Fraud Awareness Month

Happy fraud awareness month!

I heard on the radio that March is Fraud Awareness month. Whether that is true or not, I find it ironic that it was less than a week ago, a fraudster was caught up in a kidnapping.

Last Thursday, a man was found beaten and bound at the side of a road. His 2010 Bentley Continental GT was stolen, and then recovered a short time later. Police are currently looking for up to 4 suspects in this kidnapping case.

A brief recap: OCEANSKY goes down and another one: OCEANSKY

Sounds like a case of robbery gone wrong or something, but the plate on the Bentley (later as I discovered) was OCEANSKY. I've seen that plate somewhere before. Upon further digging, the owner is very well known in the car community. Friends of friends know him. His name? Reza Mokhtarian. If you've heard of Capital Trust Markets (based off in New Zealand) and Forex Trading, he was the one who ran it. He is also the founder of Mentor Tips

Years ago, he asked those to put their investments into this, because they would get a 15% return rate every month. His tactic is as so: become a millionaire in less than a year. That's how he (supposedly) became one so quick. I don't believe in that crap anyways. Anyone who holds conferences to talk about how to become a millionaire very quick is all a scam. You still have to pay money to find out how, and the tips are pretty useless (haven't tried, but voluntarily went to one of those conferences and wasn't a fan of how it was portrayed). When you think about it, the human mind is very selfish, especially when it comes to money, and a lot of money. Those who make a lot of money will not tell everyone how to do it, because then everyone will be millionaires. Then others will outdo you. So why risk that? This is why I don't believe in those things. They try to make it all sound so catchy and that you'll be a millionaire in no time. In reality, it won't happen overnight, and it won't happen in less than a year.

To prove he was rich, he got a mansion, bought exotic cars, and appeared to be well off. In reality, the home was not under his name, and the cars ended up to be rentals. People had invested, trusting they would get a good return, but when they tried to access their money, the system would show they had nothing. People would go after him, and well, just like all liars and fraudsters out there, they have their ways of making up stories to delay getting their money back. What he does is basically like a Ponzi scheme.

If you Google "reza ferrari chat", a huge thread comes up in who he is, and what he does. His Aventador is a rental, and so is his Bentley.

The kidnapping story just seemed so weird. If the people involved were former investors or just plain enemies wanting their money back, they might as well just ask him to force sign documents, or get money withdrawn, kidnap him then kill him. The fact that he was found beaten and not dead, suggests that it was a scare tactic, or it was a set up. But really, scare tactic? He's still not going to pay up. Maybe they all hope that after this, he would take it more seriously and return people's money. Who knows.

It reminds me of Lou Pearlman, the former manager of the Backstreet Boys, and N'Sync. Before he became manager of BSB, he had convinced investors to invest in his Trans Continental Airlines company, which only existed on paper. He defrauded investors over $300 million. When the Backstreet Boys became successful and was selling out concerts, he used their fame to try and pay back the investors. He convinced the Boys that each were only allowed a certain salary (it was around $300,000 for each), while the rest would go to his pocket to pay back his investors. As a screaming fan growing up, I'd always thought those 5 guys were super rich. In reality, Pearlman owed them millions as well.

Pearlman was finally caught in 2007 and was found guilty of running the longest Ponzi scheme in history and sentenced to 25 years in jail.

Another one in the car community is (we shall call him) Andre. Supposedly drives a GTR (last I heard, it was found in a lake) and knows a lot about it. Offers to help with car parts and doesn't want money. Yeah, because in the end when your parts get installed, your car falls apart and you are left to pay a huge bill to repair your car. Which costs more than just the "free" parts itself. Some GTR owners are still left without their parts, or money from this guy. They call him, email him, go to his home to get things back and are left empty handed, because the entire family acts like they're in a Ponzi scheme.

He's nice to people initially, and that's how people fall for his tactic. He works his way into people's lives by buying them things, whether it's jewelry, car parts, you name it. Once he establishes trust, then he will screw you over by not returning items or money. And when you start to go after him, he will run and get his mom to finish you off. The family will see you as a bad influence to him and will blame you for everything, when in reality, he's the one causing you to go crazy. You just want your stuff back. How hard is that?

Apparently it's difficult. A lot of people are still waiting for their items and money (which he doesn't have because they have gone towards lavish dinners with different girls). He is also another bad news in the car community. Shops are aware of him, GTR owners are aware of him, and I'm pretty sure other randoms in the car community know as well. In the end, it's buyer beware.

Don't say I didn't warn you. It is Fraud Awareness month after all.