Stolen Awards.

[CtahhR]

18/2 (a) Whoever commits an offense against the United States or aids, abets, counsels, commands, induces or procures its commission, is punishable as a principal.
(b) Whoever willfully causes an act to be done which if directly performed by him or another would be an offense against the United States, is punishable as a principal.

18/1341. Frauds and swindles
Whoever, having devised or intending to devise any scheme or artifice to defraud, or for obtaining money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises, or to sell, dispose of, loan, exchange, alter, give away, distribute, supply, or furnish or procure for unlawful use any counterfeit or spurious coin, obligation, security, or other article, or anything represented to be or intimated or held out to be such counterfeit or spurious article, for the purpose of executing such scheme or artifice or attempting so to do, places in any post office or authorized depository for mail matter, any matter or thing whatever to be sent or delivered by the Postal Service, or deposits or causes to be deposited any matter or thing whatever to be sent or delivered by any private or commercial interstate carrier, or takes or receives therefrom, any such matter or thing, or knowingly causes to be delivered by mail or such carrier according to the direction thereon, or at the place at which it is directed to be delivered by the person to whom it is addressed, any such matter or thing, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both. If the violation occurs in relation to, or involving any benefit authorized, transported, transmitted, transferred, disbursed, or paid in connection with, a presidentially declared major disaster or emergency (as those terms are defined in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122)), or affects a financial institution, such person shall be fined not more than $1,000,000 or imprisoned not more than 30 years, or both.

[CtahhR]

1. ----, 56, resides in Wentzville, Missouri. Between June 1988 and September 2008, ---- was associated with ---- Capital Management, Inc., an investment adviser registered with the Commission. Between December 2000 and September 2008, ---- was also associated with ---- Securities, Inc., a broker-dealer registered with the Commission.

On February 20, 2009, in U.S. v. ----, Case No. 4:09CR00149RWS (United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, Eastern Division), ---- pled guilty to Counts I and II of a two-count Information charging the felony of Mail Fraud (18 USC 1341 and 2) and Criminal Forfeiture. He was sentenced on September 30, 2009 to six and one-half years imprisonment and three years supervised release, and ordered to pay $12.1 million in restitution.
3.
The counts of the criminal Information to which ---- pled guilty alleged, inter alia, that ---- purchased approximately $13.7 million in gold coins, paper currency and other precious metals for 44 of his brokerage customers, pursuant to his own recommendation. ---- kept the metals in his office, in the basement of his house, and at a coin and precious metals dealer. The Information further alleged that between 2000 and 2008, ---- sold approximately $10.4 million of the metals without the customers’ authorization, and used the money for personal and business expenses, and to pay purported profits to certain investors. The Information also alleged that Weir provided a customer with a fraudulent ---- Securities, Inc. statement which was designed to conceal the misappropriation, and which inflated the market values of the items not yet sold.


The F.B.I. got him and he's certainly doing porridge!

[Agresto]

That's crazy. I wonder if any of us own any of these. Would be interesting to see.

[Lapa]

Originally Posted by Agresto

That's crazy. I wonder if any of us own any of these. Would be interesting to see.

Given that one of the outlets is "a well-known dealer from NJ" who happens to be something of the standard setter in our field, it is a very well founded probability.

Marc

[Bill Garvy]

In other words, receiving stolen property. . .

[Auke]

Originally Posted by CtahhR

Gold Star of a Hero of the Soviet Union - posthumous 1990 award to a woman

Only two women were posthumously awarded the HSU title in 1990 - pilots Litvyak and Zelenko. I believe the star of the latter was sold by a well-known auction house not that long ago...

[Eryk]

Originally Posted by Bill Garvy

In other words, receiving stolen property. . .

This isn't about stolen property, it's a financial fraud case. None of the awards were stolen.

[Eryk]

Originally Posted by deValcourt

Was there any indication of the crime that allowed for the seizure of all of these items?

Don C. Weir, the Town & Country financial advisor who stole some $12 million in precious-metal coin investments from 44 clients, was sentenced Wednesday to six and a half years in federal prison.

The stuff listed is to repay the money stolen from clients. He "invested" in them, then sold off some and took the money, while inflating the value of those not sold to keep the dollar amount of assets he held at the same level. A classic ponzi scheme, just part of the assets held were orders and medals.

This has nothing to do with the status of the awards, baseball cards, etc. Nothing was stolen... on edit... lol well, meaning nothing was stolen *directly*, ie, the property itself was not stolen property per se. It was the asset held for the investors. It was liquidated (as the manager of the assets is allowed to do), then the proceeds were used by the manager of the assets for his own ends. *That's* were the theft occurred. So, the individual coins/medals/etc were not stolen. So don't know what this has to do with "a dealer in New Jersey" either.

[medals73]

I suspect the police will hang onto these as "evidence" until they lose them, throw them out, or (as happens occasionally) sell off in an obscure police auction of siezed property. Unless, of course, some policeman collects medals or has a cule what they are worth and then they might "disappear".

[deValcourt]

Thanks for the info on what "criminal activity" is involved. It is a relief to see that if someone has acquired any of the items in question they won't be hunted down by "the Man."

Originally Posted by medals73

I suspect the police will hang onto these as "evidence" until they lose them, throw them out, or (as happens occasionally) sell off in an obscure police auction of siezed property. Unless, of course, some policeman collects medals or has a cule what they are worth and then they might "disappear".

See http://www.soviet-awards.com/forum/s...labor-etc.html

Phillip