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Financial Forensic Report 4.12.201

PRIME BANK NOTE FRAUD IS BACK AGAIN

Unfortunately, prime bank note fraud looks like it’s coming back into prominence. “Prime Bank Note” frauds often include statements such as “Approved by the International Chamber of Commerce!” They also often feature mandatory “noncircumvention provisions” and “strict nondisclosure confidentiality” provisions. You may be told that if you disclose any information about the investment opportunity to anyone, the offer is immediately and permanently withdrawn.

The international fraud artist’s scheme supposedly offers high yields in a short period of time, buying “bank guarantees” at a discount and selling them at      a premium. By reselling “bank guarantees” repeatedly, fraudsters claim to produce exceptional returns on investment. For example, if $10 million worth of “bank guarantees” can be sold at a two percent profit on 10 separate occasions — or “traunches” — the seller would receive a 20 percent profit.

The con artists often refer to the “guarantees” as being issued by the world’s “prime banks,” hence the term “prime bank guarantees.” Other official sounding terms are also used, such as “prime bank notes” and “prime bank debentures,” all based on forms supposedly required by the International Chamber of Commerce. The ICC has issued a warning to all potential investors that no such investments exist.

The purpose of these frauds is generally to encourage the victim to send money to a foreign bank. The funds are transferred to the fraudster’s off-shore account and are used for personal gain.

We had a new client referred to us by an outside corporate attorney who represents a multistate, wholesale kitchen-appliance dealer that had invested in a “wonderful prime bank note opportunity.” This new client voluntarily retained us to look at his investment deal at the insistence of his attorney, although he “knew there was no problem, because he had been making good money on this deal for several months.”

Through our research, we learned the two men the client had invested with were from London, England, and had fled to the U.S. after being charged with 18 counts of security fraud. They were currently under investigation by the State Securities Division for “securities” they had sold to six police officers who had withdrawn all their funds from the police department retirement program and bought “securities.” They were also under investigation for taking all the money a retired minister and his wife had and “investing” it in prime bank notes. When I met them, they were both applying to be greeters at Wal-Mart!

I reported the findings to our client, and he was outraged — at me! He explained that before investing $300,000 of their two sons’ college funds, he and his wife had met with the “securities salesmen” over breakfast at Denny’s. He pointed out that these men had never been convicted of anything and he and his wife received monthly computer print outs showing their monthly income and profit — which they were reinvesting for their boys. I was discharged from the engagement and asked to leave his office.

We took the case pro-bono for the minister and his wife and worked with the State Securities Division staff to recover their “investment.” I’m happy to say that we were able to present the retired minister and his wife with a check for 100 percent of their lost retirement funds.

Some good people deserve help — others choose to lose their money rather than admit their mistakes. Who doesn’t make a mistake sometimes? It’s not the
mistake that matters — it’s how we handle it!

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This Seaworthy Site
www.MarineTraffic.com 
Will Keep You in Ship-Shape

When we are looking for assets, it’s not unusual to find that they are floating. Whether it is the actual vessel like a yacht, or fuel being transported by tanker, or merchandise in cargo, Marine Traffic has approximately 580,000 vessels in their database. Marine Traffic allows for quick (and free) searching by vessel name, port, or location. The filter enables the user to narrow the search by vessel type such as passenger, yachts, fishing, etc. Once the search is completed, you will see a photo of the vessel and if it’s voyaging or anchored. With the click of the mouse you can bring up a world map plotting the vessel’s course. If you would like to see how it works, try entering this yacht name: Seven Seas. Choose Seven Seas [KY]; this is Steven Spielberg’s $200 million yacht.

If you would rather take it for a spin instead of looking at it on a vessel plot map, you can rent it for $1.3 million per week.

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INVENTOR’S QUOTES

Here are a few words of wisdom from innovators
who have shaped our everyday lives with
their ideas and inventions.

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Diagnostic & Prescriptive Judgment Enforcement
By: Joe H. Dickerson, CFE

$24.95 + FREE S&H

Please place your book orders by calling
303.974.5610
during normal business hours Mon-Fri 9am-5pm MT.
or email joe@financialforensicservices.comand make an appointment
for a FREE initial review of your judgment. Thank you!

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Testimonial

” I was prepared to dismiss a federal case involving millions of dollars against a local individual who claimed to have no substantial assets. After your staff hit the records and delved into the transactions behind the transactions, you discovered the individual to actually be worth a few million dollars. We continued the case to conclusion. We were also very happy with the financial background examinations you conducted of the former directors of two failed national banks. The heart of any civil case is whether there is a pot at the end of the lawsuit. You were our lucky leprechaun in finding such pots.”

R. Michael Sentel
, Former Section Chief Legal Division, FDIC

2014-11-11T18:13:08+00:00

R. Michael Sentel
, Former Section Chief Legal Division, FDIC

” I was prepared to dismiss a federal case involving millions of dollars against a local individual who claimed to have no substantial assets. After your staff hit the records and delved into the transactions behind the transactions, you discovered the individual to actually be worth a few million dollars. We continued the case to conclusion. We were also very happy with the financial background examinations you conducted of the former directors of two failed national banks. The heart of any civil case is whether there is a pot at the end of the lawsuit. You were our lucky leprechaun in finding such pots.”

“Joe spends the time to understand the problem from the client’s perspective and from the legal perspective. He is intelligent, tenacious, willing to work as hard as it takes, thorough, well-informed, and just awfully good at what he does.”

Thomas E. Root, 
Attorney

2014-11-11T18:20:05+00:00

Thomas E. Root, 
Attorney

“Joe spends the time to understand the problem from the client’s perspective and from the legal perspective. He is intelligent, tenacious, willing to work as hard as it takes, thorough, well-informed, and just awfully good at what he does.”

“They went overboard in providing excellent service. I was very pleased with what they provided for me as their end product. Financial Forensic Services really understands how a case needs to be put together in order to be presented to a jury. Their PowerPoint presentation tied everything together. It was thorough, it was concise, and it got the job done.”

Jim Thomas
, Prosecuting Attorney

2014-11-11T18:21:32+00:00

Jim Thomas
, Prosecuting Attorney

“They went overboard in providing excellent service. I was very pleased with what they provided for me as their end product. Financial Forensic Services really understands how a case needs to be put together in order to be presented to a jury. Their PowerPoint presentation tied everything together. It was thorough, it was concise, and it got the job done.”

“Financial Forensic Services did an excellent job in the way they executed my case. They were very straightforward. They stated what they could do for us and they did it. And, from a personal standpoint, they are excellent. Both my wife and I felt very comfortable working with them.”

Michael Whalen, 
Businessman

2014-11-11T18:21:13+00:00

Michael Whalen, 
Businessman

“Financial Forensic Services did an excellent job in the way they executed my case. They were very straightforward. They stated what they could do for us and they did it. And, from a personal standpoint, they are excellent. Both my wife and I felt very comfortable working with them.”

“As an environmental law firm, we use Joe Dickerson to locate prior business owners and do corporate genealogies. He is persistent, that’s the key to a good investigator, and he has a knack for understanding how people move money and do business. That tells him what rocks to look under. Joe is vastly superior to other investigators in two ways: he lets you know what’s going on and he’s honest with you, because he tells you if there’s really anything there worth pursuing. He is unusually thorough and creative finding people. Joe has earned his fee every time.” “If the information is to be found, then I believe that they will find it. Their service enabled me to do a much better job for my client.”

Tim Gabelhouse
, Attorney at Law

2014-11-11T18:20:41+00:00

Tim Gabelhouse
, Attorney at Law

“As an environmental law firm, we use Joe Dickerson to locate prior business owners and do corporate genealogies. He is persistent, that’s the key to a good investigator, and he has a knack for understanding how people move money and do business. That tells him what rocks to look under. Joe is vastly superior to other investigators in two ways: he lets you know what’s going on and he’s honest with you, because he tells you if there’s really anything there worth pursuing. He is unusually thorough and creative finding people. Joe has earned his fee every time.” “If the information is to be found, then I believe that they will find it. Their service enabled me to do a much better job for my client.”

“Joe Dickerson is the industry standard. You can measure the rest by what he does, and I say that without equivocation. Joe has incredible insight into the dark world of fraud. He understands the devious ways in which people perpetrate white-collar crime.”

Jan Schlichtman
, Attorney at Law

2014-11-11T18:20:55+00:00

Jan Schlichtman
, Attorney at Law

“Joe Dickerson is the industry standard. You can measure the rest by what he does, and I say that without equivocation. Joe has incredible insight into the dark world of fraud. He understands the devious ways in which people perpetrate white-collar crime.”

“When I was general counsel for First Interstate Bank, I used Joe Dickerson for locating assets, investigating behavior and asset discovery. He did excellent work and always got the information I needed without compromising the bank in any way. He’s more thorough and kept in better touch with me than other investigators. I’d give him a grade of 96 or 97 out of 100.”

Frank Brainerd, Retired
Banker/Attorney

2014-11-11T18:20:20+00:00

Frank Brainerd, Retired
Banker/Attorney

“When I was general counsel for First Interstate Bank, I used Joe Dickerson for locating assets, investigating behavior and asset discovery. He did excellent work and always got the information I needed without compromising the bank in any way. He’s more thorough and kept in better touch with me than other investigators. I’d give him a grade of 96 or 97 out of 100.”

“Joe is the most competent investigator I’ve ever found. He has rare ability to find hidden assets. Others claim it, Joe has it. He understands the Rules of Evidence, he knows how to talk to people to develop a fact pattern, and he has a sixth sense for fraud. Joe has unquestioned integrity and delivers value for his services.”

Andrew Quiat
, Attorney

2014-11-11T18:12:51+00:00

Andrew Quiat
, Attorney

“Joe is the most competent investigator I’ve ever found. He has rare ability to find hidden assets. Others claim it, Joe has it. He understands the Rules of Evidence, he knows how to talk to people to develop a fact pattern, and he has a sixth sense for fraud. Joe has unquestioned integrity and delivers value for his services.”