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  • Yet Another Senior Citizen Charged In Ponzi Scheme

    ponzinewsIs it mere coincidence? Or is “Ponzi scheme operator” so lucrative that people made it a secret career choice years ago and are being outed because of the shrinking economy?

    Another senior citizen has been charged in a Ponzi scheme, and this time it’s a woman. Judith Zabalaoui, 71, is accused of an elaborate scheme in which she set up fraudulent investment companies, used UPS stores to trick customers into thinking they were brick-and-mortar firms, created “fictitious employees” and spun a web of deception for years, prosecutors said.

    The UPS stores were in Colorado and Delaware, but Zabalaoui ran the scheme out of Alabama and Louisiana, prosecutors said. To pull off the deception, she called UPS mailboxes “suites,” and promised investors “guaranteed” returns of up to 26 percent.

    Zabalaoui took in at least $3 million in the scheme. (Read details at Ponzi News.)

    Here are the names of several other seniors implicated in recent Ponzi schemes:

    • Bernard Madoff, 70.
    • Arthur Nadel, 76.
    • Richard S. Piccoli, 82.
    • Ronald Keith Owens, 73.
    • James Blackman Roberts, 71.
    • Andy Bowdoin, 74.

    Another Ponzi News story you might want to check out involves Robert Miracle. Prosecutors said he dummied up his business résumé, wooing fraud victims by claiming he’d once been employed at NASA and Disney.

    Call him a space mouse — one who took in $65 million, prosecutors said.

  • Picture Story: Hailed A ‘Hero’ By ‘Surf’s Up’ Advocates’ Site And AdViewGlobal Forum, Will Curtis Richmond Save The Day For Beleaguered AdSurfDaily Inc. And Andy Bowdoin Faithful?

    UPDATE AND EDITOR’S NOTE 8:07 P.M. EST (U.S.A.) The screen shots below are of actual court documents in litigation involving Curtis Richmond and the sham Utah “Indian” tribe.

    If you’d like to view the full PDF of the court filings from which the screen shots were made, please click here. It’s a long but interesting read.

    At the bottom of this post, we’ve included a News Release from federal prosecutors about a Hawaii man who was indicted on income-tax charges and convicted. He employed a sham “arbitration” panel linked to the sham Utah “tribe.” The “arbitration” panel was known as the Western Arbitration Council.

    In addition to the News Release, you also might wish to view this document. It is the unsuccessful appeal of a Kansas man who also used the certified-mail tactics of the sham “Indian” tribe and its sham “arbitration” panel and was convicted of  mail fraud and bankruptcy fraud. The man tried to get a judgment of $500,000 against the bankruptcy trustee, escalating it to a claim of $1.5 million through the “arbitration” panel. When the trustee “defaulted,” the man filed a UCC lien against the Trustee in Kansas and sought to collect by making a claim for more than $500,000 through the trustee’s surety bond. This led to a second charge of mail fraud.

    Here, now, screen shots pertaining to Curtis Richmond’s tribal litigation . . .

    1.

    indianarrestwarrantSome members of AdSurfDaily are heralding the entry of Curtis Richmond into the ASD fray. In this screen shot of a document from federal court files, a “Supreme Court” set up by sham Utah “Indian” tribe  issues an “Arrest Warrant” for two legitimate federal judges and two litigation opponents of Richmond. The “tribe” held a meeting inside an Arby’s restaurant in Provo, Utah, in 2003, which is why members sometimes are referred to as the “Arby’s Indians.” Meanwhile,  the “tribe” listed the address of The Open Hearth Doughnut Shop conference room in Vernal, Utah, as the address of its “Supreme Court.” When issuing documents that purportedy carried the force of law, the “clerk of the court” didn’t bother with the formality of listing a last name or even a formal first name. Documents were signed “Charle” — apparently short for “Charlene.”

    2.

    spiritwalkercourt“Spirit Walker,” sham “chief” of tribal law enforcement, identifies the “defendants,” determines they’re not present in “court,” notes that they “have violated a Court Order,” and begins the process of ordering legitimate federal marshals and legitimate police officers to arrest the legitimate federal judges and Richmond’s litigation opponents.

    3.

    indiansanctionsSham “Supreme Court” sanctions legitimate federal judges for “belligerent violations” with fines of $1,000 a day, and tacks on an “additional” 90 days in jail.

    News Release From U.S. Attorney For Hawaii Outlining Prison Sentence For Man Who Used Sham Utah ‘Indian’ Arbitration Panel To Harass IRS

    December 9, 2008

    KIHEI, MAUI REAL ESTATE AGENT/BROKER SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR TAX OFFENSES

    HONOLULU, HAWAII – BRUCE ROBERT TRAVIS, age 60, was sentenced yesterday by Chief District Judge Helen Gillmor to 24 months in prison for obstructing and impeding the lawful administration of the tax laws by the Internal Revenue Service and filing a false amended federal individual income tax return for the calendar year 2000. TRAVIS, a Kihei, Maui resident, was also ordered to pay restitution to the Internal Revenue Service in the amount of $14.958.29, as well as costs of prosecution in the amount of $17,828.95, and a fine of $5,000.

    Ed Kubo, the United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii, said according to the July 2007 Indictment, TRAVIS, who worked as a real estate agent and broker, conducted his real estate business on Maui through Americorp International Limited, incorporated in the State of Hawaii, for which TRAVIS was the owner, president, treasurer and director before its dissolution around 2004. Also around 2004, TRAVIS became president, partner and manager of Americorp International LLC, through which he continued to conduct his real estate business.

    According to the indictment, TRAVIS signed and filed Form 1040 tax returns for 2003 and 2004 wherein he falsely claimed charitable deductions for payments he made to two entities belonging to or operated by Royal Lamarr Hardy, who was convicted of tax crimes in 2005 in Honolulu.

    According to the plea agreement, TRAVIS, while an IRS audit of him was ongoing, also signed and filed false amended individual income tax returns wherein he improperly claimed itemized deductions equal to the adjusted gross income he previously reported on his original Form 1040 tax returns. As a result, TRAVIS falsely claimed that he owed no income taxes for each of the years under audit; that is, 1996 through 2000.

    According to the plea agreement, beginning around March 2004, TRAVIS sought and obtained a fraudulent arbitration award from the Western Arbitration Council in the amount of $300,000 against both the IRS and the IRS employee who conducted the aforementioned audit. TRAVIS obtained the fraudulent arbitration award in an attempt to hinder IRS collection efforts.

    TRAVIS’ sentence was based on information produced for the court that the tax loss to the United States for the years 1996 through 2004, without any interest or penalties, totaled over $400,000.

    The case resulted from an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, and the prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Clare E. Connors and Department of Justice Tax Division Trial Attorney Michael C. Vasiliadis.

  • Genesis Of The Utah ‘Indian’ Cases And Why They Could Spell Bad News For ASD Members Who Are Seeking Refunds

    Meet Curtis Richmond and the so-called “Arby’s Indians.”

    This stupefying drama actually started almost a decade before the fabled meeting inside an Arby’s restaurant in Provo, Utah, on April 18, 2003. The birth of Wampanoag Nation, Tribe of Grayhead, Wolf Band — a sham Utah “Indian” tribe not to be confused with a legitimate Massachusetts tribe with a similar name — dates back to the “Sovereign Citizen Movement” and “Patriot” eras of the 1990s in which Timothy McVeigh was making headlines for blowing up the federal building in Oklahoma City and killing 168 people.

    “Mr. [Dale] Stevens . . . had actually started the organization . . . some nine years before that meeting in Provo,” said U.S. District Judge Stephen Friot, in findings of fact and conclusions of law. “Curtis Richmond was admitted to the tribe, because, in the words of Mr. Stevens, he is a believer in fighting for liberty, not because of any heritage as a member of the Wampanoag Nation.”

    Friot ruled the tribe a “complete sham.” Richmond now is a central figure in the AdSurfDaily Ponzi litigation.

    The Arby’s meeting in April 2003 was important, though, because it established a date from which a bizarre conspiracy evolved that rattled nerves, subjected public officials, attorneys, investigators and bankers to monumental inconvenience and, ultimately, created the stage from which Curtis Richmond introduced himself  to a wider audience than just the folks back home in California. He has been a thorn in the side of the judiciary there, too, and was convicted in 2007 of criminal contempt of court for threatening federal judges.

    Richmond invokes authority of sham tribal "Supreme Court."
    Richmond invokes authority of sham tribal "Supreme Court."

    Richmond has never been linked to violence. But he has a deep and storied history of threatening federal judges in court filings. And he has drawn the attention — and ire — of banks in courts from coast to coast. Richmond, who is not an attorney and yet holds the unique distinction of having been banned from the practice of law in Colorado, became a player in a scheme in which he advised people who were being sued by banks for defaulting on credit-card debt to “assign” the debts to him.

    This was done by fiat, without the banks’ approval, and was designed to cripple their ability to collect on legitimate debts.  Richmond became embroiled in litigation, and turned to a sham arbitration panel and sham “Supreme Court”  set up by the sham “Indian” tribe to gum up the mix.

    Because the “tribe” itself also was embroiled in litigation — mostly against public servants in Utah — the state became the staging ground for litigation that only can be described as bizarre.

    In one case, for example, the “tribe” divined itself the authority to issue license plates. When a member was stopped by a deputy sheriff for having an illegal tag, litigation ensued that ultimately threatened the sanctity of the state and federal court systems and the government’s ability to prosecute criminals and provide public services.

    Not even the Utah Division of Child and Family Services was immune from tribal interference and harassment. Indeed, the tribe even divined itself the authority to intervene in family matters.

    “A good example of this pattern of racketeering activity would be Wampanoager [Name Deleted To Protect Privacy Of Children,]” victims in the case said. “[Name Deleted] applied for membership in the Wampanoag Nation on October 20, 2002.  His ‘application’ was received into evidence at trial as Exhibit 29. It reflects that Dale Stevens is the Tribal Chief, Thomas Smith is the Chief of Ministry of Justice and Terry Campbell is the Chief Minister of Law Enforcement.

    “[Name Deleted] later became embroiled in litigation with the Utah Division of Child and Family Services regarding his minor children. [Name Deleted] served Mr. Michael Atkin, a  representative of the Utah Division of Child and Family Services, by certified mail, with a demand for payment of $300,000.00, allegedly for breach of contract. This demand, termed a ‘Statement of Account[,]’ advises Atkin that he will be subject to binding arbitration to collect that debt.”

    Curtis Richmond, who is being called a “hero” on the Pro-ASD “Surf’s Up” forum, served as the “arbitrator” and approved the fraudulent $300,000 award.

    Curtis Richmond's signature as "arbitrator" for $300,000 award in family matter involving minor children.
    Curtis Richmond's signature as "arbitrator" for $300,000 award in family matter involving minor children.

    Justice Perverted

    “Insisting that their status as tribal members exempts them from state and local laws, Stevens and the other Wampanoagers engaged in a pattern of racketeering activities involving sham arbitrations before an entity known as the Western Arbitration Council,” said victims of the scheme, in court filings.

    “The Western Arbitration Council is a dba for a Utah corporation called the Order of White Light,” the victims continued. “The Order of White Light, in turn, claims to be a private ‘ecclesiastical corporation sole’ of which Thomas Smith is the ‘presiding patriarch.’

    “Stevens and the Wampanoagers obtained hundreds of millions of dollars in fraudulent arbitration awards against local governmental officials, judges and prosecutors and then

    Richmond uses sham 'Indian Supreme Court' to overturn legitimate court rulings and threaten federal judges.
    Richmond uses sham 'Indian Supreme Court' to overturn legitimate court rulings and threaten federal judges.

    recorded those ‘awards’ as liens against the officials’ property, including the property of Uintah County, Utah, Uintah County Attorney Joan Stringham, former Uintah County Sheriff Hawkins and Uintah County Deputy Sheriff Laursen. The Wampanoagers did this in order to frustrate, harass, interfere with and obstruct local law enforcement so as to continue their respective commercial activities free of governmental regulation,” the victims said.

    All of this potentially spells bad news for ASD members.

    For scale, consider that the first filing in one of the Utah cases involving Richmond was entered on Aug. 11, 2004 — four and a half years ago. The most recent filing is dated Jan. 14, 2009, and the case file includes 321 separate entries, not taking entries that don’t qualify as formal filings into account.

    By comparision, the ASD case has 42 entries since it was opened in August 2008 — and was nearly litigated to conclusion before Richmond entered the fray. If the case drags on interminably — and if people expecting to petition the government for a refund from seized funds have to wait even longer — they can blame it on Curtis Richmond, “Professor” Patrick Moriarty and some of the members of the “Surf’s Up” forum who advocated a scorched-earth campaign against the government.

    A linchpin of the stragegy is to send demand letters to litigation opponents, judges and officers of the court by certified mail. The letters demand a specific course of conduct and include a compressed time frame in which the demand must be met. If the demand is not met or if the recipient ignores the letters, the practitioners claim a contract violation has occurred and seek astronomical judgments against the targets of the letters.

    If any of this sounds unreasonable and dangerous to you, consider you’re not alone in your concern. In one of the Utah cases, the recipients sued under federal racketeering and mail-fraud statutes — and won. On the eve of an “Indian” trial in Utah, Richmond tried to force Friot to recuse himself from the case, claiming that Friot couldn’t be fair because he “owes Curtis Richmond $30 million in Damages for Violating Curtis Richmond’s Sovereign & Constitutional Rights.”

    And Richmond piled on threats: “The Judge Disqualifies Himself Or He Will Face Criminal Charges,” he demanded.

    Friot refused to step down. He found that the “tribe” had engaged in racketeering and mail fraud, ordering more than $108,000 in damages to the victims.

  • BREAKING NEWS: Richmond’s Utah ‘Indian’ Appeal Dismissed; Victims Say He Sought $30 Million Judgment Against Federal Judge Hearing The Case On Eve Of Trial

    UPDATED 1:21 A.M. EST (FEB. 7, U.S.A.) The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit (Denver) has dismissed Curtis Richmond’s appeal in the sham Utah “Indian Tribe” case, saying Richmond “failed to comply with the court’s order of December 17, 2008 directing [him] to pay the appellate filing fee in full by January 7, 2009.”

    Documents filed as part of the appeal raise new questions about some of the claims Richmond made in filings earlier this week in the ASD case.

    Richmond, who said in filings in the ASD case that the government’s actions in seizing money from ASD cost his organization tens of thousands of dollars, claimed in his “Indian” appeal that he was a pauper. The motion by Richmond to file in forma pauperis in the “Indian” appeal was filed June 4, 2008.

    But on Aug. 1, 2008, according to Richmond’s filings in the ASD case, Pacific Ministry of Giving International, of which Richmond is chairman, had $41,000 at stake in AdSurfDaily, “counting the Upgrade Bonuses promised between July 14th and Aug. 1, 2008.”

    Meanwhile, victims in the Utah “Indian” cases — including a county prosecutor who was subjected to a $250 million fraudulent judgment handed down by a bogus tribal arbitration panel upon which Richmond served — said Richmond attempted to derail the case on the eve of trial by preparing a fraudulent judgment for $30 million against the presiding federal judge.

    U.S. District Judge Stephen Friot did not recuse himself from the case despite Richmond’s last-minute maneuver and ordered Richmond and co-defendants to pay more than $108,000 in damages and costs to the injured parties for engaging in racketeering and mail fraud.

    “[Sham ‘Indian Chief’ Dale] Stevens contends that the Honorable Stephen P. Friot was biased and should have disqualified himself,” the victims said in an appeal brief. “Stevens makes this claim based upon a $30 million judgment co-conspirator Richmond supposedly obtained against Judge Friot shortly before the trial commenced.”

    In filings in the ASD case, Richmond referenced $30 million as the amount an ASD member sought to collect from each of four public officials involved in the case. He is being hailed a “hero” on the Surf’s Up Pro-ASD forum and on a forum for AdViewGlobal set up by some of the Surf’s Up Mods.

    Injured parties in the Utah cases, however, see things differently.

    “Rather than respond to Uintah County Appellee’s Counterclaim, Richmond moved to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction,” the injured parties said.  “That Motion was denied. Uintah County Appellee’s requested an entry of default against Richmond for failure to respond to the Counterclaim.

    Richmond $30 million claim against Judge Stephen Friot.
    Richmond claim against Judge Stephen Friot.

    “In denying Uintah County Appellee’s Motion, the Court ordered Richmond to file a responsive pleading,” the injured parties said.  “Rather than answer Uintah County Appellee’s Counterclaim, Richmond moved to disqualify Judge Friot based upon a fraudulent $30 million award he had allegedly obtained against Judge Friot in much the same manner as the arbitration awards entered by the Wampanoagers [sham tribe] by Uintah County Appellees. Judge Friot denied the Motion to Disqualify and entered a Default Judgment against Richmond for failure to appear at trial.”

    30 Million Things In Common

    An ASD member named Alana Holsted was stymied in efforts to collect on an “Entry of Default Affidavit for $30 million for each Defendant,” Richmond said in filings in the ASD case.

    $30 million claim also cited in ASD case.
    $30 million claim also cited in ASD case.

    And $30 million was a notable figure in the “Indian” case as well, which included a flurry of certified mail. A certified-mail campaign also is part of the ASD case.

    Injured parties in the “Indian” case said Richmond deliberately tried to scuttle the proceedings.

    “Shortly before the trial commenced, Richmond embarked on the same course of conduct to obtain a fraudulent judgment/award against the Honorable Stephen P. Friot,” the injured parties said in an appeal brief.

    “First, Richmond sent a notice or demand for administrative proceedings to the Court,” they continued.  “That notice was followed up by Notices of Dishonor and Nonresponse from Richmond. On April 14, 2008, Richmond filed an Affidavit of Notice of Default. Finally, he filed his Motion to Disqualify based upon a $30 million administrative judgment obtained against Judge Friot.”

    Friot, however, refused to step down.

    “The administrative proceeding conducted by Richmond against Judge Friot was as much of a sham as the fraudulent arbitration awards,” the injured parties said. “Therefore, not only was there no need for Judge Friot to recuse himself, but had he done so would have been an abuse of discretion because it would encourage other obstreperous litigants to entertain such actions on eve of trial leading to needless delays and added expense in bringing such cases on for trial.”

    Appeal ‘Not Taken In Good Faith’

    A three-judge panel in the U.S. Court of Appeals said Richmond was filing nonsense during the appeals process as well. His motion to file as a pauper was denied, and he was ordered to pay for a transcript of the Utah trial and to pay the full cost of filing the appeal.

    “[T]he appeal was not taken in ‘good faith’ because Richmond failed to ‘show the existence of a reasoned, nonfrivolous argument on the law and facts in support of the issues raised on appeal,” the panel said.

    “Richmond’s brief complains primarily about the lack of evidence to support the district court’s judgment,” the panel said.

    Here is how Richmond put it:

    “The Case was about Arbitration Awards that the Biased Judges ruled were obtained from a Sham Arbitration Council without Any Legal Evidence of the Arbitration being a Sham Arbitration Council. Only the Opinion of an Atty. & Judge were presented.”

    And here is how the court responded:

    “What little law he cites is either wrong or taken out of context. The brief is hyperbole.”

    Richmond fundamentally is making the same argument in the ASD case — an argument that the prosecutors don’t have “Legal Evidence” and that the judge is in cahoots.

    Dale Stevens, chief of the sham tribe, fared no better with the three-judge panel.

    “The closest thing to an argument in his two-page invective is the statement that ‘[t]he trial was nothing more [t]h[a]n a Kangaroo Court as Curtis Richmond got a judgment [a]gainst the judge and ask[ed] him to s[te]p a side and he refused, so the ruling must be rever[sed] and the Contracts honored as they are the highest kind of contracts.’ This falls far short of a reasoned, nonfrivolous legal argument,” the panel said.

    Like Stevens in his appeals motion, Richmond in his ASD motion made a “Kangaroo Court” claim, saying Judge Rosemary Collyer was running one, as was Chief Judge Royce Lamberth.

    Richmond’s motion also included accusations that Collyer was a felon, along with assertions he had the same type of “contract” in the ASD case as Stevens had in the “Indian” case.

  • No Claims Filed In Second AdSurfDaily-Connected Seizure

    andybowdoinbw.gifUPDATED 1:31 P.M. EST (U.S.A.) Nearly two months have passed since federal prosecutors went to court and filed a second forfeiture complaint against assets tied to AdSurfDaily Inc., an alleged $100 million Ponzi scheme.

    The document was filed Dec. 19, about a week before Christmas. As of the morning of Feb. 6, 2009, no party had filed a claim to the seized assets. No attorney for any of the potential claimants has filed a notice of appearance with U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

    Among the people who could file claims are Edna Faye Bowdoin, wife of ASD President Andy Bowdoin; George Harris, son of Edna Faye Bowdoin; Judy Harris, wife of George Harris; Hays McDougal Amos, whose precise link to ASD is unknown; Juan Fernandez, chief executive officer of ASD; and Andy Bowdoin himself.

    No one had come forward as of this morning.

    Prosecutors said money in ASD accounts was used to fuel lavish personal spending by Bowdoin family members. They asserted, for example, that $157,000 was used to retire the mortgage on the Tallahassee home of George and Judy Harris and that ASD check No. 1337 (for $28,607.67) was used to purchase a 2008 Honda CRV for George and Judy Harris.

    Both George and Judy Harris signed paperwork at the dealership to complete the transaction, prosecutors said. Based on the forfeiture complaint, George and Judy Harris — at a minimum — could assert a claim for $185,607. Their home is included in the forfeiture complaint, meaning they stand to lose it, along with its equity and property improvements.

    Meanwhile, an ASD check for $33,450.30 — drawn on an ASD account in Andy Bowdoin’s name and signed by Juan Fernandez — was used to purchase an Acura TXS registered in the name of Hays Amos.

    Also subject to forfeiture are a building for which ASD paid $800,000 cash in Quincy, Fla.; two jet skis and a hauling trailer that were purchased with $20,506 of ASD money; a Triton Cabana boat, Mercury motor and trailer purchased with $23,445 of ASD funds; and a Lincoln MKS that was acquired with $48,244 of ASD funds.

    ASD’s computers and equipment, which the prosecutors earlier had returned so the company once again could begin to display advertising, also are subject to forfeiture now.

    Is this a case of “easy come, easy go?” Perhaps.

    Bowdoin, whom prosecutors said advertised a failed, dissolved business in his own rotator to qualify for “rebates,” also gave free ad credits to other family members, so they could earn money off the backs of rank-and-file ASD members without paying a penny.

    “Mr. Bowdoin also gave free ad packages to his son and to a former-daughter-in-law, by which they pulled funds out of ASD without paying any money to ASD,” prosecutors said. “In his son’s case, he arranged for another employee to ‘surf’ the program in order to qualify for a share of the daily rebates. Purchasing advertising was irrelevant to these ‘investors.’”

    Within three days of the Dec. 19 filing of the second forfeiture complaint, a new autosurf — AdViewGlobal — started to generate buzz on the Internet. Its chief executive officer, Gary Talbert, is a former ASD executive.

    Another common tie is Chuck Osmin, an ASD employee who now doubles as a spokesman for AdViewGlobal. In sworn testimony in the ASD case, Osmin said he had expected to receive about $2,000 a day from ASD before it ceased operations.

    On Nov. 27, a few weeks prior to the very public birth of AdViewGlobal, ASD announced on its website that it “supports” the ASD Member Advocates Forum, also known as “Surf’s Up!” Some of the Surf’s Up Mods now have created a forum for AdViewGlobal members.

    “All ASD Members are encouraged to join the ASD Members Advocate forum,” ASD said. “The ASD Members Advocate forum should be your source for up-to-the-minute opinions and commentaries about ASD.  We encourage you to join and get involved.  Log on to [ . . .]

    “Surf’s Up, Baby!”

    The surf may indeed be up, but it doesn’t appear to be pushing people toward the courthouse to file claims for more than $1 million in money and property seized in the December forfeiture complaint.

    That should come as no surprise, however. Andy Bowdoin claimed $1 million was stolen from ASD by Russian hackers, and he didn’t even file a police report.

    Claims for ASD assets seized in the August forfeiture complaint were filed within days, and Bowdoin now has withdrawn those claims.

  • Document Suggests AdSurfDaily Member Sought $120 Million From Judge, Prosecutors, Clerk Of Courts Involved In Case

    Did a member of AdSurfDaily Inc. try to force a federal judge, two federal prosecutors and a federal clerk of courts to default on demands totaling $120 million as part of a certified-mail strategy?

    Details are unclear, but a motion by Curtis Richmond in the ASD case suggests at least one ASD member sent a certified demand letter and spelled out a $30 million penalty for each of four “defendants” as the price of not submitting to the demand.

    Richmond filed a motion to set aside the forfeiture of tens of millions of dollars seized in the ASD probe. He claimed a multipronged conspiracy involving judges, prosecutors and a court clerk to deny ASD members justice.

    In his motion, Richmond asserts that actions by Judge Rosemary Collyer, U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Taylor, Assistant U.S. Attorney William Cowden and Court Clerk Nancy Mayer-Whittington prevented the member from “Collecting on an Entry of Default Affidavit for $30 million for each Defendant.”

    Just above the assertion, on Page 9 of Richmond’s motion, he lists the names of Collyer, Taylor, Cowden and Mayer-Whittington, claiming they “Have Been Guilty of Interference With Commerce.”

    alanaholstedasd

    Under point (a) of his claim, Richmond asserts the interference prevented “Alana Holsted from Collecting on an Entry of Default Affidavit for $30 million for each Defendant.” In November, Collyer denied Richmond leave to file a motion to dismiss the ASD case. Richmond said he submitted 19 affidavits to support his motion, and now claims Collyer is guilty of felonies for not permitting the documents to be filed.

    Similar tactics were used by a sham Utah “Indian tribe” with which Richmond is associated. In the Utah cases, bogus judgments for huge amounts were sought, including a fraudulent judgment for $250 million against JoAnn Stringham, the prosecutor for Uintah County.

    Uintah County countersued, and Richmond and co-defendents were ordered to pay damages and costs in excess of $100,000 for filing the bogus claims. Richmond was assessed an additional penalty of $2,915.

    The practice of sending litigation opponents a list of demands by certified mail — and stating that not acknowleding the demands, which often are deliberately unreasonable, amounts to a default — sometimes is called “Mailbox Arbitration.” The practice also is known as “paper terrorism,” and can land practitioners in a heap of trouble.

    So can making reckless claims against judges and officers of the court — as Richmond found out in California. He was charged with criminal contempt of court, arrested and found guilty. (Click here to see the order for Richmond’s arrest in the case.)

  • Will Richmond Filing Trigger New Federal Probe Or Lead To Interminable Delays In The AdSurfDaily Inc. Forfeiture Case?

    UPDATED 1:29 P.M. EST (U.S.A.) A California man associated with a sham Utah “Indian” tribe purportedly founded inside an Arby’s Restaurant lambasted District of Columbia federal judges, federal prosecutors and a court clerk in legal filings this week, accusing them of crimes and threatening them with litigation and jail time.

    Curtis Richmond said Pacific Ministry of Giving International — an entity of which he is chairman — had $41,000 at stake in AdSurfDaily Inc. and lost access to the money because of a forfeiture action prosecutors filed in August against assets linked to ASD.

    Electronic records at the California Department of State website list Pacific Ministry of Giving’s registration with the state as “forfeited” in 2004. The organization, though, is registered as a corporation sole and “religious organization” in Utah, according to electronic records in Utah.

    Judge Rosemary Collyer, who’d earlier denied Richmond leave to file in the case, permitted Richmond’s latest motion to be docketed. In the motion, Richmond accuses Collyer of dozens of felonies, saying she could spend up to 252 years in federal prison for her actions in the case.

    Richmond’s filing is a bid to set aside the forfeiture of tens of millions of dollars seized by the government. In the motion, he threatens additional litigation and criminal prosecution. At the same time, the motion appears to be designed to force Collyer to withdraw from the case.

    “Professor” Patrick Moriarty, a former board member of ASD Members International (ASDMI) and a person who championed Richmond’s legal approach, applauded the filings on his website today. Meanwhile, Steve Watt, another former ASDMI board member, said the filings equated to “credibility” for the ASD cause.

    TheAdViewGlobal Members’ forum, operated by some of the Mods at the Pro-ASD “Surf’s Up!” forum, named Richmond “Hero Of The Day!” For its part, Surf’s Up heralded the action with a three-exclamation-point headline celebrating Richmond’s legal heroics.

    But some members of other forums discussing the ASD case are scratching their heads in disbelief. They’re wondering how the filings by Richmond, who has a felony conviction for contempt of court for threatening federal judges in a separate case and is associated with a bogus Utah “Indian tribe” infamous for trying to extort favorable court results by intimidating judges and prosecutors, adds up to anything credible at all.

    What’s Ahead?

    How Richmond’s filings will affect the case is unclear. One possible outcome is that justice will be delayed — meaning that ASD members who’d hoped to get a refund through the government will have to wait even longer if Richmond and the government square off in protracted litigation.

    “Protracted” is a word that frequently accompanies litigation involving Richmond or filed by him. ASD members expecting a refund may be none too pleased if Richmond’s entry into the ASD fray results in interminable delays.

    Another possible outcome is that the litigation will trigger probes by the U.S. Marshal’s Service, which is in charge of securing federal courtrooms and federal judges, and the FBI. The FBI and the U.S. Marshals entered a probe of Richmond in California for threatening or trying to intimidate federal judges through vexatious court filings — under circumstances that are very similar to what is happening now in the ASD case.

    Richmond was convicted of criminal contempt of court in 2007, and was sentenced to six months’ home confinement with electronic monitoring, a fine of $1,000 and five years’ supervised probation. He also was ordered not to file vexatious legal pleadings in California. Richmond appealed the sentence.

    “Our office is committed to protecting the safety, security and integrity of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California,” said U.S. Attorney Carol C. Lam, upon Richmond’s February 2007 conviction. “While every citizen has the right of free speech and the right to address grievances in our courts, no one has the right to intimidate and harass judges and court staff.”

    Federal prosecutors in California said U.S. District Judges “had previously rejected arguments advanced by Richmond in civil litigation, and Richmond had responded by accusing those judges of treason, threatening to bring multi-million dollar lawsuits against them, and attempting to have the U.S. Marshal’s Service execute fraudulent arrest warrants against those judges.”

    Richmond had been “advised on several occasions that such conduct was viewed as threatening, and explicitly warned that if he continued to file pleadings accusing judges of criminal conduct he would be subject to prosecution for criminal contempt,” prosecutors said.

    In May 2006, prosecutors said, Richmond filed a pleading that accused a federal judge of engaging in fraud and criminal conspiracy and “willfully violated” an injunction banning him from filing vexatious legal papers.

    In his ASD filings, Richmond accused Collyer of conspiring with prosecutors to deny ASD members justice.

    Prosecutors and Collyer had “No Authority or Jurisdiction To Steal Most of the $93 million” seized in the case, Richmond said. He claimed prosecutors, Collyer and the court clerk were “guility” of interference with commerce, and he threatened to prosecute them for crimes, sue them under racketeering statutes and hold them “personally liable” for damages.

    In his motion, Richmond claimed Collyer and a court clerk are guilty of at least 60 felonies for not permitting 21 documents he submitted in November to be filed. These actions could lead to to prison sentences of up to 12 years for each of the documents that weren’t filed, he said.

    “Judge Collyer had the Clerk of the Court Return All Of The Motion To Dismiss Affidavits[,] including the 19 Demand For legal Evidence Notarized Affidavits In Support to Curtis Richmond,” he said.

    “This is like having 21 Witnesses to a Murder,” Richmond said. “Judge Collyer is Guilty As Charged . . .”

    Meanwhile, Richmond accused Collyer and Chief U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth of presiding over a “Kangaroo Court” and conspiring to thwart justice.

    Utah ‘Indian’ Cases

    Richmond claims to be an adopted member of Wampanoag Nation, Tribe of Grayhead, Wolf Band, a purported “Indian” tribe a federal judge ruled a sham last year. The judge had to be brought in from an outside district because the sham tribe brought or threatened legal action against the available judges in the jurisdiction.

    Some of the legal filings read like impossible fiction, but they resulted in monumental inconvenience for judges, prosecutors, opposition attorneys, investigators, police officers and others involved in tribal litigation.

    The tribe, for instance, established its own sham “Supreme Court” and issued arrest warrants for judges and litigation opponents.

    Despite the fact he is not an attorney, Richmond has been banned from practicing law in Colorado.

  • BREAKING NEWS: Curtis Richmond, Man Linked To Sham Utah ‘Indian’ Tribe, Files Motion To Intervene in ASD Case; Says Judge Collyer Faces Criminal Charges

    UPDATED 12:19 A.M. EST (FEB. 5, U.S.A.) Curtis Richmond has filed a motion to intervene in the ASD case. On the cover page of the motion, Judge Rosemary Collyer inserted a handwritten note:

    “Let this be filed,” she wrote.

    richmondasdmotion350Inside the motion Richmond accused the judge and a court clerk of felonies. He filed the motion as the chairman of Pacific Ministry of Giving International of Solana Beach, Calif.

    Pacific Ministry of Giving International had $41,000 at stake in ASD — including “Upgrade Bonuses promised between July 14th and Aug. 1, 2008” — and lost access to the money because of the government seizure, Richmond said.

    Richmond asserted that, if Collyer doesn’t do as he says and overturn the forfeiture, she is guilty of civil-rights violations and is violating U.S. law. He also threatened two federal prosecutors — U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor of the District of Columbia and Assistant U.S. Attorney William Cowden — with “legal damages,” saying he had a “binding contract” with them as a result of certified mail he had sent them.

    Cowden and Taylor ignored ASD members’ Constitutional rights in the ASD asset seizure, did not properly notify members of the seizure and interfered with commerce, Richmond claimed.

    He accused Collyer, Taylor, Cowden and Court Clerk Nancy Mayer-Whittington of engaging in a conspiracy to deny justice. He specifically accused Collyer and the prosecutors of theft.

    “The U.S. Atty. and/or U.S. Judge Had No Authority or Jurisdiction to Steal Most of the $93 million of ASD Member Ownership Interest,” Richmond said, using a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters. “All of the ASD Members had a Constitutional Right to Make A Contract With ASD and None of the ASD Members had a Contract With the U.S. Government.”

    A nonlawyer representing himself, Richmond advanced his theory of the case:

    “Since the U.S. Atty. could not present any court order giving him Authority to Seize the $40 million of Cashier Checks and deposit them in an Account Of His Choosing, he is Guilty of Misappropriation of Funds [at] a minimum and very possibly Embezzlement,” Richmond claimed.

    Richmond claimed he had “irrefutable” evidence against Collyer and the prosecutors.

    “This was accomplished by sending by Return Receipt with a ‘Demand For Legal Evidence Affidavit’ to William Cowden, Assist. U.S. Atty., Jeffrey Taylor, U.S. Atty., and Roy Dotson, Special Agent, U.S. Secret Service[,] giving them 7 Days to present Legal Evidence that the Statements Made in the Demand For Legal Evidence[,] including the Listed Constitutional Rights, WERE FALSE,” Richmond claimed.

    “The Demand for Legal Evidence [was] part of Notarized Affidavits and clearly stated “Your Silence will be an Admission that you do not have the Legal Evidence,” he said.

    Cowden, Taylor and Dotson knowingly and willingly defaulted on his demands “because they had no Legal Evidence or believed they were above the law,” Richmond said. “Attorneys & Judges Are Not Above The Law. A Lawful Default Is a Lawful Default.”

    Richmond V. Collyer

    In his motion, Richmond said Collyer “sat on” a previous motion he attempted to file in the case in the days immediately prior to her November ruling that ASD had not demonstrated it was a legal business and not a Ponzi scheme. Richmond ultimately was denied leave to file.

    Richmond said he filed 19 affidavits in support of his claims, and that Collyer and Mayer-Whittington are guilty of at least 60 felonies, including felonies that include prison sentences of up to 12 years for each affidavit that wasn’t filed.

    “Judge Collyer had the Clerk of the Court Return All Of The Motion To Dismiss Affidavits[,] including the 19 Demand For legal Evidence Notarized Affidavits In Support to Curtis Richmond,” he said.

    “This is like having 21 Witnesses to a Murder,” Richmond continued. “Judge Collyer is Guilty As Charged . . .”

    One of the aims of Richmond’s motion appears to be to force Collyer to withdraw from the case. He accused her of operating a “Kangaroo Court.”

    He accused Chief U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth of becoming a co-conspirator, saying Lamberth also erected hurdles to block Richmond from filing as a party in the August forfeiture complaint against assets tied to ASD.

    “Either Judge Lamberth is unbelievably biased, believing he is Above The Law, or he does not know how to read the English language,” Richmond said.

    Lamberth also operated a “Kangaroo Court,” Richmond asserted.

    Richmond has a history of filing vexatious lawsuits and court motions, and of employing a strategy known as “Mailbox Arbitration” to hamstring prosecutors, judges, court clerks and others. He was convicted of criminal contempt of court in California in 2007 for threatening or trying to intimidate judges.

    Last year, a federal judge ruled an “Indian” tribe with which he is associated in Utah a “sham.” Various vexatious filings against public servants were made in the Wampanoag Nation, Tribe of Grayhead, Wolf Band case, and the judge ordered Richmond and other “tribe” members to pay damages and costs in excess of $100,000.

    In the “Indian” case, huge financial judgments against prosecutors and others were sought. At least one “tribe” member tried to enforce a bogus judgment in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

    In court filings, Richmond has claimed he was a “Sovereign” who answered only to Jesus Christ and enjoyed diplomatic immunity from prosecution.

    “Professor” Patrick Moriarty, a former board member of a defunct organization known as ASD Members International (ASDMI), associated himself with Richmond on Moriarty’s website. At the same time, Steve Watt, another former ASDMI board member, told visitors to TheJoyLuckClub ASD news site that Richmond’s court filings would lead to a major criminal complaint against members of the government.

    Before folding last month, ASDMI said on its website that it had recruited 167 members to litigate against the government in the ASD case. Moriarty also wrote of a certified-mail campaign and solicited funds to make it happen.

    Screen Shots

    1.

    indianchildrenCurtis Richmond’s signature as “Arbitrator” for a “tribal” panel set up by a sham Utah “Indian” tribe. In this case, the panel issued a fraudulent award of $300,720 and interest at “18% per annum against the Utah Department of Child & Family Services in a family matter.

    2.

    indianjudgeSham “Indian” arbitration panel issues award of $9,535.67 to sham “Indian chief.” The “award” was lodged against a judge, assessing the judge interest of 18 percent per annum and collection costs “not exceeding 30% of the principal sum.” The “chief,” Dale Stevens, later was arrested on child porn charges and announced his intention to marry two underage girls, including a 12-year-old, with whom he sought marriage in exchange for half a cooler of “energy bars.” Stevens, 69, acknowledged his plan in open court.

  • EDITORIAL: Welcome To The Age Of The Portable Ponzi

    UPDATED 3:09 P.M. EST (U.S.A.) Talk about a message at odds with itself.

    Yesterday AdViewGlobal, which does not identify its owners and claims it has no affiliation with AdSurfDaily Inc., revealed its chief executive officer also is or was an executive at ASD (emphasis added):

    “Since Mr. [Gary] Talbert was and is the C.E.O. for both companies and had worked with the same web room company while at ASD, it would be very natural for him to choose and use many of the same venders (sic) that he had used before. So, the fact that ASD and AdView Global are using the same web room hosting company is no accident, in fact it is an operational coincidence,” AdViewGlobal said.

    So, operational coincidence goes down in history as AdViewGlobal’s first contribution to the Alice-In-Wonderland world of autosurf PR. And, yes, the company actually announced that Talbert was chief executive officer of an alleged $100 million Ponzi scheme (ASD) and now has a role as chief executive officer of an offshore company that almost certainly is engaged in the sale of unregistered securities to U.S. residents and is a Ponzi scheme itself.

    Normally companies don’t crow about this type of thing. What’s even stranger is that Juan Fernandez, not Talbert, is listed in court documents as chief executive officer of ASD. In a sworn court declaration recorded Aug. 18, Talbert identified himself as ASD’s “Human Resource Manager, Assistant CFO and Website Editor.”

    talbertaffidavit

    Perhaps ASD decided not to share the news of Talbert’s promotion to chief executive officer. Or perhaps the AdViewGlobal PR apparatus doesn’t have Clue One about what it is doing, guessed at or fabricated the title Talbert held at ASD and doesn’t read court documents that refute its own claim.

    Even if Talbert no longer is an ASD executive and is singularly employed by AdViewGlobal as chief executive officer, it doesn’t undo the ASD stain no matter what title he held at the firm. AdViewGlobal’s purported offshore registration and refusal to identify its owners make it look even worse. There is no way to sanitize this business, which stinks to the high heavens.

    Piling On The Absurdities

    AdViewGlobal’s announcement painted the autosurf business as a wholesome enterprise that attracts highly skilled, highly discriminating companies and highly talented executives.

    “When the management team in Uruguay was organizing AdView Global, they were looking for someone who was familiar with the U.S. market and the processes in which to make a surfing company successful,” AdViewGlobal said. “It was for this reason that AdView Global  hired Mr. Gary Talbert as their C.E.O.”

    One is led to believe AdViewGlobal scored a coup in recruiting Talbert, in the same way Microsoft would score a coup if it lured Steve Jobs from Apple.

    Odder yet is that AdViewGlobal engaged in bizarre speculation to explain acts by Talbert, saying the appearance of AdViewGlobal graphics on an ASD-controlled website “probably meant that he was called away in the middle of making the changes by another pressing matter.”

    Are AdViewGlobal members supposed to believe that a company that guesses about the actions of its own chief executive officer is one to be taken seriously?

    Yesterday’s announcement removed any doubts that ASD and AdViewGlobal have very close ties, despite AdViewGlobal’s preemptive disclaimer on its website. It came specifically in response to reports that its graphics were appearing on an ASD-controlled website.

    Remember, now,  AdViewGlobal claims to have no affiliation with ASD — and yet its graphics appeared on an ASD-controlled website and then suddenly disappeared after they became the subject of videos, forum discussions and Blog posts. One of the graphics listed the street address of ASD’s headquarters in Quincy, Fla., as AdViewGlobal’s street address.

    adviewglobalstreetaddressmagnified

    The Descent Into Infamy

    One of the things that accompanied ASD on its descent into infamy was a series of impossibly butchered PR announcements. The tradition continues at AdViewGlobal, which appears to have the same PR personnel in place as ASD.

    ASD, awaiting a ruling on the Sept. 30-Oct. 1 evidentiary hearing, announced a pending $200 million deal with Praebius Communications, a penny-stock company. The statement on the ASD Breaking News website was the work of an amateur and was removed after members began to question it loudly in forums.

    Praebius, a Pinksheet stock, does not publish financial information. Its executives weren’t quoted in the ASD release, and there was no way to verify the $200 million claim. The financial claim struck members as a number that had been pulled out of thin air to serve a dual purpose: keeping hope alive, and informing a federal judge who was deciding if the ASD business model was legal that the company was about to get a huge cash infusion.

    ASD deleted the Praebius announcement after it became clear that members intended to do their own research, ask tough questions and not accept the company’s word at face value. Nothing in the announcement was consistent with professionalism. It only led to more questions, more criticism.

    Slow on the uptake, ASD then followed up the Praebius announcement with an announcement members could buy VOIP service from a firm with which it had become affiliated. (Why any firm would permit itself to be associated with an alleged $100 million Ponzi scheme is a discussion for another day.)

    Andy Bowdoin told a conference-call audience it could get special pricing, positioning the VOIP service as a gift to the membership. This led to even more bad press for ASD. ASD couldn’t deliver ads, couldn’t address members’ questions during conference calls, couldn’t persuade a federal judge it was not a Ponzi scheme — but still could flog a VOIP service for commissions.

    Not a peep has been heard from Bowdoin since he surrendered claims last month to tens of millions of dollars seized as the proceeds of a criminal enterprise and Ponzi scheme. He could sell VOIP to the members, herald a purported $200 million deal, but when it came time to announce the surrender to forfeiture, members had to read about it in the newspaper or on Blogs and forums.

    Bowdoin also didn’t tell members about a second forfeiture complaint that had been filed in December against assets tied to the firm. Prosecutors said hundreds of thousands of dollars were used to fuel personal spending by Bowdoin family members.

    Flash forward to yesterday. AdViewGlobal appears to be trying to make a fine distinction that it has no corporate legal ties to ASD. But the announcement it made was at odds with itself in so many places that, at best, it’s just another absurdity. In no case can it be taken seriously.

    None of ASD’s actions is compatible with credibility, and yet AdViewGlobal — by some tortured construction — is trying to leech credibility from ASD by telling the world that its chief executive officer was an important officer in ASD.

    It wouldn’t matter if Talbert, the chief executive officer, and Chuck Osmin, an ASD employee who doubles as AdViewGlobal’s PR flak and issued yesterday’s announcement, both no longer were employed by ASD and repudiated their previous employment. The fact remains that ASD was an alleged $100 million Ponzi scheme that surrendered its claims to tens of millions of seized dollars and very well might become the subject of a criminal prosecution.

    Both Talbert and Osmin were involved in the forfeiture litigation (not as defendants, but through Pro-ASD court filings or testimony),  and now both are working for AdViewGlobal. The fact the company won’t reveal the names of its owners and purportedly came to life offshore in the aftermath of the ASD debacle tells you everything you need to know.

    AdViewGlobal is not credible because ASD was not credible. If anything, AdViewGlobal is even less credible than ASD. If it were credible, it would submit its business model to U.S. authorities for testing and pay the costs of compliance. One of the reasons it won’t do that is the ASD litigation. Another reason is that it can’t offer payment processing in the United States and needs to find ways to circumvent U.S. money-laundering, wire-fraud and mail-fraud laws.

    On parts of its website, AdViewGlobal is using U.S.-based gmail addresses to conduct customer service. One is hardpressed to imagine how U.S. customers will fund accounts and engage in correspondence without engaging in wire fraud themselves.

    The Age of the Portable Ponzi has begun. Promoters have ignored the ASD August forfeiture complaint, the December forfeiture complaint, Bowdoin’s surrender of the assets, a RICO lawsuit that asserts Bowdoin was the head of a racketeering enterprise involved in multiple schemes boosted by unnamed co-conspirators, Bowdoin’s previous entanglements with securities regulators that resulted in felony charges, Bowdoin’s history of spinning lies to separate people from their money.

    Incredibly, AdViewGlobal now is employing ASD personnel, sharing a common executive, not disclosing information customers would deem important when making purchasing decisions (such as disclosing all previous  litigation that resulted in the dismantling of autosurfs, the implications of selling or purchasing unregistered securities if you’re a U.S. resident, the implications of wire fraud and money-laundering, and Judge Collyer’s ruling in the ASD case, for starters).

    Welcome to the Age of the Portable Ponzi.

  • AdViewGlobal Claims Web Reporter Got It All Wrong, Denies Link To AdSurfDaily Inc., Chides TheJoyLuckClub For Report

    UPDATED 5:27 PM. EST (U.S.A.) A new autosurf company that refuses to disclose its ownership, claims to be registered in Uruguay, operates servers that resolve to Panama — and has a horde of U.S.-based affiliates who were former members of AdSurfDaily Inc. — has denied any ties to ASD.

    Sort of.

    A link placed this afternoon at TheJoyLuckClub website takes viewers to U.S.-based Google Docs, from which they can download the official explanation of AdViewGlobal. TheJoyLuckClub and other sites reported last week that AdViewGlobal graphics were appearing on a webroom operated by ASD, despite an assertion by AdViewGlobal that it has nothing to do with ASD. The graphics suddenly were removed after word spread around the Web.

    In its explanation, AdViewGlobal chided TheJoyLuckClub for issuing an “unfortunate” report that misled readers.

    Normally associated with the Pro-ASD side of things, the JoyLuckClub increasingly has been challenging ASD for its explanations or lack thereof. Its report and an accompanying video clearly showed an AdViewGlobal banner on the ASD-controlled website, and was accurate by all accounts — except the accounts of AdViewGlobal and a small group of people at the “Surf’s Up” forum who also are promoting AdViewGlobal.

    “When the management team in Uruguay was organizing AdView Global, they were looking for someone who was familiar with the U.S. market and the processes in which to make a surfing company successful,” AdViewGlobal said today in its statement. “It was for this reason that AdView Global  hired Mr. Gary Talbert as their C.E.O.”

    AdViewGlobal did not identify members of the “management team” in Uruguay, but for the first time confirmed that former ASD executive Gary Talbert was chief executive officer of the new company.

    The appearance of its graphics on the ASD-controlled website was an “operational coincidence,” AdViewGlobal explained.

    “Since Mr. Talbert was and is the C.E.O. for both companies and had worked with the same web room company while at ASD, it would be very natural for him to choose and use many of the same venders (sic) that he had used before. So, the fact that ASD and AdView Global are using the same web room hosting company is no accident, in fact it is an operational coincidence,” AdViewGlobal said.

    The issue to some ASD members, however, was not that ASD and AdViewGlobal were using common vendors; the issue was why ADViewGlobal’s graphics were appearing inside and outside the exact same webroom ASD used — at a URL that included ASD’s name.

    One image reproduced on scam.com and at least one other site that covers ASD news shows the address of AdViewGlobal as “13 S. Calhoun Street, Quincy, FL 32351” — the building in which ASD is headquartered.

    Why AdViewGlobal listed Talbert as “C.E.O. for both companies” in today’s statement is unclear. He is listed in sworn court documents as “Human Resource Manager, Assistant CFO and Website Editor” of AdSurfDaily Inc.

    Also unclear is how the company can claim no direct ties to ASD — as it does on its main website in a special disclaimer — when the two companies share a common executive.

    “But in spite of this operational coincidence there is no connection between ASD and AdView Global,” AdViewGlobal insisted.

    It provided an example to illustrate its claim:

    “The idea of two companies using the same web room company to hold training is like buying gasoline for your wife’s car at a gas station and later using the same gas station
    to buy gasoline for your car. This type of shopping is usually done for convenience and familiarity.

    “The fact that Mr. Talbert did not completely finish making all of the design and name changes on the web room probably meant that he was called away in the middle of making the changes by another pressing matter. But for someone to think that ASD and AdView Global are related just because the old proverbial business name was still on this dormant proverbial building front would be a leap of faith and this conclusion is far from the truth.”

    AdViewGlobal did not explain why it used the word “probably” when explaining what occurred. Also unclear is why Talbert wasn’t quoted in the release, so he could explain precisely what happened and take the theoretical totally out of play.

    “Talbert has now completed all his changes and the web room now reflects the current and only user of this web room,” AdViewGlobal explained.

    It then chided TheJoyLuckClub:

    “It is unfortunate that an unconfirmed report such as yours occurred and that so many viewers were misled by your story. Mr. Talbert is extremely sorry for the confusion he created by not completing all the changes to the web room at the same time.”

    AdViewGlobal did not provide the web address of the new webroom from which it was operating. Nor did it explain why — if it was able to determine that Talbert was “sorry for the confusion” — it didn’t explain exactly what happened instead of using a speculative word such as “probably” and suggesting he might have been called away on other “pressing” business.

    “So once again the only link between ASD and AdView Global is the fact that there are a couple of upper managers who have remained behind to help ASD through its litigation process and are now working for AdView Global,” the company concluded. “But be assured that there are no corporate or legal links between the two companies.”

    AdViewGlobal did not explain how a business model that is illegal in the United States, for, among other things, the sale of unregistered securities, is any more legal when it is pitching the same product to U.S. citizens from Uruguay or Panama.

    The release carried the name of Chuck Osmin, identifying him as customer service manager for AdViewGlobal. Osmin testified for ASD at a Sept. 30-Oct. 1 evidentiary hearing.

    In November, Judge Rosemary Collyer ruled that ASD had not demonstrated it was a legal business and not a Ponzi scheme at the evidentiary hearing. Last month, ASD President Andy Bowdoin withdrew his claims to tens of millions of dollars seized by the government in August amid allegations that ASD was a criminal enterprise.

    Two other new surfs — AdGateWorld and BizAdSplash — also have servers that resolve to Panama, along with promoters common to ASD.

  • When Words Fail: ‘Stunning’ Can’t Describe ASD Disconnect

    The level of disconnect is stunning — and it is accompanied by a level of brazenness that is equally stunning. In fact, stunning understates it; it is more like an unapologetic, myopic commitment to felonious self-indulgence.

    But what would you expect from a group whose motto is “ASD — Keep Fighting The Good Fight!”

    There is nothing good about the fight by the ASD Member Advocates Forum — “Surf’s Up, Baby!” for short or just plain “Surf’s Up!” — to make the world safe for Ponzi profits delivered by ASD President Andy Bowdoin and others.

    Surf's Up and related sites show their affection for Ponzi schemes.
    Surf's Up and related sites show their affection for Ponzi schemes.

    One of the others is AdViewGlobal, which has ASD’s fingerprints all over it (see this, see this, see this) and purports to be operating out of Uruguay. Some of the Surf’s Up Mods have a forum for AdViewGlobal, too. In tune with Valentine’s Day, both forums currently are showcasing their love for Ponzi schemes by using a graphic of a big, beautiful red heart. Like the “Surf’s Up” forum, the AdViewGlobal forum is using the hosting services of ning.com in a bid to portray Ponzi schemes, money-laundering and wire-fraud operations as businesses with intrinsic social value. Never mind that nearly $100 million has been seized in the ASD case, that Bowdoin is a serial scam artist who, quite literally, could name an All-Felony Team from within his own ranks. What’s important, here, according to the serial promoters of ASD and AdViewGlobal, are the fabulous commissions they can earn by fleecing downline members by ignoring facts they deem inconvenient.

    “Happy Days Are Here Again!” assures the AdViewGlobal members’ forum. How the promoters will be able to persuade a judge or jury they were acting in good faith  if the need arises apparently is a worry for another day. The promoters have ignored the August ASD forfeiture complaint, the December forfeiture complaint, a RICO lawsuit (against Bowdoin and co-conspirators), the recent failures of MegaLido, Frogress, DailyProfitPond, Instant2U and others, and all previous autosurf litigation.

    AdViewGlobal sells “ad impressions” as opposed to “ad packs” — window dressing to be sure — but window dressing that shows planning. Another thing that shows planning is the purported Uruguay registration. If the company is named in any future litigation, the words “conspiracy” and “co-conspirator” are apt to be part of the government presentation.

    For its part, Surf’s Up has been deleting members for insisting on discussing the truth and the ramifications of all of this. This is perfectly consistent with the forum’s history. It once published a post from a member who said the prosecutor in the ASD case should be placed in a medieval torture “rack” and that members could draw straws to see who got to tighten the wheel.

    rackstrawIn a play on the middle name — Rakestraw — of federal prosecutor William Cowden, a Surf’s Up member suggests putting him in a torture “rack” and drawing “straws” to see who gets to tighten the wheel.

    If the Feds do move, it will be like shooting fish in a barrel. Regardless, the forum mods in recent days have announced that they’ve “had enough” of people who insist on living in the real world.

    So, no, stunning — normally a strong, descriptive word — doesn’t quite do the job.