PatrickPretty.com

Category: The Economy

FTC Warns That Scammers Are Trading On Radiation Fears To Hawk Potassium Iodide Treatment In Aftermath Of Events In Japan; Be Cautious And Selective, Agency Advises

Fraudsters are following the headlines about radiation fears in Japan and designing sales pitches to scare U.S. consumers into buying potassium-iodide treatments, the FTC warned today. Last week, the agency warned against charity scams that may emerge to mine illicit profits from the devastating earthquake and tsunami. “Potassium iodide, or KI, can help prevent thyroid…

Mar 21, 2011
UPDATE: Club Asteria Members Use TalkGold Ponzi Forum To Announce That Firm Now Has More Than 200,000 Members; Separately, Some Members Grumble About Missing Payouts

EDITOR’S NOTE: The adjective-inspiring story below is made possible by the incongruous behavior of online pitchmen who operate in an environment the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) described last year as a “bizarre substratum of the Internet.” Two promoters of Club Asteria, a business “opportunity” purportedly operated by a woman variously described as a former…

Mar 20, 2011
URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: Federal Judge Refuses To Toss Indictment Against AdSurfDaily President Andy Bowdoin; Ruling May Deal Crushing Blow To ‘Autosurf’ Trade; ‘These Alleged Facts Smack Of An Investment,’ Court Says

BULLETIN: U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer has rejected AdSurfDaily President Andy Bowdoin’s sweeping claim that the indictment against him should be dismissed because ASD met none of the three prongs of the “Howey Test” under federal securities laws and a Supreme Court precedent that determines what constitutes an “investment contract.” Collyer’s refusal to dismiss the…

Mar 19, 2011
STATEMENT: PP Blog Takes ‘Prudent’ Measures In Response To Security Concerns

MARCH 18, 2011: The PP Blog today made certain prudent adjustments to its publishing well in response to security concerns. The adjustments center on how the Blog treats a tiny fraction of the thousands of pages in its archives, and what web browsers will display when readers visit those pages. The Blog will have no…

Mar 18, 2011
FLORIDA — AGAIN: CFTC Charges Sunshine State Couple Amid Spectacular Allegations They Posed As Forex Experts, Targeted Seniors And Handed Off More Than $22 Million To Man Who Was Trying To Cover Up Previous Ponzi Scheme

Gary and Brenda Martin of St. Augustine, Fla., posed as Forex dealers and experts, operated a website advertising their purported expertise, bragged about the talents of their unqualified sales “consultants” — and collected more than $22 million in an incredibly elaborate fraud scheme, the CFTC has charged. Neither of the Martins was registered with the…

Mar 18, 2011
BULLETIN: Federal Judge Declines To Transfer AdSurfDaily Ponzi Case To Florida, Says Andy Bowdoin Will Be Tried On Criminal Charges In District Of Columbia

BULLETIN: Describing the AdSurfDaily Ponzi case as one with a “tortured history” now dating back years, U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer of the District of Columbia has refused to transfer the criminal case against ASD President Andy Bowdoin to Florida. Bowdoin, who lives in Florida, had argued for the transfer more than a month ago,…

Mar 17, 2011
Sea Of Incongruity Surrounds Club Asteria: As ‘Ken Russo’ Pushes ‘Opportunity’ On TalkGold Ponzi Board, World Bank Qualifies ‘Director’ Claims Made By Promoters

The World Bank confirmed to the PP Blog this morning that a person named Andrea Lucas left its employment in December 1986, nearly 25 years ago. But Lucas was never a member of the World Bank’s board of directors, as many members of business “opportunity” known as Club Asteria have implied in online, MLM-style promotions…

Mar 16, 2011
SEC Chief Makes Veiled Reference To Imperia Invest Case In Congressional Testimony: Will Ongoing Law-Enforcement Initiatives Spell More Trouble For Serial Online Scammers And Their Enablers?

SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro alluded to the agency’s investigation of the alleged Imperia Invest IBC scam in testimony before Congress this morning, a development that may signal more bad news is in the offing for serial scammers online. Without mentioning Imperia by name, Schapiro told members of the House Subcommittee on Financial Services and General…

Mar 15, 2011
BULLETIN: ‘Sovereign Citizen’ Accused In ‘Two For One’ Plot To Murder Judges, State Troopers In Alaska; ‘Militia’ Had Acquired Grenades, Grenade Launcher, Machine Guns; Another Man Charged Separately In Plot To Kill Federal Judge

BULLETIN: (UPDATED 7:04 P.M. EDT (MARCH 14, U.S.A.) Five residents of Alaska with ties to the so-called “sovereign” citizen and “militia” movements have been charged under state law in an alleged plot to kidnap or murder Alaska state troopers and a state judge in Fairbanks. One of the suspects was charged separately under federal law…

Mar 13, 2011
Report By Small-Town Newspaper In Colorado Leads To Forex Ponzi Scheme Arrest In Chicago; FBI Nabs Mark Akins After Durango Herald Readers Provide Tips

A fugitive suspected of helping organize a Forex Ponzi scheme that traded on a claim that a special “algorithm” led to hefty profits has been arrested in Chicago after a small-town Colorado newspaper 1,350 miles away reported he was wanted. The Durango Herald, which has a circulation of 9,400 and has received awards from the…

Mar 12, 2011
PP Blog Operated By ‘Self-Appointed Idiot,’ Fan Of Nonexistent Nation Of ‘New Utopia’ Suggests; Blog Invited, Then Uninvited To Ceremony At ‘Palace’

A man using the anonymous identity of “Mr. Protector,” a hotmail address and an IP in the Netherlands has scolded the PP Blog for a story that described “New Utopia” as a nonexistent nation in the Caribbean. New Utopia is the fanciful “tax haven” allegedly dreamed up by Lazarus R. Long, an American who declared…

Mar 10, 2011