URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: Prosecutors Ask Judge To Approve Order That Would Reopen Remissions In AdSurfDaily Ponzi Case

URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: Federal prosecutors have asked U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer for an order that would reopen the remissions process in the AdSurfDaily Ponzi case, potentially giving victims who missed the January 2011 filing deadline a chance to gain a pro rata share of the balance of seized assets.

The U.S. Secret Service seized about $80 million in the case. To date, the government has returned about $58.8 million to about 9,000 victims. Other victims might have missed the January 2011 filing deadline because ASD’s records were a mess, prosecutors asserted.

“The victims in this case include thousands of domestic and possibly international individuals and entities who provided funds directly to ASD,” prosecutors advised Collyer. “Although the government obtained the ASD member database, which contained the names of approximately 97,000 ASD members, it is entirely possible that this database does not contain all of the ASD victims.”

Separately, the U.S. Department of Justice said it did not oppose a reopening of remissions.

“Although the previous remission process was open for an extended period of time, [the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section] intends to administer a final remission process, whereby those who missed the original deadlines would be able to submit a petition for remission,” the Justice Department said in a letter to one of the federal prosecutors in the District of Columbia who is handling the ASD case.

“While the final details are still being determined, we envision that process starting shortly after the sentencing in this case, and providing approximately 45 days from the beginning of that process for individuals to file petitions. Petitioners who satisfy the requirements of 28 C.F.R: § 9.8 would be eligible for remission, and the granted petitioners would receive a pro-rata share of the remaining forfeited proceeds. The details of this process will be posted on the Ad Surf Daily page on website of the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia.”

Eligible claimants, according to the government’s filing, must demonstrate (italics added):

(1) he or she incurred pecuniary loss of a specific amount; (2) the pecuniary loss was a direct result of the illegal act; (3) the victim did not knowingly contribute in, participate in, or benefit from, or act in a wilfully blind manner toward the commission of the offense; (4) the victim has not been compensated for the loss; and (5) the victim does not have recourse to other assets to obtain compensation.

The PP Blog will update this information as needed.

In other ASD news, prosecutors have formally put the total amount ASD gathered at $119 million, up from a preliminary figure of $110 million.

And prosecutors noted that “less than $50,000 came from sources other than ASD members.”

Last week, the SEC filed charges against an ASD-like “opportunity” known as Zeek Rewards. In case filings, the agency asserted that only 2 percent of Zeek’s revenue was external to the membership, making Zeek a “classic” Ponzi scheme.

Former ASD President Andy Bowdoin is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 29.