Goodizen :: Scams

(Reuters) - A former Jefferies Group Inc managing director has been charged with defrauding a federal bank bailout program and investors in mortgage securities by falsifying prices and the identities of sellers, in a bid to make more money for his employer, U.S. authorities said on Monday. The criminal case against Jesse Litvak, a former senior trader on Jefferies' trading floor in Stamford, Connecticut, is the first under a 2009 law banning "major fraud" against the United States through the Troubled Asset Relief Program, TARP Special Inspector General Christy Romero said on a conference call. Investigators said Litvak's scheme generated more than $ 2.7 million of revenue for Jefferies and defrauded a variety of public and private funds. They said these funds included participants in the Public-Private Investment Program designed to revive the moribund market for mortgage-backed securities. Among the defrauded investors were funds set up by AllianceBernste...

The mastermind of the fake girlfriend that ensnared Notre Dame football star Manti Te'o is speaking out, telling talk show host Dr. Phil McGraw that Te'o was an innocent victim and insisting he was the voice speaking on the phone, impersonating Te'o's fake girlfriend Lennay Kekua. NBC's Mike Taibbi reports. By Scott Stump, TODAY contributor After his lengthy interview with the mastermind of the fake girlfriend hoax against Manti Te'o, Dr. Phil McGraw believes Ronaiah Tuiasosopo genuinely fell in love with the Notre Dame star linebacker during the course of the two-year deception. "Here we have a young man that fell deeply, romantically in love,'' McGraw told NBC's Mike Taibbi in a segment that aired on TODAY Wednesday. "I asked him straight up, 'Was this a romantic relationship with you?' And he says yes. I said, 'Are you then therefore gay?' And he said, 'When you put it that way, yes.' And then he cau...

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) -- Dr. Phil McGraw says Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, who masterminded the dead girlfriend hoax involving Manti Te'o, told him the Notre Dame linebacker was not involved in the scheme and that he ended up falling ''deeply, romantically'' in love with the football player. McGraw spoke on the ''Today'' show Wednesday, previewing an interview he did with Tuiasosopo, a 22-year-old California man who created the fictional woman Te'o knew as Lennay Kekua. Tuiasosopo's interview with McGraw will air in two parts on the ''Dr. Phil Show'' starting Thursday. Since the hoax was revealed earlier this month, Te'o has said the relationship with Kekua started online and eventually became serious, even though the two only talked on the phone and exchanged electronic messages, never meeting in person. Te'o said he was told of Kekua's ''death'' from leukemia just hours after his grandmother died i...

REUTERS - Shares of Audience Inc (ADNC.O) plunged more than 25 percent in a matter of seconds on Tuesday afternoon before quickly recovering after false reports were posted on social media site Twitter saying the specialty chip maker was being investigated for fraud. "Audience noise suppression company being investigated by DOJ on rumoured fraud charges Full reort (sic) to follow later," one of the hoax tweets said. The tweets, which carried the handle Conrad Block @Mudd1waters, appeared to come from short-selling firm Muddy Waters, but that was not the case. The hoax tweets also had a photo identical to the picture on the Muddy Waters Twitter page. Muddy Waters' founder is named Carson Block. "There is NO report. This is a hoax. MW does not know this company," Muddy Waters later tweeted on its actual Twitter page. Diane Vanasse, a spokeswoman for Mountain View, California-based Audience, said the company was aware of the hoax but she declined fu...

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly says he didn't see any sign linebacker Manti Te 'o was affected by the girlfriend hoax leading up to the BCS game, but says in hindsight it may have been a factor. Kelly says Te'o didn't play his best, adding that Alabama played a role. He says Tuesday only Te'o knows how it affected him. Also, Kelly says his interview with the Philadelphia Eagles was mainly to get more information about coaching in the NFL and his heart remains in college football . Kelly interviewed with the Eagles on Jan. 8, a day after the Irish were beaten 42-14 by Alabama in the title game. He says he tells recruits he's committed to Notre Dame. Read More @ Source Fraudulent Stories Here

CROWLEY, La. (AP) - A 32-year-old Baton Rouge woman has been arrested by Crowley police and another woman is being sought in what police say was a scam that hit four cities along Interstate 10. Police Chief K.P. Gibson says police arrested Lykendra Givens on charges of two counts of felony theft by fraud and issued an arrest warrant for Ebony Givens, also of Baton Rouge. Gibson says the women traveled along I-10 on three weekends this month, using a payroll card to steal funds from retailers. A payroll card is a plastic card similar to a debit card that allows an employee to access their pay. Gibson did not release additional details about the alleged scam, or where besides Crowley the pair may have struck. ___ Information from: The Advertiser, http://www.theadvertiser.com Read More @ Source Fraudulent Stories Here

SYDNEY (AP) — The Australian radio show behind a hoax phone call to the London hospital where the pregnant Duchess of Cambridge was being treated has been officially canceled. The show and the two DJs behind the prank in December were widely condemned after the death of a nurse who answered the phone and helped the DJs get confidential information about the former Kate Middleton's health. The "Hot 30" program was taken off air following the death of the nurse, Jacintha Saldanha , and the Australian Associated Press reported Monday that Southern Cross Austereo , the parent company of radio station 2DayFM, announced the program had been formerly canceled. The AAP quoted Southern Cross Austereo Chief Executive Rhys Holleran as saying DJs Michael Christian and Mel Greig will go back on the air. "We look forward to Mel and MC returning to work when the time is right, in roles that make full use of their talents," Holleran said in a statement Monday...

An Australian radio show at the centre of a hoax call controversy involving Britain's Prince William and his pregnant wife Catherine has been taken off air permanently, the network said Monday. Two DJs were sidelined by the Austereo network after making the prank call to the London hospital treating the duchess of Cambridge, which resulted in details of her recovery from morning sickness being revealed on air. The Indian-born nurse who transferred the call to Kate Middleton's ward, Jacintha Saldanha, was found dead three days later, triggering a massive backlash against Austereo and hosts Mel Greig and Michael Christian. The pair received death threats over the call, in which they posed as Queen Elizabeth II and William's father Prince Charles. They were taken off air and their show "Hot 30" was suspended. Austereo confirmed that it was launching a new programme called "The Bump" later Monday to take its place permanently. But an Austereo s...

Notre Dame president Rev. John I. Jenkins told trustees in a letter submitted to them on Friday that university officials decided within hours of learning of the girlfriend hoax involving linebacker Manti Te'o that no crime had been committed and decided within a few days that no NCAA violation had been committed, multiple media outlets reported Friday citing an Associated Press report as a source. According to the South Bend Tribune, Rev. Jenkins wrote in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by AP, that despite "the unrelenting scrutiny of hundreds of journalists and countless others -- and repeated attempts by some to create a different impression -- no facts relating to the hoax have been at odds with what Manti told us" on Dec. 27-28. "We did our best to get to the truth in extraordinary circumstances, be good stewards of the interests of the university and its good name and -- as we do in all things -- to make the well-being of our students one of our ...

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- Former Texas All-American and NFL kicker and punter Russell Erxleben, who previously served a federal prison sentence for securities fraud, was arrested Thursday on new charges of running an illegal Ponzi investment scam that netted more than $ 2 million. According to a federal indictment, the 56-year-old Erxleben scammed investors from 2005 to 2009 with fraudulent deals that promoted dealing in post-World War I German government bonds and a work of art purportedly by French painter Paul Gauguin. According to the indictment, Erxleben used the investments to pay himself and previous investors. Erxleben was indicted on five counts of wire fraud, one count of securities fraud and two counts of money laundering. He faces up to 20 years in prison on each of the wire and securities fraud charges, and up to 10 years on the money laundering charge. U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Lane ordered Erxleben held in custody until his next court appearance Jan. 28. Erxleben...

The story of the Manti Te'o girlfriend hoax reached another level Friday when TMZ Sports reported that Dr. Phil has landed the first exclusive interview with Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, the person who allegedly orchestrated the hoax. According to the report, Tuiasosopo talked with Dr. Phil for several hours in Los Angeles on Thursday, with Te'o's interview with Katie Couric being the focus of the discussion. The Tuiasosopo interview was "emotional and deep," according to TMZ, and the interview is expected to air sometime next week. Tuiasosopo has reportedly confessed to the hoax, but has not said anything publicly. His lawyer said earlier in the week that Tuiasosopo was the voice on the other end of the line when Te'o had long telephone conversations with a person he thought was Lennay Kekua. The lawyer said Tuiasosopo had voice training that enabled him to make his voice sound like a woman's. However, the New York Post reported Tuiasosopo's family says ...

(Associated Press) If we needed one sentence to really show how far the Manti Te'o hoax story has gone off the rails, this one is as good as any: TMZ is reporting that Dr. Phil has landed the coveted first interview with Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, the man who allegedly created the hoax of Manti Te'o's fake girlfriend and may or may not have impersonated a woman's voice on the phone to sell the scheme. Yep. This is actually news. TMZ, the celebrity gossip source, was the first to report that Dr. Phil McGraw - a onetime regular guest of Oprah Winfrey who parlayed that into his own "Dr. Phil" daytime show - has already talked to Tuiasosopo. According to TMZ, Dr. Phil and Tuiasosopo sat down for several hours for an on-camera interview, after they watched Katie Couric talk to Te'o about the hoax. These are sentences I never would have guessed at the beginning of this month I'd ever be writing on a college football blog. While Te'o and othe...

Jan 24 (Reuters) - Notre Dame football player Manti Te'o said he was the victim of an elaborate online hoax and denied in an interview broadcast on Thursday having had any part in the construction of the dramatic story of his dying girlfriend. "No, I did not," Te'o said in the interview with Katie Couric broadcast on the daytime talk show "Katie." "I think what people don't realize is that the same day that everybody else found out about this situation, I found out." The reported deaths of Te'o's grandmother and purported girlfriend, both on Sept. 12, and his response to the tragedies, were often repeated stories during Notre Dame's bid for a national championship last season. His grandmother did die that day. Te'o, who was a finalist for college football's highest individual honor for helping drive Notre Dame to an undefeated regular season, admitted he maintained the public deception after he learned the truth th...

Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o #5 stretches prior to playing against Alabama in the BCS National Championship in Miami on January 7, 2013. UPI/Marc Serota  License photo Published: Jan. 24, 2013 at 3:56 PM NEW YORK, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o told U.S. interviewer Katie Couric he had no involvement in the hoax in which his online girlfriend turned out to be a fraud. Te'o, 21, gave an exclusive interview to ABC's Couric about the story that surfaced last month, saying he had been tricked into believing his online girlfriend, Lennay Kekua, had died of cancer in September. Asked in the interview, which aired Thursday on "Katie," if he had "any involvement in creating the scam," Te'o replied, "No, I did not." "I think what people don't realize is the same day everybody else found out about this situation, I found out," he said. "I got the call on Dec. 6, saying that s...

HOUSTON (Reuters) - James Davis, the government's top witness in convicted swindler Allen Stanford's fraud trial, was sentenced to 5 years in prison for his role in a $ 7 billion Ponzi scheme. Davis, who could have been sentenced to 30 years, told the court: "I am ashamed and I am embarrassed." U.S. District Judge David Hittner, who presided over Stanford's trial, handed down the punishment on Tuesday. (Reporting By Anna Driver and Eileen O'Grady; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick) Read More @ Source Episode 553 Reema calls up Sameer and says that she has decided to stop working in serials and plays. Sameer asks her to calm down and tells her to meet him in order to discuss the problem. Sushant thinks about Aditi and decides to take a decision soon. When Aditi comes home, Kunal asks her about her marriage with Sushant but she avoids the topic. Poonam again takes a bribe from a client for the tampering ...

Updated Jan 21, 2013 1:38 PM ET LANCASTER, Calif. (AP) The person cast as the mastermind of the hoax involving Notre Dame's Manti Te'o may tell his side of the story, a family member said Sunday. IRISH LIES Te'o to do interview with Couric Official explains not disclosing hoax Te'o breaks silence | Not enough Mastermind behind hoax ID'd? Records link Calif. home Whitlock: Media hypocritical in reaction Deadspin writer on FOX Sports Radio Could NFL Draft stock plummet? Video: How did this happen? Peter Navy Tuiasosopo, uncle of Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, says the family plans to hold a meeting this week to determine when and how his nephew would talk about the bizarre prank. ''We want to do it right,'' he said, also noting that the family has hired an attorney. He never directly mentioned the hoax or his nephew being involved. Te'o insisted he had no role in the hoax involving his ''...

The Southern California woman whose photos were apparently used in an elaborate hoax involving Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o called the ruse "a very twisted and confusing scenario." Diane O'Meara, who works in marketing at STN Media group in Torrance, spoke to NBC's "Today"  about the incident in a segment that aired Tuesday. "My name is not Lennay Kekua," O'Meara said. "My name's Diane." O'Meara, 23, was not named in the Deadspin.com report that revealed the hoax last week. According to the report, a Palmdale man identified as Ronaiah Tuiasosopo allegedly was involved in creating a Twitter account for a "Lennay Kekua" and connecting her with Te'o. The Notre Dame player and Heisman Trophy runner-up spoke to the media repeatedly about his girlfriend and her supposed battle with cancer, a story that captivated football fans. After more than a year of corresponding on social media and by telep...

Two of the people linked to an expansive hoax involving Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o attended the same Antelope Valley high school, according to the Southern California woman whose photos were used in the ruse. Diane O'Meara, who now works in marketing at STN Media Group in Torrance, spoke to NBC's "Today"  about the incident in a segment that aired Tuesday. In the segment, she said she met the supposed hoaxer, Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, in high school but added that the two were not friends. Paraclete High football coach Norm Dahlia confirmed to The Times that Tuiasosopo played quarterback for the Lancaster school in 2007. A Deadspin.com report published last week first revealed the hoax but did not name O'Meara. The report claims that Tuiasosopo used photos of a girl he met at Paraclete High School in Lancaster as part of a Twitter account for a "Lennay Kekua," a fake woman whom he connected with Te'o. "My name is not Lennay Kek...

By Sadie Gennis, On Friday night, Manti Te'o finally spoke out on the hoax involving his supposedly dead girlfriend, Lennay Kekua. During an interview with ESPN, Te'o admitted he "tailored" his stories about Kekua, whom he'd met online, to imply that he "met her before she passed away." According to Te'o, he didn't know that Kekua didn't exist until Wednesday, when Ronaiah Tuiasosopo called the Notre Dame linebacker and confessed that he was behind the hoax. "I wasn't faking it. I wasn't part of this," Te'o insisted. Breaking down linebacker Manti Te'o's dead girlfriend hoax Te'o explained he received a direct message on Twitter from Tuiasosopo before the phone call, in which he learned Tuiasosopo admitted to creating Kekua, along with another man and a woman. Te'o denies knowing the identities of the other two perpetrators. Many media outlets reported that Te'o and Kekua had met in person, fo...

1/20/2013 (Updated 10:54:12 PM) ENDICOTT -- As we've reported Binghamton, police say scam artists are going around telling local residents they can help them with their utility bills during these cold months if they sign up with a company called "Just-Energy" Police say it's a rip off.  Richard Torres Maldonado says his family was a victim to the scam and their electric bill went from $ 40 to $ 300. "They were a little agressive, really pushy.  They are trying to look for people young like us, or old people out there that are not smart enough to understand this isn't real," said Richard Torres-Maldonado. Binghamton police say two twenty-year-old men are going door to door.  Police say if anyone from "just energy"  approaches you to call them at  723-5321. VIEW VIDEO View Related Articles: Broome County, Endicott or comment on this one below. View the discussion thread. blog comments powered by Back Binghamton web ...