Jailed Waage slapped with fraud charges in US
Story by : CR staff reporters
Richard Alan Waage, the Canadian citizen arrested at Vallarta airport April 19
after entering Mexico with a suitcase containing 4.5 million dollars in undeclared
cashiers checks, is facing additional problems in the United States.
The former Vallarta resident, currently in jail in Guadalajara, has been hit by a
fraud lawsuit in connection with his investment scheme known as Tri-West
Investment Club (“Tri-West”).
According to documents filed by the United States Securities and Exchange
Commission in the federal court for the Northern District of California, Tri-West
and Waage may have raised more than 30 million dollars from investors in the
United States and other countries by offering phony “Prime Bank” investments
over the Internet.
The Commission charges that the scheme victimized hundreds (and possibly
thousands) of investors nationwide, including the San Francisco Bay Area.
The Commission’s complaint alleges that Tri-West, through its website, solicits a
minimum 1,000 investment in a “bank debenture trading program” secured by
“certain key International ‘Prime Banks’.” Tri-West claims to guarantee a 120
percent annual rate of return with no risk to investors. In fact, according to the
Commission, the securities offered by Tri-West are entirely fictitious; “bank
debenture trading programs” and other purported “Prime Bank” instruments do
not exist.
Tri-West’s website further claims that the “bank debenture trading program” is
managed by Haarlem Universal Corporation, purportedly “one of the largest and
most prestigious trading companies in the world” with a 30-year history of
generating high returns for investors. According to the Commission, however,
Haarlem is not a registered investment company, and has been in existence only
since the scheme began in 1999.
Waage lived for more than two years in Vallarta, purchasing one of the resort
most luxurious properties and hiring dozens of local residents to help him run his
business. |
