Club Asteria Pitchman Uses Name Of Another Famous Bank In Ponzi-Forum Promo For ‘ThatFreeThing’; No Immediate Comment From JP Morgan Chase

UPDATED 10:51 A.M. EDT (U.S.A.) The name of JPMorgan Chase — one of the most prominent financial institutions in the world — is being used by “manolo” in a pitch for the ThatFreeThing (TFT) MLM program on the TalkGold Ponzi scheme and criminals’ forum.

“manolo” also is promoting Club Asteria (CA), a highly questionable “program” that trades on the name of the World Bank. The World Bank’s name also appears in promos on TalkGold and other Ponzi forums such as MoneyMakerGroup.

JPMorgan Chase did not respond immediately to a request for comment about the use of its name in TFT promos and whether TFT and its affiliates were authorized to use the bank’s name in sales pitches.

TFT affiliates in multiple forums and social-networking sites have been using the Chase name to drive “sign-ups” to the MLM by planting the seed that Chase will pay them $150.

“Members are signing in (sic) their droves, and corporate businesses see this…now the back office is loaded with Tons of freebee’s (sic) …like Free $150 fro (sic) Chase bank !!!” a three-exclamation-point promo from a poster on Scam.com screamed yesterday.

On TalkGold, meanwhile, “manolo” was circulating the Chase name in a post that asked, “Did you see the $150 you get for FREE when you open up a Chase Bank account?”

“These types of freebies are HUGE when we post them because you can literally get someone to join for $25 and instantly show them how to put $150 in their pocket in the very first day,” the post declared.

“manolo” appeared to be quoting an email sent to him earlier this month by “TFT Support.”

Chase’s name also is referenced in a 12-page TFT thread on the MoneyMakerGroup Ponzi forum. There, within the TFT thread, promoter “strosdegoz” also is pitching something called Exotic FX, which purports to be a “PRIVATE ASSET HAVEN.” At the same time, “strosdegoz” is promoting a “program” known as “Cycle2Riches,” which appears to be a matrix cycler that uses a notorious business model that has been attacked by the U.S. Secret Service.

“strosdegoz” and “manolo” are believed to be one-in-the-same. How either TFT or Club Asteria could assure members its income stream was not polluted by proceeds from fraudulent enterprises promoted on MoneyMakerGroup, TalkGold and other Ponzi forums is unclear.

Both MoneyMakerGroup and TalkGold are referenced in federal court filings as places from which Ponzi schemes are promoted. Any new Chase customer who opened an account with the bank in response to the TFT promos on the Ponzi forums conceivably could cause fraud proceeds to flow into the bank. The Ponzi forums are populated by serial hucksters.

TFT promos that reference Chase also are appearing on Facebook. Chase appears recently to have offered a promo by which certain customers who established a banking relationship with it and met other conditions could qualify for a $150 reward. Details about the Chase offer, which appears to have expired, were not immediately clear.

Records suggest, however, that Chase never promised to put $150 in the pockets of new customers “on the very first day,” as the TFT promo implied. Moreover, Chase is Chase, and TFT is TFT. If the Chase offer was available to the public, there was no reason to pay TFT any money to gain access to the Chase offer.

Chase currently is offering a $125 bonus to certain new customers through May 16, according to its website. But the offer varies by state and comes with conditions such as making a minimum opening deposit of $100 and establishing direct deposit from “payroll, pension or government benefits, such as Social Security.”

New accounts come with banking fees if customers don’t meet the minimum qualifications, and no one gets the reward money instantly, according to the Chase website.