Agape World Inc Victims

Sentencing - be there or miss your chance to speak.

2011-08-17T11:25:00.002-04:00

If you cant make it - write a letter to the judge at the address listed in the notification below.
Without victims, the judge will feel this is a lessor crime.

Internal Case Number: 2008R01592Court Docket Number: 09-CR-00255The sentencing hearing for defendant(s), NICHOLAS COSMO, has been set for October 14, 2011, 10:30 AM at U. S. District Court, EDNY, Long Island Courthouse, 100 Federal Plaza, Central Islip, NY 11722-4438 before Judge Denis Hurley. You are welcome to attend this proceeding; however, unless you have received a subpoena, your attendance is not required by the Court. If you plan on attending, please check with the VNS Call Center to verify the sentencing date and time. Should you wish to speak at the sentencing or want to check for the most current information on the date/time of this event please call our office a day or two before the scheduled hearing.A United States Probation Officer prepares a report for the Court and may contact you to discuss the impact the crime had on you financially, physically, and/or emotionally. If you are contacted, please make every effort to provide accurate and detailed information.
Reason for adjournment: The United States Probation Department recently disclosed the Pre-Sentence Investigation Report to the Court and the parties. The parties are required to review the report and file responses to the Probation Department and the Court if appropriate. Due to the complex nature of this case, the amount of loss involved, and the large number of victims, it had taken more time than anticipated to obtain all the necessary information to prepare a detailed and thorough report.

Reminder re: Victim impact - It is helpful for the Court to know the impact of crime on the victims. If you would like to submit a victim impact statement to the Court, please mail by September 26th to: The Honorable Denis R. Hurley, U.S. District Court-EDNY, 930 Federal Plaza, Central Islip, NY 11722. If you would like to speak at the sentencing, please include your request in the letter.

Tonight 10pm Fox News

2011-06-15T17:05:00.003-04:00

A few months ago, a few of us were asked to participate in a fox news interview.
the subject matter was the US Trustee going after victims for "clawbacks".
So, One other victim and myself went to manhattan, combed our hair and said our peace.

If youre interested its on tonight 10pm fox news.
I assure you, its nothing more than my ranting. Actually, the other guy had some interesting things to say.

I wouldnt go out of my way to watch it there was anything better on tv.
But since i do have this blog, i though i might as well post it.

Dom

BOA beats the Rap...

2011-05-20T19:33:00.002-04:00

What more can i say?
Judge "Spatt" - just did exactly that in our faces.

Read the dismissal for yourself. I'm just plain disgusted.

http://www.lehmanprincipalprotectednotes.com/images/Order%20Dismissing%20Second%20Amended%20Complaint%203-29-11.pdf

The dismissal basically says... "we didnt prove BOA knew there was fraud" even though they should have or did know that "cosmo was a convicted felon" with a history of fraud on his record and having been banned from trading.

Well friends, Now that BOA has bent us over, lets see how hard the US Bankruptcy Court can kick us.

bank ordered to pay $400k to victims of Ponzi scheme

2011-05-01T07:00:00.002-04:00

maybe the4res hope for us if our Trustee follows suit:

http://www2.nbc17.com/news/2011/apr/29/asheboro-bank-ordered-pay-400k-victims-ponzi-schem-ar-991490/
Asheboro bank ordered to pay $400k to victims of Ponzi scheme
WASHINGTON --
An Asheboro-based bank has agreed to pay $400,000 toward restitution for victims of a Ponzi scheme, which operated through accounts maintained at the bank.
CommunityONE Bank is charged with failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program. As a result, the prosecution agreement recognizes thebank has committed to overhauling its anti-money laundering program.
“Banks asleep at the switch need to wake up,” U.S. Attorney Anne Tompkins said. “Federal law requires banks to implement a robust and proactive anti-money laundering program to detect fraud and protect the public from harm.”
The prosecution agreement also dictates that CommunityONE pay 16 percent of its value, or $400,000, to the victims of the Ponzi scheme.
“By agreeing to pay restitution to the victims of a customer’s investment fraud scheme, and to overhaul its anti-money laundering program, the bank has begun the process of righting its wrongs,” Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer said. “We will take every necessary step to hold banks committing similar offenses to account.”
The $40 million Ponzi scheme was operated by CommunityONE Bank customer Keith Franklin Simmons for two and a half years almost entirely through an account at the bank.
From April 2007 until September 2009, Simmons deposited more than $35 million in investor funds into one account with the bank and withdrew over the same time span more than $35 million from the same account.
The bank’s records also showed that Simmons diverted more than $2 million to other accounts with the bankthat he controlled to operate his other businesses; diverted nearly $800,000 in cash withdrawals, gift cards and transfers to his personal account with the bank; and diverted numerous payments to support his luxurious lifestyle including payments for private jets, vehicles and gifts.
Under the Bank Secrecy Act, banks are required to establish, implement and maintain programs designed to detect and report suspicious activity indicative of money laundering and other financial crimes.
“The Bank Secrecy Act was enacted to protect the public from harm by identifying and detecting money laundering from criminal enterprises, terrorism, tax evasion or other unlawful activities,” Jeannine Hammett,special agent in charge for Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, explained.

Silverman ! Pay attention...

2011-04-30T06:58:00.000-04:00

Asheboro bank ordered to pay $400k to victims of Ponzi scheme

By NBC17 STAFF
Published: April 29, 2011

» 0 Comments | Post a Comment

WASHINGTON --

An Asheboro-based bank has agreed to pay $400,000 toward restitution for victims of a Ponzi scheme, which operated through accounts maintained at the bank.

CommunityONE Bank is charged with failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program. As a result, the prosecution agreement recognizes the bank has committed to overhauling its anti-money laundering program.

“Banks asleep at the switch need to wake up,” U.S. Attorney Anne Tompkins said. “Federal law requires banks to implement a robust and proactive anti-money laundering program to detect fraud and protect the public from harm.”

The prosecution agreement also dictates that CommunityONE pay 16 percent of its value, or $400,000, to the victims of the Ponzi scheme.

“By agreeing to pay restitution to the victims of a customer’s investment fraud scheme, and to overhaul its anti-money laundering program, the bank has begun the process of righting its wrongs,” Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer said. “We will take every necessary step to hold banks committing similar offenses to account.”

The $40 million Ponzi scheme was operated by CommunityONE Bank customer Keith Franklin Simmonsfor two and a half years almost entirely through an account at the bank.

From April 2007 until September 2009, Simmons deposited more than $35 million in investor funds into one account with the bank and withdrew over the same time span more than $35 million from the same account.

The bank’s records also showed that Simmons diverted more than $2 million to other accounts with thebank that he controlled to operate his other businesses; diverted nearly $800,000 in cash withdrawals, gift cards and transfers to his personal account with the bank; and diverted numerous payments to support his luxurious lifestyle including payments for private jets, vehicles and gifts.

Under the Bank Secrecy Act, banks are required to establish, implement and maintain programs designed to detect and report suspicious activity indicative of money laundering and other financial crimes.

“The Bank Secrecy Act was enacted to protect the public from harm by identifying and detecting money laundering from criminal enterprises, terrorism, tax evasion or other unlawful activities,” Jeannine Hammett,special agent in charge for Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, explained.

Sentencing "May 20th 2011"

2011-02-17T21:10:00.000-04:00

The sentencing hearing for defendant(s), NICHOLAS COSMO, has been set for May 20, 2011, 10:30 AM at U. S. District Court, EDNY, Long Island Courthouse, 100 Federal Plaza, Central Islip, NY 11722-4438 before Judge Denis Hurley

60 days later...

2011-02-01T21:47:00.003-04:00

been a while since we posted any comments. i guess the gist of things falls into the "no news is good news" catagory. i dont know of anyone involved thats had a judgement placed on his or her houses. and or bank accounts frozen. i guess thats good.

meanwhile, the trustee is suing everyone he can except for the real criminals and we the victims are on the dirty end of the stick once again and still.

i wish he would follow (madoffs trustee) picards example and go after the banks and commodaties brokers that propped cosmo up and gave him a clear line of fire when he was taking aim at our financial futures.

three things i'd like to make clear in this posting,

1. i give mad credit to the egyptions. they stand up as one voice and fight for what they believe is right - i wish we the victims had the same courage, strength and willingness to step out of our comfort zone to be heard.

2. i'd be happy to see cosmo get off easy, if i were offered the opportunity to be made whole again.

3. im sure im just spitting in the wind. my voice like my opinion means nothing to any of this at the end of the day.

6000 victims, and not a whisper from the masses.
what a shame.

Been a long time since last posting

2010-12-06T16:06:00.002-04:00

Im trying like everyone else to get past this mess. Every now and then, i think of something i'd like to say.
So today, i say, lets hope our Trustee follows the example of Irving Picard - madoff trustee and goes after Bank of America.
It may be our only saving grace.

UPDATE - SEE COURT DATES

2010-09-17T14:52:00.001-04:00

Cosmo, 39, is still cooling his heels in the Nassau County jail in East Meadow where he’s been held since his arrest for fraud on Jan. 26, 2009. A status conference on the case is scheduled for Sept. 24 in Central Islip and a trial date has been set for January 2011.

Another Agape employee, Richard Barry, 44, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud last month and could face at least 10 years in prison. Barry, currently free on $200,000 bond, is the only other person besides Cosmo to be charged in the alleged Agape World scam. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 25, 2011.

VICTIMS SHOULD BE THERE TO SHOW SUPPORT TO THE PROSECUTORS

90 Day Rule

2010-09-13T19:17:00.002-04:00

It seems if you were smart enough to ask for a check in the 90 days prior to Agapes Involuntary Bankruptcy - ... youve been or will be asked to... give it back.
Yes Sir. You could have lost tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars over the past 5 years to Agape, but if youve taken any money back in the last 90 days... the trustee feels it should come back to the pool.

Personally, I think this is ridiculous.
1. Investors might have actually gained over the past 5 years (taken more than they invested) and they arent asked to give it back???
2. In these difficult economic times, you want victims to be victimized again (this time by the court and trustees office).

I dont know, maybe its just me. I guess if no one complains, then you must all be happy with the decision.

I quit writing to the blog months ago because I releaized it made no difference.
People lost money. People resigned themselves to fate.
I wonder if they'll continue to take it laying down.

Trial date for Cosmo

2010-05-21T22:38:00.003-04:00

A federal judge set a tentative trial date Thursday for Nicholas Cosmo, who is accused of operating a $413-million Ponzi scheme through his former Hauppauge-based Agape World and Agape Merchant Advance businesses.

U.S. District Judge Denis Hurley issued a trial date of Jan. 10, 2011. Cosmo, of Lake Grove, faces 10 counts of mail fraud and 22 counts of wire fraud in the scheme, which prosecutors said duped 1,500 investors. He has pleaded not guilty.

In a related development, federal prosecutors filed an arrest warrant Thursday for one of Cosmo's closest associates, Richard Barry, charging him with conspiracy to commit mail fraud.

Barry, of Seaford, held various titles at the Agape companies when the alleged Ponzi scheme occurred, including vice president and office manager, according to the arrest warrant filed by federal prosecutor Demetri Jones.

In Cosmo's case, Jones told Hurley at U.S. federal court in Central Islip that the government and Cosmo's attorneys were attempting to negotiate a plea deal.

If Cosmo goes to trial and is convicted, he theoretically would face life in prison under federal sentencing guidelines because of the sum involved in the alleged scheme.

Cosmo's attorney, Richard Levitt, declined to comment Thursday, as did Jones.

The arrest warrant for Barry accuses him of knowingly participating in several frauds which formed the central part of the alleged Ponzi scheme, Jones said, including falsely promising investors high rates of returns for funding short-term bridge loans to real estate developers.

According to the warrant, Barry knew that many of the loans would not be issued and that it was mathematically impossible to pay the rates of returns, up to 60 percent to 72 percent, that investors were promised.

Barry's attorneys have agreed to have him surrender Friday on the mail-fraud conspiracy charge in court in Central Islip, according to officials.

No time has been set yet for a hearing in the case.

Attorneys for Barry could not be reached for comment.

Cosmo associate surrenders in mail fraud case

2010-05-21T22:32:00.002-04:00

An associate of alleged swindler Nicholas Cosmo surrendered Friday to federal agents on a charge of conspiracy to commit mail fraud as part of Cosmo's alleged $413-million Ponzi scheme.
Richard Barry of Seaford, who at one time was vice president and office manager of Cosmo's Hauppauge-based Agape companies, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Kathleen Tomlinson at the federal court in Central Islip. He was not required to enter a plea.
Tomlinson released him on $200,000 bail, pending future hearings. As a condition of bail, Barry was ordered to surrender his passport and is forbidden to travel outside the Eastern District - which includes Long Island, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island - and also Manhattan, which is in the Southern District, without the permission of the court.
Barry declined to comment Friday, as did his attorney, Lisa Annibale. Federal prosecutor Demetri Jones also declined to comment.
On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Denis Hurley tentatively set Jan. 10 for the start of Cosmo's trial on charges of mail and wire fraud.

Judge sets trial date for Cosmo in Ponzi scheme case

2010-05-20T22:05:00.001-04:00

Judge sets tenative date for january 2011.
the saga continues.

INTERESTING READ ON CURRENT STATE OF PONZI AFFAIRS

2010-05-14T08:35:00.000-04:00

http://www.twincities.com/business/ci_15082383?nclick_check=1

2.7 BILLION, NOT 400 Million as thought

2010-04-01T18:43:00.002-04:00

A new ammended complaint filed 3/31/2010 outlines how 2.7 BILLION DOLLARS moved into and out of Agape World Inc in the period from 2006-2009, with almost 300 million in one month alone.
This new information comes from "court ordered subpoena" of the "TRUSTEES" Records.

Look for more information to follow as I review the ammended complaint.

JOIN THE MADOFF VICTIMS AT THE NEXT MEETING

2010-03-05T21:34:00.002-04:00

I'd like to recommend we join the madoff victims at the next meeting. there's much to learn and good people to meet.
go to http://www.investoraction.org
check the schedule online... i have registered and will attending.

Thank you Judge "Spatt".

2010-02-09T10:13:00.001-04:00

BOA lawsuit dismissed....

One of the last and best hopes for victims of Nicholas Cosmo’s alleged Ponzi scheme to recover their lost millions has fizzled in court.

Judge Arthur Spatt dismissed three lawsuits filed against Bank of America and two commodities brokerages that claimed the companies aided Cosmo in ripping off more than 5,000 investors in his Hauppauge-based investment firm, Agape World. In the decision handed down on Jan. 29, the judge ruled the plaintiffs hadn’t proved that the bank and the trading firms had knowledge of the alleged $400 million fraud and shouldn’t be held liable.

Attorneys for the victims argued that the bank and the trading firms failed to adequately vet Cosmo, who was barred for life from associating with anyone in the securities business as a result of his first conviction for fraud in 1998. The feds say Cosmo lost nearly $100 million in online futures trading with about a half-dozen brokerages in the last couple of years. The bank was the conduit for the millions paid to the stock traders that was supposed to go to bridge-loan borrowers, according to Agape’s business model.

But Cosmo only made loans for less than $25 million of the $400 million he took in from investors. The feds say he blew through the rest and paid at least $55 million to about a dozen Agape sales reps.
Agape World took in so much money between 2006 and 2008 that Bank of America employees were stationed there to facilitate the transfers of millions between customers. Agape investors have told LIBN that a woman who identified herself as a bank employee called them and recommended Agape as a good investment. She even suggested that investors take out home equity loans from her bank and put it into Cosmo’s company, where they would get interest rates as high as 14 percent in just six weeks.

The dismissal of the three lawsuits doesn’t bode well for similar suits that are still pending against the bank and stock trading firms. And with little Agape assets left to recover, victims were hoping the courts would hold the bank responsible, because they feel it acted irresponsibly with their accounts.

Agape victim Dom DiColandrea said the judge’s dismissal sets a new precedent for “corporate criminals” to avoid prosecution or penalty when failing to warn the public of any danger or suspicious activity.
“I think it’s a sad statement about our system of justice when a United States district court judge rules in favor of corporate willful deception over the unsuspecting consumer,” DiColandrea said. “The honorable Judge Spatt has done exactly that. He spat in the face of every innocent victim with this unfathomable ruling.”

Spatt left open the possibility of revisiting the claim against the bank, but only if further evidence is found that it helped carry out the alleged fraud or that Bank of America breached its fiduciary duty to its customers.

Spatt was on the bench for the prosecution of Cosmo’s first fraud, where about 10 victims lost about $170,000 to the then 26-year-old stock broker. Cosmo had put their money into his own Charles Schwab account and sent his clients phony statements to cover up the thefts. The judge sentenced him to 21 months in the Allenwood Federal Corrections facility and ordered Cosmo to undergo extensive gambling therapy. The swindler founded Agape World upon his release in August 2000.

Arrested on Jan. 26, 2009, Cosmo is currently being held at the Nassau County jail in East Meadow. His next court appearance is scheduled for March 26. If convicted this time, prosecutors say Cosmo faces up to 30 years in prison.

--
David Winzelberg
Reporter
Long Island Business News
631-913-4247
david.winzelberg@libn.com
http://www.libn.com/spacedout

update...

2010-01-17T09:54:00.001-04:00

Nearly a year after his arrest for running an alleged Ponzi-scheme, Nicholas Cosmo has a new attorney because he doesn’t have any money to pay the old one.

Bronx attorney Stacey Richman asked to be relieved from the case in federal court Friday and Judge Denis Hurley handed it over to Manhattan lawyer Richard Levitt, of Levitt & Kaizer, who will be paid for his services through the government’s Criminal Justice Act.

“I understand that Mr. Cosmo’s financial situation is relatively dire,” Hurley said before approving the move.
The judge also approved a $2,800 payment for the electronic version of case records for Cosmo and his new attorney to review. He set the next court date for Jan. 29 at 10 a.m.

David needs our help... lets do what we can. Please.

2009-12-12T22:12:00.000-04:00

Reporter David Winzelberg is looking to speak to investors/victims for information for a book he's writing on Agape. No names will be used.

Email him at david.winzelberg@libn.com or call him at 917-796-1801

NO MORE EXCUSES... EVERYONE OF YOU SHOULD PARTICIPATE

2009-12-11T23:01:00.003-04:00

NO MORE EXCUSES !

I OFFER YOU HERE AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE HEARD.
A CHANCE TO BE ASSERTIVE, TO TAKE ACTION, TO FIGHT BACK, WITHOUT HAVING TO TAKE OFF FROM WORK, FLY TO NY, STAND IN THE COLD, OR WAVE A BIG SIGN THAT SAYS "I GOT RIPPED OFF".

THIS PARTICIPATION YOU CAN ACCOMPLISH AT YOUR OWN PACE, ON YOUR OWN SCHEDULE, ANONYMOUSLY AND WITH ALMOST NO COST (PENNIES FOR THE PHOTOCOPIES).

NO MORE EXCUSES.

I CHALLENGE THE GROUP TO DESIGN (OR ASK FOR A COPY OF ONE OF MINE), PRINT AND DISTRIBUTE AS MANY FLYERS AS YOU CAN AT ANY BANK OF AMERICA" INDOOR ATM FACILITY.

THE THEME OF THE "FLYER" SHOULD BE BOA'S HISTORY OF INVOLVEMENT IN ANY "ONE OR MORE" OF THE DOZENS OF MISDEEDS AGAINST THE PUBLIC INTEREST INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE "AGAPE WORLD INC" PONZI.

THE KEY TO A SUCCESSFUL CAMPAIGN OF PUBLIC AWARENESS IS CONSISTENCY (KEEP THE FLYERS FLOWING) AND TIMING (WE NEED TO DO THIS ON WEEKENDS OR EVENINGS (WHEN THE BANK STAFF WONT BE AROUND TO REMOVE AND TRASH THEM).

OUR OBJECTIVE... EDUCATE THE BOA ACCOUNT HOLDERS AS TO BOA'S ALLEGED INVOLVEMENT
IN THE AGAPE WORLD INC PONZI AND OTHER CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES.

IF YOU DO THIS, PLEASE ENCOURAGE THE OTHER GROUP MEMBERS TO DO THE SAME BY SIGNING ONTO THE YAHOO GROUP SITE AND LETTING US KNOW HOW MANY YOU DROPPED OFF AND IN WHAT CITY (DO NOT MENTION THE BRANCH BY NAME).

I WISH YOU ALL SUCCESS.

check out this video of one young womans courage to speak out against BOA:

http://consumerist.com/2009/11/ex-bank-of-america-employee-tells-all-in-youtube-video.html

Victims Group Info

2009-12-08T14:32:00.001-04:00

NETWORK FOR INVESTOR ACTION AND PROTECTION FORMED BY INVESTMENT FRAUD VICTIMS
Non-profit group will focus on prevention of investment fraud and assistance for fraud victimsNew York, NY (Dec. 8, 2009) — A group of investment fraud victims has formed the Network for Investor Action and Protection (NIAP), a not-for-profit organization dedicated to helping investors and victims of investment fraud.

The Network, a natural outgrowth of the group’s meetings, planning, advocacy, and extensive collaboration that began in the weeks following the discovery of the Madoff fraud, will pursue regulatory reform to more effectively police and prevent investment and securities fraud, and will seek better treatment for fraud victims.NIAP (www.investoraction.org) - initially seeks to unite thousands of victims of several recent frauds, serving as an advocate for the rights of victims.

It will also line up support for much-needed legislative and regulatory change at market oversight agencies as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority (FINRA), and the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC).“It’s extremely unfortunate that existing laws are being interpreted to the detriment of many victims of investment fraud, who are already suffering terribly from Washington’s poor oversight,” said Ron Stein, NIAP’s President and co-founder. “Most investors don’t realize how limited the protection of their investment assets is. NIAPs platform will allow us to pursue our goals of improved treatment for fraud victims and the equally important objective of better oversight of the investment community.”“The public doesn’t fully grasp the diversity of those whose lives were ruined by these frauds and the incredible hardship that resulted,” said Ilene Kent, a member of NIAP’s Executive Committee. “A vast number of the victims are every day, hardworking people of all economic backgrounds, a true cross-section of America. Our plight – made worse by decades of government negligence – is being largely ignored.”

As a 501c4 tax-exempt organization, NIAP will be able to solicit donations and lobby for legislative changes at both the state and federal levels. NIAP has already begun the process of reaching out to members of Congress to advance its agenda. Indeed, NIAP members played an integral role in making this week’s Congressional hearings on the Investor Protection Act amendments happen, and in drafting the legislation recently announced by Sen. Charles Schumer’s (D – New York) office that will provide significant relief for indirect investors.

NIAP represents a collaboration between existing Madoff investor groups and individuals and the investor population-at-large, rightly concerned about the protection of their assets and the safety of their brokerage firms.“We want to bring together victims of investment fraud — including union members, pension fund holders, in short direct and indirect investors alike — to speak with one voice on what important changes need to be made so all investors can feel safe under our country’s regulatory framework,” said Kent, who is also the group’s Outreach Coordinator. “We want investors to feel that the SIPC, FINRA, and the SEC are competent and actually represent investor interests.

###
Contacts:Michael Wichman, The Hamilton Groupmwichman@thehamiltongroup.net
P: 212-213-3144
Ilene Kent, Network for Investor Action and Protectionilenek@investoraction.org
P: 212-787-9826
C: 917-584-9474

The Latest... (thanks Dave)

2009-12-03T17:06:00.001-04:00

Trustee settling with Agape brokers
by David WinzelbergPublished: December 3, 2009Tags: Agape World, Nicholas Cosmo, Ponzi scheme
Five people who the feds allege pocketed more than $40 million by selling bogus investments for Nicholas Cosmo’s Agape World are negotiating to settle the lawsuits brought against them by the bankruptcy trustee in the case.
Trustee Ken Silverman and attorneys from his firm Silverman Acampora told the federal bankruptcy court Tuesday that they were actively negotiating settlements with some of the former Agape World brokers, including Jason Keryc, Bryan Arias, Hugo Arias and Diane Kaylor, and each of their corporate entities.
Silverman is in “early stages of discussions” concerning a resolution of the claims against Jose Ricardo Diaz.
The trustee explained that any settlement is subject to further investigation regarding the disposition of funds received from the brokers and others who profited from Agape, the Hauppauge-based company that feds charge was really a $413 million Ponzi scheme.
Silverman had sued the brokers to reclaim the lucrative commissions Cosmo had paid to them, which feds estimated at $55 million. Keryc was sued for $16 million, Hugo Arias for $10 million, Diaz for $8 million, Kaylor for $4.75 million, and Bryan Arias, Hugo’s brother, for $2 million.
The court also approved the trustee’s $180,000 settlement with Stephenson Lane Carriage Homes, a Maine housing project Agape lent $214,000 to. A payment of about $749,000 to the trustee for services rendered so far on the Agape case was also approved by the court.
Also, about two dozen victims of Cosmo’s alleged fraud are expected to rally in front of the Bank of America tower across from Bryant Park in Manhattan on Friday at noon. New Jersey resident Lucille Manzella, who helped organize the protest, said the event is aimed at calling attention to the bank’s role in Agape World’s business operations.
A class-action suit filed on behalf of Agape victims claims the bank assigned more than one employee to Cosmo’s office in Hauppauge and supplied direct access to the bank’s accounts. The suit says Bank of America also provided Cosmo with access to information about the cash balances of Agape investors who had accounts with the bank. Those Agape investors routinely received aggressive solicitations from the company when their balances swelled, the suit claims.-- David WinzelbergReporterLong Island Business News631-913-4247david.winzelberg@libn.com http://www.libn.com/spacedout

Santa Claus is coming to town .... "not".

2009-11-12T10:22:00.001-04:00

Ponzi scheme victims to get checks soon

November 10, 2009 By GARY DYMSKI gary.dymski@newsday.com

Photo credit: Newsday File / Oct. 8, 2009 / James Carbone | Nicholas Cosmo arrives at federal court in Central Islip.

On one hand, Dom DiColandrea, one of the victims in the Ponzi scheme allegedly run by Nicholas Cosmo, is encouraged he's going to see a share of the money recovered by the court-appointed trustee of Cosmo's bankrupt company.

On the other hand, DiColandrea is a little discouraged the initial recovery is so small: less than a half-cent on the dollar.

About 800 victims of Cosmo's alleged $413-million Ponzi scheme should start receiving checks early next month, according to court filings made public by Silverman Acampora.

The Jericho law firm has recovered a little more than $5 million in assets held by Cosmo and his Hauppauge company, Agape World Inc. A little more than $400,000 already has been paid out pursuant to prior court orders.

A motion in U.S. Bankruptcy Court Friday in Central Islip asked for interim distribution of about $2.4 million. The court is expected to decide on the motion Dec. 1, attorney Ron Friedman of Silverman Acampora said Tuesday.

"That comes to about $800 on every $100,000 invested," said DiColandrea, 53, a West Babylon real estate appraiser who lost about $200,000 in the alleged scam. "I'll get a check for $1,600. That's not exactly what you'd hope to get back."

About 5,000 claims have been filed against Cosmo - who is in jail awaiting trial - and his company. Cosmo was arrested by federal authorities in January and charged with wire and mail fraud in the alleged Ponzi scheme.

A Central Islip federal judge last month ordered that Cosmo be sent back to jail to await trial after finding that the former Lake Grove resident had violated three conditions of bail. Cosmo had been in jail since his arrest until he posted $1.25 million bail in July.

Friedman said up to $1.4 million of the recovered funds could go toward professional fees and another $1 million could be held in reserve.riedman also said more litigation was ahead and more assets were out there. "It's hard to put a dollar amount on it because you don't know what the market will bring," he said.

Regarding the Yahoo group "agape" website

2009-11-07T12:02:00.001-04:00

Its been a several weeks since any of you have heard from me on "agape".
I generally post only that which I find relative and productive.

Well, a few of us have agreed that we should remove from access to this site
anyone who does not contribute comments and or support.

The consensus is that as long as we make the information free, the 400+ members
that observe but don't contribute will never come forward.

I put this thought out to you. If you are here with us in spirit, If you are
here with us emotionally, then you can post a comment in support. You don't have
to live nearby. It only takes a minute every now and then.

To those of you who do comment (regardless of your opinions), of course you
would continue to have access. But to those of you who chose to remain
"observers", I suggest that you be prepared to lose your ability to "watch
others do all the work".

I give you all one week to step forward and make some kind of contribution of
time and energy to the cause (something as simple as posting a comment so we
know you're interested).

At that point we regret to inform you that access to this site and your
membership thereof will be suspended.

Today is 11/7/09. Next Saturday is the cut off.

Those of you who are regular contributors know who you are. Dont worry, this
will not affect your membership access.

To post a comment on the yahoo group site go to:
http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/agapeworldinc/message/2959

Dates

2009-11-01T11:38:00.001-04:00

Court Dates:

Unless noted otherwise, all hearings will be held before the Honorable Dorothy T. Eisenberg at the United States Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of New York, Courtroom 760, Central Islip, New York

Oct. 22, 2009: Time: 2:00 p.m.	Hearing on Trustee's Third Omnibus Claims Objection Motion Hearing on Trustee's Fourth Omnibus Claims Objection Motion Hearing on Trustee's Fifth Omnibus Claims Objection Motion Hearing on Trustee's Sixth Omnibus Claims Objection Motion
Nov. 3, 2009: Time: 11:00 a.m.	Hearing on Trustee's Seventh Omnibus Claims Objection Motion Hearing on Trustee's Eighth Omnibus Claims Objection Motion Hearing on Trustee's Ninth Omnibus Claims Objection Motion Hearing on Trustee's Tenth Omnibus Claims Objection Motion Hearing on Trustee's Eleventh Omnibus Claims Objection Motion Hearing on Trustee's Twelfth Omnibus Claims Objection Motion Hearing on Trustee's Thirteenth Omnibus Claims Objection Motion
Nov. 5, 2009: Time: 2:00 p.m.	Hearing on Trustee's Fourteenth Omnibus Claims Objection Motion Hearing on Trustee's Fifteenth Omnibus Claims Objection Motion Hearing on Trustee's Sixteenth Omnibus Claims Objection Motion
Nov. 10, 2009: Time: 2:00 p.m.	Hearing on Trustee's Seventeenth Omnibus Claims Objection Motion
Nov. 17, 2009: Time: 2:00 p.m.	Pre-trial conference: Silverman v. Cyrek, Inc./Jason Keryc
Nov. 19, 2009: Time: 11:00 a.m.	Status Conference *Pre-trial Conference: Silverman v. Hugo Arias, et. al.* *Pre-trial Conference: Silverman v. Precision Processing, et. al.* Pre-trial Conference: Silverman v. Brandino Corp., et al. Pre-trial Conference: Silverman v. Jose Ricardo Diaz, Inc., et al.

Another property sold and the brokers have their assets seized

2009-11-01T11:34:00.000-04:00

HERE YOU GO GUYS

Ponzi-schemer Nicholas Cosmo’s Louisiana land nets $850K for

Long Island Business News, Oct 30, 2009 by David Winzelberg

A Mississippi River tugboat company paid $850,000 for a 25-acre industrial property in southern Louisiana owned by Agape World, the Hauppauge-based company run by alleged Ponzi-schemer Nicholas Cosmo.

Gordon Konrad, chief of Belle Chasse Marine Transportation in Jefferson, La., was the winning bidder for the land located about 15 miles southeast of New Orleans, which it will use as a boat launch and barge service center.

Cosmo, who is currently in a Nassau County jail awaiting trial for allegedly scamming thousands of investors out of $413 million, had invested more than $1 million in a plan by California-based United Steel Supply to build a concrete distribution center on the Mississippi riverfront site. But the company went bust and Agape ended up with the property.

Agape World bankruptcy trustee’s designated auctioneer, Plainview- based David R. Maltz & Co., sold the land Monday.

Maltz already sold Cosmo’s Mercedes for $47,000 and his indoor sports complex in Hauppauge for $3.4 million. After the Louisiana land sale, the auctioneer will get a crack at property owned by Agape brokers and sub-brokers, which the feds have been systematically seizing in the last few months.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office has put lis pendens filings on a number of properties owned by brokers, including a Long Beach condo and Montauk house owned by Jason Keryc, Agape World’s most prolific salesman. Keryc, who grew up across the street from Cosmo in Wantagh, paid $850,000 for the Long Beach condo in November 2006 and spent $2.7 million in July 2008 for the 10-room, nearly two-acre Montauk house.

Other assets of former Agape brokers the feds could be eyeing include a 10-room, waterfront house in Massapequa that Marty Hartmann bought in August 2008 for $1.4 million, a two-family house on City Island in the Bronx that Hugo Arias paid $730,500 for in January 2007, and a house in Bayside bought by Anthony Ciccone in August 2007 for $1.787 million. Records show that Ciccone took out a $989,508 mortgage on the house with Wells Fargo.

In the wide-ranging search to recover Agape assets, bankruptcy trustee Ken Silverman, of Jericho-based Silverman Acampora, has sued several brokers for more than $40 million so far. Among those targeted by the trustee’s claims is Keryc for $16 million, Arias for $10 million, Jose Ricardo Diaz for $8 million, Diane Kaylor for $4.75 million and Bryan Arias, Hugo’s brother, for $2 million. Pretrial conferences on these claims are scheduled for next month.

The trustee has also asked for financial information from many Agape employees, salespeople and their family members including Hartmann, Richard Barry, Brandi Keryc, Maria Mendez, Rachel Tauz and Shamika Luciano, Cosmo’s girlfriend.

The trustee has asked the court to force several futures-trading companies rent generator to furnish information about the millions transferred to them from Cosmo and his companies. The government believes Cosmo lost at least $80 million of his client’s money while trading with more than a half-dozen firms

HE'S BACK ! ... in the slammer. see newsday article.

2009-10-09T21:11:00.003-04:00

http://www.newsday.com/cosmo-sent-back-to-jail-to-await-fraud-trial-1.1512972

A federal judge found Friday that accused Ponzi scheme operator Nicholas Cosmo can't be trusted and ended his house arrest after less than three months and returned him to jail to await trial.

"It seems to me that he is unlikely to abide by any conditions of release," said U.S. District Judge Denis Hurley. "Mr. Cosmo is the type of individual - he will bend the rules if he thinks it advances his interests."

Cosmo, of Lake Grove, is charged with defrauding thousands of people out of more than $400 million through his Hauppauge firm, Agape World. He was arrested in January and was in jail until he posted $1.25 million bail in July.

But Hurley found that Cosmo violated three conditions of bail - that he used a computer, asked his girlfriend to access the Internet on his behalf and lied to his federal Pretrial Services officer about what he was doing on the computer. In addition, Hurley said he was troubled by evidence that Cosmo orchestrated the sale of an expensive watch, in violation of two court orders not to sell or transfer any of his assets.

Several of Cosmo's investors said they were relieved to see Cosmo remove his tie and be taken into custody by U.S. marshals.

"It's about time," said firefighter Michael Casey of Long Beach.

Earlier, as Hurley's decision approached, there was tension between Cosmo's sister, Fran Kegel, and another investor, Lou Piccoli, a Center Moriches contractor who said he's on the verge of losing everything he owns.

Piccoli said he was about to get on an elevator with Cosmo and Kegel when Kegel called for security. Later, Piccoli approached Kegel in the courtroom to explain himself and she told him sternly, "I don't want you near my brother."

In an attempt to keep her client out of jail, defense attorney Stacey Richman of the Bronx argued that Cosmo's violations were inconsequential and posed no risk to victims or to the public. All he was trying to do by accessing Agape documents was prepare for trial, she said.

"There has been no aspect of economic crime to any individual at all since Mr. Cosmo's release," Richman said. She noted that Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff gave away millions of dollars in jewelry after his arrest, but was allowed to stay out of jail until he pleaded guilty.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Grace Cucchissi said that Cosmo could easily victimize people again if he was allowed to gain access to investors' personal information. Putting him back in jail would protect the public from Cosmo's willingness to ignore the rules, she said.

Piccoli said later he was frustrated with the slow pace of the case - and Richman said with her client in jail again, it probably would be even slower.

Piccoli noted that foreclosure and repossession proceedings against him haven't slowed, and he said there ought to be a way to put those proceedings on ice until the criminal case is resolved and he gets any restitution he may be owed.

Going home Friday ???

2009-10-09T05:55:00.001-04:00

Nicholas Cosmo may be one step closer to returning to jail to await trial on charges of running a phony investment scheme that bilked investors of more than $400 million.
U.S. District Judge Denis Hurley found Thursday night that Cosmo had violated several conditions of his bail, which allow him to live under home detention at his parents' home in Wantagh. Hurley put off deciding until Friday whether to return Cosmo to jail or to modify his bail conditions and allow him to remain under house arrest.
"He should be prepared for the possibility that he'll be remanded tomorrow," Hurley told Cosmo's attorney, Stacey Richman of the Bronx.
After two days of testimony and argument, Hurley found that Cosmo, of Lake Grove, violated three conditions of bail: He used a computer, asked his girlfriend to access the Internet on his behalf and lied to his federal Pretrial Services officer about what he was doing on the computer.
"It was a blatant violation of the court's order," Hurley said.
Richman characterized the violations as "technical" and said Cosmo stopped using his parents' computer after she told him to stop. She noted that the point of his actions was to prepare for his defense by going through documents and e-mails from Agape World, Cosmo's now-defunct Hauppauge firm that federal officials say has devoured the savings of numerous Long Islanders.
"It was a violation of the letter of the conditions, but not the spirit," Richman said after Hurley ruled, saying there's no reason to put Cosmo in jail again. "He's not a danger to the community."
Assistant U.S. Attorney Grace Cucchissi emphatically disagreed, noting the wreckage he's made of people's lives. "He's an economic danger to society," she said.
One of his former investors, who would not identify herself, agreed. She said the company documents that Cosmo reviewed had Social Security numbers on them, allowing him to commit identity theft or further steal from victims.
Cosmo was arrested in January and charged with running a Ponzi scheme through Agape World. He stayed in jail until a bail agreement was reached in July.
Earlier Thursday, Hurley heard testimony about another possible violation of bail conditions. Cucchissi said taped phone conversations from when Cosmo was jailed showed he was trying to sell an expensive watch, in violation of court orders not to transfer any of his assets.
Hurley, noting that this happened before Cosmo posted bail, wondered whether it was relevant. "I'm not sure if he can be deemed in violation of the terms of his release before his release," he said.
Cucchissi played the tapes of more than a dozen often vulgar phone conversations from April to June between Cosmo and either his girlfriend, Shamika Luciano, or his sister, Fran Kegel.
On the tapes, Cosmo is heard saying the watch could fetch as much as $12,500 and pushes Luciano and Kegel to sell it. Ultimately, it didn't have the value Cosmo believed. Kegel told him it sold for less than $3,000.

We need more participants.

2009-10-08T05:34:00.001-04:00

The prosecutor will get more support from the judge if more victims show up.
we had some twenty or more show up yesterday, but most of us cant do two days in a row.
If you have the time or can make the time.. please do.
the time and place are the same as posted for yesterday (see prior posting).
thanks

Home again.

2009-10-08T05:32:00.002-04:00

Photo credit: James Carbone | Nicholas Cosmo leaves federal court in Central Islip on Wednesday. (Oct. 7, 2009

Nicholas Cosmo

Nicholas Cosmo went home last night from federal court in Central Islip, something that displeased about 20 people whom the government says he defrauded with a phony investment scheme that cost investors more than $400 million.

U.S. District Judge Denis Hurley allowed several of Cosmo's former investors at Agape World of Hauppauge to speak before a hearing began on whether Cosmo had violated the terms of his $1.25-million bail. The government claims Cosmo, who is under home detention at his parents' house in Wantagh, has done so by using a computer, asking his girlfriend to access the Internet and by trying to sell an expensive watch.

Cosmo, of Lake Grove, was arrested in January and charged with running a Ponzi scheme through Agape World. He stayed in jail until a bail agreement was reached in July.

"I don't know how home detention helps the victims," Dominick DiColandrea said in court. "If it did, I would invite him into my house for Thanksgiving."

As he did last month, Hurley suggested that the explanation Cosmo attorney Stacey Richman offered for accessing e-mails wasn't sufficient. Richman, of the Bronx, said her client asked girlfriend Shamika Luciano to print out 57 pages of e-mails to prepare for his defense.

Hurley noted that the ban on computer use was clear and that Cosmo should have asked Richman to seek permission from him to make an exception.

"No party has the right to unilaterally adjust" the conditions, he said.

In court, Hurley heard a tape - at times garbled and apparently incomplete - of a phone conversation between Cosmo and Donna Mackey, the federal Pretrial Services officer who supervised him. Mackey asked him about a flash drive that was used to transfer computer files concerning the case.

"I use it to play chess a lot," he told Mackey on the tape.

Prosecutor Grace Cucchissi later noted that even playing chess on a computer violated the bail conditions.

Mackey testified that Cosmo never mentioned asking Luciano to download or print e-mails. And even if Cosmo's hands never touched a keyboard in seeking the e-mail, asking Luciano to do it for him was a problem, Mackey said.

"He is trying to circumvent his way into using the Internet," she said. "He is not being truthful."

At the end of the day, Richman asked Hurley to tell Cosmo's former investors to stop making rude or threatening gestures in court toward Cosmo's family.

"I recognize the loss" they've suffered, Richman said, but asked that Cosmo's family members be left alone.

The hearing will resume this afternoon in Central Islip.

My Apology. the date is Wednesday October 7th 1:30pm

2009-10-04T20:43:00.000-04:00

A hearing before Judge Denis Hurley is scheduled for October 7, 2009, 01:30 PM in U. S. District Court, EDNY, Long Island Courthouse, 100 Federal Plaza, Central Islip, NY 11722-4438 regarding the detention or release of the following defendant(s): NICHOLAS COSMO

Is he going Back? Victims need to come to court on Wednesday to support the prosecutor.

2009-10-01T18:51:00.002-04:00

Internal Case Number: 2008R01592
Court Docket Number: 09-CR-00255

A hearing before Judge Denis Hurley is scheduled for October 7, 2009, 01:30 PM in U. S. District Court, EDNY, Long Island Courthouse, 100 Federal Plaza, Central Islip, NY 11722-4438 regarding the detention or release of the following defendant(s): NICHOLAS COSMO.

Unless you have received a subpoena to attend as a witness in this matter, your attendance is not required. Because of the Court's schedule, hearing dates could change on very short notice. If you plan on attending, you may want to call the VNS Call Center or check the web site to confirm the date and time. On September 25, 2009, the government made a bail application to have the defendant's bail revoked due to what it believes are violations of the bail conditions. At the October 7, 2009 hearing, the judge will determine whether or not to revoke the defendant's bail or for him to remain out on bail and subject to home confinement. Your attendance is not required, but if you would like to attend this event, please call our office one business day before to confirm date and time.

Kerycs house.

2009-09-30T15:20:00.000-04:00

In Listings: Marshals Selling Mini-Madoff Montauk Home
The U.S. Marshals have another Montauk listing on their hands, this one to the tune of $2.499 million. The 4,000 square foot home is owned by Jason Keryc, a former salesman for Agape World Inc., a Long Island company involved in a $400 million Ponzi-scheme run by its owner. (Keryc hasn't been charged with anything, but the home is part of a civil forfeiture case.) The listing for the two-story colonial went to Elliman's auctioneer extraordinaire Enzo Morabito, and once sold, the recouped millions will go into escrow until a final decision in the case. Though the house was built in 2003, Real LI reports that Keryc only bought the home in July 2008, for the slightly higher price of $2.7 million. If we know our Marshals, that number will be right back to its rightful pre-recession level in no time.

September 2009 "trustee filings" with the court

2009-09-27T09:32:00.002-04:00

September 2, 2009	Notice of Settlement of Order Granting Trustees First Omnibus Objection to Duplicate and Superceded Proofs of Claim.pdf	NEW
	Notice of Settlement of Order Granting Trustees Second Omnibus Objection to Duplicate and Superceded Proofs of Claim.pdf	NEW
September 9, 2009	2004 Application for Production of Documents Examination of Christian Tully.pdf	NEW
September 14, 2009	Notice to Creditors.pdf	NEW
September 21, 2009	Trustees Third Omnibus Objection Seeking to Reclassify Certain Proofs of Claim Filed Against the Estate to General Unsecured Claims.pdf	NEW
	Trustees Fourth Omnibus Objection Seeking to Reclassify Certain Proofs of Claim Filed Against the Estate to General Unsecured Claims.pdf	NEW
	Trustees Fifth Omnibus Objection Seeking to Disallow Certain Proofs of Claim Filed Against the Estate.pdf	NEW
	Trustees Sixth Omnibus Objection Seeking to Reclassify and Reduce Certain Proofs of Claim Filed Against the Estate.pdf	NEW
September 22, 2009	Trustees Objection to and Seeking to Disallow Proof of Claim Number 3526 Filed by Triton Capital Partners LLC Triton Mezzanine Fund LP and Richard Mittasch.pdf	NEW
September 23, 2009	2004 Application for Production of Documents Examination of Ocean To Bay Tours Inc..pdf to see these docs go to Silvermans website http://agapeworldbankruptcy.com/index.php/court_filings/

upcoming events

2009-09-27T09:30:00.001-04:00

October 8, 2009:

Time: 11:00 a.m

Hearing, if Objections to Trustee's Sale of Louisiana Property

October 15, 2009:

Time: 3:00 p.m

Status Conference

Inquest: Silverman v. Cosmo

Pre-trial Conference: Silverman v. Hugo Arias, et. al.

Pre-trial Conference: Silverman v. Precision Processing, et. al.

Pre-trial Conference: Silverman v. Brandino Corp., et al.

For update on cosmo. google "cosmo agape newsday"

2009-09-27T09:27:00.001-04:00

it seems he may be guilty of violating his agreement with court and subject to re-incarceration.

Spoke to Agage Bankruptcy Trustees Office Yesterday

2009-09-15T07:19:00.003-04:00

Rachael Dioguardi spoke To Bob and I for a good 30 minutes, answering any and all our questions as best she could.

The bottom line, The Trustees office is working aggressively towards recovering assets from brokers, investors who made profits, and any third parties that might have had a hand in supporting this fraud.

Many of the Agape brokers have had their assets frozen and are either cutting deals with the Trustee to avoid prosecution or pleading the 5th amendment.

As it was explained to us, Pleading the 5th would lead to a "negative inference" (Negative inference, is where an interpreter takes a statement of fact and then assumes the negative premise is true) position on the part of the investigation and the Trustee would take action accordingly.

The Trustee is about two weeks from having a final dollar amount of legitimate claims and claimants. They also expressed a possibility of a first disbursement sometime in December 2009.
The Disbursement wouldn't amount to much in the big picture but it would be a first step.

They also mentioned the probability of having another large law firm represent them (and us) in investigating third party liability (BOA, Commodities brokers, etc,).

All in all, I would say the Trustee is doing a great Job.

hang in there brothers and sisters,

The Demonstration 09/12/09

2009-09-12T22:08:00.000-04:00

My friends,
Today was wonderful. I stood shoulder to shoulder with good men, women and
children, telling who ever would listen that we were violated and that Bank of
America played a key role in that crime.

I'm very proud of you all.
I like the energy you brought to the demonstration, Rob, Rob Jr, Frank, Lu,
Ralph, Bob, Ellen, Jimmy... so many good people.
I wish I could remember all the names.

I have a few suggestions for the next gathering.

1. We wear "stick on name labels" (it'll help us relate to each other)

2. We Make up some "clear, concise poster boards. Pick up some 3/4 inch paint
brushes and make the lettering bold - easy to read.

3. Keep the messages simple

4. Don't use "BOA" abbreviation. Lets make sure the passerby's know we are
talking about "BANK OF AMERICA"

5. Lets designate task such as "walkers (we have to keep the group moving to
avoid loitering accusations), poster holders (Actually, i think poster boards
should be hung around the next with a ribbon when not being held high for
passing cars to read), flyer distributors (some to approach BOA customers coming
and going to and from the bank while others approach the cars that stop at the
red lights near the designated corners.

6. We take pictures and video's (i can edit the video and post it or email it if
need be)

7. We make up several hundred flyers or notices to be handed out to passersby.
The Poster boards will only keep their attention for the few seconds it takes to
read them. The flyers can be read later and contain information that leads the
reader to websites and related information.

8. Last but not least. We need a bigger turnout. We have two weeks to get it
ready. I'm going to post the list of email addresses we have recorded over the
past 9 months.
Use it. Send letters to whomever you can. Motivate them to take part in the
event.
They dont need to be here with us on Long Island. I'll post the Flyers online,
they can print them and follow the same protical wherever they live and hold
demonstrations at those locations.
Two or more people at several branches can have a significant effect.
Lets show the world that we are organized and committed to seeking justice.

Today I saw a group of people willing to work for what is right.
Lets keep the ball rolling.

Dom

BANK OF AMERICA PROTEST THIS MORNING

2009-09-12T02:11:00.002-04:00

WEST HEMPSTEAD BRANCH LOCATED AT :

60 Hempstead Ave
West Hempstead, NY 11552

BRING YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY. LETS SHOW THE PUBLIC THAT WE ARE COMMITTED TO EXPOSING THE BANKS INVOLVEMENT IN THE "AGAPE FRAUD".

WE'LL GATHER AT 10AM AND RUN IT AS LONG AS WE SEE FIT.

CLAWBACKS BEGIN...

2009-08-28T21:54:00.000-04:00

http://libn.com/blog/2009/08/28/clawback-process-begins-at-agape/

we all need someone to lean on...

2009-08-07T07:35:00.002-04:00

Agape meeting

2009-08-07T07:21:00.002-04:00

Its been suggested that victims will meet a a BOA location on long island saturday 8/22/09 at 11am to protest BOA involvement in agape scam.
the exact location has not been determined at this time and will be decided prior to the event and posted accordingly.
If youre interested, please come, bring friends, family and notify any media contacts you might have.
Personally, I'm happy to see the group taking such an initiative and will support the effort wholeheartedly.
check this out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us-TVg40ExM

He back on the Street.

2009-07-23T16:30:00.001-04:00

Accused swindler Cosmo released on bail
by David WinzelbergPublished: July 23, 2009Tags: Agape World, crime, Nicholas Cosmo, scams
After spending nearly six months at the Nassau County jail, Nicholas Cosmo was released on $1.25 million bail Thursday afternoon.
Judge Michael Orenstein signed the order that allowed the alleged Ponzi-schemer to trade in his orange jumpsuit for the blue shirt and navy suit his sister brought to court for him.
Only a handful of victims from the alleged Agape World scam attended the hearing in the federal courthouse in Central Islip.
Cosmo bounded down the steps trying to dodge reporters’ questions and a soaking rain, accompanied by his attorney Stacey Richman.
He then got into a red GMC SUV escorted by two U.S. court police vehicles and sped away.
The feds have charged Cosmo with taking $413 million from thousands of investors. Richman has asked the court to delay hearings on the case until September 25.
If convicted, Cosmo faces a return to federal prison for as many as 30 years. He served 21 months for a prior fraud conviction and was released in August 2000.

Bail...

2009-07-20T17:14:00.000-04:00

Bail conditions for defendant Nicholas Cosmo should be finalized on Thursday, July 23, 2009 at 2 p.m. before Magistrate Judge Michael Orenstein (courtroom 840), at the United States Federal Courthouse, 100 Federal Plaza, Central Islip, Long Island, New York. If you would like to attend, please call our office the morning of July 23rd to confirm date and time.
(sent to me a few minutes ago).

Skank of America... WHERE DOES IT END ?

2009-07-14T10:15:00.002-04:00

Who would want to do business with Bankof America if they knew how many people
are continually getting burned? They may have actuall helped AGAPE steal $417 Million
form hard working people. At least that what the Class Action Suit says about them!

Skank of America
http://www.scribd.com/doc/14803618/20090429-1st-Amended-Class-Action-Complaint-19

$417 M PONZI SCHEME ARTICLES - BANK OF AMERICA LINKED TO AGAPE
http://www.zamansky.com/blog/2009/02/agape-world-bank-of-america.html

http://agapeworldincvictims.blogspot.com/2009/06/class-action-update.html

http://www.allbusiness.com/legal/legal-services-litigation/12275344-1.html

http://www.forbes.com/2009/03/27/bank-of-america-ponzi-long-island-personal-finance-investing-ideas_agape.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/27/bank-of-america-accused-i_n_180286.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/28/business/28ponzi.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

http://www.federalhasson.com/business-articles/100-bank-of-america-aided-ponzi-scheme

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2009/01/bofa_scam.html

http://www.drudge.com/archive/119344/lawsuit-bank-america-aided-ponzi-scheme

http://www.jerebeasleyreport.com/2009/05/bank-of-america-accused-in-ponzi-lawsuit/

http://www.jerebeasleyreport.com/2009/01/141-million-fraud-verdict-against-bank-of-america/

RECENT $141 MILLION FRAUD CONVICTION AGAINST SKANK OF AMERICA
Jere Beasley Report
Predatory Lending - Written by Jere Beasley on Tuesday, January 6, 2009 15:16 - 0 Comments
$141 Million Fraud Verdict Against Bank Of America
Tags: bank of america
-->
A verdict of $141 million was returned last month against Bank of America Corp., the largest U.S. consumer bank, in a lawsuit over claims that one of its units defrauded investors who bought securities backed by a furniture retailer. Federal court jurors in New York decided in favor of the investors, including American International Group Inc., Bank Leumi Le-Israel Ltd., Allstate Corp. and Societe Generale SA, in a trial that started in October. The jury awarded $85 million, which with interest, totals $141 million. The Plaintiffs showed the jury that Bank of America Securities knew the securities it was selling were much worse than they were holding them out to be to the marketplace.
The Bank of America unit, Nationsbanc, underwrote securities issued by a trust created by Heilig-Meyers, once the largest U.S. furniture retailer. The securities were backed by money owed to Heilig-Meyers from installment contracts. According to the Plaintiffs, Nationsbanc deceived investors when it claimed in offering materials that Heilig-Meyers’s collection practices were effective and its receivables sound. Richmond, Virginia-based Heilig-Meyers, which catered to low- and middle-income consumers, filed for bankruptcy in 2000 and wasn’t a Defendant in the case.
Source: Bloomberg
OTHER CASES AGAINST SKANK OF AMERICA

http://consumerist.com/5135374/claim-your-share-78-of-the-bank-of-america-overdraft-settlement

Article: Suit Alleges B of A Fraud Role.(National/Global)(Bank of America Corp.)(Brief article)
Article from:
American Banker
Article date:
March 30, 2009
Author:

document.writeln('Davis, Paul');document.getElementById('ctl00_ph_ctl00_ArticleMain_AuthorLinks_ctl01_lnkAuthor').title='Davis, Paul'
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copy of zamansky class suit bank of america Copyright informationCOPYRIGHT 2009 SourceMedia, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale
Byline: Paul Davis
Bank of America Corp. is facing a shareholder lawsuit that claims the company played a major role in a suspected case of investor fraud involving a client.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of Agape World Inc. investment clients, alleges that the $2.5 trillion-asset Charlotte company "failed to respond to the illegitimacy and unlawful nature" of Agape's business activities. The lawsuit, which was filed by the New York law firm Zamansky & Associates, asserts that B of A had an employee working in Agape's headquarters building and that it allowed the client to commingle funds it received ...

Article: At least 10 people who live in the Keene area have thousands of...
Magazine article from: New Hampshire Business Review; February 13, 2009 ; 107 words... At least 10 people who live in the Keene area have thousands of dollars tied up in Agape World Inc., a New York firm whose owner is accused of investment fraud. Nicholas Cosmo is accused of taking more than $380 million from about 1,500 investors...

Article: COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION CHARGES NICHOLAS COSMO AND...
News wire article from: US Fed News Service, Including US State News; January 27, 2009 ; 417 words...Agape World, Inc., (Agape World), and Agape Merchant...both of Hauppauge, New York (collectively, defendants...the Eastern District of New York, the CFTC is seeking...the Eastern District of New York (EDNY), the United States...

LATEST ON TRUSTEE EFFORTS

2009-07-10T16:04:00.000-04:00

Scavenger hunt widens for Agape assets
by David WinzelbergPublished: July 10, 2009Tags: Nicholas Cosmo, United States Golf Association

The United States Golf Association was hounded until it made good on rain checks for U.S. Open first-round ticket holders last month.
But the USGA is still trying to hold onto $31,875 it got from alleged Ponzi-schemer Nicholas Cosmo, who had reserved a hospitality table at the event for his company Agape World.
Agape’s bankruptcy trustee Ken Silverman, from Jericho-based SilvermanAcampora, has sued the USGA for the money, as part of his firm’s sweeping effort to recover a wide variety of assets from Cosmo and his former employees. The USGA wasn’t immediately available for comment at press time.
While the USGA won’t give back the money, other sports organizations are all too happy to get away from the scandal. Hugo Arias, who ran Agape World’s office in Jackson Heights, put a $75,750 deposit on a luxury box for New York Giants games at the new Meadowlands stadium. That money was returned to the trustee without legal action, said Rachael Dioguardi, one of the eight SilvermanAcampora attorneys working on the Agape bankruptcy since February.
The trustee has sued Arias to recover $10 million in ill-gotten gains from the alleged Agape fraud. Other Agape employees are in Silverman’s sights, such as Arias’ brother Bryan Arias, who’s been sued for $2 million, and Diane Kaylor, sued for $4.75 million.
Little by little, the assets from the alleged scam are finding their way to the trustee and will eventually be distributed to about 1,500 Agape World investors who have claimed losses of nearly $180 million.
“We have to uncover every stone in this case,” Dioguardi said. And some of the stones are far flung.
The trustee’s designated auctioneer, Plainview-based David R. Maltz & Co., is currently fielding offers for a 25-acre industrial property in southern Louisiana owned by Agape World. Cosmo had invested more than $1 million in a plan by California-based United Steel Supply to build a concrete distribution center on the Mississippi Riverfront site. But the company went bust and Agape ended up with the property.
Maltz already sold Cosmo’s Mercedes for $47,000 and his indoor sports complex in Hauppauge for $3.4 million.
So far, the trustee has collected $1.1 million of a $2 million settlement that Silverman’s team negotiated with ProMac, a cash-advance firm that was funded with $5.3 million from Agape World, but is unable to repay the whole debt.
Bankruptcy attorneys are trying to negotiate a settlement with the owners of Cosmo-funded restaurant Speranza Food Studio in Woodbury, who’ve yet to turn over their financials. They’ve also asked the court to force several futures-trading companies to furnish information about the millions transferred to them from Cosmo and his companies. The government believes Cosmo lost at least $80 million of his client’s money while trading with more than a half-dozen firms.
The U.S. Attorney’s office is also on the hunt for Agape assets and has put lis pendens on a number of properties and possessions owned by Cosmo, his company and staff.
In March, the federal government issued notice of its intent to seek the forfeiture of a Long Beach condo and Montauk house owned by Jason Keryc, a surfer and Agape World’s most prolific salesman.
Public records show Keryc paid $850,000 for the Long Beach pad in November 2006 and spent $2.7 million for the 10-room house on nearly two acres in Montauk. But before the trustee can put the properties up for sale, the feds have to prove the homes were bought with proceeds from the alleged Agape fraud.

Anyone interested in talking to ...

2009-07-02T15:18:00.002-04:00

Arthur Delaney
Reporter for the Huffington Post
(646) 415-1161

He's looking for stories on how this agape scam has affected your lives.
emial him at: arthur@huffingtonpost.com

We need to support the "prosecutor" if we want a similar result.

2009-06-29T20:02:00.003-04:00

Bernard Madoff, shown here in his mug shot

At the MCC, Bernard Madoff is getting a taste of life behind bars.

Madoff sentenced to 150 years

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- A federal judge sentenced Bernard Madoff, the convicted mastermind of the largest and most sweeping Ponzi scheme ever, to the maximum sentence of 150 years in federal court Monday.

Judge Denny Chin of U.S. District Court in New York announced the sentence just moments after Madoff apologized to his victims.

Chin, who called Madoff's crimes "extraordinarily evil," said the maximum sentence was important for deterrence, and also for the victims, many of whom erupted into applause after the judge announced the sentence. Many hugged and some of them broke down in tears.

"The sentence imposed today recognizes the significance of Bernard Madoff's crimes," Lev Dassin, acting U.S. attorney, said in a written statement.

The 150-year sentence is the maximum that federal prosecutors in New York requested, based on the number of Madoff's victims, the amount of money he stole and the extent of the damage he caused. Judge Chin said that the Federal Department of Probation had recommended a 50-year sentence.

Victims had urged the judge to dole out the stiffest punishment possible. "We implore you to give the maximum sentence at a maximum prison for this deplorable low life," said one of the victims in court before Madoff spoke. "This is a violent crime without a tangible weapon."

"We are committed to bringing additional charges against anyone else who bears criminal responsibility," said Dassin, in a written statement. "At the same time, we are focused on tracing, restraining and liquidating assets to maximize recoveries for the victims."

Is BOA next?

2009-06-28T03:46:00.001-04:00

Madoff victims offered settlement
Santander Spanish branch in Madrid
Many financial institutions have been hit by Mr Madoff's alleged fraud

Spanish bank Santander says it will compensate private clients who suffered
losses from the alleged fraud run by US businessman Bernard Madoff.

The bank said it will offer clients a 1.38bn euro ($1.8bn;£1.3bn) settlement.

Santander is being sued over claims it did not do enough to prevent losses in
funds that invested with Mr Madoff.

He is accused of perpetrating one of the largest-ever Wall Street frauds,
through a $50bn (£33.2bn) scheme that wiped out many investors.

Santander is the largest bank in the eurozone and owns Abbey and Alliance &
Leicester in the UK.

'Exceptional circumstances'

Santander has said its customers have exposure of 2.3bn euros to Mr Madoff
through its private banking business, Optimal.

The bank will issue 1.38bn euros worth of preferred shares to compensate
individual customers. The move will cost the bank 500m euros.

It said that it had decided to offer compensation because of the "exceptional
circumstances" and to maintain its business relationships with clients affected
by the alleged fraud.

Spanish law firm Cremades & Calvo-Sotelo said that it had filed a class action
suit in Florida with its US partner firm Labaton Sucharow.

The lawsuit claims that Santander was negligent in allowing its Optimal
Strategic US equity fund to invest with Mr Madoff.

Santander said in a statement that it acted in accordance with all applicable
laws and sound banking practices and procedures.

"Grupo Santander has acted at all times with the due diligence in the management
of its clients' investments," it said in a statement.

The Madoff scandal has hurt a number of high-profile banks and financial
institutions.

Austria has taken control of Bank Medici, a small, private bank, because of the
losses it sustained.

In the UK, the Serious Fraud Office has said it would investigate Mr Madoff's
business operations.

Marc Gross, of the US law firm Pomerantz, which represents some of Mr Madoff's
clients, told the BBC that the compensation was "very significant".

"I think it's taking ownership of the problem, taking accountability and
standing up and saying we are going to reimburse... those who've been defrauded

Madoff accountant on fraud charge, how about cosmo's

2009-06-28T03:44:00.000-04:00

Madoff accountant on fraud charge
David Friehling
David Friehling is charged with deceiving investors

US prosecutors have charged the long-term accountant of disgraced US financier
Bernard Madoff with fraud.

David Friehling, 49, has also been charged with aiding and abetting fraud, and
four counts of filing false audit reports. He has been released on bail.

Madoff pleaded guilty to all 11 charges against him when he appeared in a New
York court last week.

He has always insisted he acted alone in masterminding an estimated $50bn
(£35bn) investment fraud.

Madoff, 70, has now been remanded behind bars ahead of his sentencing in June.
He could receive a sentence of up to 150 years.

He ran a Ponzi scheme, whereby early investors were paid off with the money
injected by new clients.

'Falsely certified'

Mr Friehling, faces up to 105 years if found guilty of the charges he faces.

Although Mr Friehling is not charged with knowledge of the Madoff Ponzi scheme,
he is charged with deceiving investors by falsely certifying that he audited the
financial statements of the Madoff business
Acting US district attorney Lev Dassin

Acting US district attorney Lev Dassin said that Mr Friehling's company,
Friehling & Horowitz, was the accounting firm that "purportedly" audited the
accounts of Bernard L Madoff Investment Securities between 1991 and 2008.

"Mr Friehling is charged with crimes that represent a serious breach of the
investing public's trust," said Mr Dassin.

"Although Mr Friehling is not charged with knowledge of the Madoff Ponzi scheme,
he is charged with deceiving investors by falsely certifying that he audited the
financial statements of the Madoff business."

'Lied to investors'

Mr Dassin added that Mr Friehling was paid approximately between $12,000
(£8,600) to $14,500 a month by Madoff between 2004 and 2007.

Madoff arriving for Thursday's court hearing
Madoff has insisted he acted alone

"Simply put, Friehling failed to do his job, and lied to investors and
regulators in saying that he did," he said.

US commentators have said that Mr Friehling ran his accounting business from a
nondescript suburban building north of New York City.

CLASS ACTION UPDATE

2009-06-24T17:18:00.001-04:00

Agape suits against BofA consolidated
by Michael H. SamuelsPublished: June 24, 2009Tags: Bank of America, Jacob Zamansky, Nicholas Cosmo
Manhattan attorney Jacob Zamansky confirmed Wednesday that he is combining his lawsuit against Bank of America with two other class action suits also filed in federal court.
Zamansky said the new complaint will be filed within the next 30 days.
“It’s just the way class actions work,” Zamansky said. “The judge and the defendants want one class case to respond to. We agreed to work together.”
Zamansky said he will be the point-person for the new consolidated complaint.
His original suit, on behalf of victims of Nicolas Cosmo’s company Agape World, stated that Bank of America “aided and abetted, encouraged, and rendered substantial assistance” to the alleged $413 million fraud.
The suit also claimed that futures trading companies are at fault because Cosmo had been barred from associating with the securities industry. Zamansky’s suit said that the trading companies should havealso verified the “source and propriety” of the millions that came from a convicted felon.
Cosmo has been held in jail since he was arrested on Jan. 26. On Tuesday, he was denied bail for a third time, but he is expected to be released later this week.

COSMOS RELEASE DELAYED

2009-06-23T23:31:00.002-04:00

IT SEEMS HE HASNT MET ALL THE COURTS CONDITIONS, HOWEVER, THEYA RE EXPECTING TO HAVE EVERYTHING LINED UP FOR A FRIDAY MORNING RELEASE DATE.
Its a long boring story and it wont get us a single cent if he walks or stays locked up, so i'm going to work on Friday and leave the media to fend for themselves.
If any of you are interested in attending.... same place as usual.
see link below for story

http://libn.com/blog/2009/06/23/cosmo%e2%80%99s-release-delayed/

NYS TAX BREAK

2009-06-20T14:34:00.000-04:00

http://www.newsday.com/business/ny-bzponz0212831021jun01,0,738002.story

Lawyers want books opened at Agape-funded restaurant

2009-06-19T07:55:00.001-04:00

by David Winzelberg
Published: June 18, 2009

Bankruptcy attorneys are trying to force a Woodbury restaurant to produce its financial records because alleged swindler Nicholas Cosmo put more than $1 million into the business.

Attorneys from Jericho-based SilvermanAcampora, who are acting as trustees for the liquidation of Cosmo’s firm Agape World, have filed a motion in federal bankruptcy court to get the owners of Speranza Food Studio at 7940 Jericho Turnpike to reveal its financials to help determine the size of Agape’s investment in the eatery.

So far, according to attorney Ken Silverman, Speranza’s owners have not yet complied.

Speranza received its Certificate of Occupancy from the Town of Oyster Bay in February and it opened soon after. The restaurant’s owners had been honoring gift cards given to Agape investors for a month or so, but stopped recently, according to a card holder who tried to use his. Cosmo had issued thousands of dollars in Speranza gift cards.

Sources say the Agape chief had as much as a 33 percent stake in the restaurant.

Records show the owner of Speranza is listed as a corporation called 7940 Jericho Turnpike, the address of which is 135 Crossways Park Drive in Woodbury. That’s the same address as EKN Financial Services owned by Anthony Ottimo, and Jet One Jets, headed by Louis Ottimo.

Another member of the family, Richard Ottimo, told LIBN in February that all gift cards from Agape World would be honored as soon as he figured out how to limit customers from spending them all at once.

One Agape investor said he used the $2,000 gift card he got from Cosmo only twice, before he was told that the card was dead.

Ottimo referred requests for comment to his attorney Stuart Berg, who couldn’t be reached.

Cosmo served 21 months in prison for a 1999 securities swindle and was ordered to undergo therapy for gambling addiction. He is currently being held at the Nassau County jail after being indicted for defrauding investors out of $413 million in an alleged Ponzi-type scheme. Cosmo has yet to make the $1.25 million bond set for him a few weeks ago.

An attorney at SilvermanAcampora said an Agape World bankruptcy hearing scheduled for June 23 has been rescheduled for July 2.

Promac settlement of 2 million...

2009-06-13T00:48:00.001-04:00

Bob and I have been waiting for days to talk to the trustees office about our concerns of settling for such a small portion of the debt with promac.
Today, Bob and I finally had the chance to conference with them.
They made a strong argument for settling.
The facts as presented to us were these:
They hired a forensic accountant to go over the promac books (promac was very cooperative).
It seems Agape was the only company "funding" promac loans to vendors.
We were in fact the "promac bank".
Promac took our 5 mil and gave it out as loans to 65 or so vendors (pizza places, etc).
5 of those vendors went belly up. The others are making payments as promised.
If the trustee forced his hand and decided he wanted more than the 2 million, they would have to close up shop and the company would be worth 1.7 mil before liquidation. After liquidating we'd walk away with 1.4 million or so.
So, the trustee decided to allow them to settle at 2 million instead.
I cant say that I completely understand the mechanics behind this strategy, but that is what they told us.
Should we file an objection?
I dont know at this point. But please, please, PLEASE !!! Dont follow me on this one. I'm telling you... I'm not sure!
Every one of you has the right to file an objection if you feel its appropriate. There will be no repercussions.
No one will fault you. You have to follow your heart.
the trustee said they would broadcast a clear explanation of the strategy by outlining the steps they took in making the decision in the next few days for us (all) to review.
I'm going to see what they post and decide at that time how I feel about filing an objection.

Check this out... Its important.

2009-06-07T11:45:00.003-04:00

http://www.bankofamericafraud.com/

Updates of agape auction and proposal to settle debts

2009-06-07T09:18:00.002-04:00

1. The trustees office offered to settle the 5.2 million dollar debt with promac at 2 million.

2. The sports complex in hauppague was sold for 3.4 million.

My thoughts:
Cosmo having given Promac 5.2 million dollars owned 20% of Promac under the corporate name "esau". So in fact the trustees office and the creditors should have automatically been entitled to 20% of promacs net worth (or gross, - not sure) and/or ownership rights.
Cosmo forced into bankruptcy is now being forced to liquidate all his assets to make creditors whole.
Why liquidate Promac interest? Its not Real Estate that has to be managed, such as the Sports Complex. Its a viable business operated outside of Cosmo, Agape or creditors day to day operations obligations. It runs without any responsiblity on our part.
I'd rather we continue to hold that 20% share as a new "creditors corporation" and be assigned individual shares accordingly.
Once the shares are assigned to us individually, we can chose to hold and receive interest on them or sell them to other parties.

Another upside, we dont loss 3.2 million in a negotiation process and or a percentage to Trustees office as a fee.

Another week gone by.

2009-06-01T07:19:00.002-04:00

It would seem that as the weeks go by, a great number of us have come to accept our losses with less anxiety. That is not to say that we have decided to walk away from them, but slightly complacent.
I guess its a good thing to move on with our lives while the government and attorneys work towards some justice and recovery for us.

Personally, I cant help feeling that we should continue to keep the pressure on. My gut tells me that BOA is geared up for a fight. Certainly, it would be cheaper to have a small army of attorneys (already on retainer) keep this thing in court until our children and grandchildren might see some closure, however, If we make enough noise and ask the average American consumer to sanction BOA for aiding a criminal to bilk $400 million from honest hard working fellow Americans... Maybe the potential "bad press" and "lost revenue" might encourage them to play fair.

So the question is... If we organized monthly protest against BOA, How many of us would attend?
If you are interested in responding, please do so in the yahoo group "poll" section.
I hope your day is whatever you want it to be.

Recent Bankruptcy Conference

2009-05-23T22:39:00.000-04:00

Trustees office updated the court with:

3 of the bigger agape brokers (two of them brothers) have agreed to (some kind of injunction) give up assets.

The trustee has identified but not verified 130 million dollars in claims thus far from 3200 victims and believes a fair portion of them will be erroneous.

The sports facility has multiple offers and great interest from potential buyers.

The trustee asked the court to allow them to abandon misc items left behind at agape offices after auction (no value)

Bail increased

2009-05-20T05:46:00.000-04:00

BY ROBERT E. KESSLER | robert.kessler@newsday.com
10:53 PM EDT, May 19, 2009

It will cost the accused mastermind of a $413-million Ponzi scheme another $500,000 to get out of jail.

A federal judge ruled Tuesday that Nicholas Cosmo, the former head of Agape World in Hauppauge, could be released on bail if he comes up with a bail package totaling $1.25 million, significantly more than the $750,000 bail set by a federal magistrate at the end of last month.

Rejecting an appeal by federal prosecutors that Cosmo was too much of a flight risk to be granted any bail, U.S. District Judge Denis Hurley in Central Islip nevertheless conceded that "in the right situation, the defendant will take advantage [to] extricate himself."

But Hurley said the new bail package would lead to the financial ruin of his nearest relatives if he fled. Cosmo's assets are frozen by the government. The bail is guaranteed by his parents and his sister and brother-in-law's assets, plus they'd be responsible for hundreds of thousands of dollars more if Cosmo fled, Hurley said.

Hurley ruled after a number of investors in Agape argued in court that Cosmo could not be trusted to be released on bail because of the callous way he looted them of tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The new bail package should eliminate "the high probability that he will skip town" under less onerous conditions, Hurley said. Cosmo, 38, of Lake Grove, had been held in federal detention since he was arrested on fraud charges in January.

The judge "ruled bravely in accordance with the law," said Cosmo's attorney, Stacey Richman of the Bronx. "The purpose of bail is not to punish." Richman said his client's family would meet the bail conditions.

Federal prosecutor Grace Cucchissi said, "We respect the judge's decision. The overall package will give the defendant pause if he thought to flee."

Until Cosmo meets all the conditions the judge set, in addition to the increase in the bail amount, he will not be released. If he is released, he will go to his parents' home in Wantagh. Richman said the release might take several days.

The judge ruled that before Cosmo could be released he wanted an accounting of all the tangible assets supporting the package. This would require appraisals of the parents' and sister and brother-in-law's homes, and the freezing of the parents' money market fund, the mother's savings account and the brother-in-law's 401(k) pension.

The estimated total value of these funds and properties is several hundred thousand dollars less than $1.25 million, Hurley noted, but if Cosmo should flee, the government will go after the relatives for the total amount.

CONFIRMED...

2009-05-18T11:32:00.000-04:00

There is a hearing on the US Attorney’s Appeal of the order by Judge Doyle granting Cosmo bail. US Attorney is appealing in an attempt to keep Cosmo in jail or have the bail set higher than $750,000. It’s at 2:30, same courthouse in front of Judge Hurley.

Bail hearing Tuesday May 19th 2009

2009-05-17T22:42:00.002-04:00

I hope we can find the time to lend support to the Prosecutor.
I'm not clear on the time (I thought I read online it was scheduled for 2:30pm), but if anyone knows for sure, please let the group know.

Here's a little Song Cosmo is surely singing whenever he thinks about his upcoming bail hearing and release from the pen.
Any you can bet, he "will be ramblin" if he's released.

Been Weeks since last post...

2009-05-16T16:55:00.002-04:00

Not for lack of interest. Nothing new or relevant to report.
Jacob Zamansky is Working the Third party class action.
Ken Silverman is Working the hidden assets bankruptcy angles.
Bob Mcmanus and I are trying to have the courts appoint a creditors committee.
Cosmo is still behind bars.

Hang in there.
Live your life to the best of your ability. "This too will pass"

Dateline clip

2009-05-10T22:29:00.000-04:00

http://www.msnbc. msn.com/id/ 21134540/ vp/30672822# 30672822

Watch Dateline msnbc this Sunday 7pm... agape expose

2009-05-08T16:28:00.000-04:00

Our first in a series of attempts to gain public awareness

Bank of America taking more tax payer money...

2009-05-08T09:28:00.003-04:00

when does it end?
google "BOA Bailout" and see how crazy this is for yourself.
They assist in a criminal fraud activity and the government bails them out...
great system aint it?

http://freechoice.seiu.org/page/s/bankofamerica?source=int

Names named !!!

2009-05-01T16:49:00.001-04:00

Feds: More Agape World arrests likely
by David Winzelberg
Published: May 1, 2009
Tags: Agape World, fraud, Nicholas Cosmo, Ponzi schemes

Nick Cosmo, who allegedly ran a Ponzi scheme, may not end up the only Agape World associate behind bars.
After appearing in federal court clean shaven and sporting an orange jumpsuit, accused Ponzi schemer Nicholas Cosmo’s bail was set at $750,000 Wednesday, an amount his attorney said might be attainable.

But while Cosmo tries to get out of jail, some of his Agape World associates are worried about being sent to slammer themselves.

Cosmo, who has spent more than 90 days at the Nassau County jail in East Meadow, in solitary confinement for his protection authorities say, is so far the only person arrested in the alleged scheme which feds say took in more than $410 million from as many as 6,000 investors.

But LIBN has learned that federal investigators are “looking at everyone” who may have worked for Agape World or solicited investors, and they say more arrests are likely.

The feds won’t say which of Cosmo’s cohorts will wind up being charged, but they will likely focus on some of the more prolific Agape representatives and sub-reps, who made more than $55 million in commissions, according to a U.S. Attorney’s complaint.

While at least three Agape representatives had criminal records before they began selling Cosmo’s investment offerings, some were cops. And many were family.

Named in a class-action lawsuit filed against Agape in February were former Nassau policeman Martin Hartmann, 63, of Massapequa, and his son Martin Hartmann, 34. Both were sub-reps of Long Beach resident Jason Keryc, 31, who the feds say made more than $15 million in Agape commissions within two years. Jason’s brother Michael Keryc, 34, of Baldwin, was also an active member of the team.

Others under the feds microscope include Anthony Ciccone, a former clerk at a Manhattan post office, and his brother Sal Ciccone, both from Maspeth. The Ciccones received nearly $17 million in payments from Agape and its subsidiary Agape Merchant Advance, according to the federal complaint.

Two other brothers, Hugo and Bryan Arias, also of Maspeth, worked out of Agape’s office in Jackson Heights and got nearly $10 million from the company, the feds have charged.

Agape reps Mario Restrepo and Juan Carlos Munoz had nearly 200 clients throughout Florida and North Carolina, according to former client Elena Alania, who was one of them. Alaina, a student at the University of North Carolina, lost the $250,000 she invested with Restrepo in Agape World.

Some Agape reps declined to comment and the others didn’t respond.

The class-action suit alleges that “all members of the Agape enterprise had actual knowledge of the illegal activities.”

And it isn’t just Agape reps the feds have looked at.

Cosmo’s accountant Gary Cusenza of Bethpage acknowledged that the FBI had questioned him about his client’s alleged fraud, but he said investigators only showed a “minor” interest.

“I’m not in their sights,” Cusenza said.
One investor said Agape’s loan originator Rich Barry worked closely with Cosmo. Barry has kept a low profile since Cosmo’s arrest and didn’t return calls for comment.

Also under scrutiny are the Agape investors who started their own feeder fund companies, which unwittingly helped to funnel more millions into Cosmo’s coffers.

Owners of one East End feeder fund company actually copied Agape World contracts and used them to sign up about a dozen investors. That company is making arrangements to reimburse its clients by giving them parcels of property that it owns in the Carolinas to make up for their losses, according to one of the firm’s principals.

Today 4/30/09 "341 Meeting

2009-04-30T20:22:00.001-04:00

Over 200 people were in attendance. US Trustee addressed the group on "creditors committee" issues and followed the bankruptcy Trustee Questions and answer session.

I'll let you read the official minutes of the meeting when they're ready to be posted, but over all - the "interim trustee" was appointed "permanent trustee".

I was happy to see so many in attendance. I'd like to think that maybe some of you might have heard my plea for support and came forward to show your appreciation and concern.

Finally, I would like to suggest that you all go to
"http://www.zamansky.com/cases/agape-investors-bank-of-america-mf-global-class-action.html" and read about the work Jake and his team of hard working, committed professionals are doing. Its seems they have really made significant headway in the class action suit.
Its also a good place to register to be included in his database of victims.

A special thanks to Ken Silverman, Ron Freidman, Rachael E. Dioguardi
Jacob H. Zamansky, Edward H. Glenn, Jr., Steven N. Berk, Christopher Seeger, Stephen Weiss and of course AMBER !

Bail hearing tomorrow

2009-04-28T07:37:00.001-04:00

United States District Court
Eastern District of New York
Magistrate Judge BOYLE , E. THOMAS
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Courtroom 830
09:30 AM
Criminal Cause for Arraignment
09cr00255 (DRH)
USA V. COSMO
Deft. - NICHOLAS COSMO Bail Hearing;Court Reporter Requested

Appointment to Creditors Committee

2009-04-27T22:09:00.002-04:00

Fellow Creditors,

On Thursday April 30 2009 at the Federal Bankruptcy Court "341 meeting" Luciano Cortese, Bob Mc Manus and I will be distributing "ballots" for appointment to the "creditors committee" amongst the attendees.

The committee when formed will allow us to be updated and informed of any relevant events or information coming from the Trustees office on the Agape case.

We feel this is a critical step that needs to be taken so that we can relay that information to you in a timely fashion.

If you have an interest in voting for anyone to this "appointment", you must have certain documents prepared (filled out and signed - notarized if possible).
For a copy of the forms, go to the Yahoo group at: http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/agapeworldinc/

Bob McManus, Luciano Cortese and I have been asked to put our names on the ballots. The U.S. Trustee will review the ballots for eligibility and decide on the outcome.

We would appreciate your support in this matter. The Forms are on file with the yahoo group and/or available upon request by writing to domdicolandrea@gmail.com. You can bring them to court on Thursday or fax them to 718-229-9815 (my efax service).

I hope to see you at the meeting.

MEETINGS AND HEARINGS..."WE DONT HAVE TO STAND TALL, BUT WE DO HAVE TO STAND UP"!

2009-04-26T10:44:00.002-04:00

Ours is a "just cause" and worthy of public attention. Many have stood up for what they believe over generations past.
If being victimized offends you, you have to take a stand. Dont expect others to "stand" for you.

4/16/09 court hearing minutes :

2009-04-17T12:33:00.003-04:00

DARLENES NOTES FROM THE COURT HEARING YESTERDAY:

Nicks lawyer Stacey Richmond offered the Judge the following for bail:
the house of Nicks Parents worth aprox 425K ,
the equity of his sister and brother in laws house worth aprox 43k....
the equity of a friends house in North Carolina name not given 19k ,
someone in the familys 401k worth 47k

SIDE NOTE:
the parents house is in a life estate and is being left to Nick his sister and their brother who lives in Michigan think his name is Thomas.

the court was originally asking for 750K or more...
The Prosecutor said she feels the monies offered by family and friends are tainted, or at the very least... the sisters monies.
the judge would like the prosecutor to prove that.

Richman said she will have Nick in a bracelet , his calls will be monitored.
That he needs to be a father to his children and he needs to be out of jail to work with her on this case.

Richman argued that Nick knew in Nov he was being investigated and did not flee. Further, she said he is not a flight risk and why would an individual sacrifice his family.

She said asserted "Intent" was not there when he started the company.

She stated that his own house has not been seized that he and his wife are in the midst of a divorce (i'd like clarification on this).
That his family are hard working people, she stated what type of work they did , nursing asistant , brotherinlw i think she said works for verizon.....sister out on maternity leave....

The judge asked how will he support his family..in which stacey responded he will get a job of course nothing in the financial field
The prosecutor argued "he knew he was being investigated and still continued to take investors monies" .
....that the bail is not sufficient.

Finally, the prosecutor mentioned that he transferred 800 thousand out of his personal account in Nov back to the company because so many investors were showing up at his office he wanted to show them the some monies were there to cover debt. & loans.

And that he is able to flee.....and that this is now an International case.

There are investors in Germany , Hong Kong , Canada , Puerto Rico etc...

She went on to say he paid 63 million to his brokers and 80 in the commodities etc and this was OTHER PEOPLES MONEY NOT HIS!!!

that the loss is bigger than originally stated that it is up to 413 million and can get bigger and that there were 30 million in loans.
that there are victims in 10 countries.

regarding letters to the judge:
ANYTHING SENT TO HIM WILL BE POSTED IN THE DOCKET AND THAT IT WILL BECOME PUBLIC RECORD

PEOPLE WHO GAVE THEIR INFO AND ARE NOW BEING CALLED BY MEDIA ETC ETC>>>> THIS WAS STATED TO DARLENE BY THE PROSECUTOR>>>>

Where to send your letters:

2009-04-17T12:29:00.003-04:00

The Honorable E Thomas Boyle
United States Magistrate Judge
Eastern District of New York
830 Federal Plaza
Central Islip, New York 11722
Fax 631-712-5715

Re: Docket # 09-M 0066
Unites States v Nicholas Cosmo

COSMO WAS IN COURT TODAY. NEXT HEARING 4/29/09

2009-04-16T19:45:00.001-04:00

BE THERE.
ITS IMPORTANT THAT WE SHOW INTEREST.
THIS IS A BAIL HEARING.

HE WAS IN COURT TODAY, THE JUDGE PUT OFF THE DECISION UNTIL 4/29/09.

I'D LIKE TO ORGANIZE A LETTER WRITING CAMPAIGN TO THE JUDGE BEFORE HAND.

YOU ALL SHOULD KNOW HOW AND WHERE TO SEND YOUR OPINIONS.
LETS NOT JUST TALK ABOUT IT, LETS DO IT.
TONIGHT!
STEP AWAY FROM THE COMPUTER FOR 10 MINUTES, GRAB A PEN AND PAPER, VOICE YOUROPINION TO THE COURT, PUT IT IN AN EVELOPE AND SEND IT TOMORROW.
THANKS

Creditors Meeting is Scheduled... Be there.

2009-04-11T10:27:00.001-04:00

Creditors Meeting

Date and Time: April 30, 2009 at 10:00 a.m.
Location:
Office of the United States Trustee
Long Island Federal Courthouse
The Alfonse M. D'Amato U.S. Courthouse
560 Federal Plaza
Ceremonial Courtroom - 2nd Floor
Central Islip, New York 11722-4456
Directions to the Courthouse can be obtained from the Bankruptcy Court's website at http://www.nyeb.uscourts.gov/gen_info.html (click on Court Locations and Directions).

Upcoming Court Dates

2009-04-11T10:13:00.002-04:00

Hearing will be held before the Honorable Dorothy T. Eisenberg at the United States Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of New York, Courtroom 760, Central Islip, New York

April 13, 2009:
Evidentiary Hearing on Trustee's Complaint to Substantively Consolidate Related Entities (Adv. Pro. No. 09-08093)

Status Conference: The Trustee and his counsel will provide the Court with a status of the bankruptcy case.

Time: 10:00 a.m.

Its very likley going to be quick without any ground breaking conclusions. We are welcome to attend (as per the Trustees office).

Nothing new to report.

2009-04-09T08:05:00.002-04:00

Been a week since we met the Trustee.
I hope you all are finding the claim form manageable. If youre having trouble with it, go to the yahoo group site and look for the instructions "bob" - alwaysfight2009 - posted.
Its pretty clear.

TRUSTEE MEETING NOTES and COMMENTS

2009-04-05T20:10:00.001-04:00

Dear Friends, As promised, Bob and I have prepared this correspondence to update the group on the meeting with the Trustee Ken Silverman and his lead attorney...

For a full breakdown of questions and answers go to:

http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/agapeworldinc/message/1540

You must register with the yahoo group to have access to this information.

Trustee Meeting Today...

2009-04-03T19:01:00.001-04:00

4/3/09 Trustees meeting outcome:
Bob and I feel the meeting went very well.

We plan to outline the questions asked and answers given in a clear concise manner and post them to the yahoo group and blogsite by Monday.
Please be patient and enjoy the weekend.

Thanks
Dom

We are meeting the "trustee" tomorrow.

2009-04-02T06:58:00.002-04:00

Bob and I are scheduled to meet "SilvermanAcampora" friday.
If you have questions you'd like us to ask in your behalf, email them to TRUSTEEQUESTIONS@VERIZON.NET

Bob and I will sort them out and post your answers over the weekend.

3/28/09 meeting ...

2009-03-28T17:38:00.001-04:00

To those of you who attending today’s meeting. Thank you for coming. I hope you found it worth your while.
To those of you who couldn’t make it. I hope we’ll see you at the next one. Keep in mind that we need your support to continue with the progress and momentum we have sustained thus far.
Today’s agenda:
We heard from:
1. Tom Valery or “Resolutions, Investigations and Risk Management” regarding the Trustees role in the bankruptcy process, the “341” meeting that we all should attend upon notification from the trustee’s office and the options that might be available to us going forward.
2. Robert Wilson, the business consultant to the “northway development group (bridge loan)” regarding his proposal to reimburse the agape victims 100% plus equity interest in the development.
3. Paul Rachmuth, Robert Wilson’s attorney was very helpful in understand the legal options of the proposal.
4. Art House, developer of the “carriage house (bridge loan)” project regarding his proposal to reimburse the agape victims 100% plus interest.

We had a short Q&A on related matters and broke by 11AM.
The meeting was covered by “DATELINE MSNBC” and “LONG ISLAND BUSINESS NEWS –LIBN”.

For updates or exchange of information on upcoming events on "agape world inc" status go to:

http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/agapeworldinc/

LIBN article on class action...

2009-03-27T12:22:00.001-04:00

http://libn.com/blog/2009/03/27/bank-of-america-brokerages-sued-by-agape-victims/

CLASS ACTION BEGINS. READ THE DOC...

2009-03-27T07:59:00.000-04:00

http://www.zamansky.com/files/agape-class-action-complaint.pdf

Link to "Audio tape of Cosmo denying ponzi"...

2009-03-26T15:57:00.000-04:00

http://libn.com/blog/2009/03/26/exclusive-audio-cosmo-telling-investors-agape-world/

Trustees website is now operational.

2009-03-25T12:57:00.000-04:00

www.agapeworldbankruptcy.com

JUDGE FREEZES ASSETS

2009-03-24T22:01:00.001-04:00

Judge freezes Cosmo's assets
BY ROBERT E. KESSLER robert.kessler@newsday.com
9:01 PM EDT, March 24, 2009
A federal judge in Central Islip Tuesday granted a preliminary injunction against Nicholas Cosmo, the Hauppauge businessman accused of operating a $380- million Ponzi scheme, barring him from engaging in commodities trading and freezing his assets.U.S. District Court Judge Leonard Wexler granted the injunction against Cosmo, 37, on the basis of a request by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.The injunction was agreed to by Cosmo, who was taken to court by federal marshals. He has been in jail since his arrest in January because he has been unable to come up with a bail package acceptable to the court.

Ronald Friedman, the attorney for a federal bankruptcy trustee in the Cosmo case, also was in court and said the injunction does not bar the trustee's attempts to locate money Cosmo potentially owes. The bankruptcy trustee was appointed by the federal court to recover assets to pay people to whom Cosmo owes money, potentially including investors.

Cosmo, a Lake Grove resident who headed Agape World Inc. in Hauppauge, was not represented in court by a civil attorney.But Stacey Richman, the attorney representing Cosmo in his criminal case, said the judge's actions were in the interest of everyone because it allowed for assets to be located.Cosmo has not been required to plead to a criminal charge of fraud.
A grand jury indictment, to which he would have to plead, has been delayed several times at the request of both Richman and federal prosecutors.Cosmo's company was ostensibly set up to provide investors high-interest returns based on bridge loans to businesses needing short-term cash.
Friedman said that so far he has been able to locate about $26 million of Cosmo's assets - of the $380 million invested in the company.That includes $20 million in loans made to at least 15 businesses around the country; $750,000 in cash in a bank account; $5 million in a state-of-the-art sports complex in Hauppauge, and $1 million invested in a Jericho restaurant, Friedman said.

Friedman said the trustee has retained attorneys in all the states where the loans amounting to $20 million were made, in an attempt to recover that money.Friedman also said that U.S.

Bankruptcy Judge Dorothy Eisenberg has set June 18 as the last day for investors to file claims in the bankruptcy court in Central Islip.

Steven Ringer, an attorney for the trading commission, an independent federal agency, declined to comment, as did Robert Nardoza, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, which is prosecuting Cosmo.

The trading commission is involved in the case because federal prosecutors have said that despite his claims to have made the bridge loans, Cosmo invested $100 million in the commodities futures market, losing at least $80 million.

MEETING THIS SATURDAY 3/28/09 - 9:30 am

2009-03-24T15:37:00.002-04:00

Wingate Inn
801 Crooked Hill Rd
Brentwood NY 11717
(rsvp to the yahoo group poll)

agenda:
trustee "341" process

Also please note, the Interim Trustee has suggested that we are welcome to call his office and ask to speak to him directly with any questions or suggestions that we might have on the "involuntary bankruptcy" proceeding.

His contact info is:
Kenneth Silverman
Telephone: 516.479.6323>

Please feel free to call.
If you care to share with the group your experiance - we welcome your input.

Do your part. Write to President Obama -see link

2009-03-23T11:35:00.003-04:00

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/

From Jake Zamanskys Blogsite... thanks

2009-03-22T22:01:00.001-04:00

http://www.zamansky.com/blog/2009/02/agape-world-bank-of-america.html

Bank of America: “Bank of Opportunity” for Convicted Felons?by Jacob Zamansky on February 2nd, 2009 at 12:09 pm :

The New York Times last week published an investigative story questioning JPMorgan Chase’s connection to the Bernie Madoff scandal. Similarly, I’m looking for answers about Bank of America’s connection to two other Ponzi schemes that were concocted by known felons. While these schemes pale in comparison to Madoff’s $50 billion fraud, the possibility that America’s biggest banks were potentially involved in allowing sizeable Ponzi schemes is most disturbing.
My office, on behalf of clients, is still in the early stages of investigating Agape World, Inc., a $380 million Ponzi scheme allegedly carried out by Nicholas Cosmo. We have learned that Agape World on its contracts listed Bank of America as its “banking agent” and that all monies to the fund were wired to a BofA branch on Long Island.

We haven’t yet determined exactly what functions BofA provided Agape World. “Banking agent” functions often include performing back-office operations, which presumably would have given the branch a bird’s eye view of transfers to and from Agape World’s account. Agape World required a minimum investment of $20,000, and given the reported size of Cosmo’s Ponzi scheme, the account likely generated considerable activity (and, no doubt, lucrative fees).
Under the Patriot Act, banks are required to be on the outlook for suspicious or fraudulent activity and report wire transactions of $10,000 or more. Most banks typically are very diligent about complying with the law: The Fed’s uncovered Eliot Spitzer’s proclivity for prostitutes when the former New York governor’s bank reported the transfer of funds to the company that arranged his illicit liaisons.

Given that Cosmo had previously been convicted of securities fraud and ordered to undergo gambling therapy, BofA had plenty of reason to closely monitor his account.
Earlier this month, BoA was sued by a group of investors for being complicit in an Internet “ad package” Ponzi scheme. According to the lawsuit, a small Bank of America branch in Florida was the conduit for the scheme operated by Andy Bowdoin, who also was previously convicted for securities fraud. The lawsuit claims that at least one other financial institution closed accounts related to Bowdoin’s fraud, VISA would not process charges relating to his scheme and PayPal allegedly rejected efforts by Bowdoin and his perpetrators to use its popular payment system.As evidenced by its hasty and misguided acquisition of Merrill Lynch, it’s already known that due diligence isn’t one of BofA’s core competencies. And perhaps it’s merely a coincidence that two securities fraudsters chose to orchestrate their Ponzi schemes through BofA branches. But this matter is worthy of close and aggressive examination. Given that JP Morgan Chase and BofA are now wards of the government, Congress and regulators should be fast demanding some answers.
Clearly at the top of the Obama administration’s agenda is securities industry reform. Given the rash of Ponzi Schemes of late, they would be wise to consider the role of banks in monitoring such activity.Filed under Bernard Madoff, Peter Dawson, WexTrust Capital and Agape World, Nicholas Cosmo, Ponzi Schemes

*Special thanks to Diana for the posting

Trying to arrange a meeting for 3/28/09

2009-03-22T16:08:00.001-04:00

I'd like you all to hear from "Art House and Robert Wilson" - developers and business consultant to agape bridge loan recipients.
We can use the time to discuss a strategy going forward.
I don't have a place for us to meet. I need your help in finding one.
Please don't write or call me about where I should look. If you have a suggestion, follow it up make the arrangements and let me know where and when. I'll get the message out. The facility should house 100+.
I hope to see several hundred of you there. I will be inviting the friends we have in "media".

We also need to be prepared to attend the "bankruptcy court hearing the following week (date to be confirmed).

'Ponzimonium'

2009-03-20T17:18:00.000-04:00

'Ponzimonium'
Regulator: It's 'Ponzimonium'
Commodity Futures Trading Commission commissioner says 19 Ponzi schemes uncovered so far this year.
March 20, 2009: 3:45 PM ET
BOSTON (Reuters) -- Hundreds of people in the United States are under investigation for financial scams, many involving Ponzi schemes, a U.S. regulator said, calling the phenomenon "rampant Ponzimonium."
While none are as mammoth as disgraced financier Bernard Madoff's $65 billion fraud, multimillion-dollar "mini Madoffs" are proliferating from New York to Hawaii, the head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said.
So far this year, the agency has uncovered 19 Ponzi schemes, which depend on an influx of new capital instead of investment profits to pay existing investors.
That compares with just 13 for all of 2008.
"Because of the economy, people are seeking redemptions more than they ever have and that's making a lot of these scams go belly up," Bart Chilton, commissioner of the Washington-based Commodity Futures Trading Commission, said in a telephone interview.
In the last month, his agency has pursued investment fraud in Pennsylvania, New York, North Carolina, Iowa, Idaho, Texas and Hawaii.
Chilton called the problem "rampant Ponzimonium" and "Ponzipalooza" - a play on the word "Lollapalooza," an American music festival featuring a long list of acts.
Many of the financial scams are small but grew fast to support lavish lifestyles, like the suspected $40 million, five-year Ponzi scheme that came to light last month when a North Carolina man, Bruce Kramer, committed suicide.
Claiming he was an expert mathematician, Kramer is accused of persuading 79 people to invest in what he said was a foreign currency trading operation, Barki LLC. He promised monthly returns of at least 3% to 4%, the CFTC said.
Instead, he funneled money into a Maserati sports car, a $1 million horse farm and artwork while holding "extravagant" parties, according to a CFTC complaint released on Wednesday.
As the economy soured, Kramer struggled to find new clients to keep the scheme going. In the days before his suicide, his investors demanded their money back and grew suspicious when they couldn't access their own funds, said Chilton.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission shares oversight of financial markets with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which also faces a swelling casebook of Ponzi schemes, including charges against Texas billionaire Allen Stanford, who is accused of bilking investors of $8.8 billion.
Those accused of the scams used the money for cars, boats, clothing, jewelry, homes and ranches, said Chilton. One bought his own island in Belize in Central America, he added.
"Some are easier to catch now because people are more vigilant than they have been," he said.

We’re angry, anxious, disappointed and concerned

2009-03-19T19:53:00.002-04:00

With Michael A. Kessler private investigator, a former investigations chief for the state’s Department of Tax and Finance and former director of its Revenue Crimes Bureau.

Early last year while Kessler working for a client to determine the agape risk factor, he concluded mid 2008 that this was a ponzi and took the time to protect his client and notify several governmental agencies about his findings.
Surely he could have done more to alert the public.
With the media and internet available to us all surely something could have been done.

With the government
At that time, Kessler notified the Suffolk County Police who referred him to the Suffolk County District Attorney, who told him they didn’t have jurisdiction over the matter and referred him to the New York State Attorney General’s office, which ignored it.

And how about :
Thomas J. SpotaSuffolk County District Attorneywho’s Executive Offices are in Hauppauge, NY (practically neighbors to the agape main office)
Quote from The District Attorney website :

My office is the public’s advocate in the criminal justice system and the first line of defense against those whose acts and conduct serve notice on society that they are not fit to live amongst us.

In addition to safeguarding the physical security of people, the District Attorney must also ensure that citizens are not the victims of economic injustice

I also promise the people of Suffolk County that my office will be proactive in investigating consumer frauds as well as prosecuting any business that engages in false advertising, bait and switch tactics or any other scams intent on defrauding the public.

This is the responsibility I now accept as your District Attorney. In every word and deed I’ll strive to prove worthy of the trust and confidence that you have reposed in me.

So according to this DA’s office …they didn’t have jurisdiction over the matter?
What happened to first line of defense, ensuring that citizens are not the victims of economic injustice and being proactive in investigating fraud as well as any business that engages in false advertising, bait and switch tactics or any other scams intent on defrauding the public.

Interesting that the DA’s office would “not want to get involved” but would be the first in line to push potential witnesses to a crime that didn’t directly affect them to “get involved”.

Now lets talk about the attorney generals office.
How does the Attorney Generals office ignore the potential injury to so many victims?
Under thier umbrella operates:
The Consumer Frauds Bureau"
This Bureau, prosecutes businesses and individuals engaged in fraudulent, misleading, deceptive or illegal practices. As part of its mission, the Bureau provides information to consumers and to ensure a fair market place.
The Investor Protection Bureau
The Investor Protection Bureau is charged with enforcing the Martin Act. The Martin Act gives the Attorney General power to conduct public and private investigations of suspected fraud.
Their motto
The New York State Office of the Attorney General is committed to protecting the rights of victims of crime and abuse.

Where were they when Kessler notified them in august?
Did you know that the trustees office noted in federal court last week that over the past 12 months approx 20 million dollars a month was invested, right up to January 2009?

With the trustees office
Where are they in this investigation?
Why don’t they meet with a small group of us to work together on hidden assets? We have a group of over 300 victims writing or calling us every day with information. Isn’t there a small possibility that we might have some insight into the dealing of cosmo and his court jesters?
With the victims:
Too many of them are waiting for someone to save them. A handful of them are actively attending meetings, interviews and researching possible avenues of recovery.
The rest should be writing letters, signing petitions, calling for state and local government to assist us.
You know what I think; President Obama should be getting 5000 letters a week from our group asking him to bail us out.
We will promise not to spend it on parties.

My concern:
We aren’t the madoff victims. We don’t have the same access to the powers that protect.
We don’t make significant contributions to political campaigns.
We don’t rub elbows with the “upper class”. We aren’t celebrities, or warren buffets.
We are simple hardworking middle class America.
We are soldiers in, Iraq, police and firemen serving the public at risk to our very lives, Widows, single parents , mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers all working to support our families in the worst economic time in this generations history.

But, No one is listening, no one cares… Until it happens to them.

Help from the IRS...

2009-03-18T08:04:00.002-04:00

By LYNNLEY BROWNING
Published: March 17, 2009

The Internal Revenue Service said Tuesday that it would allow victims of Bernard L. Madoff’s huge investment fraud to claim a tax deduction related to the bulk of their losses.
Skip to next paragraph
Douglas Shulman, the I.R.S. chief, said the Madoff case “raises a staggering array of tax issues.”
Related

The plan represents the first time the I.R.S. has come forward with a policy on the treatment of Mr. Madoff’s victims, who include Elie Wiesel, the Holocaust survivor and Nobel laureate; Steven Spielberg, the filmmaker; and John Malkovich, the actor, among scores of other individuals, charities and universities.
The matter has been a point of debate and anxiety for the victims and their accountants, given the lack of clarity in the tax code about how it should be handled.

The plan, which applies to victims of all Ponzi schemes, is likely to provide major relief to victims of Mr. Madoff, who pleaded guilty last week to orchestrating what prosecutors say is the largest Ponzi scheme — one that exceeded $50 billion and involved 13,000 investors. It is also likely to provide clarity for victims as they prepare to file federal income tax returns by the April 15 deadline, and help the I.R.S. avoid an unwanted avalanche of amended returns from victims.
The commissioner of internal revenue, Douglas Shulman, announced the plan in testimony before a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Ponzi schemes, tax evasion and offshore banking fraud. Later, in a briefing, Mr. Shulman said that “clearly the Madoff case is tragic as so many people were victims of this fraud, but the case also raises a staggering array of tax issues.”
An I.R.S. official, who declined to be quoted by name under the rules of the briefing, would not say whether the deduction would apply to investors in the Stanford Financial Group, the Texas company accused by the Securities and Exchange Commission last month of orchestrating an $8 billion fraud. “To have a theft loss, there needs to be some evidence of criminal theft,” the official said, declining to comment further.

The I.R.S. plan eases rules governing theft losses, which are deductions claimed by investors who are cheated by their advisers and others in Ponzi schemes and similar frauds.
Under the plan, the I.R.S. will allow investors, including those who are suing Mr. Madoff, to claim a theft loss equal to 95 percent of their investments, minus any withdrawals, reinvested gains and payouts from the Securities Investor Protection Corporation, the government-chartered fund formed to help protect investors in failed brokerage firms. Investors who are suing third-parties involved in such a scheme, and who, as a result, may have some prospect of recovery, are permitted to claim a deduction equal to 75 percent of their investments.
The plan appears generous in that it allows investors to take a deduction against their total ordinary income on investment gains they were told they had received from Mr. Madoff but that turned out to be fictitious.

Current theft loss rules typically allow losses to be carried back three years and forward 20 years, but the I.R.S plan will allow carrybacks of as many as five years, generally if the loss is for a small business with gross annual receipts of less than $15 million. Under the plan, investors must claim the loss as having happened in 2008.

For people who invested with Mr. Madoff through retirement plans, like 401(k)s and individual retirement plans, the picture is more complicated because such money was already invested on a tax-free basis. Mr. Shulman, the commissioner, said that generally, if the investment was deductible when it was made, such investors “can’t take a loss.”
When computing losses, investors are not permitted to include any taxes they paid on what turned out to be fictitious income.

But the plan affords relief to such investors by allowing them to include fictitious income in their loss computations — a measure that might allow them to recoup taxes paid. It also will keep scammed investors from “owing taxes on income that they never received,” said Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York and a member of the Senate Finance Committee.
People who invested with Mr. Madoff through so-called feeder funds that placed client money with him will also get relief. These funds will be allowed to claim the theft-loss deduction but will allot those losses proportionally to individual investors.

The I.R.S. said it did not know how much money in taxes investors had paid in recent years on Madoff-related income. It said that investors who had already filed 2008 returns should file amended returns claiming the theft-loss deduction.

Thursdays court appearance by trustee

2009-03-17T08:03:00.000-04:00

Judge given details on the victims of alleged scheme
BY ROBERT E. KESSLER robert.kessler@newsday.com
March 13, 2009
Fifty miles from the Manhattan courtroom where Bernard Madoff pleaded guilty to the biggest Ponzi scheme in U.S. history, attorneys in a federal court in Central Islip Thursday described the victims of an alleged Long Island-based Ponzi scheme and their efforts to recover millions of investor dollars.Trustee Kenneth Silverman and attorney Ronald Friedman were in federal bankruptcy court to give an interim report to Judge Dorothy Eisenberg on their progress in identifying investors and recovering the $370 million authorities say investors placed with Nicholas Cosmo and his private bridge loan company Agape World Inc. of Hauppauge.While Madoff had many affluent clients -- who in many cases lost millions of dollars in his multibillion-dollar scheme and were concentrated in a few pockets of wealth around the world -- by contrast, Cosmo's investors were average folks who invested "at most between "$10,000 to $20,000," Friedman said.He added that Cosmo's investors were mainly scattered throughout North America, "very widespread [from] Canada, Puerto Rico, Florida, California, New York."

"A cousin in South Carolina [would call] a sister in Florida," Friedman said, and both would end up investing in Agape.Cosmo has been charged with fraud in a separate federal criminal case and is being held in jail in Nassau County. He has not had to enter a plea and has not had a lawyer representing him in the bankruptcy case.Federal prosecutor Grace Cucchissi declined to comment Thursday. But Silverman and Friedman told Eisenberg that federal prosecutors had been very helpful, allowing them access to the voluminous records that were seized when Cosmo was arrested in January.As a result, the attorneys said they may have identified more than 5,000 people who were potentially entitled to portions of any Agape assets they can locate and sell off.Among assets they said they already plan to auction are the furniture in Agape's offices; $200,000 worth of hardwood flooring used during the 2004 NCAA basketball tournament that was apparently intended for Cosmo's $3.5-million sports complex in Hauppauge, as well as the complex itself; and baseball memorabilia, including baseballs signed by New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter and the Mets' David Wright.Silverman said, however, that any attempt to recoup money relating to two instances in which Cosmo apparently used Agape money improperly would be handled with "great sensitivity."One involved the tens of thousands of dollars spent on turf for a youth ballfield in Seaford; the other a Levittown house Cosmo allegedly helped buy for a woman who had survived cancer.

I know its not much, but...

2009-03-15T22:41:00.004-04:00

If this Agape mess has brought you to the point of desperation and you "must" sell your home or homes, I'd be happy to put your home on the "Long Island MLS system" and waive the listing fee (if you live outside the 5 boro's, nassau and suffolk I cant help you - sorry - But I would gladly try to find you someone in your area that will).
Let me explain:
Typically, listing agents collect 50% of the eventual total commission earned when a selling agent brings a buyer,an offer is presented, accepted, goes to contract and eventually closes.

I cant save you the "selling brokers" fee (50%), because that goes to the other broker, But I'll gladly waive mine.

I hope none of you has to take me up on the offer, but rest assured the offer stands if you need it.
Your brother,
Dom

The Sports Complex

2009-03-14T21:14:00.002-04:00

It's my opinion, that we as a collective group should petition the court for ownership of the facility.

We can create a corporation,

assign shares to victims according to the trustees determination of discovery and recovery distribution plan,

elect a board of directors,

apply for a mortgage (since the property is owned outright with no current mortgage),

take the proceeds and complete the sprinkler system and get the proper permits to open the facility to the public and either run the business like any corporation or sell it for top dollar on the open market (not at auction or fire sale prices).

But thats just my opinion.

Dom

meeting at the sports facility today 1pm...3/14/09

2009-03-14T09:46:00.001-04:00

114 Parkway Dr S

Hauppauge, NY 11788

I'm going to check out the space (outside only).everyone and anyone is welcome to meet me there.

Dom

Summary of the 3/13/09 Trustee Hearing

2009-03-13T10:11:00.002-04:00

Summary of the 3/13/09 Trustee Hearing.
Present at the hearing yesterday were partners Mr. Kenneth P. Silverman and Mr. Ronald J. Friedman of SilvermanAcampora LLP.
The Law Firm of SilvermanAcampora LLP was appointed interim trustee by the courts on Feb 12th.
Joining the team was our good friend Rachael E. Dioguardi. Rachael has been tremendously gracious about answering any questions from our group when needed.

The main purpose of the hearing was for the firm to present to the Bankruptcy court the status of their investigation, findings, details of any activities and some of their short term plans. Mr. Friedman presented a very detailed and methodical account of what they have uncovered in terms of how the Agape business operated. He spoke with clarity and definition about how the Ponzi scheme was started, how the monies came in and how they were paid out.
In this presentation Mr. Friedman made several references to the Brokers and Sub brokers.
According to the Trustees research, the "ponzi" scheme when eventually shut down by Cosmos arrest had reached the point where there was international exposure.

Note: After an attorney has filed a bankruptcy petition, under either Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 (in our case Chapter 7), Agape will be required to attend a meeting of their creditors. This meeting is called a "341 meeting" after the section in the bankruptcy code that requires it.
The meeting is usually scheduled about 20 to 40 days after you file for bankruptcy. Mr. Silverman is looking to have that meeting scheduled sometime around the first week in April. A letter to ALL creditors will be sent out informing them that this meeting is scheduled.

On a good note, It was reported that the trustee will be launching an informative web site where important information will be posted as well as any ongoing updates on the current activities of the office. This is something I believe our group triggered. It was suggested many times to Rachael that the lack of information to the investor is causing unnecessary angst which most likely resulted in hundred of calls to their offices and if they are on the phone answering the same questions over and over again then they are not working on our case.
It was also reported..............

· that in the end (December 2008), Agape was pulling in more than $20 million per month in investor monies. That most investments were in the $30K – $75k but there were a few that were in the high 100's of thousands.

· that Cosmo was the ONLY principal in the Agape business and that he had several employees and commissioned brokers who help run the business with him.It was also noted that the trustee's office has not had the opportunity to speak directly with Cosmo for further investigation. As suggested by the judge, the Trustee office will schedule a meeting with Nick Cosmo after the 341 meeting which is required by law

· by the Trustee that they felt they were getting very good cooperation from the US Attorney's Office and Security and Exchange Commission. By way of a search warrant, the US Attorney's office confiscated the books and records of Agape and the trustee's office has full access to those books and records. Within these books and records were various contact list and employee/broker lists.Mr. Silverman stated that after reviewing all the relevant books and records of Agape and other sources of information to date, that:
- the business was running from 2004 thru 2008
- there were about 5500 creditors/parties of interest 370 million dollars was brought into the company over that time. It was further clarified that the 5,500 creditor number was a total of all investors, trade creditors and vendors who might potential have a stake in the restitution.
It was also clarified that although the number is high, it did include investors who:
- potentially might have already received ALL of their principal back
- some who received partial principal back
- some who received principal and interest and
- some who have not received any money back

· that Agape did indeed provide about 15-17 legitimate loans to 3rd parties from 2006 thru 2008. These loans amounted to about $20 million but they cautioned that each one was in a very different stage of completion and that recovery of these monies to the Agape restitution pool could present a challenge. Some have filed breach of contract against Agape, some are at a complete standstill and some are due to be complete in the coming months.

· that 80 million of the 370 million dollars was traded and lost in commodities future trading thru many
brokerage accounts that are directly traceable. These accounts were either in Agape's name or Nick Cosmo's name directly.

· that SIPC is the first line of defense in the event a brokerage firm fails owing customer's cash and securities that are missing from customer accounts. Nick and or Agape were not a license securities broker so SIPC does not apply.

· The trustee asked the courts assistance in issuing a 362 stay against all current and future lawsuits filed against Agape. STOP!!! is the message of the automatic stay to virtually all of a debtor's creditors, secured and unsecured, when a petition under any chapter of the Bankruptcy Code (e.g. Chapter 7, 11, or 13) has been filed by or against the debtor. The automatic stay, in section 362(a) of the Bankruptcy Code, is the bankruptcy equivalent of a temporary injunction against virtually all creditor activity that may hinder the trustee in his attempt to recovery monies. What was interesting is that D&B, Entrepreneur Mag etc… are NOT directly connected to the Agape ponzi scheme and those suits can not be stopped by the Trustee's office via a 362 injunction.

· that there are some cases where Agape made payments to 3rd parties (Speranza and Cosmo Sports Facility) where there was no mortgage and thus no 1st lien. In these cases it was reported that Agape had a vested interest in these properties and that Agape received either direct ownership or stock in these entities. They believe the sports facility is worth about $3.5 million and that Agape also paid for all the build outs to ensure the property could open.

· that the trustee has requested a motion to invoke Rule 2004 against several entities (Bank of America and Citi Bank). Thru granting the 2004 motion the court orders full examination of an entities books and records.

· that the trustee is investigating a turf baseball field that Agape paid for that is owned by the Levittown, Wantagh, and Seaford sports league.

· that the trustee is investigating the purchase of NY Jets/NY Giants season tickets. The expectation is that the Jets and Giants will provide a full refund.

· that the trustee is investigating the purchase of USGA tickets. The expectation is that the USGA will provide a full refund.

· that creditor body is totally un-secured which means that the only true creditors are the investors themselves.

The trustee is looking to engage an accounting firm to help them with this case. They have one in mind and asked the courts permission to move ahead with retaining them.
After an attorney has filed a bankruptcy petition, under either Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 (in our case Chapter 7), Agape will be required to attend a meeting of their creditors. This meeting is called a "341 meeting" after the section in the bankruptcy code that requires it. 11 U.S.C. 341. The meeting is usually scheduled about 20 to 40 days after you file for bankruptcy. Silverman is looking to have that meeting schedule sometime around the first week in April. A letter to ALL creditors will be sent out informing them that this meeting is scheduled.

Thanks,
Bob and Dom

OPTIONS...

2009-03-12T21:29:00.002-04:00

If Carraige House fails, the trustee sells it for pennies.

If Northway fails, the trustee gets us a bright shiny nickel.

If the sports complex is sold, we might even get a brand new "dime".

Here's a Question:
Why dont we push the trustee to free up the projects and let them be funded with us holding second positions and equity stakes.
These three - or at least two out of three - can actually become a potential future source of income for us.

If they're sold at auction, we won't even feel the difference.

Please dont write me if you disagree. Just ignore me.

But if you agree, write to the Trustee.

Todays hearing at Bankruptcy court 03/12/09

2009-03-12T20:37:00.002-04:00

Mr. Silverman and his team asked the judge for permission to continue on as permanent trustees in the agape world inc case.

The Judge was clear about keeping the trustee on the right track towards the greatest recovery of victims lost assets.
The Interim Trustee and his team outlined their past and present activity, along with their future plans to facilitate a speedy recovery.
They seems to have done considerable research but are nowhere near completion.

The trustee announced that they would be launching a victim friendly website sometime next week for updates and cooperative interaction between his office and the victim group.
It was also suggested by the trustee and agreed upon by the court that Mr Silverman (trustee) would hire some accounting firms to assist in the tracking and analysis of the Agape funds and assets.

I believe strongly that we need to re-emphasize our need to be included in the process of determining the fate of the recovery.
I'd like to see the Trustee appoint a committee of victims to act as liasons between his office and our group.
We can surely be of great assistance in gathering data, information and potential leads for his office to develop at "no cost" to the groups eventual recovery.
Be sure to send the Trustee the questionarre and perhaps a letter stating your position on any of the asset recovery plans.

Topics to consider:
Can and will clawbacks be implemented?
Will the IRS or other government agencies return taxes paid by agape, brokers or investors to the victim pool?
Will the Trustee sue third parties for negligence? Or support the suit by other law firms?

For many weeks we have advocated a sit and wait position.
That time has passed.
Start calling and writing to your Senators, Councilmen, legislators, News media etc.
I would even advocate "letters to the president".
Lets make the country aware of our situation.
Don't make the mistake of thinking that anything will get done without your individual efforts.
It will take every one of us working towards a common goal to see this thing succeed.