URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: Gary A. Calhoun is the subject of a criminal probe linked to a civil-forfeiture action in federal court in the Northern District of Florida, according to court filings by his attorney.
Calhoun, 56, is the operator of the MPB Today MLM, which is tied to a grocery-delivery business in Pensacola known as Southeastern Delivery. In July, federal prosecutors filed a forfeiture action against a property at 8812 Grow Drive, also known as Grow Road, in Pensacola. The property is the business address of Southeastern Delivery and also the address of a Calhoun-controlled entity known as WL Property Holdings LLC.
The affidavit in the forfeiture case was filed under seal. But the forfeiture case, according to prosecution filings, was brought to enforce 18 USC § 1028 and 18 USC § 1029, statutes dealing with access-device fraud and fraud in connection with identification documents.
Calhoun was arrested last month in Florida on a state-level charge of racketeering. The existence of the federal documents may mean that Calhoun also has exposure under federal criminal law. The forfeiture complaint also cites the federal wire-fraud and conspiracy statutes.
Some promos for MPB Today in 2010 were targeted at federal Food Stamp recipients. The U.S. Department of Agriculture told the PP Blog in 2010 that it had opened a “review” into claims about the MPB Today “program.” The agency later described the matter as an investigation.
A news release apparently authored by an MPB Today affiliate in 2010 encouraged impoverished prospects to sell $200 worth of Food Stamps to a “friend, family member or whoever” to raise cash to join the the MPB Today program.
In September, Calhoun asked for the forfeiture case to be stayed because of a parallel criminal probe. A federal judge granted the request.
When prosecutors filed the July forfeiture action, they noted that “[t]he facts and circumstances supporting the seizure and forfeiture of the defendant property are contained in a sealed affidavit, so as not to publish the facts of an ongoing criminal investigation.”
On Sept. 24, Calhoun’s lawyer noted in a court filing that he “has confirmed that Mr. Calhoun is, at a minimum, a subject in the related criminal investigation.”