August 2011
Welcome to TCIR, the website for TCI Investment Club members
Jan 16, 2012: Lawsuit members are asked to update their email address information with our lawyer. If your email has changed in the last two years please advise of your current contact information at:
lball@lawhouse.ca. An update letter will go out to members in early February.
Dec. 15/2011: After putting victims, lawyers and the judge through 11 days of trial, Troy Van Dyke made a surprise guilty plea. I hope the judge can nail him hard on sentencing. He'll learn his fate on Feb. 14th.
Dec. 2/2011: London area man, Troy Van Dyke, is on trial this week for fraud involving Fulcrum Financial. I attended court earlier in the week and heard testimony of investors: the predominant story involved seminars and meeting Fulcrum salespeople in their homes and "blissfully passing over their nest eggs on promises of low risk investments." Sound familiar? I overheard a lawyer suggest that Van Dyke should have pled guilty to fraud but instead is putting everyone through a three week trial. Around 39 investors, many from out of town, are being marched into the witness box.
Nov 24/2011: Happy Thanksgiving to our US friends. Let's all put our thanks out there to be thankful for what we have rather than worry today about what we don't have. As victims, we tend to look to the past with anger and regrets and it's important to keep focussed on the future. The future may be unknown but it's where we will all be spending the rest of our lives.
Nov. 11, 2011: Take time to read through the new article: 12 Christmas Scams, listed under the Main Menu. Victims need to educate themselves and their families in order to recognize warning signs and protect from further victimization.
Nov 11, 2011: Let us pause to remember all Military professionals, past and present, who risk their lives to preserve and protect our way of life. We appreciate them more than we can express.
Oct.20, 2011: First, Osama bin Laden was found and today Gadhafi was killed in Libya. Perhaps now, if we ask nicely, they will look for Bill Rath? I suppose that some might argue that Rath is not as important a criminal as bin Laden and Gadhafi, but to TCI Victims he is important because he has control of our money. If anyone out there has information about his location, please email at:
admin@tcirevealed.com.
Oct.2, 2011: Thanks to the member who sent this link:
http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/WFive/20111001/w5-all-that-glitters-investment-schemes-rcmp-asc-111001/
It is worth reading the article and listening to the video of the W5 program. TCI victims are dealing with similar issues, especially concerning the OPP and RCMP.
Sept 12 2011: TTI Trial Update: There was a brief hearing in London court today at which the TTI Trial has now been adjourned until May 14/2012. It is set for 5 days. Ross Alexander's name is gone and he did not attend. It is presumed that he has made a deal. Peter Snyder, Richard Hughes, Peter Turcaj and Matthew Sherban attended. The judge emphasized that there would be no more adjournments and when Hughes and Sherban stated that they would defend themselves (no lawyer) the judge asked them twice if they understood the risks.
Aug. 27/ 2011: Notice to members who have indicated that they want to attend the trial of Ross Alexander, Peter Snyder and Richard Hughes concerning the TTI matter. The trial is scheduled to begin on Sept. 12 and will be held in the London courthouse at 80 Dundas St. Most cases begin at 10 am but you would want to arrive by 9:30 to get through security and find the appropriate courtroom. There is an information desk at the base of the escalator. This trial is scheduled for two weeks, but please be aware that there could be another last minute move to postpone the trial or defendants could make a deal. I will try to post an update after the first day.
Aug.24/2011: Be careful of those out there who are saying that TCI is paying out currently to lawsuit members. That is not true. If you wish to contact me at any time, my email contact is:
admin@tcirevealed.com.
Aug. 24/2011: Thanks to the member who sent followup details about the Triton Financial scandal. It was a $50 million Ponzi scheme that targets ex-atheletes, NFL stars included. He also said that he attended a CPA seminar in June and they said Ponzi scams are hard to detect in the beginning because they do what they promise to do...They pay out 25% per year or whatever, and then suddenly they are gone. What is different is that TCI strung us along from January 2002 until they shut down their website in 2006.
Aug. 18/2011: Thanks to the member who sent me an article about NFL kicker David Akers who has reported losses of 3.7 million after being scammed by Triton Financial of Austin Texas. It seems that victims come from all walks of life.
Aug. 17/2011: Troy Van Dyk is in the news today, accused of pushy sales tactics targeting seniors in North Bay. He is known around the London area as the man who scammed 3.4 million dollars from London area investors via his company Fulcrum Financial Services.
His trial begins Nov. 7 on the Fulcrum case and is expected to last six weeks. The London area has been hit hard by investment scams over the past decade. As victims of TCI, we can attest to that.
July 23/2011: I read online that a Chatham Ontario man, Norman Shillington aged 75, has been charged with 17 counts of fraud and 17 counts of breech of trust. He left Canada and lived in South Carolina but then returned, only to be arrested. He was an accountant. Let's hope that none of our TCI victims were involved in that scam. Boy, based upon that, Bill Rath and Ross Alexander should be charged with hundreds of counts of fraud and breech of trust.
July 15/2011: It seems that if police do not stop these scams, they will reproduce like bunnies. A Detroit area man, Dante DeMiro, has been convicted of orchestrating a Ponzi scheme. He faces 10 years in prison and is ordered to repay victims almost 13 million dollars. Good for the US authorities. Why is it that the Canadian authorities have "no interest in recovering money for victims" of investment fraud? Money repayment is usually ordered as restitution in criminal court, but Canadian authorities also won't investigate criminal activity in many investment scams, so there is no restitution order.
July 5/2011: Welcome to the summer doldrums! We continue to move forward, albeit at a snail's pace, but progress is being made. We hear that Ross A is stressed out these days... perhaps the looming trial date is getting to him. The TTI trial is still slated to begin Sept 12th.
May 25/ 2011: Dr. Michael Hennessy has been sentenced. He got 14 months in jail with 24 months supervised release. He also owes the IRS $759,807.09.
May 24/ 2011: Just a reminder to members who wish to join the lawsuit. Online signups are temporarily unavailable. Our lawyer has moved to a new office and is building his website. Once that is done he will attach our lawsuit database to it and online registrations can resume. I will notify you when that is available.
May 17/2011: Today is the sentencing of Dr. Michael Hennessy. He is facing 24 to 30 months in prison in Michigan for tax evasion, using a Pure Trust. We will post his sentence once we hear what he was given.
April 26/2011:
We've decided to post a series of articles about Bill Rath and his involvement in the TCI Investment Club. To begin, we refer you to search on Google:
FBI Most Wanted List/ Cyber Crimes.
Then, Click on William Charles Rath.
It will show you Bill's photo on the FBI Most Wanted List Poster and describe the charges against him in the US. Stay tuned for an ongoing series. If anything important comes to mind as you read these postings please email us at:
admin@tcirevealed.com.
April 26/2011: Dr. Michael Hennessy was a Marketer for TCI in Michigan under team leader Gary Haner. He put the income from his dental practice into a Pure Trust purchased from Innovative Financial Consultants and did not file an income tax return from 2000 to 2008. On Jan.18, 2011 Hennessy pled guilty to one count of tax evasion and faces sentencing on May 17th, looking at 24 to 30 months in prison. We believe that both Pure Trusts and TCI Investment Club are being investigated in Michigan at this time. Hennessy is the latest in a string of ex-TCI Marketers who are going to jail. Ross Alexander, Richard Hughes and Peter Snyder go to trial in September in Ontario facing fraud charges related to the TTI investment.
April 25/2011: FYI Lawsuit Members: Our lawyer, David Kirwin, has opened a new law office named Kirwin Fryday. He is currently having a website built and will have our TCI lawsuit database attached to it when completed. In the meantime, please send any questions or concerns to:
admin@tcirevealed.com.
Mar 21/ 2011: Some of you will recognize the name Phonebusters, a site that has served Canadians as an anti-fraud reporting center. It has a new name and website that is worth reading: The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
Mar 20/2011: We recently received an email enquiring about why we
talk about scams on this site. At least one judge has labeled TCI a Ponzi Scheme and Global Prosperity a scam/ fraud and most of us have accepted that is what we are involved in with TCI. We cannot discuss the lawsuit investigation issues publically yet, but we need to maintain the website for it's networking capabilities. Virtually all of the important contacts and information have originated through contact on this site. We are surprised at the contacts we have received and we would have to admit that the website has been our most important tool.
Jan 21/ 2011: Another article in today's newspaper outlining a Grandparent/Emergency scam operating in this area. Police advise that you check with family members or police before sending money in this type of situation.
Jan 17/ 2011: It appears that an email "emergency scam" has been sent to the contact list of one of the TCI Marketers. In it, the man asks for money due to a personal emergency overseas. Having read it, I suspect that it was written by others who somehow got their hands on the contact list. I am posting a new article under the Main Menu, entitled "Top Scams of 2010" which I got from the 50+ website. It is worth reading.
Jan 12/2011: I spoke with the trial coordinator today and was told that the TTI trial is now scheduled for Sept. 12/ 2011. Of course, this could change again if they get another postponement.
Dec. 1, 2010: We've had several enquiries recently asking if TCI members can still join the lawsuit group. The answer is yes. Read the instructions under the Main Menu (Registration Directions) and contact me with questions as needed. Although it's a long, slow process, we are continuing to work on this case.
Oct.9,2010: Many have assisted us in the past years in our quest for the truth in the TCI case. We are thankful for all the help you have given. We continue to work on behalf of all members. Happy Thanksgiving to all!
Sept 14, 2010: Wow, there was a big spike in viewers on this site yesterday! Although we hope that charges like these act as a general deterrent for crooks to stop victimizing people with their money-making schemes, we want to warn you that once charged they often profess their innocence to their friends/supporters and sometimes milk them for money to "help with their legal bills". Please be wary of such a reqest. A large number of individuals who were involved with selling TCI/Global/Newshore have been charged by police over the past few years for other spinoffs and we extend our gratitude to the police authorities for their hard work.
Sept 13, 2010. To further clarify the charges laid last Friday, they are new charges involving similar people to the original TTI charges. The first charges will go to trial January 5th and include Ross Alexander. The second set of charges will go through procedural steps and eventually could lead to trial. Lars Soderstrom and his wife Judith appear in the second set of charges. Why do we announce this? Most of these people are known to us in the investigation of the TCI matter.
Sept 11, 2010: On the 9th anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy, we deal with last night's announcement of new fraud charges involving local men. Today's newspaper's report is sparce but mentions TTI along with Carlant Holdings. Two London area victims were defrauded of 300,000 and the article warns us against quick-money promises, offshore trading programs and the use of promissory notes. We will continue to follow these charges to determine whether they are new TTI-related charges or whether the former charges have been changed.
Sept 10,2010: Breaking News! Tonight's London news announced that arrests have been made and charges laid for fraud against Peter Snyder of Woodstock, Matthew Sherban of Toronto, Peter Turcaj of Toronto and a 56 year old man from Kitchener (Richard Hughes?). Also charged were Judith and Lars Soderstrom of the Toronto area. If you look at the article in the main menu about the TTI Investment scam, you will see similar names. Is this a different set of charges, or have they changed the original TTI charges?
July 8, 2010: "Scam no real 'emergency': This is the heading in today's newspaper. The article warns seniors of a growing 'grandparent scam" in which a person on a phone call asks for cash to be wired to assist a grandchild in an emergency. Police warn seniors to discuss any such request with family members before sending any cash.
June 24, 2010: Public court records obtained indicate that the IRS issued a summons in 2006 for Dr. Hennessy's pure trust bank account covering the period from October 2000 to March 2004, and undeclared commissions from Global and/or NewShore sales could be involved. (Trusts and IBCs were sometimes used to deposit commissions from Global and NewShore and to receive withdrawals from TCI, in the hope that they would protect the owner from taxes.)
June 17, 2010: The court trial: USA v Hennessy was set to begin in Detroit on Monday June 21, 2010 at 9am. It has been postponed.Hennessy is charged with attempting to evade taxes (see posting in Jan and Feb for more info). IF this case involves failure to report his Global/Newshore commissions and his involvement in TCI, it will be an indication that Marketers are being aggressively pursued. Will Canada be far behind?
May 31,2010: "Alleged Canadian Ponzi schemer swindles 70 million". A
Canadian named Nicholas Smirnow, operating out of southern Ontario,
has been charged in a 70 million dollar Ponzi scheme by US authorities. The full article is listed unter the Main Menu: Pathway to Prosperity.
May 15th, 2010: MORE FRAUD CHARGES LAID: In today's London Free Press there is an article about Woodstock's Peter Snyder who was once again charged with fraud, along with his wife. He was also charged in the TTI Investment Scam (detailed under the main menu) and while investigating that matter, police discovered several people who invested 116,500 in N. Star Development Ltd. As in the TTI case, investor funds were found in the personal accounts of those charged. A definite pattern is emerging where TCI Marketers have been involved in other schemes. It is heartening to see that police are taking action to stop this behavior.
April 11, 2010: A member wrote: " Why wouldn't all Marketers want to recommend we join the lawsuit? They are certainly not doing anything to help us!"
This is not the place to outline the legal reasons why Marketers would want to discourage you from joining the lawsuit. I would suggest that they may be more concerned about protecting themselves than whether or not you recover your money. The article called Open Letter to Marketers, written in 2007, is worth another read.
April 10,2010: A Michigan member writes: "If the TCI Marketers are telling members they will still get their money, then we have a saying for that here in Detroit "That's like leaving the night light on for Jimmy Hoffa"."
April 9, 2010: Our lawyer has posted an update on the SKM site. It is impossible to discuss much of the progress being made but we hope that full disclosure will eventually be possible. Some Marketers have told members that our lawsuit is going nowhere but that is far from the truth. We continue to believe that the best way to recover your TCI funds is by joining the lawsuit group. Please beware of Marketers who tell you otherwise.
Oct.31/09: A US member forwarded the following links which outline the legal status of Pinnacal Quest International, described as the followup to Global Properity. It was described as involving Dave Struckman and Dan Anderson, both convicted in US courts for running Global. Interestingly, the PQI seminars started the same year that Global was shut down, and they are now in a US Federal court for promoting tax evasion strategies.
To read more:
http://www.justice.gov/tax/txdv08278.htm
http://www.northcountrygazette.org/2008/09/02/ny_irs_fraud
Oct. 30/09: A member sent me a link today to a "New Shore Affilate" called Wealthy Difference. It's funny how some of the testimonials are TCI Marketers who became original shareholders in New Shore. Are they plugging their own Company? With the track record of most of these outfits, I recommend that you be very careful before forking out any money to any of them. It seems as if most/all investments made at Global seminars were scams, and it's certainly possible that the ones that came after Global are following the same path.
Oct 29/09: Today's Detroit Free Press has an article about a $50 million Ponzi Scheme in the Detroit suburb of Southfield, Michigan. It was supposed to be a private equity real estate fund. It victimized about 440 investors, mostly in Michigan and Ohio. Hearings on fraud charges began in federal court in Detroit. The name of this company was BBC Equities, the BBC stands for Billionaire Boys Club. The rash of Ponzi Scams won't go away, or rather, the authorities seem to be prosecuting them more actively. It's about time!.
Oct.21/09: Headline: Stiffer Penalties for White-collar Crime. Finally, the Canadian government is introducing new legislation to recognize the severity of crimes such as fraud. They note that: " fraud can be every bit as devastating as a physical assault" and ask for minimum sentences of two years for criminals who bilk their victims of more than $1 milion. It may not be a perfect legislation, but it's a start in the right direction. To read the full article, look for Stiffer Penalties at the bottom of the Main Menu.
Oct 11/09: Happy Thanksgiving and Columubus Days! This weekend's news highlights two investment fraud criminals. Andrew Lech, coincidentally a friend of Bill and Kevin Rath, just couldn't stop engaging in "dishonesty and manipulation" while on day parole. You'd think that his time behind bars would discourage the behaviors that landed him there, but obviously not. As a result, he's been stripped of day parole. In Quebec, Vincent Lacroix was sentenced to 13 years for swindling hundreds of their savings, but could be released in a much shorter time. Perhaps the Canadian judicial system should give longer sentences, or require these criminals serve their full term. As victims, we don't get reduced sentences for good behavior!
Sept.16/09: Canada's Conservative government is looking to create a Securities Crime Unit to investigate and prosecute investment frauds. If you enter the name Securities Crime Unit in any search engine, like Google, you can read current articles in newspapers across Canada and even in the US. I encourage you to contact your local MP to express your support of such a bill. Also prominent in news articles is a focus on criminals who leave Canada to avoid prosecution, and who move to places without extradition agreements with Canada. Our defendent, William Rath, fled Canada in 2006. It would be helpful to our case if Canada also looked into his situation as the RCMP have a warrant for his arrest.
Aug 25/09: Group to help Victims of Fraud: a headline in today's newspaper. Kudos to Joey Davis and the Ottawa area group that will advocate for victims of white collar crimes. The organization will lobby governments for tougher penalities, push for one national stockmarket regulator, provide emotional support and raise money for a victim's fund.
Organizers say they want to send a message to politicians that they want changes to the laws that deal with this kind of crime.
Aug. 12/09: Jail for Fraudsters in Heartless Scam: Today's headline in the local newspaper details the sentences given to former TCI Marketers who are now going to jail for their involvement in a mortgage/credit card scam. Sentences are: Paul Stapylton, 3 years, Andreas Toth, 30 months, Donald Coastworth, 18 months, John Boyle, 12 months. Seems like not that much for ruining peoples' lives, but they are also ordered to pay back their victims.
July 28/09: It must be scam week here in London because today's newspaper has a front page article "Fraud Victim loses cool" outlining the victims' anguish at being scammed and losing marriages and life savings. Three of the 4 men convicted in that scam were also TCI Marketers; Paul Stapylton, Andreas Toth and Donald Coatsworth. It is very discouraging that these people move from one scam to the next, but at least these men will be going to jail. Our hearts go out to the victims, many of whom are TCI victims as well.
July 27/09: Members have also asked for an update on the Defendents named in the TCI lawsuit. Bill Rath fled the country three years ago and is wanted by police in Canada and the US. Ross Alexander is still here, but was charged by the RCMP last summer in an alleged scam called TTI and is out on bail awaiting trial. Charles Gordon has never surfaced and is likely a made-up name. If you happen to have information on any of these Defendents, please contact us at:
admin@tcirevealed.com.
July 27/09: Members have asked where New Shore fits into the TCI picture. When Global was shut down, a group of Marketers, who had sold Global, formed a replacement company which they named New Shore. It has also offered offshore seminars and sells investment opportunities. You can find it online at Google. Many TCI members were offered a reduced fee to join New Shore after Global was closed down.
July 25/09: Global, also known as IGP or Institute of Global Prosperity is a product many of us were required to purchase when wanting to join the TCI Investment Club,between 1998 and 2002. The US government convicted the managers of Global years ago and they have all spent time in prison. Many who attended the offshore seminars expecting valuable education about money management and introduction to supposedly hand-picked investment opportunities, have lost all the money they invested there as well. Marketers pushed us into Global and pocketed approx. 5000US of our money. Many of them did not even attend a seminar themselves. Back in 1998 the US justice Dept ordered a cease and desist order against Global sales in at least 5 US States, including Michigan, yet almost all TCI members were sold the product after that time.
June 30th: U.S. District Judge Denny Chin made this statement in his comments yesterday: " Here the message must be sent that Mr. Madoff's crimes were extraordinarily evil and that this kind of manipulation of the system is not just a bloodless crime that takes place on paper, but one instead that takes a staggering toll". For those of us who have also experienced a similar crime, we applaud his recognition that vicitms experience "a staggering toll" and that such bloodless crimes are still "extraordinarily evil". Only victims can truly understand the impact, but Judge Chin's comments make a profound statement to the North American justice systems.
June 29th: Hoorah for the US Justice system. Bernie Madoff has been given the maximum sentence possible: 150 years in prison. All victims of these financial frauds can appreciate that the courts are taking these crimes very seriously. Let's hope that Canadian courts do the same.
Dec. 28th: The following link is interesting reading for those of us who had to purchase Global to join TCI. It shows that Cease and Desist orders were issued in many US States BEFORE we were sold the product.http://www.fraudsandscams.com/globalprosperity.htm
Our thanks to those Marketers who sold us this product after the fact and likely knew what was happening in the US. Is that why my Marketer would not let me sign up a US friend? Is this why our Marketers have their heads in the sand right now and won't help us?
Members may wish to read about Bill Rath's other court case at:
http://www.digitalhomecanada.com/forum/printthread.php?t=1262
He disappeared and is assumed to have fled the country in the spring of 2006.
You can contact us at any time at:
admin@tcirevealed.com
Jan. 7/10: A Michigan member has sent information about Dr. Michael Hennessy, a Michigan dentist/TCI Marketer under indictment for failure to pay taxes from 2000 to 2003. Information on the case will be placed in the Hennessy file under the Main Menu.
Created on 02/04/2003 10:24 AM by admin
Updated on 01/16/2012 11:19 AM by gordie
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