Fraud and Scam News

Photo by: Aithne

Benton Police believe they have busted a major Nigerian Scam after a tip from a lady resident helped them arrest Paul Wesley Faulkner, 49 of Little Rock. The woman, who got acquainted with Faulkner at her Church, called up the police after she received a suspicious looking package on Faulkner’s behalf and opening it, found million-dollar stashes of fake checks and money orders.

The woman, requesting to remain unidentified, said Faulkner befriended her at Church and introduced himself as working on behalf of a charitable organization in Africa. Before long, he got around the woman to agree to receive packages meant for him at her address. He asked her, however, not to open the packages under any circumstance.

When his package turned up, it’s quaint shape immediately aroused the woman’s suspicion. She decided to have a look and on opening it found a huge stash of counterfeit checks and money orders.

She informed the police and told them the time that Faulkner was to come to collect the package. Police apprehended Faulkner while he was on his way after collecting the package from the woman’s residence.

In the consignment, Police found fake money orders of Western Union, American Express, and Wal-Mart Money Grams as also fake checks of the Municipal Credit Union and the Woodforest National Bank. Total worth of the fake documents amounted to nearly $3 Million.

Detective Eric Haworth of the Benton Police Department had this to say on the arrest:

People need to be aware that scams do exist, and if they come into contact with suspicious activity like this, to contact the police. If they have possession of money-grams, money orders, checks and other forged items like this and try to pass them off, they can be charged with forgery, too.

The best course to take, he advises, is to “just call the police.”

Source: BentonCourier.com

Photo by: Darren Hester

Carl E. Royse and his daughter, Jeanette Riley of Illinois pleaded guilty to charges, made by federal prosecutors, of running a Ponzi Scam on investors who bought into their investment company Hughes Energy Inc. in the hope of striking it rich.

They attracted investors by claiming to have discovered new methods of extracting oil and gas resources. From July 2003 to June 2007, the company sold off investments in the company to people all over the country.

Prosecutors charge, the duo were really running a Ponzi scam by paying off as returns, to old investors, the capital collected from newer ones. Prosecutors also charged that the duo had hid their black past from investors. They had been, in the past, upbraided by the Securities Exchange Commission and a Federal Court had specifically forbade them from entering into such enterprises.

This information could have sounded off potential investors and could have dented the success enjoyed by their scheme. Consequently, they were able to attract approximately $4 Million worth of investments from unsuspecting investors.

They now face sentences of up to five years in prison and fines amounting to $8 Million apart from other sentences. The actual sentences are scheduled to be pronounced on 20 Oct.

Source: TheSouthern.com

Photo by: Ansik

Following months of investigation, officials made an arrest on the Identity Theft fraud at the University of California, Irvine ( UCI ) campus. On July 8, they picked up Michael Tyrone Thomas from his Fort Worth residence and charged him with being part of an ID theft scam.

The scam came to light when several students tried to file their tax returns in March this year. They were taken aback when IRS authorities told them that their returns for the year had already been filed.

Investigations following complaints of the students, led police to believe the scam to be an insider job. All the complaints, they noticed, were from students who had enrolled for the Graduate Student Health Insurance Program provided by the University. United HealthCare ( UHC ) was contracted by the university to deliver this service to its students. The arrested individual, Michael Thomas, was working in administering the program as an employee of UHC here.

Police allege Michael to have lifted the confidential data of students who had registered to avail of the benefits of the insurance program. He is alleged to have made use of their Social Security Numbers to file tax returns and to receive the refund checks issued against the return.

One hundred and sixty-three students have complained of being victims to the scam.

Authorities have charged Michael Thomas under one count of fraudulent use of identity together with identity theft. He has been lodged at the Dallas County Texas Jail.

Source: UCI Press Release