Firm illegally selling dinars in state, official says

By The Associated Press

The state securities commissioner said Thursday a Massachusetts company has been selling Iraqi money, over the Internet, without a proper license to Arkansas investors.

Commissioner A. Heath Abshure ordered Dartmouth Capital LLC of Boston to explain its currency exchanges that he said the company conducted over www.safedinar.com, although Dartmouth was not licensed to exchange money in Arkansas.

Abshure gave Dartmouth 30 days to explain why he should not ban the company from doing business in the state. The Arkansas Securities Department also set a Nov. 4 hearing on the matter.

In his order, Abshure said that Dartmouth has been selling Iraqi dinars over the Web site and that an unnamed pastor of an El Dorado church has been encouraging Arkansans to make the purchases.

A spokesman for Dartmouth did not immediately return messages left at a company office Thursday evening and with a person who answered the phone number listed on the safedinar Web site.

"With the current market volatility and unprecedented turmoil on Wall Street, the Department is concerned that scam artists are using the public's fears to sell fraudulent investments with promises of high returns and no risk," a securities department news release said.

Shannon Underwood, an attorney for the department, warned in the release that foreign currency trading was highly speculative and investors should be wary of any promises of quick profits.

Underwood said the investigation was continuing. The commissioner can levy a maximum penalty against Dartmouth of $1,000 for each day of illegal operation in Arkansas, plus department costs.