Just What would make a successful poker pro risk everything through getting associated with a massive, multimillion dollar bank fraud and Ponzi scheme plot? That is the question many are now asking regarding Australian poker pro Bill Jordanou, whom is under investigation by Victoria authorities for his so-called role in a bank fraudulence that proceeded for years, according to reports.

While information on the reported Ponzi scheme are sparse, the $70 million bank fraud procedure was reportedly carried away with Jordanou’s business partner, Robert Zaia, 45. The 2 presumably ensnared Zaia’s wealthy clients, via their accountancy firm Zaia Arthur & Associates, into an undetailed Ponzi scheme, while simultaneously bank that is forging to secure loans, oftentimes in Zaia’s consumers’ names, which they then comingled with property and development loans in addition they received from the bank, for projects that either never existed or had been never started.

Bank Holds Victims Hostage

But the caper gets even crazier from here. The bank used for all these transactions was Australia’s biggest: Commonwealth Bank. That bank is currently holding Zaia’s allegedly scammed clients hostage within the loans guaranteed within their names, without their permission. Certainly one of these clients that are former Rita Klapanis, says Commonwealth served her having a $6 million demand note, despite the fact that she only heard concerning the loan’s existence whenever contacted by Commonwealth for repayment, and quickly contacted the authorities.

Undeterred, apparently, by the logic right here, Commonwealth continues to be going after Ms. Klapanis’ Toorak home, and even charging her interest that is ongoing on loan at the reported rate of $1,135 per day. Ms. Klapanis has now filed an affidavit with the Supreme Court, saying she is perhaps not accountable for a loan fraudulently obtained, without her authorization, inside her title. Her family that is wealthy had one of Zaia Arthur & Associates’ financial clients.

Once again, there are no details on the reported Ponzi scheme, or how much any customers were supposedly defrauded or what ended up being promised; only that 20 such well-to-do clients were involved.

Also called into the Supreme Court affidavit are an additional eight alleged victims of the accounting firm, which Ms. Klapanis is now suing for damages in what is called a ‘conspiracy’ in the event. Other victims are anticipated to follow suit shortly with legal action.

Bank Didn’t Check Loan Forms

And the tentacles of this octopus that is financial on coming; a property developer who claims to possess lost millions is now accusing Commonwealth of gross negligence.

‘The bank did not check the validity of tax statements or they did not check employment representations that were made, they did not undertake valuations on the properties to be secured whether they had been filed. They accepted anything completed in the loan application without question,’ the lawyer for the developer said.

Only if we could get those bankers working for the IRS.

Commonwealth, not surprisingly, isn’t saying word about any of it. But it’s maybe not the time that is first ethics have actually come under scrutiny; earlier in the day in 2010, it had been reported that the financial institution had covered up major misconduct from within its own financial planning division, which presumably put thousands of clients’ savings at danger.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) subsequently banned seven of this bank’s monetary planners, and forced Commonwealth to pay out tens of millions in damages towards the victims.

So when if which weren’t enough heated water to maintain, it now appears Commonwealth introduced a global security firm, whose job it was to conduct undercover surveillance on Michael Fraser, a prominent anti-banking lobbyist, also as other politicians ( not, we are assured, Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel. Hey, we have to here amuse ourselves sometimes). The secret spying included National Senator from New South Wales John Williams, who is involved in a Senate inquiry into the ASIC’s very own conduct after bringing the Commonwealth scandal to light.

Good lord, all we need are Anthony and Cleopatra to produce this any more dramatic.

Jordanou has made 15 profession poker tournament cashes, including 3rd that is taking $300,000 in the 2010 Aussie Millions $100,000 Challenge in Melbourne.

The two-year investigation is expected to be finished by the end of the year.

PONZI SCHEMES:

Named for early century that is 20th Charles Ponzi, these schemes actually first started long before he lent his notorious title to them. The goal of these scams that are financial for the perpetrator to collect vast amounts of money according to insanely ambitious promises of riches to the ‘investors,’ after that your instigator takes off, with everybody’s cash in tow.

Typically, Ponzi schemes include several predictable elements. The very first is a far-above-average rate that is promised of on investments, accompanied by a apparently plausible description of just how these rates will be achieved; usually, the scammer will state they either have insider information, or are engaged in an elite investment opportunity not open to the general public.

Next, the perp makes sure that a number of the initial investors do certainly have the promised returns, to create buzz and credibility, and obviously to bring in yet more investors, who are needed to help make the scheme profitable to its creator. However, subsequent investors won’t be so fortunate, and are typically left completely cleaned out if they not just receive no returns, but lose all their initial investment as well.

Bernie Madoff, needless to say, is essentially the most infamous Ponzi schemer in history. After defrauding everybody from elite nonprofit organizations to celebrities to banks away from a lot more than $50 billion on the course of decades, he is currently serving what is tantamount to a life phrase. Their ripoffs left lots of his investors penniless, including countless citizens that are senior.

Whether A ponzi that is actual scheme allegedly committed by Jordanou and Zaia is not entirely clear through the reports released so far; but if a scheme was indeed perpetrated on Zaia’s wealthy accounting clients, it most likely left a monetary Cat 5 hurricane in its wake.