PatrickPretty.com

Category: The Economy

  • Investors Relive Bradford Bleidt Ponzi Case

    He ran a slow-motion Ponzi scheme in Massachusetts that lasted 20 years. Now Bradford Bleidt is in federal prison, doing 11 years for money-laundering and mail fraud. The scheme fell apart earlier this decade when Bleidt couldn’t pay a $1.5 million redemption requested by a Greek Orthodox church. His final take was estimated at $32.6…

  • Regulator Cites Uptick In Ponzi Fraud

    “We are seeing an uptick in Ponzi scheme cases because, in this economic climate, new investors cannot be found to perpetuate the scheme. As these schemes collapse, the CFTC will move swiftly to prosecute those who harm innocent investors.” — Stephen J. Obie, CFTC “Run the other way” if someone promises you exorbitant investment returns,…

  • Follow-Up: No Autosurf Cure For Struggling Newspapers

    Our site has been serving more pages, fueled in large measure by readers’ interest in the AdSurfDaily case and our reports on Ponzi fraud and securities fraud. We got a mention in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer last week (and later on Google News, which picked up the P-I column) in response to our column on whether…

  • SEC Up To Its Ears In Ponzi Investigations

    The Securities & Exchange Commission has charged CRE Capital Corp. with running a Ponzi scheme that sucked millions of dollars from investors. Meanwhile, a hedge-fund operator in Florida has gone missing — along with $350 million in clients’ money. Although the Florida case is brand new and the SEC hasn’t announced a probe, it almost…

  • Prosecutors: Bowdoin Knew ASD Was Illegal Prior To Rallies That Collected Tens Of Millions Of Dollars

    Andy Bowdoin knew AdSurfDaily was illegal in 2007, months before the company conducted rallies in major U.S. cities and collected tens of millions of dollars from members, according to court documents. Instead of becoming legally compliant, Bowdoin introduced new layers of deception in 2008, prosecutors said. Included in the deception was a video made in…

  • Breaking News: More ASD-Connected Assets Seized; Bowdoin Blamed Company Troubles On Russian Hackers

    Federal prosecutors quietly went to court last month, filing a second forfeiture complaint against assets tied to AdSurfDaily Inc. The complaint paints a jaw-dropping picture of insider dealings, special favors, a “silent” ASD partner, people getting paid large sums for doing virtually nothing — and a claim that Russian hackers broke into ASD’s servers and…

  • AdSurfDaily: Bowdoin The Envy Of Con Artists Worldwide

    ASD President Andy Bowdoin demonstrated that any person with access to an autosurf script can put tens of millions of dollars on the table if he or she can meet two minimal conditions: the ability to recruit a few key MLM promoters, and the ability to be influenced by MLM promoters who know how to…

  • Roster: Are These Autosurfs In Litigation? Troubled?

    Back in August we began to cover AdSurfDaily Inc., a Florida company accused of being an illegal enterprise. Federal prosecutors said ASD, an autosurf, was selling unregistered securities by calling itself an “advertising” company and running a $100 million Ponzi scheme. A sister site, LaFuenteDinero, was named in the same federal forfeiture complaint. So was…

  • Marcus Schrenker Captured Near Quincy, Fla.

    BLOG UPDATE 12:44 P.M. EST (USA): The U.S. Marshals Service has issued an updated statement on the capture of Marcus Schrenker. It is reproduced at the bottom of this post. Here, directly below, is our initial post . . . Authorities said they believed Indiana investment adviser Marcus Schrenker staged the crash of his Piper…

  • Fortune Magazine Refutes ‘Social Security Ponzi’ Claim

    If you’ve been following the AdSurfDaily case and the Bernard Madoff case, there’s a good chance you’ve seen people claim that Social Security is a Ponzi scheme. Some members of ASD have said the government had no business going after Andy Bowdoin when it was knee-deep in its own Ponzi scheme. Fortune magazine has published…

  • Judge To Ponzi Brokers Who Pushed ‘Ad’ Business: Pay Up

    Editor’s Note: This story was suggested by reader Tony H., who pointed us to an SEC News Release on the dismantling of yet another Ponzi scheme. Two principals of the American Investors Network (AIN) have been ordered to pay more than $1.4 million for foisting on investors an upstart advertising company that proved to be…