Freeman Carl “Buck” Reed Defrauded Victims of $1.3 Million Pitching a Bogus Philippine Gold Investment and Failed to File Tax Returns for 10 Years

Former St. Joseph Man Sentenced to More Than Seven Years in Prison in Philippine Gold Scam and for Failure to File Tax Returns
Freeman Carl “Buck” Reed Defrauded Victims of $1.3 Million Pitching a Bogus Philippine Gold Investment and Failed to File Tax Returns for 10 Years

U.S. Attorney’s Office August 15, 2014

Western District of Michigan (616) 456-2404

GRAND RAPIDS, MI—Freeman Carl “Buck” Reed, 45, formerly of St. Joseph, Michigan, was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison for failing to file income tax returns and committing a fraud scheme involving gold bars he told investors were buried in the Philippines. He was ordered to pay $1.3 million in restitution to the fraud victims, and more than $500,000 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service. The Honorable Janet T. Neff, U.S. District Judge, imposed the sentence. U.S. Attorney Patrick Miles, Jr. said, “Reed’s failure to file tax returns or pay any taxes — particularly in light of his extravagant lifestyle — was an insult to decent, tax-paying citizens everywhere. The fraud he perpetrated was deplorable abuse of trust. This office will continue to vigorously prosecute those involved in these kinds of crimes.”
Reed was convicted of failure to file tax returns following a jury trial in February 2014. At trial, the jury heard evidence that Reed had not filed any tax returns — or paid any taxes — for almost 10 years, despite making more than $1 million in just a three year period and living an extravagant lifestyle that included five luxury vehicles and an expensive house.
Shortly after the tax trial, Reed pled guilty to the Philippine gold fraud. He admitted that, after his direct-marketing business failed, he engaged in a scheme to defraud investors by soliciting money from investors to recover “Yamashita’s gold,” a legendary gold hoard supposedly left behind by Japanese soldiers when they were defeated by the U.S. Army at the end of World War II. Desperate for money, Reed told investors that he and a co-conspirator had located the gold and would use their money to finance the gold extraction costs. He told other investors that he had access to “gold certificates” supposedly worth millions of dollars. Reed was able to obtain $1.3 million in connection with the two schemes. Instead of using the investors’ money as promised, Reed admitted that he spent it on himself so that he could maintain his façade of wealth.
“Mr. Reed was not selling an investment; instead, he developed an elaborate hoax meant to enrich himself. The prosecution and sentencing of Mr. Reed, who diverted investor’s funds for his benefit and then intentionally failed to file income tax returns, is a fundamental element in maintaining public confidence in our tax system,” said IRS Acting Special Agent in Charge Jarod Koopman.
“For nearly a decade, Mr. Reed failed to file tax returns and defrauded investors of well over $1 million, all while lining his own packets and living an extravagant lifestyle”, stated Paul M. Abbate, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office. “The prosecution of Mr. Reed holds him accountable for his years of criminal conduct, and the FBI will continue to partner with the IRS to bring to justice those who commit these brazen financial crimes.”
The case was investigated by the FBI and IRS and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Clay Stiffler, Michael MacDonald, and Matthew Borgula.

Buck Reed, Man sentenced in buried gold fraud scheme, Aug 15, 2014

Man sentenced in buried gold fraud scheme

Aug. 15, 2014   |        

   

 

Freeman Carl Reed was sentenced to prison for running an elaborate buried gold fraud and failing to file income tax returns. / AFP/Getty Images

Written by

    Associated Press

  

GRAND RAPIDS — A former Michigan man has been sentenced to prison for failing to file income tax returns and a scheme involving the bogus recovery of gold bars supposedly buried by Japanese soldiers during World War II, federal prosecutors said Friday.

Freeman Carl Reed, 45, was sentenced to seven years and three months in prison. He said he concocted the gold fraud scheme after his direct-marketing business failed, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in Grand Rapids.
Money was solicited to recover Yamashita’s gold, reportedly hidden in the Philippines at end of the war. Investors were told their money was needed to extract it.
Investors also were told that Reed had access to gold certificates worth millions of dollars.
“Mr. Reed was not selling an investment; instead, he developed an elaborate hoax meant to enrich himself,” said Internal Revenue Service Acting Special Agent in Charge Jarod Koopman. “The prosecution and sentencing of Mr. Reed, who diverted investor’s funds for his benefit and then intentionally failed to file income tax returns, is a fundamental element in maintaining public confidence in our tax system.”
A federal jury convicted Reed in February of failing to file tax returns. Authorities said evidence showed he had not paid taxes for nearly 10 years, despite earning more than $1 million over a three-year period. His extravagant lifestyle included five luxury vehicles and an expensive home, the U.S. Attorney’s office said in a release.
Reed, formerly of St. Joseph in southwestern Michigan, pleaded guilty to the gold fraud after the tax trial.
“Reed was able to obtain $1.3 million in connection with the two schemes,” the release said. “Instead of using the investors’ money as promised, Reed admitted that he spent it on himself so that he could maintain his façade of wealth.”
He was ordered to pay $1.3 million in restitution to victims of the fraud.

Buck Reed sentenced to 7+ years, new article, August 15th, 2014

St. Joseph businessman who stole from investors to fund 'extravagant lifestyle' sentenced to 7 years

 

By Rex Hall Jr. | rhall2@mlive.com The Kalamazoo Gazette
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on August 15, 2014 at 11:23 AM, updated August 15, 2014 at 2:01 PM

 

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A St. Joseph businessman who bilked investors out of more than $1 million was sentenced Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2014, to 87 months in federal prison for wire fraud.File photo 

ST. JOSEPH, MI – He was a self-proclaimed millionaire who lived "a lifestyle he could not afford," according to federal prosecutors.
And in the end, Freeman "Buck" Carl Reed funded his extravagance by convincing more than a dozen people to invest more than $1.3 million in a bogus Filipino gold mine and gold certificates they were told belonged to the country's former dictator, Ferdinand Marcos, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Janet T. Neff sentenced Reed to 87 months in a federal penitentiary for one count of wire fraud. He also was sentenced to concurrent terms of one year each for three counts of failing to file a tax return.
Reed, who was indicted along with Gary Edward Degler in July 2013 on numerous felony charges, was convicted in January of three counts of failing to file a tax return in 2007, 2008 and 2009. In March, he pleaded guilty to wire fraud.
The wire fraud charge, stemmed from $250,000 Reed obtained from an investor for the Filipino gold mine.
In exchange for his plea, four counts of wire fraud and two counts of money laundering were dismissed at Wednesday's sentencing,
In a sentencing memorandum filed last week, Assistant U.S. Attorney Clay Stiffler described Reed as a "Multi-Level Marketing Guru" who lived in St. Joseph, ran a successful business selling "various fruit juices and other elixirs" and received compensation from a number of different companies.
Despite his success, Reed stopped filing tax returns in 2002 and currently owes the Internal Revenue Service more than $565,000, plus $568,000 in interest and penalties.
"Reed lived an extravagant lifestyle and advertised himself as a millionaire as a way of inducing people to engage in business with him and purchase his training sessions," Stiffler wrote in the sentencing memorandum. "Reed's self-professed wealth figured prominently in his sales presentations and website, which featured numerous photos of his large house, five luxury cars, boats, and ... luxury vacations and extended trips to Colorado."
However, Stiffler said Reed's lifestyle was a façade and, in fact, "his expenses far exceeded his income." According to the sentencing memorandum, Reed had two mortgages on his home, all of his luxury cars were financed, he owed large credit card bills and he also owed taxes not only to the IRS, but to the state and local governments as well.
By 2007, according to court documents, Reed's financial situation became dire as his income from his multi-level marketing products fell and he was terminated from ViaViente, whole-food producing company that he had received compensation from.
That year, he reconnected with Degler, a former marketing associate, and the two set in place the gold mine and gold certificate schemes.
The duo told investors they had access to, and control of, a secret dig site in a mountain in the Philippines that contained gold bars left behind by the Japanese military during World War II. Reed showed pictures of the gold bars and the dig site and told them he and Degler needed money to pay for equipment, vehicles and workers to recover the gold.
They also promised investors returns of three to 10 times that of their investment, according to court documents.
Prosecutors said that as no gold was ever recovered from the bogus venture, Reed and Degler began pitching the opportunity to invest in gold certificates that once belonged to Marcos and were "worth billions of dollars" and could only be redeemed in Switzerland.
By 2009, Reed and Degler had raised more than $1 million through the bogus ventures, according to court documents. But instead of spending the money as they said they would, Reed's bank records show he only spent a total of $39,000 on the gold scheme.
He sent half of the ill-gotten money to Degler and spent the remainder – approximately $600,000 – on personal expenses that included his $6,000-a-month mortgage, $7,000 in monthly car payments, $14,000 for new tires for his Corvette, and $94,000 on a deck at his house.
He also paid for vacations, trips to Nordstrom and Louis Vuitton, cosmetic surgery for his wife, private school for his children and credit card payments.
Prosecutors said that as time passed and investors began questioning the legitimacy of the Filipino gold mine and gold certificates, Reed would "attempt to pacify them" with false statements "about having received funds and continue to promise returns on their investment that he knew were not forthcoming."
In addition to his prison sentence, Neff ordered Reed to pay restitution of $565.509 to the IRS, and $1.32 million in restitution to the investors he bilked. The court also recommended that Reed serve out his sentence at the Federal Medical Center in Devens, Mass., or at a facility near Boston.
Rex Hall Jr. is a public safety reporter for the Kalamazoo Gazette. You can reach him at rhall2@mlive.com. Follow him on Twitter.

As of August 13, 2014, FREEMAN CARL REED is in custody.

August 14, 2014

U.S. Department of Justice Western District of Michigan Post Office Box 208 Grand Rapids, MI 49501-0208 Phone: (616) 808-2034 Fax: (616) 456-2696

Re:	United States v. Defendant(s) FREEMAN CARL REED Case Number 2010R00384 and Court Docket Number 13-CR-00130

    The enclosed information is provided by the United States Department of Justice Victim Notification System (VNS). As a victim witness professional with the United States Attorney's Office, my role is to assist you with information and services during the prosecution of this case. I am contacting you because you were identified by law enforcement as a victim during the investigation of the above criminal case.

During the prosecution of a federal criminal case a defendant may be ordered by the Court to remain confined. The United States Marshal Service manages defendants who are ordered by the Court to remain in custody. Custody status of a defendant is subject to change during the course of the criminal proceedings. To receive the timeliest update to your case, please provide and verify your email address, as instructed below.

As of August 13, 2014, FREEMAN CARL REED is in custody.

Defendant FREEMAN CARL REED was sentenced by the Court. The Court ordered the defendant to the following:

     Incarceration of 7 year(s) 3 month(s)
     Followed by Supervised Release of 3 year(s)
     Special Assessment of $175.00.

Through the Victim Notification System (VNS) we will continue to provide you with updated scheduling and event information as the case proceeds through the criminal justice system. You may obtain current information about this case on the VNS website at https://www.notify.usdoj.gov or from the VNS Call Center at 1-866-DOJ-4YOU (1-866-365-4968) (TDD/TTY: 1-866-228-4619) (International: 1-502-213-2767). In addition, you may use the Call Center or Internet to update your contact information and/or change your decision about participation in the notification program.

Sincerely,

Buck Reed motion for a continuance of the sentencing date - DENIED DENIED

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

WESTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN

SOUTHERN DIVISION

____________

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff,

No. 1:13-cr-00130

vs. Hon. Janet T. Neff

U.S. District Court Judge

FREEMAN CARL REED,

a/k/a “BUCK,”

Defendant.

_____________________________/

MOTION FOR A CONTINUANCE OF THE SENTENCING DATE

Defendant Freeman Carl Reed, through counsel, respectfully requests that the

sentencing date be continued from the presently-set date of August 13, 2014 for ninety

days, or such other date after that convenient to the Court. Sentencing in this case has

been postponed twice, once as a scheduling matter for the Court and once at the request

of the undersigned to provide time to respond to certain matters in the Presentence

Report. Counsel realizes that a third continuance, particularly at the last minute like this,

is likely to be looked upon with initial disfavor but it is respectfully submitted that it

should be granted because of the unusual circumstances stated below, which are quite

promising to those who have lost money.

Pursuant to the Local Rules, counsel informs this court that AUSA Clay Stiffler

does not join in this motion and prefers that the sentencing go forward as scheduled.

We advance two reasons for this request which we state summarily and then

explain.

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First, there is a substantial probability that additional restitution will become

available to make those persons who lost money whole if an additional ninety days is

allowed.

Second, counsel was informed today by email that the government wishes to

present 45 exhibits and testimony of an IRS agent concerning those exhibits all by way of

disputing the tax return computations which resulted in the tax return amounts on the tax

returns which have been finalized by Buck and Renee Reed and which, in accordance

with the instructions of the government, have been completed, signed, and sent to Special

Agent Birdsong. (See, Freeman Carl Reed’s Memorandum in Support of His Motion for

Variance or Downward Departure, and Submitted Generally for Sentencing Purposes,

Docket No. 111, p. 3, herein referred to as “Reed’s Memorandum in Support.”) Counsel

simply cannot prepare in the short amount of time between now and next Wednesday to

refute the testimony and the exhibits, and cannot secure the attendance of the accountant

who prepared the tax returns at issue and have him present at a hearing next Wednesday

ready to present our position on the tax returns and to justify the figures which are hugely

lower than the government computations due and owing.

As to the first reason, time to make restitution, Buck Reed has already paid

$150,000.00 toward restitution by cashier's check deposited with the Clerk of this Court

on today’s date (See, Exhibit A, a copy of the check and cover letter sent to this Court.)

As Buck Reed’s sentencing brief, filed two days ago on August 6, 2014 indicates, he had

been working on getting parties together to arrange funding for a movie which is going to

be made in Europe. (Reed’s Sentencing Memorandum, p. 2-3.) The contract took longer

than anticipated but because of his efforts in working on the contract, now consummated

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as a movie production contract for a children’s movie to be produced in Europe, he has

earned a payment for his efforts. (Id.) Of that payment, he has already been paid

$150,000.00, a sum that arrived in the trust account of the undersigned yesterday, and

that money on his instruction was converted to a cashier’s check and sent to the Clerk of

the Court (attached here as Exhibit A.) As indicated, it has been received by the Court.

(Id.) The undersigned expects to have an additional $80,00.00 to deposit with the Court

by next Tuesday. For the particulars of the arrangement by which this money was earned

by Buck Reed, see Exhibit B attached hereto which is a letter which in part describes the

contract which resulted in this payment to Buck Reed.

Exhibit B, the letter, also explains why there is a substantial probability that in an

additional 90 days, Buck Reed will earn substantially more money that can be used to

make further restitution.

The restitution that has already been made, the undersigned submits, should be

sufficient demonstration that Buck Reed is serious about making repayment.

Opportunities to do so come when they do and while it would certainly be better if this

could have been done sooner, everyone is better off if Buck Reed gets the time to make

the effort to earn more restitution money, particularly since the representation that he is

likely able to do so is supported by the fact that he has already made one significant

payment and the indication is that more will be coming. It is pointed out in this regard

that the government routinely delays sentencing of a defendant who has pleaded guilty if

that defendant’s testimony is needed in the trial of a co-defendant. Delaying sentence for

any legitimate purpose is not extraordinary, the delay sought is not for an extended

period, and the reason for it is unarguably worthwhile.

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The second reason why a postponement is sought is that just today the

undersigned received notice that the government plans to call an IRS agent and through

that agent introduce forty-five (45) exhibits. These will be offered, apparently, in an

attempt to refute the tax computations and the amounts stated to be due and owing on all

of the tax returns that Buck and Renee Reed have prepared and now have submitted to

the IRS. As is shown in Buck Reed’s Sentencing Memorandum, he has prepared returns

for all but two of the years for which returns were outstanding, meaning that he has

prepared, signed, and submitted returns for the years 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008,

2010, 2012, and 2013 (the tax return for 2005 was previously completed by another

accountant and has been filed), and they have filed the years 2010 and 2012.

(Defendant’s Sentencing Memorandum, p. 6.) The government claims that Buck Reed

owes $565,509.00 in federal income taxes and interest and penalties of $568,219.00

(Government’s Sentencing Memorandum, Docket No. 109, p. 1), coming to a total of

$1,133,728.00. (Id.) However, according to Buck Reed’s accountant’s calculations, the

total amount of federal income taxes owed is $21,836.00, although this figure does not

include penalties or interest. (Sentencing Memorandum, Exhibit B.) Regardless of the

amount of penalties and interest, the amount of taxes due and owing alone differs by an

amount of $546,673.00.

Clearly, the large difference in tax computations should be sorted out and, in

fairness to Buck Reed, time should be allowed for his accountant to review the exhibits

which were announced this morning but not apparently deliverable until Tuesday of next

week for that review to commence. And even if they could be delivered sooner than next

Tuesday, as AUSA Stiffler indicated he would try to do, when we pointed out this

Case 1:13-cr-00130-JTN Doc #115 Filed 08/08/14 Page 4 of 8 Page ID#911

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morning that receiving these exhibits next Tuesday was way too late for a hearing the

next day, there is in either event not enough time to prepare a counter-witness, meaning

Buck Reed’s accountant. Moreover, Buck Reed’s accountant, William Timothy, has

other things on his schedule that would preclude him being ready by next Wednesday.

Mr. Timothy is the primary caregiver for his wife who suffers from dementia, along with

other health problems. He is located in Pleasant Grove, Utah and simply cannot come to

Grand Rapids to testify on this short notice for a sentencing hearing next Wednesday,

August 13, 2014.

Neither Buck Reed nor his counsel mean to suggest that the government is

springing exhibits at the last minute unfairly. The government’s tax computations were

set forth in the final presentence report which was prepared June 9 and revised July 30,

2014. (Government’s Sentencing Memorandum, Docket No. 109, p. 1.) Its tax figures

were arrived at, thus, and available to Buck Reed as of June, 2014. (Id.) However, Buck

and Renee Reed and their accountant did not complete work on the tax returns they have

filed until last week, at the beginning of August 2014. (See, Reed’s Sentencing

Memorandum, Exhibit B.) Therefore, the government did not know of the large

difference in the tax computations until then. Equally, the defense did not know of the

large difference in tax computations until the finalized tax returns last week could be

compared to the government’s much higher figures. If the government is going to contest

the figures presented on these tax returns on the now finalized Reed tax returns, the

defense should have a reasonable time to prepare a rebuttal and to have the Reed’s

accountant who prepared these returns available in court to defend them. This simply

cannot be done by next Wednesday.

Case 1:13-cr-00130-JTN Doc #115 Filed 08/08/14 Page 5 of 8 Page ID#912

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Obviously, it will not require the defense 90 days or anything like that amount of

time to review the forty-five exhibits announced today by the government and to prepare

a defense to the figures proposed by the government as allegedly bolstered by the fortyfive

exhibits, and certainly with even a two week extension that preparation could be

completed and a date could be found for the accountant to be present. However we

submit that because of the promise of more restitution we respectfully ask for the full

ninety-day postponement.

If this court is not inclined to grant the large postponement of ninety days but is

inclined to grant the shorter extension to prepare a refutation of the government’s

presentation once the exhibits are disclosed to the defense, we respectfully inform the

Court that counsel commences a trial in the Middle District of Georgia on September 2,

2014 which is scheduled to last five days, commences a trial in state court in New York

on September 16, which is scheduled to last four days, and commences a trial in tax court

in Boston on September 29, which is scheduled to last three days, and counsel alerts this

court that those settings are unfortunately immutable. In addition, Mr. Timothy, Buck

Reed’s Utah-based accountant, is unavailable from August 22 – 29, 2014, as his wife will

be undergoing brain surgery.

In conclusion, the undersigned recognizes that Buck Reed has had years to make

the restitution that he is now making. It could well be wondered why this is happening

now. While this is a fair concern, we respectfully submit that it should be overridden

given the stakes for the persons whose money was lost. The best argument for this

continuance, in light of the demonstrated restitution already made as that reinforces the

probability of future restitution, is the statements found in the Amended Presentence

Case 1:13-cr-00130-JTN Doc #115 Filed 08/08/14 Page 6 of 8 Page ID#913

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Investigation Report of the persons who lost money. (Amended Presentence Investigation

Report, Docket No. 113, pp. 15-20.) Surely it is worth waiting one last time if the

potential result is an alleviation of their pain. Buck Reed has met all of his reporting

obligations, is nonviolent, and it is submitted that there is no good reason not to allow this

continuance.

It is also respectfully requested that if the Court is going to delay sentencing for

either of reasons explained above, it consider doing so before the hearing itself.

Whenever the sentencing takes place Buck Reed’s family, some of his business

associates and friends, and even some of those who gave money to the venture, wish to

appear to support him. This request is not intended to be presumptuous or in any way

disruptive of the Court’s need to consider this matter fully, however we point out the

obvious savings and avoidance of inconvenience if this matter can be determined before

people have to get on planes. And again, counsel regrets the last-minute motion here but

counsel was and remains of the view that a request based upon promised restitution

would only be favorably considered by this Court, given the facts of this case, if it was

made after a substantial restitution sum was in hand and had been paid over to the Clerk

of the Court, which despite all efforts to get it done sooner, only occurred this morning.

Dated: August 8, 2014 Respectfully submitted,

/s/ John J.E. Markham, II

John J.E. Markham, II

(Mass BBO No. 638579)

Attorney for Freeman Carl Read

MARKHAM & READ

One Commercial Wharf West

Boston, MA 02110

Tel: (617) 523 - 6329

Case 1:13-cr-00130-JTN Doc #115 Filed 08/08/14 Page 7 of 8 Page ID#914

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Fax: (617) 742 – 8604

jmarkham@markhamread.com

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Buck Reed to serve 87 months in prison beginning August 13th, 2014 Article from newspaper

Buck Reed     Buck Reed      Buck Reed    Alert    Alert    Alert 

Gold-recovery scam nets long prison term for ex-St. Joe resident

Former SJ man cheated investors by promising hidden gold

Posted: Thursday, August 14, 2014 6:00 am                

 

Gold-recovery scam nets long prison term for ex-St. Joe resident

 

By SCOTT AIKEN - HP Staff Writer The Herald-Palladium

           

GRAND RAPIDS - A former St. Joseph man convicted of defrauding investors through a scheme that promised wealth from gold hidden in the Philippines was sentenced Wednesday to 87 months in prison.
  Freeman "Buck" Reed, 44, was ordered as part of the sentence imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Janet Neff to pay $1.32 million in restitution to victims and $565,509 to the IRS.                            

 Reed used his powers of persuasion, developed over the years in his multi-level marketing business, to get people to invest in a gold scam that had been around for years, the judge said.

Neff also said she is "convinced Mr. Reed will scam again, possibly even while he's in prison."

Reed and another man were indicted in July 2013 in a scheme to cheat investors out of money they solicited to recover gold and some gold certificates.

Reed claimed the gold was hidden in the Philippines by the Japanese during World War II, and that he needed capital to finance the recovery effort.

The scheme was initiated in 2007, according to the indictment, and for several years potential investors were told that Reed and his associate, Gary Degler, had access to the site where the gold bars were hidden.

The government alleged that a separate part of the scheme lured new investments with phony claims that Reed and Degler also had access to gold certificates obtained from Ferdinand Marcos, former president of the Philippines.

While there never was any gold or gold certificates, federal prosecutors said, Reed took steps to convince investors that the gold bar scheme was legitimate and the payoff was a sure thing.

Investors were shown a work area, represented as the site of the hidden gold, where men and boys were digging.

Reed and Degler spent liberal sums of the investment money on themselves, prosecutors said, buying a house, cars and paying for vacations.

Reed bought a pair of snowmobiles for $15,500, and spent $79,349 on a large deck to his St. Joseph residence in 2008-09, prosecutors said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Clay Stiffler said there were 16 victims.

On March 13, Reed pleaded guilty to one count of fraud by wire, radio or television, a felony that carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.

A plea agreement in the case was sealed by the court and not made public.

A jury in U.S. District Court in January found Reed guilty of three counts of failing to file tax returns for the years 2008, 2009 and 2010.

A single sentence was imposed for the charges of fraud and failing to file tax returns.

At the time a grand jury handed down the indictment, Reed was no longer living in St. Joseph. Degler is a U.S. citizen who was living in the Philippines at the time.

The wire fraud occurred from July 31, 2008, to Sept. 17, 2009, according to the indictment, and involved transfers of money from investors to Reed's bank accounts, and text messages from Reed to investors, the document states.
 

Contact: saiken@TheHP.com, (269) 932-0358, Twitter: @HPAiken


 

Buck Reed Pleads Guilty to Scheme to Defraud Investors

Former SJ man pleads guilty in scheme (Buck Reed)

Feds say Buck Reed swindled investors by offering gold riches

Posted: Thursday, March 20, 2014 6:00 am |  Updated: 9:15 am, Thu Mar 20, 2014.  

 By SCOTT AIKEN - HP Staff Writer

GRAND RAPIDS - Freeman "Buck" Reed, a former St. Joseph man charged with swindling investors who were offered a share of a cache of gold hidden in the Philippines, has pleaded guilty to a federal fraud charge.

Reed, 44, and another man were indicted in July in a scheme to cheat investors out of $1.3 million, money they solicited to recover the gold and some gold certificates.

Federal prosecutors charged that there was no gold and Reed spent the investors' money freely on himself. Among other things, Reed bought a pair of snowmobiles for $15,500 and spent $79,349 to build a large deck and hot tub with river view at his St. Joseph residence in 2008-09, the government alleged. Reed appeared in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids on March 13 to plead guilty to one count of fraud by wire, radio or television, a felony that carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison, according to court records. Reed pleaded guilty as part of a plea agreement. The agreement was sealed by the court and not made public.

You can read the Rest of the Story by clicking on the link below or cutting and pasting the link below to your browser.

http://www.heraldpalladium.com/news/local/former-sj-man-pleads-guilty-in-scheme/article_01454eb7-161a-5511-94e7-b7f1445bbc97.html

Buck and Renee Reed lived in my home in Alpine for 10 months. 

 

Chase Bank, "Lack of care policy", BEWARE

Today's blog post is a bit off topic but I have to share anyway because this is so outrageous and it could happen to anyone who has a checkbook. In other words: consumer beware.

This blog post was originally written by my friend Liz, I am reposting her post.

My friend William was once married to Mary. Just weeks prior to separation when they were wrapping up their marriage and planning who was moving and where, Mary took a stack of checks from William's business account. She was not an account owner or signator and had no access to the account whatsoever. She then wrote out a series of three checks to herself totaling $12,000, signed the checks, walked into Chase Bank and cashed them all. Seriously, that's pretty ballsy of anyone. Mary didn't even try to forge William's name or anything-- she wrote the checks to herself and signed her own name. Wow!

It took William several weeks before he realized that the business account was missing $12,000 (not exactly chump change) and when he did, he immediately went to Chase Bank in Cedar Hills, Utah, discovered what happened and filed a claim with Chase for the theft.

First, Chase refused to give William an answer one way or the other if they felt they had any responsibility whatsoever for erroneously cashing large checks when the signer wasn't an account owner at all. After letters and calls and more calls and letters went unanswered, I sent out a Tweet. Chase bank contacted me right away (dang, I love Twitter!). I put Chase in touch with William and they promised to look into the matter and get back to him within 48 hours.

Chase contacted William yesterday and denied his claim, saying that Chase bore no responsibility whatsoever because the checks weren't locked in a safe and he "allowed" someone to steal his checks. So, in other words, "too bad so sad." So, the employee who didn't even look up who was allowed to sign the checks, nor did she check to see if signatures matched, did absolutely nothing wrong at all! Each of the three checks were several thousand dollars (one was $6,000). I think a reasonable employee or account owner would think one should look that up for larger checks at a minimum, right? Not if you work at Chase!

So, if you need money, I suppose the lesson here is: Just find anyone with a Chase account, take a check, write it out to yourself, sign your name, walk into a Chase bank and cash the check. No need doing pesky things like trying to forge a signature-- just use your own driver's license and name, simple as that.

Now if you're an account owner at Chase, it sucks for us because Chase thinks that we must lock up all our checks in a safe and take only one out at a time. If, by chance, we have some checks in a handbag or a pocket and somehow someone takes them and decides to cash a check to themselves for a few thousand dollars, then guess who pays for that? Us, the account holder! What The HELL?!? What's the point of that signature card? Apparently none! 

So, my word of warning to all you Chase customers. Either: 1) Buy a safe and lock up every single one of your checks, or 2) Get a new bank.