YouTube Video Pitchmen For Profitable Sunrise Hit By Subpoenas From SEC

John Schepcoff says on YouTube that he potentially lost more than $193,000 in Profitable Sunrise but that a new “program” operating from Hong Kong is “1,000 percent” better.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Much remains murky about Profitable Sunrise, the alleged purveyor of five HYIP “plans,” including one bizarrely dubbed the “Long Haul” that purported to pay a preposterous 2.7 percent a day. The “Long Haul” payoff was dubbed the “Easter Gift.” Investors were told it would arrive April 1 — but it never materialized.

One thing that is abundantly clear is that Profitable Sunrise potentially has created legal exposure and inconvenience for individual pitchmen, even though purported operator “Roman Novak” appears to be gone like a thief in the night.

Still pushing HYIP schemes?

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At least three Profitable Sunrise pitchmen — including at least two who pushed the “program” on YouTube — have been subpoenaed by the SEC to appear at depositions this month. The agency’s move is occurring in the aftermath of the depositions of at least two other Profitable Sunrise figures in Florida and Utah in April.

In July 2010, the PP Blog reported that the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) warned investors worldwide “to stay away from HYIPs,” saying that they use social-media sites such as YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and online forums and “rating” sites to spread Ponzi misery globally.

At least two of the men named in the new round of subpoenas went on to push other purported “opportunities” after the SEC described Profitable Sunrise in April as a murky HYIP that had used a “mail drop” in England and a series of offshore bank accounts in multiple countries to scam investors potentially of tens of millions of dollars.

A subpoena was docketed yesterday in federal court in Atlanta for John Schepcoff of Carmichael, Calif. Schepcoff also is known as James Schepcoff, according to the SEC. His deposition has been scheduled for June 12 at 10 a.m. in San Francisco.

After pitching Profitable Sunrise on YouTube prior to its March collapse amid especially murky circumstances, Schepcoff returned to YouTube in late April and began pitching yet another murky “program” purportedly operating from Hong Kong. Although the identity of the Hong Kong “program” was unclear, records suggest it was a Zeek Rewards-like “opportunity” known as “Better-Living Global Marketing.”

In August 2012, the SEC described Zeek as a $600 million Ponzi- and pyramid scheme that had pushed unregistered securities on hundreds of thousands of people and duped them into believing they were receiving a legitimate return of about 1.5 percent a day. The U.S. Secret Service also said it was investigating Zeek.

A subpoena also was docketed in Atlanta yesterday for video pitchman Melton McClanahan of Fairfield, Calif. McClanahan was identified in a March order by the Alabama Securities Commission (ASC) as a Profitable Sunrise agent. McClanahan then posted a YouTube video denying he was an agent and yet claiming the information he passed along to lure prospects “was given to me.”

McClanahan’s deposition is scheduled for June 11 at 10 a.m. in San Francisco.

An SEC subpoena also was docketed yesterday in Atlanta for Don Gillette of Miami. Gillette reportedly told members of his Profitable Sunrise downline that he was turning to a new “program” that “must have a realistic earning potential of at least $500 a day or more,” according to a post at the RealScam.com antiscam forum.

Details about the scheduling of Gillette’s deposition are unclear.

As part of its ongoing Profitable Sunrise probe, the SEC also has subpoenaed records at PayPal and at Societe Generale in New York, according to the docket of U.S. District Judge Thomas W. Thrash Jr. in Atlanta. Whether Profitable Sunrise or its members were using the companies to move money is unclear.

One of the problems with HYIP schemes is that they may cause laundered funds or proceeds of criminal enterprises to pass through or be placed on deposit at legitimate financial institutions.

News of the new round of Profitable Sunrise subpoenas follows on the heels of the takedown last month of Liberty Reserve, amid allegations it had orchestrated a $6 billion money-laundering conspiracy. Liberty Reserve was popular with HYIP scammers and other criminals.

NOTE: Thanks to the ASD Updates Blog.