According to the Arizona Attorney General, identity theft is the largest consumer complaint filed with the Federal Trade Commission annually. Identity thieves can use your name to make purchases by stealing your checkbook, credit card, ATM card, or electronically getting access to your checking account. In some cases, thieves may have received medical services in your name or re-routed your tax refund. Although you may think that the vast majority of identity theft cases involves hackers and … [Read more...]
Man Arrested for Stealing $2 Million from Clients
Blake B. Richards, 36 years old, was arrested in Georgia after stealing approximately $2 million from various clients. Richards was an investment advisor working for LPL Financials. LPL was not implicated in the scheme and fired Richards after discovering his actions. Richards stole the funds from at least six different individuals to whom he was providing investor services. Since 2008, when clients wanted to roll over IRA accounts, Richards told them instead to write a check for the amount … [Read more...]
Couple Arrested in Scam Against the Elderly
On April 10th, Michael & Melissa Woodward were arrested on felony charges for a scam that cost senior citizens in Southern California at least $1.9 million. The middle aged couple sold contracts for unlimited in-home senior services at a pre-paid annual fee. While low cost services such as house cleaning were often paid for to attempt to retain some level of legitimacy, the couple would reject claims for more expensive services that were supposed to be covered by the pre-paid plan. Often … [Read more...]
