Tagged: fraud

July 22, 2016 @ 12:43 pm By JD Alois  |  

According to Reuters, Trendon Shavers, founder of the Bitcoin Savings and Trust company, received 18 months in prison and was ordered to pay back $1.25 million to his victims.  The sentence was handed down this week by US District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan in Federal… Read More

July 8, 2016 @ 10:28 am By JD Alois  |  

Alan Christopher Colton, who was previously convicted of fraud, received a two-year suspended prison sentence and a £100 fine earlier this week, according to the Times.   Colton, and his company 88 Delicious, a flavored Vodka brand, had previously offered shares in the company on Crowdcube… Read More

June 21, 2016 @ 9:41 pm By JD Alois  |  

Steven J. Muehler, operator of the Alternative Securities Markets, Blue Coast Securities and GlobalCrowdTV, has settled with the Securities and Exchange Commission while admitting the conduct violated federal securities laws.  The proceedings by the SEC came out of an apparent “scheme to defraud”  by Muehler…. Read More

June 20, 2016 @ 9:45 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Monday, peer-to-peer lending platform, Zopa, announced it has teamed up with risk management business, Sphonic, to launch the Workflow Manager (WFM) solution for real-time fraud detection. Zopa reported that WFM’s software acts as a context-broker that leverages data points from over 50 of the… Read More

June 10, 2016 @ 11:33 am By JD Alois  |  

There is never a dull moment at our nation’s top securities regulator. Much of their budget and time goes towards enforcement of the many different securities rules.  From the Bernie Madoff’s of the world to small-scale fraud, the SEC is constantly on the alert for… Read More

June 6, 2016 @ 8:36 am By JD Alois  |  

88 Delicious Brands Limited listed an offer on Crowdcube back in 2013. The crowdfunding round had raised a substantial amount of funding before Crowdcube pulled the plug and removed the campaign.  Crowdcube states that no funds were taken or transferred via their platform. Apparently Alan Colton Jr.,… Read More

June 1, 2016 @ 3:49 pm By Joe Green  |  

  Now that the long awaited and much anticipated federal crowdfunding rules under Title III of the JOBS Act have become effective, startup companies can raise seed capital from everyday, non-accredited retail investors through online equity crowdfunding platforms. Many of these investors are excited to… Read More

May 26, 2016 @ 2:23 pm By Erin Hobey  |  

Add Esudai to a growing list of fraudulent Chinese P2P lending platforms that are being shut down by the Chinese government.  Today Reuters reported that police in the Huizhou, Guangdong province, had detained 13 executives including legal representative and chairman Jian Huixing from the Guangdong Huirong… Read More

May 16, 2016 @ 10:13 am By Erin Hobey  |  

As Chinese authorities continue their hunt for unregulated online lending and investment firms, more fraudulent fintech platforms are bound to be nabbed for unseemly and illegal behavior.  Today Bloomberg News reported the latest Ponzi scheme that separated 39.9 billion yuan ($6.1 billion) from 25,000 investors. Crowdfund… Read More

May 11, 2016 @ 10:37 am By JD Alois  |  

  China is the largest market for alternative finance in the world. According to the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF), China delivered over $100 billion in alternative finance, including peer to peer lending and crowdfunding, in 2015.  This was more than a 3X jump… Read More

May 8, 2016 @ 7:17 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission has stepped up its public campaign against investment fraud in recent months. Either via social media or paid commercials, the SEC is clearly concerned as finance inevitably moves online.  This should come as no surprise to anyone that follows the… Read More

April 6, 2016 @ 2:09 pm By JD Alois  |  

According to a complaint filed by the SEC, from 2010 to at least December of 2012, defendants Joseph Andrew Paul, John D. Ellis, Jr. James S. Quay and Donald H. Ellison operated a fraudulent scam that fleeced unsuspecting investors of millions.  Ellis and Paul created Paul-Ellis… Read More

April 5, 2016 @ 11:35 am By Jodi Avergun and Colleen Kukowski  |  

  “Silicon Valley is coming.  There are hundreds of startups with a lot of brains and money working on various alternatives to traditional banking.” This warning came not from a pundit or Silicon Valley lobbyist, but from Jamie Dimon, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer… Read More

April 1, 2016 @ 6:12 pm By JD Alois  |  

As Albert Einstein so eloquently commented on the human ability of being duped; “Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the former.” Yes, most of us have fallen prey to good intentions gone bad at one point… Read More

March 31, 2016 @ 11:13 am By JD Alois  |  

The SmartTracker crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo is emblematic about what is bad (and needs to be fixed) regarding rewards-based crowdfunding. The alleged creator of the SmartTracker product, a Mr. Julian Buschor, is a repeat offender when it comes to failing to deliver a product after… Read More

March 31, 2016 @ 9:11 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission has settled charges with infamous VC – G. Steven Burrill regarding a case where Burrill allegedly stole investor money to pay for private jets and trips to Paris and St. Barts. Burrill was sued last year in the Superior Court of… Read More

March 29, 2016 @ 7:13 pm By JD Alois  |  

Former Fox Business Network contributor Tobin Smith has settled fraud charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Smith was terminated by Fox in 2013 for “sponsored investment research”.  Basically Smith was pumping penny stocks that he, along with NBT   Group (ironically as in the… Read More

March 27, 2016 @ 9:46 pm By JD Alois  |  

The SEC Enforcement division shut down an allegedly bogus operation run by John Bivona based in New Jersey. Bivona, via Saddle River Advisors and SRA Management Associates, raised money from unsuspecting investors promising access to pre-IPO tech companies in the San Francisco bay area.  According… Read More

March 21, 2016 @ 11:20 am By Amy Wan  |  

  Recently, JD Alois wrote a warning to investors about fraudsters attempting to impersonate officials from the Securities and Exchange Commission. This week, we’re warning borrowers and sponsors about scam artists that claim to work for or with crowdfunding platforms. Fraud in the lending or real… Read More

March 18, 2016 @ 8:18 pm By Louise Beaumont  |  

  The global alternative finance industry has undergone staggering growth in recent years. In 2015 combined market activity in the UK grew 84% from £1.74bn the year before to £3.2bn. Around 20,000 SMEs raised approximately £2.2bn in funding through online channels, representing a year-on-year growth… Read More