Selling of Shares, help needed

kendizx9r

Hi

i have been using a broker to build up a portfolio of shares until it was a good time to cash in, i accumulated a good profit on the shares so decided it was the right time to sell and instructed the broker to do so, i initially purchased the sharesthe shares using US dollars as it was a US company,  once sold i was then sent an invoice to pay US taxes, this came as a shock because i was not informed this would be the case prior to selling and to make matters worse the broker said i had to pay this bill upfront using my own money before the transfer agent would release funds into my bank account.
The broker said his company would help me by giving me half of the tax payment in credit to be paid back at a later date, after the payment was made the broker told me i shuld have my money deposited in my account within a few days. It is now five weeks later and have had no money deposited in my account i have talked to the broker numerous times but he is making excuses saying he cannot get hold of the transfer agent to find out what is going on, anyone point me in the right direction on this?

kh

underground99

As per my answer on the thread where you first posted:

Sounds like classic advance fee fraud. Scammer claims they have some cash or asset of yours which they will release if only you pay them some money. If they genuinely had your money and you had an obligation to pay them for a service or out-of-pocket expense, they could take it out of the funds that they are already holding to your account.

Then you say it sounds like a lot of money that you weren't expecting to pay, and magically they tell you they can halve the charge or cover some of it for you if only you send them the money, hoping that you will send them at least something that they can run off with. Surprise surprise, you send them some money and then there are 'difficulties' paying you out.

It sounds like you have not actually used a regulated stockbroker at all, but some scam outfit and both the money you originally paid to buy shares, and the later money you sent them for 'taxes' is long gone.

If that's the case, there's not much you can do but report to police/ Action Fraud, or hire a private detective and lawyer to chase them down. The latter would probably be prohibitively expensive.

If you think they are a genuine regulated stockbroker you could post the name and registration number of the company and their website, and people here may have heard of them.

Voyager2002

Firstly, I have owned and sold US shares and never encountered this kind of issue. US taxes are deducted from dividends but not from the proceeds of sales.

Secondly, are you sure the request for payment for taxes came from the actual broker? It is possible that their email address was 'spoofed' by a criminal who asked for money for taxes, who obviously cannot send you money from the sale and is stringing you along in the hope of getting you to send them more money in due course.

moneysavinghero

Sounds like you have been scammed. I hope we are not talking large sums. Way forward is to write this off as experience and make sure you are more careful in the future with who you give your money to.

kendizx9r

I guess everyone can think it's a scam, just to point out the company i used are fsa licenced,  i am also still in talks with the broker/advisor of the company, if anything i am more frustrated with the transfer agent.

DrSyn

It sounds like a scam we have heard here before.

Perhaps the OP would tell us

1. How they found out about this broker and these shares?

2. What checks they the did on the broker and these shares before they handed over any of their money to start with?

Some time in the future, the OP will be contacted by someone claiming that they can get back the lost money. They of course will need to some payment up front.

Do not believe them!

eskbanker

kendizx9r said:

I guess everyone can think it's a scam, just to point out the company i used are fsa licenced,  i am also still in talks with the broker/advisor of the company, if anything i am more frustrated with the transfer agent.

Seems unlikely that the Food Standards Agency are going to offer much assistance, but if you're asking if "anyone [can] point me in the right direction on this" then why would you be so reluctant to name the parties involved?

Voyager2002

kendizx9r said:

I guess everyone can think it's a scam, just to point out the company i used are fsa licenced,  i am also still in talks with the broker/advisor of the company, if anything i am more frustrated with the transfer agent.

Or perhaps a scammer used the identity of an FSA licensed company. Or perhaps your shares are still safe and unsold, and your instruction to sell and "tax payment" have gone to a fraudster who has intercepted your communications.

Eyeful

You asked to be pointed in the right direction. Everyone here is pointing you in one direction.
You are the only one pointing the other way.

 Have you considered that they are correct & you are wrong?

Why the reluctance to answer the questions being asked?

maxsteam

kendizx9r said:

i have talked to the broker numerous times but he is making excuses

Which broker? There is likely to be a regulatory authority that you can report the matter to. It sounds like it's a US broker in which case you can report the matter to the SEC. If it's a UK broker, you can contact the FCA. The regulatory body will help you with this.

There are fake brokers but they don't often hang around long enough to make excuses. There are also bad brokers. The relevant regulatory body will tell you if the broker is fake or inefficient and will tell you what steps you can now take.