EMMITSBURG, MD - A sculpture built to honor the fallen firefighters from September 11th is now at the center of an alleged ponzi scheme.
At the feet of the firefighters lies some of the rubble from the attacks, serving as memories of heroism in the face of tragedy. One of the last things the memorial should represent is fraud.
The artist who constructed the bronze statue is Stan Watts. He says he got $300,000 from Coadum Advisors to fund the project, but had no idea how the money was being raised. The original plaque on the statue says it was funded by an anonymous donor.
Coadum Advisors is the company the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) says illegally used money from new investors to pay old investors. They then transferred more than $18 million dollars to offshore accounts.
"We are not involved, did not know about it until we were contacted by the attorney on the case," said Charles Jaster, the chief financial officer at the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.
Although the foundation and the artist say they didn't know about the ponzi scheme, the SEC has seized ownership of the statue.
The SEC has been unable to seize Coadum's offshore accounts. Until someone agrees to purchase the statue and payback the investors who were duped, the statue's ownership will be in question. But the heroism it represents still stands tall.
The artist says the goal is to find someone who will purchase the statue and then donate it to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.
Source: http://your4state.com/content/fulltext/?cid=69822
_________________________________________________________
ATLANTA, GA, Jun 25, 2009 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- A memorial created to honor the fallen firefighters of September 11, 2001, is now part of a $30+ million corporate scandal. The 40-foot bronze sculpture, "To Lift a Nation," recreates the historic moment when three firefighters raised the American flag at Ground Zero, memorialized in the now world-famous photograph by Thomas E. Franklin. The 15,000-pound sculpture is now for sale, in hopes that a donor or donors will be found to rededicate the memorial in honor of the heroes of September 11. The donor's acquisition price of this priceless monument is expected to generate proceeds to the receivership of $500,000 to $2 million, which will allow defrauded investors to recoup at least some portion of their losses.
"Investors are the ones who pay the price in a scandal like this. Many of the investors are retirees who have lost their life savings because of this scandal," said court-appointed receiver Pat Huddleston, founder of Huddleston Law Firm. "It is a disgrace that such a symbolic memorial, which represents the best of America, is caught in the middle of a corporate scandal. We are hoping to bring honor back to the memorial by rededicating it, but first we need a willing donor who would like to become the new benefactor."
In 2008, an investigation revealed that Coadum Advisors, Inc. fraudulently raised in excess of $30 million from more than 150 investors. Approximately $21 million was wired to Malta and Switzerland, while other funds were used for operating costs and various expenditures, including the purchase of the "To Lift a Nation" memorial sculpture. The sculptor, Stanley J. Watts, was unaware that the project was commissioned with fraudulent funds and is not being charged in the case.
The sculpture is located at the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Park in Emmitsburg, Maryland. "This sculpture symbolizes freedom, our nation's flag, and our nation's will to overcome adversity," said Watts.
To contact the receiver about acquiring the monument for permanent donation to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation on behalf of your organization, please contact ToLiftaNation@huddlestonfirm.com.
ABOUT
Huddleston Law Firm in Marietta, Georgia, is a civil litigation firm that provides aggressive representation on behalf of defrauded investors, ranging from individual victims of securities fraud to large groups of investors in federal receivership cases. Pat Huddleston of Huddleston Law Firm currently serves as the court-appointed receiver in four receivership cases. For more information, visit www.huddlestonfirm.com.
Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=1011299
Contact: Stephanie Richards For Huddleston Law Firm 678-557-2735 Email Contact Source http://www.marketwatch.com/story/911-memorial-sculpture-caught-in-30-million-fraud-case-investors-pay-the-price
No comments:
Post a Comment