According to Investopedia, affinity fraud is a type of investment fraud in which a con artist targets members of an identifiable group based on things such as race, age, religion, etc. The fraudster either is or pretends to be, a member of the group. These schemes work because the victims are more likely to trust […]
Wells Fargo Pays Millions To Settle Elder Fraud Allegations
Wells Fargo Advisors has repeatedly been caught pushing unsuitable investments on their clients. One would think that after all the scandals that have engulfed the beleaguered bank, senior management would start taking their customers more seriously. Our first post on Wells Fargo selling unsuitable investments was in 2011. It’s now 2021 and we are still […]
JPMorgan Securities Fined for Unsuitable Investments, Misconduct
JP Morgan Securities – Big Doesn’t Mean Better JPMorgan Chase is the largest bank in the United States and the 7th largest in the world. With assets of $2.86 trillion, it certainly is big. It also claims to be one of the oldest financial institutions in the country. But that doesn’t mean its brokerage arm […]
Brit Established Cayman Fund AFTER US Court Arrest Warrant
[Originally posted in October 2010, now updated through 2021.] (Editors note: One of the best investigative journalists in the business is David Marchant. This story was first reported by David.) British citizen Sencer Sevket formed a mutual fund in the Cayman Islands after a U.S. federal court issued a warrant for his arrest on charges […]
What Are Clawbacks and How Can They Help Ponzi Scheme Victims?
Until the Bernie Madoff case, the term “clawback” was virtually unknown in the asset recovery world. Now it has become a powerful tool for court appointed receivers and a nightmare for those lucky Ponzi scheme victims who cashed out early or managed to independently recover some of their investment. The Wikipedia definition is quite vague […]
Precious Metals Scams on the Rise – Gold, Silver or Rusty Scrap?
[Updated through 2020] Recently there has been a glut of advertisements promoting investment in precious metals. Internet websites, infomercials, radio ads, cold calls and TV ads – many promise quick riches through the investment of gold, silver and platinum. It’s no wonder that with COVID-19 worries roiling the market, many believe that gold and silver […]
Revictimizing the Victims – "Reloading" Common in Ponzi Schemes
[Original post October 2010, post supplemented and republished April 2020] Recently an unemployed woodsman from Washington state was convicted of nine federal offenses including blowing up his own mailbox (destruction of a mail box is a federal crime.) What was he doing? Trying to convince victims of a Ponzi scheme to give him money in […]
Can David Lerner Associates Survive?
My first encounter with David Lerner Associates came in July 2011. That month I spoke with a pleasant woman who had invested heavily with a David Lerner Associates broker in an Apple REIT (real estate investment trust). She was calling for advice on whether she accept their offer to buy back her REIT investment. “At […]
Legal Abuse Syndrome and Foreclosure Fraud
Until a client sent us a clipping today, I had never heard the term “Legal Abuse Syndrome.” If you look in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, you won’t find the term. Yet. The DSM is the official “blue book” used by mental health professionals. Whereas many of the CEOs of major banks […]
Medicare Fraud Whistleblower Opportunity?
Periodically, we review the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services enforcement action docket. There are literally tens of thousands of healthcare providers across the country. Most participate in the Medicare or Medicaid health programs. The government periodically audits a small percentage of these providers each year. When a significant problem is uncovered, the government can […]
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