SSH2 Deja Vu All Over Again By:
Bill E. Branscum
Copyright 2010
This is a frustrating business; I'm sure the rest of you who are similarly employed can relate.
Running is a sport that I know nothing about, and have no real interest in it, but in just about two minutes, I determined that Asafa Powell (Jamaica) and Justin Gatlin (USA) are reported to both hold the fastest hundred meter time of 9.77 seconds, and this is what Asafa Powell looks like.
There is a point to this that will become clear.
Like anyone else involved in the world of securities, I know who Warren Buffett is; having spent a few minutes on Google, I am satisfied that anyone with the intellect of a houseplant and a keyboard could identiy the "Oracle of Omaha" as one of the most widely respected investment advisors in the world, and determine that he has earned his clients an average annual rate of return of about 20% over the last forty-five years. Just as Asafa Powell "looks the part," readily available biographical information reveals that Mr. Buffett has the background, education, experience and licensure one might expect of a person in his position.
So, when some high school graduate, former auto plant assembly line worker from Toledo, holding no professional licenses of any kind, shows up here in Naples, Florida, and convinces investors to entrust him with hundreds of millions of dollars by claiming that his top secret investment strategy will net them a 70% annual return on investment (tax free no less), it is incomprehensible to me.
Still, in a pattern that repeats itself over and over again, here in Naples and everywhere else, unlicensed brokers promote unregistered securities to hapless investors, defrauding them of millions upon millions of dollars, by making claims that anyone should immediately recognize as absurd.
In this relatively small community, we saw it with C. Philip Elliott back in the 1980's, and again a little more than ten years later with David Mobley. Now that another ten years or so has passed by, we have an outfit called SSH2 Acquisitions, Inc. set up here in Naples, promoting their own special unregistered security, claiming to be able to earn their clients (reportedly more than 700 clients so far) an investment return of 40% a month.
The secret to their incredible ability to generate this remarkable return on investment, their "man behind the plan," is reported to be their investment expert, James C. Howard, doing business as Sutton Capital.
There are people who insist on believing that Howard is really capable of earning them 40% a month on the funds they entrusted to him - notwithstanding the fact that newspapers reported that Howard was arrested last March based upon allegations that he was involved in running a different Ponzi scheme.
There are people who persist in believing that SSH2, and the unlicensed SSH2 brokers who promoted these unregistered securities, have their best interests at heart - notwithstanding the fact that SSH2 Acquisitions, Inc. filed suit against Howard and Patricia (Patti) SAA via a Complaint filed on September 15, 2010 in the Southern District of Florida, case number 10-CV-61703-WJZ.
In my view, that's like believing that some middle aged fat guy they met in a bar can really put Asafa Powell to shame by running a hundred meters in six seconds flat - as they tell me that they gambled their life's savings on the old fat guy, and haven't yet given up hope that he may come through, I just sit here shaking my head. Fraud is a tragedy.
Our SSH2 investigation is ongoing. If you are involved in a parallel investigation for a client involved in this situation, I would like to hear from you.
Updates will be published to this article as further information is available.
Oracle International
Bill E. Branscum, Investigator
OracleIntL@aol.com
(239) 304-1639
