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Author: PatrickPretty.com

Second Man With Trevor Cook Tie Charged Criminally In Massive Minnesota Ponzi Scheme; Christopher Pettengill Faces Securities-Fraud, Conspiracy And Money-Laundering Accusations

A Minnesota man has become the second person with ties to convicted Ponzi schemer Trevor Cook’s Forex scam to be charged criminally. Christopher Pettengill, 54, of Plymouth, “knowingly concealed information from investors concerning the foreign currency program sold by Pettengill, Cook, and others,” federal prosecutors said. He has been charged with securities fraud, money-laundering and…

Jun 14, 2011
UPDATE: PowerPoint Presentation For Club Asteria Says ‘Passive’ Income ‘100% GUARANTEED’: Is ‘Ken Russo’ Tone Deaf? Promoter Brags About $321 Payment Sent By Wire While Another Laments Payment Of 30 Cents; Members Say They’ll Contact AlertPay

UPDATED 9:09 A.M. EDT (June 14, U.S.A.) A PowerPoint pitch titled “Asteria Corporation” raises serious questions about the nature of the business “opportunity” and may undermine Club Asteria’s own claims that members alone are to blame for the company’s apparent troubles. The document is slugged “[ClubAsteriaPresentation]” and attributed to Asteria Corp. and Andrea Lucas. It…

Jun 13, 2011
PART 2: PROSECUTION BOMBSHELL(S): Operators And ‘Insiders’ Received ‘Millions Of Dollars’ From ASD; Bowdoin Changed Subject When Told What He Was Doing Was ‘Not Mathematically Possible’; Government Targeted ASD Money In Iowa Bank Accounts

EDITOR’S NOTE: See Part One here. UPDATED 1:46 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) AdSurfDaily “paid out millions of dollars to operators and insiders,” according to a U.S. Secret Service affidavit originally filed under seal in February 2009. But ASD President Andy Bowdoin changed the subject when people told him that what Florida-based ASD was doing not only…

Jun 12, 2011
PROSECUTION BOMBSHELL(S): ASD Had ‘Special’ Class Of Members; Bowdoin’s ‘Silent Partner’ Was His 12DailyPro Sponsor; ‘North Carolina Lawyer’ (And Co-Owner) Of LaFuente Dinero Told Bowdoin U.S.-Based Attorneys Would Be His Business Partners In ‘Offshore’ Surf; Employees Caught ‘Minister’ Stealing From ASD Before He Launched Golden Panda Ad Builder

EDITOR’S NOTE: First of two parts. Part Two will be published later tonight or tomorrow. Even as AdSurfDaily President Andy Bowdoin was venturing to Washington in June 2008 to receive what his members and prospects were told was the “Medal of Distinction” from the President of the United States, he was harboring terrible secrets and…

Jun 11, 2011
Government Has Andy Bowdoin’s Handwritten Notes And Other Devastating Evidence Against AdSurfDaily — Report Coming Soon . . .

NOTE TO READERS: Some of the evidence federal prosecutors have in the Ponzi scheme case against AdSurfDaily President Andy Bowdoin is coming into clearer focus. The PP Blog expects to publish a report within the next couple of hours. Our report is based on an affidavit originally filed under seal by the U.S. Secret Service…

Jun 11, 2011
OH, UTAH: SEC Alleges Business Executives Used Bogus Press Releases — And Disbarred Attorney — To Sanitize Precious Metals Fraud Scheme

BULLETIN: The SEC has gone to federal court in Utah to seek penalties against a precious metals company and associated firms and individuals, amid spectacular allegations that a PR firm sold the unregistered securities of its own corrupt penny-stock client and a disbarred attorney enabled the scam by issuing a bogus opinion letter. Utah has…

Jun 9, 2011
ATTORNEY GENERAL: ‘Staggering Volume Of Money Being Stolen Online . . . Has The Potential To Threaten . . . Security Of Our Nation . . . [And . . .] Integrity Of Our Government’

NOTE TO READERS: The headline of this news brief is excerpted from remarks made in Indiana today by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. Read Holder’s full remarks here. The attorney general was speaking at a summit on cybersecurity. His remarks may be the clearest sign yet that the United States is dialing up its efforts…

Jun 9, 2011
BULLETIN: Part Of Bo Beckman Fraud Case Devolves Into AdSurfDaily-Like Sideshow; Beckman Filing ‘Bizarre’ Pro Se Claims That Are Hindering Victims From Recovering Assets And Adding Litigation Costs, Receiver Says

BULLETIN: In 2009, federal prosecutors warned that pro se pleadings by members of Florida-based AdSurfDaily had the potential to slow efforts to provide restitution for victims of the ASD Ponzi scheme. Pro se filings by ASD President Andy Bowdoin and dozens of ASD members crowded the court docket for months and delayed the implementation of…

Jun 9, 2011
FTC: California Internet Marketer Duped Brits By Making Them Believe He Was Operating In United Kingdom; $500,000 Judgment Entered Against Jaivin Karnani And ‘Balls of Kryptonite’

UPDATED 12:15 P.M. ET (U.S.A., FEB. 6, 2012) An Internet Marketer based in Calfornia used domains with “co.uk” extensions and duped British customers into believing they were doing business with a firm based in the United Kingdom, the Federal Trade Commison said. The actions of Jaivin Karnani and his associated firms, including a company known…

Jun 9, 2011
CFTC Revokes Registrations Of 2 Texas Firms That Operated Forex Ponzi Scheme Targeted At Elderly Churchgoers And Others In At Least 4 States; Firms Used ‘Charts’ Showing Magnificent Earnings And Cherry-Picked Name Of Warren Buffett For Fraud Pitch

EDITOR’S NOTE: The cases against M25 Investments Inc. (M25) and M37 Investments LLC (M37) include elements that are common in online fraud schemes. For starters, the offers were targeted at senior citizens and people of faith. Moreover, the firms relied on PowerPoint presentations and charts that wowed victims with tales of fantastic earnings. The fraud…

Jun 9, 2011
BULLETIN: Nevin Shapiro, Operator Of $930 Million ‘Grocery’ Ponzi Scheme, Sentenced To 20 Years In Federal Prison; Fraudster ‘Used Other People’s Money To Live A Fantasy Life,’ U.S. Attorney Says

BULLETIN: Nevin Shapiro, the Florida-based operator of a bizarre “grocery” Ponzi scheme that gathered nearly $1 billion and caused losses approaching $100 million, has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison. Shapiro, 42, was charged by federal prosecutors in New Jersey last year after investigations by the FBI and the IRS. He pleaded guilty…

Jun 8, 2011