Tag: eAdGear
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EAdGear Case: Judge Orders More Than $26 Million In Disgorgement And Penalties
Another pyramid scheme has proven costly for its operators. Here, according to the SEC, is the rundown from the EAdGear case brought in 2014. eAdGear Holdings Limited and eAdGear Inc. have been ordered to disgorge $21 million in ill-gotten gains, pay prejudgment interest of $640,000 and pay a civil penalty in the amount of $1,000,000.…
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Guilty Pleas Entered In eAdgear Ponzi- And Pyramid Criminal Case
UPDATED 1:10 P.M. EDT U.S.A. Two eAdGear Ponzi- and pyramid-scheme figures have pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges of structuring transactions to evade bank-reporting requirements and conspiracy, according to court filings and records in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The SEC charged eAdGear in September 2014, alleging it had gathered $129…
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DEVELOPING STORY: Thai Police Bust ‘UFunClub,’ Yet Another Cross-Border Network-Marketing Program; Case May Involve $307 Million
UPDATED 9:10 A.M. EDT U.S.A. It’s whack-a-mole via MLM or network marketing — again. There are reports in Thai media about a major pyramid/Ponzi bust involving a cross-border “program” known as “UFunClub.” (See links below.) No American suspects appear to have been arrested or named so far, but Americans have promoted UFunClub. One of them,…
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SEC Enforcement Chief References Investor Alert On ‘Pyramid Schemes Posing As Multi-Level Marketing Programs’ In Congressional Testimony Today, Says ‘Coordinated Effort’ To Disrupt Them Under Way
“The staff also has recently seen what appears to be an increase in pyramid schemes . . . under the guise of ‘multi-level marketing’ and ‘network marketing’ opportunities . . . These schemes often target the most vulnerable investors, and social media has expanded their reach. The Division is deploying resources to disrupt these schemes…
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EDITORIAL: Creeping Up On MLM Perdition
EDITOR’S NOTE: The MLM “program” known as Wings Network is alleged to have operated through two business entities that used the name “Tropikgadget.” The SEC’s case, announced Friday, is filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. That’s the same venue in which the agency’s epic TelexFree case was filed last year. There…
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Network-Marketing Pitchman Camps Out At SEC Website, Produces Commercial For Achieve Community, Unison Wealth And Trinity Lines; ‘They’re Passive . . . You Just Kind Of Put Your Money Down’ And Receive Payouts
EDITOR’S NOTE: The screen shots below show that Rodney Blackburn ends his “Unison Wealth” promo at the 8:29 mark of a 14:27 video. At the 8:30 mark, the website of the SEC becomes the feature and remains so for nearly the next six minutes as Blackburn touts Achieve Community, Unison Wealth and Trinity Lines, Ponzi-board…
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URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: eAdGear Figures Indicted In California On Conspiracy Charge Of Structuring Transactions To Evade Bank-Reporting Requirements
4TH UPDATE 3:44 P.M. ET U.S.A. Before the SEC announced its civil pyramid- and Ponzi-scheme case on Sept. 26 against eAdGear figures Charles Wang and Francis Yuen, the pair had been indicted on a criminal charge in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the PP Blog has learned. Docket records show the…
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CKB/CKB168, WCM777 And TelexFree Prosecutions Make SEC’s 2014 Highlight Reel; Agency Says Its Job In MLM Sphere Isn’t Done
The prosecutions of the CKB/CKB168, WCM777 and TelexFree “programs” made the SEC’s highlight reel for fiscal year 2014, which began on Oct. 1, 2013 and ended on Sept. 30 of this year. In a statement today, the SEC said “new investigative approaches and the innovative use of data and analytical tools contributed to a very…
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URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: SEC Charges eAdGear, Alleging $129 Million Pyramid- And Ponzi Scheme
URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: (12th Update 1:28 p.m. EDT U.S.A.) The SEC has gone to federal court in San Francisco, alleging that the eAdGear “program” was a pyramid- and Ponzi scheme that gathered $129 million. The action against eAdGear is the second major pyramid-scheme prosecution announced by the SEC this week. The SEC has…