PatrickPretty.com

Category: Alleged Ponzi Schemes

  • Nadel Diverted Client Funds To Family: Feds

    Florida hedge-fund manager Arthur Nadel turned himself in yesterday to the FBI in Tampa. Nadel had gone missing Jan. 14. He was immediately jailed. A bail hearing is set Friday. Previously we’ve written about some of the Nadel parallels to the AdSurfDaily Ponzi scheme case. Some of the parallels grew even more striking yesterday, with…

  • Readers Ask: Are The Surf Promoters REALLY That Stupid?

    We’ve received a number of comments from readers that fall along these lines: Are the people promoting autosurfs despite what has happened to AdSurfDaily, LaFuenteDinero and Golden Panda — and the collapse of MegaLido (and others) — REALLY that stupid? The short answer is maybe. Each and every one of them is risking the same…

  • BREAKING NEWS: Natures Discount Drops RICO Lawsuit Against Bowdoin, Busby, Garner

    Natures Discount, a former AdSurfDaily advertiser, has dropped a racketeering lawsuit it brought in November against ASD President Andy Bowdoin, Golden Panda President Clarence Busby, and Robert Garner, an attorney who appeared in a video touting ASD’s legality. Bank of America also was named a defendant in the Natures Discount complaint, though not as a…

  • MegaLido: Is There An ‘Instant2U.com’ Tie?

    In the weeks following the seizure of cash and property linked to AdSurfDaily Inc., some former members of ASD turned their attention to promoting MegaLido. MegaLido was pushed as a safe, offshore alternative to ASD and Golden Panda, and a way to make up ASD/Golden Panda losses that stemmed from the government seizure of cash…

  • Senior Citizens Dominate Ponzi Headlines

    BLOG UPDATE 10:02 P.M. EST (U.S.A.): This post has been updated with information on Ronald Keith Owens, 73, who was just sentenced to 60 years in prison for running a “prime bank” Ponzi scheme promising huge returns out of the Bahamas. See update at bottom of post. Here, directly below, our earlier post . .…

  • EDITORIAL: AdSurfDaily Refund Procedure Takes Weapon Away From Serial Ponzi Autosurf Promoters

    The government has established a refund procedure for the AdSurfDaily, LaFuenteDinero and GoldenPandaAdBuilder Ponzi case that requires victims to file petitions for remission or mitigation. Petitions must be filed in writing and under oath. The government will provide instructions. Patience is required because the case has not been litigated to conclusion. “Under Section 9.8(a)(1) and…

  • Edward Purvis, Head Of ‘Christian’ Group, Indicted For Running Ponzi Scheme; Case Has Echoes Of Ad Surf Daily Probe

    In a complex case apt to remind some members of AdSurfDaily about strange twists and turns the ASD case has taken, an Arizona man has been indicted on charges of running a Ponzi scheme that fleeced Christians. Edward Anthony Purvis was accused of setting up the Ponzi through an organization known as Nakimi Chi Group…

  • ASD: Spending Spree Coincided With 2-for-1 Las Vegas Rally

    Less than two weeks after a May 31 AdSurfDaily rally concluded in Las Vegas, ASD funds were used to retire a $157,000 mortgage. Another $62,000 was used to purchase two cars — a 2008 Honda CRV and a 2009 Acura, federal prosecutors said. The beneficiaries of the mortgage retirement and the Honda were George and…

  • Donald Manning, President Of Purported Offshore Investment Firm, Faces 10 Years In Prison, $500,000 Fine

    BLOG UPDATE 8:51 P.M. EST (U.S.A.): We’ve updated this post to note that Donald Manning, who pleaded guilty yesterday to running a Ponzi scheme, was captured in February 2008 — in Nicaragua. Cameron Campbell, a Manning Ponzi co-defendant, is a former attorney from La Jolla, Calif. See an FBI news release at the bottom of…

  • Former Texas Bail-Bondsman Charged In $45 Million Ponzi Swindle

    In the aftermath of a probe by the Securities & Exchange Commission and the FBI, a former Texas bail-bondsman has been accused of swindling investors — many of them senior citizens — out of millions of dollars. Rod Cameron Stringer was named a defendant in an SEC complaint filed yesterday in Texas. Stringer claimed his…

  • BREAKING NEWS: SEC Charges Nadel With Fraud

    Breaking News 2:24 p.m. EST (U.S.A.). The Securities & Exchange Commission has just accused missing fund manager Arthur Nadel of fraud. “Nadel provided false and misleading information for dissemination to investors about the Funds’ historical returns and falsely overstated the value of investments in the Funds by approximately $300 million,” the SEC said. “In contrast,…