A Florida man identified as a “Compliance” employee of the AdViewGlobal (AVG) autosurf was sued twice last year for not complying with federal laws in a business he owns.

Gerald Castor and his company, 1st Credit Solutions LLC of Bradenton, Fla., settled one of the cases last month. The lawsuit was brought in June 2008 by an employee who accused Castor of federal labor-law violations, alleging that workers were not paid wages at “time and one-half” for work in excess of 40 hours per week.

In a joint dismissal motion April 6 by the plaintiff and the defendants, the parties said the plaintiff had received “payment in full for all of her claims, including claims for overtime, liquidated damages and attorney’s fees and costs.”

The payment amount and the date of the payment were not disclosed. Mediation for the case had been set for June and was canceled. A judge did not review the settlement because the plaintiff acknowledged it was not a result of a compromise and that “all” of her claims had been met.

A second labor-law complaint against Castor and 1st Credit Solutions filed by a different employee was dismissed by a federal judge in March when the plaintiff did not follow up on the claim.

On March 23, AVG announced in a statement signed “The AVG Management Team” that its bank account had been suspended because too many members had wired transactions in excess of $9,500.

In a March 25 announcement under Castor’s name as a member of AVG’s “Compliance” department, the surf reported its banking problem was on the way to being “rectified” without explaining how the company intended to fix the problem.

Regardless, the company used a three-exclamation point headline — “AVGA Breaking News: Thanks and Good News!!!” — to report sales were brisk despite the problem.

“Tuesday member purchases continued to be good thanks to those purchases made with cash balances,” Castor’s announcement said.  “We appreciate your continued cooperation and purchases through cash balances through the end of the week.”

The company then cited unspecified banking regulations, claiming changes in the regulations limited online purchases to $2,500.

Castor owns another Florida company — Living Legacy One LLC. Court records show that a process-server in the lawsuit against 1st Credit Solutions initially had trouble serving Castor, but eventually located him at the Bradenton building that serves as headquarters for both 1st Credit Solutions and Living Legacy One LLC.

On May 4, AVG announced its banking problems had ended as a result of a deal that would enable customers to wire money to an offshore bank to pay for AVG “advertising” purchases. Three days later, however, one of the companies AVG named as a facilitator of the transfers issued a public denial that it had any business relationship with AVG.

The company, KINGZ Capital Management Corp., said it had discussed business matters with Living Legacy One — but not AVG — and that it believed it had been targeted in a scam. AVG did not inform members about the denial. Rather, the surf said the sudden absence of a wire facility it had just announced came as a result of “negotiations” that had failed.

See an October 2008 court record from a federal lawsuit against Castor and 1st Credit Solutions in which a process-server reported initial trouble locating Castor, but later found him at the building that serves as headquarters for 1st Credit Solutions and Living Legacy One LLC, according to records in Florida.

See our March 25 story in which AVG, which purports to be headquartered in Uruguay, identifies Gerald Castor as a member of the “Compliance” department.

See April 6 stipulated dismissal of lawsuit against Castor and 1st Credit Solutions in which the plaintiff acknowledged she had received payment in full on her claims on an unspecified date.

See the annual reports of both 1st Credit Solutions and Living Legacy One LLC that were filed with the Florida Department of State by Castor on the same day — April 29, 2009.

See May 5 report on AVG’s May 4 announcement that it had a deal by which customers could pay for “advertising” purchases by wiring money to an offshore bank. The surf announced the deal on the same day the Obama administration announced it was cracking down on offshore fraud.

See May 7 report in which KINGZ Capital Management, a company AVG announced was involved in wire transactions for AVG “advertising” purchases, denied it had any business relationship with AVG. KINGZ said it believed it had been targeted in a scam, noting it had discussed business with Living Legacy One, not AVG.

KINGZ said it acted immediately to ensure no money would get to AVG via wire transfer.