PatrickPretty.com

Category: Alleged Ponzi Schemes

Philly Affinity Fraudster Traded On Coca-Cola’s Name And Ran Ponzi, Feds Say

EDITOR’S NOTE: Affinity fraud takes many forms. The case against Constant Damas appears to have been one that married an appeal to a common nationality to an appeal to the taste buds and brand recognition. Scammers often trade on the names of famous companies and individuals. And they often issue appeals to people of common…

Jun 28, 2013
UPDATE: Italy Finalizes Suspension Order Against Alleged Profitable Sunrise Pitchman Who Got Booted By WordPress

UPDATE: CONSOB, the Italian securities regulator, has finalized a March 27 suspension order against alleged Profitable Sunrise pitchman Daniele Verzari. Verzari allegedly pitched Profitable Sunrise as the “founder” of the Vdproject Italy team on a Blog hosted by WordPress. After CONSOB announced a temporary suspension order on April 2, WordPress gave Verzari the boot. He…

Jun 25, 2013
MASS. ATTORNEY GENERAL: Former Middlesex County Banker Was Ponzi Schemer Who Scammed For 12 Years And Created Bogus CD Receipts And 1099s

A Massachusetts woman formerly employed at Bank of America ran a Ponzi scheme on the side, forged withdrawal slips and stole millions of dollars from family and friends over a period of 12 years, the state’s attorney general said. Elaina Patterson, 53, of Wilmington, has been indicted on charges of Larceny over $250 from a…

Jun 25, 2013
BULLETIN: SEC Backs Legisi Receiver’s Bid To Pursue E-Bullion Cash

BULLETIN: The SEC has asked a federal judge to permit the receiver in the Legisi HYIP Ponzi-scheme case to pursue funds tied up after the arrest of James Fayed, the operator of the e-Bullion payment processor. Fayed was convicted in 2011 of ordering the murder of his wife, a potential witness against him. Pamela Fayed…

Jun 24, 2013
Judge Calls Ponzi Schemer Who Raised Conspiracy Theory His Attorney Was Working With The Government A Liar, Sentences Him To 16 Years In Federal Prison

Anthony Vassallo pulled a page from Ponzi schemer Andy Bowdoin’s playbook when he advanced a conspiracy theory that his own defense counsel was working with the government to sell him down the river. It didn’t work for Bowdoin, the 78-year old recidivist securities fraudster now serving a 78-month prison term after claiming he’d been “hoodwinked”…

Jun 23, 2013
Zeekers Share Their Conspiracy Theories At Newspaper Site

The Dispatch of Lexington, N.C., published a story June 7 to update readers on Zeek Rewards-related litigation — specifically the date of a hearing on a motion by certain Zeek members (alleged net winners) to dissolve the receivership. (See link to story/Comments below.) As of this morning, about 27 comments appear below the story. The…

Jun 21, 2013
BULLETIN: Legisi Receiver Goes After E-Bullion Assets Tied Up After Grisly California Murder; Robert D. Gordon Says More Than 85 Percent Of Funds Directed At HYIP Flowed Through Shuttered Processor

UPDATED 5:08 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) How dangerous and bereft is HYIP Ponzi Land? More than 85 percent of the $72.6 million directed at the Legisi HYIP Ponzi scheme before its May 2008 collapse flowed through the now-shuttered e-Bullion payment processor operated by convicted murderer James Michael Fayed, according to the court-appointed receiver in the Legisi…

Jun 19, 2013
STATEMENT: PP Blog Hit By Bot Attack

The PP Blog was hit by a bot attack today bearing multiple IP signatures from Singapore. Dozens of Singapore IPs maintained open connections to the Blog for approximately three minutes. Why the Blog was targeted was unclear. The bots sought to call up individual stories and a number of archive URLs. In at least a…

Jun 18, 2013
Global Corporate Alliance, Dallas-Based Medical Insurance Firm, Allegedly Was $10 Million Ponzi Scheme; Operators Charged Civilly, Criminally; Purported Opportunity Tried To Build Street Cred By Tying Itself To Racing Sponsor

Global Corporate Alliance (GCA) was not an MLM or HYIP firm. Even so, some of the allegations against the Dallas-based company read like U.S. government complaints filed against Zeek Rewards, Profitable Sunrise and AdSurfDaily. Perhaps most notable is the SEC’s allegation that GCA had no underlying profitable business through which it generated payments to investors,…

Jun 18, 2013
Raymond Leo Jarlik Bell, 70-Year-Old Purported ‘Sovereign Citizen’ Linked To AdSurfDaily Figure Kenneth Wayne Leaming, Sentenced To More Than 8 Years In Federal Prison

Raymond Leo Jarlik Bell, a 70-year-old purported “sovereign citizen” linked to AdSurfDaily figure Kenneth Wayne Leaming, has been sentenced to 97 months in federal prison for a tax scam. In July 2011, federal agents found records of bogus liens filed by Leaming against public officials while executing a search warrant at Jarlik Bell’s residence in…

Jun 17, 2013
SEC And FINRA Say ‘Pump And Dump’ Spam Increasing Sharply; McAfee Says ‘Botnet-Creating Malware’ Was Being Sold Through Liberty Reserve

DISCLOSURE: The PP Blog uses McAfee security software. The Blog is not compensated for its use of the software. UPDATED 10:23 A.M. (JUNE 15, U.S.A.) The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) have issued an Investor Alert warning about a sharp increase in spam linked to “pump-and-dump” stock schemes.…

Jun 14, 2013