Felix | Web Criminal

Are you from those movie admirers? If you are, so when was the last time you went to cinema? Don’t be worry, the last movie has finally came. But there is a surprise here, you haven’t to go to the cinema and reserve a ticket! because it will come to you wherever you are! Can you believe this? You can open your mail now and see.

The movie scenario will be sent to you and here you are the movie cast:

Location: FPA website
The author: Felix
The criminal: Felix
The victim: You
The director: Felix

And here you are the scenario as it is sent by Felix (the movie creator):

“This is Felix writing. I am a full time forex investor and the founder of Forex Peace Army. I have something very important to share with you that can either MAKE OR BREAK your forex learning and your forex trading success.

Running ForexPeaceArmy.com website for the last few years has been a very interesting experience, because it has made me realize all the corruption that’s going on in the forex world.

It’s by far the most corrupt industry I ever encountered. I can’t even tell you how many times I have seen brokers, big and small, refusing to release profits to traders, or outright stealing their money by registering fake losing trades on their account.

There are also have been many occasions of forex signals companies reporting fake performance.

There are companies who sell forex software that doesn’t work, and they know it, so every few months when the word gets around, they repackage it and change the label of that software, and continue selling it, as if it’s something new.

Forex Peace Army has a very large membership base, and we get lucrative offers from companies large and small all the time, offering us 50% of the profit in their business and more, just so that we could recommend them.

It would be very easy money for me to send you such offers every few weeks. Let these companies do the work, and I can collect the hassle free check from them. I refuse to do it, because I have a very critical mind, and lots of forex experience, so I see right through all the bullshit that these companies try to offer.

Some of them are even ranked 4 or 5 stars by Forex Peace Army members, but I find that many people leaving reviews are very naive, because they don’t judge the company by the amount of money they made with their product. Instead, they judge them by the charisma of their educator.

Over the last few years, I personally started several “forex education” services. I even ran one of them myself. The common trait between all the services I started was that the educator was giving live trades to people, and he was explaining the reason for his trades. This way the performance of the educator was pure and legitimate, and people could learn by example instead of by some bullshit forex theories. In addition to that, the people could make money by copying the educator’s trades, while they learned the ropes.

To be quite honest with you, there has always been a problem offering such services to people. The problem was that the educators running these services, including myself, were full time traders, and had the luxury of watching the market around the clock, anytime they wished. But the people that were signing up for the services had other jobs, and had lots of trouble finding time to follow the educator consistently.

In August 2008, something very interesting happened. I was talking to a friend of mine, who like me, has been trading forex for a very long time, and who mostly has been making his trading decisions based on economic news that come out from different countries. We were just talking, and I casually was asking him how much money he has been making, how much time he has been spending, what his average winner and loser have been. So he started giving me all of his statistics, and to be quite honest, I thought that he was bullshitting me.

Since we were friends, I told him that I think he is full of shit, and I don’t believe his statistics. So he felt offended, and gave me login and password to his live account. I looked at his real account statements, and realized that the guy was telling the truth. I wasn’t impressed with the guy’s account size, it was a little over $100,000, and most successful traders and investors that I know manage millions. But the point was that his trading statistics, in terms of the results for the amount of time he was spending trading were the best I’ve ever seen. They were much better than my own.

So I told the guy that we can really capitalize on his amazing trading skills, and he can very quickly build up his trading account by sharing his trades with other people, and teaching them the way he trades. He agreed to give it a shot, and I let him issue his trades and explanations in one of my live online conference room in front of around 50 people. What can I say…over the last two months, the room attendance increased from 50 to 100 people, simply because people started telling their friends about this guy.

This guy started sharing his live trades and education in front of people since September 3, 2008, and through November 12th, 2008, he is currently up 2164 pips. But that’s not the best part. The best part is that he only trades from 2:00 am to 3:45 am New York Time, and then from 06:00 am to 07:45 am New York Time. 70% of his trades happen between 2:00 am to 3:45 am NY Time, and the other 30% happen from 06:00 am to 07:45 am NY Time. So it’s only 1 hour and 45 minutes per session.

And like I said, this is not just another black box signals service. Every time the guy places a trade, it’s mostly based on market sentiment, and economic situation of the countries. So every time a trade is placed, an explanation is given. This way you only place trades if they make sense to you, and you learn to do what he does. He holds nothing back, so you can go ahead, and learn the ropes from him, and then do the same thing on your own.

He types in the online conference room every trade, and every explanation, and we keep records of that in the members area, so if you ever miss a trading session, you can go back, and check what happened.

As I like to say, money talks, bullshit walks. So I am not going to “pump you up” to try or to buy this service. All you have to do is see detailed performance of this guy, and “pump yourself up” if you wish. I am going to give you a link to the performance, and you will see that there is an offer to try this service for $29 for 10 days. Don’t click those trial buttons, because since you are a Forex Peace Army member, I wanted to let you try the service for 10 days for only $7, instead of $29. And if you like it, you can stay for $299/month after your trial. If you don’t like it, you can even ask for your $7 back. Obviously I am not interested in your $7, as much as I am interested that you see for yourself that everything I told you in this email is true, and you can become a member of this service for $299/month.

So here is the performance link:
http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=4vVdO&m=1eWJRRpQH_6wi9&b=rKXZBZwTyu4LE7P5vK5h4g

As you read through the website, you will notice that we keep this trader’s identity secret. We just call him “Mr. X”. There are important reasons for this, but I don’t think it’s important for me to tell you those reasons.

Also, some of the people who have been trading with Mr. X over the last 2 months have submitted reviews. So if you wish to get their perspective on the situation, you can read them here: http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=4vVdO&m=1eWJRRpQH_6wi9&b=tho.u7LEabBAhqXz940IlA

Okay, I think I have told you everything I wanted to say in this email. The only thing left is a $7 special trial link. DO NOT CLICK ON THIS LINK just yet. Let me first tell you the way it’s set up. I only want Forex Peace Army members to sign up for this discounted trial. So, this link will expire this Friday, November 14th at 11:00 pm NY Time. In addition to this, this link is programmed in such way that as soon as you click on it, you will have 30 MINUTES TO SIGN UP. After 30 minutes, the link will expire, and you won’t be able to access it through your computer again.

So make sure that if you want the $7 trial, you are ready to pay with your credit card within 30 minutes. Please also note that the way the trial is setup, is that after 10 days, if you don’t cancel it, you will start getting billed $299/month automatically. So if you don’t like the service within 10 days, make sure to contact us through the form on fxnewswiz.com, and request cancellation of your membership.

If you wish to receive your $7 back, you can also mention it in your request. Of course, if somehow you forget, and you are late a few days to cancel the trial, so you get billed $299, we will refund you that fee. My intention is not to get money from accidental forgetting here. My intention is to find people that can trade during these times, so that they become legitimate members who actually use the service.

Okay, that’s all I have to say about that…here is the $7 trial (it will expire in 30 minutes after you click on it, read above)”

Woow..woow…woow, it is so impressive. Did you see how it is written in an impressive way? What A wonderful Forex Community! Is there any doubt about it?

For Sure after reading that mail, all of us have to remember the old movies and notice the new scenes and affections that Felix has added in his long movie that will end with a big SCAM! 30 minutes and this post will make a BOMB. SO be careful while reading to avoid BOMBING there.

In commenting on this scenario, you can categorize this story under a fairy tale or a science fiction story where there are a lot of non- logical events and it is very far from reality. After reading this mail well, how you can believe that Felix got the login and password of a live account of a friend of him. Even if he was his friend, how this friendship can reach the limit of denying personal rights to the extent that he gave him the login and password of his own live account, and for what?

For Felix not believing him. A worse action for a worse cause! And imagine what? After Felix getting amazed of his friend statistics, he helped him to become instructor and famous too! And all what Felix wants is the benefit of all people that he makes them offer (you can think it is free) to try the service of his friend (which was Felix’s idea) for $7 and get them back if you didn’t like it! And besides, if you don’t request them in your mail (and he used the term “if you wish” which is so ironic, and we all know that the expression “wish” indicates the two possibilities) of ending your membership in the service, they will start bail you of $299 automatically!! So, people please, please don’t forget mentioning your $7 please, instead you will lose them forever and will be obliged to pay the double of 5 times double of them.

But what about you? will you accept the role of victim or will you leave this role in this new movie and lose the chance to become a movie star and may be taking the Oscar too for playing the role of the fool who is fooled by the biggest criminal mind in the web! I think when issues come to money, you have to think more than twice.

FPA New Way In Attack

Experiencing Forex trading is not easy to consider yourself that pro in a short time. And to have a good knowledge of the market and its components, you deserve to have a long time of experience to be fully aware of what may affect he market. And above all, it is important to be aware in cases like Forex brokers reviews, like those in Forex Peace Army. To know what to believe and what not to believe.

Among FPA scam cases, there is that story of Sigma Forex broker. First, the story starts with Felix claiming that SigmaForex and ForexGen are the both under different name. Then, he gradually runs to the stage that SigmaForex is linked to ForexGen. And at last, the story is concluded, as usual, with a scam case of stealing one of their client’s money.

And here you are the story in brief,

FPA scam investigations committee has received a complaint from someone called, Hossam Park. He was a client at Sigma Forex who opened an account with $2500 and after making profits, Sigma Forex refused to withdraw his money, and suspended his account and, moreover “ceased communicating with him”. The reason FPA mentioned why Sigma Forex has suspended Hossam’s account was that “they changed their margin requirements on September 19th and that the trades were closed due to these new requirements. They said “our aim was to protect our account holders from any danger that may affect their investments.”

The only comment should be written here is ‘No Comment’. How a broker could change part of its policy and close all the trades without any concern of the traders or any alert for them. How can a broker ignore its clients easily and damage its business in this simple way. And what is really amazing here is that Sigma Forex could close Hossam’s positions at the same price he got profits but this time he was losing. Oh, the luck was really so close to the broker that in two days they could make their client’s profit turn into loss at the same price, meaning as if he didn’t make profits at all.

Then, FPA ended the case or the story with a happy end this time. Seems like the director, Felix, wishes to make a happy ending movie this time, getting bored of all black ends done before. At last, Sigma Forex returns Hossam’s money back and they are healed by FPA committee. Impossible as it is, isn’t it? For the first time some one claimed to be scam becomes pure at the end!

This is significant in itself. First, FPA tried to show that a certain broker is a scam and published its case and let it under investigation. Then, after spotting light on it, they absolved it from being scam. A clear direct propaganda for themselves and it is clear in the comments made there, all members made the comments are praising FPA and Felix. They are trying to prove that they are the eyes and hands of justice, that whenever the opposite of something is proved they will admit it if it is against their will. Innocent as they are! But in the side scene, their dark ethics are glowing.

Felix The Unrefined Material Of Scam

Continuing the series of Felix projects on the web, there is another website added to Felix’s catalog. It is not announced there that it is owned by him(though it is the biggest aspect of scam), but it can be read between lines. This website known as Spartan Forex Fund, http://www.spartanforexfund.com/.

Felix main intention behind building this website was to gather more wealth. Spartan Forex Fund activity is to make clients open accounts and take regular profit of 16% on their account balance. This is too much similar to a bank account, in which clients put their deposit and take regular profits from it. It can be considered as private investment, but Felix knew well how to handle his business for his advantage.

Now if you visit this url http://www.spartanforexfund.com/ you will find it closed. The website is close for violating privacy laws of Switzerland while they are originally located in USA! Even in times of defeat Felix knows how to keep eyes away from him. The server really locates in USA, and it is written now in the website homepage that it is appended to Switzerland.

The website activity was ended due to discovering its real immoral activity. They intend to open accounts for clients and give them a certain percentage over it. But what happens after an actual period is that they suspend their accounts and there is neither a profit nor a deposit, meaning that clients lose all their money. So after a certain period, the website ended its activity for the reason published on the homepage (or may be Felix has become sated with the money he gained).

The strange thing here is that, this Spartan Forex Fund appears to be like a financial partner, but there is no single evidence that they have a money management agreement or any partnership agreement with any broker or financial institution. So how can it be? Or how traders could trust them and put their money there?

Isn’t it enough for now to know all these scam cases of Felix and his partners? What are you waiting for to happen more than that? I think nothing worse could happen than succeeding in making a mafia online disguised behind a curtain where nobody can be able even to notice their black magic effects!

Forex Investors Had No Idea Of Con Man Luis Rivas’ Track Record

Arizona Officials In 1988 Warned That Rivas Would “Take The Money And Run”

Luis H. Rivas when he was arrested in Arizona in 1988 and recently in Chattanooga

ForexPeaceArmy latest forex scam, in partnership with the famous con man Rivas. Investors who handed over more than $31 million to Luis H. Rivas while he was headquartered in Chattanooga for the past year had no idea they were dealing with a slick con man who Arizona officials had figured out back in 1988.

Phoenix, Ariz., prosecutor John R. Evans, at a time Rivas was stealing peanuts compared to his recent run, said Rivas was “an excellent scam artist. He can be very convincing on a variety of subjects. He can take people’s money with no ability to perform on his promises. The man can earn a great deal of money through his words.”

Prosecutor Evans said Rivas “has a tremendous talent for creating false appearances. If he is allowed to use his talent, people’s hard-earned dollars and false hopes will fill his coffers.

 

“The defendant has used his talent since 1985 in Illinois. He moved to Florida and used his skills until 1988. His crimes in Arizona started in August 1988 and were stopped Nov. 22, 1988. It is time that his crimes were stopped for as long as possible.”

Prosecutor Evans noted that Rivas “already had one period of probation in Florida, which did not change his approach to life.”

Michael L. Goss, Rivas’ probation officer, said, “The defendant certainly appears to exhibit a pattern of fraudulent behavior. Although this writer would certainly agree that the defendant is highly intelligent, he would very likely be very successful if his talents were used legitimately and legally. This writer has great concern for the victims, who suffered significantly not only by the defendant’s actions, but also by their failure to recognize the defendant’s actions as illegal.

“Based on the number of victims in this case as well as the defendant’s prior criminal history, this writer sees no reason that the defendant should be granted leniency in this case.

“Obviously, the defendant was not impacted by his placement on a previous probation grant, but alternatively became involved in a series of offenses of a much greater magnitude than those in which he was previously involved.

“This writer views the defendant as a very dangerous individual in the sense that he is able to talk his way into just about anything.

“It is this writer’s opinion that the defendant preys on individuals who are not well versed regarding certain financial matters and, by the time the victims realize what has happened, the defendant is long gone.”

The probation officer said Rivas told him he had enrolled at the University of Maryland in 1974 and obtained a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and mathematics. A check was made with Amy Elzeldin at the University of Maryland records office. She searched through the university records from 1970-1983, including a check of attendance at an overseas class. No Luis H. Rivas.

John Stahl, the detective assigned to investigate Rivas in Arizona, recommended that Rivas, who was then 35, be sentenced to the maximum term. He said he felt that Rivas “manipulated the victims and misrepresented himself at the outset of the initiation of Golden Dawn Financial.”

The detective said Rivas “never intended to fulfill any terms of his ‘contract’ and his intentions were evidenced by several attempts to vacate his residence, disconnect his phone and leave no forwarding address.”

He described Rivas as “a slick individual who may very well have been a success if he used his knowledge and skills in a legal, legitimate business as the defendant is quite convincing and knowledgeable regarding numerous financial matters.”

Det. Stahl said he felt Rivas “preyed on desperate people.” He cited the fact he had been involved “in similar scenarios in Chicago and Miami.”

He felt that Rivas “has made a practice of misrepresenting himself – fraudulently accepting money from people with no intention of providing any legitimate service and ultimately moving to a different area to start the cycle over again.”

Saying Rivas presented a high risk to continue pulling off scams, he recommended that Rivas be imprisoned for the maximum term.

Authorities in Chicago were also looking for Rivas in 1988 for a scam he pulled off there. He had gone from Chicago to Miami, and he got into similar trouble there.

Rivas was finally nailed after running an operation for just a few months in Arizona and was given a 10-year state prison sentence. Rivas emerged from prison around 1995 and showed up in Chattanooga last year offering investors amazing returns that he promised he would earn through his knack for foreign currency trading.

Rivas is now on the run after suddenly closing the Bonny Oaks office in mid-May and pulling $1.6 million in investor funds out of a Chattanooga bank.

Born in Puerto Rico in 1953, Rivas was raised at Cambridge, Mass., then returned to Puerto Rico when he was 18. His parents, Luis and Anna Rivas, had a stable home and long marriage at Bayamon, Puerto Rico, and none of his siblings got into trouble. Rivas attended the University of Puerto Rico for a couple of years, then enlisted in the Army in October 1973. He went through basic training, then was shipped to Turkey and later West Germany. He suffered “stress syndrome” and was treated at Eisenhower Army Medical Center in Fort Gordon, Ga. He was given an honorable discharge from the Army in May 1977.

While Rivas was in Germany, he began living with a woman named Monica Russell, and they had a daughter who was born in 1977. Ms. Russell and the daughter stayed behind in Germany with her parents after Rivas left.

Rivas was back in Puerto Rico briefly, trying college again “for a weekend.” He told an interviewer, “I was finding it difficult to live there because of the differences in the cultures since I was raised stateside. I’m fluent in Spanish, but I don’t necessarily feel comfortable in the culture.”

Rivas married Brenda Hildred in 1974, and they were divorced two years later after she moved back to England. He met Delia Carponell in Puerto Rico and they married in 1977. They had two daughters, Sara and Alexandria. Delia moved with him to Ledo Beach, Fla. She eventually returned to Puerto Rico.

He met a woman named Holly Feldner while he was with Avon in Chicago, and they were married April 30, 1978. She had a daughter and two sons and they also split up.

While he was in Florida, Rivas was involved in a firm called Sigma Financial, where he would charge consulting fees for financial assistance. Rivas was also in telemarketing sales, selling “original signed lithographs” and teaching people how to collateralize loans. In Chicago, he said he worked as an equity raiser for Paine Webber and at another time was in Avon, overseeing more than 200 sales ladies. Then he set up International Equity Investment Inc. in which authorities said “a woman was used to take messages and give the appearance of large-scale activity. Money was taken from desperate people with promises of hope.” Homeowners who were in the process of foreclosure would pay Rivas a fee to find someone to buy the home and lease it back to the homeowners under a seven-year lease. Rivas “guaranteed” that if the buyer defaulted that he would find another buyer. He took a total of $15,000 from 15 homeowners facing foreclosure until he was stopped by authorities.

After he was arrested in Chicago, Rivas ran to Florida. He married Allison Coffman in Miami. They had a daughter together. Rivas was struggling when he was first in Florida, but later “I had two BMWs. A friend went out with my wife and looked at all kinds of furniture. We had about a hundred thousand dollars worth of furniture.” He had a 4,500-square-foot house with a pool table in Hollywood, Fla. He and Allison “traveled, bought furs, the whole thing.” He was worth about a quarter million dollars at the time.

He and Allison split in 1987 and that October he met Belinda Kay Miller when he advertised for topless dancers. He said he was not in the club business himself, but the owners had offered to pay him a fee if he could find topless dancers with clean records. He moved in with Belinda, who had three children of her own, and they soon decided to move to the Phoenix area of Arizona. They arrived June 21, 1988, and first stayed at the Phoenix Sunrise Motel on East Van Buren and then the Ambassador Suites on Thomas Road at 44th Street. When funds were running low, they moved to the Lazy U Motel at 27th Avenue and Indian School Road.

There he tried a variety of jobs, including the topless dancing recruiting. But he said that didn’t pay because he was unable to find any dancers who didn’t have drug problems or arrest records. Rivas sold vitamins over the phone for awhile. Also, he tried raising money for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, but he said, “It’s very difficult to convince somebody to donate to the Veterans of Foreign Wars when you have two bikers on the floor drunk, fighting over the girl they just hired that morning.”

He hit upon the idea of setting up Golden Dawn Financial and placed an ad in USA Today that brought in a number of customers. For a fee ranging from $100-$700, Rivas was to help those in financial jeopardy or in danger of losing their homes to foreclosure. The clients believed that Rivas was in contact with their lenders, arranging to re-negotiate their loans. Instead, he cashed all their checks and kept changing addresses without leaving forwarding addresses. Several of the clients, as a result, lost their homes.

Paul Anderson said he was one of those who answered the USA Today ad in October 1988. He was told that Rivas could negotiate a $150,000 loan for his business, Thin Layer Coating. He was told to wire $1,762.85 to a Rivas account, which he did on Nov. 1, 1988.
A few days later, Rivas got the money out of the account and moved from 4627 W. Perdue in Glendale, Ariz., to parts unknown. His phone was disconnected.

Phillip Craine also responded to the ad and was told by Rivas that for a $175 advance fee he would get a $30,000 loan. After paying the money, he heard nothing more from Golden Dawn Financial.

Beth Camacho and Pat Schwendemann were told that Rivas could help them with their telemarketing operation, including writing the script. They turned over $1,500 to him, then Rivas moved again.

David Thompson paid Rivas $287.50 for supposedly helping him line up a $40,000 small business loan. He didn’t get his money back or obtain the loan.

Dan Isabelle, who was behind on his house payments, paid Rivas $650 in hopes he could help with a refinancing. After waiting several weeks, Mr. Isabelle found that Rivas had moved on without leaving a forwarding address.

After getting a foreclosure notice, Virginia Stanfield saw the Rivas ad and paid him $525. She got no help from the swindler.

Robin Herrera was also facing foreclosure on her home, and she paid Rivas $650 to intervene with HUD. She later said she felt from the start that Rivas was “underhanded and illegal.” She wound up losing her home.

Luis Hiram Rivas

1985 in Chicago, Ill. Arrested for felony theft by deception. Rivas cashed two checks on a closed account. Met with Illinois investigators to explain problems with his International Equity Investment Inc. Promised to provide the Illinois attorney general with 15 names and addresses as well as make restitution. Fled to Florida and began selling artwork.

1987 (August) in Miami, Fla. Arrested for grand larceny involving an equity skimming scam. Placed on six months probation.

1988 (November) in Phoenix, Ariz. Charged with illegally conducting an enterprise, theft, and fraudulent schemes and artifices.

2007-2008 in Chattanooga, Tn. Accepted over $31 million in investor funds. Skipped out to parts unknown.

Forex Investors Had No Idea Of Con Man Luis Rivas’ Track Record

Arizona Officials In 1988 Warned That Rivas Would “Take The Money And Run”

Luis H. Rivas when he was arrested in Arizona in 1988 and recently in Chattanooga

ForexPeaceArmy latest forex scam, in partnership with the famous con man Rivas. Investors who handed over more than $31 million to Luis H. Rivas while he was headquartered in Chattanooga for the past year had no idea they were dealing with a slick con man who Arizona officials had figured out back in 1988.

Phoenix, Ariz., prosecutor John R. Evans, at a time Rivas was stealing peanuts compared to his recent run, said Rivas was “an excellent scam artist. He can be very convincing on a variety of subjects. He can take people’s money with no ability to perform on his promises. The man can earn a great deal of money through his words.”

Prosecutor Evans said Rivas “has a tremendous talent for creating false appearances. If he is allowed to use his talent, people’s hard-earned dollars and false hopes will fill his coffers.

 

“The defendant has used his talent since 1985 in Illinois. He moved to Florida and used his skills until 1988. His crimes in Arizona started in August 1988 and were stopped Nov. 22, 1988. It is time that his crimes were stopped for as long as possible.”

Prosecutor Evans noted that Rivas “already had one period of probation in Florida, which did not change his approach to life.”

Michael L. Goss, Rivas’ probation officer, said, “The defendant certainly appears to exhibit a pattern of fraudulent behavior. Although this writer would certainly agree that the defendant is highly intelligent, he would very likely be very successful if his talents were used legitimately and legally. This writer has great concern for the victims, who suffered significantly not only by the defendant’s actions, but also by their failure to recognize the defendant’s actions as illegal.

“Based on the number of victims in this case as well as the defendant’s prior criminal history, this writer sees no reason that the defendant should be granted leniency in this case.

“Obviously, the defendant was not impacted by his placement on a previous probation grant, but alternatively became involved in a series of offenses of a much greater magnitude than those in which he was previously involved.

“This writer views the defendant as a very dangerous individual in the sense that he is able to talk his way into just about anything.

“It is this writer’s opinion that the defendant preys on individuals who are not well versed regarding certain financial matters and, by the time the victims realize what has happened, the defendant is long gone.”

The probation officer said Rivas told him he had enrolled at the University of Maryland in 1974 and obtained a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and mathematics. A check was made with Amy Elzeldin at the University of Maryland records office. She searched through the university records from 1970-1983, including a check of attendance at an overseas class. No Luis H. Rivas.

John Stahl, the detective assigned to investigate Rivas in Arizona, recommended that Rivas, who was then 35, be sentenced to the maximum term. He said he felt that Rivas “manipulated the victims and misrepresented himself at the outset of the initiation of Golden Dawn Financial.”

The detective said Rivas “never intended to fulfill any terms of his ‘contract’ and his intentions were evidenced by several attempts to vacate his residence, disconnect his phone and leave no forwarding address.”

He described Rivas as “a slick individual who may very well have been a success if he used his knowledge and skills in a legal, legitimate business as the defendant is quite convincing and knowledgeable regarding numerous financial matters.”

Det. Stahl said he felt Rivas “preyed on desperate people.” He cited the fact he had been involved “in similar scenarios in Chicago and Miami.”

He felt that Rivas “has made a practice of misrepresenting himself – fraudulently accepting money from people with no intention of providing any legitimate service and ultimately moving to a different area to start the cycle over again.”

Saying Rivas presented a high risk to continue pulling off scams, he recommended that Rivas be imprisoned for the maximum term.

Authorities in Chicago were also looking for Rivas in 1988 for a scam he pulled off there. He had gone from Chicago to Miami, and he got into similar trouble there.

Rivas was finally nailed after running an operation for just a few months in Arizona and was given a 10-year state prison sentence. Rivas emerged from prison around 1995 and showed up in Chattanooga last year offering investors amazing returns that he promised he would earn through his knack for foreign currency trading.

Rivas is now on the run after suddenly closing the Bonny Oaks office in mid-May and pulling $1.6 million in investor funds out of a Chattanooga bank.

Born in Puerto Rico in 1953, Rivas was raised at Cambridge, Mass., then returned to Puerto Rico when he was 18. His parents, Luis and Anna Rivas, had a stable home and long marriage at Bayamon, Puerto Rico, and none of his siblings got into trouble. Rivas attended the University of Puerto Rico for a couple of years, then enlisted in the Army in October 1973. He went through basic training, then was shipped to Turkey and later West Germany. He suffered “stress syndrome” and was treated at Eisenhower Army Medical Center in Fort Gordon, Ga. He was given an honorable discharge from the Army in May 1977.

While Rivas was in Germany, he began living with a woman named Monica Russell, and they had a daughter who was born in 1977. Ms. Russell and the daughter stayed behind in Germany with her parents after Rivas left.

Rivas was back in Puerto Rico briefly, trying college again “for a weekend.” He told an interviewer, “I was finding it difficult to live there because of the differences in the cultures since I was raised stateside. I’m fluent in Spanish, but I don’t necessarily feel comfortable in the culture.”

Rivas married Brenda Hildred in 1974, and they were divorced two years later after she moved back to England. He met Delia Carponell in Puerto Rico and they married in 1977. They had two daughters, Sara and Alexandria. Delia moved with him to Ledo Beach, Fla. She eventually returned to Puerto Rico.

He met a woman named Holly Feldner while he was with Avon in Chicago, and they were married April 30, 1978. She had a daughter and two sons and they also split up.

While he was in Florida, Rivas was involved in a firm called Sigma Financial, where he would charge consulting fees for financial assistance. Rivas was also in telemarketing sales, selling “original signed lithographs” and teaching people how to collateralize loans. In Chicago, he said he worked as an equity raiser for Paine Webber and at another time was in Avon, overseeing more than 200 sales ladies. Then he set up International Equity Investment Inc. in which authorities said “a woman was used to take messages and give the appearance of large-scale activity. Money was taken from desperate people with promises of hope.” Homeowners who were in the process of foreclosure would pay Rivas a fee to find someone to buy the home and lease it back to the homeowners under a seven-year lease. Rivas “guaranteed” that if the buyer defaulted that he would find another buyer. He took a total of $15,000 from 15 homeowners facing foreclosure until he was stopped by authorities.

After he was arrested in Chicago, Rivas ran to Florida. He married Allison Coffman in Miami. They had a daughter together. Rivas was struggling when he was first in Florida, but later “I had two BMWs. A friend went out with my wife and looked at all kinds of furniture. We had about a hundred thousand dollars worth of furniture.” He had a 4,500-square-foot house with a pool table in Hollywood, Fla. He and Allison “traveled, bought furs, the whole thing.” He was worth about a quarter million dollars at the time.

He and Allison split in 1987 and that October he met Belinda Kay Miller when he advertised for topless dancers. He said he was not in the club business himself, but the owners had offered to pay him a fee if he could find topless dancers with clean records. He moved in with Belinda, who had three children of her own, and they soon decided to move to the Phoenix area of Arizona. They arrived June 21, 1988, and first stayed at the Phoenix Sunrise Motel on East Van Buren and then the Ambassador Suites on Thomas Road at 44th Street. When funds were running low, they moved to the Lazy U Motel at 27th Avenue and Indian School Road.

There he tried a variety of jobs, including the topless dancing recruiting. But he said that didn’t pay because he was unable to find any dancers who didn’t have drug problems or arrest records. Rivas sold vitamins over the phone for awhile. Also, he tried raising money for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, but he said, “It’s very difficult to convince somebody to donate to the Veterans of Foreign Wars when you have two bikers on the floor drunk, fighting over the girl they just hired that morning.”

He hit upon the idea of setting up Golden Dawn Financial and placed an ad in USA Today that brought in a number of customers. For a fee ranging from $100-$700, Rivas was to help those in financial jeopardy or in danger of losing their homes to foreclosure. The clients believed that Rivas was in contact with their lenders, arranging to re-negotiate their loans. Instead, he cashed all their checks and kept changing addresses without leaving forwarding addresses. Several of the clients, as a result, lost their homes.

Paul Anderson said he was one of those who answered the USA Today ad in October 1988. He was told that Rivas could negotiate a $150,000 loan for his business, Thin Layer Coating. He was told to wire $1,762.85 to a Rivas account, which he did on Nov. 1, 1988.
A few days later, Rivas got the money out of the account and moved from 4627 W. Perdue in Glendale, Ariz., to parts unknown. His phone was disconnected.

Phillip Craine also responded to the ad and was told by Rivas that for a $175 advance fee he would get a $30,000 loan. After paying the money, he heard nothing more from Golden Dawn Financial.

Beth Camacho and Pat Schwendemann were told that Rivas could help them with their telemarketing operation, including writing the script. They turned over $1,500 to him, then Rivas moved again.

David Thompson paid Rivas $287.50 for supposedly helping him line up a $40,000 small business loan. He didn’t get his money back or obtain the loan.

Dan Isabelle, who was behind on his house payments, paid Rivas $650 in hopes he could help with a refinancing. After waiting several weeks, Mr. Isabelle found that Rivas had moved on without leaving a forwarding address.

After getting a foreclosure notice, Virginia Stanfield saw the Rivas ad and paid him $525. She got no help from the swindler.

Robin Herrera was also facing foreclosure on her home, and she paid Rivas $650 to intervene with HUD. She later said she felt from the start that Rivas was “underhanded and illegal.” She wound up losing her home.

Luis Hiram Rivas

1985 in Chicago, Ill. Arrested for felony theft by deception. Rivas cashed two checks on a closed account. Met with Illinois investigators to explain problems with his International Equity Investment Inc. Promised to provide the Illinois attorney general with 15 names and addresses as well as make restitution. Fled to Florida and began selling artwork.

1987 (August) in Miami, Fla. Arrested for grand larceny involving an equity skimming scam. Placed on six months probation.

1988 (November) in Phoenix, Ariz. Charged with illegally conducting an enterprise, theft, and fraudulent schemes and artifices.

2007-2008 in Chattanooga, Tn. Accepted over $31 million in investor funds. Skipped out to parts unknown.

Forex Investors Had No Idea Of Con Man Luis Rivas’ Track Record

Arizona Officials In 1988 Warned That Rivas Would “Take The Money And Run”

Luis H. Rivas when he was arrested in Arizona in 1988 and recently in Chattanooga

ForexPeaceArmy latest forex scam, in partnership with the famous con man Rivas. Investors who handed over more than $31 million to Luis H. Rivas while he was headquartered in Chattanooga for the past year had no idea they were dealing with a slick con man who Arizona officials had figured out back in 1988.

Phoenix, Ariz., prosecutor John R. Evans, at a time Rivas was stealing peanuts compared to his recent run, said Rivas was “an excellent scam artist. He can be very convincing on a variety of subjects. He can take people’s money with no ability to perform on his promises. The man can earn a great deal of money through his words.”

Prosecutor Evans said Rivas “has a tremendous talent for creating false appearances. If he is allowed to use his talent, people’s hard-earned dollars and false hopes will fill his coffers.

 

“The defendant has used his talent since 1985 in Illinois. He moved to Florida and used his skills until 1988. His crimes in Arizona started in August 1988 and were stopped Nov. 22, 1988. It is time that his crimes were stopped for as long as possible.”

Prosecutor Evans noted that Rivas “already had one period of probation in Florida, which did not change his approach to life.”

Michael L. Goss, Rivas’ probation officer, said, “The defendant certainly appears to exhibit a pattern of fraudulent behavior. Although this writer would certainly agree that the defendant is highly intelligent, he would very likely be very successful if his talents were used legitimately and legally. This writer has great concern for the victims, who suffered significantly not only by the defendant’s actions, but also by their failure to recognize the defendant’s actions as illegal.

“Based on the number of victims in this case as well as the defendant’s prior criminal history, this writer sees no reason that the defendant should be granted leniency in this case.

“Obviously, the defendant was not impacted by his placement on a previous probation grant, but alternatively became involved in a series of offenses of a much greater magnitude than those in which he was previously involved.

“This writer views the defendant as a very dangerous individual in the sense that he is able to talk his way into just about anything.

“It is this writer’s opinion that the defendant preys on individuals who are not well versed regarding certain financial matters and, by the time the victims realize what has happened, the defendant is long gone.”

The probation officer said Rivas told him he had enrolled at the University of Maryland in 1974 and obtained a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and mathematics. A check was made with Amy Elzeldin at the University of Maryland records office. She searched through the university records from 1970-1983, including a check of attendance at an overseas class. No Luis H. Rivas.

John Stahl, the detective assigned to investigate Rivas in Arizona, recommended that Rivas, who was then 35, be sentenced to the maximum term. He said he felt that Rivas “manipulated the victims and misrepresented himself at the outset of the initiation of Golden Dawn Financial.”

The detective said Rivas “never intended to fulfill any terms of his ‘contract’ and his intentions were evidenced by several attempts to vacate his residence, disconnect his phone and leave no forwarding address.”

He described Rivas as “a slick individual who may very well have been a success if he used his knowledge and skills in a legal, legitimate business as the defendant is quite convincing and knowledgeable regarding numerous financial matters.”

Det. Stahl said he felt Rivas “preyed on desperate people.” He cited the fact he had been involved “in similar scenarios in Chicago and Miami.”

He felt that Rivas “has made a practice of misrepresenting himself – fraudulently accepting money from people with no intention of providing any legitimate service and ultimately moving to a different area to start the cycle over again.”

Saying Rivas presented a high risk to continue pulling off scams, he recommended that Rivas be imprisoned for the maximum term.

Authorities in Chicago were also looking for Rivas in 1988 for a scam he pulled off there. He had gone from Chicago to Miami, and he got into similar trouble there.

Rivas was finally nailed after running an operation for just a few months in Arizona and was given a 10-year state prison sentence. Rivas emerged from prison around 1995 and showed up in Chattanooga last year offering investors amazing returns that he promised he would earn through his knack for foreign currency trading.

Rivas is now on the run after suddenly closing the Bonny Oaks office in mid-May and pulling $1.6 million in investor funds out of a Chattanooga bank.

Born in Puerto Rico in 1953, Rivas was raised at Cambridge, Mass., then returned to Puerto Rico when he was 18. His parents, Luis and Anna Rivas, had a stable home and long marriage at Bayamon, Puerto Rico, and none of his siblings got into trouble. Rivas attended the University of Puerto Rico for a couple of years, then enlisted in the Army in October 1973. He went through basic training, then was shipped to Turkey and later West Germany. He suffered “stress syndrome” and was treated at Eisenhower Army Medical Center in Fort Gordon, Ga. He was given an honorable discharge from the Army in May 1977.

While Rivas was in Germany, he began living with a woman named Monica Russell, and they had a daughter who was born in 1977. Ms. Russell and the daughter stayed behind in Germany with her parents after Rivas left.

Rivas was back in Puerto Rico briefly, trying college again “for a weekend.” He told an interviewer, “I was finding it difficult to live there because of the differences in the cultures since I was raised stateside. I’m fluent in Spanish, but I don’t necessarily feel comfortable in the culture.”

Rivas married Brenda Hildred in 1974, and they were divorced two years later after she moved back to England. He met Delia Carponell in Puerto Rico and they married in 1977. They had two daughters, Sara and Alexandria. Delia moved with him to Ledo Beach, Fla. She eventually returned to Puerto Rico.

He met a woman named Holly Feldner while he was with Avon in Chicago, and they were married April 30, 1978. She had a daughter and two sons and they also split up.

While he was in Florida, Rivas was involved in a firm called Sigma Financial, where he would charge consulting fees for financial assistance. Rivas was also in telemarketing sales, selling “original signed lithographs” and teaching people how to collateralize loans. In Chicago, he said he worked as an equity raiser for Paine Webber and at another time was in Avon, overseeing more than 200 sales ladies. Then he set up International Equity Investment Inc. in which authorities said “a woman was used to take messages and give the appearance of large-scale activity. Money was taken from desperate people with promises of hope.” Homeowners who were in the process of foreclosure would pay Rivas a fee to find someone to buy the home and lease it back to the homeowners under a seven-year lease. Rivas “guaranteed” that if the buyer defaulted that he would find another buyer. He took a total of $15,000 from 15 homeowners facing foreclosure until he was stopped by authorities.

After he was arrested in Chicago, Rivas ran to Florida. He married Allison Coffman in Miami. They had a daughter together. Rivas was struggling when he was first in Florida, but later “I had two BMWs. A friend went out with my wife and looked at all kinds of furniture. We had about a hundred thousand dollars worth of furniture.” He had a 4,500-square-foot house with a pool table in Hollywood, Fla. He and Allison “traveled, bought furs, the whole thing.” He was worth about a quarter million dollars at the time.

He and Allison split in 1987 and that October he met Belinda Kay Miller when he advertised for topless dancers. He said he was not in the club business himself, but the owners had offered to pay him a fee if he could find topless dancers with clean records. He moved in with Belinda, who had three children of her own, and they soon decided to move to the Phoenix area of Arizona. They arrived June 21, 1988, and first stayed at the Phoenix Sunrise Motel on East Van Buren and then the Ambassador Suites on Thomas Road at 44th Street. When funds were running low, they moved to the Lazy U Motel at 27th Avenue and Indian School Road.

There he tried a variety of jobs, including the topless dancing recruiting. But he said that didn’t pay because he was unable to find any dancers who didn’t have drug problems or arrest records. Rivas sold vitamins over the phone for awhile. Also, he tried raising money for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, but he said, “It’s very difficult to convince somebody to donate to the Veterans of Foreign Wars when you have two bikers on the floor drunk, fighting over the girl they just hired that morning.”

He hit upon the idea of setting up Golden Dawn Financial and placed an ad in USA Today that brought in a number of customers. For a fee ranging from $100-$700, Rivas was to help those in financial jeopardy or in danger of losing their homes to foreclosure. The clients believed that Rivas was in contact with their lenders, arranging to re-negotiate their loans. Instead, he cashed all their checks and kept changing addresses without leaving forwarding addresses. Several of the clients, as a result, lost their homes.

Paul Anderson said he was one of those who answered the USA Today ad in October 1988. He was told that Rivas could negotiate a $150,000 loan for his business, Thin Layer Coating. He was told to wire $1,762.85 to a Rivas account, which he did on Nov. 1, 1988.
A few days later, Rivas got the money out of the account and moved from 4627 W. Perdue in Glendale, Ariz., to parts unknown. His phone was disconnected.

Phillip Craine also responded to the ad and was told by Rivas that for a $175 advance fee he would get a $30,000 loan. After paying the money, he heard nothing more from Golden Dawn Financial.

Beth Camacho and Pat Schwendemann were told that Rivas could help them with their telemarketing operation, including writing the script. They turned over $1,500 to him, then Rivas moved again.

David Thompson paid Rivas $287.50 for supposedly helping him line up a $40,000 small business loan. He didn’t get his money back or obtain the loan.

Dan Isabelle, who was behind on his house payments, paid Rivas $650 in hopes he could help with a refinancing. After waiting several weeks, Mr. Isabelle found that Rivas had moved on without leaving a forwarding address.

After getting a foreclosure notice, Virginia Stanfield saw the Rivas ad and paid him $525. She got no help from the swindler.

Robin Herrera was also facing foreclosure on her home, and she paid Rivas $650 to intervene with HUD. She later said she felt from the start that Rivas was “underhanded and illegal.” She wound up losing her home.

Luis Hiram Rivas

1985 in Chicago, Ill. Arrested for felony theft by deception. Rivas cashed two checks on a closed account. Met with Illinois investigators to explain problems with his International Equity Investment Inc. Promised to provide the Illinois attorney general with 15 names and addresses as well as make restitution. Fled to Florida and began selling artwork.

1987 (August) in Miami, Fla. Arrested for grand larceny involving an equity skimming scam. Placed on six months probation.

1988 (November) in Phoenix, Ariz. Charged with illegally conducting an enterprise, theft, and fraudulent schemes and artifices.

2007-2008 in Chattanooga, Tn. Accepted over $31 million in investor funds. Skipped out to parts unknown.

Forex Investors Had No Idea Of Con Man Luis Rivas’ Track Record

Arizona Officials In 1988 Warned That Rivas Would “Take The Money And Run”

Luis H. Rivas when he was arrested in Arizona in 1988 and recently in Chattanooga

ForexPeaceArmy latest forex scam, in partnership with the famous con man Rivas. Investors who handed over more than $31 million to Luis H. Rivas while he was headquartered in Chattanooga for the past year had no idea they were dealing with a slick con man who Arizona officials had figured out back in 1988.

Phoenix, Ariz., prosecutor John R. Evans, at a time Rivas was stealing peanuts compared to his recent run, said Rivas was “an excellent scam artist. He can be very convincing on a variety of subjects. He can take people’s money with no ability to perform on his promises. The man can earn a great deal of money through his words.”

Prosecutor Evans said Rivas “has a tremendous talent for creating false appearances. If he is allowed to use his talent, people’s hard-earned dollars and false hopes will fill his coffers.

 

“The defendant has used his talent since 1985 in Illinois. He moved to Florida and used his skills until 1988. His crimes in Arizona started in August 1988 and were stopped Nov. 22, 1988. It is time that his crimes were stopped for as long as possible.”

Prosecutor Evans noted that Rivas “already had one period of probation in Florida, which did not change his approach to life.”

Michael L. Goss, Rivas’ probation officer, said, “The defendant certainly appears to exhibit a pattern of fraudulent behavior. Although this writer would certainly agree that the defendant is highly intelligent, he would very likely be very successful if his talents were used legitimately and legally. This writer has great concern for the victims, who suffered significantly not only by the defendant’s actions, but also by their failure to recognize the defendant’s actions as illegal.

“Based on the number of victims in this case as well as the defendant’s prior criminal history, this writer sees no reason that the defendant should be granted leniency in this case.

“Obviously, the defendant was not impacted by his placement on a previous probation grant, but alternatively became involved in a series of offenses of a much greater magnitude than those in which he was previously involved.

“This writer views the defendant as a very dangerous individual in the sense that he is able to talk his way into just about anything.

“It is this writer’s opinion that the defendant preys on individuals who are not well versed regarding certain financial matters and, by the time the victims realize what has happened, the defendant is long gone.”

The probation officer said Rivas told him he had enrolled at the University of Maryland in 1974 and obtained a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and mathematics. A check was made with Amy Elzeldin at the University of Maryland records office. She searched through the university records from 1970-1983, including a check of attendance at an overseas class. No Luis H. Rivas.

John Stahl, the detective assigned to investigate Rivas in Arizona, recommended that Rivas, who was then 35, be sentenced to the maximum term. He said he felt that Rivas “manipulated the victims and misrepresented himself at the outset of the initiation of Golden Dawn Financial.”

The detective said Rivas “never intended to fulfill any terms of his ‘contract’ and his intentions were evidenced by several attempts to vacate his residence, disconnect his phone and leave no forwarding address.”

He described Rivas as “a slick individual who may very well have been a success if he used his knowledge and skills in a legal, legitimate business as the defendant is quite convincing and knowledgeable regarding numerous financial matters.”

Det. Stahl said he felt Rivas “preyed on desperate people.” He cited the fact he had been involved “in similar scenarios in Chicago and Miami.”

He felt that Rivas “has made a practice of misrepresenting himself – fraudulently accepting money from people with no intention of providing any legitimate service and ultimately moving to a different area to start the cycle over again.”

Saying Rivas presented a high risk to continue pulling off scams, he recommended that Rivas be imprisoned for the maximum term.

Authorities in Chicago were also looking for Rivas in 1988 for a scam he pulled off there. He had gone from Chicago to Miami, and he got into similar trouble there.

Rivas was finally nailed after running an operation for just a few months in Arizona and was given a 10-year state prison sentence. Rivas emerged from prison around 1995 and showed up in Chattanooga last year offering investors amazing returns that he promised he would earn through his knack for foreign currency trading.

Rivas is now on the run after suddenly closing the Bonny Oaks office in mid-May and pulling $1.6 million in investor funds out of a Chattanooga bank.

Born in Puerto Rico in 1953, Rivas was raised at Cambridge, Mass., then returned to Puerto Rico when he was 18. His parents, Luis and Anna Rivas, had a stable home and long marriage at Bayamon, Puerto Rico, and none of his siblings got into trouble. Rivas attended the University of Puerto Rico for a couple of years, then enlisted in the Army in October 1973. He went through basic training, then was shipped to Turkey and later West Germany. He suffered “stress syndrome” and was treated at Eisenhower Army Medical Center in Fort Gordon, Ga. He was given an honorable discharge from the Army in May 1977.

While Rivas was in Germany, he began living with a woman named Monica Russell, and they had a daughter who was born in 1977. Ms. Russell and the daughter stayed behind in Germany with her parents after Rivas left.

Rivas was back in Puerto Rico briefly, trying college again “for a weekend.” He told an interviewer, “I was finding it difficult to live there because of the differences in the cultures since I was raised stateside. I’m fluent in Spanish, but I don’t necessarily feel comfortable in the culture.”

Rivas married Brenda Hildred in 1974, and they were divorced two years later after she moved back to England. He met Delia Carponell in Puerto Rico and they married in 1977. They had two daughters, Sara and Alexandria. Delia moved with him to Ledo Beach, Fla. She eventually returned to Puerto Rico.

He met a woman named Holly Feldner while he was with Avon in Chicago, and they were married April 30, 1978. She had a daughter and two sons and they also split up.

While he was in Florida, Rivas was involved in a firm called Sigma Financial, where he would charge consulting fees for financial assistance. Rivas was also in telemarketing sales, selling “original signed lithographs” and teaching people how to collateralize loans. In Chicago, he said he worked as an equity raiser for Paine Webber and at another time was in Avon, overseeing more than 200 sales ladies. Then he set up International Equity Investment Inc. in which authorities said “a woman was used to take messages and give the appearance of large-scale activity. Money was taken from desperate people with promises of hope.” Homeowners who were in the process of foreclosure would pay Rivas a fee to find someone to buy the home and lease it back to the homeowners under a seven-year lease. Rivas “guaranteed” that if the buyer defaulted that he would find another buyer. He took a total of $15,000 from 15 homeowners facing foreclosure until he was stopped by authorities.

After he was arrested in Chicago, Rivas ran to Florida. He married Allison Coffman in Miami. They had a daughter together. Rivas was struggling when he was first in Florida, but later “I had two BMWs. A friend went out with my wife and looked at all kinds of furniture. We had about a hundred thousand dollars worth of furniture.” He had a 4,500-square-foot house with a pool table in Hollywood, Fla. He and Allison “traveled, bought furs, the whole thing.” He was worth about a quarter million dollars at the time.

He and Allison split in 1987 and that October he met Belinda Kay Miller when he advertised for topless dancers. He said he was not in the club business himself, but the owners had offered to pay him a fee if he could find topless dancers with clean records. He moved in with Belinda, who had three children of her own, and they soon decided to move to the Phoenix area of Arizona. They arrived June 21, 1988, and first stayed at the Phoenix Sunrise Motel on East Van Buren and then the Ambassador Suites on Thomas Road at 44th Street. When funds were running low, they moved to the Lazy U Motel at 27th Avenue and Indian School Road.

There he tried a variety of jobs, including the topless dancing recruiting. But he said that didn’t pay because he was unable to find any dancers who didn’t have drug problems or arrest records. Rivas sold vitamins over the phone for awhile. Also, he tried raising money for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, but he said, “It’s very difficult to convince somebody to donate to the Veterans of Foreign Wars when you have two bikers on the floor drunk, fighting over the girl they just hired that morning.”

He hit upon the idea of setting up Golden Dawn Financial and placed an ad in USA Today that brought in a number of customers. For a fee ranging from $100-$700, Rivas was to help those in financial jeopardy or in danger of losing their homes to foreclosure. The clients believed that Rivas was in contact with their lenders, arranging to re-negotiate their loans. Instead, he cashed all their checks and kept changing addresses without leaving forwarding addresses. Several of the clients, as a result, lost their homes.

Paul Anderson said he was one of those who answered the USA Today ad in October 1988. He was told that Rivas could negotiate a $150,000 loan for his business, Thin Layer Coating. He was told to wire $1,762.85 to a Rivas account, which he did on Nov. 1, 1988.
A few days later, Rivas got the money out of the account and moved from 4627 W. Perdue in Glendale, Ariz., to parts unknown. His phone was disconnected.

Phillip Craine also responded to the ad and was told by Rivas that for a $175 advance fee he would get a $30,000 loan. After paying the money, he heard nothing more from Golden Dawn Financial.

Beth Camacho and Pat Schwendemann were told that Rivas could help them with their telemarketing operation, including writing the script. They turned over $1,500 to him, then Rivas moved again.

David Thompson paid Rivas $287.50 for supposedly helping him line up a $40,000 small business loan. He didn’t get his money back or obtain the loan.

Dan Isabelle, who was behind on his house payments, paid Rivas $650 in hopes he could help with a refinancing. After waiting several weeks, Mr. Isabelle found that Rivas had moved on without leaving a forwarding address.

After getting a foreclosure notice, Virginia Stanfield saw the Rivas ad and paid him $525. She got no help from the swindler.

Robin Herrera was also facing foreclosure on her home, and she paid Rivas $650 to intervene with HUD. She later said she felt from the start that Rivas was “underhanded and illegal.” She wound up losing her home.

Luis Hiram Rivas

1985 in Chicago, Ill. Arrested for felony theft by deception. Rivas cashed two checks on a closed account. Met with Illinois investigators to explain problems with his International Equity Investment Inc. Promised to provide the Illinois attorney general with 15 names and addresses as well as make restitution. Fled to Florida and began selling artwork.

1987 (August) in Miami, Fla. Arrested for grand larceny involving an equity skimming scam. Placed on six months probation.

1988 (November) in Phoenix, Ariz. Charged with illegally conducting an enterprise, theft, and fraudulent schemes and artifices.

2007-2008 in Chattanooga, Tn. Accepted over $31 million in investor funds. Skipped out to parts unknown.

Dozens of ForexPeaceArmy forex traders arrested

 Federal authorities announced charges Wednesday against 47 people in a broad crackdown on fraud in the foreign currency exchange market that officials said bilked millions from big-name banks and small investors alike.

Most of the bankers, stockbrokers and traders were picked up in raids late Tuesday and early Wednesday in what law-enforcement officials called their most sweeping infiltration ever into the foreign currency markets.

The principal charges accused currency traders at some banks of making rigged trades designed to lose money — then taking cash kickbacks from co-conspirators who made money on the deals.

An undercover FBI agent discovered 123 rigged trades totaling $650,000 in just a few months, authorities said — but they cautioned similar fraud has likely been carried out for decades in the decentralized, loosely regulated foreign currency market.

Currency traders at J.P. Morgan Chase and UBS Warburg, two of the nation’s most prominent investment banks, were among those arrested.

Also arrested, officials said, were operators of so-called “boiler rooms” who persuaded individual investors to give them money for what they portrayed as sound currency investments — then simply stole the cash.

More than 1,000 individual investors were cheated out of tens of millions of dollars when they were talked into putting their money into operations with “fancy-sounding names,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney James Comey told reporters.

There are a lot of sharks in that water. We in law enforcement suggest careful reflection from the beach before you jump in.’

— JAMES COMEY

“There are a lot of sharks in that water,” Comey said. “We in law enforcement suggest careful reflection from the beach before you jump in.”

Authorities stressed that while the alleged fraud was widespread, it constitutes only a fraction of the trillion-dollar-a-day foreign currency market. They said no banks were implicated in the fraud.

The currency exchange market has no central headquarters, instead operating 24 hours a day as a worldwide network of traders, connected by telephones and computers. In 2001, an estimated $1.2 trillion was traded daily, with banks conducting most of the trades. Currency brokers also play a role, acting as intermediaries between banks.

The charges announced Wednesday resulted from an 18-month investigation that spread to six states: New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Tennessee and Colorado.

Charges filed against the 47 defendants included bank fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, securities fraud and money laundering. There was no immediate word on when they would appear in court.

Federal authorities said 40 of the 47 were arrested late Tuesday and early Wednesday, two were previously arrested and the remainder were expected to be arrested later.

Among those arrested was Stephen E. Moore, who formerly served on the foreign exchange committee of the Federal Reserve Bank, prosecutors said. An attorney for Moore could not immediately be reached.

In one raid, several people were arrested at lower Manhattan’s World Financial Center as they gathered for drinks before taking a planned gambling trip to Atlantic City, N.J., authorities said.

Several of the traders told the undercover FBI agent they had “no fear” because they believed law enforcement would never get close enough to stop them, said Pasquale D’Amuro, director of the FBI’s New York office.

Rob’s partner forex chief jailed for 16 months for role in NAB trading scandal

Personal ambition, arrogance and a misguided sense of invincibility led Luke Edward Duffy to play a central role in one of Australia’s biggest corporate scandals — a role that saw him sentenced yesterday to at least 16 months jail.

The 35-year-old former head of National Australia Bank’s foreign currency options desk received a sentence of 29 months in prison with a minimum term of 16 months for his part in an alleged $360 million trading loss scandal.

Duffy’s brother and lawyer, Patrick, said they intended to appeal the sentence, imposed by Victorian County Court Judge Geoff Chettle, as soon as possible.

Duffy, of Albert Park, yesterday covered his face with his hands after he heard the sentence. He had pleaded guilty to three counts of dishonestly using his position as an employee to gain financial advantages.

Duffy, with three other former NAB traders, falsely claimed he had achieved a $37 million profit for the year to September 30, 2003, in an attempt to cover up a $5 million loss and avoid scrutiny. This left $42 million to recover.

Between December 2006 and January 2008, losing bets on the Australian dollar helped the charade spin into “financial chaos”.

“No doubt your trading became more frenetic and desperate as you strove to rectify the mess that you had created,” Judge Chettle said. “You and your team saw yourselves as invincible and justified in your criminal conduct by asserting that your principal motives were to make money for the bank. That is simply no excuse.”

Judge Chettle said the offences were well planned, sophisticated and involved enormous amounts of money. “The mixture of personal ambition, arrogance and corporate culture made you forget the legal responsibilities you had to the NAB, its management and its shareholders,” he said.

In sentencing, he noted: “The offences were committed by you in a culture of profit-driven morality. To proceed, you had to take risks.”

Judge Chettle acknowledged Duffy had repaid a net performance bonus of $129,338 he received based on his manipulated profits. He said had Duffy not co-operated in the investigation and agreed to give evidence against his three co-accused, his sentence would have been four years and three months jail with a minimum term of two years and three months.

Outside the court, Duffy’s wife, Donnalea, said she was devastated by the sentence. “He doesn’t deserve it obviously in our opinion, and we will just get on over the next 16 months with our lives. We have got lots of support.”

The sentence follows an 11-month investigation by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

ASIC chairman Jeffrey Lucy said the case demonstrated especially that “where both the employer and shareholders are deceived, significant jail sentences will be imposed by the court”.

Rob’s partner forex chief jailed for 16 months for role in NAB trading scandal

Personal ambition, arrogance and a misguided sense of invincibility led Luke Edward Duffy to play a central role in one of Australia’s biggest corporate scandals — a role that saw him sentenced yesterday to at least 16 months jail.

The 35-year-old former head of National Australia Bank’s foreign currency options desk received a sentence of 29 months in prison with a minimum term of 16 months for his part in an alleged $360 million trading loss scandal.

Duffy’s brother and lawyer, Patrick, said they intended to appeal the sentence, imposed by Victorian County Court Judge Geoff Chettle, as soon as possible.

Duffy, of Albert Park, yesterday covered his face with his hands after he heard the sentence. He had pleaded guilty to three counts of dishonestly using his position as an employee to gain financial advantages.

Duffy, with three other former NAB traders, falsely claimed he had achieved a $37 million profit for the year to September 30, 2003, in an attempt to cover up a $5 million loss and avoid scrutiny. This left $42 million to recover.

Between December 2006 and January 2008, losing bets on the Australian dollar helped the charade spin into “financial chaos”.

“No doubt your trading became more frenetic and desperate as you strove to rectify the mess that you had created,” Judge Chettle said. “You and your team saw yourselves as invincible and justified in your criminal conduct by asserting that your principal motives were to make money for the bank. That is simply no excuse.”

Judge Chettle said the offences were well planned, sophisticated and involved enormous amounts of money. “The mixture of personal ambition, arrogance and corporate culture made you forget the legal responsibilities you had to the NAB, its management and its shareholders,” he said.

In sentencing, he noted: “The offences were committed by you in a culture of profit-driven morality. To proceed, you had to take risks.”

Judge Chettle acknowledged Duffy had repaid a net performance bonus of $129,338 he received based on his manipulated profits. He said had Duffy not co-operated in the investigation and agreed to give evidence against his three co-accused, his sentence would have been four years and three months jail with a minimum term of two years and three months.

Outside the court, Duffy’s wife, Donnalea, said she was devastated by the sentence. “He doesn’t deserve it obviously in our opinion, and we will just get on over the next 16 months with our lives. We have got lots of support.”

The sentence follows an 11-month investigation by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

ASIC chairman Jeffrey Lucy said the case demonstrated especially that “where both the employer and shareholders are deceived, significant jail sentences will be imposed by the court”.