Ind. Secretary of State launches fraud program

Americans lose an average of $40 billion a year to investment fraud, Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita said, which is why earlier this month he launched a statewide campaign to educate the public on common types of investment fraud.

Sept. 14, Rokita started the program as part of his Indiana Investment Watch, a program in the office’s Security Division to help educate the public about their money and fraud.

Investment fraud is when an individual gives false information to investors, so investors make decisions that lead to losses.

The program educates on all kinds of fraud and is not taxpayer-funded. All of its funds come from money collected from settlements in fraud cases.

Rokita’s new measures aim to teach the public about common kinds of fraud in the state such as defrauding senior citizens, fraud based on religious beliefs and mortgage fraud.

Rokita wanted to stress that people should be aware of the fact that anyone could be a con artist, even if they are highly respected in the financial world, citing Bernard Madoff, who operated the Ponzi scheme regarded as one of the biggest investment frauds in the history of Wall Street.

But fraud is not exclusive to New York. One schemer closer to home is Indianapolis businessman Marcus Schrenker, the financial manager who attempted to fake his death last year by flying a plane into the ocean.

Rokita was the first to investigate Schrenker and his company in December 2008. Last month Schrenker was sentenced to 51 months in a federal prison. He also has to pay for the damages to property from his failed suicide attempt.

For more information or to file a complaint, log on to www.IndianaInvestmentWatch.com or call the hotline at 800-223-8791.