Rove Capital Anti Weblog

 Federal authorities announced charges Wednesday against 47 people in a broad crackdown on fraud in the foreign currency exchange market that officials said bilked millions from big-name banks and small investors alike.

Most of the bankers, stockbrokers and traders were picked up in raids late Tuesday and early Wednesday in what law-enforcement officials called their most sweeping infiltration ever into the foreign currency markets.

The principal charges accused currency traders at some banks of making rigged trades designed to lose money — then taking cash kickbacks from co-conspirators who made money on the deals.

An undercover FBI agent discovered 123 rigged trades totaling $650,000 in just a few months, authorities said — but they cautioned similar fraud has likely been carried out for decades in the decentralized, loosely regulated foreign currency market.

Currency traders at J.P. Morgan Chase and UBS Warburg, two of the nation’s most prominent investment banks, were among those arrested.

Also arrested, officials said, were operators of so-called “boiler rooms” who persuaded individual investors to give them money for what they portrayed as sound currency investments — then simply stole the cash.

More than 1,000 individual investors were cheated out of tens of millions of dollars when they were talked into putting their money into operations with “fancy-sounding names,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney James Comey told reporters.

There are a lot of sharks in that water. We in law enforcement suggest careful reflection from the beach before you jump in.’

“There are a lot of sharks in that water,” Comey said. “We in law enforcement suggest careful reflection from the beach before you jump in.”

Authorities stressed that while the alleged fraud was widespread, it constitutes only a fraction of the trillion-dollar-a-day foreign currency market. They said no banks were implicated in the fraud.

The currency exchange market has no central headquarters, instead operating 24 hours a day as a worldwide network of traders, connected by telephones and computers. In 2001, an estimated $1.2 trillion was traded daily, with banks conducting most of the trades. Currency brokers also play a role, acting as intermediaries between banks.

The charges announced Wednesday resulted from an 18-month investigation that spread to six states: New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Tennessee and Colorado.

Charges filed against the 47 defendants included bank fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, securities fraud and money laundering. There was no immediate word on when they would appear in court.

Federal authorities said 40 of the 47 were arrested late Tuesday and early Wednesday, two were previously arrested and the remainder were expected to be arrested later.

Among those arrested was Stephen E. Moore, who formerly served on the foreign exchange committee of the Federal Reserve Bank, prosecutors said. An attorney for Moore could not immediately be reached.

In one raid, several people were arrested at lower Manhattan’s World Financial Center as they gathered for drinks before taking a planned gambling trip to Atlantic City, N.J., authorities said.

Several of the traders told the undercover FBI agent they had “no fear” because they believed law enforcement would never get close enough to stop them, said Pasquale D’Amuro, director of the FBI’s New York office.

Personal ambition, arrogance and a misguided sense of invincibility led Luke Edward Duffy to play a central role in one of Australia’s biggest corporate scandals — a role that saw him sentenced yesterday to at least 16 months jail.

The 35-year-old former head of National Australia Bank’s foreign currency options desk received a sentence of 29 months in prison with a minimum term of 16 months for his part in an alleged $360 million trading loss scandal.

Duffy’s brother and lawyer, Patrick, said they intended to appeal the sentence, imposed by Victorian County Court Judge Geoff Chettle, as soon as possible.

Duffy, of Albert Park, yesterday covered his face with his hands after he heard the sentence. He had pleaded guilty to three counts of dishonestly using his position as an employee to gain financial advantages.

Duffy, with three other former NAB traders, falsely claimed he had achieved a $37 million profit for the year to September 30, 2003, in an attempt to cover up a $5 million loss and avoid scrutiny. This left $42 million to recover.

Between December 2006 and January 2008, losing bets on the Australian dollar helped the charade spin into “financial chaos”.

“No doubt your trading became more frenetic and desperate as you strove to rectify the mess that you had created,” Judge Chettle said. “You and your team saw yourselves as invincible and justified in your criminal conduct by asserting that your principal motives were to make money for the bank. That is simply no excuse.”

Judge Chettle said the offences were well planned, sophisticated and involved enormous amounts of money. “The mixture of personal ambition, arrogance and corporate culture made you forget the legal responsibilities you had to the NAB, its management and its shareholders,” he said.

In sentencing, he noted: “The offences were committed by you in a culture of profit-driven morality. To proceed, you had to take risks.”

Judge Chettle acknowledged Duffy had repaid a net performance bonus of $129,338 he received based on his manipulated profits. He said had Duffy not co-operated in the investigation and agreed to give evidence against his three co-accused, his sentence would have been four years and three months jail with a minimum term of two years and three months.

Outside the court, Duffy’s wife, Donnalea, said she was devastated by the sentence. “He doesn’t deserve it obviously in our opinion, and we will just get on over the next 16 months with our lives. We have got lots of support.”

The sentence follows an 11-month investigation by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

ASIC chairman Jeffrey Lucy said the case demonstrated especially that “where both the employer and shareholders are deceived, significant jail sentences will be imposed by the court”.

Personal ambition, arrogance and a misguided sense of invincibility led Luke Edward Duffy to play a central role in one of Australia’s biggest corporate scandals — a role that saw him sentenced yesterday to at least 16 months jail.

The 35-year-old former head of National Australia Bank’s foreign currency options desk received a sentence of 29 months in prison with a minimum term of 16 months for his part in an alleged $360 million trading loss scandal.

Duffy’s brother and lawyer, Patrick, said they intended to appeal the sentence, imposed by Victorian County Court Judge Geoff Chettle, as soon as possible.

Duffy, of Albert Park, yesterday covered his face with his hands after he heard the sentence. He had pleaded guilty to three counts of dishonestly using his position as an employee to gain financial advantages.

Duffy, with three other former NAB traders, falsely claimed he had achieved a $37 million profit for the year to September 30, 2003, in an attempt to cover up a $5 million loss and avoid scrutiny. This left $42 million to recover.

Between December 2006 and January 2008, losing bets on the Australian dollar helped the charade spin into “financial chaos”.

“No doubt your trading became more frenetic and desperate as you strove to rectify the mess that you had created,” Judge Chettle said. “You and your team saw yourselves as invincible and justified in your criminal conduct by asserting that your principal motives were to make money for the bank. That is simply no excuse.”

Judge Chettle said the offences were well planned, sophisticated and involved enormous amounts of money. “The mixture of personal ambition, arrogance and corporate culture made you forget the legal responsibilities you had to the NAB, its management and its shareholders,” he said.

In sentencing, he noted: “The offences were committed by you in a culture of profit-driven morality. To proceed, you had to take risks.”

Judge Chettle acknowledged Duffy had repaid a net performance bonus of $129,338 he received based on his manipulated profits. He said had Duffy not co-operated in the investigation and agreed to give evidence against his three co-accused, his sentence would have been four years and three months jail with a minimum term of two years and three months.

Outside the court, Duffy’s wife, Donnalea, said she was devastated by the sentence. “He doesn’t deserve it obviously in our opinion, and we will just get on over the next 16 months with our lives. We have got lots of support.”

The sentence follows an 11-month investigation by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

ASIC chairman Jeffrey Lucy said the case demonstrated especially that “where both the employer and shareholders are deceived, significant jail sentences will be imposed by the court”.

Personal ambition, arrogance and a misguided sense of invincibility led Luke Edward Duffy to play a central role in one of Australia’s biggest corporate scandals — a role that saw him sentenced yesterday to at least 16 months jail.

The 35-year-old former head of National Australia Bank’s foreign currency options desk received a sentence of 29 months in prison with a minimum term of 16 months for his part in an alleged $360 million trading loss scandal.

Duffy’s brother and lawyer, Patrick, said they intended to appeal the sentence, imposed by Victorian County Court Judge Geoff Chettle, as soon as possible.

Duffy, of Albert Park, yesterday covered his face with his hands after he heard the sentence. He had pleaded guilty to three counts of dishonestly using his position as an employee to gain financial advantages.

Duffy, with three other former NAB traders, falsely claimed he had achieved a $37 million profit for the year to September 30, 2003, in an attempt to cover up a $5 million loss and avoid scrutiny. This left $42 million to recover.

Between December 2006 and January 2008, losing bets on the Australian dollar helped the charade spin into “financial chaos”.

“No doubt your trading became more frenetic and desperate as you strove to rectify the mess that you had created,” Judge Chettle said. “You and your team saw yourselves as invincible and justified in your criminal conduct by asserting that your principal motives were to make money for the bank. That is simply no excuse.”

Judge Chettle said the offences were well planned, sophisticated and involved enormous amounts of money. “The mixture of personal ambition, arrogance and corporate culture made you forget the legal responsibilities you had to the NAB, its management and its shareholders,” he said.

In sentencing, he noted: “The offences were committed by you in a culture of profit-driven morality. To proceed, you had to take risks.”

Judge Chettle acknowledged Duffy had repaid a net performance bonus of $129,338 he received based on his manipulated profits. He said had Duffy not co-operated in the investigation and agreed to give evidence against his three co-accused, his sentence would have been four years and three months jail with a minimum term of two years and three months.

Outside the court, Duffy’s wife, Donnalea, said she was devastated by the sentence. “He doesn’t deserve it obviously in our opinion, and we will just get on over the next 16 months with our lives. We have got lots of support.”

The sentence follows an 11-month investigation by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

ASIC chairman Jeffrey Lucy said the case demonstrated especially that “where both the employer and shareholders are deceived, significant jail sentences will be imposed by the court”.

Personal ambition, arrogance and a misguided sense of invincibility led Luke Edward Duffy to play a central role in one of Australia’s biggest corporate scandals — a role that saw him sentenced yesterday to at least 16 months jail.

The 35-year-old former head of National Australia Bank’s foreign currency options desk received a sentence of 29 months in prison with a minimum term of 16 months for his part in an alleged $360 million trading loss scandal.

Duffy’s brother and lawyer, Patrick, said they intended to appeal the sentence, imposed by Victorian County Court Judge Geoff Chettle, as soon as possible.

Duffy, of Albert Park, yesterday covered his face with his hands after he heard the sentence. He had pleaded guilty to three counts of dishonestly using his position as an employee to gain financial advantages.

Duffy, with three other former NAB traders, falsely claimed he had achieved a $37 million profit for the year to September 30, 2003, in an attempt to cover up a $5 million loss and avoid scrutiny. This left $42 million to recover.

Between December 2006 and January 2008, losing bets on the Australian dollar helped the charade spin into “financial chaos”.

“No doubt your trading became more frenetic and desperate as you strove to rectify the mess that you had created,” Judge Chettle said. “You and your team saw yourselves as invincible and justified in your criminal conduct by asserting that your principal motives were to make money for the bank. That is simply no excuse.”

Judge Chettle said the offences were well planned, sophisticated and involved enormous amounts of money. “The mixture of personal ambition, arrogance and corporate culture made you forget the legal responsibilities you had to the NAB, its management and its shareholders,” he said.

In sentencing, he noted: “The offences were committed by you in a culture of profit-driven morality. To proceed, you had to take risks.”

Judge Chettle acknowledged Duffy had repaid a net performance bonus of $129,338 he received based on his manipulated profits. He said had Duffy not co-operated in the investigation and agreed to give evidence against his three co-accused, his sentence would have been four years and three months jail with a minimum term of two years and three months.

Outside the court, Duffy’s wife, Donnalea, said she was devastated by the sentence. “He doesn’t deserve it obviously in our opinion, and we will just get on over the next 16 months with our lives. We have got lots of support.”

The sentence follows an 11-month investigation by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

ASIC chairman Jeffrey Lucy said the case demonstrated especially that “where both the employer and shareholders are deceived, significant jail sentences will be imposed by the court”.

This is a New Felix Scam flooding the internet as spam email:

Its everyone’s dream to quit there job, drive the flash cars and live in a
big house, but only a select few will ever get close to it. Why you may
ask? Why is it that while you are slaving away with the 9-5 others are out
there are actually living the dream?  The answer is knowledge. Knowledge is
the key to success whether it be knowledge about medicine, engineering or
any other walk of live, the people who are successful all have one thing
in common they have knowledge.

What I’m going to give you is the ability to bypass the knowledge part of
the success equation. That’s right absolutely no knowledge is required to
start living the dream using the Forex Tracer system. I will show you step
by step how to use our software that once set up will funnel immense
amounts of money into your bank account on autopilot.

How would you like to be Taking Caribbean holidays every 2 months without
a care in the world, how would you like to tell your boss to stick his
job, how would you like the most important thing of all – time – time to
spend with your familiy and friends ? Well all this and more can be yours
sooner than you would ever think possible. Simply click on the link below
to start living the dream.