Greetings!
We are grateful to have the opportunity to provide you this valuable information via our monthly e-newsletter and our unparalleled forensic accounting, expert witness, and fraud investigative services.
The goal of this e-newsletter is to provide you critical, inside information that will help you "follow the money" in business disputes, divorce cases, fraud cases, estate matters, corporate embezzlement, and to prevail when defending an IRS criminal case. We do this by sharing the knowledge we have from our 25+ years of experience as an IRS Special Agent and 16 years as a private investigator / forensic accountant.
We want to write about topics that will assist you in prevailing with fraud, divorce, estate and probate, and IRS criminal cases. Please e-mail us your topics of interest to
[email protected]
We encourage you to share our e-newsletter with others in your sphere of influence.
Sincerely,
Edmond J. Martin
Principal, Chief Investigator
Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE)
Texas Board Certified Investigator (TBCI)
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Why Do We Continue to See Ponzi Schemes In the News?
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Even after the highly-publicized fall of Bernard L Madoff and the largest Ponzi scheme in US History, the schemes continue to proliferate. Today we see more Oil and Gas Ponzi schemes because of low interest rates and low returns on investments. People looking for safe harbors for their money are prey for Ponzi scheme promoters who fill the gap with promises of “big money.” These investors are not necessarily greedy, but concerned enough about the future to be willing to risk some of his/her investable funds (1) with an investment of money, (2) due to an expectation of profits, (3) arising from a common enterprise, which (4) depends on the efforts of others. This is the definition of an “investment contract” as defined by the Supreme Courts W.J. Howey case, 328 US 293. Investors should consider this four-pronged test before making an investment and should consider the old adage, “if it is too good to be true, then it generally is!”
The Ponzi scheme received its name from Charles Ponzi who, in the 1920’s, hoodwinked thousands of New Englander’s into investing their money into an arbitrage with international postal reply coupons used to purchase postage stamps. He promised a 50% return on investment (ROI) in 90 days. When he could not produce the 50% return he used incoming funds from new investors to pay other investors until the scheme failed. (
http://www.sec.gov/answers/ponzi.htm
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How do we protect friends and clients from being lulled into a false sense of security? We can teach them to recognize the difference between a legitimate investment and something pimped by a promoter. Promoters are “Pied Pipers” who attract individual investors who honestly are trying to better their financial position and provide for their family. Promoters are generally well spoken, give the appearance of wealth, may try to appear “godly” by quoting scripture, and usually offer to pay for the lunch or dinner over which the deal is discussed. The promoter today is...
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Contact Us
P.O. Box 160161
Austin, TX 78716
Phone: 512-659-3179
Fax: 512-328-6878
Texas License #A10803
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Serving your needs is our priority.
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At Sage Investigations, we are dedicated to serving our clients nationally, to help them navigate the difficulties of dealing with fraud, divorce, estate and probate, the IRS Criminal Investigation, and other complex (forensic) financial fraud investigations. By narrowing our focus to our primary strength of “following the money,” we steer our knowledge, efforts, and experience to financial issues. We help our clients propel their cases forward by assisting in the review, acquisition, and organization of financial records, evaluating the elements of their cases, and helping create winning strategies. Through the use of our proprietary advanced financial investigative technology, we trace and analyze complex financial data quickly, easily, and efficiently, saving our client's time and money.
Sage handles all cases with altruism, professionalism, honesty, integrity, passion, and respect. When you hire Sage, you hire a team of professionals with skill and knowledge that helps you have more effective solutions. We are innovative with our DIO cutting edge technology, and perform every investigation in an orderly and organized manner to develop a clear investigative roadmap and deliver a quality work product. The compass that guides us is strong leadership and accountability.
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