The latest victims in the fraud world? Deaf people and professional golfers. This week, some interesting details about new fraud allegations surfaced. CNBC reported that the SEC stopped an alleged Ponzi scheme by Billions Coupons, a firm in Hawaii that raised more than $4.4 million from deaf investors. Billions Coupons reportedly raised the cash by holding investment seminars for investors who were deaf, and then the firm’s CEO pocketed the profits.
In other slimeball news, alleged fraudster Robert Allen Stanford is also a powerhouse in the British sports world, and thereby lost professional golfers in the UK some serious cash. Stanford had signed sponsorship deals with some of Britain’s top golfers and also sponsors major golf and tennis opens in the United States, CNBC reports.
For the past month, we’ve pontificated on the greed on the part of investment managers and the lack of oversight by agencies like the SEC and Wall Street in general that led to messes like this. We’ve been saying that the SEC was turning a deaf ear to Madoff and others like him… but this just takes that rationale to a brand new low.
Mr. Stanford receives unwarranted attention for having bilked many ardent golfers out of their coin. Any group of people who consider themselves to be “athletes” for spending hours observing the terrain from the comfy chair of a golf cart has already lost its bearing and is easy prey for scoundrels. Asked occasionally whether I play golf, my reply is: “No, my doctors will not allow it. They want me to remain active for as long as possible.”