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Tag: AVG

  • 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

  • Surf’s Up Deletion Raises Quid Pro Quo Questions

    Andy Bowdoin. Surf's Up quid pro quo?
    Andy Bowdoin. Surf's Up quid pro quo?

    UPDATED 1:22 P.M. EST (U.S.A.) Earlier this month a photo of Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps holding a bong sparked a firestorm, which ultimately led to a public apology from the celebrated gold medalist. Phelps subsequently was fired by Kellogg Co. because it cherished its brand and didn’t want the cereal- and snack-eating children of America to believe it endorsed smoking marijuana.

    Phelps is one of the most important athletes in the world. He can help companies sell products by the truckload and further instill their brands in the consciousness of buyers. Despite Phelps’ extraordinary accomplishments (eight gold medals at the 2008 Olympics), his apology, his youth (he’s 23) and his magnetic drawing power, Kellogg’s said goodbye, issuing a special statement to do so.

    A photo of an Olympian smoking pot is “not consistent with the image of Kellogg,” the company said.

    Phelps was not charged with a crime and will not be. USA Swimming, the governing body for the sport in the United States, however, suspended him for three months.

    “This is not a situation where any anti-doping rule was violated, but we decided to send a strong message to Michael because he disappointed so many people, particularly the hundreds of thousands of USA Swimming member kids who look up to him as a role model and a hero,” the organization said. “Michael has voluntarily accepted this reprimand and has committed to earn back our trust.”

    Some Phelps’ sponsors stood by his side, while not marginalizing his conduct or making excuses for it.  No company will risk its reputation by running interference for Phelps.

    A Study In Contrast

    Now, compare the actions of USA Swimming and Kellogg’s to the actions of the Pro-AdSurfDaily “Surf’s Up” forum. (It may seem like a stretch, but it’s not: The Surf’s Up forum says it is comprised of professional business people with professional advertising needs, and ASD says is is a professional advertising company.)

    In August, ASD was accused of operating a wire-fraud and money-laundering operation whose central component was a $100 million Ponzi scheme that had money on deposit in at least three countries. Surf’s Up’s raison d’être — it’s reason for being — was to advocate for ASD and ASD President Andy Bowdoin, a convicted felon. Indeed, the site’s formal name is the ASD Member Advocates forum.

    Rarely in U.S. business does a professional entity make unrestrained cheerleading for a convicted felon involved in possible new felonies its signature calling. Most entities would be afraid of the stain spilling over or perhaps being drawn into a criminal investigation themselves. As a practical matter, there is little upside for an entity that associates itself with felons.

    Since its inception, Surf’s Up has been famous for deleting posts that painted ASD in an unflattering light. It also is famous for heckling and even banning posters who asked tough questions.

    But the site’s strangest act to date was to accept ASD’s official endorsement, which the embattled company issued publicly Nov. 27 on its Breaking News site. While most entities on earth would repudiate  the endorsement of a felon who has other felony charges possibly waiting in the wings, Surf’s Up embraced it. The endorsement came only days after a federal judge ruled that ASD had not demonstrated at an evidentiary hearing last fall that it was a legal business and not a Ponzi scheme.

    Unlike Kellogg’s and USA Swimming — both of which issued special statements to distance themselves from a bong — Surf’s Up issued no such statement to distance itself from an alleged $100 million Ponzi scheme.

    Within a couple of weeks of the endorsement, some of the Surf’s Up Mods were promoting AdViewGlobal (AVG), a new surf that shares an executive with ASD and a customer-service employee who testified for ASD at the Sept. 30-Oct. 1 evidentiary hearing.

    One of AVG’s first formal acts was to claim it had no ties to ASD, despite the executive it shared with ASD and despite the shared customer-service rep, who also doubled as a spokesman for AVG.

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

    And AVG made the “no ties” claim despite the appearance of AVG graphics on an ASD-controlled webroom, including a graphic that listed AVG’s address as 13 S Calhoun Street, Quincy, FL 32351, which also happens to be the street address for ASD.

    Most entities shy away even from the appearance of impropriety. Surf’s Up didn’t even do that. In fact, it cheered anew for another controversial surf: AVG.

    Could ASD’s endorsement of Surf’s Up been quid pro quo for its months-long loyal cheerleading and a reward for helping build a customer base for AVG?

    It sure looks that way, especially when Surf’s Up embraced the endorsement instead of repudiating it. And it really looks that way, considering the fact that some Surf’s Up Mods and members created a site to cheerlead for AVG shortly after receiving ASD’s endorsement.

    But it especially looks that way when Surf’s Up deletes posts such as this one (below) that appeared yesterday. The post was on the topic of a second forfeiture complaint that had been filed against assets tied to ASD (December) and Bowdoin’s decision (January) to give up his fight for assets seized in the first complaint in August (italics added):

    Anyone else think the “kids” Barb believes Andy may have been nobly protecting when he gave the members money to the government refers to the adult son and daughter-in-law of Faye Bowdoin? The government “went after” the property (homes and cars) of Mrs. Bowdoin’s adult son and daughter-in-law because the Harris’ home mortgage was paid off, and a car and boat were purchased, with ASD funds and funds withdrawn from AdSurfDaily’s Bank of America accounts and deposited into newly established accounts at Capital City National Bank in the name of a business named Bowdoin/Harris Enterprises. Bowdoin/Harris Enterprises was incorporated in Florida in June of 2008.

    Just in case Barb’s right, and she seems to have a close connection to the Bowdoin’s, if Andy was motivated to give up all claims to the members funds in order to protect George and Judy Harris, let’s see what the kids were up to, that caught the eye of the government:

    June l0, 2008
    George Harris and Faye Bowdoin opened a Bowdoin/Harris Enterprises bank account at Capital City National Bank (CCNB) using $l77,900.l2 withdrawn from AdSurfDaily’s Bank of America accounts.

    June ll, 2008
    Judy and George Harris purchase new car for $28,607.67 with funds in an ASD bank account at BOA; the vehicle owners are the Harris’s.

    June 23, 2008
    George Harris transferred $l57,2l6.79 from CCNB account to Citi Mortgage, to pay off the mortgage on the home he and Judy were buying.

    “Kids” George and Judy took money that had been “paid to the order of AdSurfDaily” by the members and used it as if it was their own. They didn’t have to use what was left of their personal income after they paid federal income taxes and FICA, like you and I would have to do.

    Andy may have been worried about those kids, but I’m saving my sympathy for the kids whose college funds were raided, or whose homes were foreclosed on.

    None of these actions — the establishment of an ASD cheerleading site, the acceptance of ASD’s endorsement, the establishment of a cheerleading site for AVG — is consistent with the actions of a professional business entity.

    All of the actions, however, are consistent with a pattern of misinforming and deceiving — of running interference for a criminal enterprise.

    It is beyond loathsome, but it’s business-as-usual at Surf’s Up.

  • ASD: A Thimble, A Pinhead And A Quark Before Nothingness

    Andy Bowdoin.
    Andy Bowdoin.

    UPDATED 10:21 A.M. EST (U.S.A.) Tomorrow will mark an important anniversary in the AdSurfDaily Ponzi case: the passage of two full months since prosecutors filed a second forfeiture complaint against assets tied to the firm.

    Neither ASD President Andy Bowdoin nor members of his family from whom property was seized has filed a claim. No attorney has entered an appearance notice. The lack of action is in stark contrast to what happened in August after the first seizure of ASD assets.

    Amid much fanfare — and amid a strangely jubilant atmosphere fueled by people who refused to disengage from their trances — Bowdoin moved quickly in August to stake a claim to tens of millions of dollars and other assets seized. Some Bowdoin zealots predicted a slam-dunk win for ASD, especially after it advised the court that it would be willing to operate under monitoring and supervision if some of the Great Man’s money was returned.

    What the ASD supporters didn’t see — what some of them refused to see — was that the money was seized as the assets of a criminal enterprise that had money on deposit in at least three countries and had been taking steps to get more and more money outside the United States. One of the countries — Antigua — is now front-and-center in a massive case of international financial fraud involving R. Allen Stanford and his companies.

    It will be well worth your time to click on the link above. Read the story, and read the entire SEC complaint from a link at the bottom of the story. Some of the allegations — the tortured explanations by Stanford and his companies — will remind you of elements of the ASD case.

    Also note that the money ASD had on deposit in Antigua was not in ASD’s name. Bowdoin, however, had control of the money and could have converted it to his own use at any moment in time. The amount was at least $1 million, according to court filings.

    Andy Bowdoin was at the helm of the ASD enterprise and, by implication in the forfeiture complaint, was a criminal. He took the 5th prior to the evidentiary hearing because he knew of the possible criminal repercussions of testifying. The ASD monitoring plan was a bid to short-circuit a possible criminal prosecution by getting the government to agree that only highly technical violations of the law had occurred. In other words, a possible $100 million Ponzi fraud using the financial systems of at least three countries was no big deal.

    Prosecutors never were going to accept a Bowdoin-provided remedy, especially one that attempted to sanitize criminality by treating wire fraud, money-laundering and a Ponzi scheme as minor offenses. An acceptance of such a deal would have sent a clear signal that the worst that could happen to a probable autosurf Ponzi scheme operator was court-supervised monitoring of the scheme — as it re-started with returned funds and attempted not to engage in wire fraud, money-laundering and the sale of unregistered securities.

    Such an outcome would have marked a chilly day for U.S. jurisprudence, the day America’s courts provided wink-nod cover for probable Ponzi-pushing felons — and even handed them back money and turned a blind eye to abuses that occurred before the good guys arrived.

    Investigators went on to discover that Bowdoin told insiders that $1 million had been stolen from ASD by “Russian hackers.” He didn’t even file a police report, but he did tell Judge Rosemary Collyer that ASD couldn’t operate and needed her to free up money to pay employees and bills. What Bowdoin didn’t tell the judge up front, as he asked her to release seized funds, was that ASD had more than $1 million on desposit in Antigua, under a name other than its own. And he also didn’t tell the judge about the earlier alleged theft of $1 million by “Russian hackers.”

    As a PR ploy, however, the offer to operate under supervision was a masterstroke. It kept members’ hope alive and enabled ASD supporters to paint the prosecutors and even the judge as unreasonable if they couldn’t see the beauty of the monitoring plan.

    At ASD’s request, an evidentiary hearing was held Sept. 30 and Oct. 1. ASD insisted it was not a Ponzi scheme, called an expert witness to knock down the government’s assertions, and summoned three other witnesses to help make its case. At the conclusion of the hearing, some members of the Pro-ASD Surf’s Up forum, drunk on fantasy, partied long into the night. They were certain that ASD had won and dismissed all reports that didn’t validate their delusions.

    In November, Judge Rosemary Collyer ruled that ASD had not demonstrated it was a legal business and not a Ponzi scheme at the evidentiary hearing. She found nothing of merit in the expert’s argument, pointing out holes through which one could drive a convoy of earth-moving machines. Some ASD members instantly claimed the fix was in. Such claims, of course, should be seen for what they are: self-validating drivel.

    With a fresh win, prosecutors filed a second forfeiture complaint on Dec. 19. It is the most important document so far, the one that dealt ASD a crushing blow and signaled a nuclear development to come.

    Prior to the December complaint, ASD could fit its remaining credibility in a thimble. Now it could fit it on the head of a pin. A quark, believed to be the smallest part of an atom, could accommodate ASD’s credibility at the conclusion of the case — with room to spare.

    This case will be marked by a complete absence of ASD credibility, one of the reasons some ASD supporters and Surf’s Up members are furiously trying to change the subject and get people to take their eyes off the ball.

    This case has a high probability of reducing the cheerleaders to emotional rubble and undermining the good works of their lives. Goodness exists in all people. A person can be stubborn and completely wrong-headed — and still be a good person. The line gets drawn, however, where wrong-headedness morphs into deliberate attempts to deceive and misinform.

    Some Surf’s up members now are promoting AdViewGlobal (AVG), a company that shares a common executive with ASD and a common customer-service employee operating from Florida — even though AVG claims to be registered in Uruguay and running things out of Panama. Yesterday, in the wake of the SEC’s allegations against Stanford, banking customers in Panama and other countries in Central America, South America and the Caribbean were lining up to get their money out of local banks.

    The ASD case is no more about the abuse of government power than it is the Easter Bunny. ASD is an international racketeering enterprise. If you’re carrying its water, you are a racketeer — and your quark awaits before nothingness finally settles in.

  • Is The ‘Noobing’ Autosurf Beginning To Tank?

    UPDATED 12:37 P.M. EST (U.S.A.) Members of an autosurf named “Noobing” are beginning to complain about “low” rates of return. Is the surf trying to horde cash?

    Noobing members are complaining publicly about “bait and switch.” They were attracted to the program by suggestions of returns of up to 3 percent a day, but the returns now are generating a fraction of 1 percent.

    Members also are miffed that Noobing introduced a “prize” program funded by members. The prizes are paid out of the same fund used to pay what Noobing calls “incentives” for “reviewing” other websites, which means even less money is available for paying “incentives.”

    Noobing has the same problem as all autosurfs: It can’t control how members promote the company, which means it faces liability issues for excessive claims made by members. At the same time, it doesn’t really know if its “advertisers” are promoting legitimate businesses. One forum poster acknowledged in public that he didn’t have a business to advertise, so just threw up a page.

    This triggered a sarcastic reprimand from a Noobing staffer.

    “You joined an advertising network and didn’t have a site to advertise? Why?” the staffer blared. “Wanting to break even without sales from a website? Really? REALLY? Wow!”

    The same Noobing staffer now is blaming the government for the surf’s need to reduce incentive payments. He also is asserting that Noobing learned from the ASD case that “it became clear that any system that is not SEC registered as an investment that returns more than 100% risks getting shut down and everyone loses everything.”

    What he did not explain is why Noobing chose even to operate in the post-ASD environment. And he also didn’t explain why only surfs that advertised more than a 100 percent return would fall under the purview of the SEC or other regulatory bodies/investigative agencies.

    Any advertised rate of return — even amounts below 100 percent — can trigger an investigation by federal and state regulators and law-enforcement agencies.

    The issue in virtually all autosurf prosecutions to date has been the sale of unregistered securities and the Ponzi nature of such operations. Any firm that engages in the sale of securities is subject to policing by state and federal authorities. The argument that an investment program can be dressed up as an “advertising” program to skirt securities laws is well known by the government — and it’s a dog that won’t hunt.

    Assertions by many autosurf purveyors that the government doesn’t understand the new technology of the Web and should be attacked for destroying small business and the entrepreneurial spirit are just plain absurd.

    More ‘Surf’s Up’ Theater

    As Noobing reports were circulating around the Web, for a brief time yesterday at least one member of AdGateWorld raised a similar concern about the surf’s ability to pay. The AdGateWorld concern was raised on the Surf’s Up Pro-ASD forum, and was quickly deleted.

    The deletion at Surf’s Up was just one of many deletions. Threads — and even members — are routinely deleted for asking tough questions. The forum is accepting paid advertising for AdGateWorld. “Surf’s Up” is only shorthand for the site; its official name is the ASD Member Advocates forum, and it was given the stamp of approval by ASD itself on Nov. 27.

    Surf’s Up also is associated with a surf named AdViewGlobal (AVG), which has management, members and promoters in common with ASD. Despite this, AVG has made the Clintonian assertion that it is not affiliated with ASD.

    It all comes down to the meaning of the word “affiliated.”

    We think a jury won’t be swayed by an argument that AVG and ASD aren’t affiliated. The chief executive officer of AVG, Gary Talbert, is a former ASD executive. Meantime, Chuck Osmin, who has served as a spokesman for AVG, was employed by ASD and testified on its behalf at a Sept. 30-Oct. 1 evidentiary hearing.

    As it awaited a court ruling on Oct. 20, ASD disclaimed AdGateWorld — again by using a form of the word “affiliate” — but did not mention the surf by name.

    “It has come to our attention that there is a new internet company out of Panama City, Panama that is similar to ASD,” the ASD Breaking News site said. “In their web page announcements they are using verbiage that is similar to ASD’s and even going so far as to mention names of people that you may know.

    “Please be assured that this is not an ASD Company or Affiliate Company,” the Breaking News site said. The announcement was signed, “Thank You ASD Management Team.”

    The issue at the time was that AdGateWorld had posted its Terms of Service. The acronym “ASD,” which stands for “AdSurfDaily,” was used in the AdGateWord terms.

    On Nov. 6, still awaiting a court ruling, the ASD Breaking News site sought to bat down reports that ASD’s database had been sold.

    “There have been rumors that suggest that our database has been sold. These rumors are unequivocally not true,” the Breaking News site said. “In fact the ASD corporate office has not had access to the database since the government seizure occurred on August 5, when the government shut down our offices.  The government itself is in possession of our database.”

    The problem with the assertion, however, was that it conflicted with what ASD President Andy Bowdoin had said in a previous conference call. During the call, Bowdoin raised the issue of the database, suggesting that government tricksters had erased it.

    But Bowdoin went on to tell listeners that ASD kept a copy of the database in a secret location. Why Bowdoin even raised the question of the database is unclear. But his words — and ASD’s subsequent actions on the Breaking News site — have the quality of preemption: planting a cover story in case tough questions get asked later.

    In any event, we believe there is a high probability of trouble at AVG and AdGateWorld, and that this trouble will be due to what purveyors awkwardly are trying to sell as a sort of nonaffiliation affiliation with ASD.

    See this previous post.

    And this one.

    We also believe it highly likely that the government and private lawyers know precisely what is going on with respect to the ties among the autosurf firms.

  • Roster: Are These Autosurfs In Litigation? Troubled?

    miseryindexBack in August we began to cover AdSurfDaily Inc., a Florida company accused of being an illegal enterprise. Federal prosecutors said ASD, an autosurf, was selling unregistered securities by calling itself an “advertising” company and running a $100 million Ponzi scheme.

    A sister site, LaFuenteDinero, was named in the same federal forfeiture complaint. So was GoldenPandaAdBuilder, a site reportedly conceived on a Georgia fishing lake as a “Chinese” option for ASD members. The site reportedly came to fruition after talks between ASD President Andy Bowdoin and Clarence Busby, who went on to become the operator of Golden Panda.

    Golden Panda has officially dissolved its articles of incorporation and removed its claim to funds seized in the ASD probe. The case still is in litigation.

    Since August, a number of other autosurfs have appeared, some positioning themselves as attractive alternatives to ASD. At least two of them — MegaLido and Frogress — already have failed.

    We decided to keep a running chart of autosurfs. Names will be added over time, as readers contact us or we learn independently of their operations. One of the purposes of this chart is to get a sense about how many autosurfs are involved in litigation, are operating in troubled fashion or are operating freely.

    Autosurf Roster (Updated Jan. 14, 2009)

    NAME LITIGATION (Y/N) NOTES
    AdSurfDaily (Andy Bowdoin) Y Ongoing
    GoldenPandaAdBuilder (Clarence Busby) Y Ongoing
    LaFuenteDinero (Andy Bowdoin) Y Ongoing
    MegaLido (“Michael?”) N DOA
    Frogress (“Jake?”) N DOA
    CEP Y Ongoing/DOA
    PhoenixSurf Y DOA
    12DailyPro Y Ongoing/DOA
    DailyProfitPond N Offline/DOA?
    AdGateWorld (No owner takes credit) N (Debuted Jan. 14) Panama?
    AdViewGlobal (Some former ASD members) N (Prelaunch Buzz) Uruguay?
    Bernard Madoff Y (Nonautosurf Ponzi) $50 B Ponzi
    American Investors Network (AIN) Y (Nonautosurf Ponzi) Bogus Ad. Co.
    Biz Ad Splash (Ownership undeclared) N Panama?
    Increaser.biz (Ownership undeclared) N Netherlands?
    Instant2u (“Billy?”) N DOA. Uzbekistan?
    Noobing (Ownership undeclared) N Kansas?
    Premium Ads Club (135% over 15 days) N DOA 2-23-09
    Aggero Investment (Tied to Premium Ads Club) N Slow-mo DOA 3/1-09
    Name Name Name
    Name Name Name

  • Ad View Global, New ‘Advertising’ Program, Debuts

    This morning we read an early pitch for Ad View Global (AVGlobal), a new “advertising” company that is coming online in the wake of the $100 million government seizure of assets tied to AdSurfDaily Inc.

    AVGlobal, according to the promoter’s ad we read, is positioning itself as a guarantee against the recession and poor economy. You’ll have to plunk down a minimum of $360 to get paid for viewing ads. ASD’s minimum purchase was $10, so AVGlobal wants 36 times more to get you started earning fabulous amounts of money for viewing ads while the economy is in the tank.

    Talk about stoking the furnace.

    AVGlobal, which for shorthand purposes also is called AVG, is headquarted in Uruguay, according to the promoter. You shouldn’t worry about this, he implied, because the company has banking relationships throughout the free world and “many” of its employees are “citizens” of the United States or other affluent countries.

    It’s not clear if the “citizens” employed by AVG will continue to live in the United States while they’re running a business from South America.

    At least two of the employees are identified in the promotion, and at least one is an ASD executive: “Gary,” whose last name wasn’t mentioned, appears to be the head man, and Juan Fernandez, chief executive officer of AdSurfDaily, is listed as “national sales manager.”

    Whether Fernandez’ job is to serve exclusively as “national sales manager” for a single country is unclear. One would think a company headquartered in Uruguay might appoint an “international sales manager,” as opposed to a more localized “national sales manager.”

    “National Sales Manager” is an interesting title, to be sure.

    Fernandez, through counsel, notified the federal judge in the ASD case that he would take the 5th Amendment against self-incrimination if called to testify at the Sept. 30-Oct. 1 evidentiary hearing. The judge ruled last month that ASD had not demonstrated it was operating legally and not a Ponzi scheme at the hearing.

    Just two paragraphs below the place in the pitch where the promoter mentions “Gary” and Fernandez by name, he insists “there is no connection with the company ASD . . .”

    There is no disclosure at any point in the pitch about ASD’s legal troubles and the risk associated with participating in an autosurf. What’s important, according to the promoter, is that you can “Make Your Financial Life Recession Proof” by joining Ad View Global, which permits you to plunk down up to $9,500 a day for ad purchases.

    One of the reasons ASD put itself on federal radar screens is because it permitted purchases of $10,000 or more, something that catches the attention of banks, the U.S. Secret Service and the IRS. Banks and the Secret Service and the IRS can become suspicious even of $9,500 transactions, though. They’re smart enough to understand that, if $10,000 is viewed as the magic cutoff to avoid suspicion, some folks just might dial it down a bit.

    It appears that everyone who joins AVGlobal gets dubbed an “account executive,” but if you want to earn you have to become a “VIP” account executive. VIP stands for “Viewing Incentive Program.”

    The promoter stressed that AVGlobal is selling “page impressions,” not simple advertisements.

    “Imagine if NBC paid you to watch their station during the hours of 4:00pm – 8:00 pm each evening, regardless of time zone?” the promoter droned. “What if they had hundreds of thousands of people worldwide that they could guarantee to be watching NBC during this time period? Just how valuable would this time be worth?”

    Exciting stuff, to be sure.

    Hmmm. Perhaps NBC should start paying people for viewing ads, only after making a minimum $360 purchase, registering as account executive VIPs and running things out of South America, of course. If the venture proved to be a Ponzi scheme, NBC could use its own news division to sanitize its own Bernard Madoff or Andy Bowdoin-like scandal.

    Here’s a headline idea: “Make Your Financial Life Recession Proof.”

    Oops. Already taken by AVGlobal. Regardless, NBC has lots of talented writers. Someone will be able to come up with a good headline if the network enters the paid-to-view-ads fray.

    It’s a plain fact that people are hurting as a result of poor economic times. It’s also a plain fact that many folks are turning to the Web to learn ways to supplement their income. Here’s hoping they decide against viewing “page impressions” for a living.

    The Feds believe that ASD President Andy Bowdoin was running a criminal enterprise that sold unregistered securities, called them “advertisements” and operated as a Ponzi scheme. Bowdoin’s own attorneys say he is the target of a criminal probe, and he has been sued in a separate action under federal racketeering laws.

    As pointed out above, Juan Fernandez, Bowdoin’s own CEO, took the 5th at the ASD evidentiary hearing. So did Bowdoin.

    Bowdoin also has been sued by Bill McCollum, the attorney general of Florida, under pyramid statutes. Not long ago Bowdoin claimed during a conference call that “Ponzi” allegations had been dropped in Florida, but “Ponzi” allegations never even were brought in Florida, McCollum’s office said. The state always used pyramid statutes, unlike the federal government, which brought Ponzi allegations.

    Now AVG has emerged, using a similar business model, changing a few things, running things offshore and asking for at least $360 up front so people can play. Perhaps they’ll even get the chance to meet the “national sales manager.”