The Wall Street Journal published an article in May about a financial adviser in Beverly Hills, California named Ray Kay who had promoted via Radio advertising a supposedly high-yield, low-risk investment. Unfortunately, the company behind the investment is now in bankruptcy and is being investigated as a Ponzi Scheme. Mr Kay himself, it turns out, was “barred from the securities industry for allegedly running a fraud, and later fined $5,000 for breaking that ban.” The challenge for investors, however, was that when he was prosecuted for those offences he was known as Raymond. L Kotrozo. Changing names is a common tactic employed by fraudsters.

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Despite success by the Financial Conduct Authority and Police in prosecuting Boiler room operations, the fact that such easy money can be made from these criminal acts means this type of scam is on the increase.

The scams work by presenting clients with shares or bonds, which are in fact worthless. The initial approach can be a cold-call, or it could be via advertising in newspapers, magazines or on social media, direct letters, or even seminars where an offer is made to buy or sell shares or bonds for a significant return.

These scams work well with even seasoned investors being caught out. The police recently recorded one individual who lost £6 million from such a scam. As ever, the devastation left behind for those caught out can be dreadful.

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Jail Time

At IYE Global we always tell our clients that in any investigation we undertake, wherever and whenever we find evidence of criminality it is immediately reported to the relevant lawful authorities. One of our most recent cases resulted in arrests being made in both South and North America. In both cases, the individuals were working for banks.

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