Culled from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Police arrest man in sophisticated counterfeiting scheme
By SAEED AHMED
When you haven't had a job in months, how do you deposit $10,000 in cash to your bank account every day?
If you're Conrad Maier-Sogheg, say police, you make the money. Literally.
Woodstock police announced Maier-Sogheg's arrest on Monday on charges of manufacturing thousands and thousands of fake dollar bills out of a storage unit, in a scheme so new and sophisticated that authorities have seen it attempted only once before in the United States.
It's called the Nigerian "black wash" scam, because it originated in the West African country and because the multi-step manufacturing process involves blackening the fake bills and then cleaning them.
"It's the best counterfeit scheme I have seen in my law enforcement career," said Sgt. Heath Johnston. "The bills look and feel real. Only an expert can tell they were fake."
Step one of the scam entails cutting up wads of plain white paper into dollar bill sizes.
Then, police said, Maier-Sogheg, 29, of Woodstock used laser templates bearing images of $100, $50 and $20 bills to imprint onto the pieces of paper.
Iodine or alcohol is then used to make the imprints appear visible on the paper, but the process also turns the papers black.
To turn it green, Maier-Sogheg allegedly used processed Vitamin C powder to "wash" them. In order to give the fake bills a gently-worn look, Maier-Sogheg then used baby powder or foot powder to soften them, Johnston said. Secret Service agents told Woodstock police that they uncovered a scam of this kind just once before: in New York last year.
"The scam is so new that the Secret Service has taken numerous bills up for processing" to gain insight into the operation, Johnston said. Maier-Sogheg ran his alleged operation from a self-storage unit on Ga. 92. Employees suspected something when they noticed him drive in and out of the facility at all hours of the day and night in his $80,000 Land Rover.
Once he failed to make the payment for his rental unit, employees went to empty out the storage spot and discovered numerous bottles of ink and iodine, along with baby powder and paper cut up to resemble dollar bills.
Police said they also seized chemical suits with masks to protect the wearer during the production process. They do not know how long Maier-Sogheg had been running his enterprise, but he had rented the storage unit for six months.
Authorities said Maier-Sogheg packaged the money into stacks of $10,000, and sold each stack for $1,000. The way the phony money was packaged led investigators to believe that most of it was being mailed overseas. However, police also think thousands may have seeped into local circulation.
Business, police said, was going well. "He was dropping $10,000 of real money on a daily basis" into his bank account, Johnston said. "I looked at his bank records. I saw $30,000 [deposited] in a four-day period."
During his interview with police, Maier-Sogheg implicated an accomplice. But that person has fled back to Cameroon after learning of the investigation, police said. Police seized Maier-Sogheg's Land Rover, two $2,000 diamond watches and are trying to seize his bank account and forfeit his $200,000 home, where he lives with his wife.
He has been charged with nine counts of forgery, all felonies, and with possession tools for the commission of a crime. He could face additional charges, and the case may be elevated to a federal level, authorities said.
Maier-Sogheg was released on a $150,000 bond. He paid with real cash. The Cherokee County jail checked.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Transnational Automotive Group Selected as Finalist for the U.S. State Department Award for Corporate Excellence
September 04, 2007 11:40 AM Eastern Daylight Time
Transnational Automotive Group Selected as Finalist for the U.S. State Department Award for Corporate Excellence
Recognition by the U.S. Department of State for Exemplary Practices and Commitment in African Projects
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Transnational Automotive Group, Inc. (TAUG) (OTCBB:TAMG), a leader in transportation services and sustainable energy for the developing world, today announced the company has been notified by the U.S. Department of State that it has been selected as a Finalist for the coveted Award for Corporate Excellence (ACE), in recognition of its “outstanding contributions” to the country of Cameroon through its LeBus and LeCar programs and operations.
In a press conference at the State Department, Reuben Jeffery, Under Secretary for Economics, Energy and Agricultural Affairs, announced that nine finalists have been selected from a record number of candidate companies nominated by U.S. Ambassadors from around the world.
Transnational Automotive Group is one of only two small-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) selected, along with multinational enterprises including GE, GM, Microsoft, Citicorp, Merck and Coca-Cola. Under Secretary Jeffery stated that selections were based on companies that have demonstrated “furtherance of best practices and contributions in promoting good will internationally. We salute these contributions… Your work draws attention to the best qualities that the United States embodies overseas – compassion, innovation, leadership and commitment to working with others to build a better and more hopeful future.” Jeffery underlined the State Department’s commitment to work with such U.S. businesses.
The Under Secretary cited President Bush’s recent comments: “The United States has a longstanding commitment to open economies that empower individuals, generate economic opportunity and prosperity for all and provide the foundations for a free society,” and added that “the ACE finalists embody this spirit and we salute them for their outstanding contributions.”
The Award for Corporate Excellence was established by the State Department in 1999 “to recognize the important role U.S. businesses play abroad as good corporate citizens. The Award sends a signal of the Department’s commitment to further exemplary practices worldwide and highlights our increasing role in business-related issues.”
“TAUG is honored to be included in this select company of U.S. business entities engaged in special projects designed to advance substantial economic and social development in host countries and their peoples -- in our case, Cameroon and sub-Saharan Africa,” said Dr. Ralph J. Thomson, TAUG’s Chairman and CEO. “Our corporate efforts have met with initial success in the arena of much-needed bus transportation, basic and alternative-energy activities and related job creation. We are heartened by this recognition, and express appreciation for the systematic support of the State Department.”
“TAUG is also pleased by its partnership with the Government of Cameroon and key public and private entities within Cameroon,” added Seid Sadat, CFO of TAUG. “We are currently engaged in significant expansion of our initial enterprise activities which will be aided and validated by this award.”
Winners of the ACE Award will be announced and presented by Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice at ceremonies in Washington, D.C. on November 8, 2007.
About Transnational Automotive Group
Transnational Automotive Group, Inc. (TAUG), a Nevada corporation that trades under the symbol (OTCBB: TAMG), is a transportation and sustainable energy company headquartered in Los Angeles, CA, with operating entities in Cameroon, and early-stage business development efforts in other Sub-Saharan African nations. TAUG’s vision is to become the leading transportation and sustainable energy company on the African continent, and to establish key infrastructure and workforce development that dramatically accelerates Africa’s economy and quality of life. TAUG is currently exploring the establishment of mass transit systems in leading African commercial and population centers, and preparing for expansion into additional industries, including manufacturing and marketing of sustainable bio-diesel fuels.
This news release contains certain “Forward-Looking Statements” within the meaning of Section 21E of the United States Security Exchange Act of 1934. All statements, other than of historical fact, included herein are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations are disclosed in the Company's documents files from time to time with the Securities Exchange Commission.
Transnational Automotive Group Selected as Finalist for the U.S. State Department Award for Corporate Excellence
Recognition by the U.S. Department of State for Exemplary Practices and Commitment in African Projects
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Transnational Automotive Group, Inc. (TAUG) (OTCBB:TAMG), a leader in transportation services and sustainable energy for the developing world, today announced the company has been notified by the U.S. Department of State that it has been selected as a Finalist for the coveted Award for Corporate Excellence (ACE), in recognition of its “outstanding contributions” to the country of Cameroon through its LeBus and LeCar programs and operations.
In a press conference at the State Department, Reuben Jeffery, Under Secretary for Economics, Energy and Agricultural Affairs, announced that nine finalists have been selected from a record number of candidate companies nominated by U.S. Ambassadors from around the world.
Transnational Automotive Group is one of only two small-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) selected, along with multinational enterprises including GE, GM, Microsoft, Citicorp, Merck and Coca-Cola. Under Secretary Jeffery stated that selections were based on companies that have demonstrated “furtherance of best practices and contributions in promoting good will internationally. We salute these contributions… Your work draws attention to the best qualities that the United States embodies overseas – compassion, innovation, leadership and commitment to working with others to build a better and more hopeful future.” Jeffery underlined the State Department’s commitment to work with such U.S. businesses.
The Under Secretary cited President Bush’s recent comments: “The United States has a longstanding commitment to open economies that empower individuals, generate economic opportunity and prosperity for all and provide the foundations for a free society,” and added that “the ACE finalists embody this spirit and we salute them for their outstanding contributions.”
The Award for Corporate Excellence was established by the State Department in 1999 “to recognize the important role U.S. businesses play abroad as good corporate citizens. The Award sends a signal of the Department’s commitment to further exemplary practices worldwide and highlights our increasing role in business-related issues.”
“TAUG is honored to be included in this select company of U.S. business entities engaged in special projects designed to advance substantial economic and social development in host countries and their peoples -- in our case, Cameroon and sub-Saharan Africa,” said Dr. Ralph J. Thomson, TAUG’s Chairman and CEO. “Our corporate efforts have met with initial success in the arena of much-needed bus transportation, basic and alternative-energy activities and related job creation. We are heartened by this recognition, and express appreciation for the systematic support of the State Department.”
“TAUG is also pleased by its partnership with the Government of Cameroon and key public and private entities within Cameroon,” added Seid Sadat, CFO of TAUG. “We are currently engaged in significant expansion of our initial enterprise activities which will be aided and validated by this award.”
Winners of the ACE Award will be announced and presented by Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice at ceremonies in Washington, D.C. on November 8, 2007.
About Transnational Automotive Group
Transnational Automotive Group, Inc. (TAUG), a Nevada corporation that trades under the symbol (OTCBB: TAMG), is a transportation and sustainable energy company headquartered in Los Angeles, CA, with operating entities in Cameroon, and early-stage business development efforts in other Sub-Saharan African nations. TAUG’s vision is to become the leading transportation and sustainable energy company on the African continent, and to establish key infrastructure and workforce development that dramatically accelerates Africa’s economy and quality of life. TAUG is currently exploring the establishment of mass transit systems in leading African commercial and population centers, and preparing for expansion into additional industries, including manufacturing and marketing of sustainable bio-diesel fuels.
This news release contains certain “Forward-Looking Statements” within the meaning of Section 21E of the United States Security Exchange Act of 1934. All statements, other than of historical fact, included herein are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations are disclosed in the Company's documents files from time to time with the Securities Exchange Commission.
Monday, September 3, 2007
Culled from Reuters
Poor roads cost Cameroon cocoa farmers dear
By Tansa Musa
KUMBA, Cameroon (Reuters) - Farmer Lawrence Mekoli has just sold eight 60-kg sacks of cocoa and earned the equivalent of hundreds of dollars. But he is far from happy. "My brother, how can I smile with what I've gone through," Mekoli said after striking the deal with a buyer at Kumba in South-West Province, the main cocoa zone in Cameroon, the world's fourth biggest grower of the commodity. "This cocoa was delayed in my village for about three weeks," he said.
Mekoli's farm in Kumbe-Balondo village is only around 50 km (30 miles) from Kumba. But when heavy rains come and the roads become potholed quagmires, many private transporters refuse to drive here to collect cocoa for fear of damaging their vehicles.
Mekoli eventually found someone prepared to bring his cocoa to Kumba, but had to pay 2,000 CFA francs ($4.17) for each sack, way over the 500-1,000 CFA he usually pays in the dry season.
Worse, by the time he came, the market price had dropped. "I called vehicle owners in Kumba to come and evacuate my cocoa to the market, but they told me they could not come because the bad state of the road will ruin their vehicles," he said. "At the time, cocoa was selling in Kumba at 800-900 CFA francs per kg. Now that I have managed to bring my cocoa here today, the price has gone down to 720 CFA francs. Just see for yourself how much I've lost," he said.
Poor transport infrastructure is one of the greatest obstacles to trade in Africa, making it hard for poor farmers to get their produce to market in good enough condition to fetch the highest prices, and driving up overheads.
The World Bank said in June it would provide $201 million in loans and grants to improve road and rail links between Cameroon and neighboring Chad and Central African Republic -- countries it said had "some of the least functional traffic connections of any area in the world."
As the link to the Atlantic coast for both the other countries, Cameroon will get the lion's share of the World Bank cash. But such investments for major traffic arteries are unlikely to trickle down to the level of small roads linking farms and villages to provincial trading towns like Kumba.
RAIN, DELAYS HURT QUALITY
"I've been to most remote villages where farmers produce a lot of cocoa, but can't evacuate them to market centers. Sometimes they get stuck in mud during evacuation and the beans become humid, attracting a low price," said retired banker Agnes Mambe, who is trying to help farmers here improve their lot.
The rainy season in the southwest lasts most of the year and keeps the lush landscape wet enough for cocoa trees. But too much rain brings its own problems, creating the perfect environment for humidity-loving fungal diseases and making bean drying a struggle against the elements.
The European Union provided 2,500 drying ovens in 2001, helping eliminate the contamination of beans sometimes caused by locally made wood or coal-fired ovens, or by roadside drying.
Use of the ovens is important as the European Union -- which buys 86 percent of Cameroon's output, mainly for grinding in the Netherlands -- has set maximum levels for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), created by partial burning of carbon fuels.
But many farmers say there are not enough new ovens to go round, making it hard to deliver well-dried beans to buyers. Repeated rains can also wash off pesticides and fungicides, forcing farmers to spray trees more frequently to keep black pod and other diseases at bay, Kumba Mayor Caven Nnoko Mbele said.
"The period of cocoa harvesting coincides with the period of intense rains," he said.
Apart from the weather, farmers complain they are also squeezed by buying agencies, to whom many growers are perpetually in debt for fertilizers and pesticides advanced on credit.
"The cocoa farmer ... is not a rich man, in spite of his labor," said Mayor Mbele. "Experience has clearly shown that if you desire to be a prosperous man in the cocoa business, you should rather be a cocoa buyer than a cocoa farmer."
Poor roads cost Cameroon cocoa farmers dear
By Tansa Musa
KUMBA, Cameroon (Reuters) - Farmer Lawrence Mekoli has just sold eight 60-kg sacks of cocoa and earned the equivalent of hundreds of dollars. But he is far from happy. "My brother, how can I smile with what I've gone through," Mekoli said after striking the deal with a buyer at Kumba in South-West Province, the main cocoa zone in Cameroon, the world's fourth biggest grower of the commodity. "This cocoa was delayed in my village for about three weeks," he said.
Mekoli's farm in Kumbe-Balondo village is only around 50 km (30 miles) from Kumba. But when heavy rains come and the roads become potholed quagmires, many private transporters refuse to drive here to collect cocoa for fear of damaging their vehicles.
Mekoli eventually found someone prepared to bring his cocoa to Kumba, but had to pay 2,000 CFA francs ($4.17) for each sack, way over the 500-1,000 CFA he usually pays in the dry season.
Worse, by the time he came, the market price had dropped. "I called vehicle owners in Kumba to come and evacuate my cocoa to the market, but they told me they could not come because the bad state of the road will ruin their vehicles," he said. "At the time, cocoa was selling in Kumba at 800-900 CFA francs per kg. Now that I have managed to bring my cocoa here today, the price has gone down to 720 CFA francs. Just see for yourself how much I've lost," he said.
Poor transport infrastructure is one of the greatest obstacles to trade in Africa, making it hard for poor farmers to get their produce to market in good enough condition to fetch the highest prices, and driving up overheads.
The World Bank said in June it would provide $201 million in loans and grants to improve road and rail links between Cameroon and neighboring Chad and Central African Republic -- countries it said had "some of the least functional traffic connections of any area in the world."
As the link to the Atlantic coast for both the other countries, Cameroon will get the lion's share of the World Bank cash. But such investments for major traffic arteries are unlikely to trickle down to the level of small roads linking farms and villages to provincial trading towns like Kumba.
RAIN, DELAYS HURT QUALITY
"I've been to most remote villages where farmers produce a lot of cocoa, but can't evacuate them to market centers. Sometimes they get stuck in mud during evacuation and the beans become humid, attracting a low price," said retired banker Agnes Mambe, who is trying to help farmers here improve their lot.
The rainy season in the southwest lasts most of the year and keeps the lush landscape wet enough for cocoa trees. But too much rain brings its own problems, creating the perfect environment for humidity-loving fungal diseases and making bean drying a struggle against the elements.
The European Union provided 2,500 drying ovens in 2001, helping eliminate the contamination of beans sometimes caused by locally made wood or coal-fired ovens, or by roadside drying.
Use of the ovens is important as the European Union -- which buys 86 percent of Cameroon's output, mainly for grinding in the Netherlands -- has set maximum levels for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), created by partial burning of carbon fuels.
But many farmers say there are not enough new ovens to go round, making it hard to deliver well-dried beans to buyers. Repeated rains can also wash off pesticides and fungicides, forcing farmers to spray trees more frequently to keep black pod and other diseases at bay, Kumba Mayor Caven Nnoko Mbele said.
"The period of cocoa harvesting coincides with the period of intense rains," he said.
Apart from the weather, farmers complain they are also squeezed by buying agencies, to whom many growers are perpetually in debt for fertilizers and pesticides advanced on credit.
"The cocoa farmer ... is not a rich man, in spite of his labor," said Mayor Mbele. "Experience has clearly shown that if you desire to be a prosperous man in the cocoa business, you should rather be a cocoa buyer than a cocoa farmer."
Cameroon grants licences to private broadcasters
Culled from Reuters
Cameroon grants licences to private broadcasters
Thu 30 Aug 2007, 16:55 GMT
By Tansa Musa
YAOUNDE, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Cameroon granted its first private broadcasting licences on Thursday to three television channels and a radio station, ending the monopoly of state-run media in the central African country.
"Today is a big day for the media in Cameroon," said Communication Minister Ebenezer Njoh Mouelle after signing the documents. "I hope the beneficiaries will work within the legal framework put in place by the government."
President Paul Biya has been in power in Cameroon for quarter of a century and his Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (CPDM) won 140 of 180 seats in parliamentary polls in July, denounced as a sham by the opposition.
The state-run radio and television corporation (CRTV) is notoriously pro-government, but international press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in its 2007 annual report on Cameroon that journalists' conditions were improving.
"Cameroon is no longer the tense and brutal place it was in the first few years after 2000, when journalists were imprisoned even for poking fun," RSF said in the report. "But it is still dangerous to be a journalist in a country in which the army, secessionist impulses on the part of the English-speaking region and corruption are still sensitive subjects," it said.
RSF said on Thursday the editor of a private newspaper in Cameroon's English-speaking northwest was sentenced in absentia on Aug. 13 to a year in jail for defaming local authorities and other offences in a trial "marked by abuse of authority".
The four operators granted licences on Thursday were Sweet FM, a Douala-based radio station, Spectrum Television (STV), Canal 2 International television and TV+ cable television.
The decision comes after a long delay.
Cameroon's parliament adopted a law liberalising audiovisual media in 1990 but the government did not sign the enabling act fixing conditions for private broadcasters until 2000.
The communication ministry was then flooded with over 100 applications for private broadcasting but government officials said the licences could not be granted immediately because the sector was "too sensitive" and the government needed more time.
Mouelle said around 50 other licence applications from private radio stations and 20 television requests were being considered and should be granted over the next few months. The main sticking point was their inability to pay broadcasting fees of around 100 million CFA ($210,000) for the licences, which are valid for five years for radio and 10 years for television and are renewable.
Cameroon grants licences to private broadcasters
Thu 30 Aug 2007, 16:55 GMT
By Tansa Musa
YAOUNDE, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Cameroon granted its first private broadcasting licences on Thursday to three television channels and a radio station, ending the monopoly of state-run media in the central African country.
"Today is a big day for the media in Cameroon," said Communication Minister Ebenezer Njoh Mouelle after signing the documents. "I hope the beneficiaries will work within the legal framework put in place by the government."
President Paul Biya has been in power in Cameroon for quarter of a century and his Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (CPDM) won 140 of 180 seats in parliamentary polls in July, denounced as a sham by the opposition.
The state-run radio and television corporation (CRTV) is notoriously pro-government, but international press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in its 2007 annual report on Cameroon that journalists' conditions were improving.
"Cameroon is no longer the tense and brutal place it was in the first few years after 2000, when journalists were imprisoned even for poking fun," RSF said in the report. "But it is still dangerous to be a journalist in a country in which the army, secessionist impulses on the part of the English-speaking region and corruption are still sensitive subjects," it said.
RSF said on Thursday the editor of a private newspaper in Cameroon's English-speaking northwest was sentenced in absentia on Aug. 13 to a year in jail for defaming local authorities and other offences in a trial "marked by abuse of authority".
The four operators granted licences on Thursday were Sweet FM, a Douala-based radio station, Spectrum Television (STV), Canal 2 International television and TV+ cable television.
The decision comes after a long delay.
Cameroon's parliament adopted a law liberalising audiovisual media in 1990 but the government did not sign the enabling act fixing conditions for private broadcasters until 2000.
The communication ministry was then flooded with over 100 applications for private broadcasting but government officials said the licences could not be granted immediately because the sector was "too sensitive" and the government needed more time.
Mouelle said around 50 other licence applications from private radio stations and 20 television requests were being considered and should be granted over the next few months. The main sticking point was their inability to pay broadcasting fees of around 100 million CFA ($210,000) for the licences, which are valid for five years for radio and 10 years for television and are renewable.
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