Too Good to be True

With the economy slowly on the rise, new investors need to be weary of people like Alan James Watson. Watson, 47, from Clinton Township, Michigan, was recently sentenced to 12 years in prison for fraudulently receiving over $40 million dollars from investors in his ‘investment club’.

Using the name Cash Flow Financial LLC, Watson’s investment club was advertised as having a guaranteed rate of return of 10% per month. Despite the fact every investor should know there is no such thing as a guaranteed return, let alone one of 10% per month, people fell for it. Over 900 people stretching from Virginia to California succumbed to Watson’s fake promises and ended up losing it all.

Here’s how it worked: Watson told investors that their money would be invested through an equities-trading system developed by an expert consultant, Trade LLC. In reality, of the $40 million Watson received, only $6 million ever made its way to Trade LLC. Watson invested the rest of the money in miscellaneous, high-risk ventures without the consent of the investors and ended up losing all $34 million.

Despite this enormous loss, Watson continued to falsify monthly account statements and investors continued to believe they were making serious money. He kept investors on the hook by operating a Ponzi scheme, where initial investors were paid off with subsequent investors’ money.

When it was all over, Watson was found guilty of wire fraud and asked to forfeit $36,615,344. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has recently filed civil charges against him as well, stating he improperly used investors’ money for personal gain.

To learn more or see the original article, please visit: http://www.risk.net/operational-risk-and-regulation/news/2112462/investment-club-manager-guilty-usd40-million-fraud

If you have questions about false or fraudulent activity, contact Mark Mandell at 248/380-9976.

Online and FBI Fraud

Mark Mandell, Esq.

As if face to face fraudulent activity wasn’t enough, both ID theft and online fraud rose 3.4% in 2011 and continue to increase. The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), a private company that works in partnership with the FBI’s Cyber Division, announced that for 2011 it had received 300,000 complaints of identity theft and online fraud; totaling $485.3 million in losses. 

The IC3 annual report combines data from all over the country and un-surprisingly, the states with high populations have the highest instances of online fraud. Of the 300,000 plus complaints reported in 2011, 115,903 resulted in financial loss to the victim; averaging $4,187 per person.

The top five crime types were: FBI-related scams in which criminals posed as the FBI; identity theft; advance fee fraud, in which criminals attempted to convince victims to pay an advance fee for something of value that would never be delivered to the victim; non-delivery of purchased merchandise; and overpayment. Typical schemes range anywhere from romance scams in which scammers typically seek money from older and divorced individuals, to auto-auction fraud where people sell vehicles online that they never owned.

The IC3 warns that the frightening thing about online fraud is that the possibilities of how it can occur are nearly endless, and the landscape of the crimes is constantly changing. To avoid becoming just another statistic, be weary of unfamiliar emails seeking personal information and use a separate debit card with limited funds when shopping online.

To learn more or see the original article, please visit: http://www.informationweek.com/news/government/security/240000336

For assistance fighting fraud, contact Mark Mandell at (248) 380-9976.

FORECLOSURE FRAUD

Mark Mandell, Esq.
 

With thousands of Michigan homeowners trying to recover from foreclosures on their homes, the last thing they need is the ‘help’ of someone like Rickey White. White, a 46 year old Westland resident, was allegedly involved in an extensive foreclosure-rescue scam that targeted over 350 cash-strapped Michigan homeowners for over $800,000.

White and his made-up companies, Expert Financial and Braunstein & Associates, allegedly offered prospective clients mortgage modifications for an upfront fee, with a full money back guarantee. As days, weeks, and months went by, consumers started to get weary as they were receiving nothing for their money. White kept consumers on the hook by telling them the modifications weren’t easy, and were still in the works.

In response to numerous complaints from homeowners around the Metro-Detroit area, the Attorney General’s Office brought charges against White last Wednesday. Attorney General Bill Schutte announced that the State of Michigan will do whatever it can to dismantle these criminals who prey on the financially unstable.

Citizens who believe they may have been victims are encouraged to file complaints with the Attorney General's Office at http://www.michigan.gov/ag by clicking "Complaints."

To learn more and see the original article, please visit: http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-mct-westland-man-ran-mortgage-loan-aid-scam-state-20120510,0,3006224.story

If you have questions about financial fraud, please contact Mark Mandell at (248) 380-9976.

Defrauding Wal-Mart

A recent incident in Blackman Township, MI, reveals that retail fraud is no longer simply switching clothes in a dressing room or sneaking out of a store with merchandise in your purse. Eight Wal-Mart employees were recently suspected of defrauding a Wal-Mart store, for what detectives believe to be upwards of $100,000.

Detective Sgt. Chris Boulter said the group conspired with cashiers to use coupons on ‘non-couponed’ merchandise and did so in bulk. The conspirators would use coupons intended for $50 items, on $200 items; fraudulently saving them hundreds of dollars and allowing them to fund more fraud. Products seized at one suspect’s house totaled $30,000, with police believing that tens of thousands could have already been sold off on the black market.

This instance of retail fraud was one of the largest Boulter has dealt with in his career. In the raided house alone there were hundreds, if not thousands of items to be categorized into evidence. Although only the ‘black market basement store homeowner’ has currently been arrested, police are working on warrants for the other seven conspirators. Retail fraud may be small time shoplifting by kids to organized criminal enterprises.

To learn more about this topic or to see the original article, please visit: http://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/index.ssf/2012/04/retail_fraud_ring_involving_po.html

Welcome Home – Drive Normally

Jim Fausone

Veterans Disability Lawyer

A new study by USAA (an insurer that serves members of the military and their families) sheds light on a problem veteran’s face, that most of public doesn’t think twice about; driving to work.

The study took aim at veterans re-adjusting to rules of the road in the U.S., after returning from war-zones and hostile foreign roads. Although the general rules of the road are similar, U.S. troops have their own way of operating abroad. Whereas in the U.S. driving down the middle of the road, speeding, and rolling stop signs will land you in legal trouble, it is common procedure in Iraq and Afghanistan to avoid spontaneous conflicts.

The chart below illustrates the residual effects of combat driving that veterans bring home.  

The study by USAA found that returning troops had 13 percent more at-fault accidents than before they left for service. The U.S. Army had the largest percentage change at 23, while the Marines showed a 12.3 percent increase.

The good news is that the USAA has stated it is not raising any insurance rates in regards to the findings of the study; raising awareness for military safety commanders was the only motive for the research.

To learn more and see the original articles, please visit: http://www.autoblog.com/2012/04/29/returning-u-s-soldiers-have-trouble-with-road-rules-at-home/#aol-comments and https://www.usaa.com/inet/ent_blogs/Blogs?action=blogpost&blogkey=newsroom&postkey=returning_troops_find_new_dangers

If you have veteran disability issues, call Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC at 800-693-4800.  If you have Michigan traffic violation concerns, contact Mark Mandell, Esq. at 248 380-9976.

driving to work, drive normally, combat driving, military safety, USAA