UFunClub Affiliates Solicited International Bank Wires, Provided Type Of Instructions Seen In TelexFree, AdSurfDaily, Zeek And AdViewGlobal Schemes

UPDATED 8:18 A.M. EDT May 4 U.S.A. Affiliates of the alleged UFunClub MLM/network-marketing Ponzi- and pyramid scheme under investigation in Thailand encouraged recruits to join by wiring the Euro equivalent of sums of up to 100,000 U.S. dollars to Banque de Développement de Guinée S.A., according to promos in English published online.

Precisely how the African bank operates is unclear. Also unclear is why a “program” with an apparent base of operations in the Southeast Asia nations of Thailand and Malaysia was using a bank on the far edge of another continent.

Recruits sending wires further were instructed by UFunClub affiliates not to call UFunClub an “investment.” Rather, the recruits were told to describe UFun purchases as the acquisition of “GOODS AND SERVICES or SALARY.” The wiring instructions also suggested the acquisition could be be succinctly described as such: “Purchase Software.”

HYIP schemes are infamous for urging recruits not to use the language of the investment trades and to redescribe an investment “program” as something else. This longstanding and nefarious practice is a virtual concession that upstream purveyors and professional recruiters for scams understand they are violating the financial laws of nation-states and, in many instances, the laws of jurisdictional subdivisions such as states or provinces within those nation-states.

Crimes such as securities fraud, wire fraud, money-laundering, tax fraud and structuring transactions to evade bank-reporting requirements occur in this sea of wanton lawlessness. Stated “caps” or transaction limits typically suggest that the purveyors and their enablers are seeking to stay below a currency level they perceive a government may deem suspicious. (See Paragraph 23 of the 2010 indictment against AdSurfDaily Ponzi-scheme figure Andy Bowdoin in which his discussion of caps is highlighted. The indictment also outlines how Bowdoin, now in federal prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud, sought to avoid using the language of investments in his Ponzi investment program by describing it as something else.)

The unusually high UFun limit of $100,000, however, potentially was something that put the “program” on the radar of governments, despite the planning of UFunClub and its enablers. HYIP schemes typically express lower limits.

In the promos by UFunClub affiliates, the $100,000 limit was described as “per single transaction,” meaning there was no real ceiling if recruits capped second and subsequent wires at $100,000. This, too, could have caught the attention of international law enforcement.

How many governments in addition to Thailand may be investigating UFunClub is unknown. Thailand appears to be conducting a very public probe and potentially signaling its neighbors in the region that something at UFunClub is seriously and dangerously amiss.

Photos of Thai police officials have been carried in the local papers and online publications just about every day since word was received of a UFunClub raid, arrests and the issuance of warrants on April 10.

In the online instructional manual published by UFunClub affiliates, recruits were told to make Banque de Développement de Guinée the “Payee” for wires. They further were provided an International Bank Account Number (IBAN), a swift code and a street address for the bank in Conakry, a port on the Atlantic Ocean and Guinea’s capital city. The capital cities of Thailand (Bangkok) and Malaysia (Kuala Lampur) both are nearly 8,000 miles away from Conakry.

After completing their wire or wires, recruits were instructed by UFunClub affiliates of a purported “need to send a proof of bank wire payment to your sponsor at this time,” something that raises the prospect of identity theft or the outright theft of funds from a recruit’s bank account.

“Your new Ufun account will be set up after your sponsor validates your bank payment information,” the instructions continued.

Here is a portion of the follow-up instructions (italics added/formatting approximate):

Proofs must contain the following information

• Sender Name
• Sender Account Details
• Date
• Amount sent / currency
• Beneficiary Name
• Beneficiary Account Details

If you file your wire paperwork online, we STRONGLY suggest

• Use Snipping tool or a similar software to get a clear screen capture (Windows)
• Use CMND+Shift+4 to get a screen capture (Mac)
• Take a screen capture of a screen that shows you ALL of the above information – not just that says “Transfer Complete”

If you file the transfer your Utoken payment in a bank branch

• Ask your bank to email you the proof and forward that email to your Ufun sponsor
• If they give you a bank wire paper receipt, ask your bank to scan the proof or scan it yourself
  

  UFUN Accounts Dept. will not be accepting any images that are taken by a camera phone or are blurry/unclear

  UFUN Accounts Dept. will not accept any images that are edited with arrows or has information blocked out

  **You also need to send your Utoken Sponsor the following information**

 

• The username(s) you desire (please send more than 1 desired username, as your first choice may already be taken)
• Your PRIMARY Email address
• Your mobile telephone number
• Your full name as it appears on your ID / License/Passport

Recruits were encouraged to share the wire-transfer instructions on at least eight social media sites.

See July 8, 2013 PP Blog story on the AdSurfDaily-like banking coaching tips distributed online by affiliates of TelexFree, later alleged to be a $1.8 billion cross-border pyramid and Ponzi scheme.

See June 7, 2012, PP Blog story on how affiliates Zeek Rewards were instructed to wire funds to Zeek’s bank in North Carolina.  Zeek later was alleged to be an $897 million, cross-border pyramid and Ponzi fraud.

As is the current case with UFunClub/Utoken, affiliates of AdSurfDaily, TelexFree and Zeek were instructed not to call their “program” an investment “program.”

Recruits of UFunClub/UToken also are told that the value of UTokens only can rise and never can fall.