Precious metals company accused of scamming Texans out of hundreds of thousands of dollars
A precious metals company is accused of scamming elderly people out of thousands of dollars in Texas.
The Texas Securities Commission sent an emergency cease-and-desist order to Metals.com, an unregistered firm accused of cold-calling investors and convincing them to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in precious metals.
The firm convinced an 80-year-old Dallas woman to liquidate $850,000 in her retirement account and transfer the money to the company to invest, according to the cease and desist order from Commissioner Travis J. Iles.
A report, filed with the Texas State Securities Board by a registered firm where the woman was a client, says the woman did not understand that Metals.com was going to move her money into a new account.
According to a news release from the State Securities Board, Metals.com salespeople are using scare tactics to convince people that their money is not safe at registered brokers and investment advisers, and they should instead move their funds into precious metals investments.
Most of Metals.com’s clients are 65 to 90 years old, according to the Enforcement Division of the State Securities Board.
Metals.com provided the following statement, “Contrary to the allegations in the cease-and-desist letter, metals.com has not defrauded anyone and has the highest rating of any metals company in the world, described as ‘excellent’ by third-party rating site Trust Pilot. In fact, we are in contact with the specific customers at issue in the letter, who have indicated to us that they are fully satisfied with the metals.com service. We look forward to continuing to offer the world class customer service that has made us one of the leading metals companies in the nation.”
The order names TMTE Inc., which does business as Metals.com, Chase Metals LLC and Chase Metals Inc., and salespeople Walter Vera, Michael Kendall and Athena Hunter.
A 73-year-old man in California said the same company swindled him out of $300,000 in 2017, according to a federal lawsuit filed in February in California district court. The case is ongoing.
The firm is also threatening to sue clients who have publicly complained about their purchase of precious metals from Metals.com, according to the Texas State Securities Board.
This story was originally published May 1, 2019 at 5:15 PM.