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Yvonne's dilemma - Millions lost on the market
Published: Sunday | October 18, 2009
Yvonne Coke
Athaliah Reynolds, Staff Reporter
DESPITE AN ardent denial from Hands Across Jamaica founder and director, Yvonne Coke, regarding her involvement in unregulated financial schemes, The Sunday Gleaner has unearthed information implicating two of her four companies in a failed forex (foreign exchange) investment club worth more than US$30 million (J$2.7 billion).
In a Sunday Gleaner article carried last week, Coke, denied that any of her companies - Hands Across Jamaica, Write Vision, E. Private Partners Members Club, Outstretched Hands Limited and Vision Increase SA Corp - was dealing in securities, taking deposits or carrying out any kind of monetary exchange.
However, several club members have since come forward claiming to have invested millions of dollars in Coke's investment scheme, Write Visions E. Partners Private Members' Club, which promised monthly net returns of up to 18 per cent.
A cover
According to a former employee, who worked for the charity organiser for more than a year, Coke's publishing company, Write Visions Limited, was like a cover for an investment scheme, which operated through her Panama-based company, Visions Increase SA Corporation.
She said club members would lodge their investments to the bank account of Write Visions Limited and the money would be later wired to Visions Increase's United States or St Kitts bank accounts.
One investor told The Sunday Gleaner that she dropped off cheques on many occasions at the office of Hands Across Jamaica. The money, she said, was later sent over to Write Visions Limited.
The employee said the club had more than 900 investors, many of whom invested more than US$1,000 each in the scheme. The employee admitted that she and her husband lost US$6,000, a major chunk of their life savings, in the plan.
A copy of the investment contract, which was provided to The Sunday Gleaner by one of the dis-gruntled investors, promised that "all funds maintained in the account (would) be traded in the worldwide foreign-currency market through a trader selected and approved by Write Visions Limited".
The contract also stated that the charity organisation, Hands Across Jamaica for Righteousness, would receive a percentage of the gross gains.
The employee also informed The Gleaner that a large number of churches and ministers of religion, as well as many prominent persons, including entrepreneurs, lawyers and doctors, based both locally and overseas, invested in the club.
"However a large portion of the club members were normal Jamaicans, like myself, who just wanted to make good returns on our savings," she said. "I even know of one lady who was saving to buy a house but didn't have enough money, so she invested her deposit for the house. She ended up losing everything and, of course, she has no house," the former employee added.
She said there was even a special 'pastors' arrangement' where ministers were encouraged to garner investments from their congregations, which would be invested under the name of the church.
Legit investment
One investor who also spoke to The Sunday Gleaner on condition of anonymity said she and her son collectively lost US$9,000 in the scheme. She joined the club in 2007 through referral, which she said was Coke's way of recruiting depositors.
"A friend of mine who was part of the scheme referred me to it telling me that it seemed like a good legit investment and that the lady was a Christian. That is one of the main reasons I joined because I know of Miss Coke and her involvement with charitable Christian organisations," she said. The investor said that for the first few months she received her returns as promised. However, things gradually turned sour as the foreign-exchange market worsened.
It is understood that Coke, through her Panama-based company, Visions Increase, gave funds to a foreign exchange trader to invest.
However, according to a copy of a litigation, which was filed in the Supreme Court last year by Coke, those funds were then turned over to David Smith of Olint Investment Limited.
Coke has claimed a breach of contract, which she said occurred when the trader invested the money in Olint, contrary to what was agreed.
"The board of directors have not received any funds (from the investor) or David Smith or Olint despite several requests and since April 2008," the correspondence said.
"Until April 2008, payments from (the investor) were regular, since then payments have ceased. This has caused great embarrassment to the board of directors," the letter continued.
When contacted last week, Coke pointed The Sunday Gleaner to the trader who she said had the money for those who invested in Write Visions.
"Leave me out of it please, because they all knew that we were not traders," she said. When pressed on the point that the monies were actually paid over to a company registered in her name and therefore were paid to her, Coke said she needed to contact her lawyer before she could comment further.
She, however, went on to say: "I'm not trying to hide or run from anything. People knew that we were not traders, we made that clear ... we believed that he (the trader) invested the money with David Smith, but we don't have any money invested with David Smith directly."
She added: "We never gave him permission to invest the money anywhere else; he was purporting to be a trader."
When asked whether she was therefore admitting that her companies collected monies to be traded on the forex market, promising returns of up to 18 per cent, Coke said: "Persons invested the money with the traders; we simply acted on behalf of the traders and the people."
athaliah.reynolds@gleanerjm.com
Write Visionse-Partner Club MEMBERS' AGREEMENT -TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Your agent herein referred to as Write Visions e-Partner Club will exercise full agency rights to receive and place funds on your behalf and to make the necessary withdrawals and conduct all legal and any other business relating to the trading and return of your placement of funds with them.
All funds maintained in your account will be traded in the worldwide foreign-currency market through a trader selected and approved by Write Visions Limited.
All club members will be given monthly net returns of up to 18 per cent subject to any such circumstances as may affect the trader's ability to trade in any particular month. This amount will be added to fund margins after the relevant referral gain is subtracted.
Your non-profit organisation referee/Hands Across Jamaica For Righteousness will receive a percentage of gross gains received, and where referred by an approved referee, a goodwill sum as a percentage of the gains will also be granted and paid over to them from the gross amount.
A 70-80 per cent trader's guarantee of all funds in the account is given as extended by the trader. Given the volatile nature of the foreign-exchange market (also referred to herein as the market). However, trading is done with minimum risk exposure and therefore under normal circumstances all funds deposited are considered relatively safe as directed by the standards of the market.
After the first month of trading, members will receive a monthly statement printed or by email initially and access to their own page on the Write Visions e-Partner Private Members' Club website with monthly update statement information as soon as it becomes available.
All club members are required to provide all information requested to conform to local and international requirements regarding money laundering as well as any other information deemed valid in accordance with these international requirements when required. (E.G., source of funds and confirmation of address and workplace will be acceptable in conformance with due diligence requirements. All members will be further advised.)
All relevant deposit placement details must be updated on the website when available within 12 hours of the placement being made.
The name of the club member should be given to the bank when the bank deposit is made and the name of said club member must be noted on the deposit slip to ensure easy identification of bank deposits on the bank statement.
A copy of the bank deposit slip with the name of the club member must be emailed or faxed to us immediately.
Members may withdraw all or part of their funds at any time. However, withdrawals are not recommended outside of the calendar quarters and as such withdrawals before these maturity dates are discouraged and will attract penalty of 25 per cent of the gains for the previous 30 days gain period.
Withdrawal request will be wired directly into your account or otherwise made by draft or cheque to you. We therefore recommend that you open a US$ account at your preferred bank to facilitate this.
All contact information for Write Visions e-Partner private members Club will be available on our website when it is activated.
I understand that this fund is being reregistered in Panama and is subject to a name change to better merge with our regulatory framework. All terms and conditions above will be applicable then: however, a new online agreement may be required at the appropriate time.
http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/glean...ead/lead2.html
Published: Sunday | October 18, 2009
Yvonne Coke
Athaliah Reynolds, Staff Reporter
DESPITE AN ardent denial from Hands Across Jamaica founder and director, Yvonne Coke, regarding her involvement in unregulated financial schemes, The Sunday Gleaner has unearthed information implicating two of her four companies in a failed forex (foreign exchange) investment club worth more than US$30 million (J$2.7 billion).
In a Sunday Gleaner article carried last week, Coke, denied that any of her companies - Hands Across Jamaica, Write Vision, E. Private Partners Members Club, Outstretched Hands Limited and Vision Increase SA Corp - was dealing in securities, taking deposits or carrying out any kind of monetary exchange.
However, several club members have since come forward claiming to have invested millions of dollars in Coke's investment scheme, Write Visions E. Partners Private Members' Club, which promised monthly net returns of up to 18 per cent.
A cover
According to a former employee, who worked for the charity organiser for more than a year, Coke's publishing company, Write Visions Limited, was like a cover for an investment scheme, which operated through her Panama-based company, Visions Increase SA Corporation.
She said club members would lodge their investments to the bank account of Write Visions Limited and the money would be later wired to Visions Increase's United States or St Kitts bank accounts.
One investor told The Sunday Gleaner that she dropped off cheques on many occasions at the office of Hands Across Jamaica. The money, she said, was later sent over to Write Visions Limited.
The employee said the club had more than 900 investors, many of whom invested more than US$1,000 each in the scheme. The employee admitted that she and her husband lost US$6,000, a major chunk of their life savings, in the plan.
A copy of the investment contract, which was provided to The Sunday Gleaner by one of the dis-gruntled investors, promised that "all funds maintained in the account (would) be traded in the worldwide foreign-currency market through a trader selected and approved by Write Visions Limited".
The contract also stated that the charity organisation, Hands Across Jamaica for Righteousness, would receive a percentage of the gross gains.
The employee also informed The Gleaner that a large number of churches and ministers of religion, as well as many prominent persons, including entrepreneurs, lawyers and doctors, based both locally and overseas, invested in the club.
"However a large portion of the club members were normal Jamaicans, like myself, who just wanted to make good returns on our savings," she said. "I even know of one lady who was saving to buy a house but didn't have enough money, so she invested her deposit for the house. She ended up losing everything and, of course, she has no house," the former employee added.
She said there was even a special 'pastors' arrangement' where ministers were encouraged to garner investments from their congregations, which would be invested under the name of the church.
Legit investment
One investor who also spoke to The Sunday Gleaner on condition of anonymity said she and her son collectively lost US$9,000 in the scheme. She joined the club in 2007 through referral, which she said was Coke's way of recruiting depositors.
"A friend of mine who was part of the scheme referred me to it telling me that it seemed like a good legit investment and that the lady was a Christian. That is one of the main reasons I joined because I know of Miss Coke and her involvement with charitable Christian organisations," she said. The investor said that for the first few months she received her returns as promised. However, things gradually turned sour as the foreign-exchange market worsened.
It is understood that Coke, through her Panama-based company, Visions Increase, gave funds to a foreign exchange trader to invest.
However, according to a copy of a litigation, which was filed in the Supreme Court last year by Coke, those funds were then turned over to David Smith of Olint Investment Limited.
Coke has claimed a breach of contract, which she said occurred when the trader invested the money in Olint, contrary to what was agreed.
"The board of directors have not received any funds (from the investor) or David Smith or Olint despite several requests and since April 2008," the correspondence said.
"Until April 2008, payments from (the investor) were regular, since then payments have ceased. This has caused great embarrassment to the board of directors," the letter continued.
When contacted last week, Coke pointed The Sunday Gleaner to the trader who she said had the money for those who invested in Write Visions.
"Leave me out of it please, because they all knew that we were not traders," she said. When pressed on the point that the monies were actually paid over to a company registered in her name and therefore were paid to her, Coke said she needed to contact her lawyer before she could comment further.
She, however, went on to say: "I'm not trying to hide or run from anything. People knew that we were not traders, we made that clear ... we believed that he (the trader) invested the money with David Smith, but we don't have any money invested with David Smith directly."
She added: "We never gave him permission to invest the money anywhere else; he was purporting to be a trader."
When asked whether she was therefore admitting that her companies collected monies to be traded on the forex market, promising returns of up to 18 per cent, Coke said: "Persons invested the money with the traders; we simply acted on behalf of the traders and the people."
athaliah.reynolds@gleanerjm.com
Write Visionse-Partner Club MEMBERS' AGREEMENT -TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Your agent herein referred to as Write Visions e-Partner Club will exercise full agency rights to receive and place funds on your behalf and to make the necessary withdrawals and conduct all legal and any other business relating to the trading and return of your placement of funds with them.
All funds maintained in your account will be traded in the worldwide foreign-currency market through a trader selected and approved by Write Visions Limited.
All club members will be given monthly net returns of up to 18 per cent subject to any such circumstances as may affect the trader's ability to trade in any particular month. This amount will be added to fund margins after the relevant referral gain is subtracted.
Your non-profit organisation referee/Hands Across Jamaica For Righteousness will receive a percentage of gross gains received, and where referred by an approved referee, a goodwill sum as a percentage of the gains will also be granted and paid over to them from the gross amount.
A 70-80 per cent trader's guarantee of all funds in the account is given as extended by the trader. Given the volatile nature of the foreign-exchange market (also referred to herein as the market). However, trading is done with minimum risk exposure and therefore under normal circumstances all funds deposited are considered relatively safe as directed by the standards of the market.
After the first month of trading, members will receive a monthly statement printed or by email initially and access to their own page on the Write Visions e-Partner Private Members' Club website with monthly update statement information as soon as it becomes available.
All club members are required to provide all information requested to conform to local and international requirements regarding money laundering as well as any other information deemed valid in accordance with these international requirements when required. (E.G., source of funds and confirmation of address and workplace will be acceptable in conformance with due diligence requirements. All members will be further advised.)
All relevant deposit placement details must be updated on the website when available within 12 hours of the placement being made.
The name of the club member should be given to the bank when the bank deposit is made and the name of said club member must be noted on the deposit slip to ensure easy identification of bank deposits on the bank statement.
A copy of the bank deposit slip with the name of the club member must be emailed or faxed to us immediately.
Members may withdraw all or part of their funds at any time. However, withdrawals are not recommended outside of the calendar quarters and as such withdrawals before these maturity dates are discouraged and will attract penalty of 25 per cent of the gains for the previous 30 days gain period.
Withdrawal request will be wired directly into your account or otherwise made by draft or cheque to you. We therefore recommend that you open a US$ account at your preferred bank to facilitate this.
All contact information for Write Visions e-Partner private members Club will be available on our website when it is activated.
I understand that this fund is being reregistered in Panama and is subject to a name change to better merge with our regulatory framework. All terms and conditions above will be applicable then: however, a new online agreement may be required at the appropriate time.
http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/glean...ead/lead2.html
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