“[Bradley] Collins worked under the guise of a religious man and told his victims he only worked with God-fearing, church going people and was blessed to be blessing potential investors. His portrayal of a Christian man put many of his victims at ease, increasing the amount of funds they invested.” — Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson, April 26, 2013
An Indiana man authorities said sometimes dressed as a pastor to dupe his marks in a $30 million Ponzi swindle has been sentenced to eight years in prison and ordered to make restitution of $2.2 million.
Bradley Collins, 55, of Fort Wayne, also has agreed to testify as a government witness in a federal prosecution in Michigan involving a conspirator, authorities said.
Collins scammed at least 129 investors, about 59 of whom lived in Allen County, the venue of the state-level prosecution.
“Today’s sentencing sends yet another message that Indiana is not a place for white collar crime such as affinity fraud,” said Connie Lawson, Indiana Secretary of State.
Lawson lauded the office of Allen County Prosecutor Karen Richards and the state Securities Division “for their hard work in protecting Hoosiers from scam artist such as Mr. Collins.”
In October 2012, the Journal Gazette of Fort Wayne identified the Michigan man as David McQueen, reporting that Collins was alleged to have worked as a sales agent for McQueen.
Collins pleaded guilty to selling unregistered securities.
Indiana was one of more than two dozen U.S. states that issued Investor Alerts or cease-and-desist orders against the Profitable Sunrise HYIP “program” earlier this year. Authorities have described Profitable Sunrise as an affinity scam. Some states have identified alleged sales agents for Profitable Sunrise.
Lawson’s office noted that “[a]lmost all of Collins victims report he claimed to be a good Christian man and preyed on their religious beliefs. In some cases, he even dressed as a pastor to draw victims into the scam.”
WFMY interviewed Zeek Rewards receiver Ken Bell as part of its report on an apparent reload scam.
WFMY (CBS/Greensboro, N.C.) is reporting that it exposed an apparent Zeek Rewards reload scam operating on Google’s Blogspot platform — and that Google has removed the offending Blog.
The scam was operating at a URL of ZeekRewardsIsComingBack.blogspot.com, the station reported. WFMY contacted Zeek Rewards’ receiver Kenneth D. Bell as part of its report. Bell told the station that the Blogspot site looked like “another attempt to revictimize” Zeek investors.
Whoever controlled the Blogspot site was telling Zeekers there was a “simple process” to “get your money back,” WFMY reported.
Separately, the PP Blog located content online that suggests the Blogspot site was soliciting Zeek victims to send funds to at least three offshore payment processors: Payza, Liberty Reserve and Perfect Money. All three processors are known to do business with international scoundrels.
On April 1, the PP Blog observed an online pitch for an entity that appeared to be using the name and address of a U.S. government agency while promising “to recover” funds lost through Profitable Sunrise. The fake agency claimed it could recover losses for a sum of less than $50 and encouraged Profitable Sunrise members to send money to purported accounts at the Liberty Reserve and Solid Trust Pay payment processors.
The Blog reported information about the fake site to a U.S. government agency.
North Carolina regulators have repeatedly warned about so-called “reload scams,” including scams that surfaced after the SEC alleged in August 2012 that Zeek was a $600 million Ponzi- and pyramid scheme and scams that surfaced after North Carolina brought a cease-and-desist order against the Profitable Sunrise HYIP in February. The SEC has alleged that Profitable Sunrise was a massive online pyramid scheme.
In 2010, the state of Delaware charged a Detroit man with racketeering for his alleged role in swindling a woman who’d earlier been ripped off in a securities swindle. The state deemed the follow-up swindle an “investment recovery scam.” Delaware is among many U.S. states investigating Profitable Sunrise.
Zeek itself is known to have used offshore payment processors. Prior to the SEC bringing spectacular allegations of fraud against Zeek last year, Zeek was auctioning sums of U.S. currency and telling members they’d be sent their winnings through offshore processors.
Here’s the WFMY report on the apparent Zeek Rewards reload scam . . .
During its 11 p.m. newscast yesterday, WTOL (CBS/Toledo) aired a report titled “Holy Rip-Off” about the alleged Profitable Sunrise HYIP scam. The report, which began with images of Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff playing in the background, focused on alleged Profitable Sunrise pitchwoman Nanci Jo Frazer of Bryan, Ohio. Frazer and her NJF Global Group are referenced in Profitable Sunrise-related regulatory actions that brought the alleged scam to a halt, but have not been charged.
It’s easy to imagine that many people in WTOL’s audience will be surprised to learn that groups of individuals were pushing Profitable Sunrise and its absurd purported daily rates of return with a straight face. Among the Profitable Sunrise offerings was the bizarrely named “Long Haul” plan that promised interest of 2.7 percent a day that could be compounded. That Profitable Sunrise also traded on faith may bring a special blend of horror to the station’s Middle America viewers.
Still, it won’t be the maximum horror. Indeed, the SEC has alleged that Profitable Sunrise pitchmen may not even have known the identity of the person or persons running the “program” from a “mail drop” in England.
Indeed, a situation has evolved in which self-identified Christians apparently were targeting other Christians with promises of daily payouts that would make Madoff gag — and from all indications were doing so without even knowing for whom they were working as the offer spread virally over the Internet.
Whether purported Profitable Sunrise operator “Roman Novak” even exists still isn’t known.
Then, of course, there is the question about the final destination of purported tens of millions of dollars directed at the “program,” which was pitched in part from well-known forums referenced in U.S. court filings as places from which massive Ponzi and fraud schemes are promoted.
Within hours of an action brought by North Carolina against Profitable Sunrise weeks ago, a poster on the MoneyMakerGroup Ponzi forum said this:
As the story has continued to unfold, an element or elements within NJF Global Group appears to be trying to blame critics for the demise of the “program,” as though the 2.7-percent-a-day “Long Haul” and four other absurd plans were entirely rational and didn’t warrant any scrutiny at all. This is occurring against the backdrop of major actions brought against other HYIP “programs” by the U.S. government in recent years, including Zeek Rewards last year. Zeek allegedly planted the seed it paid an average of 1.5 percent a day, about half of the purported return of the Profitable Sunrise “Long Haul” plan.
One of the issues posed by Profitable Sunrise is the issue of willful blindness among promoters. If Zeek was a scam at 1.5 percent a day, for instance, how could Profitable Sunrise not be one with “plans” that dwarfed the returns of Zeek?
It is known that Profitable Sunrise had promoters in common with Zeek. Some of the promotional ties among various HYIP programs date back at least to the AdSurfDaily 1-percent-a-day scheme in 2008. Like Profitable Sunrise, ASD also traded on religion.
As the screen shot (above) from the WTOL report shows, Profitable Sunrise offered a three-tiered, MLM-style referral “program” on top of the absurd interest rates. ASD President Andy Bowdoin is in federal prison for his 2008 scam, which offered a two-tiered referral program on top of an absurd 1-percent-a-day interest rate.
When the U.S. Secret Service exposed the ASD scam, Bowdoin compared the agency to “Satan” and the raid on ASD’s Florida headquarters to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Earlier — prior to the August 2008 raid — he described himself as a Christian “money magnet” and encouraged prospects to send him tens of thousands of dollars at a time.
Watch WTOL introduce Profitable Sunrise and the early fallout to its audience . . .
Numerous securities regulators have described Profitable Sunrise as a form of affinity fraud targeted at people of faith. At least 35 agencies in the United States and Canada have issued cease-and-desist orders or Investor Alerts against the HYIP “program,” which had a presence on infamous Ponzi forums such as TalkGold and MoneyMakerGroup.
The website of Profitable Sunrise has been missing since at least March 14. On April 1 — the day after Easter Sunday and April Fools Day — the “program” failed to make good on promised payouts from the bizarrely named “Long Haul” plan. The “Long Haul” was purported to pay interest of 2.7 percent a day. Its claims were similar to other collapsed schemes promoted on the Ponzi boards.
On Dec. 30, the PP Blog reported that Profitable Sunrise appeared to be relying on appeals to faith in a bid to attract investors in the wake of the August 2012 collapse of the Zeek Rewards “program.” Zeek, which allegedly planted the seed it paid interest of 1.5 percent a day, also had a presence on the Ponzi boards. In August, the SEC described Zeek as a $600 million Ponzi- and pyramid fraud.
The PP Blog learned last month that at least one apologist for the NJF Global Group has relied on purported “research” by a notorious cyberstalker known as “MoneyMakingBrain” in an apparent bid to discredit critics of the “program.”
MoneyMakingBrain emerged in 2012 as an apologist for the JSSTripler/JustBeenPaid “program” purportedly operated by Frederick Mann. JSS/JBP purported to pay 2 percent a day. MoneyMakingBrain claimed he’d defend Mann “so help me God.”
JSS/JBP, which appears to have morphed into secondary and tertiary scams (ProfitClicking and ClickPaid) after the August collapse of Zeek, may have ties to the “sovereign citizens” movement. Mann has compared the U.S. government to the Mafia, claiming that government employees were part of “a criminal gang of robbers, thieves, murderers, liars, imposters.”
Profitable Sunrise also may have ties to the “sovereign citizens” movement.
Some “sovereign citizens” have an irrational belief that laws do not apply to them. It is known that the AdSurfDaily Ponzi scheme in 2008 also had ties to “sovereign citizens,” including Kenneth Wayne Leaming. Leaming, a resident of Washington state, was convicted earlier this year of filing false liens for billions of dollars against public officials who had a role in the prosecution of the ASD Ponzi scheme.
ASD operated from Florida, planting the seed it paid a return of 1 percent a day. ASD President Andy Bowdoin — now serving a 78-month prison term — also was associated with a 1-percent-a-day scam known as AdViewGlobal. AVG bizarrely claimed in 2009 that it enjoyed the protections of the U.S. and Florida constitutions while purportedly operating from Uruguay. The scam collapsed during the summer of 2009 — but not before issuing threats to members and critics.
In May 2009, AVG bizarrely announced it had secured the services of an offshore facilitator. The announcement was made on the same day President Obama announced a crackdown on offshore scams.
BULLETIN: (UPDATED 4:08 P.M. EDT U.S.A.) The Royal Canadian Mounted Police says a terrorist plot against a VIA passenger train in the Toronto area was thwarted and that two suspects were arrested today after a probe that began last year.
Arrested were Chiheb Esseghaier, 30, and Raed Jaser, 35. RCMP said they lived in the areas of Montreal and Toronto and that the plot had ties to Al-Qaeda.
The investigation was dubbed “Project SMOOTH,” and the FBI played a role in the probe, RCMP said.
“Each and every terrorist arrest the RCMP makes sends a message and illustrates our strong resolve to root out terrorist threats and keep Canadians and our allies safe,” said Assistant Commissioner James Malizia.
The agency said the plot sparked a “National Security criminal investigation” coordinated by RCMP-led Integrated National Security Enforcement Teams (INSETs) in Montreal and Toronto.
INSETs, RCMP said, are specialized multi-agency investigative teams comprised of employees of the RCMP, Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA), and other law enforcement and national security partners at the federal, provincial, municipal levels who investigate all national security criminal threats.
From a warning by North Carolina that Profitable Sunrise investors are being targeted in reload scams.
UPDATED 11:28 A.M. EDT (U.S.A.) The Securities Division of North Carolina Secretary of State Elaine F. Marshall has issued a warning that Profitable Sunrise investors are being targeted in “reload scams.”
North Carolina issued a similar warning in August 2012, saying then that members of the Zeek Rewards “program” — an alleged $600 million Ponzi- and pyramid scheme operating online — also were being targeted in reload scams.
The NC Securities Division has learned that Profitable Sunrise investors are being contacted with promises of help in getting their money back for them. The Securities Division is issuing this alert to warn investors that such promises may be yet another attempt to scam them again through a “reload scam”.
Reload scams hit consumers when they’re down, offering to help them make back money they lost to a previous scam or bad business decision. These scams have been popular for years with telemarketing fraud rings but can also follow other types of fraud, including investment fraud.
Such reload scams were aimed at victims of the Zeek Rewards Ponzi scheme last year. Reload scammers used social media sites and online news releases to tout opportunities to help investors replace the income they were receiving from Zeek Rewards. Similar opportunities are being touted in the case involving Profitable Sunrise. Investors are warned to stay away from such “opportunities”.
At least 35 U.S. states or provinces in Canada went on to issue Investor Alerts or cease-and-desist orders against Profitable Sunrise. The SEC filed an action on April 4, alleging that Profitable Sunrise was an online pyramid scheme that may have gathered tens of millions of dollars.
Promoters of Profitable Sunrise may have pushed the program without even knowing for whom they were working, the SEC said.
On April 1, the PP Blog observed an online pitch for an entity that appeared to be using the name and address of a U.S. government agency while promising “to recover” funds lost through Profitable Sunrise. The fake agency claimed it could recover losses for a sum of less than $50 and encouraged Profitable Sunrise members to send money to purported accounts at the Liberty Reserve and Solid Trust Pay payment processors.
Profitable Sunrise members also have been targeted by boat-sharks hoping to glean commissions for other HYIP “programs” and purported MLM “opportunities.”
On March 31 — Easter Sunday — the PP Blog reported that a Facebook pitch aimed at Profitable Sunrise members sought to recruit them into a “program” known as TelexFree.
A video for TelexFree claimed members could purchase an income by sending the “program” specific sums of money.
The TelexFree pitch was similar to pitches for the infamous World Marketing Direct Selling (WMDS) and OneUniverseOnline (1UOL) pyramid schemes, which were exposed in 2005 and operated by James Bunchan and Seng Tan. Those scams resulted in federal prison sentences for both Bunchan and Tan and also sparked follow-up probes by the government because a federal prosecutor and witnesses were subjected to death threats by Bunchan.
Like Profitable Sunrise, the WMDS and 1UOL scams traded on references to religion. And like TelexFree and Profitable Sunrise, WMDS and 1UOL prospects were told they could purchase an income.
WMDS and 1UOL members — like Profitable Sunrise members — also may not have been sure of who they were working for. Here is a snippet from an appeals-court ruling upholding the 20-year-prison sentence of Tan (italics added):
“A high-school graduate, [Christian] Rochon became president (in name only, though) for one reason, and one reason only: Bunchan wanted an ‘American face’ for his companies, and his neighbor Rochon (a Caucasian of Canadian decent) apparently fit the bill,” the footnote reads. “And after renting Rochon a suit jacket and taking him to a professional photographer, Bunchan had Rochon’s photo plastered all over the companies’ promotional pamphlets.”
Tan told WMDS and 1UOL members that she’d been sent by the “Gods” to make them millionaires.
URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: A suspect (Dzhokar Tsarnaev) is “in custody” in the Boston Marathon bombing, the Boston Police Department announced on Twitter minutes ago . . .
UPDATE 9:07 P.M. EDT: As shown on U.S. television networks, residents of Watertown are applauding and cheering for police as they pass by in vehicles. Some chanted, “U-S-A! U-S-A!”
UPDATE 9:19 P.M. EDT: Events in Boston appear to mark the first successful terrorist attack on U.S. soil since Sept. 11, 2001. The unofficial death toll in Greater Boston stands at four, with dozens injured. Three people were killed by the twin blasts at Monday’s marathon. A police officer at the Massashusetts Institute of Technology was killed last night.
One of the suspects — Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26 — was reported dead earlier today after a clash with police. His brother — Dzhokar Tsarnaev, 19 — is now in custody.
UPDATE 9:22 P.M. From Boston Police on Twitter minutes ago:
“In our time of rejoicing, let us not forget the families of Martin Richard, Lingzi Lu, Krystle Campbell and Officer Sean Collier.”
UPDATE 9:30 P.M. The FBI announced on its website at 9 p.m. that Dzhokar Tsarnaev is in custody.
UPDATE 9:33 P.M. Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick said on TV that law enforcement brought its “A-game” on behalf of the victims.
UPDATE 9:36 P.M. U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz is speaking on behalf of victims, thanking law enforcement and expressing her pride in its effort.
UPDATE 9:40 P.M. FBI Special Agent in Charge Richard DesLauriers spoke on behalf of victims and law enforcement.
UPDATE 9:51 P.M. Boston Mayor Tom Menino on Twitter: “We got him”
UPDATE 10 P.M. Dzhokar Tsarnaev is injured, and police described his condition as “serious.” Precise details of how the injuries were sustained have not immediately been released.
UPDATE 10:05 P.M. President Obama thanks the people of Massachusetts and lauds law enforcement for “professionalism and bravery.” Says the United States will “determine what happened” and that the terrorists failed.
The FBI this morning identified Suspect 2 as Dzhokar Tsarnaev, 19. He is still on the loose. His brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev (Suspect 1) reportedly is dead after a battle with police in suburban Boston.
UPDATED 1:15 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) Suspect 1 in the Boston Marathon bombings is reported dead after an overnight battle with police; Suspect 2 is reportedly still on the loose. There are concerns he may be armed with explosives.
The FBI this morning identified Suspect 2 as Dzhokar Tsarnaev, 19. (See newly released photo at left.) USA Today has identified the dead suspect as Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, the younger man’s brother.
Greater Boston essentially is on lockdown, with residents instructed to remain inside their homes. Separately, authorities have confirmed the death of one police officer who apparently encountered the suspects last night on or near the campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick has described a massive police presence in the Boston region as part of an “ongoing manhunt for a person wanted in connection with Monday’s Marathon bombings.”
“[A]ll MBTA services (buses and subway) have been suspended effective immediately,” the governor’s office said. “People should not go to or congregate at transportation stations.
Suspect 1, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, reportedly is dead.
“Residents in Watertown, Newton, Waltham, Belmont, Cambridge and the Allston Brighton neighborhoods of Boston are advised to stay home from work and stay in doors,” the governor’s office continued. “Residents should not answer the door unless it is a police officer, and are advised to stay away from windows. All businesses in these towns will remain closed until further notice. People should not congregate outside.”
Suspect 2 in the Boston bombings reportedly still was on the loose during the morning of April 19.
Details remain murky. The New York Times is reporting that “[t]he two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings led police on a wild and deadly chase through the suburbs here early Friday morning that ended in the death of one of the suspects as well as a campus police officer; the other suspect remained at large while hundreds of police officers conduct a manhunt through Watertown, about five miles west of downtown Boston.”
The Boston Globe is reporting that a police officer employed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was killed and an MBTBA police officer was wounded.
“Ten police officers were being evaluated at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Brighton early this morning, according to a source, who said the officers said they were hurt from grenades being thrown from the window of a car during a car chase,” the Globe reported. “The source did not have information about where the officers were from or the nature of their injuries.”
Officer Sean Collier was slain last night.
The Middlesex District Attorney’s Office this morning identified the slain MIT police officer as Sean Collier, 26, of Somerville. Collier had been an MIT officer since January 2012, the agency said. He was found shot in his police car about 10:30 p.m. yesterday.
“A short time later, police received reports of an armed carjacking by two males in the area of Third Street in Cambridge,” the District Attorney’s Office said. “The victim was carjacked at gunpoint by two males and was kept in the car with the suspects for approximately a half hour. The victim was released at a gas station on Memorial Drive in Cambridge. He was not injured.”
EDITOR’S NOTE:These photos and the video link were released by the FBI late this afternoon. Suspect 1 is in the black cap; Suspect 2 is in the white cap. FBI contact information is at the bottom of this post . . .
The suspects are considered armed and extremely dangerous, the FBI said this afternoon.
More information from FBI (italics added):
If you have visual images, video, and/or details regarding the explosions along the Boston Marathon route and elsewhere, submit them on https://bostonmarathontips.fbi.gov/. No piece of information or detail is too small.
You can also call 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324), prompt #3, with information.
UPDATED 1:43 P.M. EDT U.S.A. (APRIL 25) The charges against Paul Kevin Curtis have been dropped and he has been released from custody. See this April 25 story by the AP via Yahoo News. Here, below, our earlier story . . .
The FBI has arrested Paul Kevin Curtis in the ricin letters probe, the agency said tonight.
Curtis, the FBI said, was arrested at his home in Corinth, Miss.
Corinth is a small city in Mississippi’s northeast.
Earlier today, the FBI said a letter sent to President Obama “preliminarily tested positive for ricin.”
Two other letters that preliminarily tested positive for ricin were sent to a U.S. senator and “a Mississippi justice official,” the FBI said.
One of the intended recipients was Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss.
Sen. Wicker.
“Gayle and I want to thank the men and women of the FBI and U.S. Capitol Police for their professionalism and decisive action in keeping our family and staff safe from harm,” Wicker said tonight in a statement. “My offices in Mississippi and Washington remain open for business to all Mississippians. We particularly want to thank the people of Mississippi for their thoughts and prayers during this time.”
Here is the FBI’s full statement this evening (italics added):
Today at approximately 5:15 p.m. CDT, FBI special agents arrested Paul Kevin Curtis, the individual believed to be responsible for the mailings of the three letters sent through the U.S. Postal Service which contained a granular substance that preliminarily tested positive for ricin. The letters were addressed to a U.S. senator, the White House, and a Mississippi justice official.
The individual was arrested at his residence in Corinth, Mississippi following an investigation conducted by FBI Joint Terrorism Task Forces in Memphis, Tennessee and Jackson, Mississippi; the U.S. Capitol Police; the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; and the U.S. Secret Service, aided by the following state and local agencies: the Lee County (Mississippi) Sheriff’s Office; the Prentiss County (Mississippi) Sheriff’s Office; the Corinth (Mississippi) Police Department; the Booneville (Mississippi) Police Department; the Tupelo (Mississippi) Police Department; the Mississippi National Guard 47th Civil Support Team; and the Mississippi Office of Homeland Security.
A 64-year-old Alabama man who tried to pay off his mortgage by mailing a bogus “bonded promissory note” for $10 million to a mortgage-servicing company has been convicted of fraud, the office of U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance of the Northern District of Alabama said.
Donald Joe Barber of Pinson faces up to 25 years in federal prison when sentenced July 31 by U.S. District Judge Inge P. Johnson.
“Self-appointed ‘sovereign citizens’ preach an extremist, anti-government ideology to their followers and teach a myth about American history that is untrue,” Vance said. “They often use this mythical ideology to justify crime. Sovereign citizens may disavow the authority of the U.S. government, but it exists and my office will use it to prosecute those who break the law.”
Barber “presented the fraudulent $10 million note as if it were a valid financial instrument drawn on a secret U.S. government account,” prosecutors said.
His note, they said, constituted a “fictitious financial instrument.”
Some “sovereign citizens” cling to a bizarre theory known as “redemption,” which holds in part that the U.S. government created secret accounts for citizens decades ago and that the accounts can be accessed through the filing of precise paperwork to retire debts.
“All citizens should be wary of individuals or groups that claim they can inform you on secret bank accounts, and should report that activity to the FBI,” said Richard D. Schwein Jr., FBI special agent in charge.
An Indiana man authorities said sometimes dressed as a pastor to dupe his marks in a $30 million Ponzi swindle has been sentenced to eight years in prison and ordered to make restitution of $2.2 million.
