Foreign Exchange fraud scheme investigated

According to the Dow Jones News Wire, Commodity Futures Trading Commission has filed a lawsuit against two individuals who were involved in a foreign-exchange fraud scheme.

Charged was Robert D. Watson, an executive professor in the Finance Department, Houston lawyer and accountant Daniel J. Petroski and two companies, PrivateFX Global One Ltd. and 36 Holdings Ltd. The CFTC accused the two men of urging potential investors to purchase shares in PrivateFX Global One by touting their supposed quarterly trading returns of 6% to 10% from January 2000 through June 30, 2006.

About 60 investors purchased $19.5 million in Global One shares since it began operations in 2006, according to the CFTC. The defendants reported returns of 1.5% to 3% a month and claimed to never have had a losing month, the agency noted.

Read the full story here.

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Arkansas Credit-Repair Fraudsters Lose Big

According to the Northwest Arkansas News, Sherrye Mance and Tiffany Morris have not responded to a federal judge's order that they pay nearly $700,000 in penalties for defrauding at least 139 Arkansans through a credit-repair scam.

According to the lawsuit, the women had been defrauding consumers in Arkansas and some surrounding states for about four years, using unincorporated business names such as Financial Services Unlimited, Service Unlimited Inc., and Credit Counseling Service.

The lawsuit alleged that the women "have offered for sale to consumers services purported to improve a customer's credit history, credit record, and credit ratings." But, the lawsuit also notes, "It is unlikely that any services were actually performed," or at least performed in such a way as to benefit any customers.

State wins credit-repair fraud case
BY LINDA SATTER

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FBI has a new mortgage fraud team

According to the AP, the FBI has set up a new team to combat mortgage fraud. They're using undercover operations, wiretaps and computer technology for electronic evidence in crimes. The National Mortgage Fraud Team helps conduct these investigations at different field investigations.

FBI Director Robert Mueller commented:
"In addition, sophisticated investigative techniques, such as undercover operations and wiretaps, not only result in the collection of valuable evidence, they provide an opportunity to apprehend criminals in the commission of their crimes, thus reducing loss to individuals and financial institutions."

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Another hedge fund manager questioned

Bradley L. Ruderman, the founder and manager of Ruderman Capital Partners, who took as much as $44 million from investors, was taken into custody, and could be charged with wire fraud. His assets were frozen on April 29. Read the full article at the New York Times here.

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KeyCorp Liquidates Fund Linked to Madoff

According to this article in Reuters, KeyCorp will be liquidating an investment fund that is tied to the Madoff scheme, after its investors suffered losses of up to $186 million.

It plans to close its Safe Harbor Fund and return clients' money according to a statement they released on Wednesday. What are some other funds that are returning clients' money that were lost due to Madoff's scheme?

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Archived Web Seminar - Casinos at Risk: Best Practices for Title 31 and AML Compliance Programs in a Volatile Business Climate

For those of you who didn't get a chance to see last week's live seminar, or for those who want a refresher or want to share with colleagues, here's your chance to view it at your own leisure. Enjoy!

View the archived web seminar

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Free Web Seminar: Before the RFP – Getting the Data Right, Right Now

Before the RFP – Getting the Data Right, Right Now
Thursday, May 14, 2009
2:00 PM - 3:30 PM EDT

Register here: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/214764784
Mention priority code: G1U2169W1LIBLOG

About the web seminar:
In these days of increased scrutiny and tougher regulations, you need to know how to properly interpret and present your firm’s data to investors, consultants, third party databases and to your management. This lively discussion will focus on the tools and techniques that can help your marketing teams streamline the daunting task of delivering more data, more often, to a wider audience.

What you will learn:
•What are the key data elements required in all databases and proposals?
•Every data field, every proposal question – how to complete them all
•How to ensure consistency between database profiles and RFPs
•How to answer the tough data questions: gained/lost client charts
•Discussion of financial data and how to present it best

Presenters:
Lauren Cola, President & CEO
Lauren Cola is the President and CEO at A.S.A.P. Advisor Services, Inc. She has over 24 years of investment marketing and technical project management experience. Lauren began her career in investment management at Citibank Asset Management and continued for the next decade with several sales and marketing positions at Bankers Trust Company, HSBC Asset Management and Chase Asset Management. In 1998, she founded A.S.A.P. Advisor Services, Inc., a marketing and data management firm, dedicated to the investment management industry.

Melanie Horvath, EVP, Director of Global Sales & Marketing
A.S.A.P. Advisor Services, Inc.
Melanie Horvath is the Executive Vice President and Director of Global Sales and Marketing at A.S.A.P. Advisor Services, Inc. She has over 18 years of investment marketing, product management, and database / RFP management experience.

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Obama looking to curb fraud in social programs

According to the Wall Street Journal, a new detailed budget that is due out Thursday will reveal that Obama plans to clamp down on fraud and error in politically sensitive social programs. They plan to add 1,000 filed officers to the Social Security Administration. They also plan to add an additional 2,300 officers to Medicaid and Medicare. It is estimated that the government could save almost $35 billion by taking these new measures. Read the full article here.

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FATF Report on Casino Vulnerabilities

If you haven't registered for our upcoming Casino Webinar (Thursday, May 7, 1:00pm EDT), I'd encourage you to do so now.

In case you haven't reviewed it, the Financial Action Task Force released this report highlighting the vulnerabilities of casinos and the gaming sector in March 2009.

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