Enforcement Actions | FinTelegram News

Category: Enforcement Actions

March 24, 2023

FCA Frozes Bank Account Of Regulated Independently East Over Misappropriated Client Funds!

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced that it has taken action against Independently East Ltd, which it supervises. The regulator revoked permission to conduct regulatory activities and blocked the company's bank accounts. An investor's deposits were not used to purchase financial products as agreed but were transferred to the personal bank account of one of the directors, i.e., the funds have been misappropriated.

July 11, 2022

Cartu Brothers With Legal Troubles in Israel!

Whistleblowers have confirmed to us several times that law enforcement is looking for the Cartu Brothers. Recently, David Cartu and Jonathan Cartu were reportedly arrested in the United Arabe Emirates (UAE) on the basis of a Red Notice. Interpol issued Red Notices for fugitives wanted either for prosecution or to serve a sentence. A Red Notice is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action.

November 29, 2021

Whistleblower Campaign – Gal Barak wanted for failed restitution payments!

In September 2020, an Austrian court sentenced the Israeli citizen Gal Barak to four years in prison and a payment of around €4.2 million for investment fraud and money laundering. He was the boss of the cybercrime organization E&G Bulgaria. Of that, €2.5 million has already been seized by authorities from the bank accounts of Gal Barak and his companies. Barak should have paid another €1.7 million within 14 days to the 212 victims represented by EFRI in the trial. Barak failed to pay and fulfill the court order properly. Further legal action against Barak is therefore imminent.

November 19, 2021

Goodbye! Notorious Israeli crypto scheme operator Moshe Hogeg arrested!

The Israeli Police arrested the notorious crypto scheme operator Moshe Hogeg, who also owns the Beiter Jerusalem soccer club, and seven other people on suspicion of involvement in alleged massive fraud related to cryptocurrencies. Law enforcement said that Hogeg and the other suspects stole millions of dollars. In addition, Hogeg is also suspected of sexual offenses. Most recently, a model had claimed that she was raped by him at the age of 17, The Times of Israel reported.

October 20, 2021

Breaking News – 20 people arrested in Israel on German request

The Israeli online news platform News 13 reported that some 20 people had been arrested on charges of binary options fraud in a joint law enforcement operation of Israeli and German authorities. Six of the detained allegedly will be remanded in custody for a request for extradition to Germany. Later today, six of the suspects will be brought to the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court for a hearing on the extension of detention for the purpose of requesting their extradition to Germany.

March 18, 2021

Eurojust announced another enforcement action against European cybercrime organization

Eurojust announced that it had coordinated a follow-up enforcement action against a cybercrime organization that defrauded mainly German-speaking online investors via legal entities operating from Bulgaria, Ukraine, and other countries. Their binary options, crypto, and forex scams promised huge profits on their websites and consequently defrauded at least 350 victims of approximately €8,5 million. In the enforcement action, five suspects were arrested in Bulgaria. In the same case, in Dec 2020 in Ukraine, €50 million in luxury cars and goods were seized, and in April last year, nine suspects were arrested.

December 19, 2020

Kosovo call centers attack Germany with lottery and broker scams

Until the spring of 2019, the LottoPalace scam website attacking German-speaking victims. A few weeks after the German scam mastermind Uwe Lenhoff was arrested, the..

September 24, 2020

Vienna Cybercrime Trials – Passionate law enforcement teams meet whistleblowers and EFRI

The Vienna Cybercrime Trials ("#VCT") have been an important step in the fight against scammers, cybercrime, and money laundering. The #VCT findings have also facilitated investigations and prosecutions in other jurisdictions and other scam cases. The first arrests in connection with the #VCT were made by EU arrest warrants issued by Austrian authorities. Thanks to the help of whistleblowers and FinTelegram. Now, leading EU investigative media like SZ report about the "Fall of the Wolf."

September 9, 2020

#VCT – Gal Barak sentencing effective, millions for victims, and an explanation

On September 1, 2020, at the Vienna Cybercrime Trials, the court found the accused Israeli Gal Barak guilty of (cyber) investment fraud and money laundering and sentenced him to four years in prison. In addition, the victims were granted the funds confiscated by the authorities. Law enforcement has been able to track and seize these funds thanks to a FinTelegram whistleblower. After Gal Barak, his wife Marina Barak has also been served with an indictment.

Enforcement Actions

July 20, 2020

US judge’s son killed and husband shot at home in shooting attack

A gunman disguised as a FedEx driver shot and killed the son of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas, 51, and wounded her husband at their New Jersey home on Sunday, law enforcement confirmed to The Washington Post. The judge was not injured in the shooting. The FBI, U.S. Marshals, and local authorities are investigating.

May 2, 2019

Cybercrime Network – Gal Barak’s Fellow Shareholders Distance Themselves From Wrongdoings

Two of the principals of a global cybercrime organization, Gal Barak and his partner Uwe Lenhoff, were arrested in January/February 2019 as part of an..

March 30, 2019

Binary Options – Open Letter To Wealth Recovery International

Dear Wealth Recovery International Team,Dear Tami Hamm, we understand that you are upset and desperate after your Wealth Recovery International partner Austin Smith had to..

US Treasury Forgives Ukraine Looters!

On 26 September 2024, the United States Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network ‘FinCEN’ made the astonishing decision to drop sanctions against ABLV Bank of Latvia. ABLV was sanctioned in 2018 for a list of reasons, including helping Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich’s bagman, Serhiy Kurchenko, steal billions of dollars from Ukraine.

Gurbir Grewal’s Departure from the SEC: His New Position and Potential Impact on Crypto Regulation!

Gurbir S. Grewal, the former Director of the Division of Enforcement at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has left his position to join Milbank LLP, one of the most innovative and prestigious law firms globally. This transition from his high-profile regulatory role to private practice is likely to have lasting implications, particularly on the SEC’s enforcement strategy in the crypto sector.

Warning Against The Imminent Danger of Pig Butchering For The Dawning Cyber Society!

Pig butchering scams are a devastating form of cybercrime that blend romance and investment fraud, leaving victims emotionally and financially shattered. These sophisticated operations, run by organized crime syndicates, often exploit human trafficking victims as unwilling scammers. The perpetrators meticulously cultivate trust over months, luring targets into fraudulent cryptocurrency investments through fake platforms.

MLM Schemes

Latest Arrests in $4 Billion Forex AI Fraud Scheme OmegaPro and the Austrian Connection!

FinTelegram has reported on the fraudulent crypto MLM schemes OMNIA Tech and OmegaPro several times in the past. This week, various media outlets have reported the arrest of Robert Velghe in Turkey, who has played a crucial role in both scams. The OmegaPro MLM scam is believed to have stolen around $4 billion from victims worldwide. Here is our update with a request for additional information from whistleblowers.

Crypto MLM Scam: David Carmona Sentenced to 121 Months for IcomTech Crypto Ponzi Scheme!

iComTech was one of the numerous fraudulent MLM schemes that used cryptocurrencies as a means of fraud in parallel with the crypto hype of 2017/18. David Carmora started IcomTech in approximately 2018 with other co-conspirators as a purported cryptocurrency mining and trading company. The scheme promised to earn its victims high profits and guaranteed daily returns that would double their money within six months.