I need some help. I got a call from Aram. He's living in Wales and stays with an elderly gentleman named David. David has recently been scammed out of a LARGE chunk of change and they asked me to help.
Here's what I know:
A representative from the Vanzandt group called David and convinced him to pay them for shares in various start up companies (I've got a list of them below). The shares are worthless.
Smart Grid Systems, Inc
Seven waterfront Plaza 500 Ala Moana Blvd,
Honolulu, Hawaii 96819
Telephone (702) 664-0042.
invest@smart-gridsystems.com
www.smart-gridsystems.com
Selva Resources Corp
565 Las Vegas Boulevard, Suite 723
Las Vegas, Nevada 89109
Green Energy Live, Inc
1740 44th Street, Suite 5-230
Wyoming, MI 49519
Phone:(866) 460-7336
Fax 616-582-5943
Karen Clark
President/CEO
Green Energy Live, Inc
http://www.greenenergylive.com
I have requested more info on Vanzandt itself and I'm currently waiting for that. According to the UK Financial Services Authority (FSA), Vanzandt is not authorized to do business in the UK (http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pages/Doing/Regulated/Law/Alerts/overseas.shtml).
I did a little research and found out that this type of scam is refered to as a Boiler Room Scam.
Such firms are often involved in ‘boiler room’ activities and pose a high degree of risk to consumers. They frequently engage in tactics including cold-calling members of the public offering shares that later turn out to be worthless or high risk. - FSA
David's next steps are to file a complaint with his local police, the FSA and a City of London Police Task Force called Operation Archway.
David's ultimate hope is to recoup some of his money. To do that, as I understand it, his first steps are to find the country in which Vanzandt is registered and find out what the local laws are.
I know it's a long shot, but is there anything we can do?
Edit:
The VanZandt Group has phone numbers in Switzerland and are also listed on the ASIC (Australian Securities and Investment Commission)cold-calling blacklist and the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority list of Invester Alerts.
Ph: 435 002 593 and 44 308 3535
Fax: 434 302 117
