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  • Receiver In Allen Stanford Ponzi Case Says Politicians Have Not Returned More Than $1.8 Million In Tainted Contributions

    Political groups and politicians have not returned more than $1.8 million in tainted campaign donations received from entities and individuals linked to the alleged Allen Stanford Ponzi scheme, according to the court-appointed receiver in the civil case against Stanford.

    Ralph Janvey, the receiver, said only $87,800 had been returned by politicians. Letters requesting the money be returned went out 11 months ago.

    The donations were linked to Stanford personally, Stanford International Bank Ltd., Stanford Group Co., Stanford Capital Management LLC, and Stanford executives James M. Davis and Laura Pendergest-Holt and certain entities they own or control, Janvey said.

    Here is a list of donations that have not been returned. (The numerals are dollar amounts):

    950,000 Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
    238,500 National Republican Congressional Committee
    202,000 Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
    128,500 Republican National Committee
    83,345 National Republican Senatorial Committee
    25,000 Rangel Victory Fund
    10,000 New Jersey Democratic State Committee
    10,000 Representative Pete Sessions (R-TX)
    6,600 Representative Gregory Meeks (D-NY)
    6,100 Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL)
    5,000 Americans for a Republic Majority PAC
    5,000 Delegate Donna Christensen (D-USVI)
    5,000 Representative Charles Gonzalez (D-TX)
    5,000 KPAC (affiliated with Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson of Texas)
    5,000 Lone Star Fund
    5,000 Representative Charles Rangel (D-NY)
    5,000 Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS)
    4,600 Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) (presidential campaign)
    4,550 Representative Dan Maffei (D-NY)
    4,000 Senator John Cornyn (R-TX)
    4,000 Senator Patty Murray (D-WA)
    4,000 Representative Richard Neel (D-MA)
    4,000 Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY)
    3,300 Representative Pete Olson (R-TX)
    3,300 Representative Charles Rangel (D-NY)
    3,000 Representative James E. Clyburn (D-SC)
    3,000 Representative Rahm Emanuel (D-IL)
    3,000 ERICPAC
    3,000 Leadership PAC 2006
    2,550 Representative Eric Massa (D-NY)
    2,550 Representative Mike McMahon (D-NY)
    2,500 Senator Richard J. Durbin (D-IL)
    2,500 Freedom Fund
    2,500 Representative Timothy Johnson (R-IL)
    2,500 Representative Paul Kanjorski (D-PA)
    2,500 Senator Mary Landreiu (D-LA)
    2,500 Representative John Lewis (D-GA)
    2,500 Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
    2,500 National Leadership PAC
    2,500 Representative Adam Putnam (R-FL)
    2,500 Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR)
    2,500 Former Senator John Sunnunu (R-NH)
    2,500 Representative John Tanner (D-TN)
    2,500 Representative Bennie Thompson (D-MS)
    2,300 Representative John Boccieri (D-OH)
    2,300 Representative Deborah Halvorson (D-IL)
    2,300 Senator John McCain (R-AZ)
    2,300 Olson-Texas Victory Committee
    2,300 Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS)
    2,100 Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT)
    2,000 Representative Spencer Bachus (R-AL)
    2,000 Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN)
    2,000 Reprsentative Kevin Brady (R-TX)
    2,000 Representative Vern Buchanan (R-FL)
    2,000 Representative Dave Camp (R-MI)
    2,000 LEADPAC
    2,000 Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL)
    2,000 Representative Lamar Smith (R-TX)
    2,000 Representative Patrick Tiberi (R-OH)
    1,500 Representative Charles Boustany (R-LA)
    1,500 Representative Sam Johnson (R-TX)
    1,500 Representative Peter King (R-NY)
    1,500 Representative Kendrick Meek (D-FL)
    1,000 Representative Joe Barton (R-TX)
    1,000 Senator Max Baucus (D-MT)
    1,000 Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA)
    1,000 Representative Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV)
    1,000 Representative Steve Cohen (D-TN)
    1,000 Former Senator Elizabeth Dole (R-NC)
    1,000 Senator Byron L. Dorgan (D-ND)
    1,000 Representative Michael McCaul (R-TX)
    2,000 Representative Donald Payne (D-NJ)
    1,000 Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS)
    500 Representative Steve Cohen (D-TN)

    TOTAL NOT RETURNED: $1,825,495

    Here is a list of donations that have been returned. (Dates returned included. Numerals are dollar amounts):

    03/24/09 14,000 Shelby for US Senate
    03/24/09 1,000 Barney Frank for Congress Committee
    03/24/09 4,000 Arcuri for Congress
    03/24/09 2,000 Neugebauer Congressional Committee
    03/24/09 1,000 Marsha Blackburn for Congress
    03/24/09 8,000 Friends for Harry Reid
    03/24/09 1,500 David Scott for Congress
    03/24/09 1,000 Freedom Funds – Mike Crapo, Honorary Chairman
    03/30/09 11,500 Chris Dodd for President
    03/30/09 16,000 Friends of Chris Dodd
    03/30/09 2,500 Friends of Mark Warner
    04/03/09 2,300 Minnick for Congress
    04/03/09 2,000 Lloyd Doggett for Congress
    04/07/09 3,000 Alexander for Senate 2014, Inc.
    04/08/09 2,500 Collins for Senator
    04/23/09 5,000 Friends of Jay Rockefeller
    05/07/09 2,500 Campaign Account of Robert Wexler
    06/18/09 3,000 Mel Watt for Congress
    06/18/09 5,000 Friends of John Boehner

    TOTAL RETURNED AS OF JAN. 21, 2010: $87,800

    Stanford is accused of multibillion-dollar fraud. He is jailed in Texas.

    Campaign contributions tainted by Ponzi money also are an element of the $1.2 billion Scott Rothstein case in Florida. Records suggest that AdSurfDaily President Andy Bowdoin, implicated in an alleged $100 million Ponzi scheme, also gave political donations with tainted funds.

  • Narc That Car Promoter Sets Sights On Critics, Says He Is In ‘Real Know’ And Can Help Prospects Conduct ‘Real Legitimate Due Diligence’

    A Cash For Car Plates ad for Narc That Car was videotaped in a parking lot of the Giant Eagle supermarket chain, but did not say whether Narc That Car participants needed permission from Giant Eagle to record the license-plate numbers of patrons.

    After describing people who question the Narc That Car multilevel-marketing (MLM) program as “haters” and clever wordsmiths bent on publishing misinformation about the “opportunity,” a Narc That Car promoter now says a conference call will be held to “share the actual facts.”

    The call will be conducted on Feb. 14 — Valentine’s Day, according to Jah, who runs the Cash For Car Plates Blog and reports he has a Narc That Car downline “team” of more than 100 members.

    Jah posted the URL for his Cash For Car Plates pitches on the PP Blog. Ownership data for the Cash For Car Plates web domain, an affiliate site that promotes Narc That Car, suggests the site is owned by Ohio resident Ajamu Kafele.

    A man by the same name, in the same Ohio county and city and at the same street address listed in the Cash For Car Plates domain-registration was charged civilly earlier this decade with practicing law without a license. Jah has neither confirmed nor denied he is the same person.

    The Ohio Supreme Court ruled in 2006 that Ajamu Kafele had engaged in the unauthorized practice of law in a banking and mortgage-foreclosure case involving a third party, and assessed him a $1,000 civil penalty.

    Kafele was enjoined by the Supreme Court from further unauthorized practice of law.

    “Respondent’s misguided attempts to represent Divine Endeavors, L.L.C., illustrate why the practice of law must be strictly limited to licensed attorneys,” the Supreme Court ruled. “The practice of law is exacting even with the required legal and ethical training, and the legal system cannot adequately safeguard the public’s interest unless it assures a core level of professional competence and integrity.”

    Cash For Car Plates argued on the PP Blog that the Narc That Car program was perfectly legal.

    “The fact is that if google maps can establish a video feed of your public information address and zoom in to your front door, one can definitely obtain open public display of license plates for the purpose of building a national database for multiple beneficial purposes,” Cash For Car Plates said. “Heck we are all being filmed in our cars by video cameras around the cities of America, some that can get snap shot of your face while in the car.”

    After asserting he provided Narc That Car “training” and claiming to “Truly Know” the Narc That Car program, Cash For Car Plates declined to answer several questions posed by the PP Blog about the propriety, safety and legality of the Narc That Car program.

    Cash For Car Plates said he was not “getting into back and forth meaningless arguments,” accusing critics of  “spreading clear ‘hate’ for this business.”

    Here are some of the questions we posed:

    • Do Narc That Car members need the permission of store managers [such as managers of Walmart, Best Buy and Giant Eagle] to record the plate numbers of patrons?
    • How should Narc That Car promoters behave if confronted by a store manager or patron?
    • Who posts bond for a Narc That Car “independent consultant” if he or she gets arrested for defying a private-property owner’s policies, procedures or orders?
    • Should Narc That Car consultants refuse to turn over the paper on which the license numbers are recorded or the video camera or the cell phone on which the license numbers were recorded if approached by the store manager or a concerned patron?
    • What should a Narc That Car promoter do if a store manager or store patron observes license-plate numbers being recorded and says, “Stop that! I’m calling the police?”
    • What should a Narc That Car promoter do if a store manager or patron asks for identification? Flee? Provide it? Argue? Insist they’re authorized to appear on private property and in parking lots maintained by retailers such as Giant Eagle because they’re authorized to do so by Narc That Car or a Narc That Car downline group?
    • Should Narc That Car promoters destroy the papers on which they’ve recorded the plate numbers after entering them into the Narc That Car database? How about the videos? Should they be destroyed?
    • What if the papers and the videos later are needed for evidence and have been destroyed? Should Narc That Car promoters preserve records of all the license plate numbers they record?
    • Does your opinion about Google cover all contingencies? Can it beat back all potential challenges? Is it even valid?

    The Cash For Car Plates Blog now says a conference call will be conducted.

    “There are a several apparent network marketing would be scam alert sites and blogs spreading incomplete, inaccurate and/or mis-information, and seemingly slanderous claims about the Grand Narc That Car opportunity,” according to the Cash For Car Plates Blog.

    “We want to share the actual facts and provide you with Real legitimate due diligence answers to your questions to make it clear that this is the Right opportunity to be involved with here and now!”

    The Cash For Car Plates Blog does not explain how it is possible to conduct “real due diligence” on a company that does not publish financial data.

    Still, the Cash For Car Plates Blog insists it’s important that Narc That Car members “Get information from people who are in the real ‘know’ about Narc That Car and not those that want to just drive traffic to their sites in an attempt to claim to be ‘helping’ people.”

    Visit the Cash For Car Plates Blog. See our earlier story on a Cash For Car Plates video for Narc That Car made in the parking lot of a Giant Eagle supermarket. Visit a Scam.com discussion thread on Narc That Car. Visit a Work-At-Home-Forum thread on Narc That Car.

  • Feds Charge Husband And Wife In Alleged Work-At-Home Scheme; Philip Pestrichello Is Recidivist Offender

    EDITOR’S NOTE: Recidivism, the tendency to continue committing crimes or breaking laws even after getting caught and perhaps even going to prison, is a common theme in the scam universe. It has been an element in many recent cases we’ve written about, including the AdSurfDaily Ponzi scheme case (principals Andy Bowdoin and Clarence Busby had previous run-ins with securities regulators); the Frank Constantino securities-fraud case (Constantino had previous run-ins with securities regulators in Georgia and Missouri); the Edmundo Rubi foreclosure-rescue case (Rubi had a previous conviction in a Ponzi/pyramid case and spent time in federal prison).

    Meanwhile, it has been an element in the Philip R. Lochmiller Ponzi scheme case (Lochmiller previously was sentenced to three years in a California state prison for a fraud scheme); the Kenneth W. Lee Ponzi scheme case (Lee spent five years in a Texas prison in a previous fraud scheme and also had a $3 million judgment against him); the Thomas L. Labry securities-fraud case (Labry had been ordered by five states to cease and desist from selling unregistered securities); the Brian David Anderson Ponzi scheme case (Anderson was linked to multiple fraud schemes and clashed with law enforcement in the United States and Canada); the Bruce Namenson mortgage-fraud case (Namenson, formerly an attorney, already was in jail for an insurance scam when charged in the mortgage case); the Troy A. Titus Ponzi scheme case (Titus, a former attorney, was disbarred for writing bad checks for huge amounts before his Ponzi scheme conviction).

    At the same time, recidivism has been an element in the Trevor Cook Ponzi and financial-fraud case (Cook had a run-in with the National Futures Association before his spectacular run-in with the SEC and the CFTC);  and the Arthur Nadel Ponzi scheme case (Nadel, a former attorney, was disbarred decades ago amid allegations he raided client funds to pay off loan sharks).

    There are other recent examples, of course.

    Here is a new one . . .

    A New Jersey man implicated in fraud schemes dating back to the early 1990s has been arrested in a new, work-at-home fraud scheme, federal prosecutors said.

    Part of the scheme centered on telling participants that the companies involved had good reputations and weren’t shady, “get-rich-quick” schemes, prosecutors said.

    Philip Pestrichello, 38, of Bayville, N.J., is a recidivist offender who served three years in federal prison after being convicted in 2003 of mail fraud in a work-at-home scheme known as “IMXT & Co.”

    Pestrichello was on supervised probation when he hatched his new scheme — for which his wife, Rosalie Florie, 38, also was arrested. Prosecutors said the husband-and-wife team collected more than $1 million, operating the scheme through entities known as “Preferred Platinum Services Network LLC” ;”PPSN LLC”; “Home Based Associate Program;” and “Postcard Processing Program.”

    “Work-at-home scams prey on some of the most vulnerable in our society — the economically disadvantaged, the unemployed, the disabled, and the elderly — who are trying to supplement their income by working from home,” said U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara.

    Bharara assigned the Complex Frauds Unit to the case. The FTC and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service also are playing pivotal roles.

    Pestrichello’s post-prison scheme began in June 2007, prosecutors said.

    Consumers were duped into sending money to Pestrichello and Florie “under the pretense that the consumers were enrolling in a program that would allow them to earn income at home,” prosecutors said. “In fact, the consumers typically got nothing in return for their payment.”

    The scheme operated though the U.S. mail, the Internet and classified ads. Participants
    were charged what they believed to be “one-time” enrollment fees of up to $90 and promised “the opportunity to earn a ‘weekly paycheck’ by labeling postcards that advertised a product called the ‘Mortgage Accelerator Program,’” prosecutors said.

    Consumers were told they could earn $1 for each postcard they labeled, but the story changed after they sent their money.

    “[A]fter consumers paid their enrollment fee, they were asked for more money to remain in the program,” prosecutors said. “Typically, consumers learned for the first time after paying the enrollment fee that they had to pay an additional fee, usually $40, for a new batch of 100 postcards for processing.”

    To keep the scheme churning, prosecutors said, the scammers pressured participants “to return their first set of labeled postcards ‘within 5 days’ or risk delays with their paychecks.

    “This caused many consumers to send in money for second and third batches of postcards before they received payment for the first batch,” prosecutors said. “By the time they realized they were not receiving any paychecks at all from PPSN, many consumers had already sent PPSN between $150 and $350.”

    Among the advertising claims were (italics added):

    “Would you like an opportunity to earn a $475 check from home processing Mortgage Products Postcards for our company?”

    “EARN $1.00 PER POSTCARD”

    “Rest assured, this is NOT a gimmick or some shady ‘get rich quick scheme.’ Our company has a rock-solid reputation . . . As one of our Home Based Associates you could earn $1.00 (one-dollar) for each Postcard you process and we conveniently offer you weekly
    compensation directly by Company Check each Friday.”

    “The vast majority of consumers ultimately received no money at all, after paying the up-front fee and labeling and returning the postcards as instructed,” prosecutors said. “Even those few individuals who were paid did not receive anything near the promised payments of $1.00 per postcard.”

    And, prosecutors asserted, the rules continued to change, thus putting consumers in the impossible position of clinging to the program in an effort to get back the money they paid in.

    “After consumers complained to PPSN that they did not receive the weekly paycheck, they either received no response from the company or were then told, contrary to PPSN’s earlier representations regarding the operation of the program, that the program was a ‘commission’ program, and that they would receive a commission only if and when the postcards they sent out generated a sale on the ‘Mortgage Accelerator’ product advertised in the postcards,” prosecutors said.

    “In fact, the Mortgage Accelerator Program itself appears to have been a sham, non-existent product,” prosecutors continued. “Although the work-at-home program was marketed as offering a ‘100% Satisfaction Policy’ guaranteeing consumers a refund in the event they are not fully satisfied with the program, refunds were rarely, if ever given. If a refund was in fact given, it was typically only after a consumer had complained to law enforcement authorities.”

    Pestrichello was in repeated trouble even prior to his 2003 criminal conviction, prosecutors said.

    “Between 1992 and 2002, Pestrichello was the subject of numerous enforcement actions by the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, the Office of the Attorney General in the State of Florida, and the FTC, in connection with his operation of other consumer fraud schemes. Those actions resulted in permanent injunctions barring Pestrichello from engaging in the type of conduct and business alleged in the Complaint.”

  • PROSECUTORS: Man Operated Identity-Theft Fraud Scheme While Out On Bond In Ponzi Scheme Case; Bryant R. Filter Sentenced To 135 Months In Federal Prison

    While completing its investigation of Bryant R. Filter for operating an insurance Ponzi scheme, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service discovered Filter was operating a second fraud scheme, federal prosecutors said.

    Filter, 39, of Mars, Pa., now has been sentenced to 135 months in federal prison for the Ponzi fraud, and a second scheme in which he stole the identities of customers to obtain fraudulent loans.

    Through a company known as Filter and Associates, Filter fraudulently secured financing for insurance premiums by fabricating “an insurance relationship with a nonexistent representative of an insurance company, and a fictitious underwriter,” prosecutors said.

    He obtained more than $8 million in the insurance scheme, which prosecutors dubbed a “Ponzi” type loan scheme.

    Even as the Ponzi case was before the court and Filter was pleading guilty in April 2009, Filter was knee deep in a second scheme, prosecutors said.

    “Unbeknownst to the Court and the government, Filter committed a second wave of fraud offenses, which resulted in his arrest on May 21, 2009,” prosecutors said.

    In the second scheme, Filter used a company known as Three Rivers Business Group LLC to obtain “personal information from clients seeking to sell or purchase a business and seeking the financing to do so.

    “Filter used the clients’ personal information without their permission to obtain financing proceeds in their names for himself,” prosecutors said.

    As part of the second scheme — and while Filter was out on bond in the Ponzi scheme — Filter “attempted to defraud a bank when he applied to obtain a $50,000 home equity loan in the names of unsuspecting victims, without their authorization, using their house as security.”

    A federal judge revoked Filter’s bond and jailed him when the second scheme was discovered.

    The identity-theft case involved financing for bogus accounts receivable and the “fraudulent acquisition of an $18,000 check after Filter purported to sell his leased vehicle and obtain clear title,” prosecutors said.

    Filter pleaded guilty in November to the identity-theft charges and was sentenced simultaneously on the Ponzi charges.

  • 3 Plead Guilty In Bizarre Shakedown Bid In Anthony Vassallo/EIMT Ponzi Case; 1 Pleads To Conspiracy To Impersonate An Officer

    Three individuals who attempted to shake down the operators of a hedge fund associated with the alleged Equity Investment Management and Training Inc. (EIMT) Ponzi scheme have pleaded guilty in California for their roles in the shakedown bid.

    Craig Anderson, 39, of Chicago, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to impersonate a federal officer and employee; Cassandra Moore, 26, of Beverly Hills, Calif., pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of unlawfully possessing false documents, as did Sean Smartt, 41, of Sacramento.

    The FBI described the crime as “bizarre,” when the shakedown charges were announced in May 2009. In announcing the guilty pleas today, federal prosecutors said the shakedown attempt occurred after a fake meeting was arranged in March 2009 under the guise that a wealthy investor wanted to meet figures associated with EIMT.

    Also participating in the shakedown scheme was Michael David Sanders, 41, of Fair Oaks, Calif., prosecutors said. Sanders has pleaded not guilty. His trial is set to get under way next month.

    “Once the individuals were inside the office, Anderson tapped on the window with an identification badge to gain entry,” prosecutors said. “Sanders, Anderson, Moore, and Smartt entered, wearing bulletproof vests, earpieces, and credentials falsely bearing identification information and the authentication feature of the United States.

    “They carried handcuffs, badges, and some carried radios and appeared to be armed leaving the impression that they were federal law enforcement agents,” prosecutors said.

    Anderson, Moore, and Smartt now “admit that Sanders and Anderson paced around the office, exposed their weapons, and blocked the entrances and exits of the office suite,” prosecutors said. “One of the co-conspirators told the hedge fund operators that the defendants were there to collect funds taken from the . . . (EIMT) account on behalf of fraud victims.”

    Anderson, prosecutors said, “told the hedge fund operators that they had until noon on Monday, March 9, 2009, to wire $378,300.16 to a Patelco Credit Union account in the name of the ‘Spirit Foundation’ and to send an e-mail confirmation,” prosecutors said. “The defendants left a sheet of paper with the wiring instructions, routing number, account number, bank name, amount, and an e-mail address.”

    Anderson faces a maximum of five years in federal prison. His sentencing is set for April 27, before U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez.

    Smartt and Moore are set to be sentenced on April 25 and 26, before U.S. District Judge Gregory G. Hollows. They face up to a year in prison.

    Anthony Vassallo was charged in April 2009, with mail fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering, amid allegations he operated the $40 million EIMT Ponzi scheme.

    Vassallo has pleaded not guilty.

  • Now, A Narc That Car Training Video Shot By Promoter In Parking Lot Of Giant Eagle Supermarket Chain; ‘I’m Not Going To Talk To Anybody,’ Narrator Says

    A Narc That Car promoter recorded a video for the program in the parking lot of a Giant Eagle store. Giant Eagle is one of the largest grocery chains in the United States. Some Narc That Car promoters have recommended that members visit the parking lots of prominent retailers and restaurants to find a never-ending supply of license-plate numbers.

    UPDATED 11 A.M. ET (U.S.A.) A grainy video promotion for Narc That Car was shot in the parking lot of one of the largest grocery-store chains in the United States and posted on YouTube.

    The narrator in the video talked about the “countless cars that are in the parking lot” of a Giant Eagle store. Pittsburgh-based Giant Eagle is one of the largest food retailers and food distributors in the United States, recording about $8 billion in annual sales.

    Narc That Car is a Dallas-based, multilevel-marketing (MLM) company that says it is building a database of license-plate numbers for use by banks and companies that specialize in repossessing automobiles.

    “This is how simple this business is, folks,” the narrator says, as a camera pans around the Giant Eagle parking lot and captures one car after another in video frames.

    “I’m not even going to talk to anybody,” the narrator says, noting he did not know the address of the particular Giant Eagle at which he was recording the video, but would obtain it online.

    Giant Eagle did not immediately return a call seeking comment on the Narc That Car video shot in its parking lot and the practices of Narc That Car and its promoters.

    The narrator cites Giant Eagle’s name in the video, panning on Giant Eagle signage and a nearby gas station.

    “I want to show you how simple and easy this business is,” the narrator intones. “I’m just going to jot down some public information of the license plates. That’s the way this works.”

    The narrator continues, “As a matter of fact, I don’t even know the address of this Giant Eagle. I’ll just look it up online and get the address when I get home. Or, [if] I’m at a gas station, I can do the exact same thing. So, this is really great how simple this business is. Come on and join us [via] Cash For Car Plates.”

    In the the video, which appears to have been shot on a dark and dreary winter day, the narrator raised no issues of propriety, safety, privacy or legality. The narrator did not, for example, instruct Narc That Car members if permission needed to be obtained from companies such as Giant Eagle to write down the license-plate numbers of patrons.

    Nor did the video provide any instruction on what Narc That Car members should do if approached by a store manager or patron while the Narc That Car promoter was writing down license-plate numbers or capturing them on video.

  • STOP THE MADNESS: Now, AmberAlertHelp.org; Narc That Car Promoters Continue To Link Company To Legacy Of Amber Hagerman

    Two days ago, we wrote about FindThatCar.org, a website with a red banner at the top that appeals to visitors to “Help us,” as though it were promoting a charity such as the Red Cross.

    FindThatCar.org actually is promoting Narc That Car, a Dallas-based multilevel-marketing  (MLM) company that is building a database to sell information to companies in the business of repossessing automobiles. Both Narc That Car and its promoters reference the AMBER Alert program in their sales pitches.

    Today we turn your attention to AmberAlertHelp.org. It, too, is selling Narc That Car. Here’s the AmberAlertHelp.org pitch on the site’s main page (italics added):

    Welcome to Amber Alert Help

    Our goal is to build awareness about an opportunity for you, your friends, and your family to get paid for helping build the Amber Alert system database simply by submitting 6 random license plate numbers per month online. It is so easy, and you can get started now.

    Here is the pitch on a secondary AmberAlertHelp.org page (italics added):

    We Joined Narc That Car and feel wonderful about having the ability to:

    • Help find and save missing children
    • Help build the very valuable Amber Alert system database
    • Make extra money easily

    AmberAlertHelp.org also has an AmberAlertHelp.com version of the domain. Both sites were registered Jan. 20, two days after the BBB in Dallas asked Narc That Car to explain its business practices. The inquiry is still open, according to the BBB website.

    The U.S. Department of Justice, which coordinates the AMBER Alert program, said Wednesday that Narc That Car is in “no way affiliated” with the program. On Thursday, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), which manages the Amber Alert Secondary Distribution Program for the Justice Department and 120 Amber Alert coordinators throughout the United States, said Narc That Car “is not a part” of the secondary program.

    Nine-year old Amber Hagerman was abducted 14 years ago while riding her bicycle in Arlington, Texas. She was brutally murdered. The AMBER Alert program — America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response — is her legacy.

    AMBER Alert is about keeping children safe. It is not about keeping the world safe for multilevel-marketing profits. AMBER Alert’s name should be accorded the same dignity accorded Amber Hagerman’s name, which is to say neither name ever should be made part of a pitch fest.

    That AMBER Alert’s name is being mentioned in sales pitches for Narc That Car is beyond the pale. AMBER Alert is about life-altering emergencies. It is not about MLM recruiting and pocketing commissions up to five levels deep.

    Good grief. Narc That Car promoters are using .org extensions — the same extensions used by the Red Cross, the Salvation Army and NCMEC for their noble purposes — to promote a business that is building a database for the repo man — and they are implying it is a public service.

    Today we call on Narc That Car to remove references to AMBER Alert from its marketing materials, including videos. We further call on Narc That Car promoters to do the same.

    Not only are some Narc That Car promoters repeatedly referencing AMBER Alert, they also are referencing government agencies such as the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security as though the agencies have endorsed the Narc That Car program.

    One Narc That Car promoter claims the purpose of the program is “To help The US Dep’t of Homeland Security find terrorists.” Another claims, “We are backed by the better business bureau, the F.B.I., and the Amber Alert system . . . ” Yet another claims, “A company out of Dallas needs to grow a data base of license plates to use for Amber Alerts and other reasons.”

    Elsewhere, a website that uses a name similar to the famous ToysRUs trade name, references AMBER Alert and tells viewers that big money is possible through Narc That Car.

    “I went to Walmart,” a video narrator intones at the PlatesRUs.biz website. “It took me every bit of five minutes to write down 10 tag numbers randomly, go in my back office and log it into the national database through the company, and actually earn a check.”

    This madness must stop.

  • Nilton Rossoni Sentenced To 68 Months In Federal Prison For Colossal eBay Fraud; Elaborate Scheme Featured 59 Mail Drops, 260 Bogus Auction Accounts

    It was a case that was all about the numbers. In the end, the number with the most meaning to Nilton Rossoni was 68 — the number of months he’ll be spending in federal prison.

    Rossoni conducted more than 5,500 fraudulent auctions on eBay. He pulled off his scheme by using at least 260 bogus accounts, at least 59 mail drops, six names, four bogus passports and three banks.

    Rossoni, 50, formerly of Sunny Isles and Hallandale Beach, Fla., collected $717,000 in the scheme between October 2003 and June 2008. The bizarre fraud was smashed by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service

    Winning bidders were notified via e-mail to send a check or money order payable either to Celso Ferreira, Jorge Carlos, Joao Santos, Lourival Philipps, Prime Hill Inc. or Primo Hill Inc. Buyers were instructed to send payments via U.S. Mail to specific addresses, all of which proved to be mail drops.

    “Elaborate” barely described the scheme.

    “Rossoni rented at least 59 separate private mail boxes at various Commercial Mail Receiving Agencies (CMRA), including The UPS Store, Mail Boxes Etc., and Pak-Mail, using fraudulent Brazilian passports in the names of Celso Ferreira, Jorge Carlos, Joao Santos, or Lourival Philipps as identification,” prosecutors said. “After receiving payment, Rossoni deposited the money into various bank accounts he opened at Bank of America, Citibank, and SunTrust Bank, under these aliases.”

    As part of the scheme, “Rossoni registered and established hundreds of eBay accounts and used various names, e-mail addresses, phone numbers, and mailing addresses on those accounts to post items for auction,” prosecutors said.

    He then purchased inexpensive items from himself and posted positive “feedback” on the transaction, prosecutors said.

    Confident that Rossoni was an honest broker because of his positive feedback, buyers lined up to be fleeced, prosecutors said. Rossoni sold them textbooks, computer flash drives, rotisserie grills, tools, sporting equipment, DVD collections, airline tickets, saddles, saddlebags, designer luggage, appliances, metal detectors and more.

    Rather than shipping items, he kept the money.

  • FBI Makes Ponzi Arrest In California; Peter Jerald Frommer Faces Up To 233 Years Behind Bars If Convicted On All Counts

    UPDATED 5:23 P.M. ET (U.S.A.) A California man has been arrested by the FBI and IRS criminal investigators in an alleged Ponzi scheme involving $12 million.

    Peter Jerald Frommer was taken into custody this morning, after a federal grand jury returned a 17-count indictment yesterday.

    Frommer, 34, formerly of Malibu, was charged with two counts of mail fraud, seven counts of wire fraud, five counts of money laundering and three counts of failing to file federal income-tax returns.

    Prosecutors said he faced a maximum sentence of up to 233 years in prison if convicted on all counts.

    “Frommer operated a bogus investment scheme under the names ‘Cap Exchange’ and ‘Cap X’ that purported to trade in surplus property of defunct companies,” prosecutors said. “[He] told numerous victims throughout the United States that he used commercial auction websites to purchase large lots of equipment for resale at higher prices.”

    Between January 2004 and August 2006, prosecutors said, Frommer allegedly solicited “at least $12 million from victims by promising ‘guaranteed’ returns of 8 percent to 15 percent during cycles as short as six weeks.”

    Investors were told Frommer would use their money “to buy the distressed assets for Cap X, and then would share profits from the subsequent sales,” prosecutors said.

    “In addition to personal promissory notes, Frommer issued account statements that purported to show returns in the Cap X investment,” prosecutors said.

    More than 50 investors were targeted in the scheme, including residents of California, Oregon, Virginia, Illinois and Massachusetts, prosecutors said.

    Frommer did not purchase distressed assets with the victims’ money, prosecutors said.

    “Instead, [he] allegedly misappropriated this money to maintain his lavish personal lifestyle and to make Ponzi payments to victims, while falsifying Cap X account statements to lull victims into believing that their money was safe and earning high returns,” prosecutors said.

    It has been a busy week for Ponzi prosecutors in California.

    Miguel Salazar, 36, of West Covina, pleaded guilty to mail fraud Tuesday. Prosecutors said Salazar ran a Ponzi scheme “that took nearly $700,000 from victims who thought they were investing in latex gloves, which were portrayed as being in high demand following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.”

    Salazar’s former partner, Carlos Flores, 43, of Lakewood, pleaded guilty to mail fraud in December.

    In other Ponzi news, an auction company is preparing to sell six vehicles linked to the alleged Trevor Cook/Pat Kiley Ponzi and financial-fraud scheme in Minnesota.

    Among the items set to go up for bid Feb. 13 is a 1989 Rolls Royce Silver Spur linked to Cook. The Cook/Kiley scheme is alleged to be a fraud of at least $190 million.

    In Utah, meanwhile, prosecutors said that Jeffrey Lane Mowen — accused in both a Ponzi scheme and a murder-for-hire plot in which potential Ponzi witnesses were to be killed — used Morse code as part of the murder plot.

  • First Narc That Car, Now ‘PlatesRUs’: Promoter Says He Recorded 10 License Plate Numbers In Walmart Parking Lot And Earned A ‘Check’

    Part of the 'PlatesRUs' pitch for Narc That Car.

    Using a domain name similar to the famous ToysRUs brand name, a domain that has branded itself PlatesRUs.biz is promoting the Narc That Car multilevel-marketing program by telling prospects that earning $50 is a simple as going down to the local Walmart parking lot and writing down 10 license-plate numbers of WalMart shoppers.

    The PlatesRUs video pitch is similar to a pitch apparently put out by a separate Narc That Car downline group known as Team Trinity International. The Team Trinity promo included the logos of 30 famous companies, identifying their parking lots as places NarcThatCar members should visit to harvest plate numbers and record them in a database through a website NarcThatCar provides for a $100 start-up fee and a monthly fee of $24.95.

    A narrator in the PlatesRUs video for Narc That Car tells a simple story:

    “I went to Walmart,” he said. “It took me every bit of five minutes to write down 10 tag numbers randomly, go in my back office and log it into the national database through the company, and actually earn a check.”

    By paying Narc That Car the $100 fee, promoters become a “registered information consultant,” the PlatesRUs promoter explained in the video, noting he was “very excited” to have become one. The pitchman added that the program was “tremendously exciting” and “growing like wildfire.”

    No mention was made in the video of any privacy or legal concerns. Like the Team Trinity video, the PlatesRUs video did not instruct members on matters such as whether Narc That Car participants would need permission to enter retailers’ private property for the purposes of harvesting license-plate data from the retailers’ patrons.

    Viewers were given no instruction on what to do if a Walmart shopper — or a shopper at any other prominent business — observed his or her plate number being recorded and objected, perhaps demanding the paper on which the number was recorded so it could be shown to the store manager or even the police. The implication in both videos was that recording license-plate numbers raised no privacy issues at all and was a perfectly acceptable practice — even on private property.

    Like the Team Trinity video and a video put out by Narc That Car, the PlatesRUs video referenced the AMBER Alert program. The U.S. Department of Justice said this week that Narc That Car was not affiliated with AMBER Alert, despite promoters’ repeated claims that Narc That Car was tied to the AMBER Alert system.

    Some Narc That Car promoters have said the FBI and companies such as the Ford Motor Co. endorsed the Narc That Car program.

    The PatrickPretty.com Blog contacted Ford and provided a reference to the claim, which purports that Ford and two other prominent car companies “have already given their commitment to NARC. They have signed on as clients and will be there to use the database when it is ready. These companies believe in this idea.”

    Ford did not immediately respond to the inquiry.

    Among the claims online about Narc That Car are that it is helping “The US Dep’t of Homeland Security find terrorists” and that “NARC has integrated with Amber Alert to support and assist them in locating missing and/or abducted children.”

  • Frank Constantino Convicted Of Racketeering-Related Charges In Georgia Securities Fraud Case With Ties To Belize; Victim In $2.7 Million Scheme Was 83-Year-Old Woman

    A Georgia man potentially faces decades in prison after being convicted yesterday of racketeering-related charges.

    Frank Constantino, 65, of Marietta, was a recidivist securities offender previously disciplined in Missouri for a Bahamas-based scheme and also linked to a scheme in Belize, officials said. He now faces up to 95 years in prison after his conviction on charges of fleecing an elderly woman in a $2.7 million scheme.

    Constantino was convicted of violating the Georgia Securities Act, theft and exploitation of an elderly person. Records show he first clashed with Georgia securities regulators in 1997, in a case that featured allegations that he claimed investments in a candy company were guaranteed against loss.

    Prosecutors said Constantino had a history of creating shell companies such as Atrium Secure Annuity, Atrium Global Partners and Atrium Investment Partners to fleece investors.

    Now facing up to 95 years in prison, Constantino already has been in the Cobb County jail for 349 days. He lost a Georgia Supreme Court battle in October in which he sought release pending trial, arguing he was in poor health and not a threat to flee.

    Prosecutors argued he posed a “significant”  flight risk because “he did not own any assets in this country, he owned assets in Belize and Nicaragua, and he traveled to Belize on a regular basis.”

    In rejecting Constantino’s bid to be released pending trial, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed a lower-court ruling that Constantino “posed a significant risk to flee” in part because of an alleged history of funneling “significant amounts of money to investments in Belize.”