A Beverly Hills company that promised to convert retirement accounts into precious metals has seemingly shut down without a trace — and its customers fear their nest eggs have vanished with it.
Scott Dahl fears his retirement is in jeopardy after he invested a huge chunk of his 401(k) with Oxford Gold Group.
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The SoCal firm — which won Dahl over with its glossy product, great marketing and good reviews — claimed to invest his retirement savings in physical gold coins that would be sent to a depository in Utah, via a third-party called Equity Trust.
However, Dahl then received a letter saying Equity Trust and Oxford Gold were no longer working together — and when he contacted the depository to check his order, they did not have his gold and claimed to have no knowledge of the transaction.
“I don’t care what’s going on with your companies,” Dahl said while sharing his story with ABC7 Eyewitness News. “But you’ve got my money. All I want you to do is to send the metals into the depository. … If you can’t do that, send the money back to me.”
Dahl’s primary fear is that he’s not going to get his money back and, as a result, he may not have enough money left to retire “ever.” He told Eyewitness News: “I may die before I have the ability to retire just because of this group that’s basically deceived me.”
Investors lose retirement savings to ‘scam’
Dahl is one of many investors from multiple states — including Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee and Washington — to come forward and accuse Oxford Gold of misappropriation of customer funds, among other things.
In recent months, the company’s website was flooded with bad reviews from investors claiming Oxford Gold “stole my money” and “is a scam.” The company now appears to have shut down and has vacated its office on Wilshire Boulevard.
Eyewitness News has done a deep investigation into the claims and its reporting has encouraged more potential victims like Dahl to share their stories. Its first tip-off came from Grant Olsen, who transferred his entire $200,000 nest egg from his principal 401(k) into what Oxford Gold had him believe was a gold IRA.
Once again, that physical gold never landed in a depository — and Olsen, like Dahl, feels “abandoned” and fears he’ll never see that money again.
When Eyewitness News reached out to California’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation — the agency that regulates financial service providers — officials refused to talk specifically about Oxford Gold. Instead, they issued a warning to Americans (especially older generations) to be careful when trading precious metals.
“They’re targeting senior citizens… because they have the highest amount in their retirement funds,” explained Danielle Stoumbos, senior counsel with the agency. “That’s really what these precious metals dealers are focusing on. They’re trying to encourage people to sell securities in their traditional retirement accounts.”
Stoumbos also reiterated that California does have a “strong anti-fraud statute,” adding that “if there’s any misappropriation of customer funds, if there’s misrepresentations or omissions in connection with the offer of sale or if there’s a scheme to defraud, then we can take enforcement action against the company and the individuals that are operating the company.”
Investigations are ongoing and it remains to be seen how this Oxford Gold saga will play out.
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Fallen prey to a scam? Here’s what to do
If you believe you’ve been scammed or a trade or investment you made was a fraud, there are six essential steps you should take, according to the federal Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
The first step focuses on stopping further losses by ceasing any ongoing payments or monetary transfers. Next, while your memory of the suspected fraud is still fresh, you should develop a timeline and collect documents and information that could help when it comes time to report or investigate the fraud.
A third important step is to protect your identity (especially if you shared personal information like your Social Security number or bank account or routing numbers) and take any necessary steps to block access to your financial accounts. At this point, you may wish to place a fraud alert on your credit file or even request a free security freeze.
Beyond that, it is important to report the suspected fraud to relevant authorities — in the California case, by contacting the state’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation — and to check for relevant insurance coverage and legal support that may help you to recover your lost funds. Some homeowners insurance policies include coverage for fraud losses or reimbursements for identity theft related expenses.
Finally, it’s important to contemplate how the fraud happened and how you can change your behavior and build resistance to future incidents. In the case of Oxford Gold, many of the alleged victims spoke about the company’s very persuasive salespeople, consumer education and market-leading communications.
Oxford Gold earned investors’ trust, soliciting many into transferring five-or-six figure sums over from their retirement accounts. If this is confirmed to be fraud, the CFTC noted it would be “highly problematic” to recover that money because “usually, these people move quickly.”
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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
