Quatloos! > Investment
Fraud > HYIP & Bank
Debentures > Exhibit:
Quatloosian HYIP Programs > Dunbar
Litigation Release No. 17411 / March 14, 2002
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Harral Dunbar, Jr., Individually and
d/b/a Ghost International, Civil Action Number 02-233-B-M1 (M.D. La.)
PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION ISSUED AGAINST HARRAL DUNBAR, JR. FOR SECURITIES FRAUD
CONDUCTED ON INTERNET AND REGISTRATION VIOLATIONS
The Securities and Exchange Commission ("Commission") announced
today that on March 13, 2002, following an evidentiary hearing, Judge Frank
J. Polozola of the United States District Court for the Middle District of
Louisiana issued a preliminary injunction with findings of fact and conclusions
of law against Harral Dunbar, Jr., in his individual capacity and d/b/a Ghost
International, an Internet Website operation. The Court's order imposed a freeze
on the defendant's assets and ordered an accounting within 30 days. The Court
found that Dunbar, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, owned the Ghost International
Website and used it to solicit investors in investment contracts by promises
of inordinate amounts of guaranteed returns and promises of no-risk investing,
and further found that investors have received little or no return despite
several months of promises by Dunbar that returns would be paid.
In its order of preliminary injunction, the Court found that between mid-2001
and the present, Dunbar obtained over $7,500 from eleven investors in Canada,
Australia and the United States by touting Ghost International's "private
contribution and investment program" which allegedly paid, for example,
$100,000 on a $200 investment over a few weeks. Dunbar made various promises
of returns, including ones up to 1000 percent. Dunbar made various representations
to fraudulently induce investors including that his company dealt in "high
yield investments" and that funds were to be placed in offshore bank accounts,
which would pay promised returns for five months of a supposed seven-month
program. The Court also concluded that Dunbar lulled investors by making promises
that payments would be made shortly. However, when the time elapsed, the promised
payments were not forthcoming.
The complaint charged Dunbar with, and the Court preliminarily enjoined Dunbar
from, violations of Sections 5(a), 5(c) and 17(a) of the Securities Act of
1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5
thereunder. The Commission also seeks a permanent injunction against Dunbar
as well as an order compelling disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, along with
prejudgment interest and civil penalties.