F.T.C. Seeks Privacy Legislation

Excerpt from an article in

The New York Times

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

F.T.C. Seeks Privacy Legislation

By TANZINA VEGA and EDWARD WYATT

The government’s chief consumer protection agency said on Monday that it intended to take direct aim at the vast industry that has grown up around the buying and selling of information about American consumers.

The agency, the Federal Trade Commission, called on Congress to enact legislation regulating so-called data brokers, which compile and trade a wide range of personal and financial data about millions of consumers from online and offline sources. The legislation would give consumers access to information collected about them and allow them to correct and update such data.

The agency also sent a cautionary signal to technology and advertising companies regarding a “Do Not Track” mechanism that allows consumers to opt out of having their online behavior monitored and shared. It warned that if companies did not voluntarily provide a satisfactory Do Not Track option, it would support additional laws that mandate it.

The recommendations, part of a sweeping set of guidelines in an F.T.C. report on Monday, represent the government’s latest move to address the issue of consumer privacy.

On one side of the debate are data brokers like Experian and Acxiom, which collect and sell information, and the huge ecosystem of technology and online advertising companies — including Google, Microsoft and Facebook — that target consumers based on their personal preferences.

On the other side are consumer groups and privacy advocates that are concerned about the volume of data being collected and how little control consumers have over that information.

The government’s Do Not Track efforts are likely to collide with the desire of companies to continue the lucrative business of collecting, using and sharing information about the people who use their services. Although these businesses say they support limits on using this information, they generally still want to be able to collect it.

Husband & Wife Plead Guilty in $3 M Fraud Scheme

Husband and Wife Plead Guilty to Roles in $3 Million Fraud Scheme Using Art as Collateral 

U.S. Attorney’s OfficeMarch 07, 2012

Northern District of Texas(214) 659-8600

DALLAS—Eugenio D. Leo and his wife Jody L. Meyer, formerly of Allen, Texas, pleaded guilty yesterday before U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade to their respective roles in a $3 million fraud scheme they ran from February 2004 to November 2004, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Leo, 30, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and faces five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the loss to the victims. Meyer, 46, pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud and faces a five-year term of probation and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the loss to the victims. Both Leo and Meyer, who now reside in Harwood Heights, Illinois, will remain on bond pending sentencing, which is set for June 20, 2012 before Judge Kinkeade.

According to documents filed in the case, during the time of the fraud, Leo worked as a commodities broker at Compass Financial, a commodities brokerage firm located in Richardson, Texas. He devised a mail and wire fraud scheme that involved inducing the victims, K.P. and L.P., to invest their money by making short-term loans to museums in Europe. These loans would be secured by pieces of artwork worth significantly more than the loan value. At Leo’s request, K.P. provided a power of attorney to Leo so that he could make the necessary arrangements for the short-term loan. Leo falsely reported to K.P. that K.P.’s loan was repaid plus interest.

Instead of a short-term museum loan, however, Leo actually purchased art with K.P.’s money, and then sold that art to K.P., never disclosing that he put himself in the purchase chain and made more than $800,000 from the sale. Leo, aided and abetted by Meyer, falsely represented that Leo owned K.P.’s artwork so that Leo could obtain a loan (using the art as collateral) from Art Capital Group for approximately $300,000.

Leo made material misrepresentations to facilitate the scheme to defraud his victims. He used his authority under a power of attorney from the victim to act contrary to the victim’s instructions, contrary to the victim’s best interest and for his own personal benefit. Leo and Meyer defrauded K.P. and L.P. of more than $3 million.

The case was investigated by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Aisha Saleem, Paul Yanowitch and Dayle Elieson are prosecuting.