Gold Firm Owner Sentenced in $29.5 Million Ponzi Scheme
By: Jon Burstein, Sun Sentinel
The founder of a Lake Worth-based precious metals firm that was a front for a $29.5 million fraud was sentenced in late November to more than 12 years in prison.
Jamie Campany, the owner of the grandiose-sounding Global Bullion Exchange, took money from more than 1,400 customers nationwide who thought precious metals would be good to have in uncertain economic times. The firm told customers that the metals would be stored at secured locations until they wanted to sell.
But those metals were never bought, Campany admitted. Global Bullion Exchange was a Ponzi scheme, with old clients getting paid with new clients’ money.
Global Bullion Exchange was part of an explosion of precious metals firms that set up shop in Broward and Palm Beach counties, operating in what has been a largely unregulated niche of the precious metals industry. More than 45 firms opened locally between 2007 and last year, most offering gold, silver and palladium via heavily financed transactions.
A Sun-Sentinel investigation in March found that convicted felons and people with checkered regulatory histories were able to operate such businesses with little-if any-scrutiny. Nine precious metals firms in South Florida have left customers suffering total losses of more than $91 million, according to court records.
Much of the money raised by Global Bullion Exchange went to the brokers working the phones. The company’s tax returns for 2007 show that 77 percent of the firm’s gross receipts went to brokers.
All Things Considered – John’s Commentary
We have written about this before, but it bears repeating again. PLEASE REMEMBER: The precious metals bullion industry is unregulated, unlike the securities and insurance industries. You absolutely must:
1) Thoroughly research who you are contemplating doing business with. Fisher Precious Metals is an A Rated Accredited business with the Better Business Bureau and a dealer listed with the World Gold Council.
2) Take physical delivery of all of your metals or store in an insured depository
3) NEVER use leverage or margin to purchase physical metals
4) Understand that confiscation proof coins do NOT exist
5) Buy in modest amounts consistently over time
Quote of the day: “An ounce of gold is an ounce of gold, whether it consists of guineas, sovereigns or eagles.” – Hans F. Sennholz
