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Four Pennsylvania residents have been charged in an alleged pyramid-scheme caper that gathered more than $7.5 million and bilked universities, nonprofits, local governments and other clients, investigators said. Charged in the case were Brian James Murray, 67, of Scranton; Murray’s wife, Diane D. Murray, 66; Christine M. Oliver-Shean, 51, of Scranton; and Oliver-Shean’s husband, Timothy [...]

BULLETIN: Scott Rothstein, the Fort Lauderdale attorney charged with racketeering last month and disbarred amid allegations he orchestrated a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme involving bogus legal settlements, is expected to change his plea to guilty.

In what is becoming a familiar refrain in the Ponzi universe, former Fort Lauderdale attorney Scott Rothstein threatened a Florida newspaper and one of its reporters in the weeks prior to the exposure of his $1.2 billion fraud, the Sun Sentinel reported. The Sun Sentinel identified the reporter as Brittany Wallman. “Am I not making [...]

A New Jersey financial adviser who created a sham company and operated it for 17 years has pleaded guilty to five felony counts of mail fraud, federal prosecutors said. Separately, state prosecutors announced a guilty plea to a felony charge of money-laundering. Maxwell B. Smith, 69, of Fairhaven, operated a Ponzi scheme that consumed more [...]

The U.S. Secret Service feared AdSurfDaily President Andy Bowdoin had become aware of scrutiny into his business affairs and planned to flee the country, according to a 37-page affidavit originally filed under seal in the case. Meanwhile, the affidavit revealed that a key Secret Service investigator in the case formerly was a member of a [...]

ANNOUNCEMENT 7:21 P.M. ET (U.S.A.): The PatrickPretty.com Blog has obtained copies of seizure warrants, warrant returns and “freeze” orders in the alleged AdSurfDaily Ponzi scheme. The warrants are part of the forfeiture case against ASD’s assets. They were filed under seal Aug. 1, 2008 — the same date a note appeared on the ASD website [...]

In a day of notable irony, the Obama administration announced the creation of an Interagency Financial Fraud Task Force led by the Department of Justice. Critical support functions will be provided by the Treasury Department, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Securities and Exchange Commission. One of the first cases the new [...]

The ASD Business Information Zone (ASD-Biz) forum covers news and opinion on AdSurfDaily, Golden Panda Ad Builder and what the forum describes as “Related Scams.” ASD-Biz has been a central discussion site on the subject of the ASD Members Business Association (ASDMBA). Some ASD-Biz members have urged Bob Guenther, the de facto head of ASDMBA, [...]

It what may become an embarrassment to President Obama, Former President Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a man the SEC now says was operating a $30 million Ponzi scheme appeared alongside President Clinton at the 5th Annual Meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) in New York Sept. 25. Obama’s name and the [...]

UPDATED 12:29 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) A default notice to real estate and more than $65.8 million seized from the bank accounts of ASD President Andy Bowdoin has been docketed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. A clerk entered the notice this morning in response to an affidavit from the prosecution last week. [...]

Some things have happened here in the past 24 hours that deserve their own post and discussion thread. EXTREMELY NOTEWORTHY Poster “Tony H,” a longtime, thoughtful contributor, observed there could be more than one reason why some ASD members appear to be trying to discourage other members from filling out the government information form and [...]

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the story of Shannon Allison, an Idaho widow with five children. It is in her own words. Only light editing has been performed. My name is Shannon Allison and I’m a widow with 5 children. My husband, 5 kids, and I were involved in a horrific car accident in July of [...]

Federal prosecutors have filed an affidavit that seeks to give the government permanent control over more than $65.8 million seized from 10 bank accounts in the name of AdSurfDaily President Andy Bowdoin. Prosecutors already have permanent control over money seized from the bank accounts of Golden Panda Ad Builder in the same case. Today’s move [...]

Victim of the alleged AdSurfDaily autosurf Ponzi scheme? Want the latest information about claims and how the proposed restitution program is shaping up? The Department of Justice has established a special telephone number for the ASD case. By calling the number, you’ll hear a recording that updates members on developments in the case, which involves [...]

Federal prosecutors and the FBI demonstrated again this morning that people who enable Ponzi schemers are subject to arrest and prosecution. Today’s announcement that two computer programmers for Bernard Madoff have been charged with serious felonies could send shockwaves across the so called autosurf “industry,” which relies heavily on computers and programming tweaks to fleece [...]

It’s called “misprision of felony” under Section 4 of the U.S. Code, and here’s how it reads: “Whoever, having knowledge of the actual commission of a felony cognizable by a court of the United States, conceals and does not as soon as possible make known the same to some judge or other person in civil [...]

A previous encounter with the Securities and Exchange Commission and a $50,000 fine did not stop Benny Lee Judah from selling unregistered securities, and now Judah has been taken into federal custody. Judah, 50, of Lubbock, Texas, pleaded guilty today to one count of money laundering and one count of sale and delivery after sale [...]

The probe into the business affairs of Fort Lauderdale attorney Scott Rothstein may involve more than $1 billion directed to a Ponzi and fraud scheme, the FBI said today. Earlier estimates had placed the total at up to $500 million, and the FBI has made a public appeal for potential victims to provide information. Separately, [...]

Yesterday’s ruling by a federal judge that AdSurfDaily President Andy Bowdoin would not be permitted to change his mind about submitting to the forfeiture of tens of millions of dollars in a case brought in August 2008 dealt the embattled surf firm a crippling blow. But a virtually unnoticed ruling yesterday by Judge Rosemary Collyer [...]