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| Gladius/Maximus Investments Fraud and Friendship in Florida. My story of being defrauded out of 150K, My life's savings. Pompano Beach,, Florida |
| 24th of Nov, 2011 by User184125 |
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SourceURL:file://localhost/Users/elaineharris/Desktop/Rip%20off%20letter%202.docx Dear scam Report, On November 15, 2011, I learned that Tony Zito, the CEO of Gladius/Maxiums Investments, was arrested by federal authorities as he apparently tried to flee the U.S. Soon after his arrest, I was informed that my silver investment of
$150,000 was gone, and it was unlikely that I would ever recover this loss.
There were several stories in the months leading up to this fateful day, most of which I knew were signs of a serious problem with my investment. Whenever I inquired about a problem or concern, I received assurances and guarantees
regarding the safety of my funds. Of course, I was told that my money was always unavailable for return when I requested it, but I was advised to stay the course and reap the eventually rewards. Over the course of my time as an investor, I requested and received two promissory notes signed by Tony Zito that documented and assured me that I would receive the full $150,000 principal plus 6% interest. The first of these notes expired in August of 2011. However, when I notified Tony in May of 2011 that I was requesting my investment in full, I was told I would have to wait an additional year to recover the funds due to market fluctuations. This was always the case. Changes in the market were the culprit, or "manipulations by JP Morgan" rather than a mismanagement of funds, leveraging of silver, or the outright failure to purchase additional silver. Flash forward to October 2011 when I was issued a second promissory
note still to be honored in October 2012. Suffice to say, I’m not holding out for this promise now that Mr. Zito is awaiting federal changes as he sits in a Miami jail.

 Looking back, my history as an investor was marked by a series of events, all of which laid the foundation for my trust, and ultimately my financial ruin. The short abbreviated version of this story begin in May of 2009 with an invitation to accompany Tony Zito and his business partner, Dan Volker, Michael Beiter, as well as their respective spouses
on a trip to a luxurious villa in the Italian countryside where the likes of Julia Roberts and Johnny Cochran had vacationed for the not too shabby cost of 20,00 euros a week. Included on this visit were the services of a private chef
and full-time housekeeper. As a potential investor, throughout the visit I witnessed what appeared to be the lavish lifestyles and free spending habits of the rich and the soon to be infamous Zito, Volker, Beiter, and their spouses.
The driveway to the villa was adorned with a variety of auto jewelry, primarily Alfa Romeo’s. Once I settled in, there were side trips to the resort town of Positano for shopping sprees, as well as a trip to watch Formula One races in
the south of France. I have a vivid memory of a conversation I had in the kitchen with Dan Volker while sharing an espresso. There I was, listening intently and trustfully as he told me with the confidence that only a true
self-deceiver was capable, “In five years, we have never lost anyone’s money!†Naturally (and perhaps somewhat naively) my interest in investing in what seemed to be a very profitable company grew with each conversation I had with
these men who I had known as friends for almost two decades. In similar manner, whenever I spoke to Tony, about my investment concerns, he informed me that I was bestowed special status under the "Friends and Family" plan as he
referred to it. Under this additional “protection†I was seemingly promised an investment that was “100% secured†and guaranteed-in-full at any time should the company encounter hard times. Ultimately, this formed the proverbial “scene of the crime,†the setting wherein I was courted and convinced that investing with Gladius would be a wise and profitable decision. As I said earlier, I had known these two men, Tony Zito and his business partner Dan Volker since 1993. In short, I thought of them as friends, and when I approached them about investing my life savings, I did so with the understanding that their friendship was reason to believe I would be treated honestly. What I eventually came to learn was the last thing I could have expected. This is just to say
that I trusted them. I thought of them as friends, and therefore mistakenly assumed that my investment was safe. As plot of my investment scenario unfolded, Tony redirected me to Michael Beiter,who I was led to believe was the individual I would need to facilitate the first stages of my 
investment. I also assumed he was formally affiliated with
Gladius. Back at the Villa, it seemed that the trio of them were too busy indulging in red wine and rich Italian food to actually talk business. So, I was asked by Michael to call him when we all returned to the United States. I
therefore contacted him in late June of that year. I had several questions for Michael because I was facing the prospect of turning over most of my capital to him. This, I would eventually learn, was a tragic mistake that would lead me
down the path of half-truths and promises not unlike the “contract†that the Big Bad Wolf struck up with Little Red Riding Hood! For example, when I asked if I could draw on the interest from my investment, he replied in his email
precisely as follows: "YES THAT IS THE TOTAL PURPOSE. AS THE DOLLAR CRASHES METALS WILL SOAR AND YOU CAN SUPPLEMENT MONTHLY INCOME WITH YOUR PROFITS THAT'S WHY THIS WORKS PERFECT." When I then inquired what would happen if I needed cash in the event of a personal emergency, he replied and I quote: "AS LONG AS THE MARKETS ARE STABLE, PULLING CASH IS EASY WITHIN 48 HOURS, IF THERE IS HARD SHORTING USUALLY PEOPLE WILL NEED TO WAIT LIKE A WEEK BUT ONLY DURING HARD SHORTING.†I then asked how long he thought I should keep my money invested. He replied, "WHILE YOU'RE MAKING MONEY, YOU WILL NOT WANT TO PULL AS VERY SOON YOU WILL DOUBLE UP AND THAT CAN GO ON FOREVER THEREFORE SUPPLEMENTING INCOME FOR A LONG TIME.†I asked if I could withdraw my
investment in full if necessary, and I also asked about any penalties that might accompany this request. He replied, " YES AND THERE ARE NO PENALTIES, THIS IS A PRIVATE, NOT REGULATED, THAT'S WHY IT'S SO POWERFUL.†Revisiting this conversation, it is very hard for me to even imagine how I could have gone further with this man, this company, and this investment. Still, my doubts were countered by the knowledge that Tony and Dan were friends
for almost two decades. Surely, I would not be betrayed. A novice investor, I naively believed everything I was being told. At one point I wrote to Michael informing him that I was thinking about waiting until August to invest. To this
he wrote back in typical style, "THAT WILL LOOSE (his spelling) YOU A LOT OF PROFIT IF YOU WAIT, BY AUGUST WE EXPECT TO BE IN THE 17'S FOR METAL, RIGHT NOW IT'S IN THE 13'S. THAT'S A HUGE MARGIN OF PROFIT, I
WOULD NOT WAIT AS YOU WILL LOOSE (his spelling) VERY GOOD MONEY.†So in just a few short days after these conversations, I was wiring 150K, my life's savings, to some bank with the following address: Marbella, Calle Aquillino de la Guardia Y, Calle 47 Bella Vista. I formally entered into this investment in July 2009 when silver was approximately $16.00 an ounce. Silver has since doubled, but it is clear that I will never profit from any of this increase
because I feel I was tricked, betrayed, deceived, and manipulated. Suffice to say, the first of these three, MIchael, is currently serving a long bid in a federal prison in Florida. The second, Tony, is awaiting the chance to follow in the footsteps of his associate. And finally, Dan, is busy making his case for innocence. To the best of my recollection, his story goes something like this: Once he knew that Tony was operating a less than fully honest investment enterprise, he quickly took it upon himself to rescue some of his “own†investment (11,000 ounces of silver valued anywhere between 300,000 and 500,000 dollars). I was recently told by a private investigator prior to his arrest, Tony was suing Dan for this absent silver, presumed to be Gladius property. Interestingly, in one of my last conversations with Tony, he informed me that as soon as this silver is returned to him, I should
anticipate receiving my investment back. Doubtless, this sort of history, chronology, and plot is more than likely, not entirely new to many readers except perhaps for the names of the characters and the setting where the tale began. In reality, my experience in this regard probably
mirrors the plot of numerous others who regrettably got caught up in a similar drama. Still, I believe the details of my investment have their unique features and are therefore worthy of readers’ consideration. Nevertheless, it is my
emotional and psychological story that is also worthy of expression and consideration. If the above story presents the so-called “facts†of my account, then what follows is an attempt to give readers a sense of what it feels like
to experience this kind of betrayal and financial loss. This then, is part two of my story.

 My motivation to describe the events surrounding my financial ruin in this letter originated with a sincere need to express the sorrow and confusion that has occupied my consciousness since I learned that the money I invested so “safely†was gone. I wrote because I felt betrayed by friends, and I needed to try to turn my misfortune into something that might benefit others and help them to avoid a similar fate. I wrote out of a vision and sense of fairness and a need to believe that the world is still a just place where people are still capable of doing right, of being honest, and of considering
the lives of others different from their own. I know that I am not alone in this need or in this longing. Surely there are many others who, like me, woke up one day and suddenly found themselves at an emotional and financial
crossroads because of the heartless greed and utter disregard for the well-being of others. In many ways, I realize that I wrote because I believed that the power to restore this belief and this hope, at this moment, resides in me and anyone else who might take the time to read this. As the story of my loss unfolded, it became clear to me that I had a lot to learn about human nature. I never expected this to happen or even had the slightest glimpse of what was occurring without my knowledge. Still, I am now acutely aware of the manner in which our lives are sometimes thrown into the breach, into circumstances beyond our control and, in ways we would have never anticipated or wished for, ever. I want to express that my words to others who have suffered a similar fate are written with the deepest of sympathy and with the most enduring kindness and respect for the tragic circumstances they might have found themselves facing and for the responsibilities that life unfairly thrust
upon them.

 

One can read the opening details or the so-called “facts†of my case and learn that I lost a lot of money to some people I considered my friends. This version of my story only takes us so far, and there is more to my tale than that. It’s like a lot of other stories with a similarly sad ending. In my case, a hard-fought savings for which I labored and sacrificed over the course of 18 years is gone. It was my life’s blood. It was, in so many ways, my dream and my hope. It was a vision of my life. A story of who I hoped to be and one day how I hoped to live. It was my 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and perhaps beyond.
Some might say that it was “just money.†but that would be an understatement bordering on near complete lunacy. It was my past, my present, and my future.
Make no mistake, the course of my life may be forever altered, shattered, twisted, and changed. I hope I can recover. I hope I can change my course in the way that I will almost certainly need to change, like a plane desperately
turning at the last minute to avoid a storm. I just have these words and my hope that those with the power to make a difference, to rebuild, to restore faith, to do the right thing, will begin to do so. That is in large part, why I have written this letter. These are difficult words for
a difficult time in my life. How can I make them easier? I do so by also using this letter as an occasion to reach out to any other victims of Gladius Investments, Please come forward. Tell your story. As far as I know,there is no one who is legally representing the interest of investors at this time. I still have heard nothing from the Police, FBI or the US Marshalls regarding the status of this case. If there is anyone out there with the power to assist me and
the other investors, your support would be most appreciated. |
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| Mike Beiter was also scammed by tony and dan and his prison sentence has nothing to do with gladius. His parents and close friends also invested more then you and are financially wiped out. Tony lied to everyone and deserves the blame. |
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