There are 209 posts tagged Boiler room (this is page 4 of 14).
Earlier this week two men were jailed for their role in London-based scam companies that sold carbon credits as investments. Michale Foran and Kallan Henry were jailed for four-and-a-half years and one-and-a-half years respectively.
Yesterday (23 November 2016), the UK chancellor gave his Autumn budget statement. Last week, there were several media reports that the chancellor was going to ban cold calls about pensions.
The UK government is to ban cold calling to sell pension investments. Philip Hammond, the UK chancellor, will announce the ban in his first budget statement tomorrow (23 November).
In January 2016, Thorn Medical, a healthcare company, announced that it was planning to list “within the next two months” on the London Stock Exchange with a valuation of £350 million. In February 2016, Lord Beaverbrook joined Thorn Medical as Chairman. In October 2016, Thorn Medical wrote to its shareholders to tell them that the company had withdrawn from its listing on the London Stock Exchange, but that a related US company would list on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange in January 2017.
I’ve been writing about boiler rooms and investment scams for the last four years. I started in May 2012 with a post about a warning from the Financial Services Authority about the dangers of buying carbon credits as investments.
On 25 February 2014, police arrested 110 people suspected of being involved in boiler rooms. The City of London Police put out a press release announcing that, “A groundbreaking partnership between UK and Spanish law enforcement agencies has led to a total of 110 arrests”.
A 2012 brochure from a company called Ecobamboo Lot makes investing in bamboo look very promising: “A rare opportunity to purchase a Deeded Bamboo Lot in Central America.” The company promised a return of 26% a year: “Bamboo lot owners will receive harvest income starting at year four. The ROI is forecasted at 26% per annual year.” And Ecobamboo Lot plays the green card: “With its exceptional green credentials and high productivity, bamboo is set to become the sustainable timber source of the future.”
In 2011 and 2012, a company called EcoPlanet Bamboo (UK) Ltd raised US$12 million by issuing bamboo bonds. The companies marketing the bonds, including Property Frontiers, EcoInvestments, and Emerald Knight promised returns of 500% over a 15 year investment period.
On Tuesday, 3 April 2012, BBC Radio 4 broadcast a programme about a company called EcoPlanet Bamboo. The company was establishing a bamboo plantation in Rama, Nicaragua, part-funded by “the world’s first bamboo bond”.
Between 2009 and 2013, a UK-based company called Industry RE fleeced members of the public out of at least £13.3 million. Last week, the Insolvency Service announced that Ian James Hamilton, the sole director of Industry RE, had been disqualified as a director for 15 years.
Most of the people I hear about who have worked in boiler rooms write to ask to have their names removed from either a post or a comment on REDD-Monitor.
Earlier this week, Dennis Myles left a comment on REDD-Monitor. Myles had been “approached” by someone calling themselves Timothy Davies, who claimed to work for Verified Carbon Standard (VCS).
Three years ago, I wrote a post about a Dubai-based Eventus Alternatives, a company that specialised in selling carbon credits to retail investors. A week after the post, Eventus Alternatives’ solicitors threatened to sue me for US$250,000. Three years later, the company’s ex-director, Phil Wombwell, wrote a nice email asking me to remove the post.
A few weeks ago, REDD-Monitor received an email offering 345 million carbon credits for sale. A company based in Malta called MED Investment Operations is offering carbon credits from a REDD project in Brazil and them for sale at US$6.80 each. This post, the third in a series of posts about this incredible offer, looks at the company supposedly running the REDD project: MidiaGeo.
On 6 July 2016, REDD-Monitor wrote about a company called Lochwood Capital. I wrote about the company after the company director, Alexander Johnson, had sent several emails complaining about a comment on REDD-Monitor that mentioned one of Lochwood Capital’s then-employees, Russell Brooker.
