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INetGlobal Enters Objection To Magistrate Judge’s Ruling Permitting Government To Approach ‘Current And Former’ Employees In Ponzi Probe

The investigation into the business practices of INetGlobal is turning into a legal slog reminiscent of the AdSurfDaily autosurf Ponzi scheme case. In April, attorney Paul Engh filed a motion, saying he represented INetGlobal employees. Among other things, Engh sought an order that effectively would have blocked the U.S. Secret Service from interviewing the employees,…

Jun 14, 2010
Richard Elkinson Ordered To Pay $29 Million In Ponzi Case; 77-Year-Schemer Still Jailed After Arrest At Mississippi Casino In January

A 77-year-old man who fleeced clients by telling them he brokered contracts for a Japanese company that provided uniforms for the Winter Olympics, the Pan American games and the government has been ordered to pay $29 million in a civil case brought by the SEC. Richard Elkinson is jailed in Massachusetts after being arrested at…

Jun 14, 2010
Long Prison Terms Ordered In California Ponzi Scheme Cases In Which Operators Threatened Or Attempted Suicide; Roberto Heckscher Gets 20 Years; Patricia Morgen Gets Nearly 16 Years

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a brief on two Ponzi cases in California that led to suicide attempts or threats. Among other things, the case of Roberto Heckscher demonstrates both the danger to life that collapsing Ponzi schemes pose and the fallacy that no Ponzi scheme exists as long as people are getting “paid.” The fallacy…

Jun 14, 2010
Now, A ‘Belgian Royalty’ Ponzi Scheme; SEC Says Guy Albert de Chimay Used Investors’ Funds To Pay Divorce Lawyer, ‘Massive’ Credit-Card Bills, Rent, Payroll

UPDATED 9:31 A.M. EDT (U.S.A.) Saying Guy Albert de Chimay and his unregistered investment-advisory business “simply stole” clients’ funds while telling investors their money was safe with the “U.S. investment arm of the Chimay royal family of Belgium,” the SEC has gone to court in New York to halt what it described as a massive…

Jun 14, 2010
UPDATE: PP Blog Stories Lost In Migration To New Hosting Platform Retrieved; Some Problems Related To Platform Migration Still Unresolved

Dear Readers, As we noted here, our migration to a new hosting platform — undertaken by our hosting company on Friday — resulted in some problems. In the hours after the migration, we were unable to retrieve data on posts between June 2 and June 11 that somehow went missing. We reassembled data on these…

Jun 13, 2010
Affiliate Links Show That Surf’s Up Mod And ASD Members Hold High Positions In Upstart Surf: Things To Consider If You Are Tempted To Join AdPayDaily

Dear Readers, We have received a few inquiries about a new surfing program called AdPayDaily (APD). Our initial take is that the program is a dressed-up version of AdSurfDaily, AdViewGlobal, BizAdSplash and AdGateWorld and that the operators are persuaded they’ve found a word combination and legal structure that will neutralize critics and law enforcement should…

Jun 13, 2010
BULLETIN: SEC Accuses Four Canadian Businessmen, Two Florida Attorneys Of Perpetrating $300 Million Ponzi Scheme

Question: What’s the second-largest Ponzi scheme in the news in South Florida this week? Answer: The alleged $300 million Ponzi scheme perpetrated by Milowe Allen Brost, Gary Allen Sorenson and Bradley Dean Regier of Calgary; Ward K. Capstick, a Canadian citizen who lives in Snohomish, Wash; Larry Lee Adair of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Martin…

Jun 13, 2010
Ponzi Operator D.J. Harriett Pleads Guilty; Tells Judge He Attempted Suicide During Scheme’s Collapse And Also Is Suffering From Cancer

An Ohio man who fleeced more than 200 people in a $7 million Ponzi scheme tried to commit suicide in November when the scheme was collapsing and also is suffering from pancreatic cancer, the Warren Tribune-Chronicle is reporting. The story of David J. Harriett demonstrates the enormous emotional pressure on both perpetrators and victims in…

Jun 13, 2010
FTC Issues Warning On Oil-Spill Schemers; Be On The Look Out For Insurance, Contracting, Jobs And Charity Scammers

As the attention of the United States and much of the world is riveted on the oil gusher in the Gulf of Mexico, the Federal Trade Commission is warning consumers that schemers will try to take advantage of the environmental disaster to lines their own pockets. “It’s no secret that scam artists follow the headlines,…

Jun 13, 2010
BULLETIN: Ponzi Swindler And Racketeer Scott Rothstein Sentenced To 50 Years In Federal Prison For $1.2 Billion Scam; Schemer Forged Judges’ Signatures, Threatened Reporter

BULLETIN: Scott Rothstein, the disbarred Florida lawyer who sold interests in nonexistent legal settlements, forged the signatures of federal judges on court documents to hoodwink investors and keep money flowing to his $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme and threatened to sue a reporter asking tough questions, has been sentenced to 50 years in federal prison. Rothstein,…

Jun 13, 2010
SEC: Texas ‘Man Of God’ Ran Nigerian ‘Oil Tanker’ Scheme On Elderly Christians Who Believe He’ll Still Deliver; One Widow May Be Out More Than $1 Million

EDITOR’S NOTE: The allegations against Samuel O. LeMaire are alarming. The case against him may prove to be one that demonstrates how vulnerable people of faith may be to affinity fraud while at once demonstrating how victims don’t want to believe they’ve been fleeced by a con artist even when the evidence is overwhelming. As…

Jun 13, 2010