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BULLETIN: Yet Another Florida Ponzi Scheme; SEC Accuses Luis Felipe Perez Of Operating $40 Million Fraud Backed By Fake Diamonds And Bogus ‘Pawn Shops’

EDITOR’S NOTE: Here’s one for your Bubba Blue notebook on the various ways to have a Ponzi scheme, as opposed to shrimp. UPDATED 5:50 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) A Miami man has been charged by the SEC with gathering $40 million in a Ponzi scheme, pocketing $6 million for himself and telling investors they were helping…

Jun 2, 2010
Pathway To Prosperity Case A Subject Of Discussion In Washington’s Highest Power Corridors; Website Of U.S. Attorney General Includes Link To Case Info As Part Of ‘Mass-Marketing Fraud’ Educational Campaign

In November 2009, President Obama formed the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF). By January, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who answers to Obama,Â publicly warned fraudsters that “if you propagate an investment scheme, if you are complicit in an act of financial fraud, you are writing your ticket to jail.” It now turns…

Jun 2, 2010
BULLETIN: Florida Office Of Financial Regulation Opens Probe Into PPE-Life; Firm Also Under Investigation In South Carolina Amid Allegations It Sold Unregistered Securities

A company under investigation in South Carolina amid allegations it sold unregistered securities now is under investigation in Florida. The Florida Office of Financial Regulation (OFR) confirmed the probe into PPE-Life this morning. â€œOFR has an open investigation [regarding] PPE-Life and its principals at this time and cannot go into any additional details,” said Flora…

Jun 2, 2010
Real HYIP Expert Says ‘Notion Of Secrecy’ In Commercial Fraud Meant To Discourage Reports To Law Enforcement; James Byrne Consulted With Government Before P2P Ponzi Case Was Filed

EDITOR’S NOTE: Here is the declaration of James E. Byrne, an expert with whom the government consulted in the Nicholas Smirnow/Pathway To Prosperity Ponzi scheme case. It is a remarkable read — one that provides a free education from an expert who has consulted with the FBI and Scotland Yard, among other prominent law-enforcement organizations.…

Jun 1, 2010
BULLETIN: United States Seeks To Extradite Pathway To Prosperity’s Nick Smirnow From Philippines

The U.S. government “shortly” will request the government of the Philippines to extradite accused HYIP Ponzi schemer Nicholas Smirnow to the United States to face charges of mail fraud (three counts), wire fraud (four counts), securities fraud (one count) and conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, securities fraud and money laundering, federal prosecutors said.…

Jun 1, 2010
Wayne McLeod Becomes Subject Of FBI Probe; Agency Asks Victims, Witnesses To Come Forward

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story originally was published June 30. The PP Blog later encountered a database problem, which caused the site to go down and resulted in the temporary loss of some data. The data now has been retrieved. The FBI in Jacksonville has opened a probe into Kenneth “Wayne” McLeod, the Florida man who…

Jun 1, 2010
KABOOM! Affidavit In Pathway To Prosperity Case Paints Picture Of Wanton Criminality; Complaint References TalkGold, ASAMonitor, MoneyMakerGroup Posts; United States Throws Down Gauntlet

Federal prosecutors serving under U.S. Attorney A. Courtney Cox of the Southern District of Illinois have thrown down the gauntlet, declaring that “[a] large percentage, if not all, HYIPs, are Ponzi schemes.” In a criminal complaint and accompanying affidavit that only can be described as remarkable, prosecutors and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service said the…

May 31, 2010
OBTAINED: Feds’ Affidavit In Nick Smirnow/P2P Case; Full Story To Follow

The PP Blog has obtained an affidavit filed by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in the Nicholas A. Smirnow/Pathway To Prosperity (P2P) case. Smirnow was charged criminally Friday with operating an international Ponzi scheme that fleeced more than 40,000 investors. Smirnow, according to investigators, has: A. A 2002 conviction for the crime of breaking and…

May 31, 2010
REQUIEM FOR THE FORUM PIMPS? Court Documents In Legisi Case Reference Secret Service, MoneyMakerGroup Ponzi Forum; SEC Has Postings From Legisi’s ‘Private’ Forum, Too

HYIP or autosurf Ponzi promoter? Player? Forum “expert?” Moderator? Cheerleader? Get ready for a surprise: Your downline perhaps already has identified you as a pimp or even one of the masterminds. If your plan is to continue to promote the programs on the Ponzi forums and though emails, you should know that things could be…

May 31, 2010
Nicholas A. Smirnow, Pathway To Prosperity (P2P) Operator, A ‘Convicted Burglar, Robber And Drug Dealer’ Who Fleeced At Least 40,000 People In International Ponzi Scheme

Here is how Pathway To Prosperity (P2P), operated by Nicholas A. Smirnow, was described by members of the indefatigable, Ponzi-pushing ASA Monitor forum in 2007: “Just talked with Nick today on the phone,” one member said. “I always enjoy talking with him — honest and straightforward.” “This one is a WINNER,” another crowed. “People, you…

May 29, 2010
Narc That Car’s ‘F’ Rating Remains Intact As BBB Closes Inquiry; Firm ‘Failed To Provide Specific Information’ To Allay Pyramid Concerns

Narc That Car, also known as Crowd Sourcing International, did not provide the Better Business Bureau “specific information which would eliminate the BBB’s suspicion of the existence of a pyramid promotional scheme,” the BBB reports on its website. The BBB has closed its inquiry into Narc, leaving the company’s “F” rating intact and saying Narc…

May 28, 2010

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