Investment
Scam Alert 2009: Spread the Word
This is
a real world situation that could impact each of you as professionals,
investors, and friends of persons who could fall for such schemes. So please
get angry about it!
An
envelope arrived yesterday from a worried investor (not a client of mine) in
Appleton, Wisconsin. He had been contacted with an "investment
partner" opportunity touting a "guaranteed investment program"
that would absolutely "double and triple his money every sixty days"
with no worries, work, or risk involved.
So why
was this total stranger contacting me?
Inside
the envelope were four separate documents: (1) a call for twenty-five new
investors who would become partners in this special, private, guaranteed
investment program, and (2) an endorsement of the program from Helen Taylor,
the founder of ResponseLink Pros, Inc.
(3) An
acceptance letter from Chris Jenkins, Advertising Manager of Moyer Direct,
Inc., the investment management company, and (4) a special offer coupon that
allowed the new partners to make additional deposits of fewer dollars while
promising an even greater rate of return.
So why
was this total stranger sending this information to me?
Two of
the documents were fraudulently attributed to me and had been signed by someone
using my name--- bet that got your attention!
In the
others, a fictitious Helen Taylor claimed to be my good friend and mentoring
student while a non-existent Advertising Manager (Chris Jenkins) was
distributing "one-time-only" discount offers that I was making in my
capacity as president of Moyer Direct, Inc.--- a company I had never heard of
until yesterday.
Obviously,
this scam artist (the now indicted Wayne C. Scott a/k/a Chris Harper) was able
to paint a believable picture by trading on the good names, reputations, and
achievements of well-known people in the financial industry. I would guess that
I'm not the only one who has been unknowingly abused by such con artists.
And
that is probably why I wasn't contacted by anyone until now. Was your name used
on documents sent to other victims? Did you sign up for a Warren Buffet or Ben Graham
program?
Court
documents (US District Court, Northern District of Illinois) indicate that
Wayne Scott has bilked hundreds of small investors to the tune of nearly one million
dollars. Other prominent investors, advisors, experts, and financial writers
have probably had their reputations compromised as well.
Please
forward this warning to your friends, colleagues, clients, relatives, and
employees. We need to prevent such scams from spreading any further
So why
haven't we (and the investing public) been warned about this outrage by someone
official? Hmmm.
Steve
Selengut (The real one!)
http://www.sancoservices.com
Professional
Portfolio Management since 1979
Author
of: "The Brainwashing of the American Investor: The Book that Wall Street
Does Not Want YOU to Read", and "A Millionaire's Secret Investment
Strategy"
Variable
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stock market,stocks,bonds,income investing,window dressing,wrap
accounts,investment managers,scandal,scam,financial institution,executive
compensation,
Investment
Scam Alert 2009: Spread the Word
Obviously,
this scam artist (the now indicted Wayne C. Scott a/k/a Chris Harper) was able
to paint a believable picture by trading on the good names, reputations, and
achievements of well-known people in the financial industry. I would guess that
I'm not the only one who has been unknowingly abused by such con artists.
http://www.sancoservices.com/50CurrentInvestmentArticles.htm
http://www.sancoservices.com/InvestmentScamAlert.htm
http://www.valueinvestingnews.com/investment-scam-alert-2009-spread-word
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/113991