PRICELESS: AdViewGlobal Announces Wire Deal With Offshore Bank On Day White House And Treasury Department Announce Plan To Crackdown On Offshore Tax Havens

UPDATED 12:43 P.M. EDT (May 7, U.S.A.) As often is the case in the tin-eared autosurf world, the timing was impeccable: On the day the Obama administration announced a crackdown on U.S. corporations and citizens who use offshore tax havens to hide income, autosurf company AdViewGlobal (AVG) announced it had a deal with an offshore bank to accept member deposits for the purchase of “advertising.”

U.S. regulators say autosurf companies sell securities but call themselves “advertising” companies to avoid scrutiny by agencies such as the SEC. In recent months, autosurfs have been highlighting purported “offshore” locations, and some promoters say the surfs can hide members’ income from the IRS and “shelter” them from the SEC, the FTC and state attorneys general.

“I’m asking Congress to pass some commonsense measures,” Obama said at 11:37 a.m. (EDT) yesterday.  “One of these measures would let the IRS know how much income Americans are generating in overseas accounts by requiring overseas banks to provide 1099s for their American clients, just like Americans have to do for their bank accounts here in this country. If financial institutions won’t cooperate with us, we will assume that they are sheltering money in tax havens, and act accordingly.”

At 5:54 p.m. yesterday, a member of an AVG forum operated by some of the Mods and members of the Pro-AdSurfDaily Surf’s Up forum announced that AVG members now could wire money from the United States to The Bank of N. T. Butterfield and Son Ltd.

Butterfield has locations in Bermuda, the Bahamas, Barbados and the Cayman Islands, among other places.

Obama specifically referenced the Cayman Islands in his remarks announcing the crackdown.

“On the campaign, I used to talk about the outrage of a building in the Cayman Islands that had over 12,000 businesses — businesses claim this building as their headquarters,” Obama said.  “And I’ve said before, either this is the largest building in the world or the largest tax scam in the world.”

Under a headline titled “BREAKING NEWS Fund your Advertising,” AVG members were told this (italics added):

“AV GLOBAL ASSOCIATION is pleased to announce

“Beginning Tuesday May 5, you will be able to purchase more advertising.

“There will be a form that you can access to arrange for your purchase.

“Specific information will be required in order to process your payment.

“You will need to provide your Name; A Number; email address used for your AVGA Account; phone number; and address.

“Wire transfers: These instruments usually clear within two business days. Although there are fees charged by your bank and our bank also assesses fees (usually our bank will charge $15) your account is credited immediately upon receipt and your advertising program begins immediately. Your purchase will be adjusted by the fees.

Review:

All funds must be accompanied by the correct identifying information:

* Name

* AVGA id number

* email address

*mailing address

*and phone number

Without this information your money will be returned to you through the originating bank.

Remember: The form will appear on the Website by Tuesday before midnight. If there is a change, you will be notified.

Please print the form and complete it so that your bank [h]as all of the pertinent information.

Transfer information:

The Bank of N. T. Butterfield and Son, LTD.

Via

J. P. Morgan Chase Bank

Bldg. F. Floor 8

4 Chase Metrotech Center

New York, NY,

USA, 11245

Swift # [Deleted by this Blog]

Account # [Deleted by this Blog]

Beneficiary: KINGZ Capital Management Corporation

Account # [Deleted by this Blog]

Reference: YOUR NAME & YOUR I.D.# & YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS

UPDATE:  KINGZ Capital Management Corp. has issued a strong denial of AVG’s claims. Michael P. Krywenky, president and chief executive officer of KINGZ, said on May 7 that the firm had no business tie to AVG and had launched an investigation into the claims.

“KINGZ Capital Management Corporation nor any of its affiliates have any relationship with AdViewGlobal,” Krywenky said. “Also, I have already confirmed with our bank in Barbados that we are NOT accepting any funds from anyone at, or any clients of, AdViewGlobal.”

See this post.

AVG has close ties to AdSurfDaily (ASD), whose assets were seized in August after a joint investigation by the U.S. Secret Service and the IRS was opened in July. Federal prosecutors said ASD was engaging in wire fraud and  money-laundering while selling unregistered securities and operating a Ponzi scheme from Florida.

Prosecutors alleged that ASD President Andy Bowdoin, who was arrested on felony securities charges in Alabama in the 1990s and pleaded guilty, claimed falsely that he had received a special award last year for business acumen from President Bush.

Now AVG appears to be courting trouble from the new occupant of the White House — after the Secret Service specifically refuted Bowdoin’s Bush claims.

George Harris, an AVG trustee, is the stepson of ASD’s Bowdoin. A Tallahassee home and a car owned by Harris and his wife were seized in December, after prosecutors filed a second forfeiture complaint against assets tied to ASD. The complaint alleged massive internal fraud at ASD, citing a litany of personal purchases made with corporate funds and a claim that $1 million had been stolen from the firm by “Russian” hackers.

No police report was filed.

AVG purports to be headquartered in Uruguay. Its servers resolve to Panama. Gary Talbert, AVG’s chief executive officer and a former ASD executive, resigned suddenly on March 20

On March 23, AVG announced that its bank account had been suspended, blaming the suspension on members who sent too many wire transactions in excess of $9,500. No AVG executive or employee signed the suspension announcement. It was signed “The AVG Management Team.”

Problems with an Arizona-based, money-service business known as eWalletPlus followed. Servers for eWalletPlus now resolve to Panama, and the company claims now to be headquartered in Uruguay.

AVG, which had been promoting a 200-percent, matching bonus offer — an offer that caused one promoter to exclaim that $5,000 turned into $15,000 “instantly!” — said it was working to rectify its banking problem.

Its solution was announced yesterday: Wiring money to an offshore bank.

Promoters made AVG’s purported offshore location a big selling point since its inception a few months after the seizure of ASD’s assets.