PatrickPretty.com

Author: PatrickPretty.com

MYTH-SHATTERING CASE: Local Prosecutors Extradite Ronald Paul Shade From Thailand To Face Real-Estate Ponzi Charges; Shade Also Accused Of ‘Financial Elder Abuse’

EDITOR’S NOTE: The PP Blog has covered a number of stories in which U.S. residents living overseas were extradited to the United States to face Ponzi charges. The case against Ronald Paul Shade is another one — and it’s one that demonstrates that an extradition can occur even if a defendant is not charged with…

Jul 21, 2010
SCAMMER’S GAMBLE BACKFIRES: Fraudster Who Chilled Customer With Lawsuit Threat Pleads Guilty To Mail Fraud; Philip Pestrichello Faces Up To 20 Years In Prison After Plea In ‘Work-At-Home’ Caper

UPDATED 4:51 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) A convicted felon who emerged from prison and almost immediately launched a $1 million fraud scheme known as PPSN threatened to prosecute and sue a consumer who had filed an online complaint, federal prosecutors said. Although the threat caused the consumer to withdraw the complaint against Philip Pestrichello, Pestrichello’s bid…

Jul 19, 2010
CNN Covers Trevor Cook Ponzi: Strippers, Hookers, ‘Ladies Of The Evening’ And ‘Booze Runs’; ‘We Never Have Any Risk,’ Acknowledged Schemer Says

He wore a suit by day, persuading prospects he was buying commodities at a lower price and selling them at a higher price so quickly that there was no exposure to loss. Many of Trevor Cook’s investors identify themselves as Christians. His $190 million Ponzi scheme was centered in Minneapolis/St. Paul, a U.S. heartland region…

Jul 18, 2010
REMEMBER PRAEBIUS? Penny-Stock Firm ASD Claimed Would Pump $200 Million Into Its Coffers Was Flogged By California Man In ‘Fraudulent Touting’ Scheme During Month ASD Announced ‘Joint Advertising Venture,’ Records Show

A California man and his company have been accused by the SEC of running a “Fraudulent Touting” scheme that pumped the penny stock of Praebius Communications, a company the alleged AdSurfDaily Ponzi scheme once claimed would generate $200 million for its coffers through a joint “advertising” venture. Charged by the SEC with fraud were Songkram…

Jul 16, 2010
GO FINRA! Regulator Tackles Online HYIPs; Issues Warning On ‘Social Media-Linked Ponzi Schemes’; References P2P, Genius Funds, ‘Con Artists’ And ‘Bizarre Substratum’ Of Internet

EDITOR’S NOTE: It has become increasingly clear that regulators and the law-enforcement community are rallying around a common theme that web-based promoters are using discussion forums and social-networking sites in bids to sanitize HYIP Ponzi schemes by positioning them as attractive investment opportunities and even a thrilling form of gambling that pays commissions. Today the…

Jul 15, 2010
BULLETIN: Charges Upgraded Against Nevin Shapiro In Alleged $880 Million Ponzi Scheme; Prosecutors Say He Used Investors’ Money To Make Illegal Sports Bets And Enjoy Lavish Lifestyle

Charges against a Florida man accused of running a Ponzi scheme through a bogus wholesale grocery business known as Capitol Investments USA Inc. have been upgraded, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman of the District of New Jersey said. Nevin J. Shapiro, 41, of Miami Beach, originally was charged via criminal complaint in April with one…

Jul 14, 2010
BULLETIN: Pedro de Sousa, Guillermo Rosario Arrested By FBI; CFTC Lays Out Yet-Another Florida Fraud Case

BULLETIN: Pedro de Sousa and Guillermo Rosario of FX Professional International Solutions Inc. (FXP) have been arrested by the FBI. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said the men operated a Forex fraud that issued false account statements, falsely claimed no losing months between 2005 and 2008 when they had lost money in 31 of…

Jul 14, 2010
FIRST, TRUMP, OPRAH, APPLE: Now, PP Blog’s ‘Breaking News’ Graphic Used In Video Pitch For Data Network Affiliates’ MLM Program

A sales rep for Data Network Affiliates (DNA) used the “Breaking News” graphic from the PP Blog to supplement a sales pitch for a nonexistent cell-phone plan thatÂ touted “unlimited” talk-and-text service for $10 a month, plus a free phone. The unauthorized use of the Blog’s intellectual property in a sales pitch raises troubling, new…

Jul 13, 2010
BULLETIN: Trevor Cook To Be Given Lie-Detector Test; Sentencing In $190 Million Ponzi Case May Be Delayed

BULLETIN: The FBI will administer a lie-detector test to Ponzi schemer Trevor Cook. Meanwhile, his July 26 sentencing date may be delayed, a source told the PP Blog. The date upon which the test will be administered was not immediately clear. The source, however, suggested that Cook could be subjected to the polygraph as early…

Jul 12, 2010
EDITORIAL: MLM’s Great Race To The Bottom? While FTC, SEC, CFTC Warn About Affinity Fraud, Data Network Affiliates Says Its Mortgage-Reduction Program Is A ‘Church Fundraisers DREAM Come True’

Apparently tithing, bake sales, quilting bees, church-sponsored dinners, flea markets and car washes by Christian teens to raise money for projects have gone the way of the dinosaur. Building on an earlier claim that churches have a “MORAL OBLIGATION” to pitch its purported mortgage-reduction program, Data Network Affiliates (DNA) now says the program is a…

Jul 9, 2010
WANTED: Feds Ask For Assist In Locating Accused Pyramid Schemer Jason P. Unangst; Missing Indictee Listed As ‘Fugitive’ After Hatching Plot To Sell Mobile Homes To Hurricane Victims

A Pittsburgh-area man indicted in June 2009 is now listed as a fugitive in a pyramid-scheme and money-laundering case, federal prosecutors said. Jason P. Unangst, 34, formerly lived in the Pittsburgh suburbs of McCandless Township and Wexford. His last verifiable address was listed as Virginia Beach, Va., prosecutors said. He was indicted on charges of…

Jul 8, 2010