Ulf Enterprise - #5
As promised some table summing has revealed the name with the 5th highest number of positions back in mid 2004:
Ulf EnterpriseDidn't find any news, but did find a letter from him to the FTC about some spam ruling. Not saying he is a spammer, but draw your own conclusions. I apologize in advance if there are more than 1 "Ulf Enterprise", but I don't think so considering I found "Ulf Astrom", who wrote the letter with some positions too. This appears to be a common theme in the table, positions under multiple, similar names, family etc.
Ulf's positions:name positions
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Ulf Enterprise 382
Ulf Astrom 136
The letter:Comment Number: OL-102969
Received: 4/14/2004 2:33:23 PM
Organization: Ulf Enterprise
Commenter: Ulf Astrom
State: Not in the US
Agency: Federal Trade Commission
Rule: CAN-SPAM ANPR
Docket ID: [3084-AA96]
No Attachments
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Comments:
Re: CAN-SPAM Act Rulemaking, Project No. R411008 Dear Sirs, I applaud your efforts to do something about the problem of unsolicited bulk email. However, I'm concerned about the proposed requirement for merchants to maintain suppression lists. There are so many problems and costs associated with this idea, and so much damage done to consumers and businesses alike, that I feel I must urge you to consider this matter most carefully. Requirement of the use of suppression lists will seriously damage many of the legitimate publications available on the net. My specific concern is for harm to publishers who require permission from the consumer prior to adding them to any list. They're not who CAN-SPAM was designed to put out of business, but this requirement will very likely have that effect. There's also the potential for significant harm to consumers, because of the problem of properly knowing their intent when they unsubscribe from a list. On top of that, these suppression lists could easily fall into the hands of spammers, leading to more spam instead of less. I was quite surprised at the potential problems this ruling could involve, and urge you in the strongest possible terms to reconsider its implementation in light of these problems, Best Regards, Ulf Enterprise DENMARK
YMMSS table
Some time in the last couple of years somebody in the ymmss forum on
matrixwatch(I can't remember who, otherwise I would give them credit) had possession of a spreadsheet listing YM members positions in the program. It included one line for each position, date, name, gross output, and payout option of that position. The latest date on the table was May 2004, but that probably was the height of the YM scam and so I consider the information most accurate for it's timeliness. I have loaded this spreadsheet into a SQL table and will be doing some analysis and cross-referencing names with news and searches on the internet.
I will let you know...
4 guilty of fraud netting millions
They spent lavishly, shelling out millions of dollars for the historic Redstone Castle near Aspen, eight NASCAR race cars and other items.
One problem: The money wasn't theirs to spend.
On Tuesday, a federal jury in Denver convicted the four businessmen on multiple fraud charges in connection with a high-yield investment scam that bilked more than 1,000 investors out of $56 million. Each faces years in prison and thousands of dollars in fines.
"I like that," victim Dorinda Bellas said when told of the verdict. "They didn't have any qualms about taking our money, so, hey, payback's a bitch."
Bellas, a Golden resident, said she invested $10,000 with the group, who told her they had World War II-era German war bonds that could be worth a fortune.
"Investment schemes, such as the one the defendants were found guilty of operating today, involve empty promises, and no real financial returns," said a statement from U.S. Attorney Troy Eid, who was at the Denver federal courthouse for the verdict.
Full story
Marana woman sues scrutinized investment firm
A Marana woman has sued a Dove Mountain man already under investigation by the state for allegedly operating a Ponzi scheme.
Rosario Trask on May 7 filed the lawsuit in Pima County Superior Court, eight months after the Arizona Corporation Commission issued a cease-and-desist order to stop Michael Hannan and his 12 Percent Fund from soliciting investors.
The state alleges that Hannan already had or was about to commit fraud.
Since 2003, Hannan has promised a 12-percent return on minimum $50,000 investments in his fund. He lives in Heritage Highlands.
Between February 2005 and May 2006, Trask invested $275,000 in the fund, managed by Hannan’s company Coyote Growth Management, which is also named in the cease-and-desist order.
Trask learned about Hannan’s previous financial misconduct and the state’s cease-and-desist order from reading a Feb. 14 story in the EXPLORER. She requested in writing that Hannan return all of the money she had invested in the fund.
Hannan has refused to give any money back, according to court records.
Full story
Sorry guys
Had to enable comment moderation again, just toooo tooo many people trying to hawk their wares on my blog with bogus comments.
Top scams target your investment dollars
Some good info here...steve_o, reprinted for your convenience,
link to original article.
By Cosby Woodruff
Some investment scams prey on charity and some prey on greed, but they all rely on deception, according to the Alabama Securities Commission, which last week released its annual list of the 10 biggest investor traps.
ASC Director Joseph Borg said the list reflects the investment scams that cost Alabama residents the most each year.
He said his office does not estimate how much money scams take each year, but he said national estimates put the cost at $40 billion annually.
The most popular scams in Alabama prey on the victims' religion, he said.
Those rip-offs, called affinity frauds, often being when the scam artists befriends a church leader such as a preacher or deacon. Once the leader invests and recommends the investment, other church members are likely to follow.
Borg said these frauds are particularly effective when the victims think part of the profit will benefit the church.
Affinity frauds are not limited to churches, but also can strike at members of ethnic, cultural and professional groups.
"In our state, it is mostly religious," Borg said. Pyramid schemes, where money from later investors is used to pay off earlier investors, are common in this type of fraud.
"I have seen more money stolen in the name of God than anything else," Borg said.
He said investigating investment fraud is difficult because victims often are afraid to come forward because they think the investment failed because of their lack of faith.
"They won't come forward because they think we are interfering with God's plan," he said.
Affinity scams rely on a person's charity and depend on putting the victim's mind at ease by gaining a leader's trust first.
Most of the scams on the ASC list take advantage of a person's greed and make themselves credible in other ways.
"The best scams are ripped right out of the headlines," Borg said. "You have to present a realistic-sounding opportunity."
The hottest opportunity from today's headlines is an oil and gas scam. Rising energy prices make victims quicker to invest in risky petroleum ventures, Borg said.
At best, the scammers are unlicensed and unqualified, at worst they plan to take the money and run. Either way, Borg said, investing in such ventures is usually unfit for novice investors.
Other scams that focus on sounding like legitimate investments are based on foreign exchange trading, prime bank schemes, private securities offerings and real estate investment.
In most of those scams, the investor is drawn in by a promise that could be legitimate, but is based instead on false information. Scam artists almost never have proper credentials to sell the security but are looking for easy victims.
A fast-growing scam category is Internet-based scams. The Web allows scammers to reach victims much faster and makes tracing the scam more difficult.
Investors should be wary of investment pitches in unsolicited e-mails and other electronic communications.
Other scams offer investments that might be right for some investors but entirely wrong for others. Yet others prey on victims through investment seminars and through unregistered products.
Many of those are targeted at older individuals who may not have saved enough for retirement and are trying to catch up, Borg said.
"They have retirement looking and are approached by someone offering a 20 percent return," he said. "They get blinded by the need to catch up."
Most scam victims have lost their money by the time they realize they are being ripped-off, Borg said.
That's why he urged investors to call his office at 1-800-222-1253 before investing through any solicitation. He said investors should ask whether the person and the product are properly registered and licensed.
If someone suspects they are being ripped off, Borg said they should report it without delay to allow the ASC to stop the scam, prevent others from being scammed and recover assets.
The reload scam did not make the list, but Borg said it is always a threat. In that scam, scammers approach victims twice, often promising to help recoup the money lost on the first scam.
"When people get desperate, they don't think logically," he said. "Reload scams can be very successful."
TCoast man who bilked elderly out of millions gets 30 years
FORT PIERCE — Leonard Bogdan, former head of the financial firm that carried his name, was sentenced today to 30 years in prison.
In March, he was found guilty of 16 charges that said he orchestrated a complex scheme that defrauded elderly investors out of millions of dollars.
Full storyHope this is what Kimmy can look forward to...
Sniffing out a possible scam (CNN Money)
A reader is tempted by the promise of huge returns from an investment Web site. Money Magazine's Answer Guy points out the many red flags.
Question: I'm a 60-year-old male with about three years until retirement. Someone at work recently recommended I put some money into a company called Legisi.com - not an investment, but a loan. I wonder if you are familiar with this. - Name Withheld, Bayside, N.Y.
Answer Guy had never heard of Legisi.com before your letter, and the company doesn't disclose a lot of information about itself on its Web site.
Full story
Local car dealer accused in Ponzi scheme (Florida)
DAYTONA BEACH -- A federal judge has issued an injunction against a Daytona Beach automobile dealer as the Securities and Exchange Commission pursues claims he swindled $21 million from about 200 investors nationwide in a Ponzi scheme.
U.S. District Court Judge Anne C. Conway directed Michael R. Bretzel and two of his investment companies to stop violating Securities Act provisions against investment fraud. However, she refused to issue a similar order against Lawrence D. Ford II, Bretzel's business associate, and to freeze both men's assets.
In a civil lawsuit filed April 12 in Orlando by the Securities and Exchange Commission, regulators challenged the way Bretzel, 41, Ormond Beach and Ford, 48, Daytona Beach, ran two investment funds, the Real Estate Fund and Heritage Funding Group.
The suit alleged Heritage, founded by Bretzel and headed by Ford, has collected $13 million from 146 investors since 2003 to buy installment loans on used cars. The investments were supposed to pay interest of 15 percent for terms of one to five years.
However, $3.6 million in investor money ended up being loaned to Liberty Automotive Group, Dealer Lot Management Inc. and other Daytona Beach businesses owned by Bretzel. In 2005 and 2006, Heritage used money coming in from new investors to pay interest owed to earlier backers, the suit charged. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February.
The Real Estate Fund, which solicited $7.6 million from 70 investors, loaned $1.38 million of that to Bretzel, Ford and their companies, including Coastal Properties of Daytona Beach. With some of its money being used to pay returns to earlier investors, the fund has defaulted on at least five of its mortgages and is trying to sell off its holdings, the lawsuit states.
The judge denied the SEC's request for a court-appointed receiver to take control of the Real Estate Fund and preserve its assets for investors. She also refused to issue an order requiring the submission of financial records.
No trial date has been set for the lawsuit.
Bretzel said he was gratified the judge ruled there was no emergency requiring a receivership. "We're cooperating fully," he said.
He blamed the investment losses on "the bottom falling out of the local real estate market," coupled with rising taxes and insurance costs.
An SEC representative declined to comment about the case.
Man convicted of fraud (from my neck of the woods)
A federal jury convicted a former Colleyville resident on all 19 counts of an indictment related to a pyramid investment scheme he operated, U.S. Attorney Richard Roper said Friday.
After an eight-day trial, the jury convicted James Ray Phipps, 59, of mail fraud, wire fraud, money laundering and tax-related charges.
Carlton McLarty, a lawyer for Mr. Phipps, said there was a "very high likelihood" his client would appeal.
Federal prosecutors said Mr. Phipps ran an elaborate pyramid scheme known as "Life Without Debt" from June 1996 through June 2006. He worked out of his Colleyville home until 2001, when he moved to Alabama.
Mr. Phipps is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 22.
