NATIONWIDE PONZI SCHEMER MAY GET 20 YEARS IN PRISON

The following excerpt is from the SEC website:

February 24, 2012
“SEC v. Gregory N. McKnight, et al.: 08-cv-11887 (E.D. Mich.)
Court Accepts Guilty Plea from Gregory McKnight in $72 Million Ponzi Scheme
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that on February 16, 2012, the Honorable Mark A. Goldsmith of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan accepted a guilty plea by Flint-area resident Gregory N. McKnight to one count of wire fraud for his role in orchestrating a $72 million Ponzi scheme involving at least 3,000 investors. For his crimes, McKnight faces a potential maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. His sentence will be determined at a future date. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan filed criminal charges against McKnight on February 14, 2012.

The criminal charges arose out of the same facts that were the subject of an emergency action that the Commission filed against McKnight and others on May 5, 2008. On that same day, the Court issued orders freezing McKnight’s assets and those of several companies he controlled, and appointed a Receiver. The Commission’s complaint alleged that, from December 2005 through November 2007, McKnight, through his company Legisi Holdings, conducted a fraudulent, unregistered offering of securities in which he raised approximately $72 million from more than 3,000 investors in all 50 states and several foreign countries. According to the Commission's complaint, McKnight represented that he would invest the offering proceeds in various investment vehicles and pay interest of as much as 15 percent per month from the resulting profits. The complaint charged that McKnight invested less than half of the offering proceeds and that these investments resulted in millions of dollars in losses. The Commission's complaint further charged that McKnight used investor funds to make Ponzi payments to investors and for his own use. The Commission’s complaint charged McKnight with violating Sections 5(a), 5(c), and 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 thereunder.

On July 6, 2011, the Court entered a final judgment against McKnight in the Commission’s action, and ordered McKnight to pay disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, prejudgment interest, and civil penalties totaling approximately $6.5 million. The court also issued orders permanently enjoining McKnight from future violations of Sections 5(a), 5(c), and 17(a) of the Securities Act, Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act, and Rule 10b-5 hereunder.”

SEC CHARGED FATHER AND SON WITH OPERATING $220 MILLION PONZI SCHEME IN UTAH

The following excerpt is from the SEC website:

“Washington, D.C., Dec. 15, 2011 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a father and son in Utah with securities fraud for selling purported investments in their real estate business that turned out to be nothing more than a wide-scale $220 million Ponzi scheme.

The SEC alleges that Wendell A. Jacobson and his son Allen R. Jacobson operate from a base in Fountain Green, Utah, and offer investors the opportunity to invest in limited liability companies (LLCs) in order to share ownership of large apartment communities in eight states. The Jacobsons solicit investors personally and through word of mouth, and appear to be using their memberships in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to make connections and win over the trust of prospective investors.
The SEC alleges that the Jacobsons represent that they buy apartment complexes with low occupancy rates at significantly discounted prices. They then renovate them and improve their management, and aim to resell them within five years. Investors are said to share in the profits derived from rental income at the apartment complexes as well as the eventual sales. But in reality, the LLCs are suffering significant losses and the Jacobsons are merely pooling the money raised from investors into large bank accounts from which they are siphoning money to pay family expenses and the operating expenses of their various companies. They also are paying earlier investors with funds received from new investors in classic Ponzi scheme fashion.
After filing its complaint today in federal court in Salt Lake City, the SEC obtained an emergency court order freezing the assets of the Jacobsons and their companies.
“Wendell and Allen Jacobson misled investors to believe they were financially supporting what was portrayed as a widespread and reputable operation to revamp apartment communities and turn a significant profit,” said Ken Israel, Director of the SEC’s Salt Lake Regional Office. “Their promises were anything but truthful.”
According to the SEC’s complaint, the Jacobsons raised more than $220 million from approximately 225 investors through a complex web of entities under the umbrella of Management Solutions, Inc. They have operated the fraudulent scheme since at least 2008. They sold the securities in the form of investment contracts without filing any registration statement with the SEC as required under the federal securities laws. Wendell and Allen Jacobson are acting as unregistered brokers in connection with their offers and sales of membership interests in LLCs.
The SEC alleges that the Jacobsons falsely assure investors that the principal amount of their investment will be safe, and their funds will be used to acquire, rehabilitate, and manage certain identified properties. Investors are promised annual returns ranging from 5 to 8 percent per year depending upon the particular apartment complexes pertaining to their LLC, with additional profits promised when the properties are sold. Wendell and Allen Jacobson tell investors that their funds are designated for a particular LLC. Wendell Jacobson has told investors that only one time has he ever lost money on a property, and on that occasion he covered the loss personally so that investor returns would not be reduced.
According to the SEC’s complaint, investor funds are never held and used exclusively to acquire, rehabilitate, and operate rental properties as represented by the Jacobsons. In fact, the LLCs are experiencing significant net losses. Nevertheless, the LLCs continue to pay returns to investors, falsely leading those investors to believe their LLCs are operating at a profit. When investor funds are received, they are almost always transferred or pooled immediately in accounts of various Jacobson-owned entities, most commonly in the account of Thunder Bay Mortgage Company. Investor funds are then used for a variety of purposes that have not been disclosed to investors.
The SEC further alleges that on numerous occasions since Jan. 1, 2010, investors have been told that the property owned in their LLC has been sold, and that they have realized a profit on the sale. In fact, those properties were not sold, and the Jacobsons used the alleged “sales” as a means of shifting investors into and out of certain properties. They have essentially been operating a shell game intended to raise additional funds from new or existing investors in order to meet the rapidly growing financial obligations of their operation.
The SEC’s complaint charges Wendell and Allen Jacobson with violating Sections 5(a), 5(c) and 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Sections 10(b) and 15(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder as well as disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, prejudgment interest and financial penalties. The Honorable Bruce S. Jenkins granted the SEC’s request for a temporary restraining order, asset freezes, appointment of a receiver and other emergency relief to prevent the Jacobsons from continuing to solicit investments in the Management Solutions program. The SEC seeks permanent injunctive relief, disgorgement and financial penalties against Management Solutions and the Jacobsons.
The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Alison Okinaka, Scott Frost, Paul Feindt and Norm Korb in the Salt Lake Regional Office. The litigation will be headed by Dan Wadley and Tom Melton.
The SEC thanks the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Internal Revenue Service for their assistance in this matter.”

FAMILY CHARGED WITH PLAYING THE PONZ GAME INSTEAD OF MONOPOLY

The following excerpt is from the SEC website:

“On November 18, 2011, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged a Bethesda, Md. man and several family members and friends with conducting a multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme targeting investors in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area.
The SEC alleges that Garfield M. Taylor lured primarily middle-class residents in his community with little to no investing experience to invest in promissory notes issued by his two companies that engaged in purportedly low-risk options trading. Taylor urged investors to refinance their homes and use any available means to invest, including their personal savings and retirement funds. The SEC alleges that he promised returns as high as 20 percent per year and falsely assured investors that their investments would be protected by a “reserve account” or that he would employ a “covered call” trading strategy that would not touch the principal amount of their investment.
According to the SEC’s complaint filed in federal court in Washington D.C., Taylor and his companies instead engaged in very high-risk, speculative options trading and suffered massive losses. Taylor relied upon money from new investors to pay returns to earlier investors in typical Ponzi scheme fashion. The SEC’s complaint also alleges that he siphoned off $5 million in investor funds to pay family and friends and for other personal uses, including $73,000 to the private school his children attended.
The SEC alleges that the Ponzi scheme defrauded more than $27 million from approximately 130 investors from 2005 to 2010. The scheme ultimately collapsed in the fall of 2010 when the companies’ accounts were depleted by the trading losses and interest payments to investors.
The SEC’s complaint charged Taylor’s companies Garfield Taylor Inc. and Gibraltar Asset Management Group LLC – which were not registered with the SEC – as well as five collaborators in Taylor’s scheme:
Maurice G. Taylor of Bowie, Md., who is the brother of Garfield Taylor. He is the Chief Investment Officer at Gibraltar and worked as a trader for Garfield Taylor Inc.
Randolph M. Taylor of Washington D.C., who is the nephew of Garfield Taylor. He was formerly the Vice President for Organizational Development at Gibraltar.
Benjamin C. Dalley of Washington D.C., who is the childhood friend and business partner of Randolph Taylor. He was formerly Vice President of Operations at Gibraltar.
Jeffrey A. King of Upper Marlboro, Md., whose sister is married to Maurice Taylor. He was a former independent contractor for Garfield Taylor Inc. and former President and Chief Operating Officer of Gibraltar.
William B. Mitchell of Middle River, Md., who was formerly Vice President for Finance at Garfield Taylor Inc. and former Executive Vice President of Strategic Planning at Gibraltar.
According to the SEC’s complaint, Garfield Taylor and the others jointly prepared and finalized a Gibraltar PowerPoint presentation for prospective investors that was riddled with false and misleading statements. They misrepresented the nature of the company’s options trading strategy, the anticipated rate of return, the protections offered by its outside accountant, and the overall level of risk involved in an investment with Gibraltar. They pitched the PowerPoint presentation to potential institutional investors and charitable organizations, including a Washington D.C.-based children’s charity and a Baptist church in Maryland. Garfield Taylor went so far as to provide the Baptist church with a fake “letter of recommendation” from Charles Schwab as he pitched the investment opportunity.
The SEC alleges that in order to maintain a steady flow of new investor money, Garfield Taylor induced current investors and others including King and Mitchell to solicit and refer new investors to him in exchange for commission payments based on the amounts invested. Garfield Taylor, who was not a licensed securities broker, persuaded several individuals to give him online access to their personal brokerage accounts so he could place trades and share in any profits generated.
The SEC’s complaint charges Garfield Taylor, Inc., Gibraltar Asset Management Group LLC, Garfield Taylor, Dalley, King, and Randolph Taylor with violations of Sections 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 (“Securities Act”). The SEC’s complaint also charges those defendants and Maurice Taylor with violating or aiding and abetting violations of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”) and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. It also alleges that Garfield Taylor violated Sections 206(1), (2) and (4) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and Rule 206(4)-8 thereunder. The SEC’s complaint also charges Garfield Taylor, Inc., Gibraltar Asset Management Group, LLC, and Garfield Taylor with violations of Sections 5(a) and 5(c) of the Securities Act. The SEC’s complaint also alleges that Garfield Taylor, King, and Mitchell violated Section 15(a) of the Exchange Act. The SEC seeks a judgment permanently enjoining the defendants from future violations of the relevant provisions of the federal securities laws and ordering them to pay penalties and disgorgement with prejudgment interest. The SEC also named three companies belonging to Randolph Taylor, Dalley, King, and Mitchell as relief defendants for the purposes of seeking disgorgement with prejudgment interest of investor funds.”

MADOFF FORMER EMPLOYEE CHARGED BY SEC FOR ROLE IN PONZI SCHEME

The following excerpt is from the SEC website:

“Washington, D.C., Nov. 21, 2011 – The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a longtime Bernie Madoff employee with fraud for his role in creating fake trades to facilitate the massive Ponzi scheme.

The SEC alleges that David Kugel, who worked at Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC (BMIS) for nearly four decades, was asked by Madoff to provide the firm’s investment advisory operations with backdated arbitrage trade information to be formulated into fictitious trading on investors’ account statements. Kugel’s own account at BMIS was among those in which backdated trades were entered, and he withdrew nearly $10 million in “profits” from the fictitious trading over several years.
"Kugel helped Madoff maintain the elaborate and enduring facade that his clients were engaged in actual trading when in fact no such trading occurred," said George S. Canellos, Director of the SEC's New York Regional Office. "Kugel withdrew millions of dollars of phony profits that he knew weren't from actual trading activity."
The SEC previously charged two other longtime Madoff employees Annette Bongiorno and JoAnn Crupi for their roles in producing phony account statements that were sent to Madoff investors. According to the SEC’s complaint against Kugel filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Bongiorno and Crupi and other staff in Madoff’s investment advisory (IA) operations used the information provided by Kugel to formulate fictitious trades to appear on investor account statements.
The SEC alleges that sometime in the early 1970s after Kugel began his career with Madoff as an arbitrage trader in the firm’s proprietary trading business, Madoff informed Kugel that BMIS managed money for outside clients. He asked Kugel to provide the firm’s IA operations with backdated convertible arbitrage trades for inclusion on investor account statements. Some of these trades replicated successful trades that Kugel had actually made for BMIS proprietary trading operations. Other trades were based on historical information that Kugel obtained from old newspapers.
According to the SEC’s complaint, Bongiorno and Crupi regularly asked Kugel for backdated information about trades amounting to millions of dollars. After Kugel provided the information, Crupi and Bongiorno would then design trades that totaled that amount. These fictitious trades were highly profitable on an annualized basis, and appeared on account statements and trade confirmations sent to investors. Kugel, who opened his own BMIS account, received these account statements and trade confirmations as well.
The SEC alleges that Kugel provided backdated trade information for IA accounts, including his own. He withdrew the purported “profits” of these trades even though he knew they weren’t proceeds of actual trading activity. One trade in S&P index options in 2007 earned Kugel a profit of more than $375,000 in just a few weeks. Kugel withdrew almost $10 million from his BMIS IA accounts from 2001 to 2008.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York has filed parallel criminal charges against Kugel, who has pled guilty and also agreed to settle the SEC’s civil charges. Subject to court approval, the civil case will result in a permanent injunction against Kugel, who must forfeit his ill-gotten monetary gains upon entry of a criminal forfeiture order in the criminal case.
The SEC’s complaint against Kugel alleges that by engaging in this conduct, Kugel violated and aided and abetted violations of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder; aided and abetted violations of Sections 204, 206(1) and 206(2) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and Rule 204-2 thereunder, and Sections 15(c) and 17(a) of the Exchange Act and Rules 10b-3 and 17a-3 thereunder.
The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Kristine M. Zaleskas and Aaron P. Arnzen of the New York Regional Office. The Commission thanks the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for its coordination and assistance. The SEC’s investigation is continuing.”

SEC GETS JUDGMENTS IN CHINA VOICE HOLDINGS CORP. SCHEME ALLEGING A PONZI GAME

October 4, 2011
The following excerpt is from the SEC website:
“On October 4, 2011, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that the Honorable Reed O’Connor, United States District Judge for the Northern District of Texas, recently entered orders permanently enjoining multiple defendants in a case involving the co-founder of China Voice Holding Corp.
Without admitting or denying the allegations in the Commission’s complaint, Alex Dowlatshahi and Christopher Mills consented to the entry of judgments that permanently enjoin them from violating Sections 5(a), 5(c), and 17(a) of the Securities Act and Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. In addition, companies owned and controlled by Dowlatshahi and Mills, including Defendants Integrity Driven Network Corp., Lucrative Enterprises Corp., Synergetic Solutions LLC, Silver Summit Holdings LLC, and Sleeping Bear LLC, were permanently enjoined from violating Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. The judgments also provide that upon motion of the Commission, the Court may order disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, prejudgment interest thereon, and civil penalties in amounts the Court deems appropriate. The judgments were entered on August 31, 2011, and September 19, 2011.
On September 23, 2011, Defendant Ilya Drapkin was permanently enjoined from violating Section 17(a)(3) of the Securities Act. In addition the judgment permanently bars Drapkin from participating in the offer or sale of penny stocks and provides that, upon motion of the Commission, the Court shall order disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, prejudgment interest thereon, and civil penalties in amounts the Court deems appropriate. Drapkin’s companies, Defendants MG TK Corp. and SMI Chips, Inc., also shall be ordered to pay disgorgement of ill-gotten gains and prejudgment interest in amounts the Court deems appropriate upon motion of the Commission. The Defendants consented to the entry of the judgment without admitting or denying the allegations in the Commission’s complaint.
On September 26, 2011, Defendant Gerald Patera, and his companies, Defendants Capital Bankers Group Ltd. and Third Securities Corp., were permanently enjoined from violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act and Sections 10(b) and 15(a) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. In addition, the judgment permanently bars Patera from participating in the offer or sale of penny stocks and provides that, upon motion of the Commission, the Court shall order disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, prejudgment interest thereon, and civil penalties in amounts the Court deems appropriate. The Defendants consented to the entry of the judgment without admitting or denying the allegations in the Commission’s complaint.
The Commission filed an emergency action on April 28, 2011, alleging that China Voice’s co-founder and former Chief Financial Officer, David Ronald Allen, with the assistance Dowlatshahi and Mills, and numerous related entities, launched what became a Ponzi scheme that sought to raise at least $8.6 million from investors across the country. The Commission alleged that, contrary to what investors were told, proceeds were used to pay back earlier investors; to make payments to Allen, Dowlatshahi, and Mills; and to make payments to Allen-affiliated business, including China Voice.
On June 5, the Honorable Judge Reed O’Connor, United States District Judge, entered a preliminary injunction, which, along with freezing the assets of multiple defendants and relief defendants, prevents the defendants from violating certain provisions of the securities laws, orders the preservation of documents, and requires the defendants to provide an accounting to determine the disposition of investor funds.
The SEC’s complaint also charges China Voice, its former chairman and CEO William Burbank IV, and Allen for a series of fraudulent statements about China Voice’s financial condition and business prospects, as well as Patera, Drapkin, and Robert Wilson for their roles in the scheme.
The Commission’s case is still pending against remaining defendants Allen, Burbank, Wilson, China Voice, and various of their related entities.”