Phony CD scammer charged

The Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday announced it has charged Allen C. Giltman, a former registered investment professional, with allegedly participating in a long-running fraudulent scheme to lure investors into buying fictitious certificates of deposit. The scheme resulted in victims, primarily older adults investing their retirement savings, losing at least $40 million.

According to the SEC’s complaint, Giltman purchased internet ads targeting investors searching for CDs with high interest rates. The ads allegedly included links to phony websites Giltman helped create, many of which mimicked those of existing financial institutions, in order to offer investors fictitious CDs, which the websites falsely claimed were FDIC-insured. As alleged in the complaint, when investors called the phone numbers listed on the websites, Giltman impersonated registered representatives at the legitimate firms and instructed victims to wire funds to domestic or foreign bank accounts, purportedly to purchase the CDs. The SEC alleges that investor funds were then misappropriated as part of the scheme, with Giltman receiving a portion of the funds. The SEC also alleges that Giltman used a variety of methods to evade detection, including attempting to anonymize his digital footprint by using the identities of victims to register for online services used in the scheme.