BizAdSplash Tanks, Takes Participants’ Money With It, Members Say; Surf Invokes God, Says ‘Party Is Over’ In Sign-Off Note
The Biz Ad Splash (BAS) autosurf has tanked, taking participants’ money with it, members said tonight.
Members reported receiving a platitude-filled email from Clarence Busby announcing the surf’s closure. The email, which included a pep talk and invoked God, did not say if, when or how members would be compensated.
“Now what about the future?” the email said. “No matter what, there is a future. There are many things on the internet that will help you in this future, so don’t give up. Make the effort and success is just right around the corner. May your life be full of faith, hope and love. This is where you will find your best rewards. May God bless you all!”
Busby’s name appeared at the bottom of the email, which carried a business address of Acworth, Ga. The surf, which purported upon its 2009 launch to be headquartered offshore, came to life in the wake of the seizure of tens of millions of dollars from AdSurfDaily Inc. and Golden Panda Ad Builder. Busby is the former president of Golden Panda, which ceded more than $14 million to the government in the ASD/Golden Panda case.
Known for syrupy communications, Busby described the BAS staff as “sad,” according to the email.
“Our staff has been sad, not just because of losing a job, but because they have developed friendships with many of you and are very sad to ‘break up the party,'” the email said. “With anything that has had life, it is very sad to have that life taken away.”
Busby was identified in the email as the owner of BAS. In earlier communications, he was identified as “chief consultant.” It was not immediately clear how he purportedly had ascended from consulting work to ownership.
“As owner of this company, I have had many, many hours that I sincerely enjoyed working with you, and of course, a few ‘witching’ hours that were just plain scary,” the email said. “After many sleepless nights over the past few weeks, trying to come to the correct conclusion, I have made a decision to ‘pull the cord and turn out the lights.’ The party is over.
“No decision like this comes easy, at least not for me,” the email continued. “I know many people have had tremendous success, while others have just learned another of life’s lessons in their loss. With a heart that is very heavy and sad, I have come to realize that not every plan brings success. But I do know that every failed plan does bring you a tremendous amount of knowledge in lessons learned, that will bring you closer to the success you are reaching to achieve.”
One BAS member who contacted the PP Blog said her family was out tens of thousands of dollars with the closure — and also out the value of advertising they purchased.
“I am retired and I did not get involved in this company just to give money away for we need the money to retire,” the member said. “Mr. Clarence Busby is nothing but a dishonest crook.”
Busby, who used the title “Rev.” at least 120 times in a court filing involving Golden Panda last year, was implicated by the SEC in three prime-bank schemes in the 1990s, according to records. He agreed not to break securities laws in a settlement with the SEC.
Despite the failure of BAS and the problems Golden Panda had that resulted in the seizure of more than $14 million in five Busby/Golden Panda bank accounts, Busby had he was better for having operated BAS.
“Please accept my humble appreciation to all of you who have encouraged, supported and worked so diligently with all of us this past year. Also, for those who prayed for me when I was in the hospital, I will never forget your calls, your letters and your friendships. It really did help move me to get well.”
BAS paid out more than $2 million during its operations, according to the email. The email did not say how much the surf had taken in.
“Biz Ad Splash has been online as an internet advertising business for one year this very week,” the email said. “During that time, BAS has paid out over $2,000,000 in commissions and has almost 9000 members.
“This year has brought many new friends who have believed in BAS and whose efforts gave BAS a chance for success,” the email continued. “Your encouragement and commitment was well received, and with sincere appreciation for the opportunity we had working with each of you, we honorably salute you.
“You are the reason that we have delayed this closing, hoping that there would be enough that believed in the program to see it through,” the email said. “The past 120 days BAS’ balance sheet as continually gone in the red, and at this time, we do not have the funds to continue with our program. The past few weeks our sales have not been strong enough to pay out reasonable commissions with our RRSP program, or enough funds to handle overhead and continue operations.”
Patrick:
Now how can this be? Why all the hype around BAS was how they learned from the mistakes of ASD. They had a sound business plan with input from a team of international business professionals in technology, international banking and finance, sales and marketing, and direct sales. Well, that’s what Busby claimed. Guess they weren’t as professional as he thought, and their business plan wasn’t either. Wonder what Steve Watt thinks now? Hmm burned in ASD and BAS, and of course we can’t forget AGW and AVGA all of his “winners.”
What is truly sad is there are those who were in ASD, that blindly followed into BAS, and all the other spin-offs of ASD, that will blindly follow any of this cast of characters into their next venture. Some never learn. Wonder how long before Juan’s venture also comes crashing down? At least they can’t blame the “evil government” for stepping in and ruining a perfectly good company that was only helping the little people get ahead.
Looks like the Buz possibly thinks he must be close to getting nailed again.
Look, if these people MUST find new ways to give away money, I’d like to remind them that the ‘Chili Dog Health, Retirement and Recreation Trust” is still accpeting new contributers. It’s a real advertising buisness, during her retirement, (which I have been contracrted by the fund to arrange) she will wear a puppy bandanna with YOUR BUSINESS on it, and every day, she’ll randomly send someone a dollar in rebates, too!
Looks like Clarence found his own way to make up for the money he lost in “Golden Panda” by fleecing yet another bunch of people out of millions. You would think that people would stop giving away money after losing it in ASD, but greed has no limits.
You need to get one of those snuggies for dogs and imprint the ad down the side……..though the font would only be size 1.
I find it difficult to have any sympathy for any “victims” of this ponzi scheme and any of the copy cats. ASD was slightly different; many victims were recruited as rallies, so I guess it’s just possible that some were caught up in the frenzy. But I can’t see how anyone could see this and the other follow-on ponzis for what they were.
If someone is retired, what possible “business” do they have that needs any advertising? Before these people spend the order of $50K do they do any research at all? Even googling “Clarence Busby” brings up enough hits that would warn anyone.
Make no mistake, Busby & all the other operators, Faith Sloan and all the other ponzi pimps need to be held accountable to the fraud they are aiding. But surely, anyone of any sort of intelligence can see that anything and everything that is promoted via talkgold, MMG, dreamteammoney et al can only be a ponzi scheme.
I intend to pursue this until I lose or find these thieves in prison or until they die! Enough of these kinds of lowlifes running free, stealing money from unsuspecting people. These jerks have stashed enough money in offshore accounts now to live comfortably anywhere in Central or South America. I am NOT going to let that happen, no matter what it costs me!!!!!
Plaintiffs Wanted for
Consumer Protection Suits!
Stephen Barrett, M.D.
Lawsuits offer individual consumers an opportunity to strike powerful blows against products marketed with false or misleading claims. One way is by filing a class-action suit against the perpetrator. If the suit is successful, the named plaintiff—like all class members—will get a refund plus extra damages that are set by the applicable consumer fraud laws. Most permit a tripling of the award. In addition, punitive damages could be sizable, entitling each class member to a substantial additional award.
The named plaintiff typically gets an “incentive” award for standing up and being counted. The amount is up to the court but typically is geared toward making it worthwhile to serve as the lead plaintiff. Such awards are often large
Being a named plaintiff typically involves little time or effort. Named plaintiffs “lend” their name to the case, sign some papers that the lawyers draw up and submit to the court or to the other side, meet with the lawyer once or twice, give a short deposition (question-and-answer session under oath in a lawyer’s office, not in court) to tell their story, and, in the unlikely event the case doesn’t settle and does go to trial, show up to tell their story again, this time in court for a few hours. The lawyers do practically all of the work.
If the named plaintiff wants to withdraw later, another person can be substituted without much trouble. After the suit gets going, other people may offer to serve as a class representative. So it isn’t really an ironclad commitment.
Class-action suits of this type are important. Government regulatory agencies lack the resources to attack all of the fraud they encounter. Individual citizens can help to protect our society by standing up and saying “enough is enough.”
Quackwatch has set up a clearinghouse to introduce potential plaintiffs to attorneys with special interest in consumer protection lawsuits.
sbinfo@quackwatch.com