Tag Archives: north carolina

Return-A-Pet Scam Preys On Victims Of Lost Pets

It’s annual pet scammer week! That’s a lie. But it sure feels like it. Eric Stein was charged with running an investment scam through Return-A-Pet LLC. Return-A-Pet was a New York company that allegedly facilitated the return of lost pets to their owners. Stein was out on supervised release for a previous investment fraud scheme [...]

Raleigh Native Indicted In Connection With Fraud And Extortion

The former President of Encap Golf Holdings LLC (“Encap”), William Gauger III, was indicted this week for his participation in a scheme to extort approximately $100,000 from a financial consultant and a fraudulent invoicing scheme relating to his work for a New Jersey-based management firm. Gauger allegedly hired his brother-inlaw Craig Groce, who was originally [...]

North Carolina Calls Consumer Law Group Bogus in Settlement Announcement

It appears an issue with North Carolina and Consumer Law Group finally came to an end. You can read past stories about Consumer Law Group here. What was most interesting about the Consumer Law Group action North Carolina took was the definition of what true attorney representation was in a debt settlement program. Not only [...]

Holy Fraud, Batman! Literally…

Yesterday, an Ohio resident was indicted for allegedly engaging in a fraud scheme that promised to fund more than $500 million in mortgage loans to around 20 churches and a dozen small businesses across the country. The man, Jamal Lawson, fraudulently obtained more than $300,000 in advance fees that he used for personal expenses instead [...]

It’s A Hard Knock Life For Mortgage Fraudsters

For my generation the term “Hard Knocks” cannot be mentioned without the memorable image and sound of Jay-Z’s “ghetto anthem” rendition of “It’s A Hard Knock Life” from the play Annie. My personal favorite lyric and image from the infamous song being: “I’m from the school of the hard knocks, we must not let outsiders [...]

$78 Million Mortgage Fraud “Dream Home” Scheme Owner Convicted

Andrew Hamilton Williams, Jr., was convicted last week in Maryland of fraud conspiracy, wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering in connection to a massive mortgage fraud scheme. The scheme, entitled “Metro Dream Homes” promised to pay off homeowners’ mortgages on the homes of their dreams but instead left them high and dry. According [...]

Chimney Sweep Scams Sweeping The Country

You know, I moved to the South in an attempt to prolong warm weather enjoyment and avoid winter and cold weather, however, this year like many others I’ve found an early winter and cold autumn nights. In an attempt to boycott the cold weather I refused to turn the heat on in my house until [...]

Former Chief Accountant Of Beazer Homes Convicted Of Fraud

Last Friday former chief accounting officer, Michael Rand, for Beazer Homes was convicted for seven crimes relating to an accounting fraud conspiracy at Beazer over a seven year time span along with document destruction and obstruction of justice. The government has been investigating Beazer for just over 3 and a half year (since March 2007) [...]

North Carolina Man Is Seventh Convicted Of $40 Million Black Diamond Ponzi Scheme

It was announced last week that Bryan Keith Coats of Clayton, North Carolina plead guilty to his role in connection with the Black Diamoind Ponzi Scheme Investigation that resulted in a $40 million investment fraud conspiracy. Coats admitted to one count of conspiracy to commit commodities, securities, and wire fraud and one count of promotional [...]

A Double Dose Of Commodities Scams In North Carolina

Two completely separate men were charged in two completely separate Ponzi schemes in one completely same city of Charlotte, North Carolina on September 23, 2011. Both defendants plead guilty to commodities fraud. Apparently they both promised victims enormous profits from trading in the Charlotte, North Carolina commodities futures market. Mitchell Brain Huffman was charged with [...]

Credit Counseling North Carolina

Credit Counseling North Carolina Here in North Carolina, like many other states the availability of finding good credit counseling assistance is confusing. People need help trying to figure out where to turn for help but who can they trust? Where do they look for help? Not all help is innocent. In the past year the [...]

Man Unable To Afford Medical Attention Robs Bank For $1 To Seek Medical Attention In Jail

Earlier this month about 20 miles west of Charlotte, North Carolina in Gastonia, North Carolina an RBC Bank was robbed on 500 S. New Hope Road. This is no ordinary robbery. Suspect, 59-year-old James Richard Verone entered the bank at 1 p.m. where he handed a teller a note reading “This is a bank robbery…” [...]

Giving Back When Money is Tight

Last weekend a nasty tornado ripped through my town of Raleigh, NC. Many of you undoubtably heard about this nasty cyclone on the news, reported to have been 4 miles wide and continue for roughly 96 miles. By a miracle my family and I were spared from any devastation. However, some were not as lucky. [...]

Texas Attorney General Office Speaks Up to FTC to Please Ban Advance Fees

In a recent article I covered how debt settlement trade associations had returned to the FTC to make their pitch that banning advance fees for debt settlement services was a rotten idea. You can read that article here. A couple of weeks after the trade associations had slogged up to the FTC offices, and after [...]

North Carolina Stops Foreclosure Scam by US Consumer Solutions and The Lamb Group

A Kannapolis, North Carolina foreclosure rescue operation is barred from collecting any money from consumers for foreclosure assistance or loan modifications, Attorney General Roy Cooper announced Friday. [As you read this remember that US Consumer Solutions and The Lamb Group are tied together. Look for the bolded section below.] “Scammers entice struggling homeowners with false [...]