Boston Trading and Research is a very new Forex broker which site was opened just this year. They offer reasonable trading conditions including MetaTrader 4 platform, PayPal account funding and $500 minimum account size. BTRFX also seems a reliable company, but their quite enigmatic website may turn off some traders. Boston Trading and Research is not registered with NFA, but some interested traders already made an electronic petition for BTRFX to join NFA as soon as possible:
…We therefore petition BTRFX of Boston ie (http://www.btrfx.com/contact.php and sales@btrfx.com) to do the right thing and apply for registration with the NFA! And if and when they do so, then and only then will we, the undersigned, will happily arrange to set up and open our Managed Forex Accounts with Boston Trading and Research, LLC in Boston, MA with their phenomenal forex trader!
Overall, it’s good broker for MT4 traders interested in PayPal deposit/withdraw option.
Update: See this page for further details.
September 14th, 2007 at 7:22 pm
WARNNING: this’s scam company
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October 19th, 2007 at 8:38 am
This company offers a managed fund:
http://www.btrfx.com
They dont have any names on the website but i can tell you now its run by Craig Karlis.
If that name rings a bell its because he used to run Tradex Swiss AG, who were banned from the NFA after they lost $5million of client money while being investigated for practising unlicensed.
This is the link to a brochure on an arabic website which shows that boston tradex and Tradex Swiss are the same company with a new name:
http://btrfxarabia.com/BTR_BROCHURE.pdf
This is a link to one of the old tradex websites:
http://www.tradexindo.com/aboutus.htm
If you compare the names on the BTR brochure with those on the Swiss Tradex site you will see the connection between the 2 companies. Now contrast this connection with a statement made by Mr. Karlis in a press release:
“there are absolutely no direct or indirect relationship between Tradex Swiss AG and Boston Trading and Research LLC.” – 29 August 2007. (Craig Karlis)
I’m sorry but it actually angers me that these people are deceiving people to stay in business. Someone I know is an IB for them and when he advertises their services he completely omits the fact that BTR used to be Tradex. The worst part is no one is aware of this connection and as a result, BTR has managed to raise a large amount of capital, currently in their fund, without even being NFA approved. They claim to be getting NFA approved sometime soon, but I don’t see that happening legitimately.
So be warned.
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George Murdaugh Reply:
January 12th, 2011 at 11:01 pm
12 Jan/2011 – This BTR company has over $17,000. of my family’s money never returned when then closed. Can anybody who reads this, offer me some help and instructions what to do? This would be very much appreciated.
Thanks,
George Murdaugh
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March 3rd, 2008 at 11:22 pm
BTR’s BARCLAY Rankings:
https://www.barclayhedge.com/managerscorner/perf_ranks/cta/Currency.html
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May 14th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
Of course Mr high and mighty is running BTRFX. Come on Craig Karlis stole Tradex Swiss AG and changed the locks of the offices in Boston!!
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May 20th, 2008 at 5:06 pm
What the hell! Is it possible that Craig karlis stole the money and they he opened again, we are not dumbs Mr. frankSinatra! Stop spamming this msg around the net!
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June 23rd, 2008 at 6:32 am
# Be Careful Says:
June 23rd, 2008 at 7:29 am
Watch out for BTRFX. They are a scam company with a long history of fraudulent acts. Yes they were tradex.
Is devrim from btrfx the same devrim as pfg?
by the way: the kansas and bahrain offices just have one employee
and the nyc office is sloppy and full of unqualified people
ahem…former travel agents
notice all people in that company are from non extradition countries.
BUYER beware. consider yourself warned.
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June 28th, 2008 at 7:33 pm
Yes everyone should definitely beware of fraudulent forex brokers. They are everywhere.
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July 2nd, 2008 at 4:37 am
THIS COMPANY IS CRAP. 10 to 1 they will open a new company claim some kind of crybaby excuse and bilk some more poor souls out of money to spend it on indulging there fat stomachs and paying hookers 2k an hour….people is that really how you want your money to be lost?
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September 6th, 2008 at 1:43 am
This is posted to their site at http://www.btrfx.com...”Over the past few days Boston Trading & Research, LLC experienced trading losses that were more than what the Company can tolerate. At this time all trading has been suspended. Customer accounts are being reconciled now. Thank you.”
I have reports that they lost upwards of 90% of the account values
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September 10th, 2008 at 11:28 pm
devrim went to jail and they did lose 90% of their fund. you heard it here first….
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September 13th, 2008 at 9:51 pm
who else went?
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September 15th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
Where could I find verification of this? I would sleep much better at night if I knew it were true. I have an account with BTR and have been told I have lost 90%. BTR put out this statement over the weekend:
As we have previously shared with you, the unexpected and precipitous weakening of the British pound, Euro and Australian dollar recently caused BTR to suffer significant investment losses on highly-leveraged currency trades and prompted margin calls from our counterparties. Due to the size of these losses and in an effort to make a fair distribution of BTR’s remaining funds, we requested that an independent consulting firm assist us in reviewing our trading records, reconciling client accounts and calculating final distributions. In an effort to maximize the recovery for our clients, BTR voluntarily agreed to assume a portion of the trading losses on behalf of our clients in the amount of approximately $3.5 million to further preserve our clients’ valuable assets.
At this time, BTR has determined to close all client accounts and distribute remaining funds to our clients. Each client has received or will soon receive a cashier’s check or wire transfer in the final distributable amount. If you have any questions, you may send any inquiries to info@btrfx.com. If you would like to open a new account to resume trading in the foreign exchange market, please contact your introductory broker or us.
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September 21st, 2008 at 12:14 am
I’m not sure that Devrim went to jail…..YET…..he will most definitely be investigated – I know people that lost money from this scam; and people that lost their jobs; as well as the tarnished reputation that their account managers (former) as well as their IB’s are going to have moving forward.
BTR is a SCAM……the problem was that the Barclay report gave many people justification to promote them as a legitimate money manager……its only because of a series of lucjy trades over the last year that they had that kind of record.
HOWEVER, when the Feds step in (and they will), im sure that ALL SORTS of shady stuff will start coming to light (Unless Devrim and his gang of scammers skip the country first).
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September 26th, 2008 at 5:01 am
Devrim Akyil and his gang will do it again after they closed their shop (BTR). Now they will open a new shop in Florida with a guy called Simon Adderley! This is riduclos. When I read the stories at http://blog.me-invest.com I become shocked. Those crooks must go to Jail
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October 8th, 2008 at 5:57 am
Is anyone thinking about a class action suit? Has anyone considered the possibility that Devrim and George did not really lose the $40 million but are scamming people by telling everyone they lost it in a trade when they actually took it for themselves? All the investors who got scammed need to find a lawayer and go after these guys before the money becomes unavailable or they spend it.
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October 27th, 2008 at 10:58 am
WTF:
how in the world is it possible:
“I cannot believe Devrim is trading again with https://crm.strategic-fx.com/ This is bullshit. Did anyone see the bank statements reporting the losses from the trades
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November 9th, 2008 at 8:48 am
I loved the bit where he said basically ” I have lost all your money” and then had the nerve to ask if you wanted to open another account!! I offer managed accounts, and would never be in a position to have lost 90%, its just crazy. Best Of Luck to all of you.
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November 11th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
Keep calling the FBI Leo Fila 617-223-6232 and Mass. Securities Div. Walter McDonough at 617-878-3041 for updates and to show we are not going to forget it. Yes Devrim is trading again for investors who let him handle whatever they had left. According to Strtegic FX (the new company) he is doing great.
Why since he obviously commited a crime per the FBI isn’t he prevented fron this. He is going to be paid based on his efforts. This money should be continuously be spread amongst we who lost and not into his pocket.
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November 12th, 2008 at 5:50 am
I GUARANTEE they manipulated the infrastructure and paid off people and stashed the cash
THIS IS AN OUTRAGE
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November 20th, 2008 at 7:06 am
DO NOT INVEST WITH THIS COMPANY:
Strategic FX
709 Cape Coral Parkway West
Cape Coral, FL 33914
They stole millions of dollars. Read the following Blog http://blog.me-invest.com/
WATCH OUT FOR THESE CROOKS:
Devrim Akyil
Gerbrecht Van Wyk “Gerda”
Janelle Van Wyk
Andre Wandrag
George Popescu
Samy S. El Semman
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December 31st, 2008 at 5:02 pm
where are they now?
are they in jail yet?
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February 24th, 2009 at 2:08 am
wvw1978@gmail.com
You are welcome to e:mail me if you want any details on their whereabouts
I’ve got all the detail.
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February 26th, 2009 at 3:54 am
i’ve been monitoring their web locations w/ screen address
do NOT ask wvw1978 it’s a trap to aquire your IP address
they are been screen recorded
they also did NOT send W2′s to any staff
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February 28th, 2009 at 6:40 am
It is not a trap hahaha, I just don’t know how to attach the document to the block direct.
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February 28th, 2009 at 10:56 am
Guess what I heard – Nic van Rensburg is the brother of Gerbrecht van Wyk
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April 2nd, 2009 at 12:49 am
Johanna van Rooyen aka Tokkie from South Africa (Pretoria) is the person taking care of all Andre Wandrag’s business while he is in America.
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April 3rd, 2009 at 3:55 am
how do investors get their money back
and 2. how do former employees get their tax returns
i think they are committing tax fraud as well
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April 3rd, 2009 at 10:58 pm
This Company is a total SCAM!!!!! Been trying to get what is left of a 10k investment back for months! If I lived in Boston, or had the money to track them down, things would be VERY different!!!!!!!!!
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April 11th, 2009 at 10:14 pm
Where is Andre Wandrag? Who knows? please leave detail on block for all to read.
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May 14th, 2009 at 11:04 pm
How do we get information about the case? I was an investor and got some of my family members to invest in this ponzi scheme as well, we lost a significant amount. I had to pay what my family members lost back to them as I was the one to get them into this; these guys ruined my life. I want to make sure they get what they deserve and we get compensated even if it is partial. The government is bailing out all these huge corporations, I’m sure they have enough ink and paper to help out this case as well.
Please let me know if anybody has any information or solution in mind.
My email: murat3k@hotmail.com
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May 28th, 2009 at 7:42 pm
Craig Karlis update
http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/x157151490/Hopkinton-man-ordered-to-pay-50K-in-restitution-to-employees
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June 28th, 2009 at 8:41 pm
hopkinton resident, if your employees lost all of your firm’s capital on bad trades, i think you’d have a hard time paying everyone too. if you look into it, you’d see that that’s the real story. dishonest/bad trader loses the money, but not because of craig’s management or anything he ever did that was questionable. craig wasn’t even at btrfx for the 3 months preceding its implosion. it was only after the leashes were taken off the morons staffing that place did all hell break loose.
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July 19th, 2009 at 6:24 am
Heads up – Craig Karlis is up to stealing more money with an illegitimate forex operation called “SummerstreetFX”, keep your eyes open.
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July 20th, 2009 at 6:48 pm
yes. Summer street fx is run by craig karlis, most of his workers now are african americans, and probably taken advantage by this selfish malicious man. He is a thief. keep your eyes open.
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November 13th, 2009 at 9:24 pm
How does he keep getting away with it even under SEC investigation?
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Michael Inovatrade Reply:
August 20th, 2010 at 8:40 pm
Dear KJ:
Boston Trading & Research, now Boston Technologies tried to used commercial names that looks the impression that they ONLY sell technology software, but behind stage they are acting as full broker-dealer without license and any kind of money reserve; and with scrupulous practice with totally lack of ethic.
We are working very hard for the SEC, CFTC and FBI take immediately action against this fraudulent scheme companies.
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December 9th, 2009 at 12:56 am
There is another forex trader http://www.exforex.com which is trading on the same principal as BTRFX and it has references to the same locations. Could this be Andre Wandrag, Gerbrecht van Wyk, who is now Wandrag, Devrim etc, please be careful.
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January 22nd, 2010 at 2:57 am
Does any one have info on this company I was scammed in Cape Coral, Florida and my accountant Lawrence Swann that got me in it has not helped me at all in finding where my money went.
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August 20th, 2010 at 8:35 pm
Boston Technologies – SCAM – FRAUD – AVOID!!!
Boston Technologies is acting as Broker-Dealer/Marketplace without license and reserve funds… If the bridge failed, YOU WILL LOSE YOUR MONEY!! Be careful with the Ponzi scheme led it by Mr. George Popescu and Mr. Kevin Millien.
While it is true that acting as a technology provider to the FX (OTC) space does not require NFA membership or CFTC registration, it is hardly the basis on which Boston Technologies (BT) operates.
At face value, BT offers technology solutions to the retail FX market. However while this may hold true for many of their institutional clients, it is not so for much of their smaller clients.
Consider the following:
1) BT holds clients funds on deposit with both regulated and non-regulated entities.
2) BT’s technology defaults to the benefit of the broker (FCM/FDM). In the absence of a broker, BT is able to deploy their technology to their own benefit. A major conflict of interest.
3) BT claims to not act as anything but a technology solution but receive income from the spread, in many cases without the clients knowledge. This is either garnered in the form of an IB fee paid by the counterparty or by BT simply marking up the trades through price manipulation.
4) BT has recently chosen to move their business offshore (Boston Trading as opposed to Technologies), or at least the trading arm of it (to Belize). They believe this will give them greater flexibility in acting as a broker without repercussions from the local regulations despite the fact that they still take client deposits in the name of the US based company.
This is just a cursory glance at the business. A more informed and thorough look will reveal further anomalies.
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Max Drake Reply:
February 8th, 2011 at 2:23 pm
Interesting, this coming from a guy who was just sued by the CFTC, I didnt see Boston’s name on that list…
http://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/pr5974-11.html
http://www.cftc.gov/ucm/groups/public/@lrenforcementactions/documents/legalpleading/enfinovatradecomplaint012611.pdf
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August 20th, 2010 at 8:37 pm
Boston Technologies Inc, with website: http://www.bostontechnologies.com ; and BT Prime Broker, with website: http://www.bttprime.com ; are the new scam companies led by Mr. George A. Popescu.
Avoid this family scam companies!!
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November 14th, 2010 at 6:41 am
SEC Charges Massachusetts-Based Forex Traders and Their Firm With Fraud
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2010-205
Washington, D.C., Oct. 28, 2010 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged two foreign currency traders and their Boston-based company with operating a fraudulent scheme in which they sent investors misleading account statements while stealing their funds and incurring major trading losses.
——————————————————————————–
Additional Materials
Litigation Release No. 21712
SEC Complaint
——————————————————————————–
The SEC alleges that Craig Karlis of Hopkinton, Mass., and Ahmet Devrim Akyil formerly of Hingham, Mass., fraudulently raised approximately $40 million from approximately 750 investors in a purported foreign currency (Forex) trading venture through their firm Boston Trading and Research LLC (BTR). Investors were falsely promised that BTR had a system in place to limit trading losses. BTR also falsely claimed to investors that “we do not profit unless you do” while in reality Karlis and Akyil were illegally diverting investor money for their own personal use as well as to fund BTR’s operations and pay expenses for other companies with which they were associated.
“The bait was the promise by Akyil and Karlis to limit investor risk, and the switch was the theft and unauthorized trading that cost investors 90 percent of the invested funds,” said Robert Khuzami, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “If you don’t deliver what you promise and violate the securities laws, we will hold you accountable.”
David Bergers, Director of the SEC’s Boston Regional Office, added, “Akyil and Karlis secretly enriched themselves while many of the defrauded investors lost their retirement savings and financial security.”
According to the SEC’s complaint filed in federal court in Boston, for a minimum investment of $10,000, investors could deposit money with the BTR program. BTR used a website, sales representatives and live presentations by Karlis and Akyil to solicit funds from investors around the world. Investors provided Akyil with a limited power of attorney that granted him the right to direct the trading of their funds in the Forex market.
The SEC alleges that BTR’s misrepresentations to investors included the following:
Investors would have 100 percent transparency about what was going on in their accounts through daily and monthly account statements and 24-hour access to real-time information about the trading Akyil was doing on their behalf.
Investors, through draw-down agreements, could lose no more than an agreed-upon percentage (typically 30 percent) of their investment.
The BTR trading system included an automatic stop-loss program that would curtail losses once they reached a certain percentage.
BTR and its principals would be paid from profits only.
The SEC alleges that BTR, through Akyil and with Karlis’s knowledge, traded funds differently from what was disclosed in daily account statements to investors. The balance and equity positions that BTR provided investors on their account statements did not show that their funds had been diminished through BTR’s use of investor money for undisclosed purposes. Meanwhile, Akyil and Karlis depleted the investment pool through misappropriation and trading losses far past the stop loss limits promised to investors. BTR collapsed in September 2008 and ultimately distributed the remaining funds to investors, which amounted to approximately 10 percent of their account balances.
The SEC’s complaint charges Akyil, Karlis, and BTR with violating the antifraud and registration provisions of the federal securities laws, and seeks civil injunctions, the return of ill-gotten gains, and financial penalties.
Separately, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts today unsealed an indictment charging Akyil and Karlis with criminal violations based on the same misconduct. The SEC also acknowledges the assistance of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Eric A. Forni, Kevin B. Currid, and Patrick J. Noone of the SEC’s Boston Regional Office conducted the SEC’s investigation. The SEC’s litigation will be led by Rachel Hershfang and Michael Foster. The SEC’s investigation is continuing.
# # #
For more information about this enforcement action, contact:
David P. Bergers
Regional Director, SEC’s Boston Regional Office
(617) 573-8927
John T. Dugan
Associate Regional Director, SEC’s Boston Regional Office
(617) 573-8936
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January 30th, 2011 at 10:13 pm
Craig Karlis is now run operate SICFX at http://www.sixfx.com. Of course he use another person name for show.
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April 25th, 2011 at 3:24 pm
Inovatrade is a Ponzi Scheme operation that is being fully operated by Michael Alcocer Roa and Iriselis Bloise. Both individuals are natives of Puerto Rico and presently being investigated by the FBI, SEC and Secret Service for forex fraud and other major criminal scams including money laundering for the “Cartel”.
Amazingly, both characters fleet the US Puerto Rico and are presently avoiding prosecution. Presently, Interpol is on their trail but these two gansters are masters of deception and their whereabouts remains unknown. Interestingly, Mr. Alcocer was associated with Gilbert Gonzalez who was also a victim of a one million dollar loss by Mr. Alcocer.
Like so, Mr. Alcocer presently operates out of Panama, Nicaragua ( Money Exhange Company) , Ecuador, Florida and Peru. If you research the net you will find multiple SEC charges againts Inovatrade, Michael Alcocer and Iricelis Bloise. Be alerted that they are both professional scam artist and should be cosidered armed and dangerous. Mr. Alcocer has a previous criminal charge in Virginia for carrying a conceal loaded weapon in an airplane heading toward Colombia.
If any of you have been a victim, do contact the FBI or Interpol.
Charles Del Campo
Sircharlesdc@aol.com
Private Detective
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May 7th, 2011 at 10:00 pm
simon adderley lives back in the uk for people wanting to find him , he lives in hagworthingham, lincolnshire, also runs joes beach bar in ingoldmells lincolnshire,
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August 23rd, 2011 at 12:55 pm
michael alcocer roa and iricelis bloise……when you returned more than a million dolars that you stole from 12 victims in puerto rico….then you full youre mouth against other companies…and i have all the proof to this allegation and will be posting in the future.
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August 30th, 2011 at 6:32 pm
Michael Alcocer and Iricelis Bloise have stolen over $10 Million Dollars from its gullible investors. Both criminals are presently in Panama,while runing a successful Ponzi Scheme with FOREX trading.
Amazingly, the positive reviews that you find on the net, its actually “Michael” possing with an ALIAS in order to deceive his victims. Be alerted, Michael & Iricelis have stoled over one million dollars from broker- Gilbert Gonzalez from Puerto Rico 787-510-4500.
Furthermore, here is an official link from SEC. http://www.cftc.gov/ucm/groups/public/@lrenforcementactions/documents/legalpleading/enfinovatradecomplaint012611.pdf
Be warned, Michael & Iricelis, are notorious criminals and should be considered armed and dangerous. Moreover, Michale has a criminal record in Virginia for carrying a loaded weapon in an airplane, heading toward Colombia in order to money launder his capital.
Both criminals are extremely friendly, amicable and sociable in order to act their role as professional investors. They also frequent Nicaragua, Peru, Colombia, and Puerto Rico.
Please post this data in your site in order to prevent future victims!!!!
Charles Del Campo
Sircharlesdc@aol.com
305-529-4949
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