It's not the first time Andre Curtis has courted controversy — but unlike in the past, this time Premier Ewart Brown is saying nothing in his defence.

The Premier — who according to his press secretary Glenn Jones had been unable to reflect on Mr. Curtis' alleged involvement in a worldwide security fraud because he was overseas — has now returned to the Island.

However, yesterday Dr. Brown adopted the same stance as Progressive Labour Party chairman David Burt in refusing to comment on the allegations against Mr. Curtis, who runs his PLP constituency in Warwick South Central.

Montana State Auditor's Office is preparing to add Mr. Curtis' name to its action over a scheme which has allegedly seen investors conned out of huge sums of money after being promised returns of up to 400 percent per week.

So far, six alleged victims have come forward and the total amount people are said to have lost is substantially more than $1 million.

In recent years, Mr. Curtis has come under fire for his handling of faith-based tourism; homophobic remarks about a Rosie O'Donnell gay and lesbian cruise; and controversial appointment as chairman of the Tourism Board.

On each occasion, the Premier spoke out in support of his constituency branch manager.

Regarding Mr. Curtis' failure to account for hundreds of thousands of taxpayers' dollars allocated to his firm Harvest Investment Holdings for faith-based tourism, the Premier said last year: "The Opposition's wrongful assault is not just an assault on this Government and Mr. Curtis, but an unprovoked and unnecessary assault on a religious effort, an effort which has lifted the hearts of many tourists and touched the souls of many Bermudians."

Asked about Mr. Curtis' successful campaign to cancel the Rosie O'Donnell cruise and insults to its passengers, which incurred the wrath of Bermuda's gay community and earned negative international press for the Island, Dr. Brown said last December: "He expressed what I know to be his personal opinion and we don't shoot our soldiers."

In 2005, Tourism Minister Dr. Brown was questioned when Mr. Curtis, who had helped organise his General Election campaign, was named chairman of the Tourism Board. At the time he was under criticism for not having paid hundreds of thousands in taxes run up by his former company, First Choice Construction.

Dr. Brown responded then: "He is a wonderful person and he will be helping me again. We are delighted to have this young man at the helm of the Tourism Board and we know that Bermuda will benefit from his strong work ethic and Christian principles."

Since news of Mr. Curtis' involvement in the alleged scam last week, the Premier has not responded to this newspaper's requests for a comment, with Mr. Jones telling The Royal Gazette yesterday: "We'll let you know if there's something else to say on this topic."

Harvest Investment Holdings, of which Mr. Curtis is director, is already named as a respondent in the Montana investigation, along with convicted fraudster and money launderer Daniel Two Feathers and his business partner Shawn Swor, and three other trusts or companies.

The case came to light this October when a Texas resident alleged Mr. Two Feathers convinced him to invest $100,000 in a deal which would provide a return of 200 to 400 percent.

Mr. Two Feathers is said to have promised a return of more than $5 million after 20 weeks' investment, but the Texan alleged Mr. Two Feathers would not return phone calls and had run off with the money.

The Montana Auditor's document describes Mr. Curtis as an authorised signatory for banking purposes for one of the respondents, DTF Consulting Group Trust, as well as director and president of Harvest Investment Holdings.

Investigators are preparing to amend the document as they now believe Mr. Curtis is more involved than he claims because of his guardedness when asked how hundreds of thousands of dollars had appeared in his account.

Nine years ago, Mr. Two Feathers was charged and convicted of conspiracy to defraud the US, money laundering, and creating or using fictitious obligations. He served 41 months in prison and was ordered to pay restitution.

A simple Google search reveals Mr. Two Feathers — also known as Dan Latham — described as a "seriously dodgy dealer" in an awareness campaign about the "shady world of Internet fraud".

The article on silicon.com, published in 2001, said Mr. Two Feathers had been jailed after enticing gullible investors to part with huge sums by promising returns of up to 200 percent per month on investments over $100,000 — echoing the allegations he currently faces.

For the previous scam, two sham Manhattan companies told the victims that an overseas lender would finance their loans. According to silicon.com, a Republic of Nauru-based investment scheme was used as an online front for that overseas lender.

It is not the first time Harvest Investment Holdings has faced difficulties.

In August 2006, the Registrar of Companies placed an official notice in the Bermuda Sun that Harvest had been struck off and dissolved after failing to pay its annual Government fee.

Harvest was restored to the register the following March, after blaming its failure to make its payment on an administrative oversight.

Harvest's website was removed last week amid claims it was falsely making out it was licensed by Bermuda Monetary Authority to provide a series of services.

Montana State Auditor's Office is appealing for anyone who has had dealings with Mr. Curtis or Harvest Investment Holdings which may be connected to the case to get in touch on 1-406-444-2040. Montana is three hours behind Bermuda.