Archive

March 13, 2015

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi’s Office obtained a temporary injunction and asset freeze against World Mark Wholesale and Trade, LLC for allegedly engaging in a systematic scheme to defraud owners of timeshares throughout Florida and nationwide. FL

March 12, 2015

The New Jersey Bureau of Securities obtained a default judgment totaling more than $23 million in restitution, disgorgement, and civil penalties against Branded Marketing LLC (also known as 1800tarjetas.com), its successor company Branded Marketing, Inc., and its President and CEO, Richard Jackowitz, and affiliated company IT Connect, Inc., for their role in an investment scam that raised more than $4 million from unsuspecting investors. NJ

March 5, 2015

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi’s Office announced the filing of four complaints involving deceptive marketing and sales of computer software and tech support services to Florida consumers, many of whom are senior citizens. The call centers allegedly used deceptive marketing, such as pop up ads warning of viruses or other malware, to lead consumers to call these companies who were then directed through scare tactics to pay for unnecessary computer repairs and support services. Consumers typically paid from $99 to $600 to resolve non-existent computer issues. The companies involved included ASAP Tech Help, LLC, E-Racer Tech, LLC, Protech Support, LLC (d/b/a Rapid Tech Support), and Techfix USA, LLC (d/b/a PC Smart Support and First Class Tech Support). FL

March 5, 2015

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi announced settlements with home security system providers Security Networks, LLC and Vision Security, LLC to resolve allegations they made false or misleading statements in door-to-door sales of security alarm systems. These misrepresentations included that the companies were affiliated with the consumers’ current security monitoring companies and that the consumers’ products were outdated, in need of upgrades or that the consumers’ current monitoring companies were going out of business. FL

March 3, 2015

The CFTC announced that a complaint it filed under seal on February 25, 2015, charges Jerry Stauffer of Traverse City, Michigan, with fraudulently soliciting close to $1 million from the public to trade foreign exchange in a commodity pool by guaranteeing pool participants a monthly return on their investment based on profits purportedly earned from forex trading.  CFTC

March 3, 2015

A New York federal court ordered Mark Evan Bloom of Monmouth Beach, New Jersey, and his firm North Hills Management, LLC to pay a $26 million civil monetary penalty for operating a fraudulent commodity pool called North Hills LP and misappropriating customer funds.  CFTC

February 26, 2015

Kevin G. White of The Woodlands, Texas, who orchestrated a $7.4 million commodity pool investment scam during which he misappropriated approximately $1.7 million from pool participants, was sentenced to over eight years in federal prison.  CFTC

February 13, 2015

The FTC approved a final order against Dallas auto dealer TXVT Limited Partnership (doing business as Trophy Nissan) involving deceptive advertising charges. Under the settlement, Trophy is prohibited from misrepresenting in any advertisement the material terms of any promotion or other incentive, including that it will pay off a consumers’ trade-in or the cost of leasing or purchasing a vehicle. Trophy is also prohibited from failing to clearly and conspicuously disclose material terms of its promotions or other incentives and must comply with the Consumer Leasing Act and Regulation M and the Truth in Lending Act and Regulation Z. FTC

February 13, 2015

New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced a felony indictment today charging Moazzam Ifzal “Mark” Malik with stealing over $250,000 from five investors by fraudulently soliciting them to invest in his purported hedge funds, including Seven Sages Capital, L.P. and Wolf Hedge LLC. Malik is accused of luring investors with false representations that he managed a multi-million dollar hedge fund that would guarantee high returns, and then diverted their monies for his own personal use. NY

February 13, 2015

A federal court ordered Scott M. Ross, formerly of Gilberts, Illinois, and his companies, Maize Capital Management, LLC and Maize Asset Management, LLC, to pay $6.7 million in restitution and civil penalties for defrauding investors, mishandling customer funds, and failing to register as a commodity pool operator.  CFTC