Lionheart Group Scam Prevention Steps

Here is an interesting story with an Oregon slant that reflects problems all states now face. Please consider Oregon budget stands at precarious crossroad.Oregon government stands at the edge of a financial chasm as precarious as any in its 151-year history, hemmed in by the global recession, questionable spending decisions and a budget-draining combo of skyrocketing expenses and sluggish growth. Consider this sobering fact: State expenses, including payroll, health and retirement benefits, …

Read the rest here:
Edge of Financial Chasm

OregonLive reports PERS rates for state agencies will more than double in 2011.The actuary for Oregon’s Public Employee Retirement System confirmed Friday what is already a common-knowledge piece of the state’s looming budget shortfall: the cost of funding PERS will increase sharply in 2011. Mercer Inc. told the PERS board Friday that systemwide, the payroll rates paid by cities, counties, school districts and state agencies to cover their employees’ pension and health care benefits will more …

Read the original post:
Oregon’s Public Employee Retirement System (PERS) in Deep Trouble, Taxpayers on the Hook

Historic Whistleblower Reforms Included in Wall Street Reform Bill Signed into … Common Dreams (press release) WASHINGTON – July 21 – Significant whistleblower reforms included in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act were signed into law by … Financial Reform Law Promises Large Rewards For Wall Street Whistleblowers … PR Newswire (press release) Milberg Expands Practice to Include Representation of Securities Fraud … Earthtimes (press release) Editorial by Kansas Securities Commissioner: Wall Street Reform and Kansas … State of the State KS (subscription) all 15 news articles

Probe of pensions worth effort, despite critics The Journal News | LoHud.com Lazio stated in a Wall Street Journal article. “I find that mind boggling. It is without doubt something New York must do if we're going to put our state on …

See the original post here:
Probe of pensions worth effort, despite critics – The Journal News | LoHud.com

Mortgage Investors Turn to State Courts for Relief New York Times But successfully arguing that Wall Street aided lenders in a fraud is tough under federal securities laws. This is largely a result of Supreme Court … and more

I am in favor of the concept of shared sacrifice. Unfortunately, Illinois stretches the boundary as to the meaning of the term. For example, please note Illinois Governor Pat Quinn Gave Raises Averaging 11.4% to 35 Staff Members.Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn has handed out raises — some of more than 20 percent — to his staff while proclaiming a message of “shared sacrifice” and planning spending cuts of $1.4 billion because the state is awash in debt. The Democrat has given 43 salary …

Read more here:
Shared Sacrifice Illinois Style – 40,000 Union Workers Get 14% Pay Raises, Governor Quinn Gives Raises Averaging 11.4% to 35 Staff Members

Conn. AG, Health Net Reach Settlement Over Medical Data Breach iHealthBeat The insurer also may pay the state $500000 if any identity fraud activity is linked to data from the missing hard drive (Dow Jones/ Wall Street Journal, … and more

“Hook 'em Horns” Complaint: State of Texas v. Goldman Sachs et al Benzinga That said, I have no doubt that selected business practices within Wall Street promoted and constituted a fraud . These practices need to be exposed and … and more

In Oregon, Governor Ted Kulongoski is admitting the truth – Pension promises and public union contracts have bankrupted the state. Sadly, that revelation does not matter much now as Kulongoski is a lame duck governor finally willing to tell some of the truth. Please consider Gov. Ted Kulongoski says recession forces Oregon state government to ethink how it operates. In what may be his last major speech as Oregon’s top executive, Gov. Ted Kulongoski on Friday called for reducing state …

See the original post here:
Lame Ducks vs. Democrat and Republican Gubernatorial Wimps

Officials warn of bogus solicitations in Greenville area The News Journal But it's all a scam , according to the state Attorney General's consumer protection division. “Unfortunately, a scam artist can be any age and can use youth … Authorities warn of solicitation scam Sussex Countian all 5 news articles

Speaking of large and politically connected entities, Dodd-Frank does nothing about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the $6.5 trillion mortgage finance behemoths that have been wards of the state for almost two years. …. S.E.C., saxon mortgage , scam , securitization, settlement, sewer service, shadow foreclosures, shapiro & fishman pa, short sale, siva, spear & hoffman, steven mnuchin, stock, STOP FORECLOSURE FRAUD, stop foreclosure fraud, stopforeclosurefraud.com, tarp funds …

See the article here:
Strong Enough for Tough Stains? By GRETCHEN MORGENSON |

The bank agrees to pay $102m, which will be split between homeowners, taxpayers and a trust, to settle a case brought by the state charging that it had provided financing for predatory subprime loans

More here:
Morgan Stanley settles Massachusetts suit

Congratulations of sorts go to the State of Illinois for having the most hopelessly underfunded pension plans in the US and also one of the biggest per capita budget deficits. Topping off the misery, the Illinois Teachers Retirement System is losing money in risky derivatives bets in what one analyst says amounts to “collecting nickels ahead of the bulldozer.” Given that sorry state of affairs it should be no surprise to discover Illinois Debt Default Insurance Climbs to Record. The cost …

Read more from the original source:
Cost of Insuring Illinois Debt from Default Hits All-Time High; Illinois Pension Fund Loses $Billions in OTC Derivatives Positions

Opp attacks CM on NC Hills fund scam Assam Tribune Only after the Opposition parties launched a movement and approached the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister, the State Government was forced to hand … and more

When it comes to pension funding schemes, NY governor David Paterson and the NY legislature have taken can-kicking to ever increasing levels of absurdity. Please consider State Plan Makes Fund Both Borrower and Lender. Gov. David A. Paterson and legislative leaders have tentatively agreed to allow the state and municipalities to borrow nearly $6 billion to help them make their required annual payments to the state pension fund. And, in classic budgetary sleight-of-hand, they will borrow the …

Continued here:
NY State Shell Game – Municipalities Borrow from Pension Fund to make Required Pension Fund Contributions

Goldman Sachs made a $35m bet in the credit derivatives market against California, the biggest such trade in the past few years by Wall Street banks that underwrite the state’s bond sales

More here:
Goldman bet $35m against California

Unity scam : Our collective failure Republica It's a failure of the state, especially the Home Ministry and the police, and the regulatory bodies— particularly Nepal Rastra Bank and the Insurance Board …

Excerpt from:
Unity scam: Our collective failure – Republica

Skimming (stealing) is what they called it. For government cover it’s ‘campaign contributions’. Same scam . Two names. Shrink the State – May 24th, 2010 at 7:04 am. Why is the father of the mortgage crisis— Fannie Mae CEO Franklin …

The rest is here:
» Financial Regulatory Reform: Missing an Obvious Target – Big …

Sec. of State Robin Carnahan speaks on Wall Street reform legislation St. Louis American Secretary of State Robin Carnahan was eager to voice her opinion regarding the US Senate's passage of the Wall Street reform legislation. …

Continue reading here:
Sec. of State Robin Carnahan speaks on Wall Street reform legislation – St. Louis American

New York Daily News US Senate passes Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Northwest Progressive Institute Official Blog (blog) And it guarantees that Washington taxpayers will never be on the hook to bail out Wall Street again. I have heard from so many people across our state whose … Murray, Cantwell disagree on Wall Street regs The Spokesman Review (blog) Progressive Sen. Maria Cantwell Courageously Votes No on Weak Wall Street Bill AlterNet (blog) all 47 news articles

Ex-officer accused in insurance scheme MiamiHerald.com At the helm of the alleged scam was former Miami-Dade police Officer Jorge Espinosa, 32, Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernández Rundle announced …

Visit link:
Ex-officer accused in insurance scheme – MiamiHerald.com

CBS News Moral Blindness on Wall Street Huffington Post (blog) What passes for morality on Wall Street is certainly as strange as the synthetic CDO's themselves. After all, who died and made Goldman and the other … Financial collapse mysteries solved Pottstown Mercury Wall Street , Main Street and State Street Press of Atlantic City (blog) Is Wall Street Like Big Tobacco? CBS News amNY

Union offered home day care providers benefits Detroit Free Press Plaintiff Michelle Berry says the whole thing is a scam . “I don't work for the state. I work for my families.” Berry can't recall the exact date a group of … and more

Kentucky officials have opened a new front in the fight against internet poker, suing the owners of Full Tilt Poker, the US-oriented gambling site, to recover five years’ of losses by residents of the state

See the original post here:
Kentucky raises stakes in online poker battle

The battle over health care costs in Massachusetts has intensified. Insurers want to hike rates while the regulators say no. In a showdown on regulatory power, Health insurers sue to raise rates.A half-dozen health insurers yesterday filed a lawsuit against the state seeking to reverse last week’s decision by the insurance commissioner to block double-digit premium increases – a ruling they say could leave them with hundreds of millions in losses this year. The proposed rate hikes would have …

Originally posted here:
Health Insurers Stop Offering New Coverage to Small Businesses and Individuals in Massachusetts in Battle Over Rates

PEOPLE v. PADZIORA Leagle.com Defendant and appellant Tina Marie Padziora [ 1 ] pled no contest to one count of welfare/food stamp fraud . (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 10980, subd. (c)(2). … STATE v. ROBINSON Leagle.com all 36 news articles

FEMA asks Hurricane Ike trailer residents to pay up Justice News Flash We continue to work with families, the state, and nonprofit organizations to help them in any way we can to return to permanent housing. … FEMA trailer claims rejected by federal jury NOLA.com all 156 news articles

Inquiring minds are interested in a comparison between the state of California and Ontario, a province of Canada. “Firefiend” Writes: Hi Mish Love your blog. Read it on a daily basis. Heard on the radio today that Ontario, Canada budget deficit is going to be around $21 billion and thought I do some quick comparisons. State/ProvincePopulationDeficitPer Capita DeficitOntario 11,410,046$21 Billion$1,840California36,961,664$20 Billion$ 541 Hate to say it, but by this simple …

Here is the original post:
California USA vs. Ontario Canada – Which State (Province) Is In Worse Shape? Canadian Banks vs. US Banks Comparison

CBS News City, State Budgets Crippled Nationwide CBS News Meanwhile nowhere in this article are the costs of entitlement programs, union contracts and stifling union work rules designed to pad union membership at … and more

The unemployment score for states is 27-7-16 according to the Regional and State Employment and Unemployment SummaryTwenty-seven states recorded over-the-month unemployment rate increases, 7 states and the District of Columbia registered rate decreases, and 16 states had no rate change, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the year, jobless rates increased in 46 states and the District of Columbia and declined in 4 states. The national unemployment rate in February, 9.7 …

Read this article:
Unemployment Rises In 27 States, Drops In 7 States

Payout method contested in Parish investment fraud The State Parish pleaded guilty and was sentenced in 2008 to 24 years in the same North Carolina prison that houses Wall Street swindler Bernard Madoff.

More here:
Payout method contested in Parish investment fraud – The State

Disgusted minds are reading a Sacramento Bee article New speaker grants Assembly pay hikes. New Assembly Speaker John A. Perez gave his top aide an annual pay increase of nearly $65,000 – about $5,400 per month – upon becoming leader of the lower house, records show. Ramirez’s annual salary is now $190,008 — $80,424 higher than that of Perez or Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, whose pay was dropped from $133,639 to $109,584 last year by the state’s independent …

Here is the original post:
California House Speaker Gives Aid $65,000 Raise; Aid Now Makes $190,008

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is doing what he was elected to do, govern. And that means playing hardball with union termites who refuse to give an inch to help the state out of budget problems primarily caused by untenable union promises, union wages, and union pensions. When unions refused to cooperate, Christie decided to take the next logical step, to privatize jobs. Please consider New Jersey plans to privatize state jobsGov. Chris Christie today will create a commission to …

Read the rest here:
Hardball In New Jersey, No Balls In Virginia; Brass Balls In Las Vegas

Fraud , theft charges piling up for contractor phillyBurbs.com Bannon said the state's ” Home Improvement Fraud Law,” which went into effect last year, was a huge help in filing the charges. … and more

All this being said, the over reaching aspect of government trying to make money is just another example of how “We the People” have allowed corruption, fraud and greed to take hold of our State and Federal governments and put all of us …

Read the original:
Fannie Mae and Colorado funds

Former Folsom prison guard convicted of insurance fraud Sacramento Business Journal … and accepting $18654 from State Farm. An anonymous caller alerted the insurance company of the fraud , and the motorcycle was recovered at a home in Galt. and more

Here is an interesting pair of articles, one on California the other on boomers postponing retirement for financial reasons. In California, it’s no surprise that economists are surprised at just how bad things are. Please consider California job losses grow. “The economy was a lot worse than everybody thought,” said Howard Roth, chief economist with the state’s Department of Finance. “The job market is weaker than we figured.” It appears California lost 871,000 jobs in …

Visit link:
Seven in Ten Putting Off Retirement Do So for Financial Reasons; What are the Implications?

In a flash of recognition that readers of this blog understood years ago, a nonpartisan group proclaims ‘Doomsday is here for the state of Illinois’. It will take a massive tax increase — and $2 billion more in cuts — to reach solvency, group says. To become solvent, the state must enact the largest tax-increase package in Illinois history, whack another $2 billion from already starved government programs and wrest major financial concessions from the state’s unionized work force, a …

More:
Doomsday Arrives for State of Illinois; Insane Tax Hike Proposals; Watchdogs or Warthogs?

Trial Lawyers, Inc.: K Street — State Government Relations Point of Law Among the trial bar's legislative successes are expansions of consumer- fraud statutes in Iowa and Washington; the creation of new qui tam statutes in New … and more

Another Massive Breach Reveals Sorry State Of IT Security InformationWeek (blog) Last night, the Wall Street Journal reported that two of the companies breached included Merck & Co. and Cardinal Health. They told the paper that the … and more

Here is an interesting email from “Jason” regarding high schools in Central Falls Rhode Island. Jason writes: Hi Mish, As I’m sure you’re aware, Rhode Island has one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation. Central Falls is one of the poorest towns in the state. It looks like the pictures everyone’s seen of Detroit or Flint. There are lots of boarded up windows, abandoned buildings, decrepit factories with broken windows, etc. It’s an absolutely depressed community. …

Here is the original post:
Central Falls Rhode Island Fires Every High School Teacher

Democratic lawmakers are seeking information from the five biggest US auto insurers, including State Farm and Geico, about what the companies knew about incidents of unexpected acceleration in Toyota vehicles

Excerpt from:
US auto insurers questioned over recalls

Garrett bans foil insulation Courier Mail The biggest Scam in Insulation ever came to an end. Many people are duped, the state Ripped off, and many houses became unsafe. Taxpayers will also food the … and more

In a welcome display of fiscal sanity, Utah state Senator Dan Liljenquist has proposed doing away with defined benefit plans for state employees. His proposal would eliminate such plans for new hires, effective July 1, 2011. The Salt Lake Tribune covers the story in Retirement rumble ready to roll. Depending on whom you talk to, the state retirement system that covers 182,000 current and former public employees is either a toxic mess, or a system that suffered a setback but doesn’t need an …

Read the original post:
Bill to End Defined Benefit Plans Under Consideration in Utah

Inquiring minds are questioning the solvency of the Chinese banking system. Please consider China Defaulting Loans Soar, Insolvency Lawyer Says. Non-performing loans in China have risen into the “trillions of renminbi” because of poor lending practices, an insolvency lawyer said. “We work really closely with SASAC, the state-owned enterprise regulator in China, and there are literally trillions and trillions of renminbi of, frankly, defaulting loans already in China that no one is doing …

Excerpt from:
Nonperforming Loans in China Rise to "Trillions of Renminbi"

Department of Justice Press Release Federal Bureau of Investigation (press release) We continue to work with the FBI, other federal investigative agencies and our state and local partners to effectively bring those responsible for … and more

Cities, states, and municipalities are sinking by the minute. And unless unions agree to concessions (which they won’t) massive layoffs are coming everywhere you look. New York City is a prime example. Please consider NYC May Lay Off 19,000 Workers If State Cuts AidNew York City will have to lay off more than 10,000 public workers, in addition to 8,500 teachers, if the state legislature approves the $1.3 billion of cuts the governor proposed in his deficit-closing budget, Mayor Michael …

View original post here:
Massive Layoffs Coming in NYC, Nevada, California, Colorado, Arizona, Everywhere

Inquiring minds are digging deeper into the State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB) ideas to rescue Wisconsin’s deeply underwater pension plans. The plan is get the investments back on track using leverage starting out at 104% escalating up to 120%. The board even considered 200% leverage at one point. Unbelievably Steven J. Foresti, head of the investment research group of Wilshire Associates Inc., Santa Monica, California, says “Using leverage to manage risk is a free …

Read the original post:
Wisconsin’s Pension Strategy Update: Disaster Looms Over "Free Lunch" Proposal

The US soft drink industry is mobilising to fend off a proposal in New York to levy a penny-per-ounce tax on full-calorie sodas sold throughout the state. The proposal…

View original post here:
Trade groups to fight NY soft drinks tax

In a futile attempt to stay solvent, the state of Illinois has resorted to a trick I have not seen before, accelerating property tax collections. Until this year, property taxes have been collected in two equal installments. This year it’s 55% in the first half, 45% in the second half. Here is an Email from “Abundance” describing what has happened. Hey Mish It must be getting bad here in Illinois. I opened up my first tax installment and was surprised to see that it was …

Continue reading here:
Cash Strapped Illinois Accelerates Property Tax Collections