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Britons 'conned in US share scam'
<strong>A father and daughter have been accused of tricking 15,000 mostly elderly British citizens out of more than $70m (£34m) by selling worthless shares. </strong>
<p>Investigators allege Paul Gunter, 58, and daughter Zibiah, 25, from Florida, sold fake shares in 50 dormant firms. </p>
<p>The pair have been charged with money laundering, mail fraud and securities fraud, US officials said. </p>
<p>If found guilty, they could face up to 25 years in prison and a fine. They are due to appear in a Florida court later. </p>
<p>The BBC's Andy Gallacher, in Miami, says it is thought the Gunters hijacked the identities of the dormant, publicly traded companies and used high-pressure sales techniques to sell worthless shares to British investors. </p>
<p>They are believed to have started the alleged scam in early 2005, US investigators said. </p>
<p>Deputy chief inspector Robert Wishart, head of the money laundering unit at City of London Police, said the arrests were part of an ongoing investigation into a "mass-marketing crime scam known as boiler room fraud". </p>
<p>In a statement released by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, he added: "Thousands of British people have fallen victim to this crime - in this inquiry alone, we estimate that around 15,000 mostly elderly people have lost money." </p>
<p>He said the arrests demonstrated the power of international collaboration to bring to justice those suspected of crimes, even if based overseas.</p>
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Story from BBC NEWS:
<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/americas/7295536.stm">http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/americas/7295536.stm</a>
Published: 2008/03/13 21:12:26 GMT
© BBC MMVIII
Britons 'conned in US share scam'
<strong>A father and daughter have been accused of tricking 15,000 mostly elderly British citizens out of more than $70m (£34m) by selling worthless shares. </strong>
<p>Investigators allege Paul Gunter, 58, and daughter Zibiah, 25, from Florida, sold fake shares in 50 dormant firms. </p>
<p>The pair have been charged with money laundering, mail fraud and securities fraud, US officials said. </p>
<p>If found guilty, they could face up to 25 years in prison and a fine. They are due to appear in a Florida court later. </p>
<p>The BBC's Andy Gallacher, in Miami, says it is thought the Gunters hijacked the identities of the dormant, publicly traded companies and used high-pressure sales techniques to sell worthless shares to British investors. </p>
<p>They are believed to have started the alleged scam in early 2005, US investigators said. </p>
<p>Deputy chief inspector Robert Wishart, head of the money laundering unit at City of London Police, said the arrests were part of an ongoing investigation into a "mass-marketing crime scam known as boiler room fraud". </p>
<p>In a statement released by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, he added: "Thousands of British people have fallen victim to this crime - in this inquiry alone, we estimate that around 15,000 mostly elderly people have lost money." </p>
<p>He said the arrests demonstrated the power of international collaboration to bring to justice those suspected of crimes, even if based overseas.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
Story from BBC NEWS:
<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/americas/7295536.stm">http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/americas/7295536.stm</a>
Published: 2008/03/13 21:12:26 GMT
© BBC MMVIII