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BizAdSplash Tanks, Takes Participants’ Money With It, Members Say; Surf Invokes God, Says ‘Party Is Over’ In Sign-Off Note

The Biz Ad Splash (BAS) autosurf has tanked, taking participants’ money with it, members said tonight. Members reported receiving a platitude-filled email from Clarence Busby announcing the surf’s closure. The email, which included a pep talk and invoked God, did not say if, when or how members would be compensated. “Now what about the future?”…

Jan 26, 2010
POLL: Are The Robbers Smarter Than The Cops? (Sidenote: Are You Ready For A Ponzi Prime-Time Drama On Cable?)

Our new poll asks a simple question: “Is The Average Autosurf/HYIP Promoter Smarter Than The Average FBI Agent, Secret Service Agent, Postal Inspector, IRS Investigator Or SEC/CFTC Investigator?” You may vote only once. There is an option of “Other” in this poll if you don’t want to limit yourself to a “Yes” or “No” answer.…

Jan 26, 2010
THE GREAT PONZI PAPER CHASE: Playing Field Spans Globe, Judge Says; SEC Notes Cook/Kiley Banking Ties In Antigua, Europe, Middle East

The ruling by a federal judge yesterday that put alleged Minnesota Ponzi schemer Trevor Cook behind bars until he surrenders tens of millions of dollars in offshore bank accounts includes some interesting details. For one, Cook, accused by the SEC and the CFTC in a $190 million fraud, had access to a bank account in…

Jan 26, 2010
PONZI UNIVERSE: Just How Weird Will It Get? Spammer With Possible ASD Ties Tries To Post News Release In 10 Separate PP Threads; Elsewhere, A ‘Comic Book’ Ponzi Scheme

On a day a federal judge ordered alleged Minnesota Ponzi schemer Trevor Cook jailed — in part for not turning over a two-passenger submarine allegedly purchased on eBay with Ponzi proceeds — the following things happened: A would-be PP Blog poster attempted to post the same news release about AdSurfDaily mainstay “Professor” Patrick Moriarty in…

Jan 25, 2010
BULLETIN: Trevor Cook Jailed For Contempt In Minnesota Ponzi Scheme Case; Judge Orders Him To Surrender $27 Million, Submarine, Houseboat, More

UPDATED 7:55 P.M. ET (U.S.A.) A federal judge has ordered Trevor Cook jailed for not turning over assets in a Minnesota Ponzi scheme case brought by the SEC. Chief U.S. District Judge Michael J. Davis found Cook in civil contempt of court. U.S. Marshals “escorted Cook from the courtroom to jail,” the SEC said. “Mr.…

Jan 25, 2010
Bowdoin, Prosecutors Clash Anew In August 2008 Forfeiture Case; Dispute May Explain Government’s Announcement Last Week That Separate Case Could Be Delayed For ‘Several Months’

UPDATED 2:03 P.M. ET (U.S.A.) Two attorneys for AdSurfDaily President Andy Bowdoin are asking a federal judge to vacate orders she issued granting a default judgment to the government and granting a final order of forfeiture to tens of millions of dollars and a home seized in the case. Attorneys Charles A. Murray and Michael…

Jan 25, 2010
POLL RESULT: Readers Say Ponzi Schemes Pose National-Security Threat; Did Surf and HYIP Advocates See Poll As PR Threat?

By better than a two-to-one margin, readers of the PatrickPretty.com Blog have concluded that Ponzi schemes pose a threat to national security, according to the results of a poll. The poll, which began on Jan. 13 and concluded this morning, was unscientific. Still, the results suggest readers are concerned that the criminality associated with Ponzi…

Jan 25, 2010
GNI Members: Failed Program Was ‘Honest’ And ‘Real’; Critics Should Shut Up And Focus On Haiti Earthquake

Critics of Gold Nugget Invest (GNI), the collapsed Internet HYIP, do not understand that the program that advertised a return of 7.5 percent a week was “real,” according to a member writing on an online Ponzi board. Bickering about GNI only will lead to additional problems for the company, which is faithfully trying to reorganize,…

Jan 24, 2010
PROSECUTORS: ‘Final Action’ In Second ASD Forfeiture Case Not Expected For ‘Several Months’

UPDATED 11:46 A.M. ET (U.S.A.) Final judicial action in the second forfeiture case filed against assets connected to AdSurfDaily “is not expected for at least several months,” federal prosecutors said. The second action was filed in December 2008. It identified family members of ASD President Andy Bowdoin as beneficiaries of a Ponzi, wire-fraud and money-laundering…

Jan 22, 2010
California Man Guilty In $62 Million Ponzi Scheme; Milton Retana Targeted Latinos, Ordered Evidence To Be Hidden In Back Of Religious Bookstore

In yet another case in which the name of a precious metal or mineral was used in a Ponzi scheme, Milton Retana has been found guilty of six counts of mail fraud and one count of lying to federal investigators. Evidence of the fraud was hidden in the back of a religious bookstore operated by…

Jan 22, 2010
BULLETIN: Alberta Securities Commission Rules Gold Quest International A Ponzi Scheme AND A Pyramid Scheme; Panel Concludes GQI Was A ‘Sham’

UPDATED 7:03 P.M. ET (U.S.A.) The Alberta Securities Commission (ASC) has ruled Gold Quest International (GQI) a Ponzi and a Pyramid scheme. An ASC panel determined that GQI met the conditions for a Ponzi scheme because it had no viable product and paid earlier investors with money from new investors. It also was a pyramid…

Jan 21, 2010