PatrickPretty.com

Tag: AdSurfDaily

  • BREAKING NEWS: AdViewGlobal Moves Underground; Posts ‘Articles Of Association’ That Name Bowdoin Step-Son A Trustee; Ex-ASD Exec Gary Talbert Also Named A Trustee

    On the Surf’s Up forum, the Mods are saying there are no ties between AdSurfDaily and AdView Global. But information on AVG’s website tells a different story.

    George F. Harris is named a trustee of a new group that’s calling itself “AV Global Association.” Harris is the son of Edna Faye Bowdoin, wife of ASD President Andy Bowdoin. Federal prosecutors went to court in December, filing a forfeiture complaint against property obtained with ASD funds by Harris and his mother.

    Included was a home in Tallahassee, Fla. The $157,000 mortgage on the property was retired with ASD funds moved from the company’s Bank of America accounts into a separate account established by Harris and his mother, prosecutors said.

    ASD funds also were used to purchase a $28,000 Honda CRV for Harris and his wife, Judy Harris, prosecutors said.

    Also named in the association document is Gary Talbert, a former executive at ASD. ASD is headquartered in Quincy, Fla., and was accused in August of operating a $100 million Ponzi scheme and selling unregistered securities by masking the company as an advertising service.

    Trust Document screen shot.
    Trust Document screen shot.

    The association document is reproduced below:

    ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION

    OF

    AV Global Association

    (A Private Membership Association)

    ARTICLE I

    Declaration of Purpose

    1. This Association of members hereby declares that our main objective is to protect our rights to freedom of choice regarding our advertising and marketing information and conduct, through maintaining our Constitutional rights.

    2. As members, we affirm our belief that the Constitution of the United States is one of the best documents ever devised by man and the signer of the Declaration of Independence did so out of love for their country. We believe that the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America guarantees our members the rights of free speech, petition, assembly, and the right to gather together for the lawful purpose of advising and helping one another in asserting our rights under the Federal and State Constitutions and Statutes. We strive to maintain and improve the civil rights, constitutional guarantees, freedom of choice in advertising and marketing information and conduct and political freedom of every member and citizen of the United States of America.

    3. We declare the basic right of all of our members to select spokesmen from our number who could be expected to give wisest counsel and advice concerning advertising and marketing enterprises and to select from our number those members who are the most skilled to assist and facilitate the actual performance of advertising and marketing enterprises.

    4. We proclaim the freedom to choose and perform for ourselves the types of advertising and marketing enterprises.

    5. The Association will recognize any person (irrespective of race, color, or religion) who is in accordance with these principles and policies as a member, and will provide a medium through which its individual members may associate for actuating and bringing to fruition the purposes heretofore declared.

    ARTICLE II

    Name and Status

    1. The name of this national membership association shall be AV Global Association, hereinafter referred to as “Association”. The Association is formed under common law and forms no legal entity distinct from that of its members for litigation purposes.

    ARTICLE III

    Membership and Dues

    1. Membership shall be open to any person which or who adheres to the purposes of this Association in Article I.

    2. A yearly membership may be offered at ten dollars ($10.00) or more, as determined by the Trustee(s). Additional assessments may be made at any time for services or benefits rendered. Honorary memberships may be offered and recognized until December 31, 2009.

    3. This membership does not entitle a member to any interest in the Association or management thereof, and a member will not be liable for any debts, obligations, liabilities, judgments, suits, etc., of the Association.

    4. The Trustee(s) shall have the right to sanction a member upon unanimous vote of the Trustee(s), after a hearing of the facts where the member may be present after notification. The sanctions include removal from active membership or imposing any other special and necessary conditions upon any member who shall discredit or bring harm to the Association in any manner.

    5. Any disputes or complaints that arise between the members will be settled by the Association’s Dispute Committee Panel. Any controversy or claim arising out of, or relating to, this association or its members will be resolved by an association Dispute Committee Panel of twelve (12) members in good standing randomly appointed from the existing members of the association that are willing and able to serve. A time and location of the hearing will be determined by the Trustee and travel and lodging expenses will be provided by the association for the Panel. All Parties to the hearing will be allowed to introduce any and all evidence, call witnesses and cross-examine witnesses. A two-thirds (2/3) majority of the Panel is required to decide which party is to prevail and the amount of monetary judgment. If a two-thirds (2/3) majority decision cannot be obtained, a new association Dispute Committee Panel may be appointed to decide the case or controversy.

    ARTICLE IV

    Officers and Duties

    1. All officers shall be members of the Association.

    2. The officers shall be President, Vice-President and Secretary-Treasury.

    3. Officers shall be appointed and removed by the Trustee(s). Officer positions may be vacant for any period of time. The Trustee(s) may serve as Officers.

    4. The President, or in his/her absence, the Vice-President, shall preside over all membership meetings of the Association, manage all affairs as an agent and defend all actions for and against the Association and its members.

    5. The Vice-President’s duties are the same as the President’s and the Vice-President will serve at the pleasure of the President.

    6. Secretary-Treasurer: The Secretary-Treasurer will record and maintain minutes of all meetings and keep all records of the Association.

    ARTICLE V

    Trustees

    1. All Trustee(s) will be members of the Association.

    2. The Trustee(s) will assume control and the legal, liable, financial and tax responsibility of the Association as the principal. The Trustee(s) will set the compensation of the Officers, Trustee(s) and any other employees of the Association. The liability of the Association is limited to the assets and property of the Association and does not extend to the Trustee(s) individually.

    3. The Trustee(s) may appoint a Special Trustee for the limited purposes of representing the Association in court or other legal proceedings as either plaintiff or defendant. The Trustee(s) may appoint a Special Trustee for the limited purposes of maintaining, preparing and filing all local, state and federal tax returns.

    4. The Trustee(s) will have the power and responsibility to select from the membership the member(s) who will perform assistance in educating and administering advertising and marketing information to fellow members in accordance with the Declaration of Purpose and to contract with them for such purpose. The Trustee(s) will not contract for any advertising or marketing that would constitute a clear and present danger of substantive evil.

    5. The Trustee(s) will have the power and responsibility to determine levels of membership, levels of membership benefits, what benefits will be offered to all members free of charge and for what benefit and at what amount of cost to the member “special assessment” fees will be levied.

    6. All official decisions and actions of the Association will be upon majority consent of the Trustee(s), memorialized by minutes.

    7. The original Trustee of the Association will be: First Trustee, Gary D. Talbert.

    8. The Successor Trustee of the Association will be George F. Harris.

    9. In the event of death of the First Trustee or should he become mentally or legally incapacitated and unable to perform her duties, the Successor Trustee shall assume the position of First Trustee. The First Trustee hereby authorizes any and all successor trustee(s) to this “Association” access to the association information and conduct concerning the First Trustee for the evaluation of mental or legal incapacity of the First Trustee at any time.

    10. Provided, however, that a Trustee may be removed by the Protector of this association when the Trustee has been guilty of mismanagement, fraud, malfeasance or any other overt acts that do not work in the best interest of the association and its members. The guilt of the Trustee is to be determined by the sole discretion of the Protector. The Protector shall have the sole authority to appoint a replacement Trustee in any event other than himself or herself who will remain as Trustee unless replaced by the Protector or a vote of the membership according to these Articles of Association. The Protector of this Association is Nate Boyd. In the event of death of Nate Boyd, Protector, the Successor Protector will be George Harris.

    11. When the Association membership achieves one million (1,000,000) members, they will have the power to replace with a member of their own choice the Trustee and his successors upon two thirds (2/3) majority vote.

    ARTICLE VI

    By-Laws

    1. By-laws may be adopted by the Association for the purpose of carrying out the Association’s Declaration of Purpose. The Board of Trustee(s) may promulgate and adopt by-laws by unanimous consent which will have the same force and effect as the Articles of the Association provided that said by-laws do not contravene the Articles of Association and provided that said by-laws may be repealed by two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of the members.

    ARTICLE VII

    Amendments

    1. The Articles of Association may be amended upon unanimous consent of the Trustee(s). The amendments will be submitted to the members for their ratification. If the Association achieves ratification by three-fourths (3/4) of the members, that existed at the time the amendment was first submitted, within one year of passing the amendment, the amendment will become a part of the Articles of Association and be binding upon all the members.

    ARTICLE VIII

    Dissolution

    1. The Association will terminate upon the death of the last remaining member or upon unanimous decision of the Trustee(s). All assets and liabilities will then revert to the trustee(s) at the time of dissolution.

    ARTICLE IX

    Construction and Interpretation of These Articles

    1. Any reference in these Articles to the masculine also includes the feminine when appropriate and any reference in these Articles to the singular also includes the plural when appropriate.

    2. This Association will be construed and interpreted under the laws of the State of Florida, U.S. Constitution and the Florida Constitution.

    Editor’s Note: At the time of publication, this document was published at:

    http://adviewglobal.com/Articles_of_Association.html

  • Analysis: AdViewGlobal, BizAdSplash In Failure Mode

    UPDATE: 4:59 P.M. EST (U.S.A.) The Surf’s Up Forum now says the government has seized or frozen two bank accounts of ASD members. It did not provide the source, and it encouraged members not to identify the owners of the accounts. Here, below, our earlier post . . .

    EDITOR’S NOTE: It’s getting harder and harder to write about the levels of absurdity surrounding the AdSurfDaily case. Along those lines, it’s getting harder and harder to track all the conspiracy theories. The madness of all things ASD is on full display for all the world to see, and there’s no sense trying to sugarcoat it. It is what it is. Make sure you read the caption under the second screen shot below.

    Here, below, our main post . . .

    Let’s start with some autosurf news — or, more precisely, the lack of autosurf news.

    Yesterday a poster at the Pro-AdSurfDaily “Surf’s Up” forum said the government was in the process of seizing bank accounts from individual ASD participants. Surf’s Up, at first, appeared to confirm the reports — and then a Mod quickly deleted the post. The issue was re-posted, and was deleted again. It got posted a third time as an entry in a separate thread, and Surf’s Up then said it was checking on the reports because it didn’t want to spread a panic by publishing unverifiable information. It then got posted again as a separate thread, and again was deleted.

    Our longtime readers might want to laugh out loud or perhaps even hurl right now at the thought that Surf’s Up didn’t want to publish unverifiable information. It’s enough to make you want to call Letterman or Leno, considering that Surf’s Up routinely publishes unverifiable information, accepts paid advertising from unverifiable surf programs, and openly promotes AdViewGlobal (AVG), which is desperately trying to keep its ownership structure a secret.

    AdViewGlobal says Quincy is its home.
    AdViewGlobal says Quincy is its home.

    It’s already too late for AVG should the government wish to make an example of it. The surf exposed itself out of the gate because greedy racketeers are in charge and because people who admire greedy racketeers are doing their bidding. AVG couldn’t get this genie back in the bottle if it tried — and it has tried — thus opening itself up to even more civil and criminal charges.

    Gary Talbert was an ASD executive and submitted a sworn affidavit in the ASD case. AVG, a surf that came to life in the aftermath of the government's seizure of Andy Bowdoin's assets, identified Talbert as its CEO in a news release earlier this month in which it also made the self-defeating claim to have no ties to ASD. The news release was issued by a former ASD customer-service representative now working in the same capacity for AVG, while also serving as an AVG spokesman. The rep, Chuck Osmin, was a witness for ASD at an evidentiary hearing last fall. He lost money as a result of the government's seizure of ASD's assets. Osmin sent this Blog an email on Jan. 28, prior to the formal launch of AVG, suggesting ASD was OK because it was a "manual" surf, as opposed to an "autosurf." AVG launched a few days later. Osmin then issued a news release on behalf of AVG, identifying Talbert and himself as employees of AVG. The "no ties" claim is demonstrably false. So is any suggestion that ASD or AVG are legal business models because participants have to click on a prompt to get the next ad to load -- a "manual" surf. The issue is the sale of unregistered securities via wire in a Ponzi environment. "Manual" surf doesn't get ASD or AVG off the hook for that and is a ridiculous attempt to cloud the issues. On the date of the the AVG launch, we received another email from an ASD supporter who also wanted to educate us on the difference between "manual" surfs and "autosurfs." The sender told us he was asked to contact us.
    Gary Talbert was an ASD executive and submitted a sworn affidavit in the ASD case. AVG, a surf that came to life in the aftermath of the government's seizure of Andy Bowdoin's assets, identified Talbert as its CEO in a news release earlier this month in which it also made the self-defeating claim to have no ties to ASD. The news release was issued by a former ASD customer-service representative now working in the same capacity for AVG, while also serving as an AVG spokesman. The rep, Chuck Osmin, was a witness for ASD at an evidentiary hearing last fall. He lost money as a result of the government's seizure of ASD's assets. Osmin sent this Blog an email on Jan. 28, prior to the formal launch of AVG, suggesting ASD was OK because it was a "manual" surf, as opposed to an "autosurf." AVG launched a few days later. Osmin then issued a news release on behalf of AVG, identifying Talbert and himself as employees of AVG. The "no ties" claim is demonstrably false. So is any suggestion that ASD or AVG are legal business models because participants have to click on a prompt to get the next ad to load — a "manual" surf. The issue is the sale of unregistered securities via wire in a Ponzi environment. "Manual" surf doesn't get ASD or AVG off the hook for that and is a ridiculous attempt to cloud the issues. On the date of the the AVG launch, we received another email from an ASD supporter who also wanted to educate us on the difference between "manual" surfs and "autosurfs." The sender told us he was asked to contact us.

    One thing the owners could do — if they get boxed in by investigators — is to rat out fellow insiders. It is obvious that AVG and ASD have common ties and common management. It’s so right-in-plain-sight obvious that it wouldn’t surprise us at all if the government itself is simply waiting to find the rat of highest value or already is dangling the cheese.

    Perhaps by coincidence, Surf’s Up also deleted information a reader had posted from this Blog  — a story we had done about the failure of the Premium Ads Club autosurf. Surf’s Up management doesn’t like this Blog and accuses it of bias against ASD.

    Our bias is in favor of all the people ASD President Andy Bowdoin ripped off by using a Ponzi scheme model to sell unregistered securities and drafting participants into a conspiracy to commit money-laundering, wire fraud and racketeering — while invoking God to sanitize the “opportunity.”

    Surf’s Up is doing the same thing. It’s basically just Bowdoin’s alter ego, perhaps with a degree of separation, but not one that will save the Mods from prosecution should the government decide to reduce the surf “industry”  — man, how it pains us to use the word “industry” to describe this criminal business — to its constituent electrons.

    In any event, we were unable to confirm the reports that the government was seizing additional bank accounts from ASD members. Given that Surf’s Up at first appeared to confirm the reports and then shifted gears, it is possible that something like this is going on behind the scenes.

    It would make sense for the government to do that — and, in January, the government filed reams of additional paperwork in the e-Gold case. Prosecutors appear to be in the process of liquidating ill-gotten gains linked to e-Gold though HYIPs and autosurfs. Nine  separate e-Gold actions were filed on Jan. 8 and Jan. 9. They were the prosecutorial equivalent of a clawback.

    ASD once used used e-Gold, which was indicted and convicted of facilitating money-laundering — by the very same prosecution team involved in the ASD case, along with other prosecutors. A Secret Service agent in the ASD case is playing a prominent role in the clawback cases and has demonstrated exceptional investigative skills. He clearly knows how to follow the money and has help from people equally skilled in reverse-engineering financial schemes.

    “Shortly after publicity surrounding the government’s investigation into e-Gold appeared, ASD discontinued using the e-Gold system as a means for receiving member funds,” prosecutors said in the August forfeiture complaint against assets tied to ASD.

    AVG is toast. It will fail even if the government doesn’t take it down. At a minimum, it is conducting customer service for an illegal enterprise from the United States. Wires that run through the United States are being employed to conduct business, and the business model itself is illegal. The only question is when the failure will occur. AVG is running a promotion right now in a bid to collect cash to sustain itself, but it is at the precipice.

    So is BizAdSplash, which is no more legal and makes up new rules whenever it sees fit. Like AVG, it fundamentally is drafting customers into a conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money-laundering and racketeering.

    The operators underestimated the level of anger non-crackpot members of ASD have at Bowdoin. And they made their market even more narrow by peddling their non-product to the antigovernment crowd, which is a small crowd despite the noise it makes.

    Indeed, the ASD case never was about the abuse of government power or politics. Claims to the contrary are smokescreens by people who need to find a scapegoat other than Andy Bowdoin or themselves.

    Very few members of the public have any tolerance for Ponzi schemes in these post-Madoff days, and potential participants are seeing themselves on the evening newscast, perhaps wearing handcuffs or being chased by reporters and camera crews. It’s harder to sell Ponzis in this environment. Besides, people are angry at Bowdoin for using God to sanitize theft on a grand scale.

    The new surfs can’t collect the type of money Bowdoin collected in this environment, and they can’t prevent panic among members. Panic leads to a run on the bank. The new surfs are trolling for cash in particular odious ways, and you can bet your bottom dollar that the operators are going to take their cut before they worry about sustainability issues.

    They’ll do just what Andy Bowdoin did — and what Surf’s Up wants you to do. At this very moment Surf’s Up is trying to rally the troops by telling them to “Expect The Unexpected!”

    When Surf’s Up says things such as that, you can bet that something criminally stupid is certain to follow or that ASD will declare an impossibly tortured victory of some sort.

  • Stanford/Bowdoin: ‘A Tapestry Of Believable Lies’

    andybowdoinbw.gifHats off to Houston Chronicle writer Loren Steffy, who explained economically why cons work.

    A con, Steffy explained, works because the con weaves “a tapestry of believable lies.” It’s a pointed, short, highly memorable line that deserves special mention because it puts readers “right there.”

    Steffy detailed some of disgraced financier Allen Stanford’s lies in this column. Lots of things in the column reminded us of the Andy Bowdoin case. Bowdoin is the head of AdSurfDaily Inc., a Quincy, Fla.-based company accused of operating a $100 million Ponzi scheme.

    Here are some Stanford/Bowdoin parallels:

    Friends in high places. Stanford went around saying he’d been knighted by Prince Phillip. Bowdoin went on a tour to showcase a special award he’d received for business acumen from President Bush. It turned out that Buckingham Palace called Stanford on his lie; in fact, he’d been given the title of “Sir” by the prime minister of Antigua, a Caribbean Island nation of 85,000 known for lax banking standards and money-laundering.

    In Bowdoin’s case, the U.S. Secret Service called Bowdoin on his friends-in-high-places lie. It turned out that the award he received was an award for writing checks to the National Republican Congressional Committee. Basically, Bowdoin wrote a check for banquet tickets and called it a special honor from the President of the United States. Bowdoin, by the way, had more than $1 million on deposit in Antigua. The Sunday Times reports today that $8 billion is missing from Stanford’s bank and that regulators suspect a Ponzi scheme.

    Charities and sports. Stanford “sold” clients on his benevolence. So did Bowdoin, who once gifted 100,000 ASD “ad packs” to a charity. Stanford was big on sports sponsorships. Bowdoin told his faithful that ASD soon would become a sponsor for professional auto racing. Members claimed ASD would have a car in the Indy 500.

    Holes in the resume: Stanford claimed to be related to the founders of Stanford University. The school exposed the lie and sued him for trademark infringement. Bowdoin claimed to have operated a string of highly successful businesses. Turned out that one of his highly successful enterprises was at the center of a securities-fraud investigation in Alabama and that Bowdoin and co-scammers had fleeced investors out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. He pleaded guilty to a felony, was sentenced to a year in prison, but the sentence was suspended when he agreed to make restitution.

    In August 2008, he still owed the Alabama victims $45,000. Just a month before, he paid $50,000 for a new Lincoln. In June, ASD cash was used to retire the $157,000 mortgage of his wife’s son and daughter-in-law, and about $28,000 was used to buy them a new car. At the time, Bowdoin owed his ex-wife more than $162,000.

    Nothing out of the ordinary. As Stanford’s empire was collapsing, he told investors that the SEC investigation they were reading about in the newspaper was a “routine” look into the business. He also said he was cooperating fully, which the SEC said was a lie when it later alleged a multibillion-dollar, international fraud scheme.

    Bowdoin told members that his business had been approved by regulators and was perfectly compliant. It turned out that ASD didn’t even have a compliance attorney and knew in 2007 — months before it started gathering tens of millions of dollars from members at company “rallies” — that the business was illegal. In the hours after the August seizure of ASD’s assets by the government, people with close ties to Bowdoin sought to assure members that the matter was a temporary blip that would be settled within days.

    For good measure, Bowdoin later told ASD members that Ponzi allegations against ASD hand been dropped in Florida. People flooded forums to share the good news — except it wasn’t true. As recently as last week, some ASD members continued to make the claim that Ponzi allegations had been dropped, despite the fact that the office of Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum specifically refuted the claim months ago.

  • ‘Noobing’ Autosurf Has Hearing-Impaired Clientele; Surf Blames Slashed Payouts On Unclear Ruling In ASD Ponzi Case

    Sampling of YouTube videos by hearing-impaired Noobing members
    Sampling of YouTube videos by hearing-impaired Noobing members.

    UPDATED 9:11 PM. EST (U.S.A.) An autosurf excoriated in forums for slashing payouts has hearing-impaired clients, according to several videos on YouTube.

    At least 15 of the YouTube videos feature sign language and appear to have been created by hearing-impaired members of Noobing. Many of the videos use the word “Noobing” — coupled with the word “deaf” — to generate keyword-search volume.

    Meanwhile, Noobing members are asking tough questions on forums, saying they were led to believe the money they spent on advertising would generate returns of 3 percent. Noobing slashed returns to a fraction of 1 percent, and says members weren’t guaranteed any return at all.

    Earlier today a Noobing employee blamed the lower rates on the government. Tonight the same  Noobing employee said the slash in payouts was because of an unclear ruling in the AdSurfDaily Ponzi case.

    “The SEC did not contact us,” explained the employee, on the ASA Monitor forum. “We are simply being smart and not putting ourselves in a bad position to risk losing everything. Once ASD gave up, and we stood without a firm ruling from the courts, the risk was too high. We’d have preferred that ASD won, or that at least we got a clear ruling, as it is now, cautious action is best.”

    ASD President Andy Bowdoin surrendered his claim last month to tens of millions of dollars and other property seized by the government in August. Noobing debuted after the government’s move last summer. A second forfeiture complaint against assets tied to ASD was filed in December. ASD has not submitted a claim to the assets, including a boat, water equipment, automobiles and real estate owned by Bowdoin family members.

    Prosecutors said the property was purchased with the proceeds of a criminal enterprise: ASD.

    Members have complained that Noobing now is paying only a fraction of 1 percent, meaning that money directed at the firm is producing little income. Some members said Noobing should provide refunds, but the Noobing employee said that wouldn’t happen because the company never guaranteed a return.

    “If there is a bad guy in this whole story, it’s the government!” the employee exclaimed. “Let’s get mad at them! How can sharing our revenue to help control costs for legitimate advertisers be a bad thing? How can keeping $90+ million dollars to protect the people who worked with ASD be a fair result? It’s madness!!! Our government is the bad guy here, not Noobing.

    “Let’s get mad at the source of this challenge!” the employee railed. “Call your congressman, send letters, speak publicly!!”

    Some ASD members also are railing against the government.

    Noobing members, though, find themselves hamstrung by Noobing’s argument that returns — or “incentives,” as the company calls them — weren’t guaranteed. It’s fundamentally the argument prosecutors said ASD used to insulate itself from Ponzi claims.

    And now Noobing is using the argument, even though it is still operating. Noobing also says advertising purchases are nonrefundable, as did ASD.

    At the same time, Noobing members are accusing the company of “bait and switch,” saying it never should have opened for business if it didn’t address all regulatory issues up front, including potential challenges for selling unregistered securities and operating a Ponzi scheme.

    One of the YouTube videos shows Noobing members how to sign up for a Clickbank affiliate account in case they don’t have their own business to advertise. Over the past two days, Noobing has criticized members who didn’t have a business to advertise for signing up.

    See related post.

  • EDITORIAL: Cancel Their Ponzi Ticket, Sen. Leahy

    Sen. Leahy, in oline chat with eighth-graders.
    Sen. Leahy, in online chat with eighth-graders.

    Four more U.S. banks failed yesterday. Three failed on the previous Friday. Thirteen have failed year-to-date. To say this is unsettling is to grossly understate the severity of the banking problem and the drag on the U.S. and world economies.

    Stories about Ponzi schemes and mortgage fraud are in the news daily. The obvious fear among regulators is that more Bernard Madoffs and Arthur Nadels will emerge. The situation is ripe for Ponzi schemes to be exposed because people need cash and actually fear Ponzi fraud now, meaning they’re predisposed to request redemptions just in case. Ponzi operators won’t be able to fund the redemptions, and the fraud will be exposed at the revulsion of the world.

    And yet some members of the Surf’s Up forum, which is associated with the AdSurfDaily Ponzi operation, are writing incredibly brazen letters to Sen. Patrick Leahy. These letters are a bid to get the Senate Judiciary Committee to investigate the prosecutors who prevented the ASD Ponzi from mushrooming. Sen. Leahy is committee chairman.

    Make no mistake about it, Sen. Leahy: ASD is a $100 million Ponzi scheme and every bit as dangerous as the Madoff and Nadel schemes. ASD thrived for months and collected tens of millions of dollars — now subject to forfeiture because of quick action by the U.S. Secret Service, the IRS and the Justice Department — and tried to cover its tracks by drafting investors into a contract that provided no consumer protections at all. The contract was nothing more than an inartful, cynical bid to legalize Ponzi schemes and skirt securities laws by calling an investment program an “advertising” program.

    Members of the Judiciary Committee should pay close attention to the ASD contract, which appears starting on P. 68 of this document, an Aug. 5 forfeiture complaint against assets tied to ASD. The Justice Department filed a second forfeiture complaint on Dec. 19, outlining even more ASD abuses and highlighted by a claim that “Russian” hackers stole $1 million from ASD.

    ASD President Andy Bowdoin did not even file a police report, which raises even more questions — questions such as “Why not?” and “Did a theft actually even occur?”

    Members of the Judiciary Committee also should know that Bowdoin already has surrendered claims to money and property seized in the August forfeiture complaint.

    At the same time, members of the committee should seek to determine if the Robert Garner mentioned beginning on P. 160 of this Senate document pertaining to a 2001 money-laundering investigation is the same Robert Garner mentioned in the ASD forfeiture complaint.

    The Surf’s Up members’ bid to misinform the Judiciary Committee and sanitize Ponzi schemes is reprehensible, an insult to hard-working and underfunded law-enforcement agencies, the highly capable men and women who staff the agencies, and dedicated prosecutors at all levels of government.

    And it is a slap in the face to hard-working Americans who are living through lean times, struggling to make ends meet and are stunned beyond words at the devastation wrought by the Ponzi economy.

    We call on Sen. Leahy, a former prosecutor, and the Judiciary Committee to fully investigate so-called “autosurf” Ponzi fraud and propose legislation that will help federal and state prosecutors combat it. A law that specifically codifies the crime and spells out penalties would be a good first step.

    We suggest that Sen. Leahy and members of the Judiciary Committee work closely with Attorney General Holder and SEC Chairman Schapiro in crafting legislation that specifically addresses autosurf and HYIP Ponzi fraud.

    This insidious business is sucking wealth out of the economy and creating an environment in which criminals and even terrorists can thrive. Mini-Madoffs exist far and wide across the autosurf landscape. They are engaging in the sale of unregistered securities, wire fraud, money-laundering, mail fraud and racketeering, and they are being aided by people who are doing everything in their power to change the subject and sanitize what amounts to organized theft on a global scale.

    Cancel their Ponzi ticket, Sen. Leahy.

  • Reports: U.S. Regulators Probing Bank In Antigua

    Multiple media outlets — including Bloomberg News, the Associated Press and Business Week — are reporting that the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and the Florida Office of Financial Regulation are investigating Stanford Financial Group.

    At issue is the extraordinary rate of return advertised by Stanford International Bank Ltd. (SIB), an Antigua-based arm of Stanford Financial Group. Stanford Financial Group is an investment firm headquartered in Houston. It is run by billionaire R. Allen Stanford, whose fortune was estimated at $2.2 billion by Forbes magazine.

    SIB’s certificates of deposit, for instance, have been advertised to return double or even triple the rates of U.S.-based CDs. The FBI now has joined the probe, the Wall Street Journal reports.

    The question on the lips of reporters is whether Allen Stanford in the next Bernard Madoff. Fueling concern have been the reports of financial analyst Alex Dalmady. Take a minute to read Dalmady’s report if you’ve been following the AdSurfDaily case. Antigua is a Caribbean nation and favored spot for U.S. residents to move money offshore.

    AdSurfDaily Inc., an alleged $100 million Ponzi purveyor, had more than $1 million on deposit in an Antigua bank, according to Aug. 25 court filings.

    “[Andy Bowdoin] told the Secret Service that an Antigua account (in another name), holds over one million ASD dollars,” federal prosecutors said.

    Perhaps ASD members would be wise to ask Bowdoin the name of the Antigua bank in which the funds are deposited.

    But, getting back to SIB . . .

    SIB has a strong presence in Florida. Dalmady, the financial analyst, has been asking some troubling questions and relating some troubling observations. One of the things that bothered him about SIB was the “unsophisticated” appearance of its website

    It’s an observation mindful of reactions to the ASD website.

    Reports now are circulating that SIB reserved the right to refuse early CD redemption requests, which has a whiff of some of the language ASD used to protect what federal prosecutors said was a Ponzi scheme. It’s not quite “rebates aren’t guaranteed,” but why restrict access to customers’ money, especially when you’re operating offshore? It only raises red flags.

    Stanford Financial is blaming the probe on disgruntled employees; ASD blamed bad press it was getting on disgruntled MLMers.

    It’s early. No charges have been filed against Stanford Financial Group.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • BOLO Clarence Busby? Reader Puzzled By RICO Defendant’s Absence; Says Busby Out Of Touch For ‘Months’

    Should the government and litigants be on the lookout for Clarence Busby? He hasn’t been charged with a crime and, in September, he surrendered his claims to money seized by the U.S. Secret Service as part of its probe into the alleged criminal business practices of his company, Golden Panda Ad Builder of Acworth, Ga.

    Prosecutors said the money was part of the proceeds of a wire-fraud, money-laundering and $100 million Ponzi scheme in which Busby and Golden Panda participated with AdSurfDaily Inc. of Quincy, Fla.

    Busby identified himself as a minister. But he also is in the real-estate business, and last night a reader contacted us to say he has been unable to reach Busby.

    “We are buying a house from him and can’t seem to get in contact with him,” the reader said. “The last we heard, he was overseas starting up an internet company. We are a little concerned.”

    The reader added that he has been unable to contact Busby “for the past couple of months.”

    Here’s what we know about Busby: He played it cool as a cucumber when federal prosecutors announced the seizure of tens of millions of dollars last summer. Busby announced to Golden Panda members that his faith would get him through the dark hours. He composed a series of cloying Blog posts, assuring everyone that things would be just fine.

    Clarence Busby lays on the syrup, to be sure. In court filings, he explained how he’d gone fishing with ASD President Andy Bowdoin.

    “As a social courtesy to Bowdoin, I asked a pastor friend of mine, Rev. Charles Green, if he might bring his boat and join me in inviting Bowdoin on a relaxing fishing trip,” Busby told U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer. “I imagined that operating ASD involved a lot of stress, and I had heard Bowdoin liked to fish. I also wanted a respite from work. The invitation was extended and Bowdoin agreed to join us.”

    Busby then explained how Golden Panda was born:

    “On April 11, 2008, we fished at a lake in Brunswick, Georgia for a day. On that Day Bowdoin surprised me by recommending that I start a Chinese version of ASD,” Busby said.  “Bowdoin suggested that I organize the business without him. He said, ‘I can’t handle the business I already have,’ stating that I should be the one to create, own, and operate this Chinese version of ASD.

    “I was interested in the idea, but did not have knowledge of computers and the web, so I thought Bowdoin should run it, but Bowdoin did not want to run it,” Busby continued. “I chose the name of Golden Panda Ad Builder Inc. and I had the company incorporated on May 15, 2008. At that time, I still thought that Bowdoin would end up running the business, so I placed his name as President of the company, although Bowdoin never actually took any step to run the company.

    “Two and one half weeks before Golden Panda commenced operations on July 24, 2008, Bowdoin called me and reiterated that he did not have time for Golden Panda, had done nothing to help create it, and therefore thought I should be the one to own, operate, and control the business.

    “I then decided that with the help of my kids that I really could run a web based advertising business on my own. On July 2, 2008, I amended the Golden Panda papers with the state, naming myself as the President and removing Bowdoin’s name.”

    In his court filings, Busby said he didn’t know Bowdoin “had prior run ins with the law” and had been arrested in Alabama for defrauding investors.

    Busby did not say if he told his fishing partner about his own run-ins with the law: The Securities and Exchange Commission said Busby defrauded investors in the 1990s.

    “[T]he Commission alleged that Busby violated the antifraud provisions of the securities laws by offering and selling investment contracts in connection with three different prime bank schemes,” the SEC said.

    “Using misrepresentations and omissions in each of the three schemes, Busby raised money for purported trading programs in ‘prime bank’ notes by fraudulently representing to investors that the investments were risk-free and that the ventures would pay returns ranging from 750% to 10,000%. In total, Busby raised nearly $1 million from more than 70 investors. None of the investors earned the exorbitant returns promised by Busby,” the SEC said.

    Busby settled the case with the SEC in May 1998 by agreeing not to break securities laws. The SEC waived a $15,000 penalty and accrued interest because Busby certified he was broke.

    Almost 10 years to the month later, Busby went fishing with Andy Bowdoin. Both men now have been accused of racketeering in a class-action lawsuit brought by members of AdSurfDaily.

  • Seniors In Gallery Of Ponzi Rogues; Grandpa Breaks Bad

    bowdoinmadoffnadel

    We noted Sunday that a startling number of senior citizens have been implicated in Ponzi schemes or accused of monumental financial misdeeds. Featured in this graphic are (left to right): Andy Bowdoin, president of fundamentally defunct AdSurfDaily Inc. of Quincy, Fla.; Bernard Madoff, head man at fundamentally defunct Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities of New York; and Arthur Nadel, principal in several fundamentally defunct hedge funds in Sarasota, Fla.

    Bowdoin is 74. Prosecutors said he fleeced investors in a $100 million Ponzi scheme by selling unregistered securities and calling them “advertisements.”

    Madoff, who might have presided over the biggest Ponzi scheme in world history, is 70. Losses could reach $50 billion.

    Nadel, 76, was arrested yesterday in Tampa, after being on the lam for two weeks. An estimated $300 million is missing from hedge funds he managed in Sarasota.

    Authorities said all three men lived well while investors were being taken to the cleaners. Just prior to a federal seizure of his assets in August, Bowdoin put a gleaming new Lincoln in the driveway — after setting up a sham entity, diverting ASD money to it in a bid to hide assets, and using ASD cash to fuel personal spending in the hundreds of thousands of dollars by family members and preferred investors, prosecutors said.

    Bowdoin has surrendered claims to approximately $100 million in cash and other assets seized by the Feds. In a second forfeiture complaint that is unresolved, prosecutors seek to take control over other assets tied to the firm, including cars, a 20-foot Triton Cabana boat, jet skis and other property purchased with the proceeds of an illegal enterprise.

    Irving Picard, the trustee in the Madoff case, has filed papers to reject expensive automobile leases. While Madoff was engaging in a Ponzi scheme, Picard said, investors were footing the bill for three Mercedes, a Range Rover, a Lexus and a Cadillac.

    madoffleases

    Lease costs for the Mercedes units alone exceeded $4,200 a month, while the lease for the Range Rover cost $1,153 monthly. The Lexus ($888/month) and the Cadillac ($884/month) were relative bargains compared to the other vehicles.

    Prosecutors now say Nadel also took money from company funds and used it for family businesses. The receiver in the Nadel case, Burton Wiand, said in court filings that one of the family business owns as many as five airplanes.

    Other seniors in Ponzi trouble include Richard Picolli, 82, operator of the alleged Gen-See Ponzi in western New York. Prosecutors said he mostly targeted Catholics.

    Meanwhile, Ronald Keith Owens, 73, was just sentenced in Texas to 60 years in prison for running a “prime bank” Ponzi scheme promising huge returns out of the Bahamas and elsewhere.

    Elsewhere, James Blackman Roberts, 71, of Heber Springs, Ark., was just sentenced to 15 years in prison for running a $43.5 million Ponzi scheme.

  • Nadel Diverted Client Funds To Family: Feds

    nadelcheck500

    Florida hedge-fund manager Arthur Nadel turned himself in yesterday to the FBI in Tampa.

    Nadel had gone missing Jan. 14. He was immediately jailed. A bail hearing is set Friday.

    Previously we’ve written about some of the Nadel parallels to the AdSurfDaily Ponzi scheme case. Some of the parallels grew even more striking yesterday, with assertions by federal authorities that Nadel had diverted client funds to family businesses and his wife.

    Federal prosecutors filed a second forfeiture complaint last month against assets tied to ASD. The government seized real estate, automobiles, a boat and other water equipment paid for with ASD money diverted to family members of ASD President Andy Bowdoin.

    In a forfeiture complaint filed in August, prosecutors seized tens of millions of dollars Bowdoin had in bank accounts, plus other real estate tied to ASD. The total amount seized in the case is at least $93.5 million.

    Burton W. Wiand, the receiver in the Nadel case, now has gone to court to attach family assets.

    “Based on our investigation, it is likely that a significant sum of the proceeds of Nadel’s scheme made its way into other accounts controlled by Nadel and/or his wife, Marguerite Nadel,” Wiand said.

    Last year, for instance, Nadel signed checks transferring at least “$1,003,500.00” from Scoop Capital to himself and his wife, Wiand said.

    The scheme likely had been under way for years, Wiand said.

    “Further, in 2003 and 2004 I have already seen documentation showing that at least $685,000.00 was transferred to Nadel and his wife (and have reason to believe that significantly more money was transferred to them),” Wiand said. “In short, it is apparent from the documentation that large quantities of money were diverted from the Hedge Funds to Nadel and Mrs. Nadel. Indeed, to date we have not uncovered any source of income for Nadel or his wife that was not in some manner funded with money from the scheme.”

    Nadel made the checks out by hand, making them payable either to himself or his wife and himself. Sometimes he used the couple’s formal names — “Arthur” and “Marguerite”; other times he used the informal “Art” and “Peg.”

    As the hedge fun assets dwindled, Nadel acquired jets, airplanes and real estate for the family businesses, according to court filings.

    Precisely how clients’ money was plundered virtually it its entirety was unclear. What is clear is that the scheme began to unravel when the alleged Bernard Madoff Ponzi was revealed.

    Nadel, prosecutors said, had been under pressure from colleagues to hire an independent accountant to audit the firms’ assets, but always said no. When the Madoff case made headlines, colleagues insisted on an independent audit. Nadel fled on Jan. 14, a date by which it had become clear that the audit would be performed, prosecutors said.

    Peg Nadel has not been charged with any crimes.