AdSurfDaily: Could Things Really Be THIS Simple?
EDITOR’S NOTE: News developed yesterday that ASD President Andy Bowdoin would make some sort of recorded statement to ASD members, with the recording perhaps becoming available on Tuesday. The news was announced in an email from Sara Mattoon. The email impressed us as typically vague and ambiguous — but also as cautious, preemptively suggesting there could be technical problems with the recording or delays that resulted from an “unforeseen circumstance.”
The email also fretted about deliverability issues, which suggests that Bowdoin wants the maximum audience possible. Will he announce a continuation of his fight for tens of millions of dollars seized from his bank accounts?
Or will Andy Bowdoin accept responsibility for conduct federal prosecutors said was criminal?
The post below ponders a single question — “Could things really be this simple? — and outlines an argument that events surrounding ASD/AdViewGlobal perhaps are not as complex as they sound.
Could Things Really Be This Simple?
1.) ASD failed in at least one prior iteration.
2.) Money vanished as a result of theft and a lack of management controls.
3.) ASD was reborn under the name ASD Cash Generator because ASD/Bowdoin owed money to members, including members who were unfriendly.
4.) ASD ramped up the criminality and eventually created a cash cow.
5.) Owing to a lack of controls and seat-of-the-pants management by Bowdoin that created the precise conditions under which thefts could occur/reoccur and even be condoned, money that was destined for ASD was cherry-picked by corrupt members before it got there.
6.) ASD actually never knew its real bottom line, because of side deals, secret deals and a culture that institutionalized theft.
7.) The surf became attractive to professional money-launderers.
8.) The surf became attractive to tax-deniers and people who associate themselves with fringe groups.
9.) ASD knew the end was near in July 2008, when a bank closed an account, citing Ponzi fears.
10.) Only then did Bowdoin concern himself in a very real way with the very real issue of securities fraud.
11.) Attempts to muzzle critics by threatening them with lawsuits failed.
12.) The U.S. Secret Service, alarmed by what agents saw early and aware of a general culture of corruption involving ASD, other surfs and other entities, seized the assets to prevent the scheme from mushrooming further.
13.) Bowdoin sold himself on a belief that the enterprise was legal because certain lawyers — not lawyers on his defense team — told him the enterprise was legal.
14.) Bowdoin and other ASD members rationalized the establishment of AdViewGlobal — even as the ASD case still was being litigated — by wrapping themselves in antigovernment fervor and selling themselves on the belief that, if certain lawyers said ASD was legal, then ASD was legal. If ASD proved not to be legal, they could blame the lawyers, while clinging to the antigovernment fervor.
15.) As a fail-safe, Bowdoin and others took the new surf “offshore.”
16.) Bowdoin and others, having demonstrated a remarkable lack of capacity to run a business on domestic soil, did not recognize the supremely difficult challenges of running a business offshore and actually were running much of the business from domestic soil.
17.) AdViewGlobal became a sort of ASD3, with the very same lack of controls, theft and cherry-picking problems that surfaced in the first two ASD iterations.
18.) Bowdoin subjected family members, key insiders and others to being charged with serious crimes — for a second time.
19.) A scheme to obstruct justice was hatched, a key prong of which was to ramp up efforts to paint the government as a monster.
20.) Bowdoin and co-conspirators put the whole of the enterprise in a box.
Patrick, It does seem odd that Sarah mentions possible delays in the recorded call, I’m guessing the delay might be from 10 to 20 years? I hope that the rest of the guilty get a similar amount of time. I am hoping Judge Collyer denies the Rescission and let’s the fun time (criminal part) begin. Andy is on his third strike, so the game is over.
To quote from the movie “Johnny Dangerously”, on of my favorite movies, Andy is a “farging ice-hole bastage”.
I would add:
The failure of AVG was in no way related to either the (lack of) business acumen of its’ management, nor being ostensibly based in Uraguay.
Instead, AVG being a “second generation” ponzi, riding on the “success” of AdSurf Daily suffered the entirely predictable fate of any follow up ponzi. It failed to attract sufficient “new” money to enable any sort of growth or longevity, and suffered the fate of every HYIP ponzi “autosurf” It simply ran out of money.
The only “material” differences which exist/ed between AVG and the second, third, fourth and fifth “follow-ons” to AdSurf Daily, are the survival times, number of victims and money stolen.
Otherwise, same dog, different leg action.
Frankly, I think it’s much simpler than that.
1. Make something up.
2. See if it works.
3a. If so, run with it and fill in details.
3b. If not, make up an excuse and try something else.
4. Rinse, repeat.
Where is Correction!!! and her defense of this “new, infant company?”
Funny how as this thing comes to a close the cheerleaders are all gone.
That idiot Mark Simmons still has faith in ASD as he posted the conference call update on his board.
AVGA may have differed slightly in its purpose than ASD. (though not necessarily ASD Mark II) It is possible that it was set up as a short term operation to appease some very angry insiders or members with “clout” who had lost considerable sums with ASD. It could be that they were given “ad packs” to earn from, on the supposition that others would join because of the power of the Bowdoin “legend”. Obviously, they made a terrible error of judgement and underestimated the influence on the ASD prosecution case on would be members.
The sick thing about AVGA is that is was certainly started with a large amount of money (as in millions) from moneies collected from ASD members and which will NOT form part of any funds available for restitution by the US Gov to members.
Dirty bird nailed it. That must be written in the scammers bible. That sounds like the way Andy has been living his life.
The information in this post may or may not be based on actually events,
persons and or confidential information.
My Attorney told me to say that.
AVGA and the ASDMBA were started for the same reason and that was to get back money lost in ASD by people or persons who could not learn to swim with concrete slippers on.
As stated by Andy in his latest court filing the last of the money in his Legal Trust Fund was gone and in order to continue to pay his overpriced Lawyers he needed to get money. No he could not touch that which
he squirreled away and has never been found since that would draw all sorts of heat from the Secret Service.
Just like the ASDMBA certain people received back all or most of the money they put into ASD.
By Robert L Guenther’s own statements the ASDMBA was and still is a scam.
As of this writing not one member of the ASDMBA has ever received an
accurate accounting of the $70,000.00 claimed as legal fee’s or of the 55,000.00 additional fees also claimed as legal fees.
The truth is you never will since they were never for Legal Fees but to pay back the 125,000.00 put in to ASD by this same individual.
The 2.7 million dollars that Andy, George Jr and Judy claim was stolen was not only for pay back but to help him pay his Attorneys and allow his family to continue to live the lavish lifestyle they had become accustomed to.
What Andy does not realize is that he is still going to be a guest of the Government no matter how much money he steals to support his legal team.
This great visionary who started an Internet Advertising Firm, received the Medal of Distinction from The President and fooled a lot of people that he could solve his financial problems will be spending his remaining days in a 6×10 cell.
All the greedy grifter sponsors who scamed people knowing full-well, Andy was a scaming, lying bastard and his management ability was worth a crap.
“They said not to do more than $50K so the SEC doesn’t investigate”.
“Really, it’s JUST like Google, only the return is HIGHER!”
“Huuge”.
“This deal is gonna be awesome”.
“We’re gonna be sooooo rich”.
“Get in before it’s too late”.
“Join ASD and have a MAGICAL day”.
I CANT wait for the DISGORGEMENT to begin.
And jail time for all the shysters.
You vastly overestimate both the requirements to be a player in this industry, and the smarts of the people who are. Setting up an autosurf every bit as big as ASD involves an initial investment of less than $500, the big ones involve a lot of luck, a couple of known players and in ASD’s case, the timing of the big conventions, which all coincided with apparent cash flow problems. ASD took in over $100 million in the three last rallys, and yet, just days later had less than $95 million when they were raided. So instead of making enough to pay 1% a day, they were bleeding about that amount down from the principal. Getting the address in Uruguay, contrary to what has been posted was rather easy, less than $5,000 was prepaid on a lease for office space. No one needed millions here, or in any surf set up. The clones even got to bypass the major expense of setting up a prominent program, they had a ready made sucker list that gave them a membership jumpstart and this saved them paying for banner adds on sites like ASA and TalkGold. AVGA’s biggest outlay of cash, from all I can find, may well have been plane tickets to go to Uruguay and rent a place to stay while there.