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Maria's Little Brother???
Tuesday January 8 11:00 AM ET
SEC: Teen Made $1 Million in Internet Scheme
dailynews.yahoo.com
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. financial regulators say they had uncovered a fraudulent $1 million Internet securities scheme they alleged was run by a 17-year-old high school student.
Cole Bartiromo defrauded 1,000 investors through a Web site and Internet bulletin board that promised guaranteed and risk-free investments, the Securities and Exchange Commission (news - web sites) said Monday in a statement.
Bartiromo, who lives with his parents in Mission Viejo, California, has settled the case and agreed to turn over about $900,000 of investor money he had transferred into an account he controlled at a Costa Rican casino, the SEC said.
His lawyer did not immediately return calls for comment.
The financial regulator originally filed a complaint with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Dec. 13 after discovering the scheme, but at that time the SEC did not know who was behind it.
``We followed the financial trail to what appeared to be a kid in Southern California, and then to the money in Costa Rica,'' SEC lawyer Alexander Vasilescu said.
The Web site promised exorbitant returns on short-term investments, including a ``Christmas Miracle'' program that promised a return of 2,500 percent for money invested between Nov. 10 and Dec. 15 last year, the SEC said in its complaint.
The investment was to pool investor funds to bet on sporting events, the SEC said.
Potential investors sent their money through Internet payments services like PayPal and Osgold, the SEC said. |
