"Indictments handed up in Ponzi scheme
A Framingham man has been indicted on charges that he ran a $29 million Ponzi scheme that cheated around 130 investors. An indictment returned Wednesday charges Richard Elkinson, 76, with mail fraud. The indictment alleges that Elkinson obtained money from investors by telling them that he would use the funds to finance the manufacture of uniforms and hats for purchase by state governments. He allegedly said he would repay investors their principal and a fixed rate of interest from the profits earned on contracts. Prosecutors said Elkinson had no contracts with state governments and used his client’s money for his own purposes (AP)."
I sick of the obscene amounts of thievery.
"Investors getting back $3.5m" by Beth Healy, Globe Staff | March 25, 2010
Massachusetts Secretary of State William F. Galvin has reached a settlement to return $3.5 million to 17 victims of alleged Framingham Ponzi scammer Richard Elkinson.
That's all they are getting back, huh?
The settlement is with New England Securities Corp., which will reimburse customers who were referred to Elkinson through a Burlington accounting firm whose employees were registered brokers of New England Securities. Elkinson was arrested in January at a casino in Mississippi and is facing criminal fraud charges in federal court in Boston that say he stole $29 million from about 130 investors. Prosecutors said he told investors the money was financing a uniform supply company when instead he allegedly used it to fund a gambling lifestyle. He faces 20 years in prison if convicted.
Galvin began investigating Elkinson in December, when Elkinson’s alleged victims complained they could not get their money back. He said the settlement was good news for some victims, given that it is often difficult to recoup assets in a Ponzi scheme, where money has essentially been stolen and paid to other investors to keep the swindle going. Galvin said his office is continuing to pursue other firms involved in referring investors to Elkinson, including Ross Fialkow Capital Partners in Newton. The firm and its principals have denied any wrongdoing.
Part of the investigation focused on the Burlington accounting firm of Adler, Blanchard & Freeman, because investors said they had been referred to Elkinson by members of that firm. Galvin said New England Securities failed to supervise the four registered representatives from Adler involved in the case — Irving Louis Adler, Scott Jeffrey Adler, Carl Henry Blanchard, and John R. Freeman. New England Securities neither admitted nor denied the allegations.
The brokers did not respond to a request for comment left at Adler. They were dismissed by New England Securities in January because they “did not follow company policy with respect to private securities transactions,’’ according to Galvin’s office.
New England Securities is part of New England Financial, a Boston unit of New York’s Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. A spokeswoman for MetLife, Holly Sheffer, said, “We are pleased to put the matter behind us and to bring restitution to the individuals. New England Securities has cooperated with the investigation. The individuals are no longer with the company.’’
Well, you know what they say: Life is a gamble at best!
Also see: Massachusetts Man Madoff to Mississippi
Riverboat Gambler Returns to Massachusetts
