Historical bonds
Bonds that were once valid obligations of American entities but are
now worthless as securities and only collected and traded as memorabilia
-- are quickly becoming a favorite tool of scam artists. Here are several
things that you should know about them:
Three Lies Used to Perpetrate Historical
Bond Fraud:
Lie 1 : Historical bonds are payable in gold.
Lie 2: Historical bonds are backed by the Treasury Department.
Lie 3: The Treasury Department has established a federal
sinking fund to retire historical bonds.
How
Scam Artists Use Bogus Third-Party Valuations to Trick Investors
Scam artists are selling historical bonds to unsophisticated investors
at inflated prices far exceeding their fair value as collectibles. They
often use third-party valuations, which state that the bonds are worth
million or billions of dollars each, to do so. These valuations or authentications,
which are often referred to as "hypothecated" or "hypothetical,"
are completely bogus. A typical valuation will falsely overstate the value
of these bonds by assuming erroneously that, notwithstanding the unenforceability
of the gold clauses contained in the bonds, as well as the defunct and
bankrupt status of most of the bonds' issuers, some person or entity is
obligated to redeem the bonds in gold bullion.
Scam artists using such valuations may also make the false
assertion that while perhaps not payable today in gold or in money, the
bonds are used in high-yield trading programs in the United States, offshore
and in Europe. In several cases, the third parties issuing the valuations
appear to be working in conjunction with the scam artists. All of these
false assertions have been used to defraud investors into paying as much
as $150,000 for historical bonds that regularly trade for $25.
Fraudulent
Cash and Railroad Bond Program Operator List
Part I consists of those individuals who, through their own words
and deeds, have proven themselves cons to unwary investors and have been
reported to the various authorities for their Securities Violations. Part
II consists of the business names through which these individual have
been known to operate. Pertinent notes are sometimes annotated to clarify
level of involvement in the fraud and how interconnected.
Extreme caution should be exercised in transactions that
may utilize these individuals. Deception has been utilized to cover their
involvement in many a transaction by hiding behind other parties. Latest
is to, now more than ever, hide under a completely new "front man"
and place their "Program" with parties published herein. This
list is not all-inclusive and should not be viewed as such.
The author of this publication, Henry R. Wentworth, has
spent years developing the database contained herein. His second publication,
Bank Debentures: Names You Should Know, contains a database with a focus
on the market for ‘bank Debentures.’
More information is provided
in the Member Area
Recommended further reading:
Internet
Fraud: How to avoid Internet investment scams
Prime bank instrument scam
Frauds,
Phonies and Scams
Information on Financial Scandals
