FRAUDSTER WHO STOLE FROM CHARITY IS SOUGHT BY AUTHORITIES IN PANAMA FOR OTHER CRIMES

HAVE YOU SEEN THIS MAN ?

Panamanian law enforcement continue to search for the fugitive convicted fraudster, Okke Ornstein, so that he can begin serving the 28-month sentence imposed upon him in previous cases, and to bring him physically before the court, so that the other cases still pending against him can be tried, but he has a much larger problem.

Ornstein, who is wanted by Dutch authorities, is accused of embezzling funds from the Palestinian refugee charity that he raised money for in the Netherlands. An audit reportedly revealed a substantial deficit, and Ornstein was the collector of the funds that were recorded, but never submitted to the charity, which uses it to purchase food, clothing, and shelter for Palestinian refugees made homeless by the Syrian Civil War. I frankly cannot think of a more despicable thing than to steal money intended for refugee relief. The Palestinians, who were displaced due to the fighting in Syria, have been forced to relocate to primitive camps, and exist solely through charitable assistance.

It gets worse; the charity is sponsored by Hamas, a Specially-Designated Global Terrorist organization, and you can be sure that agents of that group are actively seeking to recover the missing money, which means they are also looking for Mr. Ornstein in the Republic of Panama. We will continue to follow this case; who will catch up with this career criminal first ? Stay tuned to this blog to find out.

RICHARD CHICHAKLI COMMENTS ON GOVERNMENT RESPONSE TO HIS RULE 33 MOTION

Richard Chichakli, whose Rule 33 Motion for a New Trial remains pending, has filed what he has captioned Comments on Government response to Defendant's Rule 33 Motion. His Pro Se filing, which is somewhat rambling, essentially makes these points:

(1) Rule 404(b) evidence was used as the basis for the conviction. 404(b), of the Federal Rules of Evidence allows the US Attorney to introduce evidence of other, uncharged criminal conduct in a case, to prove motive, opportunity and intent, among other elements, The computer seized from co-defendant Viktor Bout reportedly contained evidence of other crimes Chichakli & Bout were involved in.

(2) Discovery was improperly withheld; Chichakli states that evidence seized from his residence was not made available to him, to assist in his preparation for trial.

(3) There was ineffective assistance of his stand-by counsel. We have previously covered this topic; essentially if you represent yourself, any appointed stand-by counsel's only role is to assist with technical issues, not to try the case.

(4) The Court improperly interfered with the jury function, and jury misconduct was "unquestionably proven." Apparently, a note not relevant to the case was passed between two jurors during the proceedings; the Court did not find it material or prejudicial.

(5) Al Monica's lay testimony was improperly allowed as expert testimony.

(6) Irrelevant evidence was admitted.

Note: a report on the Psychiatric evaluation conducted upon the defendant is due to be delivered on the 23rd of May. Though the public will not have access to the report, the Court may take action after reviewing. is Richard Chichakli not competent to assist in his own defense ?

  

FINCEN ISSUES ADVISORY ON ST. KITTS ECONOMIC CITIZENSHIP PROGRAM

The impact of the effect of Iranians arriving in Canada with Kittitian passports, even diplomatic passports, has been, belatedly, felt in the United States. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, FINCEN, has published an Advisory* on the passports issued by the Federation of St. Christopher & Nevis through the Citizenship-by-Investment program, stating that they are being employed to facilitate financial crime.

The troubled St. Kitts economic passport program, which I am personally familiar with, has admitted to citizenship individuals who should not have been passed by its compliance unit, and is rumored to require so-called "borderline" applicants to make payments to a certain corrupt government official. Individuals with criminal backgrounds have been accepted, and Iranians have received passports, notwithstanding government promises that it has rendered Iranian nationals ineligible.

Remember also, that in St. Kitts, one of the few unreformed offshore financial centers left in the Caribbean; money doesn't just talk there, it swears. Russian organized crime has had a presence for many years, and drug money laundering is still a fact of life.

While these facts have been known by many in the compliance industry, and compliance officers have been looking closely at the place of birth on each and every St. Kitts passport for some time, the FinCEN announcement is welcome, as it will serve to alert bankers who are not regularly engaged in Customer Identification Procedure of foreign nationals to the dangers posed by economic passports.

 It also serves to remind us that all economic passport programs, from any country, can be exploited by financial criminals, either through access to genuine identity documents of others, or corrupt payments to government officials. Always ask for supplemental government-issued identification, and check the place of birth on all documents, to ascertain whether the holder has an economic passport, or is a naturalized citizen, both of which are red flags for compliance.
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*http://www.fincen.gov/statutes_regs/guidance/pdf/FIN-2014-A004.pdf

LAWYER WHO MADE DECEITFUL CALL TO VICTIMS SENTENCED TO FIVE YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON

Ms. Kitterman

Christina Kitterman, an associate at Scott Rothstein's Ponzi scheme Fort Lauderdale law firm, who made a deceptive telephone call to investors, posing as local staff counsel for the Florida Bar, has been sentenced to five years in Federal Prison. The defendant convinced investors that the Bar was the reason Rothstein was unable to disburse "profits" to the investor/victims, this perpetuating the scam for an additional six months. This was her sole involvement in the scheme, and she received no additional compensation for this act, though she reportedly held a $140,000/year position at Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler.

Kitterman's guidelines sentence was 3-4 years, but the Court found that she she had committed perjury on the stand, and departed above the advisory guidelines. It also had her taken into custody immediately after the hearing, to begin serving her sentence. This is the second time that a District Judge has taken such an action against a lawyer convicted in the Rothstein scandal, which is unusual when attorneys receive relatively short sentences; it appears that the Court is seeking to send a message to the legal community about participation in Ponzi schemes.

Scott Rothstein himself is serving a 50-year sentence at an undisclosed location, and his reported misconduct and perjury post-sentencing may have resulted in the loss of an opportunity for a sentence reduction. 

ALERT FOR PANAMANIAN COMPANY; CHANGEMAKER COMMUNICATIONS

If you have been reading, on this blog, how Paraguas Books, a Panamanian company operated by fugitive Dutch fraudster Okke Ornstein, took money from aspiring writers, and then failed to publish any of their works, the company is now defunct, but it has been succeeded by Changemaker Communications, which is asking readers to send in up to $10,000, for web design, book publishing, or the deliberately vague "copywriting and storytelling strategies."

Okke Ornstein

Mr. Ornstein, who appears on the site as the Strategist--at-Large, is selling old wine in new bottles, and anyone who is not familiar with his six criminal convictions, and pending prison term, will become another victim. The site was built by Kimberlyn David, who is Ornstein's partner in the venture, but the scheme is pure Ornstein. I have not seen any evidence of any work produced by this company, for the simple reason that the company is a shell; You have been warned. 

CREDIT SUISSE: BILLIONS IN FINES, BUT NOT ONE BLOODY NEW INDICTMENT OF BANKERS

While the indictment of Swiss banking giant, Credit Suisse, is welcomed as long overdue, the Attorney General's failure to charged senior bank staff, and the directors, is a disappointment. The culture at the bank has, for decades, invited American tax cheats, and who knows how many financial criminals posing as  garden-variety tax evaders, to covertly bank there.

Unless the senior management, and the fat-cat directors, actually are charged with felonies, the problem will remain; greedy foreign bankers accept the risks, due to the obscene profits. Actually, the only bright spot in the case, aside from the criminal charge of the bank, was the report that Credit Suisse will have to terminate those bakers who are currently under indictment in the US, and stop paying their salaries.

The trump card, a review of the bank's charter, for the death penalty, apparently will not occur, at least in New York, where the state regulator has admitted that there will be no action taken for charter revocation there. A pity; only radical moves will stop the world's banks from playing cat-and-mouse with US laws and regulations.

Am I unhappy about the case ? Yes and no; I will only clap my hands when the other foreign banks engaged in tax evasion facilitation of US nationals, and money laundering, are charged as well. 

RAISE COUNTRY RISK ON CHINA AND VIETNAM, DUE TO CHINESE TROOP MOVEMENTS TO BORDER

Chinese nationals who live in the area of the frontier with Vietnam are reporting large movements of troops, with combat gear, to the border. Violent Vietnamese anti-China demonstrations, at Chinese-owned factories, and the beating of Chinese workers, has caused an exodus of Chinese nationals from Vietnam. Under the circumstances, compliance officers charged with assessment of Country Risk for Asian nations  should strongly increasing it at this time for both China and Vietnam. China's bullying actions in the disputed South China Sea territories is deeply resented by Vietnam.

Remember, Country Risk is not just about business investment risk; nervous criminal organizations tend to accelerate capital flight of criminal proceeds when conditions deteriorate in the countries where they operate,  and terrorist financiers often take advantage of domestic chaos to move funds that facilitate terrorist operations.

Bearing in mind that China and Vietnam went to war on what are now regarded as less serious issues, you will want to watch this matter closely, especially if your clients have financial exposure in either country.

IF YOUR DUE DILIGENCE TARGET USED A REPUTATION RESTORATION COMPANY, TURN THE BEAT AROUND

Yes, I have advised compliance officers that the proliferation of so-called reputation damage restoration firms, which pollute the Internet with fluff about their clients, to defeat your due diligence inquiry, has rendered your search engine activities problematic. It is becoming a real problem, and the companies involved are generally not people you want to meet in a dark alley.

 The most prominent "reputation restorer," who works in Caracas, served seven months in an American penal institution, for hacking into a Department of Defense website*, and was later deported, is Rafael Nuñez-Aponte, a/k/a/ RaFa, who specializes in cleaning up the negative information of corrupt Venezuelan PEPs. His "information laundering" activities are believed to be presently under active investigation by US law enforcement, who reportedly is looking at a number of prominent Venezuelans who are using his "services" to hide articles detailing their money laundering, drug trafficking, and other criminal activities.

Rafael Nuñez-Aponte

I offer my personal remedy to combat the effectiveness of reputation restoration firms. You need to become Professor Backwards, using the reverse of the commonly-employed techniques you are used to. Follow me on this:

(1) Since search engine reputation damage firms work on the theory that most compliance officers, knowing that the results are arranged by relevance, will not look past the first page or two, turn the tables on them. Start your search at the LAST PAGE of the search engine results you have displayed before you. The reputation management firm operates on the premise that it must clog the initial pages, with results that have a high relevance, go to the dead lat entry, and work backwards. Only then will you find that elusive negative entry about your target, that the damage restoration firm is trying so hard to find. The company cannot eliminate the negative information about its client, so they attempt to bury it, leaving the tail end open for your web exploration. Start at the end, and work towards the front. if there is any relevant negative web information, you will run right into it in your search, providing you use my strategy.

(2) Use a search engine that employs algorithms that searches primarily for negative information, not the names of the violators. I use Check for Risk, which avoids returning most of the Internet fluff and garbage placed there by the reputation damage firms. The Check for Risk logo at the top of the page will assist you, if you wish further information; simply click on the logo.

(3) If you have access to non-public information sources, it is humbly suggested that you contact them to verify the negative information you do retrieve. Always be able to show that your information has been verified by at least one additional source.

Use these techniques as a work-around, to get the negative information on your target, without getting lost in the maze of web pages created by the reputation restoration company.

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* Nuñez-Aponte was also believed to have stolen national security information from a NASA computer, as well as taken proprietary information from private corporations' websites. A frequent visitor to Panama, he was part of the "dirty tricks" group of hackers hired by Panama's President Ricardo Martinelli.

PANAMANIAN FRAUDSTER TO BE TRIED IN ABSENTIA AFTER HE FAILS TO SHOW UP TWICE

Okke Ornstein and Kimberlyn David, his business partner

The Dutch child pornographer-turned white collar criminal, Okke Ornstein, will be tried in absentia in Panama, in his next three criminal cases, since he has twice failed to attend his scheduled trials. If Ornstein ever does show up, he will be immediately imprisoned, so that he can commence the existing 28 month sentence he already owes the Republic of Panama, so it is extremely doubtful that he will ever willingly appear for court. He has nine different criminal cases pending against him; some have resulted in the outstanding sentences, others are still awaiting trial; He is believed to be in hiding.

An arrest warrant has been issued for Panama's most notorious fugitive, allowing local law enforcement to literally take him off the street, should he be found. Ornstein recently abruptly closed down his latest scam, a bogus book publishing "venture," Paraguas Books, where he allegedly took money from aspiring writers, but failed to produce and publish a single volume. Anyone who performed even the most minimal due diligence on Ornstein would have found sufficient negative information to cause them to give him a wide berth.

Ornstein is also reportedly the subject of an arrest warrant in the EU, for embezzling charitable receipts intended for a Dutch-based Palestinian refugee charity. Since the charity is a known terrorist fundraising front for Hamas, the specially-designated global terrorist group, he may not be afforded due process, should Hamas catch up with him before EU, or Panamanian law enforcement, do.

Readers who are wondering why I devote articles to this individual; he has taken to publish some quite unkind things about the undersigned on the 'web, ever since I disclosed that he was the general manager for the Ponzi schemer, Marc Harris, and I think that it is in everyone's best interest to take this career criminal, and place him where he can no longer defraud expats living in Panama. Apparently, he does not like it when his white collar crimes are reported.

NEW SOUTH CHINA SEA TENSIONS COULD RAISE COUNTRY RISK FOR CHINA, VIETNAM AND THE PHILIPPINES

China has again caused regional tensions to increase in the countries that border the South China Sea, and Country Risk may be affected, should incidents blossom into military confrontation. Here are the two new problems:

(1) The Philippines has advised that China is building an airfield on disputed territory in the South China Sea. The location, which was once the scene of a bloody battle between Chinese forces, and Vietnam, is contested, and this new action will only further alienate China's neighbors.

(2) The placement of a Chinese oil drilling platform in disputed territory, which is totally within Vietnam's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), and in area where Chinese military defeated the former
Republic of Vietnam in 1974, has resulted in widespread anti-Chinese riots in Vietnam.Chinese-owned
businesses were destroyed, and Chinese nationals assaulted. A large number of Chinese are now leaving Vietnam.

Readers who are charged with the assessment of Country Risk should remember their history. Vietnam, which fought a brief, inconclusive frontier war with China in 1979, has a long history of opposing external forces, and nationalist sentiment there has increased of late, due to what is regarded as Chinese meddling in Vietnamese territory. The Philippines is still smarting over Chinese actions, uncomfortably near its shoes, and wholly within its EEZ.

The Chinese economy, which is already having minor problems, could nose-dive if China actually gets into a shooting war, and some countries ban Chinese-made goods; Watch this region closely.

WILL PANAMANIAN MONEY LAUNDERERS BECOME AN ENDANGERED SPECIES ?

Yes, I know; none of the fifty-five known money launderers operating in the Republic of Panama has  ever been charged with criminal activity there. (most of them are Venezuelan nationals, but that's another story). Things may be changing, however, and here is why I am optimistic:

(1) A well-known Panama-based money laundering operation has been sanctioned by OFAC, and the principals arrested in Panama City. They are linked to narcotics trafficking, as well as the old Lebanese-Canadian Bank case.

(2) Panama is about to have a new president, and he has made no bones about cleaning house, regarding both corruption, and financial crime, in government.

(3) Literally all the sitting ministers, many of whom are now barred from visiting the United States, will be terminated by the new administration.

(4) Outgoing President Ricardo Martinelli, linked to a number of the usual suspects, including imprisoned master Ponzi schemer David Guzmán, should be leaving Panama shortly, as he is facing a corruption indictment in Italy, where he holds dual citizenship.

(5) The deteriorating economic situation in Venezuela should decrease the amount of "flight capital." meaning money looting from the governmental treasury, should decline.

(6) Panamanians, and resident expats, are frankly, sick of the money laundering and corruption. The question remains: will the country now choose reform over corruption, and a banking best practices approach to AML/CFT, rather than the "Wild West" form of banking that pervades the financial structure ? Only time will tell.

PANAMA COURT DENIES CLEMENCY PETITION FOR OKKE ORNSTEIN, DUE TO HIS MULTIPLE CONVICTIONS AND PRISON SENTENCES

Convicted criminals who are about to face the strong arm of justice have been known to do desperate things. In the Republic of Panama, a first offender convicted of a crime can petition the court for Clemency, to avoid prison, and to have his conviction expunged; Panama's most prolific white-collar criminal, Okke Ornstein, recently had his attorneys make such a filing. I believe that such a move was only filed for the purposes of delay, as pending efforts to arrest fugitives, like Ornstein, result in a temporary suspension of arrest efforts, and Ornstein was wanted by the authorities, being a fugitive who had failed to surrender, to begin serving a number of prison sentences already meted out to him in Panama. He also faces a number of pending felony charges which have not yet gone to trial.

The defendant, as expected, ruled that he did not qualify for Clemency, due to the fact that he had several unspent criminal convictions; in truth and in fact, he has a carload of convictions, as well as a five million dollar judgment on record. The judge has ordered him taken into custody forthwith, and renewed the arrest order.

Additionally, the defendant is wanted in the European Union, on multiple grand theft charges. Apparently, he stole charitable receipts, money that belonged to a Palestinian charity operating in the Netherlands. There is yet another issue: the charity is said to be a known front for Hamas, and Hamas agents have been looking for Mr. Ornstein, whose present whereabouts are unknown, for some time. He is thought to be in hiding in Panama.

Who will apprehend this career criminal first: Panamanian law enforcement, or terrorist agents ?

CANADIAN MSB THAT MOVED $30m IN MIAMI MEDICARE FRAUD CASH POINTS THE FINGER RIGHT BACK AT MIAMI BANKS

Caribbean Transfers, Ltd., a Canada-based remittance-to-Cuba company, whose owner is facing money laundering conspiracy charges in the United States, for $30m in alleged medicare fraud transfers, has responded to the allegations, and attempted to deflect blame upon those Miami financial institutions that facilitated the massive flow of criminal proceeds into government-owned banks in Cuba, while denying liability.

The MSB, which has since "rebranded' itself as www.123envialo.com , also struck out at Miami media reports on the case, which involved the illicit transfer of Medicare fraud proceeds, from Miami, to accounts at Royal Bank of Canada in Montreal, on to shell companies in Canada and Trinidad, and finally into government-controlled banks in Cuba. The most notorious aspect of the case was the physical transport of twenty boxes, full of money orders, reportedly all obtained in Miami, to the MSB in Canada. One wonders how the compliance officers at the Miami sources for all those millions of dollars in money orders have explained their professional negligence, otherwise known as malpractice, to law enforcement and regulators.

In a major statement, on its website, Caribbean Transfers has denied all the allegations, claiming that it was simply a remittance company. I will attempt to give you accurate translations from the original Spanish, in grammatical English, as it is my policy to air both sides of all controversies, so that you can arrive at an educated conclusion:

"The stories begin at the beginning, and in the beginning, it is the Miami banks that handled the 70 accounts of Medicare fraudsters."

"Our company is not a US company, has no office, nor has any assets in that country, so it is absurd to think that one can buy 20  boxes of money orders, and send them to Cuba."

"The unjust accusation against our management is conspiracy to launder money. The charged of conspiracy to launder money is unfounded."

"Those who buy bank drafts are US citizens who want to send remittances to Cuba."

"willful blindness is a contagious disease in Miami."

"Money laundering is in Miami, not in Cuba."

I am at a loss to explain how the Canadian Government, having certainly been advised by US law enforcement agencies of the massive movement of criminal proceeds, in US dollars, into Cuba, did not immediately shut down Caribbean Transfers. I am also questioning the sound judgment of the bankers and compliance officers who watched this flood of US Dollars pass through their hands, with nary a whisper to the RCMP. Was it the lucrative fees earned by the bank ?

I give the banks in both Miami and in Canada a compliance grade of "F" for utter failure. no wonder Miami has now become the Medicare fraud capital of the United States.

ARGENTINIAN TRAVEL AGENCY FINED $2.8m BY OFAC FOR CUBAN SANCTIONS VIOLATION

A Buenos Aires travel agency that incorporated in Delaware, to evade taxes in Argentina, has now drawn a $2.8m fine from OFAC. It seems that a small portion of the firm's business was selling trips to Cuba. The fact that it was a corporation organized in the US gave OFAC jurisdiction, and it received this large civil penalty for violating sanctions on place against doing business with Cuba.

Though not specifically named in the Treasury notice, it appears that the company received erroneous legal advice, to the effect that it had no liability to OFAC. One wonders if it will now sue its law firm for malpractice.

HOW WILL EU RULING ON REMOVAL OF PERSONAL DATA FROM GOOGLE AFFECT DUE DILIGENCE ?

The Court of Justice of the European Union, in a major ruling*, has held that EU nationals have the right to have "irrelevant or outdated" information about themselves deleted from search engine results. While the Court appeared to strike a "fair balance" between the public's right to access, and the individual's right to privacy and data protection, this position, if it stands, could seriously impact the ability of compliance officers conducting due diligence.

The case turned on a nineteen-year old negative news article about a Spanish national, available on Google. What the Court has done here is give individuals a "Right to be Forgotten," which means that negative information that someone does not want subject to access, via a search engine, can be ordered deleted. This poses a serious problem for compliance officers seeking the truth about a target. Some commentators are already stating that it amounts to domestic censorship, as is currently practiced in China. How can a compliance officer certify that his or her investigation failed to turn up any significant negative information about a prospective bank customer in the European Union ?

It is bad enough that we have to deal with regimes in the developing world interfering with the free flow of domestic information, but if this ruling results in the wholesale deletion of important negative data about EU nationals, then Country Risk for members of the European Union will take on a whole new function, and it will not be positive. Let us hope that this decision, which raises individual preferences on data about themselves to an entirely new plane, will not be widely adopted.

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* Google Spain SL et al vs. Agencia Española de Protección de Datos,  Case No. C-131/12, Document  No.: G212CJ0131.