Post by Okwes on Sept 23, 2006 11:28:55 GMT -5
Scams ranging from Canada to Oklahoma?
Man charged with defrauding investors sympathetic to Indian causes
Sam Lewin 9/13/2006
www.nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=81\
74
<http://www.nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=8\
174>
A man that ran a business that he billed "as the first public
company in the United States majority-owned by Native Americans" has
been smacked with securities fraud complaints.
Officials with the Securities and Exchange Commission say Deni G.
Leonard, the self-described chief executive officer of the Indigenous
Global Development Corporation, raised more than $2 million from
investors "through a series of materially false and misleading
statements about [the company's] purported natural gas
business."
The commission's Helane L. Morrison says Leonard falsely claimed his
company had lucrative deals pending with Canadian tribes to purchase
natural gas for resale in the United States at a significant profit. In
2004, Leonard allegedly fooled investors into believing he had an
agreement with a First Nations corporation to sell 90 billion cubic feet
of natural gas from Canada to the United States in the next fiscal year.
The company, according to the securities commission, never had any gas
to sell. Two years later, commission investigators charge, Leonard lied
about having obtained a $100 million investment for his company's
energy programs.
Morrison says Leonard was able to dupe well-meaning people seeking to
help American Indians.
"Leonard preyed on investors' social conscience by touting IGDC
as a promise of a better future for Native Americans. Investors should
be wary of spectacular claims by microcap companies because they often
may be too good to be true," Morrison said.
In addition to allegedly swindling investors, Leonard was also
media-savvy, sending out numerous press releases and managing to get
positive press coverage for himself and his company.
In 2001 KQED, a public broadcasting station based in Northern
California, bestowed upon Leonard the title of "American Indian
Hero." The accompanying profile described Leonard as a member of the
Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon and said
he has consulted with the U.S. Department of the Interior, the U.S.
Department of Education, the National Institute of Education, three
research and developmental laboratories, the U.S. Commission on Civil
Rights, as well as working as an advisor to the White House on Consumer
Affairs.
An October of 2004 article in the Native American Times contains a quote
from Leonard hyping a new diabetes vaccine that his company is
supposedly preparing to launch.
"We believe this will be the first of many healthcare products we can
provide to impact tribal health issues," Leonard says.
The article, using information attributed to Leonard, states that the
corporation's parent company is a financial holding company that
operates under the jurisdiction of the Navajo Nation.
All this time, according to the securities commission, the corporation
was "teetering on the brink of extinction. It never earned any
revenue, had no significant assets, and was dependent on funding from
investors. It is now essentially defunct."
Information about the Indigenous Global Development Corporation can
still be found online, and putting its name into a search engine reveals
several business profiles from websites affiliated with Yahoo and other
legitimate groups. Almost all contain the assertion that the business is
the first public company majority owned by Native Americans. A phone
number listed as a contact for the company is no longer in service.
The commission's complaint against Deni was filed in federal court
in San Francisco-the city with Deni's company was based- and seeks
penalties and fines as well as an injunction preventing Deni from ever
again serving as an officer or director of a public company.
Because the commission is a civil agency, Leonard will not face any
criminal charges stemming from the complaints.
Man charged with defrauding investors sympathetic to Indian causes
Sam Lewin 9/13/2006
www.nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=81\
74
<http://www.nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=8\
174>
A man that ran a business that he billed "as the first public
company in the United States majority-owned by Native Americans" has
been smacked with securities fraud complaints.
Officials with the Securities and Exchange Commission say Deni G.
Leonard, the self-described chief executive officer of the Indigenous
Global Development Corporation, raised more than $2 million from
investors "through a series of materially false and misleading
statements about [the company's] purported natural gas
business."
The commission's Helane L. Morrison says Leonard falsely claimed his
company had lucrative deals pending with Canadian tribes to purchase
natural gas for resale in the United States at a significant profit. In
2004, Leonard allegedly fooled investors into believing he had an
agreement with a First Nations corporation to sell 90 billion cubic feet
of natural gas from Canada to the United States in the next fiscal year.
The company, according to the securities commission, never had any gas
to sell. Two years later, commission investigators charge, Leonard lied
about having obtained a $100 million investment for his company's
energy programs.
Morrison says Leonard was able to dupe well-meaning people seeking to
help American Indians.
"Leonard preyed on investors' social conscience by touting IGDC
as a promise of a better future for Native Americans. Investors should
be wary of spectacular claims by microcap companies because they often
may be too good to be true," Morrison said.
In addition to allegedly swindling investors, Leonard was also
media-savvy, sending out numerous press releases and managing to get
positive press coverage for himself and his company.
In 2001 KQED, a public broadcasting station based in Northern
California, bestowed upon Leonard the title of "American Indian
Hero." The accompanying profile described Leonard as a member of the
Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon and said
he has consulted with the U.S. Department of the Interior, the U.S.
Department of Education, the National Institute of Education, three
research and developmental laboratories, the U.S. Commission on Civil
Rights, as well as working as an advisor to the White House on Consumer
Affairs.
An October of 2004 article in the Native American Times contains a quote
from Leonard hyping a new diabetes vaccine that his company is
supposedly preparing to launch.
"We believe this will be the first of many healthcare products we can
provide to impact tribal health issues," Leonard says.
The article, using information attributed to Leonard, states that the
corporation's parent company is a financial holding company that
operates under the jurisdiction of the Navajo Nation.
All this time, according to the securities commission, the corporation
was "teetering on the brink of extinction. It never earned any
revenue, had no significant assets, and was dependent on funding from
investors. It is now essentially defunct."
Information about the Indigenous Global Development Corporation can
still be found online, and putting its name into a search engine reveals
several business profiles from websites affiliated with Yahoo and other
legitimate groups. Almost all contain the assertion that the business is
the first public company majority owned by Native Americans. A phone
number listed as a contact for the company is no longer in service.
The commission's complaint against Deni was filed in federal court
in San Francisco-the city with Deni's company was based- and seeks
penalties and fines as well as an injunction preventing Deni from ever
again serving as an officer or director of a public company.
Because the commission is a civil agency, Leonard will not face any
criminal charges stemming from the complaints.