Oxford Gold Group Fraud? Company Vanishes Amid Growing Complaints

Yet Another California Gold Firm Leaves Investors in the Lurch, as a Growing Number of Scam and Fraud Claims are Made by Worried Customers

Bullion.Directory News 14 August, 2024
By Alison Macdonald
Commercial Editor at Bullion.Directory

Investors have been left in a precarious position after moving substantial portions of their retirement funds into what they believed were secure investments in physical gold.

Investors, convinced by Oxford Gold’s compelling marketing and seemingly solid reputation have been buying gold coins to be stored in a Utah depository via Equity Trust. However, after being informed that Equity Trust was no longer in partnership with Oxford Gold, investors are discovering that the depository had no record of their transactions.

One investor, Scott Dahl stated in an interview with ABC7 Eyewitness News, “I don’t care what’s going on with your companies, but you’ve [Oxford Gold Group] got my money. All I want you to do is to send the metals into the depository… If you can’t do that, send the money back to me.”

The sense of abandonment has been devastating for Dahl and others who now face the frightening possibility of never recovering their funds, putting their retirement plans in jeopardy.

“I may die before I have the ability to retire just because of this group that’s basically deceived me,” Dahl expressed.

This scenario is not isolated. From coast to coast, individuals have come forward with similar grievances against Oxford Gold, claiming the company misappropriated funds and calling the operations a “scam.”

These concerns have surged following the company’s sudden disappearance from its office on Wilshire Boulevard, along with a slew of negative reviews flooding both their now-offline website and all major consumer review websites.

California’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation has been reticent to discuss specific details regarding Oxford Gold, however, they issued a broader warning about the risks associated with trading precious metals, especially for seniors targeted because of their substantial retirement funds.

“They’re targeting senior citizens… because they have the highest amount in their retirement funds,” Danielle Stoumbos, senior counsel with the agency, explained. She emphasized the focus of these dealers on persuading people to sell securities in traditional retirement accounts.

This latest incident resonates with similar cases, such as those involving Regal Assets, Metals.com, and Red Rock Secured, where deceptive practices have led to significant losses for investors, and resulted in multi-million dollar legal cases.

Regal Assets LLC, a Southern California-based dealer, faced a $21 million lawsuit filed by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The lawsuit, which alleges that Regal Assets misappropriated funds from over 120 customers between November 2019 and October 2022, claims the firm diverted customer funds meant for precious metals purchases to cover business and personal expenses while providing misleading information to customers. The legal actions seek disgorgement, full restitution, and other penalties​​

Similarly, Metals.com was charged along with associated entities (Chase Metals LLC, Chase Metals Inc., and Barrick Capital Inc.) in a $185 million fraud scheme that affected over 1,600 elderly investors across the U.S. This case, which involved marking up prices of precious metals significantly over market values—sometimes by 300%—resulted in nearly all investors losing the majority of their funds. The fraud, dating back to 2017, involved convincing elderly victims to transfer their retirement savings into self-directed IRAs to purchase these overpriced metals. The CFTC and 30 states collaborated in this largest joint filing in the agency’s history, resulting in the freezing of the defendants’ assets and ongoing legal proceedings seeking restitution and penalties​

The SEC has imposed a $76 million penalty on Red Rock Secured LLC and its executives for a fraudulent scheme that swindled retirement account holders out of over $50 million. The judgment against the company, now operating as American Coin Co., and its CEO Sean Kelly, along with managers Anthony Spencer and Jeffrey Ward, follows their deceptive practice of selling gold and silver coins at exorbitant prices to investors. According to the SEC’s findings, these coins were sold at markups reaching 130%, a stark contrast to the 1-5% initially claimed. The court’s decision includes significant disgorgement sums and civil penalties for each defendant and permanently prohibits Kelly from serving as an officer or director of a public company.
​
All of these cases underline the critical need for vigilance in the precious metals market and the urgent need for more robust regulatory frameworks to protect investors from fraudulent schemes.

This is not to say that all gold dealers are deceptive and Bullion.Directory lists thousands of trusted gold dealers, including some of America’s best-rated Gold IRA Companies.

We also provide access to a number of excellent guides helping investors educate themselves on all aspects of the precious metals marketplace, including how to avoid scams and fraud.

As investigations continue, the financial futures of many hang in the balance, highlighting the ongoing challenges within the precious metals trading sector and the dire consequences of the industry’s absolute failure to self-regulate.

 Previous Post

Surging Silver Demand Depleting Global Inventories

Next Post  

Precious Metals Update 8/16/2024