Where to start?
The SEC on Thursday filed a civil action against one Sean David Morton, a.k.a. “America’s Prophet! A modern day Nostradamus with more hits than Barry Bonds and the Russian Mafia!”
Morgan, along with his wife Melissa and a string of companies, stand accused of fraudulently raising $6m from more than 100 investors.
SEC:
According to the Commission’s complaint, in soliciting these individuals, Morton claimed that he would use his psychic expertise to provide investment guidance to his investing team, and he falsely touted his historical success in psychically predicting the various rises and falls of the market…
According to the Commission’s complaint, Morton used his monthly newsletter, his website, his appearances on a nationally syndicated radio show called Coast to Coast AM, and appearances at public events, to promote his psychic abilities. Morton made numerous materially false representations relating to his psychic abilities in order to solicit investors for the Delphi Investment Group. For example, Morton wrote to potential investors in his July 20, 2006 newsletter that: “I have called ALL the highs and lows of the market, giving EXACT DATES for rises and crashes over the last 14 years.” (emphasis in original.) The Commission alleges that this assertion, like others Morton made in soliciting investors, is false.
We learn from Sean’s personal website that:
Sean is a natural psychic, trained Remote Viewer, intuitive consultant, investigative reporter, and accomplished award winning director, screenwriter and film and TV producer…
Sean uses his talents and abilities to predict future occurrences and trends such as earth changes, political events and stock market fluctuations. He has an astounding “hit rate”, or percentage of successes.
And we get a flavour of what this allegedly meant in practice from the SEC court documents:
In one-on-one correspondence with potential investors, Morton was even more aggressive in his solicitation. For example, on October 7,2006, Morton wrote to a potential investor, Investor G, in two separate emails: “The more [money] you get me the MORE 1 can make for you” and “[g]ive ME enough money to help YOU! Give me enough so that the average profits will make a DIFFERENCE in your life.” (emphasis in original.) In a subsequent email, after Investor G had already invested with the Delphi Investment Group, Investor G told Morton that he would like to invest in other types of investments such as the stock market. . Morton replied, “for RIGHT NOW you will make the most with [the Delphi Investment Group]. Once the DOLLAR starts to DROP, which will happen soon, we are set to make a FORTUNE!” (emphasis in original.)
But do the SEC know quite who they are meddling with? Back to Sean’s website:
His political and economic predictions shocked the nation. Years in advance, he foresaw Clinton’s impeachment, the controversy over the 2000 vote and the election of George W. Bush. He also predicted exact dates for the post-90’s decline of the DOW and NASDAQ, and has given the exact levels — and timing-of their subsequent rise and fall…
In May 2003, Sean wrote and directed his first feature film, a comedy, murder mystery Whodunit, which was a spoof of reality TV game shows, the award winning “JOE KILLIONAIRE”. The movie is tearing up the Independent Film circuit and is achieving the status of a CULT CLASSIC. It won the audience award for best picture at the Los Angeles DANCES WITH FILMS FESTIVAL, and has been officially selected at CREEPFEST (Los Angeles) HORRORFEST (Erie, PA) The Farmington, MI, FUNNYFILM FEST, The Coney Island Film Fest, and the New York, Los Angeles, Miami and Las Vegas International Film and Video Festivals.
There’s going to be a gap at the NewLife Expo in at the Hotel New York, March 26-28, but we guess the organisers already knew that.
Related links:
Niche demographic or interest group? There’s a Ponzi for that. – FT Alphaville
A Twin Cities FX scandal – SEC freezes Pat Kiley assets – FT Alphaville