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Eliminate Bearer Shares
The NDP has called for an end to bearer shares in Canada. Bearer shares are untraceable and allow beneficial ownership to remain anonymous. This allows criminals a great opportunity to use them for their benefit and it places real limits on effective due diligence.
Central Alberta man charged in ‘elaborate’ $2.6M fracking fraud
‘This fraud was very elaborate, and consequently, our investigation has been very elaborate’
A central Alberta man is facing fraud charges after a five-year investigation and more than $2 million in losses to investors.
RCMP say Dane Skinner, 53, misrepresented and advertised a revolutionary fracking product, enticing numerous investors who reportedly lost more than $2.6 million.
“This fraud was very elaborate, and consequently, our investigation has been very elaborate and has involved substantial resources and time” Const. Bill Lewadniuk with the RCMP financial crimes unit said in a news release Friday.
The offences occurred between Dec. 5, 2007, and Feb. 28, 2013 in Lacombe, involving two numbered companies as well as N.E.X.T. Legacy Technologies Ltd., police say.
RCMP launched an investigation in September 2013 involving several officers from various units.
On Wedesday, police arrested and charged Skinner with fraud, laundering the proceeds of crime and uttering threats.
He was released from custody and is scheduled to appear in Red Deer provincial court on Aug. 8.
With the gain in popularity of digital currencies comes the inevitable rise in digital currency fraud.
With the gain in popularity of digital currencies comes the inevitable rise in digital currency fraud. Do your due diligence and ensure that you have all the information you need before jumping into a bitcoin investment. Also be critical of anything involving digital currency that doesn’t seem right. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. https://www.theverge.com/2018/1/18/16905040/bitcoin-crash-cryptocurrency-value-ethereum-regulation
Four charged in $17 million Project Bridle Path mortgage fraud investigation
Sophisticated mortgage fraud schemes are becoming more and more common. Be careful when choosing the ‘private financing’ route. Know who you are dealing with and ensure you don’t end up being part of a mortgage fraud scheme or worse, money laundering scheme.
https://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2018/03/06/four-arrested-in-17m-mortgage-fraud-investigation.html
Ethereum Scam Database helps investors avoid cryptocurrency scammers
The Ethereum Scam Database is a useful tool that helps guide cryptocurrency investors away from scammers. Since launching last year, they have identified a total of 2,627 scams including 246 active scams. For more information on the scams identified visit https://etherscamdb.info/.
Due Diligence for Initial Coin Offerings
The cryptocurrency market is booming with hundreds of Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) looking for financial support from investors. Not all of these ICO will be successful and all such investments are considered to be high-risk with the potential for high return. So, how do you evaluate which ICOs are legitimate and which will have the best chance of being successful? Through due diligence of course!
Here are some things to look at prior to making an investment:
- Research and learn all you can about Initial Coin Offerings. An ICO is a crowdfunding event to raise money for a new cryptocurrency asset, company, or venture. Unlike an Initial Public Offering (IPO), you don’t necessarily own shares of the company. Instead, you own tokens that can be traded on exchanges; the values of which will rise or fall depending on the success of the venture. Currently, ICO are unregulated so they offer both greater risk and greater rewards for investor.
- Evaluate the ICO venture.
- Research the target market. Just like any other start-up, you want to understand who their target customer is, the size of the market and whether the market is likely to increase or decrease.
- Research the competition. Look at what solutions other companies are providing.
- Ask for a comprehensive business plan and financial plan. Understand how much the ICO is trying to raise and why. Find out know they plan to spend the money raised and determine what their timeline is for product rollout?
- Since there are no legal reporting requirements for ICOs to accurately reports key information to investors, an analysis of peer reviewed comments and positing may prove invaluable. This information must also be taken with a grain of salt however as peer reviews have been known to be swayed or bought.
- Evaluate the community support to determine if the ICO will be supported by reliable exchanges.
- Evaluate the funding and distribution of coins. How many coins will be created and distributed? Not all ICOs are distributing all of the circulating supply of tokens.
- Evaluate the team behind the ICO. After all, you need a competent team to manage substantial funds. A team with experience, integrity and an in-depth understanding of the community and the market is one of the most important criteria for success.
With a proper due diligence, investors can identify the pros and cons of each investment. The ICO market is still in its infancy and will no doubt go through many ups and down. Some ICOs may be more popular than other, trading up quickly. But real questions must be asked to determine if there is something substantial behind the coin to support its continued growth and success.
Professional Tenants with Criminal History Exposed
‘Professional Tenant’ with Criminal History Exposed – The Investigators with Diane Swain. This great show provides a great overview of the risks facing landlords and tips on how to protect yourself.
Enviro-Lynx Investigations 