Scammers Roaming, Authorities Warn The Ledger The men were told to leave the county, and were warned that if they were caught committing fraudulent work in Polk they would be arrested for fraud , … and more
PRESS DIGEST – Wall Street Journal – March 8 Reuters March 8 (Reuters) – The following were the top stories in The Wall Street Journal on Monday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for … and more
Holiday fraud probe… now it's over 100 cases Belfast Telegraph “I didn't know anything was wrong until a work colleague happened to mention that police were investigating the travel agency. “This was a lot of money to …
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Holiday fraud probe… now it’s over 100 cases – Belfast Telegraph
Short sales are “tailor-made for fraud ,” said Mr. Lawler, a former executive at the mortgage finance company Fannie Mae. Last year, short sales started to increase, although they remain relatively uncommon. …
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Short-Sale Program to Pay Homeowners to Sell at a Loss
Brazil: The New Home of Financial Innovation? Washington Post In that sense, it shares enough in common with emerging markets that Wall Street , at least, tosses it in the ?BRIC? bucket. Indeed, Wall Street has had a … and more
Prosecutor says police dragging feet on voter fraud cases Milwaukee Journal Sentinel In an interview with the Wall Street Journal in late '08, Sandvick said he was told not to send anyone to Milwaukee polling places for the general election … and more
Short sales are “tailor-made for fraud ,” said Mr. Lawler, a former executive at the mortgage finance company Fannie Mae. And from James Hagerty at the WSJ: Home-Saving Loans Afoot. Rep. Frank said banks’ reluctance to write down second …
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Calculated Risk: Short Sales and 2nd Liens
Program Will Pay Homeowners to Sell at a Loss New York Times Short sales are “tailor-made for fraud ,” said Mr. Lawler, a former executive at the mortgage finance company Fannie Mae. Last year, short sales started to … and more
Toyota will hit back today at one of its most highprofile critics by staging a technical demonstration intended to rebut his claim to have uncovered a potentially…
Japan will adopt a controversial “fair value” international accounting rule for some of its companies, bolstering the position of the global standard setter after…
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Tokyo offers support for ‘fair value’ accounting standard
Walt Disney pulled its ABC television stations from 3m Cablevision customers in New York just hours before its exclusive broadcasting of the Academy Awards yesterday…
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Disney cuts off 3m New York viewers on day of Oscars
Many people speculate that Fannie and Freddie will not lobby against this since, they got busted for accounting fraud 1 1/2 years ago, and basically are doing whatever the government says at this point. …
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Lease Accounting Reviews: FHA Bill Approved by Senate Vote 19-2
O'Neill:Euphemisms, and other fast shuffles Paradise Post That's why, when Wally Herger, our local paid representative, went around trying on behalf of big Wall Street firms, to convince us to shovel part of our … and more
A few weeks ago, Medifast Inc. (NYSE:MED) sued Barry Minkow, his Fraud Discovery Institute , me, my corporation, William Lobdell (a journalist working with Barry), Robert FitzPatrick (an expert witness on mutli-level marketing and pyramid schemes) , and an anonymous message board poster (good luck with that). Medifast sued us for daring to say that their Take Shape For Life multi-level marketing division is a typical recruiting scheme and looks like a pyramid scheme. FitzPatrick has done years of research on MLMs, in large part using the numbers publicly released by companies to demonstrate how the vast majority of participants lose money. He wrote two formal reports on Medifast and their numbers – – he basically showed that the company’s financial gains in the last year or two have come almost solely from their multi-level marketing division. (The first report is here , and the second report is here .) How dare FitzPatrick say such a thing, especially when the numbers demonstrate exactly what he reported!!! FDI produced several press releases on the findings about Medifast, and I reproduced and quoted some of those releases and reports, as well as wrote my own analysis of the company… questioning whether TSFL could be considered a pyramid scheme . So Medifast sued us. For what? They claim we defamed the company by writing untrue things about it, yet they have failed to point out any specific inaccuracies in the reports that were produced about Medifast. Instead, all they’ve really done is act insulted for being compared to Bernie Madoff and for being called an endless chain recruitment scheme. (I’ve yet to find a multi-level marketing company that is not an endless chain recruitment scheme, but what do I know?) As many are already aware, there is a First Amendment right to free speech, and we are allowed to talk about our opinions on things, including Medifast and Take Shape For Life. (Won’t it be fun to have the court consider this issue of free speech?) So litigation has commenced and none of us defendants seems scared . Pooh. That’s not what Medifast wanted. They wanted us shaking in our boots and vowing to never speak of them again. So much for that. It seems instead that Medifast will now fall victim to the Striesand effect , since all this hubbub just serves to shine a brighter light on their multi-level marketing business. William Lobdell wrote up a list of ten questions Medifast could answer to end the controversy about its Take Shape For Life business. We say the TSFL business has accelerated because of recruiting. They say it’s not because of recruiting. Here are a few of Lobdell’s ten questions… which surely could put this issue to rest if only Medifast would be willing to pony up the data: On its website, Medifast has advertised two income scenarios: one based on the coach selling the meal replacements to clients, the other based on the coach recruiting new coaches. One showed $8,000 a month in income, and the latter, $20,000 a month. What percentage of all coaches who have worked for Medifast over the years have earned either of those illustrated income examples? What is the average income of all coaches from product sales to clients, not from bonuses and commissions derived from recruiting other coaches who recruit other coaches who recruit other coaches? What is the average monthly income of all coaches who were enrolled during a year, not just the active ones? Medifast advertises that financial health is a key element for success in losing weight and offers its “coaching” program as the prime means for achieving financial health. What is the average net profit to the coaches gained from sales to clients, factoring in all normal business costs (i.e., advertising)? What percentage of all coaches earn more per month than the costs of the product and related business expenses? The Medifast pay plan rewards coaches to recruit more coaches. The majority of commissions, per sale, are transferred to recruiters in the upper levels, making recruiting more lucrative than retailing. When are there too many coaches in any given area? Is the sales force expected to grow without limits in all market areas? Check out ibizreporting.com for the full list of questions posed to Medifast .
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Medifast lawsuit update
o OFHEO (Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight) has passed a regulation requiring Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to report suspicious mortgage fraud activity on a Mortgage Incident Notice (MFIN). o FBI, OFHEO, and FinCEN (Financial …
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Is Flipping Houses Illegal | Multi-Tricks
Hedge fund to open offices in Chinese mainland and Tokyo as rivals seek to bulk up presence in the region
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DE Shaw broadens Asian reach
A new wave of sophisticated computer attacks is draining the bank accounts of small and medium-sized businesses, with the latest version of the most widely distributed criminal tool expected to worsen the losses, according to researchers and regulators
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Software helps hackers empty corporate accounts
(From the Wall Street Journal) The recession and continuing high unemployment are taking a psychological toll on individuals. The number and urgency of calls to employee-assistance programs have risen substantially over the past couple of years, providers say. In particular, there’s been a startling increase in the number of calls regarding violence, psychosis and dementia in the workplace, including calls about suicidal and homicidal threats, program directors say. “All of a sudden the economy tanked and we have had a big jump in the number of calls, and the variety of calls is very different from what we saw a couple of years ago,” says Charles Lattarulo, clinical director of Harris Rothenberg International, a provider of employee and employer assistance programs. Employee assistance programs offer workers and their families access to counselors via a toll-free telephone number or in some cases a Web site. Often, counselors are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to help employees in an emergency. Read more.
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Recession’s Mental Toll
The ‘brain damage premium’ is starting to disappear in the securitisation markets, potentially opening up a source of funding for banks
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Santander deal heralds growing confidence
As state seeks hidden money, Robert Brennan case carries on Asbury Park Press Brennan, a former Brielle resident, originally was sentenced in 2001 to more than 12 years for bankruptcy fraud , money laundering and obstruction of justice … and more
Growing tide of mortgage fraud cases in South Carolina swamps investigators Greenville News Fraud for housing involves buyers who falsify records, such as their income or credit history, to purchase a home . Fraud for profit involves more complex …
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Growing tide of mortgage fraud cases in South Carolina swamps investigators – Greenville News
They think they haven’t explained “it” well enough – whatever “it” is (health care, Cap and Trade, environmentalism, Freddie and Fannie , bailouts, AIG fraud , etc.). They believe we’re just not bright enough to “get” the programs they …
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Change The Politicians, Not The Constitution « ACGR's “News with …
The current economic crisis is largely rooted in the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac scam . In this 2004 video, Republicans are expressing concern about problems at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and calling for action. Democrats are in complete …
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Bluegrass Pundit: Flashback: Democrats in their own words Covering …
The dash for unconventional gas deals by the oil majors signals a shift in strategy in the hunt for new sources of energy
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Europe the new frontier in shale gas rush
Ukraine – Yulia Tymoshenko: new government began with repressions ISRIA (registration) Yulia Tymoshenko claims that repressions have begun against people who tried to fight fraud during the presidential election. “Today six criminal cases have … and more
The region’s impact on the environment is under scrutiny and has resulted in harsh criticism, despite news that its oil sands projects are profitable agains
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Alberta project is losing the PR battle
The spate of deals involving Chesapeake highlights the role independents have played in developing the unconventional shale gas industry
Australia is set to secure its path to becoming the world’s biggest exporter of unconventional gas
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Australia set for lead export role
Walt Disney pulled its ABC television stations from 3m Cablevision customers in New York just hours before its exclusive broadcasting of the Academy Awards
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Disney cuts off 3m NY viewers on Oscars day
ExxonMobil seals the deal for XTO with a key clause allowing it to walk away if regulation makes the technology used to tap gas uneconomical
Josh Rosner, who called the Fannie and Freddie accounting scandal in 2001 and the housing peak in 2005 stated: “Poorly developed and opaque securitization markets drove excess liquidity and irresponsible lending and … While Mr. Rosner pointed to the problems of securitization, Frank Partnoy went after the greatest scam , the derivatives markets. Mr Partnoy pointed out there is currently $600 trillion in derivative positions on a global economy of $60 trillion. …
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Archein: make markets be markets
White House Seizes On Goldman Sachs Report Of Health Premiums Rising Huffington Post (blog) The problem is that we are terrified of letting “the system” work , allow it to actually break, whether it's health care or banking or what have you. … and more
Ex-Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling appealed his 2006 criminal conviction on 19 counts of conspiracy, fraud , false statements and insider trading. … Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac……JUST ANOTHER FAILURE!!! What did you get out of these programs? Probably nothing…but you PAID DEARLY for them…as well as your grandchildren will. Thanks Uncle Sam for taking a budget of 7 billion in 1940 and ballooning it into the trillons in 2009. PASTE THIS IN TO GET YOUR FAIR SHARE OF THE …
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Fraud Files: Enron's Jeffrey Skilling Says We Shouldn't Expect …
The Japanese carmaker will on Monday hit back at one of its most high-profile critics by staging a technical demonstration intended to rebut his claim to have uncovered a potentially dangerous flaw in the carmaker’s onboard electronic control systems
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Toyota to rebut faulty electronics claims
Here are some charts and commentary from the Realpoint Research Monthly Delinquency Report for January 2010.In January 2010, the delinquent unpaid balance for CMBS increased by another $4.3 billion, up to $45.94 billion from $41.64 billion a month prior. The overall delinquent unpaid balance is up 326% from one-year ago (when only $10.79 billion of delinquent unpaid balance was reported for January 2009), and is now over 20 times the low point of $2.21 billion in March 2007. The distressed …
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CMBS Delinquencies Hit New Record
Next NY attorney general will wield power in financial circles InvestmentNews Mr. Dinallo said that although he would work to protect in-vestors from scams such as boiler rooms, he would investigate Wall Street companies if Congress …
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Next NY attorney general will wield power in financial circles – InvestmentNews
The Star-Ledger – NJ.com (blog) Sick days have become golden parachutes for NJ public workers The Star-Ledger – NJ.com (blog) That invites fraud and abuse. PBA officials insist “many” municipalities already have instituted a cap, but the union doesn't know how many. … and more
Eliot Spitzer Back As Governor Of New York The Spoof (satire) Sheriff of Wall Street ? As Governor, he promised to clean up Wall Street , before all the bank failures, auto industry collapse, fraud at investment houses … and more
NYT Blogger William Cohan Hearts Poor, Abused Goldman Sachs Seeking Alpha (blog) Wall Street firms have elaborate controls to prevent trading on inside information when they have it. I suspect GS procedure would have required Freeman to …
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NYT Blogger William Cohan Hearts Poor, Abused Goldman Sachs – Seeking Alpha (blog)
Shale gas is not magic. Production costs are high, and probably underestimated, says John Dizard, at the risk of being considered heretical
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The true cost of shale gas production
They think they haven’t explained “it” well enough – whatever “it” is (health care, Cap and Trade, environmentalism, Freddie and Fannie , bailouts, AIG fraud , etc.). They believe we’re just not bright enough to “get” the programs they …
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Mike Corthell: Don't change the Constitution, throw the bums out!
As state seeks hidden money, Brennan case carries on Asbury Park Press Brennan, a former Brielle resident, originally was sentenced in 2001 to more than 12 years for bankruptcy fraud , money laundering and obstruction of justice … and more
Those looking for good news can find it in Iceland. However, good news for Iceland is bad news for the UK and the Netherlands. Please consider Iceland Rejects Icesave Bill in Referendum, Early Results Show Icelanders overwhelmingly rejected a bill that would saddle each citizen with $16,400 of debt in protest at U.K. and Dutch demands that they cover losses triggered by the failure of a private bank, first results show. Ninety-three percent voted against the so-called Icesave bill, …
Contractor's scam leads to Habitat for Humanity donation Chambersburg Public Opinion The property was donated to the local Habitat chapter after a contractor hired to do renovation work scammed the property owner and left the house in …
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Contractor’s scam leads to Habitat for Humanity donation – Chambersburg Public Opinion
Wernicke: A new sucker registers to vote every minute Pensacola News Journal Here's how a recent Rolling Stone article exposing the scam (” Wall Street's Bailout Hustle”) put it: “Beyond a few … bleats of outrage … the huge …
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Wernicke: A new sucker registers to vote every minute – Pensacola News Journal