Homeland Security Investigations

PP Blog Tag archives on references to "Homeland Security Investigations."

Indicted Payza Announces ‘Restructuring’

Indicted Payza Announces 'Restructuring'

As one of its operators sits in a Michigan federal prison and the other is listed “at large” by U.S. authorities, Payza today announced a purported “restructuring” as a “European service” that has ceased serving U.S. customers. “This means that no transactions are allowed for US members at this time and Payza will no longer […]

BULLETIN: Payza, Patel Brothers Indicted; Feds Move To Forfeit Payza.com Domain Name

BULLETIN: Payza, Patel Brothers Indicted; Feds Move To Forfeit Payza.com Domain Name

BULLETIN: A grand jury in the District of Columbia has indicted the operators of Payza and moved for the forfeiture of the Payza.com domain name. Ferhan Patel, 37, has been arrested in Detroit and is being held.  Firoz Patel, 43, is listed by U.S. authorities as “at large.” The Payza.com domain name appears still to be […]

BULLETIN: James Merrill of TelexFree Sentenced To 6 Years In Federal Prison

BULLETIN: James Merrill of TelexFree Sentenced To 6 Years In Federal Prison

BULLETIN: (8TH UPDATE 3:57 P.M. EDT U.S.A.) James Merrill, the former president of the TelexFree Ponzi- and pyramid scheme, has been sentenced to six years in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Timothy S. Hillman ordered the sentence, which was four years less than what prosecutors in the office of Acting U.S. Attorney William D. Weinreb of the […]

BRIEF: Feds Tweet Photo Of $20 Million Allegedly Found In Box Spring And Tied To TelexFree

Federal prosecutors have Tweeted a photo of $20 million allegedly found stuffed in a box spring and linked to the massive TelexFree Ponzi- and pyramid caper. The cash was found Jan. 4 by the Homeland Security Investigations branch of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, an arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Agents seized […]

James Merrill, TelexFree’s President, Pleads Guilty

James Merrill, TelexFree's President, Pleads Guilty

3RD UPDATE 2:56 P.M. EDT OCT 25 U.S.A. James Merrill, the president of TelexFree, has pleaded guilty to eight counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy in Massachusetts federal court. Merrill, 55, of Ashland, Mass., is scheduled to be sentenced in February. “The significance of a guilty plea in a case of this magnitude cannot […]

URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: TelexFree’s James Merrill To Plead Guilty, Reports Say

URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: TelexFree's James Merrill To Plead Guilty, Reports Say

9TH UPDATE 2:08 P.M. EDT U.S.A. U.S. District Judge Timothy S. Hillman’s calendar shows a plea hearing for TelexFree operator James Merrill at 2:30 p.m. Monday at the federal courthouse in Worcester, Mass. The Boston Globe, citing the “U.S. Attorney,” is reporting Merrill will plead guilty “to fraud and other charges.”  The Telegram & Gazette also is reporting […]

Sept. 26 Deadline Set For Filing TelexFree Claims; Claims Portal Opens As James Merrill Fights Evidence In Criminal Case

Sept. 26 Deadline Set For Filing TelexFree Claims; Claims Portal Opens As James Merrill Fights Evidence In Criminal Case

UPDATED 11:53 A.M. EDT U.S.A. Sept. 23, 2016: The claims deadline has been extended until Dec. 31, 2016, at 4:30 p.m. Prevailing Eastern Time. Claims must be filed through TelexFreeClaims.com. Our earlier story is below . . . **____________** TelexFree participants and others who may have a claim against the estate should read this important notice […]

URGENT >> BULLETIN >>MOVING: Criminal Investigation Involving Obopay And Payza, A Ponzi-Forum Darling

URGENT >> BULLETIN >>MOVING: Criminal Investigation Involving Obopay And Payza, A Ponzi-Forum Darling

URGENT >> BULLETIN >>MOVING: (Updated 3:03 p.m. EDT U.S.A.) The United States has opened a criminal investigation involving Obopay and Payza, a Ponzi-forum darling. Details of the probe are unclear. But the office of U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips of the District of Columbia confirms on its website that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security through Homeland […]

TelexFree Figure Sann Rodrigues Reportedly Detained Again; MLM Huckster Is World Traveler, Documents Say

TelexFree Figure Sann Rodrigues Reportedly Detained Again; MLM Huckster Is World Traveler, Documents Say

UPDATED 12:55 P.M. EDT JUNE 24 U.S.A. Once alleged by a class-action plaintiff to be part of an international racketeering enterprise, TelexFree and IFreeX figure Sann Rodrigues, on May 3, 2015, allegedly told U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at Boston’s Logan International Airport that he was about to travel to Israel. Rodrigues, charged civilly by […]

IFreeX Site Offline; At Least 2 U.S. Officials Involved In TelexFree Ponzi Prosecution Also Involved In Sann Rodrigues Prosecution On Immigration Charge

IFreeX Site Offline; At Least 2 U.S. Officials Involved In TelexFree Ponzi Prosecution Also Involved In Sann Rodrigues Prosecution On Immigration Charge

The website of IFreeX.com is offline. The PP Blog could not immediately determine why. Visitors are seeing a GoDaddy.com page. A PP Blog reader reported the outage at 6:49 p.m. EDT today. The outage occurred one week to the day after TelexFree and IFreeX figure Sann Rodrigues was arrested at a New Jersey airport on […]

In Response To Search Warrant In TelexFree Case, YouTube Delivers 45GB Of Data

In Response To Search Warrant In TelexFree Case, YouTube Delivers 45GB Of Data

2ND UPDATE 9:18 A.M. ET FEB. 13 U.S.A. On Oct. 16, 2014, Google was served a search warrant in the TelexFree criminal case against accused operators James Merrill and Carlos Wanzeler, according to joint court filings by federal prosecutors in the office of U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz of the District of Massachusetts and Robert […]