Affinity investment fraud is a big problem in the United States, according to regulators. Fraudsters take advantage of a presumption in the minds of victims that a person with whom you have something in common is trustworthy. That this is not necessarily so was demonstrated once again when deaf investors lost $3.45 million to “one of their own,” a deaf investment advisor. According to a recent InvestmentNews article by Liz Skinner entitled “Deaf investment adviser defrauded 7,000 deaf clients: SEC.”
Jody Dunn of Texas, who is deaf, solicited funds from investors from August 2007 through July 2010. He told his victims that he would invest their money in viatical settlements through a Bahamanian company named Imperia Invest IBC. Dunn claimed to know the individuals at Imperia but had never actually met any of them.
According to the article, Imperia is an internet-based firm that promised a return of 1.2% a day. Dunn reportedly used some of the investors’ money for personal expenses and sent the rest to Imperia without doing any due diligence on the firm, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Investors never received any money.
The SEC filed suit against Dunn in federal court in Plano, Texas. The SEC charged Imperia with fraud last October and obtained an order freezing its assets. The SEC said that Dunn knew that Imperia’s customer accounts were not accurate and that it had lost investor money.
Page Perry is an Atlanta-based law firm with over 125 years collective experience representing investors in securities-related litigation and arbitration. While past results are not indicative of future success, Page Perry’s attorneys have recovered over $1,000,000 for clients on more than 45 occasions. For further information, please contact us.