affinity fraud

Is it channeling Profitable Sunrise as part of an affinity-fraud/identity-theft reload scam? An enterprise that bizarrely is calling itself  “ALL SAINTS CATHOLIC CHURCH LOAN FIRM” purports to have an office in England and appears to be targeting Catholics and Christians in general to be fleeced in a purported “loan” program. The spam/scam pitch begins, “I [...]

Shervin Neman, the alleged affinity fraudster sued by the SEC last year in a Ponzi scheme targeted at the Persian-Jewish community, now has been arrested by the FBI in Los Angeles. Neman, 31, also is known as Shervin Davatgarzadeh, the FBI said. The Century City resident was arrested today on a three-count indictment charging him [...]

“[Bradley] Collins worked under the guise of a religious man and told his victims he only worked with God-fearing, church going people and was blessed to be blessing potential investors. His portrayal of a Christian man put many of his victims at ease, increasing the amount of funds they invested.” — Indiana Secretary of State [...]

EDITOR’S NOTE: Information from Tennessee was received after this story was published. The Tennessee info is published in the Comments thread below . . . UPDATED 8:18 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) Louisiana has issued an Investor Alert on the Profitable Sunrise HYIP, joining a growing list of U.S. states and Canadian provinces to have done so. [...]

URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: (2ND UPDATE 6:44 P.M. ET U.S.A.) Both of the defendants on trial in federal court in Connecticut in a cash-gifting pyramid scheme known as Women’s Gifting Tables have been found guilty of wire fraud and filing false tax returns. The jury returned the verdicts against Jill Platt, 65, and Donna [...]

EDITOR’S NOTE: In May 2012, the PP Blog reported that three women had been arrested on federal charges in Connecticut that flowed from an alleged cash-gifting pyramid scheme. One of the women has pleaded guilty. Two others now are on trial. Cash-gifting often is associated with affinity fraud. The alleged Connecticut scheme centered around women [...]

BULLETIN: The SEC has gone to federal court in Houston, alleging that Firas Hamdan was conducting an affinity-fraud scheme targeted at the Lebanese and Druze communities. The agency is seeking an asset freeze against Hamdan and his unregistered company, FAH Capital Partners Inc. The scheme is alleged to have gathered about $6 million over five [...]

“The nature and circumstances of this offense and Mr. Beckman’s history and characteristics, viewed together, cry out for a life sentence. With respect to Mr. Beckman, nothing less than a liberty-ending sentence would reflect the seriousness of this offense, promote respect for the law and provide just punishment. But perhaps most importantly, Mr. Beckman must [...]

OregonLive (The Oregonian) is reporting that the state has taken action against participants in an alleged cash-gifting pyramid scheme. Like recent cases in Connecticut and Michigan, the Oregon case involves women. The paper is reporting that four naturopathic physicians were involved in the scheme. One of them was ordered to pay a fine of $15,000 [...]

The SEC has gone to federal court in Puerto Rico, alleging that Ricardo Bonilla Rojas was operating a $7 million Ponzi scheme targeted at evangelical Christians and factory workers. Victims in the case hail from Puerto Rico, Florida, New York, and North Carolina, the agency said. Rojas, 53, is a resident of Arecibo, Puerto Rico. [...]

The three California women who hatched a Ponzi scheme involving purportedly “exclusive” milk sales to Disneyland and allegedly recruited investors  from the ranks of local PTA members at an elementary school in the Los Angeles region now have been sentenced to jail terms. (PTA stands for Parent-Teacher Association.) The PP Blog first reported on Maricela [...]