Nearly three months ago I posted concerns about calls I received concerning investment in US Petroleum Holdings. The calls were very theatrical and raised alarm bells with me.
I am amazed that considering the varied nature of the posts that I make here, Google Analytics tells me that 50% of my visitors find their way here searching for more information about US Petroleum Holdings than any other topic featured here, exceeding even my primary hobby of my Food with Passion website by a factor of two.
IF I HAVE HELPED YOU avoid making an investment that you might regret, I would be delighted if you would stop to make a comment – by making a comment, you will help to raise search engine profile for my articles and help prevent someone else from making an ill-informed choice. So….. if I confirmed your unease and you decided not to invest, please don’t just walk away from here …. leave details of your experience and help someone else make up their mind based upon your own experience.
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{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
Someone called ?Vaun Luke from US Petroleum Holdings made numerous calls to our house. My husband spoke to him at length, playing with him really!! He was a very pushy person with an unpleasant manner. When my husband asked why he would invest money with someone he didn’t know and that he would obviously need to ‘investigate’ his claims, Mr Luke told my husband not to listen to anyone else, including family!! Noone legistimate would speak that way. I’m sure it was a scam. Would be pleased to know if I was right.
I am sure that you were right – US Petroleum Holdigs is very suspicious to me – their ‘public’iformation is hidden behind membership. As far as I am concerned, if US Petrolum Holdings were legitimate, then all their information would be on full display.
When I got the call from the company representing US Petroleum Holdings, the caller got everyone to respond to ‘David thinks we are a scam’ by calling “No!!” and banging on desks to try and simulate trading desk noise.
Good for your husband for calling time on US Petroleum Holdings. They tried to REALLY annoy me by calling me back again and again and I had none of it.
The truth is that if you ever want to buy anything, you always have the opportunity to research and call a potential supplier yourself.
My argument with everyone (US Petroleum Holdings or anyone else) is that if I want to buy something, then I will initiate it, not a Third-Party.
Thanks for you feedback. I hope that you are now very alert to scams like this one appears to be.
Sure it was a scam.
Why wouldanyone feel the need to tell you to ignore everyone else?
If it was legitimate, then all the claims would stand up to scrutiny.
HI, HAVE JUST ARRIVED AT YOUR WEBSITE WHILST INVESTIGATING US PETROLEUM HOLDINGS ON BEHALF OF MY ELDERLY FATHER WHO HAS INVESTED £20,000 OF HIS LIFETIME’S SAVINGS INTO IT. WHAT A NIGHTMARE!! WHAT CAN WE DO? IS THERE ANY CHANCE OF RECOVERING ANY OF HIS HARD EARNT MONEY? IF YOU CAN GIVE ANY ADVISE PLEASE, PLEASE DO.
MANY THANKS
I am sorry to hear of this – I don’t know where you go now. I guess that if this happened/originated in the UK you could go to the Financial Regulators, but from the stories I have seen, these ‘brokers’representing US Petroleum Holdings move locations, because all they need is a phone and a PC.
First point of call might be to contact these brohkers representing US Petroleum Holdings (if you can contact them) and ask how the shares can be redeemed and see if there is a way out.
Maybe the DTI could help work with international agencies to shut them down?
I can’t even see how US Petroleum Holdings can be a legitimate company – the website looks just like a front for a scam with no information that stands up to scrutiny.
I had these calls about the same time. I've just been contacted by a lawyer in New York about this so perhaps they've been closed down and they're chasing potential victims?
"Mr Luke told my husband not to listen to anyone else, including family!!"
you listen to your wife as regards a new shirt. so bad if you listen to her to decide investing or not.
As far as I am concerned, if US Petrolum Holdings were legitimate, then all their information would be on full display
We are talking about an IPO. The value of which lies behind the "not shared with anyone nature" of that information.
Another thing is that I always have been astonished by the countless people who blindly trust their own financial adviser. "I have my personal financial" they argue. But, ask them, "what is your actual ROI ?" , gosh they do not know at all, or they even may ask "what is ROI ??"
does that make sense ?
Clearly we have someone from US Petroleum Holdings stopping by talking absolute bollocks.
An IPO is offered with a prospectus giving full and open disclosure … Sarbanes Oxley requires it. It is rubbish to talk of the value being the information being shared behind the scenes … that is nothing more than illegal insider trading … if ever US Petroleum Holdings ever makes it to market.
"An IPO is offered with a prospectus giving full and open disclosure … "
Hi David. Do you live next to Alice in Wonderland ?
Are you sure companies balance sheets disclose all that has to for investors ??
Have you ever made money, David ?
"Sarbanes Oxley requires it."
That may be the personal financial advisor. What is you ROI, David ? Have you invested in the petroleum sector ? or do you think gasoline is soon going to distributed for free ?
"that is nothing more than illegal insider trading …"
Why do you trust financial authorities still ? Have you heard about the Madoff's trick ? The guy actually lied at the heart of the monitoring of the US financial system.
Switch on quick, David, or you will noT make any money.
does that make sense to you ?
It is making perfect sense that you are out to swindle.
Are you seriously on here to say the US Petroleum Holdings are keeping secrets and only sharing with selected Joe Public such that they can make a killing.
Where is this IPO? How old is this story here?
My investment strategy or not is none of your business. What I do know is that when I was called, the background noises were false enough to alert me. And I am not the only one that has been writing about US Petroleum Holdings.
Nobody makes a bean unless they can find a buyer of this stock and then they will be unlikely to make back what they pay.
All I can say is thanks for coming on here and presenting yourself as so unethical that you don't believe an investor deserves full information before parting with their cash.
That's bound to scare a few more people away from US Petroleum Holdings.
Plus the extra correspondence here today should help Google rank it even better with fresh content and help more people avoid what appears to be nothing more than a boiler room scam to sell junk US Petroleum Holdings stock at inflated prices and then hide under the 'investments are inherently risky' excuse.
I can only guess that you are here today attempting to challenge my assumptions because I am riding high on a search for US Petroleum Holdings and people aren't buying without seeking good advice.
You are here for damage limitation and as far as I can see you are failing.
Why don't you go away now and buy up all the stock yourself if its so good? Nah … you don't want to lose your money either.
Hi, a family friend invested a large portion of their saving in US Petroleum and now is unable to contact anyone originally involved in the purchase. Recently someone claiming to be from Hill Crest Group Associates has contacted them to offer to buy the shares, at considerably less than what they were purchased for, and also charging a fee to have the shares'de-restricted'. I have looked at their website but it does not look legit, has anyone else come across them or had offers to buy and US Petroleum shares they hold?
@Katie, UK
I am so sorry to hear of the problems.
I am no expert in Financial Products, but I can't believe that anyone licensed to do business within the UK could sell this with a clear conscience.
I suspect that the offer to buy would come with an invitation to put more money into a new stock guaranteed to recover the losses.
It is a sad fact that once someone has been duped into handing over cash, they are often targetted in the same way.
The following link might be helpful : http://www.cityoflondon.police.uk/CityPolice/ECD/Fraud/boilerroom.htm
Note: I don't know for sure that this is a scam but everything that I have seen and heard strongly leads me to be VERY suspicious.
I haven't seen anything credible about US Petroleum Holdings.
If your relative is also in the UK and believes that the company that sold them the US Petroleum Holdings was not licensed to operate in the UK, then for goodness sake get them to report it online at the FSA at : http://www.fsa.gov.uk/Pages/Doing/Regulated/Law/Alerts/form.shtml
The same holds true for the company offering to buy.
More complaints means more investigation and should clarify their legitimacy (or not).
I just noticed that US Petroleum Holdings is actually on the FSA list of unauthorised companies at http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pages/Doing/Regulated/Law/Alerts/overseas.shtml#u.
A clear warning not to get involved.
The bad thing is that I don't believe that your relative will ever see any money from this other company (whom I can't locate). In my opinion, they just want to sell another potentially worthless stock.