Wall Street Investment Fraud Lawyer Blog

According to the New York Times, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has announced that a new inter-agency task force has been created to address and "(halt) fraud involving mortgages, securities, economic stimulus programs and government bailouts." In a speech to a civic group in West Palm Beach, Florida, Attorney General Holder had a message for those who commit fraud of this kind. He promised fraudsters that "if (they) fabricate a financial statement, if (they) propagate an investment scheme, if (they) are complicit in an act of financial fraud, (they) are writing (their) ticket to jail."

The numbers of pending fraud investigations at the Justice Department and FBI are astounding. Attorney General Holder indicated that the Justice Department has more than 5,000 financial institution fraud cases pending and that the FBI was handling more than 2,800 cases involving mortgage fraud. Unfortunately, these numbers are up more than 400% from five years ago.

Attorney General Holder was also proud to announce that over 450 individuals who have committed corporate and securities fraud, including Bernie Madoff, have been convicted in 2009, preventing them from further victimizing investors.

Do you believe that you are a vicitm of an investment scheme or fraud? It may be that you have a legal remedy to recover your loses. If you would like to discuss your legal rights, please contact our firm for a free consultation. If you would like further information about our firm or investment fraud in general, please visit www.dossfirm.com.

With all of the talk these days about the need to find alternative energy sources, there is a real demand for "Green" energy. There are a lot of legitimate entrepreneurs out there looking for investors to put up money to fund new energy-saving environmentally-friendly ideas. With every legitimate entrepreneur however, comes a hundred scam artists also looking to make a buck from unsuspecting potential victims.

On December 29, 2009, FINRA, the organization tasked with regulating the financial services industry, issues an Investor Alert entitled, Save Your Greenbanks - Don't Fall for Green Energy Scams. The Investor Alert provides a great discussion on ways to avoid becoming a victim of these scams.

Some tips include:
1. Beware of investment opportunities promises high returns;
2. Beware of unsolicited recommendations communicated through methods such as faxes, emails, text messages, etc.;
3. Don't invest in things you do not understand.

The most unfortunate part of these scams is that when something goes wrong, there is rarely a chance to recover the losses from the fraudster because they are almost always insolvent. As a result, the best approach is to stay away altogether.