DISTURBING: Out On Bail After Ponzi Arrest, Is Andy Bowdoin Giving Marching Orders? Email Attributed To Former ASD Executive Gary Talbert Advises Members To Tell Claims Processor They Were Purchasing ‘Advertising’
Andy Bowdoin
UPDATED 9:28 A.M. ET (U.S.A.) On Dec. 1, a federal magistrate judge set bail of $350,000 for AdSurfDaily President Andy Bowdoin and ordered him not to commit a federal, state or local crime after his arrest by the U.S. Secret Service on charges of wire fraud, securities fraud and selling unregistered securities.
Bowdoin, 76, was specifically warned that he could be held in contempt of court for violating conditions of his bail. The conditions included an order not to obstruct the investigation or tamper with witnesses.
Now an email attributed to former ASD and AdViewGlobal executive Gary Talbert has surfaced that is raising questions about whether Bowdoin is trying to suppress the victims’ count and manipulate ASD members who seek to file restitution claims with Rust Consulting Inc., the official claims administrator in the $110 million Ponzi case.
The email specifically references Bowdoin’s arrest, but makes no reference to the bail conditions set by U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas G. Wilson in advance of a scheduled appearance by Bowdoin in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Dec. 17.
Bowdoin made his initial court appearance before Wilson in Florida.
“Got a email from Andy and he told me to go ahead and send this email out to everyone,” noted the email attributed to Talbert, who filed a sworn affidavit on ASD’s behalf in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in 2008. “He does have a hearing on Dec. 17th in Washington D.C. He and his lawyers are still positive on the out come.”
“Here is just a idea and I think this will work for everyone,” the email continued. “This should keep everyone legal. Because I think everyone understood it was not a investment. I believe it is time to fill out the info. from Rust inc. with the following addendum.
“Where it asks for your signature write in there ‘See addendum’.
“Now put this in your own words on the addendum. Here is a out line.
“On the addendum write that you knew this was not a investment and you where purchasing advertising. Now since the gov. stopped my advertising company and I did not get my advertising I would like to get my advertising money back from whom ever is holding it now. Sign it and send it in with the forms from Rust.”
News about the email attributed to Talbert was spreading among ASD members last night. Separately, ASD figures Kenneth Wayne Leaming and Christian Oesch have filed an ASD-related lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims that apparently seeks the spectacular sum of $29 TRILLION from a federal judge, three federal prosecutors and a Secret Service agent involved in the ASD Ponzi case.
On June 30, 2009, AdViewGlobal was cited as an extension of ASD in a racketeering lawsuit filed against Bowdoin by ASD members. The reference was dated June 29, 2009, the same day Bernard Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in federal prison for his Ponzi scheme.
Federal prosecutors now say Bowdoin faces up to 120 years in prison if convicted of all counts against him.
“AVG is the next iteration of the Ponzi scheme auto-surf programs, which [are] staffed with former ASD executives and Bowdoin disciples, including George Harris, the stepson of Bowdoin, who is listed as an AVG trustee, Gary Talbert, former ASD executive served as CEO of AVG and now serves as an accountant, Nate Boyd, a former compliance officer at ASD, serves as ‘Protector’ of the AVG association, and Chuck Osmin, a former ASD employee who testified on ASD’s behalf at the evidentiary hearing before this Court last fall is a customer service representative of AVG,” the RICO plaintiffs claimed.
The grand jury that indicted Bowdoin began to meet in May 2009. During that same month, AVG was scurrying to reconfigure itself after gathering money from members and offering 200 percent “bonuses” for months. AVG launched in the aftermath of the seizure of tens of millions of dollars from Bowdoin in August 2008, the filing by the government of a second forfeiture complaint against ASD-connected assets in December 2008 and the filing of the racketeering lawsuit against Bowdoin.
The December 2008 forfeiture complaint specifically named Bowdoin family members Edna Faye Bowdoin, George Harris and Judy Harris as beneficiaries of crimes committed by ASD. Edna Faye Bowdoin is Andy Bowdoin’s wife; George Harris is Bowdoin’s stepson; Judy Harris is the wife of George Harris.
In January 2009, just days prior to its official launch in early February, AVG bizarrely both confirmed and denied it had ties to ASD.
The appearance of AVG graphics in an ASD-controlled webroom after the federal seizure was an “operational coincidence,” AVG memorably explained. The announcement was attributed to Chuck Osmin, himself a former ASD employee.
Even though AVG previously had denied ASD ties, the upstart surf then announced that Talbert was its CEO.
“Since Mr. Talbert was and is the C.E.O. for both companies and had worked with the same web room company while at ASD, it would be very natural for him to choose and use many of the same venders (sic) that he had used before. So, the fact that ASD and AdView Global are using the same web room hosting company is no accident, in fact it is an operational coincidence,” AdViewGlobal said.
Why the surf identified Talbert as ASD’s CEO was unclear. He was listed in his own sworn court documents in the ASD case as ASD’s “Human Resource Manager, Assistant CFO and Website Editor.”
By March 2009, AVG announced that Talbert had resigned as AVG’s chief. It also announced that its bank account had been suspended, blaming the development on members.
In May 2009, AVG announced that it had secured a new, offshore wire facilitator to help it gather money from members. The announcement was made on the same day the Obama administration announced a crackdown on offshore financial fraud. (See this story and included links for updates on AVG’s purported facilitator, KINGZ Capital Management. There is a tie between KINGZ and Minnesota Ponzi schemer Trevor Cook.)
By June 25, 2009, AVG announced it was suspending cashouts, again blaming the development on members while threatening members and journalists with copyright-infringement lawsuits for reporting the news.
Just four days later, on June 29, 2009, the RICO plaintiffs in the ASD lawsuit referenced AVG in a court filing docketed the following day, June 30. By September 2009, federal prosecutors made a veiled reference to AVG in filings in the ASD case.
By Sept. 29, 2009, an email attributed to ASD spokeswoman Sara Mattoon was circulating among ASD members. The email specifically instructed members not to fill out a government form that would be used as part of the restitution process.
“Soon after the ASD shutdown, the DOJ (Dept of Justice) set up a website for people to file a claim for the money they had in ASD,” Mattoon was quoted as saying in the email. “As soon as I heard about it, I told everyone not to do it because I could see what the Government was trying to do, but some people didn’t realize what it was and afterwards they regretted doing so.”
The Matton email referenced an earlier email attributed to ASD member and purported trainer Robert Fava. Like the Mattoon email, the Fava email discouraged members from filling out the government form, describing it as “ammunition” that could be used against ASD.
I know this is a rhetorical question, but…. Did Anyone think Andy would suddenly stop doing illegal things just because a Judge told him to as a condition of bail?
I’m fairly confident he received similar instructions from the Judge that sentenced him for his 2 felony convictions. Probably something similar to when one leaves the Confessional, “Go and sin no more”. However, he “went” and started several more schemes, and the landed on ASD and it’s bastard children, AVGA and Ad Pay Daily. If Andy is jailed, I can see him running something from behind bars. It is his nature. He is a consummate CON MAN. That will never change!
As Andy Bowdoin was openly the founder and President of AdSurfDaily and,more covertly, the founder of AdViewGlobal, it is difficult to see that messages sent through his underlings consistitutes adherence to his conditions of bail.
As D, above, points out, there is no reason why this particular leopard should change his spots now. It will be interesting to see what kind of scam he launches from his cell.
I think this is brilliant. If anyone is stupid enough to do this, I think they should not ask for their “advertising” money back, but instead they should get back exactly what they paid for. They should be asking for “ad-packs” instead.
I think one of the crack-pot filings asked to be paid in ad-packs instead of cash.
Hi Tony,
https://patrickpretty.com/2009/09/08/breaking-news-pro-se-filer-says-government-owes-her-approximately-250000-in-asd-ad-packages/
Patrick
Well, in order to keep him out of trouble in jail, perhaps the government could obliged Mr. Bowdoin to operate the rotator for those in ASD who want their advertising and prefer not to be considered victims of the same gentleman. If he works very very hard in the prison laundry he may earn enough to pay for the hosting.
Absolutely amazing. I certainly hope the original email is traced back to Andy and that the judge has a copy of it in front of him this Friday in DC.
dB
Yep, would real easy to set up a TE to fulfill the “advertising” that was sold.
Remember, members had to surf X number of sites per day to remain “qualified” and there was no legal time frame on the delivery of the ads at $1 per random page view.
An enterprising TE operator could set up a system in three days to generate the traffic being demanded by the Bowdoin Apologists and fulfull that traffic with with those required to surf to earn.
Simple.
It’s not rocket science, eh? LOL
ARWR
What the members of ASD fail to grasp is that the court did not stop Andy from running the ads they paid for. They shut down the revenue stream. Andy could still run the ads if he wanted to, and instead of spending all this money on his attorneys he claims were incompetent he could have been running these ads ever since the seizure. Judge Collyer said so in her initial ruling. Andy is the one who chose not to run the ads. It is not the governments fault they are not running even today.
Just becuase you put an adddendum to a form does not make it true, and it could add to their having obstruction of justice charges filed against them. Not saying it will, but it is a possibility.
Doesn’t the claim form require the claimant to attest that they “invested” as part of the process?
It’s pure 100% speculation on my part but, if someone files a claim, and then creates the addendum, couldn’t Rust use it to invalidate the claim? What’s the point of filing if you are going to invalidate the claim? It just means that those who sign in good faith get their share (of Andy’s money, his words) and those who play games don’t.
Lynn,
It’s even better…..in addition to the obstruction of justice issue (likely reserved just for the letter’s authors, who may or may not be Talbert and or Bowdoin), anyone who files the “Talbert Amendment” may well have just disqualified themselves from any restitution. The very first clause in the restitution form states that members have made an investment. The Talbert Amendment testifies, under penalty of perjury, that the member HAS NOT made an investment, but rather has bought adertising. Thus, the member DOES NOT QUALIFY for restitution. The form is very, very clear on this — ONLY INVESTORS will be accorded restitution. Once they have filed with the Talbert amendment, they will not be allowed to rescind their position (that darn perjury thing), and so they are cut out. So, to all you ASD members who still believe in St. Andy, please, please, please file the Talbert amendment. You are definitely NOT a victim if you still believe in ASD……
DB — looks like simultaneous thinking on our part. You should be very worried…..
This is one of the most trenchant comments that ever has appeared on this Blog, d_b.
Man, it really cuts to the chase.
Patrick
That’s the whole idea….poison the pool so the scammers can try and get more of their money back.
Thanks…I guess arguing with the lawyers in my family has finally paid a dividend. The funny part is that one of them will say “but I am a lawyer” and a few of us will say “yeah, but your not a labor lawyer” so how would you know, if that the law topic we’re arguing about.
I actually do pay attention to the clauses in the contracts now when I read them.
trench·ant
? ?/?tr?nt??nt/ Show Spelled[tren-chuhnt]
–adjective
1. incisive or keen, as language or a person; caustic; cutting: trenchant wit.
You got me on that word…I had to look it up…
I thought they were trying to DDOS the court system with felonies…cuz obstruction of justice is nothing to sneeze at.
Nixon didn’t get hit for the burglary, it was obstruction that was going to use to impeach him.
Clinton didn’t get impeached because he was fooling around with Monica, it was lying about it to a prosecutor.
What, me worry? ;-)
Let’s hope most of the Suft’s Up cheerleaders do just exactly what Gary wants them to do. Anyone who submits a claim with the “Talbert Amendment” is signaling to the Feds that they are a die-hard ASD insider, one of the people who pulled an awful lot of money out of ASD in the early days. They think they’ll be harrassing the government, but before very long the joke will be one them — it’s the government who will be doing the harrassing.
Patrick, they’re going to keep you in business a long time!
Sounds like the title of a Ludlum novel, Entertained.
And if the purpose of “The Talbert Amendment” is to dupe victims into filing invalid claims, well, ASD once again would take a Ludlum-like, conspiratorial turn. Perhaps the sequel (or prequel) could be called “The Bowdoin Weekend.”
The paranoia concerning the form dates back to the earliest days of Surf’s Up. It was positioned as a “trick” — and then the troops were told to fashion their own form for Golden Panda.
After that, they were told not to fill out the forms or cooperate with the Secret Service. Then the “Christiano” and admiralty nonsense started happening in the background, accompanied by the Mattoon and Fava nonsense.
Now, on the weekend the U.S. Court of Federal Claims rejects the lawsuit, the plan has shifted to messing with the form. As you point out, this puts victims in the position of disqualifying themselves from restitution.
The Bowdoin indictment was not even two weeks old when the latest round began.
Patrick
Screw ’em. If they want to disqualify themselves from getting a refund more power to them, with a little pocket money most of them could be dangerous. If the three dozen investors with more sense than a houseplant get full refunds good, and let the rest of the money go to pay for a few more Federal Agents to chase them. ‘
Of course, I also hope that the people involved in the ‘Stonewall the Government” crowd don’t get anything if they’re just doing it to make the claims pool smaller. Something I wouldn’t put past them but I do have a hard time believing any of them are that smart.
I AM SORRY TO SAY THAT I INVESTED ALONG WITH SEVERAL OF MY FRIENDS IN ADVIEW GLOBAL…WILL WE EVER SEE ANY OF THE MONEY RETURNED…WHERE IS THE MONEY??? DOES ANYONE KNOW?