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BULLETIN: Nevin Shapiro, Operator Of $930 Million ‘Grocery’ Ponzi Scheme, Sentenced To 20 Years In Federal Prison; Fraudster ‘Used Other People’s Money To Live A Fantasy Life,’ U.S. Attorney Says

BULLETIN: Nevin Shapiro, the Florida-based operator of a bizarre “grocery” Ponzi scheme that gathered nearly $1 billion and caused losses approaching $100 million, has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison. Shapiro, 42, was charged by federal prosecutors in New Jersey last year after investigations by the FBI and the IRS. He pleaded guilty…

Jun 8, 2011
BULLETIN: Thanh Viet Jeremy Cao Pleads Guilty In False Liens Case; Ponzi Schemer Admits He Filed 22 Bogus Claims For Hundreds Of Millions Of Dollars Against Public Officials

BULLETIN: Thanh Viet Jeremy Cao, the California Ponzi schemer sentenced last month to 30 years in federal prison and ordered to pay $12.4 million in restitution, has pleaded guilty in a separate fraud case. Federal prosecutors in Nevada alleged last year that Cao filed nearly two dozen bogus liens against SEC attorneys, federal judges, federal…

Jun 7, 2011
FLORIDA — AGAIN: Postal Inspectors Say Recidivist Felon With 24 Bank Accounts And Undisclosed Criminal History Bilked Investors In $20 Million Scam; James Risher Arrested Before He Could Take Flight To Bermuda

A recidivist securities felon tied to at least 24 bank accounts had an airline ticket for Bermuda last week but was arrested in Florida before he could get offshore after scamming investors in a long-running fraud scheme that had gathered $20 million, according to law-enforcement officials. Charged in a criminal complaint by the U.S. Postal…

Jun 7, 2011
KABOOM! Web-Based Ponzi Pitchman For Legisi Hit With Judgments Totaling More Than $2.5 Million; Receiver Hires Law Firm To Collect Against Matthew J. Gagnon; Scheme Was Promoted On TalkGold, MoneyMakerGroup, Among Others

A web-based pitchman for the alleged Legisi Ponzi scheme has been hit with separate court judgments of $1.69 million and $810,000. Meanwhile, the court-appointed receiver in the Legisi case has hired local counsel in Oregon to pursue the judgments against Matthew J. Gagnon and Mazu Publishing Inc. Legisi was alleged by the SEC in 2008…

Jun 7, 2011
URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: Club Asteria Promoters Blocked By CONSOB, Italian Equivalent Of SEC; Agency Issues Suspension Order; Is ‘Opportunity’ Described As ‘Passive’ Investment Being Targeted At Deaf?

BULLETIN: UPDATED 7:35 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) The Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (CONSOB), the Italian equivalent of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, is conducting a probe into claims made about Club Asteria and has issued a 90-day suspension order that bars promoters from trading in Italy. Club Asteria is based in…

Jun 6, 2011
BULLETIN: SEC Charges ‘Sovereign International Group LLC’ Amid Allegations It Funded Ponzi Payout With Cash Infusion From 93-Year-Old Boyfriend Of Accused Fraudster’s Elderly Mother; Arthur Weiss, Ronald Abernathy Charged In Bizarre Scheme That Allegedly Claimed Ownership Of $50 Million Note From ‘U.S. Financial Agency LLC’

BULLETIN: Two men have been charged by the SEC with fraud in an alleged Ponzi scheme that features allegations that read like fiction — although the agency says they are true. Among the SEC’s spectacular claims is that Ponzi payments to investors were made after the 93-year-old boyfriend of the elderly mother of one of…

Jun 6, 2011
ANOTHER FALSE LIENS CASE: Man Who Asserted ‘Diplomatic Immunity’ Claimed Utah Officials Owed Him $53 TRILLION, Feds Say; Harvey Douglas Goff Charged In 14-Count Indictment After Probe By Joint Terrorism Task Force, IRS

EDITOR’S NOTE: Longtime readers will recall that some members of Florida-based AdSurfDaily engaged in a hectoring campaign against public officials after the U.S. Secret Service seized tens of millions of dollars in the ASD Ponzi case in August 2008. Such actions can lead to serious criminal consequences, as the story below illustrates. It has happened…

Jun 6, 2011
RECOMMENDED READING: Salt Lake Tribune Expands Series On Multilevel Marketing; Christian Pitchman Poses With Rolls-Royce; Trade’s Defenders Scold Critics; Critics Fire Back

Kudos to the Salt Lake Tribune for expanding on its earlier series on multilevel marketing, which we referenced here. On May 27, the newspaper published two more stories — and one of them features a photograph of a Rolls-Royce with the words “mona vie” emblazoned on its side. The expensive car is one of the…

Jun 5, 2011
Exotic FX, HYIP Promoted On Ponzi Scheme And Criminals’ Forums By Club Asteria Members, Collapses; Did Club Asteria Also Have Tie To Collapsed Imperia Invest IBC Fraud Scheme?

Exotic FX, an HYIP promoted on the Ponzi scheme and criminals’ forums by members of the Club Asteria HYIP, has collapsed. Exotic billed itself a “PRIVATE ASSET HAVEN.” The dollar value of member losses is unclear, and the firm’s website no longer loads. Chatter on Ponzi boards such as TalkGold and MoneyMakerGroup also suggests that…

Jun 4, 2011
DEVELOPING STORY: Are AdSurfDaily Pitchmen Who Also Joined AdViewGlobal And Recruited Members For Collapsed ASD Knockoff Confused — Or Are They Trying To Scam Downline Members And Claims Administrator?

This post begins with background because the autosurf world, which is dominated by serial scammers, financial fraudsters and shadowy criminals, is about as murky as it gets. On Aug. 1, 2008, tens of millions of dollars in the bank accounts of AdSurfDaily President Andy Bowdoin were seized. Federal prosecutors went on to say that Bowdoin,…

Jun 3, 2011
BULLETIN: SEC Employee Was Member Of Collapsed Imperia Invest IBC Fraud Scheme That Targeted Deaf Investors And Drained Millions Of Dollars; ‘Headquarters’ Worker Placed On Administrative Leave

BULLETIN: An employee of the SEC at its Washington headquarters was a member of a fraud scheme under investigation by the agency and shared misleading information about its ongoing probe with other investors, according to a report to Congress by SEC Inspector General H. David Kotz. The document does not reveal the employee’s name or…

Jun 1, 2011