Investors lose retirement savings to ‘scam’
Dahl is one of many investors from multiple states — including Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee and Washington — to come forward and accuse Oxford Gold of misappropriation of customer funds, among other things.
In recent months, the company’s website was flooded with bad reviews from investors claiming Oxford Gold “stole my money” and “is a scam.” The company now appears to have shut down and has vacated its office on Wilshire Boulevard.
Eyewitness News has done a deep investigation into the claims and its reporting has encouraged more potential victims like Dahl to share their stories. Its first tip-off came from Grant Olsen, who transferred his entire $200,000 nest egg from his principal 401(k) into what Oxford Gold had him believe was a gold IRA.
Once again, that physical gold never landed in a depository — and Olsen, like Dahl, feels “abandoned” and fears he’ll never see that money again.
When Eyewitness News reached out to California’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation — the agency that regulates financial service providers — officials refused to talk specifically about Oxford Gold. Instead, they issued a warning to Americans (especially older generations) to be careful when trading precious metals.
“They're targeting senior citizens… because they have the highest amount in their retirement funds,” explained Danielle Stoumbos, senior counsel with the agency. “That's really what these precious metals dealers are focusing on. They're trying to encourage people to sell securities in their traditional retirement accounts.”
Stoumbos also reiterated that California does have a “strong anti-fraud statute,” adding that “if there's any misappropriation of customer funds, if there's misrepresentations or omissions in connection with the offer of sale or if there's a scheme to defraud, then we can take enforcement action against the company and the individuals that are operating the company.”
Investigations are ongoing and it remains to be seen how this Oxford Gold saga will play out.
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Read MoreFallen prey to a scam? Here’s what to do
If you believe you’ve been scammed or a trade or investment you made was a fraud, there are six essential steps you should take, according to the federal Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
The first step focuses on stopping further losses by ceasing any ongoing payments or monetary transfers. Next, while your memory of the suspected fraud is still fresh, you should develop a timeline and collect documents and information that could help when it comes time to report or investigate the fraud.
A third important step is to protect your identity (especially if you shared personal information like your Social Security number or bank account or routing numbers) and take any necessary steps to block access to your financial accounts. At this point, you may wish to place a fraud alert on your credit file or even request a free security freeze.
Beyond that, it is important to report the suspected fraud to relevant authorities — in the California case, by contacting the state’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation — and to check for relevant insurance coverage and legal support that may help you to recover your lost funds. Some homeowners insurance policies include coverage for fraud losses or reimbursements for identity theft related expenses.
Finally, it’s important to contemplate how the fraud happened and how you can change your behavior and build resistance to future incidents. In the case of Oxford Gold, many of the alleged victims spoke about the company’s very persuasive salespeople, consumer education and market-leading communications.
Oxford Gold earned investors’ trust, soliciting many into transferring five-or-six figure sums over from their retirement accounts. If this is confirmed to be fraud, the CFTC noted it would be “highly problematic” to recover that money because “usually, these people move quickly.”
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