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BLOCKBUSTER ARREST: MLM Pyramid Scheme Operator Charged With Laundering Drug Money; David Murcia Extradited From Colombia To Stand Trial In New York

EDITOR’S NOTE: Finding the United States an unfriendly environment, the so called autosurf and HYIP “industries” increasingly are relying on offshore money-exchange businesses and debit cards to entice participants, advising them that the offshore locations are “safe” havens that “shelter” U.S. residents from regulators and law-enforcement agencies. In August 2009, we reported that a Dallas-based…

Jan 6, 2010
Massachusetts Man, 76, Becomes Latest Senior Citizen Implicated In Ponzi Scheme; Richard Elkinson Accused Of $29 Million Fraud; Investigators Find Millions Of Dollars In Las Vegas Casino Transactions

A Massachusetts man has been arrested in Mississippi and charged with orchestrating a $29 million Ponzi scheme by tricking people into believing they were investing in a company that provided uniforms for the Winter Olympics, the Pan American games and the government. Ironically, Richard Elkinson told investors he provided prison uniforms — and also uniforms…

Jan 5, 2010
DEVELOPING STORY: Scott Rothstein To Plead Guilty In $1.2 Billion Ponzi Scheme

BULLETIN: Scott Rothstein, the Fort Lauderdale attorney charged with racketeering last month and disbarred amid allegations he orchestrated a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme involving bogus legal settlements, is expected to change his plea to guilty.

Jan 5, 2010
Local Police In California Uncover Ponzi Scheme While Investigating Woman For Unrelated Crime; Ponzi Targeted At Latin Immigrants

Police in Redondo Beach, Calif., say they were investigating Mariana Montes for a separate crime and seeking her arrest on a warrant, but discovered during their probe that she had wiped out investors by running a Ponzi scheme targeting Latin immigrants. Montes, 41, now is jailed on the original warrant, and the Ponzi investigation is…

Jan 5, 2010
DEVELOPING STORY: Family Of Alleged Ponzi Schemer In Canada Targeted With Death Threats; Bullets Fired At Home

Just how far will people go to avoid getting caught or convicted of operating a Ponzi scheme or to reclaim funds lost in a Ponzi scheme — or to send a message that designed to rattle nerves? There have been several recent Ponzi or financial-fraud cases with more than just a hint of violent intent.…

Jan 5, 2010
North Carolina Man Adds To List Of Alleged Schemers Who Bought Jet Skis With Fraud Proceeds; J.V. Huffman Jr. Also Faces Trial On Weapons Charge

It’s not as though alleged fraudster J.V. Huffman Jr. did not have the expensive cars and real estate often associated with Ponzi schemes or financial frauds. Huffman, jailed awaiting trial in North Carolina on Ponzi and weapons charges, had plenty of those, according to William Walt Pettit, the court-appointed receiver. He had an Aston Martin…

Jan 5, 2010
BULLETIN: California Man Sentenced To 90 Years In Prison For Fleecing Elderly Investors In Ponzi Scheme

BULLETIN: Convicted Ponzi swindler Jeffrey Gordon Butler has been sentenced to 90 years and eight months in a California state prison. Butler, 51, of San Juan Capistrano, Calif., was convicted in June 2009 of 693 felony counts, including making untrue statements of material fact in the offer and sale of securities, the offer and sale…

Jan 4, 2010
Deaf Woman, 64, Says She Lost $5,300 In Noobing Autosurf And ‘Can’t Sleep At Night’; Contacts FBI And San Bernardino Sheriff’s Office For Help

EDITOR’S NOTE: “Carolyn,” the subject of this story, is deaf. She uses a videophone and a human interpreter. The interpreter served as Carolyn’s voice for the interview, translating the Blog’s questions for Carolyn and her responses. Here, now, the story . . . A 64-year-old California woman — “Carolyn” — said she lost $5,300 in…

Jan 4, 2010
Shootout At Lloyd D. George Federal Courthouse In Las Vegas Leaves Court Officer, Shooter Dead; U.S. Marshal Wounded

A gunman opened fire in the Lloyd D. George Federal Courthouse in Las Vegas this morning. Early reports are sketchy, but a court officer is reported to have been killed and a U.S. Marshal wounded. The gunman is reported dead. People in the building are being evacuated, and federal agents are said to be conducting…

Jan 4, 2010
BizAdSplash Now Says It May Be Offline Until Jan. 11; Surf Says It Wishes Members A Happy New Year

UPDATED 12:04 P.M. ET (U.S.A.) BizAdSplash (BAS) now says it may be offline until Jan. 11. “due to the challenges of the transfer of our servers.” A message website visitors see is confusing because it does not state plainly when the autosurf will return. Rather, it says BAS will come back online “on or before…

Jan 4, 2010
DEVELOPING STORY: Is It All Over For Surf’s Up? Pro-AdSurfDaily Forum Shows Same Message Former AdViewGlobal Forum Displayed When It Vanished

UPDATED 5:25 P.M. ET (U.S.A.) Has the Pro-AdSurfDaily Surf’s Up forum followed in the footsteps of a Pro-AdViewGlobal forum and disappeared for the ages? The URL for Surf’s Up — http://asdmembers.ning.com — is displaying the same message the AVG forum displayed when it vanished last summer after the controversial autosurf with close ASD ties stopped…

Jan 2, 2010

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