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KA-BOOM! Offshore Firm To Which AdViewGlobal Claimed Wire Tie Booted From National Futures Association After Investigators Discover Ponzi Figure Trevor Cook Was Managing Its Investor Pool
UPDATED 1:18 P.M. ET (U.S.A.) A company that denied any ties to the AdViewGlobal autosurf after AVG listed it as a facilitator of offshore wire transfers has been permanently banned by the National Futures Association (NFA) amid allegations that it failed to uphold high ethical standards and failed to supervise its operations. KINGZ Capital Management…
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IT’S OFFICIAL: Scott Rothstein Is A Racketeer; Disbarred Lawyer Pleads Guilty, Forfeits $1.2 Billion; FBI Cites ‘Red Flags,’ IRS Cites ‘Lies’
Disbarred Florida attorney Scott Rothstein has pleaded guilty to a racketeering conspiracy that included mail fraud and wire fraud, and to two separate counts of wire fraud. “Today’s guilty plea is an important step in bringing to justice those who perpetrated a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme under the guise of operating a legitimate law firm,”…
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EDITORIAL: BizAdSplash, AdGateWorld, AdViewGlobal: Serial Promoters Should Be Prosecuted, ASD Members In Clone Ranks Should Be Excluded From Restitution Fund
If a thousand people tell you the autosurf they’re promoting is the “real deal” and that they’ve done their “due diligence” — they are lying. If you believe them, you are setting yourself up to be fleeced and perhaps even dragged into court, perhaps as a reluctant victim or perhaps even as a defendant in…
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BizAdSplash Tanks, Takes Participants’ Money With It, Members Say; Surf Invokes God, Says ‘Party Is Over’ In Sign-Off Note
The Biz Ad Splash (BAS) autosurf has tanked, taking participants’ money with it, members said tonight. Members reported receiving a platitude-filled email from Clarence Busby announcing the surf’s closure. The email, which included a pep talk and invoked God, did not say if, when or how members would be compensated. “Now what about the future?”…
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POLL: Are The Robbers Smarter Than The Cops? (Sidenote: Are You Ready For A Ponzi Prime-Time Drama On Cable?)
Our new poll asks a simple question: “Is The Average Autosurf/HYIP Promoter Smarter Than The Average FBI Agent, Secret Service Agent, Postal Inspector, IRS Investigator Or SEC/CFTC Investigator?” You may vote only once. There is an option of “Other” in this poll if you don’t want to limit yourself to a “Yes” or “No” answer.…
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THE GREAT PONZI PAPER CHASE: Playing Field Spans Globe, Judge Says; SEC Notes Cook/Kiley Banking Ties In Antigua, Europe, Middle East
The ruling by a federal judge yesterday that put alleged Minnesota Ponzi schemer Trevor Cook behind bars until he surrenders tens of millions of dollars in offshore bank accounts includes some interesting details. For one, Cook, accused by the SEC and the CFTC in a $190 million fraud, had access to a bank account in…
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PONZI UNIVERSE: Just How Weird Will It Get? Spammer With Possible ASD Ties Tries To Post News Release In 10 Separate PP Threads; Elsewhere, A ‘Comic Book’ Ponzi Scheme
On a day a federal judge ordered alleged Minnesota Ponzi schemer Trevor Cook jailed — in part for not turning over a two-passenger submarine allegedly purchased on eBay with Ponzi proceeds — the following things happened: A would-be PP Blog poster attempted to post the same news release about AdSurfDaily mainstay “Professor” Patrick Moriarty in…
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BULLETIN: Trevor Cook Jailed For Contempt In Minnesota Ponzi Scheme Case; Judge Orders Him To Surrender $27 Million, Submarine, Houseboat, More
UPDATED 7:55 P.M. ET (U.S.A.) A federal judge has ordered Trevor Cook jailed for not turning over assets in a Minnesota Ponzi scheme case brought by the SEC. Chief U.S. District Judge Michael J. Davis found Cook in civil contempt of court. U.S. Marshals “escorted Cook from the courtroom to jail,” the SEC said. “Mr.…
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Bowdoin, Prosecutors Clash Anew In August 2008 Forfeiture Case; Dispute May Explain Government’s Announcement Last Week That Separate Case Could Be Delayed For ‘Several Months’
UPDATED 2:03 P.M. ET (U.S.A.) Two attorneys for AdSurfDaily President Andy Bowdoin are asking a federal judge to vacate orders she issued granting a default judgment to the government and granting a final order of forfeiture to tens of millions of dollars and a home seized in the case. Attorneys Charles A. Murray and Michael…
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POLL RESULT: Readers Say Ponzi Schemes Pose National-Security Threat; Did Surf and HYIP Advocates See Poll As PR Threat?
By better than a two-to-one margin, readers of the PatrickPretty.com Blog have concluded that Ponzi schemes pose a threat to national security, according to the results of a poll. The poll, which began on Jan. 13 and concluded this morning, was unscientific. Still, the results suggest readers are concerned that the criminality associated with Ponzi…
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GNI Members: Failed Program Was ‘Honest’ And ‘Real’; Critics Should Shut Up And Focus On Haiti Earthquake
Critics of Gold Nugget Invest (GNI), the collapsed Internet HYIP, do not understand that the program that advertised a return of 7.5 percent a week was “real,” according to a member writing on an online Ponzi board. Bickering about GNI only will lead to additional problems for the company, which is faithfully trying to reorganize,…
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