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"Where others saw citizens of the world, the defendants saw a pool of potential marks. They cheated, lied and swindled investors into buying billions of shares of worthless stock, then turned around and used a second scam to cheat those investors again. But today, the defendants were the marks, and it was law enforcement that ran the table."
Loretta Lynch, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York

Ms. Lynch was speaking of the apprehension of Kolt Curry, 38, arrested by the FBI in Garden City, New York, and Gregory Ellis, 46, arrested in Toronto for U.S. authorities. He will be returned to the United States through an extradition request. They represent two of the Canadians involved in a massive international penny stock fraud that netted them $140-million from hapless victims in 35 countries.

Five Americans have been charged and four Canadians. U.S. authorities were in contact with and worked alongside the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Toronto police, and security agencies in Britain, Thailand and China. "The criminals behind this scheme were shameless in heartlessly defrauding hundreds of victims out of their savings and retirement accounts for their own enrichment", said James Spero for Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations.

The charges range from securities fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy and false personation of a U.S. officer. The accused face the potential of over 20 years in prison for each of them, if they are convicted. Three of the Canadians have had previous experience in criminal investment fraud. This was a Canadian-led operation, and the two men most responsible for the massive fraud have not been apprehended.

The kingpin of the operation, 55-year-old Sandy Winick of Toronto was named as the operation mastermind. He fled in anticipation of arrest and is now a fugitive assumed to be in Bangkok, Thailand; living there after other similar operations in China, Vietnam and the United States. Also not in custody is 63-year-old Gregory Curry, believed to be in Thailand, as well.

He once boasted he could keep operating under false names and shell corporations. Seems he is extremely skilled in practising what he boasts. Their wide pool of trusting victims were defrauded of an initial $120-million, then hit again by the enterprising fraud artists for an additional $20-million before the law closed in on them.

They took control of huge quantities of worthless stock coming out of eleven publicly traded companies. Although those companies had little value, claims of their potential were inflated through illegal sales campaigns, bringing in the attention of their investment victims. Who, thinking they could recognize an opportunity as well as anyone else, gave up their cold, hard cash, to cold hard criminals.

False press releases, announcements of non-existent business operations, mergers, false statements in social media and stock promoters and brokers taking bribes to advance the stocks all aided the four Canadians and five Americans to convince investors that theirs was an enterprise that just couldn't be passed up. Billions of shares were traded owned by the accused, duping unsuspecting investors to snap them up before they were discovered to be worthless.

High-pressure call centres were set up by the Canadians in four countries, including Canada. Their successful operations emboldened them to continue setting up call centres to target even more American investors. An intercepted phone call during the investigation heard Kolt Curry excitedly boasting "I tell you what man... hitting the Americans would be like taking money from a baby."

"I had a guy send me a million dollars over one phone call... I guess in the industry they coin it as a smash and grab." And that, as it happens, is just what occurred; the investigating authorities smashed their criminally enterprising fraud game, and grabbed the crooks. Except, that is, for the two Canadians still evading capture, trial and prosecution.

Jail time too, let's not forget that little item.