When the Investment Scammer Provides Clues, Listen
Investment Scammer Drops Several Clues Along The Way
The story of Norman V. Meier, a Wakefield Massachusetts resident, demonstrates a way to uncover a fraudulent model before investing. First, a little about the Meier alleged financial investment fraud. Recently Meier was charged with several violations of the Securities Act. Over the course of eight years, Meier collected $ 7.9 million from over 180 investors throughout Europe, and even a handful in the United States, all while “operating” several businesses throughout the lower 48 states.
Meier and his cold-calling international sales team extracted money from victims in the name of investments in five of Meier’s companies, as well as in the name of a few other deals that were supposedly pre-IPO with well-known companies with which Meier had no connection. Many of the investors were German speaking, and were lured in by a company named “Treuhand,” meaning “trust” or “escrow.” The victims wired money to Meier believing they were wiring money to escrow accounts. And, as is too often the case, Meier purportedly never invested their money, but paid sales people and himself to keep the investment scam alive. SEC Complaint
Fraudsters often disclose their intentions, but may not shout “I am a crook.” Instead, the manner in which they communicate or what they communicate to different audiences leaves a large trail of bread crumbs to what is most likely a scam. Meier dropped a few of these hints.
The Book and High-Pressure Sales
To launch his fraudulent investment scheme, Meier self-published a book titled, Create Wealth with Private Equity and Public Companies—A Guide for Entrepreneurs and Investors. Often these self-serving books are given away to prospects or customers and made available to purchase on the person’s website. Many times, the books have some good information in them. But they also can provide a window into how the author thinks or operates.
In his book, Meier wrote his dream was “to become a millionaire no matter what it took.” As a stray remark, this could just be hyperbole. However, Meier details a very high-pressure sales campaign to lure in investors. These high-pressure sales pitches are the ones savvy investors should walk away from.
Some examples include:
- “If this train leaves, it is hard to get back on later. And there is not another one coming that is going where you want to go.
- “If you sleep on it, you won’t be smarter tomorrow. If you knew what I know about [t]his deal, you wouldn’t hesitate one second.
- “How much time do you need to think about it? 2 weeks? So, are you going to think about it for 2 hours for the next 14 days? So, a total of 28 hours? I don’t think so. That would be ridiculous, right? So how much real thinking time do you really need? One hour? So let me help you right now. If you still need time, then I will call you tomorrow morning.
- “I am sorry if I am putting too much pressure on you right now. But you need to understand that you can buy a car and wait a couple weeks before you actually get it. But when it comes to stocks, one day or even one hour can make a difference whether you make 100% return or only 1%. That’s why I urge you to act now.”
The Website
Meier maintained a website. Although at the time of the indictment, Meier was a 49-year-old with a valid U.S. passport, that means he was only around 40 at the time he launched this scam. One blog post from 2013 when he was probably in his late 30s, claimed he had a “huge client base in Europe and North America and ‘a network all over the world.’” That’s possible, but on the website, he claimed to have advanced degrees from a university in Switzerland, and the kicker, was he had supposedly been the CEO of a publicly listed, but unnamed company. These claims, especially when taken with the advice in his book, are difficult to believe.
Sales Trainee Job Post
The website offered a training course called “Private Equity Broker Training.” The associated job opportunity with Meier expected a trainee to “generate at least 5 new leads per day” by calling potential investors. The trainee would learn to close deals over the phone. Statistically speaking, how many cold calls would a sales trainee have to make a day to get five leads? How many people actually answer their phones to unknown numbers and agree to give out an email address? The book outlines a cold-call pitch that did not have much of a hook. Those expectations on new sales people and hints on how the sales team operates could provide a prospective investor a decent understanding of the organization.
We often get asked how to avoid financial investment scams. Meier’s website, blog posts and book give several examples of what a prospective investor can uncover about someone quickly and cheaply.
- Walk away from high-pressure sales pitches
- Talk over the investment opportunity with a disinterested third party, an attorney or an accountant
- Read the materials published by the organization
- Check the state and federal investment licensing bureaus to make sure the sales people are licensed to sell securities
There are good investment opportunities. Unfortunately, we run into scams all too frequently. Ponzi schemes, shady oil and gas deals, real estate fraud and straight-up financial investment fraud remain rampant. Do your research and don’t fall for the ground floor opportunity only available today. We hope all your real estate, commodities, foreign exchange, and oil and gas investments are safe and profitable. But if you find yourself searching for an experienced investment fraud attorney, oil and gas litigator or a commercial litigation lawyer, Mark A. Alexander, P.C. is here to help.
