A couple things get in the way, first being identifying the actual person who is benefiting from the sale, many of these people use other people names in place of their own. Roger Pawson for example used his Wife, Step Daughter, Father in law and Step Son in many documents to hide himself. Although one can only do it so many times before the pattern is picked up if the information isn’t shared between all of the brokers and regulator it becomes difficult to track.
Second issue is where are they, PO Boxes are the norm, physical addresses are not all that common in most of these cases. I will use Pawson as an example again, he doesn’t live here in the states, he uses a foreign broker to do his dirty work, it is very difficult to get information on him since US laws do not apply abroad.
Third issue, the slow process of building a case, if you read through that transcript they discuss the SLOW WHEELS of JUSTICE. It takes 18 months on average to open a case and eventually file a complaint. By that time the offenders are well on their way with yet another scam and in some cases multiple ones.
Fourth issue, "GATEKEEPERS" failing to do their job, that is the Transfer Agents and small Brokers allowing these certs go through unvetted and lacking documents.
Fifth issue, sleazy lawyers drafting opinion letters without ever verifying a single thing, not even DDing the physical business itself.
I highly recommend reading that transcript, it really highlights some of the issues all of these participants were experiencing in the matter.
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