BULLETIN: Zeek Receiver References AdSurfDaily Ponzi Case
BULLETIN: (UPDATED 4:29 P.M. EDT U.S.A.) Zeek Rewards receiver Kenneth D. Bell — for the first time — has referenced the AdSurfDaily Ponzi case in a federal court filing. Zeek, believed to have gathered on the order of $850 million, is known to have had participants in common with ASD, a $119 million fraud.
Some MLM HYIP promoters proceed from fraud scheme to fraud scheme, racking up windfalls along the way.
Bell’s specific reference to ASD is in the context of alleged Zeek “winner” Todd Disner, already the subject of a clerk’s entry of default in a Zeek receivership lawsuit against Disner and other alleged winners.
Disner was defaulted for not entering a defense.
After not defending against the receiver’s claims, Disner then sought to file pro se to set aside the default. Bell is seeking more than $2 million from Disner, including more than $1.8 million in alleged Zeek winnings, plus interest.
Bell said today in court filings that the default entry should stand. Meanwhile, the receiver strongly suggested that Disner, after earlier having played games in ASD-related litigation, now was trying to do the same thing with Zeek.
“Mr. Disner is no stranger to litigation,” Bell said. “For instance, as a promoter of the Ad Surf Daily Ponzi Scheme, Disner earned significant funds and filed a twenty-nine page pro se Complaint for Declaratory Relief against the federal government in late 2011 claiming wrongful seizure of his Ad Surf Daily Ponzi scheme winnings . . . ”
Disner eventually lost the case he filed against the government in the Southern District of Florida — this after he earlier lost a pro se bid to intervene in the ASD case in the District of Columbia.
Disner’s co-plaintiff in the Southern Florida case was former AdSurfDaily pitchman Dwight Owen Schweitzer, potentially a Bell Zeek target along with Disner. Schweitzer, a former attorney whose license to practice law was suspended in Connecticut, is listed as a “winner” of more than $1,000 on the Zeek receivership website.
“Mr. Disner also has a history of dilatory action in litigation,” Bell said. “In the [ASD-related] case he filed against the United States, the government filed a motion to dismiss on May 18, 2012. However, Disner failed to provide any response to the motion to dismiss. As a result, the court was forced to order Disner to file a response . . .
“In light of his history, Mr. Disner was aware of the severe consequences of a failure to plead or defend [in the action against Zeek winners],” Bell said. “Despite this clear knowledge, he nonetheless failed to raise a hand until after default had been entered in this matter. For this reason as well, the motion should be denied.”
Bell also moved today to certify a class of more than 9,000 net-winner defendants from Zeek, all of whom allegedly won more than $1,000. Schweitzer potentially could be a member of this class, given the appearance of his name in a document on the receivership website maintained by Bell.
A filing by Bell earlier this month asserted Disner received $7,199.49 from Zeek on Nov. 7, 2011. That’s the same day the ASD-related Disner/Schweitzer lawsuit against the United States was docketed.
NOTE: Our thanks to the ASD Updates Blog.
Can’t keep pokin’ that bear.