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Thank you also freeze your checking or savings account # you used to wire money from because an unauthorized wire for $25 to Commissions for "investigation" was charged on my account recently on oct 5; I called Bank of America and they said they don't charge fees for investigations and if they did, they can just deduct the fee via debit or ach not wire!
I never shared my ssn, but they did ask for DL saying they needed ID for the account; I should of known better because later I realized Vanguard, etrade or others didn't ask for DL but they do ask for SSN which is scary. Credit reports are accessed by SSN not DL#
Guys, for legit investing like notes or fix and flip loans is GROUNDFLOOR; I have invested with them 4 times now. Also FUNDRISE but if you keep it there for a year, when u withdraw after 1 year, 0 fees.
Hi all, ok, I just emailed David Snowball to see if we could start a private group for those that have been scammed by TBO Capital / HMC Trading. Although...I don't know how that will work since we can't vet who gets in....how do they know who was scammed and who was not? Maybe we should just keep this public so all can see? Maybe even people who have not been scammed can see this and help us? And if we need to share private info, we can just private message each other? That way we can exchange private information that way and keep in touch in case this site goes down?
Anyway, Monday (tomorrow) starts a new week....I have been waiting for Monday to get here so I can start making more calls. I honestly don't know where to start. I just know I will do anything in my power to get our money back and help us all to reach that same goal!!!!
Does anyone have hacker friends? Friends at the FBI? Friends in law enforcement? Anyone that can help us or knows what direction to point us? Friends of friends? Let's keep brainstorming.......
How about calling the banks where they cashed the checks and where we sent the wires? Is there no insurance for wire and check fraud? Mine was Wells Fargo and Fifth Third Bank. I have calls into both of them!
@balyan55 and others, if you get calls from a site just because you searched for them on the web, those can be traps. Don't slide from one scam into another.
One of the affected persons by the TBO scam can set up a semi-private site elsewhere. There may be a steep learning curve involved in doing so. One example is ProBoards where site access can be controlled (fully public, public-private, fully private). Disclosure - I am familiar with several PB sites and have my own too. https://www.proboards.com/create-free-forum
FB Groups also good controllability.
BTW, PM systems (here and elsewhere) have limitations in that people can be added or leave at will. I was once involuntarily included in a PM group chain (not at MFO) that I didn't care for. I was so offended that I deleted the PM originator from the group chain. The poor fellow may be still wondering what happened.
I did start a page elsewhere, in the hopes we wouldn't be an annoyance here. I just started it so not much traction yet, but it's a start. At least we could form a "base" with some contacts so that we could report any news or breakthroughs. I for one am not optimistic any of us are going to recover losses anytime soon. Here's the blog page: https://tbocapitalgroupvictims.blogspot.com/
I know it`s a long shot, but does anyone have a screen shot of the "forms" page on that TBO site? I`m wondering exactly what information I gave them. I tried the waybacktimemachine, but it no longer has the pages up. Sadly, like our money, this guy is gone with the wind. : - (
Also, if it helps - I have that pos`s bank information that he used to receive all our money. The bank wire information is Truist Financial. His bank account number is: 1340017489258. The Truist swift number is SNTRUS3AXXX. And we all know the account name he used was HMC Trading LLC. I wonder if Truist knows they were the conduit (or one of them) for this major fraudulent scheme?
TBO scam victims: please see the link @Old_Joe provided below (look for the bright red characters!) to request access to the private group that's been set up for folks in your situation.
TBO Capital Group Owners, I looked around 9/29/22-09/30/2022 to check om my account value and the website was down. Then I looked for the executives and fund managers pages on LinkedIn. They were all missing. That put the nail in the coffin for me that TBO Capital Group - HMC Trading LLC were missing. The next day I tried the phones and emails etc. have all been disconnected. The account at Wells Fargo I had received a couple checks from HMC Trading LLC is gone as well. Simply says: Loading page please wait - System error on Wells Fargo end. It should either show an open account or a closed account but not that message. I wonder if someone could be playing a part of this issue from Wells Fargo. Due to the TBO Capital Group - HMC Trading LLC account complete disappearance. Any suggestions of steps to take please pass along. I have Wells Fargo involved where the funds were wired too, and the checks I also received from them. I have my bank involved in checking what action they can take on the wire sent to Wells Fargo. There was no BBB record in NY, NY for TBO Capital Group. They suggested the SEC but, they work for the (government only) and can maybe help stop this from happening further but not help for us. Did everyone's dividend check on the top left indicate NO ACCOUNT #? Thanks for all suggestions on any further action to look into. Stay focused there are many of us here that have been burned by this.
MFO has established a special conference board for those who have comments or questions regarding the TBO debacle. This was done to provide a degree of privacy for your posting. To join that group, see-
The private discussion is up and running now for TBO victims only. Please let me know if you have been victimized and need access. This is the place where us victims can post more sensitive information and details. Stay strong all!!! Let's share info and fight like heck to recover our money. Teresa
Your request at that link may take some time to be activated. It isn't automatic- an actual human being will need to activate your request, and that may take some time since those volunteers also have a life doing other stuff.
Hi Public - does anyone have a contact at the FBI that we should be calling or emailing? Someone specific? Also, does anyone out there have contacts at the banks? The main thing us victims need is specific contacts so that we can all contact people and raise a big stink. Thank you! Teresa
Hi to all. I conduct due diligence on funds and fund managers professionally, typically for large institutions. I was asked by a retail client to look into TBO Capital in July - he claimed it was too good to be true. I decided to help out the investor and reviewed all of the firm's public data and noted the lack of SEC registration, as required. The lack of EDGAR filings and many other red flags including that the firm's address on the website was a post office box in a UPS Store on Madison Ave. My research led me to believe that the operation was likely a fraud, and I contacted the retail investor and told them to stay away. In early August I contacted the SEC and reported my findings. Three days later I was contacted by SEC investigators, and I supplied them with my research and findings. within a few weeks the firm's website came down and the LinkedIn profiles of the firm and the principals were removed as well. I cannot confirm, but I assume that the SEC is behind the sudden disappearance of TBO Capital. Typically, the SEC will also move quickly to freeze the assets of the fund manager, the fund, the principals, and any related assets to try to recover funds for investors. I do not know, but I assume, that the SEC will eventually make a public announcement about their actions and look to secure the fund's/firm's records to try to determine who may have been caught up in the fraud. John
Hi all on this page, I have already posted this to the Private TBO victims board, but wanted to post it here in the public as well. If anyone has any thoughts or can help us?
Hi All, below is the research that my husband has done on the APPF (Authorized Push Payment Fraud). In the UK they have laws and basically automatically reimburse victims like us in situations like this. The US is behind. But there is hope. Here is his research:
Making the Case the Fraudster's Banks are Guilty of Negligence and Ought to Reimburse the Fraud Losses
The argument in short is the banks should have prevented the fraudster from opening accounts with the banks to stole our money. Moreover, the banks should have carefully monitored the accounts for suspicious activity, preventing the fraudster from stealing our money. Such suspicious activity includes withdrawing our money immediately or very soon after it was deposited, cashing large checks instead of depositing them, transferring our deposited money into crypto currencies, performing in-person bank activities in quasi-disguise (a cap and a medical mask), etc.
The fraud is called Authorized Push Payment Fraud, or APP fraud: This fraud "happens when fraudsters deceive consumers or individuals at a business to send them a payment under false pretenses to a bank account controlled by the fraudster. As payments made using real-time payment schemes are irrevocable, the victims cannot reverse a payment once they realize they have been conned." (https://www.fico.com/blogs/what-authorised-push-payment-fraud)
The responsibility of the banks to detect fraudster's opening or holding an account(s) with their bank falls under the principle of Know Your Customer, or KYC: This "refers to due diligence that banks and other financial institutions must perform on their customers before doing business with them. Know your customer policies are usually required by governments and enforced by bank regulators to prevent corruption, identity theft, financial fraud, money laundering and terrorism financing. Most Know Your Customer frameworks are based on four components: 1) customer identification, 2) customer acceptance, 3) transaction monitoring and 4) ongoing risk management. Requirements vary by country, but the collection of basic identity documents, comparison against certain name lists (‘politically exposed persons’ or PEP lists, for example), and analysis of transaction behaviors are most common." (https://fraud.net/d/kyc-know-your-customer/)
Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations are also relevant. "AML is a set of regulations, laws and procedures that detect and prevent criminals from disguising illegal funds as legitimate income. AML policies help banks and financial institutions combat financial crimes. AML regulations require banks to collect customer information, monitor and screen their transactions and report suspicious activity to financial regulatory authorities. Additionally, the AML holding period requires deposits to remain in an account for a specified amount of time (at least five trading days in the U.S.). Banks can use this holding period to help in anti-money laundering and risk management." (https://www.jumio.com/aml-guidance-banking-finance-2021/)
Financial scams and frauds using banks has greatly increased in recent years. Victims of fraud are unaware of this development, but banks are well aware of it and therefore ought to be even more diligent than ever. In other words, banks are more culpable than ever for insufficient Know Your Customer and Anti-Money Laundering practices in a setting where financial fraud has significantly increased and banks know it.
"Authorized Push Payment (APP) fraud losses have now outstripped fraud losses on bank and credit cards for the first time. Impersonation scams more than doubled (up 123%), investment scams rose by 95% and romance scams were up 62%." (https://www.finextra.com/blogposting/20949/could-poor-bank-kyc-part-the-problem-of-fraud) Given this, banks should be especially diligent to prevent their banks from being involved in APP scams.
I am one of the have been taken from by TBO Capital Group - HMC Trading LLC. I have made the rounds on reporting but as others have said and the SEC said, they work at protecting the government only. Of note I feel we all should report it even though we may not get anywhere. Based on the numbers of people reporting who they spoke with at the SEC I would say the case is being looked at seriously. It is being funneled to the same Attorneys to handle the case. My understanding from Wells Fargo the SEC will have a direct contact to someone high up in Wells Fargo to get this mess of a web figured out. I am curious if anyone else has any experience with Private Equity Investing like this? This was my first and likely only try at it. What is to say any old mutual fund with a ticker symbol is being operated honestly though? TBO did not have a ticker symbol hence Private Equity is my interpretation of it. It was a stretch for me, and I got burned... I hope all are doing their best considering.
I had invested over 300K in the thieves at TBO received one withdrawal on 19 Sept then their site was gone along with my money. I have reported to the SEC , FBI & NY DA . I would like to get on the private discussion board
Comments
Anyway, Monday (tomorrow) starts a new week....I have been waiting for Monday to get here so I can start making more calls. I honestly don't know where to start. I just know I will do anything in my power to get our money back and help us all to reach that same goal!!!!
Does anyone have hacker friends? Friends at the FBI? Friends in law enforcement? Anyone that can help us or knows what direction to point us? Friends of friends? Let's keep brainstorming.......
How about calling the banks where they cashed the checks and where we sent the wires? Is there no insurance for wire and check fraud? Mine was Wells Fargo and Fifth Third Bank. I have calls into both of them!
Disclosure - I am familiar with several PB sites and have my own too.
https://www.proboards.com/create-free-forum
FB Groups also good controllability.
BTW, PM systems (here and elsewhere) have limitations in that people can be added or leave at will. I was once involuntarily included in a PM group chain (not at MFO) that I didn't care for. I was so offended that I deleted the PM originator from the group chain. The poor fellow may be still wondering what happened.
Here's the blog page:
https://tbocapitalgroupvictims.blogspot.com/
1340017489258. The Truist swift number is SNTRUS3AXXX. And we all know the account name he used was HMC Trading LLC. I wonder if Truist knows they were the conduit (or one of them) for this major fraudulent scheme?
ONE MORE TIME- Please use the following link to request access to the private TBO Board: Your request at that link may take some time to be activated. It isn't automatic- an actual human being will need to activate your request, and that may take some time since those volunteers also have a life doing other stuff.
Use the link referenced in Old_Joe's post which is right before your post.
In early August I contacted the SEC and reported my findings. Three days later I was contacted by SEC investigators, and I supplied them with my research and findings. within a few weeks the firm's website came down and the LinkedIn profiles of the firm and the principals were removed as well.
I cannot confirm, but I assume that the SEC is behind the sudden disappearance of TBO Capital. Typically, the SEC will also move quickly to freeze the assets of the fund manager, the fund, the principals, and any related assets to try to recover funds for investors. I do not know, but I assume, that the SEC will eventually make a public announcement about their actions and look to secure the fund's/firm's records to try to determine who may have been caught up in the fraud.
John
Hi All, below is the research that my husband has done on the APPF (Authorized Push Payment Fraud). In the UK they have laws and basically automatically reimburse victims like us in situations like this. The US is behind. But there is hope. Here is his research:
Making the Case the Fraudster's Banks are Guilty of Negligence and Ought to Reimburse the Fraud Losses
The argument in short is the banks should have prevented the fraudster from opening accounts with the banks to stole our money. Moreover, the banks should have carefully monitored the accounts for suspicious activity, preventing the fraudster from stealing our money. Such suspicious activity includes withdrawing our money immediately or very soon after it was deposited, cashing large checks instead of depositing them, transferring our deposited money into crypto currencies, performing in-person bank activities in quasi-disguise (a cap and a medical mask), etc.
The fraud is called Authorized Push Payment Fraud, or APP fraud:
This fraud "happens when fraudsters deceive consumers or individuals at a business to send them a payment under false pretenses to a bank account controlled by the fraudster. As payments made using real-time payment schemes are irrevocable, the victims cannot reverse a payment once they realize they have been conned." (https://www.fico.com/blogs/what-authorised-push-payment-fraud)
The responsibility of the banks to detect fraudster's opening or holding an account(s) with their bank falls under the principle of Know Your Customer, or KYC:
This "refers to due diligence that banks and other financial institutions must perform on their customers before doing business with them. Know your customer policies are usually required by governments and enforced by bank regulators to prevent corruption, identity theft, financial fraud, money laundering and terrorism financing. Most Know Your Customer frameworks are based on four components: 1) customer identification, 2) customer acceptance, 3) transaction monitoring and 4) ongoing risk management. Requirements vary by country, but the collection of basic identity documents, comparison against certain name lists (‘politically exposed persons’ or PEP lists, for example), and analysis of transaction behaviors are most common." (https://fraud.net/d/kyc-know-your-customer/)
Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations are also relevant.
"AML is a set of regulations, laws and procedures that detect and prevent criminals from disguising illegal funds as legitimate income. AML policies help banks and financial institutions combat financial crimes. AML regulations require banks to collect customer information, monitor and screen their transactions and report suspicious activity to financial regulatory authorities. Additionally, the AML holding period requires deposits to remain in an account for a specified amount of time (at least five trading days in the U.S.). Banks can use this holding period to help in anti-money laundering and risk management." (https://www.jumio.com/aml-guidance-banking-finance-2021/)
Financial scams and frauds using banks has greatly increased in recent years. Victims of fraud are unaware of this development, but banks are well aware of it and therefore ought to be even more diligent than ever. In other words, banks are more culpable than ever for insufficient Know Your Customer and Anti-Money Laundering practices in a setting where financial fraud has significantly increased and banks know it.
"Authorized Push Payment (APP) fraud losses have now outstripped fraud losses on bank and credit cards for the first time. Impersonation scams more than doubled (up 123%), investment scams rose by 95% and romance scams were up 62%." (https://www.finextra.com/blogposting/20949/could-poor-bank-kyc-part-the-problem-of-fraud) Given this, banks should be especially diligent to prevent their banks from being involved in APP scams.
Articles
https://www.finextra.com/blogposting/20949/could-poor-bank-kyc-part-the-problem-of-fraud
https://www.paymentsjournal.com/is-poor-bank-kyc-enabling-a-spike-in-fraud/
https://www.benthamsgaze.org/2022/04/29/us-proposes-to-protect-bank-customers-from-authorised-push-payment-fraud/
https://www.financierworldwide.com/when-are-banks-liable-for-not-spotting-fraud#.Y00vQb1Ol5Y
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/20/federal-watchdog-to-tighten-bank-rules-around-money-transfer-scams-.html
https://www.pymnts.com/bank-regulation/2022/congress-drills-bank-brass-on-authorized-push-payments-fraud/
https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/uk-banks-told-reimburse-customers-tricked-by-scams-2022-09-28/
https://www.addleshawgoddard.com/en/insights/insights-briefings/2022/finance/app-fraud-three-key-legal-developments/
above is some info (probably not helpful ultimately) with a useless link to the scammer at the bottom
might be worth getting in touch w NC officials to see if coordination is going on
please feel free to copy and post to private group