3 Firms Raided Over Charges of Metals Fraud
In a major Orange County sweep, 60 state, federal and local law enforcement agents Thursday raided three companies suspected of bilking thousands of investors throughout the country out of millions of dollars.
Investor complaints prompted the Orange County district attorney’s office major fraud unit to obtain search warrants for two homes and three companies: World Equity Mint in Anaheim, Associated Miners Group in Santa Ana and Mint Management in Tustin. At the Mint Management office, Tustin police arrested two men on outstanding warrants unrelated to the precious metals business.
“This is the biggest raid we’ve done so far,” said Patrick Geary, chief of the fraud unit.
Barnard Woolf of Dana Point and Rodney Benjamin Jr. of Anaheim were arrested at the Tustin office. Agents also searched the homes of Woolf and James Boone of Buena Park, who is believed to head all three companies. Boone, who is vacationing in Las Vegas, was not arrested.
The firms relied on telephone salespeople to sell gold, silver and platinum to customers as far away as Maryland.
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