BREAKING NEWS: AdViewGlobal Aligned With Second Felon?
UPDATEÂ 9:16 P.M. EST (U.S.A.) The indictment against Karl Dahlstrom is available in PDF format at the bottom of this post.
Here, below, our earlier post . . .
In a desperate bid to hide itself underground after its management structure was exposed, the controversial autosurf AdViewGlobal has formed a private association and is taking advice from an entity known as “Pro Advocate Group.”
Pro Advocate Group is associated with Karl Dahlstrom. In 1997, Dahlstrom was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison for his participation in a securities scheme.
Dahlstrom and others “were indicted for their involvement in a nationwide solicitation campaign for the purpose of selling unregistered shares” of Inferno Snuffers Inc. (ISI), and Inferno Engineering and Consulting Inc. (IEC), the SEC said.
AdSurfDaily, under fire for selling unregistered securities amid allegations of wire fraud, money-laundering and running a $100 million Ponzi scheme, is led by Andy Bowdoin, himself a convicted felon from a 1990s securities scheme. Prosecutors seized part of ASD’s assets in an August forfeiture complaint.
George Harris, Bowdoin’s stepson, is listed as a trustee for AVG. In December, about a week after AVG started being talked about in online forums, federal prosecutors seized additional assets linked to ASD, filing a second forfeiture complaint. Among the assets seized was a Tallahassee home owned by George Harris and his wife, Judy Harris.
Under Dahlstrom’s direction, the SEC said, ISI and IEC “were marketing ‘Uni-Snuff,’ a product claimed to be useful in extinguishing and suppressing fires, and the ‘Snuffer System,’ a method of dispensing Uni-Snuff.”
The website for Pro Advocate Group lists “Clara Dahlstrom” as the administrator. Clara Dahlstrom is Karl Dahlstrom’s wife. In court documents in a tax case, Karl Dahlstrom is described as having “been in the abusive trust business for many years.”
AVG announced its association with Pro Advocate Group in a members’ conference call earlier this week. A Mod at the Pro-AdSurfDaily “Surf’s Up” forum introduced listeners to Gary Talbert, a former ASD executive now listed as the chief executive officer of AVG.
Talbert, in turn, introduced listeners to Pro Advocate Group and a man identified as “Carl,” who delivered remarks.
“He discussed why AVG decided to establish a 1st and 14th Amendment Private Membership Association,†a source said.
Like ASD, Pro Advocates Group uses religion in its sales pitch.
“We are proud of our Christian moral values and feel that we stand alone in a sea full of Master Deceivers in the world of Asset Protection,” the group says on its website. “Let us help you find the proper legal solution for your problem and peace of mind. We are founded upon legal principles that are backed by book, chapter and verse of legal rulings, regulations and Supreme Court interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. We teach and support the inherent rights of DUE PROCESS and EQUAL PROTECTION under the law.”
Read the indictment against Karl Dahlstrom, Karla Dahlstrom (his daughter), Hubert Leopard and Richard Lopez. Some of the allegations read like the allegations against ASD.
Karl Dahlstrom was accused of using investors' funds to purchase new vehicles and pitching the opportunity to church groups.
There’s another court case here where a “Karl Dahlstrom” is mentioned:
http://www.ustaxcourt.gov/InOpHistoric/amctrustopinion.TCM.WPD.pdf
And another where the opinion of Supreme Court is sought:
http://www.usdoj.gov/osg/briefs/1999/0responses/99-0949.resp.html
And, another “trust” that a “Karl Dahlstrom” set up for tax evasion:
http://www.taxrisk.com/Rendel.shtml
And a denial of his appeal:
http://altlaw.org/v1/cases/1104393
Any reasonable person would expect that Gary Talbert would have found out these things. And yet none of this was mentioned in the conference call. Either Talbert is incompetent or is willing to work with anyone with a criminal past.
Does the experession “Birds of a feather, flock together” ring a bell?
Why would this be surprising news? Take a look at the major players in ASD, Golden Panda and GreenBackStreet. All have prior felony convictions. Since many of these players are behind the ASD clones, it stands to reason the same elements would surface in these. The only difference is they are new players to this surfing game, but still felons just the same. If people knew who were all behind these programs, they would be shocked to learn there are probably a whole let more with felony convictions as principal’s. I think this is the main reason why they are being so secretive about who really are behind them. They know if they release the names, this time people are going to check them out unlike Andy.
It won’t be long until someone who joins finds out who really is behind these, and when they do it will become public knowledge. Then the “fur” will really begin to fly. This is only the first ACT, and the audience is just being introduced to all the characters of the play a few at a time. Before the end of ACT I, all the players will be known setting the stage for ACT II of this ASD sequel. Just think, we didn’t have to buy a ticket to see this play.
Patrick,
It would seem that it is VERY difficult to find key players at any of these “businesses” that have not been involved with serious scrapes with the law, and often more than just serious scrapes (ie felony convictions). Contrast that with the overwhelming majority of senior executives at the Russell 5000 companies. Sure, a few of them are probable convicted felons, but probably VERY few, and certainly not in the “above 50%” category that seems to characterize many of the “companies” you write about.
Patrick,
Either the City or Quincy or Gadsden County (I looked it up once but I’ve forgotten) and the State of Florida have laws requiring businesses to be licensed and/or registered to do business. To your knowledge is AVG is compliance? They’re not in the State database I know, but are operating legally in the city or county? It might be worth calling to someone’s attention……
Funny how you know so much. Thought that was a closed called for membership only.
Actually, Lynn, I really don’t think this set of individuals much care about the criminal background of their leaders..all they are interested in is making BIG bucks..and there is little to NO regard for the losers of this game!!
I was TOTALLY amazed the pass these folks gave Andy and his peppered past!! Additionally, Andy CONTINUED to lie, lie, lie..and only a handful of the delusionals woke up and dropped out. They refused to look at the fact Andy ALLOWED the lie about his past to perpetuate until the very last day ASD was operational..
So, no..these folks could care less and like you stated “birds of a feather flock together”…they are just a culpable as their leaders!
Kathy, A month or so ago Patrick responded to a question in a way that made me see the defense of Andy in a whole new light. Maybe Patrick will explain it in an article one of these days. What he said, and I totally agree, is that they’re not defending Andy because of any great affection they have for him, but because its part and parcel of operating the next scam — which is what they’re doing. Some may like him, some may not care, but it doesn’t matter because as a person he is one of the more irrelevant players in this saga, at this stage of the game.
Lynn’s “birds of a feather” is spot on. Now I want someone to tell me if there is even the slightest possibility that a person signing up for AVG could be what we’d consider “innocent.” By we I mean people who agree with Patrick on the basic issues.
Marci, prior to them going private, I went to AVG forum under a friends (free) membership and have to say, I was SHOCKED at the people I knew who are members…people I really and truly thought understood about the ponzi aspect of these games..how being a winner means some poor blok will be a loser..how these schemes NEVER are a win/win situation..
My realization is, these people have NO CONSCIENCE! Participation in these schemes is MORALLY WRONG…my guess is these people do not see it the way we see it. All they want is to be one of the winners and DO NOT CARE ABOUT THE LOSERS!
I wonder,
does anyone REALLY believe good ol’ Andy is a criminal genius with sufficient brilliance to pull off the ASD scam all by his lonesome ???
Did anyone REALLY see the same sort of previously unrecognised genius in Bryan Marsden or Charis Johnson ???
I’ll stick my neck out and say that, when eventually the “truth” behind the soap operas that make the HYIP ponzi scams what they are is revealed, there will be hundreds (if not thousands) of loosely connected “cheerleaders” “shills” and shadowy behind the scenes “steroidal puppeteers” raking in the bucks.
AND, what’s more, there will turn out to be more
scams within scams” than Joe Average could imagine in his wildest dreams.
It is strongly rumoured, for example:
that one prominent under 30 y/o forum owner bought himself a brand new Las Vegas residence with his “cut” of one of the post 12DP HYIP scams.
“Trusted” Identities on some of the HYIP ponzi forums are traded for upward of $1000
some cheerleaders in a scam against one of the payment processors took out $30,000+ EACH for “lending their names” to be used for a single night.
It’s all too easy to throw around figures of $54 million or say “$30 million is missing” or “ASD was “only” comparatively small at $100 million” or to imagine this is merely another “game” being played by “good ol’ boys” like Bowdoin, Busby and their cohorts.
Interesting though the discussion forums may be, this is bloody serious, heavy duty criminal activity we’re talking about here.
Yes, it is curious how easy it is to find the info. A few minutes to download & listen to the call, a few google searches and previous convictions show up for the people involved. It’s not rocket science, something CEO Talbert should have done before getting Dahlstrom involved.
As for being a “closed call for membership only”, Karl said that it’s “private”, not “secret”.
And, LRM missed one off his list – the “paid for posts” that say they have been “paid” by the HYIP/Surf ponzi.
hey Kathy matter, I wouldn’t be surprised if my picture is over on a AVG forum. please remember that at one point the mods “made” you go over to the “new forum” to ask any questions about AVG before they open for business. I agree with you 100% about being “Morally wrong” This greed thing is just wrong.
Karl Dahlstrom is a guest speaker on the latest AVGA call which can be heard at the AVG forum.It’s funny.
Steve Watts “says”
Gary Talbert steps down as CEO of AVGA
http://www.thejoyluckclub.com/ASD_Latest_News.htm
[…] Pro Advocate Group is associated with Karl Dahlstrom, who was convicted of securities fraud in the 1990s and sentenced to 78 months in federal prison. The “association” structure that emerged cited the U.S. Constitution as the document from which it derived its authority, but AVG said it was headquartered in Uruguay and its servers resolved to Panama. […]
[…] introduced members to Pro Advocate Group, which is associated with Karl Dahlstrom. Dahlstrom was convicted in a securities scheme in the […]
[…] to enter the “industry.” Switched to “private association” structure after reportedly meeting with felon convicted in a 1990s previous securities scheme. Cited U.S. Constitutional protection despite […]