Archive for October 2009

BREAKING NEWS: FBI Arrests Maryland Man With ‘Star Wars’ Knowledge On Espionage Charges; Spy Case Will Be Co-Prosecuted By Office In Charge Of Alleged ASD Ponzi

The FBI has arrested a Maryland man in a sting and charged him with attempting to pass U.S. defense and space secrets to Israel. Stewart David Nozette, 52, of Chevy Chase, Md., accepted $11,000 in payments from the FBI, believing the payments had come from the Mossad, Israel’s spy agency. The payments actually came from […]

68-Year-Old Texas Woman Charged In Alleged Ponzi

A 68-year-old Texas woman has been charged with running a $500,000 Ponzi scheme. Julia Ann Schmidt was indicted in Waco. She now joins a roster of other senior citizens recently implicated in alleged Ponzi schemes or convicted of crimes in which a Ponzi was the modus operandi. Federal prosecutors said today that Schmidt posed as […]

UPDATE: No Vana Blue Shares Have Traded Hands Since Oct. 8; No Praebius Communications Trades Since Oct. 9

UPDATED 4:30 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) No shares of Vana Blue were reported traded today. No trades have occurred since Oct. 8, a period encompassing seven full trading days. Some shares of Praebius did trade today, so its string of no trading since Oct. 9 ended. Here, below, our earlier post . . . Two Pinksheet […]

EDITORIAL: Another Major Thread Goes ‘Poof’ At Surf’s Up

EDITORIAL: Another Major Thread Goes 'Poof' At Surf's Up

UPDATED 9:39 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) A thread at the Pro-AdSurfDaily Surf’s Up forum went missing this morning after a days-long debate in which federal prosecutors were called “goons” and a member repeatedly insisted that a government attorney had acknowledged that ASD was not a Ponzi scheme. The thread was titled “William Cowden Resigned.” Various Surf’s […]

NEWS AND NOTES: Arrests Made In Ponzi And Affinity Fraud Scheme That Targeted 21 Michigan Churches; Pennsylvania Man Accused Of Targeting Credit Unions In Ponzi Scheme

NEWS AND NOTES: Arrests Made In Ponzi And Affinity Fraud Scheme That Targeted 21 Michigan Churches; Pennsylvania Man Accused Of Targeting Credit Unions In Ponzi Scheme

Two Maryland men were charged and arrested, amid allegations they fleeced 21 Michigan churches out of $660,000 in a Ponzi and affinity fraud scheme in which pastors were duped into giving a leasing company access to church bank accounts. Authorities said the men perhaps targeted more than 160 churches in 13 states and the District […]

Bank Failure Brings 2009 Total To 99; Foreclosures Pile Up In California, Florida; Prosecutors Battle Mortgage Fraudsters And Ponzi Schemers

Bank Failure Brings 2009 Total To 99; Foreclosures Pile Up In California, Florida; Prosecutors Battle Mortgage Fraudsters And Ponzi Schemers

UPDATED 1:33 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) The failure yesterday of San Joaquin Bank in Bakersfield, Calif., brought the total of bank failures in the United States this year to 99. With weeks remaining in the year, it is a virtual certainty that failures will top the 100 mark. Banks have been failing at an average rate […]

INCREDIBLE: Yet Another Florida Man Indicted In Alleged Ponzi Scheme; Prosecutors Say Sean Healy Of Weston Bought A Bentley And ‘Several Ferraris’

There has been nonstop news about Florida Ponzi schemes in the past 48 hours. Several indictments have been announced, the latest involving Sean Healy of Weston. Healy, 38, was charged in a 55-count indictment unsealed in Pennsylvania with multiple counts of wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering and obstruction of justice. Prosecutors said Healy “spent […]

BREAKING NEWS: Michael Riolo Sentenced To More Than 24 Years In Prison For Bilking Clients In Florida Ponzi Scheme That Collapsed After Nine Years

To many residents of Florida, Michael Riolo was their Bernard Madoff. Riolo, 38, of Boca Raton, was sentenced to more than 24 years in prison (293 months) today for bilking investors in a $44 million Ponzi scheme. The scheme began in 1999 and collapsed in 2008. “During these tough economic times, it is more important […]

BREAKING NEWS: Bowdoin’s Attorney Files Motion To Permit New Attorney To Appear In DC Federal Court

UPDATED 7:51 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) An attorney for AdSurfDaily President Andy Bowdoin has filed a motion to permit another attorney to appear in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the venue of the civil-forfeiture complaint against ASD’s assets. The attorney was identified as Michael R.N. McDonnell of Naples, Fla. Murray’s motion was dated […]

Florida Man Who Created 260 eBay Accounts Convicted In Elaborate Scam That Bilked $717,000 From Customers

The spread of online commerce has been accompanied by a spread of elaborate frauds — some of which have gathered tens of millions of dollars. Accompanying the fraud have been stares of disbelief. Not all of the stares have been directed at the fraudsters themselves. Indeed, thousands and thousands of people globally at any point […]

BREAKING NEWS: SEC Attacks ANOTHER Alleged Florida Ponzi And Affinity-Fraud Scheme; FBI Investigating Amid Report Indictments Alleging Securities Fraud, Wire Fraud, Money-Laundering And Conspiracy Have Been Unsealed

UPDATED 2:03 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) The Securites and Exchange Commission — which announced yesterday that it had broken up a $22 million Ponzi scheme in Florida — announced today that it was working with the FBI to break up yet another Ponzi scheme in the Sunshine State. The newest scheme was targeted at Haitian-Americans who […]