…
DetailsOn March 19th, Bloomberg published an article entitled, Ponzi Scheme Victims All Missed an Easy Clue: Bogus Auditors. The article discussed how victims could have easily discovered that they were investing in ponzi schemes simply by calling the accounting firms that purported audited the financial of the bogus investments sold by Bernie Madoff, Allen Stanford…
DetailsThousands of U.S. taxpayers have fallen victim to investment fraud schemes, often losing their entire life savings, and now the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) wants to assist taxpayers by articulating how to handle the complex issues facing these taxpayers when filing their taxes. On March 17, 2009, the Commissioner of the IRS, Doug Shulman, testified before the Senate Finance Committee…
DetailsOne of the most infamous Wall Street swindlers in history, Bernie Madoff, pled guilty to to 11 criminal counts and was ordered to go straight to jail this week. During his last court hearing, Madoff stated, “I operated a Ponzi scheme.” What exactly is a Ponzi scheme? How do you spot one? More importantly, how do…
DetailsWhen looking for a broker or an investment advisor, of course, the idea is to find someone that you trust who will work with you to meet you financial goals. However, often individuals are lured by flashy advertisements and promises of great return on their money. People trust what they hear and often fail to research…
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