Category: Alleged Ponzi Schemes
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TelexFree Telecom Application Rejected By Nevada Public Utilities Commission
Nevada, the state in which TelexFree operated an alleged $1.2 billion pyramid- and Ponzi scheme through a mailbox and filed its initial Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition, has rejected the company’s application to become a telecom provider. The Nevada Public Utilities Commission denied the application in an order dated June 2. The staff of the PUC…
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BULLETIN: Stephen B. Darr Appointed TelexFree Trustee
Stephen B. Darr, senior managing director of Mesirow Financial Consulting LLC of Boston, has been appointed trustee in the TelexFree bankruptcy case. The appointment was made by William K. Harrington, the United States’ Trustee, based on the order of U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Melvin S. Hoffman. The office of the U.S. Trustee is the bankruptcy watchdog…
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BULLETIN: Feds Say TelexFree Has ‘Disturbingly Cult-Like Quality’; SEC Accuses Faith Sloan Of Lying To Court
BULLETIN: (12th Update 9:50 p.m. EDT U.S.A.) In resisting former TelexFree President James Merrill’s latest bid to make bail in the criminal case against him, federal prosecutors said today that TelexFree “has a disturbingly cult-like quality.” Meanwhile, in separate action in the SEC’s civil case against TelexFree, the agency has accused alleged TelexFree pitchwoman Faith…
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BULLETIN: Merrill May Be Turning Against Wanzeler
BULLETIN: (5th Update 10:06 p.m. EDT U.S.A.) A defense filing by alleged TelexFree co-owner James Merrill may signal a serious divide between Merrill and Carlos Wanzeler, now described by the United States as an international fugitive. At the same time, new defense filings by Merrill say arguments made in bankruptcy court that suggest TelexFree could…
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BULLETIN: Judge Issues Order That Directs Justice Department’s Bankruptcy Watchdog To Appoint Trustee Over TelexFree Case
BULLETIN: U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Melvin S. Hoffman of the Massachusetts Central Division in Worcester has ordered the appointment of a trustee in the TelexFree Chapter 11 bankruptcy case. The U.S. Trustee, the U.S. Department of Justice’s watchdog arm in bankruptcy cases, pressed for the appointment last month. “There are reasonable grounds to suspect that the…
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Effort To Fete Two-Time SEC Pyramid Defendant And Alleged Racketeer Sann Rodrigues In Brazilian Senate Hall Reportedly Thwarted
Politicians appear to have spared themselves some embarrassment, but MLM had another La-La Land PR train wreck today. iG (Brazil) is reporting that an effort to honor accused TelexFree pitchman and two-time SEC defendant Sann Rodrigues in a Brazilian Senate hall today was thwarted. The effort to fete Rodrigues appears to have been staged by…
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Zeek Receiver Proposes Date For First Interim Distribution
Kenneth D. Bell, the receiver in the Zeek Rewards Ponzi- and pyramid case, has asked a federal judge to set Sept. 30 as the date of the first interim distribution to victims. Senior U.S. District Judge Graham C. Mullen of the Western District of North Carolina must approve the proposal and other scheduling logistics proposed…
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BULLETIN: SEC: Carlos Wanzeler Built ‘Small Real Estate Empire’ Consisting Of 34 Properties Mostly Acquired With Cash; Alleged Fugitive Also Acquired Yacht, 2 Ferraris, A Porsche And 3 Bimmers — And Put New Mexico Firm Set Up By Joe Craft In Charge Of Nevis Company
BULLETIN: (8th update 9:10 p.m. EDT U.S.A.) In an amended complaint in the SEC’s pyramid- and Ponzi case against TelexFree, the agency says alleged TelexFree fugitive Carlos Wanzeler was using investors’ money to build a “small real estate empire” that consisted of 34 properties in Massachusetts and Florida. Wanzeler, 45, also allegedly acquired a 40-foot…
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TelexFree Faces Prospect Of Regulatory Probe In Oregon; [UPDATE: Judge To Appoint Bankruptcy Trustee, WSJ Reports]
UPDATED 5:06 P.M. EDT U.S.A. See Comments thread below for breaking news that the judge overseeing the TelexFree bankruptcy case in Massachusetts will appoint a trustee. First reported by the Wall Street Journal. Original story on separate TelexFree matter in Oregon is below . . . ** ______________________________ ** The staff of the Oregon Public…
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DISTURBING: Report Of TelexFree-Related Kidnapping And Extortion Bid
La Republica, a newspaper in Peru, is citing information from police and reporting that a TelexFree promoter in the country was kidnapped Thursday afternoon and held in a van. The PP Blog cannot independently verify the report, which suggests the kidnapping was carried out by TelexFree members who ordered the man to withdraw money from…
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Katia Wanzeler No Longer In Custody Of U.S. Marshals Service
UPDATED 11:49 A.M. EDT U.S.A. Katia Wanzeler, the wife of accused TelexFree Ponzi-schemer and alleged fugitive Carlos Wanzeler, no longer is in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS). Whether she has concluded an appearance before a federal grand jury in Massachusetts is unclear. If the appearance occurred, it is possible it was delayed…