In September I received a phone call at the office here in Qatar from an investments agency called CROWN CAPITAL MANAGMENT.
It started a sort of interview with a lady with a strong Asian accent.
The lady wanted to pointed several times on the fact that our conversation was registered,
She wanted to have general information about me such as: age, job position, type of work, family status etc...
The following week I receive via DHL a brochure from CROWN CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, http://crowncapitalmanagement.com/. The company 'is based in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Everything looked very elegant, and the brochure gives a general overview of what the company is doing, global investments, focused on the Asian market in strong growth.
Their target of clients are expatriate Europeans / Americans in Asia and in the Middle East.
A few days later I get a call from a broker of the CCM (crown capital management), the broker had a very strong British accent, during the conversation he went through the brochure contents and he gave me an idea of various types of investment and potential' gain.
From my side, I was thinking to invest some of my money in the stock market since some time.
They ask me if I was interested in opening an account with them.
After searching the internet about this company I couldn't find any complains or negative comments so I decided to open an account with CCM by filling some forms, scanning and sending back to them. (documents sent through the previous email).
I make the first investment at the end of November, a total of Euro 5,090.40 buying 3,600 shares of the International Ltd Industries Inc. (1S9), a company listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. According to their indiscretions this company would have been acquired by another one in a couple of months and would have dismissed their actions with a profit of the 30/35%. (Attached the transaction).
As soon as the payment arrives at the destination I get an email from their account department with the confirmation of receipt of my bank transfer.
A few weeks after this first transaction (mid December), I get a call from Mr. James Blake a senior advisor, he introduced himself as my new personal broker that will take care of my investments from now on.
Mr. Blake asked me to continue to invest with their company and he proposed me an investment plan for the acquisition of some shares of a company called ASIA GLOBAL that they would be short-listed in the end of February the plan was buying stocks at 0,74 euro cents in December and re-sell them once the company would have entered in the market at a price of € 1.4 (February).
I agree, and proceed by sending an amount of approximately Euro 16,000.00.
Once they received the bank transfer I immediately received a confirmation of receipt.
Up to this point nothing to worry about, I have friends who invested in the stock market, even my father in Italy did it when the economic situation permitted.
The problem arises in the early January when I received a call from Mr. Blake that he proposes to sell the 3.600 shares of Sx Industries International Inc. And re investing them buying other stocks of Asia Global.
During that call he proposed me to invest other Euro 13,000.00 for buying more Asia Global shares.
I must admit that during that phone call between my poor English and his strong British accent I did a bit of confusion and I remember to have answered him with a yes, but what I've understood was related only on the part of the conversation about the Sx Industries. I had completely lost the part where he was talking about the new investment of Euro 13,000.00.
Two days later I get an email from their account department (attached), which summarizes the above-mentioned conversation and I fallen from the sky. (It was weekend then I read it and I replied two days later).
I replied to their email with another email explaining to him that I was not willing to invest more money and that most probably we had miss understanding due to our different languages.
Mr. Blake called me the next day telling me that I can't act like this, first giving my word and then taking it back, saying that they have already exposed them self with Asia Global, that all conversations are recorded, and I can't take back my word.
I've lose the control. I didn't know really what to do, and I was keeping repeating him that I was not remembering to have accept his proposal and at that time I couldn't invest more money.
A few days later he called me and he asked me to open a margin account, that 'means that on one hand I would have to put 50% of 13,000.00 euros, which I did, and they would guarantee the other 50%.
My total investment at the end of January was Euro 28,000.00
- First transaction Euro 5,000.00
- Second transaction Euro 15,000.00
- Third transaction Euro 6,500.00
At the end of January that we would remain resentful between the second and third week of February when Asia Global was a publicly traded company, the plan was to sell the goal 'of 50,000 shares in my possession and I keep the other half' on the market.
Meanwhile I've received from their accounts department a module to fill with all information about my bank in order for them to send me the money back.
Last week exactly three weeks after our last conversation I get a call from Mr. Blake where he explained to me that by the end of February Asia Global will be listed in that market, and that everything is going as planned, so very well.
But, because he had a but, they have just only one problem, their London office (never heard before about it) has not given the green light to ensure my margin account and now they are requesting to me the balance that they were garneting me, if I would not give them this money I would face some problems selling my shares.
At that point I started being really upset and I told him clearly that all of this was unacceptable. That I was feeling cheated. I told him that I do not have the money and that they have to come out with a solution quickly.
He promised me that he would have called me back in a couple of days. That was Tuesday last week until now nobody called me.
I don't know what to think, I don't know if I'm in the middle of a scam or not. I have never invested money in the stock market.
I'm confused, disoriented and nervous about all the changes I'm facing in this period of my life and this problem is really killing me.
What do you think? What do you recommend?
I really don't know if they are a scam, so a ghost company that doesn't exist at all or they are really brokers.
Is there any possibility to get back the money?
Waiting for your really appreciated answer.
0 comments