Westernfield Holdings

[JimBob]

Hi,

I got a call today from a company called Westernfield Holdings who are in to carbon trading from potential carbon reduction projects all over the world.

Just wondering if anyone else has received a call from this company and if it is legit or some kind of scam. A google search has one or two pages saying it is a scam but quite a number of pages about projects and partners they have.

Thanks

JB

[JimBob]

For the benefit of anyone else who gets contacted by this company: they have called other people from my work so they seem to have my company's contact details from somewhere. They call from Japan and when i told the first caller i wasnt interested, her *supervisor* called back a day or two later. A google search for "Westerfield Holdings Scam" reveals a few pages warning its a scam where they keep asking for more money and never give your money back. Also, they have a few pages where they say a major oil company has taken on a minority stake in the company but they never mention which company.

I havent spoken to them since they first called but hope no one falls for their spiel.

[Timmy]

Interesting thread Jim Bob. I Googled them too – gee there doesn’t seem to be much information around on them, does there?

I am wondering, if they called you, are they Telemarketing people in Australia?

The only address I could find for them is in Japan.

I checked out their website and have a few concerns (hey, I could be wrong, but my alarm bells are ringing).

What is their name – they refer to themselves sometimes as Westernfield Holdings and sometimes as Westerfield Holdings? Also as Western-Field Holdings?

They list completed projects going back to 2001, but there are no details of these projects, just a list? No contact details for government authorities to do a check with.

As an aside, if they have been around since 2001, why do they keep spelling their own name wrong?

They have a press releases issued on a website called free-press-release.com, not that there would seem to be anything wrong with that … but it’s probably worth researching. They also have a press release on a site called pressreleasepoint.com. For some reason my browser pops a warning for this site, saying it is untrustworthy (maybe a virus or something, I don’t know), so I am reluctant to go there and check it out. You may be braver than me.

I looked up their website details on a domain search site called whois.net
The info on whois.net has their website registered on May 20, 2009. Don’t take my word for it, do your own research. Seems to make sense, though as I can’t fins anything anywhere mentioning the company before about June 2009. If they have been doing projects since 2001 I thought I would find a bit more info about them. But I can’t. You might have more luck.

There is a little about them on Yahoo answers:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/in...7023452AA6Hh7Y

On their website they have a link to “The Westernfield Report” for 2009 Q3. Funny, the report doesn’t talk about the company at all. No legals (I can’t see where the company is registered, for example). It does, however, on the final page,, under “Our Recommendations” say this: “WesternField Holdings advises potential investors to invest in VER’s now.” It gives various reasons, finishing with “Whenever a global market increases, the initial profit margins are astronomical as it is with any mandatory global product.”

Maybe I am just a cynic, but the talk of “astronomical” initial profit margins make me very, very,very,very,very wary indeed. Again, I could be wrong, good to do your own research.

[Timmy]

From their website their address is listed as:

Address:

Shinjuku Park Tower S 20/F
3-7-1 Nishi-Shinjuku
Shinjuku-ku Tokyo 163-1035
Japan

I know there are a few ASF members in Japan, maybe one could drop in to the address and check it out? Might be some more information available.

[Timmy]

Here is a bit more information I found about them, at this link:

http://migger.net/2007/05/31/unicorn-ventures-advarsel/

The entries relating to Westernfield are from July 4, 2009 onwards.

[Timmy]

Just had a look at their website and the variations in the spelling of the company name have been fixed. I wonder if we should be charging a consultancy fee?

[Garpal Gumnut]

Quote: Originally Posted by Timmy From their website their address is listed as: Address: Shinjuku Park Tower S 20/F 3-7-1 Nishi-Shinjuku Shinjuku-ku Tokyo 163-1035 Japan I know there are a few ASF members in Japan, maybe one could drop in to the address and check it out? Might be some more information available.

[Garpal Gumnut]

http://about.western-field.com/abt/about-us-team.php

Quote: Dr. Stephen Westernfield, CEO and Partner Stephen has been working in the industry and on related issues since 2001 and has been a member of numerous executive boards. Before co-founding Westernfield Holdings he attended Harvard University were he studied business. Stephen also attended Notor Dame University were he earned his Ph.D. in environmental science. Stephen has worked, and is associated with carbon experts around the world. Stephen brings extensive experience in sourcing and supply, manufacturing and operations, trading, marketing and distribution of carbon-based products. He is married to Tonia WesternField and they have three grown children.

[finman]

Hi Folks,

Got called this week out of the blue on my moblie phone by guy with English accent claiming to be in Tokyo and offering great investments in carbon credits. Has emailed me link to Westernfield Holdings web site.
Then called back next day saying a great deal is about to come up and he will call back soon.
Just doing the research here but sounds like a scam, looks like a scam, talks like a scam.

Peter

[skeptik]

Listened to the spiel for a bit, pressure sales tactics, 6000 credits left (out of 2.2M) etc etc, too good to be true. Company info very thin as above. Was referred to "Carbon Trust Registry" - no corporate info on their site, looks a bit dodgy. Tried to find references to awards they claim in their press releases, "EDDI Award", EDDI doesen't exist (surprise, surprise) but "edie" does (looks a bit low budget), maybe the same prob they had with spelling their own name. They claim an award in 2004 but awards have only existed since 2008. Enough time wasted. Too many loose ends = scam.

[cornnfedd]

Can I ask just 1 question? (well it will be 2 now) Why the hell would someone randomly call you and start trying to give you financial advise and sell you shares? It just sound stupid that people would be dumb enough to think they are the 'lucky ones' that got called for this great opportunity. I guess a sucker if born everyday, call 1000 people someone is bound to get sucked in.

[Dowdy]

There are plenty of other carbon trading companies listed on the ASX if you want to invest in that area.

Well actually only 2 - Carbon Conscious Limited & CO2 GROUP LIMITED

[boffin125105]

Hi all,

As for this company well I have been called by them in the past few days and I have wasted their time and hopefully some of their money in calling me from Tokyo. I have done some searching on the net and found numerous press release articles regarding their supposed contract in all kinds of things like tree replanting in China to geothermal development in the Dominican republic. It took several clicks on next to get past all the articles they have planted to make themselves look legitimate but if you dig deep enough you will find several blogs from sites overseas, similar to this site, that have discussions from people who have had some experience with this company. I have told ACCC about this scam so I hope no-one falls prey to it. Merry Xmas and keep up the good work

[slartman]

Westernfield Holdings **** scam *****.
This group is a classic boiler room scam who have defrauded millions from oz and elsewhere. Avoid them. They are not licenced to run financial services in Australia.

[neva2l8t]

These people are targeting the uk. unfortunately I got tangled up with them love to take your cash but dont be suprised to here another excuse when its time to pay out. They are still operating their trade and have a large set up with numerouse people involved. What annoys me most is that they have been doing it for so long without being closed down. if anyone has a contact in that area I would love to know if they do actually trade from there contact address. if so some pics of who frequents the place would be nice.
for anyone else dont touch them.

[Juleshr]

See story below from Reuters
"SINGAPORE, March 26 (Reuters) - A firm accused of defrauding Australian investors of A$3.5 million ($3.2 million) in a carbon investment scam and blacklisted by the nation's securities regulator is still operating and may face legal claims.

The case risks denting the reputation of the unregulated voluntary carbon offset (VER) market, which has been damaged in the past by allegations of fraud and double-counting, although market players said its small size meant it wouldn't have a big impact.

Since mid-2009 more than 100 people have told the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) they have lost money after being duped by an aggressive telemarketing scheme run by WesternField Holdings Inc.

The state-backed ACCC has labelled the firm's carbon investment offerings a scam that preys on investors' desire to do something good for the environment.

WesternField's website (www.western-field.com) lists a Tokyo business address, a string of emission reduction projects in Asia since 2001, an impressive line-up of managers and consultants, and a prestigious environment award in 2004.

However, the organisation that gives out the annual award didn't start doing so until 2006.

A check of WesternField's weblink shows the domain name was created in May 2009 and internet searches show no record of the company prior to 2009. The management office of the Tokyo tower listed as the firm's address has no record of them.

WesternField describes itself as a leading developer of high quality greenhouse gas reduction projects.

"It is increasingly clear this is a well-constructed scam using a fake website and claiming fake links to legitimate organisations or environmental standards and where the ultimate location is very difficult to determine," ACCC deputy chairman Peter Kell told Reuters by telephone.

"If you're an investor who's heart is in the right place, who wants to make an environmentally friendly investment, then these sorts of offerings can look very tempting," he added.

The ACCC said potential investors are cold-called by people with North American, British or New Zealand accents and promised large returns for short-term investments in carbon credits.

Investors could view their carbon "investment certificates" through an independent website registered to CTR Limited (http://carbontrustregistry.com), purported to be in Hong Kong.

Calls to the number listed on the website were unanswered.

Kell said some investors have complained that they have been unable to obtain their certificates and that requests to sell their investments or get their money back were ignored.

Investors were asked to send money to a Taiwan bank account.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has blacklisted WesternField, accusing it of investment fraud.

MARKETING FIRMS

During a series of calls to WesternField's Japanese telephone number this week, a man named Jay Cutler told Reuters that founder and CEO Stephen Westernfield was either in the United States, in meetings or had left for the day.

None of the other members of the team were available.

Cutler, who said his role was just to answer the telephone, refused to comment on the blacklisting or accusations of WesternField running a telephone scam.

"I've assured people just like I'll assure yourself, we've never cold-called a potential investor yet. We've engaged on a number of occasions independent marketing firms who have, canvassed I guess is the right word, potential investors," said Cutler.

He said investors are told that they are not issued with certificates. "The holdings are held electronically with an independent body the Carbon Trust Registry."

Carbon Trust says on its website that it is a registry for credits issued by the Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS) Association, an industry-respected offset verifier.

But Jerry Seager, program manager for the association, told Reuters that Carbon Trust was not an authorised VCS registry. "We are aware of this website and are taking legal advice," he said in an emailed response to questions.

He added that he had not heard of WesternField and that they were not listed as project proponents for any VCS projects.

WesternField Holdings says it has completed a variety of clean-energy and forestry projects in Asia since 2001 that have been approved under VCS as well as the Gold Standard Foundation.

Gold Standard said it had not heard of WesternField either. It said the firm would face action from the foundation for any misuse of its brand.

Cutler declined comment on the allegation.

Grattan MacGiffin of MF Global, one of the largest brokers for voluntary offsets, said the case would not hurt the market, worth about $700 million in 2008.

"The market has a good reputation now for transparency and integrity. There will always be potential for bad actions on the fringes but typically it's very uncommon now," he said.

(Additional reporting by Chisa Fujioka in Tokyo; Editing by Michael Szabo and Michael Urquhart) ((david.fogarty@thomsonreuters.com; +65 6403 5662; Reuters Messaging: david.fogarty.reuters.com@reuters.net))"

[JimBob]

When I started this thread last year, there was very little information about Westernfield holdings on the net, now this thread come in at #3 in a google search and there are a heap of other warnings around now. Too late for some who got scammed by these guys.

I remember they cold called me, first it was a female who was talking to me. When I said I wasnt interested, she sounded shocked and told me to wait while she got her supervisor to talk to me. Hopefully they can catch some of the people running this scam.