FBI Hits Yelm Romanian RSE students for Money Laundering

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FreeNow
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FBI Hits Yelm Romanian RSE students for Money Laundering

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http://www.yelmonline.com/news/local_ne ... 963f4.html

According to documents filed in U.S. Western District Court in Tacoma (scroll below the story to read the documents in full), Radu Nemes, 39, and his wife, Diana Nemes, 38, have been charged in Romania with tax evasion stemming from a tax fraud scheme that defrauded the Romanian government of nearly $69 million. The couple was also reportedly charged with setting up an organized criminal group.

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Doug McCrea, owner of the winery, told the Nisqually Valley News Wednesday he was introduced to the Nemeses by Greg Simmons, who retired from his position as director of marketing at the Ramtha School of Enlightenment (RSE) last March. McCrea also identified the Nemeses’ as former RSE students.
A message left for a representative of the Ramtha School of Enlightenment Wednesday afternoon wasn’t returned by press time.
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joe sz
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Re: FBI Hits Yelm Romanian RSE students for Money Laundering

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http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/ ... 332472.php
A Romanian couple accused in a plot to dodge $73 million in taxes have been arrested after joining followers of a fringe religious movement in Yelm.

Radu Nemes and his wife Diana are accused of conspiring with a high-ranking Romanian tax official to dodge millions in fuel taxes. Indicted in their native country, the pair were arrested in Washington earlier this week and currently face extradition proceedings.

According to court papers, the Nemes wound up in Yelm, where they’d joined Ramtha’s School of Enlightenment, a religious movement founded by J.Z. Knight. Knight claims to channel a 35,000-year-old warrior spirit from a mythical continent; she established the Yelm “school” in 1988.

Romanian investigators claim the Nemes own several pizzerias in the Seattle area, among other properties. Property records show they own a home in Thurston County.

Facing tax evasion charges in Romania, the Nemes arrived in the United States in June 2012. Arrest warrants were issued shortly after charges were filed the following month.

Radu Nemes, 39, is alleged to have worked with others to illegally import and sell nearly 1 million tons of diesel fuel, using a series of shell companies. Investigators contend Nemes dodged $53 million Euros in taxes (approximately $73.3 million) by importing the fuel for use in manufacturing, then selling it directly to consumers.

At Radu Nemes’ direction, trucks loaded with diesel fuel were driven to secret locations, where the fuel was transferred to commercial fuel companies. The Nemes are alleged to have created a network of shell companies in the names of homeless, indigent people as part of the tax dodge.

Relaying the allegations against the pair, Assistant U.S. Attorney Norman Barbosa said Diana Nemes is alleged to have helped launder the scheme’s proceeds through accounts in Dubai before bringing the money into the United States. The scheme is said to have run from May 2011 to July 2012.

Investigated by the Romanian anti-corruption directorate, Radu and Diana Nemes, 38, are alleged to have conspired with at least five others in the fraud.

Romanian authorities tapped about 100 telephones and searched 70 locations as part of the wide-ranging investigation. According to court papers, Romanian investigators contend Nemes was helped by the heads of Romania’s fiscal authority and national customs office.

All told, 20 Romanians have been charged in the tax-dodge scheme. Several remain at large.

In court papers, Romanian investigators describe the Nemes as belonging to the Ramtha group. Both were living in Yelm at the time of their arrests.

Radu and Diana Nemes are expected to appear Thursday afternoon in U.S. District Court before Judge Karen L. Strombom. Both remain jailed.
Check the Seattle 911 crime blog for more Seattle crime news. Visit seattlepi.com's home page for more Seattle news.

Seattlepi.com reporter Levi Pulkkinen can be reached at 206-448-8348 or
Ockham
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Re: FBI Hits Yelm Romanian RSE students for Money Laundering

Unread post by Ockham »

Did I get this correct?: Greg Simmons and the Romanians approach Doug McCrae, a winery owner, telling McCrae they want to buy the year's entire crop of grapes. Next, Simmons and the Romanians tell McCrae that they'll back out of the deal unless the owner sells the winery to the Romanians.

Does anybody think that might sound like racketeering?
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Re: FBI Hits Yelm Romanian RSE student for Money Laundering

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FBI Hits Yelm Romanians for Money Laundering
Greg Simmons RSE Yelm Connection...

"Doug McCrea, owner of the winery, told the Nisqually Valley News Wednesday he was introduced to the Nemeses by Greg Simmons, who retired from his position as director of marketing at the Ramtha School of Enlightenment (RSE) last March. McCrea also identified the Nemeses’ as former RSE students.
A message left for a representative of the Ramtha School of Enlightenment Wednesday afternoon wasn’t returned by press time."

"According to McCrea, Simmons first introduced him to the Nemeses’ sometime in the fall of 2012. The couple ultimately decided to invest in the winery."

"McCrea said sometime last September, the couple told him they weren’t pleased with where the business was going. Simmons and the Nemeses met with McCrea’s accountant, who outlined the nature of the business and pointed out when the company was likely to break even, and when it was likely to make a profit, he said. By the nature of the business, he said, there’s a large gap between when the product gets made and when it gets sold.

The couple came to McCrea in September, when the company had already committed to purchasing all of its grapes — $60,000 in grapes, McCrea said.

McCrea said he remembers the exact words Radu Nemes said to him: “Old business, no good. New business, good.”

McCrea said he and his wife asked him to explain what he meant. All Nemes said was, “You will know soon,” he said.

Simmons came to McCrea a few days later with a purchase and sales agreement; the Nemeses wanted to purchase the entire company, McCrea said. If he made a decision not to sell the company within 72 hours, the Nemeses would stop funding the company, McCrea said he was told.

He said the price the Nemeses offered to pay was about a third of the value of the company’s inventory.

He said he refused to sell the company and on Oct. 1, the Nemeses cut the company off financially. Since then, McCrea and the company have had no contact with the Nemeses or with Simmons, he said."


FBI Hits Yelm Romanians for Money Laundering

Tax Evasion at $68.9M; Winery, RSE Connected

Interpol

Radu and Diana Nemes

Radu Nemes, left, and Diana Nemes, right, were arrested by the FBI Tuesday to be extradited to Romania for charges of tax evasion and money laundering.

Posted: Wednesday, March 19, 2014 5:37 pm | Updated: 8:04 pm, Wed Mar 19, 2014.

FBI Hits Yelm Romanians for Money Laundering By Steven Wyble swyble@yelmonline.com YelmOnline.com | 1 comment

A Yelm couple accused of defrauding the Romanian government of $68.9 million was arrested by the FBI on Tuesday for extradition to Romania on charges of tax evasion.

According to documents filed in U.S. Western District Court in Tacoma (scroll below the story to read the documents in full), Radu Nemes, 39, and his wife, Diana Nemes, 38, have been charged in Romania with tax evasion stemming from a tax fraud scheme that defrauded the Romanian government of nearly $69 million. The couple was also reportedly charged with setting up an organized criminal group.

The Nemeses are also accused of laundering money, and allegedly used the funds to purchase vehicles, business interests and living expenses, and to construct a luxury home. Court documents also state they purchased a 67 percent interest in Eagleview Hill, LLC, the corporation that owns Eagleview Hill Winery in Rainier and Salida Wine Bar in Yelm.

Doug McCrea, owner of the winery, told the Nisqually Valley News Wednesday he was introduced to the Nemeses by Greg Simmons, who retired from his position as director of marketing at the Ramtha School of Enlightenment (RSE) last March. McCrea also identified the Nemeses’ as former RSE students.

A message left for a representative of the Ramtha School of Enlightenment Wednesday afternoon wasn’t returned by press time.

McCrea said Wednesday morning he had no idea of the Nemeses’ alleged criminal past when they invested in his company. The couple has not been involved in the business since October, he said.

According to court documents, a company the Nemeses controlled imported diesel fuel into Romania. The company sold approximately 990,000 tons of diesel fuel and falsely reported it as lower-grade industrial and maritime fuel at a lower tax rate, avoiding a tax liability of approximately 53 million Euros — the equivalent of about $68.9 million at current exchange rates, court documents state.

Romanian investigators discovered a large portion of the money was reportedly transferred out of Romania and laundered through accounts controlled by the Nemeses in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The Nemeses and their associates opened numerous shell companies used to “launder the excess criminal proceeds of these sales and give the false appearance that the funds represented proceeds of sales of lower grade fuel,” court documents state.

According to court documents, the Nemeses were living in Yelm on expired visas, and had several U.S. bank accounts used to transfer “the proceeds of their Romanian crimes” into the U.S. from accounts in Dubai.

The Nemeses allegedly used the funds to purchase vehicles, business interests and living expenses, and to construct a luxury home at 16545 and 16459 Vail Road SE in Yelm.

“The Nemeses and their associates have utilized multiple bank accounts and shell corporations in the United States to conceal and disguise the nature, source, location, and control of the proceeds generated by the activity that resulted in charges being filed in Romania,” court documents state.

A complaint for forfeiture filed in district court lists several Yelm properties the Nemeses owned that were allegedly tied to money laundering.

They include properties at 9144 Burnett Road SE; 16621 Deer Ridge Lane SE; and the properties where they were allegedly building a luxury home.

The property at Deer Ridge Lane was believed to be the Nemeses’ current primary residence, court records state.

According to court documents, an amended operating agreement filed March 30, 2013, added Diane Nemes as a 67 percent member of Eagleview Hill, LLC, in exchange for a capital contribution of $300,000, of which $100,000 was payable within three business days. Diana Nemes was identified as the managing member.

Between Jan. 29 and April 12, 2013, Diana Nemes wired $65,000 in U.S. funds to Eagleview Hill, LLC, court documents state.

According to court documents, Diana Nemes’ contribution to the business is “more likely than not” traceable to the transfer of funds representing the proceeds of a specified unlawful activity into the U.S. “in a manner to conceal their source and/or a transaction” involving the proceeds of the unlawful activity.

“Diana Nemes’ … (67 percent) interest in Eagleview Hill, LLC … therefore constitutes property involved in money laundering and property traceable to such property.”

According to McCrea, Simmons first introduced him to the Nemeses’ sometime in the fall of 2012. The couple ultimately decided to invest in the winery.

Diana Nemes was the only one who actually signed paperwork investing in the company, McCrea said.

Diana Nemes initially expressed she wanted to invest in the company to obtain an E-2 visa, McCrea said. Such a visa allows a non-citizen to stay in the United States predicated on their being the majority owner of a business. McCrea said he wasn’t concerned at the time about making Diana Nemes the majority owner of the business.

McCrea said sometime last September, the couple told him they weren’t pleased with where the business was going. Simmons and the Nemeses met with McCrea’s accountant, who outlined the nature of the business and pointed out when the company was likely to break even, and when it was likely to make a profit, he said. By the nature of the business, he said, there’s a large gap between when the product gets made and when it gets sold.

The couple came to McCrea in September, when the company had already committed to purchasing all of its grapes — $60,000 in grapes, McCrea said.

McCrea said he remembers the exact words Radu Nemes said to him: “Old business, no good. New business, good.”

McCrea said he and his wife asked him to explain what he meant. All Nemes said was, “You will know soon,” he said.

Simmons came to McCrea a few days later with a purchase and sales agreement; the Nemeses wanted to purchase the entire company, McCrea said. If he made a decision not to sell the company within 72 hours, the Nemeses would stop funding the company, McCrea said he was told.

He said the price the Nemeses offered to pay was about a third of the value of the company’s inventory.

He said he refused to sell the company and on Oct. 1, the Nemeses cut the company off financially. Since then, McCrea and the company have had no contact with the Nemeses or with Simmons, he said.

Diana Nemes at that point failed to provide the financial investment necessary to comply with the operating agreement, and ceased to be the majority owner of the company, McCrea said.

With the company having already committed to a $60,000 grape purchase, the Nemeses’ departure hurt the company, McCrea said.

“They have … already crippled the company by having fundamentally pulled the plug on the financing,” he said.

Even so, the company is holding on and seeking new investors, he said.

McCrea said he learned of the Nemeses’ alleged crimes in Romania a couple weeks before they were arrested, but was concerned about potentially being retaliated against if he contacted law enforcement agencies.

“I was concerned about retribution, that there could potentially be some problems there,” he said. “Who knows? I wasn’t going out looking for it, because what they did, they did. It was over. And I’m not the kind of person to go back and say ‘Oh, I’ll get ‘em.’

“I figured, OK, they will create their own destiny. And they have.”

NV News Yelm
http://www.yelmonline.com/news/local_ne ... 963f4.html
But he has nothing on at all, cried at last the whole people....
Shocked
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Re: FBI Hits Yelm Romanian RSE students for Money Laundering

Unread post by Shocked »

Since finding this site, nothing surprises me anymore, it is more disappointment and sadness, it is really interesting some of the people that are attracted to the school. I participated in that audience for so many years and never knew there was such dishonesty and no integrity of many individuals. Sad to me this is where I was trying to find enlightment. Once again nothing surprises me anymore.
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David McCarthy
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Re: FBI Hits Yelm Romanian RSE student for Money Laundering

Unread post by David McCarthy »

Sad to me this is where I was trying to find enlightment. Once again nothing surprises me anymore.
Yes Shocked..This makes me very sad also.
Making those 'Behind the Mask' videos was truly sickening and depressing. I couldn't make 3 and 4.
There were people I recognized that I still really care about, totally drunk, fearful and lost, having completely abandoned their humanity, honor and self-respect...and for what?
I shudder to think what will it take for RSE members to face the horrific truth about JZ Knight and her R$E handlers.
When are they going to realize that JZ Knight is only capable of seeing a cash machine on their forehead and a doormat across their hearts :sad:
But he has nothing on at all, cried at last the whole people....
Shocked
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Re: FBI Hits Yelm Romanian RSE students for Money Laundering

Unread post by Shocked »

I am also glad to say that I also have more integrity, self respect and honor for myself along with everyone else who has finally walked away from that cult!!! Hurray for us!!!! Maybe for others cruising this site will find that inside themselves also!!! I do believe in karma, so what goes around comes around, JZ!!!
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Re: FBI Hits Yelm Romanians for Money Laundering

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Mr McCrea told MailOnline today that Mr Simmons vouched for the couple, who were presented to him as ‘extremely wealthy’ and members of the RSE community.

Mr Simmons was then director of marketing at RSE but was retiring and taking on the role of the Nemes' business manager when he approached Mr McCrea in fall 2012 about investing in his wine business.

Mr Simmons, 68, had reportedly travelled all over the world spreading the message about the enlightenment school which has levied accusations of being a cult.
By 2008, RSE was widening its reach around the world to countries including Chile, Japan, South Africa - and Romania.
Doug McCrea almost lost his business after dealing with the Nemes - who have been arrested after being chased by Interpol from Romania for tax evasion

“Mr Crea said: 'He [Simmons] was planning to retire from Ramtha after 25 years and said this gave him something exciting to do. I took it at face value.'

According to business filings, Mr Simmons is listed as a business partner along with Diana Nemes and Li Yew Heah on Magdalena Properties LLC.
He is also listed on a company called Mt Rainier Properties LLC along with Mrs Nemes and James Capezio. “

“A spokesman for the Ramtha school issued a statement to MailOnline today saying the school 'has no information about allegations from the Romanian government or the student referenced. Mr Simmons retired from principal in March 2013 and we have no information about his private matters.'


MailOnline
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... fraud.html

MailOnline the full article
$73million tax evasion, Middle East money-laundering and a 35,000-year-old mystic warrior: How a Romanian couple 'brought a local winery to the brink of collapse after joining an alleged cult'
• Radu Nemes, 39, and his wife Diana, 38, facing extradition to Romania to face tax evasion charges over fuel fraud
• Claims that the couple funneled money into U.S. after laundering in Dubai
• Built a luxury villa and invested in pizzerias and a winery in Seattle area
• Known members of Ramtha's School of Enlightenment in Yelm
• Ramtha's run by J. Z. Knight, a 68-year-old woman who claims to channel a 35,000-year-old warrior spirit
By Louise Boyle
PUBLISHED: 13:35 GMT, 20 March 2014 | UPDATED: 17:35 GMT, 21 March 2014


A former business partner of a Romanian couple wanted by Interpol for an alleged $73million oil tax evasion said today that his dealings with the suspected fraudsters left him on the brink of losing his company.
Doug McCrea, who runs a wine business in Yelm, Washington, first came into contact with Radu Nemes, 39, and his wife Diana, 38, in the fall of 2012.
They were introduced to the vineyard owner by Greg Simmons, a 'very nice gentleman' and marketing director of a mystical spiritual organization known as the Ramtha School of Enlightenment (RSE).
Mr McCrea had known Mr Simmons as an acquaintance for several years after he attended an 'open-house' wine tasting at the vineyard.

Radu Nemes, 39, and his wife Diana, 38, are facing extradition to Romania to face charges that they dodged millions in fuel taxes. They were caught hiding out in Washington state where they had joined a spiritual group
Mr Simmons was then director of marketing at RSE but was retiring and taking on the role of the Nemes' business manager when he approached Mr McCrea in fall 2012 about investing in his wine business.
Mr Simmons, 68, had reportedly travelled all over the world spreading the message about the enlightenment school which has levied accusations of being a cult.
By 2008, RSE was widening its reach around the world to countries including Chile, Japan, South Africa - and Romania.

Doug McCrea almost lost his business after dealing with the Nemes - who have been arrested after being chased by Interpol from Romania for tax evasion
Mr McCrea told MailOnline today that Mr Simmons vouched for the couple, who were presented to him as ‘extremely wealthy’ and members of the RSE community.
The Nemes told Mr McCrea that they had made their money from a variety of business interests – including oil.
Mr MrCrea said that living in Yelm often means running into people from the ‘School’.
He said his impression is that they are people of 'impeccable integrity' and that several of his winery employees were members of the organization.
The School of Enlightenment was established in Yelms, a town of 6,000, in the late 1980s and has grown to around 2,000 followers.
The RSE was established by female leader J.Z. Knight, a business school drop-out from Roswell, New Mexico, who claims to channel messages from a 35,000-year-old warrior.
Her spiritual method claims to bring together ancient wisdom with the power of consciousness and the latest scientific discoveries.
Ms Knight, (the J.Z. stands for Judy Zebra), a 68-year-old who has three marriages under her belt, holds retreats for her followers on private land attached to her French chateau-style mansion.


A promotional poster from J.Z. Knight who founded the Ramtha School of Enlightenment in 1988 in Yelm, Washington

The Ramtha method uses ancient wisdom and scientific developments, according to its followers
In 2007, her business filed profits of $2.6million from retreats, books, CDs and DVD sales.
The Nemes, who arrived in the U.S. in 2012 after reportedly fleeing their native Romania following charges of tax evasion, settled in the quiet town, far out west. It is then that they became members of the school of enlightenment.
They have two sons, aged eight and nine, and local sources have claimed that Mrs Nemes is pregnant again.

Mr McCrea told MailOnline that despite being informed of the couple’s abundant wealth, they were quiet and unassuming.
He said occasionally the couple came for a glass of wine at his bar but kept to themselves. He described Mrs Nemes as a 'petite blonde' who came across as a very nice person.
The wine-maker said: 'I take people at face value whether they are from Romania or Nicaragua. They expressed an interest in investing in the winery and said it seemed like an exciting thing to do.'
Mr McCrea, who was looking to grow his business Eagleview Hill, LLC, agreed to a partnership with the couple.

Ramtha's School of Enlightenment, established in 1988, is an 'academy of the mind' based in Yelm, Washington

Ramtha is run by J.Z. Knight (pictured) who claims to channel a 35,000-year-old warrior spirit
At no point, did he have any awareness of their criminal past and is not aware if Mr Simmons knew of the couple's previous shady dealings.
A business plan was drawn up with lawyers and an operating agreement put in place by March 2013.
The investment was large enough to make Mrs Nemes a majority stakeholder, a strategy which the couple claimed was essential to obtain her an E-2 visa - which allows a non-citizen to stay in the U.S. if they are a majority owner of a business.
Mr Nemes did not sign the business agreement.
Mr McCrea said at this point the couple stipulated that Mr Simmons would come on board as the business manager of the winery.
Mr Crea said: 'He [Simmons] was planning to retire from Ramtha after 25 years and said this gave him something exciting to do. I took it at face value.'
According to business filings, Mr Simmons is listed as a business partner along with Diana Nemes and Li Yew Heah on Magdalena Properties LLC. He is also listed on a company called Mt Rainier Properties LLC along with Mrs Nemes and James Capezio.
Court documents show that the Nemes bought a home in Thurston County, and were allegedly in the process of building a lavish property on the grounds with the illegal funds, according to investigators.
They also owned a a restaurant and a large commercial property in Yelm.
By October 2013, the cracks were beginning to show in the wine business partnership.
The Nemes met with Mr MCrea to tell him that they didn't believe that the business was going well - despite the company's accountant confirming that the winery was on track to meet its projections for turning a profit.
Mr MrCrea said: 'They basically said that the business was not what they wanted to do.'
A few days later, Mr Simmons showed up with a purchase-and-sale agreement from the Nemes wanting to buy Mr McCrea’s whole company - at about a third of the value of the company's inventory.

One of Ramtha's School of Enlightenment retreats which encourages followers to 'become a remarkable life'

A Romanian couple accused in a plot to dodge $73 million in oil taxes in Romania were arrested this week while living in Yelm in rural Washington state
He was told if he decided to sell within 72 hours, the couple would not stop funding the winery.
Mr McCrea refused to sell the business which he started in 2006 – and abruptly the Nemes' funds stopped.
Mr McCrea told MailOnline today that he has not heard from the couple, or business manager Mr Simmons since October.
Mr McCrea believes that Mr Simmons is still in Yelm as he has seen his car around town.
The first Mr McCrea heard of the Nemes' shady past was when authorities came to his home this week.
Radu Nemes, 39, and his wife Diana, 38, were arrested by the FBI on Tuesday and are facing extradition to Romania to face charges that they colluded with a high-ranking official to dodge millions in fuel taxes.
According to filings, Radu Nemes allegedly worked as part of a criminal gang to illegally import 1million tons of diesel fuel and sell it in Romania through shell companies between 2011 and 2012.
The shell companies were set up in names of homeless people to distance the Nemes from the fraud.
The massive tax dodge came by importing the fuel for manufacturing purposes then selling it directly to consumers.
Diana Nemes allegedly helped her husband by laundering money from the fuel scheme through Dubai accounts and then bringing it into the U.S.
At least 20 others have been charged in the massive tax dodge, according to Romanian investigators including a senior official at the national customs office.
The Nemes, who remain in jail, are due to appear in court today.
Several calls to numbers for Mr Simmons went unanswered today. He has not been charged with any crimes.
Although Mr McCrea said that although the whole experience was, and remains, extremely stressful, he has been left with an overarching sense of sadness, particularly because the Nemes have two young sons.
He added: 'They have created it, now they have to live it.'
He said that although the wine business is a 'little tough' at the moment, he remains optimistic.
'We are realigning our priorities, we have to slow it down. But we can go forward,' he said.
A spokesman for the Ramtha school issued a statement to MailOnline today saying the school 'has no information about allegations from the Romanian government or the student referenced. Mr Simmons retired from principal in March 2013 and we have no information about his private matters.'
ANCIENT WISDOM FROM A NEW MEXICO BUSINESS SCHOOL DROPOUT: THE MULTIMILLION-DOLLAR RAMTHA'S SCHOOL OF ENLIGHTENMENT
Ramtha's School of Enlightenment, which claims roots in the teachings of a 35,000-year-old warrior from a mystical land, was founded 26 years ago by a business school drop-out from Roswell, New Mexico.
JZ Knight (born Judith Darlene Hampton in 1946) is the spiritual school's 'high priestess' after she claims that she was visited in 1977 by an entity named Ramtha, an ancient warrior who channels his teachings through her.

Followers participating in an event at Ramtha's School of Enlightenment
Ramtha, the 'Enlightened One', marries ancient wisdom with neuroscience and quantum physics to allow followers to access their own 'direct channel' with God.
Between 1979 and 1988, Knight traveled the U.S. having private 'dialogues' with students.
In 1988, Ramtha's School of Enlightenment was founded on former ranch land in Yelm, a small city in rural Washington state.
It is an 'academy of the mind that offers retreats and workshops to people of all ages and cultures', according to its official website
By 1995, Ramtha's school had an international reputation. J.Z. Knight was touring Australia, Italy, Japan and South Africa to spread her message of how students can use their brain power to 'Become a Remarkable Life'.
The school has a 80-acre fenced compound, not open to the public, which is the site of retreats for students and staff.
The 68-year-old religious guru's company, JZK Inc. posted profits of $2.6million in 2007 from these courses along with books, tapes and DVDs.
In 2008, Ramtha's School of Enlightenment spread to 20 more countries including the Czech Republic, Romania and Chile.
Ramtha's claims that more than 100,000 people globally have attended their spiritual events.
MailOnline
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... fraud.html
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delavie
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Re: FBI Hits Yelm Romanian RSE students for Money Laundering

Unread post by delavie »

Diana Nemes… One of the "6 ladies" who attented the private audience with "Ramtha" during december 2011 ?
reference => http://www.rse-newsletter.com/2011/12/s ... of-giving/
Ockham
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Re: FBI Hits Yelm Romanian RSE students for Money Launderin

Unread post by Ockham »

I feel sad for the people who were defrauded. The funny thing is that even though Simmons supposedly is no longer part of the RSE gang, RSE and JZ Knight in particular are still getting credit for Simmons' alleged mess with the Romanians. To the outside world, apart from Ms. Knight, Simmons is the face of RSE. Whether or not Knight and/or RSE had anything to do with the mess, they are receiving a stick in the eye from the press. Such karma! There probably isn't enough botox to smooth the frown lines Ms. Knight will be getting from this incident.
FreeNow
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Re: FBI Hits Yelm Romanian RSE students for Money Laundering

Unread post by FreeNow »

This looks like a complete set up. IMHO they marked the winery owner and planned the whole thing.
Keep the greater good at heart.
Ockham
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Re: FBI Hits Yelm Romanian RSE students for Money Laundering

Unread post by Ockham »

Yeah, I've been wondering how complicit Simmons may have been in the Romanian affair. I'm figuring the Romanians calculated carefully when they decided to go on the lam in the United States and carefully chose RSE as a target rich environment where they might find people with money and who were open to manimpuilation. It would be poetic justice if Simmons, who appears to have been flimflamming customers for decades, found himself being played for a sap by the Romanians.

It also would not surprise me if the scenario were the other way: Simmons quickly recognized the Romanians as masterful con artists when the Romanians showed up at RSE - then Simmons asked the Romanians to help him take the winery away from Doug McCrae.

I found Simmons' Physics of Change newsletter on line, and in the January 22, 2013 issue Simmons writes about being involved in the winery. The Daily Mail article talks about Simmons being involved with the winery by 2012 - at that time, Simmons was still in the active employ of RSE. I feel it is a reasonable open question of how much RSE and Judy Knight could have been party to the Romanians' schemes.
Ockham
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Re: FBI Hits Yelm Romanian RSE students for Money Laundering

Unread post by Ockham »

On Greg Simmons' blog, Simmons says he's a partner in the Salida winery. That sounds like more than a business manager to me. So, it would appear that that Simmons was working hand in hand with the Romanians in racketeering operation to destroy the winery business.

Simmons and the Romainians apparently committed to buying all of McCrae's product, waited until it was too late to sell the inventory anywhere else and backed out of the deal, then apparently attempted to extort McCrae to sell the business becuase it wasn't turning a profilt. It is kind of impossible to turn a profit, when it has been made impossible to the inventory! That sounds like racketeering.

Nice stuff they appear to teach at RSE! I guess the RSE definitions of, "wonderful life," and "impeccable," are fairly different from mine.

http://www.physicsofchange.com/newsletter.html (January 22, 2013)
Welcome to the Future!

One of the fabulous manifestations from last summer was getting involved in a local winery – Salida Wines – http://www.salidawine.com. I am now a partner and having to sample lots of barrels just to make sure its good.

The winemaker, Doug McCrea, has been making wines for twenty-five years. He is a pioneer in making Washington wines as Spanish varietals from the famous regions of Teofilo Reyes (the King who loves God) and Galicia, the area of the Ramtha Campaign in Spain. A few years back, he was invited to share his wines with Ramtha in a private wine tasting.

We are opening a fabulous wine bar in Yelm, across the courtyard from Casa Mia in the Yelm Library building. Our opening is the weekend of April 19 – 21. We will be featuring our Salida Wines and serving appetizers. The bar has two sections: bistro seating in the bar area and a separate room with soft chairs and tables for more intimate conversation.

Each month, the winery does promotional events to feature the wines. On March 28, the wines will be paired with food at the renowned Dockside Bistro in Olympia. The restaurant’s capacity is 40. If you are interested in a memorable night in the spring of 2013, please make your reservations today - http://www.docksidebistro.com/
Ockham
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Re: FBI Hits Yelm Romanian RSE students for Money Laundering

Unread post by Ockham »

But wait, there's more!

Story updated: the Romainians had a massive underground bunder stocked with guns and a high power rifle, and months or years of food. I guess they learned that part of the RSE teaching pretty well.

http://www.yelmonline.com/news/local_ne ... 963f4.html
Jeff Adams
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Re: FBI Hits Yelm Romanian RSE students for Money Laundering

Unread post by Jeff Adams »

This aired on Seattle's KING 5 and KIRO 7 on each evening's news program on Thursday, April 17, 2014: http://www.kirotv.com/news/news/couple- ... ker/nfcZy/

Here's the Canadian news update from Thursday, April 17, 2014: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... -cult.html

Here's the Nisqually Valley News update on Friday, April 18, 2014: http://www.yelmonline.com/news/local_ne ... 8.facebook
FreeNow
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Re: FBI Hits Yelm Romanian RSE students for Money Laundering

Unread post by FreeNow »

LOL! Oh what a web they weave when they practice to deceive. And now they may have snared themselves! Wow
Greg what have YOU created for YOURSELF?!?!!!

HA!HA!HA!
Keep the greater good at heart.
Ockham
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Re: FBI Hits Yelm Romanian RSE students for Money Laundering

Unread post by Ockham »

I can imagine that a lot of RSE members are feeling pretty nervous these days - given that living a life of scamming each other seems to be part and parcel of the RSE life style, and the feds are poking their noses into lots of places in Yelm these days.

I can picture the rumor mill / conspiracy theory machine kicking into high gear - the Romanian extradition is a false flag operation of the US federal government. The extradition is an excuse for the feds to shut down RSE. If I am not mistaken, Judy Knight has long claimed that the feeds want to shit down RSE. No doubt, the alien lizard people that secretly control the US government are behind it. :-)
Shocked
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Re: FBI Hits Yelm Romanian RSE students for Money Laundering

Unread post by Shocked »

Who knows, but maybe this is a perfect way for her to exit her scamming, the feds close down the school and she takes all of her money and exits the country and blames others for the closing of the school, could be her chance to get away. I hope not!!!!
FreeNow
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Re: FBI Hits Yelm Romanian RSE students for Money Laundering

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Yeah, from France but no worries she will still charge for streaming the old videos. Students gotta still pay, pay, pay....
Keep the greater good at heart.
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David McCarthy
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Re: FBI Hits Yelm Romanian RSE students for Money Laundering

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Federal prosecutors move to sell designer clothes, cars, gold stash seized from Yelm compound
Feds to bunker builders: We'll take your gold
BY LEVI PULKKINEN, SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF
Published 10:01 pm, Monday, August 18, 2014
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/ ... to-6175716

Snakeskin coats. Silver goblets. A dozen guns.
Oh, and the gold.
All that was among the haul taken by federal investigators earlier this year from a Yelm couple since extradited to face fraud charges in Romania.
Having returned Radu and Diana Nemes to their native Romania – where they’re accused of duping the government out of $68 million in taxes – federal prosecutors in Seattle have asked that the spoils of the investigation be forfeited to the U.S. government. Among those items are hundreds of gold coins, a small portion of which are known to weigh more than 7 pounds and are valued at more than $140,000.
Federal investigators scoured several properties belonging to the Nemes in March after it was discovered the fugitives were living richly in Yelm. They are accused of conspiring with high-ranking officials in the Romanian government in the profitable tax dodge.

Investigators claim Radu and Diana Nemes, 38, used laundered money to pay for a $3 million log home while running shell businesses in Washington. Neither was charged in the United States, and both have since been extradited to Romania.
The couple left hundreds of gold and silver coins on their 53-acre Yelm property, which included an underground bunker. Ground-penetrating radar was brought in as agents looked for gold thought to have been buried there.
Among the items seized during the search was a single gold coin stamped with the words "Ramtha Gold Wisdom." Investigators contended the Nemes were involved in a fringe religious group based in Yelm whose founder contends she channels the spirit of "Ramtha."

The following are some of the more interesting bits that may be headed for the auction block:
113 1-ounce gold coins, and 400 more of unspecified weights.
$89,000 seized from various bank accounts.
Seven vehicles, including a 2010 Land Rover and 2003 Mercedes-Benz S600.
21 boxes of silver coins, in addition to 256 silver coins of unknown weight, 25 1-ounce dollar coins, 50 silver medallions and assorted other silver coins.
Designer clothing, including child size Gucci pants.
31 leather jackets, including a man's Versace suede coat in teal and a woman's coat made of mink fur and snake skin.
43 pairs of shoes and boots, including a pair of crocodile cowboy boots.
26 designer purses and handbags.
115 watches and items of jewelry.
12 firearms, including an AR-15-style rifle and a magazine-fed .22 cal. rifle.
Six televisions and 10 iPads.
Statues of Mickey and Minnie Mouse cut from Swarovski crystal.
Two silver goblets, shaped as horseheads.

Working with Romanian authorizes, the FBI’s Seattle division began investigating the Nemes in 2012.
Anti-corruption officials in Romania contend they cheated the government out of $68 million in taxes due on nearly 1 million tons of diesel fuel. The couple is alleged to have conspired with Romanian finance officials to perpetrate the fraud.
Investigators contend the Nemes laundered the proceeds of the scheme through banks in Dubai and the United States before fleeing Romania. They previously created several businesses in Western Washington, purportedly to aid in money laundering.
The Nemes are alleged to have spent millions in laundered money on construction equipment, gold and real estate, as well as at least one yacht. Writing the court, Diana Nemes' attorney described the purported scheme as a legitimate tax dispute and claimed the money at issue was earned legally.
In a search warrant affidavit, though, a Seattle-based FBI special agent said the couple’s finances are “permeated with fraudulent money laundering activity and have been funded primarily, if not exclusively, with the proceeds of their Romanian tax evasion scheme.”

FBI agents in the United States identified several bank accounts apparently controlled by the Nemes, and learned Radu Nemes and a friend frequently traveled with large amounts of cash.
Writing the court, the FBI agent said the Nemes have been traveling the United States, flying first class and staying at luxury hotels. In just more than a year, they spent more than $235,000 at designer boutiques and withdrew hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash.

Bank records showed Radu Nemes spent more than $1 million at a Federal Way-based precious metals dealer, buying gold bullion. Investigators believe he bought additional gold from several other coin sellers.
The Nemes appear to have moved their yacht – the Ramaya – to the Americas from the Mediterranean in late 2012. The 70-foot Azimut yacht was sold months later for $2.3 million. According to search warrant affidavits, the Nemes are suspected of paying $2.8 million in laundered money to the construction firm building a log house on the Yelm property.
Agents searching the Nemes’ properties seized most of their valuables, including 21 boxes packed with silver coins, more than a dozen cell phones, seven vehicles and a riding lawnmower. Also seized was a large quantity of building materials, including a collection of solar panels apparently for use on the log house.

Federal prosecutors are now seeking a court order that would allow the U.S. Marshals Service to auction off the seized items.
Prosecutors contend all of the items were bought with laundered money from the tax cheat. Attorneys for the Nemes may fight the lawsuit, which was filed Friday in U.S. District Court at Seattle.

But he has nothing on at all, cried at last the whole people....
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David McCarthy
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Re: FBI Hits Yelm Romanian RSE students for Money Laundering

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Nemes Forfeitures Hit Yelm - Nisqually Valley News: Home
http://www.yelmonline.com/article_6adac ... 963f4.html


$68 Million: Romanian Nationals Caught in Tax Scheme; Arrests Impact Salida Winery, Burnett Center
Greg Simmons, who was the business manager with Diana Nemes when she invested in Eagleview Hill LLC, opens a bottle of wine at Salida, the company’s wine bar in Yelm. The winery is one of the properties facing forfeiture.
Posted: Friday, August 29, 2014 8:01 am | Updated: 8:15 am, Fri Aug 29, 2014.
Nemes Forfeitures Hit Yelm By Steven Wyble swyble@yelmonline.com
Earlier this year, Radu and Diana Nemes, Romanian nationals living in Yelm, were arrested over charges of stealing $68 million in taxes from the Romanian government.
Now, the federal government has its sights set on assets it says the Nemeses’ bought with the proceeds of the alleged overseas tax scheme. But local residents have come forward, filing claims to property the federal government seeks to forfeit.
Doug and Kim McCrea, owners of Eagleview Hill LLC, the local Salida winery, have filed a claim stating their interest in the company, which Diana Nemes invested in at one time. They argue in court documents that Nemes failed to meet her obligation to the company and had a much smaller stake than the federal government claims.
James Capezio is attempting to counter-sue the federal government over its attempt to forfeit a business complex on Burnett Road in Yelm, arguing the government’s seizure of funds used to maintain the property is crippling business.
Gregory Simmons has claimed ownership of property on Lake Cushman in Shelton.
And Diana Nemes herself is fighting what she characterizes in court documents as unlawful attempts to forfeit her property.
A hearing on Nemes’ motion to dismiss the forfeiture proceedings is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Sept. 4 in U.S. District Court in Tacoma.

Diana Nemes
Diana Nemes seeks to dismiss the complaint, arguing in court documents the government failed to allege an offense covered by a multilateral treaty, thus failing to state a valid forfeiture claim. The government improperly cited a bilateral treaty in its initial complaint, Nemes states in court documents. The government writes that Nemes’ alleged crimes in the United States — setting up and supporting an organized criminal group — are subject to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.
Nemes argues in court documents the treaty does not apply because an organized criminal group did not exist outside of the alleged tax scheme.
Nemes also alleges the government has exaggerated the scope of the Nemeses’ alleged crimes. She cites as an example the government’s claim the couple and their co-conspirators illicitly sold about 90,000 tons of diesel fuel over a one-year period.
“That is hardly even possible,” Nemes states in court documents, writing that a typical diesel fuel tanker holds between 5,500 and 11,600 gallons of diesel, with one 5,500 gallon tanker holding approximately 19.5 tons of fuel.
“The number of truckloads needed to carry 990,000 tons of diesel thus would be over 50,000. To reach that volume in one year would require 140 truckloads per day, every day of the year. That is impossible, and it is flatly contradicted by information the Romanians themselves alleged elsewhere in their extradition request.”
The government’s position is lawless, Nemes claims.
“The rhetorical thrust of its argument is the Nemeses are bad people and so the government deserves to take Diana Nemes’ property, regardless of the law,” Nemes’ lawyer wrote. “It asks this Court to bend the rules of pleading, and to adopt expansive interpretations of statutes and international treaties, in order to facilitate the taking. This ‘end justifies the means’ approach should not be condoned, not least because it ignores the rule of law that the government is supposed to be protecting and proliferating in countries such as Romania.”
Doug and Kim McCrea
The McCreas argue in court documents that Diana Nemes defaulted on her investment in Eagleview Hill, LLC, by failing to invest the full amount agreed on — $300,000 — to obtain a two-thirds interest in the company. Nemes only invested $130,000 and as a result, Nemes’ interest in the company is less than 33 percent, not the 67 percent claimed by the government, according to the McCreas.
The company also claims an interest in wine inventory and sales revenue from the sale of bottled wine.
“As a result of the promised investment of Diana Nemes into the Company and the business plan promoted by Diana Nemes and her business manager, Greg Simmons, the Company made significantly larger purchases from grape growers in 2013 resulting in the production of substantially more bulk wine than the Company could otherwise promise to purchase,” the McCreas state in court documents.
Because of Nemes’ default, the company does not have sufficient money to pay $60,000 it owes grape growers, who now have a lien on the work progress and accounts receivables and products of the company, according to court documents.

James Capezio
James Capezio, both individually and on behalf of the company Mt. Rainier Properties, LLC, denies the property at 9144 Burnett Road SE in Yelm is subject to forfeiture and seeks dismissal of the forfeiture complaint and the release of money seized by the government, and the forfeiture of interests claimed by people other than Capezio, including Simmons, Li Yew Heah, Diana Nemes and Magdalena Properties, LLC.
The property is a “small commercial office complex and the sole asset of Mt. Rainier Properties LLC,” court documents state.
Capezio denied in court documents that Mt. Rainier Properties is a shell corporation, as alleged by the government. The members of the company are Capezio and a company called Magdalena Properties, which is owned by Simmons and Heah, according to court documents.
The Burnett Road property was purchased in 2013 for $728,000, according to court documents.
Capezio argues the Burnett Road property is “perishable or at risk of deterioration, decay, or injury” because the government has failed to release seized funds to ensure its maintenance and operation, court documents state. Capezio also argues in court documents forfeiture of the property would be “disproportionate to the offense” violating the excessive fines clause of the Eighth Amendment.
Capezio also argues that Magdalena Properties has defaulted on its operating agreement with Mt. Rainier Properties, including by failing to provide funds agreed to under the operating agreement and failing to renew its registration as an LLC, according to court documents.
U.S. Attorneys sought to dismiss Capezio’s counterclaims, stating in court documents Capezio’s counterclaim “lacks merit, because all the United States did with respect to the civil forfeiture action was to give notice of its forfeiture action against the real property.
“The property was not seized and Mr. Capezio continues to exercise full control over it, pending resolution of the forfeiture action or an interlocutory sale of the property while that action is still pending,” according to court documents.
The government has not seized the business, Mt. Rainier Properties, or its bank accounts, and Capezio has the opportunity to protect his interest in the property without interference by the government, U.S. Attorneys argue.
“Capezio is essentially attacking the seizure by the United States of funds held by or on behalf of a separate entity, Magdalena Properties, LLC, an entity in which neither Mr. Capezio nor Mt. Rainier Properties has an ownership interest,” they state. “Therefore, Claimant James Capezio, individually, and on behalf of Mt. Rainier Properties, LLC lacks standing to contest the forfeiture of the Magdalena funds. At most he is a potential creditor of Magdalena Properties based on claims of breach of contract, claims expressly asserted by Capezio and Mt. Rainier in their answer as cross claims against claimants Diana Nemes and Gregory Simmons.”

The government also argues that because the case is an “in rem” action, the property is the defendant, and Capezio and Mt. Rainier Properties are claimants, not defendants, and therefore cannot assert a counterclaim under federal rules.
They further argue the United States as a plaintiff is “protected from suit by the doctrine of sovereign immunity, which only permits such legal actions against the United States for which the government consents to be sued. The United States has not consented to be sued, and there is no exception to sovereign immunity based on the government’s initiation of a civil forfeiture action or based on claims of tortious interference with contractual rights, the gravamen of the counterclaim of Capezio and Mt. Rainier Properties, LLC.”
According to the government, an exception to the Federal Tort Claims Act waiver of sovereign immunity “expressly bars any claim against the United States for ‘interference with contract rights.’”

Greg Simmons
Greg Simmons claims in court documents he is the owner of the properties located at 320 and 340 North Cushman Ridge Drive in Shelton.
Simmons also claims to be the owner of the property on Burnett Road. According to court documents filed by Simmons, Mt. Rainier Properties is listed as the owner. Simmons claims in court documents he is a 5 percent owner in the company.

Nemes Forfeitures Hit Yelm - Nisqually Valley News: Home
http://www.yelmonline.com/article_6adac ... 963f4.html
But he has nothing on at all, cried at last the whole people....
Ockham
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Re: FBI Hits Yelm Romanian RSE students for Money Laundering

Unread post by Ockham »

What a sad bckfire of Simmons' apparent attempt at hostile takeover of the McCrea's Salida winery. It would appear that Simmons had worked to gain the friendship of the Nemes through the Ramtha infrastructure so that Simmoins could exert influence over the Nemes and use the Nemes' wealth to take a controlling interest in Salida. I theorize that once Simon's had a majority financial interest in Salida via the Nemes, it appears that Simmons was planning to force the McCreas out of Salida so that Simmons could take over Salida as his personal hobby.

What do you want to bet that shortly Salida would have become the Ramtha approved exclusive supplier of RSE's allegedly drunken blow-out wine ceremonies? How convenient would that have been?

It appears that Simmons believed the Ramtha guff a little too much and believed that he, the shell company, and the Nemes were exempt and free to operate above the federal law of the land. In this case, it appears that everybody has lost, most unfortunately the McCreas, who appear not to have realized the scheme that Simmons may have been up to.

So much for impecability.
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David McCarthy
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Re: FBI Hits Yelm Romanian RSE students for Money Laundering

Unread post by David McCarthy »

most unfortunately the McCreas, who appear not to have realized the scheme that Simmons may have been up to.
I agree....the McCreas wouldn't have seen through Simmons silver tongue,
Simmons and Nemes have crippled their winery company. :sad:
But he has nothing on at all, cried at last the whole people....
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