REPORT: SEC Moves Against ‘TrafficMonsoon,’ Calls It A Ponzi
The SEC has filed a lawsuit against the Traffic Monsoon “program” and called it a Ponzi scheme that had gathered $207 million, the Salt Lake Tribune is reporting. The assets of Traffic Monsoon and alleged operator Charles Scoville have been frozen, the newspaper reports. On June 1, the PP Blog reported that Payza — a payment […]
EDITORIAL: With Conviction Of Zeek’s Burks, Another Senior MLMer Faces Prospect Of Decades In Prison
UPDATED 4:31 P.M. EDT U.S.A. Zeek Rewards was always inexcusably horrid, fueled by serial willful blindness and the sort of practiced disingenuousness that props up so many MLM “programs.” In dollar volume, Zeek ended up being more than seven times larger than the $119 million AdSurfDaily MLM Ponzi scheme that put ASD operator Andy Bowdoin in federal […]
IMPORTANT: Statement From TelexFree Trustee On Sept. 26 Claims Deadline
UPDATED 11:23 A.M. EDT U.S.A. DEC. 22, 2016: The claims deadline has been extended from Dec. 31, 2016 to March 15, 2017, at 4:30 p.m. Prevailing Eastern Time. This marks the second deadline extension. Claims must be filed at TelexFreeClaims.com. Our brief on the earlier deadline is below: **_________________** The claims information below was received July […]
REPORTS: TelexFree Figure Murdered In Brazil
3RD UPDATE 3:17 P.M. EDT U.S.A. Dorian da Silva Santos, described by Bloggers and in media accounts as a politician and promoter of TelexFree in Brazil, reportedly has been found murdered execution-style in the Brazilian state of Bahia. The news adds to a disturbing series of events that, since at least 2013, have become part of […]
BURKS TRIAL: Government Has Rested, Docket Says
Prosecutors have rested their case against Paul Burks of Zeek Rewards, according to the July 13 court docket. Lawyers for Burks asked for an acquittal, but U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. denied the motion. It appears Burks now will proceed with his defense. The trial got under way July 5. Burks, 69, is […]
ZEEK: Key Figures — And Paul Burks’ Defense
EDITOR’S NOTE: Prosecutors and Paul Burks are clashing over expert witnesses and the admissibility of certain evidence. The article below reproduces the anticipated core of Burks’ trial defense, as advanced by his lawyers. This article is not intended to be all-encompassing. Prosecutors, of course, have an altogether different take. They have posted the indictment against Burks […]
URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: Zeek Receiver Moves For Summary Judgment Against Class-Action Clawback Defendants; Kenneth Bell Says Defense Expert Witness Has Found No Evidence That ‘Disproves That The Business As A Whole Operated As A Ponzi Scheme’
URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: (3RD UPDATE 6:11 P.M. EDT U.S.A.) On virtually the eve of the criminal trial of Paul Burks, receiver Kenneth D. Bell has asked the court presiding over a huge class-action lawsuit against 9,400 alleged Zeek “winners” for a finding the MLM program was a Ponzi scheme. Such a finding would mandate […]
DEVELOPING STORY: U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz ‘Has Been Recused’ From Prosecution Of TelexFree Figures James Merrill and Carlos Wanzeler
2ND UPDATE 6:27 P.M. EDT U.S.A. A government filing dated July 1 — a Friday before the long Independence Day weekend — says U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz of the District of Massachusetts “has been recused” from the prosecutions of TelexFree figures James Merrill and Carlos Wanzeler. The document does not say why Ortiz no longer […]
Grand Jury Was Meeting When Some Zeekers Waged Misinformation Campaign; Prosecutors Question Veracity Of Burks’ ‘Handwritten Notebooks’
New filings by federal prosecutors in the criminal case against Zeek’s Paul Burks reveal that a grand-jury investigation was under way within days of the SEC’s Aug. 17, 2012, shutdown of the “program” and confirmation by the U.S. Secret Service that it also was investigating Zeek. Burks was subpoenaed by the grand jury on Aug. […]
FEDS: Having Pocketed $11 Million In 2011, Burks Plowed Forward With Zeek, Despite Knowledge Of AdSurfDaily Ponzi Case
“Rather, [Andy] Bowdoin manufactured the revenue numbers to deceive members into believing that they could reasonably expect to receive an average daily return on their investment with [AdSurfDaily] of at least 1%. This percentage in no way corresponded to the daily revenue that ASD was generating, but had been determined by ASD’s operators to be […]
Embezzled Banners Broker Pyramid Funds Allegedly Ended Up In ‘KulClub,’ Another Ponzi-Board MLM Program
2ND UPDATE 2:25 P.M. EDT U.S.A. More horrible PR for the MLM trade: Banners Broker international pitchman and pyramid-scheme figure Kuldip Josun embezzled at least $3.6 million from affiliates, according to a receiver’s report. The money was deposited into a Swiss bank account held by an entity known as World Web Media Inc. and appears […]