UPDATE: The website of TheBizVideos.com has gone missing, taking with it sales promos for JSS Tripler and other purported “opportunities” in the wake of an action by the Italian securities regulator CONSOB. The site, which appears to use nameservers in New York, is returning a “Server not found” error in Firefox. When pinged, it returns an “Unknown error: 1214” message.
It is at least the second website with a direct or indirect tie to JSS Tripler to have gone missing in recent days. A site styled JSS-Tripler.com, which was hosted in Utah, went missing last week under mysterious circumstances.
Precisely why the sites have gone dark is unclear. Also unclear is who caused the sites to disappear.
What’s known about TheBizVideos.com is that it hosted JSS sales promos linked to alleged JSS Tripler promoter Andrea Viz and a website known as vizconsigli.com. (See CONSOB reference from last month.)
Whether JSS Tripler plans to help its affiliates mount a defense in Italy or any other country that may open a probe is unknown. Individual JSS Tripler promoters could find themselves holding the bag for both financial losses tied to their JSS Tripler participation and legal bills. Ponzi-forum posters flogging JSS Tripler have largely ignored the CONSOB action.
Separately, JustBeenPaid — the purported operator of JSS Tripler — has changed information on its website that references a “patent.”
The site previously made this specious claim: “JustBeenPaid! (JBP) and its related programs, including JSS-Tripler, are licensed under United States Patent 6,578,010.”
JustBeenPaid, however, now makes this equally specious (and even more bizarre) claim: “JustBeenPaid! (JBP) and its related programs operate in accordance with United States Patent 6,578,010 (now public domain).”
Precisely when and why the change was made is unclear, but the site was offline last night briefly in the the United States. JBP purportedly is operated by Frederick Mann, who claimed in 2008 to have been a promoter of AdSurfDaily. The U.S. Secret Service described ASD as a massive international Ponzi scheme.
Some JSSTripler promoters also have been linked to ClubAsteria, a purported “opportunity” that caused promoters to come under the CONSOB lens last year.
As things stand on the JustBeenPaid domain, how a securities scheme operates “in accordance with” a U.S. patent is left to the imagination. The JSS Tripler-related CONSOB probe is about securities and securities licensing, not about patents and inventions.
Prior to going offline, the BizVideos site made this claim. (Emphasis added.)
“TheBizVideos is 100% free and is designed for those who want toadvertise (sic) a business and then using the video, but without limitations.“
EDITOR’S NOTE: As the PP Blog was preparing this story for publication today, Michael Crane was charged with a third murder. The victim, Bruce Gaudet, was found in a burning home Jan. 26, four days before the fire at the home of Lawrence and Glenna Shapiro.
The story of the Shapiro homicides and Crane’s first court appearance in their deaths is below . . .
Lawrence Shapiro, 79, and Glenna Shapiro, 78, were found murdered late last month in Arizona. Lawrence was a physician, his wife of more than 50 years an educator. For nearly 30 years, she was the leader of what became the Arizona branch of the National Kidney Foundation. The PP Blog encourages its audience to visit this remarkable Blog, an homage to the remarkable lives of the Shapiros.
What leaps off the pages is a story of love and profound respect and gratitude for two human beings who touched people of all stripes. It is simply unthinkable that they allegedly were bound and their Paradise Valley home set ablaze, with the Shapiros inside.
A suspect has been charged with their murder and other crimes. His name is Michael Lee Crane. He is 31 years old, and declined his first chance to have the court appoint an attorney for him.
This is the Maricopa County video of his initial appearance after being charged with the murder of the Shapiros.
What he said at that appearance after being advised he’d been charged with murder, armed robbery, burglary, arson of an occupied structure and kidnapping — and after he listened to an exchange between the prosecutor and the judge over the possibility that the death penalty could apply in the case — provides a glimpse into a chilling mind-set.
“Do you have any questions, sir?” the judge asked, after setting cash bond at $3 million.
“Umm, no — but I have a statement I’d like to make,” Crane replied.
The judge advised Crane against making any statements, but he ignored the advice.
“I would like to reserve my right to Uniform Commercial Code 1-207, and the Uniform Commercial Code 1-103,” he said.
Here is a man charged with taking human lives and burning the bodies, and yet he spouts the Uniform Commercial Code to the judge — something fantastically incongruous in the context of the charges against him.
“The Uniform Commercial Code does not apply to criminal proceedings, sir,” the judge said.
It is unclear from the video whether the judge was wondering if she’d just arraigned a “sovereign citizen.” She did not utter the phrase.
Read “Return of the Sovereigns” on the website of the Southern Poverty Law Center for some background on why “sovereign citizens” and the Uniform Commercial Code have become entwined.
Although Crane did not declare his belief system at the proceeding, questions are now being raised about whether the Shapiros met their fates at the hands of a “sovereign citizen.”
David Russell Myrland, the Washington state “sovereign citizen” ordered in December 2011 to spend 40 months in federal prison for threatening the mayor of Kirkland and other public officials, has filed a lawsuit against federal prosecutors in Seattle that alleges (apparently) that law enforcement engaged in a grammar conspiracy against him.
Myrland’s 28-page complaint (including purported exhibits) formally was filed Jan. 23. Information within the complaint suggests Myrland began working on the document only days after his prison sentence was handed down Dec. 2. He is listed as an inmate at the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in Chicago.
MCC houses prisoners of all security levels, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons website.
While apparently alleging a grammar conspiracy by government officials contributed to his legal problems in a threats case, David Russell Myrland may be demonstrating his own lack of command over language skills.
“Sovereign citizens” are known to file all sorts of wild documents, but Myrland’s grammar lawsuit may set a new standard for the absurd. The document appears to parse virtually every word of a criminal complaint filed against him in the threats case by a special agent of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
It does the same thing with Myrland’s plea agreement in the case.
Both documents purport to break down individual words into their individual parts of speech, but the complaint suggests Myrland himself may suffer from grammar confusion. The word “mayor,” for instance, is declared an adjective under the interpretation “key” Myrland included in the complaint.
“Mayor” is actually a noun.
Myrland also declares the word “the” an adverb under his numbering system. “The” is actually a definite article. Mistakes involving other words pepper the complaint.
Seattle Weekly reported that the office of U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan declined comment on Myrland’s complaint, “except to say he could face civil sanctions for filing a frivolous lawsuit. “
“WE NEED INTERNATIONAL SATELLITE PARTNERS: #1 must have minimum $25,000 deposit. #2 must have a good name in the country. #3 must be very honest and trustworthy. If you know of such a person in your country have them send a request to [deleted]@textcashnetwork.com.” — Feb. 13, 2012, Blog promo for Text Cash Network
From a TCN Blog promo on Feb. 13, 2012.
UPDATED 12:07 A.M. ET (FEB. 16, USA.)
Following a previous pattern of scams linked to MLM huckster Phil Piccolo, the purported Text Cash Network (TCN) text-advertising “opportunity” now is fishing for great sums of cash, according to affiliate Blog posts that appear not to even to question the offer.
The posts appear to be based on an email affiliates received from TCN , with affiliates simply copying and pasting the content on Blogs.
TCN, according to the posts, is seeking “INTERNATIONAL SATELLITE PARTNERS” willing to plunk down a “minimum $25,000 deposit.” The posts are tied to a purported TCN celebration for being in business for 100 days.
The promos also are hyping something called the “VIP Plus Advertising Package,” which purportedly will debut March 16 at a cost of “$499 + $60 Monthly x 11 Months with 100% of the additional funds going to the VIP Plus Agents.”
Some TCN affiliates are simultaneously encouraging recruits and prospects to send money to TCN via Western Union to buy in as TCN distributors at levels between $129 and $399. Such tactics have been associated with advance-fee scams and other forms of fraud.
“Western Union will allow you to put it on your credit card!” one TCN affiliate promo roars. “Call Western Union for details.”
In November 2010, a Piccolo-associated entity known as One World One Website (OWOW) solicited members to send in cash amid promises the contributions would earn “24% Annual Interest.” The offer led to questions about whether OWOW, which is listed as a defunct Wyoming corporation while it maintains websites that are unable to process payments, was selling unregistered securities as investment contracts.
“The 24% Annual Interest On Your Money … Did you know that many PROS are receiving 24% Annual Interest on their money. The deadline for 24% annual interest paid in monthly increments of 2% will end on 11/30/2010 . . . Any funds deposited thereafter will pay 18% annual interest in monthly increments of 1.5%,” the Nov. 18, 2010, OWOW email read in part.
In July 2010, Data Network Affiliates — another venture associated with Piccolo — said it was offering an offshore “resorts” program through a vendor. Members could buy into the purported program through a “No Interest Easy 24 Month” payment plan of of $625 a month. DNA solicited members to spend $14,995 on the resorts program, suggesting that some prospects would put the entire amount on a credit card.
Like the current TCN invitation soliciting deposits of $25,000, the OWOW email from November 2010 included an email address. Prospects with access to cash were encouraged to use the address to contact the company to discuss the offer.
Recent scams with which Piccolo has been involved — including OWOW and DNA — have featured Piccolo as a background player. Other individuals emerged as the faces of the company.
TCN has ducked questions about Piccolo. The firm lists Brett Hudson as its president. Both TCN and DNA operate in the region of Boca Raton, Fla.
DNA’s former CEO resigned within a matter of weeks in early 2010, saying that various email missives from the company were “bull” from a “backdoor guy.” Both TCN and DNA purport to operate “processing centers” in Boca Raton.
DNA’s corporate registration is listed in Nevada as dissolved. Like OWOW, Text Cash Network filed corporate paperwork in Wyoming. OWOW’s registration is listed as “delinquent” and “Inactive – Administratively Dissolved (Tax).”
OWOW effectively died in November 2011, the same month TCN was born in Wyoming, according to records. OWOW got a 10-day head start on other TCN affiliates in early November, according to web promos that explained OWOW was helping TCN test its system.
Why TCN would choose OWOW as a key, early business partner is unclear.
Another common thread among TCN, DNA and OWOW is the presence of Piccolo business associate and MLM huckster Joe Reid. TCN has accented the purported “tax” benefits of joining, something DNA also did.
BULLETIN: David Carroll Stephenson, an alleged business associate of AdSurfDaily figure and purported “sovereign citizen” Kenneth Wayne Leaming, has been moved from a federal prison in Arizona to the SeaTac federal detention center near Seattle to answer charges that he conspired with Leaming to file false liens against two Federal Bureau of Prisons officials.
Leaming, 56, remains in federal custody at SeaTac. In addition to charges that he worked with Stephenson to file bogus liens totaling $30 million against Harley Lappin and Dennis R. Smith, Leaming is accused of filing false liens against at least five public officials involved in the AdSurfDaily Ponzi case. He’s also charged with harboring two federal fugitives from Arkansas at his residence in Spanaway, Wash., being a felon in possession of firearms and uttering a bogus “Bonded Promissory Note” with a purported face value of $1 million.
Lappin is the former director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons; Smith is the warden of the Federal Correctional Institution in Phoenix. Stephenson and Leaming divined a construction by which Lappin owed Stephenson $10 million and Smith owed him $20 million, the FBI said in court documents filed in November 2011.
Some of the firms with which American-International had a business relationship formed their names with words typically associated with government or banking. One was called “Homeland Security Service,” for instance. Another was called “Presidential Detail.” Yet another was called “Federal Asset Management Service.” Still another was called “Federal Fleet Management,” according to records.
Stephenson, 56, was serving a 96-month prison sentence (ending in January 2013) for defrauding the United States in a tax scam during the time in which he plotted with Leaming last year to carry out the fraud against Lappin and Smith, the FBI said.
An FBI affidavit filed in November alleges that Leaming was conducting research on the real estate holdings and personal finances of U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts and his wife and discussed a scheme to serve Stephenson-related documents on Roberts through the school his children attended.
Robert’s is chief judge of the U.S. Supreme Court and America’s highest-ranking judicial officer. He is one of nine members of the Supreme Court.
Other Leaming email correspondence cited by the FBI suggests he sent a “certified,” Stephenson-related letter to the personal residence of Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and was trying to find a home address for Associate Justice Stephen G. Breyer — instead of sending Stephenson-related correspondence to the Supreme Court address.
Like Roberts, Ginsburg and Breyer are members of the Supreme Court.
Breyer’s name was in the news yesterday, amid reports that he was robbed while vacationing with his wife and several friends in Nevis last week by a masked intruder wielding a machete. The Supreme Court is on break. There were no reports that anyone was injured in the Nevis incident, but the robber allegedly got away with $1,000.
The email was attributed to “Keny,” a nickname used by Leaming.
Court records suggest Leaming was under FBI surveillance when the email was sent. He was arrested by an FBI terrorism task force about seven weeks later.
In court filings in the original liens case against Leaming in November, the FBI said “one of the specific documents” found in Washington state sought the staggering sum of $225.4 billion and listed “Kenneth Wayne, sovereign man” as “grantee,” and public officials as “grantors.”
Bogus liens against Mary Peters, the former U.S. Secretary of Transportation, and Cutler Dawson, president and CEO of Navy Federal Credit Union, also were discovered, according to court filings.
Leaming was arrested on the liens charges via a criminal complaint filed in November. The firearms, fugitive-harboring and false-utterance charges were added in a superseding grand-jury indictment returned on Jan. 26.
The two fugitives Leaming allegedly harbored were implicated in an Arkansas-based, home-business scam that fetched more than $2 million, according to court records. Meanwhile, the ASD Ponzi scheme fetched at least $110 million, federal prosecutors said.
Timothy Shawn Donavan, 63, and Sharon Jeannette Henningsen, 67 — the fugitives allegedly found with Leaming — both are listed as federal detainees at facilities in Texas. They initially were jailed at SeaTac in Washington state, but made bond after their November arrests and returned to Arkansas, according to federal records.
Bizarre pleadings laced with language associated with “sovereign citizens” soon began to appear in their Arkansas proceedings. Donavan’s bond was revoked after he refused to be sworn as a witness at a pretrial proceeding in Arkansas, according to records. He is jailed at a federal facility in Texas.
Henningsen currently is in federal custody at a Texas facility that provides specialized medical care and mental-health services, according to records.
Andy Bowdoin, the 77-year-old alleged operator of the ASD Ponzi scheme, is awaiting his September 2012 federal criminal trial on charges of wire fraud, securities fraud and selling unregistered securities.
BULLETIN: The St. Kitts Nevis Observer is reporting that U.S. Associate Justice Stephen Breyer was robbed last week by a masked intruder wielding a machete. (See report.)
Breyer, 73, is one of nine members of the U.S. Supreme Court and has served the nation in that capacity since being appointed by President Clinton in 1994.
The robbery occurred while the justice was vacationing in Nevis with his wife and several friends, and the FBI has dispatched an agent, the newspaper reported.
Nevis is an island of the West Indies chain in the Caribbean.
The Supreme Court has confirmed the incident to the Washington Post, and CNN is reporting that it was unclear whether the intruder knew Breyer’s professional identity.
Also unclear is the level of security provided the justice during his family vacation.
EDITOR’S NOTE: It’s often said that the so-called “sovereign citizen” movement is loosely knit.
But does it really matter if there is an in-depth, organized management structure, slate of officers or official roster of adherents if an individual anywhere — at any place in time — can borrow pages from a “sovereign” playbook to, say, gum up the legal process?
The PP Blog encourages its audience to visit the site of the Tennessean (link below) and read about how Guy Denton Savage is reaching out from England into the United States to forestall or derail extradition by adopting paperwork tactics associated with U.S. “sovereign citizens.”
Something to think about: How do Democratic nations that necessarily must provide both defendants and victims access to transparent justice deal with “sovereign” groups, lone wolves or sympathizers whose aim may be wholly disingenuous?
Although “sovereigns” commonly purport to be great defenders of constitutional law and individual freedom, their maneuverings often project a preference for anarchy or a breakdown in the rule of law, the key underpinning of civilized society. Among “sovereigns,” it’s often the case that the good of the few outweighs the good of the many.
And it’s also often the case that the blame for a thorny legal predicament gets transferred to investigators, prosecutors, judges and other public officials on a bizarre theory that a contract is self-executing — i.e., if you mail or otherwise deliver a demand for a remedy in your favor — and if the recipient doesn’t respond to the demand or submit to the preordained remedy — the recipient has defaulted or agreed to the demand by remaining silent.
The PP Blog has reported on incidents in which bills or payment demands totaling in the millions, billions or even the trillions of dollars have been sent to public officials. That any person could adopt this line of thought as legitimate remains a source for great introspection. As always, the question becomes one about whether a “sovereign” will be satisfied with the public recording of his fantasies on court dockets — or whether he or she will seek to exact a penalty on law-enforcement officers, prosecutors, judges and litigation opponents by recording fraudulent liens and encumbrances against them.
A separate danger emerges when “sovereigns” turn to other “sovereigns” to begin blanketing courthouses with fantastical pleadings. There also have been cases in which “sovereigns” unhappy with a decision made by a state-trial judge sues the judge in federal court by divining a civil-rights violation.
Purported “sovereign” ideology is magical thinking of the most dangerous sort because it sets the stage for lawlessness to gain an increasing toehold over the institutions of democracy and for the rule of law to take a back seat to the whims of a mob or an extremist with access to a word-processor . . .
REDACTED SCREEN SHOT: Englishman Guy D. Savage sent this invoice for more than $245 million to a U.S. federal judge in Tennessee.
An Englishman indicted in the United States on gun-smuggling charges has sent a U.S. court a bill for more than $245 million and claims “that the United States, the Department of Justice and the U.S. District Court are ‘legal fictions,’” according to the Tennessean.
When the court did not respond to the invoice, Guy D. Savage essentially argued that the court was in default and tacked on an interest penalty of nearly $5 million, the newspaper reported.
U.S. federal prosecutors now have raised the specter of an international “sovereign citizen” reaching across the Atlantic into Tennessee to derail the U.S. case.
Certain images will not load today on the website of JustBeenPaid, a "program" tied to JSS Tripler.
EDITOR’S NOTE: HYIP critics long have pointed out that many Internet-based schemes have members in common and that the interconnectivity of certain schemes creates a condition in which fraud proceeds circulate from scheme to scheme to scheme. Such fraud schemes can mushroom to involve tens of thousands — or even hundreds of thousands — of participants.
The logistical challenges of reverse-engineering such schemes are enormous — and it’s often the case the combined international hauls of the schemes also are enormous.
A man referenced in a JSS Tripler-related action by CONSOB, the Italian securities regulator, appears to have lost access to his U.S.-based website — and appears also to have been a pitchman for Text Cash Network, a U.S.-based “opportunity” linked to serial hucksters Joe Reid and Phil Piccolo.
TextCashNetwork purports to be an international text-advertising business involving cell phones. The “opportunity,” though, is decidedly murky. Affiliates have described Text Cash Network vaguely as “a new division of a five year old communications company owned 100% by The Johnson Group.” Other promoters have claimed it was owned by the “Johnson & Johnson Group,” a possible bid to leech off the brand of the famous pharmaceutical and consumer-products company.
TCN Promotional Tie To JSS Tripler
On Jan. 23, CONSOB announced the JSS Tripler-related action. Included in CONSOB’s statement were references to an individual named Mauro Messina and a website styled gruppounitoworld.com.
That website, which appears to have been hosted in the United States, now beams this message: “I’m sorry, but this account has been suspended.” No reason for the suspension was provided.
The message appears even though the domain registration is good through June 30, 2012, according to registration data.
The name Mauro Messina also appears on an affiliate site for Text Cash Network. The affiliate ID on the Text Cash Network site is “gruppounito” — the first 11 letters of the now-suspended site referenced in the CONSOB probe. (See comment from PP Blog reader Tony here. Kudos, Tony.)
Driven by a relentless hypefest, Text Cash Network or TCN launched late last year — with Reid leading the cheerleading as he had done previously for Data Network Affiliates (DNA), a Piccolo-associated entity that mixed and matched itself with One World One Website (OWOW), another Piccolo-associated entity.
Both DNA and OWOW appear to be defunct corporations, but appear also to maintain a web presence that in part has been used to drive traffic to TCN. Strangely, the DNA website now is publishing a “STOP SOPA” graphic, referring to antipiracy legislation in the United States that became part of well-publicized opposition campaigns by Google and Wikipedia (among others).
DNA, which claimed it was a data company with a cell-phone arm and appears never to have delivered on either count, has a history of brand leeching and divining ties to causes, including the U.S. AMBER Alert program and child poverty. Among other things, DNA — despite the fact its Nevada corporate registration is listed as “Dissolved,” asks prospects to “Help DNA Feed A Million[:] OVER 1000 AN HOUR DIE.”
It also purports that children are “The Heart Of D.N.A.,” even though the corporation is defunct and DNA received an “F” grade in 2010 from the BBB and is the subject of a BBB alert. After apparently abandoning its purported data and cell-phone arms by July 2010, DNA claimed it was morphing into the land-mine business of offshore “resorts” and “mortgage reduction.”
Like DNA, TCN purports that it has or will engage in philanthropic pursuits.
CONSOB’s Jan. 23 announcement also referenced an entity known as “Ricochet Riches” and a dotcom by the same name. On the MoneyMakerGroup Ponzi forum yesterday, a cheerleader for JSS Tripler 2 or T2 — an enterprise that appears to have appropriated the name of JSS Tripler — published an “I got paid” post for T2.
Below the post was a link to Ricochet Riches.
Incongruities that challenge description and involve both JSS Tripler and JSS Tripler 2 are occurring all over the Ponzi boards. Both JSS Tripler and JSS Tripler 2 have promoters in common. Regardless, Ponzi-board posters are pooh-poohing the CONSOB action or ignoring it — even as they champion other opportunities referenced in the CONSOB action, including Ricochet Riches.
A JSS Tripler/Club Asteria Tie
CONSOB last year took action against promoters of Club Asteria, another Ponzi-forum darling. “Andrea Viz,” another JSS Tripler promoter referenced in the CONSOB action, also has been linked to Club Asteria.
The Club Asteria promo appears on a domain styled vizconsigli.com, which is referenced in the CONSOB announcement about JSS Tripler. That domain, too, appears to be based in the United States.
Hank Neeedham, one of Club Asteria’s purported principals, formerly was a pitchman for AdSurfDaily, which the U.S. Secret Service described as an online Ponzi scheme involving at least $110 million.
Frederick Mann, the purported operator of JSS Tripler, also was an ASD pitchman, according to a 2008 promo that appeared online during the same period in which Needham — who simultaneously was promoting cash-gifting schemes — also was promoting ASD.
Over the weekend, JustBeenPaid, the entity that purportedly operates JSS Tripler through Mann, appears to have encountered website problems that are affecting its ability to publish certain graphics.
There is at least one Ponzi-forum report today about JustBeenPaid/JSS Tripler problems:
“. . . sites all messed up chat room no mods no admins little odd,” a MoneyMakerGroup poster claimed.
The JustBeenPaid site includes information attributed to Mann on AdVentures4You (ADV4U), a “program” that collapsed in 2009 amid reports its operator had been threatened.
In the remarks, Mann asserted that he made a pile of money through ADV4U prior to its collapse.
“The biggest difference between JSS-Tripler and AV4U is that JSS-Tripler is indefinitely sustainable, while AV4U had a design flaw that ensured its eventual failure,” according to the remarks attributed to Mann.
On Feb. 4, the PP Blog reported that a JSS Tripler-related website listed in an action by CONSOB, the Italian securities regulator, was based in the United States and had been programmed to redirect to the Netherlands several days after CONSOB announced the action.
That domain — JSS-Tripler.com — now is throwing a server error and no longer is redirecting the traffic to Europe. The site generates an “Unable to connect” message in the Firefox browser and an “Unknown error: 1214” message when pinged, meaning the server is in a black hole.
The circumstances under which the server went dark are unclear. It is not known, for instance, if law enforcement, the hosting company or the JSS Tripler affiliate — purportedly a woman — caused the domain to stop working. Its registration is valid until Feb. 24, according to records.
Earlier this week, the site was directing to a JustBeenPaid subdomain styled “marketing.” JustBeenPaid and Frederick Mann are the purported operators of JSS Tripler, which advertises a return of 2 percent a day. The return computes to an annualized return of 730 percent.
Despite the CONSOB action, cheerleading for JustBeenPaid/JSS Tripler continue on the Ponzi cesspits such as TalkGold and MoneyMakerGroup.
Just BeenPaid/JSS Tripler makes members affirm they are “not an employee or official of any government agency.” In addition, it makes them affirm they are not “acting on behalf of or collecting information for or on behalf of any government agency” and not “an employee, by contract or otherwise, of any media or research company.”
The Terms alone appear to be an invitation to join an international financial conspiracy. Regardless, the Ponzi-forum cheerleading continues.
JustBeenPaid has traded on the names of American icons Warren Buffett, Oprah Winfrey, Benjamin Franklin, Mark Zuckerberg — and even the name of fictional spaceman “Mr. Spock” from the Star Trek series on American television.
Frederick Mann was a cheerleader for the alleged AdSurfDaily Ponzi scheme in 2008, according to promos. ASD was based in Florida.
In May 2008, Mann asserted that “[p]ast performance indicates a strong probablility (sic) that ASD will continue to perform as advertised,” according to a promo.
Two months later, the U.S. Secret Service seized tens of millions of dollars from bank accounts linked to ASD President Andy Bowdoin and others.
Some ASD figures are known to have ties to so-called “sovereign citizens” — and any number of ASD members have invested in crackpot legal theories such as all commerce is lawful as long as parties agree to a contract.
Such bizarre constructions would legalize slavery, securities fraud, tax fraud, Ponzi schemes and narcotics-trafficking, among other pursuits.
And because some “sovereign citizens” believe they can divine a contract out of thin air and demand a litigation result from judges, prosecutors, investigators and creditors, bizarre courtroom clashes have been occurring across the United States.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Although federal and state agencies get most of the headlines when a securities investigation occurs, local police agencies also find themselves opening securities probes and pursuing alleged offenders — as the story below demonstrates.
James Scott McKee, a businessman and financial planner, was arrested yesterday by local police in Eugene, Ore., on charges of aggravated theft in an alleged securities swindle.
McKee, 44, was taken into custody by the Eugene Police Financial Crimes Unit, amid allegations he scammed investors out of at least $584,000.
His businesses included Ventis, Uptown Development, Quality Financial Group, McKenzie Funding, and Bedrocks, Eugene police said. Details about the businesses were not immediately clear.
“The investigation has found so far that between February 2008 and the present, McKee
committed Aggravated Theft by Deception and Fraud with respect to securities or securities business including: the sale of unregistered securities, the unauthorized liquidation of monies from investment accounts by a financial planner, the unauthorized deposit of those funds into the financial planner’s personal bank account and the subsequent concealment of that liquidation,” Eugene police said.
Investors and persons with information are asked to contact Det. Mercy McDonald at 541.682.5169
“The greed in this case is stunning. [Frederick Darren Berg] stole and squandered the dreams of hundreds: dreams of retirement, dreams of homeownership, dreams of a college education for their children and grandchildren. While we could not restore those dreams, today he was held accountable for his acts.” — U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan, Western District of Washington, Feb. 9, 2012
Frederick Darren Berg gestures during his sales pitch for his Ponzi scheme in 2009. Source: YouTube.
It was the largest fraud scheme ever prosecuted in the Western District of Washington. Before his Meridian Group of funds collapsed into a pile of Ponzi rubble, Frederick Darren Berg ensconced himself in the lap of luxury.
Among other things, prosecutors said, Berg had acquired:
A $1.95 million condominium at Second and Union in Seattle.
A $1.25 million house in La Quinta, Calif.
A $1.4 million condominium in San Francisco.
A $5.475 million waterfront home on Mercer Island in Washington state.
Two Lear jets for $5.5 million, including operational costs.
“Several” yachts that consumed $3.6 million through “purchase, operation and frequent modification.”
Even after he was caught, the lies and profligate spending continued, prosecutors said.
Berg concealed about $400,000 from bankruptcy trustees while claiming to be cooperating. He sold a home he did not disclose in his bankruptcy filing, pocketing the proceeds and depositing the undisclosed windfall “into a series of bank accounts he concealed from the trustee.”
While his investors were left holding the bag, Berg used the cash to make lease payments on a Porsche Cayenne and Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet. In addition, prosecutors said, he paid a year’s rent up front on a Los Angeles apartment, bought an Audi S5 convertible, purchased insurance for “jet skis” and a yacht — and plunked down a retainer for a criminal defense attorney.
Berg was charged criminally in November 2010 with wire fraud, money laundering and bankruptcy fraud. He pleaded guilty in August 2011.
“Those who peddle false investments and prey on investors for their own personal financial benefit need to understand that law enforcement will not sit by and let it happen,” said Kenneth J. Hines, IRS special agent in charge of the Pacific Northwest.
It was a case of “unadulterated greed,” a top FBI agent in Seattle said.
“Mr. Berg took advantage of hopeful investors — many of them senior citizens who depended on their carefully built savings to afford assisted living, medical care, and higher educational opportunities for future generations,” said Steven M. Dean, assistant special agent in charge of the Seattle office.
The day of reckoning for Berg, 49, came yesterday.
Prior to sentencing Berg to 18 years in federal prison, U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones told Berg “he had ‘reckless disregard for his victims . . . and had no moral compass,” prosecutors said, quoting the judge.
Restitution is still being compiled. Prosecutors said it is expected to top $100 million, noting that Berg’s real-estate and financial swindle took in $245 million between 2001 and 2009 and consisted of schemes within schemes.
Without investors’ knowledge, about $45 million was peeled off to acquire buses and to operate a transportation company known as MTR Western and subsidiaries.
The long-running Berg swindle defrauded more than 800 investors, prosecutors said.
Here is an outtake from the government’s sentencing memo. (Italics added):
“Indeed, many of Mr. Berg’s victims will be forced to make significant changes to their lifestyle and that of their families such as foregoing retirement, taking additional jobs to support their children’s’ education and selling their homes. Others are likely to be forced into bankruptcy and may also lose their homes because of the financial devastation Mr.Berg’s fraud has caused.”
Read a Seattle Times story on Berg’s sentencing and courtroom comments. Visit the YouTube site of the Times to see a Berg Ponzi sales pitch. (He references Bernard Madoff while addressing the audience.)
UPDATE: The website of TheBizVideos.com has gone missing, taking with it sales promos for JSS Tripler and other purported “opportunities” in the wake of an action by the Italian securities regulator CONSOB. The site, which appears to use nameservers in New York, is returning a “Server not found” error in Firefox. When pinged, it returns an “Unknown error: 1214” message.
