First Capital Savings and Loan Client Weblog

SEC Charges Forex Ponzi Operator Who Fled After Scheme Unraveled

2011-07-25T09:15:00.002-06:00

SEC has also filed charges, see the link below:

http://sec.gov/news/press/2011/2011-147.htm

"First Capital Savings & Loan Ltd. Chief Executive Jeffery A. Lowrance, who had fled to Peru and was arrested there earlier this year, was arraigned today on criminal fraud charges in a 2010 indictment filed by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois. In addition, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed fraud charges Thursday against Lowrance and First Capital." .... view the link above to read more.

Jeff Lowrance Arrested in Peru

2011-03-01T20:13:00.001-07:00

Jeff Lowrance has been arrested in Peru on Feb 6, 2011. We are awaiting his extradition. Jeff Lowrance aka Alan Carpenter, appears to have started another company under Private Global Banks, http://privateglobalbanks.com/ where he was again taking on investors. I have including the court pleadings that have been filed in this case. Just follow the link below.

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B_qQVoTL5SsSMDIwYzUzNzYtYzk4My00ZTRiLWIxZTktYjk4NzMzZGQ3ODlk&hl=en&authkey=CI2eqOcJ
The money has been difficult to find so far.

Good news to come

2011-02-24T12:24:00.001-07:00

Stay tuned for some good news in the next week.

$42 Million Judgement

2009-11-03T07:14:00.003-07:00

Here is a link to a copy of the judgement:

https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B_qQVoTL5SsSNDc1MjM0YjctODM3YS00ZjgwLWI0OWMtOWFiMDFkYzk3YWE3&hl=en

$42M default judgment in investment scheme case

2009-09-04T23:00:00.000-06:00

Federal judge issues $42 million default judgment in investment scheme case

By Dirk Lammers, Associated Press WriterOn Friday July 17, 2009, 8:16 am EDT

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- A federal judge in South Dakota issued a $42 million default judgment Thursday against a currency trader accused of bilking nearly 200 people in a Ponzi scheme.Jeff Lowrance did not show up for the brief afternoon hearing, and he has yet to respond in court to the March lawsuit after being served with court papers in Houston.Attorney information for Lowrance could not be obtained and he could not be located.Wanda Howey-Fox, the plaintiffs' attorney, told Judge Karen Schreier that she believes Lowrance left Texas for Panama.The 199 plaintiffs -- five of them from South Dakota -- accuse Lowrance and his New Zealand-based First Capital Savings & Loan of fraud, breach of contract and fraudulent mismanagement of offshore foreign currency exchange accounts.The suit claims Lowrance failed to make live market trades, transferred money from one client's account to another to keep up the appearance of earnings, and used proceeds for personal gain and other business ventures, including an alternative newspaper he started called USA Tomorrow.Howey-Fox said clients drained retirement and college accounts, mortgaged homes and sold businesses in hopes of earning 7 percent monthly returns."Clearly, he preyed upon people," she said.In an online survey geared to those looking to distribute USA Tomorrow, the publication entices potential distributors to also take advantage of the finance company opportunity."Now the big money," the survey said. "As one of our distributors, you can refer new clients to our International Finance Company that we own and operate."Howey-Fox said First Capital Savings & Loan clients were given online access to their accounts and cash was deposited and withdrawn through wire transfers. Clients were happy as long as the monthly returns kept coming, she said.But when the dividends stopped coming in mid-2008 and investors started to grow weary, a writer hired for USA Tomorrow began writing online accusing Lowrance of being a con artist. The complaints began to snowball.Howey-Fox said the finance company drew people into the investment opportunity through word of mouth, telephone and e-mail. Accounts were opened with anywhere from $10,000 to $750,000.Also listed as defendants are Mentor Investing Inc., Swiss Providence, Logos Publishing Group, Marketwise Trading, First Capital Savings & Loan Ltd. and Lowrance's alternative newspaper.Howey-Fox gave the court affidavits from some of the clients so Schreier could consider punitive damages. Schreier said she would issue a written ruling later.

http://www.classcreator.com/X-CA-Investment-Recovery-Group-2009

And We're Back

2009-04-30T22:13:00.000-06:00

More updates to come shortly.

Jeff Has Been Served

2009-04-10T21:42:00.001-06:00

Jeff Lowrance was served with a civil lawsuit earlier today.

Blog Maintenance Possible

2009-04-08T21:18:00.002-06:00

If in the near future you can no longer access this blog, it is because it is down for maintenance.

Experienced CPA

2009-04-01T19:00:00.003-06:00

If any of you are interested in a good CPA, I will give you the information for the one I am using. He has other clients who are victims of FCSL and other Ponzi schemes besides FCSL. He has decades of experience with business accounting and taxes.

John Griffin, CPA
Professional Tax and Accounting
2300 S. Rural Rd.
Tempe, AZ 85282
480-967-8837
protaxaz@earthlink.net

Tax Update

2009-03-31T22:38:00.002-06:00

My accountant sent me this link to an article entitled:

IRS Releases Guidance for Ponzi Scheme Investors, MARCH 19, 2009

http://www.journalofaccountancy.com/Web/20091552.htm

It gives guidance on how we can report the loss.

FCSL March 29, 2009 Weekly Update

2009-03-30T18:07:00.003-06:00

Here is Jeff's weekly update.

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dchn7nmp_11f5tzv6dg

Just click on the link to read it.

Helpful Tax Information

2009-02-21T14:03:00.002-07:00

I found this very helpful. If any of you have found other helpful information from speaking with your accountant, tax attorney or searching online, please post it in the comments. Let's reserve the comment section under this post for helpful tax related comments only. Other comments should continue under one of the other most recent posts.

http://www.vcresearch.info/open/forums.asp?TopicId=9309&ForumId=127

If any of you have written this off as "theft", please let us know what definitions of theft you had to meet and what you used as evidence to show that it fits the definition. With this kind of a tax write off my chances of an audit will be much higher.

Jeff's update compliments of Ed Snook Feb 13,10:45 AM

2009-02-13T17:38:00.001-07:00

Please click on the link to view the 47 page update.

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dchn7nmp_9fvg36ssd

Link to the US Observer Article

2009-02-09T20:38:00.003-07:00

Here is the link to the US Observer article that was previously sent out and posted on this blog.

http://www.usobserver.com/archive/feb-09/jeff-lowrance.htm

Letter to all from Jay, at The Investment Recovery Group

2009-02-02T16:35:00.004-07:00

I have been in contact with Jeff L. We have talked a half a dozen times in the past two days. He has called me, and I have called him.

Jeff has broken the update into two parts as it is VERY long. I have the first part of it. I reviewed it and discussed it with him, and we will talk again tonight. He hopes to have the second part done by tomorrow.

We then plan to discuss that update in its entirety, fix any typos and make the necessary changes. The goal is to have them both out at the same time so it makes full sense to everyone.

Please be patient; there are a lot of forces at play in this case both with Jeff L and others. We have been pressing forward for answers for some time, and they are almost here. So, please bear with me a bit as I work through it for the interest of the entire group.

Thanks

Jay

Letter of Guaranty and Principal Declaration

2009-02-02T16:27:00.005-07:00

Jeff Lowrance to Ed Snook

Click on the pictures to view important documents sent from Jeff Lowrance to Edward Snook.

US~Observer Public Service Warning

2009-02-02T10:19:00.001-07:00

Jeff Lowrance – A Polished Con Artist?
First Capital Savings & Loan Debacle

By Investigative Reporter
Edward Snook

Click here to view: http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dchn7nmp_8chd6hgg2

Update from Jay

2009-01-30T19:12:00.001-07:00

I have been informed by Jay that Jeff DID meet the deadline. Jay said that he was working with Jeff to resolve the matter, but could not provide a lot of information at this point, and would be in contact soon. Jay did say Jeff wants to make everything right for the betterment of the investors and the company.

Jeff Made Contact

2009-01-29T20:38:00.004-07:00

Jeff made contact with Jay, the lead attorney with FCSL Investment Recovery Group by e-mailing him at fcslconcernedclients@yahoo.com. He assured Jay that he will be sending an update out to everyone before the deadline, Friday, 9:00 AM CST. There will be updates on the private website created for those who want to be part of the recovery group. To begin the confirmation process you need to send an e-mail to fcslconcernedclients@yahoo.com with the following information.

Name
Address
Phone number
Amount invested
Amount currently owed
Who referred you in
Who do you know as an investor

AN OPEN MESSAGE TO JEFF LOWRANCE-PLEASE BE ADVISED THIS IS NOT YOUR NORMAL BLOG POSTING---

2009-01-28T09:22:00.005-07:00

Dear Jeff Lowrance,

I am writing to you today on behalf of the investors of First Capitol Savings and Loan/Mentor Investing Group Inc. While it may appear to you that there are only a few disgruntled investors numbering around 43 for the last public conference call, we are much stronger in number. I have started to move behind the scenes and have had another conference call in private. As of the date of this writing, I currently have 125 investors members supporting this correspondence and I see I have a ton of emails again to go through with more people wanting to join me/us.

We are not unreasonable people. We simply seek a solution to the problem that has been created by the failure of FCSL and/or you to make the scheduled wire payments as you agreed to do since June 2008. The people may not have done anything for a long time hoping you would come through but then myself and some others have stepped to the forefront of this effort to harness our efforts and move forward effectively. We are not the same organization as in June 2008, do not underestimate our ability to respond. Your silence is deafening and has resulted in some of your own friends and business partners seeking to gain compensation from your own investors, which built up FCSL’s coffers, for their own personal gain at the further cost to your reputation and the effort for the paper. What does Ed Snook, Michael Minns, Congressman Paul and a number of former employees think of your actions? We would ask that you contact us either in your traditional mass email format to the entire group or you contact me at fcslconcernedclients@yahoo.com with a phone number and a time you can be reached and work with us to find a solution.

As you have imposed a deadline upon yourself at many times and failed to meet those deadlines, I do not operate in such a way. It appears you need a good solid business manager to make sure the operation is running smoothly and we can assist you, if need be. However, we the investors are giving you a deadline of Friday, January 30, 2009 at 9:00 o’clock a.m. Central Standard Time to contact me and leave me a phone number where I can call and talk with you directly. Please be advised that if you fail to meet this deadline, FCSL may face its own version of Armageddon. Just as the good lord has given all of us free will to make decisions to control our actions and keep us from eternal torment, you too have the abilities to save yourself, your company and the newspaper, but you need to work with us and not in silence.

While some in this group are very desperate as their houses are on the brink of foreclosure, they have lost the chance at adopting children and have had their very marriages strained by your venture, there are still many of us with a lot of powerful political, governmental, business and financial resources both in the United States and in other countries available to seek the return of our funds or take your freedom from you if you have embezzled, misappropriated funds or made any sort of fraudulent conveyance. I have talked with some foreign based attorneys and banking officials and they also expressed concerns about your operation and the reputations of their countries.

Please do not misunderstand, Jeff, we want to work with our good neighbor and help him Sheppard his flock of bank associates, investors, future business partners and newspaper subscribers. Work with us Jeff and not against us.

Everyone is tired of the silence, delays, missed deadlines and the fact that we need to take these actions. We implore you to respond, but be warned if you do not meet the deadline and respond in some fashion we will respond accordingly.

I look forward to hearing from you at fcslconcernedclients@yahoo.com

JAY THE FCSL CONCERNED CLIENT & HIS FELLOW INVESTORS

Attorney/Investor Group (AIG)

2009-01-27T18:37:00.004-07:00

I have referred in the past to an attorney/investor group that is working on making decisions regarding legal action against FCSL. This group is also referring to themselves as "FCSL Investment Recovery Group." This is the group that is being formed with the primary e-mail address of fcslconcernedclients@yahoo.com. Many of you have contacted them already. They invited me to a "private" conference call on Monday morning. On the call were two attorneys from CA with a lot of international experience and many resources. Once the CA attorneys left there were many discussions on how exactly to proceed. With the blog being a central point of information I was grateful to be invited to the call. It sounded like many decisions were made with concrete plans of action. If you would like to get more information, I would encourage you to contact Jay at fcslconcernedclients@yahoo.com.

There will be a conference call tomorrow. The conference call information is now located on the left side of the blog. I do know that some of the decision making committee with the AIG will be on the call.

Further, there have been rumors floating around that I spoke with Jeff Lowrance on the phone. A few of you have asked for details. I did speak with Jeff Monday afternoon. Most of my questions were answered with, "That will be addressed in the update." The update was said to come out Monday late at night or Tuesday (today). If there is time, I will spend a few minutes talking about the conversation on the conference call Wednesday night.

Requesting Information

2009-01-26T10:27:00.001-07:00

Please e-mail me if you have received any money from Jeff since June. Thank You.

firstcapitalsl@gmail.com

From the Attorney/Investor Group

2009-01-25T10:08:00.005-07:00

For all investors who wish to combine efforts and join us in becoming an organized, coherent group please see the urgency in joining us. Those that can't make a decision may be left behind.

Do something useful and become a part of the solution to move forward as a group. Blogging and making useless remarks worsen our situation. The newspaper and Panama office is closed down. Some think that is good and some think that is bad. Since Jeff is no longer able to bring in funds at his Panama office, what does that mean for the investors? We will see.

Jeff just was or is in Houston trying to dredge up funds or support at a Ron Paul campaign. It just never ends does it? Like a cat chasing a string.....

Face the facts that Jeff is stalling because he can not do what he wants us to believe or hope he may do.

The litigation process is inevitable and you need to document your investment history/profile at our new website just created 1/22/09. Soon we will be deciding on a law firm to represent us. At least those of us that see this as the last resort to the slight possibility of recovering funds.

If we are not prepared then our opportunity will be lost. If you want to sit back and wait and see what happens, it may be too late for you to participate. Something constructive has to be done and so far all of the talking and blogging has not accomplished much to resolve our concerns. We are not all unified yet.

Investors must be cross-verified for authenticity prior to receiving a password to our private and secure website.

E-mail the following information:
Full name
Address
Phone number
Date(s) and amount(s) of deposits
Who introduced YOU to FCSL
Who you introduced TO FCSL

Send this information to fcslconcernedclients@yahoo.comOnce verified you will receive a password and site address. Please be patient for a response and password since there are a lot of you in this mess and just a few trying to get us all organized.

Thanks

Power in Numbers

2009-01-24T08:32:00.008-07:00

In the past week over 1100 unique computers visited the blog from the following countries,

United States, Panama, Cameroon, Columbia, Nigeria, South Korea, United Arab Emirates, Canada, Ukraine, Peru, and Thailand.

What this means is that a much larger percentage of the investors know there is a problem and are actively seeking more information. Everyday more first time visitors arrive on the blog, many from Google. The word is getting out, and there is power in numbers.

It is important that as many people as possible contact, Jay, at fcslconcernedclients@yahoo.com. He is an attorney/investor who is preparing for legal action. The more we have that hire the same attorney the less we pay in upfront retainer fees. Even if you don't have money to hire an attorney you need to contact him. Some legal action may simply take your name being added to a list. If we go to the FBI and/or receive free legal council in the beginning, even one more name can help.

USA Tomorrow info and a good contact for more

2009-01-22T17:43:00.003-07:00

Please click on the link below to read the letter from Eliza, a former USA Tomorrow employee.

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dchn7nmp_0jsk5qshm

Answer these questions Jeff?

2009-01-21T21:03:00.003-07:00

Are you sending me back principle plus interest, or just principle for now?

Will the wire transfer be sent:
a. today
b. tomorrow
c. today
d. yesterday

Are you sending me back principle now and interest in a month?

Will an "undue hardship" or "undue burden" bonus be included?

Where do we send your Valentine to thank you for returning our money?

How do we get our homes back?

Are you sending me back principle plus interest, or just principle for now?

How do we get our marriages back?

Are you sending me back principle plus interest, or just principle for now?

When can we start feeding our children something other than Top Ramen and generic mac and cheese?

Investors - Please post any other relevant questions in the comments.

Jeff's Jan. 21, 2009 update

2009-01-21T20:26:00.005-07:00

Please click on the link below to read his update.

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dchn7nmp_1dtctx9gw

Summary: A four page bible study update to tell us to wait for his update.

Snook Update

2009-01-17T08:40:00.003-07:00

Mr. Snook spoke with Lowrance for about an hour yesterday. According to Ed the conversation went very well. Don't expect anything substantial to happen before the end of the month. Please do not contact Ed simply for an update.

Comments

2009-01-17T07:46:00.003-07:00

I want to thank all of you who have posted helpful comments like those bringing people together who are in support of hiring an attorney, those providing us with factual information, and those suggesting real solutions. Many of you have noticed an increased number of comments on the blog and are finding more and more difficult to weed through the trash in order to find comments that add value. Open discussions are helpful to a certain point, but I think it is getting bogged down pushing it passed the point of helpful. Please use restraint when venting frustrations, complaining, cussing, accusing, and criminalizing people. Unfounded slanderous accusations will no longer be tolerated. I really don't want to go back to moderating comments.

Thank you for your continued participation.

Ed Snook's Letter and Contract

2009-01-15T21:22:00.002-07:00

Please click on the link below to view the letter from Ed Snook dated January 14, 2009.

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dchn7nmp_6gm6cbmdw

Please click on the link below to view the contract to use Ed Snook's services.

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dchn7nmp_3f7jfhpcw

Tonight's Call

2009-01-15T15:46:00.003-07:00

Ed Snook (the smart guy) will be on the call tonight. I have seen much speculation and accusations in the comments, which really doesn't add value. If you have questions that Ed does not answer tonight, please write them down and e-mail him or call the numbers in the letter.

Conference call changed

2009-01-14T17:32:00.004-07:00

The conference call has moved to Thursday at 7:30PM MST instead of 7PM.

Conference Dial-in Number: (218) 339-4600

Participant Access Code: 377947#

Please read through this important post

2009-01-09T19:00:00.003-07:00

There’s something very serious that’s been on my mind. If you’ve been following the recent news of Madoff (the largest Ponzi scheme in the world) you’ll know that in the last couple of weeks, one of the individuals who had a lot of money invested committed suicide. His loss was a large percentage of his net worth. It was a culmination of his entire life’s work. He had people relying on him, dependants, family, business associates, friends, other investors that he had given advice to, etc. He felt like he had let all these people down. He’d lost everything. How could he start all over? How could he face all of those people? They’ve always seen him as successful l, when in the end he turned out to be a failure. Many of us can empathize with this billionaire who invested in Madoff, just because we've feared the worst.

We found this investment that would finally pull us out of our current income bracket and help make our financial dreams come true. Some have felt that it will make up for all other failures. Plans were made on how the additional money was going to be spent. Many were going to go on trips. Others were going to get out of debt, and some were going to finally become millionaires. Expectations were high.

The last 7 months haven’t quite met those expectations. We are now asking ourselves if the money is all gone. Where is it? Will I ever see it again? Am I going to have to start over building wealth? Do I now look like a gullible shmuck who fell for someone’s scheme? How could I have been so stupid? The fact is many of us put in money we can’t afford to lose. Some actually put home equity into this and others may have gone behind their spouses back. At some point during the last seven months we’ve all felt anger, hate, betrayal, blame, stress, anxiety, depression, guilt, alone, helpless, hopeless, and failure. These feelings are natural. They come straight from our sympathetic nervous system which triggers automatic processes within us forcing these feelings to surface.

We want to blame someone. Many of us will blame ourselves, even though that is irrational. Would we tell others to do that? Then why do it ourselves? We want to go after the person who is truly to blame, but can’t at the moment. So, what happens is that energy comes right back to us and we end up going after ourselves.

The reason I bring this up is because of the simple fact that many of us have experienced this the last 7 months. I have recently heard the following words from some of you, “foreclosure, world turned upside down, bankruptcy, divorce, lose everything”, and worst of all, the word, “suicide”.

Whether it’s all gone or not this is what many of us have gone through already. I just don’t want to see anyone do something irrational. We need to keep the anger and energy from taking on a life of its own. The way to do this is by channeling it, talk about it, and allow it to continually drain out and escape. We need to hear ourselves talk about it. The blog has been a big help for some in that regards, but it might not be enough. We all need to reach out and call the other clients that we know. Let’s look out for each other and be the support group that is needed.

Surprise Surprise

2009-01-05T18:25:00.000-07:00

...and there goes Jan 5th with no word from Jeff.

Update from jeff

2008-12-18T16:11:00.001-07:00

Dear First Capital S&L Clients,
I have been dragging my feet in getting this update out to you. However, I do have reason for it, in that I don't want to go through the next few months with more unnecessary challenges to overcome.

As Thomas Jefferson is famously quoted, "Delay, is preferable to error". In my case here, I would prefer to be delayed and late in my corresponding to you, than to be wrong in my decision-making process, of which will certainly affect your lives.
I mentioned to all of you in the last update that I wanted to do a survey. This email is for that purpose.

As for the survey, my questions are as listed below. It will take us a while to get through all of your responses, so please be patient as we absorb more than 532 responses! Thank-you.

Please reply to this email address: replies@firstcapitalsl.com, with ONLY the NUMBER of the comment and please INCLUDE YOUR FULL NAME. For example, if you agree with what is said on line #1, then in the SUBJECT LINE of your return email to us, just put "#1" John Doe. If you agree with #2, then just put "#2 John Doe." If #3, then put "#3 John Doe" in the SUBJECT LINE OF YOUR REPLY EMAIL TO US. Simple.

An automated system will read the subject lines only and then file the responses, so no one will be reading the emails. With that said, please do not bother to include comments because they will not be read. We are doing this to speed up the process for everyone's benefit.

Here is the survey: #1 - I would like to have my principal returned to me, along with any and all gain that is due to me.

#2 - I would like to continue with First Capital S&L after January 5th, 2009. However, I know that the rates will be lowered, across the board to ALL clients, to a 2% MONTHLY return.

#3 - I have been Compounding with First Capital S&L and would like to continue Compounding. I understand that the Compounding rate will be set at 2% monthly come January 5th, 2009 and that my old compounding rates will no longer apply. I understand that my Compounding rate will be set at the 2% monthly rate.

Again, please choose ONLY one of the above statements as a #1, #2, or #3 and simply reply to replies@firstcapitalsl.com with the #1, #2, or #3 AND YOUR FULL NAME IN THE SUBJECT LINE.

Thank you again for your patience,
Jeff Lowrance Chairman First Capital S&L

Invite only - password required

2008-11-03T09:14:00.000-07:00

Hiding it didn't work the way it was supposed to. That is why it now requires an invite and password, which I'm sure you noticed as you came to view the blog. It appears that the only thing hiding it did is make it a little more difficult to find via a search engine. It will still be searchable, but not viewable unless I invited you. I did invite Jeff to this blog as well. I believe it has helped him to know exactly what our frustrations are. There are now 80 members.

The blog is now "hidden"

2008-11-01T09:58:00.000-06:00

Instead of making this blog private, which means you have to be invited and logged in, it is now hidden from search engines. This means that "everyone can still view your blog but search engines will be instructed not to crawl it." This allows all who know about it to still view it, but no potential clients should be able to find it in their researching of First Capital S&L. Since that seems to be the purpose of making it "private", I think it is a good solution. Please feel free to google it with various search engines and let me know if it is working. If we need to change it to invitation only we will.

There are now two First Capital S&L blogs, this one and www.firstcapitalslprivate.blogspot.com. The purpose of this one is still to allow everyone, including Jeff and his employees, to communicate without serving as an information source to new investors, for now. The private blog is for everyone other than Jeff and his sources to communicate and form a contingency plan for Jan 5th.

Update - better late than never

2008-10-29T22:04:00.001-06:00

Dear First Capital S&L Clients,

It has now been a little more than 5 weeks since my last update went out. I did promise to have an update to you after 4 weeks of time, so I am a bit late.

I have been extremely busy with getting this Titanic of a business turned around and going back into the right direction. There is still a lot of work for me to do, but I am back on track and heading the right way.

The first thing that you should know is that I have cut out all other projects and side-tangents so that I can completely devote my time to getting FCSL back to the way it once was. We have 4 great years behind us and I won't see that all go to waste.

I am working to get all of our clients their principal paid back or at least back on track with monthly payments. I say it that way because I have received many, many emails over the last couple of months from clients who do not want us to stop our monthly payment program. They would prefer that we try to pick up from where we left off, if at all possible. I intend to repay/or get monthly payments going again, for all clients, before the January 5th date, if at all possible.

In regards to either paying back all of your principal or starting monthly payments again to our clients; I would like to take a short survey from each one of you to find out what you are thinking. To sort through all of your emails will mean a lot of work for me and my team.

However, I really would like to find out what you are thinking in regards to FCSL returning your principal, verses that of starting monthly payments again. Please watch for a separate email to come to you in regards to that survey. It will be self-explanatory.

Last week, I was ready to send out an update to everyone. Honestly, I would not have had much to say except for the fact that I am still right here in Panama and that I am steadily working towards getting back on track. It was due to be a simple communication to let you know that I am here and that I am doing what it takes to make things right with you.

As for the few investors out there who have been working with my advisor, I assure you that I will make every attempt to return your funds before January 5, 2009 and for the rest of you look forward to the 5th. I will at that time take the steps necessary to return your principal. Once completed, I will send your interest, in full, as soon as is possible.

Thank you for your extreme patience. I just want you to know that I am working 200% to get us back on track again!

Sincerely,
Jeff Lowrance
First Capital S&L

FYI

2008-10-26T20:46:00.000-06:00

This is the brief message sent from accounting when a client requested a withdrawal. All of the messages coming out of First Capital Savings and Loan points to Jan. 5th, 2009.

"All wires are on hold until January 5th 2009, as per the last major updated."

USA Tomorrow Update (not acceptable as FCSL update)

2008-10-16T08:10:00.001-06:00

Dear Friends and Patriots,

It has now been a little more than 3 full months since USA Tomorrow began distributing back during the summer on the 4th of July. With nearly 100 days under our belt and now several thousand people on our mailing list, we feel that we are ready to take the next few steps towards growing USA Tomorrow into a national newspaper. And in order to become a national newspaper, we will need all the help that we can get!

Frankly speaking, I have been surprised by the positive response that USA Tomorrow has received. Americans across the country have reacted with such great comments, emails and phone calls, that it thrills me to know that there are truly still a LOT of people out there who really do care about our country.

With that in mind, we want to thank all of you for the awesome job that you have done in passing out hundreds of thousands of copies of the USA Tomorrow newspaper. You have delivered them to friends and neighbors in your parts of the country and you are to be congratulated. Thank you again for your help!

Now, after 3 months of learning and growing, we feel that we are prepared to take on 3 new areas of growth. The first is that we are now just days away from being able to start accepting Subscription orders. The second, we have tested the development of our USA Tomorrow Distributorship program and are confident that it is ready to go for a national launch across the country! And third, the USA Tomorrow newspaper is being supported by a financial product that has been paying clients 13.25% - 18.70% annually for more than 4 years straight. We are now making that financial product available to our readers.

In regards to our USA Tomorrow Distributorship program, it is geared to earn our distributors substantial monthly income for those who work at it. If you are a worker, then you will most likely enjoy our distributorship program.

This short email message to you is simply a survey to find out if you would like to hear more about either Subscribing to USA Tomorrow, being a Distributor for us, or if you would like more information regarding our financial product now available to our readers.

Please click the appropriate links below. If you have interest in more than one category, then follow the link for each one, filling out the simple request form and then hitting the word "Finish" for each one.

If you would like more information about Subscribing to USA Tomorrow, Click Here

If you would like more information about being a Distributor of the USA Tomorrow newspaper publication, Click Here.

If you would like more information about our financial product that is paying 13.25% - 18.70% annually, Click Here.

Thank you for your time and let's Grow, Grow, Grow!

Sincerely,
Jeff Lowrance

Publisher - USA Tomorrow

Comments e-mailed to you

2008-10-12T21:57:00.000-06:00

If you would like all the new comments emailed to you as soon as one is made, please send me an e-mail request. That way you don't have to check the comments from different posts to make sure you didn't miss any updates.

Authorities Contacted

2008-10-04T08:08:00.000-06:00

6 votes on the poll indicated that authorities were contacted, yet no information surrounding this has been shared. Please provide any details you can regarding what authorities were contacted and any other information that can be given. You can leave a comment or send a private e-mail to firstcapitalsl@gmail.com.

First Capital Savings and Loan Clients

Update from a blog member

2008-10-01T08:32:00.000-06:00

One thing that caught my interest is the following statement at the bottom of the FCSL homepage: "First Capital Savings & Loan is offering financial services as a Finance Company and not as a registered bank under supervision by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. Services are not available to the public in New Zealand."
Another thing that caught my interest on the homepage is First Capital's address in Auckland. The first line of the address is: "Auckland Compliance Ltd."
So I did detective work. I'm a CPA and an attorney. I used to do audit work for Arthur Andersen & Co., the now defunct accounting giant.
I found that FCSL is registered in NZ as just another company, not as financial institution. The term "Savings & Loan" has no meaning in NZ. FCSL is just an ordinary registered company. It is not under the supervision of Reserve Bank of New Zealand, nor in any way a financial institution.
I also found that FCSL's address at Auckland Compliance Ltd. just an address, nothing more. It turns out Auckland Compliance Ltd. is nothing more than a storefront for dozens or hundreds of companies that want a NZ address. It is what is commonly referred to as a business services company. I'm familiar with this because I used to use such a company in Las Vegas, called Business Office Suite Services. I had a Nevada Corporation that used a Las Vegas address.
Finally, FCSL has no physical presence in NZ, no employees, no business activities, no nothing. That is what I have learned.

First Capital Savings and Loan Client

Blog change FYI

2008-09-29T10:32:00.000-06:00

The comments on the blog are no longer moderated. This will allow you to see your comments immediately for quicker response time. It is also a way to relinquish more control to all of you. We can check it once daily instead of feeling like we need to constantly moderate comments throughout the day to get them posted quickly. Please continue to e-mail us with information you may not want to have posted as a comment.

On a side note: For those of you who have contacted authorities, there have been requests for further details.

First Capital Savings & Loan Blog Admin

Poll Changed

2008-09-24T09:30:00.001-06:00

I changed the poll. If you already voted on the old one, please re-vote. Remember, you can put more than one answer. You can even change your vote later.

Jeff's Update

2008-09-19T22:56:00.000-06:00

Dear Investors,

I deeply apologize for the delay in getting my update to you. The past few months have taken a toll on me as I honestly tried to do way too much with my businesses. I started the USA TOMORROW newspaper to create a vehicle for change and I didn't realize the response to the project to be as enormous as it has become. On the advice of a very smart friend of mine I have decided to set the paper aside, in part, for the next few months and take care of my financial responsibilities to each and every one of you. I have lost money over the past few months on some investments, not unlike almost every major bank in the world. I can't touch my main investment fund until January 5, 2009. At that time I plan to close the fund and return investors their money in full. Also, I am going to be restructuring the interest rates that we have been paying out to clients. Please watch for an update about that subject to come out soon. I have struggled recently, however. I am not tucking my tail, but I am communicating with all of you simply because I'm a man of my word and each of you will be paid in full. I don't need to spend pages here informing you of my various problems, both physically and time wise; I just need to inform you that I am working religiously on your behalf and you will be taken care of. I will be updating you by email at least every 4 weeks until I access our fund. I sincerely wish that I could talk with everyone but that is impossible for me - I need to work. I thank you for your patience.

Sincerely,

Jeff Lowrance
First Capital S&L

Waiting

2008-09-17T13:52:00.000-06:00

From the comments and e-mails it sounds like most of us are in favor of waiting. I have heard word of double compounded interest in Sept. Is that what everyone sees on their account or just those not compounding? Is this just another carrot dangling out there that we may never get or is he trying to make it up to those expecting wire transfers? I hope it's the latter. The carrot is what Charles Ponzi did. That seems to be the big question on everyone's mind. Ponzi? The good news is that something happened that would have needed Jeff's approval. Does this mean he is trying to work on FCSL again?

We have sent our first attempt at contacting Jeff as a blog and will keep you posted. Communication is the first rule of customer service and what everyone is waiting for at this point. All we want is for him to keep us updated. Jeff, you need to stop leaving us all in the dark. We are all out here with nothing to go on but speculation as a group. What else can we do but discuss at what point enough is enough?

We will stay as patient and optimistic as we can, but that will run out at some point.

First Capital Savings and Loan Client

Everyone needs to participate in this discussion

2008-09-16T15:33:00.000-06:00

When is it time to notify the authorities?
Whom do we notify? (New Zealand, FBI, SEC, Panama, California DA, San Diego DA)
Will this tie up all assets for years to come?

Please especially comment on the first question. We need to all agree that whatever we do, we do together. No one jumping the gun.

Ben Greenwood Resignation

2008-09-13T14:02:00.001-06:00

To All Clients:

This is to inform all of you that I will no longer be representing First Capital Savings or Jeff Lowrance. I have taken on a new job and am excited about the opportunity it presents to me. This situation that we are in together concerning FCSL has been nothing short of life changing for the most of us. For some, it has generated an extremely large return. For others, it has wrecked our lives. I can no longer represent FCSL due to the fact that Jeff has failed to follow through on countless time-lines and promises with all of us. His endless procrastination is unacceptable and inexcusable. I put in my resignation to Jeff effective immediately on Friday August the 22nd if he didn't not either A) call me by the end of business or B) send all funds to clients. He called me later that day and we spoke for about a half hour, maybe 45 minutes. He stated to me that he was going to have his "Major Update" on the decision he was making out to all clients by the end of the weekend. Obviously, we never received it. I talked to him again that Wednesday, and he assured me he would have it out by that Thursday, at the latest, Friday. He said he had been bouncing it back and forth with his advisor Again, I gave Jeff the benefit of the doubt. After speaking with his advisor this week, I came to find out that he had never even seen the email. This is the first time I had ever caught Jeff in a lie to me. This was the last straw and I can no longer be associated with him. My paychecks havenʼt been coming as scheduled and I remained employed only because I was the last line of communication between the clients and Jeff. I kept hoping that he would live up to his promises and give everyone their money. Here we are Friday, September 12th, and we still haven't seen the update. Jeff told me during that conversation on the 22nd that he was in the "process of winding down the fund and was going to be returning everybody's funds to them, starting with the newest clients first that were taking the monthly dividend and were relying on the money to live on. And he would end with the older clients who had been compounding as they didn't rely on the funds for monthly bills." I asked him why he wouldn't just send one large wire and get everyone their funds back at the same time, and his response was "it just isn't that easy Ben. It will take some time." So I followed up with "Do you have the liquidity to pay all funds back to the investors" and he responded with "I do, but it will take some time." He figured it was going to be about a two month process. I have changed my cell phone number due to the fact that I had given it out to many clients over the course of the last couple months. I will however, give you my email address (separate from FCSL email address as I'm sure that one will be canceled) should you wish to you contact me for any reason. I won't promise how long it will take me to respond, and I won't have any further communication with Jeff from this point forward. Being that I am the last rep Jeff has, the last person to reach is Jeff as far as I know. The accountant doesn't have any more answers than I've had over the past few months according to what I have been told. The best way to reach Jeff is via email at jefflow22@hotmail.com and ceo@firstcapitalsl.com. His telephone number in Panama is 610-819-7678 Please forward this to anyone you know who is invested with FCSL.

Kind Regards:
Ben Greenwood
benfcsl@gmail.com

Ben Greenwood
Account Representative
First Capital Savings and Loan
1-866-805-3079
bengreenwood@firstcapitalsl.com
www.firstcapitalsl.com

Sept. 12 update

2008-09-12T15:45:00.000-06:00

Jeff has asked us to stop trying to contact Carlos Olmos and Dito in accounting, that they did not have any answers. He said he would send out an update as soon as it was ready.
All wires are pending approval by Jeff.
He was working on distributing his new paper last week.
http://newswithviews.com/Devvy/kidd387.htm
Ben Greenwood reigned.
We still have not heard of anyone pursuing legal action. No one wants it to come to that. From many of your e-mails it is apparent that some of you still give Jeff the benefit of the doubt. I personally believe we need to stay positive. Hopefully Jeff will contact the blog personally and allow us at the blog to contact him by phone once a week. That way we can give updates to all.
Please view the new comments on the other posts.
Please notice the new question posted to the right.
According to Jeff, he still has all the principle money in the account and has not been touched.

First Capital Savings and Loan Client

Sept. 06 update

2008-09-06T15:12:00.000-06:00

We have received word that from one of our members that accounting@firstcapitalsl.com is still responding to e-mails, and as usual they don't say much. The "Return Bonus Form" referenced in the FAQ section of their website is not necessary according to FCSL. There are members who requested their principle back greater than 60 days ago and have not yet received it. Wire transfers are still not going out. "hopefully soon" is what our members are hearing. We must thank several First Capital Savings & Loan clients for this information, and as always we will try to keep you updated.

First Capital Savings and Loan Client

FYI: e-mail updates

2008-09-04T19:32:00.000-06:00

Just an FYI. Many of our updates are via e-mail and not the blog.

First Capital Savings and Loan Client

FYI Desist and Refrain Order, CA

2008-08-27T17:34:00.000-06:00

-1-
DESIST AND REFRAIN ORDER

State of California - Department of Corporations
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
BUSINESS, TRANSPORTATION AND HOUSING AGENCY
DEPARTMENT OF CORPORATIONS
TO: Jeff Lowrance
Mentor Investing Group, Inc.
www.mentorinvestinginc.com
501 W. Broadway
Plaza “A” - #403
San Diego, CA 92101
DESIST AND REFRAIN ORDER
(For violations of section 29520 of the Corporations Code)
The California Corporations Commissioner finds that:
1. At all relevant times, Mentor Investing Group, Inc. (“Mentor Investing”) conducted
business at 501 W. Broadway, Plaza “A” - #403, San Diego, CA 92101. Jeff Lowrance
(“Lowrance”) was a purported principal of Mentor Investing.
2. Beginning in at least March 2006, and continuing thereafter, Mentor Investing and Lowrance, through its Internet site www.mentorinvestinginc.com, sold or purchased, or offered to sell or purchase commodities under commodities contracts, or offered to enter into, or entered into, as sellers or purchasers any commodity contracts in the state of California.
3. The commodity contracts Mentor Investing, Lowrance and www.mentorinvestinginc.com offered and sold, or offered to enter into or entered into as sellers or purchasers on behalf of investors, were primarily for speculative and investment purposes, in that, the contracts were purchased, sold, and entered into based on quoted price changes and fluctuations in particular currencies, rather than as a means of acquiring the physical commodities.
4. The foreign currencies purchased or sold, or offered to be purchased or sold under commodity contracts were commodities within the meaning of section 29504 of the California Commodity Law of 1990.

-2-
DESIST AND REFRAIN ORDER

State of California - Department of Corporations
Based upon the foregoing findings, the California Corporations Commissioner is of the
opinion that Mentor Investing, Lowrance and www.mentorinvestinginc.com purchased, or offered to sell or purchase commodities under commodities contracts, or offered to enter into, or entered into, as sellers or purchasers any commodity contracts.
Pursuant to Section 29542 of the California Commodity Law of 1990, Mentor Investing
Group Inc., Jeff Lowrance and www.mentorinvestinginc.com are hereby ordered to desist and refrain from the further offer or sale of commodities, including but not limited to foreign currency contracts, or from the further offer to enter into, or from entering into, as sellers or purchasers, any commodity contracts, in the state of California, unless and until such activity is not in violation of Corporations
Code section 29520 of said law.
This Order is necessary, in the public interest, for the protection of investors and consistent
with the purposes, policies, and provisions of the California Commodity Law of 1990.
Dated: September 13, 2006
Los Angeles, California
PRESTON DuFAUCHARD
California Corporations Commissioner
By ____________________________
ALAN S. WEINGER
Supervising Attorney
Enforcement Division

Aug 26 update

2008-08-27T17:31:00.001-06:00

Dear FCSL Clients,This is a simple communication to all of you to let you know that I have finally finished my Update Letter. I have a few more small corrections to make and then it will be sent to you this evening.However, I want you to also know that I am absolutely furious, now that one person has threatened me and my family, and a couple of others have threatened to "interrupt" the Ron Paul Convention. You want to play hardball with me? Bring it on! I just finished crushing USA Today's attempt at what is none other than their bogus attempt at a "cease and desist order" against USA Tomorrow. Yes, we stopped practically the largest newspaper in the country and their advances against us! So I am locked and loaded for you as well. And, yes, that was a 2nd amendment comment! It is called self-defense and if you don't like it, then move to another country!Friends, I am not in the newspaper business to fool around. I am here to make a real change in our nation, and for the better. And not the kind of "change" that Obama spews out.I am legally prepared to take on the best of them, so you will cut the crap and give me the time and space to solve my issues with you. I have had hundreds of clients now for nearly 4 years. You WILL give me that credibility!Otherwise, I will take drastic measures against anyone who even so much as sneezes against USA Tomorrow, me or my family.It is now 1PM Central Time and the Update is due to come out this evening.Very sincerely, Jeff Lowrance First Capital S&L

Blog Archive

Weblog Introduction

2008-08-27T16:29:00.000-06:00

This weblog is specifically designed to connect First Capital Savings and Loan customers throughout the world. It has been created by a group of current customers in order to gather and disseminate as much information as possible to each other.

No one knows what the future may bring so if you would like to be included in any communications please sign up by emailing firstcapitalsl@gmail.com

This is the same e-mail address you will use if you would like to:
ask questions
submit questions to be posted for everyone to help answer
submit your name, e-mail, phone, etc to the list
help answer questions others may have
give any information you have on FCSL or Jeff Lowrance
receive any information we have
etc.