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Category: Writing And Branding

A PRESIDENT’S PAL: ‘Barney,’ 2000-2013: America’s ‘First Dog’ During George W. Bush White House Years

Former President George W. Bush has announced on Facebook the passing of “Barney,” America’s “First Dog” between Jan. 20, 2001, and Jan. 20, 2009. Barney was 12. During his White House years, Barney had his own website. Barney was much beloved by the Bush family.

From President Bush on Facebook (italics added):

Laura and I are sad to announce that our Scottish Terrier, Barney, has passed away. The little fellow had been suffering from lymphoma and after twelve and a half years of life, his body could not fight off the illness.

Barney and I enjoyed the outdoors. He loved to accompany me when I fished for bass at the ranch. He was a fierce armadillo hunter. At Camp David, his favorite activity was chasing golf balls on the chipping green.

Barney guarded the South Lawn entrance of the White House as if he were a Secret Service agent. He wandered the halls of the West Wing looking for treats from his many friends. He starred in Barney Cam and gave the American people Christmas tours of the White House. Barney greeted Queens, Heads of State, and Prime Ministers. He was always polite and never jumped in their laps.

Barney was by my side during our eight years in the White House. He never discussed politics and was always a faithful friend. Laura and I will miss our pal.

“Barney” on the White House lawn. (Facebook.)

Whether Barney had any sense that he was America’s “First Dog” and that his owner was the President of the United States are, of course, imponderable questions.

What’s not imponderable is that dogs provide a special kind of joy as they go about the business of simply being a dog.

Barney’s official biography lists his date of birth as Sept. 30, 2000.

His mother was “Coors,” owned by former New Jersey Gov. and EPA Director Christine Todd Whitman. Barney’s father was Kelly of “Champion Motherwell Stormwarning.”

It’s a good thing that a President can have a dog, but it’s a better thing yet that a dog can have a President — or any other loving owner.

The PP Blog holds President George W. Bush in the highest esteem for his service to his country. He is an eminently decent man.

Barney was not yet one when his owner, speaking to school children in Florida, was told that an airliner had just hit the World Trade Center . . .

America’s current “First Dog” is “Bo,” a gift to the Obamas from the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, a brother of President John F. Kennedy.

Thinking of the Bush family today and of how dogs can help even Presidents caught up in extraordinary circumstances reestablish a sense of the ordinary.

“Barney,” 2000-2013. Sense of surroundings: imponderable. Favorite toys: volleyball, golf balls. Official activities: White House holiday tours. Diplomatic relations. Outreach. (Has own IMDB listing.) Joy provided the Bush family during the President’s pressure-cooker days in the White House: inestimable. Career highlight: Called a “lump” by Karl Rove and criticized by Vladimir Putin, who opined that world leaders should own larger dogs. Loyalty to President Bush: unquestioned. (Once bit a Reuters reporter.)

Feb 2, 2013
BULLETIN: Receiver Says $12 Million In Zeek Money Located ‘In An Eastern European Country’ — But Has Not Been Returned

BULLETIN: (2ND UPDATE 8:47 P.M. ET U.S.A.) The court-appointed receiver in the Zeek Rewards Ponzi-scheme case says he has located $12 million in receivership assets held in an unspecified “eastern European country” — but the funds have not been returned.

“This account is owned and was used by a payment processor outside the United States to provide funds to a foreign e-wallet that processed payments for ZeekRewards,” receiver Kenneth D. Bell said in court filings. “The Receiver previously caused the Freeze Order to be sent to the foreign financial institution which holds this account and demanded that the funds held in that account be turned over to the Receivership Estate. The foreign payment processor who owns this account was also sent the Freeze Order and a demand notice for the turnover of the funds in this account. However, neither the financial institution nor the foreign payment processor responded to the demands sent by the Receiver. Additionally, the Receiver has worked with the foreign e-wallet to seek to have these funds returned. While cooperative, the foreign e-wallet was unable to cause their customer to provide the funds held in this account to the Receiver.”

Bell also confirmed today that the U.S. Secret Service “continues to pursue” money related to Zeek. Meanwhile, he announced a “Final Liquidation Plan” and proposed claims process will be filed tomorrow in U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. Zeek was based in Lexington, N.C. Senior U.S. District Judge Graham C. Mullen is presiding over the Zeek case.

Massive Paper Chase Under Way

In August 2012, the SEC described Zeek as a $600 million Ponzi- and pyramid scheme. What has transpired since then speaks to the enormous logistical challenges law enforcement and court-appointed receivers may confront when a fraud scheme goes viral on the Internet and spreads globally.

Bell noted today that the receivership has communicated to “over 7,000 financial institutions” on the subject of cashier’s checks sent to Zeek by affiliates. Some affiliates also sought to fund their accounts with “certified checks, personal checks, bank money orders, and personal money orders.”

One of the earliest problems with marshaling assets was the sheer volume of instruments sent to Zeek, according to Bell’s filing.

“As of December 31, 2012, the Receiver presented over 140,000 financial instruments for deposit,” Bell said. “Many of these items were returned and not paid for various reasons. The Receiver Team is working with financial institutions to re-present instruments that were returned in error, and it is working to identify all instruments that were improperly returned.”

One Zeek vendor alone was in possession of 85,000 cashier’s checks and other instruments, Bell said.

“After reviewing these instruments, reviewing the records of the Receivership Defendant, communicating with [Zeek vendor Preferred Merchant Services] and working with a forensic accounting vendor, the Receiver Team was unable to definitively ascertain which instruments had already been processed and presented for payment by PM,” Bell said. “In order to maximize recovery to the Receivership Estate, the Receiver Team elected to present all of these instruments for payment. Approximately 34,000 of these instruments worth approximately $15 million were accepted and paid. Approximately 50,000 of these PM instruments were returned, which resulted in returned check fees of approximately $450,000.”

Bell negotiated to reduce the return charges by 25 percent, he said.

Beyond that, Bell said, “[t]he Receiver has been receiving numerous communications from financial institutions and Affiliate-Investors regarding cashier’s checks that have never been presented for payment,” adding that he is “unaware of any additional locations where cashier’s checks payable to the Receivership Defendant might be stored.”

The receiver “determined that he does not have rights under the Uniform Commercial Code or the Receiver Orders to claim an interest in cashier’s checks that were never received by the Receiver or the Receivership Defendant,” Bell said. “Therefore, the Receiver has taken the position that although any cashier’s check that is subsequently received by the Receiver is a Receivership Asset and will be deposited, financial institutions should consider any cashier’s check that has not been presented by the Receiver or the Receivership Defendant as having been lost, and may refund the remitters of such cashier’s checks without fear of liability to the Receiver.”

Crunching Numbers

Zeek’s database included 1.6 billion records, which are now being analyzed, Bell said.

“This analysis has taken longer than initially anticipated due to several issues: problematic transactions with questionable accuracy, the validity of database records, and the lack of available documentation (including look-up tables, database dictionaries, and source code documentation which are commonly used to understand the organization and function of a database’s components). In the absence of these tools, [receivership team member FTI Consulting Inc.] has been required to perform extensive testing of the data to validate the proposed calculations and to rely on disparate third-party sources, including Paul Burks, e-wallet vendors, financial institutions, and subpoena responses, for understanding the organization and function of the database components.”

Compounding matters, according to today’s filing, was the sheer number of Zeek participants, including participants who had multiple usernames.

“There are approximately 2.2 million unique users (“Affiliates” or “usernames”) in ZeekRewards,” Bell said. “The number of Affiliates does not reflect the number of unique individuals who participated in ZeekRewards, as it is likely that some individuals had more than one username. Approximately 1 million Affiliates paid money into the ZeekRewards Program . . .”

And, Bell noted today, “[a]t this time, the Receiver has identified over 800,000 net-loser usernames in the Receiver Defendant’s records.”

Taxing Matters

The section below is verbatim from the receiver’s filing today (italics added):

During the fourth quarter, the Receiver Team worked to determine which federal tax filings needed to be made with respect to income taxes, payments made to service providers, and payments made to Affiliate-Investors. The efforts were focused on the latter two issues because of the earlier filing deadline (January 31, 2013). The Receiver Team, including FTI, had discussions with RVG’s outside tax and accounting advisors to ascertain what had been filed for 2011 and earlier. After analyzing the issues, consulting with these various entities, and reviewing [Zeek operator Rex Venture Group LLC] ’s records, the Receiver Team determined that it would be necessary to file and issue 1099s to certain Affiliate-Investors and began the process of compiling the data necessary to issue the 1099s.

Since the receivership began in August, Bell said, it has been determined that “some individuals who RVG classified as ‘independent contractors,’ to whom it had issued 1099s, were misclassified pursuant to IRS regulations.

“Accordingly,” he continued, “the Receiver Team has reclassified them as employees and is issuing them W-2s. The Receiver Team will begin the process of identifying, misclassified employees, paying back taxes, and determining whether the Receivership Estate should pay any back wages owed to such employee as a result of RVG’s misclassification.”

Pursuing International ‘Winners’

Offshore members of Zeek expecting a free pass from the receivership may have to think again if they are classified as “winners.”

“The group of net-winners identified to date includes numerous individuals residing outside of the United States, with the largest foreign winners living mainly in countries with established legal systems which are signatories to the Hague Convention for international service of process,” Bell said. “While the pursuit of ‘clawback’ claims against these foreign net winners raises various service issues and other challenges, the Receiver intends to include these winners as parties to domestic litigation based on their contacts with the ZeekRewards Program in the United States so long as doing so will not delay the litigation against domestic winners. The Receiver will also pursue cost-effective foreign litigation to establish the repayment obligation and/or to collect judgments where necessary and appropriate.”

Claims Process

Bell said he will file with the court tomorrow “the proposed claims process” as part of a “Final Liquidation Plan.”

From Bell’s filing today (italics added):

The Receiver anticipates filing a motion seeking approval of the Claims Submission Process by the conclusion of the first quarter of 2013. The Claims Motion will seek (i) approval of the claims submission process, (ii) to establish the date by which claims must be filed against the Receivership Defendant (the “Bar Date”), and (iii) approval of the noticing procedures to be used in providing notice of the Bar Date and the claims submission process.

Jan 30, 2013
On Date Of Obama Inauguration, ‘Program’ Promo Turns President Into Pitchman For ‘Ultimate Power Profits’

UPDATED 11:08 A.M. ET (U.S.A.) On a day Americans cherish as a great symbol of the continuation of Democracy, images of their President are being used to create the impression he has endorsed a “program” HYIP hucksters sought to popularize in the aftermath of the August 2012 collapse of the Zeek Rewards “program” amid SEC allegations that Zeek was just another massive Internet scam.

“Just join their team and you will receive all the help you need to grow your own business,” an animated Obama tells prospects in a video promoting Ultimate Power Profits. “By doing so, your earnings will increase. There is no hidden agenda. They showed me how their system worked and I was impressed. It is a fully legal and U.S.-patented system they use to make money.”

Obama’s image previously was used in affiliate promos for MPBToday, a purported MLM “grocery” program whose operator was arrested on a racketeering charge in Florida last month. A building that housed MPB Today’s operations is the subject of a federal forfeiture action in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida. The forfeiture case was filed July 31, 2012.

Less than three weeks later — on Aug. 17, 2012 — the SEC alleged Zeek was a $600 million Ponzi and pyramid scheme. Zeek and MPBToday are known to have promoters in common, including serial Ponzi scheme pitchman “Ken Russo,” also known as “DRdave.”

On Aug. 18, only a day after the SEC’s Zeek action late on Friday afternoon, the PPBlog began to receive spam about the UltimatePowerProfits “program.” (See Comments thread below this story. The Blog established a Ponzi-forum tie between Zeek and Ultimate Power Profits.)

On Aug. 20, the office of North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper — which also had been investigating Zeek — issued a warning on “reload scams” in the wake of the SEC’s Zeek action.

Ultimate Power Profits is not the first “program” to make a claim about a “U.S. patent.” The JSS/JBP scam, which purported to pay an annualized return of 730 percent and purportedly was operated by former AdSurfDaily Ponzi-scheme pitchman Frederick Mann, also made a claim about a U.S. patent.

It is not uncommon for HYIP scams and MLM frauds to plant the seed that a “program” is endorsed by an agency of the U.S. government or a U.S. politician. ASD’s Andy Bowdoin was accused in 2008 of trading on the name of George W. Bush, then the President of the United States and Obama’s predecessor.

Images of former President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were used in the massive Mantria “green” Ponzi scheme in 2009.

In 2012, JSS/JBP came under the lens of CONSOB, the Italian securities regulator. Some promoters, however, didn’t miss a beat. (Compare the images in the screen shots below. The first is from a promo for an emerging “program” known as RicanAdFunds; the second is from a promo for Zeek; the third is from a promo for JSS/JBP.)

1.

2.

3.

Jan 21, 2013
IN MEMORY: Stan Musial, 1920-2013

Stan Musial receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom as two other recipients — Former President George H.W. Bush and basketball star and human-rights advocate Bill Russell — look on. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza.)

Stan Musial, a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame and a recipient of America’s highest civilian honor — the Presidential Medal of Freedom — died yesterday in Ladue, Mo. He was 92. The St. Louis Cardinals announced the death on the team website at 7:45 p.m. ET.

“We have lost the most beloved member of the Cardinals family,” said William DeWitt Jr., chairman of the Cardinals. “Stan Musial was the greatest player in Cardinals history and one of the best players in the history of baseball.”

President Obama awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Musial in 2011.

“Stan matched his hustle with humility,” Obama said on Feb. 15, 2011. “He retired with 17 records — even as he missed a season in his prime to serve his country in the Navy. He was the first player to make — get this — $100,000. Even more shocking, he asked for a pay cut when he didn’t perform up to his own expectations. You can imagine that happening today. Stan remains, to this day, an icon, untarnished; a beloved pillar of the community; a gentleman you’d want your kids to emulate.”

Musial called it the honor of his life. Part of the soundtrack of Obama’s remarks about Musial is dubbed with the sound of Musial playing the harmonica.

“Again, a true gentleman on and off the field,” baseball great and American icon Willie Mays told MLB.com. “I never heard anybody say a bad word about him, ever.”

Sportscaster Bob Costas once remarked that Musial was noted for his lack of flamboyance. It was a compliment of the highest order, given that baseball and other professional sports sometimes produce players that are louder than the crowd.

Musial, a slugger who played in the majors from 1941 through 1963 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot, was from the hard-working town of Donora, Pa., near the hard-working larger town of Pittsburgh. He was a role model to children nationally. The Cardinals described Musial as “unpretentious, untroubled, friendly and folksy,” saying he was “baseball’s perfect knight and the greatest, most beloved player in team history.”

Stan Musial was famous in America for more than seven decades — famous for his batting stance, famous for his results at the plate, famous for long balls and scorching line drives, famous for having an off year and taking a $20,000 pay cut, famous for playing the harmonica, famous for remaining a regular Joe despite his fame, famous for community work.

And Stan Musial was famous for marrying his high school sweetheart and remaining married to her for 71 years. Lilian Musial died last year. She was 91, and had met her future husband at a baseball game in 1934, when Franklin Delano Roosevelt was President of the United States. Barack Obama was two in 1963, when Musial had his last at-bat in the majors during the administration of President John F. Kennedy.

Stan Musial, 1920-2013. Husband. Father. Baseball player. “Stan the Man” to millions of fans. Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient.

American icon.

Jan 20, 2013
Bizarre Events Unfold At Florida Bankruptcy Proceeding For RoboVault; Purported ‘Sovereign’ Claims To Derive Authority From ‘The Pope’

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story in the Sun Sentinel was recommended by a reader. Indeed, Florida is serving up another strange one. To set the stage, RoboVault is a secure storage facility in Fort Lauderdale that allegedly is wasting away because its former owner, Marvin Chaney, somehow came to believe the facility is storing “sovereign bonds” worth billions of dollars and that RoboVault will get a cut when they are sold. The building now is under control of a bankruptcy trustee, who allegedly has been exposed to nuisancing.

A purported “sovereign” has entered the fray, reportedly claiming he has “superior jurisdiction” to the judge. James McBride, the purported “sovereign,” asserts he is “Postmaster General of North America” and reportedly claims his authority flows from the Pope in Rome.

Various “sovereigns” — including AdSurfDaily Ponzi story figure Kenneth Wayne Leaming — have referred to themselves as “postmaster.” McBride has done the same thing . . .

On Jan. 17, the Sun Sentinel led with this headline: “Wild RoboVault court hearing leaves one man in handcuffs, 2 others facing possible jail time.”

From the Sun Sentinel:

McBride, who claims to derive his authority from the Vatican, sent letters to the judge and trustee demanding the bankruptcy case be dropped. He previously has been profiled in media accounts as a “sovereign separatist,” someone who believes he is not subject to state and federal laws.

Read the story in the Sun Sentinel.

Jan 19, 2013
[NOTE TO READERS]: Stories About Accused Utah Fraudster Jeremy Johnson Now Back Online

On March 23, 2012, the PP Blog temporarily removed from public view three stories pertaining to accused Utah fraudster Jeremy Johnson. The explanation of why the stories were taken offline temporarily is here. On March 23, 2012, the PP Blog’s security software recorded a “mass injection attack” as the Blog visited a domain styled CollotGuerard.com while researching matters pertaining to Jeremy Johnson. Collot Guerard is an attorney for the FTC and an alleged subject of harassment by Johnson or people close to Johnson because of the FTC actions against Johnson. The PPBlog is not revisiting the CollotGuerard.com domain and believes it is imprudent for readers to visit the domain.

Johnson is back in the news in Utah in a big way. The PP Blog will have more later on the situation in Utah. The Blog’s “tag” on Johnson is here.

Jan 15, 2013
[JANUARY DONATION POST]: Blog $150 Short This Month [JAN. 9 UPDATE: Blog OK Now]

UPDATED 3:34 P.M. ET (U.S.A.., JAN. 9):

Dear Readers,

A sum of approximately ~~$150~~ is needed to get the Blog through January. [Jan. 9: Blog OK for January now, thanks to readers.]

Key bills vital to the Blog’s continued operation are coming due. This is the first donation post since October.

Please help if you’re able.

Thank you.

Patrick

Jan 7, 2013
Rumors Swirl About Banners Broker ‘Program’

This affiliate page for the purported Banners Broker “advertising” program claims members can double their money.

UPDATED 8:54 P.M. ET (U.S.A.) Rumors abound online that authorities in India have carried out some sort of action against the Banners Broker “advertising” program. As of the time of this post, the PP Blog has been unable to confirm the rumored action with a law-enforcement source.

“Advertising” scams long have been associated with the HYIP sphere. The $119 million AdSurfDaily Ponzi scheme, for instance, was such a “program.” Such scams are associated with the unlawful sale of unregistered securities and claims by law enforcement of members’ money being siphoned by operators. “Winners” in such schemes can be sued for their ill-gotten gains. There also have been instances in which key pitchmen have been sued by regulatory agencies and even charged with crimes.

Several things the PP Blog has noticed:

A “welcome page” Banners Broker URL exists for the United States but is throwing this error message: “Unable to locate template file welcome_us.tpl.”

The nonworking US URL is http://www.bannersbroker.com/main/welcome_us. It is listed on an apparent Banners Broker affiliate’s website with a headline of “BANNERS BROKER INDIA.” The site also lists a U.S. address for the company in Ocala, Fla. Other addresses and welcome URLs for other countries appear on the same page. Welcome URLs for India, Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom appear to be working. Only the URL for the United States appears not to work.

Whether Banners Broker removed the U.S. “welcome” URL in a bid to distance itself from U.S. regulatory scrutiny is unclear.

Regardless, the Banners Brokers site is viewable in the United States from the URLs for other countries and by connecting directly to the Banners Broker dotcom address. Although Banners Broker lists the flags of several countries on its homepage, the American flag is not listed. (Or at least wasn’t viewable by the PP Blog from the United States.)

The Better Business Bureau has given Banners Broker an “F,” the BBB’s lowest grade.

At least one Banner’s Broker affiliate site is calling itself “Banners Broker Brief” and using the BBB acronym long associated with the Better Business Bureau. (A 2010 Phil Piccolo scam known as Data Network Affiliates arranged for one of its products to be called BBB. Such approaches sometimes are used to leech off of the Better Business Bureau’s famous acronym and to distort search-engine results and make “negative” information harder to find. It also is common in certain MLM schemes for affiliates to use the word “scam” when presenting the “opportunity” — and they then explain why it’s purportedly not a scam. This approach also may make it difficult to find “negative” information about a “program” because information can become buried in page after page of claims that the “program” is not a scam.)

Any number of affiliate YouTube videos exist for Banners Broker. Some are of the check-waving variety. Instead of featuring checks, however, they appear to feature screen shots of payments that purportedly originated at SolidTrustPay. SolidTrustPay has a reputation for doing business with scam after scam. Zeek Rewards, which the SEC described in August as a $600 million Ponzi- and pyramid scheme, used SolidTrustPay.

Banners Broker appears to have been popular among Zeek promoters. One video exists in which a Banners Broker affiliate tells the audience about the SEC’s Zeek case, but the affiliate claims he believes Banners Broker is not a fraud scheme. Even so, he allows that it could be.

Banners Broker has a major presence on the Ponzi boards — again like Zeek. Some promoters race from scam to scam to scam.

There are claims about Banners Broker “doubling” money.

Jan 1, 2013
WHACK-A-MOLE: In Aftermath Of Zeek Collapse, ‘ProfitableSunrise’ Emerges

EDITOR’S NOTE: For the definition of “whack-a-mole,” see the Online Slang Dictionary . . .

UPDATED 6:12 A.M. ET (U.S.A.) ProfitableSunrise will take you and provide an extraordinary interest payment daily in the form of numbers on a screen — but only if you “fully accept the fact that all communication between you and Profitable Sunrise is absolutely confidential and cannot be disclosed to any third parties,” according to the “opportunity’s” website.

Given that the many governments of the world could be considered third parties, you agree to be gagged if regulators or agencies with the power of criminal arrest ever contact you, according to the PP Blog’s reading of the ProfitableSunrise Terms of Service.

ProfitableSunrise also advises incoming members they must “confirm” they “are not involved in any business related to alcohol, firearms, tobacco, gambling and abortion.” There is no mention of drugs/narcotics or prostitution.

After apparently qualifying members via the Terms based on their beliefs about booze, guns, cigarettes, dice and abortion without disclosing why such information was needed by a purported investment firm , ProfitableSunrise says you can open various “Investment Accounts.” “Starter” accounts touted to pay 1.6 percent daily can be opened for as little as $10. But you also may plunk down greater sums of between $500 and $2,500, apparently through the “Regular” (1.8 percent daily) “Advanced” (2 percent daily) and “Long Haul” (2.7 percent daily) plans.

Here is part of what ProfitableSunrise says about the Long Haul (italics added/no editing performed):

The interest rate paid under the Long Haul is 2.7% per business day.
– The Long Haul can only be started from November 1, 2012 till March 1, 2013.
– The minimum deposit in the Long Haul is $500.00
– The deposit options available in the Long Haul are bank wires and deposits from existing account principals in other plans – for group members, bank wire transfers only – for regular members.
– E-currency deposits are not accepted in the Long Haul.
– The Easter Gift Balance will be paid to all customers during the Easter week. You will not be able to leave it in your account principal.
– After the Easter, the daily interest rate will be reduced to 2.35% in the Long Haul.
– The compounding can be disabled or limited in any account at our sole discretion.
– After March 1, 2013, you will not be able to make an additional deposits into the Long Haul.

ProfitableSunrise appears to have become a refuge for certain members of the collapsed ZeekRewards “program,” which the SEC described in August as a $600 million Ponzi- and pyramid scheme that duped members into believing they got a legitimate return that averaged about 1.5 percent a day.

Meanwhile, over at RealScam.com, an antifraud forum, an apparent ProfitableSunrise “defender” known as “Myriad Force” is advancing an argument that antiscam posters are members of a “Cult of Uncertainty.”

“Think of all the antichrists that are watching this program in terror,” Myriad Force ventures. “They won’t become involved because the owner is a Christian that loves Jesus Christ, and does not back down to the antichrists.”

Dec 30, 2012
LETTER TO READERS: Our Choice For The Most Important PP Blog Post Of 2012

Dear Readers,

The PP Blog’s choice for the “Most Important” story to appear on the Blog in 2012 is this one, dated July 28: “Site Critical Of Zeek Goes Missing After HubPages Receives Trademark ‘Infringement’ Complaint Attributed To Rex Venture Group LLC — But North Carolina-Based Rex Not Listed As Trademark Owner; Florida Firm That IS Listed As Owner Says It Has ‘No Knowledge’ Of Complaint.”

The story tells the bizarre tale of how purported Zeek “consultant” Robert Craddock, beginning on July 22, tried to gag K. Chang, a Zeek critic.

Our reasoning for selecting the Craddock tale appears below . . .

** __________________________________ **

UPDATED 1:30 P.M. ET (U.S.A.) This Blog is well aware that some MLMers would have you believe that nothing that appears here is important. The “case” against the Blog normally involves ad hominem attacks, along with bids to change the subject or cloud issues. Some of the campaigns against the PP Blog have been almost comical, falling along lines such as these: ASD can’t be a Ponzi scheme because it rained on Tuesday. Your [sic] an idiot and looser [sic] !!!!!

Other campaigns have been much more menacing.

One of the least-appreciated aspects of the Zeek Rewards story is that Zeek launched after Bernard Madoff made the word “Ponzi” a part of the national (and international) consciousness. Setting aside Zeek’s epic legal problems, Zeek and its “defenders” have a PR problem from which they’ll never recover. In short, it is fatal. The reason that it’s fatal is that it creates a dynamic that is virtually unique to the MLM HYIP sphere: While the rest of the world rails against Ponzi schemes and Ponzi schemers, the MLM HYIP sphere defends them.

But it gets stranger than that. Certain inhabitants of the HYIP sphere in effect are lobbying for the legalization of Ponzi schemes to make their lives more convenient. To this group, the answer to Ponzi schemes is even more Ponzi schemes. Their message is remarkably similar to the message of the gun lobby, which appears to be arguing that the answer to gun violence is even more guns — in strategic locations, of course, perhaps in educational institutions at the grade-school level through college. (And maybe at movie theaters and at the scene of rural house fires, in case first responders such as firefighters and EMTs encounter an ambush.)

You’ve heard by now that the rural town of Webster, N.Y., turned into Israel last week, we’re sure.

In fairness to the gun lobby, it must be pointed out that HYIP “defenders” who are lobbying for more Ponzi schemes even as the gun lobby lobbies for more guns have less legal standing than the gun lobby. Guns already are legal. Ponzi schemes are not.

But, getting back to Zeek’s PR problem . . .

Madoff was exposed in 2008 as a Ponzi schemer, a financial criminal of unprecedented hubris. Not only did Zeek debut after Madoff, it came after Scott Rothstein was exposed (in 2009) as a racketeer/Ponzi schemer — and after AdSurfDaily, a purported MLM “advertising” company, was exposed (in 2008 and 2009) as the largest online Ponzi scheme ever and was sued by its own members amid allegations of racketeering.

For some Zeek promoters, this well-known fact set makes them vulnerable to charges they are nothing less than members of an organized mob of habitual criminals who thrive by choosing to be willfully blind.

But, incredibly, it gets even stranger . . .

Zeek had members in common with AdSurfDaily and, like AdSurfDaily, told members that a purported “advertising” function was central to its business model. Meanwhile, Zeek became popular in North Carolina, after the infamous Black Diamond Ponzi caper was exposed in that very state. (Among other things, the Back Diamond fraud led to criminal charges being filed against a bank.)

Along those lines, Zeek (in May) began to show signs that it was experiencing banking problems after it had become popular in a region known to have served up another colossal mess, this one in nearby South Carolina. (The South Carolina mess was known as the “3 Hebrew Boys” scheme. It resulted in the longest Ponzi scheme sentences in the history of the South Carolina federal courts and, like AdSurfDaily and Zeek, served up a heaping helping of the bizarre, including claims by “sovereign citizens” that prosecutors had no authority over them.)

Moreover, the Zeek scheme for which some “defenders” continue to cheer featured recruitment commissions on two levels (like AdSurfDaily) and an “RPP” payout (like ASD’s 1-percent-a-day “rebates”). Finally, the Zeek scheme came to the fore after the U.S. Secret Service described ASD as a “criminal enterprise” and after the Attorney General of the United States made a special public appearance in Florida — fertile recruitment grounds for schemes such as Zeek and the stomping grounds of Madoff and Rothstein — to announce that the Justice Department was serious about putting people in jail for ravaging the U.S. economy with their Ponzi schemes.

“Palm Beach is, in many respects, ground zero for the $65 billion Ponzi scheme perpetrated by Bernard Madoff — the largest investor fraud case in our nation’s history,” Eric Holder said on Jan. 8, 2010, in southern Florida. “Before the house of cards Madoff built collapsed in 2008, before he was sentenced to 150 years in prison last June, before he became a notorious criminal on the cover of newspapers around the world, he was one of your neighbors.

“His former home sits just north of us,” Holder continued. “An 8,700-square-foot mansion that’s worth . . . well, we’ll know what its worth once the U.S. Marshals Service auctions it off and the proceeds are distributed to Madoff’s victims.”

Holder’s words are best viewed as a warning against willful blindness: Neither victim nor perpetrator be. There is unqualified pain and misery for both.

Despite Holder’s appearance in Florida — despite his reference to Madoff’s “house of cards” — AdSurfDaily promoters Todd Disner and Dwight Owen Schweitzer later sued the United States, claiming that its Ponzi case against ASD was a “house of cards.” Naturally they made this claim even as they were promoting Zeek.

And from what region were they promoting Zeek? Why, Southern Florida, of course, the same region Holder visited in 2010 to throw down the gauntlet against Ponzi schemers and their enablers.

Amid the historical circumstances cited above, Zeek Rewards began to encounter some heat from the media and from its own members. Some of the members did not understand why things at Zeek appeared to be so circuitous and why they were being asked to use payment processors such as AlertPay and SolidTrustPay that had been associated with fraud scheme after fraud scheme operating online, including ASD.

What to do if you’re Zeek?

Well, according to Florida resident Robert Craddock, a self-described Zeek consultant, you hire, well, Robert Craddock — and you use Robert Craddock to go after Zeek critics such as K. Chang.

The Most Important Story Of 2012

In the PP Blog’s view, the most important story to appear on the Blog in 2012 is this one, titled, “Site Critical Of Zeek Goes Missing After HubPages Receives Trademark ‘Infringement’ Complaint Attributed To Rex Venture Group LLC — But North Carolina-Based Rex Not Listed As Trademark Owner; Florida Firm That IS Listed As Owner Says It Has ‘No Knowledge’ Of Complaint.”

The story details efforts in July by Craddock to have K. Chang’s Zeek “Hub” at HubPages removed from the Internet just weeks before the SEC accused Zeek of being a $600 million Ponzi- and pyramid fraud. By early estimates, the alleged Zeek fraud was about five times larger than ASD in pure dollar volume ($600 million compared to $120 million) and perhaps 20 times larger in terms of the membership base (2 million compared to 100,000).

Incredibly, Craddock went after K. Chang after Deputy Attorney James Cole, speaking in Mexico, said that international fraud schemes have been known to “bring frivolous libel cases against individuals who expose their criminal activities.” And Cole also pointed out that fraudsters have a means of “exploit[ing] legitimate actors” and may rely on shell companies and offshore bank accounts to launder criminal proceeds.

If ever a company exploited legitimate actors, it was Zeek. Kenneth D. Bell, the court-appointed receiver, says there were approximately 840,000 Zeek losers who funded the ill-gotten gains of 77,000 winners. And Bell also says he has “obtained information indicating that large sums of Receivership Assets may have been transferred by net winners to other entities in order to hide or shelter those assets.”

There can be no doubt that some of those winners are longtime residents of the woeful valley of willful blindness. Not only do they “play” HYIP Ponzis for profit, they now publicly announce their intent to keep their winnings. Zeek has exposed the epicenter of willful blindness, the criminal underworld of the Internet. It is easy enough to view Craddock’s efforts as a means of institutionalizing willful blindness, first by seeking to chill speech and, second, by scrubbing the web of information that encourages readers to be discriminating so they won’t be duped by a Ponzi fraudster.

Bizarrely, it appears as though someone inside of Zeek believed it prudent to hire Craddock to go after K. Chang. If that weren’t enough, only days later Zeek used its Blog to plant the seed that unnamed “North Carolina Credit Unions” were committing slander against Zeek.

After the SEC brought the Zeek Ponzi complaint in August, Craddock quickly went in to fundraising mode. As incredible as it sounds, ASD’s Todd Disner — also of Zeek — was on the line with him.

What Craddock did was deplorable. It was as though he slept through the past four years of Ponzi history, all the cases that showcase the markers of fraud schemes and all the government warnings to be cautious. (Nongovernment/quasigovernment entities such as FINRA also publish such warnings, like this one on HYIP fraud schemes outlined by the PP Blog.)

The FINRA warning was published in 2010, prior to Zeek but after the Legisi, Pathway To Prosperity and ASD schemes were exposed. Legisi operator Gregory McKnight potentially faces 15 years in federal prison. He was charged both civilly (SEC) and criminally (U.S. Secret Service) — and Legisi pitchmen Matthew John Gagnon also was charged civilly and criminally by the same agencies. The SEC called Gagnon a “threat to the investing public.”

Any number of Zeek promoters pose a similar threat. They are at least equally willfully blind.

It is clear that some Zeek promoters also were promoting JSSTripler/JustBeenPaid, the debacle-in-waiting purportedly organized by Frederick Mann, a former ASD promoter. JSS/JBP has morphed into “ProfitClicking” amid reports of the “retirement” of Mann. Now, ProfitClicking “defenders” are threatening lawsuits against critics.

Naturally the stories advanced by ProfitClicking “defenders” are being improved by “defenders” of other obvious fraud schemes such as BannersBroker. A BannersBroker “defender” is over at RealScam.com — an antiscam site — suggesting that RealScam is a terrorist organization.

My God.

These claims are being made just days after Zeek figure Robert Craddock suggested he had contacts in law enforcement who were going to charge Blogger Troy Dooly with cyber harassment.

It wouldn’t sell as fiction.

Craddock’s bid to gag K. Chang easily was the most important story on the PP Blog in 2012. It’s the one that signaled that things are destined only to get crazier in MLM La-La Land and that the threat to U.S. national security only will grow.

Dec 27, 2012
BehindMLM Reader Claims ‘Excited’ Attendees Were Fainting At Florida Gathering Of World Consumer Alliance; ‘Program’ That Published Laundry List Of HYIP Ads Apparently Conducting 9-Month ‘Prelaunch’
EDITOR’S NOTE: Longtime huckster Phil Piccolo learned long ago that God and starving children “work” in MLM. We can’t help but wonder how many shills would flop over backward at his events if he ever finds out that fainting also “works.”

** _______________________________ **

A reader tells BehindMLM that attendees of a “World Consumer Alliance” (WCA) event in Sarasota, Fla., were fainting from apparent excitement.

WCA, with Paul Skulitz as the advertised admin, came out of the gate as “Wealth Creation Alliance,” saying it was selling “ad units” and declaring it was operated by an “Executive Dream Team.” (See Sept. 5, 2012, PP Blog story.)

Here’s a snippet from a September 2012 WCA sales pitch (italics added):

“We are fully operational right now and in our company pre-launch, this simply means that you are able to sign up for free and receive your business website and purchase advertising units as well. You can also refer and sign others in as well. We are also currently receiving payments and more importantly we are paying referral bonuses and daily profit sharing. Our pre-launch will continue through October 2012. We will hold our first major event the first weekend of November. (Details will be forthcoming)

On Sept. 7, the PP Blog reported that WCA was publishing promos for various HYIP schemes, including one that called itself A2P. A2P purported to be in “Pre-launch” and advertised these purported features.
- 7% daily payout for 30 days
- 10% income on 2 levels
- Join Free!
WCA appears now to be stuck in “prelaunch” mode through March 8 after missing a November launch date. Read the comment by “Disgusted WCA Affiliate” at BehindMLM. (Make sure you page up to read the Sept. 13, 2012, WCA story from Oz at BehindMLM.)
Dec 11, 2012