EEO Report | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Community Guidelines | About Us | FCC Applications |, Daily News Update As part of the fraudulent scheme, Defendants charged fees that were almost 50% higher than the maximum fees that were disclosed to investors who purchased silver coins from Safeguard Metals. Read More Business Details and See Alerts, International Association of Better Business Bureaus. Questions? As low as $52.50. Indiana is one of 27 states filing a lawsuit against a California company accused of bilking elderly investors throughout the country out of nearly $70 million. What is Liberty National doing to avoid lawsuits? Safeguard and Santulan reportedly used false and misleading statements about the safety and liquidity of the investments, Safeguards business practices, and its compensation structure. This is a whole series of standard personal injury claims where the plaintiff sues the defendant. If you were implanted with an Exactech knee or ankle replacement insert or hip replacement liner, you may be eligible for compensation. A favorable court ruling on behalf of a client who suffered losses in a leveraged precious metals investment scheme will proceed against the solicitor. SGM's services and products are for investment purposes only. Division of Consumer Financial Protection, Division of Corporations and Financial Institutions, Licensee & Financial Service Provider Search, Actions, Order and Administrative Hearing Decisions, Central Locations for Service of Legal Process, Office of Financial Technology Innovation, Press Releases 2009 - 2013 (Dept of Corporations), Press Releases 2001 - 2013 (Dept of Financial Institutions). Because Safeguard Metals charged exorbitant markups and severely inflated the price of the coins sold, customers allegedly suffered an immediate loss to their investments. The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and 27 state securities regulatory agencies that are members of the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) announced the filing of a joint civil enforcement action in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against a precious metals dealer and its owner for orchestrating a $68 million fraudulent scheme targeting elderly persons nationwide. LONDON, May 22 (Reuters) - U.S. bank Citigroup Inc failed on Friday in a bid to win an order from a London court that would force trade house Mercuria to pay about $270 million in potential losses . The lawsuit which includes the state of California among plaintiffs alleges that Safeguard Metals used false statements on its website, inflating its assets by billions and using fear tactics to motivate senior citizens to purchase the precious metals. The complaint further alleges that Safeguard's sales agents used prepared scripts, some written by Santulan, that were filled with false and misleading statements about how the market was going to crash and how their retirement accounts would be frozen under a new 'unpublicized' law. The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against Safeguard Metals LLC, and its owner, Jeffrey Santulan, for engaging in a multimillion dollar fraudulent scheme involving hundreds of investors who were at or near retirement age. The complaint alleges defendants operated a fraudulent precious metals investment scheme attracting more than 450 investors and $68 million nation-wide. Additionally, it charged Santulan with aiding and abetting Safeguards violations and as a control person within the meaning of Section 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. At least 16 Indiana residents invested a total of more than $860,000 into silver coins and other products offered by Safeguard Metals. Drug distributors, J&J to pay $590 mln to settle U.S. tribes' opioid claims REUTERS It is important to speak with a lawyer about your case. protection metal excessive charge and Cheat markup on silver coins. The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Safeguard Metals LLC, and its owner, Jeffrey Santulan, for engaging in an alleged multi-million dollar fraud involving hundreds of investors who were at or near retirement age. After January 2021, the defendants represented . Whistleblowers are eligible to receive between 10% and 30% of the monetary sanctions collected paid from the Customer Protection Fund financed through monetary sanctions paid to the CFTC by violators of the CEA. The complaint seeks a permanent injunction to stop the deceptive and fraudulent practices, disgorgement, full restitution, rescission, and civil monetary penalties. Brazen attempts to target senior citizens or other vulnerable populations will not be tolerated in California, DFPI Commissioner Clothilde Hewlett said. 1 Twitter 2 Facebook 3RSS 4YouTube It is the mission of PNG- Accredited Precious Metals Dealer (APMD) program to instill confidence among retail buyers in the precious metals marketplace by adhering to strict guidelines for. Zero-calorie sweetener linked to heart attack and stroke, study finds, Encino woman extradited from Montenegro to serve sentence for COVID loan fraud, Mullholland Drive to be closed at least 24 hours, home evacuated due to mud flow in Beverly Crest, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot concedes defeat, Denver just got a direct flight to this Caribbean island known for music history and vegetarian cooking, NYC Mayor Adams dismisses need to separate church and state, declares himself a servant of God, Zero-calorie sweetener linked to heart attack and stroke, study finds, Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. Is nationwide coin and bullion reserve a scam? How many pounds does a kilo of silver weigh? text = text.replace("https://docqnet.dfpi.ca.gov/LicenseSearch","https://portal.dfpi.ca.gov/csp?id=ssp_license_search"); The SEC is seeking permanent injunctions, disgorgement of allegedly ill-gotten gains, plus interest, and civil penalties. Read more Contact. Additionally, Safeguard allegedly marketed itself as a full-service investment firm with offices in London, New York City, and Beverly Hills that employed prominent individuals in the securities industry and had $11 billion in assets under management. Safeguard obtained approximately $67 million from the sale of coins to more than 450 mostly elderly, retail investors, and kept approximately $25.5 million in mark ups. The complaint charged Safeguard and Santulan with violations of the antifraud provisions of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. . Unfortunately, this case reflects just one of the many epidemic-level investment scams targeting senior and vulnerable populations,, When it comes to protecting the public, we will not hesitate to do everything in our power to vigorously investigate and protect their retirement savings from fraud in commodities markets,, We are committed to holding those accountable who undermine the investing publics trust in our commodities markets through illegal conduct., Todays action demonstrates the commitment of state and federal regulators to work together to prevent investment fraud,, Given the complexity of investment products, our jobs have never been more important, or more demanding., Submissions Accepted for ANA Young Numismatist Literary Awards, PMG Announces Seven Million Notes Certified, First 2023 Collector Coins From Italian Mint Honor Art of Vantivelli, Heritage Offering Special Collection of World Coins, Part II, Perth Mint Issues 2023 Australian Koala Silver Bullion Coins, US Mint Releases U.S. Army 2.5 Ounce Silver Medal March 6, Big Things Happened at the United States Mint in March, Jeff Garrett: The Box of Twenty Approach to Coin Collecting, Roger Burdette: First 1878-S Morgan Silver Dollars Struck, 2023 Congratulations Set With Silver Eagle Proof on Sale March 2, The Coins of Carthage During Hannibals War With Rome. The complaint charges defendants Safeguard Metals LLC (Safeguard Metals) and its principal, Jeffrey Santulan a/k/a Jeffrey Hill with executing an ongoing nationwide fraud that solicited and received approximately $68 million in investor funds to purchase precious metals and fraudulently overpriced silver coins. STAY CONNECTED Address: 21550 Oxnard St FL 3 Woodland Hills, CA, 91367-7105 United States Phone: Website: www.safeguardmetals.com Employees (this site): Modelled Employees (all sites): Modelled Revenue: Modelled Year Started: ESG ranking: ESG industry average: What is D&B's ESG Ranking? Spellane was previously employed as a salesman by TMTE Inc., a Los Angeles gold dealer that was the subject of a 2020 lawsuit from the CFTC along with 30 states, . 5, Report #1509255. The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against Safeguard Metals LLC, and its owner, Jeffrey Santulan, for engaging in a multi-million dollar fraudulent scheme involving hundreds of investors who were at or near retirement age. I thought I was buying silver at spot plus a 12% commission. In fact, the silver coins were significantly less valuable than the defendants claimed, based on the resale prices the firm marketed and promoted. DEFENDANTS 11. on February 2, 2022 announcing charges against Safeguard Metals, LLC and its owner, Jeffrey Santulan. Indiana AG files lawsuit against precious metals company accused of bilking seniors. BBB reports on known marketplace practices. February 23, 2023 31:39. Indiana Attorney. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. The lawsuit alleges Metals.com and its parent company TMTE defrauded $185 million from at least 1,600 investors and most are elderly$140 million of the allegedly defrauded money came from. *In Canada, trademark(s) of the International Association of Better Business Bureaus, used under License. The SEC is seeking permanent injunctions, disgorgement of allegedly ill-gotten gains, plus prejudgment interest, and civil penalties. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Severe Weather Alert Since precious metal prices keep fluctuating, we recommend that you contact Augusta Precious Metals now to find out the exact amounts you are required to pay. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Contact Us Now For a Free Consultation $25 MILLION Recovery Against National Brokerage Firm $9.1 MILLION FINRA Arbitration Award Against Brokerage Firm The CFTC has issued several customer protection Fraud Advisories that provide the warning signs of fraud, including the Precious Metals Fraud Advisory, which alerts customers to precious metals fraud and lists simple ways to spot precious metals scams. Summerlin, Nevada. Attorney General Todd Rokita today filed a lawsuit with 26 other states and a federal agency against Safeguard Metals, a business that schemed to trick elderly victims into investing in wildly overvalued precious metals. Safeguard Properties Safeguard Equities, Inc BRE#02112381 Real Estate Agents Safeguard Properties aka Safeguard Equities to be avoided at all costs. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. for(i=0;i