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ENLARGE
Jeanne Hobson of Sutherlin takes a look at one of the displays set up during a recent Roseburg seminar on safe investing. Visitors gleaned tips on how to avoid Internet frauds, pyramid schemes and other boondoggles.
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ENLARGE
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Michael Kenyon Frazier
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Duanita Garvis first learned about Sutherlin resident Michael Kenyon Frazier when her husband attended one of the man’s financial investment seminars several years ago at the Medford Senior Center.
A few visits later to the Garvis household in Shady Cove, and Frazier, who was around the age of the couple’s two sons, had earned their trust.
“Mr. Frazier was a very, very nice man,” said Garvis, now 71 and living in Eagle Point. “… He was one of those kind that you just take to immediately. He was a very likable, nice-looking man.”
The couple agreed to hand over the reins to their finances to Frazier. Through her messy divorce with her husband later on, Duanita Garvis remained dear friends with Frazier; she loved him like a nephew.
He’d watch over Garvis’ finances as he did his own mother’s, Frazier told her.
And he did, Garvis realizes now. The problem is, authorities say, he never invested the tens of thousands of dollars she gave him, and he did the same to his mother, and many others.
It was a common ploy, financial experts say — a smooth-talker in a suit, preying on seniors, holding “free lunch” seminars and promising fail-safe investment opportunities.
And in these times of economic turmoil, when many may be worried about how they’ll survive retirement, investors looking for a sure bet can find themselves at risk.
“That’s the time that we’re all most vulnerable for scams and frauds,” said Joyce DeMonnin, director of public outreach for AARP Oregon, at a recent seminar in Roseburg on safe investing. The seminar was held in partnership with the state Department of Consumer and Business Services.
Experts at the seminar provided tips on how to avoid potential scams and also information on what government agencies to contact to see if proposed investment opportunities are legitimate.
From Internet frauds and pyramid schemes to chances to invest in newfangled or bogus inventions and the potentially confusing world of securities, there are plenty of traps set for unwary investors.
“People who promise high returns at lower (or no) risk should not be trusted,” said seminar speaker Steve Buchholz, an attorney with the enforcement division of the federal Securities and Exchange Commission.
Another telltale sign of a potential scam is when time limits are placed on investment opportunities. And scam artists are also often reluctant to provide investors with documentation, another warning sign, Buchholz said.
Garvis said Frazier’s unwillingness to show her paperwork made her nervous. When he finally did hand over some fishy documents, she started digging and realized something was wrong. She went to the police.
Seniors can be particularly vulnerable to scams, officials said. Thieves know seniors often have the money to invest, that they may be more trusting, and courteous enough to listen through a presentation.
Some signs of scams might seem obvious, but con artists are good at what they do, Buchholz said.
“They have a real knack for talking to people and making them feel comfortable,” he said. “Everybody can get taken by one of these things.”
When Frazier, a former insurance agent who’d lost his license over misconduct allegations, was arrested earlier this year, authorities announced that he had bilked people out of hundreds of thousands of dollars through his business, Frazier Financial Services.
Frazier would tell investors he was putting their money in annuities, but would either keep it for himself or use some to pay off earlier investors to avoid suspicion, said his attorney, Paul Beneke of Medford. Frazier, the attorney said, had truly hoped to pay everyone back.
In May, Frazier pleaded guilty to racketeering and was sentenced to 60 months in prison. He was ordered to pay more than $400,000 in restitution to his victims, including $20,000 to Garvis, according to court records.
The victims probably will see little returned to them.
“In any kind of white-collar fraud, people normally recover only pennies on the dollar in restitution,” said Rob Brunner, an investigator with the Department of Consumer and Business Services Division of Finance and Corporate Securities, who handled the Frazier case and attended the seminar, “and that’s a good scenario.”
For Garvis, the betrayal from a dear friend was almost harder to bear than the financial loss.
“I had no idea in the beginning he could have been capable of doing what he did,” she said.
• You can reach reporter Chelsea Duncan at 957-4246 or by e-mail at cduncan@nrtoday.com.
A few visits later to the Garvis household in Shady Cove, and Frazier, who was around the age of the couple’s two sons, had earned their trust.
“Mr. Frazier was a very, very nice man,” said Garvis, now 71 and living in Eagle Point. “… He was one of those kind that you just take to immediately. He was a very likable, nice-looking man.”
The couple agreed to hand over the reins to their finances to Frazier. Through her messy divorce with her husband later on, Duanita Garvis remained dear friends with Frazier; she loved him like a nephew.
He’d watch over Garvis’ finances as he did his own mother’s, Frazier told her.
And he did, Garvis realizes now. The problem is, authorities say, he never invested the tens of thousands of dollars she gave him, and he did the same to his mother, and many others.
It was a common ploy, financial experts say — a smooth-talker in a suit, preying on seniors, holding “free lunch” seminars and promising fail-safe investment opportunities.
And in these times of economic turmoil, when many may be worried about how they’ll survive retirement, investors looking for a sure bet can find themselves at risk.
“That’s the time that we’re all most vulnerable for scams and frauds,” said Joyce DeMonnin, director of public outreach for AARP Oregon, at a recent seminar in Roseburg on safe investing. The seminar was held in partnership with the state Department of Consumer and Business Services.
Experts at the seminar provided tips on how to avoid potential scams and also information on what government agencies to contact to see if proposed investment opportunities are legitimate.
From Internet frauds and pyramid schemes to chances to invest in newfangled or bogus inventions and the potentially confusing world of securities, there are plenty of traps set for unwary investors.
“People who promise high returns at lower (or no) risk should not be trusted,” said seminar speaker Steve Buchholz, an attorney with the enforcement division of the federal Securities and Exchange Commission.
Another telltale sign of a potential scam is when time limits are placed on investment opportunities. And scam artists are also often reluctant to provide investors with documentation, another warning sign, Buchholz said.
Garvis said Frazier’s unwillingness to show her paperwork made her nervous. When he finally did hand over some fishy documents, she started digging and realized something was wrong. She went to the police.
Seniors can be particularly vulnerable to scams, officials said. Thieves know seniors often have the money to invest, that they may be more trusting, and courteous enough to listen through a presentation.
Some signs of scams might seem obvious, but con artists are good at what they do, Buchholz said.
“They have a real knack for talking to people and making them feel comfortable,” he said. “Everybody can get taken by one of these things.”
When Frazier, a former insurance agent who’d lost his license over misconduct allegations, was arrested earlier this year, authorities announced that he had bilked people out of hundreds of thousands of dollars through his business, Frazier Financial Services.
Frazier would tell investors he was putting their money in annuities, but would either keep it for himself or use some to pay off earlier investors to avoid suspicion, said his attorney, Paul Beneke of Medford. Frazier, the attorney said, had truly hoped to pay everyone back.
In May, Frazier pleaded guilty to racketeering and was sentenced to 60 months in prison. He was ordered to pay more than $400,000 in restitution to his victims, including $20,000 to Garvis, according to court records.
The victims probably will see little returned to them.
“In any kind of white-collar fraud, people normally recover only pennies on the dollar in restitution,” said Rob Brunner, an investigator with the Department of Consumer and Business Services Division of Finance and Corporate Securities, who handled the Frazier case and attended the seminar, “and that’s a good scenario.”
For Garvis, the betrayal from a dear friend was almost harder to bear than the financial loss.
“I had no idea in the beginning he could have been capable of doing what he did,” she said.
• You can reach reporter Chelsea Duncan at 957-4246 or by e-mail at cduncan@nrtoday.com.
So you know …
Investment con artists commonly use the following techniques:
• promise a rate of return better than what similar investments are paying • guarantee that the investment won’t fail • insist the opportunity to invest exits today only — tomorrow will be too late • promise to send someone to your home to pick up the funds today Oregonians lose millions of dollars to securities and commodities fraud each year. More than three-fourths of all investment scams are sold over the phone by high-pressure salespeople promoting get-rich-quick schemes. The Division of Finance and Corporate Securities, a part of the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services, regulates the sale of securities in Oregon. The division’s responsibilities include registration of securities offerings, licensing of brokerage and investment advisory firms and salespeople and investigation of alleged violations of securities laws. Officials caution potential investors to investigate before investing. For information, call (866) 814-9710 or (503) 378-4140 or visit www.dfcs.oregon.gov Source: Department of Consumer and Business Services |
