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Was This Man Your Zeek Sponsor?

UPDATED 12:51 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) This man (photo left) has been identified by a PP Blog reader as Jack Phillips, a suspect in an alleged swindle involving investments in purported emeralds. Phillips, 77, is a resident of Oregon. He was charged criminally last week in Salt Lake County, Utah, in the alleged emeralds caper. Zeek…

Oct 2, 2012
BULLETIN: Purported ‘Sovereign Citizen,’ 71, Charged In Alleged Murder-For-Hire Plot Against Federal Judge In Texas

BULLETIN: A federal judge in Texas was the target of a murder-for-hire plot by a purported “sovereign citizen,” the FBI said. Phillip Monroe Ballard, 71, already was jailed at the Fort Worth Federal Correctional Institution when he solicited the killing of U.S. District Judge John McBryde, the office of U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of…

Oct 1, 2012
‘Investor-Fraud Summits’ Set For 6 U.S. Cities: Stamford, Conn.; Nashville, Tenn.; San Francisco; Denver; Cleveland And Miami

What: Investor Fraud Summits. Where/When: Stamford, Conn. (today from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. EDT at the University of Connecticut – Stamford Campus); Nashville, Tenn. (Oct. 4 from 8:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. EDT at Vanderbilt University Law School’s Flynn Auditorium located at 131 21st Avenue South) ; San Francisco (Oct. 9, in Walnut Creek,…

Oct 1, 2012
Month After Zeek Ponzi Complaint By SEC, ASD Figures (And Zeek Pitchmen) Todd Disner And Dwight Owen Schweitzer Accuse Judge Who Dismissed Their ASD-Related Lawsuit Of ‘Sophistry’; Duo Tries To Reopen Case And Have Judge Removed

MLM pitchmen and AdSurfDaily figures Todd Disner and Dwight Owen Schweitzer — both of whom went on to become promoters of the alleged Zeek Rewards Ponzi scheme — have accused a federal judge of “sophistry.” Sophistry, according to Dictionary.com, means “a subtle, tricky, superficially plausible, but generally fallacious method of reasoning.” Disner turned to MLM…

Sep 28, 2012
FOR COURT PERSONNEL, ATTORNEYS, INVESTIGATORS: Alberta Judge Analyzes Bizarre Filings By ‘Sovereign Citizens,’ Others; Divorce Case Leads To Extraordinary Dissection Of Various Schemes And Introduces New Term: ‘Organized Pseudolegal Commercial Argument’ (OPCA)

From time to time over the years, readers have commented that some of the stories published by the PP Blog read like fiction. Did AdSurfDaily Ponzi schemer Andy Bowdoin, for example, really compare the U.S. Secret Service to “Satan” and the 9/11 terrorists? The answer is yes. But if the answer weren’t disturbing enough, any…

Sep 28, 2012
SEC Says Zeek Probe ‘Is Continuing’; Agency Updates Information Page

UPDATED 10:05 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) The SEC today updated its information site on the Zeek Rewards Ponzi scheme case, noting its investigation “is continuing” and pointedly adding language that “ZeekRewards and [Paul R.] Burks immediately consented to an asset freeze, the appointment of a receiver over their assets, and the payment of a $4 million…

Sep 26, 2012
UPDATE: 1-Percent-A-Day Ponzi Schemer Andy Bowdoin Of AdSurfDaily In Custody Of U.S. Marshals And On Way To Federal Prison

Convicted AdSurfDaily Ponzi schemer Andy Bowdoin is in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service and is listed “in transit” to a federal detention facility, according to court filings and the Federal Bureau of Prisons website. Where Bowdoin, 77, will do his time has not yet been revealed. But a criminal judgment against Bowdoin signed…

Sep 25, 2012
BULLETIN: FTC Says Rent-To-Own Companies Used Software To Spy On Customers In Their Own Homes And At WiFi Spots; Agency’s Complaints Introduce Specter of Private Big Brother

BULLETIN: In announcing deeply troubling allegations today, the FTC said that seven rent-to-own companies and a software firm spied on customers who leased computers. The customers were spied on in their own homes and at WiFi spots, the FTC alleged. Although the companies agreed to settle the FTC’s charges, the allegations alone introduce the specter…

Sep 25, 2012
EDITORIAL: On Threats, Reporting On An Unprecedented Crime Wave — And A Disappearing Cloud Tag In The Age Of Epic White-Collar Fraud

EDITOR’S NOTE: On Friday, the PP Blog was informed by the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions that it wanted the Blog to remove its “tag.” This editorial describes the PP Blog’s thoughts on the matter. ** _____ ** Containing HYIP fraud schemes and online crime in the Information Age is a daunting challenge. There…

Sep 24, 2012
ZEEK: Part Of The Backstory — In Pictures

UPDATED 4:20 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) Unsolved mysteries remain in the Zeek Rewards Ponzi scheme case. Among the unanswered questions are these: How many members did Zeek have in common with AdSurfDaily, a predecessor 1-percent-a-day scam to the Zeek scheme? Why do some Zeek “defenders” appear to be engaged in bizarre bids to harass and menace…

Sep 23, 2012
DEVELOPING STORY: Pittsburgh Police On Scene Of Possible Hostage Situation At CW Breitsman Associates LLC, Firm That Administers Insurance And Benefits Plans [UPDATE: Suspect in Custody]

UPDATED 2:38 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) Klein Michael Thaxton now is in police custody, CBS News is reporting. Below, our earlier brief . . . ** ______ ** Pittsburgh police, including a SWAT team, are at the scene of a possible hostage situation inside the 16th-floor offices of CW Breitsman Associates LLC, a third-party administrator of…

Sep 21, 2012

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