Fraudulence priced at $10.5 billion discovered by Operation Broken Trust

A federal investigation called Operation Broken Trust probed an epidemic of investment fraud in the wake of the financial crisis. Monday the Justice Department announced outcomes of the investigation. Operation Broken Trust has charged more than five-hundred people with both criminal and civil violations. About $10.5 billion was bilked from investors through frauds exposed by the investigation.

National fraud with Operation Broken Trust

Obama administration's Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force was who organized the Operation Broken Trust. The first countrywide operation to combat investment strategies the general public has to deal with will be dealt with in a three-and-a-half-month investigation based on Attorney General Eric Holder who spoke at a news conference Monday. You will find 189 people getting civil suits while 343 individuals face criminal charges. Prison sentences were given to 87 individuals already. Even 20 years was given to a few defendants. Eighty five years was given to one person. That was the longest.

Cheating with fraud normal citizens

Ponzi schemes foreign currency fraud, investment scams and market-manipulation were all part of the 120,000 cases of fraudulence the Operation Broken Trust investigated. There were specific individuals targeted. These consist of the disabled, elderly, immigrants, churches and communities. According to the Justice Department, several victims were set up by neighbors or fellow church members. Then there was the TX man who said that the foreign exchange trades he had were a "blessing from God" that he was using. Another case involved a police officer stealing from fellow cops in a Ponzi scheme. A blind man and a bereaved family both were victims.

Gaining knowledge from Operations Broken Trust

The Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the United States of America USPS and the Justice Department all joined to make the Operation Broken Trust. Robert Khuzami of the SEC said that while Wall Street banks have gotten the biggest fraudulence headlines, hundreds of other scams devastate working families and retirees. Holder said that Operation Broken Trust teaches that “Cheating investors out of their earnings and savings is no longer a safe business plan.” He also warned the public to be alert for scams, take measures to protect themselves and report to authorities when they think something fishy is going on.

Articles cited

Wall Street Journal

online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704156304576003392063619546.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Los Angeles Times

latimesblogs.latimes.com/money_co/2010/12/investment-fraud-financial-crimes-operation-broken-trust-justice-department-fbi-.html

Washington Post

washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/06/AR2010120603152.html?hpid=topnews