Category: Writing And Branding
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TELEXFREE CLASS-ACTION: Judge Restrains Assets Of 2 Alleged Promoters, Including Scott Miller And ‘MyAdvertisingPays’ Pitchman Daniil Shoyfer
Let’s begin by pointing out that Daniil Shoyfer and Scott Miller have not been charged by the SEC in its 2014 TelexFree action. There are asset freezes aplenty in that government-brought case, including freezes against alleged promoters Sann Rodrigues, Faith Sloan, Randy Crosby and Santiago De La Rosa. The asset restraints imposed yesterday by U.S.…
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TelexFree’s Merrill Concerned About Internet ‘Spectacle’
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a follow-up to our Feb. 4 article that reported TelexFree figure James Merrill potentially could be forced to take the Fifth Amendment in front of a large audience at a music hall in Worcester, Mass., on Feb. 10. **____________________________** Forcing him to take the Fifth Amendment tomorrow at Mechanics Hall in…
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BULLETIN: Zeek Receiver May Push For Contempt Against Payza
BULLETIN: New court filings in the Zeek Rewards’ Ponzi- and pyramid-scheme case brought by the SEC in 2012 say Zeek receiver Kenneth D. Bell may ask a federal judge for a finding of contempt against Payza, a payment processor. The news comes as federal prosecutors continue a criminal investigation involving Payza and Obopay, another payment processor. Prosecutors…
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EAdGear Case: Judge Orders More Than $26 Million In Disgorgement And Penalties
Another pyramid scheme has proven costly for its operators. Here, according to the SEC, is the rundown from the EAdGear case brought in 2014. eAdGear Holdings Limited and eAdGear Inc. have been ordered to disgorge $21 million in ill-gotten gains, pay prejudgment interest of $640,000 and pay a civil penalty in the amount of $1,000,000.…
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UPDATE: Sann Rodrigues Wants To Avoid ‘Con Air’ Flight
Through defense counsel, TelexFree figure Sann Rodrigues said in court filings today that he wanted to avoid a flight on “Con Air” from Florida to Massachusetts to face a contempt proceeding in federal court there. “Con Air” is a nickname for the Justice Prisoner & Alien Transportation System (JPATS) operated by the U.S. Marshals Service. It’s…
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‘Phone Card’ Ponzi Schemer Caught With Pipe Bombs, IEDs And Thousands Of Rounds Of Ammunition Sentenced To Prison
Istvan Merchenthaler, the “PhoneCard USA” Ponzi schemer who fabricated ties to Walmart and later was caught with pipe bombs, improvised explosive devices, a machine pistol and 16 other firearms spread across three states, has been sentenced to 140 months in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Robert F. Kelly of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania also ordered Merchenthaler to…
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Is Profitable Sunrise Pyramid Case At Risk? SEC Declines Comment
The SEC this afternoon declined comment on an order by a federal judge in Atlanta that could lead to the dismissal of the agency’s 2013 case against Profitable Sunrise, an alleged international pyramid scheme and offering fraud targeted at U.S. residents by one or more murky figures. Such a dismissal almost certainly would embolden overseas HYIP scammers…
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Zeek Figure Darryle Douglas ‘Subject Of Ongoing Investigation’ By U.S. Marshals Service
Darryle Douglas, the alleged Zeek Rewards’ insider whose arrest was ordered last month, is still wanted by the U.S. Marshals Service. “He is the subject of an ongoing investigation,” a spokesman for the Marshals Service in the Western District of North Carolina told the PP Blog moments ago. “We’re trying to locate him.” The spokesman declined to…