TelexFree Probe Continues; ‘Substantial Amount’ Of YouTube Video Content Sought In Search Warrant Served Oct. 16

newtelexfreelogoThe TelexFree probe continues in the United States, with prosecutors revealing today that federal agents served a search warrant on Google on Oct. 16 that sought a “substantial amount” of content on YouTube.

Precisely what content prosecutors are seeking was not immediately clear.

Google told agents that “compliance will take several weeks,” according to the prosecution filing.

Regulators have warned for years that HYIP scams are spreading through promos on social media such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.

Today’s prosecution filing also revealed that undercover agents attended multiple TelexFree functions, not just a conference in Boston in March.

In the government’s possession, prosecutors said, are “[v]arious recordings made by undercover [Homeland Security Investigations] agents at TelexFree conferences and in conversations with a TelexFree promoter.”

The information eventually will  be provided through discovery, prosecutors said.

The office of U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz of the District of Massachusetts is leading the TelexFree probe.

According to today’s prosecution filing, other material pending processing and production for discovery includes:

About 40 boxes of documents seized from TelexFree’s offices in Marlborough, Mass., in April 2014. These materials are being scanned and processed by a vendor, a process that will take several weeks.

About 81 gigabytes of data (about 355,000 pages) received in October 2014 from the Trustee supervising TelexFree’s affairs in bankruptcy. (PP Blog note: Stephen B. Darr is the court-appointed TelexFree trustee.)

Additional financial records received from the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission pursuant to an access request, and from Homeland Security Investigations, totaling approximately 12 boxes of material.

The results of five email search warrants served on or about Sept 25, 2014. As of this date, the government has only received materials for one of the email accounts and is following up with the other internet service providers.

Through the discovery process so far, according to the prosecution filing, the government has “produced an electronic database containing most of the data and records the government has collected via subpoena while investigating this case (about 100,000 pages). The government has also made several productions of additional material in response to specific requests from counsel, including all bank and brokerage records, and has made available the electronic evidence seized during execution of search warrants in April 2014.”

NOTE: Our thanks to the ASD Updates Blog.

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4 Responses to “TelexFree Probe Continues; ‘Substantial Amount’ Of YouTube Video Content Sought In Search Warrant Served Oct. 16”

  1. hi i want to know what would happen to people scammed in Dominican Rep.

  2. Looks as though Melissa Armstrong, assistant chief litigation counsel for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, was at the “Fraud Affects Every Community” event today at the Federal Trade Commission.

    More info on FTC event:

    http://www.ftc.gov/news-events/events-calendar/2014/10/fraud-affects-every-community

    http://bcove.me/e2ow3q3q

    EDIT 5:33 P.M. Remarks on TelexFree by the SEC’s Melissa Armstrong begin at approximately the 4:22 mark in the FTC video below.

    Patrick