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Author: PatrickPretty.com

BREAKING NEWS: ‘Billionaire Boys Club’ Attorney In Michigan Ponzi Scheme Case Indicted In North Carolina For Running His Own Securities Scheme

UPDATED 7:02 P.M. ET (U.S.A.) A Georgia attorney representing defendants in the alleged “Billionaire Boys Club” Ponzi scheme in Michigan has been indicted in North Carolina on charges he ran his own securities-fraud scheme. Gregory Bartko, 56, of Berkeley Lake, Ga., was indicted in North Carolina under seal Nov 4, according to U.S. Attorney George…

Nov 24, 2009
SPECIAL REPORT: Convicted ‘3 Hebrew Boys’ Ponzi Figure Declares He Is ‘Sovereign’; Joseph Brunson Says Prosecutors Have No Authority Over Him

Defining himself as “One,” a South Carolina man convicted Friday of operating an $82 million Ponzi scheme with two colleagues has filed a series of pleadings declaring himself “sovereign” and accusing a federal prosecutor of committing treason against the United States. The convicted schemer, Joseph B. Brunson of Hopkins, appears to trying to bolster his…

Nov 24, 2009
ASD ALL OVER AGAIN? ‘3 Hebrew Boys’ Accuse U.S. Attorney Of ‘Treason’; Claim Draws Another Parallel To AdSurfDaily

Three men found guilty in South Carolina last week of operating an $82 million Ponzi scheme accused a federal prosecutor of treason on the same day the jury returned its verdict, the FBI said. A treason claim also was made in the federal forfeiture proceeding against assets tied to Florida-based AdSurfDaily, an alleged Ponzi scheme…

Nov 23, 2009
FBI Asks For Help In Unraveling Connecticut Ponzi; Seeks Information On Michael Goldberg

The FBI has asked people who have information on Michael Goldberg, who ran a business in Wethersfield, Conn., known as Acquisitions Unlimited Group (AUG), “to immediately contact the FBI at (203) 777-6311.” Goldberg, 38, was arrested today on charges he had operated a $20 million Ponzi scheme over a period of 12 years from his…

Nov 23, 2009
BULLETIN: Tom Petters’ Ponzi Case Goes To Jury

The fate of Minnesota businessman Tom Petters is in the hands of a jury. Petters was accused last year of operating a $3.65 billion Ponzi scheme.Â Testimony in the case lasted a little more than three weeks. Federal prosecutors blamed the alleged Ponzi on Petters, saying he presided over a colossal fraud that featured phantom…

Nov 23, 2009
BREAKING NEWS: Feds Say Rothstein Law Firm Had $8 Million In Revenue, But Paid $18 Million In Salaries

UPDATED 1:52 P.M. ET (U.S.A.) The Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler (RRA) law firm recorded $8 million in receivables during an unspecified year, but paid out $18 million in salaries to its employees, according to an amended forfeiture complaint filed today in the Scott Rothstein Ponzi scheme case. Ponzi proceeds of $10 million were used to close…

Nov 23, 2009
BLACK COMEDY EMERGES: Petition To Disbar Ponzi Figure Rothstein Arrives At Florida Supreme Court; Lawyer’s Victims Portrayed Unsympathetically In Some Media Accounts; Reporters Dredge Up Old SLAPP Lawsuit

UPDATED 9 P.M. ET (U.S.A.) The alleged Ponzi scheme operated by Fort Lauderdale attorney Scott Rothstein is the stuff from which lawyer jokes are made. It is enough to make the Atticus Finch wing of the trade long for the days in which being a lawyer meant you were special — and being special meant…

Nov 22, 2009
‘3 Hebrew Boys’ Guilty In $82 Million Ponzi/Affinity Fraud Scheme; Company Operated In Fashion Similar To AdViewGlobal Autosurf, Imploring Members To Maintain Secrecy

In yet another case that may cause widespread unease in the autosurf world, three men accused of defrauding participants in a bogus debt-relief “ministry” have been found guilty of 174 counts of mail fraud, money-laundering and transporting stolen goods. Parts of the case against “3 Hebrew Boys” were remarkably similar to events engulfing the AdSurfDaily…

Nov 21, 2009
BEYOND BIZARRE: California Man Arrested For Soliciting Teen To Spit In His Face For Cash; Police Say Crime Began On MySpace And Ended In A Sting Operation

UPDATED 4:27 P.M. ET (FEB. 8, 2012 U.S.A.) Charles Hersel informed the PP Blog today that he has been acquitted of the charges. The AP is confirming the acquittal. Here, below, our earlier story . . . A California man was arrested on charges he paid a teenager $31 to spit in his face, authorities…

Nov 20, 2009
BREAKING NEWS: Louisiana Man Indicted In Alleged $20 Million Ponzi Scheme Targeting Senior Citizens; Prosecutors Allege Witness Tampering, Obstruction

UPDATED 9:44 P.M. ET (U.S.A.) A Louisiana man has been charged in a 64-count indictment with operating a $20 million Ponzi scheme that fleeced retirees, federal prosecutors said today. So many fraud counts were filed against Matthew B. Pizzolato that he faces more than 1,100 years in prison if convicted of all of them. As…

Nov 20, 2009
BREAKING NEWS: Judge Suggests ASD Forfeiture Could Occur Before Christmas; Finds Bowdoin ‘Knowingly And Voluntarily’ Released Claims To $65.8 Million

Will the August 2008 forfeiture case against $65.8 million in the personal bank accounts of AdSurfDaily President Andy Bowdoin end before Christmas? A federal judge suggested today that it might. Bowdoin, 74, knew what he was doing when he submitted in January 2009 to the forfeiture of the cash and “knowingly and voluntarily” agreed never…

Nov 20, 2009