TELEXFREE BRIEFS: (1) False Claims That ‘Program’ Has Been Cleared Of U.S. Pyramid-Scheme Charges; (2) Name Of Model/Racecar Driver Used In Sanitization Campaign; (3) TelexFree Members Targeted In Ongoing ‘IFreeX’ Reload Scheme

newtelexfreelogo1.) Reports began to surface late Thursday on Twitter and Facebook that TelexFree has been cleared by a judge of U.S. pyramid-scheme charges. These reports are false. Period.

Perhaps to add credibility to the claim, a photo that appeared to depict a female TV reporter sitting in a studio was posted on Facebook. A computer to which a TelexFree logo was affixed sat to the reporter’s right. Below these images was a text message in Portuguese.

The headline was “FORTE VITÓRIA TELEXFREE NOS ESTADOS UNIDOS.” Google’s translate tool (to English) translated it to this: “STRONG Telexfree VICTORY IN THE UNITED STATES.”

Another Portuguese section read as such: “Corte americana declarou que a empresa não pratica “Pirâmide Financeira” e nomeou um interventor, Stephen B. Darr, que deve dar início ao processo de recuperação judicial, que tem autonomia de liquidar ou manter o funcionamento da empresa.”

The Google translation tool translated this section to: “American Court stated that the company does not practice “financial pyramid” and appointed a receiver, Stephen B. Darr, who shall initiate the process of bankruptcy, it has autonomy to liquidate or keep running the business.”

No American court has said that TelexFree was not a pyramid scheme or not a “financial pyramid.” Darr is the court-appointed trustee in the TelexFree bankruptcy case in Massachusetts. He has said he has no intention of reorganizing or reopening the company.

It is unclear whether the person depicted as a reporter has any association with TelexFree or any of its media outlets. It is not unusual for MLMs and their affiliates to try to create the impression that specific media figures or media brands endorse an “opportunity.”  (See April 7 PP Blog story: “TelexFree, An Alleged Pyramid Scheme, Promotes Itself During Probes By Wrapping Logos Of Local Fox, CBS, ABC, NBC Affiliates Into Video.”) Also see Oct. 15, 2013, PP Blog story: “PROFITABLE SUNRISE CASE: Did Fake Reporter Use Photo Of Real Reporter In ‘Story’ Titled ‘Nanci Jo Frazer WINS in Court – A Case Of Innocent Ignorance?’)

2.) Some of our readers may recall the flap over TelexFree’s sponsorship of a professional soccer club in Brazil. Could a new flap be in the offing, one that involves a Brazilian model and racecar driver?

Twitter and Facebook were used today to drive TelexFree visitors to images of Helena Soares. She is wearing an old TelexFree logo on her racing outfit.

Whether TelexFree had or has sponsored her was not immediately clear. What is clear is that there are a number of references to Soares in the context of TelexFree online. One of them is a YouTube video titled “Deaf Deaf TelexFree.” Promo text appears to be in Russian.

This may spark questions about whether TelexFree was targeted at members of the international hearing-impaired community. HYIP scams such as Noobing and Imperia Invest have been targeted at investors who cannot hear.

Today’s Twitter/Facebook references to Soares depict her as a “Campeã” (champion) of TelexFree.

It is not unusual for Ponzi schemes to seek to associate themselves with celebrities, politicians, business stars and sports stars. This particular form of brand-leeching surfaces in scheme after scheme after scheme. A recent major example of this is the WCM777 scam, which tried to associate itself with the sport of golf, Jesus Christ, Harvard College, the Denny’s Restaurant chain, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and former U.S. Vice President Al Gore — and many others.

The practice is so common that it has become a virtual signature of a scam. Like TelexFree and the Profitable Sunrise scams, WCM777 traded on the image of the Christ the Redeemer statue in in Rio de Janeiro.

3.) As the PP Blog reported on Sept. 30, 2014, Massachusetts Commonwealth Secretary William Galvin issued a warning on a an emerging “program” known as IFreeX that is being targeted at TelexFree members. iFreeX may be a reload scheme designed to fleece TelexFree members for a second time. On Oct. 1, the Blog reported that IFreeX appears to have lifted branding material of T-Mobile, including images of Carly Foulkes, “the T-Mobile Girl” famous for wearing pink summer dresses in TV spots.

T-Mobile said it was looking into the situation.

A large image of Foulkes appeared today on Twitter in an iFreeX promo targeted at TelexFree members.

The use of the letter “X” in HYIP scams has led to questions about whether purveyors are speaking in a sort of secret code. The OneX scheme used an “X” and an image of a bomb as part of its logo, and HYIP scams have been known to have ties to “sovereign citizens” and antigovernment extremists.

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10 Responses to “TELEXFREE BRIEFS: (1) False Claims That ‘Program’ Has Been Cleared Of U.S. Pyramid-Scheme Charges; (2) Name Of Model/Racecar Driver Used In Sanitization Campaign; (3) TelexFree Members Targeted In Ongoing ‘IFreeX’ Reload Scheme”

  1. The video below appears to be from December 2013 — so, AFTER the Acre action in Brazil (June 2013) but before the SEC action in the United States (April 2014).

    Even with the captions translated into English, it’s hard to get a sense of what the narrator is saying. But he is very angry, often raising his voice and tipping to the edge of shouting.

    Patrick

  2. Quick note: Now, TelexFree members are being targeted on Twitter by something called WinNetClub. The website says it has “Exclusive Payment Plataform [sic] Located in Panama and Belize” and a “SuperMicro Server in Zelenograd Russia.”

    Logos from Nike and Walmart.com appear on the site. Plenty of other logos of famous companies, too.

    Here is the pitch that appears when a Twitter link that rolls to Facebook is clicked. (As translated by Google Translate from Portuguese to English):

    ____________________________________________

    Telexfree miss? Want to save on your calls to cell phones and landlines?
    Partner plans 50 dollars Free (Free) until October 25. You can do the upgrade until November 15th.
    Monte and his team … See More
    NOTE CONFIRMED RELEASE
    Telexfree miss? Want to save on your calls to cell phones and landlines?
    Partner plans 50 dollars Free (Free) until October 25. You can do the upgrade until November 15th.
    Monte and his team successfully !!!
    Bonus selling Voip up to 75% and 2% of indirect
    Advertising Bonus up to $ 400 per month
    Bonus up to $ 100 statement
    Bonus torque with a maximum rate of 15 thousand dollars a day
    2% residual
    Bonus Dream Team
    Career Plan with: Iphone, Ipad, Trip to Disney and a BMW
    Do not wait, register: team-mkt.webnode.com/formulario Sponsor (a) ednamelo all registered with the site on my login will be allocated in Binary Watch our conference Monday to Saturday 16:00 and 21:00 hrs
    [deleted by PP Blog]

    ____________________________________________

    Patrick

  3. Just speculating here . . .

    With respect to the Telexfree strangeness on Twitter and Facebook over the past couple of days: It might be in response to a delay in the issuance of an accounting report by Ernst & Young in the Acre case. I think folks were expecting the report on or about Oct. 14, and it looks as though it has been delayed for 120 days.

    Some of the strangeness also appears to have been sparked by a sense that Carlos Costa would be moving mountains for TelexFree now that the election is over. I’m not sure if there has been a new Costa sighting or not. Some folks hang on his every word, and he is a world-class panderer. This kind of thing can become a dangerous cocktail.

    Patrick

  4. Whip:
    Here she is sitting on a vehicle with a telexfree decal on the fender:

    http://s2.glbimg.com/2ednHjWAFa03JTjo-nd8nE0IZkI=/620×390/s.glbimg.com/es/ge/f/original/2013/07/24/helenasoares_alexrayol-13.jpg

    Is it me or was that logo photoshoped?

  5. PatrickPretty.com:
    The video below appears to be from December 2013 — so, AFTER the Acre action in Brazil (June 2013) but before the SEC action in the United States (April 2014).

    Even with the captions translated into English, it’s hard to get a sense of what the narrator is saying. But he is very angry, often raising his voice and tipping to the edge of shouting.

    Patrick

    That voice is from Aerci “Brazilian Rambo” Arreal. Basicly he says he is ashamed of being a Brazilian citizen because justice there doen’t care to put in jail corrupt politicians, instead they try to incriminate a completely honest company that helps poor people to get rich and wah, wah, wah wah wah, wah wah…

    As always, nothing a telexzombie says can be taken seriously.

  6. Diego: Is it me or was that logo photoshoped?

    Can’t say. I’ve seen two or three photos of Soares in which the old TelexFree logo appears on her racing outfit or on the cars.

    It would not be unprecedented if Photoshop was used to dupe the masses. The Text Cash Network (TCN) schemers did it in Boca Raton, Fla., in 2011:

    http://patrickpretty.com/2011/12/14/police-confirm-that-name-of-text-cash-network-does-not-appear-on-building-in-boca-raton-fla/

    Lo and behold, the name of “TCN CUSTOMER SERVICE INC.” of Boca Raton later showed up as an alleged winner in the Zeek Rewards scheme.

    Patrick

  7. Diego: Helena Soares

    I would have thought so to. Here is another shot from a different angle:

    http://s2.glbimg.com/JSUJjMII0qSpKMt4ILrOKxIUveo=/300×397/s.glbimg.com/es/ge/f/original/2013/07/24/dsc_7424.jpg

  8. Quick note: In a story dated today, a website in Portuguese is making the false claim that a U.S. judge “gave the assurance that the advisers will get their money back by the end of the year.”

    The headline of the story, in Portuguese, is “Processo da TelexFREE nos EUA está a todo vapor.”

    The story implies that bankruptcy Trustee Stephen Darr will complete an analysis of some sort by Oct. 31, submit a report to the judge and that checks will be distributed by the end of the year.

    Now, people will have false hope they’ll receive a distribution during the Holiday season.

    This is just outrageous. It seems to be coming from an MLM cheerleading site.

    Patrick