senior citizen scams

Securities and Exchange Commission v. One Wall Street, Inc

“U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Litigation Release No. 20826 / December 12, 2008

Securities and Exchange Commission v. One Wall Street, Inc., Donte C. Jarvis, Alan Brown, Willis “Bill” White III, and Cecil Baptiste, also known as John Latorri, 06 Civ. 4217 (NGG)(ARL) (E.D.N.Y.)

Court Orders Defendants One Wall Street, Inc., Donte C. Jarvis, Willis “Bill” White III and Cecil Baptiste, also Known as John Latorri, to Disgorge Ill-Gotten Gains and to Pay Civil Penalty in Fraud Against Senior Citizens; Court Also Orders Relief Defendant La Shondra Hatter to Make Disgorgement.

On December 11, 2008 the Honorable Nicholas Garaufis of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York entered final judgments against defendants One Wall Street, Inc. (“One Wall Street”), formerly of Hicksville, New York, Donte C. Jarvis, of Wheatley Heights, New York, Willis “Bill” White III, formerly of West Hempstead, New York, and Cecil Baptiste, also known as John Latorri (“Baptiste”), formerly of Queens Village, New York (collectively, the “defendants”). The Court enjoined the defendants from future violations of the registration provisions of Sections 5(a) and 5(c) of the Securities Act of 1933 and of the antifraud provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. The Court also each of them to pay disgorgement, prejudgment interest and a civil monetary penalty. In addition the Court entered a final judgment against relief defendant La Shondra Hatter, Jarvis’ wife, also of Wheatley Heights, New York, ordering her to pay disgorgement. Previously, on October 24, 2007, the Court had entered default judgments against each of these parties and reserved ruling on the Commission’s motions for disgorgement, prejudgment interest and civil monetary penalties pending the recommendations of Magistrate Judge Arlene Rosario Lindsay for a determination of the amounts of each claim. In entering the final judgments, the Court adopted Judge Lindsay’s recommendations, dated September 4, 2008.

The judgments order the disgorgement of the ill-gotten gains obtained by the defendants from at least 64 investors, many of whom were senior citizens, and at least one of whom lost a significant part of his life savings as a result of defendants’ fraud. Considering the defendant’s significant fraudulent conduct, the Court also imposed third-tier civil penalties on each of them and barred each of them from further violations of the registration and anti-fraud provisions of the federal securities laws.

The Commission’s complaint alleged that One Wall Street, Jarvis, White, and Baptiste sold unregistered shares of One Wall Street to investors through numerous oral and written false and misleading statements. These defendants, together with Alan Brown, against whom a final judgment was entered in January 2008, raised at least $1.925 million from the investing public.

Judge Garaufis ordered that: (i) One Wall Street and Jarvis disgorge $1,925,620, together with prejudgment interest of $526,379.03, and pay a civil penalty of $1,925,620; (ii) White disgorge $1,000, together with prejudgment interest of $275.94, and pay a civil penalty of $30,000; and (iii) Baptiste disgorge $198,619.08, together with prejudgment interest of $47,895.44, and pay a civil penalty of $198,619.08. Judge Garaufis further ordered the relief defendant Hatter to disgorge the $166,570.80 she received from Jarvis, together with prejudgment interest of $32,122.07.

For further information, see Litigation Release No. 19809 (Aug. 21, 2006), Litigation Release No. 19823 (Sept. 6, 2006), Litigation Release 20123 (May 22, 2007) and Litigation Release 20421 (January 3, 2008).”

August 22, 2006 One Wall Street Inc. at CrossingWallStreet.com – make sure to hit the “jackpot” at the end!

http://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/2008/lr20826.htm”

Ripoff Artists Target Grandparents

From the FTC on November 25, 2008:

Complaints are on the rise about a scam that preys on a grandparent’s love, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

A scammer calls posing as a grandchild in distress, and tries to put the squeeze on the grandparent to wire money for repairing a car, paying a fine, or getting out of trouble in a foreign country.

FTC’s description of how the scam works and how to avoid getting caught up in the “grandparent’s scam”:

A Scam Based on Relative-ity: Would-Be Grandchildren Bilking Honest Grandparents

“Grandma! Hi, how are you?”
“Hi, Billy. How are you?”
“Actually, I’m in some trouble, and don’t want Mom and Dad to know…”

Seems like an ordinary phone call from your grandchild, right? It may be — at least until the caller claims that he needs cash to fix a car, get out of jail, or leave a foreign country. He begs you to wire money right away and to keep the request confidential. If you think that sounds like a red flag, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer protection agency, says you’re right.

Victims of this scam often don’t realize they’ve made a mistake until days later, when they speak to their grandchild and he knows nothing about the phone call. By then, the money the grandparent wired is not only long gone, but also irretrievable. Scammers usually pressure people to wire money through commercial money transfer companies like Western Union and Money Gram because wiring money is the same as sending cash. The chances of recovery are slim to none.

The FTC says the number of complaints about this type of scam is on the rise. In some cases, the scammers know the names of family members and manage a deft impersonation. In others, they trick a grandparent into giving up a grandchild’s name. The callers often claim to be in Canada and ask that the money be wired there. Sometimes, a third person gets in the act, pretending to be a police officer or bondsman to confirm the bogus story.

Regardless of the particulars, a grandparent’s love and concern often can outweigh their usual skepticism. In fact, say fraud fighters at the FTC, that’s what the bad guys are banking on.

But grandparents and other caring individuals can learn how to avoid being taken in by a fake emergency. If you get a call from a family member asking you to wire money, for example, don’t panic — and do resist the urge to act immediately. The FTC says:

Try to verify the caller’s identity by asking personal questions a stranger couldn’t answer.
Resist the pressure to act immediately; don’t be afraid to use a phone number you know to be genuine to call back. If you don’t have the relative’s phone number, get in touch with the person’s parent, spouse, or another close family member to check out the story before you send any money, even if you’ve been told to keep the event a secret.
If you can’t reach a family member and still aren’t sure what to do, call your local police on the non-emergency line. They can help you sort things out.
No matter how dramatic the story, don’t wire money. Don’t send a check or money order by overnight delivery or courier, either. Con artists recommend these services so they can get your money before you realize you’ve been cheated.
Report possible fraud at ftc.gov or by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP.

The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint or to get free information on consumer issues, visit ftc.gov or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The FTC enters consumer complaints into the Consumer Sentinel Network, a secure online database and investigative tool used by hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.

Securities and Exchange Commission v. One Wall Street, Inc

Ripoff Artists Target Grandparents

A Scam Based on Relative-ity: Would-Be Grandchildren Bilking Honest Grandparents

How To file Complaints

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