Scam

Yet another news organization has done a feature on the dinar scam.  This time it's from a TV station in Utah. 

http://www.ksl.com/?sid=25004930&nid=148&title=beware-amazing-investment-opportunity-in-iraqi-dinars-experts-say&fm=home_page&s_cid=queue-1


The response from many dinar investors is that it can't be a scam because they have made money on the dinar.  Well, that's a possibility.  If you bought dinar in Iraq in 2004 and later exchanged it for USD you might have made a profit.  But if you bought from a dealer in the US at a 20% markup since 2008 you're in the hole.  If you bought from a dealer at a 20% markup prior to 2006 you're ahead by about 6% until you try to exchange it, at which time you will take another hit.  If you bought from a bank with only a 5% markup prior to 2006 you're up by 21% or so until you try to exchange, and since banks are no longer handling dinar you'd be forced to exchange through a dealer.  The point is that any gains people have made by owning dinar have been mostly eaten up by markup, shipping, and exchange fees.  Under the most ideal circumstances a dinar investor could have only netted about a 15% gain in a three year time frame which would equate to a return of a about 5% a year.  When you weigh that against the risk from illiquidity is it really worth it?  And let's face it.  Most dinar investors didn't get into it for that kind of gain.  They were looking for the home run scenario.  The overnight millionaire dream.  And that's the scam.

The very first post I did in September of 2011 was entitled "RV Reality Check", and in that post I said this:

Is the Iraqi dinar a scam? Well that depends on what you're referring to. The IQD is a legitimate currency. There are people out there selling counterfeit dinars or worthless Saddam era dinars so you have to make sure you're buying from a reputable seller and are getting the real IQD. You could easily be scammed if you don't. If you own the new Iraqi dinar and you go to Iraq you could use it to make transactions in Iraq just like you could use Canadian dollars in Canada or the Mexican peso in Mexico. So in that sense it isn't a scam. If you bought the dinar thinking that it might increase in value at a rate that outperforms mutual funds over the next five years I would say it's not a scam. But if you bought it thinking it would RV next week at 1,000-3,000 times its current value, then yeah ..... you've been scammed! And chances are it was by one of the douchebags we list on this blog.

So the only thing I called a scam was the big RV scenario where you could turn $1000 into $1,000,000 or more. If you own dinar because you think it will outperform mutual funds I would just call that a highly speculative investment, because at least that very unlikely scenario is possible. (Again, the CBI's policy is a stable exchange rate, so the only way to make a profit is if they depart from that policy for some reason.)  I stand by that belief today. The only thing that I have been inconsistent on is the potential upside, because when I started the blog I thought that they were only backing about 25 trillion dinar and that they were reducing the money supply. I was also operating under the assumption that they were going to be allowed to monetize their natural resources. Based on those factors I concluded that they could only support 1-2 cents although I even considered that a longshot. As it turns out, despite all of the talk about returning to asset backed currencies I was never able to find one bit of evidence that Iraq is ever going to back their currency with anything other than their foreign currency reserves, and I now know that they're backing everything in their M2 (which is currently at 75 trillion and growing) with about $70 billion in their foreign currency reserves which would mean that they can't realistically support more than a tenth of a penny without a considerable increase in their GDP, a reduction in the M2, a reduction in the % in foreign currency reserves that they're using to back the dinar, or a combination of those factors. These discoveries contributed to my decision to sell all.

You'll often hear dinar investors say "how can this be a scam if XYZ bank was selling it?"  Well if that bank sold dinar as a courtesy to their customers who are going to Iraq (where else are you going to use it?) then it's not a scam.  But if they sold it by marketing it as an investment with incredible potential then it is.  That's one reason the banks quit handling dinar.  They were concerned about the liability they might incur by selling it to people who only want it as an investment. 

Think of it this way.  If you buy a bag of beans at a grocery store for $2, take them home, cook them, and then eat them .... is that a scam?  Of course not.  It's a perfectly legitimate transaction.  But if that store advertises those beans as magic beans that can grow a beanstalk that will reach up to an incredible new land in the sky, and sells them for $50  .... okay, now it's a scam.  Comprende?   

Although I haven't called the dinar investment a scam there are plenty of entities that have, or at least issued some cautionary statement about it. Here's a short list:

You Can't Fix Stupid: The Iraqi Dinar Scam Lives

The Investment Scam That Refuses To Die

The Iraqi Dinar Scam / Fraud Prevention Unit

Washington State Dept. of Financial Institutions

Better Business Bureau

AMTFL Consulting Agency of Canada

Wisconsin Dept. of Financial Institutions

Learning Markets - The Iraqi Dinar Scam

Money Show: Why Won't The Iraqi Dinar Scam Die?

Scam Detector - Iraqi Dinars

Eagle Research - Iraqi Dinar

The Curse of Saddam - Iraqi Dinar Deals

419 Legal - Iraqi Dinar Scam

Dave Ramsey - Currency "Investing" is Ludicrous

Treece Advisory Corp

World Currency Watch

Wall Street Daily

Investment U - Is the Iraqi Dinar a Good Investment?

Iraq Business News

Debunking the Dinar

Salt Lake Tribune

Oklahoma Bankers Association

Idaho Estate Planning

Wells Fargo Advisory

Pacific Rim Bank

Bank of America

5th/3rd Bank

Federal Indictment of Brad Huebner, Rudolph Coenen


Okay, maybe that wasn't so short. It always puzzles me when people accuse me or others like me of being paid to bash the dinar or "reverse pump". Why would anybody pay me to say what all of these institutions have already stated for free? All I've done is put the information in one easily accessable location.  And even more puzzling; why do so many people choose to believe the likes of unqualified and mostly anonymous "experts" on the internet and ignore the advice of identified, qualified professionals in banking, investing, government, and law enforcement when it comes to buying dinar, especially given the track record of fraud and deceit documented in this blog?

Poppy Perplexed, Disappointed

Dinar intel guru Poppy3 said that the RV would happen around April 1, which of course was wrong.  When no RV occurred he was surprised, and said:

Dan "Poppy3" Bloodworth

I HAVE NO IDEA ABOUT THE CHANGE AND NOTHING REPORTED AS WHY THE CHANGE. SEEMS THERE IS A UNDERLIEING PROBLEM IN SOME AREA THAT HAS NOT BEEN REVIELED YET OR IF IT HAS NO ONE FROM OUR GOV. OR OUR EMBASSY THERE HAS BEEN TOLD EXACTLY WHAT IT COULD BE FOR SURE. THEY ALWAYS HAVE MUNIPULATIONS GOING ON BUT ALL MY SOURCES HAVE HAD THE SAME TIMING OF COMPLETION TOLD TO THEM FROM MANY DIFFERENT SOURCE AND THE BIG THING HAS BEEN THAT THE SAME THINGS WHERE BEING BACKED UP IN ALL THE NEWS ARTICLES. TIME WILL TELL BUT FOR NOW I AM JUST GOING TO HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE. STAND STRONG AND POSITIVE. POPPY3

I am very disappointed not to see RV this morning but not discouraged. I can't imagine from all the news that it isn't here yet. I am waiting for calls and anxious to here from all sources because I am sure they are all as surprised as I am today that we aren't planning for exchange.  

http://forum.dinardetectives.com/post/Poppy3-6282011



I'm not even going to address the grammar and spelling here.  I'll just offer the same explanation I gave everybody a few weeks ago.  They didn't RV because they're not going to RV.  They're not going to "RI".  They're not going to "pip it up" to $1.  They're not going to free float it back to the value from 30 years ago.  They're going to keep the value where it is until they demonetize it when they remove three zeros from the exchange rate and issue the replacement currency.  This isn't just my guess or opinion.  This is what the CBI has been saying for the past two years.  The gurus won't tell you that of course because it doesn't fit with their agenda.  That's part of why I started this blog, to present the facts that you can't get in dinar dealer sponsored forums.

You don't need to read thousands of articles translated from Arabic into English.  You don't need to study the Iraqi constitution, Sharia law, or the history of Iraq.  You don't need to visit dozens of forums or listen to conference calls every day.  All you really need to know about this "investment" is two things.

1. The CBI's stated policy for the dinar is exchange rate stability.  They've been on that policy since 2004 except for a 26 month span when they went to a crawling peg in order to get inflation under control.  Once they accomplished that they went back to their policy of stabilization on 1/1/2009.  In over four years the value has only increased by 4 pips which equates to 1/3 of 1%.  That's stability!  And there's been no announcement of any plans to change that policy.   http://dinardouchebags.blogspot.com/2013/03/cbi-policy.html
2. The CBI's stated plan for the dinar is a redenomination.  They intend to accomplish this by removing three zeros (the "delete the zeros" project) from the exchange rate and issuing a new currency to replace the IQD at a ratio of 1000 old dinar for 1 new dinar.  This was confirmed by a federal document back in September 2012 (see Dinar Indictments).  Even though parliament hasn't approved the currency reform it's still on the CBI's agenda.  http://www.alsumaria.tv/news/40540/iraq-central-bank-to-remove-three-zeroes-from-iraq
   http://www.iraq-businessnews.com/2011/07/05/new-dinars-for-old/
   http://dinardouchebags.blogspot.com/2012/06/deleting-zeros.html

Once you know and understand these two critical points you can get on with your life, knowing that the dinar that investors hold will never significantly increase in value and will eventually become worthless when it is replaced.  Things could change of course, but this is what the CBI has been saying for several years now and so far there's no indication that they're considering anything different.  If their policies and plans are carried out the IQD will never provide any profit for the vast majority of speculators. 

Gurus and pumpers are misrepresenting what the CBI is stating.  That's why the dinar investment is considered a scam, because qualified people in the government, banking industry, and investment world know what the CBI intends to do and they understand that nobody is going to get rich off of a currency with a stable exchange rate that is headed for a redenomination.

I don't know about you, but if I was a guru and I gave a date for the RV that proved to be wrong I would be devestated and humiliated.  I would be reluctant to ever offer another prediction or time frame again, and I certainly wouldn't trust any of the sources who provided me with that intel.  But then, I'm not a guru and I don't have a dinar dealer paying me to advertise on my site.  (Yes, I do have dinar dealer ads that appear from time to time in Google Adsense, but that doesn't make me beholden to them.)

Poppy is shameless, however.  He's been dishing out this BS for over two years now with his highly placed sources and is batting a great big zero. 

3-31-2011  This source has never wrong…Friday afternoon will be the announcement of the RV…This source has NEVER been wrong… (can't say that anymore)

4-27-2011  the treasury and fed parts will be released tomorrow and the rv should follow within hours.  (17,328 hours and counting)

5-23-2011  I am expecting a very green day with lots of rain & sunshine mixed with lots of money. I am counting on the next 48 hours being wonderful with loads of great news….over 2 years of research & all the indications & intel from all the site & over 15 devout researchers all agree today & tomorrow are the best prospects we have ever had in the 8 years some have been involved.  (And all 15 were wrong)

6-11-2011  nothing would show till after business hours Friday…we should see the RV by Monday evening…no delay at this time…all is still looking well  (96 Mondays and counting)

7-28-2011  TODAY IS THE DAY, NOW WHETHER THEY FIND A WAY TO STOP IT OR NOT -TODAY IS THE DAY IT IS SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN ACCORDING TO THE SENATORS, CONGRESSMAN, IMF, UST, FED CONTACTS THAT ARE TALKING – IT IS NOT A DEADLINE BUT IT IS AND HAS BEEN PLANNED TO SHOW TODAY.  (Guess they found a way, huh?)

8-15-2011  all intel says between now and no later than the 28th of august with Tuesday being the most possible day available . several major contracts with contractors from other countries are to be paid in rv’ed funds no later than the 28, so the rv must be completed before then. The us will be calling for it to be released by Tuesday evening this week  (Guess they got paid in something else, huh?)

9-10-11  WE SHOULD BE CASHING OUT ON WED AT THE LATEST AND SHOULD HEAR THE RV RATE AND ABSOLUTE ACTIVATION NO LATER THAN MONDAY. THIS IS SOLID INFORMATION FROM AS GOOD A SOURCE AS POSSIBLE. DIRECT FROM BAGDAD. THE IMF SAID, BACK IN OCTOBER 2010, THEY APPROVED $3.22 PLUS UP TO 20% MORE FOR INFLATION BUT THEY HAVE DISCOVERED 26% MORE OIL RESERVE THAN EVER REPORTED SINCE THAT RATE WAS APPROVED. MY PREDICTIONS IS AND ALWAYS HAS BEEN, THE RATE WILL BE WITHIN .10 CENTS OF KUWAIT UP OR DOWN, NOW SMILE AND BE HAPPY  (Wait a minute!  What about the Monday in June?)

10-12-2011  I am sure when this thing goes global history will show that the RV occurred on June 30 just as it was planned. The 26 countries that raised cane last dec. about the extention that the UN nation was asking these countries to grant IRAQ the extention. YET NOT ONE OF THEM HAVE SAID A WORD ABOUT THEIR 180 BILLION . I have a friend that works for exxon…and his team along with Haliburtons team where sent home two months early ON JUNE 15 and he stated they where going to send everyone home if the companies where not paid by June 30th AS AGREED ??? He returned to Iraq on July 5th ?? THEY GOT PAID IN RV’ED MONEY. Iraq has been making deals with individual companies and other countries every since June 30. It’s like they and our gov. have approved just enough of the budget to keep things moving.. THEY WILL ACTIVATE THE RV GLOBALLY VERY SOON . THINGS ARE LINING UP FAST NOW. (I am sure that history will show that you're a douche)

11/8/2011 - Inflation rate is soaring and Shabibi will not let it get out of control over year ago the trigger point he didn’t want it to go over 7.5% and it could get out of control and its now over 9% so heat is on for him to stop this with an RV it will reverse it  (He was partially right on this one.  Shabibi did raise the value 4 pips in January 2012 and that brought inflation back down.)

12-7-2011  it should happen either just before or just after maliki makes his speech here on the 12th and…the banking industry offers update on the first and 15th of the month. Maliki is wanting to have the rv in hand when he gets here or to be able to get it done immediately after he leaves. They have been pushing every document through and taking every vote needed and settleing every argument they have had in the last month to get the rv done.  (Guess they got'r done.  The 4 pip RV, that is.)

1/30/2012 - RickeyT no they don’t have years they have way to much pending on their end to tary or put off for a long period. Inflation is rising and shabibi hates that he has stated he can’t let it get to a certain level or it will be to hard for him to reign it back in.  Also the have ordered ships and aircraft that they need yesterday and construction of these will not start till they have paid a large % of the purchase price. No it will be very soon.  (Unfortunately Poppy doesn't recognize an RV when he sees it.  By this time Shabibi had already raised it.)

7/6/2012 - i don't have a link but it was sent to me by 4 different sources that it did take place.  (And all 4 were wrong)


You can read a more thorough account of Poppy's tripe on my What'd I Say? page. 

What possible explanation could there be for such behavior?  Forgetfulness?  Naivety?  Excessive optimism?  Or could it just be a simple case of douchebaggery?
   

Rudy Pleads Guity

This was just brought to my attention.  I wrote about the indictments back in September but this is the first development I've read about in the criminal case since then.

 

 

-Sam

 

 

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A Jacksonville man pleaded guilty Thursday in an Ohio federal court to a scheme to defraud investors in the sale of Iraqi dinar currency and two non-existent hedge funds, authorities said.

Rudolph M. Coenen, 47, pleaded to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one count of wire fraud and five counts of money laundering. His sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 12.

Coenen and three other men promoted Iraqi dinar as having the potential to rocket in value once a reevaluation of the currency took place. They said the investments were protected by the U.S. government.

In addition to the sale of dinar, the conspiracy marketed seats on two non-existent hedge funds that were going to control dinar investments after the currency was revalued.

Coenen was presented to investors as a wounded Iraqi veteran who had deep knowledge of dinar trading and was a former vice president at JP Morgan Chase.

In the plea, Coenen admitted he was not a former Marine who served in the first Gulf War, he had not been wounded in combat and he was never awarded a Purple Heart.

He operated a business known as Bayshore Capital Investments to collect funds related to the non-existent hedge funds.
Approximately $722,000 was solicited from prospective investors, according to court documents.

Three Ohio men, Bradford Huebner, Charles Emmenecker, and Michael Teadt, are awaiting trial in the U.S. District Court in Ohio.

http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2013-04-19/story/jacksonville-man-pleads-guilty-ohio-conspiracy-iraqi-dinar-case





A Florida man who was indicted with three Toledo-area men in a scheme to defraud investors in the sale of Iraqi currency and phony hedge funds pleaded guilty Thursday in U.S. District Court, Toledo.
Rudolph M. Coenen, 47, of Jacksonville pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and five counts of money laundering before Judge Jack Zouhary. A sentencing date was not scheduled.
Coenen, owner of Bayshore Capital Investments LLC in Jacksonville, admitted to a conspiracy with Bradford L. Huebner, owner of BH Group, 17 N. St. Clair St., and two BH employees to defraud investors through the sale of Iraqi dinar currency and “placements” in two nonexistent hedge funds.
Prosecutors said about $722,415 was solicited from prospective investors.
Charges are pending in federal court against Mr. Huebner, 65, of Ottawa Hills; Charles N. Emmenecker, 65, of Sylvania, and Michael L. Teadt, 66, of Maumee.

http://www.toledoblade.com/Courts/2013/04/20/Fla-man-guilty-of-conspiracy-to-defraud-investors.html#wm2xF1AWSYxX3yKh.99




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I think this would be as good a time as any to remind people of what the indictment says.  On page 3 we read:

7. The term "revaluation" (casually shortened to "RV" in dinar-sales parlance), refers to the contention that at some point in the near future, the dinar will rise against the U.S. dollar, a circumstance which will enrich earlier purchasers of the dinar.  BRADFORD HUEBNER, CHARLES EMMENECKER, RUDOLPH COENEN and MICHAEL TEADT repeatedly advanced claims to potential investors over the telephone, through web pages, and through a weekly internet conference call that even relatively small investors in the dinar would, following the "revaluation" or "RV", become wealthy overnight.

8. A "redenomination" of the dinar refers to an actual proposal by the Central Bank of Iraq, announced as recently as June 21, 2011, to re-print the currency to remove three zeroes from the physical dinar banknotes as a matter of convenience.  A redenomination of the Iraqi currency would not lead to a revaluation by the same amount, and may have no effect on the currency's value.  Under a redenomination, a new currency replaces an old currency, but the value remains the same.  Under the proposed redenomination, the Iraqi government would issue a new dinar note that will be equivalent to 1000 current dinars.  The exchange rate would be 1.17 new dinars to the dollar, equivalent to 1,170 current dinars to the dollar.


And then on page 5 we read:

15. "... the U.S. Department of the Treasury does not hold any Iraq dinar for investment purposes and holds only a nominal amount for use in daily transactions."  

16. "... the U.S. Department of the Treasury is not involved in any aspect of dinar exchange nor is it planned for the Department of the Treasury to be involved in redeeming or exchanging dinar following a redenomination, should a redenomination occur."


http://www.realscam.com/attachments/f12/1576d1348185792-bayshore-capital-investments-bh-group-bhgroup_indictment.pdf



Dinar speculators have been told for years that the currency reform plan (the "Delete the Zeros" project) is an RV and that the U.S. Treasury holds trillions of dinar that will be used to pay down the debt following "The RV".  Here we have a federal document that exposes these lies for what they are.