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Tag: Asteria Foundation

  • A BRIEF STUDY IN CASH-GIFTING CONTRASTS: The Attorney General, The BBB — And Hank Needham (Before The Club Asteria Brainstorm And CONSOB Probe)

    In this June 2008 video, Hank Needham — later to emerge as a Club Asteria principal — counts out a stack of £20 British notes delivered in a cash-gifting scheme. Using the pronoun "we" without defining who "we" was, Needham told viewers that "we" intended to open a cash-gifting "school." About three years later, Club Asteria positioned itself as an online "education" leader. In a March 2008 cash-gifting video, Needham was featured counting out a small stack of U.S. $100 bills. What was needed, Needham coached, was "training" on how to post cash-gifting videos on the Internet. Prosecutors say cash-gifting is illegal. The BBB calls it a pyramid scheme. In May 2011, CONSOB, the Italian securities regulator, blocked promos for Club Asteria in Italy. Needham has called himself a Club Asteria owner, and Club Asteria had described him as the director of sales and marketing “responsible for establishing Country, Regional and Network Team Leaders."

    In this post, we included a March 2008 Dailymotion video of Hank Needham — later to emerge as one of Club Asteria’s purported owners — hawking a cash gifting scheme in which five $100 bills (U.S.) spilled out of an envelope tucked inside an envelope delivered by overnight courier DHL. (Please note that March 2008 video also appears on a separate site. The date notation on that site is May 2008.)

    Another cash-gifting video from Needham — this one  dated June 2008 — has surfaced. In the June 2008 video, Needham is holding an envelope from FedEx, another overnight courier. “Now, we have another [envelope] — I won’t really go through the courier — I don’t think we’re supposed to use this courier anymore,” Needham tells viewers, after making sure they notice what he describes as a “little pile of cash that’s accumulating” to his left.

    As the June 2008 video proceeds, Needham removes cash that has been packed snugly in the FedEx envelope. It’s British pounds as opposed to U.S. currency this time — and this time the money has come from “Robin” (or Robyn?) in the “British Isles.” Unlike the March (and May) 2008 video in which “George,” presumably an American, is reported by Needham to have sent five large U.S. bills, “Robin,” presumably a Brit, has chosen to send 25 twenty-pound notes. Needham counts out all 25 bills, creating five rows with five bills in each row. Why Needham was reluctant the mention the name of FedEx was not made clear in the video. What was clear was the Needham wanted viewers to know that “we’re opening up a website called CashGiftingSchool.com.”

    He did not define “we.” The “school” website, which appears to have been registered in April 2008 while Needham was pushing the AdSurfDaily scheme in addition to cash-gifting, now resolves to a page that beams ads. (It’s worth noting that Needham, in 2008, was wearing casual attire while hawking the cash-gifting “school,” apparently from his home. Flash forward three years to 2011: Club Asteria is positioning itself as an “education” leader and featuring Needham on video. He is wearing a crisp, black suit in the 2011 video — and the backdrop is a board room. A button promoting the 2011 Club Asteria video in which Needham is showcased in the black suit is labeled “ABOUT COURAGE.” The button appears in Club Asteria’s October 2011 recruitment house organ.)

    Various Club Asteria-related entities have been trading on the names of various charities, including the American Red Cross. The Red Cross sent the purported Asteria Philanthropic Foundation a cease-and-desist letter 11 days ago, and the relief agency said yesterday that the foundation agreed to stop using the Red Cross  logo and other materials. How long it will take the Asteria-themed enterprises to comply is unclear.

    Needham’s image also appeared in 2008 promos for AdSurfDaily, an autosurf the U.S. Secret Service called an international Ponzi scheme.

    The Attorney General

    Before you take a look at the June 2008 Needham video — which appears to have been placed on Dailymotion just two months before the spectacular seizure by the U.S. Secret Service of tens of millions of dollars in the ASD Ponzi case — we’d like you to take a look at what the attorney general of Michigan says about cash gifting. Bill Schuette notes that purveyors can be charged with felonies. Mike Cox, Schuette’s predecessor as attorney general, said the same thing.

    Needham does not mention the law in either of his videos; he’s too busy counting bills. He appears to be less than pleased that “Robin,” unlike “George” in the other video, packed the bills tightly. It is unclear in either video whether DHL or FedEx left the envelopes in a secure place before Needham retrieved them. In other words, had the envelopes been left on Needham’s doorstep, they could have been stolen, an outcome sure to have created an unpleasant situation for both the senders and Needham.

    The BBB

    Now — to accent this brief study in contrast before you view Needham’s June 2008 cash-gifting video — take a look at this brief video on cash-gifting fraud by the Better Business Bureau:

    Hank Needham


    The CASH PROOF by hankneedham

  • EDITORIAL: Another Dark Day For ‘Asteria Foundation’ And Related Entities As American Red Cross Issues Statement Suggesting It Was Duped: ‘We Have No Record Of Receiving A Donation From This Organization And Have Not Partnered With Them’ On Japan Earthquake Relief ‘Or Any Other Projects’

    UPDATED 9:36 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) The American Red Cross is a national treasure whose powerful and noble name never should be diluted or trifled with. But it is now apparent that various Club Asteria-related entities have done exactly that by not revealing certain critical information to the Red Cross while at once shamelessly seeking to build the Asteria brand across multiple platforms by tying it to the Red Cross — beginning in the spring during a period in which the agency was responding to a crisis in Japan.

    To describe what the Asteria entities have done as spectacularly parasitic with equally disgusting measures of greed and ham-handedness thrown in would be a gross  understatement. In any event, the Asteria entities have created a deplorable situation that sparked the Red Cross to issue a statement today. (You’ll see the full statement beginning four paragraphs below.) The statement was issued this afternoon from Washington, D.C., and emailed by the Red Cross to the PP Blog. The statement concerns the purported Asteria Philanthropic Foundation, which is linked to the purported Club Asteria business “opportunity” and other Asteria-themed enterprises. The Asteria enterprises are using the Red Cross name and logo in promos across multiple websites — while calling the Red Cross a partner. No partnership exists, the Red Cross made clear today.

    Members of Club Asteria — participants in any of the Asteria-themed enterprises — need to know that at least one of Club Asteria’s purported owners, Hank Needham, has been linked to promotions for online Ponzi schemes and pyramid schemes. (You’ll see a cash-gifting video starring Needham below.) The stench lives on three years after the taping, and it cannot be dissipated by leeching off the name of the Red Cross.

    This is a story that only is getting uglier. Ten days ago — after becoming concerned that its name and logo were being misused — the Red Cross sent the purported Asteria Foundation a cease-and-desist letter. It later developed that Needham had appeared in a May 2008 video that advertised a cash-gifting scheme. Needham, whose face also appeared in a 2008 promo for the alleged $110 million AdSurfDaily Ponzi scheme, is seen in the video opening an envelope from a courier service. A smaller envelope was packaged in the courier envelope — and five $100 bills spilled out of the smaller envelope. Needham fanned them for the camera. Cash-gifting schemes are prosecutable under pyramid-scheme statutes, despite what prospects are led to believe. U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., called cash-gifters “parasites” when he was attorney general of Connecticut.

    The PP Blog has added the italics to today’s statement by the Red Cross:

    The Asteria Foundation contacted the American Red Cross in April and said it wanted to make a donation to aid relief efforts in Japan after the earthquake and tsunami. At the time, the organization requested information on how the donation might be put to use and we directed their representative to published information on Red Cross recovery efforts. The organization also requested the ability to mention its donation to us in its own press materials, which we felt was appropriate.

    However, we have no record of receiving a donation from this organization and have not partnered with them on that or any other projects. We have requested that the organization remove our logo and other materials from its web site, and they have agreed to do so.

    In September, Club Asteria removed an image and purported “interview” with famed actor Will Smith from its recruitment emagazine amid questions about whether the purported “opportunity” was trying to plant the seed that Smith had endorsed the company.

    Scores of promos for Club Asteria, which trades on the name of the World Bank, have appeared online this year. The promos described Club Asteria as a “passive” investment opportunity that generated a weekly return of up to 10 percent. Club Asteria suspended member cashouts in June, after acknowledging its PayPal account had been suspended — and after claims about Club Asteria came under investigation in Italy.

    Club Asteria was widely promoted on Ponzi scheme forums such as TalkGold and MoneyMakerGroup. Members said payouts were routed through a Hong Kong entity known as Asteria Holdings Limited. When things turned sour at Club Asteria, the Ponzi-forum promoters turned their attentions to other HYIP “programs” that offered absurd returns that translated into purported yearly gains in the hundreds of percent.

    The Asteria Foundation also has used a Hong Kong address — tying it to a fax number in Virginia. Asteria Corp., Club Asteria’s apparent parent company and also the apparent driving force behind the purported Asteria Foundation, is based in Virginia.

    State authorities said last month that neither Club Asteria nor Asteria Corp. was registered to sell securities. Club Asteria has blamed its members for promotional blunders and for PayPal’s decision to suspend its account. That explanation, however, strains credulity — given Needham’s history of pushing multiple fraud schemes. It is inconceivable that Club Asteria did not know that its growth was being fueled by serial hucksters on Ponzi forums and by thousands of promos on the independent websites of Club Asteria affiliates, many of whom preemptively denied Club Asteria was conducting a Ponzi scheme. They could not possibly know whether Club Asteria was on the up-and-up without seeing the books and records from banks and as many as four separate payment processors.

    How much money Club Asteria gained as a result of promos that positioned the company as a cash cow is unclear. Scores of members claimed that paying Club Asteria $19.95 a month would produce a yearly income of more than $20,000. Club Asteria is believed to have gained considerable traction in the Third World. Club Asteria pitchman “Ken Russo,” who also is known as “DRdave” and is believed to operate from the United States, claimed on Ponzi boards to have received thousands of dollars in recruitment commissions via wire from Hong Kong.

    Club Asteria, which has described itself as a revenue-sharing program, does not publish verifiable financial information. The firm now appears to be branching out into social networking, positioning itself as an education leader and “cause” marketing company.

    Ponzi forum promoters, whom some critics describe derisively as “pimps” and “referral whores,” shilled for Club Asteria for months before the company suspended cashouts.

    2008 Hank Needham Video On Cash-Gifting

    Please note that the URL advertised in the Dailymotion video below — ptigift.com — no longer resolves to a server.


    What is all the fuss about Cash Gifting? by hankneedham

  • UPDATE: No Updates On Club Asteria Blog Since Oct. 15, No ‘News’ Site Updates Since Sept. 12; Firm Continues To Publish Red Cross Logo In House Organ And On Purported ‘Philanthropic’ Site Despite Cease-And-Desist Letter; 2008 Cash-Gifting Video With Hank Needham Emerges

    In this frame from a cash-gifting video dated May 3, 2008, then-AdSurfDaily pitchman Hank Needham opens an envelope from a cash-gifing scheme — and five $100 bills purportedly from "George" spill out. The date on the video coincides with a period of time in which Needham's image appeared in an ad for ASD. Needham later would emerge as a Club Asteria principal and purported owner of the "program," which suspended cashouts earlier this year and caught the attention of regulators in Italy.

    Is anybody at home at Club Asteria and the purported Asteria Philanthropic Foundation? And where, precisely, is home?

    The Club Asteria Blog on a .US domain has not been updated since Oct. 15. In the recent past, the Blog had been updated approximately every three (or so) days, according to the date notations on the site. Updates were posted on Oct. 15, Oct. 12, Oct. 9, Oct. 6, Oct. 3, Sept. 30, Sept. 27, Sept.  24, Sept. 21, Sept. 16.

    Fifteen full days have passed since the most recent update.

    Separately, the Club Asteria “News” page on its .com domain has not been updated since Sept. 12, a period that encompasses more than a month and a half.

    Although the American Red Cross sent the Asteria Philanthropic Foundation a cease-and-desist letter six days ago amid concerns of brand leeching, Club Asteria continues to publish the Red Cross logo and name in its October house organ. The firm uses the publication, an emagazine, for recruiting.

    It is common for fraud schemes to plant the seed they are affiliated with a legitimate entity.

    Meanwhile, the Asteria Philanthropic Foundation, which also is known as the Asteria Foundation and uses street addresses in the United States and Hong Kong, also continues to publish the Red Cross name and logo on the foundation’s .org site.

    Before suspending member cashouts earlier this year, Club Asteria issued payments via wire from a purported Hong Kong entity known as Asteria Holdings Limited, according to “I Got Paid” posts on infamous Ponzi scheme forums.

    Last month, Club Asteria removed from its house organ an image and purported “interview” with actor Will Smith. A “JOIN NOW” button had been placed near the Smith-related content. In this month’s house organ, a “JOIN OUR MISSION” button was placed inside a quotation from Mahatma Gandhi, the slain Indian champion of freedom. Gandhi’s name was misspelled in the promo.

    Virginia authorities said on Oct. 20 that Club Asteria was not registered as an issuer of securities in the state. They declined to say whether a Club Asteria probe was under way.

    In May, CONSOB, the Italian securities regulator, banned promos for the firm in Italy.

    In a video dated May 3, 2008 — prior to the apparent formation of Club Asteria and the Asteria Foundation but during a period of time in which Club Asteria principal Hank Needham’s image appeared in a promo for AdSurfDaily — Needham appeared in a video for cash gifting, the PP Blog has learned.

    Needham is seen in the cash-gifting video opening an envelope from a courier service that contained a smaller envelope. The package purportedly was sent by “George.”

    When Needham opened the smaller envelope, five $100 bills spilled out.

    “Thank you, George, ” Needham said.

    Needham then fanned the bills in front of the camera.

    In August 2008, the U.S. Secret Service seized tens of millions of dollars in the ASD case, amid Ponzi allegations. It is known that some ASD members also were cash-gifting enthusiasts. After the ASD-related seizures, some ASD members sought to recruit others for cash-gifting, autosurf and HYIP schemes, claiming the schemes were excellent ways to make up for ASD losses while highlighting the purported “offshore” locations of some of the “programs.”

  • URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: American Red Cross Sends ‘Cease-And-Desist’ Letter To Asteria Foundation

    URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: The American Red Cross, which opened a probe last week into the potential misuse of its name and logo by the Asteria Philanthropic Foundation, has sent the foundation a letter to cease and desist.

    Anne Marie Borrego, a spokeswoman for the Red Cross in Washington, D.C., said this morning that the letter went out yesterday. The Asteria Philanthropic Foundation, also known as the Asteria Foundation, uses a Hong Kong street address and has issued at least one undated “press release” that uses a dateline of Reston, Va.

    The foundation is linked to Club Asteria, a purported earnings “program” that traded on the name of the World Bank and became a darling of the Ponzi boards earlier this year before suspending cashouts.

    The Red Cross logo and name appeared in Club Asteria’s October 2011 house organ, which the firm uses for recruiting. The Red Cross name and logo also appears on the Asteria foundation’s .org domain.

    Claims about Club Asteria caught the attention of CONSOB, the Italian securities regulator, in May. Officials in Virginia last week said that neither Club Asteria nor Asteria Corp. was registered to sell securities in the state. Asteria Corp. is Club Asteria’s apparent parent company.

    Virginia officials declined to say whether a state-level probe into the activities of Club Asteria was under way.

    A 2008 promo for AdSurfDaily features an image of Hank Needham, a purported Club Asteria principal. ASD later was implicated by the U.S. Secret Service in an alleged Ponzi scheme involving at least $110 million.

    Club Asteria was widely promoted on Ponzi boards such as TalkGold and MoneyMakerGroup. Promoters later turned their attention to “programs” such as Centurion Wealth Circle and JustBeenPaid, which is trading on the names and images of Warren Buffett, Oprah Winfrey, Benjamin Franklin and “Mr. Spock” of the Star Trek movie and televison series.

    Last month, Club Asteria removed an image of actor Will Smith from its house organ. This month, the company is trading on a quote from Mahatma Gandhi, the slain champion of freedom in India. A “JOIN OUR MISSION” button was placed inside a quote from Gandhi, whose name was misspelled in the publication.

    See earlier story.

  • UPDATE: Neither Asteria Philanthropic Foundation Nor Asteria Foundation Listed As Charities In Virginia Database, State Says

    UPDATED 3:35 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) There are no listings in a state database for either the Asteria Philanthropic Foundation or the Asteria Foundation, the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services said this morning.

    The agency, which did not respond immediately to a request for additional comment on Club Asteria-related matters, oversees charitable entities in the state.

    An undated “press release” on the Asteria Foundation .org site uses a dateline of Reston, Va. An FAQ’s page on the site claims the foundation “is a charitable, tax-exempt 501©(3) organization. Contributions are tax deductible in accordance with IRS rules and regulations.”

    Why the copyright symbol — as opposed to the lowercase letter “c” — is used in the IRS claim on the site is unclear. Like the state of Virginia, the IRS database of charitable entities appears to have no listing for either the Asteria Philanthropic Foundation or the Asteria Foundation.

    Separately, a state database in Maryland that tracks charities had no listing today either for the Asteria Philanthropic Foundation or the Asteria Foundation. Web-domain registration data for the .org site list an address in Maryland.

    The foundation is an offshoot of Club Asteria, according to the .org site. Claims about Club Asteria came under fire in May by CONSOB, the Italian securities regulator. Separately, the American Red Cross said last week that it was opening a probe into claims Club Asteria had a tie-in with the Red Cross.

    The Red Cross logo and name have been used in repeated promos for Club Asteria and the purported foundation. The foundation’s .org site lists a street address in Hong Kong and a fax number in Virginia.

    Last week, the Virginia State Corporation Commission, which oversees the Virginia Division of Securities & Retail Franchising, declined to say whether a probe into the business activities of Club Asteria was under way.

    However, the state did say that neither Club Asteria nor Asteria Corp. — Club Asteria’s apparent parent company — were registered in Virginia state to sell securities.

    Club Asteria was popularized in part by promos on well-known Ponzi scheme forums. Members claimed the firm paid out up to 10 percent weekly. Club Asteria first slashed payouts, and then eliminated them. Those acts followed on the heels of the CONSOB probe and the suspension of Club Asteria’s PayPal account.

    Multiple Club Asteria promoters were promoting multiple “programs” on the Ponzi boards, leading to questions about whether the firm had come into possession of fraud proceeds.

  • Authorities In Virginia Neither ‘Confirm [N]or Deny’ That Investigation Into Club Asteria Is Under Way; Firm Whose Growth Was Fueled On Ponzi Boards Before Cashout Suspension And CONSOB Probe Is Not Registered To Sell Securities In The State

    Screen shot: The logo of Asteria Philanthropic Foundation, which also has been described as the Asteria Foundation. The foundation, according to its website, is an offshoot of Club Asteria, which described itself in June as a "cause" marketing company.

    UPDATED 4:14 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) Club Asteria, the offshoot of Virginia-based Asteria Corp. and the apparent braintrust behind an emerging entity known as the Asteria Philanthropic Foundation, is not registered to sell securities in Virginia, the state said Thursday.

    Neither is Asteria Corp., according to state records.

    Citing confidentiality laws, the state declined to say Friday whether it was aware that CONSOB, the Italian Securities regulator, had opened a probe into Club Asteria-related matters earlier this year. The state also declined to say whether it had launched its own Club Asteria probe.

    “We cannot confirm or deny that an investigation is being conducted due to the prohibitions in Section 13.1-518 of the Code of Virginia,” said Katha Treanor, a spokeswoman for the State Corporation Commission (SCC). The commission oversees the Virginia Division of Securities & Retail Franchising.

    Among other things, the statute cited by Treanor forbids the state from disclosing publicly whether a probe is under way while empowering it to issue subpoenas, compel attendance at hearings and share information with other law-enforcement agencies.

    Club Asteria, which announced a cash crunch in June after it acknowledged in May that its PayPal account had been suspended, has described itself as a “cause” marketing company. A PowerPoint presentation for Club Asteria claimed the program offered a 25 percent “matching bonus,” along with”passive” income for Gold and Silver members that was “100% GUARANTEED.”

    Ponzi forum promos for Club Asteria claimed payouts came via wire from a Hong Kong entity known  as Asteria Holdings Limited. Club Asteria, which claimed to be a revenue-sharing program, has traded on the name of the World Bank.

    The news in Virginia developed as the General Counsel’s Office of the American Red Cross said it was opening a probe into the potential misuse of the Red Cross logo and name by the Asteria Philanthropic Foundation, which also is known as the Asteria Foundation and has issued at least one undated “press release” with a dateline of Reston, Va.

    Andrea Lucas, Club Asteria’s managing member, was quoted in the release. Among the oddities in the release is that the foundation announced its launch “today” — without putting a date on the release. Visitors to the site could form the impression that “today” literally meant the day they visited the site, regardless of the day of the week.

    Although the foundation has its own website at a .org domain and Club Asteria claimed in its October emagazine that the Red Cross was a “partner,” the Red Cross said Thursday that it had been unable “to confirm a [Club Asteria] link to the Red Cross.”

    If that continues to hold true, Club Asteria will receive a cease-and-desist order, the Red Cross said, noting that individuals do not have to go through Club Asteria to donate to the Red Cross. Earlier this year, Club Asteria encouraged members to recruit more affiliates willing to pay Club Asteria a fee to enable the company to provide earthquake relief in Japan.

    Last month, Club Asteria removed content from its emagazine that suggested that actor Will Smith had endorsed the purported business opportunity. Club Asteria did not explain why it had reconfigured the publication to remove Smith-related content. The removal occurred after the PP Blog sought comment from Smith’s publicist on whether the actor was aware his name and image were being used by Club Asteria.

    In the October issue of Club Asteria’s emagazine, a button that leads to a registration page for Club Asteria was placed inside a quotation from Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi, the slain Indian civil-rights champion, was assassinated in 1948. Club Asteria misspelled Gandhi’s name in the publication, which is the firm’s recruitment organ. The Red Cross logo appears both inside the publication and on the foundation’s .org site.

    It was unclear yesterday whether the foundation, which uses a Hong Kong address in a passage on its .org domain and a fax number with a Virginia area code, was registered as a charitable entity in Virginia. Charitable entities in the state are overseen by the Virginia Office of Consumer Affairs, a branch of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. (The PP Blog contacted the Office of Consumer Affairs on Friday to determine if the foundation is registered in Virginia, and expects to hear back Monday.)

    Among the claims on the .org domain was that the foundation has “tax exempt” status with the IRS, but a database maintained by the IRS appears to have no listing either for the Asteria Philanthropic Foundation or the Asteria Foundation.

    Records in Virginia show that two corporate business registrations for an entity known as Asteria Corp. were “terminated” — one on Nov. 2, 2009, another on May 4, 2010. The reasons behind the terminations and the registration details of the corporations were not immediately clear.

    On May 31, 2010, Asteria Corp. — using the services of a law firm — sent a check for $325 to the state via overnight courier (FedEx). The fee included $100 for expedited service, and the registration as a business entity was restored on June 8, 2010, according to records.

    Club Asteria was popularized in part by posts on Ponzi boards such as TalkGold and MoneyMakerGroup, both of which are listed in federal court filings as places from which Ponzi schemes are promoted. A TalkGold thread shows that the first promo for Club Asteria was posted on April 5, 2010. The thread, which has been moved to the TalkGold scams folder, ultimately grew to 139 pages — with 10 posts per page.

    Meanwhile, on MoneyMakerGroup, the first Club Asteria post was dated May 29, 2010 — while Asteria Corp.’s corporate registration was listed as “terminated” in Virginia. That thread ultimately grew to 221 pages — with 15 posts per page.

    Two days later — on May 31, 2010 — Asteria Corp. sent $325 to the state and asked for expedited service to restore the firm’s corporate registration.

    Well-known Ponzi board hucksters such as “Ken Russo,” “10BucksUp” and “manolo” were among the Club Asteria cheerleaders. “Ken Russo” also is known as “DRdave.”

    Scores of Club Asteria promoters described the program as a “passive” investment opportunity that paid out anywhere from 3 percent to 10 percent a week. Earnings were described as guaranteed, and some promoters lured recruits by offering to return a portion of their monthly fees. The Ponzi forum promos and pitches by Club Asteria members on Blogs and websites led to questions about whether Club Asteria was selling unregistered securities and whether the firm had come into receipt of proceeds tainted by other schemes pitched on the Ponzi boards.

    CONSOB announced in May that it had blocked Club Asteria promos in Italy. Club Asteria acknowledged during the same month that its PayPal account had been suspended, blaming the development on members and later claiming it was experiencing a cash crunch.

    Weekly payouts to members first were slashed, and later were eliminated. Ponzi forum promoters remained busy, turning their attention to other purported programs, some of which have collapsed or are in a classic state of Ponzi decay. One of the programs with members in common with Club Asteria — JustBeenPaid — claimed it was moving to “offshore” servers and forced members to affirm they were not government spies or media lackeys.

    Frederick Mann, the purported braintrust behind JustBeenPaid, was a promoter for AdSurfDaily, the Florida firm the U.S. Secret Service said in 2008 was operating an international Ponzi scheme. JustBeenPaid is trading on the names of Warren Buffett and Oprah Winfrey — and even has an ad banner with an image of Mr. Spock,” the fictional spaceman from the Star Trek series.

    Hank Needham, who appears in Club Asteria videos and has been described as an owner of the company, also was an AdSurfDaily promoter, according to a 2008 promo for ASD.

  • BULLETIN: General Counsel’s Office Of American Red Cross Investigating Potential Case Of Brand Leeching By Club Asteria After Red Cross Logo Appears On Purported ‘Philanthropic’ Site And Inside Club Asteria’s October House Organ

    BULLETIN: The Office of the General Counsel of the American Red Cross in Washington, D.C., has opened a probe into the potential misuse of the Red Cross logo and name by Club Asteria and an entity known as the Asteria Philanthropic Foundation or the Asteria Foundation.

    Depending on how the investigation evolves in the coming days, Club Asteria could be on the receiving end of a cease-and-desist order, said Red Cross spokeswoman Anne Marie Borrego.

    “The case has been sent to the Office of General Counsel,” Borrego said.

    The Red Cross logo appears on a domain known as Asteria-Foundation.org. Meanwhile, the Red Cross logo also appears on the inside front cover (Page 2) of Club Asteria’s October house organ, which the purported business “opportunity” uses as a recruitment tool.

    “So far, no one has been able to confirm a [Club Asteria] link to the Red Cross,” Borrego said.

    Club Asteria claims in the electronic publication that the Red Cross is a “partner.”

    Last month, Club Asteria produced a story in the house organ that used an image of actor Will Smith. Club Asteria later removed both the image of Smith and a purported “interview” with him, reconfiguring the publication to remove any reference to the “Independence Day” star.

    Prior to the removal, the image of Smith was directly above a Club Asteria “JOIN NOW” button.

    There appears to be no entry for the Asteria Philanthropic Foundation in a database maintained by the IRS, even though the Asteria-Foundation.org domain makes this claim — using the copyright symbol as opposed to a lowercase “c.”

    “The Asteria Foundation is a charitable, tax-exempt 501©(3) organization. Contributions are tax deductible in accordance with IRS rules and regulations.”

    An undated “press release” on the site with a dateline of Reston, Va., claims the foundation “was launched today and signals a crucial step in the organization’s fight against poverty around the world.”

    The undated release quotes Club Asteria’s Andrea Lucas. (Verbatim from release; indent added by PP Blog.)

    “Funds raised by Club Asteria are donated by The Asteria Foundation to a variety of different organizations that have the same goal and vision as we do,” said Club Asteria Founder Andrea Lucas. “Basically, we want to eliminate poverty around the world by getting funds into the hands of those who need them the most.”

    Separately, the Asteria-Foundation.org domain claims the foundation uses a Hong Kong address, but a fax number associated with the entity uses an area code in Virginia.

    Earlier this year, Club Asteria encouraged members to spend money on the firm’s purported services and to work harder on recruiting as a means of helping earthquake victims in Japan.

    Borrego said today that people who wanted to donate money to the Red Cross could do so directly at the Red Cross website.

    Questionable entities trading on the name of the Red Cross “happens all the time” because of the power of the Red Cross name, Borrego said.

    In May, CONSOB, the Italian securities regulator, opened a probe into claims made about Club Asteria. Club Asteria acknowledged that its PayPal account had been frozen, later saying the firm was experiencing a cash crunch.

    Club Asteria blamed members for the developments. The purported “opportunity” was widely promoted on boards associated with Ponzi schemes.

    Authorities in Virginia were checking this afternoon to determine if Club Asteria was registered to sell securities, the PP Blog has learned. Ponzi forum posters claimed Club Asteria paid out up to 10 percent a week before suspending cashouts earlier this year.

    The Asteria-Foundation.org website was registered on May 19, 2011.

    In the face of thousands of affiliate claims that Club Asteria was a “passive” investment program that provided a weekly payout, Club Asteria denied it was an issuer of securities.