Tagged: fraud

March 22, 2017 @ 2:29 pm By JD Alois  |  

Acts of fraud have been around since the dawning of time. How fraud occurs is a never-ending, shape-shifting challenge for individuals, companies and public authorities. There will always be a new scam. There will always be another Ponzi or Madoff looking to separate hard-earned money… Read More

March 7, 2017 @ 1:35 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

TransUnion (NYSE: TRU) announced on Tuesday its latest data found that as personal loan delinquency rates rise, online fraud, which includes loan stacking, continues to make significant contributions to these increases. The credit information and information management service company noted that serious delinquency rates (90+… Read More

January 25, 2017 @ 10:11 am By JD Alois  |  

Breathometer, the “world’s first smartphone breathalyzer”, raised $138,437 on Indiegogo back in 2013. The following year, Breathometer visited the studios of Shark Tank where founder Charles Michael Yim “blew the sharks out of the water.” He asked for a mere $250,000.  And what happened? All… Read More

December 16, 2016 @ 11:28 am By JD Alois  |  

The trial against Ezubao, once a high-flying peer to peer lending platform, has commenced.  The Beijing People’s Protectorate has started proceedings against Ezubao and its parent company Yucheng Holdings and Yucheng Global.  This is according to a report in China News. Apparently, 10 individuals will… Read More

December 13, 2016 @ 10:37 am By JD Alois  |  

uFundingPortal (UFP, LLC), disappeared from the ranks of approved Reg CF crowdfunding platforms in early November. Before their removal, a multitude of crowdfunding industry insiders questioned the operation and the investment offers posted on the site. The posted investments lacked transparency while proposing valuations and… Read More

December 12, 2016 @ 8:12 am By JD Alois  |  

uFundingPortal (UFP LLC) went off-line last month after receiving regulatory approval to operate as a Reg CF funding portal earlier this year.  Crowdfund Insider reported the disappearance of the site in November as questionable companies were listed with bare bones information and outlandish valuations. Industry… Read More

December 4, 2016 @ 8:35 am By Jessica Pham  |  

In a follow-up to the Ezubao (Ezubo) shutdown, five people affiliated with the Chinese P2P lending platform that is accused of a Ponzi scheme are on trial for gold smuggling.  This is the first court case that is a part of a scandal that robbed investors of between… Read More

October 19, 2016 @ 11:16 am By JD Alois  |  

This past weekend, Crowdfund Insider reported that China government officials published a list of restrictions for peer to peer lenders. These were largely a rehash of previously revealed regulations directed towards internet finance and more specifically peer to peer lending. But the Chinese government is… Read More

October 18, 2016 @ 10:38 am By Xu Gao  |  

CreditEase is Confronted with Another Tuition Loan Fraud Earlier this month, Chinese p2p lending platform CreditEase was confronted with another tuition loan fraud. TOEIC English, a TOEFL training institution which launched a collaborative tuition loan product with CreditEase, was found shuttered with no reason. Students… Read More

October 6, 2016 @ 7:31 am By Erin Hobey  |  

TransUnion (NYSE: TRU) announced the launch of its Fraud Prevention Exchange, an industry collaborative designed to combat online fraud at the Lend360 conference. The Fraud Prevention Exchange will leverage the power of collective data and help lenders face challenges brought on by originations fraud, including synthetic identity and loan stacking. TransUnion… Read More

September 25, 2016 @ 3:18 pm By JD Alois  |  

Shanghai Daily is reporting that global consultancy EY has gotten sucked into the collapse of peer to peer lender Jinxing Investments. According to the report, the Shanghai offices of EY has endured several protests becoming surrounded by angry investors who were under the impression that… Read More

August 20, 2016 @ 7:19 pm By JD Alois  |  

The case of the Ascenergy crowdfunding fraud came to light just as Reg CF or Title III crowdfunding rules were announced to the public in October of 2015.   Ascenergy, an aspiring oil and gas operation, had raised about $5 million from approximately 90 investors,… Read More

August 8, 2016 @ 4:11 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last month it was reported that Skully, a company launched to create a super cool augmented reality motorcycle helmut, had jettisoned its founders as investors had enough of the lack of progress and mismanagement. Yesterday, TechCrunch reported that Skully is no more. While the very… Read More

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