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  • Bot Attack At PP Blog

    The PP Blog is experiencing a spambot attack that almost exclusively is trained at a single story and Comments thread from February 2010, more than six years ago. Since early Tuesday, the onslaught has included about a spam per minute.

    The attack, a sort of miniDDoS involving scores and scores of IPs and email addresses likely stolen from across the web, is consuming bandwidth and creating maintenance chores. As of 5 p.m. ET today, it had filled a full 159 pages with spam, consisting of 20 spams per page. The word waste alone likely totals in the hundreds of thousands.

    A content scraper appears to be involved and, of course, nothing is sacred. One of the spams scraped the obituary of a person unknown to the PP Blog and sought to republish it here. In the instance of the obituary, the name of the deceased individual was used in a bid to redirect traffic to a website that had nothing to do with the individual. A typical spam includes one or more links to a host of websites and sales schemes.

    We have a couple of theories:

    • Someone not keen on our reporting is trying to blast it off the web, as was the case with the DDoS attacks here in the fall of 2010 and the traffic floods that occurred in 2011.
    • A purported SEO expert or specialist in removing “negative” information is using a bot to relentlessly target the story and accompanying Comments thread in a bid to force us to remove the information. The hope is that the drip-a-minute approach will wear us down and cause us to remove the story/thread.

    Ain’t gonna happen.

  • BULLETIN: Darryle Douglas, Alleged Zeek Insider, Arrested

    BULLETIN: (4th update 9:11 p.m. ET U.S.A.) Alleged Zeek Rewards’ insider Darryle Douglas has been arrested in Riverside, Calif.

    Court filings docketed March 7 in the SEC’s civil case against Zeek say Douglas, whose age was not listed, was arrested March 2 by the U.S. Marshals Service.

    On Dec. 10, 2015, Senior U.S. District Judge Graham C. Mullen of the Western District of North Carolina ordered marshals to arrest Douglas for civil contempt of court. On Jan. 5, 2016, marshals said they had not located him and that Douglas was the subject of an ongoing investigation.

    He is believed to reside in Orange County, Calif., an area close to Riverside in the southern part of the state.

    Word of the arrest was received tonight. The warrant issued by Mullen in December specified that Douglas was to be brought to North Carolina. The PP Blog could not immediately determine this evening if a transport had taken place.

    Douglas, who allegedly had access to Zeek’s database and did not return it as ordered, may be involved with a nascent scheme known as Auction Attics, the PP Blog reported last year. Others have said Auction Attics was morphing into something called Auction Addicts.

    Zeek was a penny-auction fraud that gathered on the order of $900 million, the SEC has said.

    NOTE: Our thanks to the ASD Updates Blog.




  • SEC: Binary Options Case Triggers Investor Alert

    breakingnews725Is there a double whammy in your MLM future — first being ripped off in a binary-options “program,” only to be ripped off a second time by scammers posing as government agencies and offering purported refunds for a fee?

    Naturally some MLMers have added binary options to their offerings, with some incredible solicitations and tales being told online. BehindMLM.com, for example, recently reported on the purported death of “Bob Roberts,” an asserted figure from a “program” known as Options Rider.

    In 2015, the PP Blog reported that Quebec’s securities regulator was concerned that binary-options scammers were steering people into reload schemes and posing as government entities. Meanwhile, there was the tale of SpotFN, a purported binary-options platform that reached across the oceans and plains to pluck investors in Missouri.

    At least one Missouri investor was told his money could be retrieved by paying a fee to a purported insurance company, authorities said.

    Binary-options “programs” also are appearing on the Ponzi boards, alongside HYIP, cycler and “advertising” scams.

    In 2013, the SEC brought an action against Cyprus-based Banc de Binary Ltd., its founder Oren Shabat Laurent and three affiliates alleging “that they failed to register the offering before soliciting U.S. customers through YouTube videos, spam e-mails, and other Internet advertising.”

    Banc de Binary has agreed to pay $11 million in a settlement, the SEC said today.

    This includes “$7.1 million in disgorgement and $1.95 million in penalties to the SEC as well as $2 million in penalties to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which filed a parallel action,” the SEC said.

    “Banc de Binary and its affiliates completely disregarded U.S. laws and registration requirements, and as a result they must surrender millions of dollars and be suspended from the industry,” said Michele Layne, director of the SEC’s Los Angeles Regional Office.

    Harmed investors will receive a distribution from a Fair Fund administered by the National Futures Association, the SEC said.

    Although it is nice that money apparently is available to compensate Banc de Binary customers, that’s not always the case, perhaps particularly with cross-border schemes.

    The settlement wasn’t the only news the SEC announced today. Indeed, the agency announced an Investor Alert that warns of “impersonators” tag-teaming the Banc de Binary case.

    “The SEC has become aware of some impersonators claiming to be affiliated with the SEC or other government agencies who have contacted harmed investors in this Banc de Binary case and asked them to pay a fee to facilitate their settlement payout,” the SEC said.  “It’s important for all investors to know that the SEC never makes people pay to get their money back.”

    Read the Investor Alert. “Avoid becoming a victim twice,” the SEC urged.

    Read the CFTC’s statement, which says a U.S. federal court has imposed “a permanent ban on offering or trading any further off-exchange binary options to U.S. customers.”

    Read Banc de Binary restitution information from the National Futures Association.




  • At Chicago Symposium, SEC Highlights Pyramid Scheme Task Force And Notes ‘Whack-A-Mole’ Nature Of Online Scams

    “These frauds are easily duplicated, and at times, we find ourselves playing ‘whack-a-mole,’ chasing the same set of fraudsters who, after feeling a bit of heat, simply close down one scheme and quickly set up a new one under a different name.” — Andrew Ceresney, SEC Enforcement Division director, March 2, 2016

    EDITOR’S NOTE: Type “whack-a-mole” into the PP Blog’s search box near the upper-right corner to find our stories that touch on frauds rising to replace other frauds. Examples include so-called “programs” that claim to be “advertising” companies or to have an “advertising” component — for example, Zeek Rewards, TelexFree, Banners Broker and AdSurfDaily. If you’re in an “advertising” program such as MyAdvertisingPays (MAPS) or TrafficMonsoon, you should asking some serious questions and thinking about whether serial fraudsters are whacking you.

    When one scheme collapses, another quickly rises to replace it. Many such schemes operate simultaneously, drafting the unwary into multiple miseries. Ill-gotten gains or losses pile up in the billions of dollars. Yes, billions.

    Of course, “whack-a-mole” is not limited to “advertising” schemes. There are “cycler” schemes such as “The Achieve Community” and its Ponzi-board equivalents. Meanwhile, there are HYIP schemes such as “Profitable Sunrise” and its Ponzi-board equivalents. MoneyMakerGroup and TalkGold are examples of Ponzi boards. The scammers now have added social media such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter to their arsenal. Vulnerable people and population groups are constant targets.

    Scams such as WCM777 that claim to have a “product” also are part of “whack-a-mole.”

    **________________________________**

    cautionflagLet’s begin by encouraging you to read Andrew Ceresney’s opening remarks at a joint symposium today sponsored by the SEC and the University of Illinois at Chicago. (Link at bottom of story. Also see Twitter links.)

    UIC promoted the event on its website, titling it “How to Detect and Combat Fraudsters Who Target Our Immigrant Groups and Affinity Communities Through Pyramid and Ponzi Schemes.” The institution notes it is “one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse universities in the country,” so it was a perfect place to host such a confab.

    Ceresney is the SEC’s director of enforcement. One of the things the PP Blog noted while reading the text of his remarks is that it included a subhead titled “Pyramid Schemes and Multi-Level Marketing.”

    This reflected on ongoing effort by the SEC to educate the public that the presence of a “product” in a scheme does not necessarily mean no scam is under way. Many MLMers erroneously believe that a “product” (or purported one) offered for sale cures all ills. That is simply not the case. A year ago in Congressional testimony, the director spoke about a “coordinated effort” to disrupt pyramid schemes.

    Ceresney today provided more details on a new Task Force that is combating pyramid fraud. Here is part of his remarks (italics/bolding added):

    After seeing an increase in complaints regarding pyramid schemes and affinity fraud, the SEC formed a nationwide Pyramid Scheme Task Force in June 2014 to provide a disciplined approach to halting the momentum of illegal pyramid scheme activities in the United States. The goal of the Task Force is to target these schemes by aggressively enforcing existing securities laws and increasing public awareness of this activity.

    The Division is deploying resources to disrupt these schemes through a coordinated effort of timely, aggressive enforcement actions along with community outreach and investor education. More than fifty SEC staff members are part of the nationwide Task Force, which is enhancing its enforcement reach by collaborating with other agencies and law enforcement authorities. We are also using new analytic techniques to identify patterns and common threads, thereby permitting earlier detection of potential fraudulent schemes.

    Collaboration with other regulators, including criminal authorities, is an important goal of the Task Force. To advance this goal, the Task Force has hosted an interagency summit attended by over 200 representatives from other federal and state agencies and has presented at local trainings and agency-specific conferences. And, of course, we have partnered with other regulators and criminal authorities to bring high-impact actions in this space. For example, one month after we filed our enforcement action against the operators of the TelexFree pyramid scheme, two of TelexFree’s principals were charged by the criminal authorities.

    Will the “program” you’re currently pitching become the subject of a “high-impact action?” Time will tell.

    In 11 SEC actions since 2012 involving pyramid operators, the damage resulted in ill-gotten gains or losses totaling more than $4.2 billion, Ceresney said today.

    Read his opening remarks at today’s Chicago symposium.

  • DEVELOPING STORY: TelexFree Rep Sued By Trustee Claims Herbalife ‘Executives’ And ‘Personnel’ Helped Sell Him On Alleged Ponzi/Pyramid Deal

    newtelexfreelogoDEVELOPING STORY: (Updated 9:23 p.m. ET U.S.A.) A TelexFree rep being sued by the court-appointed bankruptcy trustee for the return of more than $2.6 million in alleged winnings from the judicially declared Ponzi- and pyramid scheme claims that Herbalife “executives” and “personnel” attended a March 2014 TelexFree event in Boston and helped sell him on the ill-fated deal.

    In January, Trustee Stephen B. Darr sued Jose Neto of Worcester, Mass., in one of two proposed defendant class actions that includes thousands of other alleged TelexFree “winners” globally. Neto was one of 23 named winners with U.S. addresses. The other lawsuit is against 33 named winners with addresses outside the United States. All in all, the cases could affect nearly 100,000 TelexFree members who allegedly received fraudulent transfers.

    Neto responded to the lawsuit in a filing docketed Feb. 16. Among other things, he claims he believes TelexFree was a legitimate business and that executives from both TelexFree and Herbalife showed proof of TelexFree’s legitimacy.

    From the body of Neto’s response (italics added/light editing performed):

    TelexFree was presented to me as a multi-level marketing network, similar to Herbalife . . . (as a matter of fact, executives of Herbalife gave us several lectures and workshops about this topic). As such, it is intrinsic to the nature of this business that the highest level members, meaning the ones that started to work with the product before and built a stronger network, will have higher gains compared to the others.

    From an affidavit by Neto (italics added):

    In March 2014 at the International Love Event in Boston (ON YOUTUBE), TelexFree announced that it would be launching its own credit card, and people could no longer use money order or cashier’s check to buy more “partnership shares”, but solely the “TelexFree Card”. On this same, held for over 4,000 people, Carlos Wanzeler and James Merrill asserted to us once again that the company was 100% in compliance with the laws and along with the Herba Life personnel, he showed us on a PowerPoint presentation the certificates from the Secretary of State.

    The filing by Neto does not name the Herbalife “executives” or “personnel” on hand at the Boston TelexFree event. Wanzeler and Merrill are TelexFree executives who were charged criminally by the office of U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz of the District of Massachusetts after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The SEC has sued Wanzeler and Merrill.

    Herbalife, which is confronting a Federal Trade Commission probe over its business practices, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the PP Blog on Neto’s claims. The claims raise new questions about whether MLM firms may be targeting vulnerable population groups and the extent to which Herbalife reps also were involved in TelexFree.

    Neto claims in his filing that he recruited 24 participants for TelexFree. Many members of his downline appear to have Hispanic names. The SEC has said TelexFree targeted Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking communities.

    Activist investor and short-seller Bill Ackman has claimed Herbalife targets vulnerable population groups and is a pyramid scheme. Herbalife had denied the allegations.

    Neto claims he has paid taxes on TelexFree money he earned legitimately and that Darr is trying to hold him accountable for money he never removed from the program.

     

     

  • ‘BidsThatGive’ Operator Listed As Oregon’s Biggest Tax Scofflaw

    Randall Jeffers in a pitch for BidsThatGive. From the PP Blog archives, July 2012.
    Randall Jeffers in a pitch for BidsThatGive. From the PP Blog archives, July 2012.

    UPDATED 12:41 P.M. ET U.S.A. Remember “BidsThatGive,” the bizarre auction “program” linked to MLM huckster Randall Jeffers that surfaced just prior to the spectacular collapse of Zeek Rewards in 2012 amid Ponzi-scheme allegations?

    Among other things, BidsThatGive was notable for reckless name-dropping and claiming it existed to feed children and prevent them from becoming sex slaves. The then-upstart commandeered the names of Chelsea Clinton, presidential adviser Doug Wead and NBC News anchor Lester Holt — all while soliciting $25,000 in “certified funds” from purported “founders” and promising “Presidential Ambassadors” they could qualify for an”Exotic Car, Yacht, RV or Home.”

    One promo for BTG, as it was known, promised that that the “opportunity’s” most successful distributors would receive an “orphanage in your name.”

    From the 2012 BTG promo, as reported by the PP Blog (italics added):

    “ . . . what we do is we take a quarter-million dollars out of the company’s profit, right? It’s not coming out of your pocket; it comes out of the company profit, and we’re going to establish an orphanage in your name. So, that’s your little slice of heaven. You don’t have to manage it or run it. We’ll put some cameras up and you can see the kids that you actually pretty much saved their life, and that’s just an emotional reward for you, as well as all the monetary things that you’ve already earned.”

    Nevada has revoked the business registrations of BidsThat Give and a related company known as BTG180.

    And now, according to a Feb. 25 story in the Oregonian that cites state records, Randall Jeffers is Oregon’s biggest individual tax scofflaw, owing more than $3.8 million in personal income tax.

    BTG, meanwhile, has carded an “F” from the Better Business Bureau.

    In 2014, Jeffers was a plaintiff in a trademark-infringement case that named Zeek figure Robert Craddock a defendant and accused him of engaging in a “shake down” bid against BTG affiliates.

    In an unrelated matter, Craddock later was charged and convicted of scamming the Deepwater Horizon oil-spill fund of more than $100,000.




  • SPECIAL REPORT: Zeek Money May Be In Collapsed Russian Bank

    From the PP Blog archives: April 2012.
    Funds from Zeek, which once auctioned sums of U.S. currency, may have ended up in a collapsed Russian bank. Graphic from the PP Blog archives: April 2012.

    EDITOR’S NOTE: For background, see Feb. 17 PP Blog story: RECEIVER: Payza And Payment World ‘Facilitated’ Zeek Ponzi Scheme; Whereabouts Of $13.1 Million An ‘Open Question’

    (Updated 11:14 a.m. ET U.S.A.) Money due victims of Zeek Rewards from transactions involving Payza and Payment World may have been transferred from VictoriaBank in Moldova to JSC TusarBank in Russia in violation of an asset freeze imposed in 2012 by a U.S. court, according to court filings by Zeek receiver Kenneth D. Bell.

    Meanwhile, OboPay’s name now has surfaced in filings by Bell. This is in the form of an October 2012 email from a Payment World official to a Payza official questioning Payza’s relationship with OboPay. The U.S. Justice Department last year announced a criminal investigation involving Payza and OboPay. The specific reason behind the probe and the targets are unknown.

    TusarBank collapsed in September 2015 and has been recommended for criminal investigation, according to the press office of Russia’s central bank. The bank’s website is beaming a “not available now” message.

    Senior U.S. District Judge Graham C. Mullen of the Western District of North Carolina last week lifted the seal on Bell’s 258-page filing in which Bell alleged Payza, Payment World and VictoriaBank enabled Zeek’s Ponzi scheme shut down by the SEC in 2012. The filing consisted of a 26-page motion and 232 pages of exhibits, including emails between Payza and Payment World. As noted above, one of the exhibits raises the name of OboPay.

    Mullen imposed the asset freeze in August 2012.

    Whether the possible transfer of Zeek-related funds from Moldova to Russia is part of the Russian probe is unclear.

    Adding to the international intrigue is that a second Russian bank that somehow might have been involved in the Payment World-related money flow reportedly collapsed in 2013. This institution is known as Master Bank and is described in Bell’s exhibits as a “sponsoring bank” of a Payment World entity in Hong Kong.

    A sponsoring bank provides processors access to Visa or MasterCard networks

    On Sept. 13, 2015, just prior to the collapse of TusarBank, the Moscow Times listed Master Bank as one of “Russia’s Biggest Banking Crashes of the Last 2 Years.” This crash occurred in 2013 and was notable for something beyond the 31.3-billion-ruble bailout.

    As the Moscow Times reported (italics added):

    Even having Igor Putin, a cousin of President Vladimir Putin, on the board of directors could not save Master Bank. The lender’s license was revoked in November 2013 with the Central Bank alleging the bank had violated money laundering legislation and processed large suspicious transactions.

    In 2012, just prior to the collapse of Zeek, Zeek figure Keith Laggos claimed he had helped Zeek move payment operations offshore, including to Hong Kong. Specific details of that asserted move are unknown. Zeek had about 15 financial vendors, according to court filings.

    Payza, under the leadership of Firoz Patel, has claimed it conducted due diligence on Zeek, according to Bell’s filings. Even if true, it somehow appears to have missed that Zeek was offering an outrageous and unusually consistent return averaging about 1.5 percent a day and also claimed “compounding” was possible.

    The SEC has described Zeek as a cross-border Ponzi scheme that gathered nearly $900 million while operating from North Carolina.

    From Bell’s filing (italics added):

    On August 29, 2010, Paul Burks [of Zeek] onboarded an account with Payza (then, known as AlertPay) in the name of Rex Venture Group LLC that was associated with two websites: www.zeekrewards.com and www.zeekler.com. Prior to the boarding of the account, Payza purportedly conducted due diligence, collecting and reviewing information about Paul Burks and the business. According to Payza, during the course of the relationship, it monitored and mitigated risk. Despite these procedures, Payza did not identify or address the red flags indicating that ZeekRewards was a Ponzi scheme and, instead, together with PaymentWorld and VictoriaBank [of Moldova], facilitated access and payment to and from ZeekRewards by numerous affiliates worldwide.

    Bell’s 258-page filing is available on the landing page of the receivership website. It is styled, “Memorandum in Support of the Receiver’s Motion for an Order Directing Payza, Payment World, and VictoriaBank to Turn Over Receivership Assets and/or Find Them in Contempt of the Court’s Order Freezing and Preserving Receivership Assets.”

    NOTE: Our thanks to the ASD Updates Blog.




  • RECEIVER: Payza And Payment World ‘Facilitated’ Zeek Ponzi Scheme; Whereabouts Of $13.1 Million An ‘Open Question’

    Zeek was a purported penny auction.
    Zeek was a purported penny auction.

    Zeek Rewards’ receiver Kenneth D. Bell has gone to federal court in the Western District of North Carolina, alleging that the Payza and Payment World payment processors “facilitated” the epic cross-border Zeek Ponzi- and pyramid scheme.

    More than $13.1 million in funds from North Carolina-based Zeek that could be used to compensate victims ended up in VictoriaBank in Moldova, owing to a processing relationship among Payza, Payment World and the bank, Bell alleged.

    Now, Bell contends, “based on recent developments in the Receiver’s investigation, there is an open question as to whether the Receivership Assets held on Reserve at VictoriaBank remain or were transferred from the account.”

    The disturbing allegations are part of a motion in which Bell seeks to hold Payza, Payment World and VictoriaBank in contempt. They come as federal prosecutors in the District of Colombia and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security are conducting a criminal investigation involving Payza and OboPay, another payment processor.

    Prosecutors haven’t revealed the target of the criminal probe. It is unclear whether there is any nexus with the Zeek case, alleged overall to involve $897 million. Zeek, a Ponzi forum “program,” allegedly created tens and tens of thousands of victims worldwide.

    Payza is a Ponzi-forum darling. Its predecessor, AlertPay, is referenced in court filings in the 2008 AdSurfDaily Ponzi case. Scores of Ponzi-board “programs” claim to accept Payza, including an emerging scheme known as Traffic Monsoon.

    Bell accused Payza, Payment World and VictoriaBank of violating an asset-freeze order issued in 2012 by Senior U.S. District Judge Graham C. Mullen.

    In a novel legal maneuver, Bell has persuaded Mullen to freeze a correspondent account VictoriaBank holds on U.S. soil at Bank of New York Mellon. Mullen authorized the freezing of more than $13.1 million in the account.

    If the account proves not to hold that sum, VictoriaBank must deposit with the receivership the difference between the frozen sum and the $13.1 million Bell claims as receivership assets, according to the order.

    Bell signaled on Feb. 1 that the receivership would pursue Payza, Payment World and VictoriaBank.

    Moldova is situated in Eastern Europe. It shares a border with Ukraine, a world hot spot.

    NOTE: Thanks to the ASD Updates Blog.




  • Payza/OboPay Investigation Continues

    The office of U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips of the District of Columbia originally anticipated making an announcement about a criminal investigation involving the Payza and OboPay payment processors “shortly” after Jan. 22.

    On Feb. 10, however, prosecutors updated their Victim/Witness site to say they now do not expect to make an announcement until “shortly” after April 29.

    Payza, alleging fraud, sued OboPay last year. As the PP Blog reported in October, prosecutors intervened in the civil case and requested a stay while the criminal probe continued.

    U.S. District Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton of the Northern District of California initially paused the civil case until Jan. 22. The stay now has been extended until April 29 at the request of prosecutors with agreement by the parties, according to court filings.

    The target of the criminal probe has not been revealed.

    UPDATE MAY 23, 2016, 4:03 P.M. The stay in the civil case has been extended until June 29, 2016. The Victim/Witness site has been updated to reflect this.

    NOTE: Our thanks to the ASD Updates Blog.




  • URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: Justice Antonin Scalia Dies In Texas

    breakingnews725URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: Antonin Scalia, an associate justice of the nine-member U.S. Supreme Court, has died in Texas, according to multiple media reports.

    From Texas Gov. Greg Abbott:

    “Justice Antonin Scalia was a man of God, a patriot, and an unwavering defender of the written Constitution and the Rule of Law. He was the solid rock who turned away so many attempts to depart from and distort the Constitution. His fierce loyalty to the Constitution set an unmatched example, not just for judges and lawyers, but for all Americans. We mourn his passing, and we pray that his successor on the Supreme Court will take his place as a champion for the written Constitution and the Rule of Law. Cecilia and I extend our deepest condolences to his family, and we will keep them in our thoughts and prayers.”

    Scalia, 79, was known for his conservatism. He was appointed to the court by President Ronald Reagan in 1986.

    From Justice Scalia’s official bio on the Supreme Court website (as of 5:45 p.m. EDT today):

    Antonin Scalia, Associate Justice,
    was born in Trenton, New Jersey, March 11, 1936. He married Maureen McCarthy and has nine children – Ann Forrest, Eugene, John Francis, Catherine Elisabeth, Mary Clare, Paul David, Matthew, Christopher James, and Margaret Jane. He received his A.B. from Georgetown University and the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, and his LL.B. from Harvard Law School, and was a Sheldon Fellow of Harvard University from 1960–1961. He was in private practice in Cleveland, Ohio from 1961–1967, a Professor of Law at the University of Virginia from 1967–1971, and a Professor of Law at the University of Chicago from 1977–1982, and a Visiting Professor of Law at Georgetown University and Stanford University. He was chairman of the American Bar Association’s Section of Administrative Law, 1981–1982, and its Conference of Section Chairmen, 1982–1983. He served the federal government as General Counsel of the Office of Telecommunications Policy from 1971–1972, Chairman of the Administrative Conference of the United States from 1972–1974, and Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel from 1974–1977. He was appointed Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 1982. President Reagan nominated him as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, and he took his seat September 26, 1986.

    Statement by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr:

    On behalf of the Court and retired Justices, I am saddened to report that our colleague Justice Antonin Scalia has passed away. He was an extraordinary individual and jurist, admired and treasured by his colleagues. His passing is a great loss to the Court and the country he so loyally served. We extend our deepest condolences to his wife Maureen and his family.

    Statement by former President George W. Bush:

    Laura and I mourn the death of a brilliant jurist and important American, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. He was a towering figure and important judge on our Nation’s highest court. He brought intellect, good judgment, and wit to the bench, and he will be missed by his colleagues and our country. Laura and I send our heartfelt sympathies and condolences to his wife, Maureen, their nine children, and the entire Scalia family.




  • TELEXFREE CLASS-ACTION: Judge Restrains Assets Of 2 Alleged Promoters, Including Scott Miller And ‘MyAdvertisingPays’ Pitchman Daniil Shoyfer

    ponzinews1Let’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. District Judge Timothy S. Hillman against Shoyfer (of New York) and Miller (of Indiana) flow from an altogether different case: a proposed class-action brought by plaintiffs last year.

    Indeed, private plaintiffs represented by private attorneys — as opposed to government plaintiffs represented by government attorneys — have now managed to persuade a judge to block the flow of funds alleged to be tainted by fraud.

    This is horrible news if you’re a serial promoter of MLM fraud schemes or Ponzi-board “programs” because it demonstrates that the government no longer is your singular worry. Put another way, even if the SEC or some other agency “misses” you, aggressive class-action attorneys may not.

    They even may be tracking you as you move from scheme to scheme — and, of course, agencies such as the SEC follow court filings in related actions closely.

    Even though the private lawyers did not get everything they sought in yesterday’s order by Hillman, they got enough to seriously complicate the lives of their targets. Although the judge did not restrain assets with no nexus to the alleged $3 billion TelexFree Ponzi- and pyramid scheme, both Shoyfer and Miller now must make monthly financial reports to the court.

    From the order:

    “Each Individual Defendant shall file a statement of accounting with the Court, under seal, on the last day of each month by 5:00 p.m. EST, setting forth all monetary expenditures and the sale and/or transfer of all assets made in the prior month . . . To the extent that any Individual Defendant seeks to expend money or to sell, transfer dissipate, assign, pledge, alienate, encumber, diminish in value, or otherwise dispose of any funds or other assets which they would not be permitted to do under the terms of this Order, such defendant may file a motion with the Court setting forth, in detail the nature of the transaction.”

    And, the judge continued, “The Individual Defendants may petition the Court to exempt from this Order any fund or other assets in any bank, brokerage or other financial institution accounts and any other assets held by of for the benefit of such defendant on the grounds that such assets are not traceable to monies received by him in connection with his involvement with TelexFree. The Individual Defendants shall submit detailed financial statements and/or other documentary evidence to establish the funds held or assets in question are funds or assets were acquired independently. The Individual Defendants shall also submit an accompanying affidavit signed under the pains and penalties of perjury attesting to the authenticity and truth of the evidence submitted in support of their motion to exempt. All filings made pursuant to this section shall be filed under seal. After reviewing the filing, the Court will determine whether notice to the Plaintiffs, discovery and/or a hearing will be required.”

    The class-action lawyers already have accused Shoyfer of promoting “MyAdvertisingPays” on the heels of TelexFree. They alleged MAPS, as it is known, is another Ponzi scheme.

    So, under the terms of the order, it would appear that, if Shoyfer wants to keep any MAPS income that flowed to him on the grounds it did not originate with TelexFree, he would have to petition the court to do so.

    Miller, known for telling a “Carlos Danger” joke to a TelexFree audience and pitching the program to Americans while it was under investigation in Brazil amid reports of threats against a judge and prosecutor, was part of an effort to solicit sums as high as $15,125 from TelexFree prospects. Viewers were told their $15,125 would return at least $1,100 a week for a year.

    In restraining the assets of Miller and Shoyfer, Hillman found that the plaintiffs likely would prevail on the merits. Unlike Shoyfer. Miller did not seek to block the preliminary injunction.

    But Hillman also cautioned the plaintiffs that more work was needed and that the “depiction of Shoyfer as a ‘Top Level Promoter’ who swindled TelexFree victims out of millions of dollars is, on the current record, nothing more than unsupported rhetoric.”

    NOTE: Our thanks to the ASD Updates Blog.