PatrickPretty.com

Day: May 6, 2015

  • URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: Zeek Receiver Files Clawback Lawsuits Against Residents Of Brazil, Israel, France, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands

    breakingnews72URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: (10th Update 10:59 p.m. EDT U.S.A.) Zeek Rewards’ receiver Kenneth D. Bell has filed clawback lawsuits against alleged “winners” with addresses in Brazil, Israel, France, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands.

    The winners are alleged to have received illicit gains from Zeek’s Ponzi- and pyramid scheme. Alleged sums won range from tens of thousands of dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to eight complaints filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina.

    The subheads below contain info on the alleged winners, where they live and how much they won.

    Brazil

    Eduardo Borges de Aguiar, Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro, $692,366.97. Username: “ZRBrasil.”

    Denise Marchon Monteiro Bernardes, Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro, $159,930.77. Username: “denisemarchon.”

    Fernando Eneas Lessa, Rio de Janeiro, $121,768.53. Username: “ZRRioDeJaneiro.”

    Luis Claudio Lima Trindade, Ananindeua, Para, $101,129.02. Username “convite.”

    Hygson Assef Pereira da Rocha, Rio de Janeiro, $95,776.73. Username: “hygson.”

    Edson Tadeu Tobias, Sao Paulo, $87,682.07. Username: “nabisart.”

    Daniel Elias Neves, Praia Grande, Sao Paulo, $85,747.32. Username: “danielneves.”

    Israel

    Hagit Rockah, Rishon LeZion, $316,584.31. Username: “bsd.”

    Jacob Stiner, Netanya, $184,120.22. Username: “steiner.”

    Tzahi Rozental and Itzhak Harel, Rishon LeZion, $183,164.93. Username: “2000dollar.” “Upon information and belief, Rozental and Harel received payments from ZeekRewards under the name Itzhak Harel.”

    Pnina Soraski, Beitar Illit, $181,881.12. Username: “pnina.”

    Hava Lipcer, Beit She’an, $173,049.21. Username: “success180.”

    Sigalit Rahat, Rishon LeZion, $169,053.14. Username: “sigalitrahat.”

    Demyan Michaeli, Holon, $153,074.10. Username: “demyan.”

    Erez Shaked, Tel Aviv, $98,352.27. Username: “Erezmora.”

    Menahem Lipcer, Beit She’an, $69,907.85. Username: “sucess180M.”

    Rivka Haimovitz, Jerusalem, $69,646.49. Username: “dynemic.”

    Oshrit Marciano, Mevaseret Zion, $68,419.10o. Username: “oshritmarciano.”

    Baruch Heyman, Jerusalem, $68,165.19. Username: “arrowhead.”

    Shemuel Cohen, Akko, $67,066.64. Username: “muli.”

    Ilan Doron, Kochav Yair, $54,472.84. Username: “ilandoron.”

    Meshulam Shapira, Jerusalem, $53,219.36. Username: “bracha.”

    France

    Suzanna Dreyer, La Valettedu-Var, $446,613.38. Username: “InterestedPeople.” (Also see BehindMLM.com story on “GooBets,” plus these PP Blog stories: “GooBets,’ Cross-Border Fraud Scheme, Emerges” and “After Seeing Photos Of Its Players On ‘GooBets,’ National Basketball Association To Turn Matter Over To ‘Legal Department.”)

    Sweden

    Nils Ove Marcelind, Torslanda, $131,051.06. Username: “spanien.”

    Ola Persson, Orebro, $84,359.67. Username: “sunseeker.”

    Rolf Ostlund, Gavle, $82,469.10. Username: “gate1.”

    Lars Apelthun, Uppsala, $81,083.80. Username: “go2gate.”

    Anders Brunnegard, Tvarred, $51,675.54. Username: “uniq.”

    Denmark

    Eric Mortensen, Kastrup, $563,452.84. Username: “mysecretcircle.”

    Joergen Stegler Lorentzen, Vestervig, Thisted, $64,610.97. Username: “Thybo.”

    Leda Rasmussen, Copenhagen, $53,652.76. Username: “bmw4me2.”

    Germany

    Marit Kafurke, Scheessel, $161,981.95. Username: “turbolady.”

    Frank Astheimer, Martinsthal, $146,740.05. Username: “goldteam.”

    Yovanka Mirich, Dusseldorf, $58,905.93. Username: “europe1.”

    Jan Wrobel, Weil am Rhein, $53,450.17. Username: “team.”

    Ireland

    Michal Gach, Carrigaline, County Cork, $191,450.01. Username: “thebestrewards.”

    Elena Avdeeva, Waterford, $126,221.45. Username: “brand.”

    Vivian Akoh, Waterford, $102,670.75. Username: “greatauctions.”

    Ngozi Nwamara, Waterford, $80,338.90. Username: “leadauctions.”

    Ints Priekulis, Waterford, $77,330.24. Username: “in1.”

    Kate Favour Iwuoma, Cork, $56,035.32. Username: “favourauctions.”

    The Netherlands

    Remco Boom, Delft, $103,695.82. Username: “oppsincome.”

    Renze Deelstra, Aalsmeer, $68,787.17. Username: “turboteam2012.”

    NOTE: Our thanks to the ASD Updates Blog.

     

     

     

     

     

  • British Columbia Securities Commission Issues Investor Alert On DFRF Enterprises Or Other ‘Companies Associated With Daniel Fernandez Rojo Filho’

    breakingnews72URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: (Updated 6:30 p.m. EDT U.S.A.) The British Columbia Securities Commission has issued an Investor Alert on “DFRF Enterprises LLC, DFRF Enterprises Ltd., or other companies associated with Daniel Fernandez Rojo Filho.”

    This appears to be the first such warning about DFRF in North America.

    The claims associated with Rojo Filho and the enterprises are “economically impossible,” BCSC warned.

    “Several” of the claims are “characteristic of investment fraud,” the agency warned.

    From the Investor Alert (italics added):

    The BCSC has become aware that Filho is offering investments to British Columbians with returns of up to 15% per month. Filho is also promising that DFRF will soon be listed on a public stock exchange, after which the value of members’ investments will triple within 30 days. Members will continue to receive up to 15% per month on their investment. These returns are economically impossible. Also, when selling securities, it is illegal to represent that those securities will be listed on an exchange without certain conditions being met.

    Other claims being made by Filho include:

    • investors’ principal is guaranteed and safe
    • investor funds are held offshore
    • he manages $144 billion in assets
    • the company is extracting ten tonnes of gold per month from its mining properties in Mali, Africa
    • 25% of the profits are donated to social and humanitarian causes
    • existing members who refer new members are paid commissions of 10%

    Several of these claims are characteristic of investment fraud. The BCSC urges investors/members, sales agents, or members of the public who have been approached or have information about DFRF Enterprises LLC, DFRF Enterprises Ltd or Daniel Filho to contact the BCSC inquiries line at 604-899-6854 or 1-800-373-6393 (toll free).

    The PP Blog first wrote about Rojo Filho five years ago this month, reporting on his alleged role in a Ponzi scheme known as Evolution Market Group/Finanzas Forex. His name next appeared on the Blog in January 2015, in the context of DFRF, another high-yield scheme.

    In February 2015, BehindMLM.com reported that DFRF had been sued in Massachusetts under the racketeering (RICO) statute.

    Whether DFRF is under investigation by U.S. law enforcement is unclear. Two days ago, the PP Blog sought comment on DFRF from three U.S.-based law-enforcement agencies. None responded.

    Earlier on Monday, BehindMLM.com reported that DFRF had dropped the names of the SEC and the FBI in a YouTube sales pitch uploaded in December 2014.

    DFRF reportedly operates out of Florida and Massachusetts. The BCSC warning specifically referenced the city of Orlando, Fla.

    The enterprise also claims it operates out of Vancouver, B.C., BCSC said.

    On Monday, the PP Blog observed a DFRF video in which a presenter talked about “gold,” “humanitarian social projects, a “letter of credit,” a “global note,” a “master bond,” “insurance” and a purported guarantee.

    Such a presentation leads to questions about whether DFRF is a hybrid mixture of a “traditional” HYIP, a prime-bank scheme and a shiny-object scheme.

     

  • Ripple Labs’ Settlement Agreement With Feds References Alleged Transaction With Roger Ver, American Expat Known As ‘Bitcoin Jesus’

    From a settlement agreement between the U.S. Department of Justice and Ripple Labs. Red hightlight by PP Blog. Source: U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California.
    From a settlement agreement between the U.S. Department of Justice and Ripple Labs. Red highlight by PP Blog. Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California.

    EDITOR’S NOTE: Will MLM/network-marketing hucksters pushing UFunClub/UToken find any value in the story below?

    Ripple Labs Inc., based in San Francisco, “developed and sold virtual currency known as ‘XRP,’” but didn’t follow the law and “failed to establish and maintain an appropriate anti-money laundering program,” the U.S. Department of Justice said.

    If Ripple’s name sounds familiar, perhaps it’s because the company sued the Rippln MLM “opportunity” in late 2013, alleging trademark infringement. In a statement, the Justice Department makes a veiled reference to that action, something that put Ripple on the radar.

    At some point, Ripple became the subject of a criminal investigation led by the office of U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag of the Northern District of California. The IRS Criminal Investigation Division also participated.

    As the investigation proceeded, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) became involved on the civil front.

    Of particular note in the Justice Department’s news release about a settlement agreement with Ripple that ended the criminal probe was an allegation that a second Ripple subsidiary known as XRP II in late 2013 allegedly “negotiated a $250,000 transaction with an individual who had prior felony convictions for dealing in explosive devices and had been sentenced to prison.”

    Based on information in the Ripple settlement agreement, the government appears to believe this individual is Roger Ver, sometimes described as “Bitcoin Jesus.”

    Ver was convicted in 2002  on charges of selling explosive devices on eBay.

    XRP II appears to have constituted an effort on Ripple’s part to address FinCEN money-laundering concerns, but the subsidiary failed to “follow its own internal ‘know your customer’ requirements,” the Justice Department said.

    “Virtual currency exchangers must bring products to market that comply with our anti-money laundering laws,” said Director Jennifer Shasky Calvery of FinCEN. “Innovation is laudable but only as long as it does not unreasonably expose our financial system to tech-smart criminals eager to abuse the latest and most complex products.”

    From a Justice Department statement on the settlement (italics added).

    Ripple Labs Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary, XRP II LLC, formerly XRP Fund II LLC, have agreed to resolve a criminal investigation in exchange for a settlement agreement calling for a series of substantial remedial measures, including a migration of a portion of Ripple’s virtual currency business to a separate entity, the company’s ongoing cooperation in other investigations, an extensive remedial framework to ensure future compliance with federal laws and forfeiture and penalties totaling $700,000.

    NOTE: Our thanks to the ASD Updates Blog.