July 23, 2010 at 12:57 p.m.
Filed under:
Criminal charges,
Fraud,
Litigation
By Ameet Sachdev
Conrad Black enters the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago on Friday. (Terrence Antonio James/ Chicago Tribune)
U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve said she would not allow Conrad Black, who once controlled a media company that owned the Chicago Sun-Times, to return to his home in Canada until she has more information about his financial condition. She asked to return Aug. 16 with a complete and thorough financial affadavit.
Black arrived in St. Eve’s Chicago courtroom for a 12:30 p.m. hearing to learn the conditions of his recent release from prison. He wore a blue suit and salmon-colored tie, and was accompanied by his wife Barbara Amiel Black. He didn’t say anything, but smiled and gave a thumbs up.
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July 16, 2010 at 5:05 p.m.
Filed under:
Criminal charges,
Fraud,
Investing
By Reuters
American International Group Inc. has agreed to pay $725 million to settle a long-running securities fraud lawsuit led by three Ohio public pension funds, in one of the largest class-action settlements in U.S. history.
AIG would pay $175 million within 10 days of preliminary court approval of the settlement with a class of shareholders. The company may fund the remaining $550 million through one or more common stock offerings. Get the full story »
July 15, 2010 at 5:03 p.m.
Filed under:
Fraud,
Government,
Investing,
Litigation
By MarksJarvis on Money
Goldman Sachs has agreed to pay $550 million in a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission over allegations of misleading investors.
July 12, 2010 at 12:57 p.m.
Filed under:
Credit Cards,
Fraud
By Associated Press
A Colorado grand jury has indicted six people from the Oakland, Calif., area on charges of using fake credit cards to get cash and goods in Illinois and six other states.
The indictment, made public Monday, alleges the suspects got a toll-free number and printed it on the back of the cards. When bank or business employees couldn’t authenticate the card, they called the number.
June 25, 2010 at 2:45 p.m.
Filed under:
Fraud,
Government,
Housing,
Taxes
By Mary Ellen Podmolik
Another report is out looking at fraudulent activity related to the homebuyer tax credit and this one’s got a new wrinkle.
Almost 1,300 prisoners in jail – including 241 serving life sentences — wrongly received $9.1 million in credits for home purchases they purported to make while in jail. Another 2,555 improperly received $17.6 million for home purchases made before the tax credit became effective, according to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.
According to the Internal Revenue Service, 1.8 million taxpayers received $12.6 billion in homebuyer credits before March.
But that doesn’t mean 1.8 million homes were sold. The agency found that 10, 282 taxpayers received a credit for buying the same home as was used by other taxpayers for the credit. In fact, 67 taxpayers used one house. Auditors said the erroneous credits are likely to add up to tens of millions of dollars.
June 25, 2010 at 11:53 a.m.
Filed under:
Fraud,
Investing,
Regulations
By Associated Press
The government says it obtained a court order to halt an alleged $34 million Ponzi scheme targeting federal employees and law enforcement agents nationwide with promises of safe investments in a nonexistent bond fund.
The Securities and Exchange Commission said the order issued Thursday by a federal judge in Miami also froze the assets of the estate of the late Kenneth Wayne McLeod, his consulting firm Federal Employee Benefits Group and an affiliated investment firm. The SEC alleges that McLeod and the firms defrauded an estimated 260 investors starting in 1988.
June 23, 2010 at 8:55 a.m.
Filed under:
Agriculture/Farming,
Banking,
Fraud,
Litigation
From the Des Moines Register | In addition to a 27-year prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Linda Reade will order Agriprocessors Inc. founder Sholom Rubashkin to pay $18.5 million to First Bank Business Capital, the plant’s largest lender; $8.3 million to MB Financial Bank, another lender; and $3,800 to Waverly Sales Inc. in a sweeping financial fraud to defraud banks
June 7, 2010 at 7:03 p.m.
Filed under:
Fraud,
Mortgages
Reuters | Bank of America Corp has agreed to pay $108 million to settle government charges that its Countrywide unit, the mortgage lender that became synonymous with risky lending practices, bilked borrowers with misleading and excessive fees.
The Federal Trade Commission said two Countrywide mortgage servicing units deceived cash-strapped homeowners by overcharging them by hundreds or thousands of dollars, sometimes when they were already in bankruptcy.
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April 8, 2010 at 3:54 p.m.
Filed under:
Fraud
(Tony Avelar/Bloomberg)
By Becky Yerak and Zoe Galland |
It’s bad enough when a potential suitor breaks your heart. Now, dating services are causing grief for consumers.
The Better Business Bureau said complaints in northern Illinois about matchmaking services have more than doubled to 137 in the past year, up from 66 for the previous 12-month period.
“As with any business transaction, be sure to read all agreements,
guarantees, and instructions before signing and be wary of vaguely
worded provisions, exclusions or limitations which could pose a problem
later,” Steve Bernas, chief executive of the BBB serving northern
Illinois, said in a statement.
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April 8, 2010 at 2:10 p.m.
Filed under:
Crime,
Criminal charges,
Fraud
Associated Press | A federal judge sentenced fallen Minnesota
tycoon Tom Petters to 50 years in prison on Thursday for orchestrating
a $3.7 billion Ponzi scheme that counted hedge funds, pastors,
missionaries and retirees among its victims.
“Every day, I’m filled with pain and anguish for all the lives that
have been destroyed and touched by this episode,” Petters said at his
sentencing hearing.
He apologized to family, friends, co-workers and
others who were hurt but did not concede guilt.
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April 5, 2010 at 5:39 p.m.
Filed under:
Fraud,
Privacy issues
(AP Photo/Idaho Press-Tribune, Charlie Litchfield)
By Jon Yates
| A Tribune reader from Homewood e-mailed Problem Solver Jon Yates after having a discussion with co-workers about this year’s census count. “Two women in our office mentioned that their Census forms asked for Social Security numbers,” she wrote. “I showed them my form, which did not ask for that info. Now, they are worried that they could have been victims of a Census scam.”
The Problem Solver called Census Bureau spokeswoman Eun Kim, who said Doolan’s co-workers were right to be suspicious. Census forms do not ask for Social Security numbers, Kim said.
Get the full story: The Problem Solver.
Associated Press | A computer hacker who helped orchestrate one
of the largest thefts of credit and debit card numbers in U.S. history
faces sentencing this week for hacking into computer systems of major
retailers, including TJX Cos., BJ’s Wholesale Club and Sports Authority.
Prosecutors plan to ask for a 25-year prison sentence for Albert
Gonzalez, a former federal informant from Miami who pleaded guilty last
year in three hacking cases brought in Massachusetts, New Jersey and New
York.
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Feb. 19, 2010 at 2:54 p.m.
Filed under:
Credit repair,
Fraud,
Litigation
By Mike Hughlett
| With complaints rising nationwide against credit repair companies, the
City of Chicago said Friday that it has filed consumer fraud and
deceptive practice charges against nine such firms locally.
The city’s Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection
charged four companies with falsely promising they could erase
consumers’ debt from their credit reports. Those companies are: Mark
Anthony & Associates of Skokie; Allstates Credit Repair in Chicago;
Credit Rx in Glenview; and Nationwide Credit Clearing in Chicago.
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