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Owner Of Three Precious Metal Firms Sentenced In $29.5 Million Investment Scheme

Amanda Miller — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 17:00:28 +0000

Earlier this month Jamie Campany, owner of three invesment firms specializing in alleged metal purchases, was sentenced to 151 months in prison on multiple counts of mail and wire fraud.

According to the Information filed in the case and statements made in court during the plea and sentencing, Campany was the owner of three investment firms specializing in purported gold, silver, platinum, and palladium bullion purchases on behalf of individual clients. Among his companies were Global Bullion Exchange, LLC (“Global”) and various affiliated licensee businesses throughout Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties in Florida and other locations outside of Florida. In addition to Global, Campany owned and operated two predecessor firms, Barclay Trading Group, Inc. (“Barclay”) and The Bullion Group, Inc., both with offices in West Palm Beach.

Campany’s three businesses conducted a sophisticated telemarketing operation to solicit investors to purchase precious metal bullion using purported “leverage” financing. These same investors were led to believe that they would need only to provide a fraction of the total cost of the purchased metals, with the remainder of the purchase price to be covered by margin-type financing, which would purportedly be extended to the investor by a purported “clearing firm.”

As further detailed in court records, the purported “clearing firm” with which Barclay had initially associated, began delaying and ultimately ignoring requests by Barclay’s customers to sell their precious metals investments. As a result, the unsatisfied clients began to complain and threatened Barclay with litigation. In addition, the clearing firm’s failure to sell the clients’ holdings left Barclay insolvent.

In an attempt to prevent further complaints, litigation, and possible governmental enforcement action, Barclay began to satisfy its clients’ requests for liquidation of their investments by making payments to these clients using funds it had received from newer investors.

After Global succeeded Barclay, Global continued this same Ponzi strategy. Global used Diversified Investment Group, Inc. (“Diversified”), a shell company, as its “clearing firm.” In fact, however, no bullion was purchased, even though clients paid substantial commissions and fees totaling approximately 18% of the total purported value of the metal allegedly purchased.

Campany also misrepresented to the inventors that their holdings had been financed through so-called “margin” credit. Thus, the investors were charged substantial interest on these non-existent “loans” and were subjected to periodic false “margin calls” during market declines. Moreover, investors who could not comply with such “margin calls” were informed that their investment positions had been forcibly liquidated and taken by Diversified as a secured creditor.

In a recent litigation filed in Miami-Dade Circuit Court by a court-appointed assignee, it is estimated that more than 1,400 investors were defrauded by Campany’s scheme out of more than $29.5 million – Source.

If you have been scammed and would like to file a scam report, please click here.

27 Year Old Charged With Wire Fraud

Amanda Miller — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 04:35:57 +0000

From How to Get Out of Debt

Locust Offshore Management and Locus Offshore Fund operator Andrey Hicks was charged last week in a complaint with wire fraud at the ripe, young age of 27.

The complaint alleges that since March 2011, Hicks has obtained more than $1.6 million from at least nine individuals and two entities for investment purposes using the two Locust entities, which operated from a location in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

According to the complaint affidavit, Hicks made a variety of representations about his background and experience and about the Locust entities in order to get people to give him money for investment. Among other things, it is alleged that Hicks told people the following things, all of which it is alleged are false:

that Hicks had undergraduate and graduate degrees from Harvard University;
that Hicks had worked for and managed billions of dollars of assets for Barclays Capital;
that the Locust Fund was registered as a British Virgin Islands Business Company, its auditors were Ernst and Young, and its “prime broker” and “custodian” was Credit Suisse Group.

Hicks also represented that the Locust Fund had more than a billion dollars under management, and had earned a nearly 80% profit in trading in 2011.

According to the complaint, instead of investing the funds given to him and the Locust entities, Hicks converted most of the money to his personal use, including paying more than $200,000 in American Express bills, leasing a Ferrari, and purchasing a Land Rover.

If convicted on these charges, Hicks faces up to 20 years in prison to be followed by 3 years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine – Source.

If you have been scammed and would like to file a scam report, please click here.

Ohio AG Goes after Barclays Capital Real Estate, HomeEq Services for Unfair Loan Modifications

Steve Rhode — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 17:27:52 +0000

From How to Get Out of Debt

The Ohio Attorney general has gone after Barclays Capital Real Estate operating under HomeEQ Servicing for several issues but one of them was an attempt to get Ohio consumers seeking loan modifications to sign agreements that included provisions for the borrower to:

Waive all defenses, claims or offsets with respect to the unpaid principal balance as adjusted by HomeEQ to reflect any unpaid interest, late charges, fees, costs, and advances for property taxes and/or insurance premiums.
Release HomeEq from any claims, damages or liabilities of any kind which are in any way connected with the origination and/or servicing of the loan and/or the events which resulted in the borrower entering into the Loan Modification Agreement.
Waive any rights under federal or state statute or common law providing that a general release does not extend to claims which are not know to exist at the time of execution.

For some borrowers who were suffering with money troubles, HomeEq wanted them to sign a Forbearance Agreement which required the borrower to:

Agree that HomeEq can recommence foreclosure proceedings without providing the borrower and further demand/notice or intent to accelerate if HomeEq determine that borrower is in default of the Forbearance Agreement.
Agree in advance to pay any additional foreclosure fees for property inspections and/or broker price opinions charged at HomeEq’s discretion.
Permit HomeEq to advance any pending foreclosure action to prevent its dismissal during the term of the Forbearance Agreement.
Waive the statute of limitations associated with the acceleration of the loan.

The Ohio Attorney General states that HomeEq is also guilt of providing horrible customer service to the very same people they had sign these grossly unfair agreements. HomeEq is accused of:

Losing documents submitted by borrowers requesting loss mitigation assistance leading to a delay in processing borrowers’ loss mitigation request and resulting in the borrowers having to resubmit documents.
Failing to respond, or timely respond, to borrower requests for assistance.
Filing foreclosure actions against consumers while those consumers were in active and ongoing loss mitigation negotiations and/or discussions with HomeEq.
Verbally offering and implementing a repayment or forbearance plan without putting the agreement in writing with all of the terms and conditions.
Failing to offer, or timely offer, affordable loss mitigation options to borrowers.
Requiring borrowers to sign loan modifications with unfair and unconscionable provisions that are unconscionably in the favor of HomeEq.
Purchasing forced-placed insurance to cover homeowners’ dwellings when such insurance was not necessary or justified and where such insurance was duplicative of valid insurance that already existed to cover homeowners’ residence.

You can read the original complaint against HomeEq, here.

The irony is that the level of service the Barclays customers got sounds about in line with what others are reporting from a wide range of mortgage companies.

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Europe puts tight controls on £4bn bank offer

Steve Rhode — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 23:12:48 +0000

From How to Get Out of Debt

Britain’s biggest banks will be offered £4 billion by Europe today to lend to small and medium-sized businesses, in a move that will restrict their ability to impose punitive interest rates.

The banks, including Royal Bank of Scotland, HBOS, Lloyds TSB, HSBC and Barclays, will receive the money only if they agree to tight parameters set by the European Investment Bank (EIB) on how it is handed out. There is widespread political anger that banks are forcing businesses to renegotiate loans on harsher terms when they come up for renewal, despite large cash injections from government.

Europe puts tight controls on £4bn bank offer Times Online, UK - 37 minutes ago At the same time the Prime Minister pledged to take action against companies that force people out of their homes for trivial amounts of credit card debt . …

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Read the rest here: Europe puts tight controls on £4bn bank offer

How to Get Out of Debt With the Get Out of Debt Guy » barclays

Owner Of Three Precious Metal Firms Sentenced In $29.5 Million Investment Scheme

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27 Year Old Charged With Wire Fraud

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Ohio AG Goes after Barclays Capital Real Estate, HomeEq Services for Unfair Loan Modifications

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Europe puts tight controls on £4bn bank offer

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