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  • IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: New AVG Ownership Questions

    UPDATED 1:43 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) Friday was a day unlike any previous day in the so-called autosurf “industry.” A federal judge issued orders on two fronts: a forfeiture case brought by the U.S. government against AdSurfDaily Inc. and a racketeering lawsuit brought by ASD members against ASD President Andy Bowdoin and others.

    Capsule Review

    For good measure, BizAdSplash (BAS) announced a financial “crisis,” saying it was suspending cashouts until at least Sept. 1 and conducting an audit of itself. BAS says Clarence Busby, the former president of Golden Panda Ad Builder and a central figure in the ASD prosecution, is its “chief consultant.” Incongruously, Busby also claims to run the company — something consultants normally don’t do.

    Busby’s video announcement of the BAS crisis appears to have occurred on July 24, the one-year anniversary date of the formal launch of Golden Panda.

    Meanwhile, AdGateWorld (AGW), still another surf that began operating at a purported offshore location after the seizure of ASD’s assets, announced it was selling itself to unnamed interests in the Middle East.

    All of this came on the heels of announcements that AdViewGlobal (AVG), yet another surf purportedly headquartered offshore, was suspending payouts, conducting an audit of itself and making an 80/20 program mandatory should payouts ever resume.

    So, three surfs that launched after the ASD seizure — AVG, BAS and AGW — all announced important developments in the days leading up to the one-year anniversary (Aug. 1) of the date ASD was notified its bank accounts were being seized.

    Yes, all of these things happened just shy of the ASD anniversary date.

    New Name Surfaces: Who is Karveck International?

    Lost in the blizzard of news Friday was a report that AVG had fired its staff in Uruguay, and that owners George and Judy Harris and other Bowdoin/Harris family members are or were in Uruguay and had rented homes and acquired automobiles.

    These reports have not been confirmed.

    At the same time, a person who uses the handle “Luisa” and may be in position to have some knowledge about AVG, said the company initially registered in Uruguay as Karveck International.

    Some things about Karveck International can be confirmed. The company, for instance, is listed as an acquisition of Vanu Blue Inc., which trades as a pinksheet stock (VBLU.PK). Vana Blue issues news releases. One of the news releases referenced the acquisition of TMS Corp., also known as TMS Association, which was the purported owner of eWalletPlus.

    This news release, dated Feb. 21, 2008 — a year and a half ago — vaguely announces a name change for Vana Blue (from what to what isn’t clear) and announced the acquisition of TMS Corp.

    Meanwhile, this news release, dated Jan. 30. 2009 — just a few days before the formal launch of AVG — announced the acquisition of “Karveck Corporation” had been finalized.

    On Feb. 18, 2009 — when AVG had been formally operating in launch phase for just shy of three weeks after operating in January in prelaunch phase — Vana Blue announced that “Karveck International” had posted $1.8 million in revenue in January. How Karveck Corporation apparently became Karveck International wasn’t clear.

    “Karveck will be offering increases in affiliate incentives and payouts coming up in March to maintain momentum,” Vana Blue said.

    eWalletPlus once worked side by side with AVG. In March, after AVG announced its bank account had been suspended because too many members had wired transactions in excess of $9,500, eWalletPlus quickly faded from the stage.

    At the same time in March, an AVG member posted an ad for AVG on a small-business website Bank of America provides as a free service.

    “All of you who were associated with ASD. Do not link this to AVGA!” the poster warned March 27, just a few days after AVG announced the suspension of its bank account. The poster also shared news about TMS.

    “We are happy to inform you that TMS Corporation has been dissolved and a new association,TMS Association, has been formed which is a member of AV GLOBAL ASSOCIATION,” the poster wrote.

    The eWalletPlus website once resided on the same server that powered AVG, according to web records. The eWalletPlus site now appears to have been listed for sale on sedo.com. The site simply beams ads now.

    Vana Blue used an address of 4757 E. Greenway Rd Suite 107B-105 in a news release. It is an address that resolves to a PostNet outlet in Phoenix, the home state of TMS Association. PostNet describes itself as a “Mailbox Rental, Fax, Passport Photos, Copies, Notary, UPS, DHL, FedEx, USPS” service.

    At a minimum, the information suggests AVG had strong ties in Arizona, particularly in the Phoenix area.

    In February, Vana Blue announced that Karveck International posted $1.8 million in revenue in January. That’s when AVG was in prelaunch.

    Vana Blue did not use AVG’s name in the news release. Instead, it described Karveck International as a company that “specializes in internet advertising and promotion in a search engine and ad clicking type environment.”

    News releases associated with many penny-stock companies tend to be vague. Many such companies speak in broad generalities. News releases sometimes are employed as a means of generating buzz about the companies, and they often leave more questions unanswered than answered.

    Vana Blue’s entry into the AVG story is not the first time a pinksheet stock has been associated with an autosurf. ASD, for example, announced last year that it was expecting $200 million in revenue from the penny-stock company Praebius Communications. ASD withdrew the news release from its Breaking News site after members said they intended to call Praebius to confirm or deny the deal.

    And, speaking of the ASD Breaking News site: It is no longer there. It has been replaced by a site that beams ads.

    See this story, along with the comments.

  • BREAKING NEWS: Biz Ad Splash Suspends Member Cashouts; Busby Said Firm In ‘Crisis’ And Will Perform Self-Audit

    UPDATED 10:40 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) Clarence Busby has announced in a video that Business Ad Splash (BAS) is in a “crisis situation” and has suspended cashouts until at least Sept. 1.

    Busby blamed the crisis on overpayments to members, referring to the overpayments as the “60 percent gift I am giving.”

    Things just weren’t going well, Busby said.

    “The finances that I want to happen for all of us are not there yet,” he said. “The business that we have put out before the world is just not [unintelligible] like we wanted to, but it’s coming.”

    Busby said he recently had surgery.

    Clarence Busby in BAS video announcing a cashout suspension at least until Sept. 1.
    Clarence Busby in BAS video announcing a cashout suspension until at least Sept. 1.

    It could take BAS anywhere from 60 days to 180 days to audit accounts and return to normal operations, Busby said.

    AdViewGlobal (AVG), an autosurf with close ties to AdSurfDaily, also recently announced the suspension of payouts and an audit.

    Andy Bowdoin, the president of ASD, once blamed troubles the firm was having on overpayments made to members.

    Busby formerly was the president of Golden Panda Ad Builder. Golden Panda’s assets were seized last year as part of the ASD probe, and a federal judge today signed an order finalizing the forfeiture of more than $14 million to the U.S. government.

    In court filings, Busby’s attorney referred to him as “Rev. Busby” at least 120 times. Busby referred to himself in today’s video as “Mr. Busby.”

    “May God bless you,” he said, thanking people for their prayers while wrapping up the video.

    See July 21 BAS story.

  • BREAKING NEWS: Bank Of America Granted Motion To Stay Case In Which Plaintiffs Said It Aided And Abetted Racketeers Running Florida Ponzi Scheme From A Former Flower Shop

    A federal judge has granted a motion by Bank of America to stay a case in which it was alleged to have aided and abetted racketeers operating a Ponzi scheme from a former flower shop in Quincy, Fla.

    The bank was not named a RICO defendant in the lawsuit, which was filed by members of AdSurfDaily Inc. Rather, the bank was alleged to have aided and abetted RICO defendants Andy Bowdoin, Robert Garner and unnamed others in a fraudulent scheme.

    “The Bank has shown good cause for a stay,” U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer said in an order late today.

    “First, distribution of funds in the civil forfeiture case may moot at least a portion of Plaintiffs’ claims for monetary recovery here,” Collyer said. “Second, in the civil forfeiture case the government has seized numerous documents that are necessary for discovery in this matter.”

    Among other things, Bank of America argued that some people made money in ASD and that the government is sifting through records and has a plan to provide restitution to victims of the alleged ASD scheme.

    Collyer’s order stayed the RICO case indefinitely. A separate case against assets tied to AdSurfDaily filed by the government is proceeding on a separate track.

    It was a busy day for Collyer. First, the judge ordered Andy Bowdoin, AdSurfDaily Inc. and Bowdoin/Harris Enterprises Inc. to show cause by Aug. 7 why a series of motions filed by Bowdoin as a pro se litigant should not be denied.

    Collyer noted in the order that Charles A. Murray, a paid attorney Bowdoin had hired after Bowdoin was advised months ago that a corporation could not proceed pro se, has not followed up on initial pleadings.

    Neither Bowdoin nor Murray has followed up since May, Collyer noted. Bowdoin initially submitted to the forfeiture, formally asking the court for permission to do so in January and saying he would not open a new challenge for the money. Collyer granted Bowdoin’s request.

    About five weeks later, however, Bowdoin said he’d changed his mind about submitting to the forfeiture and began to file as a pro se litigant. In a letter published on the Pro-ASD Surf’s Up forum, Bowdoin blamed his initial group of lawyers for ineffective counsel, saying a “group” of members who had reviewed his case had recommended a different approach.

    Bowdoin proceeded as his own attorney, signing his first pro se pleading Feb. 25. At the same time, the AdViewGlobal (AVG) autosurf — which has close Bowdoin family, membership and promoters’ ties — said it was transitioning into a “private association.”

    Also today, Collyer issued an order that formalized the forfeiture of more than $14 million from Golden Panda Ad Builder, a firm associated with Clarence Busby. At one time, Busby was a RICO defendant in the lawsuit filed by the ASD members, but the plaintiffs dismissed the case against him.

    In court filings, Busby said Bowdoin unexpectedly asked him to form Golden Panda Ad Builder during a fishing outing on a Georgia lake in April 2008. In only weeks of operation — including prelaunch — Golden Panda rocketed to nearly 20,000 members.

    Just prior to the formal July launch of Golden Panda, members became aware that Busby had been implicated by the SEC in three prime-bank schemes that promised enormous returns during the 1990s. During the same time period, Bowdoin announced that he was too busy with ASD to serve as president of Golden Panda, saying Busby was uniquely in charge of Golden Panda’s operations.

  • BULLETIN: Judge Orders Golden Panda Forfeiture

    UPDATED 3:23 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) A federal judge has issued an order that formalizes the forfeiture of more than $14 million from Golden Panda Ad Builder to the U.S. government.

    The ruling means that $14,048,598.07 seized from five Golden Panda bank accounts in the names of Clarence Busby or Dawn Stowers now belongs to the United States.  The money was seized as part of the probe into the affairs of AdSurfDaily Inc., a Florida company prosecutors said was engaging in wire fraud, money-laundering and the sale of unregistered securities — all while operating a Ponzi scheme.

    One of the Golden Panda accounts contained precisely $6 million.

    See our June 2 story about prosecutors’ request for a formal forfeiture order.

    Read the judge’s forfeiture order.

  • BREAKING NEWS: Judge Orders Bowdoin To Show Cause Or Face Consent To Forfeiture Of Tens Of Millions Of Dollars

    A federal judge has ordered Andy Bowdoin, AdSurfDaily Inc. and Bowdoin/Harris Enterprises Inc. to show cause by Aug. 7 why a series of motions filed by Bowdoin as a pro se litigant should not be denied.

    Judge Rosemary Collyer noted in the order that Charles A. Murray, a paid attorney Bowdoin had hired after Bowdoin was advised months ago that a corporation could not proceed pro se, has not followed up on initial pleadings.

    “Eventually, [Murray] entered an appearance for all three claimants (Dkt. ## 59 & 60), and then filed a First Motion to Withdraw Notice (Other) For Leave to Withdraw Notice of Rescission (Dkt. # 66). In this First Motion, counsel explained that he ‘require[d] time to evaluate the facts and circumstances of the matter but that all claimants, through counsel, ‘intend to resubmit this Motion to Rescind on or before May 15, 2009.’”

    Using stark language, Collyer said she has heard nothing from Bowdoin or his lawyer since May.

    “It is now July 24, 2009, and nothing further has been heard from counsel, Mr. Bowdoin, ASD, or Bowdoin/Harris Enterprises, Inc.,” Collyer said.

    “THEREFORE, Mr. Bowdoin, ASD, and Bowdoin/Harris Enterprises, Inc. are ORDERED TO SHOW CAUSE no later than August 7, 2009, why the Court should not DENY all pending motions and ORDER this civil forfeiture matter to proceed based on their release of claims and consent to forfeiture,” Collyer concluded.

    Federal prosecutors say more than $65 million was seized from ASD last year.

    Read the judge’s order.

  • UNCONFIRMED: Harris Family In Uruguay, AVG Staff Fired

    Comments on this Blog from a poster who uses the username Luisa are working their way around the web, but we have not been able to confirm the claims.

    Among other things, Luisa said George and Judy Harris, whom AdViewGlobal (AVG) identified as its owners, are or were living in Uruguay and fired the Uruguay-based AVG staff of eight or nine employees July 20.

    “A fact: they moved to Uruguay with Judy’s mom (Barbara), brother (Joey) and his wife April,” Luisa said. “Rented house in a private neighborhood, bought cars, hired employees/rented office space, fired employees . . . what is going to be next step?”

    The AVG staff is owed money and was told the company was broke and that George and Judy Harris were not the owners — even though employees reported to George, Judy or Judy’s mother Barbara, Luisa said.

    “George and Judy claimed to be broke and no longer working for AVGA because of too many wrong doings on them,” Luisa claimed. “They went as far as saying they were not the owners AVGA . . .  As you see too many contradictions . . . ”

    No second source has emerged to confirm or deny Luisa’s claims.

    Luisa writes in comprehensible, slightly broken English, suggesting English is her second language. She may be in position to have specific knowledge about AVG, although her initial reports have not been verified independently.

    The comments come on the heels of an announcement by AVG yesterday that “unethical” members who misused a member-to-member cash button AVG itself provided are responsible for the company’s inability to announce findings of an audit the company is performing on itself.

    AVG suspended member cash-outs last month, exercising its version of a “rebates aren’t guaranteed” clause and saying an 80/20 program would become mandatory if and when the surf resumed payouts. Earlier this month AVG’s name was mentioned in a racketeering lawsuit against AdSurfDaily President Andy Bowdoin, although the company has not been named a defendant.

    Plaintiffs’ attorneys described AVG as the next iteration of ASD, listing managers and employees the two surfs had in common. George Harris is the stepson of Bowdoin. Property owned by George and Judy Harris — including a home in Tallahassee, Fla. — was sued for forfeiture by federal prosecutors in December.

    Prosecutors said the property was the proceeds of illegal conduct by ASD. Neither George nor Judy Harris has filed a claim to the seized property, according to federal court records.

    AVG has a history of blaming members for its problems and deflecting accountability from management to the rank-and-file. In the past, it has blamed members for the suspension of a bank account and threatened to sue members who shared information outside association walls — and even to contact their ISPs to suspend service of people who asked pointed questions about the company in forums.

    Yesterday’s announcement by AVG also blamed the delay in audit findings on unspecified “complications created by changes in payment processors.”

    “[D]on’t expect the ‘audit’ to be finish any time soon,” Luisa said. “[I]f you hear somewhere of a ‘staff’ in Uruguay, well as far as July 22, there is NONE.”

  • AdViewGlobal Says Members Guilty Of ‘Unethical’ Conduct

    UPDATED 1:57 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) Members who abused a member-to-member cash button AdViewGlobal (AVG) itself provided are guilty of “unethical” conduct that has delayed an audit the surf firm is performing on itself, AVG announced today.

    AVG suspended member payouts June 25, implemented a mandatory 80/20 program upon the resumption of payouts on a date uncertain and exercised its version of a “rebates aren’t guaranteed” clause, thus exercising total control over members’ money. The surf said last month that it needed at least 30 days to complete the audit.

    The surf firm, which purports to be headquartered in Uruguay and has servers that resolve to Panama, recently identified George and Judy Harris as its owners. George Harris is the stepson of AdSurfDaily President Andy Bowdoin, whom federal prosecutors said operated a massive Ponzi scheme from a former floral shop in Quincy, Fla.

    ASD and AVG have common management, members and promoters. In March, AVG announced that Gary Talbert, a former ASD executive who provided a sworn statement on ASD’s behalf in a federal forfeiture case against ASD, had resigned as AVG’s chief executive officer.

    AVG initially denied it had any affiliation with ASD or ASD President Andy Bowdoin.

    On March 23, AVG announced that its bank account had been suspended because too many customers had wired transactions in excess of $9,500. The communication was signed “The AVG Management Team.”

    In May — on the same day the Obama administration announced a crackdown on offshore fraud schemes — the surf announced it had secured a new offshore wire facility and provided detailed usage instructions to members.

    Within three days, the surf withdrew the announcement of the wire facility, saying negotiations had failed. The withdrawal announcement came on the heels of a denial by a firm AVG said was facilitating the transfers that it had any business relationship with AVG.

    AVG never addressed the separate firm’s denial. The implication was that AVG had attempted to route wire transactions to itself by using an account not in its name.

    In the following weeks, when members complained about vague announcements and unclear directions from the firm, AVG threatened members with copyright-infringement lawsuits for sharing association news and to contact members’ ISPs to report abuse.

    Some members said they wanted AVG to identify members the company claimed were abusing the system. AVG has not done so, instead saying it is conducting an audit of itself.

    “Because of the unethical use of member transfers by some association members to artificially inflate their accounts, as well as complications created by changes in payment processors, the abrupt withdrawal of Syndicate Digital, and our own rapid growth, the audit has proven to be more difficult than we anticipated,” AVG said today.

    Syndicate Digital, a Canada-based firm that described itself as an AVG subcontractor, said earlier this month that it no longer was working for AVG.

    The surf did not announce a date by which its self-audit would be complete and member cash-outs would resume.

  • Pro Se Filer In ASD Case Used Phone Number Associated With Debt-Elimination Firm; Name Linked To Group Prosecutors Called ‘Notorious’ For Defying Tax Laws

    UPDATED 10:21 A.M. EDT (U.S.A.) A pro se litigant whose filing was docketed yesterday in the AdSurfDaily case used a phone number associated with a defunct credit-repair website that once advertised “Mortgage Elimination,” “Debt Elimination,” “Credit Restoration,” “Asset Restructuring,” “Off Shore Investments” and “Deciphering of Taxes.”

    The name of the filer also is associated in web records with the Utah branch of the We The People Congress, an arm of the We The People Foundation, a controversial nonprofit organization founded by tax protester Robert Schulz.

    Schulz, an engineer from Queensbury, N.Y., is known for pro se pleadings and clashing with the U.S. Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service. The Justice Department has described Schulz as a “notorious tax defier” who was found in contempt of court for not complying with an order handed down by a federal judge.

    Among other things, the We The People Foundation was accused by the Justice Department in 2007 of marketing “a nationwide tax-fraud scheme designed to help customers evade their federal tax liabilities and to interfere with the administration of the internal revenue laws.”

    Schulz and We The People started offering a “Tax Termination Package” and organized a project known as “Operation Stop Withholding” in 2003, according to prosecutors. The government described the effort as a “campaign to help customers illegally stop withholding, filing and paying federal taxes.”

    In August 2007, a federal judge ordered Schulz and We The People to stop marketing the tax scheme. Judge Thomas McAvoy said the organization was exposing customers to criminal liability, ordering We The People to provide customers a copy of the order and to turn over information about customers who had used a We The People tax kit.

    Schulz initially did not comply with the order. In April 2008, he was found to be in contempt of court, and prosecutors said he faced possible jail time and fines of $2,000 per day until he complied. Schulz complied after the contempt finding.

    Christian Oesch, the pro se filer in the ASD case, used a phone number once associated with GlobalDebtSolution.com. The site now is a parked page, but once offered a host of debt-elimination services, according to web archives. The phone number recorded in the archives is the same phone number listed on Oesch’s pro se pleading in the ASD case.

    The name Christian Oesch appears in web records as the Utah state coordinator for the We The People Congress, and an email address associated with the name pointed to the GlobalDebtSolution domain.

    “Learn about what the IRS, the Bankers, your CPA, Tax Attorney or Politicians do not want you to know . . .” the site said in 2003.

    An audio file captured in the archives is titled “Banking Fraud.” A narrator who identified himself as Tom Shaw explained that bankers “control all major media” and that the U.S. Revolutionary War was fought over banking issues.

    “Now, we need to get this information out to as many people as [we] can about what they’ve done to us with the banking system,” the narrator said.

    Oesch filed the ASD motion as president of a Washington company known as Human Economic Resource Solutions LTD.

    It has been known for months that some people within the ASD organization were in the credit-repair business and also were associated with a group or groups who viewed banking in general and the Federal Reserve in particular as a conspiracy.

    Beginning in February 2009, individuals associated with a culture of pro se pleadings and rants against the government began to inject themselves into the legal battle ASD is confronting. At the same time, AdViewGlobal (AVG), a surf firm with close management, membership and promoters’ ties to ASD, switched to a “private association” structure.

    AVG says it is based in Uruguay, but its Articles of Association say its authority is derived from the U.S. Constitution.

  • BREAKING NEWS: Curtis Richmond Filed Motion To Disqualify Judge; Other Pro Se Litigants Filed ‘Innocent Owner’ Motions To Intervene In AdSurfDaily Forfeiture Case

    UPDATED 1:59 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) Curtis Richmond filed a motion to disqualify U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer from the AdSurfDaily forfeiture case before the judge had issued any rulings on a series of pro se pleadings by Richmond and others.

    The motion was included today in a blizzard of motions made public in the AdSurfDaily forfeiture  case. Some of them date back to February.

    At least three other pro se litigants filed separate motions to intervene in the case, and Richmond himself filed a separate motion for miscellaneous relief.

    The docketing of the filings came on the heels of a ruling Collyer made last week that denied individual pro se litigants standing in the ASD case.

    Motions to intervene that asserted an “innocent owner” claim were filed by:

    • Christian Oesch, Human Economic Resource Solutions, Midvale, Utah
    • Jeffrey Robinson, Ft. Myers, Fla.
    • Joan Hughes, Ottawa, Ontario

    Hughes’ filing appears to have been the first prospective intervention filed from Canada. A stamp on the paperwork indicated the document was submitted March 3.

    All three motions to intervene appear to use the Curtis Richmond litigation blueprint.

    In his motion apparently designed to force Collyer to step down, Richmond cites this reason: “For Cause Of Extreme Bias Per U.S. Supreme Court Cases & Other Legal Citations.”

    The motion to force Collyer to disqualify herself appears initially to have been submitted to the court in May.

    In a separate motion, apparently received in March and made public today, Richmond demanded a ruling of some sort. The document appears to have been filed in response to a motion Richmond filed in February that demanded Collyer issue a ruling in the ASD case within 30 days or face sanctions.

    “This Court and Judge Rosemary Collyer both have an Absolute Duty and Obligation Under Article VI Supremacy Clause and the Judge’s Oath of Office To Support and Defend the U.S. Constitution to Obey 18 U.S.C. Sec. 983 and the Civil Forfeiture Reform Act of 2000,” Richmond said.

    “If a Judge Willfully violates these Federal Staututes and the Claimant’s Constitutional Right of Due Process & Civil Rights, She Is At War Against The U.S. Constitution And When She Is Acting Without Jurisdiction and according to the U.S. Supreme Court is Guilty of TREASON.”

    Read Richmond’s motion to disqualify Judge Collyer.

  • Reports: BizAdSplash Slow On Payouts To Surf Members

    UPDATED 6:04 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) Could BizAdSplash (BAS), a surf site associated with Golden Panda Ad Builder President Clarence Busby, be following Golden Panda, AdSurfDaily and AdViewGlobal (AVG) into the great autosurf graveyard?

    Busby recently ceded $14 million to the U.S. government as part of the ASD investigation.

    There are reports today that BAS is behind on payments to members. In the recent past, the BAS surf site has been offline for an extended period of time. The surf also urged members not to contact vendors associated with its use of MasterCard with any questions about the BAS program.

    On May 13,  BAS, which purports to be registered in Panama, registered Articles of Organization as a Limited Liability Company (LLC) in Georgia. The surf used an address at UPS Store No. 2644 in Kennesaw, Ga., as its mailing address.

    Why the company purports to be headquartered in both Panama and Georgia is unclear. Some BAS promoters advised customers to send checks and money orders to the Georgia address and to note their BAS usernames and member names on the checks and money orders.

    Joyce Haws, listed in court documents as one of the founding members of Golden Panda Ad Builder, recently was involved in pro se litigation in the ASD/Golden Panda forfeiture case.

    A federal judge ruled last week that the pro se litigants who tried to intervene in the forfeiture case had no standing.

    Although BAS said it recently did away with bank wires, it says it accepts personal checks, business checks and money orders, along with  accepting money from offshore processors AlertPay, StrictPay and SolidTrustPay.

    On its website, BAS does not identify its management team. But its Georgia filings identify Clarence Busby as registered agent.

    Visitors to the BAS website read that it is “an international corporation which functions by utilizing a team of business professionals who are using their expertise and experience to build a successful company. Many of our professionals have additional involvements so to avoid conflicts of interest we do have some non disclosures in place to protect their privacy.”

    In the recent past, the surf has used matching bonus programs to entice new business.

    AVG, which debuted online after the BAS launch, recently announced the suspension of member cashouts and mandatory participation in an 80/20 program should cashouts resume. Like BAS, AVG also used matching-bonus programs. AVG said it lost at least one wire account because members had wired too many transactions in excess of $9,500.

  • Bank Says RICO Plaintiffs’ Claims Have ‘Fatal Deficiencies’; Argues That Prosecutors Have Records On ASD Winners

    UPDATED 10:23 A.M. EDT (U.S.A.) A federal judge should grant Bank of America’s motion to stay a case in which the bank is alleged to have aided and abetted a racketeering scheme because the plaintiffs already have a remedy and their argument is fatally deficient, the bank argued yesterday.

    Moreover, the bank argued, the government is in possession of certain information about AdSurfDaily Inc. — information outside the scope of the bank’s relationship with ASD — and that a stay is appropriate because prosecutors in a forfeiture case separate from the RICO lawsuit are compiling information.

    “[I]n addition to seizing all of ASD’s assets, the Government seized evidence as well, and thus a brief stay is necessary until resolution of the Forfeiture Proceeding to avoid compromising the proceedings here,” the bank said.

    “[T]he DOJ is currently in the process of determining who among the former ASD members have losses,” the bank said.

    And, Bank of America suggested, there may be reason to believe that a restitution pool envisioned by the government could increase as its probe into ASD continues.

    Federal prosecutors have seized about $80 million to date, according to records.

    “It is also entirely plausible that some former ASD members made money from the alleged scheme and the DOJ’s individualized claims process under the civil forfeiture laws is the best venue to investigate and address such issues,” the bank argued, using bold type to highlight the words “made money.”

    “Accordingly, a brief stay is necessary to permit the process to run its course,” the bank argued.

    The bank said the government already has announced a process by which it intends to provide restitution to alleged victims of ASD.

    “Plaintiffs do not (and cannot) dispute that the DOJ’s asset distribution process in connection with the Forfeiture Proceeding aims to accomplish the same result as the purported claims in this litigation — i.e., to reimburse Mike Collins, Frank Greene, Natures Discount, Inc. and others for money allegedly lost as a result of their involvement with ASD,” the bank said.

    “If the named Plaintiffs in this case have no damages, then they cannot pursue their claims here, let alone act as lead plaintiffs for a class of other similarly situated plaintiffs,” the bank said.

    Bank of America was not named a RICO defendant in the case. Rather, the plaintiffs alleged the bank aided and abetted ASD President Andy Bowdoin, ASD attorney Robert Garner and others in a fraudulent scheme.

    Bowdoin has not responded to the RICO complaint, which was filed in January and amended in April.

    Both the RICO case, which was brought by private litigants, and the forfeiture case, which was brought by the government, are being argued in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

    Judge Rosemary Collyer is presiding over both cases.

    Read the bank’s answer to the RICO plaintiffs.