Villalobos Fall-Out
This month marks the third anniversary of the collapse of The Brothers, a dubious investment 'opportunity' with carefully guarded roots that was operated by three Villalobos-Camacho brothers; Enrique, Osvaldo and Freddy.

While Enrique, the oldest, and the middle brother Osvaldo were locally involved in this endeavour in Costa Rica, Young Freddy, the Benjamin of this bunch, was located in southern Florida, Coral Gables, to be exact, where he managed to make himself useful mailing interest checks to United States and Canadian investors through Pak Mail Plus on University Boulevard. Checks drawn on Whitney, Southcoast and AmTrade Bank would fly from this location at a regular, steady and what seemed a profitable rate and found there way to the homes of 'friends of Enrique".

Back in San Jose, Enrique was not only the oldest, he was also the most visible of the threesome.

Aging and dressed like a Indian Motel owner, he would greed many investors at his office charmingly and pepper them with biblical buzzwords. While the humble beginnings of this enterprise bore no resemblance the to final operations conducted out of San Pedro Mall located near the Costa Rican Capital of San Jose, his confidence and personal appeal permitted this business to endure for over two decades.

Although not exactly a record for scams, it comes very close. Initial operations began out of a hangar at the Pavas Airport and then moved to a secretive old building within the city of San Jose, across from the National Bank. In the late Nineties, The Brothers business suddenly become a high profile, storefront establishment in Mall San Pedro, a modern shopping center in this suburb, facing a busy traffic circle with a huge fountain in it's center.

The current whereabouts of Enrique and Freddy remain unknown. Osvaldo, however, unwittingly turned himself in, victimized by reprehensible 'legal' advice. Well intended but incompetent instructions from his attorney caused him to visit the OIJ in San Jose where they proceeded to slap the cuffs on the middle brother of this criminal trio.

Some of the core people involved in the financial scheme, varying from Ron Tucker, pastor of the newly dedicated International Baptist Church, to high profile office workers like David Mathieson and Preston Powers were initially said to be kept in contact with Enrique. Sometimes directly and sometimes through second sources like his attorneys. Reeling from Enrique's disappearance and the manila wrapped interest bundles of dollars was the congregation of the International Baptist Church. Initially housed in humble quarters, this group managed to build a house of worship so grandiose, it exceeded expectations from most of its members. Enrique Villalobos was not only a member of this flock but also a very significant contributor. Some people say that they were aware pastor Ron Tucker, at regular intervals, received boxes filled with cash from The Brothers. Mr. Tucker so far has been non-responsive to inquiries.

One of the Villalobos front men, David Matthieson, claims to this day to be in contact with his old boss Enrique.

The Brothers financial plan, if one can call it that, caused similar operations to sprout that closely imitated the 3% monthly return on investment offered by the Villalobos. Michael Gonzales, a guy who was practically adopted and raised by Enrique Villalobos and for years the important front office worker at The Brothers, defected to Savings Unlimited, an operation ran by Luis Milanes who hailed from Cuba. The current president of UCCR, an organization that promotes the innocence of Enrique Villalobos and paints The Brothers as victims of a vindictive and evil government. John Manners, also had an office at this competitor and when a local television station, Teletica Channel 7 did a report on these businesses, a featured interest check broadcast all over Costa Rican TV sported the signature of Mr. Manners.

Since the fleeing of Enrique, the disappearance of Freddy and the arrest of Osvaldo, these copy-cat enterprises quickly collapsed. The owners vanished and in one case committed suicide. The 'Cuban', also known as Luis Milanes, operated a very similar business offering the same percentage rate that The Brothers touted.

Amazing as it may seem, the people impacted by the collapse of this financial card house are not direct investors alone. People who have never heard of The Brothers or the country of Costa Rica are victims of this outrageous exploit.

Some incomprehensibly incompetent individuals, fancying themselves to be 'money-managers', used The Brothers to dump literally millions of their United States clients' money into this bottomless financial pit.

Laura Kent with Cornerstone Investment Circle based in California and Ken Brown with Covenant Management Corporation in Tennessee appear to be two of the bigger players. While both claim to have done thorough due diligence prior to investing, neither can provide any evidence of this. Yet, they 'invested' a grand total of almost 14 million dollars with The Brothers.

Both operations have cease and desist orders in place against them by the States of Washington and Tennessee, respectively.

Official investigations into both companies have also been initiated at both State and Federal levels. Disgruntled clients have voluntarily contacted Federal agencies or have received communications from them. The attorney Generals of Florida and Tennesse are investigating as well.

At some point, Ken Brown and Covenant Management actively recruited Villalobos investors with promises of a financial windfall for those who had lost so much with The Brothers. Interested propective clients were first welcomed to his Tennesse venue but were then transported to Pensacola, Florida where he had opened an office as well. Not because he happens to own a condo in Gulfport but probably to work around the Cease and Desist Order in Tennessee. No other than David Mathieson could be found at this Florida locale doing what he does best; taking money from misled investors.

Soon after, around October of 2004, this particular operation imploded because of a series of bad trades. In an attempt to fulfill their promised return on investments, about 3 to 5% per month and using a system devised by two of Ken Brown's cronies, Scott Walker and Bill Hockledge (sic), trading S&P 500 shares randomly, this bunch proceeded with some very high risk trades. In an attempt to regain lost ground, all investors capital was lost and Covenant Management filed for bankruptcy.

Currently, there are two investigations underway against Ken Brown and his so-called financial operations; his associates are also under federal scrutiny.

David Matthieson remained in the Pensacola area through at least the end of 2004 and found work as a roofer. An FBI investigator, contacted for this article, admitted that the investigations continue against all involved but refrained from making detailed comments.

Shortly after the collapse of The Brothers, many of the 6289 investors vanished, pretty much like their financial misleader. About 1200 to 1500 of them however, stayed informed through e-mails organized by fellow investors and a group called UCCR; United Concerned Citizens and Residents of Costa Rica.

Initially, the consensus was that Enrique would soon return and pay what he owed his investors. As a matter of fact, in messages he released through local media up to the end of 2002, he promised to return and pay his debt. The last message that verifiably came from the man, he warned that if he would die or go to prison, no one would get anything.

Since then, a handful of messages have surfaced and although they state nothing new, the ****** of them is questioned by many. The number of investors who remain hopeful is dwindling fast and support for Enrique, which hardly existed among his own relatives but was very high among his investors whom he referred to as his 'friends', has all but disappeared.

While an estimated 800 million or so remains unaccounted for, UCCR continuous to promote the notion that eventually Enrique will return. In recent mailers, this organization urges its members to refrain from drawing attention to themselves and this trial, like that is a possibility. They perpetuate the secrecy and cloak and dagger environment Enrique so skillfully implemented.

The upcoming but continuously delayed trial of Osvaldo Villalobos is crucial for this, this organization claims. While this procedure has nothing to do with Enrique, people can not be tried in absentia under Costa Rican law, it was not until very recent that UCCR admitted this unavoidable fact which they had denied for the last two years.

The fact that Enrique is 'not technically' on trial here speaks well for the Villalobos defense. The typical delaying tactic and the possible exoneration of Osvaldo will play well for Enrique. The prosecutor of the case, Walter Espinoza Espinoza stated that the matter against Enrique Villalobos is 'on hold' and they will not proceed against him unless he 'returns or get captured'. Enrique's mug shot has been featured for years now on the official website of Interpol, without result.