The deal requires the banks to pay $20 billion in mortgage relief and $5 billion to state and federal governments. This could mean as much as $8.4 billion in benefits will go to Florida homeowners.

Despite Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi’s assertion that the deal was a historic win, interviews around the state revealed anger among homeowners stuck in foreclosures that last longer than in any other state.

“They say it’s a lot of money, but is it?” said Richard Thompson, a 51-year-old real-estate agent. “You wonder if this is just P.R. or if it’s going to help genuine people stay in their home and help stabilize the market.”

A portion of the money will go to help refinance loans for those who owe more than their homes are worth. Floridians foreclosed on between Jan. 1, 2008, and Dec. 31, 2011 can expect to receive around $2,000 each.

Sarelson Law Firm – Miami litigation attorneys

If you have used Google lately, you have likely seen the little banner popping up at the top of the page, announcing, “We’re changing our privacy policy and terms.” You have the option to “Learn More” or to “Dismiss.” It is likely that many people have already clicked “Dismiss,” but the consequences of these changes may come back to haunt us.

Google explained the reason for its move as “our desire to create one beautifully simple and intuitive experience across Google.” Authorities in the European Union did not see the move as benign, immediately telling Google to put off its March 1 start date until they had a chance to review the change.

The issue with Google, as with Facebook, is the massive amounts of personal data the company collects from users. Everything you ever searched for, all emails ever sent or received from your Gmail account, every conversation you ever had on Google Voice; Google stores all of this. The company’s proposed change will integrate all this information even further.

While Google’s famous motto is “do no evil,” the same cannot be said of hackers. It seems inevitable that the company’s security will eventually be breached, which could be disastrous for millions of users.

The European Union wants users to have the option to request the deletion of their data, an option that would allow users consumer protection. Such an option would be beneficial to all users, not just those in the European Union.

Sarelson Law Firm – Miami litigation attorneys

Through a project called Screenwise, interested users can install a browser extension that monitors every site they visit. Signing up will earn users a $5 Amazon gift card. They will then be eligible for another $5 card every three months that they stick with the program, up to a $25 maximum. The company says it is thinking about what further amounts it could add for people who last more than 12 months.

“It’s our way of saying ‘Thank you’,” said a Google spokesperson.

Google is attempting to take Screenwise even further. If the user will set up a data collector router and then install the Chrome extension on every computer he or she uses, Google will pay $100 for signing up and $20 a month for a full year.

Google says the idea for Screenwise developed around the first of the year, and Google has not linked the program in any way to the criticism it has been drawing over its questionable consumer protection policies.

Sarelson Law Firm – Miami litigation attorneys

As an example, Google says that it will take into consideration the context of searches based on the user information and activities. If you are an import car enthusiast, Google will skew the results of a search for “Jaguar” towards cars instead of the large cat. With Google Docs or Gmail, auto correct might suggest spellings based on prior content you had created.

According to a video created by Google, “It may even be able to tell you when you’ll be late for a meeting based on your location, your calendar and local weather conditions. All of which means we’re not just keeping your private stuff private. We’re making it more useful to you in your daily life too.”

It is unclear how the new policy will allow Google to cross-pollinate information, as the company has already been doing so for some time.

Executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), Mark Rotenberg, is worried the changes will lead to a further erosion of user privacy.

“These privacy policy consolidations have always led to a lowering of overall privacy standards,” he said. “That was the exact experience with the Gmail privacy policy when Google Buzz was introduced.”

It will be interesting to see how Google’s plans will unfold, and what kind of consumer protection backlash the company will have to deal with when they do.

Sarelson Law Firm – Miami litigation attorneys

Prosecutors say Laurie Schneider, 37, began accepting money from individuals seeking a return on their investment in September 2006.

One of her schemes involved a shell company incorporated as Janitorial Close-Out City Corp. Schneider allegedly informed potential investors that the company invested in industrial equipment and machinery manufactured by companies in China. According to prosecutors, Schneider personally guaranteed specified positive rates of return as high as 60 percent, saying she had a business contact who had strong relationships with companies in China. This would allow her to buy the industrial equipment and machinery at wholesale prices, which Janitorial Close-Out would resell in the United States at a 15 to 60 percent profit over a nine to 18-month period.

Schneider never actually bought or sold any equipment, according to authorities. Instead, she paid longer-standing investors out of the money given to her by new investors. The government estimates she defrauded over 25 investors of more than $4 million, and more than $5 million in related schemes.

If convicted, Schneider faces up to 20 years’ imprisonment on each of three counts of wire fraud.

Sarelson Law Firm – Miami litigation lawyers

Madoff had been a prominent member of the securities industry throughout his career. According to SEC.gov, he served as vice chairman of the NASD, a member of its board of governors and a chairman of its New York region. He was also a member of NASDAQ Stock Market’s board of governors and its executive committee and served as chairman of its trading commission.

Madoff created a unique kind of Ponzi scheme. Instead of promising high short-term investment returns, he created phony investor account statements showing moderate, consistently positive returns, even during turbulent market conditions.

In December 2008, the SEC charged Madoff and his firm with securities fraud for the multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme he perpetrated on advisory clients of his firm. Though Madoff claims the scheme began in the 1990s, investigators believe the fraud began as early as the 1970s. The amount missing from client accounts was almost $65 billion, though the court-appointed trustee estimated actual losses to investors of $18 billion.

The Sarelson Law Firm – Miami litigation lawyers

High investment returns with little or no risk. Every investment carries some degree of risk. Usually, the higher the return, the more risk. Be highly suspicious of any “guaranteed” investment opportunity.

Overly consistent returns. Investments tend to go up and down over time, especially those seeking high returns. If an investment generates regular, positive returns regardless of market conditions, it could be suspect.

Unregistered investments. Ponzi schemes typically involve investments that have not been registered with the SEC or with state regulators.

Unlicensed sellers. Investment professionals and their firms are required by federal and state securities law to be licensed or registered. Most Ponzi schemes involve unlicensed individuals or unregistered firms.

Secretive and/or complex strategies. It is best to avoid investments you do not understand or for which you cannot get complete information.

Issues with paperwork. There should be no reason why you cannot review information about an investment in writing.

Difficulty receiving payments. You should be suspicious if you do not receive a payment or have difficulty cashing out your investment.

Keep a look out for the above signs of a Ponzi scheme when you are investing. If you do suspect an investment opportunity might be a Ponzi scheme, the SEC requests you contact it by phone at (800) 732-0330 or online at http://www.sec.gov/complaint.shtml.

The Sarelson Law Firm – Miami class action attorneys

Pyramid schemes claim you will earn high profits by making one payment and finding a set number of others to become distributors of a product. Usually the scheme does not involve a genuine product. It may not exist, or it may only be “sold” within the pyramid scheme. In order to receive payments, you must find new distributors. Often you will have no contact with the original promoter, depending on where you enter the scheme. Pyramid schemes collapse fairly quickly, because they require exponential growth at each level to maintain payments.

Ponzi schemes offer participants high investment returns with little or no risk. As with pyramid schemes, Ponzi schemes typically deal with a product that does not actually exist. The investments are usually invented. Instead of requiring constant recruitment on your part, though, you do not have to do anything. You are promised that all will be taken care of by your investor in exchange for your money. You also tend to interact directly with the promoter of a Ponzi scheme, though the source of your payments – new investor payments – is never disclosed. The collapse of a Ponzi scheme can take a long time, especially if existing participants re-invest their money.

Whether you suspect a Ponzi scheme or a Pyramid scheme, you should walk the other way. Either will leave you worse off than when you began.

Sarelson Law Firm – Miami litigation lawyers

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) defines a Ponzi scheme as an investment fraud that involves the payment of purported returns to existing investors from funds contributed by new investors. According to the government website SEC.gov, Ponzi scheme organizers often solicit new investors by promising to invest funds in opportunities claimed to generate high returns with little or no risk. The organizers spend most of their time looking for new investors to generate the funds necessary to pay earlier investors and to pay their own expenses.

Ponzi schemes almost always collapse because they generate little if any legitimate earnings. A constant flow of money from new investors is required to keep going. When new investors cannot be recruited, or a large number of investors ask to cash out, the scheme collapses.

Ponzi schemes are named after Charles Ponzi, a fraudster who duped thousands of New England residents into investing in a postage stamp speculation scheme in the 1920’s.

Ponzi schemes demonstrate the truth of that old saying: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Sarelson Law Firm – Miami litigation attorneys

The expressed reason for the proposed charge was to encourage customers to sign up for automatic billing, but the company determined that there might be alternatives to its goal that would anger customers less.

“We take great care to listen to our customers,’ Verizon Wireless Chief Executive Dan Mead said. “The best path forward is to encourage customers to take advantage of the best and most efficient options, eliminating the need to institute the fee at this time.”

The retreat came after an online petition on change.org calling for Verizon to drop the fee quickly drew more than 100,000 signatures. The Federal Communications Commission also spoke up, saying it was “concerned about Verizon’s actions” and was looking into the matter.

Several other companies have backed off of controversial changes recently due to public outcry, including Bank of America and Netflix.

It is encouraging to see that consumer protection can come directly from consumers if they are motivated enough to speak out.

Sarelson Law Firm – Miami litigation attorneys