Updated March 30, 2008
To: russkyserge@hotmail.com
Subject: PONZI SCHEME = ARPS
Date: Sat, 29 Mar 2008 02:11:58 -0700
like everyone else I too was duped with the cash equivalent speech, no prospectus and statements that list cash alternatives and other cash. I have 325K in these things. I have been interviewed by the Ny times, WSJ, SEC, Senate banking committee, House Committee on Financial affairs, Federal Reserve, CA Attorney General, Massachusetts Attorney General you name it.
I wont go into details because our stories are the same. This is a ponzi scheme that fell apart and now retail investors NOT just high net worth folks but regular folks have been screwed out of their money by both the brokerages and the closed end funds that were just as complicit as they have our money at dirt cheap prices.
UBS is now marking down my ARP's about 5% so much for safe and liquid - UBS stands for U been Screwed
I too have quite a bit of money tied up in 2 firms, UBS and Morgan Stanley and am getting the same run around....each time the auctions fail...well so what you are getting interest. If you don't need the money right now, what's the problem? Well, now it is a real problem, because I was credited with 17% interest on just one of my 8 ARC on 3/19/08 just to have it debited from my account on 3/26/08! I called my UBS broker and he said "Oh, we received a letter from the issuer that the 17% was a "mistake" and the actual interest reset rate is 00.00! Can you believe it?
I am very upset now and have started searching the Web for press releases, etc...and help sites. Finally I found a Blog on this one.
I may have to enter into a Class Action Law Suit...Any help you can offer would be appreciated...
Oh, and both brokers tell me last week that there may be a "secondary market for my Arcs"...WHAT???? Of course, that means I have to sell at a Discount.... and of course, I said who is going to buy them YOUR BROKERAGE FIRM???
This is my life savings we are talking about. I sold 3/4 of all my stocks last summer when my brokers said if I was nervous about the equity markets, ARCs were a good and safe place to put my money and "fully liquid".....no prospectuses were offered.
Help,
******* in San Diego
TO ALL FELLOW ARPS BAGHOLDERS:
The SEC is apparently taking this VERY seriously, I was astounded to get a swift 48 hour response from them, with a personal contact and a direct phone number.
( I had E*Trade dump this garbage on me )
I will share part of the letter from the SEC.
Dear Mr. Xxxxxxxx:
I am confirming that we received your complaint concerning E Trade Securities LLC. We take investor complaints very seriously and try, whenever possible, to provide some form of assistance.
We have sent your complaint to the firm's compliance department and asked them to respond directly to you. We also asked the firm to send us a copy of their letter to you. Please understand that this process may take two to four weeks.
Our efforts to facilitate informal resolutions of complaints often succeed. But, in some cases, it remains unclear whether any wrongdoing occurred, or the dispute boils down to one person's word against another's. If that happens, we cannot act as your personal representative or attorney, and you will then have to decide whether you want to pursue legal action on your own. The following portion of this email outlines the steps you may wish to take if you choose that option, and includes information on arbitration, mediation, and sources of potential legal assistance. Please read this information carefully. It describes your rights and important deadlines.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
XXXXX XXXXXX
Office of Investor Education and Advocacy
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
415) xxx-xxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I tell all out there go to SEC.GOV and file your complaint ! The more the merrier. The thunder has started to roll from the outrage, and some brokerages are taking this as seriously as they ought to.
I even got a call from my local branch mansger at my brokerage within hours that they wanted to meet with me ... apparently some shock waves are starting to ripple.
I'll give updates and shares any outcomes.
Best to all.
Regards,
Raccoon
Letter from SEC and the results of the phone call
Dear *********:
Thank you for your email to Chairman Christopher Cox. Your email has been forwarded to me for a response.
The SEC is monitoring and listening to investors' concerns and experiences regarding auction rate securities.
We are taking your complaint very seriously and have referred your complaint to the appropriate people within the SEC.
They will contact you directly if they have any questions or would like additional information.
Please feel free to call me at the number below or provide me with a daytime telephone number where you can be reached. We can then discuss your concerns.
Please understand that the SEC conducts itsinvestigations on a confidential basis and neither confirms nor denies the existence of an investigation unless we bring charges against someone involved.
We do this to protect the integrity and effectiveness of our investigative process and to preserve the privacy of the individuals and entities involved.
As a result, we will not be able to provide you with any future updates on the status of your complaint or of any pending SEC investigation.
Below is a flyer that describes our policy as it will apply to your complaint.
Sincerely,
******** Special Counsel
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Office of Investor Education and Advocacy
202 551 4500
Names removed per recepient's request.
folow up phone call
actually just got off the phone with *****, shes pretty nice lady. Unfortunately she will offer no comfort. She did tell me, they are starting a task force perse which has never been done, and they are starting to become fully aware theres a problem with the arps world. so maybe something comes of it..we need more people to send emails..its the only way. as of now sec has no answer...
ENF-ARScomplaints@sec.gov
Hello,
You must do something about the "auction rate preferred securities" crisis. Tens of thousands of small investors cannot have their funds frozen in ARPS with no government action. It is like something out of the great depression.
We are conservative small investors. We would ordinarily never consider a new investment without checking all the angles. However as we were accumulating cash for upcoming renovations, keeping it in a money market fund or CDs, our broker at Merrill said, why not get a little more interest in a way that is completely safe and liquid? Somehow the alarm bells never went off. Our money went into ARPS, although those words were never mentioned. Now we can't get at that money and have no idea when it will be available. We have $100,000 frozen with Blackrock and $50,000 frozen with Calamos. Having done some research, I think that ARS are nothing but a Ponzi scheme.
- I do not want to name our broker as yet, since I think he was fooled also. If things do not clear up soon we will file formal complaints and a lawsuit.
- We have been accumulating ARPS over a period of about 2 years. As we sold stocks, both to fund the upcoming renovation project and because we thought the market was heading down, the proceeds of our conservative approach were funneled into ARPS. As a result, we would have been better off keeping the funds in the stock market!
- We were told they were safe, liquid, and that the cash was available 'with a phone call'. They were described as a way to get a little more interest than a money market fund. The extra interest was so little that I never suspected there was high risk. I look for risk where big rewards are promised. I asked our broker why even bother for such a small gain.
- We never saw a written prospectus
- The ARPS are listed on our on-line statement as OTHER CASH and on our paper statement as OTHER
- We found out about the problem about a month after the market froze when we called our broker about a different matter.
Please help.
Tom Boston
I maintain this web page to gather as much information as possible and spread the word to help other victims of this financial misrepresentation and alleged crime by the major financial institutions.
I can be reached via e-mail at russkyserge@hotmail.com
Serge Birbrair and I am not just a web page publisher, but also a victim who trusted UBS and got burnt. Do YOU want to be next?
No? Don't believe everything you hear from your Financial Adviser, as they are played by the management too.