Lawsuit faults Crist in giant Ponzi scheme [Florida]

[Sancho]

As attorney general, the governor delayed or interfered with investigations, the suit says.
Music promoter Lou Pearlman needed help to keep his huge financial Ponzi scheme going. Tampa lawyer Jim Lowy said he got it from then-Florida Attorney General - and now Governor - Charlie Crist as well as major financial institutions.

- snip -

"You expect the government to protect you," said Silva, a former St. Petersburg resident who now lives in Center Conway, N.H. "Everyone was covering up things and we're the ones to suffer."

http://www.sptimes.com/2007/03/06/State/Lawsuit_faults_Crist_.shtml

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Jeb hands reigns over to another Republican!

[The Backlash Cometh]

1. This needs two more recommendations.

Let's get it on the Greatest Page so everyone can see that Crist has been part of the Good ole boy problem we have in Florida.

[tanyev]

2. "You expect the government to protect you,"

She hasn't been paying much attention lately, has she?

[Scurrilous]

3. Pearlman's long run

High yields, insurance by Lloyd’s and a CPA firm vanish. Investigators say they’re uncovering a Ponzi scheme

http://www.sptimes.com/2007/02/05/Business/Pearlman_s_long_run.shtml

<snip>

"Orlando entrepreneur Lou Pearlman relished the limelight, promoting ’N Sync and his other boy bands, jetting off to Europe and throwing lavish parties. But for dependable cash flow, he relied on retirees who trusted him with their life savings.

Now state investigators say they have found Pearlman operated little more than a classic Ponzi scheme, tapping new investors to pay off old investors, all assisted by a questionable accounting firm manipulated by the Orlando millionaire. One of the most remarkable thing about the scheme is that it lasted so long.

Dating to the 1980s, one of Pearlman’s companies, Trans Continental Airlines, offered what seemed to be a fabulous investment, a super safe high-yielding savings account. More than 1,000 investors, many from the Tampa Bay area, turned over more than $100-million to him, usually on the recommendation of a lawyer or insurance agent.

Reeling them in was easy. The “employee investment savings account,” as it was known, offered yields from 3 percent to 14 percent, depending on when, and from whom, you bought. The big selling point was a guarantee of FDIC insurance, with surplus insurance from Lloyd’s of London and AIG for amounts over $100,000.

Pearlman partied with his sales agents and when they asked about insurance coverage, he showed off a document purported to be from Lloyd’s, insuring the accounts up to $500-million.

“If they hadn’t said it was FDIC, I wouldn’t have put a penny in there,” said Bruno Baumanis of St. Pete Beach, 85, who invested $150,000. “I still have that piece of paper they gave me.”

But there was no insurance. Not with the FDIC. Not with AIG and not with Lloyds."

[Robbien]

4. On average

they turned over $l00,000 each to Pearlman. So it appears Pearlman was sticking it to the average Joe, not the real high rollers.

[seafan]

5. Well, my well-honed cynicism just refreshed itself.... sorry, Charlie.

Business Fraud Suit Says Crist Was Lax

By MICHAEL FECHTER The Tampa Tribune
March 6, 2007

TAMPA - Gov. Charlie Crist, when Florida's attorney general, failed to aggressively investigate concerns about an Orlando-based investment program because it was run by a political supporter, a lawsuit filed Monday in federal court contends.
The lawsuit alleges racketeering, mail and wire fraud against companies run by Lou Pearlman, who gained fame for helping to launch boy bands the Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync.
Pearlman's Trans Continental Employee Investment Savings and Retirement Accounts and other funds were elaborate Ponzi schemes that defrauded investors of $317 million, the lawsuit states.

Trans Continental is a charter airline run by Pearlman until last month.

.....

The losses could have been avoided if state regulators, led by the attorney general's office, more closely scrutinized the program's activities, Lowy wrote.
Calls to Crist's office were not returned.
The attorney general's office was investigating the funds when Crist was elected to the job in 2003. His office closed its case in January 2004 without taking action after Pearlman wrote that his investment program did not solicit outside investors, the lawsuit says.
The program "kicked in to a new phase" at that point, with new investors solicited.

.....

Crist's campaign for governor received at least $11,000 in contributions from Pearlman and his companies, state records show. In addition, he reimbursed Pearlman for two trips on the businessman's private jets, and Pearlman helped host a campaign fundraiser for Crist.

.....

"If you're the attorney general and you're investigating someone, you don't take campaign contributions from that person," Lowy said. "You have a duty to avoid the appearance of impropriety."

.....

The Orlando Sentinel reported last month that Pearlman transferred millions of dollars into personal bank accounts and moved everything from big-screen televisions to corporate documents as it appeared the courts were closing in.

Pearlman may have left the country.

Lawsuit faults Crist in giant Ponzi scheme

By HELEN HUNTLEY
Published March 6, 2007

Music promoter Lou Pearlman needed help to keep his huge financial Ponzi scheme going. Tampa lawyer Jim Lowy said he got it from then-Florida Attorney General - and now Governor - Charlie Crist as well as major financial institutions.

Crist delayed or interfered with investigations against Pearlman and his companies, Lowy said in a lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Tampa. The complaint alleged that $10,500 contributed by Pearlman and his companies to Crist's campaign for governor may have been diverted from scammed investors. And while Crist was attorney general, he enjoyed the use of Pearlman's skyboxes and private jet, according to the complaint, reimbursing the impresario for trips at far less than the actual cost.

"Crist violated his professional duty to avoid the appearance of impropriety," said Lowy's lawsuit, which states Crist reported the cost of a trip on Pearlman's Gulfstream jet at less than $350, when the actual cost is about $4,000 an hour.

Crist declined to comment, saying he had not been briefed on the details of the complaint.

.....

[Demeter]

6. Wow. Florida Has Always Been Good for Conmen

sorry to see that the historical trend continues.

[rman]

7. The best place for a criminal/con-artist to be:

in a position of authority.

Many are not smart enough to get in a position of authority - but apparently some are. And once they are they can wreak havoc - and get away with it.

[Stevepol]

8. I suspect charging Crist probably orginates from the Diebold lobby.

It's the same bunch that got rid of the CA Sec of State over some trumped up charges after he got the Diebold machines impounded.

Here Crist is trying to get rid of the DRE's in FL and suddenly we find out about some so-called Ponzi scheme he's privy to or has been using.

I smell a rat, and a rat planted by Diebold.

I could be wrong, but if the DRE's are trashed, the end is near for totally rigged elections. It will still be possible to cheat, but there will now be paper to look at to check to see if the machine count and the paper count agree. Seems pretty suspicious to me.

[MasonJar]

9. Now there is a shocker...a crooked, lying guv of Florida.

[pscot]

10. This thing had a 27 year run

Must be some kind of record for a Ponzi scheme.

[Recursion]

11. I don't know... Social Security has been going for much longer now

:ducks: