URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: ANDY BOWDOIN INDICTED: AdSurfDaily President Arrested In Florida
BULLETIN: UPDATED 4:40 P.M. ET (U.S.A.) AdSurfDaily President Andy Bowdoin has been arrested by federal agents in Florida after an indictment was unsealed earlier today that charged him with five counts of wire fraud, one count of securities fraud and one count of unlawful sale of unregistered securities.
Bowdoin, 76, was arrested in Englewood, Fla. Details on bail were not immediately available. It is believed the U.S. Secret Service made the arrest. If convicted on all counts, Bowdoin faces a maximum prison sentence of 125 years and a maximum fine of $6.26 million.
ASD was raided by the Secret Service in August 2008. The case began as a civil-forfeiture action with the filing of a forfeiture complaint that month and the filing of a second complaint in December 2008, as the investigation proceeded.
With the unsealing of the indictment that alleges a massive Ponzi scheme, Bowdoin now faces serious criminal charges — and yet-another forfeiture action, this one in criminal court. Today’s forfeiture allegation was included in the indictment and called for a judgment of $110 million to be entered against Bowdoin.
Prosecutors charged today for the first time that Bowdoin actively discouraged ASD members from contacting law enforcement prior to the Secret Service raid in August 2008. Meanwhile, prosecutors revealed for the first time that a financial analyst had been assigned to the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Columbia.
U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. of the District of Columbia praised the Secret Service, which had been derided by Bowdoin as “Satan,” for its work on the case. Machen also praised William Cowden, the former federal prosecutor who brought the forfeiture actions.
Cowden was derided as “Gomer Pyle” by members of the pro-ASD Surf’s Up forum, one of whom opined that he should be placed in a medieval torture rack while ASD members drew straws to determine who got to tighten the wheel.
Bowdoin, according to the 18-page indictment, used ASD members’ money to make a donation to the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC). The allegation marked the first time the government had charged that Bowdoin used Ponzi proceeds to make the donation. Bowdoin was specifically accused of permitting members to make false claims about a “Medal of Distinction” he received from NRCC.
Members claimed the award was an important award from the President of the United States. In reality, according to the indictment, the award was for campaign donations — and Bowdoin did not correct the record.
Meanwhile, the indictment accused Bowdoin of not correcting the record when a purported ASD “compliance officer” said the Bowdoin’s only run-in with law enforcement had been as the recipient of a speeding ticket.
In truth, prosecutors said, Bowdoin had been charged in two two securities cases in Alabama during the 1990s, pleading guilty in one case and entering a plea of “best interest” in another that required him to pay restitution to victims.
Read the indictment against Bowdoin.
YES About Time! OmG!
I believe the fecal matter has encountered the air circulation device.
Finally!!!! When do we find out what his bail is and get mug shots?
This is the best Christmas and Hanukkah(Chanukah)present!!!!
Hip, Hip, Hooray!
Second best news I heard today.
Finally! This is great news and long overdue.
I cheer for the swift application of justice. May he rot in a jail cell for the rest of his miserable existence.
That’s a good start. Now let’s add to this some “Misprision of Felony” indictments for the other principals behind the scene and we’ll have even a better Holiday season.
Big JOE
Would have been even better had Guenther been brought in also.
I bet the big ASD players are scattering like a bunch of roaches. (I apologize to all roaches for likening them to ASD promoters)
Whip:
Guenther has gone in hiding since he too had a large downline along with his good buddy and co-conspirator. The list is long and eventually they will all be rounded up and put where they belong.
This can’t be true. Sara Mattoon told us that Andy had the Feds on the run since Florida dropped all the charges against ASD. This is a conspiracy I tell you.
If any of you who were wondering if you should file the form with RUST, this was your answer.
Does anybody know what jail they put uncle Andy in? I would like to check the records and see his new home.
It’s about time. How many times did the “evilgumint” (all one word) use the word Ponzi in the indictment? Too many to count?
So the template is to file civil charges to get the program shut down and preserve funds and then unseal any grand jury indictment after the civil appeals have been exhausted.
I hope Mindy Bales, Bob Guenther, etc are not far behind… Promoters should be on notice that they will be held accountable.
And a giant “WELL DONE” must go out to the Secret Service, IRS and everyone else associated with the task force investigation and eventual charging of Bowdoin.
Overworked, underfunded and underpaid, these people have done a textbook perfect job under trying conditions and extreme criticism.
WELL-bloody-DONE
I wonder if the unnamed lawyer in the indictment wants to buy his opinion that this was not a Ponzi Scheme back.
Indeed getting this news is better then getting Hanukkah-Gelt…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah_gelt
Looks like Keny’s legal opinion about ASD was just as accurate as Robert Garner’s.
okosh:
Andy had a lot of gelt…but, it was not his and it has failed to keep him out of jail.
We’ve waited a long time to hear this news. The wheels of justice grind slowly, but at last we are seeing them in action.
Great reporting Patrick
hmmmmm……I wonder where Fat Ol’ Barb is (her own handle, not my label). I truly would like to hear from her. I am sure that the other Srufs Up mods haven’t the guts to show up…..
Entertained, funny you should mention Barb. I tried calling her yesterday but her number was disconnected. I had also thought about trying to call Laura Pont, but I lost her number. I, too, would like to hear what they have to say.. LOL
This all well and good but we’ve seen this eel slip out before. I wouldn’t put anything past him.
I wouldn’t mind betting the only things this “eel” will get to slip out of in the future are his prison greens just before lights out.
Without doubt, there is plenty of legal twisting and turning to come, but IM(very)HO that’s all it will be: legal twisting and turning, which will serve only to delay the inevitable.
[…] Then there is Andy Bowdoin, who certainly SEEMS old enough to have learned his hucksterism at the feet of Napoleon Hill, as he claims. According to him, he got the CMoD too. […]