Fed: Waage and Haarlem Universal subject to disciplinary action.
Prime Bank Guarantees. You've gotta love them, haven't you? They come up every so often and still people fall for them. And do they do due diligence to find out that Haarlem Universal operates from Panama? Of course not. Luckily, some of those running the ploys get caught.
A federal court, sitting in San Francisco, has issued a judgment against Richard Alyn Waage (sic) and Haarlem Universal Corporation for violating the federal securities laws in an investment scam known as the "Tri-West Investment Club." Waage, a Canadian citizen, was recently extradited from Costa Rico to the United States to face related criminal charges in federal court in Sacramento, California.
In the civil action brought by the Commission, the court injuncted Waage against future violations of the antifraud and registration provisions of the securities laws, and ordered him to give up USD58 million in proceeds, plus interest, and pay a civil penalty of USD120,000. Haarlem, a corporation based in Panama, was named in the action as a relief defendant and was also ordered to hand over USD58 million.
The Commission's complaint alleged that during 1999 and 2000, Waage used the Internet to solicit investors for the Tri-West Investment Club. The club was promoted as an investment program to trade in fictitious "prime bank" securities. Investors were encouraged to make cheques payable to Haarlem and send the cheques to various locations in California, Belize, and Costa Rica. The Commission alleged that the program was a fiction, designed only to enrich Waage. Neither Waage nor Haarlem responded to the complaint in the action. The court granted judgment upon default against each defendant.
The Court requested and received assistance from the governments of Costa Rica, Panama and Mexico.
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