Some of the most important reporting in recent years is that of Daphne Galizia. So important and groundbreaking was her reporting on money laundering, bank secrecy etc. that she was assassinated as a result. Lambert Worldwide in the US along with the Thomson Atkins firm in the UK both worked to get articles pulled. Little is available about Lambert Worldwide… for now, but any law firm that makes a habit of intimidating reporters obviously makes me list.
As for the Anirban Haldar reporting on the Houston story, not only will it not be pulled but since Lambert complained about a “lack of context” a document dump will ensue this month. I’ve only released a small percentage of the info I’ve gathered since 2019 on this gang of alleged and accused fraudsters, but something about being pushed around makes me want to move up the date of that activity. Read the original story that caused the controversy here (and don’t forget to share far and wide, the fact that they are burning money on lawyers to shut me up means I am on to something, so like a dog with a bone, won’t be letting go any time soon).
I have tried to no avail to get statements from the alleged conspirators in fraud in the story that Lambert Worldwide has asked me to remove. I will not refuse said story without proof that my sources (named and unnamed) are all lying and that the pages and pages of documents I have are somehow falsified despite being obtained through public, often government sources and platforms like PACER. It is unfortunate perhaps to the parties involved that their name is associated with their past acts, but I am but the messenger and as the old saying goes: don’t shoot the messenger.
I am more than willing to speak with anyone from Lambert or any other agent of Anirban, Lucky and the rest of the alleged co-conspirators. I have much more evidence that is yet to be revealed and a fraud inspector is working on an analysis of the highly irregular activity involving the group’s connection to a verified check-kiting scheme and Plains Capital Bank. Lambert Worldwide assured me there is more context to the story, I am sure of that. This is why I attempted multiple times to contact Lucky, Gwen, Anirban, Alvar and others involved. None wanted to share their side of the story, and I still have hours of on the record testimony yet to be published regarding this whole affair.
Please do respond to my email in regards to your request to pull my reporting. I am very proud of this story and stand by the facts presented within. I am aware of Lambert’s history of SLAPP suits related to various news outlets in Malta, so I am aware you have experience attempting to exercise a chilling effect on the media but I do not think this will turn out exactly as you had planned. I would also hereby like a comment from anyone at Lambert, Ben Lambert or any of his subsidiaries, 50% of whom would recommend working there according to GlassDoor, regarding the allegations of SLAPP suits against Maltese reporters in defense of powerful interests.
Hope you enjoy the Tom Petty cover!
Now for everyone who isn’t an alleged ponzi ring member or law firm supporting such:
You guys like the song, “Don’t back down?” Well, if you can get through the few minutes of me explaining how silly it is that this law firm that has threatened multiple Maltese outlets with SLAPP suits to intimidate reporters is trying to intimidate me you can hear my rendition. It’s, of course dedicated to Lambert Worldwide. They said I don’t have enough context in my story. I offered to speak with them further but they want it off the record, told them I couldn’t promise that. I will however start publishing some public domain documents in the interim that support my reporting since they feel that more context is needed. to read the story a Houston ponzi ring and their law firm don’t want you to see, click the link. Please share far and wide, don’t let them keep the truth hid so they can continue to potentially accrue more victims. We found that they were still recruiting marks as recently as 2020 and I’ve heard since then that the hunt for new rubes to feed the ponzi scheme continue to this day. https://philfairbanks.com/2021/04/20/a-houston-racketeering-ring-of-mini-madoffs-has-been-extorting-victims-out-of-their-life-savings-for-decades-the-syndicate-is-also-linked-to-a-tragic-2016-murder-suicide-involving-t/
I spent months talking to victims of a Texas ponzi and real estate fraud ring before sharing my notes and numbers with journalist Alissa Fleck. For backstory make sure to check out Crimescoop.org’s coverage. Part II will be coming soon. Dozens of people lost everything, some, even their lives. Today we will be focusing on Jessica’s story.
Jessica was married to one of the members of the con ring. It wasn’t until she found herself living in Costa Rica that some issues began to arise that were too big to ignore. We will hear her harrowing experience and courageous escape. She has spent years keeping in contact with some of the others who were hurt by this callous gang and has repeatedly done what she can to get this story of multimillion dollar fraud, a mini-Madoff ring that preyed not on the fabulously wealthy but on people from all walks of life.
I spent several months tracking down victims of a far ranging ponzi ring that spent decades swindling numerous innocent people. Like a Mini-Madoff in Houston and Marlin, the story is tragic and heartbreaking and I’m so proud to share a byline with investigative reporter and true crime podcaster, Alissa Fleck on this. She did an astounding job of taking the interviews and some of my notes and tracking down more info to really flesh out this story.
So proud to finally see this go live. Hopefully having their story told is the first step to closure and peace for some people who lost everything, including family members in a few instances. The article below is just part one of a series, here’s hoping that law enforcement and other investigative reporters pick up some of the breadcrumbs we’ve left them…
Check out the first few paragraphs below and you can read the rest at Alissa’s site Crimescoop:
PART I: MURDER AND FRAUD IN TEXAS
Lakshimanarayan “Lucky” Srinivasan, Jeremy Raju Srinivasan, Gwendolyn “Gwen” Stone Stallworth-Sumrall, Alvar Chari, Anirban Haldar and their many co-conspirators, have conned individuals, families, businesses and other organizations out of multiple millions of dollars in cash and assets over the past several decades, leaving many of their victims destitute and their lives ripped apart. The racketeering ring has used a combination of check-kiting, reverse Ponzi and other fraudulent investment schemes to extort money from their hard-working victims, court records show. In 2016, under mounting financial pressure caused by his and his co-conspirators’ volitional fraudulent entanglements, Jeremy murdered his wife and two young children before fatally turning the gun on himself. Lucky, Gwen and the others continue to actively seek new investors to swindle.
*Some names in this story have been changed where requested to protect victims’ identities. Their names are asterisked.
LUCKY SRINIVASAN, NATALIE ALTIER-SRINIVASAN, MJ SRINIVASAN, JEREMY SRINIVASAN (SOURCE: FACEBOOK)
Exactly five years ago today, on the morning of April 19, 2016, at 8:30 a.m., Jeremy Raju Srinivasan, 37, sent his father Lakshimanarayan “Lucky” Srinivasan a final text message: “Everything is not OK. Please call police. Goodbye.” What came next was a tragedy that would rock their quiet Houston, Texas suburb, leaving in its wake a trail of devastation and unanswered questions.
Within 15 minutes of sending that text message, Jeremy, his wife Natalie Altier Srinivasan, 35, and their two children, 5-year-old Sienna and 2-year-old Michael James (“MJ”), would be found dead by police inside their Katy, Texas home. One of the detectives who processed the scene, Detective Daniel Calvillo of the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Department, told family members that Natalie was found in bed with a single bullet wound to the head. Jeremy had killed his wife, then shot each kid twice in the head where they lay asleep in bed, before turning the gun on himself.
Phil Fairbanks: portfolio 