BBB Scam Alert!

Consumers Beware: Suspect Scammed Colorado Resident – More May Be Targeted

Consumers Scammed in Other States, as Well

The Better Business Bureau has learned of an advance fee loan scam that all area consumers need to be aware of before they become a victim.

A woman named Helen Hovis from a company called Mountain Spirit Investments is allegedly contacting consumers across the country, including Colorado, to offer them a loan to invest in a business. The deal sounds great until Hovis, who is working in conjunction with a man named Nicholas Hilton, requires the consumer to pay her a substantial amount of money (in the tens of thousands) as collateral.

One Colorado resident has recently been duped by Hovis out of $17,500. According to Arapahoe County Sherriff’s investigator Mike Garnsey, Hovis collected more than $60,000 from consumers last year in his county.

The BBB has learned that Hovis was convicted of the same crime last year. Hovis was arrested and is currently on probation.

Consumers must always be aware of advance fee loan scams, but it is especially important when one is known to be in full swing at the moment.

Here are some facts consumers need to know.

* Helen Hovis, aka Lyne Hovis and Helen Meyer, works in connection with Nicholas Hilton, who allegedly wires the money obtained by Hovis/Meyer to various locations in Nigeria.
* Helen Hovis/Meyer is registered with the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office under two different company names, Mountain Spirit Investments and Hilton Financial Colorado.
* Hovis/Meyer’s organization, Mountain Spirit Investments, also does business under the following names: Mountain Spirit Company and Hilton Financial Colorado – all supposedly based in Woodland Park. Not surprisingly they all provide only P.O. Box addresses.
* The Colorado Springs Police Department, the El Paso County District Attorney’s Office and the FBI, have all apprised of the situation.
* Consumers report they were approached by Meyer/Hovis when they were visiting the Web sites www.raisecapital.com and www.findthatmoney.com.
* Although Hovis/Meyer is practicing an advance fee loan scam, she claims to be an interior designer.