AVGA

BULLETIN: The U.S. Federal Trade Commission and the Canadian Competition Bureau have taken down an alleged ‘Yellow Pages” scam in which businesses in the United States and Canada were deceived into paying for unwanted listings in online business directories. The scam was centered in Europe, authorities from both countries said. The Competition Bureau said it […]

EDITOR’S NOTE: This list summarizes several programs pushed by members of AdSurfDaily, a Florida company implicated in an alleged $100 million Ponzi scheme. In some cases, the programs were pushed prior to the seizure by the U.S. Secret Service in August 2008 of 15 bank accounts linked to ASD or Golden Panda Ad Builder, one […]

Yesterday we reported that the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) ordered penalties and disgorgement totaling $42 million in the case against Legacy Capital Inc., Legacy Trust Inc., Manna Trading Corp Ltd. and Manna Humanitarian Foundation. We reported several parallels to the ongoing investigation in the United States into the business practices of AdSurfDaily/Golden Panda Ad […]

The British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) has ordered four respondents in a civil action to pay penalties of $26 million for operating a Ponzi scheme and to surrender $16 million in illegal profits. In forceful findings that may echo throughout the HYIP and autosurfing universe, BCSC said the schemers tried to skirt securities laws by […]

EDITOR’S NOTE: Reading the tea leaves in court cases often is an iffy proposition, and there often is no way to know what will happen when. Readers are advised to keep those thoughts in mind when considering the information in this story. UPDATED 7:03 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) Recent court filings suggest — although it is […]

When the AdViewGlobal (AVG) autosurf — now failed — was in prelaunch phase in December 2008, it positioned itself as an offshore cure for what ails the U.S. and world economies. Less than two years earlier, promoters of the AdSurfDaily autosurf — which has close ties to AVG — implied that the individual surf accounts […]

UPDATED 8:09 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) Two domains for the AdViewGlobal (AVG) autosurf will not resolve to a server. The domains are: adviewglobal.com startavga.com Why the domains will not resolve is unclear. The domains normally resolve to a server in Panama. As reported previously, a third domain associated with AVG — advglobal.com — also won’t resolve. […]

A federal judge has granted Andy Bowdoin more time to respond to an order to show cause. Judge Rosemary Collyer said Bowdoin and AdSurfDaily Inc. could have until Aug. 28 to show cause why its motion to reverse Bowdoin’s decision to forfeit tens of millions of dollars to the government should not be denied. The […]

Comments on this Blog from a poster who uses the username Luisa are working their way around the web, but we have not been able to confirm the claims. Among other things, Luisa said George and Judy Harris, whom AdViewGlobal (AVG) identified as its owners, are or were living in Uruguay and fired the Uruguay-based […]

Plaintiffs suing AdSurfDaily President Andy Bowdoin for racketeering added two more attorneys to their roster this morning and have added a total of four since June 24. The plaintiffs now have attorneys in Washington, D.C., Phoenix, San Francisco and Mill Valley, Calif., on their side, perhaps with more formal notices of appearance to follow. Today’s […]

UPDATED 3:30 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) It was utterly predictable: The AdViewGlobal (AVG) autosurf has blamed subcontractor Syndicate Digital for problems plaguing the firm, implying it might sue the Canada-based company. In recent weeks, AVG has threatened to sue media outlets and even its own members, up to and including contacting their Internet Service Providers in […]