URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: Secret Service Has Seized More ASD Cash; Forfeiture Complaint Filed Today Against Bank Accounts Controlled By Erma ‘Web Room Lady’ Seabaugh And Robyn Lynn Stevenson
Andy Bowdoin
BULLETIN: UPDATED 6:27 A.M. ET (U.S.A., DEC. 18) The U.S. Secret Service and federal prosecutors have seized nearly $250,000 from two alleged ASD promoters and filed a new forfeiture complaint dated today.
More than $153,000 has been seized from a bank account controlled by ASD promoter Erma Seabaugh, known as the “Web Room Lady.” Seabaugh was a purported ASD “trainer,” prosecutors said.
She was accused in the complaint of accepting checks made out to ASD, depositing them into her bank account and transferring “ad packs” to her downline by using ASD’s internal system.
Meanwhile, more than $96,000 has been seized from bank accounts controlled by ASD member Robyn Lynn Stevenson, who operated a company known as Robyn Lynn LLC and worked briefly for ASD itself, prosecutors said.
At the same time, investigators seized nearly $500,000 from a bank account once controlled by ASD President Andy Bowdoin and nearly $50,000 from an account controlled by Golden Panda Ad Builder President Clarence Busby.
Busby, prosecutors said, already has ceded the money to the government. The money was ceded in September 2008, about two months after an undercover agent had been invited by an ASD member to listen to Busby talk in July 2008, as Golden Panda was ramping up for its formal launch.
The additional sum of nearly $500,000 ($496,505) seized from Bowdoin was a balance left in an account that once contained more than $31.6 million, prosecutors said. The lion’s share of the money in the account already has been declared forfeited, but agents worked out an agreement with Bank of America to permit about $500,000 to remain in the account on the date of the Aug. 1, 2008, seizure of Bowdoin’s assets.
The buffer was necessary to permit checks already drawn on the account prior to the effective date of the seizure warrant to clear, prosecutors said.
All in all, the forfeiture complaint filed today targeted $794,718 in illegal ASD proceeds, prosecutors said.
The seizure of cash tied to Seabaugh and Stevenson traced its roots to the opening days of 2009, months after the seizure of the lion’s share of money from Bowdoin’s bank accounts, according to the complaint.
On Feb. 26, 2009, U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer authorized the seizure of “up to” $213,693 in the name of “Carpe Diem or Erma Seabaugh,” prosecutors said. The seizure occurred one day after Bowdoin had signed a document in which he sought to reverse an earlier decision he made to submit to the forfeiture of tens of millions of dollars in his bank accounts, records show.
When the Secret Service executed the warrant to seize the money from Seabaugh, only $153,097 was found in the account, according to the complaint.
Between July 15 and July 30, 2008 — effectively the two week period leading up to the ASD seizure — Seabaugh received nine ASD checks totaling $203,993, prosecutors said.
On July 25, 2008, just days before the seizure of Bowdoin’s bank accounts, Seabaugh deposited into her bank account seven checks made out to ASD totaling $9,700 prosecutors said.
The checks came from “third parties,” and Seabaugh transferred a corresponding number of “ad packs” to the buyers by using ASD’s internal system, prosecutors said.
“Based on these facts, it appears Ms. Seabaugh was selling her own investment ‘ad packs’ to clients and representing herself as ASD,” prosecutors said.
Seabaugh had at least three ASD accounts and appeared to be using ASD’s “advertising” rotator to sell other pyramid schemes, prosecutors said. All three of the accounts used a form of the “Carpe Diem” name, according to the complaint.
One of Seabaugh’s ASD accounts was opened with a transfer of “ad packs” from La Fuente Dinero, yet-another autosurf scheme tied to ASD, prosecutors said.
Noting that Seabaugh deposited no “new money” into the account, prosecutors said she withdrew $83,994 from the account via checks from ASD.
Seabaugh recruited 48 ASD members, according to the complaint. She withdrew an additional $107,997 from another ASD account.
Stevenson, meanwhile, made only one deposit with ASD — for $500 — and yet received $96,525, prosecutors said. The withdrawals came in the form of 17 checks issued by ASD between July 10 and July 25, 2008, just days before the seizure of ASD’s assets, according to records.
The checks were deposited into two bank accounts that Stevenson opened July 31, 2008, one day before the seizure of Bowdoin’s bank accounts, according to records.
Separately, Bowdoin pleaded not guilty today to criminal charges filed against him in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Prosecutors said he was at the helm of a massive Ponzi scheme that gathered at least $110 million.
Well that’s a good start… I hope more are on the way.
dB
Yeah, I bet the big promoters are about to soil themselves. Their time is getting close….
What about Robert Fava? He claimed to be making up to $10,000 a week from ASD. He was a web room guy as well. There is no doubt he had more than Erma in his various accounts.
Erma had a lot more ad packs then Robert Fava, she was one of the 3 people who was on stage at the convention in Tampa. She had control on alot of things and she would upgrade her down line cash right after a rally. with no paper work.
Would that be the Erma Seabaugh of this case, or a different Erma Seabaugh?
http://www.nationalrepublicregistry.com/public/NV.2009.07.08.000001.pdf
If so, her “like minded people” comments I found online smack of the same “I know it’s a crime but I’m going to deny it, so help me God” attitude that a number of cash gifters have when using that term.
Dunno, but I think it’s that nice Miss Emma who helped run AV4U. Remember? The one run by that “honest” Steve Smith
Erma was the one who encouraged those in profit to hide their ill gotten gains:
http://www.thejoyluckclub.com/erma.htm
Back in 2008, Erma was picking “winners” and giving them free ad-packs:
http://www.work-at-home-forum.com/asd-41/erma-web-room-lady-9288.html
Robyn Lynn appears to be the person who introduced Clarence Busby to ASD.
http://www.manifestyourfortune.com/asdff/Affidavit.pdf
Tony H the affidavit that Clarence wrote was so full of Sh**. Andy and Clarence go way back. Dawn who was the office manger of ASD and head person of golden panda is his (Clarence) grand daughter I believe. I remember on one of the Monday night calls that Andy spoke of, how great it was that this company is growing and how it turns out that he got connected again with a old friend who was down on his luck, and Andy himself gave him some ad-packs. It’s all a bunch of sh**
Thanks for the replies. Anyone heard anything about Rayda another web room player? She was reported to be at various conventions. One in which I heard a man bought $250,000 in ad packs. This was in Vegas I believe. Rayda had a boat load of ad packs as well, I also heard the web people were paid with ad packs. “Money out of thin air” Unreal.
There’s a post on the ponzi sewer MMG that says:
Rayda Roundy appears to have been a “Webinar presenter” for whatever this “Opportunity Zoom” was.
Then there was something called “Orange Leads” which has some familiar names:
Joe Shoop is well known, but was there a “Barry Foster” involved with one of the ASD spin-off scams?
Robert did the morning webinairs out of his office I believe from Iowa, Rayda did her’s at night from her home office in Utah. It will be interesting when the truth of who got free ad-packs for doing “little things” for the company comes out.
The amazing thing about this was how in the open everything was. Andy flew Robert down to the home office so he could give the presentation to the local Chamber of commerce, who was giving Andy a special lunch!!! Not one business owner stood up and say ” Man this is a ponzi.” Many rich business owners bought ad-packs. At the second Iowa rally in early April 08 I saw a man from Texas give Andy a check for $250,000.
Both Fava and Roundy must have had enormous downlines as a result of being the public face of ASD, on the conference calls and training sessions. In addition Fava held local mini rallies and meetings in his home state and in a few more besides.
“Miss Erma” was one of the fools who allowed her wealth to be publically proclamed from a stage at the rallies, as was David Meade. This does not mean that there weren’t many others who made equal or more than she did and who are equally culpable, but had the good sense to maintain a lower profile about their wealth. Remember those Steroidal Puppeteers?
I cannot find the new documents on Pacer, including Bowdoin’s indictment and the new forteitures. I have no trouble finding the original forfeiture cases.
Can anyone help me find them or explain why they are not there?
Faith,
The Bowdoin indictment is here:
http://www.justice.gov/usao/dc/Victim_Witness_Assistance/files/Bowdoin_Indictment_FILED_Nov_23_2010.pdf
My guess is that the new forfeiture complaint will appear on PACER next week.
Patrick
Check out these posts for tons of links to Rayda Roundy and other ASD playas and their “other programs”.
https://patrickpretty.com/2009/12/07/adviewglobal-recording-suggests-member-cashed-out-10000-only-days-after-formal-launch-and-that-insiders-were-awarded-bonuses-less-than-two-weeks-later-surf-switched-to-private-association-stru/
Post number 6 in the link below has tons of links:
http://www.scam.com/showthread.php?t=118730
As for Tazoodle, at the time I posted the following: Four of the eight “board members” are veterans of Regenesis2x2, ASD and ASD related companies such as BAS and AVGA.
Lloyd Merrifield
Kevin Kendrick
Sharon Newton
Rayda Roundy
Joe Shoop is member #18
Faith Sloan is #106
David Courtney is #2103
Basically the Tazoodle crowd was moving on when ASD and other scams collapsed or were raided. The Tazoodle site is still up but I don’t use it as my default search engine for some reason.
dB
Thanks Patrick.
I had read the indictment through the link in your article but couldn’t find it in Pacer. Is it normal for the DOJ to post links to docs on their wedsite before it is on Pacer? I expected it to show up in DC filings as soon as it was unsealed, or at least immediately after the Florida case was closed and transferred to DC. Small issue I guess, but when I pay for a Pacer search, I expect to find all filed documents. No?
Andy and Rayda were in Opportunity Zoom. I would not be surprised if Andy was in Tazoodle too, as well as other programs that Rayda was involved in. Might explain how Andy was covering some of his living expenses up til now, besides his money offshore.
opportunity zoom never paid a dime!!! the company told people that it could put your 5 second ad if front of U-tube videos. you paid in the beginning just to advertise the Opportunity zoom company. I knew It was bad when Rayda showed up. but no commission check were written.
Would this member of organized crime be the same Rayda Roundy, by any chance?
http://www.alfasearch.connectingusall.org/content/oldprofile/view.php?member_id=38902
Copyright © 2010 – Connecting Us All, Inc.
Cash gifting too? Say it ain’t so.
Worse than cash gifting. See the several discussions on Quatloos regarding ties between this group and political corruption.
Finding the treasurer of a minor but national level political party involved, and running her own gifting pyramid scheme on the side, was not fun. There was also a fundraising incident featuring CUA’s state leader for Arizona using the group to raise money for one of John McCain’s challengers in the last senate race, pre-primaries. That politician is also a member of CUA, personally, as was at least one key member of his campaign staff.
Not only Rayda, but Ken Russo, teamaronshara, Faith Sloan, as well as many from the Surf’s Up forum were all into cash gifting schemes. I think Russo was pimping 4 of them at the same time, as well as Faith Sloan.
As many of us have known for a long time, these promoters just move from scam to scam with little or no impunity. Hopefully ASD will be the case that will set the precedent that will end their not being charged. The Imperia case will be interesting to watch because in their press release they specifically mentioned the “other players” they were going to be charging.
Since many in ASD were also in Regenesis2x2 and iNetGlobal, they are going to have a hard time defending I didn’t know it was a scam mantra they all like to spout when things go south.
The times are a changing me thinks.
I have tracked Russo’s gifting activities (and home address) previously, along with the mountain of evidence against Aaron & Shara.
Sloan, however, managed to cover her gifting tracks from me in a number of places.
Anyone remember this jewel from the Joyluckclub:
From: Erma Subject: To all ASD members
Date: Thursday, February 26, 2009, 10:56 AM
I have not been able to say anything to anyone about this but the fight with ASD is just beginning. Tuesday I found out that my bank account was seized by the secret service along with 3 others, that is all I know about but after the secret service called me there are more to come. I can’t tell you how this has affected me. There was no notification whatsoever. They just took it.
If you took any money from ASD and it is in a bank account, get it out!!!!!!!
Thanks, Erma
After searching for her email address and phone number, I was able to give Erma a phone call.
Erma seemed to be very relaxed with her present situation, but very upset at the government and found humor throughout our conversation.
Erma told me she received a phone call from the Secret Service and stated they had probable cause for seizing her bank funds. She goes onto say there was no rhyme nor reason to the siezure of the 3 other accounts she knew of and not wanting to gave any futher details of names or ASD status, but she did go on to say that one person had 6 accounts seized including personal and business accounts. She did suspect that the Secret Service is going after the main players in ASD. She welcomes the SS to confiscate her home. She owes on it and they can come and get it, she stated. She can only go up at this point. The only thing worse would becoming a Bag Lady, she stated. and she already has the shopping cart for that, but would prefer a warmer climate.
“What comes around, goes around, and do onto others as they do unto you”, she states. She feels the govenrment will get theirs next with the new motions to be filed soon.
She also told me that ASD is coming back and was I aware of that. I told her last month Andy Bowdoin threw in the towel and I couldn’t see how this was possible. She then goes onto say, I should put the words, “Welcome Secret Service” on my site. She also mentioned the Secret Service told her over the phone just to look on my site, and you would see it was a ponzi scheme and I should greet them in on my front page.I told her I would think about that and it would be funny yes.
All in All, pleasant Lady. Thanks Erma, God Bless You If you want me to edit anything just email me thejoyluckclub1@yahoo.com
Steve
She’s here commenting on a cash gifting site:
http://giftsrollupblog.com/2010/11/free-gifts-roll-up-elite-team-ad-co-op-rotator/#comment-102
Just type in “Faith Sloan Ning” minus the quotes into a google search and you will find her old sites. Ning went to a pay model because they were “sick of the filth” as a buddy of mine who worked there put it.
She had at least 2 sites at Ning which come up in a google search. The sites come up with an admin login when you navigate to them.
http://teamjointventuregroup.ning.com/
If you read behind the admin login pop up, you can see that she upset she’s getting the blame for scamming with one of the programs collapsed but that does not stop her from plugging 3 other “programs” at the bottom of her rant.
http://buildyourchannel.com/
http://teamdiamondholiday.com/
http://faithsloan.com/
The second site was:
http://teamadgateworld.ning.com/
Tazoodle and People String are mentioned on the second site.
If you have problems following her, she’ll gladly tweet you.
faithsloan Twitter Updates via RSS
Friends: 1955 Followers: 1368
All in all she seems to have kept busy.
dB
Quick note:
The February 2009 seizures noted above closely coincided with the dates AdViewGlobal was morphing into a “private association,” Bowdoin was meeting with a “group” of members who persuded him to go pro se after earlier submitting to the forfeiture — and Surf’s Up (and Erma Seabaugh) were hinting of a new secret weapon to come.
By April 2009, the prosecution announced it had its own secret weapon: a proffer letter from Bowdoin and his acknowledgment that the material allegations against ASD were all true.
The seizures also occurred after at least 167 ASD members gave money to ASDMI (ASD Members International), the bizarre entity set up by Professor Patrick Moriarty, Barb McIntyre and some of the Surf’s Up faithful. It also coincided with the letter-writing campaign to Sen. Patrick Leahy, who was bizarrely asked to become an advocate for Ponzi schemes just weeks after news of the Madoff scandal broke.
Of course, the “Arby’s Indians” stuff also was going on during this time — to be followed by dozens of pro se pleadings from ASD members, virtually all of whom misspelled William Cowden’s name as “Crowden” and insisted the government had no evidence or witnesses.
Longtime readers will remember that pro-ASD/AVG posters here were becoming unglued in May 2009 and AVG was desperately scurrying to come up with a new plan.
It turns out that the grand jury that indicted Bowdoin began to meet in May 2009, the same month the troops were scrambling to rationalize and reimagine AVG.
AVG, it turned out, announced it had secured the services of a new offshore wire facilitator — on the very day the President of the United States announced a crackdown on offshore fraud. This also occurred in May 2009, the same month the grand jury that indicted Bowdoin began to meet.
By February 2010, an ASD member allegedly was introducing an undercover Secret Service agent to the INetGlobal autosurf. The Secret Service had at least two undercover agents in the room at an INetGlobal function in New York, according to court filings.
Patrick
“reimagine”
HeHeHe, I like that.
not “redesign” or “reinvent” but “reIMAGINE”
That’s excellent.
Hi LRM,
After AVG was reimagined as a legal enterprise and scores of promoters chose to pretend what had occurred earlier hadn’t really occurred, some of the troops reimagined it as an entity that perhaps had some “firepower behind it now” and would use that firepower to sue/punish critics:
https://patrickpretty.com/2009/06/01/adviewglobal-promoters-trade-on-name-of-forbes-magazine-to-trumpet-surf-firm/comment-page-1/#comment-3424
By the time of the collapse on or about June 25, 2009, it was reimagined as an entity that would sue/punish folks who published news about the collapse and cause members who shared the news to lose their Internet connections:
https://patrickpretty.com/2009/06/25/adviewglobal-surf-firm-suspends-member-cash-outs-threatens-media-with-copyright-infringement-lawsuits/
Four days later, on June 29, 2009, RICO attorneys made the first public reference to AVG in court filings:
https://patrickpretty.com/2009/06/30/breaking-news-adviewglobal-cited-as-extension-of-adsurfdaily-in-rico-complaint-against-andy-bowdoin/
The RICO news was instantly reimagined by some AVG supporters as unimportant:
https://patrickpretty.com/2009/06/30/breaking-news-adviewglobal-cited-as-extension-of-adsurfdaily-in-rico-complaint-against-andy-bowdoin/comment-page-1/#comment-4273
Patrick
[…] unregistered securities. Sixteen days later — on Dec. 17, 2010 — federal prosecutors filed a forfeiture complaint against certain ASD-related bank accounts, including an account in Bowdoin’s name and […]
[…] 16 days later — on Dec. 17, 2010 — U.S. federal prosecutors announced they had filed forfeiture litigation against at least two ASD affiliates. One of the alleged affiliates was purported ASD “trainer” Erma […]
What happened to miss Erma Seabaugh ? Did she go to jail ?
Quick note: This thread and several others apparently has been targeted by a spammer using the name “telexfree” and a gmail address that (in part) includes this phrase: “LoBuzcy.”
The spammer is seeking to plant links to a YouTube video that appears to be trying to sell leads for TelexFree and other “programs.”
The unwanted traffic to the PP Blog appears to be coming from the area of Fort Wayne, Indiana.
On March 31 (Easter Sunday), the PP Blog reported that an apparent Telexfree boat-shark were seeking to recruit members of the Profitable Sunrise “program.”
https://patrickpretty.com/2013/03/31/profitable-sunrise-members-targeted-in-easter-sunday-boat-sharking-for-telexfree-on-facebook-viewers-told-they-can-plunk-down-more-than-15000-for-a-contract-that-provides-earnings-of-at-lea/
Now, someone appears to be trying to ride on the PP Blog’s bandwidth to drive traffic to a third-party leads provider for the TelexFree “program.”
This is one of those days that MLM just makes people want to vomit.
More background: On Feb. 15, BehindMLM.com reported that TelexFree was under criminal investigation in Brazil.
http://behindmlm.com/companies/telexfree-under-criminal-investigation-in-brazil/
Patrick