BULLETIN: Receiver In Affiliate Strategies Inc. (ASI) Case Asks Federal Judge To Add Noobing Autosurf To Receivership Probe After Inquiries By ‘Tax Authorities’
The court-appointed receiver in the fraud case against the parent company of the Noobing autosurf has asked a federal judge for the authority to add Noobing to the receivership probe.
Larry Cook, the receiver, said that Noobing and 14 other companies under the Affiliate Strategies Inc. (ASI) umbrella have become the subjects of “numerous inquiries” from “tax authorities,” creditors and “former independent contractors.”
Cook did not identify specific parties that made inquiries, but noted that “each of the Subsidiaries used the same post office box as the Receivership Defendants.”
Noobing targeted people with hearing impairments in its promotions. It is known that some Noobing members have contacted the Federal Trade Commission, which is spearheading the ASI probe, along with the attorneys general of Kansas, Minnesota, North Carolina and Illinois.
At least one deaf member of Noobing says she has contacted a sheriff’s department in California about the company.
News that Cook is seeking judicial approval to add Noobing to his receivership probe came on the same day that the U.S. Secret Service said it was conducting an intense probe of INetGlobal, which operated a Minneapolis-based autosurf.
In an application for a search warrant in a Ponzi case against INetGlobal, the Secret Service referenced the AdSurfDaily Ponzi scheme case, saying a member of ASD had attempted to recruit an undercover Secret Service agent into the INetGlobal scheme.
ASD members and members of a closely connected surf known as AdViewGlobal also promoted Noobing, as did INetGlobal members, according to web records.
Steve Renner, the owner of INetGlobal, was convicted in December of four felony counts of income-tax evasion for his conduct with other companies earlier this decade.
Autosurfs are notorious for keeping poor records or no records at all, and autosurf participants are notorious for engineering schemes to milk tax-free income.
Cook said tax reporting is required, and is seeking an order that pertains to Noobing and 14 other ASI umbrella companies. Cook listed Noobing’s name at the top of the list.
“In order to complete the tax reporting requirements and otherwise address the creditors’ and other claims, the Receiver seeks a clear order that he is the Receiver for the Subsidiaries,” Cook said.
And, he added, “Counsel for the [FTC] has reviewed this Motion and concurs.”
ASI and a number of companies were sued last year in a scheme involving government grants. Noobing went offline in the immediate aftermath of the FTC probe.
