Chapman & Associates, LLC Commencing Proceedings on Behalf of Victims of the Resort Holdings / Universal Lease Fraud

In December 2006, the FBI arrested Resort Holdings and Yucatan Resorts owner Michael Eugene Kelly. He was charged with orchestrating a massive nationwide fraud estimated at about $400 million, with hundreds of victims. The victims, many of them senior citizens, were sold "Universal Lease Programs" that were supposed to give them a timeshare in one of Kelly's hotels and provide return payments of 9-11% annually.

In reality, the Universal Lease Programs were instruments of a Ponzi Scheme. Mr. Kelly used the investors' money to finance lavish lifestyle that included mansions in Cancun, luxury yachts, sports cars and a private jet.

Securities regulators in several states have filed Cease and Desist Orders against Michael E. Kelly and his companies, Resort Holdings and Yucatan Resorts.

To market his scam, Kelly enlisted the help of financial professionals throughout the United States. By using newspaper ads and the word of mouth, such agents lured many victims with the promise of high, "guaranteed" returns, and convinced them to invest in Kelly's Universal Leases.

One of Mike Kelly's agents was Steven Homewood, a former insurance agent. Homewood marketed Kelly's Universal Leases to numerous Illinois investors in the Chicago area. Homewood targeted especially senior citizens and ran ads in retiree magazines, offering "guaranteed" investments with rates of return between 9-11%. Many of the victims invested their life savings and IRAs in the fraudulent timeshares.

After extensive investigation, Chapman & Associates, LLC has commenced proceedings on behalf of investors who purchased Universal Leases in Yucatan Resorts and/or Resort Holdings, to help them recover their losses.

If you were sold Universal Leases / timeshares in Resort Holdings, Yucatan Resorts, or any other of Mike Kelly's companies, contact us at the toll-free number 1-866-220-3300, or by email at jchapman@jscltd.com. If the agent who sold you Universal Leases was Steve Homewood, contact us immediately.

Toledo Broker Charged in Investment Scam

Former Wachovia Securities broker, William A. Sirls of was charged with money laundering and mail fraud. It is alleged that Sirls bilked more than 45 people out of $17-45 million. Sirls was the manager of the Wachovia office on West Syvania Avenue near Talmadge Road in West Toledo. Read more. It is further alleged that Sirls fraudulently solicited investments in the purported profit from nonexistent "busted trades" and "builder discounted real estate." Read More. John S. Chapman & Associates is currently investigating avenues of recovery for victims of this scam.

Sam Morocco Participates in Schneider "promissory note" scheme

Samuel Morocco, an investment advisor from the Canton, Ohio area illegally sold unregistered "promissory notes" to investors for Joanne Schneider, according to an order issued by the the Ohio Division of Securities. The promissory notes, which were marketed as "safe" and "guaranteed" to produce an 18% monthly return for investors, were actually worthless. Morocco's customers lost everything when Schneider's ponzi scheme collapsed in early 2005. A group of Morocco investor have now joined together and are demanding compensation for their losses from two national stock brokerage firms. Read More. The investors are claiming these firms failed in their duty to protect the public by carefully supervising and monitoring Morocco's sales activities. The investor group is represented by John S. Chapman & Associates.

Nevin Gillette Scams Sauk Valley Investors

From 1999 through 2006, Rock Falls, Illinois broker Nevin Gillette scammed about 40 Sauk Valley investors out of more than $8 million. Gillette sold investors interests in the "GIC Fund." GIC stands for "Guaranteed Investment Contracts." Gillette sold GIC Funds through his company, Executive Marketing Services of Northern Illinois. On August 25, 2006, a Temporary Order of Prohibition was entered by the Illinois Securities Department against Gillette. Read More. John S. Chapman & Associates is currently investigating avenues of recovery for victims of this scam.

Bennie Pendley Investment Fraud

Bennie Pendley cheated and defrauded hundreds of investors throughout North and South Carolina. Most of Pendley's victims are from the Statesville, North Carolina area, where Pendley had an office. Pendley told customers "I'm the wife of a preacher and the daughter of a preacher. If you can't trust me, who can you trust?" Pendley abused her customers' trust. She was paid huge sales commissions for selling them fraudulent "business opportunities, such as "ETS" and "Select" payphones, and "Waterstones" internet kiosks. Pendley promised her customers, many of whom were senior citizens, that an investment in these programs was guaranteed to be safe and to produce a high rate of return. Pendley's claims were very appealing to her customers, many of whom were senior citizens. Now many of them have lost their life savings and are scrambling to make ends meet. Read more. A group of Pendley victims has banded together to recover the money they lost. They have hired the The Chapman law firm to go after Pendley's brokerage firm, claiming it failed in its duty to detect Pendley's fraudulent and illegal sales of investments. In November, 2006, The Chapman law firm helped a group of residents of North and South Carolina win an award of more than one million dollars to compensate them for money they lost under similar circumstances. Read more.