Renee
1年前
CLEU: Seven People Indicted for Allegedly Posing as Advisors in Multimillion-Dollar Fraud
Courtesy 1manband:
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=176000521
The FBI is trying to determine the identities of hundreds of victims who were allegedly tricked by scammers in China posing as investment advisors on social media in a high-stakes pump-and-dump scheme.
The Justice Department announced earlier this month that it had seized about $214 million in proceeds from the alleged fraud. The DOJ is asking a court to have the money forfeited to the U.S., at which point it could be returned to the investors who fell victim to the scam.
Posing as advisors, the perpetrators of the alleged scam aggressively promoted investments in a company based in the Cayman Islands called Chinese Liberal Education Holdings, or CLEU, that trades on the Nasdaq Composite exchange in the U.S., according to prosecutors.
The scammers “made false representations and instructed investors to purchase shares of CLEU stock, promising significant returns on their investment,” the FBI says in a notice directing potential victims to a form they can submit documenting their experience.
The defendants’ promotion of the stock on social media and messaging platforms allegedly helped drive the share price artificially higher, “at which point the defendants sold thousands of shares and made millions of dollars in profits,” according to the Justice Department, which has charged seven individuals with wire fraud and securities fraud.
The defendants, described in the indictment as residents of Taiwan or Malaysia, aren’t in U.S. custody, but warrants have been issued for their arrest. Court records don’t indicate that any defendant has retained a lawyer in the matter.
The alleged scheme fits with a pattern of malicious activity on social media that has caught the attention of U.S. regulators and consumer advocates. In September, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy issued an alert warning of scams involving stock tips promoted through social media.
Among the red flags included in that bulletin were promises of “high investment returns with little or no risk.” The alert also warned about strangers claiming to be renowned investment professionals or employees of a registered investment advisor or a broker. The latest scheme appears to fit within that description.
The DOJ says that the seven individuals, pretending to be U.S.-based investment advisors, “engaged in misleading promotion and coordinated trading” of shares of CLEU stock, which purportedly provided educational services in China.
During the relevant period, there was a sizable increase in the number of CLEU shares issued. That wasn’t publicly disclosed until after the defendants had allegedly received millions of shares directly from the company.
CLEU didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
When the company accounted for the accurate number of shares outstanding—including those sold by the defendants—in an SEC filing at the end of January, CLEU’s share price fell about 99%. Those losses affected around 600 U.S. investors and others globally, according to the indictment.
Before that announcement, the defendants had each sold between 3.7 million and 9.3 million shares of the stock, the Justice Department says.
Koog
1年前
Seven People Indicted for Allegedly Posing as Advisors in Multimillion-Dollar Fraud
The FBI is trying to determine the identities of hundreds of victims who were allegedly tricked by scammers in China posing as investment advisors on social media in a high-stakes pump-and-dump scheme.
The Justice Department announced earlier this month that it had seized about $214 million in proceeds from the alleged fraud. The DOJ is asking a court to have the money forfeited to the U.S., at which point it could be returned to the investors who fell victim to the scam.
Posing as advisors, the perpetrators of the alleged scam aggressively promoted investments in a company based in the Cayman Islands called Chinese Liberal Education Holdings, or CLEU, that trades on the Nasdaq Composite exchange in the U.S., according to prosecutors.
The scammers “made false representations and instructed investors to purchase shares of CLEU stock, promising significant returns on their investment,” the FBI says in a notice directing potential victims to a form they can submit documenting their experience.
The defendants’ promotion of the stock on social media and messaging platforms allegedly helped drive the share price artificially higher, “at which point the defendants sold thousands of shares and made millions of dollars in profits,” according to the Justice Department, which has charged seven individuals with wire fraud and securities fraud.
The defendants, described in the indictment as residents of Taiwan or Malaysia, aren’t in U.S. custody, but warrants have been issued for their arrest. Court records don’t indicate that any defendant has retained a lawyer in the matter.
The alleged scheme fits with a pattern of malicious activity on social media that has caught the attention of U.S. regulators and consumer advocates. In September, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy issued an alert warning of scams involving stock tips promoted through social media.
Among the red flags included in that bulletin were promises of “high investment returns with little or no risk.” The alert also warned about strangers claiming to be renowned investment professionals or employees of a registered investment advisor or a broker. The latest scheme appears to fit within that description.
The DOJ says that the seven individuals, pretending to be U.S.-based investment advisors, “engaged in misleading promotion and coordinated trading” of shares of CLEU stock, which purportedly provided educational services in China.
During the relevant period, there was a sizable increase in the number of CLEU shares issued. That wasn’t publicly disclosed until after the defendants had allegedly received millions of shares directly from the company.
CLEU didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
When the company accounted for the accurate number of shares outstanding—including those sold by the defendants—in an SEC filing at the end of January, CLEU’s share price fell about 99%. Those losses affected around 600 U.S. investors and others globally, according to the indictment.
Before that announcement, the defendants had each sold between 3.7 million and 9.3 million shares of the stock, the Justice Department says.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/seven-people-indicted-for-allegedly-posing-as-advisors-in-multimillion-dollar-fraud/ar-AA1BZJdF
TrendTrade2016
1年前
NO THEY DON'T....THEY JUST THINK THEY ARE COOL RUNNING A COUNTRY, AND HAVING THAT MUCH POWER. TRUMP THINKS HE'S A GANGSTER, NOT A DICTATOR, AND ELON, HES JUST A ODDBALL SMART GUY, HE THINKS HES COOL, THATS ABOUT IT. TERRIBLE ACCIDENT AND TRUMP WANTS TO BLAME PEOPLE, IT WAS A TERRIBLE MISTAKE ON THE HELICOPTER's . PILOT..... DID NOT SEE THAT PLANE....HE HAD THE PLANE BEHIND HIM IN SIGHT TO CROSS, NOT THE ONE IN FRONT....THE TOWER ASKED HIM TWICe...not sure how biden and obama are involved...smh
Invest-in-America
1年前
No survivors --- many Pro Ice Skaters, coaches, etc., dead. (And Clown Trump exploits the disaster for POLITICAL purposes, just like he did with the Calif. fire storms!!! (See END of link, below, for Trump's comments.) My main point here??? I wish it was "AIR FORCE-1" that went down --- with Trump, Vance, & all of the highest-ranking Re-Trumplican-Party, wanna-be-Dictators, on board!!!)
Invest-in-America
1年前
No survivors --- many Pro Ice Skaters, coaches, etc., dead. (And Clown Trump exploits the disaster for POLITICAL purposes, just like he did with the Calif. fire storms!!! (See END of link, below, for Trump's comments.) My main point here??? I wish it was "AIR FORCE-1" that went down --- with Trump, Vance, & all of the highest-ranking Re-Trumplican-Party, wanna-be-Dictators, on board!!!)
Dumb&dumber4long
1年前
No,
Up to date cash is unknown.
Based on 5 months ago, September 30, 2024, it was $84.15
New share count is at least 270 millions
Do the math, for 5 months ago
The latest EPS was -0.539, on 24.9 million shares.
Assuming the same loss for current quarter
84.15-0.539x24.9 =70.729
Meaning 0.26!
But cash on hand with no profitable plan in sight!
Tread carefully.
Not bullish, not bearish.
Don’t care to catch a falling knife.
Good luck to you.
I do not own any shares in CLEU
Dumb&dumber4long
1年前
No,
Up to date cash is unknown.
Based on 5 months ago, September 30, 2024, it was $84.15
New share count is at least 270 millions
Do the math, for 5 months ago
The latest EPS was -0.539, on 24.9 million shares.
Assuming the same loss for current quarter
84.15-0.539x24.9 =70.729
Meaning 0.26!
But cash on hand with no profitable plan in sight!
Tread carefully.
Not bullish, not bearish.
Don’t care to catch a falling knife.
Good luck to you.
I do not own any shares in CLEU