Fraud Report – Microsoft tech support Fraud imposters

According to reports from consumers, the phony tech specialist claims that the consumer’s computer has a virus and that they can fix the problem. The caller then directs the consumer to take a series of steps, supposedly to get rid of the computer virus.

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Fraud Report – Haberstroh Insurance Agency, Missouri

Use extrem caution when using Haberstroh Insurance Agency, Senior Health Group, Senior Health Team or B.D.H. The businesses operate out of the same address on Hollenberg Drive in Bridgeton, Mo., and are run by members of the same family.

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Fraud Report – Tips for Holiday Season to Prevent Fraud

Holiday Season Fraud Prevention Tip1: Monitor purchase activity: Remember to review your account activity regularly, especially when you’re busy shopping for the holidays. Enroll in mobile banking so you can view a snapshot of your accounts while on the go and monitor your purchase activity online from home. Also sign up for transaction alerts for your checking account, debit card, and credit card to receive text or e-mail notification about account activity.

Holiday Season Fraud Prevention Tip1: Don’t over-share on social websites: During this holiday season, when using the internet for keeping in touch with friends and family as well as for making purchases, remember not to “over-share.” While social media websites may encourage you to share private information, avoid sharing full birthdates, place of birth, pet’s name, children’s names, or names of schools attended, especially if this information is used as a clue to account passwords or security questions. Never share your mother’s maiden name, Social Security number, bank account numbers, or usernames and passwords for any account including e-mail accounts. You’ll also want to keep your phone number and home address private. All this information could be collected and used by fraudsters to attempt illegal activity in your name.

Holiday Season Fraud Prevention Tip1: Be careful what you disclose: Be wary of special holiday offers or requests for personal or financial information via e-mail, text message, phone, or web site for interactions you didn’t initiate. If you’re suspicious about a request for your information, verify that the request is legitimate by calling the number on the company’s website or billing statement.

Holiday Season Fraud Prevention Tip1: Protect your computers from malware with regular anti-virus updates: Updating anti-virus software on your computer is the first step toward protecting yourself. Remember not to download suspicious attachments or plug-ins. When making purchases, be sure the website address starts with “https.” The “s” helps ensure that your information will be passed along in a secure manner.

Take the paperless route with online banking: The 2010 Identity Fraud Survey Report from Javelin Strategy & Research showed that some fraudsters continue to access personal and financial information the old-fashioned way–by stealing bank or credit card statements from the mailbox. Reduce your risk of stolen mail by retrieving mail promptly and switching to online statements.

Fraud Report – Nicholas Cosmo the owner of a Long Island investment firm ( Agape World Inc. Agape Merchant Advance ) accused of Ponzi Scheme that frauded people out of more than $100 million with Bank of American (BofA) is expected to appear in court Tuesday.

FBI spokesman Jim Margolin says Nicholas Cosmo surrendered at a U.S. Postal Inspection Service office in Hicksville on Monday night.

Cosmo runs Agape World Inc. in Hauppauge (HAW’-pawg). He’s accused of taking in $300 million from investors and cheating them out of about $140 million.

Bank of America Accused in Ponzi Lawsuit

Bank of America effectively set up a branch in a Long Island office that helped Nicholas Cosmo carry out a $380 million Ponzi scheme, according to a class-action lawsuit filed in federal court.

The lawsuit, filed in Federal District Court in Brooklyn late Thursday, contends that Bank of America “established, equipped and staffed” a branch office in the headquarters of Mr. Cosmo’s firm, Agape Merchant Advance. As a result, the lawsuit contends that the bank knowingly “assisted, facilitated and furthered” Mr. Cosmo’s fraudulent scheme.

“Bank of America was at the epicenter of this scheme,” said the lawsuit, which seeks $400 million in damages from the bank and other defendants. “Without Bank of America’s participation, the scheme would not have succeeded and grown to such an enormous size.”

MORE >>>> http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/28/business/28ponzi.html?_r=1

Fraud Report – Clelia Flores, formerly of El Segundo, promised 25% returns every 45 days to victims who invested in her ponzi scheme company, Maximum Return Investments, and several other companies under her control.

Clelia Flores was sentenced to 5 years in federal prison after she pleaded guilty to operating a $10.3-million Ponzi scheme. She was also ordered to pay $6.1 million to victims after having already returned a portion of the money.

Flores promised to place the money in “guaranteed” bank programs and other investments. She also promised to return the original amount invested at any time because their money would never leave he bank, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

Flores, 43, pleaded guilty in May to two counts of wire fraud and two counts of money laundering, and admitted to using the investment funds for personal purchases.

MORE >>>> http://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/2009/lr20997.htm

Fraud Report – Dozens of taxi drivers were arrested and charged in Manhattan Fraud Scheme on Wednesday with overcharging riders in what is believed to be the largest takedown of cabbies in New York, the authorities said.

The 59 drivers who were arrested stole more than $235,000 in overcharged fraud fares on more than 77,000 rides, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., the Manhattan district attorney, said during a news conference at his office. They were accused of intentionally activating a mechanism on the fare meter that triggered a higher rate. One driver was accused of activating the higher rate more than 5,000 times.

MORE >>>> http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/23/nyregion/23taxi.html?_r=1

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs failed to inform 6 million soldiers and their families of an agreement enabling Prudential Financial Inc. to withhold lump sum payments of life insurance benefits for survivors of fallen service members, according to records made public through a Freedom of Information request.

The amendment to Prudential’s contract is the first document to show how VA officials sanctioned a payment practice that has spurred investigations by lawmakers and regulators. Since 1999, Prudential has used so-called retained-asset accounts, which allow the company to withhold lump-sum payments due to survivors and earn investment income on the money for itself.

The Sept. 1, 2009, amendment to Prudential’s contract with the VA ratified another unpublicized deal that had been struck between the insurer and the government 10 years earlier — one that was never put into writing, Bloomberg Markets magazine reports in its November issue. This verbal agreement in 1999 provoked concern among top insurance officials of the agency, the documents released in the FOIA request show.

For a decade, until the contract was formally changed, Prudential wasn’t fulfilling its obligations to survivors of fallen service members, says Brendan Bridgeland, an insurance lawyer who runs the non-profit Center for Insurance Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

MORE >>>> http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=ab9l4qZlQzHU

Federal charges against a Framingham real estate lawyer Michael R. Anderson this week bring the number of people charged in an expanding mortgage fraud case to 4 that led to scores of abandoned and foreclosed properties in Dorchester and Roxbury.

Anderson, 41, was charged Wednesday in US District Court with 27 counts of wire fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering in the case involving Michael David Scott, a Mansfield developer who was indicted separately in August for allegedly working with associates to recruit “straw buyers’’ to purchase condominiums with fraudulently obtained documents.

Virginia real estate recruiter Jerrold Fowler and a former Bank of America Corp. manager, Arthur Samuels, also were charged in separate complaints in US District Court for their roles in what prosecutors say was a fraud scheme that drew buyers to purchase properties they weren’t planning to live in or even make mortgage payments to lenders.

MORE >>>> http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2010/09/10/real_estate_lawyer_charged_in_mortgage_fraud/

There are magazine subscription scams going on right now. Beware of fraud and report any companies that might have scammed you out of money. One of these companies include Lrumar Publications LLC.

Many times the company will use kids to come to your door saying they trying to win a prize or earn money for school. The kids aren’t the scammers. They have been promised good money which usually doesn’t come to fruition.

According to TWiki.edumacation.com some of the techniques that are used in the scam are:

Magazine Subscription Scams #1. charging full publisher’s price for the subscription (sometimes more), when the publisher has multi-year or promotional discounts…

Magazine Subscription Scams #2. quoting prices per week even though some of the magazines they offer you may only be published monthly failing to quote the total cost of the subscription order

Generally the scam involves leveraging a sale through a child or a “needy person” or misrepresentation of savings and / or receiving a special gift. However, non-delivery of the magazine(s) is a common complaint. Unfortunately, the industry has 90 days after purchase as its standard before a complaint can be processed.

Lrumar Publications LLC, a company located in the Colorado Springs area, is a magazine subscription business that has an F rating with the BBB. They have a pattern of complaints alleging delays in delivery well beyond the 180 day time frame.

MORE >>>> http://southerncolorado.bbb.org/post/knock-knock-whos-there-6220

2 South Florida insurance executives of First Commercial Insurance Co. have been charged with 8 first-degree felony counts each after an extensive fraud investigation.

Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink announced the arrests Wed. 8 2010 of Luis M. Espinosa and Rene M. Cambert.

They are charged with filing false, fraudulent or misleading financial statements for First Commercial Insurance Co. and an affiliate with the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation.

Espinosa was president and CEO of the companies. Cambert was vice president and chief operating officer. The two companies were ordered into receivership for liquidation last year.

Each felony count carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.

MORE >>>> http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/09/09/1815254/2-south-fla-insurance-execs-charged.html#ixzz0z3BJQFu7