The financial news that actually matters
Covers financial scams, fraud cases, regulatory enforcement actions, and government crackdowns on illegal financial activity. It educates readers on financial safety and risk prevention.
James Wellesley, a British citizen who operated under at least two aliases, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for orchestrating a $97 million Ponzi scheme through a sham wine investment company called Bordeaux Cellars. U.S. District Judge Pamela K. Chen imposed the sentence after Wellesley pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy in Brooklyn…
Millions of dental patients across the United States now face heightened risks of identity theft and privacy violations after a data breach at DentaQuest, a Massachusetts-based dental-benefits administrator, exposed the records of 2.6 million people. The incident has triggered mandatory federal and state notification requirements, but gaps in public breach databases mean that affected individuals…
Georgia banks now have the authority to freeze a suspicious transaction for up to 15 days when they believe an elderly customer is being financially exploited. House Bill 945, signed into law as Act 478, created new sections of the Georgia code, O.C.G.A. 7-1-239.11 through 7-1-239.18, granting financial institutions this hold power. The law builds…
Fraudsters are sending unsolicited text messages and WhatsApp-style chats while posing as Federal Trade Commission employees, promising to recover money that victims lost in earlier scams. The pitches arrive with fake FTC employee ID images attached, a tactic designed to make the offer look official. The median loss to FTC impersonators has more than doubled…
Taxpayers who file accurate returns early in the season stand a better chance of clearing IRS fraud filters before processing volumes spike and verification backlogs grow. The agency’s pre-refund screening systems compare reported wages and withholding against employer records, and any mismatch can freeze a refund for weeks. For filers whose data checks out, submitting…
Max McDermott of Newport Beach, California, was arrested on federal charges that he obtained a $10 million loan by hiding an active SEC investigation from the lender, then funneled the money to cover obligations tied to a separate alleged $100 million investor fraud. The Southern District of New York charged McDermott with wire fraud and…
A federal judge in Manhattan sentenced Ho Wan Kwok, the self-exiled Chinese businessman known as Miles Guo, to 30 years in prison for running a fraud operation that, according to prosecutors, solicited more than $1 billion from victims through fake digital-asset offerings, media ventures, and membership programs. The court also imposed a forfeiture order of…
Georgia residents who lose money to scammers at cryptocurrency kiosks will soon have a direct path to demand refunds from the machines’ operators. Gov. Brian P. Kemp signed HB 945, enacted as Act 478, creating a consumer-protection regime for virtual currency kiosks that takes effect July 1, 2026. The law gives new customers a 72-hour…
Pet owners searching for a lost dog or cat now face a new threat: scammers armed with AI tools that can generate fake photos and videos showing a missing animal in distress. The Federal Trade Commission flagged this tactic in a June 2026 alert, warning that fraudsters steal real pet images posted online and use…
Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles charged 10 people with running a prescription drug fraud scheme that billed Medi-Cal nearly $270 million in just 11 months through a single Montclair, California, pharmacy. The case, built around Monte Vista Pharmacy, alleges that defendants used kickbacks and fake prescriptions to extract more than $178 million in payments from…