Spokesman For Renner-Related Company Did Not Disclose Tie In Opinion Piece That Attacked Star-Tribune Newspaper; Name Is Referenced In Secret Service Affidavit; Declines To Answer Questions From PP Blog
UPDATED 2:25 P.M. ET (March 2, U.S.A.) The vice president and director of public relations for V-Newswire — a company in Steve Renner’s INetGlobal family — authored an opinion piece lambasting a Minnesota newspaper’s coverage of a Secret Service raid at INetGlobal’s Minneapolis offices last week on his personal Blog, but did not disclose his tie to the firm.
Donald W.R. Allen II operates a Blog known as The Independent Business News Network (IBNN). Allen did not disclose his INetGlobal tie when authoring an editorial titled, “Minneapolis’ Star Tribune newspaper’s bias reporting causes defamatory speculation at Internet marketing firm.”
The piece began, “If the Star Tribune newspaper can use its ‘power’ to taint a company’s image prior to investigation by authorities, whose (sic) to say the news you get is true and accurate?â€
The Star-Tribune was among the first media outlets to report that federal agents believed INetGlobal was operating a Ponzi scheme.
Information gleaned during the federal probe led to allegations that INetGlobal also was engaging in wire fraud and money-laundering.
Allen, whose name is referenced in a search-warrant application in the INetGlobal case, now says he should have disclosed the tie in the IBNN editorial.
“I will give full disclosure on the iNetGlobal piece today because I have 3 more follow up stories,” he said this morning. He asserted that the IBNN domain, which is registered in Renner’s name under the organization of V-Webs LLC, “has nothing to do with iNetGlobal other than being registered by the company as part of my employment agreement.”
Allen defined the IBNN Blog as a “Civil Rights, Politics and News Blog for mostly the Twin Cities area.” IBBN’s site content includes an endorsement of the Tea Party Movement in the United States and a “Declaration of Tea Party Independence.”
Allen emailed the PP Blog Sunday after appearing at the Blog, posting comments and using the IBNN URL, not a URL associated with the Renner companies. He dismissed the Blog as “minor league,” writing it was engaging in a “witch hunt.” The Blog responded to Allen’s email by asking him to comment on a number of issues concerning INetGlobal and inquiring why he was using the IBNN URL if he was a spokesman for a Renner entity.
Later in the day, Allen responded to the Blog’s questions by saying he would answer questions about his role at V-Newswire, but he did not address the questions the Blog asked previously.
The Blog then resubmitted the questions, adding several more questions to a list of four it previously had asked. Allen responded to the email, but chose not to answer a number of questions.
Among the questions Allen declined to answer was whether INetGlobal, in the aftermath of the Ponzi scheme allegations, believed it should inform members about Steve Renner’s December conviction on four felony counts of income-tax evasion. Allen also declined to answer a question on whether INetGlobal had a duty to inform members that Cash Cards International (CCI) — a payment processing firm once operated by Renner — could not return money to Ponzi scheme victims in a case brought by the SEC against a California company known as Learn Waterhouse because Renner had spent the customers’ money.
Allen did say he saw “nothing illegal with V-Newswire or the V-News Network.”
The Blog asked Allen whether he was the “Donny Allen” referred to in an INetGlobal news release and the “Donald Allen” referred to in a Secret Service affidavit that alleged “Donald Allen” provided confusing information to a person who attended an INetGlobal function in New York.
Allen did not answer the question, which the Blog posed twice.
Undercover Secret Service agents also attended the New York function, according to the affidavit.
The PP Blog also asked Allen whether he believed he should disclose his tie to INetGlobal when responding to Blog and forum posts. He declined to answer the question, which was posed twice.
He also declined to answer a question about how it served INetGlobal’s PR ends to dismiss as “minor league” Blogs that report the serious allegations against the company.
AdSurfDaily, a Florida company implicated in a $100 million Ponzi scheme, employed a similar PR approach. The ASD case is referenced in the Secret Service affidavit, amid allegations that an ASD member described INetGlobal as a wink-nod enterprise and attempted to have an undercover Secret Service agent participate in a three-way call with the ASD members’ sponsor for the purpose of recruiting the agent into INetGlobal.
Allen also declined to answer a question on whether he was the author of an INetGlobal news release after the raid that said federal agents had arrived at Renner’s offices “looking for something to substantiate their claim that illegal activity was occurring in the business.”
The news release used Allen’s email address, which he described as temporary in an email to the PP Blog, but did not mention Renner’s income-tax conviction and the allegations that Renner had spent money belonging to CCI customers.
Very good article which shows up exactly who Donald WR Allen II is & what he is up to. However, shouldn’t your last sentence read ‘….but did NOT mention Renner’s income-tax conviction and the allegations that Renner had spent money belonging to CCI customers.’
You are correct, and I’ve updated the story.
Thanks,
Patrick
Kind of eerie how much Don has followed the Andy script. Andy made bravado statements about how the government did not understand the business model, ASD was legal, the TV stations and newspaper articles got it all wrong, yada, yada, yada. Now comes Don saying almost the identical same things. Not exactly the role model Don should be emulating, don’t you think? Gee, a clone of Bob G and now Andy. Maybe he is ducking your questions Patrick as he is trying to figure out which persona he needs to be to answer?
OK, please do not confuse me with Don Allen. Perhaps I should go back to using the name “I Am Not Don”…
Thanks Patrick. You could have at least put in a link to my blog. This is really great for your blog traffic.
Patrick – I can’t answer any questions about someones personal spending habits that I know nothing of. If someone has a job and gets paid, its no different that someone going to McDonald’s and buying a Big Mac and the money from that sale goes to maintain the restaurant and pay the employees. A product or service has been provided.
Speaking of Ponzi – I haven’t seen anything on your blog about social security. Just giving you some food for thought. I believe in the Constitution of the United States and being an advocate of the 1st Amendment, I find this blog invaluable and informational.
Except for the contempt prior to investigation.
Again, my conference call invite or live broadcast invitation with you remains open.
I truly wish you the best. I have had some of the same issues in the Civil Rights arena that I would “speculate” on until the justice system made it absolute.
When I go to sleep at night, I think of two things: “Have I helped someone have a great day” and “tomorrow will I be fair and balanced like FOX NEWS.”
Donald W.R. Allen,II Editor in Chief of IBNN and USA Radical Black.com
also the VP/Director of PR for V-Newswire and the V-News Network.
Power to the People…Now!
Don,
Added a link at 2:25 today, in response to the post above. Link is in the first paragraph.
Patrick
It’s good to see the classic excuses brought out once again. It’s like those old Routemaster buses – now it’s the bendy-bus but if you see one doing the No. 9 route, it’s a bit nostalgic. MLM/Ponzi scammers bringing up the Social Security excuse, will it be the “evil government” next? Or the jealousy accusation? Or “you don’t understand the business model”?
Just to go off topic, remember that ponzi scammer who bought a submarine? Here’s the ideal thing for the next ponzi scammer:
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/18/20100301/tod-british-cold-war-nuclear-bunker-up-f-6058bda.html
Just think, protection from the evil government, away from all the naysayers.
I believe that Mr. Allen needs to download this song and listen to it at least once a day as I do.
http://www.upload-mp3.com/files/160347_ef1yg/21%20Did%20I%20Make%20A%20Difference.mp3
I note with interest that Donald WR Allen II promised the PP Blog on Monday 1st March to “….give full disclosure on the iNetGlobal piece today because I have 3 more follow up stories”. Well over 32 hours later, no such disclosure has been made. Clearly one can trust the words of Donald WR Allen II no more than one can trust the promises of Steve Renner & iNetGlobal.
However, whilst Donald WR Allen II still doesn’t do what he promised, he still has found time to write further comments on this blog post. His statement that he goes to bed at night thinking “tomorrow will I be fair and balanced like FOX NEWS†made me collaspe with laughter. How can any media outlet owned by Rupert Murdoch ever be described as ‘fair & balanced’. Just take one look at the UK newspapers ‘The Sun’ & the ‘News of the World’, both part of the Murdoch stable.
As a North Minneapolis resident who has read and seen the fallout of all of the misinformation he spreads locally, I’m so glad to see this guy finally revealed as the fraud that he is.
Steve Renner is not the CEO of iNetGlobal. You dont know GUY!
Rich,
I’m note sure why you posted what effectively was the same comment twice. (It’s also posted in the tread below).
https://patrickpretty.com/2010/03/20/analysis-another-troubled-autosurf-another-bizarre-pr-approach-some-inetglobal-supporters-attack-the-messenger/comment-page-1/#comment-9969
In any event, I’m not sure what you mean by your comment. We did not report that Steve Renner was the CEO of INetGlobal.
Patrick
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