CURIOUS: 3 Of 5 ‘Most Popular’ Stories On PP Blog Last Week Were ‘Old’ Articles On The AdSurfDaily And AdView Global Scams

UPDATED 8:55 A.M. ET (U.S.A., DEC. 11) Are Zeekers doing research in advance of clawback actions in the Ponzi scheme case or otherwise trying to get a sense of history? Are they (or other readers) trying to gain a better understanding of ties that may exist among Zeek, AdSurfDaily and AdViewGlobal?

Three of the PP Blog’s five “Most Popular” stories last week were “old” articles about ASD and AVG, according to a tracking service used by the Blog. AVG had not dominated reader interest on the PP Blog for nearly three years.

Here are links to (and briefs about) those stories:

From July 16, 2009: (No. 2 in ‘Most Popular’ rankings last week.) BREAKING NEWS: Federal Judge Says Curtis Richmond, Six Other Parties Who Used Pro Se Litigation Blueprint, Cannot Intervene In AdSurfDaily Forfeiture Case

The July 16, 2009, story reported that seven would-be, pro se intervenors in the ASD Ponzi case were denied standing by a federal judge. In her ruling, the judge pointed out that the first filing occurred in February 2009. It is “representative and seems to be a ‘form’ complaint inasmuch as the others are duplicates,” the judge said.

A key part of the ruling (italics added): “Fraud victims who voluntarily transfer their property to their wrongdoers do not retain a legal interest in their property; instead, such victims acquire a debt against their wrongdoers.”

Waves of other pro se filiers later were denied standing in the case. (On at least two occasions, the judge denied the would-be intervenors en masse.)

It perhaps is worth pointing out that standing also could become an issue in the Zeek case. Given ASD’s history, it also seems possible that “defenders” of the Zeek scheme will ponder the use of shared litigation templates. (The ASD templates, which advanced conspiracy theories and accused public officials of crimes,  didn’t “work.” To date, one Zeeker has accused the court-appointed Zeek receiver of a crime.)

From Dec. 7, 2009: (No. 4 in “Most Popular” rankings last week.) AdViewGlobal Recording Suggests Member Cashed Out $10,000 Only Days After Formal Launch And That Insiders Were Awarded Bonuses; Less Than Two Weeks Later, Surf Switched To ‘Private Association’ Structure

The Dec. 7, 2009, story reported that AVG, a  purported offshore entity, had conducted conference calls earlier in the year and lured prospects with “bonuses.” It also reported that some AdSurfDaily figures were among the first to receive the “bonuses.”

It perhaps is worth pointing out that an effort by some Zeek insiders now appears to be under way to lure their downlines into nascent “programs,” at least one of which is being positioned as a way to maintain a Zeek downline in a new “program” and receive a bonus. The name of the new “program” that purportedly will provide bonuses to Zeek members and its base of operations are unclear.

Zeek and ASD figure Todd Disner, however, recently was reported to be in Hong Kong with a “lost” passport.

“Todd Disner,” said Zeek figure Robert Craddock on a call last week. “Bless his heart. I don’t know if he’s found his passport yet, but he’s . . .  in Hong Kong right now assisting us with this new program. And he’s lost his passport. So, I don’t know if he’s made it back to the states yet or not. And, so, we’re all working very, very hard to pull this together for you.”

Some Zeekers have ported themselves to schemes such as “BannersBroker” and “GoFunPlaces.” It is possible that any number of Zeek members took soiled proceeds from previous scams to their new “opportunities.” What’s not known at this time is what will happen if Zeek “winners” who are the prospective targets of clawback litigation will do if they moved illicit Zeek proceeds into another scheme or dissipated the money in other ways.

From the Dec. 7, 2009, story (italics added):

The conference call, hosted by Terralynn Hoy, a Moderator at both the Pro-AdSurfDaily Surf’s Up forum and a ning.com forum set up to promote AVG, did not disclose how the member amassed a large sum in only days and qualified for a cashout. But another participant in the call announced that the man excitedly expected to receive a check for $10,000.

Terralynn Hoy, a figure in both the ASD and AVG stories, hosted at least one call for Zeek in 2011. ASD was a $119 million Ponzi scheme that collapsed in August 2008. AVG collapsed in a sea of mystery in June 2009. Before it collapsed, it sought to make an 80/20 “program” mandatory and exercised its version of a “rebates aren’t guaranteed” clause.

Lots of Zeek members tried to encourage fellow members and prospects to keep 80 percent in the “program” and remove only 20 percent. Like ASD and AVG, Zeek also had a version of a “rebates aren’t guaranteed” clause. Some Zeek “defenders” now claim that Zeek should be left alone because it never promised anybody anything. ASD and AVG members said the same thing about those “programs.”

From July 24, 2009: (No. 5 in “Most Popular” rankings last week.) UNCONFIRMED: Harris Family In Uruguay, AVG Staff Fired

This story reported that certain members of the Bowdoin-Harris family involved in both ASD and AdViewGlobal purportedly had moved to Uruguay. News about the purported move broke after AVG was mentioned in a racketeering lawsuit against ASD in June 2009.

From the July 24, 2009, story (italics added):

AVG has a history of blaming members for its problems and deflecting accountability from management to the rank-and-file. In the past, it has blamed members for the suspension of a bank account and threatened to sue members who shared information outside association walls — and even to contact their ISPs to suspend service of people who asked pointed questions about the company in forums.

Yesterday’s announcement by AVG also blamed the delay in audit findings on unspecified “complications created by changes in payment processors.”

Prior to its August 2012 collapse, Zeek appears to have experienced problems with banks and payment processors. Some Zeek promoters cautioned fellow members not to talk too much about Zeek in public. On Aug. 4, Zeek complained on its Blog about unspecified “North Carolina Credit Unions” saying unfair or untrue things about Zeek.

Zeek members were warned there would be consequences to members who did not toe the company line.

Just 13 days later, on Aug. 17, the SEC filed an emergency action in federal court that alleged Zeek was a $600 million Ponzi and pyramid scheme