Judge Scolds Ponzi Operator Who Fleeced Millions From Victims, Including Seniors Who Plowed Life Savings Into Scam

In a North Dakota Ponzi case, former insurance salesman Larry Atkins was charged with 78 felonies. Authorities said he ran a Ponzi scheme that stole more than $3 million from at least 30 victims, including senior citizens and vulnerable adults.

Some of the elements of the Atkins’ Ponzi are similar to the alleged AdSurfDaily Ponzi, which roped in senior citizens and others across the United States based on assurances that everything was legal.

Atkins, 65, apologized for his behavior — and then proceeded to explain how he was the victim in the case. All of this was too much for the presiding judge, who scolded Atkins in open court, according to InForum, a news site for Fargo and Moorhead.

It also infuriated Adam Hamm, North Dakota Insurance Commissioner. Hamm immediately revoked Atkins’ license after the judge sentenced Atkins to eight years in prison and issued a statement on the commission’s website.

Among the felony counts upon which Atkins was convicted were selling unregistered securities and exploiting a vulnerable adult.

“Mr. Atkins’ behavior was utterly reprehensible,” Hamm said. “He violated the trust that people gave him and caused disastrous results to their lives.”

“[Atkins’] total and complete breach of ethical behavior is truly shameful,” Hamm said.

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6 Responses to “Judge Scolds Ponzi Operator Who Fleeced Millions From Victims, Including Seniors Who Plowed Life Savings Into Scam”

  1. This guy’s similarity to Andy Bowdoin is sickening. Patrick, you’ve got to keep exposing these guys, and Andy’s similarity to other scammers. I don’t think the few people left posting on the Advocates site are going to make headway with Senator Leahy or any one else in authority, but just to be on the safe side, if AdSurfDaily, ASD Cash Generator, or Andy Bowdoin are googled, I want YOUR articles coming up at the top. And they do…..

  2. Only 65? Is he still in training?

  3. Hi Marci,

    Marci: I don’t think the few people left posting on the Advocates site are going to make headway with Senator Leahy or any one else in authority,

    They’ll make headway, all right — just not the kind they’re bargaining for. Every letter is like a signed confession or, at the very least, a billboard that screams, “Look HERE!”

    There’s no way to do the math on this, unless it’s true — as Moriarty says — that 50 people participated in sending certified demand letters to federal officials. Depending on the content of the letters, these folks may have some problems.

    Two documents in the ASD case already suggest that an ASD member who went down this road is trying to threaten the judge and prosecutors with $30 million default “judgments.”

    Meanwhile, the people organizing letter-writing campaigns and other interaction with legislators perhaps are creeping up to the line at which lobbyist-registration laws are being broken.

    Surf’s Up is the ASD Member ADVOCATES Forum. It has the official endorsement of ASD itself. And it is trying to affect public policy through its actions, sponsoring or endorsing letter-writing campaigns, encouraging members to meet with legislators, etc.

    And Moriarty and ASDMI have close ties to Surf’s Up and collected fees to engage in what the government might conclude is lobbying. Registration might be required on the state and federal levels. A persuasive argument can be made that the groups are indistinguishable.

    None of these things, of course, address the issue of disclosure. How many Surf’s Up or ASDMI or Moriarty followers, for example, weren’t told of the legal ramifications of employing a certified-mail campaign? Amid similar circumstances (“Arby’s Indians”), the courts have viewed this approach as an ORGANIZED bid to extort a litigation result and awarded RICO damages.

    And the courts also have caused people to be arrested for contempt of court.

    The motion to intervene filed this week by Midwest Healing MINISTRIES used the Richmond template. He, of course, is Pacific MINISTRY of Giving. Like Pacific MINISTRY of Giving, Midwest Healing MINISTRIES is registered as a “religious organization” with a corporation sole.

    So, what we have through these two filings, are two religious organizations, that, combined, had more than $100,000 in ASD.

    Patrick

  4. Hi Gregg,

    Gregg Evans: Only 65? Is he still in training?

    Atkins was the junior varsity. Varsity — recently, at least — doesn’t begin until 70.

    Patrick

  5. I never considered the lobbying angle, very good point. I have some friends from over at quatloos.com who work for the IRS, some people from CID over there are already looking into the corporation sole indian tribe advocate associations. Judging by how meticulous the Arby’s Indians and the Mad Professor have been in the past with legal papers, I can’t help but think the service might want to know a few details on where the $100K came from. I’d bet Chili Dog’s treats that they’re not paying any or minimal income tax, if memory serves I’ve been told that over 95% of the Corporate Sole filers are somehow in involved with the tax denier community. Don’t know how familiar you are with the TD nuts (and they are nuts, the Arbys Indians don’t make the first string on this team) but the IRS has been getting downright medieval with them lately.

  6. Hi Gregg,

    I’m not well-acquainted with the corporation sole tactics.

    Here are a few things I did notice about some of the groups involved:

    ASD Members INTERNATIONAL
    Pacific MINISTRY of Giving INTERNATIONAL
    Midwest Healing MINISTRIES

    It’s fair to say that Richmond has some kind of tie to all three.

    ASD Members International = Moriarty, a Richmond fan.
    Pacific Ministry of Giving International = Richmond.
    Midwest Healing Ministries = Richmond litigation template.

    So, there is commonality. Another area of commonality is the Utah registration of Pacific Ministry of Giving International and Midwest Healing Ministries.

    And, of course, the “Indians” are from Utah.

    These things lead to all sorts of questions. Bowdoin, for instance, suggested that ASD was a great place for nonprofits to advertise and even awarded 100,000 “ad packs” to a charitable group.

    And, from the court filings, we know that Richmond (PMG Int.) and Wilkey (MMG) had more than $100,000 in ASD. MMG said it was advertising Vemma, so we have a registered religious organization with a corporation sole advertising MLM products and counting on ASD rebates.

    I don’t know what PMG was advertising, but it’s also a registered religious organization with a corporation sole counting on rebates.

    It struck me the other day that maybe no one ever should work again. To hear the ASD faithful tell it, $100K in ASD was as good as a $365,000-a-year job.

    Maybe the Feds should just turn over the entire economy to Bowdoin. He could cure the public, private and nonprofit sectors simply by beaming ads, even if no one is interested in buying the products.

    Heck, following this reasoning to its logical end, there wouldn’t even be a need for products.

    GM, for instance, could make money by putting the entirety of middle management into ASD. All the middle managers earning $100K would be given that amount up front, instructed to plunk it down on ASD and surf for six minutes a day, and return the $265,000 profit over a year. All GM middle managers could pay their own salaries this way, and return a healthy profit.

    The beauty of this is that the initial $100,000 stakes would have to be paid to ASD only one time. The principal investments could be rolled over in perpetuity and even compounded. GM never would have to sell another car.

    There’d also be no need for places of worship to pass the collection plate. The churches simply could give their money to Bowdoin, assign a surfing crew, and become self-sustaining.

    Notre Dame could advertise Touchdown Jesus in the rotator to help build the football program. The Padres could advertise the San Diego chicken in the rotator to pay all those big baseball salaries.

    Bowdoin also could handle the bailout, freeing taxpayers from the burden.

    Patrick