July 31, 2009
Ian Copeland - Remembered (Leroy) Family Memorial Slideshow (Removed Track - Courtesy YouTube)
Ian Copeland - Remembered
(Leroy)
Family Memorial SlideshowIan Copeland Died from Melanoma Cancer in 2006. He will be missed.
"This video contains an audio track that has not been authorized by WMG. The audio has been disabled. More about copyright"--Sad YouTube can't even get their shit together for people who made the music.
I won't say how I found this loving tribute to IC, but if you don't know who he was, just read below and you'll get a good idea. Thanks to Barbara's Blog and VB for helping me find it.
Updated 04:07 PDT Sat, May 27 2006
Ian Copeland, founder of Frontier Booking International and brother of former IRS label CEO Miles Copeland and ex-Police drummer Stewart Copeland, died May 23rd in Los Angeles after a battle with melanoma. He turned 57 on April 25th.
The news was announced by Stewart Copeland, "My brother Ian has died. His last weeks were peaceful and serene, surrounded by his family. He met his fate with courage, grace and even a little humor. ... I am devastated beyond words."
Ian started making his mark in the agency business at Phil Walden's Paragon Agency in Macon, Ga., in the 1970s, working with Alex Hodges, Buck Williams and John Huie before moving to New York and starting F.B.I. where he represented some of the top artists of the 1980s including The Police, R.E.M., Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Go-Go's, and Squeeze.
Copeland wrote an autobiography, "Wild Thing," in 1995 recounting his remarkable career and upbringing as the son of an American C.I.A. agent in the Middle East. In recent years he owned the Backstage Café in Beverly Hills.
Known as a colorful and gregarious agent, Ian led at least as colorful a life before entering the music business. Born in Damascas, Syria, he grew up in Beirut, hung out with a biker gang and had a brief "career" stealing cars before landing in jail, according to his autobiography.
He ran away to Europe before returning to Beirut and eventually enlisting in the U.S. Army, which sent him to Vietnam in 1967.
Shortly after his return, he got his first gig in the business when Miles asked him to take on tour managing duties for an up-and-coming band called Wishbone Ash.
Ian was coaxed by Alex Hodges, now an executive VP with House of Blues Concerts in Los Angeles, to move to Macon and join Paragon, where he met and married Connie Walden, with whom he had daughters Barbara and Chandra.
"When Ian told me he wanted to book his little brother's band, I thought it was just about the funniest thing I'd ever heard," Hodges told Pollstar. "But I'd convinced Ian to move from London, England to Macon, Ga., and in hindsight that was probably the best job of salesmanship in my entire career."
But it was the creation of the "law enforcement" wing of the Copeland family business where Ian's career skyrocketed.
Miles started the International Records Syndicate (IRS) label while Ian left Paragon and launched F.B.I. and over the course of a decade steered a plethora of English and other European acts to the U.S., infusing a lethargic post-disco music industry with new artistic blood.
In addition to repping his "little brother's band," The Police, between 1979 and 1994, F.B.I. signed more than 300 bands including British "new wave" upstarts Simple Minds, English Beat, Joy Division and Dream Syndicate; pop chart-toppers like the B-52's, Bangles, Go-Go's, and R.E.M.; metal's Black Sabbath and Megadeth, and even Donny Osmond.
Actress Courtney Cox was Ian's girlfriend and also his first acting client. Although they later went their separate ways, it was his booking of Cox in Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing In The Dark" video that launched her career.
Copeland is also credited with helping develop a new wave of talent buyers and club owners who also loved the new music he championed. He mentored many young agents who went on to run their own agencies. He put a number of young but enthusiastic indie promoters in business by also selling his roster of acts to them rather than just the established promoters of the day.
After being diagnosed with cancer, many of Ian's friends gathered in Las Vegas during the Concert Industry Consortium in February for a poker tournament - a game Ian loved to help raise money to defray his mounting medical costs. More than $100,000 was raised in the effort which was spearheaded by William Morris Agency's Brent Smith, who once worked in F.B.I.'s Los Angeles office. Ian Copeland is survived by his daughters Barbara and Chandra, mother Lorraine, sister Lennie, and brothers Miles and Stewart.
Here, in three parts, Ian's friends and colleagues remember a remarkable man.
Part I, Part II, Part III
I am sorry to announce that my brother Ian passed from us last night at 11:20 p.m. He was with his two daughters and later we all joined him. It is hard to believe, but he had an exciting life and was grateful for it. He was also grateful for all the friendship shown to him over the past few months from so many people. He was much loved by so many. He will be greatly missed.
---Miles Copeland
My brother Ian has died. His last weeks were peaceful and serene, surrounded by his family. He met his fate with courage, grace and even a little humor. After Miles' update to all of you, I was able to relay to him your flood of prayers and good wishes. He liked that. He was very weak but was able to say ‘Cheers and regards.' I am devastated beyond words.
---Stewart Copeland
Ian Copeland was both my friend and my booking agent for most of my career. He lived his life with the easy going, relaxed philosophy of a man who'd been under fire and survived, as if the violence that he'd witnessed and taken part in during his service in Vietnam had given him a broader perspective on the important things of life. He was not driven by any grandiose ambitions, or the impossible demands of an overblown ego. He was self-possessed and confident enough to take genuine pleasure in the worldly success of those close to him without taking any of it too seriously. Very little seemed to faze him. His agreeable humor became a constant that could be relied on as a counter to the often hysterical absurdities of a music business in constant flux and turmoil. I would seek out the pleasure of his company, marvel at his dry wit, and listen raptly to his self-deprecating, humorous and often terrifying stories. He was a brave man to the end, a great father and mentor, an inspiration to all of those who worked with him. "Leroy" was the life and soul of any party. The world is a darker place now that he's gone. We shall miss him terribly.
---Sting
A very rare combination in these times: a great man, an honest agent and a true friend. When he quit being an agent I was very sad. Now Ian is no longer with us. I'm truly at a loss. Thank you for the memories Leroy, you were my hero. My thoughts are with Barbara and Chandra at this time - hang in there girls, you were the lights of his life. I'll see you again, Leroy.
---Billy Francis, Sting tour manager
Ian Copeland was the man responsible for bringing New Wave music to America. When Ian believed in something, he believed in it with passion. He believed in it so much that he made everyone else believe in it, too. And he was absolutely right.
---Courteney Cox Arquette
Buddhists believe that you can help your friend at this time by sending him love and encouragement as he faces his new adventure. I have always found it to be more useful than grieving too much. So let's send Ian our thanks, our love and our support. When he could have chosen any way to behave, he was wonderfully kind to me.
---Dave Wakeling, musician
Ian Copeland gave me my wings to fly! He gave me the freedom to become the agent that he saw in me all along. Starting FBI with him in '79 and the six years that followed was the greatest adventure of my life. He was a great agent who operated from the heart. He had the passion, the ears, and the gut instinct that helped drive a music revolution in the late '70s and early '80s. I'll never forget Ian buying two used 15-passenger vans – pulling the seats out of one to haul gear and using the other to haul the artists. The bands would fly in from England, do a club tour and fly back with money in their pockets! A novel concept back then, like it would be again today.
---John Huie - booking agent, CAA Nashville
Ian Copeland meant the world to me. I'm not a poet, a writer or a singer. I know six chords on the guitar and I'm crap at playing drums. However, Ian once said, "My instrument is the telephone." And because of Ian, it turned out that was my instrument, too. He taught me how to be a booking agent. It wasn't just watching him cut deals; it was all about watching him operate. He had endless wit, charm, warmth and intelligence – the likes I'd never seen before or since. I wanted to be Ian Copeland, not just work for him. He was that inspiring, and I know I'm not alone in saying so. And let's not forget about the music. Ian Copeland was my idol, my mentor and, most importantly, my friend. His impact on my life is enormous and I will miss him more than you can ever imagine.
---Steve Ferguson - booking agent / Little Big Man Booking
Ian and I were partners for 11 years. We worked together at Paragon in Macon starting in 1977 or 1978. He became my closest friend during our tenure together, which ended in 1992. We traveled the world having the greatest time two guys could have, and made money at it. His contribution to our business was much greater than just touring. His contribution was to the development of modern music. He was the driving force behind the New Wave movement. He was the go-to-guy for young, first release, New Wave bands in Europe. He developed a circuit in which young European acts could come over, work and go home not in debt. His dedication to the artists and their music is still unparalleled. No one loved music more than Ian. I will miss my brother as long as I live.
---Buck Williams - booking agent / The Progressive Global Agency
Ian found a new generation of promoter for a new generation of artist. He established a touring circuit outside the mainstream that all took note of. He achieved amazing results for his clients. The touring industry changed with the times because Ian Copeland set the standard. Frontier Booking International was a productive and happy place to be. It was a family. Ian's knowledge, direction, love of music and especially the hospitality that he extended to each of us made it so. We worked our asses off for Ian and it was always fun. No one in our field has ever touched so many lives both professionally and personally as did Ian Copeland. No one ever will.
---Andy Somers - booking agent / The Agency Group
There was never a better person to work for then Ian. He was street savvy, extremely generous and an outright blast just to be around. He created a rare environment of showing you how to navigate a stressful work load while having the time of your life. Over the years, Ian was the springboard for so many peoples' success on both the creative and business side of our industry. He was a great teacher and friend.
---John Dittmar / Pinnacle Entertainment
Trying to put into words the beauty that was Ian is like trying to describe music. He was always kind, humble, funny, sincere. You can attempt to put him into words, but you really need to have experienced him for yourself to truly understand. Everyone who knew Ian knows what I mean. "Le Roi," as his close friends called him, was indeed the king. We will miss him dearly.
---Brent Smith / William Morris Agency
Ian Copeland was one very special human being. His generosity and friendship was enjoyed by many, many people. It is fair to say that when Ian changed the face of how music was seen and presented, he shared his vision with us all. I, for one, can honestly say I would not be where I am today without his guidance, honesty and great sense of loyalty. My mind reels with the many stories one could tell. God bless you, Leroy, and we will meet again one day!
---Michael Chugg /promoter -- Australia
When Ian was at FBI, he totally changed the landscape of music in the U.S. and made an enormous impact on the entire industry. That can be said of very few people. What's even more unusual about Ian is that we are an industry in which, whenever we get together, people tend to look around the room to see if there's somebody more important than the person they're talking to. Ian was just as interested in listening to somebody who was a high school student as he was to somebody who considered himself very important in our business. Ian was always ahead of the curve – he didn't follow other people. When you look at some of the people that he hired, important players in this industry, you realize what a keen eye for talent, both musically and in terms of people with very long careers in our business, Ian had.
---Gregg Perloff / Another Planet
Besides all of his amazing human characteristics, when Ian first came here he developed systems of touring that previously had not existed. When he couldn't get his acts booked with the existing network of promoters, in some places he went out and created a new breed of promoter. As the business continued and his acts got bigger, Ian gave opportunities to people like myself who were not major promoters. We were guys who had done club shows and Ian allowed us to grow with his acts. He saw things in that group of people that no one else saw, I can tell you that. All the big agents wouldn't sell to the people I'm talking about. A lot of this group of people are now our industry leaders.
---Andy Hewitt / Talent buyer
Ian Copeland was truly a great guy who went out of his way to try to make his deals fair to all sides involved and he always did it with a smile on his face, even if he was yelling at you. Our industry has lost one of the real originals. I had the pleasure of working with him on both sides of the fence as he represented acts for me as an agent and I also had the pleasure of promoting a number of his artists. We had a mutual trust and always had a great time together. Rock on Le Roy.
---Charlie Brusco / Alliance Artists
This is one of the saddest days of my life. I loved Ian Copeland. He was a true friend and a gentleman. He loved me. We were friends. To be a friend of this man is a very meaningful thing in our lives. He was always there for me and I suspect he always will be. But I will miss him as he will truly be missed, more than he ever knew. I hope he believed me as I spoke to him during this recent hard time he went through. All I can add is I hope everyone will get themselves checked for this monster that took my friend all too soon, as I am living proof that it can be defeated, and we can live on. Long live Leroy, with all my love, admiration and respect.
---Danny Zelisko / Live Nation
Ian Copeland was a one of a kind and a major role model for me as I was entering the business. The legacy he created and spirit he lived embodies rock and roll. Hope I have half as much fun as he had by the time I go.
---Marc Geiger / William Morris Agency
I can honestly say that I owe my career to Ian Copeland. This guy represented everything that was alternative and independent. He refused to even consider the notion that one must submit to any of the expected pomposity that comes from those who wish to pretend that we're doing something other than booking a rock concert. I was spoiled early. He put me in business and I assumed everyone was going to be that nice and normal. Isn't that a laugh? How lucky we all were to be touched by him.
---Seth Hurwitz / I.M.P.
Ian and I started out in the U.K. agency business around the same time. Out of all the people I've met in the industry since, he was one of my favourite characters – in spite of the fact that he was always much better at the job than me, more good looking and far richer. I hadn't seen him for ages (last time was a few years ago in London at the ILMC when he was thrashing me at table football, and I kept him up all night until I'd drawn level), but I'm going to miss knowing that he's on the planet. I know that many people in the music business over here are going to be affected by this news. My respects to Ian's family. I think you were lucky to have been so close to him.
---Martin Hopewell / Primary Talent, UK
Ian was a unique, vibrant and colourful person. He was also an excellent agent with whom I had the pleasure of working with at JSE and Nems before he moved to America. I have to admit that I was secretly glad to see him go as he constantly beat me at backgammon, which lost me a lot of money. We continued to work together over the years through our close association with Sting. Above all else, Ian made a lot of people laugh and he will be sorely missed.
---Phil Banfield / CODA, UK
Ian was the first person to help me in America, the first person I knew to have a water bed, and a good guy. Tragic.
---John Giddings / Solo Agency, UK
Ian Copeland was truly one of the good guys in this business and in life. In business, he was an innovator, helped many of us get our start and was always there to help. As a friend, he was a joy to be with and always watched your back. A better friend a man cannot have. It was a gift and an honor to have had Ian Copeland as a friend.
---Phil Rodriguez / Water Bros. Productions
Ian had a great ability to deal with one and all with respect and at the same time with a grin, and make every moment lighthearted. Ian was a special, one-of-a-kind guy whom I had the pleasure of knowing, and being a friend of and doing business with, for decades. He will be missed. We all have lost one of the special guys in our business and a great friend to all who knew him.
---Jon Stoll / Fantasma Productions
My business would never have become what it did had Ian not been the maverick he was. His passion for life, music, love, were always worn boldly in his eyes and his laughter. He found kindred souls who became brothers in arms – Buck, Huie, Rick, Danny, John, Steve, Brent – dedicated to turning the world on to this amazing era of music. A lot of us owe Ian a huge debt, as well as the other FBI's from the early '80s. I'll miss shooting the breeze at his desk long after work hours.
---Bill Silva / Bill Silva Presents
He was the friendliest, most gregarious, smiling, loved-everybody kind of guy that you would ever meet. I met Ian 30 years ago and said, "You should come work for me. I want you to sign some bands. You find the bands I don't know about." I think the big agencies were telling him, "We'll train you by letting you book Montana, but don't think about signing anybody." Of course, our view was completely different. I threw him in the deep water and he swam like a fish. Ian accomplished a lot of the things in life he wanted to accomplish. He was never one to complain. He had such a bright outlook about life; he was an inspiring person. I never took him up on that airplane ride – he became a pilot and had a plane for a while. He really enjoyed it. But that's one thing we didn't do together.
---Alex Hodges / House of Blues Concerts
I first met Ian circa 1971 when he joined a small agency in London where I was learning the game, right after his stint in Vietnam. He was the best of my "trainees." Together we had the most fun time. Every day was dedicated to having the maximum number of laughs we could manage even though we weren't making any money! Eventually, after an enormous struggle on my part, Ian became a fine agent and he never lost that sense of humour. Just a great bloke. I loved him. And he had the best pot.
---Ed Bicknell / former manager, Dire Straits, UK
Ian was the greatest influence in my adolescent entertainment business life. He had this enormous passion, great heart and spontaneity. With that I would love to quote the great author Douglas Adams, of something that reminds me of Ian: "Flying is learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss."
---Vince Bannon / Getty Images
Federal Bureau of Investigation - Common Fraud Schemes
Federal Bureau of Investigation - Common Fraud SchemesCommon Fraud Schemes
Telemarketing FraudWhen you send money to people you do not know personally or give personal or financial information to unknown callers, you increase your chances of becoming a victim of telemarketing fraud.
Warning signs -- what a caller may tell you:
- "You must act 'now' or the offer won't be good." - "You've won a 'free' gift, vacation, or prize." But you have to pay for "postage and handling" or other charges. - "You must send money, give a credit card or bank account number, or have a check picked up by courier." You may hear this before you have had a chance to consider the offer carefully. - "You don't need to check out the company with anyone." The callers say you do not need to speak to anyone including your family, lawyer, accountant, local Better Business Bureau, or consumer protection agency. - "You don't need any written information about their company or their references." - "You can't afford to miss this 'high-profit, no-risk' offer." If you hear these--or similar--"lines" from a telephone salesperson, just say "no thank you," and hang up the phone.
Some Tips to Avoid Telemarketing Fraud:It's very difficult to get your money back if you've been cheated over the phone. Before you buy anything by telephone, remember:
Nigerian Letter or "419" Fraud
Nigerian letter frauds combine the threat of impersonation fraud with a variation of an advance fee scheme in which a letter, mailed from Nigeria, offers the recipient the "opportunity" to share in a percentage of millions of dollars that the author, a self-proclaimed government official, is trying to transfer illegally out of Nigeria. The recipient is encouraged to send information to the author, such as blank letterhead stationery, bank name and account numbers and other identifying information using a facsimile number provided in the letter. Some of these letters have also been received via E-mail through the Internet. The scheme relies on convincing a willing victim, who has demonstrated a "propensity for larceny" by responding to the invitation, to send money to the author of the letter in Nigeria in several installments of increasing amounts for a variety of reasons.
Payment of taxes, bribes to government officials, and legal fees are often described in great detail with the promise that all expenses will be reimbursed as soon as the funds are spirited out of Nigeria. In actuality, the millions of dollars do not exist and the victim eventually ends up with nothing but loss. Once the victim stops sending money, the perpetrators have been known to use the personal information and checks that they received to impersonate the victim, draining bank accounts and credit card balances until the victim's assets are taken in their entirety. While such an invitation impresses most law-abiding citizens as a laughable hoax, millions of dollars in losses are caused by these schemes annually. Some victims have been lured to Nigeria, where they have been imprisoned against their will, in addition to losing large sums of money. The Nigerian government is not sympathetic to victims of these schemes, since the victim actually conspires to remove funds from Nigeria in a manner that is contrary to Nigerian law. The schemes themselves violate section 419 of the Nigerian criminal code, hence the label "419 fraud."
Some Tips to Avoid Nigerian Letter or "419" Fraud:
Impersonation fraud occurs when someone assumes your identity to perform a fraud or other criminal act. Criminals can get the information they need to assume your identity from a variety of sources, such as the theft of your wallet, your trash, or from credit or bank information. They may approach you in person, by telephone, or on the Internet and ask you for the information.
The sources of information about you are so numerous that you cannot prevent the theft of your identity. But you can minimize your risk of loss by following a few simple hints.Some Tips to Avoid Impersonation/Identity Fraud:
An advance fee scheme occurs when the victim pays money to someone in anticipation of receiving something of greater value, such as a loan, contract, investment, or gift, and then receives little or nothing in return.
The variety of advance fee schemes is limited only by the imagination of the con artists who offer them. They may involve the sale of products or services, the offering of investments, lottery winnings, "found money," or many other "opportunities." Clever con artists will offer to find financing arrangements for their clients who pay a "finder's fee" in advance. They require their clients to sign contracts in which they agree to pay the fee when they are introduced to the financing source. Victims often learn that they are ineligible for financing only after they have paid the "finder" according to the contract. Such agreements may be legal unless it can be shown that the "finder" never had the intention or the ability to provide financing for the victims.Some Tips to Avoid the Advanced Fee Schemes:
Equipment manufacturers offer "free" products to individuals. Insurers are then charged for products that were not needed and/or may not have been delivered.
"Rolling Lab" Schemes:
Unnecessary and sometimes fake tests are given to individuals at health clubs, retirement homes, or shopping malls and billed to insurance companies or Medicare.
Services Not Performed:
Customers or providers bill insurers for services never rendered by changing bills or submitting fake ones.
Medicare Fraud:
Medicare fraud can take the form of any of the health insurance frauds described above. Senior citizens are frequent targets of Medicare schemes, especially by medical equipment manufacturers who offer seniors free medical products in exchange for their Medicare numbers. Because a physician has to sign a form certifying that equipment or testing is needed before Medicare pays for it, con artists fake signatures or bribe corrupt doctors to sign the forms. Once a signature is in place, the manufacturers bill Medicare for merchandise or service that was not needed or was not ordered.Some Tips to Avoid the Health Insurance Fraud:
Redemption/Strawman/Bond Fraud
Proponents of this scheme will claim that the U.S. Government or the Treasury Department controls bank accounts—often referred to as “U.S. Treasury Direct Accounts”—for all U.S. citizens that can be accessed by submitting paperwork with state and federal authorities. Individuals promoting this scam frequently cite various discredited legal theories and may refer to the scheme as “Redemption,” “Strawman,” or “Acceptance for Value.” Trainers and websites will often charge large fees for “kits” that teach individuals how to perpetrate this scheme. They will often imply that others have had great success in discharging debt and purchasing merchandise such as cars and homes. Failures to implement the scheme successfully are attributed to individuals not following instructions in a specific order or not filing paperwork at correct times.
This scheme predominately uses fraudulent financial documents that appear to be legitimate. These documents are frequently referred to as “Bills of Exchange,” “Promissory Bonds,” “Indemnity Bonds,” “Offset Bonds,” “Sight Drafts,” or “Comptrollers Warrants.” In addition, other official documents are used outside of their intended purpose, like IRS forms 1099, 1099-OID, and 8300. This scheme frequently intermingles legal and pseudo legal terminology in order to appear lawful. Notaries may be used in an attempt to make the fraud appear legitimate. Often, victims of the scheme are instructed to address their paperwork to the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury.
Some Tips to Avoid Redemption/Strawman/Bond Fraud
- Be wary of individuals or groups selling kits that they claim will inform you on to access secret bank accounts.
- Be wary of individuals or groups proclaiming that paying federal and/or state income tax is not necessary.
- Do not believe that the U.S. Treasury controls bank accounts for all citizens.
- Be skeptical of individuals advocating that speeding tickets, summons, bills, tax notifications, or similar documents can be resolved by writing “acceptance for value” on them.
If you know of anyone advocating the use of property liens to coerce acceptance of this scheme, contact your local FBI office.
Investment Related Scams:
Legitimate letters of credit are never sold or offered as investments.
Legitimate letters of credit are issued by banks to ensure payment for goods shipped in connection with international trade. Payment on a letter of credit generally requires that the paying bank receive documentation certifying that the goods ordered have been shipped and are en route to their intended destination.
Letters of credit frauds are often attempted against banks by providing false documentation to show that goods were shipped when, in fact, no goods or inferior goods were shipped.
Other letter of credit frauds occur when con artists offer a "letter of credit" or "bank guarantee" as an investment wherein the investor is promised huge interest rates on the order of 100 to 300 percent annually. Such investment "opportunities" simply do not exist. (See Prime Bank Notes for additional information.)Some Tips to Avoid Letter of Credit Fraud:
International fraud artists have invented an investment scheme that offers extremely high yields in a relatively short period of time. In this scheme, they purport to have access to "bank guarantees" which they can buy at a discount and sell at a premium. By reselling the "bank guarantees" several times, they claim to be able to produce exceptional returns on investment. For example, if $10 million worth of "bank guarantees" can be sold at a two percent profit on ten separate occasions, or "traunches," the seller would receive a 20 percent profit. Such a scheme is often referred to as a "roll program." To make their schemes more enticing, con artists often refer to the "guarantees" as being issued by the world's "Prime Banks," hence the term "Prime Bank Guarantees." Other official sounding terms are also used such as "Prime Bank Notes" and "Prime Bank Debentures." Legal documents associated with such schemes often require the victim to enter into nondisclosure and noncircumvention agreements, offer returns on investment in "a year and a day", and claim to use forms required by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). In fact, the ICC has issued a warning to all potential investors that no such investments exist.
The purpose of these frauds is generally to encourage the victim to send money to a foreign bank where it is eventually transferred to an off-shore account that is in the control of the con artist. From there, the victim's money is used for the perpetrator's personal expenses or is laundered in an effort to make it disappear.
While foreign banks use instruments called "bank guarantees" in the same manner that U.S. banks use letters of credit to insure payment for goods in international trade, such bank guarantees are never traded or sold on any kind of market.Some Tips to Avoid Prime Bank Note Related Fraud:
- Be wary of business deals that require nondisclosure or noncircumvention agreements that are designed to prevent you from independently verifying information about the investment.
A Ponzi scheme is essentially an investment fraud wherein the operator promises high financial returns or dividends that are not available through traditional investments. Instead of investing victims' funds, the operator pays "dividends" to initial investors using the principle amounts "invested" by subsequent investors. The scheme generally falls apart when the operator flees with all of the proceeds, or when a sufficient number of new investors cannot be found to allow the continued payment of "dividends."
This type of scheme is named after Charles Ponzi of Boston, Massachusetts, who operated an extremely attractive investment scheme in which he guaranteed investors a 50 percent return on their investment in postal coupons. Although he was able to pay his initial investors, the scheme dissolved when he was unable to pay investors who entered the scheme later.Some Tips to Avoid Ponzi Schemes:
- Make sure you fully understand the investment before you invest your money.
Pyramid schemes, also referred to as franchise fraud, or chain referral schemes, are marketing and investment frauds in which an individual is offered a distributorship or franchise to market a particular product. The real profit is earned, not by the sale of the product, but by the sale of new distributorships. Emphasis on selling franchises rather than the product eventually leads to a point where the supply of potential investors is exhausted and the pyramid collapses. At the heart of each pyramid scheme there is typically a representation that new participants can recoup their original investments by inducing two or more prospects to make the same investment. Promoters fail to tell prospective participants that this is mathematically impossible for everyone to do, since some participants drop out, while others recoup their original investments and then drop out.
Some Tips to Avoid Pyramid Schemes:
FBI — STAO created a cutting-edge visual solution called FANTOM
FBI — STAO - Press Room - Headline Archives 07-31-09
07/31/09
Finding patterns among enormous amounts of related data exchanged among suspects is a huge challenge. But instead of wading through vast lists of such data in a traditional text-based way, such as in a spreadsheet, STAO created a cutting-edge visual solution called FANTOM that allows agents and analysts to examine connections visually in three dimensions.
When our agents are on the trail of suspected terrorists, with appropriate legal approval they can gain access to suspects’ e-mail, telephone calls, text messages, and even computer hard drives.
But after we collect what can amount to millions of pieces of digital data, what happens next? How can all that raw intelligence be organized, analyzed, and shared to help stop a terrorist plot before it’s too late?
The answer to those questions can be found within our Special Technologies & Applications Office (STAO). In the high stakes arena of national security, STAO is one of our most technologically advanced players. Using custom-designed tools and applications that are so innovative they are sometimes beyond state of the art, STAO’s specialty is teasing out critical information—a hidden video file on a hard drive, a key connection among tens of thousands of e-mails—from almost any form of electronic media. Where digital evidence is concerned, STAO Section Chief Christopher “Todd” Doss explained, “we find the needle in the haystack.”
Created in the late 1990s and dramatically enhanced as a result of 9/11, the office consists of more than 200 people with expertise in various digital disciplines. And in addition to Bureau personnel, the team collaborates with some of the brightest computer scientists from private industry, academia, and other government agencies.
The primary goal of STAO is to provide investigators with tools to manage and analyze large volumes of digital intelligence, and to “cross-correlate” that information so it’s available not only to FBI personnel all over the world but also to our partners in the law enforcement and intelligence communities. Is a piece of data from a cell phone in Southeast Asia linked to a terrorism case in Seattle? STAO applications can help connect the dots.
Some of STAO’s capabilities include:
“The bottom line,” said one STAO official, “is that our office helps the Bureau and others do their jobs. And whenever we can help catch the bad guy on the criminal side, or provide intelligence on the counterterrorism side, that’s what we’re here for.”
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