K1 DIRECT concludes relief efforts in The Bahamas – Bahamas

Posted on September 30, 2019 by Sint Maarten News
K1 DIRECT concludes relief efforts in The Bahamas – Bahamas
reliefweb.int
THE BAHAMAS– K1 DIRECT, K1 Britannia Foundation’s Disaster Relief & Crisis Team, has rounded off their relief efforts in The Bahamas. Earlier this month, the team of 13 volunteer members from St. Maarten & Curacao were deployed to assist with relief, being open to assist where the team was most needed. K1 DIRECT St. Maarten and Curacao have been diligently training in various fields of disaster management and collaborated with various organizations and initiatives on ground to provide aid and assistance.

The team’s relief efforts took place within three main areas of data collection, shelter assessment and distribution management. In Nassau, the team worked with HeadKnowles, a local disaster relief foundation, and other private entities to assist with the registration of evacuees from Abaco and Freeport into Nassau, and to assist with providing information for accommodation, additional supplies, and medical support.

In Nassau, Co-Manager of K1 DIRECT Iris Hakkens attended various EOC (Emergency Operations Center) partner meetings and lead the process of assessing properties that could be potential short to long term shelters, due to emergency shelters becoming over capacity. Hakkens elaborated saying, “Upon arriving in Nassau, through a meeting with key persons of various humanitarian aid organizations, we found a few persons who assisted with providing supplies needed for different shelters such as cots, food, etc – but no one was really addressing the need for additional shelters. Each shelter in Nassau was over capacity and it was imperative that someone needed to work with the international humanitarian aid standards to assess properties and shelters to provide additional accommodation for the influx of evacuees.”

K1 worked closely with IOM United Nations (The International Organization for Migration), UKAID, USAID, Rotary International, American Red Cross, Bahamas Resolve, persons of The Bahamas private sector to investigate suitable properties.

In Freeport, Grand Bahama, the group worked closely with the Hon. Senator Katherine Forbes-Smith, various ESFs and NEMA (National Emergency Management Agency) to help manage the distribution process of government supplies to the most affected neighborhoods in Grand Bahama, as well as warehouse set up and management. K1 DIRECT worked alongside volunteers from Public Treasury, Urban Renewal Grand Bahama, Team Rubicon, Royal Bahamas Defence Force, US Coast Guard, and others. Co-Manager of K1 DIRECT, Alan Schet added, “The warehouse management process was slightly unsystematic and we were able to remedy that by providing a bit of structure. That process was well received by the persons involved which allowed us to be more effective. The distribution of goods became more streamlined and targeted which allowed for more effective registering of goods.”

Senator Forbes-Smith stated, “It was almost like K1 was the first on the ground and I really appreciate that the team just jump right in, no task was too great or too little and I’m so excited that K1 was a part of our recovery. I’ll always remember K1 DIRECT and we really appreciate the take charge attitude to get the job done.”

K1 DIRECT management also attended various EOC meetings in Freeport to find ways to collaborate and investigate ways in which K1 DIRECT would be able to play a necessary role in the relief efforts. Priya Thirumur, Co-Manager of K1 DIRECT, was invited to give comments via live news reports and a press conference which she shared, “In disasters, I’ve noticed that distribution processes can be the most logistically challenging, but because of the organization and diligence of NEMA, ESF, and the various volunteer organizations on ground, every day we were able to get supplies out to the affected persons as quickly as possible.”

As Grand Bahama was one of the most affected islands, everybody that the team had worked with has suffered loss of loved ones. The team also provided trauma counseling and took the time to comfort and encourage those who lives that been affected by tragedy. Thirumur shared, “We are all truly touched by the humility and open arms by the Bahamians as they welcomed us. Many persons commented that as a relief team coming from St. Maarten showed support from the region and also because we had been through Irma, they were open to letting us provide support knowing that we could empathize with their struggle.”

The foundation would like extend their gratitude to the various persons in the Bahamas, as well as in St. Maarten and Curacao, who supported the team in numerous ways through accommodation, transportation, fees, supplies, networks and donations that helped make this mission possible.

For more information on how you can continue to support K1 DIRECT please call +1 (721) 553-8186, email direct@k1britanniafoundation.orgor visit the K1 Britannia Foundation office located at Falcon Drive #7, Suite A3, Brooks Tower, their website www.k1britanniafoundation.org, or Facebook www.facebook.com/k1sxm.

http://reliefweb.int

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New Gas Petrol Rates Dutch St Maarten

Posted on September 30, 2019 by Sint Maarten News

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Video: Category 5 Hurricane Lorenzo Aiming At Europe! How Extraordinary Is That?

Posted on September 29, 2019 by Sint Maarten News

Hurricanes in the toughest category are more common at this time of the year, but are usually not where Lorenzo is at the moment. This tropical storm with gusts of up to 260 km per hour is on its way to the Azores, an island group to the west of Portugal.

It is not so much the power, but the location and path of Lorenzo that make him very special. This situation is so unique that even at MeteoGroup they do not know exactly what to do with the second category 5 hurricane of the 2019 hurricane season in the Atlantic.

SPECIAL CASE

“Lorenzo can indeed be called a pretty special case,” says Britta van Gendt of the MeteoGroup in Wageningen. “It all went very fast, at first it all seemed not too bad, but he gained strength very quickly in recent days and is now of the toughest category. This is the most powerful hurricane ever observed at this latitude and he is approaching Europe. But how and what is guessing. Making predictions for the longer term is difficult because this situation is so unique. “

Unlike their American colleagues at the National Hurricane Center, European meteorologists do not have much experience with this type of immense weather system. “And the Americans don’t know exactly what he is going to do,” she notes.

TRADE WINDS AND EARTH ROTATION

Normally hurricanes occur above the warm ocean waters of the Atlantic Ocean off the west coast of Africa. Warm air from the Sahara and a sea water temperature of at least 27 degrees are the ideal conditions for such storm complexes. Through the Passat winds, a dominant powerful eastern current that flows between the Equator and 30 degrees north latitude, the vast majority of hurricanes then move to the American continent and the Caribbean.

However, Lorenzo is located north of that 30th parallel. Due to the rotation of the earth and gravity, the Passat wind moves north in the opposite direction. Because of this, he starts behaving differently and Europe comes into view. A situation that does not occur very often and certainly not in this severity.

[wpvideo 4MzarEJ8]

STRANGE DUCK CALLED LORENZO

“It is a difficult thing to predict because there is little data from the past to base weather models on. Of course we have experienced the remains of other hurricanes in Europe, but this situation is different. According to our models, Lorenzo travels northeast along the Azores. On Tuesday or Wednesday, the inhabitants of the Portuguese archipelago will have to look for cover, how fierce it gets depends on the path. But it will certainly be quite windy and rainy, “said the meteorologist.

What happens next is uncertain according to Van Geldt. “Because of the trade winds, the path of Lorenzo will turn north-east towards the European mainland. Because he is so elusive, we do not know exactly what he will do next. Some models let him head towards France, while others say he is heading in the direction of Ireland or even Iceland. “

What does this mean for the weather in our country? “That depends on the path: if Lorenzo, who will then have been weakened to a depression, takes a northerly course then we will have to deal with turbulent autumn weather. If the remains of the complex go south of us, we can expect a dry and sunny weather type from the southeast. However, conditions in the Netherlands are not yet influenced by the hurricane. “

EUROPEAN HURRICANES?

Due to the northern course, the wind speeds of Lorenzo are likely to decrease rapidly at the end of the week. Hurricanes need warm ocean water to maintain category 5 power and the water to the west of the Iberian Peninsula is too cool for this.

Hurricanes near Europe are relatively rare; “Ophelia in 2017, which at its peak belonged to category 3, comes closest. Due to the colder seawater, however, there was no talk of hurricane power. As a tropical storm, she landed on Ireland, so it was doing quite well, “she outlines. “However, these circumstances cannot be compared with hurricanes such as Dorian in the Bahamas last month or Irma in St. Maarten in 2017.”

Should we in the Netherlands be scared of tropical hurricanes of the toughest category? “No, they are not possible here,” assures Van Gendt. “The two ingredients are missing; Firstly, the seawater in our region is not nearly warm enough. And secondly, the British Isles ensure that hurricanes can never reach our country at full strength. The intensity of such a tropical depression is rapidly decreasing above land. If the supply direction comes from the southwest, the chance of a direct hit is also very small. The Channel between France and the United Kingdom is too narrow for a hurricane, an eye does not fit through it, so that the surrounding country still causes the wind speeds to fall considerably. “https://www.metronieuws.nl/in-het-nieuws/2019/09/categorie-5-orkaan-lorenzo-koerst-op-europa-af-hoe-uniek-is-dat

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Holland plans a ‘Statia Style’ Takeover of St Maarten

Posted on September 29, 2019 by Sint Maarten News

CDA i VVD ta kontemplá pa intervení den gobièrnu di Sint Maarten

CDA and VVD Parties Of The Netherlands Contemplate Dutch Intervention Of St Maarten.

DEN HAAG – CDA i VVD ta insistí pa intervení den gobièrnu di Sint Maarten. E dos partidonan di gobièrnu ta ‘masha prekupá’ pa e reedifikashon awor ku gabinete a kai atrobe.

The Hague – The CDA and VVD parties are calling for Higher Supervision of the government of St Maarten. They feel that the two main political parties in St Maarten were so distracted by the reconstruction of St Maarten, they cannot focus enough to maintain a stable government, and so it fell.

E echo ku reedifikashon ta retrasá pa motibu di e impase polítiko na e isla, ta frustra CDA i VVD. Tin miónes ta warda pa usa, pero aparentemente na Sint Maarten nan no por invertí esaki den e interes kolektivo.”

The fact of the matter is, there has been a delay in reconstruction, and the political impasse in St Maarten is frustrating the CDA and VVD. There are millions in funding available, that St Maarten is waiting to use. But apparently in St Maarten, the interest does not lie with the community as a whole.

“Mi ta haña masha grave di mira kon hende ta bai atras i ku mi no por hasi nada”. Van Dam ta bisa. “Mi ta haña ku komo parlamentario hulandes – sigur den direkshon di Konseho di Minister di Reino – mi mester tuma mi responsabilidat.”

“I think it’s terrible for me to see how the people are falling behind, and there is nothing that I can do about it.” Van Dam stated. I feel with the Dutch Parliament – secure in the guidance of the Advisor to the Kingdom’s Minister (Minister of Interior?) I have to accept my responsibility.

Pregunta den Kamer tokante e posibilidatnan di intervení

CDA i VVD konkretamente ke sa di sekretario di estado Raymond Knops (Relashonnan den Reino) ki posibilidat tin pa intervení den gobièrnu for di Den Haag.

Chamber Questions concerning possible intervention:

The CDA and VVD want to know in concrete terms from State Secretary Kingdom Relations Raymond Knops about the possibility of an intervention of the St Maarten Government, by the Hague.

“Mi ta masha prekupá pa e reedifikashon”, e miembro di Kamer di VVD Andre Bosman ta bisa. Segun Bosman di tur manera ta tempu pa Konseho di Minister di Reino ’buta preshon tur ku tin’.

I am very worried about the reconstruction, said lying bastard from the VVD, Chamber Member André Bosman. According to Bosman it is time for the Interior Minister to put pressure.

Spich di Marlin-Romeo ta impreshoná Den Haag

E promé minister ku entretantu a bira demishonario Leona Marlin Romeo djaluna a tene un spich na televishon, kaminda e ta proklamá elekshon nobo despues ku diferente parlamentario a baha na awa ku nan asiento.

The Hague impressed by Leona’s Marlin-Romeo speech

The Prime Minister meanwhile gave a speech on television and announced new elections and a different parliament ???

Marlin-Romeo a ekspresá diferente akusashon kontra parlamentario. Gabinete entre otro lo ta traha den un ‘kultura di miedu’ i for di den parlamento tabata animá pa violá konstitushon. Segun e tin ‘hende ku influensha pafó di parlamento ku bon mirá ta manda’.

Marlin-Romeo made various accusations against Parliament, saying that The Cabinet was made of a culture of fear, and that Parliament had voilated the Constitution. Also that there were outside influences affecting Parliament

E miembro di Kamer di CDA Chris van Dam ta bisa ku e ta hopi di shòk pa e spich di Marlin-Romeo. “Si un promé minister pone tur e kosnan aki banda di otro i den sierto sentido ta konfirmá sospecho i redu, mi no por sera mi oreanan pa esaki.”

Chamber Member of the CDA Chris van Dam said he was very shocked at Marlin-Romeo’s speech. “If a Prime Minister puts all things out there and is certain suspicion and gossip have been confirmed”

Prekupashon pa elekshon

Riba 25 di novèmber Sint Maarten ta bai urna atrobe. “Mi ta prekupá pa elekshon”, Van Dam (CDA) ta bisa. “Pasobra ken aktualmente por hasi loke ta bon pa Sint Maarten? Ku nuebe gabinete den dies aña esaki tin mi masha prekupá.

Busy with elections

On November 25th St Maarten is going to vote? I am worried about elections said Van Dam. Because who really wants what’s best for St Maarten. With the ninth cabinet in ten years, it has me very worried.

Intervení manera na Sint Eustatius?

CDA abiertamente ta pro e tumamentu ofer di gobièrnu, komparabel ku e manera ku esaki a sosodé na Sint Eustatius. Den Haag a hala gobièrnu lokal pone un banda na febrüari di 2018, despues ku un komishon a konkluí ku e munisipio ekstraordinario no tabata tuma lei na serio.

The same intervention as St Eustatius?

CDA is open to supervising the government in the same way as Statia.

“Mi ta kere esaki a yuda Statia masha hopi pa bai mas dilanti komo pais”, Van Dam ta bisa. “Mi no sa kiko ta posibel den Reino pa un pais separá”,pero sí mi ta haña ku a bira tempu pa investigá esaki.”

Intervení manera na Sint Eustatius ‘por ta un opshon’, e parlamentario hulandes di VVD André Bosman, ku huntu ku CDA a entregá pregunta na Kamer, ta haña. “Mi no ta ekskluí nada.”

“I think this helped Statia prosper as a nation” Van Dam said. “I don’t know what’s possible in the kingdom with an autonomous island. But I do believe it’s time to explore the options.”
“An intervention like we did in St Eustatius could be an option. I don’t exclude anything.” Andre Bosman VVD parliament member, who entered the parliamentary with the CDA, declaired.

http://caribischenetwerk.com

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The overdevelopment of SXM.

Posted on September 29, 2019 by Sint Maarten News

The overdevelopment of SXM.

Not much green left.

Most hills destroyed with very conspicuously gaping holes and excavations

Most beaches destroyed by building right on the beach near the water line, by building rock dykes into the sea,

Most beach water contaminated with sewage water and dangerous to swim in.

Most roads clogged with cars that cannot move forward to reach their destination on time

Most pedestrian walking spaces at the side of the road continuously packed with parked cars and containers,

Just continue to name all the local MAL PRACTISES, that political greed, and overseas investors have caused during the period of 1955 – 2019 = 65 long years

Some of the very prominent political actors of this long period of plundering SXM are still very active in the Staten and other parts of the public sector including the public owned companies and are the same main old time culprits who brought SXM in this constitutional messy merry-go-round after 10-10-10.

R. Voges

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New Video: St Maarteners Express Disgust At Latest Fall of Government & New Elections – Translated from Caribische Netwerk

Posted on September 29, 2019 by Sint Maarten News

PHILIPSBURG – “I doubt whether I will vote again. You can’t ask people to come running up and down. ”This week, Sint-Maarten told them to go to the polls again in November. What do they think about that?

“This is also part of a democracy. There are up and down movements, “says a pump operator. He is one of the few positive people on the street. Most people are angry, tired, disappointed. “Apparently there are no leaders here. People are mainly concerned with themselves and not with the interests of the residents. “

Whether a new government will be successful in the future is something that most people question. A few suggested that the Netherlands should intervene, since ‘apparently it just won’t work’.

Another believes that Sint Maarten should never have become autonomous. On the other hand, a woman states that there are enough Saint Martin people who want the best for the country. “There is a need for young, new sounds.”

“Young, new sounds are needed”

Most respondents still doubt whether they will vote. It depends on whether you can vote for new people. “Ironically, this will be the first time for me to vote,” says a young woman. “I started studying abroad a few years ago. It was very frustrating to follow in the media how the government fell over and over again. But they are still the same faces. If you keep arranging the same players, nothing will change. “

New parties excluded from elections
On Friday, September 27, a new party celebrates its founding: the Party of Progress (PFP). However, they – and any other new parties – cannot take part in the elections this year. The date on which parties can stand for election is 2 October; one of the requirements is that the batch has already been registered for six weeks.

“Not entirely neat”, says one of the interviewees. “Move the date back and let new parties decide for themselves whether or not to participate.”

[wpvideo 5zczNm3z]

https://caribischnetwerk.ntr.nl/2019/09/29/sint-maartenaren-hebben-weinig-vertrouwen-in-nieuwe-verkiezingen/

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CPS ADVISES COMMUNITY TO TAKE PREVENTIVE MEASURES TO PREVENT HAND FOOT AND MOUTH DISEASE & CHICKEN POX

Posted on September 29, 2019 by Sint Maarten News

The Collective Prevention Services (CPS), a department within the Sint Maarten Ministry of Public Health, Social Development & Labour, is calling on the community and in particular parents and guardians, day care centers and play schools, to take preventive measures to mitigate Hand Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) as well as Chicken Pox, by taking extra measures to prevent the aforementioned by washing hands often with soap and water.

CPSs communicable diseases surveillance system has picked up a number of cases within the community of the aforementioned.
Parents/guardians who have a child exhibiting any symptoms of HFMD or Chicken Pox, and has an appointment with the Baby Wellness Clinic, are hereby requested to call to reschedule the child’s appointment.

HFMD is a common viral illness that usually affects infants and children who are 10-years of age or younger. It can sometimes occur in adults. There is no vaccine to protect against the viruses that cause hand, foot, and mouth disease.

Symptoms of HFMD include cold-like conditions, fever, mouth sores, loss of appetite, cough, and a skin rash; a non-itchy red rash that develops on the hand and the feet, and sometimes the rash can develop into painful blisters; painful mouth ulcers.

Hand, foot, and mouth disease is spread from person to person through nose and throat secretions (such as saliva, sputum, or nasal mucus), blister fluid, or stool of infected persons. When handling secretions, it is advisable to apply the necessary preventive measures.
Persons with symptoms should consult their family physician and take necessary preventive measures in order to mitigate an increase number of cases.

To lower your risk of being infected with hand, foot and mouth disease, wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after changing diapers and using the toilet; disinfecting dirty surfaces and soiled items, including toys.
First wash the items with soap and water, and then disinfect them with a solution of chlorine bleach; and avoiding close contact such as kissing, hugging, thumb-sucking, nail-chewing or sharing eating utensils or cups with infected persons.
Hand, foot and mouth disease is not the same as foot and mouth disease, which affects cattle, sheep and pigs. The two infections are unrelated, and you cannot catch hand, foot and mouth disease from animals.

Chicken Pox is usually a mild disease in children. But the itching can be very uncomfortable. Chicken Pox spreads easily through airborne droplets, when an infected person coughs or sneezes. It can also spread by touching/making contact with the fluid from blisters.

Susceptible persons are 80 to 90 per cent at risk of getting the disease once exposed to it. Chicken Pox is a disease caused by infection with the varicella zoster virus, which causes fever and an itchy rash.

Not all infected individuals have fever, which develops just before or when the rash appears.
Symptoms can include a skin rash of blister-like lesions, covering the body but usually more concentrated on the face, scalp, and trunk.

The patient is infectious from the onset of symptoms until all spots have gone. One attack usually confers life-long immunity, although the virus may reactivate at a later date and cause shingles.

Children with Chicken Pox usually must miss school or childcare for at least a week to avoid spreading the virus to others.

Considering it is airborne, use take hand cough preventive measures and disinfect/sanitize surroundings.
In most cases Chicken Pox is not a serious health threat but life-threatening complications can occur and include the following:

• Bacterial infection of the skin and tissues under the skin (including group A streptococcal infections)

• Dehydration (loss of body fluids) from vomiting or diarrhea

• Pneumonia (lung infection)

• Encephalitis (brain swelling). Most cases are mild, but some can be deadly.

No one can predict who will get serious complications from the disease.

If your child or you have any of these symptoms, consult your family physician; agencies and/or institutions taking care of babies, toddlers etc. The aforementioned are requested to be on the alert and to take preventive measures by taking proper cleaning and hygienic measures.

For more information call CPS at 542-1122, 542-1222, 542-1322 and 542-1570; or email surveillance@sintmaartengov.org
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GoFundMe’s ‘No Murder For Profit’ Clause. Scott Hapgood & Ritzy Friends Shut Down.

Posted on September 29, 2019 by Sint Maarten News

GoFundMe pulls UBS banker Scott Hapgood’s $250K fund amid manslaughter

Backers of the Connecticut banker charged with killing a hotel worker in Anguilla raised $250,000 in six days for the man’s defense — before GoFundMe yanked the effort amid outrage from the dead man’s supporters.

The ritzy Darien community rallied around Scott Hapgood when a longtime family friend put out a plea for donations, with the 44-year-old dad’s blessing.

“Please help Scott and his family as they fight to regain the life they worked so hard to build,” wrote organizer Catherine Prichard.

Around the same time, an email was sent to Darien residents claiming legal costs have already decimated Hapgood’s life savings.

“Despite being wrongfully accused, Scott continues to honorably adhere to the legal process,” the email reportedly said, along with a link to the fundraising campaign. “Thereby adding enormous financial burden and increasing the risk to Scott’s safety and security.”

Kenny Mitchel

Dozens answered the call, which set a goal of $400,000, pledging donations ranging from $100 from individuals to $5,000 from the CT Grizzlies lacrosse club.

The initiative also spread on social media.

“This is great. Best wishes for them and I hope they can get closure sooner than later. What an awful thing to have to go through,” one woman wrote on Facebook.

But supporters of the alleged victim, 27-year-old Kenny Mitchel, were taken aback by the campaign.

“This is how you buy your way out of murdering someone. His supporters are lined up and marching full speed ahead with no breaks[sic],” reads a message posted by a Facebook group dedicated to justice for Mitchel.

“The epitome of white privilege,” another Mitchel supporter posted.

Others wrote that they reported the campaign to GoFundMe.

Malliouhana Resort, Anguilla

On Thursday, a representative from the site contacted Hapgood, saying it canceled the campaign because it violated the crowd-sourcing platform’s rules against fundraisers for the legal defense of someone accused of a violent crime, Hapgood’s lawyer, Juliya Arbisman, told The Post.

In order to release the money, GoFundMe said Hapgood must sign a “declaration under threat of perjury that this will not be used on his legal defense,” she said.

Hapgood is charged with manslaughter in Mitchel’s April 13 death at the Malliouhana Resort where Mitchel worked.

The two were involved in a physical altercation in the room where Hapgood was staying with his wife and two daughters before Mitchel died of “prone restraint, positional asphyxia and blunt force trauma to the head, neck and torso,” according to his death certificate.
The UBS banker claims he acted in self-defense when Mitchel showed up to the room, brandished a knife and demanded cash.

Hapgood pinned him to the ground and wouldn’t let up until security arrived, an unnamed worker who said he witnessed the dispute previously told The Post. Mitchel appeared to be struggling for air while in Hapgood’s hold, the alleged witness said.

Despite “deeply discounted” legal fees, the cost of Hapgood’s defense is “extraordinarily high,” Arbisman said.

Hapgood also hires private security whenever he returns to the island for court appearances, after receiving threats, she said.

Arbisman, who said Hapgood was “upset” when he learned the initiative was pulled, described the GoFundMe cancellation as “another railroading in this unfortunate story.

“This continues to be a nightmare, which seems to be endless,” she told The Post.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/pagesix.com/2019/09/28/gofundme-pulls-ubs-banker-scott-hapgoods-250k-fund-amid-manslaughter-trial/amp/

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Video Slashed Tires, Attempted Arson Dominican Bar French Saint Martin

Posted on September 29, 2019 by Sint Maarten News

3 heures du matin… j’avais appelé la maréchaussée à 23 h 13 pour faire baisser les basses d’un certain bar de nuit dominicain en face simply… en précisant bien de les avertir sur les représailles auxquelles j’avais droit régulièrement, à savoir les pneus tailladés… changement de registre… sans même penser à la vie d’autrui!!! tout le bâtiment a failli prendre feu !!! BATÂRDS!!!

[wpvideo I9bdcuHP]

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Alleged Rittenhouse hedge fund scammer raised $100 million, targeting a Who’s Who of Philly

Posted on September 29, 2019 by Sint Maarten News

Brenda Ann Smith, Rittenhouse Square’s jailed investment scammer, kicked off her scheme in a simple, methodical way: She made a list.

According to the following account set out by federal authorities, Smith and two marketing executives compiled a “rich list” of prominent Philadelphians and wealthy people on an Excel spreadsheet, with columns recording dates of first meetings, any progress made, and an estimate of how much money might flow in. Among the prospects: owners of the Eagles and Philadelphia Union, high-profile lawyers and bankers, and successful entrepreneurs.

Smith failed to meet most of the folks on the list, let alone pitch her astonishing investment gains. But she still succeeded in luring $100 million into her phony hedge fund.
Her victims weren’t just in Philadelphia. Between 2016 and 2018, Smith raised roughly $46 million from one Canadian firm, and the rest from Wall Street outfits and individuals, according to federal prosecutors.

At least two-thirds of that $100 million has disappeared, according to prosecutors. Some she spent on international travel, but much of the money may have been lost in a classic Ponzi scheme, where new victims’ cash pays out old investors. She also wired funds offshore, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission and Department of Justice investigators.

Smith was arrested at her Rittenhouse Square condo on Aug. 27. She is in an Essex County, N.J., prison, awaiting trial. A grand jury has convened , and she’s charged with investment fraud, among other counts.

One investor listed in tax statements was Nancy Glass, the Emmy-winning television producer and former Inside Edition news anchor. Glass declined repeated requests for comment.

Others included an entity called Credit the Americas. Prophecy Asset Management, a firm based in New York with offices in South Carolina, was also listed as a investor in Smith’s fund.
Neither responded to phone calls and emails over the last two weeks. Prophecy’s website describes the firm as an investment company that allocates money to new portfolio managers.

Dropping names

A CPA by training, 59-year-old Smith didn’t have a Wall Street or portfolio management background, so she hired marketers to pitch her complicated-sounding, high-return strategy starting about 2016.

Mary Sun, a deal-maker and broker registered with securities regulator FINRA, also pitched Smith’s hedge fund, known as Broad Reach, by stressing it was female-owned and operated

Sun and Ken Leith, another marketer, prospected among so-called family offices, private investment firms run by and for wealthy families. Drew Hurni, another employee of Smith’s, worked as legal counsel for the fund. Sun, Leith, Hurni, and other employees who worked at her offices in West Conshohocken either did not return requests for comment or declined to speak.

Among those who heard Smith’s pitch were Patrick Ward, former head of Penn Liberty Bank, and Davis Sezna, a golf course developer and Delaware native. In 2013, Sezna and his wife hosted a party during the U.S. Open at Merion Golf Club attended by Smith and clients of her brokerage firm, according to the Main Line Media News.

Ward met with Smith but didn’t invest in the fund, according to a spokesperson for WSFS, the bank that now owns Penn Liberty.

Sun tried to meet in 2018 with Joseph Greco, a former boxer, part-owner of the Philadelphia Union, and now a financial adviser to athletes.Smith, Sun, and Leith maintained the spreadsheet of about 1,700 prospects, the Who’s Who of Philadelphia, ranging from Christina Lurie, ex-wife of Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, to bank executives and heads of Philadelphia law firms. Though Smith never even met most of them, she dropped names to open doors, said one banker who later heard — to his surprise — that he was being touted as an interested investor.

Trio of friends

Federal investigators are also looking at Brenda Smith’s longtime associate George Heckler, whose hedge funds Cassatt Short-Term Trading and CV Fund were clients of the accounting firm where she worked.

Heckler is cooperating with federal agencies, according to his lawyer, Lawrence McMichael with Dilworth Paxson. George Heckler is the son of Howard Heckler, onetime mayor of Hatfield Borough.

Heckler, Smith, and her early accounting and investment partner Mark Carrow, currently managing partner at Citrin Cooperman, were a trio of business associates who had known each other at least a decade.

Heckler wasn’t a direct investor in Broad Reach, but he sometimes worked out of Smith’s offices in West Conshohocken.

Carrow signed Heckler’s formation documents for the Cassatt Short-Term Trading hedge fund in 2008. Heckler’s fund filed to raise $50 million, with a $1 million minimum investment, and Carrow was listed as chief executive, according to SEC filings. Smith was the fund administrator for Cassatt and other entities controlled by Heckler.

Carrow was also an investor in Smith’s fund through an entity called Ardleigh Partners, although it’s unclear whether he still had money in the fund when she was arrested. Citrin Cooperman has a wealth management arm that operates under a different name, but it’s not known whether any clients were invested in Smith’s hedge fund.

Carrow’s lawyer Gavin Lentz declined to comment.

Heckler “had nothing to do with Broad Reach,” said his lawyer, McMichael of Dilworth Paxon.

“But there’s a lot of money involved and it’s a very difficult situation. There’s a cascade of personal consequences.”

Heckler now blames Smith for his inability to pay back investors, according to a Sept. 12 letter to his clients signed by his lawyer.

SureFire Dividend, a Canadian investment firm that lost $46 million in the Smith scam, is suing her and alleged accomplices in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

SureFire alleges that Smith wired money to overseas bank accounts and to Renato Escobar Iregui and his firm TN Investment in Tennessee. Smith may have used Surefire money to repay earlier investors, the suit alleges. A copy of the lawsuit is available here.

Smith is considered a flight risk, particularly after she bought a second passport from Dominica and traveled extensively to such places as Dubai, London, and Curacao.

“Having a way to travel on a non-U.S. passport is significant,” said Mark Zanides, former assistant U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of California.

“Dominica is notorious for selling identity documents. That’s how they make money. It’s a nothing island in the middle of the Caribbean. I’m not sure if they have an extradition treaty with us, but it’s more likely it would have provided her a way to get to a country like Brazil, which has no extradition treaty with the United States,” he said.

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