Funny Business: And the poor get poorer

WASHINGTON, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- If you are living an impoverished life in a Third World country, an advertisement in the local newspaper for jobs in the United States probably looks too good to be true.

Unfortunately for citizens of countries such as India, the Philippines, Indonesia and Trinidad & Tobago, the "opportunity" being offered by American Offshore Corporation was indeed too good to be true.

All the signs indicate that they are victims of an advance fee fraud that was operated through a private mailbox by a firm that no longer legally exists.

United Press International has received about a dozen calls from people in Third World countries or on their behalf inquiring about American Offshore Corporation.

In promotions carried out in newspapers and by direct mail, AOC claims to be able to find jobs for people living overseas but asks for an up-front "evaluation fee" of $39.

Participants are then later advised that a job has indeed been found for them in the United States but that it cannot be processed until they send off an additional $139 "to show your true commitment."

They are told that the $139 will be reimbursed "upon your arrival." However, there does not appear that there will ever be an "arrival."

People who sent off the required money told UPI that they are still waiting for jobs months later and believe they may have been ripped off. One was promised a job as an "Assistant Store-Keeper."

Research by UPI indicates that their fears are more than justified.

The address of "123 S. E. 3rd Avenue, Suite 342, Miami, Fla., 33131" that is used by American Offshore Corp. is a private mailbox operated by Mailboxes Etc. in Downtown Miami.

There is no listing for American Offshore Corp. in the local telephone directory and there is no evidence that it has ever had a physical office.

Even worse for clients, the firm no longer legally exists, having been struck off the Florida corporate register on Sept. 21 for failing to file an annual return -- 15 months after incorporation.

American Offshore Corporation's existence followed the same pattern as three other companies formed in Florida by its only officer and director, 34-year-old Florida resident Rommy M. Kriplani.

American Cruise Corporation was formed on Sept. 2, 1994, and struck off on Aug. 25, 1995; International Automobiles Inc. was formed on May 24, 1995, and struck off on Aug. 23, 1996; and Resorts International Inc. was formed on June 12, 2000, and struck off on Sept. 21, 2001.

All four companies were incorporated for Kriplani by Florida-based attorney Lawrence Jay Spiegel, 60, whose current firms include Spiegel & Utrera and Amerilawyer.

UPI could not find a telephone listing for Kriplani, while we could not get past Spiegel's receptionist when we called his office in Coral Gables, near Miami, even though we emphasized that we were investigating a possible fraud. We did not receive a reply to two emails sent to his firm.

Spiegel has a checkered professional past.

He was admitted to the Florida Bar on Nov. 13, 1970, and was personally disciplined by the Supreme Court of Florida on Sept. 14, 2000, after his law firm sent "unsolicited flyers" to a client that looked like a billing invoice even though the client did not owe any money, according to legal filings.

The documents show that Spiegel pleaded guilty to two counts of making misleading or deceptive statements and that he had previously been subject to a Private Reprimand by the Florida Bar in 1986, the circumstances of which are not explained in the documents.

American Offshore Corporation is not the only controversy currently surrounding Spiegel & Utrera, which was also the registered office for Global Asset Partners Ltd., whose assets were frozen on Sept. 28, 2001, as part of a fraud investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In a lawsuit filed by the SEC at the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, defendants Global Asset Partners Ltd., Global Services Group LLC, Global Internet Fund Group Inc. and William L. Haynes were accused of defrauding approximately 300 investors out of $7 million in "pre-IPO" public offerings.

David Marchant is publisher of OffshoreAlert, offshorebusiness.com. Tel. 305-372-6267/305-604-2060. Address: 123 S. E. 3rd Avenue, PMB #173, Miami, Fla., 33131.