David R. Lewalski Pleads Guilty In $30 Million Botfly LLC Ponzi Caper; Case Had ASD-Like Twists, Including Efforts To Demonize Government; Attorney Seeking Relief For Victims Was Called Vile Name
UPDATED: 3:07 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) David R. Lewalski, a Florida man who ran a $30 million Forex Ponzi scheme through a firm known as Botfly LLC, has pleaded guilty in federal court in the Middle District of Florida.
Lewalski, 47, formerly resided in Gainesville. Parts of the Botfly case are reminiscent of the AdSurfDaily case. Public officials and others involved in the case were called names, and Lewalski is alleged to have discussed a plan by which he’d get investors to pay for his defense.
An attorney working for the court-appointed receiver in the Botfly case was called a Nazi and a “c[$%!],” and case filings also include a reference to an “FDLE chick.”
FDLE stands for Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Both the Botfly and ASD cases started with civil complaints, followed by criminal charges.
Like Botfly, ASD also was based in Florida. ASD President Andy Bowdoin now is trying to get members of his autosurf scheme to pony up $500,000 for Bowdoin’s defense. He previously described federal prosecutors and the U.S. Secret Service as “Satan,” and some ASD members described public officials as “Nazis” and “goons.”
Even as Lewalski was under investigation, at least one person gave Lewalski $50,000 to pay for a lawyer — and this occurred after Lewalski had chartered a private Gulfstream IV jet at a cost of $172,744 to fly from the United States to Belgium one day after he was charged civilly in Florida, according to court records.
In court filings, prosecutors argued that Lewalski also sought to tamper with witnesses and told “family members and other potential witnesses to stay quiet and not cooperate with law enforcement.”
Some members of AdSurfDaily advised other members not to fill out victims’ forms and not to file a restitution claim. Bowdoin has blamed his legal predicament on a federal judge, federal prosecutors, his former attorneys and the U.S. Secret Service.
Lewalski faces up to 20 years in federal prison.
Involved in the Botfly investigation were the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Florida Office of Financial Regulation and the Florida Office of the Attorney General.
It is nice that most of these scammers get their due, but I wish there were a law that would allow immediate investigation of “companies” that offer extra ordinary rates of return. Be mo proactive. Does not sound like our government to wa all can dream.
Those who promoted this scam should also face charges.
[…] David R. Lewalski, the Florida man who ran a $30 million commodities Ponzi and fraud scheme known as Botfly LLC and persuaded at least one investor to pony up cash to pay for his defense, has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison. […]