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[24-nnews]

تحذير من شركة نمايا للاستثمار Namaya for Investment

في الآونة الأخيرة ظهرت منصات تداول مشبوهة تدّعي الموثوقية وتستغل رغبة الأفراد في تحقيق أرباح سريعة، ومن أبرزها منصة نمايا للاستثمار Namaya for Investment. فرغم ترويجها لنفسها كمزود لتداول الفوركس والسلع والمؤشرات وغيرهم من الاسواق العالمية، إلا أن التحقيقات والشكاوى تكشف أنها تعمل دون ترخيص مالي حقيقي، وتعتمد على إعلانات مضللة وتوصيات خاسرة للاحتيال على المستثمرين. في هذا المقال نستعرض من هي منصة نمايا للاستثمار وكيف تمارس نشاطها الاحتيالي الذي يعرّض أموال المتداولين لمخاطر جسيمة.

من هي منصة نمايا للاستثمار؟

تأسست منصة نمايا للاستثمار Namaya for Investment في السعودية مدعيةً أنها تقدم خدمات التداول في الأسواق المالية المختلفة مثل الفوركس، والسلع، والمؤشرات، والذهب، والنفط، وذلك من خلال منصتها الخاصة. إلا أن الحد الأدنى لفتح أصغر حساب لديها، وهو الحساب المصغر، مرتفع جدًا ويبلغ 3500 ريال سعودي.

المثير للانتباه أن المنصة تجذب ضحاياها بعبارات ترويجية مضللة مثل "الفرصة أمامك، وكل يوم تتأخر فيه يفوتك ربح"، في حين أنها غير مرخصة لتقديم خدمات التداول العالمية، رغم ادعائها الحصول على ترخيص سعودي من وزارة التجارة والصناعة. وحتى لو صح هذا الادعاء، فإن الترخيص المحلي لا يخول لها تقديم خدمات تداول في الأسواق العالمية.

كما أن المنصة لم تفصح عن أي تفاصيل أو أرقام تراخيص رسمية، وتدّعي أنها تقدم توصيات تداول، وهو ما يخالف المعايير التنظيمية العالمية المتعلقة بتعارض المصالح. إضافة إلى ذلك، تزعم أن أرباح عملائها خلال شهرين تتراوح بين 30% و70%، وهي ادعاءات مبالغ فيها تهدف إلى استقطاب أكبر عدد ممكن من الضحايا.

هل منصة Namaya for Investment نصابة؟

نعم، تُعد منصة نمايا للاستثمار Namaya for Investment شركة نصابة، إذ تدّعي حصولها على تراخيص من وزارة التجارة والصناعة في السعودية ومن هيئات تنظيمية عالمية دون الإفصاح عن أي أرقام تراخيص أو أسماء تلك الهيئات.

ومن الجدير بالذكر أن المملكة العربية السعودية لا تمنح تراخيص لتداول الفوركس أو الأسواق العالمية، مما يؤكد أن نشاط الشركة مخالف للأنظمة المحلية. كما تستخدم الشركة عبارات وعروضًا ترويجية مضللة تتنافى مع المعايير التنظيمية المعتمدة في مجال الاستثمار. و توجد العديد من الأدلة التي تدعم ذلك وسنذكرها لاحقًا بالتفصيل.

طريقة نصب منصة نمايا للاستثمار

تقوم متصة نمايا للاستثمار باستقطاب عملائها عبر إعلاناتٍ ممولة على وسائل التواصل الاجتماعي و موقعها الرسمي، حيث تدّعي حصولها على تراخيص من وزارة التجارة والصناعة وبعض «الهيئات العالمية» دون الإفصاح عن أرقام أو تفاصيل هذه التراخيص. كما تستخدم عباراتٍ تحفيزية ومضللة مثل «لا تفوّت فرصة الربح» و«سارع بالاستثمار معنا» لجذب المتداولين.

عند انخداع الراغب في الاستثمار يقوم بإيداع الأموال وفتح حساب، فتُحوَّل المبالغ مباشرةً إلى حسابات المنصة التي قد تكون وهمية ثم تحدث عمليات سحب غير مبررة أو تلاعب في الأسعار عبر منصتها الخاصة، مما يؤدي في النهاية إلى فقدان المتداول لأمواله.

الأدلة على نصب شركة نمايا للاستثمار

هناك العديد من الأدلة على نصب منصة نمايا للاستثمار Namaya for Investment والتي نذكر منها الآتي: 

عدم حصول نمايا للاستثمار على ترخيص مالية 

الترويج المضلل عبر الاعلانات الممولة 

مخالفة المعايير التنظيمية بتقديم توصيات تداول 

التلاعب في الأسعار عبر منصتها الخاصة 

- عدم حصول نمايا للاستثمار على ترخيص مالية 

تدّعي منصة نمايا للاستثمار أنها تعمل بموجب ترخيص سعودي إلى جانب «تراخيص عالمية» تتيح لها تقديم خدمات داخل المملكة، لكنها لا تُفصح عن أي بيانات حول هذه التراخيص لا أرقام، ولا جهات مُصدِرة، ولا مستندات تثبت ذلك. 

وبعد بحث وتدقيق تبين عدم وجود أي تراخيص مالية صادرة لصالح المنصة. كما أن الترخيص السعودي بحد ذاته لا يسمح بتقديم خدمات تداول الفوركس وعقود الفروقات في الأسواق العالمية، إذ أن المملكة لا تمنح مثل هذه التراخيص. 

إذًا، تعمل المنصة عمليًا بدون ترخيص مالي، ومن يتعامل معها يعرض نفسه وأمواله لخطر الاحتيال دون وجود ضمان فعّال لاسترداد الأموال أو لتقديم شكوى لدى جهة رقابية قوية ومنظمة.

2- الترويج المضلل عبر الاعلانات الممولة 

تقوم منصة نمايا للاستثمار بالترويج لأنشطتها من خلال إعلانات ممولة مضللة على وسائل التواصل الاجتماعي ومنصات الفيديو مثل يوتيوب وغيرها، بهدف جذب أكبر عدد ممكن من الضحايا. وتستخدم في حملاتها التسويقية عبارات حماسية خادعة مثل «تداول قبل أن تفوتك الفرصة» و «كل شيء سعودي»، في محاولة لاستهداف المتداولين السعوديين وكسب ثقتهم.

ورغم هذه الوعود البراقة، إلا أن الشركة تعمل دون أي ترخيص رقابي واضح، ولا تقدم خدمة تداول حقيقية أو شفافة، إذ تهدف بشكل أساسي إلى الاحتيال على أموال العملاء والاستيلاء على مدخراتهم.

ويُعد الحد الأدنى المرتفع للإيداع أحد أبرز المؤشرات على عدم مصداقية المنصة، حيث تطلب مبالغ كبيرة لفتح الحساب المصغر تصل إلى 3,500 ريال سعودي، بينما تصل مبالغ الحسابات الأعلى إلى أكثر من 100 ألف ريال سعودي، وهو ما يخالف المعايير المتبعة لدى الشركات المرخصة والموثوقة.

3- مخالفة المعايير التنظيمية بتقديم توصيات تداول 

تخالف منصة نمايا للاستثمار المعايير التنظيمية بعدة طرق، وأبرزها ما تدّعيه عبر موقعها الرسمي من تقديم توصيات تداول يومية ومرافقة العملاء أثناء استثماراتهم. وتستخدم هذه الادعاءات كوسيلة لجذب الضحايا واستقطاب العملاء، إذ توهمهم بأنها توفر دعماً مباشراً لتحقيق الأرباح وضمان النجاح في التداول.

غير أن تقديم توصيات تداول من داخل شركة التداول نفسها يُعد مخالفة صريحة للمعايير التنظيمية العالمية التي تفرضها الهيئات الرقابية، لأنه يتعارض مع مبدأ تجنب تضارب المصالح بين الشركة والمستثمر. فالشركة قد تستفيد من توجيه المتداولين نحو قرارات تخدم مصالحها الخاصة على حساب العملاء.

وهذا السلوك يؤكد غياب أي ترخيص عالمي حقيقي لدى منصة نمايا للاستثمار، إذ إن الشركات المرخصة تخضع لرقابة صارمة تمنع مثل هذه الممارسات التي تهدد نزاهة التداول وأمان المستثمرين.

4- التلاعب في الأسعار عبر منصتها الخاصة 

بعد أن تستقطب منصة نمايا للاستثمار النصّابة ضحاياها من خلال إعلانات مضللة و ترويجات زائفة، تبدأ في تقديم توصيات تداول مخالفة للمعايير التنظيمية، وغالبية هذه التوصيات تكون خاسرة، بحسب شكاوى العملاء والضحايا الذين تعاملوا معها. وتستفيد المنصة من خسائر المتداولين لتحقيق أرباحها الخاصة، في سلوك يعكس تضاربًا واضحًا في المصالح.

وحتى في الحالات التي يتمكن فيها المتداول من تجنّب الخسارة، تقوم المنصة بالتلاعب في الأسعار عبر منصتها الخاصة، حيث يُلاحظ أن الأهداف لا تُنفذ عند بلوغها، أو تحدث انزلاقات سعرية متعمدة تؤدي إلى تفعيل أوامر وقف الخسارة Stop Loss بشكل غير طبيعي، خاصة أثناء تقلبات السوق أو صدور الأخبار المهمة.

كل هذه الممارسات تؤكد أن منصة نمايا للاستثمار هي منصة احتيالية وغير موثوقة، وأن التداول معها ينطوي على مخاطر مالية جسيمة قد تؤدي إلى خسارة رأس المال بالكامل.

[24-nnews]

Riverquode

Riverquode Forex broker specializes in providing foreign exchange trading services, the company's official website https://www.riverquo..., the company's legitimate regulatory information CyprusCYSECForex Execution License (STP), South AfricaFSCADerivatives Trading License (EP) to enhance the security of the company's address 2nd Floor Norwich Place, Norwich Close, Sandown Sandon, Gauteng 2031, South Africa

[24-nnews]

OmegaPro co-Founder arrested in Turkey charged with $4 billion Ponzi scheme

Andreas Szakacs, the co-founder of OmegaPro arrested in Turkey, is facing serious allegations of orchestrating a massive Ponzi scheme.

OmegaPro, a firm that claimed to invest in cryptocurrency and forex, reportedly defrauded investors out of a staggering $4 billion before its collapse in late 2022, coinciding with the notorious fall of the FTX exchange.

Computers and 32 cold wallets recovered

Szakacs, who adopted the name Emre Avci after obtaining Turkish citizenship, was apprehended by Turkish authorities following a significant investigation into OmegaPro’s activities. The arrest came after an anonymous tip-off prompted a series of raids across Istanbul.

Authorities seized computers and 32 cold wallets linked to Szakacs, although he reportedly did not provide the necessary access codes to these digital assets.

Investigators have traced $160 million in cryptocurrency transactions to his operations.

Impact of OmegaPro’s alleged fraudulent activities

The allegations against OmegaPro surfaced earlier in the year when regulatory bodies in different countries including France, Belgium, Spain, and Argentina issued warnings about the company’s fraudulent practices.

Szakacs has vehemently denied the accusations, asserting that his role was confined to finance and marketing, not fraud.

However, the scale of the alleged scheme has led to widespread scrutiny and regulatory reassessment in the global cryptocurrency sector.

Abdul Ghaffar Mohaghegh, a Dutch national who lost $7 million in the scheme, has claimed to represent over 3,000 investors who collectively lost more than $103 million.

This extensive network of affected individuals highlights the far-reaching impact of OmegaPro’s alleged fraudulent activities and underscores the urgent need for enhanced regulatory measures to protect investors in the crypto market.

The case has prompted a global reassessment of cryptocurrency regulations. In response, countries are considering new legislation aimed at increasing transparency and accountability within the crypto sector.

As investigations continue and more details emerge, the fallout from this case could significantly reshape the landscape of financial technology and investor safeguards.

Turkey, in particular, is moving to establish a comprehensive regulatory framework designed to prevent similar schemes in the future.

[24-nnews]

OmegaPro Forex Scam Founder Arrested in Turkey: The Fall of Andreas Szakacs

Turkish authorities have arrested Andreas Szakacs, the co-founder of OmegaPro, one of the world’s largest and most infamous online multi-level marketing (MLM) scams. Szakacs, who had been on the run since November 2022, was apprehended after a years-long international manhunt. His arrest marks a pivotal moment in the pursuit of justice for the millions of investors defrauded by the OmegaPro scam.

Turkish authorities have arrested Andreas Szakacs, the co-founder of OmegaPro, one of the worlds largest and most infamous online multi-level marketing (MLM) scams. Szakacs, who had been on the run since November 2022, was apprehended after a years-long international manhunt. His arrest marks a pivotal moment in the pursuit of justice for the millions of investors defrauded by the OmegaPro scam.

What Was OmegaPro？

OmegaPro is considered a Ponzi scheme. OmegaPro presented itself as a forex trading platform, enticing investors with the promise of astronomical returns. The company claimed that investors could achieve a 300% return on their investment within 16 months. The scheme was heavily promoted by retired football stars and self-proclaimed business gurus, lending an air of legitimacy to the operation.

Investors could join the scheme with as little as $100, while some invested as much as $50,000, lured by the potential for massive profits. However, OmegaPro was nothing more than a sophisticated Ponzi scheme. The companys supposed forex trading activities were a facade, and the promised returns were paid out using the funds of new investors.

As pressure from regulators and law enforcement intensified, OmegaPro rebranded itself as Go Global. However, this name change did little to disguise the true nature of the operation. The company continued to deceive investors, ultimately collapsing in November 2022.

The Scam Unraveled

OmegaPro was launched in 2019 and quickly expanded its reach globally. Operating out of Dubai, the company managed to defraud investors of over $100 billion in just three years. Despite its claims of legitimacy, OmegaPro began to attract the attention of regulators and law enforcement agencies around the world.

By 2020, French authorities had blacklisted two websites associated with OmegaPro for offering unauthorized forex trading services. This marked the beginning of a series of legal actions against the company. Class action criminal proceedings are currently underway in France, and other countries have since launched their own investigations.

The first arrests related to the OmegaPro scam occurred in April 2022 in the Congo. By August, regulators in Myanmar had launched their own investigations. The collapse of OmegaPro in November 2022 forced Szakacs and his co-founders, Mike Sims and Dilawar Singh, to go underground.

In March 2023, Juan Carlos Reynoso, a key executive responsible for managing OmegaPro‘s operations in Latin America, was arrested in Mexico. Reynoso, a Peruvian citizen, played a significant role in the company’s global operations.

In November 2023, an initiative called Omegapro Action Nigeria was launched in an attempt to recover funds for scammed Nigerian investors. However, just two days later, a petition was started on Change.org, calling on the Sheikh of Dubai to investigate OmegaPro and its co-founders, who were believed to have fled to Dubai following the companys collapse.

A Web of Deception: The Background of Key OmegaPro Members

The individuals behind OmegaPro were no strangers to fraudulent schemes. Andreas Szakacs, Mike Sims, and Dilawar Singh had all been involved in previous scams. For example, Paulo Tuynman, a senior executive at OmegaPro, had a history with the Omnia Project scam. Another executive, Christopher Hamilton, was linked to the notorious OneCoin crypto scam, one of the largest cryptocurrency frauds in history.

Nader Poordeljo, another associate of OmegaPro, was known for his connection to Jordan Belfort, the infamous “Wolf of Wall Street.” These associations highlight the deep-seated connections between OmegaPro and other fraudulent schemes.

Despite the arrest of Szakacs, many of the key figures behind OmegaPro remain at large. Dubai, where several of these individuals are believed to reside, has yet to take significant action against them. This lack of accountability raises concerns about the protection of investors and the potential for similar scams to emerge in the future.

[24-nnews]

Cobre to Negotiate Spaletta’s Exit

The Cobre Consolidated Schools Board of Education voted during its regular meeting Monday to begin negotiations to sever its contract with Superintendent Jeff Spaletta, who was placed on administrative leave for a second time in July. The vote came after the board met in executive session for about an hour and 20 minutes to get an update on the investigation into complaints against Spaletta and to discuss the possible terms for severing the contract. Any terms negotiated with Spaletta will have to come before the board for approval at a future meeting, board President Serena Murillo said after Monday’s meeting. Also during the closed session, board members discussed a whistleblower lawsuit filed last month by a former district employee that provides some insight into allegations that Spaletta created a hostile work environment. The lawsuit names not only the district and its Board of Education as defendants, but also Spaletta and board member Gilbert Guadiana individually.

However, the board voted to table an action item on its agenda that would authorize its lawyers to proceed with a legal strategy on the lawsuit. The board also took no action on another item, to amend the scope of the investigation against Spaletta. The board’s unanimous vote authorizes Murillo and legal counsel to negotiate terms of severance of the contract with Spaletta, who has been on administrative leave and under investigation for internal complaints since July 15. It was the second time the board placed Spaletta on administrative leave in his 15 months as superintendent. In December, he was placed on leave and an investigation begun into allegations from district employees that were included in a letter sent to Lt. Gov. Howie Morales, state Rep. Luis Terrazas and then state Rep. Rebecca Dow, and state Sen. Siah Correa Hemphill as well as the Cobre board members. More than a dozen employees signed that letter accusing Spaletta of creating a hostile work environment by bullying employees, threatening work status, giving impossible deadlines, being verbally abusive and intruding on employee privacy. However, in January, the board voted to allow Spaletta back to work as the investigation continued. In March, the board announced its investigation, conducted by an Albuquerque firm, did not substantiate any of the claims made against Spaletta. In March, the board voted to extend Spaletta’s contract through the 2025-26 school year. The original contract, as posted to the Cobre Schools website, does not stipulate any conditions in case of termination, but does allow the board to cancel the contract for cause. The lawsuit was filed Aug. 1 in Sixth Judicial District Court by Teresa Holguin, who was the district’s chief financial officer for 17 years until she was fired last August. According to the complaint, Holguin filed a charge of discrimination with the New Mexico Human Rights Bureau in April. In June, the bureau issued an order of non-determination. Holguin’s lawsuit alleges that her firing was, in part, retaliation for her reporting actions by Guadiana including allegedly publicly humiliating her, creating a hostile work environment for female employees and exceeding his authority as a school board member by interacting with district employees. The lawsuit also alleges that Guadiana and Spaletta conspired to fire her by making false accusations of fraud and forgery, and worked together to control the board in violation of the Racketeering Act. In 2021, the complaint said, the district hired an outside investigator to look into a formal complaint Holguin submitted regarding Guadiana’s behavior. According to the lawsuit, among the investigator’s findings were that Guadiana delivered put-downs and mocked Holguin at meetings of the board and its finance committee, questioned whether her salary was justified, questioned salaries and qualifications of several female staff members, made public allegations of misappropriation of funds and harassed staff.

[24-nnews]

Pemegang Saham Jetson Berhad perlu singkir Peguam ‘Scammer’ Kington manipulasi saham bersama Mafia Korporat

Telah mendedahkan sebelum ini mengenai Ketua Mafia Datuk Victor Chin Boon Long (Mo Gui) bersama orang-orang kanannya seperti Chong Loong Men, Leong Seng Wui, Ng Keok Chai, Teoh Hai Hin dan Lim Kok Han merampas syarikat senarai awam di negara ini.

Green Packet, Classita dan Revenue Group kini dalam poket mereka, GIIB Holdings melalui Lim Kok Han dan Chong Loong Men sedang diusaha dirampas kini Kumpulan Jetson Berhad pula dalam sasaran.

Di GIIB Holdings geng Mafia Korporat menggunakan SPRM untuk memberi tekanan kepada Tai Boon Wee dan Lembaga pengarahnya agar melantik Lim Kok Han sebagai Pengarah Bukan Eksekutif baharu di GIIB. Namun Dato’ Sri Lim Kok Han tersilap menggunakan kekerasan mengugut Tai Booi Wee menggunakan pistol menyebabkan polis bertindak menahannya.

PEGUAM ‘SCAMMER’ KINGTON TONG KUM LOONG & CHONG LOONG MEN

Seperti dalam GIIB Holdings Berhad Peguam Mafia Korporat Chong Loong Men memainkan peranan penting menguasai syarikat itu. Siapa tidak kenal Chong Loong Men orang kanan kepercayaan Datuk Victor Chin Boon Long. Selain Victor Chin beliau terlibat dengan Mafia korporat dalam skandal Penny Stock seperti Datuk Eddie Cha Woon Chet, Datuk Jacky Phang Chow Huat dan Kenneth Vun@ Vun Yun Lun.

Dalam Kumpulan Jetson Berhad, Peguam ‘Scammer’ Kington Tong Kum Loong dari pejabat guaman Tetuan Messrs Kington Tan Dzul yang dibawa masuk oleh Dato’ Foong Chee Meng cuba menipu Datuk Teh Kian An pengasas Kumpulan Jetson dalam urus niaga jual beli saham. Harapkan pagar, pagar makan padi.

Kington Tong Kum Loong menambah kepentingannya di Jetson sehingga menjadi Pengarah Bukan Eksekutif yang memiliki saham individu terbesar di Kumpulan Jetson.

Niat jahat Peguam Kington Tong sangat jelas selepas beliau membawa Peguam Mafia Korporat Chong Loong Men bersamanya bertemu dengan Datuk Teh Kian An agar menjual sahamnya kepada Mafia Korporat dengan mengugut menggunakan pistol sebagaimana GIIB Holding Berhad.

Ini bermakna selain ‘scammer’ Dato’ Chin Chan Leong pengasas Fountain View Development Berhad, Mafia Korporat turut berada di belakang Peguam ‘Scammer’ Kington Tong. Tujuan mereka jelas menguasai syarikat dan meranapkan syarikat-syarikat itu sebagaimana seperti Green Packet, Classita dan Revenue Group.

Mahukah Lembaga Pengarah dan pemegang saham Kumpulan Jetson melihat syarikat itu musnah?Mesyuarat Agung Luar Biasa syarikat itu akan menentukan kedudukan kumpulan Jetson sama ada mahu menyerahkan kepada Mafia Korporat atau Peguam ‘Scammer’ Kington kaki pukul ‘amoi’

MANIPULASI SAHAM KUMPULAN JETSON

Menjadi persoalan besar daripada mana seorang Peguam seperti Kington Tong Kum Long mempunyai banyak wang membeli saham seperti di Kumpulan Jetson Berhad dan Kumpulan Asastera Berhad (kini Kinergy Advancement Berhad)?Jawapannya selain duit Dato’ Chin Chan Leong bekas bosnya ia juga daripada Mafia Korporat. Oleh itu terdapat desakan kepada LHDN dan SC menyiasat dari mana sumber dana Peguam ‘Scammer’ Kington.

Sejak Mei sehingga 13 Jun lalu Kington Tong Kum Long dilihat banyak membeli saham Kumpulan Jetson Berhad. Di atas kertas Kington Tong Kum Long kini antara pemegang saham individu terbesar iaitu melebihi 27 peratus kepentingan atau 74,029, 800 saham langsung atau tidak langsung.

Pembelian Kington Tong Kum Loong berterusan setiap hari sebelum EGM melonjakkan saham Kumpulan Jetson 42 sen pada 12 Jun sebelum jatuh kembali kepada 33 sen pada 13 jun. Kington meraih untung dari kenaikan harga saham dan tahu dia rugi selepas itu maka dia juga menjual sahamnya pada 13 jun . Harga saham Jetson sehingga 20 Jun kekal jatuh 27 sen.

[24-nnews]

Noncelebrities being increasingly involved in blackmail

It’s not just people like John Stamos and David Letterman. Even noncelebrities are increasingly being targeted in alleged blackmail plots, say security and law-enforcement experts.

Some private security experts say a growing number of clients are calling on them for protection from extortion threats. The severe recession and high unemployment rates, as well as general turmoil following last year’s economic meltdown, appear to be swelling the ranks of blackmailers, they say.

“The economy is at low ebb, and people are looking for a mark,” said security consultant Michael Guidry, chief executive of the Guidry Group, in Montgomery, Texas.

Paul Viollis, CEO of the security and investigations firm Risk Control Strategies Inc. in New York, says he’s seen a surge in blackmail cases among high-net-worth clients over the past year. He used to handle about eight a year, he says. Now he has 40 active cases, and is adding two to five more each month.

The surge started last November with the attempted blackmail of one of Mr. Viollis’s clients by a former business partner who had fallen on hard times. The ex-partner said he had knowledge of past Securities and Exchange Commission violations committed by the client. Mr. Viollis says he helped end the blackmail by meeting the extortionist and telling him he would report him to authorities unless he ceased. Mr. Viollis says the allegations were false and the extortionist knew it. Mr. Viollis’s account couldn’t be independently verified.

Sometimes it’s risky personal conduct that exposes individuals to extortion. Earlier this year, Stephen Dent, 55 years old, of Old Greenwich, Conn., complained to police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation that women he met through a Web dating site catering to wealthy men demanded money in return for keeping his online activities secret from his wife and others. Mr. Dent already had paid hush money in connection with a similar plot in 2007, according to police reports and court documents.

The alleged extortionists were arrested and charged last March, after a probe by the FBI and local police. A male defendant who was indicted in the case—the husband of one of the women—is now serving 18 months in connection with the plot, and his wife received a suspended sentence of five years, according to their attorney, Mark Sherman. A third woman has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial. Mr. Dent hasn’t been charged with any crime. His attorney, Steven Frederick of Stamford, Conn., didn’t return repeated phone calls for comment.

National statistics on blackmail are hard to get because extortion can be a federal or state crime and is charged under a number of different statutes, including larceny, wire fraud and mail fraud. The number of defendants in such federal cases has averaged about 145 per year since 1994, except in 2002, when they suddenly spiked to 205 during the last recession.

The most-publicized recent extortion cases have involved alleged attempts to obtain huge sums of money from well-known entertainers. Just this week, Mr. Stamos, a well-known TV actor, said he went to the FBI after a pair of Michigan residents allegedly demanded $680,000 in exchange for photos taken at a 2004 party in Florida.

According to an FBI affidavit, Mr. Stamos, 46, met the accused at the party and received a number of emails in November threatening to release the pictures to the media. “At the conclusion of the investigation and hearing, the photos will be available and the public will be able to see that the photos are simply John posing with fans,” says a spokesman for Mr. Stamos. The defendants were released on bond pending a hearing, according to court records.

Last month, federal officials said supermodel Cindy Crawford and her husband, Rande Gerber, were victims of an alleged plot by a former nanny’s boyfriend to extort $100,000 in return for a photo taken by the nanny of their young daughter tied up and gagged.

The boyfriend was deported to Germany but allegedly continued to make demands by phone and email. In mid-November, he turned himself in to German authorities and has been charged with extortion in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. The U.S. hasn’t made any extradition request with Germany, and the nanny hasn’t been charged, according to federal prosecutors.

Ms. Crawford and Mr. Gerber said they didn’t know of the existence of the photo until they were contacted by the alleged blackmailer in July. They eventually reported the threat to the police, and the FBI began a criminal investigation, the couple said.

“Rande Gerber and Cindy Crawford intend to pursue any and all available legal action against anyone who aids the perpetrator in the distribution or sale of the photograph of their daughter,” their spokeswoman said in a statement.

In October, a television news producer was accused by Manhattan prosecutors of attempting to extort $2 million from Mr. Letterman, 62, in return for silence about the talk-show host’s affair with a female subordinate and other staff members. The defendant’s attorney contends that he was merely offering Mr. Letterman the chance to buy a screenplay based on his affair with the woman, who was also the producer’s ex-girlfriend. The producer says he is innocent, and his attorney has asked the New York state judge to dismiss the charges.

Earlier this year, film stars John Travolta, 55, and wife, Kelly Preston, 47, said they were targets of attempted extortion by a Bahamian paramedic and lawmaker after the sudden death of their son, Jett, 16, there in January. The alleged conspirators threatened to imply that Mr. Travolta was culpable in his son’s death by releasing a medical document unless they were paid $25 million dollars in cash, according to Mr. Travolta’s attorneys. A criminal trial in the Bahamas ended in a mistrial in October. The defendants contend they are innocent.

Security experts say that a growing number of incidents are more about punishing or humiliating the victim than getting money. Often, blackmailers are angry about the success of an associate that they believe is undeserved, say crime experts and academic researchers.

“More than 90% of our cases were opportunistic greed along the lines of [the allegations] in the Travolta case,” says Mr. Viollis, the private investigator. “But since October, it has been more anger, resentment and retribution. It is vengeance. Some involve money, and some are just outright, ‘I want to see you suffer. Resign your position, admit to the board you are a blank blank blank, and I will go away.’ “

In one recent high-profile extortion case, difficult family relationships appeared to play a role. Stuart Ross, 73, of Aventura, Fla., and Stuart Jackson, 80, of Manhasset, N.Y., are accused on felony charges of grand larceny for attempting to extort as much an $11 million in 2008 from David Blitzer, a London-based senior managing director of the Blackstone Group LP, a private-equity fund. Mr. Ross, an entrepreneur who is credited with first importing the popular Smurfs dolls to the U.S. from Belgium in the 1970s, is Mr. Blitzer’s father-in-law. The defendants, who are scheduled to go to trial soon in New York, face up to seven years in prison if convicted.

Mr. Ross had initially approached Mr. Blitzer for money to start a new business, but his demands continued to escalate after his son-in-law paid him tens of thousands of dollars. Mr. Ross was also upset because Mr. Blitzer didn’t send him a family photo at Christmas or invite him to Mr. Blitzer’s villa in Italy, among other perceived slights, according to statements he made to investigators in the district attorney’s office.

Mr. Ross couldn’t be reached for comment, but at a court appearance in August 2008, he told Dow Jones Newswires that “we believe this [prosecution] is totally unlawful and totally malicious.” Mr. Jackson, an attorney, also contends he is innocent. “The case is about an effort by Ross, who was my client, to visit his grandchildren,” he said in a recent telephone interview.

A spokeswoman for the Blackstone Group said the company and Mr. Blitzer had no comment.

Security experts are advising clients to be guarded in their personal activities and communications—especially electronic communications—and to beef up their defenses. They suggest conducting periodic background checks on key advisers and household employees, because they and their associates are often the perpetrators of such crimes.

They also say victims of attempted extortion should immediately seek help, because payoffs seldom end the threats. But they also warn that if police or federal investigators are notified, the matter will become public.

[24-nnews]

Seeking Arrangement and Other Sugar Daddy Sites Help South Florida Coeds Get Out of Debt

"I'm just looking for a generous guy who wants to spoil me like I deserve," Rachel croons into her cell phone, leaving a not-so-subtle message with the cool, coquet­tish tone of a practiced phone sex worker. Her voice is high and childlike, but in reality, the black 20-year-old is all...

“I’m just looking for a generous guy who wants to spoil me like I deserve,” Rachel croons into her cell phone, leaving a not-so-subtle message with the cool, coquet­tish tone of a practiced phone sex worker. Her voice is high and childlike, but in reality, the black 20-year-old is all womanly curves.

Rachel pushes a button and saves the message — a voicemail profile that potential mates can listen to — before turning to a New Times reporter.

“That’s how the professionals do it,” she says matter-of-factly. “You’ve got to choose your words carefully, because to someone on the outside, it could sound like, you know, prostitution. But you’ve also got to sound confident to get that money.”

Two hours ago, Rachel was sitting in a university lecture hall, circling letters on a multiple-choice final exam. Now she’s reclining on her unmade bed, smoking weed, and looking for suckers to pay her bills. There is no shortage: Miami is full of busy black businessmen who want sex with no strings attached, old white men who want to unleash their fantasies on her, and married men who want her to help them discreetly cheat on their wives, she says.

After updating her voice profile, Rachel browses the selection of males currently prowling for companionship. “There are six men in the live lounge,” drones a robotic voice from the cell phone’s speaker. Rachel pushes another button, and a husky Southern twang fills the room. “I’m a 54-year-old white male looking for a sugar baby to treat right…” begins the man’s message.

“Ewww,” sneers Rachel’s wisp-thin friend in short shorts from the other end of the bed. “He sounds like a murderer.”

Fast money, fuzzy morals, and fearsome risks. They’re all in a day’s work for a sugar baby. Rachel, whose name New Times agreed to change for this article, is one of thousands of young women in South Florida who share their time — and often their beds — in exchange for older men’s money.

Though such relationships are nothing unusual in a city like Miami, where squat, silver-haired male millionaires wear teenaged models on their arms like designer watches, a wave of internet websites is now courting a new demographic of sugar babies: college students.

One company in particular is leading the trend. Seeking Arrangement promotes itself as the nation’s biggest “sugar daddy” dating site. Its founder, a self-described “shy MIT nerd,” has courted a million college coeds by offering them free memberships to the site, which he markets as a way to pay off student loans.

With even entry-level jobs requiring a college diploma in today’s job market and the price of a degree skyrocketing, Florida’s female students are becoming sugar babies like never before. Our universities dominate the list of schools with the fastest-growing number of Seeking Arrangement users. Forget sunshine. Florida is on its way to becoming America’s “Sugar Baby State.”

Meanwhile, critics claim that Seeking Arrangement and similar websites are just prostitution 2.0. “These [websites] are a way of commodifying women and their bodies,” says Laurie Essig, a professor of gender, sexuality, and feminist studies at Middlebury College in Vermont. Calling them sugar baby relationships “masks what might in fact be the sex trade in the language of familial relationships.”

To understand the phenomenon, New Times spent six weeks speaking to nearly a dozen student sugar babies. They were white, black, and Hispanic; pretty and plain; wild party girls and no-nonsense businesswomen. Some make as much as $7,000 a month: enough to splurge on sports cars and fancy clothes, let alone stay in school.

Yet the hidden costs are even greater. Innocence is the least these women can lose, with sugar babies occasionally beaten or raped by men they meet online. Some slip from being college students to straight-up prostitutes. Several have wound up in jail for blackmailing overeager sugar daddies.

The biggest problem for Rachel, however, may be knowing when to quit.

As pot smoke swirls around the small room and the refrain of a rap song chimes “Pull out his dick, pull out his dick” from the stereo’s speakers, she says of her extracurricular activities: “I don’t want to get hooked… but it’s so much fun.”

[24-nnews]

Sugar Daddy Sites Attract Sexual Blackmailers

Stephen Dent was perceived, above all, to be a family man, playing ice hockey with his two sons on the weekends, vacationing in Palm Beach and Nantucket.

But behind closed doors, the 54-year-old Greenwich, Conn., multimillionaire was a "sugar daddy" and "slave master" who courted his "sugar babies" online, lavishing them with thousands of dollars in exchange for companionship and kinky sex, according to court records.

But his sex life turned sour because he was repeatedly extorted over his flings with numerous sugar babies on the dating Web site SeekingArrangement.com, according to court records. Now police are charging a young couple with blackmailing Dent.

Dating sites like Wealthymen.com, Sugardaddy.com, Establishedmen.com and others can be fertile ground for con artists who take advantage of men with deep pockets, like Dent.

"The news is unbelievable," said one family acquaintance who did not want to be identified. "I am completely blown away by this. I've always seen him with his wife and children all the time and, honestly, he seems to be a real family man."

"Anybody on the outside would say his life is perfect,"

Just this week, the Greenwich Times exposed Dent and the five-month long investigation by Greenwich police and the FBI.

Court records revealed that Dent -- a New England blue-blood and worth $100 million -- was the "nameless victim" in at least three sexual blackmail plots, paying out more than $200,000 to keep his online sex life secret.

In this affluent community where Dent owns his own investment company and a $4.5 million home on a private cul-de-sac, news travels fast in the country club circles.

Now, he is even ridiculed by some neighbors for driving a gaudy orange car.

"Every time I see it, all I can think about is a guy who thinks with his penis would drive it,"

"It's a Corvette-ish looking thing in a loud and ugly shade of orange that you can't help but notice," said one of Dent's neighbors, who did not want her name used.

Dent's fall from grace began in the online dating community SeekingArrangement.com, where rich men who "have no time for games" can "mentor or spoil" a "personal secretary, secret lover or student."

That arrangement is mostly financial, attracting sugar babies who are "attractive, ambitious and young" -- college students, aspiring actresses or "someone just starting out."

There, the average age of a sugar daddy is 45 and a female sugar baby is 26, according to company spokesman Stephan Smith.

Law enforcement experts say Internet dating sites can be rife with predators.

"This guy has two vulnerabilities," said Kenneth Lanning, a former FBI agent. "He has a sexual need and they turned on him. That is the foundation and fundamental building block of all con schemes."