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Tag: AVG

  • PP HOLIDAY READING: AdViewGlobal Stories Dominated Reader Interest In 2009; ASDMBA And ADV4U Coverage, Bowdoin Proffer, Guest Columnists Commanded Attention

    PPtop10UPDATED 1:25 P.M. ET (U.S.A.) AdViewGlobal-related stories comprised eight of the 10 “Most Popular” posts on the PatrickPretty.com Blog in 2009, as determined by a software scoring system that measures a range of data. The result suggests that readers were intensely interested in coverage of the controversial autosurf.

    The finding also suggests that AVG members were worried about the future of AVG and their participation in it. At the same time, the data suggest that AVG members were turning to the PP Blog to monitor AVG developments because they were not satisfied with the information provided by AVG and sought a “Big Picture” analysis, as opposed to relying exclusively on AVG to form their opinions.

    AVG-related stories and conversations dominated reader interest, largely beginning in the second quarter of the year. The most popular PP story of 2009 — weighing a range of factors beyond the single metric of post views — was an AVG story published June 3, under the headline, “AdViewGlobal Promoter Says Prospects Can Bypass Company And Purchase Ad-Packs Directly From Sponsors To Ensure They Get Credited With 200 Percent Match Before Deadline.”

    The June 3 story, however, was not the PP story that attracted the most readers, using “Single Post Views” as the only factor weighed by the software. That honor, if it can be called that, belonged to a March 24 post titled, “BREAKING NEWS: AVG Loses Banking Privileges.”

    The only two posts in the “overall” Top 10 — as weighed by several factors — that were not largely or exclusively about AVG were an April 18 column by guest writer Roxy Lewis and an Aug. 28 article about a claim by the AdVentures4U (ADV4U) autosurf that it was suspending cashouts amid reports that its purported owner, Steve Smith, had been threatened.

    Lewis’ column, titled “GUEST COLUMNIST: ‘Shocked’ And ‘Scared’ To See Her Name In Friedman Lawsuit Paperwork; Says She Was Told To ‘Examine Your Finances’; Sees Move By Dallas Lawyer As ‘Intimidation Tactic’ And Says She Won’t ‘Roll Over’ — was the 9th Most Popular post overall, as weighed by several factors.

    PatrickPretty.com has published 521 posts in the past year.

    In the Lewis guest column, the self-described member of the AARP generation told her story about various email interactions concerning her attempt to get a refund for her contribution to ASDMBA, an organization whose de facto head is ASD story mainstay Bob Guenther. Some ASDMBA members complained about obnoxious behavior by Guenther in their interactions with him, saying ASDMBA provided accounting that was less than transparent and bullied members who questioned its operation.

    ADV4U’s announcement, meanwhile, put the Ponzi forums in an uproar — and provided yet another compelling example of the “wink-nod” nature of autosurfs. On one hand, people throw money at the surfs to collect surfing “earnings” and sales commissions, and deny they are illegal. On the other hand, they become paranoid when a surf begins to show signs of trouble and then demand refunds or flock to Ponzi forums to complain, even though no autosurf has ever passed the test of time and demonstrated legality and mathematical sustainability.

    The story about the ADV4U announcement was the 2nd Most Popular Post, as weighed by several factors. Because ADV4U was known to be popular among members of AVG and AdSurfDaily — and because autosurfs in general are known to have common promoters — the data suggest that many people raced from one autosurf disaster to another in 2009.

    In the bizarre world of the autosurf, the people who entice others into joining one disaster after another — and pocket commissions for doing so — are known as the “leaders.”

    The Top 10 ‘Overall’ Posts As Measured By A Range Of Factors

    Here, in reverse order of popularity, is a list of the Top 10 Overall Posts on the PP Blog since December 2008, as measured by a range of factors, as opposed to the lone one of “Single Post Views.” To give you an idea of how the software works, consider that Tiger Woods may not lead the PGA Tour in all statistical categories, but may be the “overall” statistical leader when a range of variables are considered and averaged. Readers should view these results as a somewhat reliable estimate, as opposed to a scientifically pure one.

    No. 10: (July 1, 2009): AdViewGlobal Withdraws Announcement Of New Payment Plan; Initial Announcement Baffled Members

    No. 9: (April 18, 2009): GUEST COLUMNIST: ‘Shocked’ And ‘Scared’ To See Her Name In Friedman Lawsuit Paperwork; Says She Was Told To ‘Examine Your Finances’; Sees Move By Dallas Lawyer As ‘Intimidation Tactic’ And Says She Won’t ‘Roll Over’

    No. 8: (Aug. 5, 2009): DID SURF FIRM JUST MAKE HISTORY? AdViewGlobal Says It Filed State, Federal Complaints About $2.7 Million Theft; Surf Wants New CFO, Compliance Officer, Department Managers; Asks Members To Keep Surfing

    No: 7: (June 25, 2009): AdViewGlobal ‘Surf’ Firm Suspends Member Cash-Outs, Threatens Media With Copyright-Infringement Lawsuits

    No: 6: (July 10, 2009): AdViewGlobal’s June 1 News Release Had Typo That Directed Traffic Away From Website Firm Was Showcasing

    No. 5: (Aug. 7, 2009): And The Ponzis Will Die As One . . .

    No. 4: (June 30, 2009): BREAKING NEWS: AdViewGlobal Cited As Extension Of AdSurfDaily In RICO Complaint Against Andy Bowdoin

    No. 3: (June 23, 2009): Members Say AdViewGlobal Problems Are Mounting

    No. 2: (Aug. 28, 2009): BREAKING NEWS: AdVentures4U, New Darling Of Surf World, Says It Was Threatened; Note Says Cashouts Will Be Suspended Soon And Members Will Have To Make Do With Their ‘Advertising’ Purchases; Ponzi Forums In Uproar

    No. 1: (June 3, 2009): AdViewGlobal Promoter Says Prospects Can Bypass Company And Purchase Ad-Packs Directly From Sponsors To Ensure They Get Credited With 200 Percent Match Before Deadline

    ** Finishing just out of the Top 10 overall — in 11th Place — was this story about a dramatic announcement by the government in the AdSurfDaily Ponzi forfeiture case, published April 24, 2009: PROSECUTION BOMBSHELL: Bowdoin Signed Proffer Letter Prior To Submitting To Forfeiture And Told Investigators That Government’s Material Allegations Were ‘All True’

    *** No. 12 went to this post, published May 19, 2009: Patrick Pretty ‘Poof’ Penalty Plagues Portal Posters

    **** It is possible that the Bowdoin story now in 11th Place could eke its way into the Top 10 by the end of the year, as it currently is in a virtual tie for the No. 10 spot. Adjustments involving other stories also could occur.

    Sampling Of Top 10 Stories Scored By ‘Single Post Views’ Since December 2008

    No. 1: (March 24, 2009): BREAKING NEWS: AVG Loses Banking Privileges

    No. 2: (Sept. 23, 2009): WHO’S IN CHARGE? AdViewGlobal Surf Domain Now Resolves To GoDaddy; Registration Appears To Have Expired

    No. 6: (Dec. 13, 2008): Giant Wall Street ‘Ponzi Scheme’ Collapses; Potential Losses In Madoff Fraud Pegged at $50 Billion Amid ‘One Big Lie’

    No. 8: (Dec. 13, 2008): Two Friday Bank Failures Will Cost FDIC $212.5 Million

    No. 9: (Dec. 14, 2008): Judge Orders Freeze Of Madoff’s Assets; Investigators Will Try To Determine If Funds Were Co-Mingled In Ponzi Scheme

    No. 10: (Dec. 15, 2008): Madoff Victims Include Foundations, Business And Entertainment Icons, Mom And Pop

    ** Four of the other Top 10 stories measured by Post Views since December 2008 were updates instructing readers about our progress in switching to the WordPress publishing platform. It seems readers missed us when we were offline or down for maintenance. :-)

    *** The Most Popular Story in the past 90 days is this one, published on Sept. 30, 2009: ASD Mainstay Bob Guenther Lectures Federal Prosecutor, Says He’ll Call On ‘Political Connections’ To Embarrass Justice Department; Claims Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio Not Tough Enough On Crime

    **** The 2nd Most Popular Post in the past 90 days is this one, published on Oct. 1, 2009: Guenther Softens Comment That ‘Sheriff Joe’ Arpaio Was Soft On Crime; Says Recent Email Lecturing Veteran Federal Prosecutor Was Sent At Behest Of Crime Victims

    ***** The 3rd Most Popular Post in the past 90 days is this one, published on Oct. 12, 2009: Site That Used ASD’s Name And Made Odd Claims While Bowdoin Was Negotiating With Prosecutors Goes Offline

    ****** The 4th Most Popular Post in the past 90 days was this one, published on Oct. 14, 2009: EDITORIAL: Our Best Wishes To ‘Gomer Pyle,’ AUSA

    ******* The 5th Most Popular Post in the past 90 days was this one, published Sept. 29, 2009: OBSTRUCTION? ASD Spokeswoman Whose Name Appeared In Secret Service Filing Says She Instructed Members NOT To Fill Out Government Form; Now Appears To Be Advising Members To Clam Up If Contacted By Agents

    ******** This post, published on Sept. 28, 2009, is in a virtual tie for the 5th Most Popular Post in the past 90 days: BREAKING NEWS: Prosecutors Go Back To Court, Provide Judge Copy Of Transcript From Bowdoin’s Call Last Week

    ********* This Jan. 3, 2009, post by guest columnist “Entertained” scored very well overall for the year and finished in the Top 20 overall posts for the year: ‘Black Box’ Method Exposes ASD Sustainability Myth

    ********** This July 9, 2009, post by guest columnist Gregg Evans also scored very well overall for the year, finishing in the Top 30: GUEST COLUMN: Payment Processors That Give Refunds Unilaterally Help Surf ‘Industry’ Live To See Another Day

  • Bowdoin Purportedly Tells ASD Member That Prosecutors ‘Have’ Finally Admitted To Screwing Up; Email Asks Members To Look For ‘Rally’ Videos; New Flap Starts On Surf’s Up

    breakingnewsUPDATED 5:34 P.M. ET (U.S.A.) In a development reminiscent of a claim made more than a year ago on the Pro-AdSurfDaily Surf’s Up forum that prosecutors had acknowledged behind closed doors that ASD was not a Ponzi scheme and refused to admit it publicly because of embarrassment, a new email missive surfaced today that suggested Bowdoin was on the verge of winning the forfeiture case.

    The claim was made despite the fact that a federal judge has issued a fresh ruling that Bowdoin no longer even has standing in the case.

    Like previous unsubstantiated claims that the government was losing the case, today’s email was published on the Surf’s Up forum. Threadbare of supporting details, the email cited a third-party conversation with Bowdoin and implored ASD members to “get a little excited folks!”

    “Andy explained a few things to me of which I cannot share them all, but I can say that the government attorney’s ‘have’ finally admitted to some things that are totally in our (ASD) favor,” the email claimed.

    No mention was made as to what the government purportedly admitted that was helpful to ASD’s case. The email was posted a short time after news broke that U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer refused to step down from the ASD forfeiture case.

    Collyer’s refusal came in response to a Dec. 17 motion filed by Bowdoin to disqualify her, but Collyer said Bowdoin no longer had standing in the case to make any additional claims or to reassert old claims.

    Today’s Surf’s Up email did not address the judge’s fresh ruling, which was docketed only hours before the new round of unsubstantiated claims was made in the email published on Surf’s Up.

    “Andy said that in cases such as the ASD one the government usually pushes so hard until they get a plea deal. He said that this happens 98% of the time,” today’s email claimed. “But, Andy would not sell us out and he has stood his ground firm since August of 2008 and because of that things are starting to turn around for ASD. This is something the government did not expect.”

    Prosecutors called Bowdoin “delusional” in September 2009, asserting he was telling members one story and Collyer another. They asserted in earlier filings that he has “followers.”

    Despite repeated claims on Surf’s Up beginning in the fall of 2008 that prosecutors had admitted ASD was not a Ponzi scheme, no such proof ever has surfaced. In fact, in December 2008, prosecutors filed a second forfeiture complaint against assets tied to the firm, again alleging that ASD was a Ponzi scheme.

    Even though Surf’s Up claimed the government had admitted ASD was not a Ponzi scheme, no attorney for ASD ever argued a similar claim in court — in either the December 2008 or August 2008 forfeiture cases against the firm. There is not a single entry in the public record of the case that the government ever acknowledged ASD was not a Ponzi scheme.

    In April 2009, prosecutors said Bowdoin signed a proffer letter in the case and had acknowledged the material allegations against ASD were “all true.” Bowdoin had at least two meetings with prosecutors over a period of at least four days last winter, and admitted ASD was operating illegally, according to court filings.

    In September 2009, Bowdoin said in his own court filings that he had admitted “significant information against my interest.”

    Surf’s Up posters have led various campaigns to discredit the prosecution.

    Today’s email urged ASD members to search for videos that might have been taken at ASD  functions, suggesting the videos could be used to prove the prosecution is lying.

    “The reason Andy was calling was to get some help from the members. So, here it is…

    “Andy wants to know if any of you took Videos and/or Audios of ‘him’ speaking at any of the ASD Rallies,” the email said. “The government is stating that Andy said certain things during the rallies and Andy is confident that he did not, but he does not have the proof without being able to provide the video/audio footage.

    “Please share this message with your entire organization so that we can get it out to the
    masses yet today hopefully to see if someone has the supporting evidence for Andy,” the email urged. “If any of you DO have the video footage (or audio recording) then transfer it to DVD and and contact Catherine Parker at [email address deleted].”

    In August, some of Bowdoin’s supporters claimed that Collyer had ordered the prosecution to prove by Aug. 28 that ASD was a Ponzi scheme or dismiss the charges. A similar claim was made in April.

    Collyer has never issued such an order.

    Today’s email asked ASD members to send warm thoughts to Bowdoin and his wife, Edna Faye Bowdoin. Edna Faye Bowdoin and her son, George Harris, were named beneficiaries of ASD’s illegal conduct in the December 2008 prosecution filing.

    Prosecutors alleged that Edna Faye Bowdoin and Harris used money from two ASD Bank of America accounts in June 2008 to open an account at a third bank into which more than $177,000 in illegal proceeds was deposited. Of that sum, more than $157,000 was transferred by wire to yet another bank and used to pay off the mortgage on the Harris home in Tallahassee.

    Bowdoin described George Harris as head of ASD’s real-estate division, according to court filings. He also talked about establishing a business presence in South America. Only months later, the AdViewGlobal autosurf was born, purportedly operated from Uruguay and owned by George Harris and his wife, Judy Harris.

    ‘I asked Andy how Faye was doing and he was quiet for a moment and then said she is not doing so good,” today’s email said. “She is in a very severe depression and has been for quite some time ever since this whole debacle started.

    “So, I have a personal favor to ask of you all. Can you take a few minutes to send her a card or a nice note at the very least to let her know that the members are still thinking about her and Andy?” the email urged.

    Some ASD members immediately questioned why Bowdoin himself had not sent the email and instead relied on a third-party communication to ask for a favor. At the same time, members questioned what had become of Sara Mattoon, reportedly ASD’s official spokeswoman.

    In September 2009, the U.S. Secret Service filed a transcript of an ASD conference call in which Bowdoin and Mattoon were quoted. The filing led to questions about whether the government was contemplating a prosecution for obstruction of justice.

    Prosecutors also made a veiled reference to the AVG autosurf in a September filing. In June, RICO attorneys suing Bowdoin for racketeering made a direct reference to AVG.

    In the prosecution’s September 2009 filing, the government suggested an AVG prosecution could be in the offing.

    “ . . . it may be the case that Bowdoin never intended to plead guilty when he agreed to debrief, and was just buying time while searching for a different exit strategy that failed to materialize. Maybe Bowdoin thought that before the government brought its charges he (like some of his family members) could move to another country and profit from a knock-off autosurf program that Bowdoin funded and helped to start,” prosecutors said.

  • Purported Andy Bowdoin Christmas Email With Prayerful Message Causes A Stir Among Members; ASD President Has Not Refuted Authenticity Of Greeting

    Andy Bowdoin
    Andy Bowdoin

    Several PP readers reported Thursday and Friday that they’d received a prayerful email purportedly sent as a Christmas greeting by AdSurfDaily President Andy Bowdoin.

    We did not receive a single correspondence from a reader who was happy about receiving the email. In one way or another, the readers questioned the prudence of sending such an email.

    “Does this mean he is fighting the govt. and there will be more court dates over the next year?” one reader inquired.

    “I just received an email Christmas Card from Andy,” another reader wrote. “He wishes me a year of prosperity and believes that this year he will prove that ASD is NOT a ponzi and that they will be back in business during 2010. If you did not receive it, I will be happy to forward it to you.”

    We are skeptical that the email came from Bowdoin, despite the fact ASD’s address in Quincy, Fla., appears at the bottom. Regardless, Bowdoin, so far, has not publicly refuted the authenticity of the email. The more time that passes, the more it will look like Bowdoin sent the email, authorized it to be sent or could not prevent it from being sent.

    It’s bad news for him whether or not he is the author.

    If Bowdoin waits too long to issue a statement, then people will question why he did not refute the authenticity of the email earlier and why someone other than Bowdoin seems to have control over the ASD database. If he acknowledges the email came from him, then he’ll appear to be every bit as delusional as federal prosecutors said he was in a September court filing.

    Some ASD members say they are viewing the email as a sick joke by an unknown person. Others say they believe that Bowdoin actually sent it, speculating that he is so out of touch that he actually believes that ASD will return to business next year, as the email suggests. The email also implores members to rely on their religious faith.

    A few lines in the email don’t strike as Bowdoin-like, perhaps particularly an exultation that ASD will rise again and “will blow your socks off.”

    That sounds more like a prankster or amateur than it does Bowdoin. Even so, it would have to be a prankster or amateur who had access to names and email addresses in an ASD database.

    Or it might not be a prankster at all. ASD was fundamentally corrupt from top to bottom. The email could be from someone who has the database in whole or in part and is testing it to achieve an end that is unclear.

    There are lots of interesting possibilities — something always in play with ASD because of its history of sending impossibly mixed messages. Although it purports to be a professional communications firm, the company has displayed remarkable tone-deafness and a tin ear for anything even remotely resembling an understanding of real-world PR.

    If there is a lightning rod, ASD will touch it. If there is a speeding train bearing down on ASD,  the company will not step out of harm’s way. In September, for instance, Bowdoin informed members in a conference call that the money the government has seized in the Ponzi scheme forfeiture case was seized from participants, a story completely at odds with a story he told a federal judge in court filings.

    Indeed, Bowdoin had insisted in sworn court documents that the money belonged to him, not the members. The U.S. Secret Service transcribed the conference call and presented it to the judge in a filing.

    Bowdoin’s erratic behavior and history as a con man leads to all sorts of questions about the purported Christmas greeting. Could Bowdoin or someone else be using the ASD database to test support or weed out perceived spies and critics to eliminate them from the database?

    Could people who respond to the email with anything other than “You rock, Andy!” be deleted for posing a continuing danger to the next enterprise?

    Paranoia runs high in the ASD enterprise and among its promoters. The only truly safe members under this scenario are those who can be relied on not to rat. Some of ASD’s more ardent supporters have used thuggish language, calling critics and doubters “rats” and “maggots” and “cockroaches,” for instance.

    Such words generally are not used by legitimate enterprises or enterprises that have a core understanding of public relations. They are more consistent with enterprises that are trying to enforce cohesiveness through fear of reprisal.

    Could another form of deception be in play? Could it somehow serve a useful purpose for Bowdoin to have sent the email or silently approved its sending, only to refute it later and suggest others within the enterprise have hijacked the business?

    Bowdoin and a progeny autosurf known as AdViewGlobal (AVG) have a history of blaming members for unsettling developments in the companies. Prosecutors said Bowdoin had at least one “silent” partner in ASD, which leads to the possibility there was more than one. Meanwhile, ASD members now say Bowdoin was the silent head of AVG.

    In March 2009,  AVG blamed the reported suspension of its bank account on members. It later blamed members for its inability to pay members. At one point, AVG appeared to be using some of the same arguments ASD had used to explain troubling events, suggesting that members who questioned the company and insisted AVG operate in transparent fashion by identifying its owners and managers and providing proof of its geographic location were responsible for the company’s troubles.

    Is someone using the ASD database to try to build an All-Criminal Team or to determine the identities of members who’d be most inclined to do business with criminals?

    Could Andy Bowdoin be the victim of a practical joke or an effort to make him look as bad as possible in the eyes of the membership at large?

    We don’t know.

    What we do know is that the very nature of ASD has led to scores of questions, a laundry list of possibilities and one unqualified PR and legal disaster after another.

    For now, we’re going with the theory that a person or entity unknown to the email recipients is trying to determine the identities of ASD members most inclined to do future business with criminals.

    That would be very useful information — so useful, in fact, that it could aid an unknown person or entity to create a list consisting of the names of people who don’t mind doing business with criminals. That would not be a bad thing if prosecutors could obtain such a list and use it as a filter to segment the names of criminal perpetrators from the names of actual victims of ASD’s corruption.

  • EDITORIAL: Think ‘Offshore’ Means ‘Shelter’ From The SEC Or The FBI Or The IRS? Don’t Tell That To John And Marian Morgan — Or Jeffrey Lane Mowen

    You’ve seen the ads or heard the pitches trying to persuade you to put money in “offshore” ventures such as the AdViewGlobal, AdGateWorld and MegaLido autosurfs. You’ve been told they were safe. You’ve been told the people who run them are out of the reach of U.S. securities regulators and law-enforcement agencies.

    And you’ve been told your investment, which the surf purveyors call an “advertising” purchase, provides shelter from the FTC, the SEC and state attorneys general.

    Don’t tell John and Marian Morgan of Florida that “offshore” means “safe” and that “offshore” provides a blanket of protection from law enforcement.

    And don’t tell it to Jeffrey Lane Mowen, either.

    John and Marian Morgan were charged by the SEC in June with running a prime-bank scheme. They skipped the country rather than appear for a hearing in July, first going to Europe and later to Sri Lanka.

    Guess where they are now?

    John and Marian Morgan are in separate cells in a U.S. jail. In addition to the SEC’s civil charges, they now face criminal charges after being indicted by a federal grand jury. They did not outmaneuver the SEC. They did not outmaneuver the U.S. Marshals Service. They did not outmaneuver the FBI. They did not outmaneuver the IRS. They did not outmaneuver Interpol.

    Nor did John and Marian Morgan outmaneuver the government of Sri Lanka. They were arrested and jailed on the island, which is situated about 20 miles off the southern coast of India, in August. Sri Lanka deported them, and the United States brought them home earlier this month.

    morgansrilankaIt’s big news in Sarasota — and it should be big news among the autosurf or forex/HYIP schemers who are telling you the United States is powerless to act against “offshore” enterprises or people inclined to start a get-rich-quick program and then scurry offshore one step ahead of what surf promoters derisively describe as the “sheriff” or “Big Brother.”

    Do yourself a favor and read this story in the Sarasota Herald Tribune. Longtime opponents of the autosurf “industry” — in this upside-down world, the opponents are called “naysayers” and the Ponzi advocates are called “leaders” — will recognize the utter absurdity.

    Sadly, though, most of the “leaders” likely will be too busy “leading ” the troops to even bigger and better catastrophes to take the time to read it.

    Or they simply won’t care because leading people into catastrophes pays too well.

    If you missed it earlier, take the time to read this story on how the FBI brought home Jeffrey Lane Mowen from Panama to face charges in a Utah Ponzi case that now has morphed into murder-for-hire investigation.

  • AdViewGlobal Recording Suggests Member Cashed Out $10,000 Only Days After Formal Launch And That Insiders Were Awarded Bonuses; Less Than Two Weeks Later, Surf Switched To ‘Private Association’ Structure

    breakingnewsUPDATED 7:19 P.M. ET (U.S.A.) A recording posted on a public website of a Feb. 12 conference call by the AdViewGlobal (AVG) autosurf suggests an unnamed male member of the surf qualified for a $10,000 cashout within days of the company’s formal launch.

    The recording leads to questions about how a participant could qualify for a large payout so soon after launch and whether others also could have benefited from early cashouts funded by members in Ponzi scheme fashion. AVG appears to have had virtually no income streams beyond fees paid by members when it launched earlier in the month.

    AVG suspended cashouts in June, threatening media outlets and members who shared the news with lawsuits and blaming its problems on the greed of members. It later said it had been a victim of a $2.7 million theft and filed reports about the theft with law-enforcement agencies.

    The Feb. 12 call featured a giveaway of money-earning AVG page impressions to both members and their sponsors. One of the bonus-winning sponsors was identified as David Meade, whose bonus-winning enrollee came on the line and jokingly asked whether the bonus he received qualified for an additional matching bonus of 50 percent.

    AVG relentlessly pitched bonuses to enrollees and their sponsors before announcing in June that it was suspending cashouts, making an 80/20 program mandatory and exercising its version of a “rebates aren’t guaranteed” clause.

    Another sponsor who qualified for a bonus because he had enrolled a member whose name was called for a bonus was identified as Larry Alford, the husband of Barb Alford, a Moderator at the Pro-AdSurfDaily Surf’s Up forum. Yet another member whose name was called for a bonus was Joey Shiver, the brother of Judy Harris, identified during the summer as one of AVG’s owners.

    Meanwhile, the call highlighted AVG’s purported “offshore” location in Uruguay, stressing that the company planned to fly high-quality servers to Uruguay on a date uncertain after the call was held.

    Web records show AVG’s servers resolved to Panama, suggesting the company never completed installation of servers in Uruguay. AVG had been collecting money for weeks at the time of the Feb. 12 call, which leads to questions about whether the company was selling unregistered securities from inside the United States or selling unregistered securities illegally to U.S. residents from offshore servers, all while engaging in wire fraud and acts of money-laundering.

    The conference call, hosted by Terralynn Hoy, a Moderator at both the Pro-AdSurfDaily Surf’s Up forum and a ning.com forum set up to promote AVG, did not disclose how the member amassed a large sum in only days and qualified for a cashout. But another participant in the call announced that the man excitedly expected to receive a check for $10,000.

    Neither Hoy nor any other AVG official or representative who participated in the call referenced a racketeering lawsuit that had been filed less than a month earlier against ASD President Andy Bowdoin and ASD attorney Robert Garner. At the same time, no official or representative in the call referenced a second forfeiture complaint that had been filed against ASD-connected assets in December 2008, a month after Surf’s Up received ASD’s official endorsement.

    In August 2008, prosecutors accused both ASD and Golden Panda Ad Builder of not disclosing information members needed to make informed decisions about joining the companies. The allegations were spelled out in a forfeiture complaint formally filed Aug. 5, 2008.

    Among the assertions were that Bowdoin did not disclose his arrest in a felony securities case in the 1990s, and that Golden Panda did not immediately disclose an SEC action against its president, Clarence Busby, in the 1990s. ASD members later said Bowdoin was the silent head of AVG, which began to solicit money in December 2008, a month after a major court ruling went against ASD.

    News about the December forfeiture complaint, which painted a jaw-dropping picture of insider dealings, special favors, a “silent” ASD partner, people getting paid large sums for doing virtually nothing and a claim that Russian hackers stole more than $1 million, broke on Jan. 15.

    The AVG conference call, dubbed the “first” official call, was conducted Feb. 12, about 10 days after AVG’s formal launch and within 30 days of the revelation that the government had filed the December forfeiture complaint and identified members of Bowdoin’s family as beneficiaries of ASD’s illegal conduct.

    Judy Harris was among those the government identified in the filing, as were her husband, George Harris, and his mother, Edna Faye Bowdoin. Edna Faye Bowdoin is Andy Bowdoin’s wife.

    Two weeks after the Feb. 12 conference call, on Feb. 26, AVG announced it was shifting to a “private association” structure. One day prior, on Feb. 25, Bowdoin signed the first of several sworn court documents as a pro se litigant in the ASD case, attempting to set aside the forfeiture of tens of millions of dollars and reverse a decision he made in January to surrender his claims to the money, which had been seized by the government in August 2008 from his 10 bank accounts.

    Less than a month after Bowdoin signed the court document, AVG announced the resignation of Chief Executive Officer Gary Talbert, a former ASD executive. On March 23, AVG announced its bank account had been suspended, blaming the suspension on members who wired too many transactions in excess of $9,500.

    Talbert was a participant in the Feb. 12 conference call. He was introduced by Hoy. Talbert, in turn, passed the the call back to Hoy, who then introduced a person identified as marketing consultant Kathy Robertson. Robertson made the claim about the $10,000 check.

    “I just talked to a friend tonight,” Robertson said in the call. “He’s cashing out and he’s gonna get a $10,000 check into his bank account. He’s more excited than he’s ever been.”

    Robertson urged AVG members to take notes of her remarks, according to the recording.

    “Many of you have wondered, ‘Are we a United States’ business or are we another country[‘s] business?’” Robertson said in the recording. “I gotta tell you we’re based in Uruguay. We’re definitely an offshore business, and we’ll be moving very robust servers — we’ll actually be flying them on a plane to land in Uruguay. So, even the servers that host all of the websites are going to be offshore, so go ahead and write that down as a note. We are truly an offshore business.”

    Robertson said AVG members should “feel secure” in the knowledge the company was operating offshore. She did not explain how the purported offshore venue made AVG’s venture, which targeted U.S. residents and former ASD members, legal. Robertson acknowledged in the recording that AVG had gotten off to a rocky start and that some members who could not fund accounts had had a disappointing experience.

    But she urged members to look to the future and see a well-honed enterprise capable of producing a seamless experience for huge numbers of participants.

    Federal prosecutors said ASD was operating a $100 million Ponzi scheme from inside the United States, while engaging in the sale of unregistered securities to U.S. residents and committing acts of wire fraud and money-laundering.

    Later in the call, during the page-impression giveaway, Meade came on the line to accept his bonus for sponsoring a member whose name was called for a bonus.

    “Thanks a million. Appreciate it,” Meade said.

    Less than two weeks after the Feb. 12 conference call, reports circulated among ASD members that the U.S. Secret Service had seized the bank accounts of unidentified ASD members. AVG announced Feb. 26 that it was switching to a “private association” structure after consulting with a company known as Pro Advocate Group.

    Pro Advocate Group is associated with Karl Dahlstrom, a convicted felon who served time in federal prison in a case involving securities fraud.

    Listen to the recording.

  • INTRIGUE: Is Our ‘joe’ The Surf’s Up ‘joe?’ Egg-Themed HYIP Pitch Leads To Questions As ASD Members Continue To Promote Programs Associated With Ponzi Model

    UPDATED 5:24 P.M. ET (U.S.A.) Is the “joe” who posted here before being blocked for showcasing an utter lack of restraint the same “joe” who pitched four HYIPs on the Pro-AdSurfDaily Surf’s Up forum two days ago?

    We don’t know.

    We do know, however, that both “joes” have pushed Ponzi programs and displayed an astonishing and unsettling amount of gumption. The Surf’s Up “joe,” for instance, used egg-themed, .info URLs that redirected to HYIPs, despite the fact state or federal prosecutors have brought racketeering charges against three alleged Ponzi schemes this week alone and ASD President Andy Bowdoin and ASD attorney Robert Garner have been sued by members for racketeering.

    Meanwhile, our “joe” — who as recently as three days ago still was pelting us with nuisance communications under multiple identities even after his access to posting here was blocked in September and he was warned publicly to cease — insisted we’d restore his posting privileges or else. He then embarked on a smear campaign against this Blog on Scam.com, using multiple posting identities there, too.

    Scam.com banned our “joe,” who has purported to have been a Prisoner of War in Vietnam, to have served harder time than the late Mafia figure John Gotti — and also to have been a graduate of MIT, whose curriculum is heavy on mathematics.

    Our “joe” hurt himself with the MIT claim. It’s highly unlikely that any MIT graduate could leave the campus without a core understanding of the math of Ponzi schemes. In the unlikely event “joe” did graduate from MIT, he’d be hard-pressed to explain to prosecutors he didn’t understand he was promoting illegal programs such as AdViewGlobal and AdVentures4U.

    He’d be equally hard-pressed to explain to POWs how pushing Ponzi schemes, which nowadays are getting widespread, constant publicity for the massive damage they cause, was a noble pursuit.

    Our “joe’s” most recent effort to stalk this Blog occurred Dec. 2, under yet another user identity. He used the wires to tell us that he’d be paying attention to our reports about the notorious cyberstalker “unclefesta26,” who is pillorying this Blog on YouTube and also stalking people who post here by publishing videos about them on YouTube.

    “By the way I can make excellent videos and have,” our “joe” suggestively told us Wednesday over the Internet. “Ole Festa doesn’t hold a candle to me.” Our “joe” called himself “Jake” in Wednesday’s reminder he was stalking us.

    “joe” has sent us dozens of illegitimate communications designed to harass since September. “joe leaves when joe wants to leave,” he said as the U.S. summer was beginning to transition into fall.

    ”You’ll be scrambling to put out fires,” our “joe” promised.

    “joe” no more has the right to do what he tries to do here than he does, say, to keep messaging his hometown newspaper with harassing communications (or any business) after being warned to cease and desist.

    Another thing we noticed about our “joe” during the summer was that he was sensitive to the word “racketeering” and the acronym RICO. He railed against this Blog in June, after it reported that the AdViewGlobal (AVG) autosurf had been mentioned in a racketeering lawsuit against Andy Bowdoin of AdSurfDaily. Indeed, some ASD members sued Bowdoin for racketeering. (See the comments in the thread for the link above.)

    Federal prosecutors later made a veiled reference to AVG in court filings in the ASD forfeiture case. Both the August 2008 and December 2008 forfeiture filings against ASD cite a racketeering statute in the body of the complaints. Regardless, plenty of ASD members went on to promote AVG, which formally launched in February 2009 — after two racketeering mentions in forfeiture complaints and after Bowdoin was sued by members for racketeering.

    Jaws dropped among people who pay attention to such things. The purveyors of AVG might as well have taken out an ad in the New York Times that read, “Yes, we are racketeers — and here’s how you, too, can harvest hefty profits from our racketeering scheme, especially if you belong to a Christian denomination!!”

    It’s clear that law-enforcement agencies with the power of arrest — the U.S. Secret Service, the FBI and state-level strike forces led by attorneys general and local prosecutors and police officers, for example — have had it up to their ears with Ponzi and affinity-fraud schemes and are treating purveyors like mobsters. They’re using both state and federal racketeering statutes to bring down the schemes.

    It’s also clear that the SEC, which does not have the power of arrest but can sue Ponzi scheme operators back to the Stone Age and works proactively with agencies that do have the power of arrest — also has had its fill of Ponzi and affinity-fraud schemes.

    How could it not? There now are allegations that Trevor Cook, implicated with Christian radio host Pat Kiley in an alleged $190 million Ponzi scheme in Minnesota, bought a private island in Canada with his loot and a submarine to access the island. Cook reportedly told his investors he discovered after purchasing the submersible craft on eBay that the waters surrounding the island were too dark to navigate by submarine, but that he planned to move his two-passenger sub to Panama, a country be believed to have clear waters.

    You can’t make this stuff up. It is an embarrassment to free enterprise, an embarrassment to the United States and the rest of the world. The word “Ponzi” has become positively nuclear as more and more senior citizens in their 80s have been fleeced out of their retirements by schemers and go to bed at night wondering how they’ll ever make ends meet.

    Basically, the U.S. law-enforcement and regulatory communities have been responding to the schemers’ crimes with nukes. Rarely a day passes without a detonation.

    Despite major undertakings by U.S. law-enforcement and regulatory entities such as the SEC, CFTC and state-level attorneys general and securities regulators to destroy Ponzi schemes — and despite racketeering, wire-fraud and money-laundering prosecutions — the “joes” of the Ponzi world apparently continue to believe there is something honorable about banking Ponzi profits earned while banks are failing in the United States, the foreclosure rate is surging in certain areas of the country, people of faith are being fleeced in Ponzi schemes, deaf people are being targeted in Ponzi schemes and 90-year-old men and women are looking for jobs to keep a roof over their heads.

    We don’t know if our “joe” is Surf’s Up’s “joe” — but we do know that “joe” is all about greed and the wanton disregard of the rules of a civilized society.

    Fact is, we did scramble to put out the fires promised by our “joe.” He did affect our ability to publish and asserted a nonexistent right to harass.

    joe“What I’m saying is get ready for the return of joe and then you can block all of these people from your site,” our “joe” said.

    He suggested that, although he is Uncle Festa’s superior in video production, he won’t use YouTube to harass this Blog or its readers.

    It’s our “joe’s” way: He dangles a suggestion, and then wraps it in words designed to create plausible deniability. It escapes him that the words alone constitute a crime because they are designed to chill recipients and put them in the position of scrambling to protect their property.

    That’s exactly what racketeers do. They suggest. They chill. They let you know there are consequences for not playing ball with them.

    “It would be fun [to make videos] but I don’t hate you like [Uncle Festa] does,” our “joe” said three days ago. “[I]n fact i don’t hate you at all. I’ll bet everyone misses me.”

    In a final bit of intrigue, it’s possible that the “joe” on Surf’s Up comes from Erie, Pa. That would be ironic indeed if it proved to be true. Erie is the birthplace of Harry Markopolos, the mathematician and financial analyst who exposed the $65 billion Ponzi scheme of Bernard Madoff.

    Erie has some fine high schools.  Harry Markopolos was a graduate of one of them and went on to become a world-class student of math and authority on Ponzi schemes. The Surf’s Up ” joe,” on the other hand, perhaps left Erie schools and went on to become  a cell-phone trafficker facing a $5 million judgment — and a purveyor of Ponzi schemes who said it was important not to have all of your Ponzi eggs in one Ponzi basket, that you should branch out into other Ponzi schemes.

    “ALL MY EGGS ARE NOT IN ONE BASKET,” the Surf’s Up ‘joe said. “I MAKE $2000.00 A WEEK.”

    And the Surf’s Up “joe” said it after Erie’s Harry Markopolos made the phrase “Ponzi scheme” impossible to ignore and kick-started the nuclear responses of the state and federal governments to those who would sell financial peril so they could own a Rolls-Royce or a submarine — or even make $2,000 a week on the Ponzi misery of others.

  • Surf’s Up Celebrates One Year As Bowdoin-Endorsed Blather Box; Forum Deletes Another Discussion About AdViewGlobal Autosurf Amid Member Complaints

    A year ago yesterday these words appeared on AdSurfDaily’s Breaking News site:

    “All ASD Members are encouraged to join the ASD Members Advocate forum. 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 http://asdmembers.ning.com/

    “Surf’s Up, Baby!”

    blatherAt about the same time, the AdViewGlobal (AVG) autosurf was preparing to set up shop — purportedly from Uruguay. The announcement by ASD that it had endorsed Surf’s Up occurred eight days after U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer issued a devastating ruling that ASD had not demonstrated it was a lawful business and not a Ponzi scheme that had gathered tens of millions of dollars from participants, placing the money in ASD President Andy Bowdoin’s personal bank accounts.

    Some of the Surf’s Up Mods went on to start a forum for AVG. That forum went missing during the summer of 2009, after AVG announced it was suspending cashouts and exercising its version of a “rebates aren’t guaranteed” clause. At first AVG, which had promoted a series of 200-percent, matching-bonus offers virtually nonstop in 2009, blamed its lack of cash on the greed of members.

    It later backed away from that position, saying it had been a victim of a $2.7 million theft. George and Judy Harris were AVG’s purported owners. George Harris is Bowdoin’s stepson. Bowdoin identified Harris as the head of ASD’s “real estate division” at an ASD rally in Miami on July 12, 2008. The company reportedly gathered millions of dollars at the rally.

    Less than three weeks later, the U.S. Secret Service seized 10 Bowdoin bank accounts containing a total of about $65.8 million, according to court filings. Money from two of Bowdoin’s accounts was used to start a new account at a separate bank, and more than $157,000 of the opening deposit was used to pay off the mortgage on the Tallahassee home shared by George and Judy Harris, according to federal prosecutors.

    Prosecutors made the announcement in a forfeiture complaint filed Dec. 19, 2008, exactly one month after Collyer’s November ruling went against ASD. Regardless, AVG launched in February 2009, in the wake of two forfeiture complaints and the filing of a racketeering lawsuit against Bowdoin.

    AVG spent part of the month of December 2008 gathering money from prospects and all of the month of January 2009. By March 20, 2009, AVG was announcing its bank account had been suspended because too many members had wired transactions in excess of $9,500.

    At the same time, AVG also announced the resignation of Gary Talbert, its chief executive officer. In January, AVG said it had no connection to ASD, despite the fact Talbert had been an executive at ASD and filed sworn court filings in the August 2008 forfeiture case against ASD.

    Even as AVG was making its series of announcements about bad financial news, promoter Shad Foss sent out an email claiming that $5,000 spent on ASD turned into $15,000 “instantly!” according to recipients of the email.

    In May 2009 — on the same day the Obama administration announced a crackdown on offshore financial fraud — AVG announced it had found a new company to facilitate offshore wire transfers. The surf provided members detailed wiring instructions. Three days later, the company AVG described as a facilitator of the wire transfers issued a public denial that it had any business relationship with AVG.

    AVG never addressed the denial, choosing instead to say it had removed the new wire facility it had just announced because of a breakdown in negotiations. By June 25, AVG was announcing the suspension of cashouts. The AVG forum set up by the Surf’s Up Mods then went dark, as did a forum set up by AVG itself.

    AVG threatened to sue members who spoke out about the firm, saying its communications were protected by copyright laws. The surf also threatened forum members that it would contact their ISPs and file abuse reports for questioning AVG in public.

    Both Surf’s Up and the AVG forum operated by some of its Mods championed the pro se pleadings of Curtis Richmond in the ASD case. Richmond was convicted of contempt of court for harassing federal judges in a separate case, and was among a number of RICO defendants in a separate lawsuit ordered to pay more than $108,000 in damages and costs for engaging in racketeering and mail fraud by nuisancing public employees with vexatious lawsuits.

    Surf’s Up has a history of deleting posts from members who attempt to raise the issue of AVG. The forum’s official explanation is that it is an ASD forum, not an AVG forum, even though its Mods started the AVG forum. Some Surf’s Up members said they joined AVG because of representations made by the Mods.

    A number of Surf’s Up members participated in letter-writing campaigns on Bowdoin’s behalf. Surf’s Up sent an email to members in February 2009, speaking approvingly of the campaigns.

    The email endorsed a mail campaign led by “Professor” Patrick Moriarty. One month later, Moriarty was indicted on tax-fraud charges in a separate case. Research showed that he once started a nonprofit organization for a Missouri man accused of murdering a woman in cold blood and shooting a police officer four times.

    Dozens of Surf’s Up members congratulated Bowdoin in March 2009, after the forum published a letter from Bowdoin. The letter said Bowdoin was reentering the ASD case as a pro se litigant, even though he had given up his claims to tens of millions of dollars in January, assuring Collyer and the prosecutors that he never intended ever to reassert the claims.

    In April 2009, in their final response to a series of pro se motions from Bowdoin to reenter the case, prosecutors revealed he had signed a proffer letter in the case prior to submitting to the forfeiture in January. Bowdoin, prosecutors said, had admitted ASD was operating illegally at the time of the August 2008 seizure and that the company made up numbers in a bid to keep new money flowing into the firm.

    Regardless, some Surf’s Up members continued to shill for Bowdoin. His critics were referred to as “Rats, Bed Bugs, Maggots, Cockroaches And Everything Else.”

    One Surf’s Up poster called for members to form a militia and take up arms against the government.

    In the fall of 2008 and thereafter, Surf’s Up perpetuated a myth that the government had admitted privately that ASD was not a Ponzi scheme. The claim, which was cited on both the forum and in emails, sustained itself even through the summer of 2009.

    Even after the government filed a second forfeiture complaint in December 2008 that accused ASD of operating a Ponzi scheme, Surf’s Up and some of its members continued to insist that prosecutors had said ASD was not a Ponzi scheme and were filing reckless motions in a bid to save face.

    Surf’s Up has not sought to dispel the myth — and a year into its tenure as a Bowdoin-endorsed blather shop, members have raised questions about why it is improper to discuss AdViewGlobal.

  • SPECIAL REPORT: Convicted ‘3 Hebrew Boys’ Ponzi Figure Declares He Is ‘Sovereign’; Joseph Brunson Says Prosecutors Have No Authority Over Him

    Defining himself as “One,” a South Carolina man convicted Friday of operating an $82 million Ponzi scheme with two colleagues has filed a series of pleadings declaring himself “sovereign” and accusing a federal prosecutor of committing treason against the United States.

    The convicted schemer, Joseph B. Brunson of Hopkins, appears to trying to bolster his claim he is sovereign by constructing an argument that he is immune from prosecution because the United States is insolvent and has no jurisdiction over him. The pleadings were filed on the same day a jury found him guilty of mail fraud, money-laundering and transporting stolen goods and issued a special verdict for forfeiture of $82 million — the proceeds of the Ponzi scheme.

    Brunson is one of the so-called “3 Hebrew Boys” who operated a website with the same name. The name is taken from a biblical tale of believers who escaped a furnace by relying on their faith.

    Bond Revoked

    Upon the jury verdicts, prosecutors moved to revoke the bond of Brunson and co-defendants Tim McQueen and Tony Pough, asking a federal judge to jail them immediately, pending sentencing.

    Judge Margaret B. Seymour granted the request, pointing to a Brunson pleading that accused U.S. Attorney Walt Wilkins of treason.

    Screen shot: Joseph Brunson declares that U.S. Attorney is guility of treason, insurrection and conspiracy to overthow the U.S. government in his efforts to prosecute Brunson.
    Screen shot: Joseph Brunson declares that U.S. Attorney Walt Wilkens is guilty of treason, insurrection and conspiracy to overthow the U.S. government in his efforts to prosecute Brunson.

    ‘Pembina’ Tie

    Web references connect Brunson to The Little Shell Pembina Band of North America, a reputed splinter group of a legitimate tribe of Native Americans in Montana. WIS News 10, the news arm of a TV station in South Carolina, reported in 2007 that Brunson was stopped by police for driving with illegal tribal license plates while out on bond after being charged by state authorities in the “3 Hewbrew Boys” case.

    The splinter group is listed by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) as an “active anti-government extremist group.”

    “Members of the group claim that they belong to a ‘sovereign’ Native American tribe and therefore are not subject to laws and regulations,” ADL reports.

    Activities of the splinter group range from “driving with bogus license plates to perpetrating insurance fraud schemes [and] tax evasion,” ADL reports.

    ADL notes that the Little Shell Band of Montana is a legitimate tribe, but is not recognized by the federal government. It has no connection to extremism or to the Little Shell Pembina Band of North America, according to ADL.

    Bizarre Filings In Securities Cases

    Brunson’s filings in the South Carolina case are similar to pro se pleadings in the alleged AdSurfDaily Ponzi scheme case in the District of Columbia. Filings in both cases have included wild arguments, using words directed at prosecutors or judges such as “treason” and “conspiracy” in bids to short-circuit the government’s efforts to prosecute Ponzi and securities cases.

    Screen shot: Joseph Brunson asserts his purpurted sovereignty in the '3 Hebrew Boys' Ponzi scheme case.
    Screen shot: Joseph Brunson asserts his purpurted sovereignty in the '3 Hebrew Boys' Ponzi scheme case.

    Curtis Richmond, a mainstay pro se litigant in the ASD case, has been associated in court filings with a version of the Pembina tribal name and the name of a separate Utah tribe a federal judge ruled a “complete sham.” The purported Utah tribe filed enormous financial judgments against prosecutors and members of law-enforcement, and was successfully sued under federal racketeering and mail-fraud statutes.

    Richmond was among a group of litigants ordered to pay more than $108,000 in damages and costs for their roles in harassing members of the Utah law-enforcement community with vexatious legal filings. In a separate case, Richmond was found guilty in California of contempt of court for harassing federal judges.

    Despite the RICO ruling that went against him and his contempt conviction, members of the AdSurfDaily autosurf and a closely associated surf known as AdViewGlobal hailed Richmond a “hero.”

    ASD is implicated in an alleged $100 million Ponzi scheme. Federal prosecutors are attempting to force the forfeiture of tens of millions of dollars in the case, which includes two other autosurfs: Golden Panda Ad Builder and LaFuenteDinero. “LaFuenteDinero” means the “fountain of money,” and the surf was the purported Spanish arm of ASD. Golden Panda was the purported Chinese arm.

    For more than a year — at least since May 2008 — various operators or participants in alleged Ponzi schemes have claimed to be immune from U.S. law because they were “sovereign” beings or members of a “sovereign” Indian tribe.

    Screen shot: Joseph Brunson he is 'One' and that U.S. Attorney Walt Wilkins is engaged in acts of war against 'One.'
    Screen shot: Joseph Brunson he is 'One' and that U.S. Attorney Walt Wilkins is engaged in acts of war against 'One.'

    The arguments have been both bizarre and implausible. Gold Quest International (GQI), an alleged multimillion Ponzi scheme operating out of Las Vegas, claimed Panamanian registration and immunity from U.S. law because it was associated with a North Dakota Indian tribe.

    Despite the claim GQI was immune from the law because of its purported tie to the Pembina tribe, one of the alleged operators the Ponzi scheme, John Jenkins, left a Nevada courtroom to go outside to plug a parking meter to avoid getting a ticket.

    GQI attempted unsuccessfully to sue the SEC for the spectacular sum of $1.7 trillion for bringing the prosecution. The company reportedly relied on the services of a nonattorney as its “attorney general” and a nonnotary as its notary public to certify documents.

    “You are in an imaginary world where you belong to an unrecognized Indian group,” a federal judge advised Robert Neilson Baker, the nonnotary notary.

    In the “3 Hewbrew Boys” case, Brunson filed documents that appear to have been designed to force Wilkens, the U.S. Attorney, to default on a contact to which he never had agreed. The approach sometimes is referred to as “paper terrorism” or “mailbox arbitation.”

    A similar approach was used by litigants in the ASD case.

    Brunson wrote in a court filing he described as a “Bill of Peace” last week that Wilkens had a duty to appear before a notary public and acknowledge Brunson’s assertion of sovereignty in “red ink.” The document demanded that Wilkens use his “Christian name” in his response to Brunson.

    A refusal by Wilkens’ to carry out the demands within three days, Brunson said, would result in a contractual agreement that Wilkens was “an enemy of One and the [U]nited States of America and the people, Constitution, and Government thereof.”

    Read Joseph Brunson’s purported “writ” in the “3 Hebrew Boys” case.

    Read Joseph Brunson’s claim U.S. Attorney Walt Wilkens is committing treason against the United States.

    Read the jury’s special verdict ordering the forfeiture of $82 million in the “3 Hebrew Boys” case.

    Read a statement by acting U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Sloman on Audie Watson, a Florida man found guilty of selling bogus memberships in a “Pembina” tribe for $1,500 to illegal aliens.

  • ASD ALL OVER AGAIN? ‘3 Hebrew Boys’ Accuse U.S. Attorney Of ‘Treason’; Claim Draws Another Parallel To AdSurfDaily

    Three men found guilty in South Carolina last week of operating an $82 million Ponzi scheme accused a federal prosecutor of treason on the same day the jury returned its verdict, the FBI said.

    A treason claim also was made in the federal forfeiture proceeding against assets tied to Florida-based AdSurfDaily, an alleged Ponzi scheme involving $100 million.

    U.S. District Judge Margaret B. Seymour cited the treason claim in the “3 Hebrew Boys” case as a reason to send Joseph Brunson, Tim McQueen and Tony Pough to jail immediately to await sentencing.

    “After the jury’s verdict, Judge Seymour was asked to allow the men to remain free on bond until their sentencing,” the FBI said.  “She denied the request after noting that all three men filed documents [Friday] accusing U.S. Attorney Walt Wilkins of treason and committing acts of war by prosecuting them.”

    Brunson, McQueen and Pough became known as “3 Hebrew Boys” after operating a website with the same name, which is based on a biblical story of believers who escaped a furnace by relying on their faith. The Ponzi scheme operated under the name Capital Consortium Group LLC.

    Wilkens said the scheme targeted people of faith and members of the military.

    U.S. Attorney W. Walter Wilkins
    U.S. Attorney W. Walter Wilkins

    “By calling themselves the Three Hebrew Boys, these con men tried to disguise their Ponzi scheme as a religious, charitable program of debt elimination in order to gain the trust of unsuspecting investors,” Wilkins said. “Unfortunately many people were victimized by these men, including many in our armed forces.”

    In the ASD case, the treason claim was made against U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer. ASD is known to have members who identify with the so-called sovereignty movement.

    California resident Curtis Richmond, a pro se litigant in the ASD case, identified himself in court documents in a separate case as a “sovereign” being who enjoyed diplomatic immunity from prosecution and answered only to Jesus Christ.

    Richmond is associated with a Utah “Indian” tribe ruled a “complete sham” last year by U.S. District Judge Stephen Friot. On the eve of a civil RICO trial last year, Richmond attempted to have Friot removed from the case by claiming he owed Richmond $30 million.

    Friot refused to step down in Utah, as did Collyer in the District of Columbia. Richmond accused Collyer earlier this year of operating a “Kangaroo Court” and violating her judicial oath. Collyer is presiding over the ASD civil-forfeiture case. Other filings in the ASD case suggested Collyer was guilty of as many as 60 felonies, and that an effort had been made by at least one ASD member to start a process to collect $120 million from Collyer, two federal prosecutors and a court clerk for “Interference With Commerce.”

    Screen shot: Section of a pro se filing in the ASD case.
    Screen shot: Section of a pro se filing in the ASD case.

    Such bizarre claims have been popping up more and more in litigation involving securities.

    Gold Quest International (GQI), a company accused by the SEC last year of operating a Ponzi scheme from Las Vegas, claimed it was part of a North Dakota Indian tribe and was immune from U.S. law.

    After the SEC brought the charges against GQI in May 2008, Michael Howard Reed, the purported “attorney general” of the tribe, tried to sue the SEC for $1.7 trillion. The sought-after amount would have exceeded the total of federal income tax paid by individual U.S. filers last year by about $575 billion.

    U.S. District Judge Kent J. Dawson struck a series of pleadings by Reed from the record.

    Meanwhile, Dawson jailed John Jenkins, one of the defendants implicated in the Ponzi scheme, for contempt. Dawson also dispatched the U.S. Marshals Service to arrest David Greene, also known as “Lord David Greene,” in part for violating orders to repatriate money offshore to the United States.

    Despite Richmond’s behavior, he was labeled a hero on the Pro-ASD Surf’s Up forum. Over the weekend, Surf’s Up reinforced an earlier announcement that it would not permit discussion about the AdViewGlobal (AVG) autosurf.

    “[P]lease don’t expect any information that concerns AVGA,” a forum Mod said Saturday. “[I]t doesn’t belong on this forum.”

    Another Mod reinforced the ban on AVG discussion today.

    “In the beginning days of AVG we made it clear this is not an AVG forum and it still will not be,” the Mod said.

    Surf’s Up members repeatedly have said they wanted to discuss AVG, which has close connections to ASD. Their requests have been consistently rebuffed. Some of the Surf’s Up Mods were among the founding members of the AVG surf, which came to life after a major court ruling went against ASD last year.

    AVG purported to be a “private association” that operated offshore. Members used the “offshore” angle as a key selling point, saying the surf’s purported country of operation — Uruguay — insulated it from prosecution.

    Like the “3 Hebrew Boys” operation, AVG sought to prevent members from discussing the company outside the confines of areas it controlled. AVG members were scolded for sharing information and calling the autosurf an “investment” program.

    As AVG was in failure mode in May and June, members were threatened with copyright-infringement lawsuits. Critics were told AVG would contact their ISPs to file abuse reports and suspend service.

  • ‘3 Hebrew Boys’ Guilty In $82 Million Ponzi/Affinity Fraud Scheme; Company Operated In Fashion Similar To AdViewGlobal Autosurf, Imploring Members To Maintain Secrecy

    ponzinewsIn yet another case that may cause widespread unease in the autosurf world, three men accused of defrauding participants in a bogus debt-relief “ministry” have been found guilty of 174 counts of mail fraud, money-laundering and transporting stolen goods.

    Parts of the case against “3 Hebrew Boys” were remarkably similar to events engulfing the AdSurfDaily autosurf. In 2007, for example, the defendants filed a court document that described their investment program as an effort to free people from government “bondage” and referred to the investigation as “Satan’s handiwork.”

    In 2008, AdSurfDaily President Andy Bowdoin described the case against his purported Florida “advertising” firm as the work of “Satan,” comparing it to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Prosecutors said ASD was selling unregistered securities, while engaging in wire fraud, money laundering and operating a $100 million Ponzi scheme.

    In 2007 and 2008, prosecutors brought essentially the same charges against “3 Hebrew Boys” — Joseph Brunson, Tim McQueen and Tony Pough.

    About 100 supporters of the “3 Hebrew Boys” rallied in Columbia, S.C., in the early days of the probe, to demand that investigators leave them alone. Participants told reporters that the government did not understand the program, had overreached in its prosecutorial efforts and refused to deny it was wrong, choosing to move forward with the case in a bid to save face.

    Prosecutors said the “3 Hebrew Boys” scam was targeted at churchgoers and members of the military from South Carolina and North Carolina, and also from other states. The scam got its name from the company’s website name, which was based on a biblical tale of believers who escaped a furnace by relying on their faith.

    At least $82 million was consumed in the scheme, prosecutors said.

    The company attempted to chill law enforcement, regulators and members of the media from scrutinizing operations, prosecutors said.

    In an approach similar to one used by the AdViewGlobal (AVG) autosurf,  members were forced to agree to a confidentially clause that purportedly prohibited them from discussing the company outside the confines of meeting places. Participants were threatened with a $1 million penalty for sharing information.

    AVG, which has close ties to ASD, morphed into a “private association” in February 2009. Members were scolded for sharing information and calling the autosurf an “investment” program. As the company appeared to be collapsing in May and June, members were threatened with copyright-infringement lawsuits. Critics were told AVG would contact their ISPs to file abuse reports and suspend service.

    Not only did the plan to force secrecy and mute criticism not work in the “3 Hebrew Boys” case, it resulted in intense scrutiny by federal prosecutors, the FBI, the IRS and other agencies. It also resulted in intense scrutiny on the state level.

    South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster filed civil and criminal charges, posting all the documents in the case on his website.

    A court-appointed receiver also published documents, listing an astonishing array of luxury purchases made by the schemers with investors’ money. Among the items were a Gulf Stream jet, a Prevost Motorcoach and automobiles with famous names such as Mercedes, Lexus, BMW, Saab, Cadillac and Lincoln.

    Some of the luxury items are missing, meaning they cannot be sold to compensate victims.

    Brunson, McQueen and Pough were found guilty yesterday. The jury in the case, which was heard in Columbia, S.C., returned the verdict in less than three hours, after listening to testimony for weeks.

    Separately, Lee Otis Fluker was charged with perjury and convicted in 2008 for lying about his knowledge of the scheme. He was sentenced to a year in prison.

    Brunson, McQueen and Pough face decades in prison and fines in the millions of dollars.

    Last month, Beattie B. Ashmore, the court-appointed receiver in the case, warned victims about “companies [that] claim to offer professional services for recovering losses associated with your involvement with CCG,” one of the companies associated with the “3 Hebrew Boys” scheme.

    “Please note that you are not required to respond to these letters in order to be considered for a distribution from the Receiver,” Ashmore said on the receiver’s website.  “In addition, the Receiver takes no position as to any consequential effect filing a claim and recovering funds in this case may have upon any action you have taken or may take with Fraud Recovery Group or any similar type company.

    “Therefore, it is strongly recommended that you seek professional legal and tax advice from a trusted advisor, and that you properly research any professional advice before acting upon it,” Ashmore said.

  • BREAKING NEWS: Bowdoin Family Knew About December Forfeiture Complaint A Month Prior To Launch Of AdViewGlobal; AdSurfDaily-Connected Assets Seized In December ’08 Case Prepped For Sale

    Even though Andy Bowdoin and his family knew in January 2009 that the government intended to seize the Tallahassee home of his stepson George Harris and an $800,000 building purchased with cash in ASD’s home city of Quincy, Fla., the AdViewGlobal (AVG) autosurf proceeded with its launch in February 2009, according to an analysis of web records and new court filings.

    Although a “Proof of Service” filed by federal prosecutors yesterday did not mention AVG, other records say that Bowdoin was given “direct notice” of a second forfeiture complaint that had been filed in December 2008 against ASD-connected assets. The initial forfeiture complaint against ASD was filed in August 2008.

    Yesterday’s filing by the prosecution showed that the Harris home and ASD building in

    Andy Bowdoin
    Andy Bowdoin

    Quincy were publicly posted for forfeiture on Jan. 8, 2009. AVG launched less than a month later, triggering a virtually relentless series of 200-percent, matching bonus offers to generate cash and events that ultimately led to its collapse after the Harrises were identified by AVG as the owners of the company.

    A Nov. 6 filing by the prosecution states that Bowdoin was given “direct notice” of the December 2008 seizure in January 2009, as were “all known potential claimants.” Prosecutors noted in the Nov. 6 filing that they had “signed receipts” from Bowdoin and others.

    Other records clearly show that AVG’s launch proceeded in February 2009, pushed by former members of ASD despite the filing of two forfeiture complaints against the firm and a racketeering lawsuit.

    Cash and property seized by the U.S. Secret Service in the December 2008 forfeiture complaint against assets tied to Bowdoin, his wife, stepson and Golden Panda Ad Builder are being prepared for liquidation, according to yesterday’s filing in the December case.

    The property includes $634,266.13 in cash seized from a Golden Panda bank account. It is being held in a U.S. Customs Suspense account in Indianapolis.

    The $800,000 building ASD paid for in cash also is being prepared for liquidation. The building is located in Quincy, Fla. It was promoted by Bowdoin as the site to which the company intended to move to accommodate employees and customers, owing to ASD’s rapid expansion.

    ASD’s growth was fueled by both video and written lies that its business was legal, the Secret Service said.

    In only months last year, ASD morphed from a company that earlier said it could not afford to pay members because of a malfunctioning computer script that purportedly had overpaid members and an accompanying  $1 million theft at the purported hands of “Russian” hackers  to a purported cash turbine was was going to buy an interest in an “international bank” and a “call center” in South America, the Secret Service said.

    In August 2008 — in the first forfeiture case filed against ASD’s assets — prosecutors told a federal judge that they believed Bowdoin was preparing to flee the United States. After reviewing a 37-page affidavit filed by the Secret Service and an additional 57 pages of evidence, including surveillance photos taken in Quincy prior to the filing of the application for seizure, a federal magistrate judge ordered Bank of America to freeze 13 bank accounts linked to ASD or Golden Panda and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to seize the money.

    Prosecutors later seized two additional Golden Panda accounts at Bank of America, as part of the August complaint, bringing the total of accounts seized in the August matter to 15 — 10 from ASD, and five from Golden Panda. Those accounts, after reconciliations, contained more than $79.88 million, according to court filings.

    As the investigation continued, prosecutors established more links to ASD-connected assets. In December 2008, they filed a second forfeiture complaint, naming an additional Golden Panda account maintained by Bartow County Bank, rather than Bank of America. The Bartow County account is the one that contained the $634,266.13 now being held in Indianapolis.

    Prosecutors also seized the Tallahassee home of George and Judy Harris in the December complaint, saying its mortgage of more than $157,000 had been paid off with illegal proceeds from ASD. Records show the mortgage  was paid off about three weeks after a May 31, 2008, ASD rally in Las Vegas had concluded.

    George Harris is the son of Bowdoin’s wife, Edna Faye Bowdoin. Judy Harris is the wife of George Harris. The AdViewGlobal (AVG) autosurf, which came to life four months after the August seizure of tens of millions of dollars from Bowdoin’s bank accounts and approximately one month after a key court ruling went against ASD in November 2008, later identified George and Judy Harris as its owners.

    Bowdoin invoked God at the May 2008 Las Vegas rally, imploring members to imagine themselves wealthy and thanking God for providing him tremendous wealth.

    “And I always say, ‘Thank you, God, for developing me into a money magnet,’” Bowdoin said at the rally. “And I see myself as a money magnet in attracting money and, I say, attracting large sums of money.”

    Within days of the conclusion of the rally, according to court filings, ASD money was used by Edna Faye Bowdoin and George Harris to open a bank account into which more than $177,000 of illegal proceeds were deposited. More then $157,000 of the opening deposit was used to pay off the Harris home, which was seized in the December complaint.

    Neither George nor Judy Harris filed a claim to the home, prosecutors said. In September 2009, prosecutors made a veiled reference to the AVG autosurf in court filings.

    “Maybe Bowdoin thought that before the government brought its charges he (like some of his family members) could move to another country and profit from a knock-off autosurf program that Bowdoin funded and helped to start,” prosecutors said.

    AVG purportedly was headquartered in the South American country of Uruguay. Servers of the purported “advertsing” firm that operated in largely the same form as ASD resolved to Panama.

    Also seized in the December complaint were three automobiles: a 2009 Lincoln luxury sedan that had been acquired in July 2008 for nearly $50,000; a 2008 Honda CRV registered to George and Judy Harris acquired in June 2008 for nearly $30,000 after the Las Vegas rally; and a 2009 Acura TXS registered to former ASD figure Hays Amos for nearly $34,000.

    The check to acquire the Acura registered to Amos was signed by ASD Chief Executive Officer Juan Fernandez, prosecutors said.

    Also seized in the December complaint were computer equipment, two jet skis and a hauling trailer that were purchased with $20,506 of ASD money; and a Triton Cabana boat, Mercury motor and trailer purchased with $23,445 of ASD funds, prosecutors said.

    All of the property seized in December now is being prepared for liquidation, pending an order from U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer. Prosecutors said no one made a claim to any of the seized property.

    Based on the lack of claims, it is possible that prosecutors may argue that none of the property was claimed because ASD already had a plan to replace it through AVG.

    ASD’s seized computers are being held at Secret Service headquarters in Orlando, according to to the prosecution court filing. Meanwhile, the Lincoln luxury sedan registered to Bowdoin/Harris Enterprises and the Honda registered to George and Judy Harris are being held at a company in the auto-auction business in Lakeland, Fla.; the Acura registered to Amos is being held at an auto-auction company in Daytona Beach, Fla.; and the marine equipment is being held at auction companies in Fort Lauderdale and Pensacola, Fla.

    The $800,000 building and the Harris home were posted for forfeiture on the same date — Jan. 8, 2009, according to the prosecution filing. Only 5 days later Bowdoin surrendered his claims to the millions of dollars seized in August 2008.

    Regardless, the AVG autosurf proceeded with its formal launch in February 2009 — less than a month after the Harris home in Tallahassee and the ASD building in Quincy were posted for forfeiture.

    By the end of February, Bowdoin attempted to reenter the August case, acting as his own attorney and saying he’d changed his mind about submitting to the August seizure. Coinciding with Bowdoin’s pro se filings was an announcement by the AVG autosurf that it was becoming a “private association” based offshore.

    During the same time period, a poster at the Pro-ASD Surf’s Up forum told members that the Secret Service had seized the bank accounts of ASD promoters. The poster warned members to remove money from their bank accounts before it could be seized.

    By June 25, 2008, AVG announced that it was suspending cashouts. After initially blaming its inability to pay members on the greed of some members, it later changed its story and said $2.7 million had been stolen from the firm.

    The story was remarkably similar to the story the Secret Service said ASD had told about the purported “Russian” hackers to explain why it couldn’t pay members.

    See the prosecution’s filing yesterday that shows ASD’s Quincy building and the Harris home in Tallahassee were posted prior to the February 2009 launch of the AVG autosurf.

    See the prosecution’s Nov. 6 filing that says Bowdoin and family members had “direct notice” of the December 2008 forfeiture case and that the government had “signed receipts” prior to the launch of AVG, which later was linked to George and Judy Harris.