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The
scandal-riddled First International Bank of Grenada (FIBG) is again
back in the news.
One of its promoters, John Skirving of Oregon in the United States
has been convicted in a U.S law court of fraud and making a false
bankruptcy filing.
The bank was widely suspected of using the funds of depositors to
bank-roll the ruling New National Party (NNP) government of Prime
Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell to its landslide 15-0 victory over opponents
in the 1999 general elections.
The latest expose on wrong-doing by associates of First Bank was
covered in the latest issue of Offshore Alert by Miami-based journalist,
David Marchant.
Following is the full text of the latest story:
Miami, U.S.A -- A United States national who once promoted the First
International Bank of Grenada has been convicted of perpetrating
a separate fraud through another offshore bank. Paul James Peiffer,
of S. W. York Street, Beaverton, Oregon, was convicted of 25 counts
of wire fraud, one count of making a false bankruptcy filing, and
one count of false oaths on February 15, 2006 following a jury trial
at the U. S. District Court for the District of Oregon.
He is due to be sentenced on May 4, 2006. The trial of his co-defendant,
Robert John Skirving, of Eastborne Lane, Portland, Oregon, is scheduled
to start on July 18, 2006. According to the superseding indictment,
starting in March, 2000, Peiffer and Skirving defrauded investors
by offering them annual returns of up to 60 per cent through investments
issued by The Bank of the Nation, of Nauru.
It was alleged that: As part of their solicitation of investments
into, and sale of certificates of deposit on The Bank of the Nations,
defendants ROBERT SKIRVING and PAUL JAMES PEIFFER wilfully failed
to truthfully and accurately disclose to depositors and investors
certain material facts including but not limited to:
(a).
That they did not own or have control over The Bank of the Nations;
(b).
That they had no access to or ability to engage in trading in mid-term
notes;
(c).
That money provided to them for investment into the Bank of the
Nations would instead be used for:
(i).
making payments to investors to create the appearance that investments
were making a profit;
(ii)
the personal benefit of the defendants;
(iii).
making other investments, not in the name of the Bank of the Nations,
or for the benefit of the Bank of the Nations, or in any way related
to trading in mid-term notes.
(d). That defendant PAUL JAMES PEIFFER was the subject of an order
issued by the State of Oregon Corporation Division in 1986, in connection
with his role in offering investments in an offshore bank, ordering
him to cease and desist from offering or selling securities in the
state and revoking his securities salesperson license;
(e).
That defendant ROBERT SKIRVING had received a warning from the Oregon
Department of Insurance and Finance regarding the sale of unregistered
securities in 1992;
(f).
That defendant ROBERT SKIRVING, while residing in Oregon, was the
subject of a Cease and Desist Order issued by the State of Minnesota
Commissioner of Commerce finding him in violation of Minnesota securities
laws and ordering him to cease such violation.
After investor funds were deposited into accounts of investment
corporations in Portland, Oregon, ROBERT SKIRVING and PAUL JAMES
PEIFFER wire transferred, and caused to be wire transferred, said
funds to accounts in the name of AU Group at Bank of America, in
Pahrump, Nevada, and accounts in the name of Diamond Management
at National Commercial Bank, Kingston St., St. Vincent, and Bank
Crozier Ltd., St. George¹s, Grenada.
More than $4.38 million in fraud proceeds were transferred
into the Bank of America account and over $2.083 million into accounts
at National Commercial Bank and Bank Crozier Ltd., it was claimed.
After investor funds were wire transferred to the AU Group
and Diamond Management accounts they controlled, defendants ROBERT
SKIRVING and PAUL JAMES PEIFFER caused to be issued phony Certificates
of Deposit on the Bank of the Nations, according to the indictment.
By June of 2001, the Bank of the Nations scheme had run its
course and all of the investors¹ funds had been dissipated
by Skirving and Peiffer, stated the indictment.
Individual investors in the Bank of the Nations scheme filed nine
lawsuits in Circuit Court for the State of Oregon in late 2000 and
early 2001 against defendants Robert Skirving, Paul James Peiffer,
and others for losses incurred in the Bank of the Nations investment
scheme.
The State of Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services
filed a lawsuit in the Circuit Court of the State of Oregon in April
of 2002 against defendants Robert Skirving, Paul James Peiffer and
others.
DCBS alleged that the defendants were not licensed to sell securities
and that they sold unregistered securities in Oregon.
DCBS also alleged that defendants made misrepresentations and omissions
of material facts to investors in connection with the sales of investments.
These cases were still pending in May of 2002.
Skirving and Peiffer then began the bankruptcy fraud part of their
scheme, filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy petitions on May 23 and May
20, 2002, respectively, according to the indictment.
Defendants Robert Skirving and Paul James Peiffer listed general
unsecured debts of $18,479,720 and $16,800,000, respectively,
it was stated.
Defendant Paul James Peiffer later amended his schedules to
include an additional $40,000,000 in disputed general unsecured
debts.
Among the many general unsecured creditors listed in the defendant¹s
bankruptcy schedules were the Bank of the Nations investors. Defendants
Robert Skirving and Paul James Peiffer entered into bankruptcies
to relieve themselves of the claims asserted by Bank of the Nations
investors for the money lost in defendants¹ scheme.
In his bankruptcy filing, Peiffer lied about his income and failed
to list AU Group LLC, Bank of the Nations, Capital Trust AG and
Diamond Management Ltd. when asked to disclose his business interests.
He also lied by claiming that he had:
*
not been involved in the ownership or operation of any business
during the last six years;
*
not been involved in any sort of banking operations;
*
had no real involvement with Bank of the Nations and did no work
in connection with it;
*
not engaged in any business ventures with Guy B. Rencher III;
*
no business or financial relationship with Leroy Waldo;
*
no business or financial relationship with AU Group LLC and has
no involvement whatsoever with respect to AU Group LLC;
*
no idea what happened to the money invested by creditors listed
in his bankruptcy schedules; and
*
had no significant income or cash other than his social security
income.
As previously reported by OffshoreAlert, Peiffer was also a promoter
for the First International Bank of Grenada, which perpetrated a
$200 million fraud, while Skirving was actually a director of FIBG.
Skirving was indicted on multiple counts of fraud, money laundering
and forfeiture on October 27, 2003 and, as with the action involving
The Bank of the Nations, he is currently awaiting trial.
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