COLORADO: ‘Achieve Community’ Subject Of ‘Order To Show Cause’
UPDATED 6:17 A.M. EDT APRIL 21 U.S.A. The Colorado Division of Securities has directed an “Order to Show Cause” to “Achieve Community,” alleged in February 2015 by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to be a combined Ponzi- and pyramid scheme that gathered at least $3.8 million.
Colorado’s order cites a “Division Case No.” of “XY 15-CD-08.” This may mean the Division has filed a crease-and-desist order against Achieve. Details were not immediately clear, but a hearing was scheduled for April 17.
“We do expect to issue orders in Achieve community this week,” said Lillian Alves, Colorado’s Deputy Securities Commissioner.
And, she noted, “We plan on doing a statement later this week.”
Based on information on Colorado’s website, the Show Cause order applies to “The Achieve Community; Achieve International, LLC; Work with Troy Barnes, Inc.; Kristine Johnson ( Also known as Kristi Johnson).”
Johnson, of Colorado, and Barnes, of Michigan, were the alleged operators of Achieve Community.
Achieve was known to be under investigation by the Division, Colorado’s state-level securities regulator. On Feb. 18, the Division said that “[t]he factual basis of our investigation parallels that of the SEC case.”
The SEC complaint described Achieve Community as a “pure Ponzi and pyramid scheme” whose revenue “has consisted entirely of investor-contributed funds.”
Achieve International, an entity named a relief defendant in the SEC’s case, has been tied by the SEC to Johnson. At noted above, Achieve International likewise is cited in Colorado’s state-level proceeding.
The action at the state level shows that scams using an MLM or network-marketing business model also may face local trouble — in addition to the trouble they encounter through actions filed by federal agencies such as the SEC.
Some Achieve Community promoters pushed multiple HYIP schemes simultaneously. Some of them, including “Bring The Bacon Home” and “Trinity Lines,” appear already to have gone belly-up. RockFeller.biz, also pushed by some Achieve Community hucksters, may be experiencing payout delays, a source told the PP Blog last week.
Payout delays typically are a sign of doom in the HYIP sphere.
Americans and other peoples of the world who push HYIP schemes may be helping criminal networks gain size — and therefore the ability to steal larger and larger sums of money.
Some Americans are known to have pushed “UFunClub,” a scheme now under investigation in Thailand. Arrests have been made overseas in the UFunClub case, and the dollar volume involved may be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
The PP Blog reported yesterday that a veiled reference to UFunClub was made last week in a conference call for a “program” known as “SVM Global Initiative.” This may suggest the two cross-border “programs” have promoters in common.
Some of the language on the SVM call was reminiscent of language used by “sovereign citizens,” groups of individuals that — though perhaps loosely connected — may push scams and engage in antigovernment extremism.
Would “order to show cause” also cover not turning over documents? Or is it more likely to cover C&D order as you had speculated?
Hard to say right now, K Chang. But I’m thinking we’ll know by the close of business Friday.
Patrick
An “order to show cause” (in this case filed by plaintiff Colorado Division of Securities) is a request for the court to enforce an order that has already been entered in the case that the filing party feels has not been obeyed. It frequently includes a request for penalty, jail time or other sanction.
An “order to show cause” (in this case filed by plaintiff Colorado Division of Securities) is a request for the court to enforce an order that has already been entered in the case that the filing party feels has not been obeyed. It frequently includes a request for penalty, jail time or other sanction.
SD
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