BULLETIN: 40,000 Potential Victims Identified So Far In ASD Case; Government Says Autosurf Firm May Not Have Entered All Names In Database
Andy Bowdoin
BULLETIN: Federal prosecutors now say that a Florida company whose operator is accused of running an international Ponzi scheme may have defrauded 40,000 or more victims and may not have entered all the names of people who gave it money into the firm’s database.
Andy Bowdoin, the president of AdSurfDaily, was indicted last month on charges of wire fraud, securities fraud and selling unregistered securities. Prosecutors now have revealed in court filings that the U.S. Secret Service seized ASD’s database during the probe, which began in July 2008.
ASD’s database contains 97,000 names, including the names of members who joined for free, prosecutors said in a motion that asks U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer to approve a plan by which websites would be used to help locate additional victims and keep victims in general informed about developments in the case.
“The government is not certain that this list is a complete list of all people who provided money to ASD and who potentially lost their money,” prosecutors said. “It appears from the investigation that there may be members who provided funds to ASD but whose information ASD did not enter into its database.”
Some ASD members claimed the company had as many as 120,000 members.
To date, prosecutors said they had identified “approximately 40,000 known potential victims.” The victims’ list includes “individuals who contacted the U.S. Attorney’s Office directly and identified themselves as losing money in their ASD investment, members who agents identified as potentially losing money with ASD and Golden Panda Ad Builder members.”
Golden Panda was the purported “Chinese” option for ASD members. It was operated by Clarence Busby of Georgia, according to court filings.
Bowdoin, prosecutors said in their motion, was operating ASD “essentially as his own piggy-bank.”
Beyond that, prosecutors said, “as far as the Government is aware, there is no available accurate compilation” of all individuals or entities that lost money in the scheme.
All victims have the right to be “reasonably heard” and to be kept up to date on proceedings, but the sheer number of ASD victims and a lack of records makes it “impracticable to give individualized notice to each potential victim.
A web-based system of notification through email and a government site and the remissions site set up by Rust Consulting Inc. of Minnesota will help victims stay informed of their rights, prosecutors said in their motion to Collyer.
“In light of the fact that Bowdoin operated an Internet based scheme, it is reasonable to assume that victims will have access to the internet and will be able to easily access information on the government’s website,” prosecutors said. “Moreover, the government will include on the remission website a link to the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s website for victims seeking information about public proceedings in the criminal case.
“The Government respectfully submits that the proposed notice procedure is reasonable to give effect to the rights of the potential victims in this case, and requests that the Court enter the proposed order,” prosecutors said.
Similar accommodations have been made in other securities-fraud cases, including the Bernard Madoff case, prosecutors said.
The membership was over 120,000 (according to the member numbers issued) and growing by close to 1000 a day. Many of those were ‘free’ members who never bought ad packs. My guess is that less than half actually purchase ‘advertising’. I think 40,000 is a good estimate on those that may have lost money in the scheme.
How can Rust do a complete distribution of funds to the victims if the the monies of the winners, big and small are not recovered? What will happen to those monies recovered maybe years from now from the frozen assets of the the winners that they discover?
They were likely salted and/or manipulated to suit whatever Andy’s purposes were at the time. Perhaps not but there’s no reason to believe they were sequential.
dB
Since you won’t likely see this below: (I don’t spend near the time here as you obviously do)
Spouts dirty-bird:
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was on Palin’s “hit list”. Whether that inspired the gunman or not is speculation at this point but who knows.
But who knows? We do, now that WE KNOW this mental deranged person was not influenced by Sarah Palin.
Gifford’s was not on anyone’s “hit list”. Really bird man, that’s the best you have? The district was listed as one to be targeted, yes targeted, as a possible pick up. In fact, (something you apparently cannot provide) 18 of the 20 ‘targets’ are now under GOP control.
Your attempts to back track are pitiful. I’ll stick to arguing with those with some political acumen. You don’t pass the test. Sorry.
Ace,
Keep your posts on-topic. You’ve already posted largely the same snarky comment as above in the appropriate thread about the Arizona shootings, noted here:
https://patrickpretty.com/2011/01/09/federal-judge-5-others-shot-and-killed-in-arizona-suspect-lamented-about-gold-standard-and-currency-rep-gabrielle-giffords-shot-at-close-range-survives-emergency-surgery/
Patrick
I think the short answer is that they can’t and the distribution will be partial/proportional. The government have already stated this on their website. Dont forget Bowdoin SPENT a lot of money, as did his cronies on the inside. Prison sentences do not automatically yuield funds.
As far as claw backs are concerned, they will also require legal action and will take time and not all monies will be recovered either. The difference with ASD is that it is expected that the claw backs will go further down the line and be more thorough than has been the case in the past when the SEC were the prosecutors. This will take time too.
As for monies recovered far into the future, if any – I am afraid someone else will hvae to asnwer that question.
Thanks for your post on my question Radical.
[…] $110 million in its scheme and may have created 40,000 or more victims, prosecutors have said, asserting in January 2011 that “as far as the Government is aware, there is no available accurate compilation” of all […]