Investment Scam

We have been advised of an investment scam where fraudsters, posing as an African energy consortium, have presented an investment opportunity to a group of Credit Union members.

The investment involved a renewable energy project (sunlight, wind, rain etc.). Some proof was provided that these investments advisers/consultants were officers of the consortium. The proof appears to have been limited in nature and now looks very suspicious.

The members were sold on the plan and many applied for loans at their Credit Union as well as obtaining cash advances on their credit cards, giving this money to the fraudsters to invest in this renewable energy project. After receiving the investment funds, the fraudsters vanished and the investors were left with only the worthless paper and the outstanding loan at their Credit Union.

Unfortunately, this type of scam is serious because of the dollars involved and the number of people who were duped. The losers in this scheme are the ones who fell for this bogus investment as this type of scam is not covered by any insurance company in the industry.

Because there are so many well executed scams out there these days, we always urge members to thoroughly investigate the legitimacy ofpotential investment endeavors. Keep your eyes open and your guard up and you can avoid potentially severe situations very easily!

If you have any questions, please contact us at (586) 276-3000.