NEWHALL, Iowa (KCRG) – An Eastern Iowa car dealership’s future is in question as it is accused of a $12 million fraud scheme and may have much of its inventory seized.
Stellantis Financial Services made the allegations in a lawsuit filed this week against Sky Auto Mall, which has locations in Newhall and Center Point, and its owners, Igor, Yelena and Alex Tovstanovsky. Stellantis Financial is the lending arm of the automaker Stellantis, which makes several vehicle brands, including Chrysler, Jeep and Fiat.
According to the lawsuit, Stellantis had loaned Sky Auto Mall money to purchase vehicles for inventory. Stellantis claims the dealer then took out similar loans through other lenders, including Ford Motor Company, on the same vehicles and transferred the vehicles between its locations to hide the duplicate loans.
“…by doing so each lender would fund the purchase of these vehicles…
THE BHI TRUST PONZI SCHEME (SOUTH AFRICA)
Date: Ongoing updates through February 2026 Perpetrator: Craig Warriner (Principal), with alleged co-conspirators
Case Description: The BHI Trust scandal remains one of South Africa’s most devastating financial crimes, involving the loss of between R1.9 billion and R3 billion. Craig Warriner, the “genius trader” behind the trust, turned himself in during late 2023, but the legal and recovery battles reached a fever pitch in 2025 and 2026. Warriner operated the trust as a textbook Ponzi scheme, utilizing “Old Boy” networks and high-profile brokers to lure in pensioners and high-net-worth individuals with promises of 20% annual returns.
In early 2025, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) faced heavy criticism for “provisionally withdrawing” charges against alleged co-conspirators Michael Haldane and Sona Pillay. However, civil recovery efforts by joint trustees have continued into 2026, aiming to claw back hundreds of millions in “fictitious profits” from early investors to redistribute to those who lost everything. The case is a masterclass in the failure of fiduciary duty; the FSCA eventually banned several advisors for up to 30 years for peddling the unlicensed scheme despite clear red flags, such as the lack of a website, the absence of regulated financial reports, and a fee structure that was triple the industry average.
Link to Original: Moneyweb – BHI Trust Scandal Deep Dive