I was invited, via email, into an insurance-based plan beginning about Feb 1999, continuing through March. Some 100,000 victims, world-wide, have been taken in by this scam, and the amount of $ taken is estimated at $12 million-$20 million USD. The principals involved in promoting this scam are named as: Mike Poulos, an ex-pat Canadian residing in Batam, Indonesia; Jeff Gordon, and American in Atlanta, GA, and Hansel Kao, believed to be a Singapore citizen. Written and electronic complaints have been filed with IC3 (the FBI), with police officials in Singapore, and tax authorities in Indonesia. The scheme basically represents that a benefactor will pay for an insurance policy taken in the victim's name, the victim will collect a part of the policy value, and later the policy will payoff to the policy holder (the benefactor). Of course, the policies were never issued, although the victims were required, at various times over the 12 year period, to pay fees and send documents to ensure their eventual payment. The program was enhanced at various times to include private foundations and other inducements set up to provide investment/banking services to the victims. With each new program development, more fees and documentation were required.
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