Post by Scumhunter on Oct 22, 2014 8:33:08 GMT -5
(Above photo credit: fbi.gov)
Link to American Greed: The Fugitives episode (Ferreira is at 24:09 mark): www.hulu.com/watch/395897
Fugitive Profile as of October 22nd, 2014 (Based on FBI.gov Wanted Poster):
Aliases: Lou Ferreira, Lou Almeida, Luis Carlos de Almeida, Luis C. de Almeida, Luis Carlos de Almeida, Mike Todd
Date(s) of Birth Used: February 13, 1967
Place of Birth: Brazil
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 185 to 200 pounds
Occupations: Commodities Broker, Sales
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Brown
Sex: Male
Nationality: Brazilian
Scars and Marks: Ferreira has a tattoo on his left shoulder.
Remarks: Ferreira speaks Portuguese and English. Ferreira may have been living in South America, possibly in San Paulo, Brazil or Rio de Janeiro, Brazil since May of 2011. Ferreira has owned and operated an Internet business called Brazilian Hair Experts, LLC, also doing business as L’amour, and is likely still involved with that company.
Who to call if you've seen him: Local FBI field office or embassy or submit a web tip online at tips.fbi.gov
Luis Ferreira is a white collar fugitive who was featured on the CNBC show "American Greed: The Fugitives" on August 29th, 2012.
The following is a summary of his history of scams according to the episode:
In 2003, Ferreira was the head of a Florida telemarketing company that raised money for non-profit organizations. However, unbeknownst to many of the people who were called and donated, the charities received only 10 percent while Ferreira's company received 90%. (Ferreira pocketed about 28 million according to the show) Although the charities knew about this, and figured 10 percent was better than nothing, Ferreira, knowing investors wouldn't like that fact, had his workers lie about who they were. For instance, they would pretend to be firefighters for a firefighter charity or pretend to be police officers for a police benevolent association. Soon people wised up, complained to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and Ferreira was hit with a 12 million dollar judgement.
Just 2 days after that judgment, Ferreira was arrested for transporting stolen property. It turned out he had paid an employee at a rival telemarketing firm in New Jersey to steal their "lead" sheets (lists of people who have donated in the past). In 2006, he was sentenced to 2 years in Federal Prison and barred from telemarketing for 3 years. However, this would just lead to his biggest con yet.
When Ferreira got out of prison in 2008, he worked as a clerical assistant at a company called "Tax House" making 8.50 an hour, a far cry from the millions he made running his own company. This is the same year as the recession when the value of the dollar was at a low, and gold and precious metals became more valuable. Seeing an opportunity, Ferreira starts a company called "Spyker Consulting" under his mother's name, and goes by an alias Lou Almeida. He also pays his boss to continue providing checks to him to show his probation officer- so it would look like he was still working for tax house (his boss would later be given a prison sentence for this scam).
Ferreira convinces people to invest in his company and his clearing firm will handle the investments. The only problem is the clearing firm doesn't actually exist. Many people, including a man who had a struggling RV business that invested because he saw initial returns (this is always the way scams draw people in), wind up losing all of their money and wind up broke.
On November 10th, 2010 Ferreira is charged with conspiracy and admits to fraud. On April 18th, 2011 he's given a 33-month prison sentence followed by 3 years of supervised release but is allowed house arrest. And you guessed it- he cut off his ankle monitor and fled. It is believed he may be in Brazil using a fake Brazilian passport.
Thoughts? First off, I don't think this guy should have been placed under house arrest. I understand most fugitives not facing that lengthy a sentence (considering his history of scams he got off easy in my opinion), would not try to flee, but did anyone take into account he is from a country that has a habit of not extraditing its natural citizens? Ferreira was born in Brazil according to his FBI profile. The show even admits it will complicate things if he's in Brazil. Our only hope is they do what they did with Claudia Hoerig and revoke his citizenship. But Hoerig took immense pressure from the United States congress, and even she is still involved in a lengthy legal battle. Wherever he is, this man may still be conning people, so it is important to at least discover where he may be. Can't start anywhere until you get to that point at least.
www.fbi.gov/wanted/wcc/luis-ferreira/view
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