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just small fish , but "Leverage Group" sounds nice
No Happy Ending In Porn Ponzi
Courtney Comstock, 09.14.09, 05:26 PM EDT
For 30 years Philip Barry ran a $40 million pyramid scheme alongside a secret porn business.
Say federal prosecutors: The financial crisis has unearthed another Ponzi schemer. Philip Barry swindled $40 million from 800 investors, many of whom were his neighbors, while appearing to lead a near-poverty level lifestyle. Whether or not Barry will mount a defense is unclear.
Leverage Management Co, one of the companies in the group Barry started in 1978 as part of a consortium called Leverage Group claimed that client money would be invested in securities and stock options that would produce returns ranging from 12.55%-21%. Like Bernie Madoff, Barry sent investors false financial earnings statements and used money from new investors to pay off the guaranteed profits.
Pulled from the government’s case, a letter Berry sent to investors in December 2002 reads:
"We are now entering our 25th year of providing the members of the Leverage Group with high yields and a 100% record of safety of principal…we will continue to adhere to our proven practices…so that we can continue to be the absolute safest place for your money to continue to grow."
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Though he has denied the "smut" earned him any profits, Barry also reportedly used the stolen money to fund a mail-order porn business. Barry Publications sold risqué videos on eBay ( EBAY - news - people ) is listed with the same Brooklyn business address as the companies in Leverage Group. A public online listing awards the business its lowest rating and warns that Barry Publications pays slower than most companies, a red flag that clients might have noticed had they done a background check before investing with Leverage. Learn the 10 Ways To Spot A Scam here.
The SEC didn't catch on to Barry's scheme until recently either. John Jay, a senior analyst at AITE group saysthat the SEC, which is taking heat for not investigating potential Ponzi schemes like Bernie Madoff's, previously established much of their oversight by a company's ability to fill out forms and return information in a timely manner.
"For the longest time, a lot of the SEC’s regulatory requirements were really just 'check boxes a, b and c' -- literally and figuratively," he says. "There was no attempt or need [for more oversight] because there was no apparent blow up as catastrophic as what has happened over the past year."
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http://www.forbes.com/2009/09/14/pon...osecution.html
No Happy Ending In Porn Ponzi
Courtney Comstock, 09.14.09, 05:26 PM EDT
For 30 years Philip Barry ran a $40 million pyramid scheme alongside a secret porn business.
Say federal prosecutors: The financial crisis has unearthed another Ponzi schemer. Philip Barry swindled $40 million from 800 investors, many of whom were his neighbors, while appearing to lead a near-poverty level lifestyle. Whether or not Barry will mount a defense is unclear.
Leverage Management Co, one of the companies in the group Barry started in 1978 as part of a consortium called Leverage Group claimed that client money would be invested in securities and stock options that would produce returns ranging from 12.55%-21%. Like Bernie Madoff, Barry sent investors false financial earnings statements and used money from new investors to pay off the guaranteed profits.
Pulled from the government’s case, a letter Berry sent to investors in December 2002 reads:
"We are now entering our 25th year of providing the members of the Leverage Group with high yields and a 100% record of safety of principal…we will continue to adhere to our proven practices…so that we can continue to be the absolute safest place for your money to continue to grow."
..
Though he has denied the "smut" earned him any profits, Barry also reportedly used the stolen money to fund a mail-order porn business. Barry Publications sold risqué videos on eBay ( EBAY - news - people ) is listed with the same Brooklyn business address as the companies in Leverage Group. A public online listing awards the business its lowest rating and warns that Barry Publications pays slower than most companies, a red flag that clients might have noticed had they done a background check before investing with Leverage. Learn the 10 Ways To Spot A Scam here.
The SEC didn't catch on to Barry's scheme until recently either. John Jay, a senior analyst at AITE group saysthat the SEC, which is taking heat for not investigating potential Ponzi schemes like Bernie Madoff's, previously established much of their oversight by a company's ability to fill out forms and return information in a timely manner.
"For the longest time, a lot of the SEC’s regulatory requirements were really just 'check boxes a, b and c' -- literally and figuratively," he says. "There was no attempt or need [for more oversight] because there was no apparent blow up as catastrophic as what has happened over the past year."
..
http://www.forbes.com/2009/09/14/pon...osecution.html