BREAKING NEWS: Justice Department Establishes Information Hotline For AdSurfDaily, GP, LFD Victims
Victim of the alleged AdSurfDaily autosurf Ponzi scheme? Want the latest information about claims and how the proposed restitution program is shaping up?
The Department of Justice has established a special telephone number for the ASD case. By calling the number, you’ll hear a recording that updates members on developments in the case, which involves ASD, Golden Panda Ad Builder and LaFuenteDinero.
Here is the phone number: 202-616-2420
“The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia will update this message on a regular basis,” the Justice Department said.
Prosecutors also have updated an informational website. Here is the URL:
http://www.justice.gov/usao/dc/Victim_Witness_Assistance/adsurfdaily.html
The site includes a page for Frequently Asked Questions. The FAQ page can be accessed by clicking on a link. Look for a list of bullet points on the page you’ll visit by clicking on the link above. The FAQ link currently is at the bottom of the list of bullet points. The headline for the FAQs is “Answers to Frequently Asked Questions.”
The page answers these questions:
- Why did the government get involved in Ad Surf Daily, Golden Panda, Ad CashGenerator, and La Fuente Dinero?
- Why is the U.S. Secret Service involved?
- What is a forfeiture case?
- How much money has the government recovered from Ad Surf Daily and related schemes?
- How did the government recover money from Ad Surf Daily and related operations?
- Will the forfeited funds be distributed to people who were defrauded in these schemes?
- How long will it take to distribute the forfeited money to victims?
- Why will the claims process take so long?
- Will victims recover their full losses?
- What are the next steps in the process?
- Where can I get more information and keep up to date?
Here is the answer to the question, “Will the forfeited funds be distributed to people who were defrauded in these schemes?”
Yes. Money that has been declared forfeited will be returned to victims of the schemes through a process called “remission.†Remission occurs when forfeited assets are returned to the victims of a crime underlying a forfeiture. The remission process is governed by the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 28, Part 9 (2009). When forfeiture is ordered by a federal court, authority to grant remission rests with the United States Attorney General. This authority has been delegated to the Chief of the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section (AFMLS), which is located in the Criminal Division of the United States Department of Justice. AFMLS will manage the remission process, and other agencies involved in the case, including the U.S. Secret Service, as well as the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, will have a role in the remission process.
Here is the answer to the question, “Will victims recover their full losses?”
Because the total value of the seized assets is less than the estimated member losses, it is unlikely that members will receive full compensation for their losses. Accordingly, each member will receive a pro-rata share of the forfeited money based upon his or her loss amount. The exact amount of each person’s recovery will not be known until the claims review process is completed.
It will now be interesting to read on the Surf’s Up forum, from all those who claimed the government was going to keep all the money and they wouldn’t make any refunds, how they respond to this news. Of course they still believe that it’s “their money,” not Andy’s.
Of course they all expect to get 100% of their money back, and if not, they will claim it’s not fair and they got cheated out of money that is rightfully theirs; not the governments. And these are supposed to be business people. Also made me wonder what their TOS was for their businesses. Wonder if they had an escape clause with their contractors that allowed them to just wipe out their debt saying payment was not guaranteed?
So because the US Government sets up a hotline and a website, both of which will capture YOUR personal information, people think they will see a refund. IF, and I say if, there is EVER a refund from the FEDS, it will atke SO long there will be another Administration in power, another Attorney General, and millions and millions of dollars in attorney and administration fees..
If you really wanted to get some of the money back RIGHT AWAY, there is a way.. I know it , the Feds know it, and several smart lawyer’s know it.. Cowden knew it BUT no one group has had the staying power to get there.. You might want to ask one question…
Just how can the FEDS take MILLIONS of DOLLARS in uncashed cashiers checks, many still in unopened envelopes, none endorsed by ASD or deposited in a ASD account. Has anyone seen the seizure order issued by Judge Collyer? Why didnt the FEDS return ALL of the uncashed cashiers checks to the remitter? They did return some, totalling several hundred thousands of dollars. There are more questions to be answered, many of which we asked face to face with Bill Cowden..
Hey maybe Ill give them a call on the hotline and ask a bunch of pointed questions of the new prosecutor. Im sure Ill get a call right back..
Bob,
Good luck on that approach ;-) I am assuming you wrote this tongue-in-cheek as the hotline is a recorded message, and does not have a live person there to answer your pointed questions……
ONLY Bob holds the magical key that unlocks the federal vault holding everyone’s money..he and ONLY he coupled with his hotshot lawyers are capable of getting the ASD/Panda victims money back..BUT…you gotta send more money. This stuff isn’t cheap as the asdmba contributors are well aware of!! Bob Guenther goes beyond the pale of giving people NOTHING for SOMETHING..
Only About A Year According To The D.O.J. To Get Monies Lost Back.
I Am Excited. What Is Interesting Is The Recording Said Several Thousands Of Claims Are Expected. I Know My “Sponsors” Are Not Included In That Number And Are Running Scared. This Is Going To End The Way That It Should. I Look Forward To Seeing All The Crooks Served Proper Justice And Reading About It Right Here.
In the world according to Bob, his ASDMBA is the only organization that can get all the money back. Why Bob even went and got money from Busby that should have been turned over to the government. So now Bob and Busby are subject to “obstruction of justice” charges. Then we have Bob wondering why the uncashed checks and money orders were not returned to the parties who issued them. I guess he has never heard about the evidentiary requirement that all evidence shall be confiscated.
Bob believes he is going to be appointed as the outside processor to aid the government in returning the money. I am sure they will immediately appoint Bob, a felon, in charge of this responsibilty.
One thing is for sure, Bob has never been one to exaggerate his real worth and abilities. He will be lucky if he is not charged with obstruction of justice in this case, which he should be.
Let’s give credit where it’s due. If we’re honest, we’ll admit that Bob is more of an expert on how to commit financial fraud than all the rest of us combined. When it comes to making promises with no intention of keeping them, Bob again leaves the experts in the dust. He’s clairvoyant, often able to predict an event within 24 to 48 hours after it receives widespread publicity in Patrick’s column, and other locations on the Internet. Bob’s got experience being arrested (some old, some recent), experience dodging debt by filing for bankruptcy, and experience being told by a judge that his version of events is self-serving, contrary to the facts, and not at all credible. His good friend, that attorney down in Texas, had so much respect for him that he (the attorney) wrote a special letter to Bob telling him to keep his runaway mouth in check, during a planned trip to Washington to meet with the same evil guys from the government.
Bob is ethics-free from head to toe; I say the rest of us should be mature enough to acknowledge that about him.For his tombstone I recommend:
Here Lies and Lies and Lies Bob, “The Great Dissembler.” Lying Was His Specialty In Life. May He Daily Face Situations in Hell Equal To The Hell He Caused On Earth, And May His Seat in Hell Be To Andy Bowdoin, For All Eternity.
Yup, I can’t wait to see all the sponsors and ‘big earners’ running around like rats, trying to dodge the disgourgement.
I won’t soon forget all of the BSing hype and bar-talk about Andy
and his uber-management team.
‘Awesome’, ‘You gotta get in’, ‘It’s JUST like Google only you make a lot more’ and my all-time favorite MLM sponsor psycho-vomit phrase, ‘Join ASD and have a magical day’.
Hi Tommy,
Had there been an exclamation point or two after “Join ASD and have a magical day,” it might have triggered PROJECTILE psycho vomiting, as opposed to regular psycho vomiting.
That the vomit pitch you saw apparently was slammer-less was a good thing. Projectile is far worse than regular.
Patrick
If only the government had listened to Bob Gunther and Mark Simmons, none of this would have happened!
Umm,
so, is what the Blowhard is saying is that when the asset seizures took place, these cheques and cash were somehow not included as being part of the contents of 13 S Calhoun St Quincy, FL 32351 and “in possession” of ASD and/or Bowdoin.????
Or, is he claiming the prosecution team has it wrong and any cash or cheques “in transit,” as “inside the USPS system” are not to be treated, by law, as the property of the designated recipient ???
One would suspect the phrase “including, but not limited to” would cover every single bl***y contingency a “wouldbe if he couldbe” loudmouthed failed car salesman could dream up.
You may be wrong about that. In the case of 12DailyPro, the receiver’s job was hampered because of the number of duplicate and fraudulent claims. These had to be sorted and verified before rejection.
Perhaps the reason some ponzi promoters have been advising the flock not to file a claim is because the ponzi supporters have filed multiple claims themselves.
so were going to have to wait another year to get our money back..thats crazy I thought we was getting it back soon?
Hi john,
The prosecution has always said that the restitution program could not be implemented until it established clear title to the money and the claims-review process was initiated.
The delay in implementing the program was caused by Andy Bowdoin and the pro se litigants. Andy submitted to the forfeiture in January, 10 months ago, under advice of counsel and after meeting with prosecutors over a period of at least four days. The judge granted his request to submit to the forfeiture Jan. 22.
On Feb. 25, Bowdoin signed the first of his pro se motions to try to reassert his claims to the money. He was acting as his own lawyer by then, after consulting with members of a mysterious “group.”
Others started filing pro se motions in February, as well. The court docket swelled in the following months — from about 40 entries to its current state of 158 in total. The vast, vast majority of new motions/responses had to do with the pro se litigants, including Bowdoin.
Bowdoin promised the court in May that he would file documents to get to the heart of the matter. When the court did not hear from him in more than two months, the judge ordered him on July 24 to state his intentions.
Some ASD members LIED about that order, telling their downlines it had been issued against prosecutors and that their case was in jeopardy. Bowdoin then asked for filing extensions, saying through new counsel he again was negotiating with prosecutors. He was granted at least two extensions and given until Sept. 14 to comply with the court’s July 24 order.
He filed his papers on the last possible day — Sept. 14. There was a mistake in the first filing, and Bowdoin filed again on Sept. 15.
The prosecution filed its response BEFORE it was due. In fact, it filed two responses — one was docketed Sept. 25, the other Sept. 28. Bowdoin filed again on Oct. 8. Between August and October, dozens of other pro se filings streamed into the courthouse, including motions using the same pro se argument (and template) that the judge had denied twice.
So, Bowdoin and the pro se filers are responsible for the delays.
At a minimum, Bowdoin delayed the case by 10 months, which means he delayed the implementation of the restitution program for 10 months.
He claimed to be working on behalf of members, telling them the government had seized THEIR money, when all his paperwork in the case clearly shows he had advised the judge it was HIS money.
I do understand the wait can be frustrating. At the same time, ASD members need to understand that Bowdoin is responsible for the delays.
Hang in there, John.
Patrick
Hi Tony,
This thought had never entered my mind until reading your post — but it now strikes me as something that could be part of the subtext of urging people not to file claims.
Some people might want to limit depletion of the “estate” on the theory they’d get more money from the restitution proceeds.
If that’s part of the plan, it is exceptionally wicked and devious: Keep Mom and Pop out so the Ponzi pushers can benefit.
I’d like to say that no one could be this wicked and devious, but I cannot rule out the possibility you might be right about this. After all, one of the first things the Pro Ponzi Pushers do when a surf starts to sputter is to advise people not to file complaints with the payment processors, coupled with an admonishment not to contact law enforcement.
In any event, your post raises the possibility that more than one agenda is at work in bids to limit the number of claims. I was looking at it exclusively as a bid to limit the number of victims — and thus a bid to obstruct justice — on some theory by the obstructionists that limiting the number of victims could help keep some of the Pros and Insiders out of jail.
But I have to concede it could be a combination of that, plus a desire to get higher refunds.
Wow, Tony. Your very short post is thought-provoking indeed.
Patrick
In this instance, Bob does raise an interesting question. When did the funds officially become property of Bowdoin/ASD? My impression has always been that cashing or depositing the check, and thereby having the bank “post the transaction” was the point where a purchaser had to have the transaction reversed. Up to that point, the purchaser could simply void the transaction (in the eyes of the bank) by stopping payment.
If the checks had been received at the ASD office but not deposited, are they “in transit” or property of ASD at that point?
The prosecution will obviously want the “in possession” but not cashed funds to be considered as part of the confiscated funds available for distribution. It would up the percentage returned to victims. The judge may not see it that way. It’s likely to be litigated, in my opinion.
I agree with your first point. I believe interfering with an investigation and obstruction of justice was the intent of insiders and promoters for discouraging people to fill out the forms. The naive hope was that this would somehow hamper the investigation and it might get thrown out due lack of evidence or victims. Those who were heavily under water were vulnerable to this pressure.
I’ve considered the second point. The fewer claims filed, the more the savvy “victims” could collect. The cynicism and predatory nature of this group of people never surprises me.
One point I do find interesting is that the government is asking on their complaint form is what amount and at which branch of BofA were funds deposited by victims. BofA may be in the sights of the government. A small branch of a bank in Norway reported PlexPay, a follow up scam to PIPS, to Norwegian authorities precisely because of a suspicious pattern of transactions. Numerous U.S. banks have been fined rather large amounts in settlements with the government for not paying attention or deliberately pocketing the fees of dodgy operations.
ASD balances and transaction patterns had to have gotten the attention of local BofA managers. I wonder what the cumulative balances of the other Quincy BofA customers was in relation to ASD.
Why even suggest that the government set up the hotline for nefarious purposes? Why even plant the seed the the hotline and website will “capture” the “personal information” of people who dial the phone number or visit the URL?
You seem to be trying to trigger paranoia in the minds of people who might be seeking information. Why? The government already has the database. The government also has Bowdoin’s proffer. It also has the investigative capabilities of the Secret Service, among other agencies. It has copies of cashier’s checks and its entire investigative file.
And yet you’re using the word “capture” and the phrase “personal information” as though the hotline and website are hot stoves: If ASD victims touch them, they’ll get burnt.
Why are you the salve for people who might touch the hot stoves you suggest exist?
As is the case in all crimes, victims have to make a showing. The ASD case is no different in that respect. If a burglar breaks into a house and steals the silverware, the victim has to make a showing — perhaps even more than one: One to the police, and one to the insurance company.
If a participant got ripped off by ASD, he or she has to make a showing.
There has NEVER been a need for anyone to pay a fee to become eligible for compensation. The government has advertised the existence of the restitution program continuously since September 2008, 14 months ago.
You say “smart lawyers” exist and know how to get the money back quicker, including “some” of it “RIGHT AWAY.” You say you know it, the Feds know it, and the “smart lawyers” know it.
You act as though you have some sort of unique knowledge — and that it’s best for victims to go through you to get restitution to which they are entitled.
Why would victims choose to go through you — a private citizen who is not an attorney — to receive compensation to which they are lawfully entitled as crime victims?
From what I’ve seen, any person who goes through you and later seeks answers to legitimate questions gets scolded, belittled, sworn at, told they’re a liberal or not Republican enough, mocked and made the subject of general scorn. You’ve declared “war” on various individuals and have spewed invective, dreck and drivel for more than a year.
I’ve seen you do it to a grandmother; I’ve seen you call another woman “fat”; I’ve seen you threaten to send the Marines after your critics.
What I have never seen you do is make sense — not one single time.
Patrick
I wasn’t only suggesting this. Some ponzi promoters may have enough information from the people in their downlines that they may submit claims on behalf of their downlines.
Some could do this openly, similar to what Little Bobbie seems to be attempting to do. Some could be doing it more secretly. Of course, the ponzi promoter would require a “finders fee” for any funds returned this way. Or they might “invest” the funds in some MLM/Surf/HYIP latest & greatest thing so that the “victim” could make back any losses the evil government didn’t pay back.
When 12DailyPro collapsed, many people were encouraged to get their money back by using the “chargeback” system if they paid by credit card. I am confident that some of the more experienced ponzi players have already done this with “investments” made with ASD. If so, it is possible that these people will also make a claim via the government form – double dipping.
Any restitution process the government implements will need to check for situations like this. As with the court case so far, any delays in returning the funds will very likely to be as a result of the ponzi players/promoters attempting to play the system to their advantage.
Another variation would be to sell their “adpacks” or “units” to their downlines at discount in a private transaction but file a claim for their full investment with the government. The seller could tell the victim that they will maintain the account and forward funds as received. It’s been done before.
In PIPS, DBR Synergistic created a “feeder fund”. The end investor sent the money to DBR and DBR promised an out sized return. DBR was ultimately prosecuted in Iowa although PIPS was based and prosecuted in Malaysia.
The only limit is the greed and creativity of the person engaged in this activity.
In reading your post again, I wholeheartedly agree.
In 12DP, the receiver attempted to put a stop to the chargebacks and the San Francisco Fed filed an amicus brief, arguing that chargebacks could negatively affect the integrity of the system. IIRC, that argument was disallowed by the court and the receiver had to take chargebacks into consideration. Ultimately, many of the claims were disallowed or reduced significantly by the receiver precisely because of double dipping by some people.
In each Ponzi, some things never change but the variations attempt in order to benefit know almost no bound.
My wish is that the ASD, 12DP, Phoenix Surf, etc databases are compared. If you are shown to have been involved in more than one Ponzi and have not learned your lesson, you should be subject to prosecution. The law states that investing in or promoting a Ponzi scheme is a crime although losers are treated as victims.
You’re entirely correct,
HOWEVER,
a) The act under which the USPS operates specifically states that once mail has entered the “system” it becomes the property of the intended recipient. As an example, once a sender has placed a postal article in a post box, he or she cannot simply ask the mailman or person clearing the post box to return it.
b) While it was entirely possible for members to cancel and/or reverse their cheques prior to them being actually deposited, the point is, they DIDN’T, making the argument moot.
Can you imagine the furor which would have eventuated if the DoJ had arbitrarily returned any or all of the cash and cheques:
by
a) The diehard Bowdoin supporters who would have claimed they were being deprived of an earning opportunity
b) Those whose funds WERE deposited at or near the time.
c) Anyone who joined via the website AFTER the rallies and whose funds were electronically deposited.
Returning ANY of the funds would have created whole new categories of refunds and drawn out the process for perhaps years longer.
I had made a large investment and never took anything out what form do I use to file a claim thanks for your help klesnar
If you were in the ASD database, you will likely receive a form from the authorities. If not or if you have questions, there’s a phone number you can call.
Here are the last two entries in the FAQ from the U.S. Attorney’s website regarding ASD.
What are the next steps in the process?
Within the next few months, former members of Ad Surf Daily, Golden Panda, Ad Cash Generator, and La Fuente Dinero will receive a claim form asking them questions about how much money they paid into the schemes and received back. This claim form must be completed, signed under penalty of perjury, and returned to the government. The form must be completed even if the claimant previously submitted an electronic “Information Submission Form†through the website of the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia.
Where can I get more information and keep up to date?
A telephone line has been established that provides a recorded message with basic information about the status of these cases. This number is 202-616-2420. The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia will update this message on a regular basis. The written information on this website will also be updated as new developments arise in the forfeiture cases and the remission process.