Gold-Quest Is A Ponzi Scam, SEC Says

LAS VEGAS (CN) - Gold-Quest International and its three directors - one of whom calls himself Lord David Green - took $28 million from 2,100 people in a Ponzi scheme by promising them 87.5% annual returns, the SEC claims in Federal Court.

Gold-Quest is a Panamanian corporation that claims to be "subject only to the jurisdiction of the Little Shell Nation Indian tribe, purportedly headquartered in North Dakota, and not to the jurisdiction of the United States or Canada," the complaint states. The SEC adds that that's a lot of eyewash, as "the Little Shell Nation is not recognized as a sovereign tribe or nation."

The SEC claims the defendants took multimillion-dollar payments from their victims in a class Ponzi scheme, in which they promised they could deliver 87.5% annual returns on investments "by using proprietary asset management and hedging strategies to trade in foreign currencies. They also tout the safety of investment in Gold-Quest ... although they have received no income from foreign currency trading or any other type of business operations" while they ran the scheme, which is "on the verge of collapse." Nonetheless, the SEC, the defendants continue to gull people out of money, including $40,000 from one sucker, on April 14.

Defendant David M. Greene aka Lord David Greene aka David Green, 54, is believed to be a Canadian citizen, but lives in Las Vegas. Defendants John Jenkins, 62, and Michael McGee, 52, also live in Las Vegas.

The SEC wants their assets frozen, disgorgement and penalties.

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