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Former Eagle Charged With Fraud, PECO Scam, Perseid Meteor Shower
 
  by: Rebel - Havertown, PA
started: 08/11/16 1:59 am | updated: 08/11/16 1:59 am
 
The federal government has charged a former NFL player with allegedly defrauding investors out of more than $10 million. Merrill Robertson Jr. was arrested on Wednesday on criminal charges related to fraud, according to a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. The Securities and Exchange Commission also announced a civil case against Robertson. They say he and a business partner, who the SEC also sued, promised to invest money they raised but instead used it to pay for personal expenses. Robertson and his partner co-owned a company called Cavalier Union Investments LLC. According to the SEC complaint, Robertson raised funds from contacts that he had at the Fork Union Military Academy and the University of Virginia. The scheme allegedly defrauded elderly individuals, former coaches, donors, alumni and employees of the schools. Robertson played briefly for the Philadelphia Eagles in the early 2000s. He was a linebacker at the University of Virginia and majored in anthropology. According to his website, which was still active on Wednesday, Robertson “has a dynamic background in sales and financing.” The complaint acknowledges that at one point Robertson held licenses to sell securities but is not currently registered as a broker. The website also boasted a client list that included “athletes, entertainers, institutions, wealthy individuals, churches and everyday people.” Robertson’s attorneys didn’t respond to requests for comment. According to the SEC, Robertson said he would put investors’ money in diversified holdings. Instead he and Vaughn allegedly spent it and used it to repay earlier investors, according to the SEC. They also purchased “cars, family vacations, spa visits, luxury goods, educational expenses for family members, and a luxury suite at a football stadium,” the complaint said. The SEC claimed the pair lied about employing advisers. “[I]t did not have any funds or investment advisers and was functionally insolvent shortly after it was formed,” the complaint said. The only investments made by Cavalier Union Investments were restaurants that failed by 2014, the government said.

An old scam is resurfacing throughout the Delaware Valley, and it’s targeting PECO customers. Now, the energy company is working to make sure people know just what’s going on, so they can avoid the swindlers. Scammers are calling PECO customers, telling them their service is in danger of being cut off and instructing them to purchase a prepaid debit card to pay their bill. The scheme has cost customers thousands of dollars. “The scam claims the customers are behind on their account and must make immediate payment to avoid service termination,” explained PECO’s Ben Armstrong. Armstrong says customers are then urged to purchase a debit card to make their payment. “The customers are then directed to contact a number that they are provided with by the caller to utilize the card for immediate payment to their account,” he said. “Once that information is provided to the scammer the funds on that card are wiped clean.” Armstrong says this scam has been going on for some time, but over the last few weeks, they’ve seen an uptick in people falling victim to the crime. “Customers should never provide their social security number or banking or credit card information via the phone unless they have initiated the call,” he warned. “We would never call a customer and tell them to go to a local pharmacy or to a local convenient store to purchase a prepaid debit card, then to come back and read us the information from that card.” Armstrong urges anyone who thinks they may have fallen victim to the scam to contact PECO and local police.

A meteor shower that takes place each year around this time will be most visible Thursday and Friday night, provided there are no clouds blocking your view. It’s called the Perseid meteor shower. It’s debris from the Swift-Tuttle comet, according to Edward Guinan, a professor of astronomy at Villanova University. “What happens is the tail of the material is blowing off of it, and what is happening this year is that we are in a dense part of the debris field,” Guinan says. “There is lots of dust and particles in there and the earth is coming into that area. “Well, actually now it all ready started entering into the debris field.” Guinan says the best time to view the cosmic display is after midnight Friday and Saturday. “They last about a second, maybe two seconds,” he says. “And if it were dark and conditions are right you would see, its predicted, one or two a minute.” But the sky needs to be clear, so there will be no-show if it’s completely cloud covered.

Sports

Phillies 6 Dodgers 2

Weather
Excessive heat warning through Saturday night

Partly cloudy…scattered thunderstorms later. High 93 in Center City
 
 
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