It’s rare to hear conmen in action, but today, you have that opportunity. On July 2nd, I conducted a telephone interview with Sam Zumbe and Jean-Philippe Grange, two individuals who are attempting to deceive victims with a fraudulent “5% per month” investment scheme. The scam is operated by a London-based company, CWM, through a shell company registered in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), with funds being funneled into a Cayman Islands bank. In the accompanying image, Grange is on the left, and Zumbe is on the right.
Using a combination of bluster (Zumbe) and charm (Grange), they try to persuade me that their Delaware-domiciled paper entity, Newport Enterprises Group LLC, is licensed as a bank by “the Pentagon” and “the US Treasury”, on whose behalf it conducts “special operations” that I couldn’t possibly comprehend because it’s all hush-hush and way above my pay grade.
Zumbe repeatedly implied that he was an operative for the CIA and/or FBI. “I don’t think you know who we are yet,” he said, adding that I would be “crushed by the FBI” and was “making a big mistake” that “could easily lead to a custodial sentence”. “I won’t use the three-letter abbreviation,” he added. “If you haven’t worked out who we are yet, then you’re a bigger fool than I thought you were.” He threatened that: “We’re going to pass your details on to our colleagues at the FBI.”
When Zumbe realized his particular brand of BS was falling on deaf-ears, he became increasingly agitated, telling me that: “We’re not scum bags that you usually talk to, ok. We’re professionals operating at the top level with the American secret services. Now either you get a life or you’re going to get crushed. You’re in the way, ok. Do you watch Hollywood? It’s a bit like the movies, my friend, ok. So either you take my advice or you’re going to get crushed. Simple … you’re nothing … you’re just a nosey parker with no intelligence, no technical knowledge. You don’t know what you’re dealing with.”
After more than half-an-hour of conversation, Zumbe finally twigged that I might be recording the call and abruptly hung up.
If you have 36 minutes and 44 seconds to spare, I recommend listening to the recording, as it offers both entertainment and valuable insight into the mindset of fraudsters. However, if you’re short on time, you can fast-forward to the 27-minute and 20-second mark to catch the final nine minutes, where Zumbe makes some of his most outrageous claims, threats, and insults.
For U.S. law enforcement seeking more details about these individuals, including their contact information, feel free to reach out, and I’ll provide you with all the information you need.
