Atlanta News Article Wed p.m. June 10

[Adam Montana]

 Now they may be in the hot seat via the reserves, in other words, they did not have the reserves/or had no reserves as the claimed they had.  That could put them under the shadow of a Ponzi scheme/money laundering offense.

 

The "reserves" is a possibility here... I know I looked into it at one time*, and there are laws regarding that type of business activity that make it tricky to be compliant across different states... so there's a chance that they were in violation of some kind of lending or pawn type of laws via their reserve/layaway program.

 

I don't think that would justify this scale of raid, though. 

 

Another point on the Reserve program - with the Dinar being a very lightly regulated industry, I don't think there's any kind of law that would mandate they hold physical dinar to cover the reserves they are selling. Think "fractional banking". But again, when you're doing this kind of business across state lines, things get tricky.

 

I've never been a fan of ANY reserve program, and this is a good example of why I've always warned people to stay away from them. Whether Sterling and Co are found guilty of anything, they are not going to be in the position to fill their reserve orders for some time now, and everyone who paid them a deposit is probably screwed on that money... through no fault of Sterling's, at this point. When the ABC boys seize your assets and freeze your accounts, you have no way to defend yourself or pay your bills.

 

For their sake, I certainly hope they have money offshore so they can fight to clear their name, if they are indeed innocent of any wrong doing.

 

I've been doing some research on the matter and from what I have found, the people at Sterling have done a lot for the community and I can't find anything wrong with how they have treated their customers.

 

Time will tell what is really going on here.

 

 

(* FYI, I chose not to get into the dinar selling or reserving business as I feel it would be a conflict of interest in my position. My role here is demanding enough without adding that into the mix.)

[SgtFuryUSCZ]

***///

 

Thank you for droppin' in, AM....  

with this madness unfolding, heads rolling and mis/dis information running rampant,

it's always a pleasure to hear from a cool head ! 

[Zigs]

I would agree Adam, there is, in my opinion more to their focus on Sterling than meets the eye.  We will see, in the meantime we wait.

[Jaygo]

The "reserves" is a possibility here... I know I looked into it at one time*, and there are laws regarding that type of business activity that make it tricky to be compliant across different states... so there's a chance that they were in violation of some kind of lending or pawn type of laws via their reserve/layaway program.

I don't think that would justify this scale of raid, though.

Another point on the Reserve program - with the Dinar being a very lightly regulated industry, I don't think there's any kind of law that would mandate they hold physical dinar to cover the reserves they are selling. Think "fractional banking". But again, when you're doing this kind of business across state lines, things get tricky.

I've never been a fan of ANY reserve program, and this is a good example of why I've always warned people to stay away from them. Whether Sterling and Co are found guilty of anything, they are not going to be in the position to fill their reserve orders for some time now, and everyone who paid them a deposit is probably screwed on that money... through no fault of Sterling's, at this point. When the ABC boys seize your assets and freeze your accounts, you have no way to defend yourself or pay your bills.

For their sake, I certainly hope they have money offshore so they can fight to clear their name, if they are indeed innocent of any wrong doing.

I've been doing some research on the matter and from what I have found, the people at Sterling have done a lot for the community and I can't find anything wrong with how they have treated their customers.

Time will tell what is really going on here.

(* FYI, I chose not to get into the dinar selling or reserving business as I feel it would be a conflict of interest in my position. My role here is demanding enough without adding that into the mix.)

I have a buddy that has 2 reserves with them. Is there anything he can or should do at this point? They are obviously not returning his emails so I don't know what too tell him. It sucks because I am the one that introduced him to the IQD.

[justchecking123]

if the owners wouldn't have said things akin to "we know it's not going to revalue" etc. And paid their taxes theyda been fine. The report made them out to be jerks, someone got uptight/upset about it being a scam and exposed the emails to the FBI. Sell the currency and just do business correctly..

and keep your mouth shut.

[Adam Montana]

I have a buddy that has 2 reserves with them. Is there anything he can or should do at this point? They are obviously not returning his emails so I don't know what too tell him. It sucks because I am the one that introduced him to the IQD.

 

Unfortunately I don't think there's anything he can do at this point, other than hope for the best. I've said it from the beginning - I don't like ANY reserve program. In this situation, Sterling is tied up and they can't honor any commitments. If we have an RV tomorrow, that won't change.

 

This is a tough pill for a lot of people to swallow, but it is what it is and there isn't any way around it. Sorry, Charlie, but your friend Adam told you not to do the "layaway" deal.

 

 

if the owners wouldn't have said things akin to "we know it's not going to revalue" etc. And paid their taxes theyda been fine. The report made them out to be jerks, someone got uptight/upset about it being a scam and exposed the emails to the FBI. Sell the currency and just do business correctly..

and keep your mouth shut.

 

If Sterling made statements asserting that the dinar would revalue with anything resembling a guarantee, then yep! They might be looking at a tough battle.

 

I'm still waiting on some more details on this case. If this was a "dinar" issue, I would think ALL of the dealers would have been raided. Since this is just one dealer that got raided, I have to assume it's something to do with this ONE dealer's situation.

 

[ronberta]

thanks to all who have posted here , our site has the best levelheaded people , really love this site , we all want this thing to pass but not pass us by !!  we are all tired of waiting but with all the devistation in Iraq after the war and now Isis too , most of us don't realize how long it takes to rebuild and they don't have the knowledge of construction we have and the materials as well !! we all needed this yesterday , lets just hope its SOON !!!  thanks again my friends for your kind words !!

[Jaygo]

Unfortunately I don't think there's anything he can do at this point, other than hope for the best. I've said it from the beginning - I don't like ANY reserve program. In this situation, Sterling is tied up and they can't honor any commitments. If we have an RV tomorrow, that won't change.

This is a tough pill for a lot of people to swallow, but it is what it is and there isn't any way around it. Sorry, Charlie, but your friend Adam told you not to do the "layaway" deal.

If Sterling made statements asserting that the dinar would revalue with anything resembling a guarantee, then yep! They might be looking at a tough battle.

I'm still waiting on some more details on this case. If this was a "dinar" issue, I would think ALL of the dealers would have been raided. Since this is just one dealer that got raided, I have to assume it's something to do with this ONE dealer's situation.

Here is the email they sent him this morning:

Dear Customer,

We write because we know you have one or more open orders with Sterling Currency Group. We want to address that issue with you.

We were completely surprised by the recent federal complaint and the June 3, 2015 interruption to our business. Unfortunately, that interruption has made it currently impossible for us to fulfill your outstanding order(s).

We are working with the federal government to re-acquire what we need to fulfill all outstanding orders, including yours, and complete our obligations to you and other customers.

Can you please confirm, by responding to this email, that you wish for us to fulfill your outstanding order? We believe that confirmation from you will help us during our discussions to re-acquire what we need to fulfill your order if possible. Please include in your response your Order Number.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Please reply on support@sterlingcurrencygroup.com

I guess it's positive they sent him an email. Doesn't mean much though in their current situation.

[Zigs]

This is good news.  Well it does sound like they will fulfill their obligation, and I assume they will send them dinar they have put aside in the layaway.  Yes?

[Zigs]

Adam makes a good point which I think everyone has noted, if it was the dinar, and if the FBI are looking to shut Sterling down because of a scam, why aren't they raiding other dinar companies?  Perhaps they had enough glue in the money laundering and emails to find other activities Sterling might be involved in.  There are a couple of things they would put so much effort in, one being tax evasion, or suspicion of it.

[Jaygo]

This is good news. Well it does sound like they will fulfill their obligation, and I assume they will send them dinar they have put aside in the layaway. Yes?

Sounds like they will fulfill the order IF the FBI lets them.

[Zigs]

This was on the front of Sterlings website, a response letter, you all probably have read it, but I will post it.

Given our long history of proactively working with federal authorities, Sterling Currency Group was completely surprised by the recent federal complaint and strongly denies any allegations of wrong doing. 

Sterling has been in business as a currency exchange company since 2004 and in that time has conducted millions of exchange service transactions with nearly 200,000 customers, all the while maintaining an "A" rating with the Better Business Bureau. 

Sterling has spent millions of dollars and logged thousands of hours to ensure complete compliance with statutes and regulations in all 50 states as well as with the federal government. Additionally, the company has also proactively sought independent audits and inspections since 2007. It has requested and participated in meetings with officials from multiple federal agencies to ensure all actions of the company are above reproach.

The company has been registered with the United States Department of the Treasury, through the Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) bureau, as a Money Service Business since 2006, and thus has participated in on-site examinations by FinCEN on several occasions. 

Despite the statements in the civil complaint, every single business related to the owners of Sterling Currency Group is legitimate and is compliant with all state and federal laws. 

Finally, we believe the record will show that representations made about internal communications between employees at Sterling in the civil complaint filed by the federal government are inaccurate and taken out of context.

[DWitte]

I bought mine from a bank....are they going to be shut down too?

Was that Bank in Gotham City guarded by Batman and Cat Woman???

[Zigs]

An article of interest,  http://www.13wmaz.com/story/news/crime/2015/06/11/feds-go-after-atlanta-company-selling-iraqi-dinar/71095638/

 

So the FBI and IRS are investigating together, this makes sense as to why Sterling is being singled out.

"The co-owners of the company, Tyson Rhame, James Shaw and Carol Laurette Shaw, do not face criminal charges at this time, but the federal filing makes it clear they are the focus of a criminal investigation by the FBI and IRS."

[KristiD]

http://www.docdroid.net/132iq/doc-2-6-9-2015-amended-complaint.pdf.html
 

On pages 19-20 of the above Amended Complaint, it clearly states that there are 2 categories of unlawful business practices.  These are:  1) 

Illegally using an RV promoter (TerryK) to disseminate false information and 2)  Illegally making false representations and promises to their customers.

 

Then, starting on page 29, the Complaint details the Money Laundering Scheme where Sterling used various entities and accounts to diffuse their sales proceeds through various accounts and different entities.  While I have no financial licenses of any kind, I have had different real estate licenses - and I know for real estate transactions - it's a HUGE "no no" to commingle funds (that is, merge monies that come from different accounts), so I can only assume it's even a much bigger "no no" for financial companies to do this.  And apparently this is what Sterling did.

 

Lastly, regarding the reserve accounts.  I sold some dinars a few months ago to a smaller, registered currency dealer.  At that time, they had an "invitation only" reserve program (although now it's open to anyone with much less attractive terms) where you could layaway up to 1 million dinar for 90 days for only $650.  I had asked them back then, if I could post the password on DinarVets and they said "no" - BECAUSE they legally are required - as a currency dealer - to have a specific amount of currency on hand to back up those reserve orders and they didn't have enough currency on hand to legally support a high volume of reserve orders.  So, while it's not listed in the Complaint, I do think this could be another area of trouble for Sterling.

[Zigs]

Very Interesting Kristi, thank you.

[justchecking123]

Bell told the FBI in May he knew it wouldn't revalue...before the raid. Interesting.

[Texas1]

"Atlanta defense attorney Bob Brennan, a former federal prosecutor working financial fraud cases, says lawsuits to take assets often come before an indictment and criminal charges. “There’s an active criminal investigation, but no one’s been charged with a crime yet,” said Brennan."

 

 

 

This is why you want to have an IBC with an offshore bank account.  Otherwise you won't have any money to pay your attorney to get your stuff back.

 

.

I dont think having an IBC is gonna make us feel better. I too like root beer but prefer A&W, and after reading this I think a real beer might make us all feel better, not an IBC root beer

[DinarThug]

I too like root beer but prefer A&W

 

 

                 

[stealthwarrior]

I don't care what the government wants or doesn't want. F the government!

[DWitte]

I don't care what the government wants or doesn't want. F the government!

I like the way you think Mr. Stealthwarrior.  Excellent post.  Short, concise and to the point.  It would be difficult to misunderstand.  Just the way I like it also.

[SnowGlobe7]

Was that Bank in Gotham City guarded by Batman and Cat Woman???

 

Wait...I think you were the bank manager/wealth manager that talked me into buying them!!!!!!!!!

[countryroads]

This is one that I am going to just sit and see how it plays out. It could go one of several ways, so rather than me going to the mountain, I am going to let the mountain come to me. 

[DWitte]

Wait...I think you were the bank manager/wealth manager that talked me into buying them!!!!!!!!!

Always trying to pass the blame.  Forty years in construction.  If I ever wore a suit to work it would choke me on the first day.

 

 

Didn't want to say "choke me to death" since I'm sure you would have liked that.

[429]

I had several dealings with Sterling/DinarBanker some time ago when we all had to jump on the bandwagon tonight! They did charge a hefty premium but that was on me because I paid it.

Now I do remember them having a buy-back program that was going to be in secret locations in several airports including Hartsfield-Jackson when the "event" happened but haven't really looked at them in several years.

Heck, I gave all that pretty currency away sometime ago so I wouldn't be dealing with them at some secret location anyway.

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