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Microcap & Penny Stocks : Amazon Natural (AZNT) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: marcos who wrote (7061)	9/26/1998 12:52:00 AM
From: Spider Valdez	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 26163

fact: wellrich is not a b/d. fact: wellrich is cold-calling shareholders to sell their stock. fact: stock is to cover illegal short fact: wellrich was shut-down by ca. sec for telemarketing , boiler-room scam fact: injunction set for 30th of sept. fact: jb oxford has naked short on the books of 2.5 million shares fact: they will disgorge over 4 million shares and pay punitive fines as well if shares are not returned to transfer agent . Attorney General Montgomery Hosts International Telemarketing Conference to Crack Down on Canadian Boiler Rooms that Scam Ohio Consumers On First Anniversary of Ohio's Telemarketing Law, Montgomery Also Files Lawsuits Against Illegal Telemarketers Columbus -- Each year, Ohio consumers lose at least $1.5 billion to telemarketing fraud. That equals more than $4 million a day that Ohioans are conned out of by giving a total stranger on the phone their credit card number; sending a "handling fee" for a prize they'll never receive; and donating money to a charity that doesn't exist. Most of the fraudulent telemarketing calls targeting Ohioans actually originate from boiler rooms located across borders -- in other states and Canada. In continuing her assault on telemarketing fraud, Attorney General Betty D. Montgomery is hosting the Ohio/Canadian Cross-Border Symposium. The purpose of this two-day conference, which is being held in downtown Columbus, is for Canadian and U.S. law enforcement officials to discuss ways to stop the telemarketing fraud that originates from Canada but victimizes Ohioans. "This conference recognizes that crime knows no boundaries. Telemarketing fraud reaches across state, national, and international lines," Montgomery said. "That's the bad news. The good news is that law enforcement authorities on both sides of the border are working together to stop illegal telemarketers no matter where they are." Also speaking at today's new conference was Gregory B. Lepp, the Crown Prosecutor in Special Prosecutions for the Province of Alberta, and Detective Stephen Bone of the Toronto Police Department. As an example of how law enforcement agencies on opposite sides of a border can work together, Montgomery cited a recent case where investigators from her office worked with the Toronto Police Department to shut down Uptown Financial, a Canadian boiler room that was guaranteeing loans to consumers who paid advanced fees. Just last week, the ringleader, Michael Williams, pleaded guilty to defrauding the public for not providing the loans, and is returning all the up-front fees that consumers paid. The Toronto Police have asked Montgomery to redistribute this money (265,000 Canadian dollars or 186,000 American dollars) to 500 U.S. victims, including 58 Ohioans. In Ohio, Montgomery has been aggressive in stopping telemarketing fraud. Last year she worked with state Senator Jim Carnes (R-St. Clairsville) and Rep. Amy Salerno (R-Columbus) to draft legislation that gives the Attorney General's Office and prosecutors the proper tools to catch telemarketing crooks. This landmark law went into effect a year ago on Dec. 5, 1996. "Ohio's telemarketing law has been on the books now for one full year. During this time, we've used it to shut down boiler rooms in Ohio, Rhode Island, and Georgia. We've also worked with local law enforcement to arrest con artists and file criminal charges, and we've returned money to consumers," Montgomery said. Montgomery is also using this telemarketing law to file lawsuits against telemarketers who fail to register with the Attorney General's Office. Today, as part of "Operation CheckList," her attorneys filed 16 lawsuits against telemarketers who were not registered, all of which are located in other states and Canada. "When it comes to illegal telemarketing, we're making a list and checking it twice," Montgomery said. In a further effort to crack down on telemarketing fraud, Montgomery also announced that she is forming a Telemarketing Fraud Unit within her office, which will be composed of seven investigators and three attorneys. The people in this new unit will devote all their time to investigating boiler rooms, filing civil lawsuits like the ones in Operation CheckList, and working with county prosecutors to file criminal charges. "Illegal telemarketers use the phone as an assault weapon, and in the wrong hands, it can be just as effective as a gun in your back. As Attorney General, I say it's time we fight back," Montgomery said. Spider