The Industry Standard - Government wants receiver appointed to return e-Bullion customer assets - Comments

I am totally agree please

Alex — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:57:56 -0500

I am totally agree please keep us informed Mr. Ian Lamont . What is new in this case ?

I am totally agree please

Alex — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:53:53 -0500

I am totally agree please keep us informed Mr. Ian Lamont . What is new in this case ?

whats new mr Ian,please dont

ruben — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 12:35:30 -0400

whats new mr Ian,please dont forget us ,let us know someting, now that is one year,later
thanks

the faiht is lost,our money

ruben — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:24:16 -0400

the faiht is lost,our money is not coming back,bad luck this time,thanks for all your help mr,Ian

Readers: I have posted some

Ian Lamont — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 12:35:29 -0400

Readers:

I have posted some documents below that show the U.S. government James Fayed/e-Bullion/Goldfinger, and the estate of Pamela Fayed continuing to argue and appeal various aspects of the case. Note that there have been multiple extensions in the case(s) since last year, and currently the defense and the estate of Pamela Fayed has until June 5 to issue a response to the government's complaint for forfeiture. There may be additional delays/counterclaims/filings/motions which draw out the case even more. There is no indication if or when seized assets will be returned to former e-Bullion account holders, and I am unable to answer any questions about this issue.

The court documents are below:

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Law & Government Business & Law james fayed Goldfinger

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Law & Government Business & Law ebullion

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Law & Government Business & Law ebook law

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Law & Government Business & Law goldfinger coin and ebullion

Other court documents can be reviewed here:

http://www.thestandard.com/news/2009/02/13/recent-e-bullion-court-filing...

Ian Lamont
Managing Editor
The Industry Standard
twitter.com/ilamont

Hola Esteban, No sé si sea

Pat — Wed, 13 May 2009 23:08:46 -0400

Hola Esteban,
No sé si sea de mucha ayuda, puedes enviar tus documentos a,
Maura Kelley
Special Agent
FBI,
Maura.Kelley@ic.fbi.gov
Ella recibe los reclamos según entiendo hasta cuando los jueces deterinen la devolución ?

hello, I am not from the US,

esteban — Wed, 13 May 2009 00:12:52 -0400

hello,
I am not from the US, have a large amount in e-bullion, can someone please address me where do i need to report and send the documents?
Also any news on what is going on?

Thank You

Hi Ian, thanks for been

Pat — Tue, 12 May 2009 02:30:44 -0400

Hi Ian, thanks for been back with your monitoring. I had post my proofs documents to fbi, but I didn't have any answer yet so I am thinking to send again, they might had not received. I will keep informed.
Do you know about the case hearing of the past April?

Readers: Sorry for the

Ian Lamont — Thu, 07 May 2009 09:10:39 -0400

Readers:

Sorry for the delay. The reason why there is no update is I haven't heard anything from any sources (I monitor all news sources for mentions of e-Bullion) and I don't have the resources to chase down the people involved. I live outside of Boston, the case is taking place in California, and rarely does anyone call me back when I inquire about the case.

If I hear something, I'll post it here, but in the meantime I don't have anything new to share.

Ian Lamont
Managing Editor
The Industry Standard
twitter.com/ilamont

finally ,this silence means

ruben — Thu, 07 May 2009 08:38:42 -0400

finally ,this silence means ,everything is lose?becuse is too long wihtout news

More e-bullion updates would

Peter Boling — Wed, 06 May 2009 18:45:09 -0400

More e-bullion updates would be awesome! Thanks for covering this story Ian! Without your coverage we'd all be in the dark! The government has stolen 15K of my money and I am still hoping to get it back!

i GOT 24 K I WANT TO RETERN

Alex — Tue, 05 May 2009 11:33:33 -0400

i GOT 24 K I WANT TO RETERN THEM BACK TO

Alex

im going to use the above

jerry — Sun, 03 May 2009 15:33:50 -0400

im going to use the above mentioned website and file a complaint too. I tried calling the fbi office, told someone the story, and they hung up on me, so idk wat to do. i have 5$k in my account

Isn't there any news yet.

micinka — Fri, 01 May 2009 11:40:54 -0400

Isn't there any news yet. It's May already. Please Ian, can you check on it and let us know if there are any news.

Thank you

yer it Mid April and no news

tbay — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 19:28:48 -0400

yer it Mid April and no news yet.
WHAT IS REALLY GOING ON??

Government wants receiver appointed to return e-Bullion customer assets

Ian Lamont — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 11:50:45 -0500

The federal government hopes to have a court-appointed receiver handle the return of assets to e-Bullion.com account holders, according to several users of the now-shuttered service and recently filed court documents.

The FBI has already been contacted by scores of account holders who have been unable to access their funds since e-Bullion went offline last August following FBI and IRS raids on the California offices of e-Bullion and its sister company Goldfinger Coin & Bullion. On Monday, an FBI special agent filed a declaration with the U.S. District Court for Central California that stated she had received more than 80 claims from e-Bullion account holders. The names of the account holders were redacted, but two former customers confirmed with the Industry Standard that they had been in contact with the same FBI special agent, who instructed them to submit proof of account ownership.

One of them was Bryan Nevins, an e-Bullion account holder who invested in more than 1,000 ounces of silver through the company. In January, Nevins said that the agent told him to mail in proof of ownership, including account records and wire transfer documents. The agent also requested a letter explaining whether he had a simple bullion investment, or if he was using the account as part of a high-yield investment program (HYIP).

Another e-Bullion user who requested anonymity showed the Standard a copy of an email he received from the same agent. Besides detailing the types of records which would serve as proof of account ownership, the email also said that authorities aimed to return deposits to account holders:

"You will be added to the list of those waiting for restitution in this matter. At this point we are attempting to get a Receiver appointed to handle the distribution of money back to investors."

The email did not mention HYIPs. When contacted by the Standard, the FBI agent declined to provide any additional details.

The FBI's interest in HYIPs relates to the government's contention that e-Bullion was a conduit for fraudulent online activities. The agent's declaration stated that most of the 80 account holders' funds were transmitted through e-Bullion and an associated company called Goldfinger Coin & Bullion to "facilitate one or more fraudulent schemes." One of the HYIPs described in court documents is 4fxtrader, which allegedly promises a 105.7% return in seven days. A separate motion filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office on February 9 called the investments "Ponzi schemes." The same document said that "a receiver or similarly objective third party ought to be appointed" to handle the accounting and disbursement of seized assets.

e-Bullion and several associated gold-trading companies were raided between August 4-8. Federal agents seized between $20 and $24 million in bullion, coins, money orders, cash, and cash equivalents, according to court documents and comments by e-Bullion's former lawyer. The raids took place one week after e-Bullion and Goldfinger co-owner Pamela Fayed was murdered in a Los Angeles parking garage. Her estranged husband and e-Bullion partner James Fayed and several accomplices were later charged with her murder. Fayed and his gold-trading companies were also charged with operating a money transmittal business without a license. The money transmittal charge against Fayed was later dropped, but the gold-trading companies are still under indictment.

A hearing is set for March 9 to review a motion filed by attorneys for the companies to have the seized assets returned to cover legal fees and cover operational costs.

Sources: Court documents, Bryan Nevins, an anonymous e-Bullion account holder, the FBI, the United States Attorney's Office for Central California.

Related: