THE FBI are on the hunt for a Glasgow-born pensioner accused of running a precious metals fraud scheme in the US.
James Ward was added to the bureau’s most wanted list last week.
According to the FBI, the 65-year-old “operated an entity called Kastle & Hawk, Inc, which solicited investors to buy previous metals such as gold, silver, and platinum on a leveraged basis.”
But instead of investing the approximately $400,000 he managed to secure from at least 12 investors, he “allegedly used the money for his own personal use and benefit” and “no precious metals were ever acquired for investors.”
He’s been on the run for the last six years, and the FBI think he could be heading back to Scotland.
The FBI lists Ward’s occupation as “securities broker”. It also describes him as blond but adds that he “may change his hair colour frequently”.
In their warrant, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said Kastle & Hawke charged customers an initial deposit equal to 23% of the full cost of the metals, after which the company would then arrange loans for financing the remaining 77% and “store customers’ metals in a secure depository.”
In reality, the defendants never held or acquired any metals for customers and charged customers interest on non-existent loans.
Between at least August 2007 and November 2010, the Ward and his co-defendant Nathaniel R. Walker allegedly misappropriated that money to fund personal expenses including “car-related expenses, rent payments, restaurant meals and food at a grocery store chain,” using false account statements and transaction confirmations to mislead their customers.
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