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Tag: Gary Calhoun

COURTING TROUBLE: In Bogus Promo, Obama Shown As Pitchman For ‘MyAdvertisingPays’

Depicting then-President George W. Bush as a fan of the AdSurfDaily MLM HYIP “program” backfired in spectacular fashion in 2008, drawing the attention of the U.S. Secret Service. Federal agents eventually seized more than $80 million in an asset-forfeiture case. ASD President Andy Bowdoin, accused of operating a cross-border Ponzi scheme, was indicted. He later…

Apr 2, 2015
ACKMAN: ‘We Can Fight Pyramids With Our Own Pyramid’

2ND UPDATE 3:23 P.M. ET U.S.A. In another swipe at Herbalife and perhaps MLM recruiting schemes in general, activist investor Bill Ackman says he’s out to combat pyramid schemes by creating one himself. Ackman’s apparent tongue-in-cheek approach adopts a typical “tell five” MLM marketing technique as part of a bid to create Internet virality for…

Jan 21, 2015
‘The Achieve Community’ Promoter Records Commercial At ATM In Hawaii; YouTube Text Promo Claims Achieve A ‘True Lifetime Income Plan!’

UPDATED 10:42 A.M. ET DEC. 11 U.S.A. Promoters of the MPBToday network-marketing scam recorded promos at FDIC-insured banks and inside Wal-Mart stores to sanitize the outrageous “program’s” fraud scheme in 2010. In 2013, MPB Today operator Gary Calhoun was sentenced to a term in Florida state prison on a racketeering charge. MPBToday operated a cycler…

Dec 7, 2014
EDITORIAL: When MLM Is PR Poison: Footnote In Zeek Receiver’s Most Recent Filing Harkens Back To Scam Of Yesteryear — Also, Does Unrelated ‘Agape World’ Case Provide Clues About Tax Scam Within Ponzi Scam At Zeek?

Ah, those serially disingenuous MLM hucksters and commission-based Ponzi pitchmen: They’ll ultimately destroy their own brands while picking millions of pockets. Before doing so, they’ll use your brand as a temporary means of sanitizing themselves, bring PR disasters to your legitimate company and perhaps even find an insidious way to turn the government into their…

Feb 2, 2014
How Bizarre Will MLM Get? YouTube Video That Drives Traffic To Empower Network Feeds On Name Of ‘CashCropCycler’ And Trades On Images Of White House, Obama And Biden

EDITOR’S NOTE: Our thanks to reader “Tony” for pointing out the video described below. UPDATED 9:26 A.M. EDT (SEPT. 10, U.S.A.): How bizarre will MLM get? Well, there may be no ceiling: A 2:47 video animation playing on YouTube depicts U.S. Vice President Joe Biden as a recent enrollee in the CashCropCycler HYIP “program” who…

Aug 12, 2013
Gary Calhoun, MPB Today MLM Operator, Jailed In Florida

UPDATED 5:52 P.M. EDT (JULY 31, U.S.A.) Gary Calhoun, the operator of the MPB Today MLM program who was charged in December with racketeering under Florida state law, is listed as a prisoner at the Escambia County Jail. Today was Calhoun’s sentencing date. The length of his sentence was not immediately clear. [July 31 UPDATE:…

Jul 30, 2013
HourlyRevShare, Another ‘Ken Russo’ Ponzi-Board ‘Program,’ Reportedly DOA

HourlyRevShare, another in a long list of incongruous HYIP Ponzi-board “programs” pushed by serial huckster “Ken Russo” (also known as “DRdave”), reportedly has collapsed after taking a second bite of the Ponzi apple (purportedly as HRS II) after the original iteration collapsed. Other recent “programs” pushed by “Ken Russo” include Zeek Rewards and Profitable Sunrise,…

Jul 22, 2013
‘Felmina Alliance,’ Another Ponzi-Board ‘Program’ Pushed By ‘Ken Russo,’ Appears To Be DOA

Felmina Alliance, another in a long line of HYIP “programs” pushed on the Ponzi boards by serial huckster “Ken Russo,” appears to be DOA. “Ken Russo” also is known as “DRdave.” His record in promoting scams, pooh-poohing or ignoring regulatory actions and engaging in willful blindness may be unparalleled. Regulators in the United States and…

Jun 4, 2013
UPDATE: MPB Today Operator Ordered To Stay Away From MLM As He Awaits Sentencing In Racketeering Case; Separately, MLM ‘Programs’ Get Pounded In The Press

Gary Calhoun, the operator of the MPB Today MLM “program,” has joined AdSurfDaily Ponzi schemer Andy Bowdoin as a member of a dubious club: A Florida judge has ordered Calhoun not to get arrested on new charges and to stay away from MLM while he awaits sentencing in a racketeering case brought by Florida authorities…

Apr 27, 2013
URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: Gary Calhoun, MPB Today Operator, Pleads Guilty To Racketeering Charge In Florida

URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: (UPDATED 1:06 P.M. ET U.S.A.) Gary Calhoun, the operator of the the MPB Today MLM “program” and a companion grocery-delivery business known as Southeastern Delivery, has pleaded guilty to a state-level racketeering charge in Florida. He was charged in December. Calhoun, 56, of Pensacola, was not immediately sentenced. But he…

Feb 5, 2013
UPDATE: Hearing For Gary Calhoun, MPB Today Operator, Reset For Feb. 4

UPDATE: A hearing for Gary Calhoun set for yesterday in Florida’s Escambia County Circuit Court on a state-level racketeering charge has been rescheduled for Feb. 4, according to the docket of the case. Calhoun, 56, of Pensacola, was arrested last month on the racketeering charge. He is the operator of the MPB Today MLM “program”…

Jan 18, 2013