El Segundo Ponzi Scheme Targets Latinos
Headline Legal News
An El Segundo woman took $23 million in a Ponzi scheme that targeted Latinos, the SEC says in Los Angles Federal Court. Clelia A. Flores and her business, Maximum Return Investments, took the money from more than 150 people in seven states, by "guaranteeing" 25 percent returns in 45 days, the SEC says.
Flores roped in customers by offering high-yielding investments in oil, gold, and real estate, the SEC says. It claims she spent more than $3.5 million of it on herself, $443,000 to buy a home, and almost $1.5 million to finance MRI's operations and pay for a lavish party to celebrate the company's alleged success.
Flores promised "guaranteed" returns of up to 25 percent within 45 days, according to the complaint. But she allegedly used only $5.6 million to invest in high-risk ventures and start-up companies that never paid MRI any returns. She allegedly ran the scam from 2006 through 2008.
The SEC seeks an injunction, disgorgement, and fines.
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Does a car or truck accident count as a work injury?
If an employee is injured in a car crash while on the job, they are eligible to receive workers’ compensation benefits. “On the job” injuries are not limited to accidents and injuries that happen inside the workplace, they may also include injuries suffered away from an employee’s place of work while performing a job-related task, such as making a delivery or traveling to a client meeting.
Regular commutes to and from work don’t usually count. If you get into an accident on your way in on a regular workday, it’s probably not considered a work injury for the purposes of workers’ compensation.
If you drive around as part of your job, an injury on the road or loading/unloading accident is likely a work injury. If you don’t typically drive around for work but are required to drive for the benefit of your employer, that would be a work injury in many cases.
If you are out of town for work, pretty much any driving would count as work related. For traveling employees, any accidents or injuries that happen on a work trip, even while not technically working, can be considered a work injury. The reason is because you wouldn’t be in that town in the first place, had you not been on a work trip.
Workers’ compensation claims for truck drivers, traveling employees and work-related injuries that occur away from the job site can be challenging and complex. At Krol, Bongiorno & Given, we understand that many families depend on the income of an injured worker, and we are proud of our record protecting the injured and disabled. We have handled well over 30,000 claims for injured workers throughout the state of Illinois.