U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

Bay Area Trading Firm Falls Victim to Online Hijacking Scam, Costing Customers Millions

​A Lativan man is being accused of a massive online hijacking scheme where he manipulated stock prices, making more than $850,000 in illegal profits from trading firms, including one in San Mateo. The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit in San Francisco this week, claiming Igors Nag ... More >>

Pearlasia Gamboa Named 'Notable Fraudster' by Nigerian Magazine

​Given the now-cliched form of e-mail fraud known as "The Nigerian Prince" -- someone claiming to be African royalty sends you a message out of the blue offering to entrust you with a fortune in exchange for some personal information, such as your bank account number -- it seems odd that a Nigeria ... More >>

Fantasy Island: The Strange Tale of Alleged Fraudster Pearlasia Gamboa

Unpacking Pandora's 'Risk Factors'

​Every time a company offers stock to the public, it must submit a form called an S-1 to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The form must provide a prospectus, which includes financial information as well as the risks potential investors would face in buying shares. Because lawyers and accoun ... More >>

The Mad Quest of Mr. Wu

How a wannabe banking magnate from S.F. built an empire on deception.

"Inside Job": Charles Ferguson's meltdown doc will make you seethe

"Wall Street 2": Oliver Stone lets the bad guys off easy

S.F. Green Business Program rewards polluter

Department of Can't Say We Didn't Warn Ya: Dicey Investment Offer Advertised in Chronicle Goes Bad

​On Friday, July 17 The Snitch warned readers that an advertisement published in the previous Sunday's San Francisco Chronicle seemed intended to lure mom-and-pop investors into possible financial disaster.News headlines Monday suggest our warning was valid. Advanta Corp., a bank holding company s ... More >>

No Justice

Despite Obama's promises of change, corporate crooks are still going unpunished for their roles in the financial collapse.

Stimulus Wreckage

Despite having been accused of deceptive business practices by the attorney general, former students, and ex-employees, Corinthian Colleges are getting millions in federal stimulus dollars.

Law Catching up to 'Son of Super Swindler' Just as Infamous Dad Gets Out of Prison

​Paul Noe II, the apparent mastermind of a scheme the California Attorney General says was designed to bilk thousands of defaulted homeowners out of their remaining savings, appears even closer to having to suffer for his deeds. "He's such an ass. I would love to see these people jailed, because t ... More >>

Advanta Corp.'s dubious investment offer in the Chronicle

Apparent Ponzi Scheme Advertised in Sunday Chronicle, Fraud Investigator Says

Banking experts qualify the service being hawked in this San Francisco Chronicle ad as a potential Ponzi schemeReaders skimming the ads on page D-2 of the Sunday, July 12 San Francisco Chronicle might have been surprised to see an extraordinary investment opportunity in a quarter-page advertisement ... More >>

All that Glitters: Foster City Woman Slapped with SEC Suit Over Alleged Gold Mine Stock Scam

Don't buy itAll you underpaid and unemployed folks trying to get by in today's bad economy can file this one away in the "Why Didn't I Think of That?" category. Don't worry -- most of us wouldn't believe we could successfully sell loads of fake stock in a non-existent Filipino gold-mining corporatio ... More >>

Surprise, Surprise, Surprise: Holes Emerging in Woman's Zodiac Killer Claim

Questions arise...The carnival-like Wednesday press conference in which Deborah Perez claimed her father was the Zodiac Killer -- alongside her lawyer Kevin McLean (disbarred this month), other lawyer William DeGarmo (who paid out $54,332 in a Securities and Exchange Commission settlement regarding ... More >>

Bonfire of the Profanities

An investigator who exposed dishonest savings and loan regulators in the '80s re-encounters an old rival in the latest banking crisis.

Local Madoff Victim Speaks Out

Although Bernie Madoff's $50 billion Ponzi scheme engulfed its share of wealthy East Coasters, a comprehensive list of victims made public today as part of a U.S. Bankruptcy Court filing revealed 43 Madoff accounts attached to San Francisco addresses. Some belonged to investment firm ... More >>

Free association economy

Book Events in September

For Sale - KRON-TV Channel 4, $800 Million, Fixer-Upper

Judge Rejects $19 Ionic Breeze Class-Action Settlement: SF's Sharper Image Gets Blurry Financial Outlook

iPhoney iDol?

SF Weekly iTeam investigates: Atheist best-sellers and Steve Jobsism

Untouchable

Half of U.S. Attorney Kevin Ryan's lawyers have quit. But as he remains bunkered against criticism, who's minding the shop?

Cops Who SPY

Filling the Civic Gap

Meet Donald Fisher, the private billionaire with unprecedented sway over ordinary San Franciscans' lives

Political Affairs

When authors stand up for a cause, the unexpected happens

Muscle & Fitness for Office

Did a multimillion-dollar deal with bodybuilding magazines sour you on the Schwarzenegger? Take quiz, find out.

Darth Vega to the Rescue

New Chronicle Publisher Frank Vega has been cast as a villain, but he may be just what the Hearst empire needs to defeat the dark forces of the new economy

The Parmalat Syndrome

How U.S. financial firms -- including Bank of America -- allegedly abetted a multibillion-dollar fraud, and how U.S. regulators are letting them get away with it

Gutted

How the nursing home industry, organized labor, John Burton, and Arnold Schwarzenegger are cooperating to guarantee giant health care corporations huge profits -- using billions of your dollars

Looking Inside INdTV

Al Gore and ex-Stanford prof Joel Hyatt say their S.F.-based cable news channel for twentysomethings won't be ideological. But do the Democratic moneymen behind the venture know that?

Puppy Love

Dogster hosts photos and profiles of almost 20,000 canines

Rolling in War Bucks

How the state public employees' retirement system and the politically connected Carlyle Group profit from defense

Son of Super Swindler

The unsettling link between a group of firms that sell financial planning services to elderly Californians and one of the most notorious con men in U.S. history

Business as Usual

The problem today isn't shoddy corporate ethics -- capitalism was built on corruption. The problem is America's bias against government regulation.

Sleeping With the Auditor

Why San Francisco and its outside accountants are a little too close for comfort -- and how it could threaten the city's financial integrity

The Ghost of Scandals Past

Previous "creative financing" debacles should haunt city officials who've approved a risky $1 billion lease of Muni streetcars

Tail of Two Races

Matt Gonzalez should be backed in District 5 runoff; George W. Bush should be ashamed for considering a coup

Coulda Been a Contender

Scrounging for cash in the strangest places, the creators of the karate-themed Adventures With Kanga Roddy children's TV series infuriate investors

From Schlubs to Sharks

Letters

Salon.con

The fanciful stylings of an Internet stock offering

Eat This Logo, Sucker

ValueStar wants businesses to pay for the privilege of sporting its seal of approval. Is it a public service, or a shakedown?

Dog Bites

What's the Harman a Big Checchi Account?

Conflict of interest and the Democrats' wealthy wannabe governors

Falling for the Gap

San Francisco gave away the store to help The Gap Inc. and its politically connected chairman build an upscale headquarters with a bay view. But more than $18 million in subsidies apparently won't bring the city anything it couldn't have had free.

Under His Skin

Dermatologist Michael Franzblau goes national with claims that a Marin newspaper ran an anti-Semitic column about him

Letters

System Crashing

Buying Wired magazine may align you with the digerati, but buying its stock might sink you into poverty