PatrickPretty.com

Day: May 6, 2016

  • After FBI Probe, Ju Ding Inc. (Juding) Exposed As Ponzi, Feds Say; Wenxing Huang Arrested

    From Twitter.
    From Twitter.

    A fraudster who used “fancy cars and parties” to dupe investors has been arrested after an FBI investigation, said Eileen M. Decker, the top federal prosecutor in the Central District of California.

    Wenxing Huang, 33, of San Gabriel, has been charged with money-laundering and wire fraud in an alleged Ponzi scheme that gathered at least $6.9 million. He operated a Brea-based entity known as Ju Ding Inc. Huang also is known as “Di Peng” and “Fatty,” prosecutors said.

    At one point, Huang “orchestrated a Ju Ding holiday party . . . at the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center in which luxury items, including a Mercedes-Benz automobile were raffled off,” prosecutors said.

    “Records from the facility show that the event for 2,000 people cost more than $180,000,” prosecutors said.

    Ju Ding Inc. was known simply as “Juding” on Ponzi boards such as MoneyMakerGroup. The “program” also had a presence on social media such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. The scheme, prosecutors said, traded on false promises that investors’ “money would be used to invest in and develop technology based on graphene, which is a layer of pure carbon that is only one atom thick.”

    In November 2013, BehindMLM.com reported it had observed potential links between Juding and WCM777, a scam exposed by state regulators and the SEC in 2014. WCM777 purported to be in the cloud-computing business.

    A news release yesterday from Decker’s office on the Juding scheme did not reference WCM777, although the U.S. government is believed still to be investigating that “program.”

    From a statement by Decker’s office (italics added):

    As part of the scheme, Huang allegedly offered compensation to investors who recruited others, according to the complaint, which alleges that many investors received little, if any, return on their investments. However, approximately $2.2 million appears to have been returned to clients in what were essentially Ponzi payments.

    Huang is charged with money laundering for allegedly using approximately $1.2 million in investor funds to purchase the Diamond Bar home, which has since been sold.

     

  • TelexFree’s Sann Rodrigues Pushing ‘WowApp’ For ‘Every Day Gains,’ Promo Says

    Accused securities and immigration fraudsters Sann Rodrigues of TelexFree now is pushing WowApp, according to this promo.
    Accused securities and immigration fraudster Sann Rodrigues of TelexFree now is pushing WowApp, according to this promo.

    2ND UPDATE 2:22 P.M. EDT U.S.A. “WowApp,” which has a Facebook page that thanks the “deaf community” for joining, now is being pushed by TelexFree figure and alleged immigration fraudster Sann Rodrigues, according to a web promo.

    WowApp says it is a communications platform. It further says it is based in Hong Kong and urges members to “Use your WowCoins to contribute to a cause of your choice or cash them out.”

    WowCoins purportedly have a value of 1 U.S. cent.

    A post pitching WowApp on the MoneyMakerGroup Ponzi forum claims “You Can Cashout To Paypal,BankWire Or CC / Donate To 2000 Charities In 110 Countries!”

    “CEO Thomas C. Knobel Founder Nobel (company) Released WOWAPP!” the Oct. 30, 2015, MoneyMakerGroup post says.

    WowApp is part of YouWowMe Limited of Hong Kong, according to its website.

    From the WowApp Terms and Conditions (italics added):

    In an effort to earn your loyalty and repeat business, YouWowMe offers you a 10% reward back (“Self-Earnings”) on all of your paid calls using the Service. Immediately following completion of each paid call, the Self-Earnings are credited to your WowApp Account as “WowCoins”, our own special currency. Starting from 100 Wow’s (or its equivalent $1.00), you may use Self-Earnings which are credited to your YouWowMe Account to place additional paid calls. Because you have this option of using your “WowCoins” to make future paid calls using WowApp, for which you will receive an additional 10% reward, our maximum reward for these call offering is 11.11% (“max self-earnings”).

    Translated by Google Translate from Portuguese to English, The WowApp promo credited to Rodrigues reads, “It’s free. It is simple and gives every day gains! This application works better than whatapp and the coolest is that it generates every day gains. I believe this is the future. Free things that generate in earnings. USE EVERY DAY!”

    Rodrigues has a history of hitching his wagon to “programs” that pitch communications devices.

    The SEC, which charged Rodrigues with securities fraud  in the TelexFree Ponzi- and pyramid case in 2014 and later linked him to alleged DFRF Enterprises Ponzi-schemer Daniel Fernandes Rojo Filho,  did not respond immediately to a request for comment. (Update 2:04 p.m. The SEC declined to comment.)

    Rodrigues also is charged criminally in a separate case that alleges he engaged in visa fraud to enter the United States from his native Brazil.

    NOTE: Our thanks to a reader.