Attorney General Underwood Urges Federal Action To Stop Illegal Robocalls And Spoofing Plaguing Consumers In New York And Across The Country / Bipartisan Coalition of 34 Attorneys General Urges FCC to Let Phone Companies Do More to Block Illegal Robocalls - Including Neighbor Spoofing (NYAG Release)
https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/attorney-general-underwood-urges-federal-action-stop-illegal-robocalls-and-spoofing

In 2017, the Federal Trade Commission received 4.5 million illegal robocall complaints - two and a half times more than in 2014. NY Attorney General Barbara D. Underwood and 34 other Attorneys General called on the Federal Communications Commission to create new rules to allow telephone service providers to block more illegal robocalls being made to unsuspecting consumers in New York and across the country. Scammers using illegal robocalls have evaded a call blocking order entered last year by the FCC. One tactic on the rise is "neighbor spoofing," a technique that allows calls - no matter where they originate - to appear on a consumer's caller ID as being made from a phone number that has the same local area code and exchange as the consumer. READ the FULL TEXT Comment of 35 AGs https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/refresh-robocall-record-reply-comment-of-35-state-ags.pdf

Romanian national accused of being leader of an international cyber fraud ring that used malware to steal $4 million after taking people's passwords, personal and bank information (DOJ Release)

https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndoh/pr/romanian-national-accused-being-leader-international-cyber-fraud-ring-used-malware

In an Indictment filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Romeo Vasile Chita was charged with racketeering, wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to launder money and conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit services in connection with an international cyber fraud ring that used malware to steal in excess of $4 million after taking people's passwords, personal identifying information, and bank account information. Based in Romania, Chita allegedly led a racketeering enterprise that operated in the United States, Romania, Canada, Croatia, Latvia, Hungary, Bosnia, China, Jordan, Malaysia and elsewhere. The group allegedly sent "phishing" emails containing "keylogger" malware purporting to be from the Better Business Bureau, the IRS, U.S. Tax Court, the National Payroll Records Center, and others. Captured confidential information was then used to withdraw funds from the victims' bank accounts. Also, the group allegedly engaged in online auction fraud, placing ads for non-existent cars and other expensive items on eBay, Craigslist, Autotrader.com, and other websites.  

SEC Obtains Final Judgment in Forex-Based Offering Fraud Case (SEC Litigation Release No. 24310)
https://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/2018/lr24310.htm

In a Complaint filed int he United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, the SEC 

alleged that Steve H. Karroum and his company FX & Beyond Corporation had defrauded investors in a foreign exchange trading program; also named as a relief defendant was his wife, Sahar Karroum, Following Mr. Karroum's death, the SEC substituted Sahar Karroum as heir and successor for Mr. Karroum as a defendant in the action. The Court granted the SEC's emergency motion to, among other relief, freeze certain proceeds that would otherwise be paid to Sahar Karroum from a life insurance policy owned by FX & Beyond; and, thereafter, entered a final judgment which ordered FX & Beyond to pay a civil penalty of $512,430 and disgorgement of $805,960, plus prejudgment interest of $74,266; enjoined FX & Beyond from violating the antifraud provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act, and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, as well as the registration provisions of 5(a) of the Securities Act; and further enjoined FX & Beyond from directly or indirectly participating in the issuance, offer or sale of securities. The final judgment dismissed all claims against Mr. Karroum's widow, Sahar Karroum.

SEC Obtains $25 Million Final Judgment Against Perpetrator of Offering Fraud That Targeted Retail Investors (SEC Litigation Release No. 24309)

https://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/2018/lr24309.htm

The United States District Court for the District of Columbia entered a final judgment against Lawrence P. Schmidt in an SEC case brought against Schmidt and several entities he controlled, including Commercial Equity Partners, Ltd. and FutureGen Company. The SEC Complaint alleged that Schmidt raised nearly $22 million from over 200 unsuspecting investors who purchased notes from the various companies, siphoning off almost $2 million of investor funds for his own benefit, paying old investors with new investor money a la Ponzi, and ultimately firing all his employees and fleeing the country when his scheme collapsed. In granting the SEC's motion for a default judgment, the Court entered a final judgment against Schmidt ordering him to pay a disgorgement of $12,025,210, prejudgment interest of $1,717,982.11, and a civil penalty of $12,025,210; and enjoining him from violating the registration provisions of Section 5 of the Securities Act of 1933, and the antifraud provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as well as Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and barring him from serving as an officer or director of a public company.

Initial Coin Offerings and Cryptocurrencies (FINRA.org)

http://www.finra.org/investors/initial-coin-offerings-and-cryptocurrencies

FINRA posted a comprehensive and thoughtful  online primer on digital assets. Among the topics are