Article: President of ice cream manufacturer pleads guilty to $1.8 million fraud, tax crime

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President of ice cream manufacturer pleads guilty to $1.8 million fraud, tax crime

Department of Justice, 16 July 2021

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Timothy L. Miller, 55, of Gahanna, Ohio, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to one count of wire fraud and two counts of filing a false income tax return. Miller was charged by Bill of Information on April 26, 2021.

According to court documents, from July 2015 through December 2017 Miller was president of Big Drum USA LTD, an ice cream manufacturer located in Columbus, Ohio. Miller fraudulently withdrew $1,797,127.49 from a Big Drum bank account. The withdrawals consisted of the purchase of cashier’s checks made payable directly to casinos, debit card transactions involving hotels and casinos, and cash withdrawals in Ohio, Nevada, Utah, Iowa, Pennsylvania, California, and Ontario, Canada. Miller concealed his actions by logging the transactions as “petty cash” or “loans” in the ledgers of Big Drum. Continue reading “Article: President of ice cream manufacturer pleads guilty to $1.8 million fraud, tax crime”

Article: Moez Kassam & Anson Funds Part II: Rotten To The Core

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Moez Kassam & Anson Funds Part II: Rotten To The Core

Market Frauds, 28 June 2021

Note to all readers: The Canadian regulators (OSC and IIROC) are asking people for information on illegal trading strategies. If you or a company or investor have been hurt by Anson Funds please do not remain silent. Get in touch with the OSC and file a formal complaint. This really is your only chance to be heard. Make it count! You can also send information to the SEC here: https://www.sec.gov/whistleblower Continue reading “Article: Moez Kassam & Anson Funds Part II: Rotten To The Core”

Article: Douglas Todd: Sam Cooper’s exposé of corruption in Canada tops bestseller list

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Douglas Todd: Sam Cooper’s exposé of corruption in Canada tops bestseller list

Douglas Todd, 18 June 2021

It’s not every day a reporter who has worked for The Vancouver Sun and The Province writes a book that hits No. 1 in sales on Amazon.ca and continues to hover near the top.

But that is what dogged journalist Sam Cooper has achieved with his thrilling and deeply disturbing exposé of what he rightly calls the “mind-blowing” connections among organized crime, casinos, the Chinese Communist Party, real estate, money laundering, offshore billionaires and Canadian politicians. Continue reading “Article: Douglas Todd: Sam Cooper’s exposé of corruption in Canada tops bestseller list”

Article: Police seize assets worth over $70 million in money laundering investigation

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Police seize assets worth over $70 million in money laundering investigation

RNZ, 16 June 2021

Police have seized over $70 million – mostly cash – linked to an international pyramid scheme in China and Canada.

The High Court has approved a settlement between Police and Xiaohua (known as Edward) Gong that enables the forfeiture of over $70m.

It is New Zealand’s largest ever forfeiture under the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act 2009. Continue reading “Article: Police seize assets worth over $70 million in money laundering investigation”

Article: True Cost of Financial Crime Compliance Global Report Reveals that Costs Reached $213.9 Billion in 2021

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True Cost of Financial Crime Compliance Global Report Reveals that Costs Reached $213.9 Billion in 2021

Omar Faridi, 15 June 2021

LexisNexis Risk Solutions, a global data and analytics firm, has published its annual True Cost of Financial Crime Compliance Global Report.

The results shared in the new report have been prepared after conducting an extensive survey of 1,015 financial crime compliance decision-makers at established financial institutions such as banks, investment companies, funds managers, and insurers. Continue reading “Article: True Cost of Financial Crime Compliance Global Report Reveals that Costs Reached $213.9 Billion in 2021”

Article: Money returned to victims of nearly $2 billion Ponzi scheme totals $722 million

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Money returned to victims of nearly $2 billion Ponzi scheme totals $722 million

MARY DIVINE, 15 June 2021

Doug Kelley has been working since 2008 to help organizations and individuals who lost billions in the Twin Cities businessman Tom Petters’ Ponzi scheme, the biggest financial crime in Minnesota history.

The bankruptcy trustee’s search to collect assets linked to Petters’ $1.925 billion scheme spanned 26 countries, including the Cayman Islands, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the British Virgin Islands.

Now, after 13 years, he says his work is almost done. Continue reading “Article: Money returned to victims of nearly $2 billion Ponzi scheme totals $722 million”

Article: VW data leak in North America – over 3.3 million customers affected

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VW data leak in North America – over 3.3 million customers affected

MRT, 12 June 2021

New trouble for Volkswagen in North America: Due to a breakdown at a business partner, the data of more than 3.3 million people was unsecured on the Internet for over a year. According to current knowledge, VW is assuming that customers and prospective buyers of the Audi subsidiary will be affected, a company spokesman said on Friday. Previously, the US blog TechCrunch reported on the data leak and published a letter to customers and a corresponding letter from a lawyer.

U.S. social security and bank account numbers Continue reading “Article: VW data leak in North America – over 3.3 million customers affected”

Article: ReconAfrica warns against short sellers

Article - Media, Publications

ReconAfrica warns against short sellers

Ed Reed, 02 June 2021

Reconnaissance Energy Africa continues to come under fire from various sources, including short sellers, but it has received public affirmation for its plans from local government in Namibia.

The Canadian company’s activities onshore Namibia have been criticised by environmental activists. Initially, worries focused on fracking, but they have grown to include the potential impact on water and elephants.

A whistleblower reported concerns on ReconAfrica to the US Securities and Exchange Commission on May 5, National Geographic reported. According to the report, the company had allegedly failed to provide important information in an attempt to increase its share price. Continue reading “Article: ReconAfrica warns against short sellers”

Article: USTR challenges Canada over manipulation of dairy access

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USTR challenges Canada over manipulation of dairy access

CAROL RYAN DUMAS, 26 May 2021

U.S. Trade Representative Katharine Tai on Tuesday initiated a dispute settlement case over Canada’s manipulation of dairy tariff rate quotas to discourage imports of U.S. dairy products.

The U.S. dairy industry has had longstanding concerns about Canada undermining its trade agreements. Those concerns didn’t go away with U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement implemented last year.

The issue is Canada’s allocation of TRQs, which were supposed to increase access for U.S. dairy products. U.S. dairy groups contend Canada’s allocation system was constructed to discourage imports by reserving a large percentage of TRQs for Canada’s own dairy processors, who have no incentive to import competing U.S. products. Continue reading “Article: USTR challenges Canada over manipulation of dairy access”

Article: Fraud, money laundering and the COVID-19 Pandemic

Article - Media, Publications

Fraud, money laundering and the COVID-19 Pandemic

Tracy Molino, Anthony Scalia, 19 May 2021

As discussed in our four-part series, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated a trend away from using cash and other “touch-based” payment methods. This acceleration has been coupled with an increase in digital and contactless payment methods. The ongoing lockdown measures and stay-at-home orders have directly impacted consumer habits, resulting in consumers conducting their shopping online and away from retail stores, ordering their meals via delivery apps instead of dining in restaurants, and banking online as opposed to stopping by the teller on their commute home from work.

While the continued shift toward digital and contactless payments has been a driving force behind economic recovery, it is not without its risks for consumers and businesses, potentially creating an online environment ideal for fraudsters and money-launderers. In this insight we examine recent developments in this space in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Continue reading “Article: Fraud, money laundering and the COVID-19 Pandemic”

Article: Former gaming minister agrees ‘unfair’ to cop who said ‘something stinky’ at casinos

Article - Media, Publications

Former gaming minister agrees ‘unfair’ to cop who said ‘something stinky’ at casinos

Canadian Press, 14 May 2021

VANCOUVER — British Columbia’s former gaming minister said comments he made more than a decade ago about a top-ranking financial crime investigator’s concerns about “something stinky” going on at provincial casinos were not fair.

Rich Coleman was recalled to testify Friday at the public inquiry into money laundering to face more questions about statements he made in January 2011, disputing media comments by former RCMP inspector Barry Baxter. “I probably got too broad in saying that,” said Coleman, who is the inquiry’s last witness. “I probably went a little too far out with my answer. It may have been unfair.” Continue reading “Article: Former gaming minister agrees ‘unfair’ to cop who said ‘something stinky’ at casinos”

Article: Is There A Huge Naked Short on Helium Explorer Avanti Energy?

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Is There A Huge Naked Short on Helium Explorer Avanti Energy?

Editor OilPrice.com, 12 May 2021

Aggressive short sellers, now being targeted by Canadian regulators, are believed to have shorted a shocking 11 million shares of helium miner Avanti Energy in Canada since 2019, most of it in the past two months alone.

That makes Avanti Energy a large target of short-sellers seeking to enrich themselves by destroying companies, even as Canadian regulators are about to tighten the screws on these out-of-control—and naked—shorts. Continue reading “Article: Is There A Huge Naked Short on Helium Explorer Avanti Energy?”

Article: Is This The Beginning Of The End Of Naked Short Selling In Canada?

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Is This The Beginning Of The End Of Naked Short Selling In Canada?

James Stafford, 11 May 2021

Finally, after years of watching dubious short-sellers manipulate stocks and destroy companies, Canadian regulators are ready to do something about it, and unscrupulous short-sellers who have been living lives of obnoxious luxury paid for by ordinary shareholders have every reason to worry.

The only question now is whether the Canadian regulators have the teeth to follow through.

The first move came in January 2021, when the Ontario Capital Markets Modernization Task Force recommended a new prohibition against “misleading or untrue statements” about public companies. Why? Because Canadian markets are being threatened severely by “short and distort” and “pump and dump” campaigns. The same legislation was already enacted in British Columbia. Continue reading “Article: Is This The Beginning Of The End Of Naked Short Selling In Canada?”

Article: Corus Entertainment Is Watching for Windows in High-Yield Market

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Corus Entertainment Is Watching for Windows in High-Yield Market

Esteban Duarte, 07 May 2021

Corus Entertainment Inc., which has produced shows led by actors such as Christopher Plummer, plans to take an opportunistic approach to U.S. and Canadian high-yield bond markets after a recent debt sale fetched strong investor demand, Chief Financial Officer John Gossling said.

The Toronto-based based firm sold C$500 million ($410.3 million) of seven-year unsecured bonds April 26 in the company’s first such deal since 2013. Proceeds are being used to reduce bank credit facilities, which are in the process of getting extended to May 2025, he said. Continue reading “Article: Corus Entertainment Is Watching for Windows in High-Yield Market”

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