URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: Zeek Rewards Figures Dawn Wright-Olivares And Daniel Olivares Charged Criminally, Sued Civilly
Dawn Wright-Olivares. Source: Cropped section of 2012 online promo for Zeek.
URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: (21st update 5:49 p.m.) Zeek Rewards figures Dawn Wright-Olivares and Daniel Olivares of Clarksville, Ark., have been charged criminally by federal prosecutors in the Western District of North Carolina and sued civilly by the SEC.
Among the criminal allegations are tax-fraud conspiracy and investment-fraud conspiracy, according to a charging document. Wire fraud also is alleged. Zeek’s Zeekler arm is called a “sham internet based penny auction company” in the charging documents. Zeek’s Zeek Rewards arm is called a “purported advertising division.”
Wright-Olivares has agreed to plead guilty to investment-fraud conspiracy and to tax-fraud conspiracy, federal prosecutors said this afternoon. Daniel Olivares has agreed to plead guilty to investment-fraud conspiracy.
Daniel Olivares is the 31-year-old stepson of Wright-Olivares, 45. Zeek operated from Lexington, N.C., with Wright-Olivares at one time serving as its COO. The court docket in the criminal case notes a plea agreement.
Information published by the government suggests Daniel Olivares had been in plea negotiations with prosecutors since at least July 29, 2013, before finalizing a deal yesterday. Wright-Olivares, meanwhile, appears to have finalized a deal on Nov. 22, 2013.
The deals suggest that Wright-Olivares could be sentenced to a maximum of 10 years in federal prison and Olivares five years. Both deals contemplate cooperation from the defendants. Wright-Olivares, according to plea papers, is represented by Brian S. Cromwell and Sarah F. Hutchins. Olivares is represented by S. Frederick Winiker III. All three attorneys are specialists in white-collar defense.
Zeek operated through Paul R. Burks and Rex Venture Group LLC. A “P.B.” is referenced in the Wright-Olivares/Olivares charging documents as an “Un-indicted co-conspirator.”
Wright-Olivares allegedly received Zeek and Rex payouts through an entity known as Wandering Phoenix LLC, according to the charging documents.
“Wright-Olivares was a marketing and operational mastermind behind the scheme and Olivares was the chief architect of the computer databases they used,” said Stephen Cohen, an associate director in the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “After they learned ZeekRewards was under investigation by law enforcement, they accepted substantial sums of money from the scheme while keeping investors in the dark about its imminent collapse.”
Wright-Olivares has settled the civil action by agreeing to “pay at least $8,184,064.94,” the SEC said.
Olivares settled by agreeing “to pay at least $3,272,934.58,” the SEC said.
The settlement amounts, the SEC said, “represent the entirety of their ill-gotten gains plus prejudgment interest.”
Meanwhile, the SEC said that the Zeek fraud “raised more than $850 million from approximately one million investors worldwide.”
The dollar sum is about $250 million higher than the SEC’s original estimate in August 2012.
From the SEC complaint (italics/bolding added):
[Zeek operator Paul] Burks provided the daily dividend rate to Olivares, who then entered it into the ZeekRewards databases to establish each affiliate investor’s daily award (communicated to affiliates through the ZeekRewards website). Wright-Olivares and Olivares learned that the daily dividend rate was fabricated by Burks and not actually calculated based on “daily net profits” or any actual company earnings, as represented to investors. In fact, in several instances when Burks was unavailable, Wright-Olivares instructed Olivares to enter daily dividend rates to mimic the payout from a prior week, without any regard for the company’s actual earnings.
Precisely when Wright-Olivares and Olivares allegedly learned that Burks had fabricated the daily payout rate is unclear. In a bizarre radio interview in June 2012, Wright-Olivares maintained that Burks “manages all that.”
In the criminal charging document, prosecutors say that Zeek employed a so-called “80/20 VIP Bid Strategy” to keep adequate cash on hand to “make the daily Ponzi payments to victim-investors.” Under such 80/20 plans, investors are encouraged to keep 80 percent of their money in an enterprise and to withdraw no more than 20 percent in cash.
Zeek’s 80/20 program, prosecutors said, caused liabilities to mushroom in August 2012 to approximately $2.8 billion. Zeek, however, had only about 11 percent of that sum on hand. The SEC said in an emergency enforcement action in August 2012 that Zeek was teetering on collapse because of ever-accumulating, unfunded liabilities.
Meanwhile, according to the criminal charging documents, Rex, Zeek Rewards and Zeekler failed to file any corporate tax returns or any corporate tax payments to the IRS.
And for the 2011 tax year, according to the charging documents, “P.B.,” Wright-Olivares and others reported to the IRS that Zeek investors had received more than $108 million from the scheme when Zeek had paid out only about $13 million.
This caused Zeek victims to file “false tax returns with the IRS reporting phantom income that they never actually received,” according to the charging documents.
Zeek used the “false tax notices to perpetuate the Ponzi scheme,” according to the charging document.
“This case shows that the appearance of success can be a mask for a tangled financial web of lies” said Richard Weber, chief of IRS Criminal Investigation. “The underlying structure can fall apart at any time and leave many investors in financial ruin.”
Added Paul Morrissey, assistant director of investigations for the U.S. Secret Service: “As today’s technology continues to evolve, cybercriminals use these advances and enhancements to perpetrate an expanding range of crimes. As we have seen with this case, even with the increasing complexity of online Ponzi schemes, it remains difficult for criminals to remain anonymous. The Secret Service continues to seek new and innovative ways to combat emerging cyber threats.”
U.S. Attorney Anne M. Tompkins is supervising the criminal prosecution. The Zeek investigation is ongoing, her office said in a statement.
As part of the criminal case, prosecutors are seeking the forfeiture of $850 million.
NOTE: Our thanks to the ASD Updates Blog.
You can bet there is a whole group of people who are not resting comfortably today with this announcement of these criminal charges against Dawn and Daniel. Especially since they have entered into a plea deal. Simply put, this means they are telling everything they know and naming names, and if they don’t their plea deal is off.
It is going to be very interesting to see just who all are indicted criminally for their role in Zeek. 2014 is shaping up to be a very interesting year for all the players in Zeek.
Not only for those involved in Zeek but for others who for years have slid by without fear of any repercussions for their part in many other Zeek like frauds.
Quick note: The criminal charging document makes references to unnamed “co-conspirators” who are “known and unknown” to federal prosecutors.
Similar language was used in the AdSurfDaily Ponzi case in 2008 and beyond.
Other similarities between Zeek and ASD were allegations that cosmetic changes were made to the programs as a means of trying to disguise their true nature more fully.
Here’s part of what the federal prosecutors presiding over the criminal prosecutions of Wright-Olivares and Olivares said today:
____________________________________________
“As the Ponzi scheme grew in size and scope, the co-conspirators took several steps to conceal the true nature of their scam by making a series of cosmetic changes to the ZeekRewards’ RPP. Ultimately, the Ponzi scheme began failing because the outstanding liability resulting from the bogus 125% return on investment continued to rise beyond control. By August 2012, the co-conspirators fraudulently represented to the collective victims that their investments were worth approximately $2.8 billion. Yet the co-conspirators had no accurate books and records to even determine how much cash on hand was available to pay such liability. In fact, by August 17, 2012, the co-conspirators had only $320 million or approximately 11% of $2.8 billion in value that they claimed investors had.”
____________________________________________
Patrick
The obvious question is this – How did they think they really think they could ever get away with this? There are 1000s of deliberate frauds at any one time, but never with so much money and as many people involved. Add to that the efforts to prove it was all legitimate. Mind boggling!
From Paragraph 57 of the SEC complaint against Wright-Olivares and Olivares:
“In order to conceal from investors and regulators the true nature of the ZeekRewards scheme, Wright-Olivares and others directed several superficial or nominal changes to certain ZeekRewards features, which Olivares implemented. This included removing any references on the website to the terms “investment” and “ROI”; substituting a daily award percentage that in the aggregate approximated 125% every 90 days rather than “guaranteeing” a 125% return; and requiring investors to give away VIP bids to foster the illusion of contributing efforts to the enterprise.”
Patrick
From Paragraph 60 of the Wright-Olivares/Olivares SEC complaint:
“Aware that the ZeekRewards was under investigation by several law enforcement agencies and that the business was in serious trouble in 2012, Wright-Olivares, Olivares and others accepted, substantial sums of money from the scheme (or had prior loans forgiven) before it was shut down without advising investors.”
Patrick
As reported by Mitch Weiss the Associated Press Reporter who had to force N.C, Attorney General to turn over the information (and complaints) by filing a Freedom of Information (FOIA), the Attorney General’s Office had the information walking them through this $850 million fraud a full 6-7 months before the Feds finally stepped in shutting them down. Had the NC AG paid attention and investigated the information given to them, they would have had to act, and if they would have acted the earlier “take down” of this Mega Ponzi would have saved hundreds of millions in losses.
When pressed by AP Reporter Mitch Weiss as to why they had not acted on the information, the North Carolina Asst. A.G. said he thought it was a matter to best be investigated by other attorneys withing their office who did “securities matters”….a classic “Government Employee” view of “it is not my job” so he sent it down the hall to sit in the “inbox of someone else”.
Victims should be able to sue NC for “dereliction of duty or negligence” if all these facts regarding the information given to them bear out. “Government Error” in the finest tradition.
Link to Zip file of key documents:
https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resid=E00BB092423FE379!1049&authkey=!ACwDlAkCIPKZx6o&ithint=file%2c.zip
Patrick
Especially with the dollar amounts they agree to pay back.
Quick note: A reader contacted me last evening, saying a loved one handed over more than $2,000 in cash to join Zeek. If I’m reading this right, she paid her upline, rather than Zeek directly. In any event, the transaction occurred within the last week of Zeek’s operation.
The reader wants to know if a lawsuit can be filed in small-claims court, presumably against the upline, to recover the money.
Whether the money even made it to Zeek is unclear.
This type of circumstance also existed in the AdSurfDaily scam, and it prevented X number of losers from getting a remissions payout because they couldn’t demonstrate a loss.
Patrick
Wonder where’s Alex (Dawn’s new hubby), Darryl, and the rest of the gang? ;)
I’m not sure about USA, but I would think they would have a small claims system like in UK. It might also depend on what terms the money was handed over on, and if there was anything in writing.
It could be tricky, but there would be no harm in checking to see, particularly if the person who took the money refused to refund.
It would probably be best for the person to just do the right thing and give the money back, particularly if the one handing it had little knowledge of what they were really getting into.
Here is how it is done in UK
https://www.gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money/going-to-court
If this person lives in North Carolina, I think the answer is yes. They can sue in small claims court. Possibly, some of the big winners (money makers in Zeek) had inside knowledge of what was going on. I agree with Lynn, 2014 is going to be an interesting year. Last Sunday, I drove to Lexington just to check out Zeek. Zeek brought much publicity to the little city of Lexington who once had a sheriff that paint the cells pink and a tv lady came and spent the night. Awesome little town.
Debra Norville was the TV personality who spent the night in the pink jail cell of Sheriff John Hagee in Lexington some 10 years back. Hagee was infamous on TV for his “Spiderman Car.”
Very nervous people all around concerning Zeek. Too many people have gotten away with ‘dump and run to the next scam’ for far too long. Ken Russo and Faith Sloan, are you listening? Second round of ASD remissions went out. An online friend got all of his $7,500 back. This person was asked by his upline to pay them directly and not ASD. Luckily they did not. I really hope we see many criminal and civil cases from Zeek.
I thought they joined Iwowee in June. Not sure about Darryl though. He seemed to disappear entirely. They released a video which was later became not available and private. But it was put on youtube by someone else. The first few seconds of this would be a good CSI tv audition. Particularly Aaron.
I wonder how iWowWe feels and The Dash Project feel about hiring her now?
iWowWe might need to start looking for a new COO – looks like she could be doing jail time.
Hello John,
Based on what’s known to date from public court filings, it’s hard to say precisely when Paul Burks and Dawn Wright-Olivares found out that Zeek was under investigation.
Even so, Zeek’s behavior had become increasingly bizarre at least by late May and early June of 2012. There was the “toilet paper” episode:
https://patrickpretty.com/2012/06/05/bizarre-zeek-leaders-scold-affiliates-coo-plants-seed-that-if-company-tells-members-to-change-their-preference-in-dispensing-toilet-paper-they-should-do-it/
And, on May 30, 2012, Zeek described its efforts to get back checks it had issued as a “claw-back”:
https://patrickpretty.com/2012/06/01/zeek-now-a-problem-with-mislabeled-purchases-mlm-opportunity-married-to-penny-auction-site-says/
The strange episode involving Zeek’s bid to “claw-back” checks began on May 28, 2012, Memorial Day:
https://patrickpretty.com/2012/05/28/zeek-rewards-mlm-says-affiliates-must-cash-checks-immediately-because-it-is-closing-accounts-at-2-u-s-banks/
Just supposition on my part, but the Feds could have looked at the Zeek “claw-back” talk as the projection of consciousness of guilt. Clawbacks could have very much been on the minds of insiders and co-conspirators by the late spring of 2012.
If you read the forfeiture complaint in the ASD Ponzi case from August 2008 closely, you’ll see that it practically drips of consciousness of guilt. Some of the ASDers told undercover agents that they knew they were in a Ponzi scheme. One person told an undercover agent not to use the word “investment.”
Things just went downhill from there. After the Feds seized the cash, Andy Bowdoin described them as “Satan” and compared the raid to the 9/11 attacks.
Patrick
Hi Lynn,
I’m sure you’ll recall that an “opportunity” known as PaperlessAccess appears to have hired Andy Bowdoin as a commercial pitchman AFTER the Feds seized $80 million from ASD and AFTER subpoenas were issued during ongoing civil and criminal probes.
Beyond that, the OneX “program” didn’t seem too concerned that Bowdoin was hawking it while telling the troops he was doing God’s work and would use his OneX proceeds to pay for his criminal defense in the ASD Ponzi case.
One could conclude from these events that MLM has a wing that will ignore just about anything if it has a chance to recruit a magnetic personality who can drive cash to a scheme.
Hell, Zeek’s body practically was still warm when T. LeMont went into overdrive to promote at least two more “revenue-sharing” schemes — this AFTER he’d also pushed OneX.
The post-Zeek disconnect was stunning in a number of ways, not the least of which was that Disner and others tried to rip a page out of the ASD playbook to demonize the receiver.
I’m not sure it would sell as a movie because the audience would be required to suspend too much disbelief. On some days, it’s even hard to write straight news about these schemes.
Patrick
One way or another, they are part of one of the great stories of modern times.
The overall story is one of incredibly sustained and brazen felonious self-indulgence.
Patrick
Patrick, what you say adds up. But even if there hadn’t been any investigation at that time, if it was a ponzi then it was a ponzi. Surely at the back of their minds they must have known that a day of reckoning was sooner or later to come. Either from the Feds or masses of the members. The mind still boggles unless they had some escape plan.
John:
After reviewing the Zeek court documents, I wrote a commentary on Eagle’s website about what I think was the timeline of when the SEC began their investigation. This is just my opinion only, but I think I am pretty close to when the investigation started. If you are interested in reading it, you can read it here: https://www.eagleresearchassociates.org/media-center/founder-guest-commentaries/. I also wrote two articles for Swindles.org blog about Zeek if you are interested.
I can tell you that the Secret Service was notified about Zeek Rewards back in late October or early November of 2011 with documentation it was a Ponzi and growing fast. How quickly they began their investigation after receiving this information is unknown. Additional information was continuously provided from December 2011 through July 2012 to the Secret Service.
It would be nice to find out all the details, but it is highly unlikely we ever will. Unless of course if the lead investigator decides to write a book on it when s/he can.
Thanks Lynndel,
It would be interesting to know for sure exactly how far back the Zeek Admin knew of any investigation. And if the involvement of the Zeek’s Lawyers etc with the mlm test etc was done to throw investigators off the scent. I’m still not sure how they ever thought they could get away with the inevitable day of reckoning, either with or without an investigation.
I do know there was an air of desperation that began around march time which some members picked up on. Those who hung on and failed to withdraw their money found a short time later things spluttered to a standstill.
Dawn used to have a saying…..”OMG, the sky is falling” that she would say to those of us that were concerned about losing money. She thought our concerns were funny and she would repeat that saying daily! I for one didn’t find any humor in it and thought it was very cold-hearted! Now the tables are turned and she got caught with her hand in the cookie jar!
So, do I think that saying of hers is funny now? ABSOLUTELY! How does it feel Dawn to know that “The sky really is falling…..and right on your greedy head?”
Basic mind control / coercion techniques: ridicule and repetition. Those who are interested in such should visit Steven Hassan’s website: Freedomofmind.com where he discussed the BITE model of cult manipulation. He used to be a Moonie but broke off and became a cult expert to help deprogram other victims like him, and many victims are indeed cult victims… cult of money.
Lynn, enjoyed your time line on Zeek. Many thanks for sharing. I wonder just how much knowledge the mega bucks promoters of Zeek had? It is hard for me to think the mega buck promoters were completely in the dark. They were pushing Zeek to the very end. To my knowledge, most of mega buck promoters had been in ponzi/pyramid schemes before. Go figure?
Hello Bob,
At a certain point in time, “insiders” in HYIP schemes begin to pose an extortion threat to the operators. The operators know this and, in effect, try to buy silence by opening up the cashout window for the insiders.
I’m not sure if this happened inside of Zeek. But if definitely happened inside of ASD.
This story lays out some of the ASD insider dealings:
https://patrickpretty.com/2011/06/11/prosecution-bombshells-asd-had-special-class-of-members-bowdoins-silent-partner-in-adsurfdaily-was-his-12dailypro-sponsor-north-carolina-lawyer-and-co-owner-of-lafuente-dinero-tol/
Here’s Part II:
https://patrickpretty.com/2011/06/12/part-2-prosecution-bombshells-operators-and-insiders-received-millions-of-dollars-from-asd-bowdoin-changed-subject-when-told-what-he-was-doing-was-not-mathematically-possible-governm/
Patrick
I hope they all end up in prison !!!!
Patrick,
Many thanks for the post. Enjoyed reading and learning just how crooked some people are. I am in full agreement with Wizzard7. Maybe, imprisonment is too good for these corrupt minded people.
It was announced that Dawn and Daniel’s case civil case will be before Judge Mullen and Kenneth Bell was appointed “Special Master.”
This article says they will face prison time:
http://www.hpe.com/news/x1401024918/First-criminal-pleas-readied-in-Zeek-scam
Best part is at the end:
“We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to take down greedy scam artists who think nothing of stealing the savings of hard working people,” she (Anne Tompkins, U.S. attorney for the Western District of North Carolina) said.
Many took a on online test given by a respected attorney Kevin Grimes, the test was very long and not easy to pass, you had to pay attention and answer at least 80% of the questions correctly in order to pass. The test takers thought they were operating according to the companies (Zeek Rewards) and their legal representatives instructions.
The people that took the test (from what I have been told) thought they were abiding by the law and the instructions of a legal company and acted accordingly. Now the receiver wants to enforce a Claw Back Law against the people that were working for the company, are they going to claw back the money the people that washed the windows or swept the floors, how about the people that painted the signs on the windows are they in danger of the receiver coming after them?
Just as an example, if a company was found to be a fraud that issued real estate license would all the Realtor’s that took the test and sold real estate have to pay back the commissions they earned? If this is the case how can anyone receive a pay check from an employer, How about Enron, they were accused of being a ponze scheme, did all the employees and share holders fall under the claw back law, or is it left up to the government who the chose to go after.
Didn’t we just go through all this with people requesting 503-c status from the IRS,their request were denied or delayed because the government thought they should be… Where does it stop?
This is true, which makes the Zeek saga a kind of watershed in online program history. Perhaps because so many, even the winners, were duped unwittingly will make it a standard others will be measured against.
When the program first started it didn’t immediately have a mad rush of participants. This was because it all appeared too complicated. As time went on, explanations were given and more and more people joined. Later, it even spread to the general public, who don’t usually involve themselves in such things.
I am still baffled how Dawn and others (who were trusted) continued the way they did, knowing one way or another there would be a day of reckoning.
Nothing wrong with taking a test. The problem here is the compliance is for the masses, NOT FOR THE COMPANY ITSELF. The sword is aimmed outward, not inwards.
Bob:
Good grief. It makes no difference how many tests or how many times you had to take the test to get an 80% passing grade from Kevin Grimes test. All you needed to ask were:
Was Rex Venture/Zeek Rewards licensed and registered to sell securities? The answer was NO.
Was anyone on the management team licensed and registered to sell securities? The answer was NO.
Was anyone promoting Zeek licensed and registered to sell securities? The answer was NO.
That’s all the due diligence you needed to do to know they were illegal and a Ponzi.
Toss in for good measure that never has any offering of securities been able to generate 1.5% daily rate of return, and anyone with an IQ above room temperature should have known this was a Ponzi.
Anyone who would listen to all of us who were telling everyone this was a Ponzi and not to invest didn’t listen. The sad part is many who got burned in Zeek will turn around and join the next Ponzi de Jour believing all the hype and BS the promoters and admin puts out as it is real and legitimate.
As for the insiders, guess you haven’t been following the court casea that closely. Dawn and Daniel are just the first that have had criminal charges filed against them, and they won’t be the last. The list of winners the Receiver is suing were in the top percentile of those who stole money from the people they suckered into joining this Ponzi. They won’t be the last. Just maybe, those who didn’t settle the first time it was offered, will get the message they are next and pony up the money they need to return for their role in this Ponzi.
So if you were one of the winners who wants his day in court, good luck trying to convince the judge that you and Zeek were protected by the Commerce Clause, and as long as you were wiling to take the risk, no harm no foul.
That’s like saying that you can invest in houses of prostitution, or in selling drugs because it is your money and you have a right to do with it as you see fit. Seriously?
[…] Dec. 20, federal prosecutors charged former Zeek COO Dawn Wright-Olivares and former Zeek programmer Daniel […]
I lost $16,000 in this scam, these scammers still live in Clarksville Arkansas close to where I live and when I had the misfortune of being recruited I was a single mom in college at the time, they convinced me to “invest” in my education for the future with what I would make. Now, I can’t even afford my last semester. They happily continue scamming people. Dawn Wright, Alex, and Paul are all on Linkedin. Dawn and her man own a “healthy cafe” likely purchased with victims money. I pray I get some of my money back, I was planning to go back to school with the money I had saved. Man was I fooled! I pray I can forgive and move on but I am curious, who gets the 11+ Million they are paying to “Settle” the charges? why aren’t the victims getting that money???.
The money will go to victims.
Patrick
They are. It’s going into a “disgorgement fund”, and will likely given to the receivership later when the judge approves. Read this SEC explanation:
https://www.sec.gov/answers/recoverfunds.htm
I am very sorry about what happened and hope you manage to recover and get some kind of return. I think EVERYONE was fooled by Dawn, even the winners both large and small. I’m still baffled about how they ever thought they could get away with this.
I notice on a very recent video that Dawn and her ‘team’ no longer appear to be with iWowWee. Or they are nowhere to be seen here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVETOWifUL8&feature=youtu.be
Original video
They are living it up, running their family business in Arkansas on our dime. “The Healthy Hog” on Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, linkedin…they are not hiding that’s for sure!
Dawn and her ‘team’ apparently opened ‘The Healthy Hog’ in Arkansas.
Looking at the google street map it doesn’t seem like an area with too many people around.
And I’m not sure who would answer the phone.
http://thehealthyhog.com
When the good guys and girls reigned in the bunch of crooks in Zeek, I thought all was lost. Now I think the return to Zeek affiliates who lost their money will be substantial, very substantial. Hats off to these wonderful people that worked so hard to reign in these crooks.
[…] 45, was Zeek’s former COO. She has settled the SEC civil case against her and agreed to plead guilty to Zeek-related criminal charges of investment-fraud conspiracy and tax-fraud conspiracy, federal investigators said. Her stepson, […]
Question: People who live in the same town as the Wright-Olivares family state that their elaborate spending has not stopped and their lavish lifestyles continue. Do they not freeze assets in cases like this?
[…] a Dec. 20, 2013, PP Blog report on the criminal allegations against Wright-Olivares (italics/bolding […]
[…] Dec. 20, 2013, PP Blog […]
I also live in the same town as the Wright-Olivares family. As stated before, they continue to spend, spend, spend. Her teenage children brag on social media about the outlandish purchases they are making, such as $1,600 makeup purchases, expensive foreign cars and $2.000 clothing splurges on a whim. While I do not wish to see these children suffer for their mother’s scam, I wonder if the money they continue to spend actually belongs to victims. Is it possible that Wright-Olivares saw her house of cards falling and moved funds to her children to keep the government from taking everything she has to be used for restitution? The question was asked by Sandy: “Do they not freeze assets in cases like this?” That’s what I’m wondering.
SEC got them to cough up the illegally obtained funds (i.e. ponzi “earnings”)
but there’s no telling what sort of funds she may have siphoned off as “salary” beforehand, or what sort of merchandise she may have nabbed from Zeek warehouse (not everything can be drop-shiped)
I don’t know about social media bragging, but if you want to write a note to SEC (US attorney on file is listed in the case) regarding your allegation… :)