Category: Writing And Branding

  • Did Internal Ponzi Cause Bramer Bank Of Mauritius To Crumble?

    EDITOR’S NOTE: On May 10, 2012, on the news site of Zeek Rewards, the Rex Venture Group-operated “program” based in Lexington, N.C., announced it was moving part of its customer-service operation to Mauritius. Mauritius is an Indian Ocean island nation with a population of about 1.3 million. Zeek did not identify the Mauritius outsourcing company.…

  • COURTING TROUBLE: In Bogus Promo, Obama Shown As Pitchman For ‘MyAdvertisingPays’

    Depicting then-President George W. Bush as a fan of the AdSurfDaily MLM HYIP “program” backfired in spectacular fashion in 2008, drawing the attention of the U.S. Secret Service. Federal agents eventually seized more than $80 million in an asset-forfeiture case. ASD President Andy Bowdoin, accused of operating a cross-border Ponzi scheme, was indicted. He later…

  • UPDATE: IntellaShares Now Under Scrutiny By Save The Children

    IntellaShares, a collapsed “program” with a presence on the Ponzi boards and purportedly prepping for “relaunch,” now is under scrutiny by Save the Children. Jeremy Soulliere, a spokesman for Save the Children USA, confirmed the inquiry to the PP Blog this morning. Save the Children USA is an arm of Save the Children Federation Inc.,…

  • British Columbia Bans U.S. Resident From Securities Market, Says She Was Pushing Fraud Schemes For Commissions

    The British Columbia Securities Commission, which regulates securities in the Canadian province, has banned a U.S. resident who allegedly promoted a series of schemes on commission. “Sharon Downing has admitted that she engaged in an illegal distribution of securities,” BCSC said. Downing, according to BCSC, promoted schemes for Thomas Arthur Williams and six entities engaged…

  • SEC Declines Comment On ‘IntellaShares’ And Its Purported ‘BLACKLIST’; Ponzi-Board ‘Program’ Trades On Name Of Save The Children

    UPDATED 11:31 A.M. EDT U.S.A. In 2010, the Federal Trade Commission took action against an online venture known as iWorks. This allegation appeared on Page 7 of the FTC’s Dec. 21, 2010 complaint: “They have also attempted to drive down their chargeback rates by threatening to report consumers who seek chargebacks to an Internet consumer…

  • BULLETIN: Receiver Sues USHBB Inc., Maker Of Zeek Videos — And Ties Firm To AdSurfDaily Ponzi Scheme

    9th UPDATE 9:01 P.M. EDT U.S.A. Indianapolis-based USHBB Inc. and three of its principals — James A. Moore, Robert Mecham and Oscar H. Brown — have been sued by the court-appointed receiver in the Zeek Rewards Ponzi- and pyramid-scheme case. Receiver Kenneth D. Bell alleges USHBB, a producer of videos, also did work for the…

  • Registration Page At TelexMOB Triggers ‘Web Forgery’ Warning In Firefox Browser

    Late last night the PP Blog visited the registration page of the emerging and bizarrely named “TelexMOB” scheme, which appears to be targeting victims of the alleged TelexFree Ponzi- and pyramid scheme. Our earlier story is here. The page now is triggering a “Web Forgery” warning in the Firefox browser. Such warnings may be associated…

  • Now, ‘TelexMOB’

    UPDATED 11:25 A.M. EDT U.S.A. Something calling itself “TelexMOB” has established a web presence this month. A logo resembling that of TelexFree — an alleged Ponzi- and pyramid scheme said to have gathered $1.8 billion across national borders — appears on the site. BehindMLM.com was first with the news today. The PP Blog has sent…

  • March PP Blog Subscription Post

    NOTE: This post originally was published March 4 at 1:07 p.m. It will remain in this slot for several days. New posts will appear below it. Dear Readers, As was the case with our 2,500th-post commemoration in November, there are four subscription options. In the spirit of that post and the 6th anniversary post in…

  • ‘MyAdvertisingPays’ And A Bromide Thrice Vomited

    It turns out that a hackneyed expression currently in play within MyAdvertisingPays (MAPS) is a lightly remixed version of one used in the collapsed Zeek Rewards and Achieve Community schemes. Will this thrice-vomited bromide become a kiss of death for MAPS? Back before the SEC shut down Zeek in 2012, the $897 million scheme traded…

  • UPDATE: ‘Automatic Mobile Cash’ Tanks

    “Automatic Mobile Cash,” pushed on YouTube by “Achieve Community” hucksters Rodney Blackburn and Mike Chitty, has tanked, according to chatter on the MoneyMakerGroup Ponzi forum. MMG poster “im the man,” citing information from SolidTrustPay, claimed yesterday that SolidTrustPay had blocked AMC’s ability “to accept deposits or make withdraws.” Other information in the 16-page, 226-post MMG…