'Bomb detector' maker Jim McCormick faces fraud charges

businessman who sold a bomb-detecting device to 20 countries, including Iraq, has been charged with fraud, Avon and Somerset Police said. Jim McCormick, 55, has been on bail for two-and-a-half years while police examined the sale of the device. A BBC Newsnight investigation in 2010 showed the ADE-651 did not work and led to the British government banning its export to Iraq and Afghanistan. Mr McCormick will appear at City of London Magistrates' Court on Thursday. Avon and Somerset Police said that Mr McCormick would face six charges including...

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Britain's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has reopened its investigation into collapsed hedge fund Weavering Capital,

Britain's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has reopened its investigation into collapsed hedge fund Weavering Capital, just weeks after damages of $450 million were awarded against the fund's manager in a civil case in the High Court. The decision marks a U-turn by the fraud agency after it ended a 2-1/2 year probe into Weavering last September, saying there was no reasonable prospect of conviction. Investors were left with hundreds of millions of dollars of losses when the Weavering Macro fund collapsed during the credit crisis. The fund was...

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Organised investment fraud cost Aussies $113m

The Australian Crime Commission has estimated that 2600 Australians have lost more than $113 million due to investment fraud, in the last five years. The findings come in a new report, published yesterday, titled Serious and Organised Investment Fraud in Australia (PDF). The report was put together by Taskforce Galilee, a consortium of 19 government departments, including the Crime Commission, the Attorney-General's Department, the Australian Tax Office, the Department of Human Services and the Australian Communications and Media Authority. In...

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Businessmen Thomas Scragg and Paul Phillips jailed for £34m fraud

Two men who carried out a £34m tax and VAT fraud by laundering cash through the construction industry have been jailed. Thomas Scragg, 56, of Solihull, West Midlands, and Paul Phillips, 60, of Derbyshire, set up numerous companies over five years as part of the fraud. Carl and Anthony Johnson, 49 and 41, from Wolverhampton have also been found guilty of money laundering. The men spent thousands on hotels, homes and expensive cars, police said. Reporting restrictions around the case have now been lifted following the conviction at Birmingham...

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Futures Brokerage PFG Best Freezes Accounts Following Discovery Of Accounting Irregularity

Update 3: Russ Wasendorf Sr., the founder and CEO of PFGBest, reportedly attempted to commit suicide this morning outside the corporate headquarters in rural Cedar Falls, company officials confirmed Monday afternoon. Update 2: PFGBest had $400MM in customer segregated funds at the end of April. Is JPMorgan about to "discover" another $400 million in Q2 "profits"? Update: PFGBest Plans 'Several Hundred' Layoffs, Spokeswoman Tells Dow Jones - Dow Jones. Sounds like a good idea in the facec of liquidation Just out from futures broker PFG Best to...

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The Libor fixing scandal is set to explode across the continent in the coming weeks as it emerged that German regulators have launched an intensive probe into Deutsche Bank

The Libor fixing scandal is set to explode across the continent in the coming weeks as it emerged that German regulators have launched an intensive probe into Deutsche Bank – one of the City's biggest employers – over the affair. BaFin, the country's financial watchdog, is said to have moved its existing investigation into the bank to the status of a "special investigation process" – indicating potential serious breaches. The results are expected by the middle of this month, Reuters reported, citing multiple sources. While the UK's Financial...

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Serious Fraud Office launches Libor investigation

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has confirmed that it has formally launched a criminal investigation into the rigging of inter-bank lending rates. Earlier this week, it said it was considering whether prosecutions would be possible. An SFO spokesperson confirmed that a dedicated case team had now started work. Its involvement follows an investigation by US and UK regulators into the manipulation of Libor. That resulted in a record fine for Barclays, who last week agreed to pay £290m in penalties after its traders tried to rig inter-bank lending...

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Woman who jumped 35 floors to death at Las Vegas hotel had been sought for fraud

 woman wanted on fraud and theft charges jumped 35 floors to her death at a Las Vegas hotel just as two criminal investigators entered her room to arrest her, according to law enforcement documents. A search warrant released Friday shows investigators from the Secretary of State Office’s Securities Division forced their way into Elizabeth DeMaria’s room at the MGM Grand on Tuesday and saw her throw a laptop computer off the balcony before jumping herself. 13 Comments Weigh InCorrections? Personal Post Gallery Olympic track trials, Democrats...

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Dykstra agrees to plead guilty to bankruptcy fraud

Former New York Mets outfielder Lenny Dykstra has agreed to plead guilty to three counts stemming from a bankruptcy fraud case in Los Angeles, federal prosecutors said Thursday. Dykstra will plead guilty to one count each of bankruptcy fraud, concealment of assets and money laundering, said Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office. Dykstra faces up to 20 years in federal prison. It's not immediately known when his next court date will be. Dykstra, who bought a mansion once owned by hockey star Wayne Gretzky, filed for bankruptcy...

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