Finanzas Forex, TIRN... I've seen this movie before, haven't I?

Investment firm springs up out of nowhere.
Investment firm has innovative, fast-and-loose strategy.
Investment firm posts record profits.
You invest.
Investment firm is being harassed by big bad government agencies.
Investment firm has to hold on to your money until this mess can get all cleared up.

If this sounds familiar, it’s because you’ve either invested in Finanzas Forex or TIRN. Finanzas Forex is being sued for libel by DWB Marketing, and by Crowne Gold, inc over contract issues. For TIRN, the bad guys are the Securities and Exchange Commission. They’re set to go to court with David Merrick soon, charging him with operating a Ponzi scheme (if you get a chance to read all of the documentation, do it. It’s a good read).

But I’d hate to jump to conclusions. Let’s analyze this from both a pessimistic and optimistic point of view.

Optimistic:

FFx and TIRN are victims of bad timing and poor management. They didn’t get the licenses they needed to operate in the United States, and they’re being busted because of the national paranoia that Bernie Madoff and other REAL Ponzi  schemers have caused. The SEC has shifted into overdrive, and innovative risk-takers like FFx and TIRN are paying for it.

Verdict: Things will sort themselves out. Justice will prevail, and these noble companies will once again continue to churn out profits for us.

Pessimistic:

Let’s be honest. Both companies are mad shady. TIRN’s bank activity didn’t show any trading going on while it was operational, and FFx has never posted real trade information on it’s shabby website. Plus, FFx has a really stupid security feature. Both companies had an “unofficial” way to put money into the company (paying cash to other customers for them to transfer funds into your account), and both  have jumped to create other alter egos (TIRN is now PMR, and FFx is pfplace.com) as soon as their money got frozen.

Verdict: Consider the money you invested a tuition payment to the School of Hard Knocks.

Positive or negative, your response to the situation can be nothing but passive. You either have to wait for the best, or forget about it and put it behind you. It’s a powerless situation to be in if you happen to have funds tied up in one of these companies (like me). Nevertheless, if we use this chance to learn and grow, we’ll at least have something to show in the end. But this is only possible if we share information.

With that in mind, do you have an “inside scoop” on what’s going on at Finanzas Forex or TIRN? Perhaps a link to obscure, overlooked information? Please leave a comment and share it!

Finanzas Forex has been up to alot lately. They’ve lately required that every investor revise and sign a contract, and it’s rumored that they already have aquired a bank, and will finally have a defined place to send money to. It’s also rumored that Finanzas Forex is going to close itself off to new investors, and create a satellite company that will have all of the licenses needed to operate in the countries around the world (As of now, Colombians can’t sign up due to legal issues).

Although it’s annoying to have to sign a contract, and keep up on which country can and can’t sign up, it’s also reassuring. FFx is playing by the rules, which implies that they’re actually in the game. Every day I have less and less doubt that it’s a scheme. So far, I can’t complain. I’m coming up to the six month mark, and my investment seems to have paid off. Already people I know have taken out their original investment, and I’ve been able to withdraw without too much incident.

FFx or not, it’as always good to diversify. I recently bought stock in Calypso Wireless, a publicly traded company that has several patents in cell phone technology. Their big one is a patent on the technology that allows them to switch from the cell network to wifi seamlessly. T-Mobile is infringing on their patent. Last week, Calypso Wireless filed a lawsuit with them with the Williams Kherkher Law Firm, possibly the most powerful legal team ever (they hold the record for winning the largest settlement in the universe). The stock has jumped from two cents to four, and is rumored to hit 25 cents over the course of several months.
So i’m in. I’ll see what happens.

So, for example, I put in my request to pull money out on the first of the month. Ten days had to pass before they would even look at my request. When the 20th rolled around, I suppose they decided to punish me by making me wait until the NEXT payment period, the 5th of the next month, causing the 5 week wait. Mystery solved.

I thought I would look over the frequently asked questions (located in the “Attention to the Client” area), and sure enough, all the info was listed.

As I had mentioned in the last post, I put a request to retire another 300 dollars (after fixing the bank info), and after about three weeks, I found it in my account. Strangely though, they charged me 45 dollars AGAIN! I just put in a complaint, telling them the situation– Let’s see if they respond.

After five weeks, I finally got my money.
“Make sure that all the data are correct, or if not, 45 Dollars fees will be at your expense”

Bad english and all, FFx made good on their threat, and for not putting in my full name and investor ID in the “note” box (something I find slightly illogical), I was charged 45 dollars. Either way, it’s real money. 255 real dollars, to my real account. I put in another request to withdraw 300 dollars more for this month, so hopefully the process will be faster (and fee-less) this time.

I’ve never understood this “security” feature on the sign in page of Finanzas Forex.
The numbers don’t look very distorted, and any “bot” with decent Optical Character Recognition would be able to recognize these numbers.

As it turns out, the truth is even more disturbing.
A right click on any individual number will reveal that each number is separated into its own file. I took a quick look at the properties of the file.

The file name CONTAINS the number! This goes beyond stupid. Although I can’t think of any practical application of sabotaging FFx’s website via bots, one would think that if a security feature were to be implemented, it would actually be SECURE. This is like tying a fence with a bowtie. A simple Java program could exploit this!

Finanzas Forex, you are a company that transacts business solely over the internet. I have money in your company. Your website sucks. Please protect my money and patch these gaping holes so I can write glowing reports about the profits you are generating for me.

Administrative Department

Friday came and went, and I’m still waiting. I sent out a quick notice to them through the “attention to the client” link. Let’s see what happens on Monday. or Tuesday.

P.S. the writer of Finanzas Forex Blog dropped me a comment on my last post, and explained a little more about commodities. I checked out his blog, and found a wealth of information. You can find the google translated version here.

Now, there are two ways to make a withdrawal in FFx:

1) Conduct a traditional transaction, where you put in your bank details, and hit send. The downside is that any transaction takes about two weeks to complete, in or out.

2) Do an account-to-account transfer of the money to someone that also wants to avoid the two week waiting period. You put the money into their FFx account, and they write you a check. Apparently, there are people lined up to do this kind of transfer.

Since I wanted to see all of the ins and outs of bank transfers, I went for option two.

I don’t know if it was a coincidence or some kind of cosmic irony, but a few days after I put in the request for my withdrawl, Finanzas Forex announced they were having bank problems, and was in the process of changing the bank they use to conduct transfers. I don’t know if that will set me back a few days, but i’m checking my bank account every day to see when the funds will come through.

Updates on FFx: Some unnerving things bubbled up to the surface in the last few weeks:
There was an email, sent out by the director of forexmillonario.com, stating that FFx would have a zero tolerance policy for those that deliberately defame and slander the company. Here’s an excerpt:

-La Compañía hará seguimientos a Inversionistas actuales y gente del común, deshonestos y que denigren de la Compañía; aplicándo ahora si, todo el rigor de la Ley para evitar comentarios negativos y mentirosos en contra de FFX. Abogados en cada País se encargarán de colocar las demandas respectivas. Además, si el infractor es Inversionista de FFX, perderá su inversión, como sanción punitiva para comenzar. Todo esto será obviamente con pruebas contundentes y no por comentarios o rumores de otros usuarios.

Now, I’m all for stopping slander and libel, but I certainly hope that they will allow investors to review the company with a critical eye. I am especially concerned about the threat to take away our investment, as a “punitive sanction”. Here’s hoping my blog isn’t considered “negative” to the company.

For now, i’m taking a “wait and see” approach. Several people close to me are already making contacts and signing up people, which I think is great. But as for me, I would like to be absolutely sure that everything is going to work as smoothly as I pitch it… As soon as those 300 bucks come through, i’ll let you know.

We already have the Trading Platform ready, as well as the team of professionals who will be in charge of these investments, as a very high level of specialization is required.

At this moment in time, our Juridicial Department, is finishing the details for the contracts. Once this phase is complete we will activate this type of investment.

We will also publish the technical information about this product, as well as the conditions to be able to participate.
___________________________
It seems like FFX going to be getting into the commodities markets, with big, big returns… I’ve attached a Powerpoint presentation from the second convention they had (in Brazil), where they talk about the commodities market (*it’s in spanish). Now one thing i’ve noticed about FFX is that they have a tendancy to tweak the details of things they announce. Maybe it’s a latin american thing, or a new company thing, but I don’t know how many of these projects are still underway. However, it seems like the commodities investments are still being worked on. From what I heard, right now it’s only being offered to big investors ($100,000 or more), and will soon be opened up to us little people.

Novedades_II_Convencion_%28Brasil%29.ppt

FINANZAS FOREX:
It’s been a couple of months that i’ve had my money in there, and don’t have any complaints. From the news they’ve been giving us, it seems like they’ve been working with Wells Fargo to try to work out bank accounts for the users, to make money transfers easier. It seems like the deal went sour, and people were talking directly to the bank. FFX sent out a memo to investors, saying this: “Les ponemos en conocimiento a todos ustedes que, con el fin de salvaguardar y proteger los intereses y la imagen de nuestra Compañía, serán expulsados todos aquellos inversores que se comuniquen con el BancoWells fargo.”
Needless to say, it made me uncomfortable. There’s a fine line between company transparency and an irresponsible use of information. But I’m still investigating. The next thing i’m going to do is see if I can turn those supposed earnings I have into cold, hard cash… I want to pull out some money.

By the way, There’s commission for me if people sign up for FFX under me. If you’re thinking of signing up ANYWAY, why don’t you do it through me?

Updates coming sometime later.

So far there is no formal review on Finanzas Forex, so i’m pretty much flying blind, picking up information as I get it. Hopefully by next week i’ll have more info from a conference they are having in Brazil.

FFX (Finanzas Forex) offers different investment plans, in varying risk levels… depending on how much money you invest, the maximum ROI (Return on Investment) changes.
From 100 to 3,999 dollars, the maximum you can earn is 10 percent MONTHLY.
From 4000 to 19,999 dollars, the max is 14%
From 20,000 to 49,999 dollars, it’s 16%
Fifty grand and up, it’s 20% maximum return per month.
There’s also a High Risk plan, that offers up to 50% return per month.
You have to keep your original investment with FFX for 6 months to avoid paying a 15% penalty. However, the gains you make are completely liquid.
There is a commission that can be gained by bringing another person into forex: .05% of that person’s investment per month. The commission structure is multi-level.

Going against conventional wisdom, I decided to become an investor. I’m going to watch this one closely.

The National Futures Association warns about Forex markets, saying:
As mentioned above, retail off-exchange forex trading carries a high level of risk and may not be suitable for all investors. The possibility exists that you could lose all of your initial investment and be liable for additional losses. Therefore, you should not invest money that you cannot afford to lose. Be aware of all the risks associated with forex trading and make an informed decision after consulting with your financial advisor and considering your own financial situation and objectives.

The Netherlands Authority for Financial Markets had this to say about FFX (or Evolution Market Groups, Inc– the company it’s under):
According to information disclosed by staff linked to the company, on 15th March 2008, the number of clients recruited by the company in the countries where the company performs business activity has added up to 18,720 clients and the amount collected up to 121,154,519 $. The company presents an increase of 600 clients and 2 million $ a day.
The report continued, essentially warning consumers about the company.

The Comision Nacional de Valores de Panama (Securities Commission of Panama) issued a clarification about FFX, possibly due to the number of inquiries made about the company:

La Comisión Nacional de Valores (en adelante la CNV) aclara al público que en esta institución se ha recibido solicitud de información y datos relacionados a las actividades desarrolladas por la empresa Evolution Market Group Inc., sociedad anónima de nacionalidad panameña y cuyo nombre comercial es Finanzas Forex.
Si bien es cierto, la actividad de Forex no es una actividad propia del mercado de valores, según se ha reiterado mediante Opinión administrativa 5-2004 de 5 de mayo de 2004, ratificada a través de Opinión administrativa No. 5-2007 de 27 de mayo de 2007, la CNV ejecuta el análisis de la información recibida como corresponde para determinar si hay actividades relacionadas con el mercado de valores y por tanto requieran algún tipo de licencia o autorización por parte de ésta, y/o con el objeto de determinar la posible violación al Decreto Ley No. 1 de 1999 y sus reglamentos por parte de la referida empresa.
Con respecto a un posible traslado de la referida investigación al Ministerio Público, se informa que la Comisión Nacional de Valores no ha encontrado a la fecha elementos para proceder a instaurar una denuncia al Ministerio Público por posibles infracciones en la esfera penal, no obstante de haberlo en un futuro correspondería remitirlo a las autoridades penales correspondientes en el ejercicio de nuestras funciones como funcionarios públicos.

There are some interesting parallels with FFX and Charles Ponzi’s scheme. The thing is, even with Ponzi, there were people making good money. The trick was to pull out in time. FFX has been around since January of 2007. By this time, they are hitting their third 6 month cycle. Ponzi was able to run his scheme for about 11 months, in the course of which he had amassed millions of dollars.

Here’s my conclusion:
The Foreign Exchange market is high risk, high gain. The raising and relaxing of interest rates has made the US dollar (and, consequently, many other currencies) fluctuate wildly. This allows smart brokers to make very good returns on their investments. Why these brokers would want to share their amazing secret with isn’t all too clear. They could be taking a Wal-Mart approach to business (Small profit margin is made up for by wide client base). So far, current FFX clients are very happy with their investments. If this is a Ponzi scheme, it may be coming to an end, and there might not be much more time until everything collapses. I’m willing to invest for six months, until I regain my original investment, and leave the rest as seed money (If I lose it, it’ll only be the interest I gained).

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I hope I won’t be sorry. Updates coming soon.