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Category: Alleged Ponzi Schemes

BULLETIN: USDA Following Specific Leads In MPB Today Matter; Agency’s Food And Nutrition Arm Will ‘Take Appropriate Action As Needed’

BULLETIN: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said this afternoon that the agency’s Food and Nutrition Service is following specific leads in the MPB Today matter and will “take appropriate action as needed.” For the first time, the agency used the word “investigate” in its remarks about MPB Today, an MLM tied to a purported…

Sep 24, 2010
A CEP PONZI SCHEME TIE? MPB Today Member Says ‘Trevor Reed’ In His Organization; No Immediate Comment From USDA

UPDATED 1:03 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) Two days ago the PP Blog reported that a Sept. 20 “news release” for MPB Today’s purported “grocery” program solicited financially strapped Americans to sell $200 worth of Food Stamps to raise cash to join the Florida-based MLM. The Blog further reported that a name referenced in the news release…

Sep 23, 2010
MPB TODAY SPONSOR ATTACKS FELLOW MEMBERS: Join My Group Because Other Uplines ‘Lying’ To Prospects; ‘People Are Gonna Try To BS You To Try To Get You To Join’

An MPB Today sponsor is asserting in a YouTube video that his upline is honest — but that other uplines in the company consist of liars who are “gonna tell you whatever they think you’re gonna want to hear” in a bid to get you to join the Pensacola-based multilevel-marketing (MLM) program that purports to…

Sep 23, 2010
FBI Says It Has Opened 291 New HYIP Cases And Has 780 Pending Cases Of High-Yield Fraud; Many Have ‘International Nexus,’ Agency Notes

How confident are you that the HYIP you’re flogging on the Ponzi boards isn’t already under investigation by any of a number of state or federal agencies? Court records show that the alleged Legisi HYIP Ponzi scheme (about $70 million) was under investigation by state and federal law-enforcement agencies even as promoters were pitching it.…

Sep 22, 2010
Pensacola Fraudsters Sentenced To Federal Prison; Pinnacle Quest International Vendors Sold ‘Tax And Credit Card Debt Elimination Scams,’ Federal Prosecutors, IRS Say

â€œThey helped form a series of sham business entities and then promoted fraudulent debt elimination tactics intended for the sole purpose of concealing income from the IRS.” — Victor S. O. Song, chief, IRS Criminal Investigation As the U.S. Department of Agriculture was conducting a “review” of claims made by affiliates of a purported “grocery”…

Sep 21, 2010
Golden Panda Forum DOA — Again; WebsiteTester.biz Continues To Baffle And May Have MPBToday Link

The Golden Panda Ad Zone forum, also known as the Online Success Zone (OSZ), appears to have died — again. Visitors are greeted with a note that says the forum is “currently unavailable.” Like ASAMonitor, MoneyMakerGroup and TalkGold, OSZ was a site that pitched Ponzi schemes, pyramid schemes, cash-gifting programs and other highly questionable business…

Sep 20, 2010
INTERPOL Chief Says His Identity Was Stolen In Fraud Bid On Facebook; Meanwhile, MPB Today Members Post Check-Waving Videos On Social-Media Sites And WebsiteTester.biz Gathers 400,000 Names And Email Addresses

Earlier this week the PP Blog reported that members of MPB Today were using YouTube and other sites to post images of checks drawn on a distressed Florida bank. The checks, which were supplied as purported “proof” of MPB Today’s legitimacy, may expose both the posters and the bank to security breaches and identity theft.…

Sep 18, 2010
Nevin Shapiro, Florida Man Who Ran ‘Grocery’ Ponzi Scheme, Pleads Guilty; Feds Say Con Gathered At Least $880 Million While Fraudster Leased Mercedes For $4,700 A Month

When Nevin Shapiro was arrested in New Jersey for running a wholesale grocery scam in Florida, the FBI described the scheme as a â€œperfect example of greed run amok.â€ Shapiro, who was charged both criminally and civilly earlier this year after investigators uncovered his long-running Ponzi scheme, now has pleaded guilty to securities fraud and…

Sep 16, 2010
Bizarre Pitch For MPB Today Paints Walmart As Soul-Stealer And Asks Prospects Not To Accept Gift Card; One Apparent Walmart Fan Displays Visa Card In Separate MPB Promo

First there was a bizarre political attack on President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a bid to drive business to a Florida-based, multilevel-marketing (MLM) firm known as MPB Today. Now, at least one promo that asks prospects to register for MPB Today is attacking Walmart. As affiliates of MPB Today continue to…

Sep 16, 2010
Are MPB Today Members Posing Security Risk To Bank That Is Operating Under FDIC Consent Order? 2×2 Matrix Cycler Fans Publish Check-Waving Videos On Websites, YouTube

As giddy members of Florida-based MPB Today flock to YouTube to post check-waving videos as “proof” of the MLM’s legitimacy, the bank used by the purported grocery company is operating under an FDIC consent order issued in January, records show. The FDIC had no immediate comment when asked this morning by the PP Blog about…

Sep 15, 2010
Michael Goldberg Pleads Guilty In $100 Million Ponzi Scheme Featuring Bogus ‘Diamond’ Sales And Bogus Ties To JP Morgan Chase Bank; Gov’t Describes Scammer As Financial Predator And Pitchmen As ‘Feeders’

EDITOR’S NOTE: The story of Michael Goldberg’s long-running Ponzi scheme is one that also includes a form of domain-name fraud. Goldberg, for example, created a website that used the name of JP Morgan Chase. Scammers routinely seek to piggyback off well-known brands to separate people from their money, sometimes using the names of famous firms…

Sep 14, 2010