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  • BREAKING NEWS: KINGZ Capital Management Corp. Denies Any Ties To AdViewGlobal Autosurf, Launches Investigation Into AVG Wire Claim; Says Attorneys Are Monitoring Situation

    UPDATED 2:59 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) Claims by the AdViewGlobal (AVG) autosurf that KINGZ Capital Management Corp. is aiding AVG in offshore wire transfers are false, and KINGZ has launched an investigation, the company’s top executive said in an interview this morning.

    “Nothing has ever been accepted from [AVG], nothing has been — and nothing will be,” said Michael P. Krywenky, president and chief executive officer of KINGZ. “We are very shocked, and we’re appalled [by the AVG claims].”

    Krywenky said the company was “astounded” when it received a call from Europe about the AVG claims.

    “KINGZ Capital Management Corporation nor any of its affiliates have any relationship with AdViewGlobal,” Krywenky said. “Also, I have already confirmed with our bank in Barbados that we are NOT accepting any funds from anyone at, or any clients of, AdViewGlobal.”

    Krywenky said KINGZ believed that a scam of some sort was under way. He noted that KINGZ had discussed services with a firm known as Living Legacy One LLC, but said he did not have details about the company at his immediate disposal.

    A corporation by that name was registered in Florida April 18, 2008, and filed an annual report on April 29, 2009. Living Legacy One LLC lists Gerald Castor as its managing member.

    Gerald Castor has been identified in AVG announcements as an employee of AVG’s “Compliance” department.

    No money would make its way to the autosurf firm from KINGZ, Krywenky said.

    “It’s extremely bizarre,” he said. “I am absolutely astounded.”

    On Monday, AVG announced in a forum set up by Mods and members of the embattled AdSurfDaily (ASD) autosurf that AVG had secured a deal for members to wire money offshore to pay for “advertising.”

    KINGZ was mentioned in the AVG announcement as one of the companies that would be involved in the transfers. AVG provided a KINGZ account number in its announcement, along with instructions for members to facilitate wire transfers.

    “We’re in discussion with our lawyers,” Krywenky said.

    AVG’s announcement came on the same day that the Obama administration announced it was cracking down on offshore tax cheats.

    AVG has close ties to ASD. The U.S. Secret Service seized tens of millions of dollars from ASD President Andy Bowdoin in August, amid allegations of wire fraud, money-laundering, engaging in the sale of unregistered securities and operating a Ponzi scheme from Florida.

    AVG purports to be headquartered in Uruguay. Gary Talbert, AVG’s chief executive officer and a former ASD executive, resigned suddenly on March 20.

    In a March 23 announcement signed by “The AVG Management Team,” AVG said its bank account had been “suspended.” It blamed customers, saying they had sent too many wire transactions in excess of $9,500.

    On March 25, an AVG announcement signed by Gerald Castor said AVG’s banking problems were being rectified.

    Problems with an Arizona-based, money-service business known as eWalletPlus followed. Servers for eWalletPlus now resolve to Panama. Like AVG, the company claims now to be headquartered in Uruguay.

    Promoters made AVG’s purported offshore location a big selling point since its inception a few months after the seizure of ASD’s assets.

    AVG, which had been promoting a 200-percent, matching bonus offer — an offer that caused one promoter to exclaim that $5,000 turned into $15,000 “instantly!” — said it was working to rectify its banking problem.

    The solution AVG said it had found — wiring money to an offshore bank — was not going to work, said Krywenky of KINGZ.

    “I think that we may be victims of a scam here,” he said.

    AVG also is known as the AV Global Association.

  • BREAKING NEWS: ASD’s New Attorney Seeks To Withdraw Bowdoin’s Pro Se Motion To Rescind His Decision To Submit To Forfeiture And File Anew: Will Case Slow To A Crawl?

    On Feb. 27, ASD President Andy Bowdoin — acting as his own attorney — filed a motion to rescind a decision he made in January to submit to the forfeiture of tens of millions of dollars and real estate seized by the government in a wire fraud, money-laundering and Ponzi scheme investigation.

    Federal prosecutors, on April 24, filed a memorandum asking U.S. District Judge Judge Rosemary Collyer to deny Bowdoin’s motion to rescind the forfeiture. Prosecutors argued that the law wasn’t on Bowdoin’s side, and advised the court that Bowdoin had acknowledged the government’s material allegations all were true and that Bowdoin had signed a proffer letter.

    Bowdoin, according to prosecutors, had:

    • “confirmed to law enforcement officials that he modeled his enterprise on another’s failed fraud scheme”
    • “acknowledged that there was almost no revenue independent from what he secured from the ‘members’”
    • “confirmed that the revenue figures of the enterprise were managed to make it appear to prospective members that the enterprise called Ad Surf Daily was a consistently profitable, and brilliant, passive income opportunity”

    Charles A. Murray, whom Bowdoin retained as paid counsel in April after Bowdoin earlier had filed one pro se motion after another, now has asked Collyer to let Bowdoin withdraw his self-filed motion to rescind his decision to submit to the forfeiture “without prejudice.”

    Murray advised the court that, as Bowdoin and ASD’s new paid corporate counsel, he intended to “resubmit this Motion to Rescind on or before May 15, 2009″  — only with a lawyer’s touch, not the amateur legal prose of a pro se litigant.

    “Good cause exists for permitting Mr. Bowdoin et al, Claimants’ to withdraw the pro se
    pleading and refile it upon consultation with counsel,” Murray argued.

    “Unrepresented at the time Mr. Bowdoin, et al, Claimants’ filed the original motion, Mr.
    Bowdoin et al, Claimants’ were not aware of the legal standards applicable to the motion and, so, did not present all facts germane to decision.”

    In a March 13 letter to ASD members published at the Pro-ASD Surf’s Up forum, Bowdoin chided prosecutors by saying his pro se filings “should really get their attention.

    “Watch for the filings,” Bowdoin instructed. “I will be speaking out on a conference call as soon as the filings are completed. We will notify you of the call. I look forward to talking to you then.”

    Bowdoin, however, never filed another pro se motion (the last one was filed March 9, four days before Bowdoin had turned to Surf’s Up to reinvigorate support and taunt prosecutors).

    And Bowdoin never conducted the promised conference call.

    Even before news of Bowdoin’s pro se filings broke on March 4, Surf’s Up had been hinting something special might be coming. Bowdoin’s pro se move coincided with an announcement by the AdViewGlobal (AVG) autosurf, which has close ties to ASD, that it was moving underground and forming a private association.

    AVG introduced members to a company known as Pro Advocate Group, which says it can help people practice law without a license. Bowdoin’s three initial pro se filings were signed and dated  by him Feb. 25, one day before AVG introduced Pro Advocate Group.  Bowdoin’s filings did not become a matter of public record until March 4.

    Best-laid plans?

    It is possible that an order from Collyer that Bowdoin didn’t anticipate short-circuited his pro se litigation plan. On March 26, the judge ordered Bowdoin’s previous paid counsel to inform Bowdoin that corporate entities that had filed claims in the ASD case — AdSurfDaily Inc. and Bowdoin/Harris Enterprise Inc. — could not proceed pro se. Collyer also ordered the lawyers to request permission to withdraw from the case if that was their intent.

    Akerman Senterfitt, Bowdoin’s previous paid counsel, complied with the judge’s order and was granted leave to withdraw from the case.

    Probe Still Under Way

    The ASD case continues to be an active investigation. It is possible that investigators viewed Bowdoin’s March 13 Surf’s Up letter and that prosecutors made a veiled reference to it in their April 24 memorandum to Collyer asking her not to permit Bowdoin to change his mind about submitting to the forfeiture.

    “Mr. Bowdoin says that after discussing this case with his supporters, and concluding that
    they were smarter than his attorneys, he has changed his mind,” prosecutors said.

    Are they referring to these words in Bowdoin’s Surf’s Up letter?

    “About a month ago, several members introduced me to a group that studied what my attorneys did,” Bowdoin said in the letter. “The group said that my attorneys had taken the wrong approach. The group was very confident that they could help because the government had broken so many laws and had violated our rights as citizens of the United States.”

    Nowhere in any of Bowdoin’s four self-filed pleadings does he discuss his rationale for becoming a pro se litigant after conferring with supporters. His only public statements on the matter have been made on Surf’s Up.

    A New Clash?

    Murray’s filing on Bowdoin’s behalf potentially sets up a new clash with prosecutors, who now have yet another document to address. At the same time, pro se motions filed by other litigants in the case have appeared on the record in recent days, and may require additional responses from prosecutors.

    If Murray persuades Collyer to grant Murray’s motion to withdraw Bowdoin’s rescission motion and Murray files a new motion to rescind, it would mean that:

    • Bowdoin had submitted to the forfeiture on the advice of previous paid counsel.
    • Changed his mind more than a month later as a pro se litigant and tried to undo his forfeiture decision with a self-filed rescission motion.
    • Changed his mind again about his rescission motion under the advice of new paid counsel.
    • Withdrew his motion to rescind his forfeiture decision, only to have it reinstated on his behalf by a professional attorney.

    On Jan. 13, Bowdoin asked the court to permit him to submit to the forfeiture. Collyer granted Bowdoin’s request Jan. 22, a hurdle that began to open a door for prosecutors to begin the slow process of liquidating ASD assets to provide refunds to customers.

    Now, approaching four months later — and with pro se pleadings dominating the docket — prosecutors have not been able even to begin the liquidation process or implement a refund program.

  • PRICELESS: AdViewGlobal Announces Wire Deal With Offshore Bank On Day White House And Treasury Department Announce Plan To Crackdown On Offshore Tax Havens

    obamaUPDATED 12:43 P.M. EDT (May 7, U.S.A.) As often is the case in the tin-eared autosurf world, the timing was impeccable: On the day the Obama administration announced a crackdown on U.S. corporations and citizens who use offshore tax havens to hide income, autosurf company AdViewGlobal (AVG) announced it had a deal with an offshore bank to accept member deposits for the purchase of “advertising.”

    U.S. regulators say autosurf companies sell securities but call themselves “advertising” companies to avoid scrutiny by agencies such as the SEC. In recent months, autosurfs have been highlighting purported “offshore” locations, and some promoters say the surfs can hide members’ income from the IRS and “shelter” them from the SEC, the FTC and state attorneys general.

    “I’m asking Congress to pass some commonsense measures,” Obama said at 11:37 a.m. (EDT) yesterday.  “One of these measures would let the IRS know how much income Americans are generating in overseas accounts by requiring overseas banks to provide 1099s for their American clients, just like Americans have to do for their bank accounts here in this country. If financial institutions won’t cooperate with us, we will assume that they are sheltering money in tax havens, and act accordingly.”

    At 5:54 p.m. yesterday, a member of an AVG forum operated by some of the Mods and members of the Pro-AdSurfDaily Surf’s Up forum announced that AVG members now could wire money from the United States to The Bank of N. T. Butterfield and Son Ltd.

    Butterfield has locations in Bermuda, the Bahamas, Barbados and the Cayman Islands, among other places.

    Obama specifically referenced the Cayman Islands in his remarks announcing the crackdown.

    “On the campaign, I used to talk about the outrage of a building in the Cayman Islands that had over 12,000 businesses — businesses claim this building as their headquarters,” Obama said.  “And I’ve said before, either this is the largest building in the world or the largest tax scam in the world.”

    Under a headline titled “BREAKING NEWS Fund your Advertising,” AVG members were told this (italics added):

    “AV GLOBAL ASSOCIATION is pleased to announce

    “Beginning Tuesday May 5, you will be able to purchase more advertising.

    “There will be a form that you can access to arrange for your purchase.

    “Specific information will be required in order to process your payment.

    “You will need to provide your Name; A Number; email address used for your AVGA Account; phone number; and address.

    “Wire transfers: These instruments usually clear within two business days. Although there are fees charged by your bank and our bank also assesses fees (usually our bank will charge $15) your account is credited immediately upon receipt and your advertising program begins immediately. Your purchase will be adjusted by the fees.

    Review:

    All funds must be accompanied by the correct identifying information:

    * Name

    * AVGA id number

    * email address

    *mailing address

    *and phone number

    Without this information your money will be returned to you through the originating bank.

    Remember: The form will appear on the Website by Tuesday before midnight. If there is a change, you will be notified.

    Please print the form and complete it so that your bank [h]as all of the pertinent information.

    Transfer information:

    The Bank of N. T. Butterfield and Son, LTD.

    Via

    J. P. Morgan Chase Bank

    Bldg. F. Floor 8

    4 Chase Metrotech Center

    New York, NY,

    USA, 11245

    Swift # [Deleted by this Blog]

    Account # [Deleted by this Blog]

    Beneficiary: KINGZ Capital Management Corporation

    Account # [Deleted by this Blog]

    Reference: YOUR NAME & YOUR I.D.# & YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS

    UPDATE:  KINGZ Capital Management Corp. has issued a strong denial of AVG’s claims. Michael P. Krywenky, president and chief executive officer of KINGZ, said on May 7 that the firm had no business tie to AVG and had launched an investigation into the claims.

    “KINGZ Capital Management Corporation nor any of its affiliates have any relationship with AdViewGlobal,” Krywenky said. “Also, I have already confirmed with our bank in Barbados that we are NOT accepting any funds from anyone at, or any clients of, AdViewGlobal.”

    See this post.

    AVG has close ties to AdSurfDaily (ASD), whose assets were seized in August after a joint investigation by the U.S. Secret Service and the IRS was opened in July. Federal prosecutors said ASD was engaging in wire fraud and  money-laundering while selling unregistered securities and operating a Ponzi scheme from Florida.

    Prosecutors alleged that ASD President Andy Bowdoin, who was arrested on felony securities charges in Alabama in the 1990s and pleaded guilty, claimed falsely that he had received a special award last year for business acumen from President Bush.

    Now AVG appears to be courting trouble from the new occupant of the White House — after the Secret Service specifically refuted Bowdoin’s Bush claims.

    George Harris, an AVG trustee, is the stepson of ASD’s Bowdoin. A Tallahassee home and a car owned by Harris and his wife were seized in December, after prosecutors filed a second forfeiture complaint against assets tied to ASD. The complaint alleged massive internal fraud at ASD, citing a litany of personal purchases made with corporate funds and a claim that $1 million had been stolen from the firm by “Russian” hackers.

    No police report was filed.

    AVG purports to be headquartered in Uruguay. Its servers resolve to Panama. Gary Talbert, AVG’s chief executive officer and a former ASD executive, resigned suddenly on March 20

    On March 23, AVG announced that its bank account had been suspended, blaming the suspension on members who sent too many wire transactions in excess of $9,500. No AVG executive or employee signed the suspension announcement. It was signed “The AVG Management Team.”

    Problems with an Arizona-based, money-service business known as eWalletPlus followed. Servers for eWalletPlus now resolve to Panama, and the company claims now to be headquartered in Uruguay.

    AVG, which had been promoting a 200-percent, matching bonus offer — an offer that caused one promoter to exclaim that $5,000 turned into $15,000 “instantly!” — said it was working to rectify its banking problem.

    Its solution was announced yesterday: Wiring money to an offshore bank.

    Promoters made AVG’s purported offshore location a big selling point since its inception a few months after the seizure of ASD’s assets.

  • Purported Transcript: Bowdoin Pushed ASD ‘Stock’ In 2007; Other Records Show Bowdoin Gave Campaign Donations In Names Of Two Firms

    UPDATED 2:26 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) A purported transcript of remarks in March 2007 by AdSurfDaily President Andy Bowdoin paints a picture of a startup company with serious problems Bowdoin tried to solve by offering “stock” in the firm.

    The “minimum purchase” of the stock was set at “$10,000,” and the the money would be used to help the company get back on its feet, according to the transcript, which was dated March 12, 2007, and posted in the asamonitor forum.

    ASD had been operating only a few months at the time of Bowdoin’s remarks and already was in over its head, according to the purported transcript and other records.

    AdSurfDaily also would undergo a name change to “AdSalesDaily,” according to the transcript.

    Just two weeks earlier — on Feb. 27, 2007 — the Federal Election Commission recorded a $250 donation from “Mr. T. Bowdoin” in the name of “AdSalesDaily Inc.” The FEC recorded another $250 donation from “Mr. T. Bowdoin” in the name of “AdSalesDaily Inc.” on March 27, 2007, two weeks after the purported stock offering.

    Screen shot of Federal Election Commission record showing 'Mr. T Bowdoin' was the 'owner' of 'Adsalessaily, Inc' and made a political donation under that name in 2007.
    Screen shot of Federal Election Commission record showing 'Mr. T. Bowdoin' was the 'owner' of 'Adsalesdaily, Inc' and made a political donation under that name in 2007.

    Both donations were targeted to the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) and used an address — 13 S. Calhoun Street, Quincy, FL 32351 — federal prosecutors later said was bogus.

    Although the donations listed Bowdoin as the “owner” of AdSalesDaily Inc., the corporation appears not to have been registered in Florida. Records in Georgia list “Ad Sales Daily, Inc.” as a corporation that initially was registered in Georgia May 8, 2007, more than two months after Bowdoin identified himself as the owner in federal campaign records.

    The Georgia entity does not list Bowdoin as an owner, officer or filer for the corporation — or as a person involved in any capacity. Rather, “Ad Sales Daily, Inc.” is listed as a Delaware foreign corporation, with J. Heardy Myers listed as the corporate filer and Myers (of Marietta, Ga.) and Otis Whitcomb (also of Marietta) listed as officers.

    AdSalesDaily Inc. was incorporated in Delaware on March 22, 2007, according to filings.

    In posts from March 2, 2007 at a forum known as stacontact.myfastforum.org, Myers is referred to as “Executive Vice President” and “Chief Information Technology Officer” of Ad Sales Daily Inc., with Bowdoin listed as “president.”  A “write-up” that resembled a news release on Bowdoin and Myers was published in the forum.

    Within the same thread later in the month, however, a poster said Myers had resigned as executive vice president to “focus on getting the other website completed. He will continue to be a member of the President’s Circle.”

    A person who identified himself as a member of an ASD downline group known as “oneteam” started the forum thread. “oneteam” used free hosting at homestead.com to promote ASD. At one time, “oneteam” displayed an ad that said ASD deposits were insured by the FDIC and that ASD provided “shelter” from the SEC and the FTC.

    On March 22, 2007, a forum poster quoted Bowdoin as saying, “We should have all the stock money coming in this week.”

    On July 17, 2008, a Blog known as “Otitis’s Weblog” (sic) included a denial that Ad Sales Daily Inc. had been affiliated with Bowdoin, saying “Any Bowdin (sic) has made false public statements in late 2006 to beginning 2007, that he had a company named Ad Sales Daily. Andy Bowdin (sic) has never done business as Ad Sales Daily, or incorporated this name or filed for a business license in Florida where he resides.”

    The denial on “Otitis’s Weblog” appears to be the only post on the Blog.

    Why Bowdoin would claim to own a company he did not own — and make two campaign donations recorded by the FEC in the name of AdSalesDaily Inc. — is unclear.  The federal filings recorded in February and March 2007 specifically list Bowdoin as the “owner” of AdSalesDaily Inc. (See the screen shot above of the February 2007 FEC record.)

    Bowdoin, according to the transcript at asamonitor, had been in Atlanta in March 2007 to get “input” from “leaders” on the company’s problems. It is unclear if Bowdoin actually sold any stock in ASD. There does not appear to have been any public filings concerning an offering, although an offering could have been conducted privately.

    “Hi Folks,” the transcript began. “My name is Andy Bowdoin, President of AdSurfDaily. We are not having an opportunity call tonight, but it will be an update call instead.

    “I am in Atlanta Georgia tonight and I have been up here this afternoon meeting with some of our leaders getting some input on some of the issues we have,” Bowdoin continued, according to the transcript.

    The transcript did not identify the leaders.

    “We have known that we should have shut down the site for a long time, because of the issues we continually have with the site, but we have been putting band aids on it to keep it going until the new site was ready,” Bowdoin said, according to the transcript. “We have been using a lot of our programmers time to repair it and keep it going. That is expensive and wasting money and prolonging the development of our new site. But now the existing AdSurfDaily site is beyond repair.”

    Script problems “drained” money from ASD, according to the transcript.

    “[T]he mathematical formula that governs the payouts are wrong,” Bowdoin was quoted as saying in the transcript. “The site has been paying out 63%, 67% and 72% instead of the normal 60%. This has drained the money we had for pay outs. Therefore all pay outs are on hold at this time.”

    Bowdoin did not say if people who benefited from extra payout amounts were asked to return the money, according to the transcript. Instead, ASD stopped payouts altogether.

    “We have frozen all accounts,” Bowdoin said, according to the transcript. “We have disabled the ability to make upgrades and purchase new ads. You can still view ads and earn credits to show your site. You can still look at you history and referral page. You can print out your information in your History page and Referral page. We will use this information to make everyone whole when we launch the new site. Our goal is to launch the new site during the month of May and make everyone profitable.”

    Bowdoin next pitched a stock offering, according to the transcript (emphasis added).

    “We will be selling stock in the new corporation AdSalesDaily to finish paying for the development of the new site and make the current payouts. The minimum purchase for the stock is $10,000. We are looking for people who share our vision, and are willing to invest toward the continued development and completion of the new AdSalesDaily website. If you are interested in purchasing some of the stock or if you know someone that might be interested in listening to the stock presentation, call the home office at 850-627-2206.”

    The transcript and political donations in the name of AdSalesDaily may mean that ASD operated under three different names — not just two — between October 2006 and August 2008, the month certain assets tied to the firm were seized by the U.S. Secret Service. The assets were seized when ASD was operating as ASD Cash Generator.

    A second forfeiture complaint filed in December 2008 against assets tied to ASD cites at least one unidentified “silent partner.”  The December complaint references a purported theft of $1 million from ASD at the hands of “Russian” hackers, alleging that no police report ever was filed despite the loss of a magnificent sum.

    The complaint describes the transition from the name AdSurfDaily to ASD Cash Generator. It does not reference “AdSalesDaily,” but federal records show that Bowdoin gave two campaign donations in that name.

    “Mr.  Bowdoin told some individuals that he had to stop operating the program over the Internet as AdSurfDaily after one or more Russians hacked into his program and caused the ASD operation to issue approximately $1 million to one or more Russians,” prosecutors said.

    Bowdoin explained the money was taken “before [he] discovered that the Russians had not paid any money to ASD to secure for themselves a portion of its revenue stream (as so-called ‘rebates’),” prosecutors said.

    The December complaint also alleges that Bowdoin blamed the company’s problems on “cash reserves that had been drained because surfing commissions were overpaid” — a possible reference to Bowdoin’s remarks in the March 2007 transcript about script problems.

    But Bowdoin and ASD insiders, according to the December complaint, arranged for ASD money to be stolen.

    “Mr. Bowdoin and associates issued ad packages to friends and family (who paid nothing for the ad packages) as free investment, and compensation programs,” prosecutors said. “Mr. Bowdoin also gave free ad packages to a son and former daughter-in-law, by which they pulled funds out of ASD without paying any money to ASD. In his son’s case, he arranged for another employee to ‘surf’ the program in order to qualify for a share of the daily rebates.”

    Select individuals “were able to pull out considerable funds from the so-called rebate program even though in many cases they put little, if any, of their own money into the scheme,” prosecutors said.

    “For example, a former employee took over $30,000 out of ASD after putting in nothing. Another former employee pulled out over $300,000 after putting in about $10,000,” prosecutors said. “One ASD promoter pulled out almost $100,000 after putting in less than $1,000.”

    FEC records show that Bowdoin — under the name of “Mr. T. Andy Bowdoin, Jr” and “AdSurfDaily Inc. and AdSurfsDaily Inc. (the second “s” is an apparent typo) ” — gave $5,000 to the National Republican Congressional Committee in 2008. Two donations of $2,500 were recorded — one on June 6, 2008, and another on July 7, 2008.

    Bowdoin’s NRCC donations resulted in the issuance of a “Medal of Distinction,” which Bowdoin and ASD promoters positioned as an important award for business accomplishments from the White House. The “medal,” however, is issued for campaign donations and signfies only one’s ability to write a check for what amounts to the purchase of banquet tickets.

    Even as the FEC was recording the donation on July 7, undercover agents from an IRS/Secret Service task force based in Florida were beginning to scrutinize ASD.

    Prosecutors said last month that Bowdoin had signed a proffer letter and acknowledged to law enforcement that the material allegations in the government’s August complaint all were true. The government did not reveal the entire contents of the proffer letter or the date it was signed.

    Given the allegations in the December forfeiture complaint and direct quotations attributed to Bowdoin, it is possible that the December complaint itself is based at least in part on Bowdoin’s proffer.

    Read the purported transcript of Bowdoin’s 2007 remarks, as published in the asamonitor forum.

    View the PDF of the Georgia filing for Ad Sales Daily Inc.

    Read forum posts from March 2007 on Ad Sales Daily Inc from stacontact.myfastforum.org.

  • AdSurfDaily: Revisiting Our Early Coverage

    andybowdoinbw.gifIt is the story that won’t go away, driven as much by the personalities and people who support AdSurfDaily as it is by the legal issues that put the company in the national spotlight.

    On Aug. 1, 2008, an ambiguous note appeared on ASD’s website. The note suggested a government investigation was under way. In the weeks and months that followed, the story grew increasingly bizarre. ASD President Andy Bowdoin likened the seizure of funds tied to his company to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, saying the government’s actions were the work of “Satan.”

    Curtis Richmond, an ASD member, pro se litigant  and member of a sham Utah “Indian” tribe that once held an organizational meeting in an Arby’s restaurant and listed a meeting room attached to a doughnut shop as the address of its purported “Supreme Court,” eventually entered the fray.

    There were signs at the very beginning that the ASD case would not be ordinary. Here are some snippets from our earliest reports:

    ASD Cash Generator Under Scrutiny By U.S. Attorney

    Aug. 2, 2008

    So far the ASDCashGenerator website hasn’t gone dark, but the lights definitely are flickering . . .

    At the moment the page loads with this message:

    “Friday, August 1st 2008 afternoon update:

    “Upon direction from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Columbia, ASD will not be able to move funds into company accounts, or out of them. We will work to resolve this problem, and return to normal operation, as soon as we are permitted to do so.

    “ASD Management.”

    . . . As always is the case, sustainability is the issue. Can a company that promises a return for viewing advertisements generate enough revenue to sustain payouts? Will it have to dip into revenues from new members to pay older members, thus setting up the classic Ponzi situation?

    Assertions appear online that Andy Bowdoin was accorded a presidential honor known as “The Medal Of Distinction” and has been feted by President Bush and Vice President Cheney.

    Read an interesting Blog post by Matt Hurley on the “Medal of Distinction” at thenextright.com. Matt Hurley’s post isn’t about Andrew Bowdoin, but it’s still worth reading.

    Bowdoin And ASD Cash Generator Investigation Still Not Clarified; Information Sketchy Across Web As ASD Members Show Signs Of Viral Nervousness

    Aug 3, 2008

    ASD Cash Generator (ASD) still had an ambiguous note on its website as of late morning (EDT) in the United States, Sunday, Aug. 3, 2008. Andy Bowdoin’s ASD support page and page outlining ASD as a legal business still were redirecting to a message suggesting that the U.S. Attorney in Washington, D.C., now was involved in ASD’s business affairs.

    Today marks the third day a message that suggests an ASD investigation is under way has appeared at the Andy Bowdoin site.

    Elsewhere across the web discussion about ASD Cash Generator was taking place in forum after forum, and on Blog after Blog. ASD members continue to cling to hope that the U.S. Attorney is going to give ASD Cash Generator a clean bill of health, something members appear to view as a potential new endorsement.

    In essence, some ASD members are arguing that a government investigation of ASD is a good thing. Should ASD pass muster with agents from the U.S. Attorney’s office in the District of Columbia, so the thinking goes, it can only mean good things for the company.

    It’s unsettling to read these sorts of posts. One person even posted a link to an audio, claiming it was proof that all is well at ASD and that the alleged U.S. Attorney investigation is just a bump in the road. The poster talked about how negativity about any company could be found online — true enough.

    The ASD audio is not proof of anything. It’s a third-party report that consists of vagaries. A speaker in the audio even made the claim that “one of the negatives of the Internet is just freedom of speech, and people can go on there and say what they want.”

    Freedom of speech a negative? Hardly. The speaker at once was condemning freedom of speech and then taking advantage of his right to speak freely. It’s just another in a long line of tortured defenses of ASD Cash Generator. Some ASD members appear to want to sue anybody who dares offer an opinion contrary to their own, yet another reason why it’s a good thing that ASD is under scrutiny.

    Responsible commentary on ASD is exactly what the public needs to make informed decisions. There are reports online that ASD is taking in millions of dollars and that people are writing cashier’s checks for thousands and thousands of dollars and directing money toward the program. The public has a vested interest in the outcome.

    Investigation Mystery At ASD Cash Generator Remains

    Aug 4, 2008

    Today marks the fourth day a message that suggests federal investigators are looking into the business practices of ASD Cash Generator is posted on the ASD website.

    Meanwhile, ASD members continue to wait for information to flow into the ASD information vacuum. The message on the ASD site is ambiguous, meaning it can be interpreted in multiple ways . . .

    Web commentary on ASD Cash Generator continues to be active. Some of the commentary is rational and cautionary in nature. Some of it, however, is irrational. Politics and religion have entered the discussion in some places. This creates the impression that some ASD members are blind followers. It’s a nasty business problem to have because it undermines credibility.

    One ASD member thought it prudent to post an ASD Affiliate link in a third-party news story about ASD. The member also posted a link to another autosurfing opportunity in the same news story. It’s being sold as ambassadorship of the opportunities, as though all news accounts and opinion pieces on ASD that are contrary to ASD sales materials are inherently fatally flawed.

    Yesterday I noted that some ASD members were condemning free speech and freedom of the press, while reserving for themselves the same rights they’d deny others. If a writer suggests that people should be very cautious when considering ASD Cash Generator, some ASD members are quick to jump in with threats of ASD lawsuits and threats of litigation.

    One ASD member told me yesterday that I should be writing about Social Security. The thinking was that Social Security is a Ponzi scheme and that anybody who writes about ASD is giving the government a pass at the expense of continued negative publicity for ASD . . .

    David Arnett has taken some more heat for his Tulsa Today reporting on ASD.

    It’s impossible to imagine that some people actually believe the best way to make their “value case” for ASD is to pick fights with people who buy ink by the barrel. There are threats of multimillion dollar lawsuits and rumors of multimillion dollar lawsuits. Meanwhile, the ASD Cash Generator website continues to beam the ambiguous message suggesting a federal investigation is under way.

    Hey, companies are entitled to have cheerleaders. When the cheerleading takes on a cult-like appearance, however, the public should ask some very tough questions.

    Right now some ASD devotees are making the Andy Bowdoin company look very bad indeed.

    Autosurfing Programs: Why The Feds And Investigators Have An Interest, And Why The Public Does, Too

    Aug. 4, 2008

    People seem very willing to throw money at autosurfs. The appeal is a high return on investment with minimal responsibility and virtually no work. Buy advertising credits, view ads by others, and get paid.

    Life is not that simple. Business is not that simple. It’s easy for well-intentioned people to believe that it is — at least at first. The lure of easy money is as old as commerce itself.

    Spend a few minutes peeling back layers of the autosurf onion if you’re contemplating joining one. Federal investigators, regulatory agencies and state attorneys general have an interest in monitoring the autosurf business. So does the public at large.

    People have “invested” millions of dollars in autosurf companies. Some of them have taken on a cult-like following. People are fascinated by the idea of “earning” money by viewing ads. Some people “invest” their life savings in autosurfs . . .

    At what price to individuals, families and society as a whole?

    The mere fact the technology to create an autosurf advertising program is readily available should be of great concern to law-enforcement agencies and regulatory authorities such as the SEC and FTC.

    Some people view autosurfs as a license to print money. News about a new autosurf program can help the program go viral. It’s easy to imagine teams of MLMers, for example, spreading the word about new autosurf programs to downline members. And it’s easy to imagine those downline members spreading the autosurf news to even more people.

    It is possible for millions of dollars to pour into an autosurf site. The SEC cautions against autosurfs. Accounts aren’t insured or protected. Beyond that, however, there are very good reasons for the government to investigate and monitor autosurfing. What if the autosurf “opportunity” is offshore and exists as a means of escaping taxation? Want to be part of that?

    And there is a “worst-case scenario,” too. Criminals and terrorists do exist in this world. They pay close attention to the U.S. culture and have access to technology that can be used in ruinous ways.

    Think it hasn’t occurred to people who are criminally or terroristically inclined that they could use autosurfs to fund enterprises that would bring harm to a great number of people? . . .

    But this theory doesn’t address the core problem with autosurfing: the classic Ponzi set-up. New money is being used to pay old members, a shell game. People are very susceptible to the argument that autosurfing is nothing more than a new advertising model and is in no way connected to the sale of securities.

    Prodigious, unfettered income streams are needed to make an autosurf “work” mathematically, if a percentage of revenue is returned to members in the form of a “rebate.” Some autosurfs advertise returns that are unsustainable on the face of the promise. Secondary revenue streams can’t be mythological or exist only in theory.

    Phrases such as “We’re working to create revenue streams,” for example, is one of the possible signposts for failure.

    Plenty of laws of math — as well of laws of the land — apply to insurance companies and investment companies. They have to demonstrate through public filings that they are able to absorb losses and continue as ongoing concerns.

    Many autosurf opportunities are do different than an insurance company that would advertise hurricane protection and not have the means actually to protect customers in the event a hurricane actually flattened their homes.

    There are good reasons for the government to scrutinize autosurfs and monitor them with the same sort of zealousness directed at insurance and securities firms. The public interest is huge.

    ASD Cash, Golden Panda Investigations Enter 5th Day

    Aug. 5, 2008

    . . . All is not well in the autosurf business. Some members of ASD even are trying to quash forum and Blog discussions by threatening lawsuits. They’re making themselves look silly, like members of a cult. It’s understandable that some people are trying to find a silver lining in all of this, but many of the ruminations are just clutching at straws.

    No U.S. Attorney or member of an investigative agency is going to appear at a lectern and give any autosurf program that pays a rebate or dividend a clean bill of health. To do so would be to endorse a business model that has the capacity to do great harm.

    Even if a program owner’s motives are entirely pure, it is inconceivable that the government is going to endorse the paid-to-surf model — tacitly or explicitly. Advertising is a cost center, not a profit center. The argument that autosurfs are the equivalent of Google Adwords or newspaper classified ads is a loser. One of the problems with autosurfs is that the “opportunity” is more valuable than the advertising itself.

    Here you have a captive audience, one that wasn’t lured by the chance to see exciting new products scroll across the page, but by the opportunity to become part of the members’ pool and earn payouts over and above the actual cost of advertising.

    Golden Panda Ad Builder yesterday was urging members to send in reports that they actually bought some products as a result of viewing the ads. This, presumably, will become fodder to show to investigators to demonstrate once and for all that the products themselves are the attraction and not the rebate opportunity.

    It is an argument that seems destined to fall on deaf ears — in other words, clutching at straws.

    Florida TV Station Reports Agents Executing Search Warrant At ASD Cash Generator In Quincy; Details Unclear

    Aug. 5, 2008

    WCTV is reporting that agents are executing a search warrant at ASD Cash Generator headquarters in Quincy, Florida.

    Details are sketchy. WCTV serves Tallahassee, Thomasville and Valdosta., and is a CBS affiliate.

    http://www.wctv.tv/news/headlines/26280459.html

  • Against Lawyer’s Advice, Man Takes Witness Stand . . .

    A Pittsburgh man ignored his lawyer’s advice, took the witness stand — and sealed his conviction on a first-degree murder charge, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

    This story is worth a read. The newspaper reports that Timothy Lee Williams engaged in bizarre braggadocio on the witness stand, “swiftly torpedoed” his lawyer’s defense strategy and then blamed the lawyer.

    The prosecutor “could barely contain his glee” after listening to Williams testify on his own behalf, the newspaper reports.

    Read the Pittsburgh-Post Gazette account of a man who ignored his lawyer’s advice and took his defense into his own hands.

  • Plaintiffs, Bank of America Ask Judge For More Time; Golden Panda’s Clarence Busby Updates Motion To Dismiss

    UPDATED 5:28 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) Attorneys for three plaintiffs who accused ASD President Andy Bowdoin, ASD attorney Robert Garner and Golden Panda Ad Builder President Clarence Busby of racketeering have asked a federal judge for more time to prepare.

    The plaintiffs were joined in the motion by Bank of America, a non-RICO defendant in the case.

    If the motion is granted, it would extend the time for responses between the plaintiffs and Bank of America until July 30 — two days short of the one-year anniversary federal prosecutors informed ASD that assets tied to ASD and Golden Panda were being seized.

    The forfeiture case was brought by the government in August. The RICO case was brought in civil court Jan. 15 as a separate case by three members of ASD. Bowdoin, Garner and Busby are accused of racketeering in the RICO case. Bank of America is accused of aiding and abetting a fraudulent scheme.

    Citing court records in their joint motion, the plaintiffs and Bank of America said the bank moved to dismiss the plaintiffs’ initial complaint on March 20. But the plaintiffs filed an amended complaint April 27, “thereby mooting Bank of America’s motion to dismiss the initial complaint.”

    Under a new proposed timeline, Bank of America would have until June 10 to move to dismiss or otherwise respond to the plaintiffs’ amended complaint. The plaintiffs, meanwhile, would have until July 10 to file an opposition to a motion to dismiss,  and Bank of America would have until July 30 to file a reply in support of a motion to dismiss.

    ASD President Andy Bowdoin is the only named defendant not to have responded to the lawsuit.

    UPDATE 3:04 P.M. Attorneys for Golden Panda Ad Builder President Clarence Busby have filed a supplement to their motion to dismiss the case against Busby. The supplement advised the court that the motion to dismiss applies to both the Jan. 15 initial complaint and the April 27 amended complaint filed by the plaintiffs.

    “The amended complaint contains no substantive change in the substance of claims against Rev. Busby as would warrant either the withdrawal of Rev. Busby’s motion to dismiss or amendment thereto,” Busby’s lawyers said.

    “Counsel to Rev. Busby received the amended complaint on April 29, 2009, one day after submitting Rev. Busby’s motion to dismiss the original complaint,” the lawyers said. “The amended complaint contains substantively the same content as the original complaint as that content pertains to Rev. Busby; the amended complaint’s substantive modifications pertain to Defendant Bank of America, N.A.

    “In their amended complaint, Plaintiffs have pled facts with greater specificity concerning Defendant Bank of America’s relationship and involvement with Defendant AdSurfDaily,” the lawyers said. “The factual allegations against Rev. Busby, however, are unaltered from Plaintiffs’ original complaint.

    “Under the original and amended complaints, the Plaintiffs’ claims against Rev. Busby are barred by the doctrine of res judicata; the plaintiffs lack standing to sue Rev. Busby; the plaintiffs have failed to plead facts sufficient to state a prima facie case that Rev. Busby owed a fiduciary duty; and the plaintiffs have failed to plead facts sufficient to state a prima facie case that Rev. Busby has violated the civil RICO statute. ”

    “Accordingly,” Busby’s lawyers said, “under both complaints, the plaintiffs have failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted and the amended, as the original, complaint should be dismissed.”

    See our original post on Busby’s motion to dismiss.

    See our post on the amended complaint.

    UPDATE 5:28 P.M. Judge Rosemary Collyer has granted the joint motion by the plaintiffs and Bank of America for more time.

    MINUTE ORDER granting . . .  Bank of America’s unopposed Motion for Extension of Time. Bank of America shall answer or otherwise respond to the Amended Complaint . . . no later than June 10, 2009. If Bank of America files a motion to dismiss or for summary judgment, Plaintiffs shall respond no later than July 10, 2009; and Bank of America shall reply no later than July 30, 2009. Signed by Judge Rosemary M. Collyer on 5/1/09.

  • DISCUSSION: SEC: HYIP Defendant ‘Absconded’

    Editor’s Note: This thread is designed to promote discussion on the practical value of the “rebates aren’t guaranteed” argument as applied by AdSurfDaily and other autosurfs. Does the argument hold any water? And could it be applied — and have a prayer of succeeding — in other situations in which federal agencies brought allegations of fraud? Lower in this post you’ll read about a case in which the SEC said an HYIP purveyor “absconded” with investors’ funds. It’s not an autosurf case, but some surf owners do abscond with funds. Could a “rebates aren’t guaranteed” or “returns aren’t guaranteed” defense insulate autosurf and HYIP purveyors from prosecution?

    Lots of AdSurfDaily members have defended Andy Bowdoin and the company’s business practices by saying “rebates aren’t guaranteed.” Prosecutors see the argument as wordplay to disguise the Ponzi nature of surfs and to insulate surf companies from prosecution for fraud, among other crimes.

    “Rebates aren’t guaranteed” is the highly presumptive ace-in-the-hole  surf companies use to wipe away liabilities with a single keystroke. Money is collected with a promise or suggestion of a return. The surfs typically become insolvent virtually instantly because incoming money from members typically is their only significant revenue stream. There is no real way to offset liabilities created by the promise or suggestion of a return, so they use wordplay — “rebates aren’t guaranteed” — to ignore the liabilities side of the ledger.

    None of the autosurfs the government has taken action against has been able to demonstrate solvency, including ASD — and yet ASD, in classic Ponzi style, was making payouts up to the very end. It did so by taking money from new members to pay off older ones. That’s dangerous enough, but there is an even greater danger.

    The greatest danger of “rebates aren’t guaranteed” as practiced by ASD and others is that it creates a license to steal from top to bottom within an autosurf enterprise. If surf operators got their way, a prosecution would be an impossibility. No victims would exist because of wordplay — and no one ever could hope even for a partial refund because of contractual disclaimers.

    Bowdoin — or any surf operator, insider or promoter who used the same language to present an offer — could simply drift off into the sunset with the cash, leaving victims with no remedy. People could set up surfs with the express purpose of collecting cash and disappearing with the money by citing “rebates aren’t guaranteed.”

    Below you’ll read about an April 22 case from the world of high-yield investment programs (HYIPs) that features allegations of an enormous theft from investors. Read the summary and ask yourself if a preemptive disclaimer aimed at shielding the company from prosecution on fraud or theft charges ever would be taken seriously by a judge.

    If you arrive at the conclusion that such a defense would fail, ask yourself why so many autosurf enthusiasts — Bowdoin supporters included — seem to think that such a defense is a magic bullet. HYIPs, online or offline, are close cousins to autosurf investment schemes because of the promise or suggestion of enormous returns.

    Summary

    The Securities and Exchange Commission has accused David Praise, Noel Kamanga Mwangi, Martin A. Burke, and William F. Dippolito of conducting two fraudulent high-yield securities offerings between August 2007 and August 2008.

    Prosecutors said the defendants raised $14.7 million in the twin schemes, taking advantage of investors in the United States and Canada.

    In the first offering, “Praise represented that investors could make $15 million for every $1 million invested through a so-called ‘buy-sell’ trading program involving foreign bank instruments,” the SEC said.

    “But no ‘buy-sell’ transactions ever occurred,” the SEC said. Instead, “Praise and others absconded with the funds.” (Emphasis added.)

    The initial scheme fetched $12.2 million. It worked so well, that Praise and one of his co-defendants did it again, the SEC said.

    “In the second offering, the Commission alleges that defendants Burke and Praise told an investor that a company Burke controlled had arranged to purchase a 500 million euro ‘medium-term note,’ which they would use to support a trading program,” the SEC said.

    “Burke and Praise told the investor he would receive $10 million in 30 days, plus trading profits over the next year,” the SEC said. “At their direction, the investor deposited $2.5 million into an account controlled by defendant William F. Dippolito, a Tacoma, Washington attorney who the Commission charged with fraud in a similar fraudulent scheme in 2007.

    “The funds were never used as Burke and Praise claimed,” the SEC said. “Rather, Dippolito, at defendant Mwangi’s direction, sent the funds to Mwangi, entities Praise controlled, and others.”

    Praise, Mwangi and Burke were charged with securities fraud. Dippolito was charged with aiding and abetting Praise, Mwangi and Burke’s violations.

    And the SEC also is trying to force the return of money paid out in the scheme, saying it amounted to ill-gotten gains.

    Named relief defendants “because they received investor funds for no consideration” were Marinco Inc., China Infrastructure Capital Management Inc., Werner Buettiker, Gabrial Pennicott, Cynthia Pennicott, Salomon Bassim, William Lenz, Lenzburg Capital Corp., Integrated Technologies Group Inc., Investor Select, A.G., Robert Justino, Kismet Cyriacks, Zara Akbar, Dr. Brian P. Killian and William R. Chapman.

    “As to these relief defendants, the Commission requests disgorgement of their ill-gotten gains, with prejudgment interest,” the SEC said.

    Under the theory of “returns aren’t guaranteed” or “rebates aren’t guaranteed” as advanced by autosurf promoters, each of the defendants mentioned above could escape prosecution simply by structuring a contract that insulated them from fraud charges and created a license to steal. A court never could order the return of ill-gotten gains from relief defendants because of wordplay.

    Any HYIP operator — online or offline — or any autosurf operator could accept cash from customers and simply decide to keep it. They could buy cars and boats, give money to friends and family and be completely shielded from prosecution by citing “returns aren’t guaranteed” or “rebates aren’t guaranteed.”

    Even people disinclined ever to take money would get a free pass if the allure of the “rebates aren’t guaranteed” protection become too much and they submitted to temptation. As long as they had a disclaimer, any person could issue a security at any time and simply keep the cash, hamstringing both investors and prosecutors.

    In our view, the license to steal created by “rebates aren’t guaranteed” is the core danger of autosurfs. Surf enthusiasts argue, of course, that their favorite surf operator never would run with the money.

    But that’s beside the point. If prosecutors didn’t act or if a court gave its approval to “rebates aren’t guaranteed,” global theft factories would spring up overnight. Once the target theft amount was met, the thief simply could walk off with the money, citing the “rebates aren’t guaranteed” protection.

  • Iowa Woman Who Filed Motion To Set Aside Forfeiture In ASD Case Is Listed As A ‘Founder’ Of Golden Panda Ad Builder

    UPDATED 9:10 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) Joyce Haws, an Iowa woman who filed a motion last week to set aside the forfeiture in the AdSurfDaily case, is listed in court documents as a “founder” of Golden Panda Ad Builder.

    Haws and “her spouse” are listed on a roster of 34 Golden Panda “founders” who provided start-up money for Golden Panda, according to a sworn affidavit filed Aug. 29 by Golden Panda President Clarence Busby. The pro se document filed by Haws also includes Michael Haws as a litigant, and the docket report in the forfeiture case lists the Haws as claimants, listing their ASD member numbers.

    Busby filed the affidavit after federal prosecutors brought a forfeiture action in August against assets tied to ASD and Golden Panda, amid allegations of wire fraud, money-laundering, selling unregistered securities and operating a Ponzi scheme.

    In 1998, U.S. District Judge Thomas W. Thrash ordered Busby not to break securities laws after he was implicated in three “prime bank” schemes.

    “Using misrepresentations and omissions in each of the three schemes, Busby raised money for purported trading programs in ‘prime bank’ notes by fraudulently representing to investors that the investments were risk-free and that the ventures would pay returns ranging from 750% to 10,000%,” the SEC said at the time.

    “In total, Busby raised nearly $1 million from more than 70 investors,” the SEC said. “None of the investors earned the exorbitant returns promised by Busby.”

    Busby has been a minister for 30 years, according to court filings. He also is in the real-estate business, and autosurf enthusiasts have said he has ties to BizAdSplash, a surfing company that debuted after the seizure of funds from ASD and Golden Panda.

    Haws set up rallies for ASD in U.S. cities, ASD members said. Rallies in Ankeny, Iowa — the city Haws lists as her home — brought in $2.5 million last year, ASD member Mindy Bales told the Des Moines Register. One of the rallies was held in July 2008, the same month Golden Panda launched, and fetched $1.6 million.

    Haws also organized ASD rallies Minneapolis (April 26, 2008);  Rochester, Minn. (May 17, 2008); and Las Vegas (May 31, 2008), an ASD member said.

    Busby filed a motion yesterday to dismiss a racketeering lawsuit filed against him in January by ASD members. Through his attorney, Busby said in the lawsuit that ASD and Golden Panda were separate companies.

    One of the assertions in the RICO case is that money that made its way into Golden Panda accounts had orgininated in ASD accounts.

  • BREAKING NEWS: Another Motion To Set Aside Forfeiture Using Curtis Richmond Blueprint Filed In AdSurfDaily Case

    UPDATED 8:07 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) Chad Svendsen of Lakeville, Minn., has filed a motion to set aside the forfeiture in the AdSurfDaily case. Svendsen’s motion uses the Curtis Richmond litigation blueprint and is virtually identical to other recent pro se motions filed in the case.

    Richmond is a member of a sham Utah “Indian” tribe known for filing vexatious litigation. Richmond, of Solana Beach, Calif., filed a virtually identical motion last week.

    So did Michael and Joyce Haws of Ankeny, Iowa. Joyce Haws “and her spouse” are included on a list of 34 “founders” who provided start-up capital for Golden Panda Ad Builder, according to a sworn affidavit filed by Golden Panda President Clarence Busby on Aug. 29, 2008.

    Richmond was convicted of criminal contempt of court in California in 2007 for threatening federal judges. He also was ordered last year to pay damages to public servants in Utah who were targeted by vexatious “tribal” litigation.

    The templated, pro se filings in the ASD case accuse the prosecutors and judges involved in the case of crimes. The ones in recent days frame a strange argument against prosecutors’ assertions last month that filings such as Richmond’s will lead to unconscionable delays in obtaining justice for rank-and-file ASD members.

    Rather than countering  prosecutors’ argument about the prospect of Richmond-like pro se pleadings delaying justice,  the documents appear to suggest the prosecutors should be ignored because they are merely stating opinions.

    Svendsen’s filing today, like others since April 20, accuse the prosecutors of Fraud upon the Court, Perjury of Oath, Obstruction of Justice and Interference with Commerce.

    Prosecutors last month responded to three earlier pro se pleadings that used a different Richmond blueprint by filing a memorandum that addressed all three pleadings in the same document, rather than filing an individual document for each pleading.

    Today’s filing by Svendsen, however, suggests that prosecutors now will have to file yet another response, which could lead to even more delays in the case. Three such motions have been filed since April 20. Prosecutors have not responded to any of them.

    The recent Richmond-like, pro se filings appear to ignore a pro se pleading filed by ASD President Andy Bowdoin that acknowledged ASD was operating illegally at the time federal agents seized tens of millions of dollars last summer. One of the arguments is that the government interfered with commerce by taking action in the forfeiture case.

    How the filers intend to demonstrate it is legal to participate in an enterprise Bowdoin himself deemed illegal is unclear. Svendsen’s motion does not take into account an assertion last week by prosecutors that Bowdoin had signed a proffer letter in the case and acknowledged to law enforcement that the government’s material allegations all were true.

    Svendsen’s filing brings to six the unofficial total of ASD members who have used Richmond’s litigation blueprint. This number does not take into account Bowdoin’s pro se pleadings, which unofficially total four, bringing the unofficial grand total of pro se pleadings in the case to 10.

    Federal prosecutors have said such filings could lead to interminable delays in rank-and-file members of ASD getting refunds through a process the government intends to implement for crime victims.

  • BREAKING NEWS: Busby Served With RICO Complaint; Attorney Files Motion To Dismiss Racketeering Claims

    UPDATED 1:11 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) Golden Panda Ad Builder President Clarence Busby has been served with a racketeering lawsuit pending since Jan. 15. His attorney has filed a motion to dismiss him as a defendant, referring to him at least 120 times in the 46-page document as “Rev. Busby” and saying he has been a practicing Protestant minister in Georgia for 30 years.

    Busby, through his attorney, did not say why it had taken so long to respond to the lawsuit.

    Busby’s attorney — Jonathan W. Emord of Clifton, Va. — said claims against “Rev. Busby are precluded by the United States’ civil forfeiture action under the doctrine of res judicata.

    “Plaintiffs are barred from relitigating issues resolved against Busby on behalf of the United States and all residents, citizens, and taxpayers concerning matters adjudicated which are of public interest,” Emord argued.

    In essence, the argument holds that, since Busby already has submitted to the forfeiture of funds and the government is establishing a mechanism for refunds, the RICO litigants already have a remedy.

    “Plaintiffs admit that their case ‘grows out of the same events and transactions’ as the US Forfeiture action, Emord said.

    “The doctrine of res judicata bars Plaintiffs’ claims because Plaintiffs were in privity with the Government during the initial forfeiture proceeding,” he argued. “The Supreme Court has recognized the long settled axiom that a judgment for or against a governmental body in an action brought by the governmental body on behalf of the public is binding and conclusive on all residents, citizens, and taxpayers with respect to matters adjudicated which are of general and public interest.”

    The RICO lawsuit was brought by three members of AdSurfDaily. Busby, through his lawyer, argued that the plaintiffs were not members of Golden Panda. In addition, Busby argued that Golden Panda and ASD were separate companies.

    At the same time, Emord argued that the RICO claims should be barred because a motion Busby filed to relinquish his claim to the seized funds in the federal case was granted by Judge Rosemary Collyer and has the effect of  a “Final, Valid Judgment on the Merits.”

    The forfeiture will be perfected with the signing of another order, which Emord described as a “ministerial” action.

    “Without additional claimants to Golden Panda assets, nothing stands in the way of a forfeiture order following the Government’s prospective filing of a consent default motion,” Emord said. “On April 24, 2009, Government counsel represented that he will soon file such a motion.”

    Busby, through his attorney, also asked the judge to “demand” proof of an assertion that some of the money in Golden Panda accounts came from ASD.

    “The fact that ASD and [ASD President] Bowdoin did not provide money to Golden Panda accounts has been demonstrated by uncontroverted evidence during the forfeiture proceedings,” Emord said.

    He also asserted that all Golden Panda money had been turned over to the government.

    “Rev. Busby volitionally transferred to the U.S. Secret Service all outstanding checks, customer materials, and related Golden Panda assets he possessed before dissolving the corporation,” Emord said.

    The transfer came as a result of a negotiated settlement of the August forfeiture complaint filed by the government, which had “sought Rev. Busby’s assets that were derived from the operation of Golden Panda,” according to today’s motion on Busby’s behalf.

    “Negotiations culminated in a resolution on the disposition of Golden Panda assets,” Emord said. “Golden Panda agreed to forfeit permanently to the Government all monies received by Golden Panda from its customers.”

    Golden Panda was formally dissolved as a corporation on Sept. 24, according to records.

    Bob Guenther, de facto head of the ASD Members Business Association (ASDMBA) Trust, however, has said that not all Golden Panda money was turned over to the government.

    “Mr Busby, under pressure from me and the ASDMBA, returned over $1.5M in uncashed cashiers checks to the rightful owners,” Guenther said, in a March 26 Comment here.

    Some of the money came from active-duty and retired police officers in Texas and California, Guenther said.

    Emord also argued that RICO claims against Busby should be dismissed because the allegations were vague, failed to state claims and the plaintiffs lack standing.

    Andy Bowdoin is now the sole defendant in the RICO case not to have responded to the lawsuit.

    Read Clarence Busby’s motion to dismiss.