Son Says AdSurfDaily’s Andy Bowdoin Used Religion To Fleece Masses And Disgraced Family Name; Huckster’s Scheming Dates Back To 1960s, Another Family Member Says; ‘He Has A Criminal Mind’
Andy Bowdoin
Growing up a child of Andy Bowdoin and advancing through adolescence and adulthood was hard because of Bowdoin’s habitual scheming, according to Scott Bowdoin, Andy Bowdoin’s son.
“He uses religion — always,” Scott Bowdoin, 42, said flatly of his 75-year-old father, noting he had not spoken to Andy Bowdoin in about 15 years because the elder Bowdoin had ripped off his own mother, Scott’s late grandmother, in a credit-card scheme.
The elder Bowdoin left his own mother “with nothing,” Scott Bowdoin asserted. “The electricity was about to get cut off, the water was about to get cut off. He is a man with no conscience.”
Scott Bowdoin made the remarks about his father in an interview with the PP Blog this morning. The younger Bowdoin said his father had disgraced the family name — and that it was high time the public in general and AdSurfDaily members in particular knew that Andy Bowdoin did not enjoy the uniform support of his family as the ASD Ponzi case winds its way through the courts.
There was a long-ago scheme involving telephone calling cards, Scott Bowdoin said.
And there was an “air-conditioning scam” in Florida, he added, saying his father traded on faith.
“He’d go around and evangelize,” Scott Bowdoin said. “That was a scam. He did something with cell-phone towers. That was a scam.”
Andy Bowdoin has been married five times, Scott Bowdoin said, adding that Andy Bowdoin’s financial scheming devastated Scott’s grandmother late in her life.
“He drained my grandmother,” Scott said.
Separately, an Andy Bowdoin family member who spoke to the PP Blog on the condition of anonymity said Bowdoin “has been doing this since the 1960s.
“I always knew he was a con man,” the family member said. “I just didn’t know he could do it at this level.”
The “level,” according to federal prosecutors and the U.S. Secret Service, exceeds $80 million and may approach $100 million when a final accounting is done. Records show that agents seized more than $65.8 million from 10 Andy Bowdoin bank accounts, including one that contained more than $31 million and another that contained more than $23 million.
In total, about $80 million was officially listed as forfeited in the case. Andy Bowdoin has appealed the forfeitures, which were ordered by U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer. An attempt last year by Bowdoin to force Collyer to withdraw as the presiding judge failed.
Prosecutors claimed in court filings that ASD was a massive international Ponzi scheme masked as an “advertising” business.
“I was a little surprised because I didn’t know he could pull off a scam that big,” Scott Bowdoin said. “But, by God, he did it.”
After the elder Bowdoin scammed his own mother in the 1990s, Scott Bowdoin said, “I told him you are dead to me.” Andy Bowdoin later was implicated in a securities swindle in Alabama. Records show he was making restitution to the Alabama victims even as he was operating ASD in 2008.
“I pity you when you have to face the Lord when you die,” Scott Bowdoin said he told his father after he had fleeced Scott’s grandmother.
In July 2008, years after the Alabama swindle and while ASD was gathering tens of millions of dollars per month, ASD money was used to purchase a Lincoln automobile for nearly $50,000, according to court records. At the time, Bowdoin still owed the Alabama victims about $45,000.
Even more ASD money — more than $1 million — went to acquire real estate, a Honda automobile, an Acura automobile, jet skis, a Cabana boat, marine equipment and haul trailers, according to records. A shell company linked to Andy Bowdoin’s company began to make the purchases in June 2008, less than two weeks after an ASD “rally” in Las Vegas.
While in Las Vegas, Andy Bowdoin urged members to imagine themselves getting large checks from ASD and thanked God for making him a “money magnet,” according to records.
Scott Bowdoin described his father as a “classic con artist.”
“He is a very, very, very smart man,” Scott Bowdoin said. “He knows exactly what he is doing. He uses religion — always.”
And Scott Bowdoin lamented his father’s appeals in the forfeiture case against his assets.
“I don’t understand why this man is not sitting in prison,” Scott Bowdoin said. “He pulled off the ultimate [con] this time.”
Scott said his father left when he was 14 and that father and son had been estranged for years.
Asked what he would do if his father suddenly materialized in the same room with him, Scott said that Andy Bowdoin “won’t come around me.
“I’d probably punch him in the face,” Scott said.
Asked if he had any advice for ASD members, Scott said, “Don’t believe a word he says. He’s a great actor. He is a good bullshitter. He could sell a screen door to a submarine captain.”
Calling his dad a “charmer,” Scott said he was aware that some ASD members continued to cling to hope that his father came as the “Christian” depicted in sales pitches and motivational talks. After the company was raided in August 2008, Bowdoin asked his followers to trust in God, saying the government action against his autosurfing company was the work of “Satan.”
“These people who feel sorry for him thinking he is a good Christian — they have blinders on,” Scott Bowdoin said. “He has hurt more people than just [members of] AdSurfDaily. I can guarantee it.”
Andy Bowdoin wasted his talents chasing schemes, Scott Bowdoin maintained.
“If he had gone the right way, he could have been a Donald Trump,” Scott contended. “[But] he wanted to start at the top, not at the bottom.”
Meanwhile, the other Bowdoin family member interviewed by the PP Blog said that he believed Andy was “a sociopath.”
“I know that whatever he puts his efforts in to is [designed to] con people out of as much money as he can,” the other family member said. “Andy is a sociopath. There aren’t many sociopaths, but he is one.”
Both family members said they were not participants in ASD and learned about the alleged scheme on the Internet.
The family member who spoke on the condition of anonymity explained he had done so in an effort to maintain as much privacy as he could as a sea of allegations swirled around Andy Bowdoin.
“The man is a genius,” he said of Andy Bowdoin, “but he has a criminal mind. Anyone involved with his companies — they’d be sucked into a Ponzi. To me, he is a sociopath; he will drag other people down. People need to be [careful]. A good con has a little bit of truth to it.”
Andy Bowdoin, said the family member, has lived a “sad” life.
“It’s sad because he could have used his talent for good,” the family member said. “I don’t hate the man, but I pity him.”
When he thinks about Andy Bowdoin, the family member said, he thinks about Bowdoin’s father.
“Andy Bowdoin’s father was a good man,” the family member said.
Great Work. Amazing Read.
I too want answers as to how he is avoiding arrest. Yes he had ASD hidden $$ to pay lawyers and stay out of jail but when in the hek does the government say enough is enough and charge him with his crimes. Everyday you post articles after articles about arrests for Ponzi schemes, like Trevor Cook’s etc. I am sure these other guys have lots of $$ to pay lawyers to keep them out of jail too yet they get arrested and charged. How is Andy SOB doing it and when might this come to fruition? I admit I don’t understand the law and I don’t understand how he is dragging this on and on. How come guys like Cook didn’t file appeal after appeal if that is all it takes?
And I agree….GREAT article!
That must have been brutal for his son but he manned up and told it the way it was. Why is this guy not on trial yet or better in jail? I just dont understand why this is taking so long. Great article Patrick.
Have a quick read of how difficult it is to bring professional fraudsters to justice here: http://www.wired.co.uk/wired-magazine/archive/2009/10/features/follow-the-money-the-world%27s-sharpest-fraudbusters?page=all and you’ll soon begin to understand the difficulties faced by investigators, PARTICULARLY when the investigators are hampered by political masters who would prefer to keep things “on the quiet” and hope they simply disappeared.
Hi snails*pace,
I don’t believe he is “avoiding arrest.” The government, I believe, has a litigation plan and is sticking to it.
These Ponzi cases can be monumentally complex. The tentacles are far-reaching and take enormous time and effort to reverse-engineer.
I’ll be updating the theory of steroidal puppeteers soon.
Patrick
Hi flashlight,
A case can be made that he can do more harm to the “industry” by remaining out of jail as long as possible. If the aim of the prosecution is to deal a crippling blow to the autosurf and HYIP criminals, it makes sense to gather as much intelligence as possible to understand the inner workings and the conduits through which money is channeled to sustain the schemes.
In my view, these schemes are unprecedented in the whole of U.S. and world history. An incredible number of schemes-within-schemes and networks-within-networks exists. I also believe there is a loosely connected confederation of sorts that understands how the reservoir can be tapped and specializes in building the network needed to tap it. Criminals effectively have turned the darkest corners of the Internet into a cash cow by recruiting people who fundamentally are not criminals to do the bidding of criminals. They’ve managed to enlist dupes in unprecedented numbers by presenting the offers as candy when they’re really the most powerful of poisons.
Patrick
Hear-bloody-hear
well said.
Bravo, Patrick; I echo the positive comments re your reporting for this article!
Regarding the delay in pursuing Bowdoin criminally, I’ve come to believe that an issue in the delay to indict/arrest Bowdoin may have to do with the requirements of the “Speedy Trial Act”.
As I understand it, the constitutional right to a speedy trial arisess after a person has been arrested, indicted, or otherwise formally accused of a crime by the government. The period involved (with certain exceptions)is 70 days from the formal action until a trial is required, after which the requirements of the “Speedy Trial Act” are deemed to have been violated – which can lead to a dismissal of the case.
Bottom line: I could be wrong, but it appears to me that it’s better for the government to take the time to have the case well prepared before the arrest, rather than jump the gun with an ill-prepared case and have the clock run out on the 70 days.
-PWD
Pat (Dunn),
The case against ASD and Bowdoin is pretty airtight, and if that were the only case, the ASD matter would likely be long since over. However, as you are aware, there are lots of others implicated as well, from Patrick P.’s unwitting dupes (such as former Surf’s Up mod Barb M.) to the more serially inclined low-level criminal promoters like Surf’s Up mod Kat/Kathyrn Milner and Steve Watt, to the more nefarious folks that we probably do not know, PP’s steroidal puppeteers. Since ASD is no longer doing harm, I don’t see any great disadvantage, but lots of upside, in furthering the investigations to cast a wider net. Sure, this may delay restitution (but may not), but no more so than Bowdoin’s appeals.
It is just my opinion, but I think it will depend on how far down the food chain the government will take this as to the reason for the delay. If they go as deep as I believe they will, they must coordinate all the evidence and charges, then make sure the arrests happen at once so no-one can be tipped-off for them to run.
If this is true, this is a monumental task that is in front of law enforcement. As Pat Dunn has said, the speedy trial aspect would also have to be taken into consideration. There are a lot more things going on than meets the eye, and has to remain hidden.
We also don’t know if people are being interviewed, and they are turning evidence over to the authorities, ratting out, if you will, others, and trying to cut themselves a deal. None of this will be done in the open. I’m sure that if some were confronted with going to prison, they would give people up in a heartbeat if it meant they could stay out of prison. Just another possible wrinkle in this whole mess.
As was also pointed out, the re-engineering of this Ponzi is also complicated. While most people thought ASD was a legitimate business with real books, the truth is these Ponzi’s never have detailed records. Detailed records are the scammers worst nightmare. Andy and ASD were no differernt than all the other Ponzi’s and lousy records.
When this ssset freeze was done, many of us were warning people tht this was far from being resolved, and it could and probably would take years. Many scoffed at us, but here we are 2 years later, and this is still far from over.
Hi Patrick,
You’ve written another wonderful article, and I hope you can continue to communicate with Bowdoin’s family members. I hate to admit it, but I enjoy stories that expose Andy Bowdoin for what he is — a psychopath who conned a lot of trusting people, some of whom say their lives were ruined.
Personally, I believe Andy will, before its all over, attempt cut a deal to turn in the top ASD “cheerleaders” — including members of his own family — to reduce his jail sentence. But he’s going to jail, for sure.
Keep up the great reporting!
BRAVO Patrick! Brilliant article and congratulations on offering us the first, if not only, interview with Bowdoin’s son, Scott.
Thanks to Scott and to the other members of the Bowdoin family who have come forward to tell us the truth behind the past of a man who has done unestimable damage to the lives of many other families through ASD and his many other schemes.
Perhaps these declarations will put a stop, once and for all, to those few Bowdoin supporters and autosurf supporters who are still in denial about the realities of ASD.
As you know, I have long been a fan of your theory of the Steroidal Puppeteers behind the autosurf and other ponzi schemes that form part of the internet “business” industry, and like others, live in hope that ASD will become a test case that reaches far down into the murky world behind it and go some way to cleaning up what should be a very useful business tool.
BRAVO!
Thanks to all above for once again explaining the “big picture”, which I often loose site of in my desire for a resolution to the ASD debacle. Thanks Patrick for this astounding article.
What’s the update concerning giving his victims their money back ?
Franco, the update is that there is no update. The case is in Appeals, the last filing in the case is due mid to late September, after which the appeal will be decided. There’s a while to go before anyone sees money, the government has to get possession of it first…
I was dumb enough to trust ASD and they, Andy, ruined us Financially.. I do hope that the Government does return the money
that they stole, so that we will have a complete recovery!
Mr. Johnston,
Sorry to hear about your situation. The government will return the money that they are able to access (I assume you are not saying that the government stole the money). They cannot do so until a lot of things happen first, including the end of Bowdoin’s appeals. Unfortunately, Bowdoin and his many accomplices and promoters have made off with a large portion of the money and hidden it away or spent it. Plan on getting back only a portion of your losses — 20 percent or so. You will not get a complete recovery, sad to say. You should also be able to take a tax loss up to a limit.
Don’t forget also, Mr Johnston, that one of the allegations made against Bowdoin and AdSurf Daily is that it was a “ponzi” type fraud.
This means that there was little or no actual income, other than that derived from members’ money.
It also means that every single cent which was paid out to members who DID earn anything, was in fact also part of the pool from which victims will be eventually refunded.
If the numbers of members ASD is claiming are correct, there are approximately 100,000 people out there who will be asking to share whatever is found in the bank accounts and purchases and can be reclaimed by the receiver REMEMBERING that however much was paid out to EVERYONE who has received even a single cent from ASD came out of the members money.
At a rough guess, (admittedly based on what ASD and its’ supporters have said), it appears that around 3 or 4 hundred MILLION dollars passed through ASD and much of it was circulated back to members as payments.
IOW, when it comes to ponzis, a great deal of money goes through the doors, but there’s usually very little left to “refund” and a great deal of it has already gone back to the members in the form of payouts.
I endorse this comment as the ultimate answer, because it is the pattern we see in all evolving systems which need to grow at an optimum rate. If an evolving system grows too quickly, it becomes unstable. If it grows too slowly, it withers and dies. All evolving systems follow this pattern. Those rules apply to the expanding universe, rise and fall of empires, weather patterns, animal and plant species, combustion etc. It applies to some financial systems.
When a social order breaks down there is no way that members can survive without getting embroiled with the criminal element. Economists describe the situation as a descent into tip values. Barbarism prevails until there is an infrastructure once again. None of us can predict the time that it will take for a civilised Internet community to ascend from tip values.
The good news is that Patrick and other journalists are reporting news of arrests all over the globe and an infrastructure is being developed a an unprecedented rate.
[…] corroborates the theory that he, along with others of his ilk, are sociopaths and dangerous. Son Says AdSurfDaily’s Andy Bowdoin Used Religion To Fleece Masses And Disgraced Family Name; … This is worth a read, not only to those following the ASD case, but to anyone who is interested in […]
In response to the posters above who pointed out that there is usually very little money left to recover from a failed ponzi scheme, while that is true my understanding is that the govt seized – and put in to their bank account – approx $93 million back in july of 2008 when they shut down ASD. They dont need to recover whatever little scraps there are to be found in the perpetrator’s accounts. As one of the victims, I would assume that money is secure and remains available to be distributed back to the victims eventually unless the govt just decides to keep it (which wouldn’t surprise me)
wallen,
Rest assured that the money is there. The government has stated many times that they will distribute the funds. You do know of course that the delays so far are due to your hero trying to keep his butt out of jail. He filed a series of (ridiculous) appeals, as is his right. He’s playing the court system to his maximum personal advantage. He never gave a cr&^ about the members — that’s why he stole their money. Why should he start now? Perhaps you should go visit Mr. Bowdoin personally and tell him to do the right thing for once in his life. Not gonna happen though. You should also be aware that the laws under which the seizure occured do give the government the right to keep the money (please read up on the statutes). There is a strong case to be made for keeping the money. Often times the so-called “victims” are just common serial Ponzi player criminals (not that you fall in this category). PP has recently reported that a person who is active in the current MPB Today pyramid scheme is also on the list of people who will very soon be getting restitituion from the CEP Ponzi scheme recovery fund. Is it right that these serial criminals get restitution? How would one sort all of this out? I guarantee you Mr. Bowdoin did not keep accurate records……
wallen, it may be fashionable, in certain circles, to blame the government when people who have joined ponzi schemes lose money, but it is not correct in the case of ASD, nor the many other ponzis that are now being stopped.
These schemes are started and run by criminals. They know what they are doing, when they start them and they know that they are not only illegal, but have a limited shelf life before they implode or the owners run off with the money or are stopped by law enforcement. The only question is how long they will last, not whether they will last. The government has stated clearly since the beginning of the ASD case they they will be retituting the funds that will be seized to the members. They have no legal obligation to do this, as the monies are the proceeds of an illegal business, but, they have decided that it is correct to do so.
The restitition of funds that have been seized will have, added to them, any other monies that they can find that Bowdoin and Co have secreted offshore or in any other place plus funds clawed back from promoters who made large, but illegal profits from the ASD scheme. I dont see anything wrong with their posture on that one. ASD ran for considerably longer than the average autosurf and broke out of the usual group of HYIP savvy investors into the general public, and targeted christians, elderly and other needy people. They were not generaly those who made large sums of money, but the “insiders” certainly did. Bowdoin stood on a stage in public and presented “ASD millionaires”, so we are not talking about paltry sums.
In the past, clawbacks have not been a big issue, although they have begun; with the CEP case being the first noteworthy example. However, there was not a serious attempt to castigate some of these people, and given that the same names have appeared on member lists in later ponzis, including ASD, AVGA, AV4U, Inetglobal, and many many others, it is not realistic to call all of them “victims” In addition to that, it has been suggested that maybe $300 to $400 MILLION passed through the hands of Andy Bowdoin and ASD, and that much of that was paid out to members. “little scraps” is hardly a word I would use to describe tens of millions of dollars. In addition, some of the people who persuaded people to invest their life savings in ASD (who ultimately lost their money) made handsome commissions on those victims’ purchases.
Times are changing and when the ASD criminal trial finally begins, I think the anti-government cynics will have their eyes opened a little, not only about the realities of the ASD ponzi, but about how far down the line responsiblities will be passed.
And yes, of course the monies that the Secret Service were able to rescue from the Bowdoin clutches are in safe keeping and accounted for. The monies that Bowdoin & Co have managed to keep from them are another story and that question you need to direct to Bowdoin himself.
To entertained-
that’s interesting and thanks for the insight and the update. I had not heard any news about this case until I found this website and was unaware of the legal status. However I can assure you that Mr Bowdoin and his cohorts are no heroes of mine – I got sucked into that scam by someone I trusted and if I could I would shake it out of Bowdoin coin by coin. He needs to go to jail for sure. Having said that, if it’s true that the statutes allow the govt to keep any property seized in an illegal enterprise that came from rightful owners, then in my opinion that’s a bad law and it ought to be changed. If the police break up a ring of jewel thieves they give the jewels back to the victims, even if one of the victims is scamming his insurance company. As far as weeding out recidivist enablers, I don’t know how to do that but smarter people than I could probably figure out something equitable and I’m not here to argue the point , but it’s still unjust if a govt- especially a bankrupt govt that can’t control its own spending – seizes private property from otherwise innocent owners – I don’t care what the excuse is. That’s just being victimized twice. Let’s hope they don’t do that.
regards
Nothing is stopping you from going after the person that recruited you. They should also have vetted this ‘opportunity’. Same can be said for them going after their recruiter.
to alasycia
Thanks for your comments – I don’t disagree with most everything you said – other than I personally have no interest in being fashionable but as a general rule no I dont trust the govt, especially where my money is concerned. The scraps I was referring to would be that which the govt could find still remaining in the perpetrator’s bank accounts , not the huge sums that flowed back out to knowing pyramid marketers. If those people can be identified then I certainly agree they should be denied restitution at a minimum. I am in the ‘elderly, Christian etc’ group . I never ‘recruited’ anyone or earned any so-called commissions or tried to- I just got taken .
regards
To use your parallel of jewel thieves, it is then necessary to sort out the receivers of stolen goods and those who desired to become receivers of stolen goods from the genuine victims of theft. It is expected that the monies that remain will be returned pro rata to those victims who lost all their money. It is hoped that if any “serial promoters” who happened to “get in too late” are included in those victims that they will not be treated the same as people who fell for Bowdoin’s con, but we don’t know.
Noone has suggested that the Government are not going to deal as fairly as they can with the victims, except for one or two serial promoters who probably stand to lose money in the clawbacks and a few conspiracy theorists. If victims do not receive back as much as they hoped, it will not be because of lack of willingness on the part of the Government, but because (a) Bowdoin and Co have already spent it and (b) because they are unable to claw back enough of the money already paid out to earlier members.
And remember the big one – the money legally belonged to Andy Bowdoin not to the victims who paid him.
There is one other alternative that victims may consider. If they feel that were conned twice – once by Bowdoin and again by their upline, they can always sue their upline. The government cant pay ASD members what they dont have, irrespective of anyone’s person opinion on how good or bad they are.
Wallen,
for your own peace of mind and a clearer understanding of what happened and will happen in the future,
please consider the logistics of what you’re suggesting.
ASD claimed to have a membership of 100,000+ plus people, most of whom made multiple transactions.
ASD and its’ predecessors operated over approximately 18 months.
Best guess says that upward of $300 MILLION passed through Bowdoins’ hands.
Bowdoin redirected much of the money into his own accounts, which means, in effect, it was stolen twice.
If anyone can come up with a fair and equitable solution to suit all 100,000+ “members” as to how to deal with the mess Bowdoin created, now would be a good time to contact the DoJ.
Remember also that a very large number of “members” are HYIP ponzi “players” with multiple accounts and multiple usernames, who have purposely remained anonymous.
The law wasn’t changed to suit the specific case and the government isn’t “seizing private property from otherwise innocent owners” any more than when it confiscates money found in the possession of an armed robber.
Just a general comment, not necessarily in response to wallen, who describes himself as an elderly Christian who does not trust the government but is no fan of Bowdoin.
I’m reminded of the bizarre disconnect that existed on the Surf’s Up and Golden Panda forums. The incongruities were stunning:
* Self-described Christians cheering for felons.
* New realities conflated to cover any unpleasant fact set.
* A retreat into an infinite set of contingencies to cover any unpleasant fact set.
* Calls for a militia to storm Washington.
* Calls for a prosecutor to be placed in a medieval torture “rack.”
* Descriptions of critics as “Rats” and “Maggots” and “Cockroaches.”
* Calls for the Senate to investigate the prosecutors and an undercover Secret Service agent.
* The continued sharing of autosurf, HYIP and cash-gifting “programs” by Christians after the seizure — even after Bowdoin was sued for racketeering and even after members of his family were named beneficiaries of his criminal conduct.
* The launch of AVG and other so-called clones while an active criminal investigation was under way and a RICO lawsuit was being prosecuted.
* The “offshore = safe” message passed along by Christians.
* The persistence of reports that the government was on the verge of losing the case.
* The persistence of the reports that the government had secretly confessed that ASD was not a Ponzi scheme — despite the filing of a second forfeiture complaint that alleged a Ponzi scheme.
* Suggestions that Judge Collyer was “brain dead.”
* Suggestions that Judge Collyer was accepting bribes.
* Suggestions that Judge Collyer was conspiring with Chief Judge Lamberth.
* Suggestions that Judge Collyer had violated her judicial oath and was guilty of “TREASON” against the United States.
* Suggestions that there were no witnesses and no evidence, even though both witnesses and evidence were tested in open court — at a hearing attended by ASD members themselves.
* The appearance of AVG graphics on an ASD-controlled website, and the bizarre explanation it was all an “operational coincidence.”
And now, of course, we have seen ASD members pitch the MPB Today program to victims of the ASD Ponzi scheme — even as evidence surfaces that promoters have ties to the CEP Ponzi scheme, the alleged P2P Ponzi scheme, the alleged Regenesis2x2 Ponzi scheme and other Ponzi and pyramid schemes.
This news has surfaced AFTER ASD members have participated in schemes such as Genius Funds, GNI, CashTanker and others — and THEY’RE STILL PUSHING PONZI SCHEMES.
The antigovernment ranters now may be trying to tap into the Food Stamp pipeline. The rationale seems to be that the government provided a bailout to banks — and, to the schemers, it naturally follows that individual Americans can divine themselves their own bailout by tapping the Food Stamp money.
These situations not only are dangerous, but also untenable and unprecedented in the whole of human history. That religion is being used to advance these schemes is reprehensible almost beyond measure.
Now, let’s look to Minneapolis and the Trevor Cook Ponzi: religion and missing millions AGAIN! Where is the money? Who has control of it?
This situation reminds me of when the street crooks and drug dealers switched from .38s to automatic weapons, thus outgunning law enforcement. In Mexico, meanwhile, the drug traffickers have become a sort of Taliban only miles from the U.S. border.
Worry does not even begin to describe how law enforcement must feel about the new dangers — driven in no small measure by the Internet and people who’ve been duped into joining with the crooks.
There are players and greedters, of course. But they are being aided by people who either refuse or are incapable of connecting the dots.
These are dangerous times indeed.
Patrick
roundman – I doubt anyone including myself can come up with a solution that will completely satisfy all 100,000 participants, but a reasonably fair and simple solution that would probably satisfy the majority of people is simply to let everyone file a verifiable claim for their original deposit. That’s not too complicated. If they made multiple deposits they have to pick the biggest one (and were kinda asking for it anyway)
If the police confiscate and hold money from an armed robber – that’s fine – as long as they eventually give it back to the victim
After finding this website and listening to all the responses here it is apparent that the case is still ongoing and for now I’m willing to give the DOJ the benefit of the doubt. ‘Nuff said-
regards
Quick note:
Some readers may find value in this post:
https://patrickpretty.com/2009/04/07/unacceptable-surfs-up-member-claims-prosecutor-will-be-introduced-to-god-himself-calls-for-god-to-avenge-bowdoin/
And perhaps this one:
https://patrickpretty.com/2009/04/12/surfs-up-report-about-judges-order-adds-confusion/
And perhaps this one:
https://patrickpretty.com/2009/08/25/rumor-mill-working-overtime-in-adsurfdaily-case/
And perhaps this one:
https://patrickpretty.com/2009/10/14/editorial-our-best-wishes-to-gomer-pyle-ausa/
And perhaps this one:
https://patrickpretty.com/2009/11/28/surfs-up-celebrates-one-year-as-bowdoin-endorsed-blather-box-forum-deletes-another-discussion-about-adviewglobal-autosurf-amid-member-complaints/
And perhaps this one:
https://patrickpretty.com/2010/01/07/editorial-in-the-end-surfs-up-demonstrated-that-all-its-members-were-expendable-and-that-its-heart-beat-only-for-bowdoin-and-a-limited-few/
Patrick
wallen,
Thx for your comments. I suspected you were not one of the criminal gang….. The seizure in the ASD case is VERY different than busting a ring of jewel thieves. In the ASD case, RICO laws appply. For starters, it is 100% factual that the assets seized belonged to one Andy Bowdoin. I am sorry, they did not belong to you. You voluntarily gave money to ASD, and the moment you transferred the funds, they did not belong to you. I know this is a bad situation, but the facts of law are clear. Andy Bowdoin claimed all the assets were his, and the courts have ruled that this is the case. However, since they were the proceeds of an illegal enterprise, the government has the right to seize those assets and then try to return them to the people, such as yourself, who were victimized by Bowdoin et al. They are not seizing property from innocent owners. They truly seized it from Bowdoin and intend to give it back to the victims.
You do have recourse by the way, against the people who signed you up. They are civilly liable for your losses. Something to consider…….
Patrick –
thank you for providing this website. As far as your specific comments, I was completely unaware of and certainly did not participate in any of those rather bizarre and delusional sounding acts that you listed and I appreciate you excluding me from that. After filing my claim back in 2008 I have heard practically nothing about this case. Actually I only indicated I was in that broad ‘general public…elderly, christian, needy etc’ group noted by another poster meaning not just elderly (which I’m not), Christian(which I am) or needy (which I’m not) but ‘etc’ – general public first time, non pyramid promoters, -‘etc etc’ I perhaps truncated my self-description too much for the sake of brevity. Enough about me, doesn’t matter.
As to your other comments ,unfortunately there have been down through history bad people like Bowdoin who have used religious beliefs or preyed upon the beliefs of others to further some destructive or immoral purpose, including those who delude themselves when they participate in things like you mentioned. But such sad realities and reprehensible acts do not condemn the religious beliefs themselves or the vast majority of decent people in this country who identify themselves as Christian in belief . Nor does it logically follow that the govt should be trusted implicitly simply because a few kooks have a persecution complex. Too often those who have an axe to grind with religion per se use such situations to prove their point. And too often objective and useful discourse deteriorates when the subject of religion is introduced. And now I really do have to go- it’s chore day !
regards
I am glad that Patrick’s blog has been able to give Wallen a clearer picture of the criminal he inadvertently became involved with. With respect to one’s trust in the Government to handle the restitution fairly, we have no choice but to trust them in this instance. They will hold the money which fortunately has been rescued from a crook (or what is left to it) and it will be up to them to distribute it as fairly as is possible. Indications to date are that they are very willing to do this and are trying to keep the cost to a minimum by avoiding the use of a Receiver. It is also to be remembered that this is a very public case for them as well as for the ASD members.
There is one point however that needs commenting on – ASD was, for many participants, a classic case of Affinity Fraud. Unfortunately it is not as uncommon as one would expect. Bowdoin used his supposed christianity as a hook to attract investors, and Patrick has mentioned several others. Maddof targeted the jewish community. Noobing, a smaller and less succesful autosurf,(whose parent company has been prosecuted) targeted the deaf. MPB, a possible fraudulent MLM is targeting those on Food Stamps, Christians and extremist republicans. The list is endless, and I have even heard of a fraudulent Bhuddist.
Regretably financial fraud is a multi billion dollar industry and is not confined to a few bad applesm most of whom use some kind of affinity to attract their victims. The internet has given leash to a whole new fraud industry which hides behind computers, is totally international, and which is totally out of control. These frauds use “stored value†debit cards, unregulated or lightly regulated payment processors and money-services businesses, and other means to immerse themselves in, what is considered to be a shadow banking system. Money laundering is rife in these frauds, and who knows if their investment has used to been finance criminals, narcotics dealers or terrorists?. That is quite apart from the damage done to the economy, when billions of dollars are drained out of the system. A ponzi fraud can go as far as casuing political instability, as in the recent ponzi fraud in Belize.
President Obama’s government have shown a great awareness of the damage caused by financial fraud and have set up the multi agency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force and hundreds of cases are now being investigated and prosecuted.
It is always wise to be sceptical about business and government, but in its due proportion and in context.
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