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News Release: 01-10
GRAY DAVIS, Governor
Date: 05/25/01
DEMETRIOS A. BOUTRIS, Commissioner
State Unplugs Cash Machine Scam
Con man arrested in Riverside County
Sacramento, May 25, 2001 — California Corporations Commissioner Demetrios A. Boutris, in cooperation with the Riverside County District Attorney’s office, today announced the arrest of repeat offender Philip Gardner in Newport Beach, CA, for offering fraudulent investments in Automated Teller Machines (ATMs).
"We’ve sent him to prison before and we plan to send him again and again until he stops defrauding the public," Commissioner Boutris stated. "The California Department of Corporations wants both the public and the con artists to understand that we are keeping close watch on previous offenders. The best investor is an informed investor. We encourage investors to call us to verify whether their broker is in good standing."
Gardner is charged with twenty-one counts of illegally and fraudulently selling securities as a result of selling over $1 million in investments through The ATM Store. Senior citizens and other vulnerable targets were solicited through investment opportunity shows and newspaper ads promising returns of 40-100%. Investor funds were then diverted for personal use, ATM machines were not purchased or placed as promised and most investors lost their entire investment.
Gardner has a record of securities law violations extending nearly 30 years. In 1988, the Department and the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office charged Gardner with 28 counts of fraudulent sales of wind farm and gold mine investments and grand theft. Gardner pled guilty to seven felony counts and spent four years in jail.
The Department of Corporations is California's Investment and Financing Authority, reporting to the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency and the Governor. The Department is responsible for the regulation, enforcement and licensing of securities, franchises, off-exchange commodities, investment and financial services, independent escrows, consumer and commercial finance lending and residential mortgage lending. For further information or to obtain a complaint form, see the Department's Web site at www.corp.ca.gov.
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