27 stories this week:
Trading website IBC Exchange exposed as scam after QLD man loses $80k – 23 December 2022
An Australian explains how a group of online scammers coaxed him into giving away $80,000 via a fake cryptocurrency platform called IBC Exchange. He stated that “The sophistication was beyond belief and that the technology and layers of fraud they used was just incredible”.
Meta settles Cambridge Analytica class-action lawsuit for $725 million – 23 December 2022
Parent company Meta, has agreed to pay $725 million to settle a long-running class-action lawsuit accusing Facebook of allowing Cambridge Analytica and other third parties to access users’ private information. The settlement resolves user claims that Facebook violated federal and state laws, by allowing the company’s preferred vendors and partners to harvest their personal data without consent. It’s reportedly the largest ever in a US data privacy class action and the most Meta has ever paid to resolve a class-action lawsuit.
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried released on house arrest and ‘largest ever pre-trial bond – 23 December 2022
Sam Bankman-Fried has been released on a 375 million bond package while he awaits trial on fraud charges related to the collapse of the FTX crypto exchange. Prosecutors have accused him of stealing billions of dollars in FTX customer funds to plug losses at his hedge fund, Alameda Research.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-23/sam-bankman-fried-ftx-founder-granted-bail/101803992
Inside Melbourne woman’s role in multimillion-dollar fraud syndicate – 25 December 2022
Young Melbourne mother Jasmine Vella-Arpaci has been sentenced for playing a central role in an international fraud syndicate which stole millions from victims’ superannuation accounts. She claimed she did this to support her husband’s gambling addiction. The process was to use stolen ID documents from the dark web, editing them as necessary to match one another, before using them to open bank accounts and to support applications to withdraw money from super accounts.
David McBride is ready to go to jail for his beliefs – 26 December 2022
Former defence lawyer David McBride is ready to go to jail with his “head held high” for exposing alleged war crimes in Afghanistan, but has called for the establishment of an independent federal authority to help others avoid the same fate. He stated that the reform was “absolutely needed” to support others wanting to lawfully report wrongdoing within their organisation.
How an Australian crypto exchange became a tool for scammers – 28 December 2022
Collapsed cryptocurrency exchange and brokerage Mine Digital, appears to have been a target for criminals exploiting the platform and lax regulation to rip off Australians through sophisticated investment scams.
Wage theft laws, offences and penalties in Australia – 29 December 2022
A Victorian business and its owner will be the first to face criminal wage theft charges, in any Australian jurisdiction. It is alleged that from July to November 2021, the Rehmat and Mehar Pty Ltd trading as ‘The Macedon Lounge’, dishonestly withheld wages, penalty rates and super from its former employees.
https://www.mondaq.com/australia/crime/1266114/wage-theft-laws-offences-and-penalties-in-australia
Inside the call centre scam that lured vulnerable workers to Cambodia and trapped them in the murky world of human trafficking – 29 December 2022
Thousands of vulnerable workers in South-East Asia who lost their jobs during the pandemic have been lured into job scams. They say they were made to work in a call centre, using dating apps on mobile phones to meet people looking for love. Once they had established online conversations, they were told to pass the people’s details on to a “chief” who would continue the chat and trick people into sending money for bogus investments.
Pair sentenced to collective 56 years prison for $8.75 billion Singapore share trading scam – 29 December 2022
A Malaysian businessman convicted of masterminding a stock scam that wiped 8.75 billion off Singapore’s exchange has been sentenced to 36 years in jail by a court in the city-state. John Soh Chee Wen and his girlfriend used their knowledge of financial markets to inflate share prices and set up dozens of trading accounts and borrowed large sums to manipulate stock prices.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-29/singapore-share-trade-scammers-sentenced-to-prison/101813712
Global Investigation Review – Australia – 4 January 2023
Informative article covering Australian highest-profile corporate investigations; legal framework; law enforcement authorities; Cyber-related issues; Cross-border issues and foreign authorities; Economic sanctions enforcement and more
The fight to reclaim $1.8 million lost to an international investment scam – 7 January 2023
Article explains the “industrialised nature of scams”. Australians lose more money to investment scams than any other type of scam. Nearly $300 million was lost in the first nine months of 2022 – though with many Australians never reporting their losses, it’s likely the true cost is much higher.
Former Simon & Schuster employee pleads guilty to impersonating editors to steal unpublished books – 7 January 2023
A former employee of book publisher Simon & Schuster, has pleaded guilty to impersonating editors and agents, in order to steal more than 1,000 unpublished book manuscripts, belonging to authors like Margaret Atwood and the actor Ethan Hawke.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-07/man-pleads-guilty-to-stealing-unpublished-books/101834612
Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Jennifer Shah sentenced to prison for defrauding thousands of people – 7 January 2023
US reality TV star Jennifer Shah, known for her role on The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, has been sentenced to six-and-a-half-years in prison for defrauding thousands of people in a telemarketing scam over nearly a decade.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-07/real-housewives-jenifer-shah-prison-for-fraud/101834602
Trump executive Allen Weisselberg gets five-month jail sentence – 11 January 2023
Allen Weisselberg – a long-time executive for Donald Trump ‘s business empire – has been taken into custody to begin serving a five-month jail term for dodging taxes on $1.7 million in job perks. His testimony helped convict the former president’s company of tax fraud.
Perth teen loses nearly $40,000 in sophisticated bank scam – 12 January 2023
Aurora Casilli, lost $36,000 in an instant after receiving messages from a spoofed NAB number. The text looks legitimate and comes through on the same message thread as real NAB texts. It then prompts customers to call a number, and an allegedly fake operator then directs them to transfer money to a new “safe” account.
Australian Taxation Office scam sees Vageesh Potnis steal thousands of dollars from Australians – 13 January 2023
Vageesh Potnis, a Sydney man has avoided jail time, despite scamming vulnerable Aussies out of nearly $30k by pretending to be from the ATO.
Australian authorities say crypto is too often used for money laundering. – 14 January 2023
Senior executives of AUSTRAC claim crypto has become part of the “money laundering tool kit,” to commit money laundering and financial fraud. Article also discusses that ATMs are often the first method of converting crypto into cash so that illicit purchases and deals can be made.
Donald Trump’s company sentenced to pay $2.31 million penalty for tax fraud – 14 January 2023
A New York judge has sentenced Donald Trump’s namesake real estate company to pay a 2.31 million criminal penalty after it was convicted of scheming to defraud tax authorities for 15 years. Jurors found two Trump Organization affiliates guilty of 17 criminal charges. Prosecutors provided evidence that Mr Trump’s company covered personal expenses such as rent and car leases for executives without reporting them as income, and pretended that Christmas bonuses were non-employee compensation.
https://thewest.com.au/business/trump-org-to-be-sentenced-for-tax-fraud-c-9440476
ATO disqualifies hundreds over self-managed super scams – 15 January 2023
An ATO crackdown on people setting up self-managed superannuation funds to illegally access their retirement savings has prevented the withdrawal of hundreds of millions of dollars. Many have had to pay additional tax penalties and interest on those amounts illegally withdrawn.
Victims of bank Ponzi-like scheme in China unable to withdraw money from frozen accounts – 15 January 2023
Since April last year, at least 40 billion yuan ($8.5 billion) has been frozen in four of the small-sized banks. The four rural banks had promised customers high returns of between 13 and 18 per cent, in what has now been described as a Ponzi-like scheme. In August, authorities arrested 234 suspected bank scammers in connection to the case. Victims have been protesting as they have been unable to withdraw money for nine months.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-15/demand-deposit-frozen-in-banks-china/101843356
Morley great-grandmother Dale Hambrook of her life savings – 15 January 2023
A Morley great-grandmother has been scammed out of nearly $150,000 after she was conned through an elaborate cryptocurrency scheme. The scheme used images and fake emails by the celebrity David ‘Kochie’ to con people.
Former Greek associate of Bill Papas denies involvement in fraud – 15 January 2023
One-time Greek business partner of Bill Papas Anastasios Giamouridis has denied any role in the alleged $500m fraud against banking institutions. According to the allegations he also received funds from the scheme.
JPMorgan says fintech was a fraud, closes business – 16 January 2023
JPMorgan has shuttered the financial planning fintech it acquired in 2021 and is suing its founder, claiming most of its users were fake accounts created to inflate the business’ value. In court documents, the bank claims the company paid a data scientist to use “synthetic data” techniques to create a list of 4.265 million “students” that did not exist.
Fraudsters jailed over international crypto scam – 18 January 2023
Four people have been jailed in the UK over a $37 million fraud carried out on an Australian cryptocurrency exchange (CoinSpot) five years ago. Stephen William Boys, Kelly Caton, Jordan Kane Robinson and James Austin-Beddoes were sentenced to a combined 15 years in prison over their involvement in a scam that “exploited a loophole” on the platform.
https://www.moneymag.com.au/fraudsters-jailed-over-international-crypto-scam
Fraud trial begins over Elon Musk’s 2018 Tesla tweet, which allegedly artificially affected stock price – 18 January 2023
A trial has begun over whether Elon Musk committed fraud with a 2018 tweet saying he was poised to take Tesla private. The tweets indicated Mr Musk had lined up the financing to take Tesla private at a time when the company’s stock was slumping amid production problems. The prospect of a 104 billion buyout fuelled a rally in the company’s stock price that abruptly ended a week later, after it became apparent that he did not have the funding to pull off the deal after all.
No bail for man accused of worldwide scam – 18 January 2023
One of four men charged over an alleged international investment scam has been refused bail over fears he could try to flee the country. It is alleged the four men were involved in a sophisticated scam using various social engineering techniques, including the use of dating sites, employment sites and messaging platforms, to gain victims’ trust.
https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/crime/no-bail-for-man-accused-of-worldwide-scam-c-9486058
NT whistleblower provisions under review – 19 January 2023
The Northern Territory’s Independent Commissioner Against Corruption is to conduct a review of the region’s public sector whistleblower provisions amid concerns people are not reporting wrongdoing for fear of retaliation.
https://au.news.yahoo.com/nt-whistleblower-provisions-under-review-231513591.html
