Two Japanese nationals were detained by Italian financial police last week after trying to enter Switzerland with $134 billion worth of undeclared U.S. bonds, mostly Treasury bonds, an Italian daily said Wednesday. The Japanese consulate general in Milan confirmed that the detention had taken place and said it was trying to confirm with Italian authorities whether the two were indeed Japanese nationals and their identities.
According to the report in il Giornale, two unidentified Japanese in their 50s concealed the bonds, including 249 U.S. Treasury bonds each worth $500 million, in a suitcase with a false bottom that was searched by the Italian authorities June 3 when they were in Chiasso, at the border with Switzerland, about 50 kilometers north of Milan. The daily did not say on what charges they have been detained, but the two may have been detained on suspicion of attempting to take a large amount of securities out of Italy without declaring it because the paper said they had not declared the bonds.
This is very significant news, because, as Michael Barnett writes in an email, one of the following must be true:
1. The Japanese are trying to secretly divest themselves of about 25% of their US debt. (They own about $600B in US debt.)
2. The Japanese are acting as Chinese or North Korean agents in trying to help them divest themselves of US debt in secret.
3. There is an enormous sum of counterfeit US debt out there and these guys are trying to sell some of it.
None of these cases bodes well for the US debt market.
source: http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/027232.html [ http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/forum.cgi?read=148593 ]
THE FED PUTS OUT ALERTS ON THIS SCAM Involving Yohannes Riyadi and/or Wilfredo Saurin
November 2007. ALERTS WERE PUT OUT ON THESE INDIVIDUALS AND THOSE two unidentified Japanese in their 50s concealed the bonds, including 249 U.S.Treasury bonds each worth $500 million, in a suitcase with a false bottom that was searched by the Italian authorities.
READ:
http://www.newyorkfed.org/banking/frscams.html
Scam Involving Yohannes Riyadi and/or Wilfredo Saurin
November 2007
The Federal Reserve is aware of a fraudulent scam involving individuals using the names Yohannes Riyadi and/or Wilfredo Saurin, or persons claiming to be representatives of these two men. In a typical version of this scam, Mr. Riyadi and/or his delegates falsely claim that they have on deposit with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York several U.S. Treasury Checks issued to Mr. Riyadi amounting to billions of dollars.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York has been contacted by several brokers and financial institutions worldwide inquiring about the validity of this fraudulent account documentation, which is being offered as collateral for lines of credit or other types of asset based financing. The fraudulent scheme includes multiple documents which purport to have the signatures of various Federal Reserve officials, including Chairman Ben Bernanke.
In some instances, individuals involved in this fraudulent scheme claim to have met with Federal Reserve officials and claim to have verified that the alleged account is in order. We have also learned that the fraud may include the purchase of certain documents by the introducing brokers.
If you have information regarding this fraud please contact either Robert Amenta, Special Investigator at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, or Erik Rosenblatt, Senior Special Agent at the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Discovered 1930s Notes and Bonds
July 2005
The Federal Reserve is aware of several scams involving high denomination Federal Reserve notes and bonds, often in denominations of 100 million or 500 million dollars, dating back to the 1930s, usually 1934. In each of these schemes, fraudulent instruments are claimed to be part of a long-lost supply of recently discovered Federal Reserve notes or bonds.
Fraudsters often falsely claim that the purported Federal Reserve notes or bonds that they hold are somehow very special and are not known to the public because they are so secret. Fraudsters have attempted to sell these worthless instruments, or to redeem or exchange them at banks and other financial institutions, or to secure loans or obtain lines of credit using the fictitious instruments as collateral.
The Federal Reserve has never issued any bonds or notes with coupons attached. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is not aware of any currency or debt stockpile of large denomination Federal Reserve notes from the 1930s and warns that any institution that pays out on such a claim does so at its own risk.
It should also be noted that the largest denomination of currency ever printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing was the $100,000 Series 1934 Gold Certificate featuring the portrait of President Wilson. These notes were printed from December 18, 1934, through January 9, 1935, and were issued by the Treasurer of the United States to Federal Reserve Banks only against an equal amount of gold bullion held by the Treasury Department. The notes were used only for official transactions between Federal Reserve Banks and were not circulated among the general public.
Fraudulent Federal Reserve Note Schemes
SR 03-14, July 16, 2003
Below we have provided images of various fraudulent Federal Reserve Notes or Bonds
Sample Fraud 1 ›› (jpg - 177 kb)
Sample Fraud 2 ›› (jpg - 225 kb)
Sample Fraud 3 ›› (jpg - 177 kb)
Sample Fraud 4 ›› (jpg - 243 kb)
Sample Fraud 5 ›› (jpg - 251 kb)
Sample Fraud 6 ›› (jpg - 259 kb)
Sample Fraud 7 ›› (jpg - 111 kb)
Sample Fraud 8 ›› (jpg - 155 kb)
For more information about the legitimate Federal Reserve note denominations, visit the Bureau of Engraving and Printing's website, www.moneyfactory.com.
Private Placement Programs/High Yield Investment Programs
July 2005
So-called high yield investment programs or “capital enhancement programs” purport to be highly secretive, very lucrative programs of investment in various financial instruments, such as medium term notes, standby letters of credit and "prime bank" guarantees. These fraudulent “programs” are presented as legitimate investment vehicles being offered by "invitation only" by the "U.S. Federal Reserve Bank."
Scam artists claim that proceeds from the programs are slated for investment, often abroad. Fictitious letters are often used to convince targets that the programs are legitimate.
Targets are told that in order to participate they must provide the scam artist with verification of large (usually multi-million dollar) deposits in a personal bank account, and to provide an enlarged color copy of the signature page of the target’s passport. Scam artists give “guarantees,” frequently in writing, that the money will remain in the target’s account, under her sole control, throughout the term of the program.
The purpose of these schemes is to obtain enough information about the target to allow the scam artist to impersonate the target and take the money from the designated account.
Additional material and information that may be requested include a color photo, a reproducible copy of the target’s signature and other key personal information, including a passport number, a personal bank account number, routing number and SWIFT code.
Employees of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Federal Reserve System do not offer investments to the general public. Furthermore, the Federal Reserve does not use any agents that are authorized to deal with the general public.
"Prime Bank" and Other Financial Instrument Fraud Schemes
SR 02-13, May 20, 2002
Testimony of Herbert A. Biern: "Prime Bank" Schemes
The Deputy Associate Director of Banking Supervision and Regulation before the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, U.S. Senate
July 17, 1996
Development Investment Programs
January 2003
Numerous investment scams purport to "enhance assets" for project development. These scams often invoke the name of the Federal Reserve or cite Federal Reserve research.
The scam artist tries to convince a would-be investor to place his funds with an asset manager, who will enhance the investment while funding various humanitarian projects, such as building bridges in developing countries.
Sample Fraud ›› (jpg - 119 kb)
Federal Trading Program
July 2005
In this scam, a target is told that the Federal Reserve uses a “Federal Trading Program” to enhance the U.S. economy.
According to the scam artist’s explanatory documents, participation in the program requires proving ownership of unencumbered assets worth $100 million or more. The target is told that these assets must then be transferred to a "safe keeping account," conveniently at the target’s bank, where the target will have "complete access to [his/her] funds at all times."
Once the money is in this account, the Federal Reserve purportedly assigns a "federal trading number" so that the number of trades can be monitored. The Federal Reserve also purportedly will guarantee, in writing, the rate of return.
The purpose of the scheme is to obtain enough initial information about the target to allow the scam artist to impersonate him and take the money from the designated account.
Sample Fraud ››
New York Fed Archived Fraud Alerts ››
DEAR VKD: ABOUT THOSE US BONDS: worth a total of $134.5B HOW IT'S DONE BETWEEN NATIONS
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