PatrickPretty.com

Tag: Hank Needham

  • UPDATES: (1) HYIP Huckster ‘Dave’ Launches New Scams, Says He’s Gearing Up For ‘Auction’ Business; (2) BidsThatGive ‘Auction’ Site Says It Will Launch Tomorrow; (3) Zeek ‘Auction’ Business Names New Officers — And Affiliates Make ‘I Got Paid’ Posts As Purported Earnings Calculator Appears On Ponzi Forum

    EDITOR’S NOTE: In Ponzi Land, HYIPs that suggested returns of 1 percent (or more) per day “worked” to line up lambs for the slaughter. So did autosurfs that planted the 1 percent a day (or more) seed. Now, 1 percent a day (or more) “auction” sites are “working.” Will they mushroom globally like HYIPs and autosurfs, setting the stage to fleece participants in unprecedented numbers?

    Apparently now fully recovered from his purported bout with Dengue fever, legendary HYIP huckster “Dave” is back — this time with something called “DailyCashMania” (DCM) that appears to be married to a nascent penny-auction site known as “HawkPay” that is luring affiliates amid DCM promises it will offer a “mega-prize” of a $10,000 cash voucher.

    One MoneyMakerGroup Ponzi forum promoter of DCM declared it “The ONLY Matrix supported by a [sic] Auction site.”

    HawkPay says it will offer “scratch” auctions. A graphic for a “test listing” (Canon camera) on the site reads “SCRATCH TO SEE YOUR PRICE.” When that graphic is clicked, this message loads: “Your scratch will cost 1 bid and the product price will be lowered with $.10.”

    Separately, a penny-auction site known as “BidsThatGive” says it will formally launch tomorrow to make the world a better place for children. Like the AdSurfDaily Ponzi scheme, some of the chatter for BidsThatGive involved the recitation of names of people who had some sort of tie to the institution of the Presidency of the United States.

    ASD’s chatter about the Presidency quickly brought out the U.S. Secret Service, which discovered ASD affiliates were being paid with money from other affiliates: a classic Ponzi scheme. The Secret Service also discovered that political donations made by ASD President Andy Bowdoin came from Ponzi money.

    Other prelaunch hype for BidsThatGive claimed that affiliates of the “program” could get filthy rich, so rich the company would pay to name a hospital or orphanage after them.

    Meanwhile, the Zeek Rewards MLM “program,” which is married to a penny-auction site known as Zeekler, has announced a new slate of officers at Rex Venture Group, the purported parent company of the Zeek businesses. Even as the company was making the announcement, posters on the MoneyMakerGroup Ponzi board were sharing “I Got Paid” posts. Another poster placed a link to something called ZeekCalc, a purported earnings calculator apparently created by a Zeek fan.

    Earnings calculators were part of the ASD Ponzi scheme. ASD, like Zeek and “Dave’s” emerging DCM “program,” also had a presence on the Ponzi boards. An earnings calculator also was used in “Dave’s” JSS Tripler 2 scam.

    “This is a online FREE Zeekrewards Profit Calculator that allow [sic] you [to] predict your profit from the Zeekrewards Program,” the calculator site claimed. “With this tool it’s easy and fast [to] calculate your future income or future earnings of the new people who join the program.”

    Among the apparent Zeek affiliates bragging about their Zeek payouts at MoneyMakerGroup in the run-up to Zeek’s announcement about its new officers yesterday was legendary Ponzi promoter “strosdegoz,” a former cheerleader for “Dave’s” scams, along with the OneX scam and the ClubAsteria scam — and many others. “strosdegoz” has claimed to be a member of 35 HYIP boards.

    Among other things, Club Asteria traded on the names of the World Bank and the American Red Cross. Hank Needham, one of Club Asteria’s purported managers, was a former AdSurfDaily pitchman and cash-gifting enthusiast shown on videotape opening packages of cash from at least two countries.

    “Just received two payments now,” “strosdegoz” posted of Zeek on MoneyMakerGroup on July 29. He simultaneously was promoting Bidify, yet another emerging penny-auction site. Others joined “strosdegoz” in the Zeek “I Got Paid” cheerleading chorus on MoneyMakerGroup, including a poster known as “jumpin.”

    “You’ve got cash!” a post yesterday from “jumpin” began. “Rex Venture Group LLC . . .  just sent you money through Payza.”

    The post went on to claim a July 30 Zeek payment of $23.98 from Rex Venture, Zeek’s purported parent company.

    “Ken Russo,” another Ponzi forum legend, also has made “I Got Paid” posts that cited payments from Rex Venture. In May, “Ken Russo” claimed on the TalkGold Ponzi forum that he’d received $34,735 from Zeek since Nov. 14, 2011. “Ken Russo” posts on Talk Gold as “DRdave.”

    Just plain “Dave” of the emerging DCM scam perhaps is most infamous for a “program” known as JSS Tripler 2, which appears to have based its name on the JSS Tripler/JustBeenPaid “program” purportedly operated by Frederick Mann, a former ASD pitchman. JSS Tripler 2 soon morphed into something called T2MoneyKlub and launched a companion scam known as Compound150.

    T2 Money Klub and Compound150 appear to have collapsed after “Dave” purportedly was battling back from a bout with Dengue fever.

    But now “Dave” appears to be back with DCM and its work-in-progress “scratch” auction.

    The new Rex Venture Group officers announced yesterday, according to Zeek’s news Blog, include Greg Caldwell as “acting COO”; Josh Calloway as CTO; Clifton Jolly “to head up PR”; Angie Fiebernitz as CFO; and Alex de Brantes as executive director of training and support services.

    Meanwhile, according to the Zeek Blog, Peter Mingils “is rockin’” over the “Certified Trainers course curriculum as Zeek’s Training & Incentives Coordinator,” and “Robert Mecham and OH Brown are banging out video after video and Zeek’s “FANTASTIC NEW BUSINESS CARDS!”

    Dawn Wright-Olivares is Zeek’s new “Chief Marketing Officer,” after previously serving as “acting COO,” according to the Zeek Blog.

  • UPDATE: Alleged JSS Tripler Promoter Referenced In Probe By Italian Securities Regulator CONSOB Also Is Pitchman For U.S.-Based Text Cash Network; Promoter’s Individual Domain Name Suspended; Ponzi-Forum Cheerleading Continues As JSS Tripler Website Encounters Problems

    Certain images will not load today on the website of JustBeenPaid, a "program" tied to JSS Tripler.

    EDITOR’S NOTE: HYIP critics long have pointed out that many Internet-based schemes have members in common and that the interconnectivity of certain schemes creates a condition in which fraud proceeds circulate from scheme to scheme to scheme. Such fraud schemes can mushroom to involve tens of thousands — or even hundreds of thousands — of participants.

    The logistical challenges of reverse-engineering such schemes are enormous — and it’s often the case the combined international hauls of the schemes also are enormous.

    A man referenced in a JSS Tripler-related action by CONSOB, the Italian securities regulator, appears to have lost access to his U.S.-based website — and appears also to have been a pitchman for Text Cash Network, a U.S.-based “opportunity” linked to serial hucksters Joe Reid and Phil Piccolo.

    TextCashNetwork purports to be an international text-advertising business involving cell phones. The “opportunity,” though, is decidedly murky. Affiliates have described Text Cash Network vaguely as “a new division of a five year old communications company owned 100% by The Johnson Group.” Other promoters have claimed it was owned by the “Johnson & Johnson Group,” a possible bid to leech off the brand of the famous pharmaceutical and consumer-products company.

    TCN Promotional Tie To JSS Tripler

    On Jan. 23, CONSOB announced the JSS Tripler-related action. Included in CONSOB’s statement were references to an individual named Mauro Messina and a website styled gruppounitoworld.com.

    That website, which appears to have been hosted in the United States, now beams this message: “I’m sorry, but this account has been suspended.” No reason for the suspension was provided.

    The message appears even though the domain registration is good through June 30, 2012, according to registration data.

    The name Mauro Messina also appears on an affiliate site for Text Cash Network. The affiliate ID on the Text Cash Network site is “gruppounito” — the first 11 letters of the now-suspended site referenced in the CONSOB probe. (See comment from PP Blog reader Tony here. Kudos, Tony.)

    Driven by a relentless hypefest, Text Cash Network or TCN launched late last year — with Reid leading the cheerleading as he had done previously for Data Network Affiliates (DNA), a Piccolo-associated entity that mixed and matched itself with One World One Website (OWOW), another Piccolo-associated entity.

    Both DNA and OWOW appear to be defunct corporations, but appear also to maintain a web presence that in part has been used to drive traffic to TCN. Strangely, the DNA website now is publishing a “STOP SOPA” graphic, referring to antipiracy legislation in the United States that became part of well-publicized opposition campaigns by Google and Wikipedia (among others).

    DNA, which claimed it was a data company with a cell-phone arm and appears never to have delivered on either count, has a history of brand leeching and divining ties to causes, including the U.S. AMBER Alert program and child poverty. Among other things, DNA — despite the fact its Nevada corporate registration is listed as “Dissolved,” asks prospects to “Help DNA Feed A Million[:] OVER 1000 AN HOUR DIE.”

    It also purports that children are “The Heart Of D.N.A.,” even though the corporation is defunct and DNA received an “F” grade in 2010 from the BBB and is the subject of a BBB alert. After apparently abandoning its purported data and cell-phone arms by July 2010, DNA claimed it was morphing into the land-mine business of offshore “resorts” and “mortgage reduction.”

    Like DNA, TCN purports that it has or will engage in philanthropic pursuits.

    And like TCN, DNA also purported to do business from Boca Raton, Fla. — and to operate a “processing center” there while providing “tax” benefits.

    ‘Ricochet Riches’ Also Referenced By CONSOB

    CONSOB’s Jan. 23 announcement also referenced an entity known as “Ricochet Riches” and a dotcom by the same name. On the MoneyMakerGroup Ponzi forum yesterday, a cheerleader for JSS Tripler 2 or T2 — an enterprise that appears to have appropriated the name of JSS Tripler — published an “I got paid” post for T2.

    Below the post was a link to Ricochet Riches.

    Incongruities that challenge description and involve both JSS Tripler and JSS Tripler 2 are occurring all over the Ponzi boards. Both JSS Tripler and JSS Tripler 2 have promoters in common. Regardless, Ponzi-board posters are pooh-poohing the CONSOB action or ignoring it — even as they champion other opportunities referenced in the CONSOB action, including Ricochet Riches.

    A JSS Tripler/Club Asteria Tie

    CONSOB last year took action against promoters of Club Asteria, another Ponzi-forum darling. “Andrea Viz,” another JSS Tripler promoter referenced in the CONSOB action, also has been linked to Club Asteria.

    The Club Asteria promo appears on a domain styled vizconsigli.com, which is referenced in the CONSOB announcement about JSS Tripler. That domain, too, appears to be based in the United States.

    Hank Neeedham, one of Club Asteria’s purported principals, formerly was a pitchman for AdSurfDaily, which the U.S. Secret Service described as an online  Ponzi scheme involving at least $110 million.

    Frederick Mann, the purported operator of JSS Tripler, also was an ASD pitchman, according to a 2008 promo that appeared online during the same period in which Needham — who simultaneously was promoting cash-gifting schemes — also was promoting ASD.

    Over the weekend, JustBeenPaid, the entity that purportedly operates JSS Tripler through Mann, appears to have encountered website problems that are affecting its ability to publish certain graphics.

    There is at least one Ponzi-forum report today about JustBeenPaid/JSS Tripler problems:

    “. . .  sites all messed up chat room no mods no admins little odd,” a MoneyMakerGroup poster claimed.

    The JustBeenPaid site includes information attributed to Mann on AdVentures4You (ADV4U), a “program” that collapsed in 2009 amid reports its operator had been threatened.

    In the remarks, Mann asserted that he made a pile of money through ADV4U prior to its collapse.

    “The biggest difference between JSS-Tripler and AV4U is that JSS-Tripler is indefinitely sustainable, while AV4U had a design flaw that ensured its eventual failure,” according to the remarks attributed to Mann.

  • A BRIEF STUDY IN CASH-GIFTING CONTRASTS: The Attorney General, The BBB — And Hank Needham (Before The Club Asteria Brainstorm And CONSOB Probe)

    In this June 2008 video, Hank Needham — later to emerge as a Club Asteria principal — counts out a stack of £20 British notes delivered in a cash-gifting scheme. Using the pronoun "we" without defining who "we" was, Needham told viewers that "we" intended to open a cash-gifting "school." About three years later, Club Asteria positioned itself as an online "education" leader. In a March 2008 cash-gifting video, Needham was featured counting out a small stack of U.S. $100 bills. What was needed, Needham coached, was "training" on how to post cash-gifting videos on the Internet. Prosecutors say cash-gifting is illegal. The BBB calls it a pyramid scheme. In May 2011, CONSOB, the Italian securities regulator, blocked promos for Club Asteria in Italy. Needham has called himself a Club Asteria owner, and Club Asteria had described him as the director of sales and marketing “responsible for establishing Country, Regional and Network Team Leaders."

    In this post, we included a March 2008 Dailymotion video of Hank Needham — later to emerge as one of Club Asteria’s purported owners — hawking a cash gifting scheme in which five $100 bills (U.S.) spilled out of an envelope tucked inside an envelope delivered by overnight courier DHL. (Please note that March 2008 video also appears on a separate site. The date notation on that site is May 2008.)

    Another cash-gifting video from Needham — this one  dated June 2008 — has surfaced. In the June 2008 video, Needham is holding an envelope from FedEx, another overnight courier. “Now, we have another [envelope] — I won’t really go through the courier — I don’t think we’re supposed to use this courier anymore,” Needham tells viewers, after making sure they notice what he describes as a “little pile of cash that’s accumulating” to his left.

    As the June 2008 video proceeds, Needham removes cash that has been packed snugly in the FedEx envelope. It’s British pounds as opposed to U.S. currency this time — and this time the money has come from “Robin” (or Robyn?) in the “British Isles.” Unlike the March (and May) 2008 video in which “George,” presumably an American, is reported by Needham to have sent five large U.S. bills, “Robin,” presumably a Brit, has chosen to send 25 twenty-pound notes. Needham counts out all 25 bills, creating five rows with five bills in each row. Why Needham was reluctant the mention the name of FedEx was not made clear in the video. What was clear was the Needham wanted viewers to know that “we’re opening up a website called CashGiftingSchool.com.”

    He did not define “we.” The “school” website, which appears to have been registered in April 2008 while Needham was pushing the AdSurfDaily scheme in addition to cash-gifting, now resolves to a page that beams ads. (It’s worth noting that Needham, in 2008, was wearing casual attire while hawking the cash-gifting “school,” apparently from his home. Flash forward three years to 2011: Club Asteria is positioning itself as an “education” leader and featuring Needham on video. He is wearing a crisp, black suit in the 2011 video — and the backdrop is a board room. A button promoting the 2011 Club Asteria video in which Needham is showcased in the black suit is labeled “ABOUT COURAGE.” The button appears in Club Asteria’s October 2011 recruitment house organ.)

    Various Club Asteria-related entities have been trading on the names of various charities, including the American Red Cross. The Red Cross sent the purported Asteria Philanthropic Foundation a cease-and-desist letter 11 days ago, and the relief agency said yesterday that the foundation agreed to stop using the Red Cross  logo and other materials. How long it will take the Asteria-themed enterprises to comply is unclear.

    Needham’s image also appeared in 2008 promos for AdSurfDaily, an autosurf the U.S. Secret Service called an international Ponzi scheme.

    The Attorney General

    Before you take a look at the June 2008 Needham video — which appears to have been placed on Dailymotion just two months before the spectacular seizure by the U.S. Secret Service of tens of millions of dollars in the ASD Ponzi case — we’d like you to take a look at what the attorney general of Michigan says about cash gifting. Bill Schuette notes that purveyors can be charged with felonies. Mike Cox, Schuette’s predecessor as attorney general, said the same thing.

    Needham does not mention the law in either of his videos; he’s too busy counting bills. He appears to be less than pleased that “Robin,” unlike “George” in the other video, packed the bills tightly. It is unclear in either video whether DHL or FedEx left the envelopes in a secure place before Needham retrieved them. In other words, had the envelopes been left on Needham’s doorstep, they could have been stolen, an outcome sure to have created an unpleasant situation for both the senders and Needham.

    The BBB

    Now — to accent this brief study in contrast before you view Needham’s June 2008 cash-gifting video — take a look at this brief video on cash-gifting fraud by the Better Business Bureau:

    Hank Needham


    The CASH PROOF by hankneedham

  • EDITORIAL: Another Dark Day For ‘Asteria Foundation’ And Related Entities As American Red Cross Issues Statement Suggesting It Was Duped: ‘We Have No Record Of Receiving A Donation From This Organization And Have Not Partnered With Them’ On Japan Earthquake Relief ‘Or Any Other Projects’

    UPDATED 9:36 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) The American Red Cross is a national treasure whose powerful and noble name never should be diluted or trifled with. But it is now apparent that various Club Asteria-related entities have done exactly that by not revealing certain critical information to the Red Cross while at once shamelessly seeking to build the Asteria brand across multiple platforms by tying it to the Red Cross — beginning in the spring during a period in which the agency was responding to a crisis in Japan.

    To describe what the Asteria entities have done as spectacularly parasitic with equally disgusting measures of greed and ham-handedness thrown in would be a gross  understatement. In any event, the Asteria entities have created a deplorable situation that sparked the Red Cross to issue a statement today. (You’ll see the full statement beginning four paragraphs below.) The statement was issued this afternoon from Washington, D.C., and emailed by the Red Cross to the PP Blog. The statement concerns the purported Asteria Philanthropic Foundation, which is linked to the purported Club Asteria business “opportunity” and other Asteria-themed enterprises. The Asteria enterprises are using the Red Cross name and logo in promos across multiple websites — while calling the Red Cross a partner. No partnership exists, the Red Cross made clear today.

    Members of Club Asteria — participants in any of the Asteria-themed enterprises — need to know that at least one of Club Asteria’s purported owners, Hank Needham, has been linked to promotions for online Ponzi schemes and pyramid schemes. (You’ll see a cash-gifting video starring Needham below.) The stench lives on three years after the taping, and it cannot be dissipated by leeching off the name of the Red Cross.

    This is a story that only is getting uglier. Ten days ago — after becoming concerned that its name and logo were being misused — the Red Cross sent the purported Asteria Foundation a cease-and-desist letter. It later developed that Needham had appeared in a May 2008 video that advertised a cash-gifting scheme. Needham, whose face also appeared in a 2008 promo for the alleged $110 million AdSurfDaily Ponzi scheme, is seen in the video opening an envelope from a courier service. A smaller envelope was packaged in the courier envelope — and five $100 bills spilled out of the smaller envelope. Needham fanned them for the camera. Cash-gifting schemes are prosecutable under pyramid-scheme statutes, despite what prospects are led to believe. U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., called cash-gifters “parasites” when he was attorney general of Connecticut.

    The PP Blog has added the italics to today’s statement by the Red Cross:

    The Asteria Foundation contacted the American Red Cross in April and said it wanted to make a donation to aid relief efforts in Japan after the earthquake and tsunami. At the time, the organization requested information on how the donation might be put to use and we directed their representative to published information on Red Cross recovery efforts. The organization also requested the ability to mention its donation to us in its own press materials, which we felt was appropriate.

    However, we have no record of receiving a donation from this organization and have not partnered with them on that or any other projects. We have requested that the organization remove our logo and other materials from its web site, and they have agreed to do so.

    In September, Club Asteria removed an image and purported “interview” with famed actor Will Smith from its recruitment emagazine amid questions about whether the purported “opportunity” was trying to plant the seed that Smith had endorsed the company.

    Scores of promos for Club Asteria, which trades on the name of the World Bank, have appeared online this year. The promos described Club Asteria as a “passive” investment opportunity that generated a weekly return of up to 10 percent. Club Asteria suspended member cashouts in June, after acknowledging its PayPal account had been suspended — and after claims about Club Asteria came under investigation in Italy.

    Club Asteria was widely promoted on Ponzi scheme forums such as TalkGold and MoneyMakerGroup. Members said payouts were routed through a Hong Kong entity known as Asteria Holdings Limited. When things turned sour at Club Asteria, the Ponzi-forum promoters turned their attentions to other HYIP “programs” that offered absurd returns that translated into purported yearly gains in the hundreds of percent.

    The Asteria Foundation also has used a Hong Kong address — tying it to a fax number in Virginia. Asteria Corp., Club Asteria’s apparent parent company and also the apparent driving force behind the purported Asteria Foundation, is based in Virginia.

    State authorities said last month that neither Club Asteria nor Asteria Corp. was registered to sell securities. Club Asteria has blamed its members for promotional blunders and for PayPal’s decision to suspend its account. That explanation, however, strains credulity — given Needham’s history of pushing multiple fraud schemes. It is inconceivable that Club Asteria did not know that its growth was being fueled by serial hucksters on Ponzi forums and by thousands of promos on the independent websites of Club Asteria affiliates, many of whom preemptively denied Club Asteria was conducting a Ponzi scheme. They could not possibly know whether Club Asteria was on the up-and-up without seeing the books and records from banks and as many as four separate payment processors.

    How much money Club Asteria gained as a result of promos that positioned the company as a cash cow is unclear. Scores of members claimed that paying Club Asteria $19.95 a month would produce a yearly income of more than $20,000. Club Asteria is believed to have gained considerable traction in the Third World. Club Asteria pitchman “Ken Russo,” who also is known as “DRdave” and is believed to operate from the United States, claimed on Ponzi boards to have received thousands of dollars in recruitment commissions via wire from Hong Kong.

    Club Asteria, which has described itself as a revenue-sharing program, does not publish verifiable financial information. The firm now appears to be branching out into social networking, positioning itself as an education leader and “cause” marketing company.

    Ponzi forum promoters, whom some critics describe derisively as “pimps” and “referral whores,” shilled for Club Asteria for months before the company suspended cashouts.

    2008 Hank Needham Video On Cash-Gifting

    Please note that the URL advertised in the Dailymotion video below — ptigift.com — no longer resolves to a server.


    What is all the fuss about Cash Gifting? by hankneedham

  • URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: American Red Cross Sends ‘Cease-And-Desist’ Letter To Asteria Foundation

    URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: The American Red Cross, which opened a probe last week into the potential misuse of its name and logo by the Asteria Philanthropic Foundation, has sent the foundation a letter to cease and desist.

    Anne Marie Borrego, a spokeswoman for the Red Cross in Washington, D.C., said this morning that the letter went out yesterday. The Asteria Philanthropic Foundation, also known as the Asteria Foundation, uses a Hong Kong street address and has issued at least one undated “press release” that uses a dateline of Reston, Va.

    The foundation is linked to Club Asteria, a purported earnings “program” that traded on the name of the World Bank and became a darling of the Ponzi boards earlier this year before suspending cashouts.

    The Red Cross logo and name appeared in Club Asteria’s October 2011 house organ, which the firm uses for recruiting. The Red Cross name and logo also appears on the Asteria foundation’s .org domain.

    Claims about Club Asteria caught the attention of CONSOB, the Italian securities regulator, in May. Officials in Virginia last week said that neither Club Asteria nor Asteria Corp. was registered to sell securities in the state. Asteria Corp. is Club Asteria’s apparent parent company.

    Virginia officials declined to say whether a state-level probe into the activities of Club Asteria was under way.

    A 2008 promo for AdSurfDaily features an image of Hank Needham, a purported Club Asteria principal. ASD later was implicated by the U.S. Secret Service in an alleged Ponzi scheme involving at least $110 million.

    Club Asteria was widely promoted on Ponzi boards such as TalkGold and MoneyMakerGroup. Promoters later turned their attention to “programs” such as Centurion Wealth Circle and JustBeenPaid, which is trading on the names and images of Warren Buffett, Oprah Winfrey, Benjamin Franklin and “Mr. Spock” of the Star Trek movie and televison series.

    Last month, Club Asteria removed an image of actor Will Smith from its house organ. This month, the company is trading on a quote from Mahatma Gandhi, the slain champion of freedom in India. A “JOIN OUR MISSION” button was placed inside a quote from Gandhi, whose name was misspelled in the publication.

    See earlier story.

  • DEVELOPING STORY: Awaiting Trial, Accused AdSurfDaily Schemer Andy Bowdoin Resurfaces As Pitchman For OneX, ‘Opportunity’ Flogged On Ponzi Forums; ‘I Believe That God Has Brought Us OneX To Provide The Necessary Funds To Win This Case,’ Indicted ASD Patriarch Claims; ‘This Program Can Provide You With Earnings Beyond Your Wildest Imagination . . .’

    AdSurfDaily President Andy Bowdoin told members yesterday that they could "earn $99,000 very quickly" in a program known as OneX. The Florida-based ASD patriarch claimed to hope he could fund his defense to U.S. securities-related charges through OneX, which appears to be tied to a Panamanian firm that uses a domain name with a Montenegro extension and may operate from Isle of Man in the Irish Sea.

    EDITOR’S NOTE: The PP Blog may have more on this developing story in the coming days.

    In a bizarre development, accused Ponzi schemer Andy Bowdoin of AdSurfDaily told webinar listeners yesterday that he intended to fund his criminal defense to charges of wire fraud, securities fraud and selling unregistered securities through a purported business opportunity known as OneX, the PP Blog has learned.

    OneX, which uses a domain extension assigned to the European country of Montenegro and a webserver apparently positioned in the Irish Sea nation of Isle of Man, is described in MLM-style web promos as a 4X4 matrix feeder program for a Panamanian investment firm and commodities enterprise known as QLxchange.

    Whether OneX or QLxchange have any securities or commodities registrations in the United States or other countries was not immediately clear.

    Serving as the webinar host, ASD figure Tari Steward, who is helping Bowdoin raise funds for Bowdoin’s criminal defense and is listed in Bowdoin court filings as a potential ASD witness, described OneX as a winner while introducing Bowdoin.

    OneX has “already proven to be hugely successful here in the U.S.A. and all around the world,” Steward said.

    Mixing commentary on his Ponzi case with his OneX sales pitch, Bowdoin, 76, managed to work in a dig against the federal judge presiding over the criminal case against him. Bowdoin also chided federal prosecutors in the District of Columbia.

    Saying he was pleased that his trial date had been set nearly a year from now in September 2012 and describing it as an act of divine providence made possible after prayerful introspection, Bowdoin suggested the judge and prosecutors were disappointed that Collyer’s busy scheduled did not permit an earlier trial date.

    Both “Judge Collyer and the prosecution was wanting the closest time possible because they didn’t want to give us much time to prepare,” Bowdoin claimed, shortly after greeting webinar listeners with a “Hi, Folks.”

    Isle of Man highlighted in red: Source: Wikipedia.

    And Bowdoin, who did not identify the operators of OneX or speak to whether the purported program was required to be registered to market securities and commodities to U.S. inhabitants, sang the praises of the firm.

    “This program can provide you with earnings beyond your wildest imagination . . .” he claimed.

    Bowdoin further ventured that OneX “will produce the legal fees we need and make each one of you a ton of money.”

    “Now, when you finish this webinar,” he continued, “you’ll be so excited that you won’t be able to stop thinking about it.”

    ASD members will “wake up in the morning thinking about [OneX],” Bowdoin claimed. “For the next three days, you’ll be thinking about it constantly.”

    At a May 2008 ASD “rally” in Las Vegas prior to the seizure of tens of millions of dollars from his personal bank accounts, Bowdoin — describing himself as a Christian “money magnet” — urged members to imagine payments from ASD flowing to them “constantly.”

    Federal prosecutions referenced Bowdoin’s Las Vegas remarks in the Ponzi indictment announced against him in December 2010. He has been free awaiting trial since his arrest.

    Bowdoin went on to claim in yesterday’s OneX pitch that “you’ll soon see how you can earn $99,000 very quickly.”

    As part of his OneX pitch, Bowdoin described the firm as “one of the greatest financial vehicles on the Internet today” and asked a series of questions:

    • “Do you want to get out of debt?”
    • Do you need to catch up on some house payments?”
    • “Do you want to pay cash in the next 90 days for a new automobile . . .”

    Bowdoin’s pitch also mixed in quotations from scripture.

    Based on its research, the PP Blog is reporting today that members of the purported Club Asteria business opportunity and the purported JustBeenPaid opportunity also have promoted OneX. An image of Club Asteria principal Hank Needham appeared in an ad for ASD in 2008. Meanwhile, web records show that Frederick Mann, the purported operator of JustBeenPaid, also was an ASD pitchman.

    Among the Club Asteria pitchmen who turned their attentions to OneX are “strosdegoz.” Club Asteria-related claims came under fire from CONSOB, the Italian securities regulator, in May.

    Also participating in Bowdoin’s webinar was Rayda Roundy, whom Bowdoin described as a former ASD “trainer.”

    Roundy told listeners that a “pay it forward” strategy with OneX will help participants make money and help Bowdoin raise defense funds.

    OneX participants could create their own “bailout” program, Roundy claimed.

    After Bowdoin took back the webinar helm from Roundy, the ASD patriarch reminded members to send questions about OneX to a Gmail email address.

    And then Bowdoin said this:

    “Now, from time to time, people ask me, ‘Andy, how do you remain so peaceful?’ My answer is God.”

    He went on to claim that God had led him to his strategy of using OneX to raise defense funds.

    “I believe that God has brought us OneX to provide the necessary funds to win this case,” Bowdoin said.

     

  • Authorities In Virginia Neither ‘Confirm [N]or Deny’ That Investigation Into Club Asteria Is Under Way; Firm Whose Growth Was Fueled On Ponzi Boards Before Cashout Suspension And CONSOB Probe Is Not Registered To Sell Securities In The State

    Screen shot: The logo of Asteria Philanthropic Foundation, which also has been described as the Asteria Foundation. The foundation, according to its website, is an offshoot of Club Asteria, which described itself in June as a "cause" marketing company.

    UPDATED 4:14 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) Club Asteria, the offshoot of Virginia-based Asteria Corp. and the apparent braintrust behind an emerging entity known as the Asteria Philanthropic Foundation, is not registered to sell securities in Virginia, the state said Thursday.

    Neither is Asteria Corp., according to state records.

    Citing confidentiality laws, the state declined to say Friday whether it was aware that CONSOB, the Italian Securities regulator, had opened a probe into Club Asteria-related matters earlier this year. The state also declined to say whether it had launched its own Club Asteria probe.

    “We cannot confirm or deny that an investigation is being conducted due to the prohibitions in Section 13.1-518 of the Code of Virginia,” said Katha Treanor, a spokeswoman for the State Corporation Commission (SCC). The commission oversees the Virginia Division of Securities & Retail Franchising.

    Among other things, the statute cited by Treanor forbids the state from disclosing publicly whether a probe is under way while empowering it to issue subpoenas, compel attendance at hearings and share information with other law-enforcement agencies.

    Club Asteria, which announced a cash crunch in June after it acknowledged in May that its PayPal account had been suspended, has described itself as a “cause” marketing company. A PowerPoint presentation for Club Asteria claimed the program offered a 25 percent “matching bonus,” along with”passive” income for Gold and Silver members that was “100% GUARANTEED.”

    Ponzi forum promos for Club Asteria claimed payouts came via wire from a Hong Kong entity known  as Asteria Holdings Limited. Club Asteria, which claimed to be a revenue-sharing program, has traded on the name of the World Bank.

    The news in Virginia developed as the General Counsel’s Office of the American Red Cross said it was opening a probe into the potential misuse of the Red Cross logo and name by the Asteria Philanthropic Foundation, which also is known as the Asteria Foundation and has issued at least one undated “press release” with a dateline of Reston, Va.

    Andrea Lucas, Club Asteria’s managing member, was quoted in the release. Among the oddities in the release is that the foundation announced its launch “today” — without putting a date on the release. Visitors to the site could form the impression that “today” literally meant the day they visited the site, regardless of the day of the week.

    Although the foundation has its own website at a .org domain and Club Asteria claimed in its October emagazine that the Red Cross was a “partner,” the Red Cross said Thursday that it had been unable “to confirm a [Club Asteria] link to the Red Cross.”

    If that continues to hold true, Club Asteria will receive a cease-and-desist order, the Red Cross said, noting that individuals do not have to go through Club Asteria to donate to the Red Cross. Earlier this year, Club Asteria encouraged members to recruit more affiliates willing to pay Club Asteria a fee to enable the company to provide earthquake relief in Japan.

    Last month, Club Asteria removed content from its emagazine that suggested that actor Will Smith had endorsed the purported business opportunity. Club Asteria did not explain why it had reconfigured the publication to remove Smith-related content. The removal occurred after the PP Blog sought comment from Smith’s publicist on whether the actor was aware his name and image were being used by Club Asteria.

    In the October issue of Club Asteria’s emagazine, a button that leads to a registration page for Club Asteria was placed inside a quotation from Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi, the slain Indian civil-rights champion, was assassinated in 1948. Club Asteria misspelled Gandhi’s name in the publication, which is the firm’s recruitment organ. The Red Cross logo appears both inside the publication and on the foundation’s .org site.

    It was unclear yesterday whether the foundation, which uses a Hong Kong address in a passage on its .org domain and a fax number with a Virginia area code, was registered as a charitable entity in Virginia. Charitable entities in the state are overseen by the Virginia Office of Consumer Affairs, a branch of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. (The PP Blog contacted the Office of Consumer Affairs on Friday to determine if the foundation is registered in Virginia, and expects to hear back Monday.)

    Among the claims on the .org domain was that the foundation has “tax exempt” status with the IRS, but a database maintained by the IRS appears to have no listing either for the Asteria Philanthropic Foundation or the Asteria Foundation.

    Records in Virginia show that two corporate business registrations for an entity known as Asteria Corp. were “terminated” — one on Nov. 2, 2009, another on May 4, 2010. The reasons behind the terminations and the registration details of the corporations were not immediately clear.

    On May 31, 2010, Asteria Corp. — using the services of a law firm — sent a check for $325 to the state via overnight courier (FedEx). The fee included $100 for expedited service, and the registration as a business entity was restored on June 8, 2010, according to records.

    Club Asteria was popularized in part by posts on Ponzi boards such as TalkGold and MoneyMakerGroup, both of which are listed in federal court filings as places from which Ponzi schemes are promoted. A TalkGold thread shows that the first promo for Club Asteria was posted on April 5, 2010. The thread, which has been moved to the TalkGold scams folder, ultimately grew to 139 pages — with 10 posts per page.

    Meanwhile, on MoneyMakerGroup, the first Club Asteria post was dated May 29, 2010 — while Asteria Corp.’s corporate registration was listed as “terminated” in Virginia. That thread ultimately grew to 221 pages — with 15 posts per page.

    Two days later — on May 31, 2010 — Asteria Corp. sent $325 to the state and asked for expedited service to restore the firm’s corporate registration.

    Well-known Ponzi board hucksters such as “Ken Russo,” “10BucksUp” and “manolo” were among the Club Asteria cheerleaders. “Ken Russo” also is known as “DRdave.”

    Scores of Club Asteria promoters described the program as a “passive” investment opportunity that paid out anywhere from 3 percent to 10 percent a week. Earnings were described as guaranteed, and some promoters lured recruits by offering to return a portion of their monthly fees. The Ponzi forum promos and pitches by Club Asteria members on Blogs and websites led to questions about whether Club Asteria was selling unregistered securities and whether the firm had come into receipt of proceeds tainted by other schemes pitched on the Ponzi boards.

    CONSOB announced in May that it had blocked Club Asteria promos in Italy. Club Asteria acknowledged during the same month that its PayPal account had been suspended, blaming the development on members and later claiming it was experiencing a cash crunch.

    Weekly payouts to members first were slashed, and later were eliminated. Ponzi forum promoters remained busy, turning their attention to other purported programs, some of which have collapsed or are in a classic state of Ponzi decay. One of the programs with members in common with Club Asteria — JustBeenPaid — claimed it was moving to “offshore” servers and forced members to affirm they were not government spies or media lackeys.

    Frederick Mann, the purported braintrust behind JustBeenPaid, was a promoter for AdSurfDaily, the Florida firm the U.S. Secret Service said in 2008 was operating an international Ponzi scheme. JustBeenPaid is trading on the names of Warren Buffett and Oprah Winfrey — and even has an ad banner with an image of Mr. Spock,” the fictional spaceman from the Star Trek series.

    Hank Needham, who appears in Club Asteria videos and has been described as an owner of the company, also was an AdSurfDaily promoter, according to a 2008 promo for ASD.

  • INCREDIBLE: Month After Will Smith Debacle, Club Asteria Turns To Mahatma Gandhi To Drive Traffic — And Misspells Name Of Assassinated Champion Of Freedom While Turning Him Into A Pitchman; House Organ Also Includes Photo Of Richard Branson

    Last month, it was famed actor Will Smith. This month, it is Mahatma Gandhi, the civil-rights champion and beacon of freedom in India who was assassinated at a prayer meeting in 1948.

    After placing a “JOIN NOW” button under an image of Smith in its September house organ and later removing both the  image and a purported “interview” with Smith, Club Asteria has turned to Gandhi in its October issue.

    Although the promo features no image of Gandhi, it does include a quote attributed to him: “Be the change you want to see in the world.”

    The promo misspells the slain leader’s last name, and a “JOIN OUR MISSION” button appears directly below the quotation, which appears on Page 37 of the October house organ.

    Club Asteria became a darling of the Ponzi boards earlier this year before slashing payouts and later eliminating them. Promos for the firm were banned in Italy, and Club Asteria acknowledged its PayPal account had been suspended.

    The developments were blamed on members.

    Club Asteria and thousands of its members have traded on the name of the World Bank. The firm announced a cash crisis in June, comparing the situation to a run on the bank.

    A spread on Pages 26 and 27 of the October Club Asteria house organ features a photo of famed entrepreneur Richard Branson posing with a group of mostly younger people. An accompanying story asserts that a group of Club Asteria members conversed with Branson at an entrepreneurial event in Richmond, Va., “a few weeks ago.”

    “Both Richard Branson and Club Asteria share a common link and that link is GRATITUDE,” the story claimed.

    The story appears to have been written by a Club Asteria staffer. A “JOIN NOW” button appears on Page 27, though not directly below the image of Branson.

    Ponzi forum boosters such as “Ken Russo” repeatedly sang the praises of Club Asteria.

    The PP Blog reported yesterday that a separate program promoted on the Ponzi boards — Just Been Paid — was using images of Oprah Winfrey to drive traffic. JustBeenPaid also is using images of Warren Buffett.

    In 2008, a “program” with the bizarre name of Cash Tanker used images of Jesus Christ in sales pitches. Cash Tanker ultimately tanked.

    Many of the “programs” on the Ponzi boards — Club Asteria, Just Been Paid and AdSurfDaily, for instance — have or had promoters and members in common. Promo posts for Cash Tanker appeared on the now-defunct, pro-ASD “Surf’s Up” forum, and Club Asteria executive Hank Needham has been linked to promo for ASD.

    The October 2011 Club Asteria house organ, which includes the Gandhi quote and attached  sign-up button and the image of Branson with a sign-up button on the same page, also features a photo of Needham. A button below the Needham photo reads, “ABOUT COURAGE.”

     

     

  • Image Of Famed Actor And Grammy-Winner Will Smith Appears In Club Asteria House Organ Just Above ‘JOIN NOW’ Button; No Immediate Comment From His Publicist

    "ABOUT US" and "JOIN NOW" buttons — each punctuated with exclamation points — appear below this image of actor Will Smith in Club Asteria's September 2011 house organ. The PP Blog has cropped this screen shot not to show Smith's face, but his face appears in the Club Asteria promo.

    UPDATED 1:47 P.M. EDT (U.S.A. OCT. 29, 2011.)  An image of famed actor and rapper Will Smith appears in Club Asteria’s September house organ, an online glossy used by the firm to recruit affiliates across the world. It was unclear if Smith had knowledge of the promo or had authorized Club Asteria to use his likeness.

    A link to the publication featuring the image of Smith appeared on the TalkGold Ponzi forum yesterday. TalkGold is referenced in federal court filings as a place from which international fraud schemes are promoted.

    Smith’s publicists at the 42West agency in Los Angeles had no immediate comment on the promo when contacted today by the PP Blog, which provided a link to the Club Asteria publication. The entertainer’s image appears on Page 7 of the September gusher.

    Buttons using the words “LEARN MORE!”  “ABOUT US! and “JOIN NOW!” appear a short distance below the image of Smith. But readers who press the buttons do not receive information about Smith. Rather, the buttons forward to Club Asteria’s website. The “JOIN NOW” button, for instance, takes readers to Club Asteria’s registration page.

    The presence of the image of Smith, the wording and design of the page and the positioning of the buttons lead to questions about whether the “Independence Day” and “Men in Black” star had endorsed the purported Club Asteria opportunity or whether Club Asteria was trying to create the impression among readers that he was a spokesman for the company.

    In May, Club Asteria promotions were banned in Italy by the Italian securities regulator CONSOB. The agency has published its orders and findings on Club Asteria affiliate websites in Italy.

    It is common for shady promoters of multilevel-marketing (MLM) “opportunities” to plant the seed in promos that a particular product or service is endorsed by a celebrity when no actual endorsement exists.

    A headline of “Will Smith Inspires the World With Enthusiasm for Life, Work & People!” appears above the image of Smith in the Club Asteria promo.

    A deck below the headline uses these words, “An Interview With Will Smith,” suggesting that Club Asteria itself had a direct connection to him. In a short blurb below the deck, readers are told that the “interview” and “discussion” with Smith will inform them about the wisdom he gained “throughout his journey to success” and that Smith will explain “the importance of extraordinary dreams.”

    A button to a video —  apparently one that appeared on YouTube and is being reframed inside the house organ — appears below the image of Smith. When clicked, the video loads footage of an interview with Smith conducted by 60 Minutes reporter Steve Kroft (NOTE: This paragraph was edited on Oct. 29, 2011, to reflect that Kroft, not Scott Pelley, conducted the 60 Minutes’ interview.) As the video proceeds, it loads footage of Smith being interviewed by broadcaster Charlie Rose. It then works in footage of a Smith interview on NBC’s Today show and a Smith interview on the “Ellen” show. Footage from other shows also are spliced into the video.

    Club Asteria reportedly recruited more than 300,000 members in a worldwide promotional blitz that traded on the name of the World Bank. Hundreds — if not thousands — of promos for the firm claimed Club Asteria was a program that provided a weekly return on investment of between 3 percent and 10 percent. The offers were targeted at the world’s poor, with Club Asteria positioned as a company that could lift them out of poverty.

    Club Asteria was widely promoted on forums associated with Ponzi schemes and the sale of unregistered securities. Members said Club Asteria first slashed weekly payouts to members in the spring and then eliminated them. Club Asteria announced in May that its PayPal account had been frozen, a development it blamed on members.

    In various promos prior to the PayPal freeze, Club Asteria affiliates preemptively denied Club Asteria was operating a Ponzi scheme. Club Asteria managing member Andrea Lucas, whom the World Bank said in March once held a staff position at the bank, last worked for the bank in 1986 — 25 years ago.

    Lucas was described in promos for Club Asteria as a former “Director,” chairman and vice president of the World Bank. Images of Hank Needham, another Club Asteria principal, appeared in 2008 promos for AdSurfDaily.

    In August of that year, the U.S. Secret Service seized tens of millions of dollars from the personal bank accounts of ASD President Andy Bowdoin, alleging that he was presiding over an international Ponzi scheme.

    Bowdoin was arrested on criminal charges of wire fraud, securities fraud and selling unregistered securities in December 2010. His trial is pending. Like Club Asteria, ASD also was promoted on Ponzi boards such as TalkGold and MoneyMakerGroup, which is listed in federal court filings as a place from which the alleged Pathway To Prosperity and Legisi Ponzi schemes were promoted.

    ASD, Pathway To Prosperity and Legisi created tens of thousands of victims globally and fraudulently obtained a combined total of about $250 million, according to court filings.

  • UPDATE: CONSOB, Italy’s Securities Regulator, Issues New Order In Probe Related To Club Asteria; Findings And Effect Not Immediately Clear; Google Translation Software Calls CONSOB A ‘Bag’; Yahoo Calls Club A ‘Starfish’; PP Blog Awaits Official Government Translation

    Dear Readers,

    The PP Blog became aware last night that CONSOB, Italy’s equivalent of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), had issued a new order on Monday in its investigation into certain claims made online in Italy about the purported Club Asteria business “opportunity.”

    Club Asteria has been widely promoted online as a “passive” investment program that provides a weekly return that projects to yearly gains in the hundreds of percentage points. The firm, which claims to be a revenue-sharing program, is based in Virginia. Its offer is targeted at the world’s poor.

    The CONSOB order, which addresses concerns first raised by the agency during the spring about how citizens of Italy were approached in online solicitations to join Club Asteria, was signed by CONSOB President Giuseppe Vegas on Aug. 22 and announced yesterday.

    The PP Blog has a copy of the order. What it does not have is a reliable translation from Italian to English.

    Italy first raised issues about Club Asteria in May. It is believed to be the first nation to have done so publicly, and Club Asteria may have sales affiliates in 150 or more countries worldwide. The Italian probe — coupled with claims about Club Asteria in other languages or in butchered or even highly polished, stylized English — led to questions about whether Club Asteria and tens of thousands of affiliates were selling unregistered securities on a global scale — with Club Asteria being the beneficiary of an unlawful offering.

    Because Google’s translation tool leaves a lot to be desired — and because the CONSOB order potentially affects thousands of Club Asteria members and was released in Italian — the PP Blog contacted CONSOB by email at 5:49 a.m. (EDT, U.S.A.) today to see if an official English translation was available and to clarify certain CONSOB findings. The Blog addressed CONSOB in English — and is uncertain if its email was received in Italy and understood.

    It’s easy to imagine an Italian reporter who did not speak English and needed the SEC to provide a document in Italian or an SEC employee to answer questions in Italian encountering the same information hurdles.

    At 1:08 p.m. (EDT, U.S.A.) today — approximately seven hours after asking CONSOB for assistance and lacking confidence that its email to CONSOB in Italy had been received and understood — the PP Blog contacted Italy’s U.S. Embassy in Washington by phone. The Blog asked the Embassy’s assistance in translating the new CONSOB order from Italian to English, and the Embassy provided an email address through which the Blog could submit a request for journalistic assistance through the Embassy. At 1:55 p.m. (EDT, U.S.A.), the Blog emailed the Embassy with the CONSOB order as it exists in Italian, and also supplied a link to the CONSOB webpage at which the agency’s order is published. The Blog is awaiting the Embassy’s response.

    An English translation by Google of the CONSOB order is available, but it is highly confusing, if not tortured. CONSOB, for instance, is described in the translation as “THE NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR THE SOCIETY AND THE BAG.” A translation available through Yahoo is no better; it refers to Club Asteria as “Club Starfish.”

    Club Asteria, which trades on the name of the World Bank and has blamed members for its PR problems and a freeze of its PayPal account, has not updated its news webpage since July 21. Members across the globe have been left in an information vacuum for weeks, while the firm directs attention to its glossy “e-Magazine” and asks members to “Imagine the Possibilities with Club Asteria.”

    The PP Blog hopes to publish a comprehensive report about CONSOB’s findings after it hears back from the Embassy.

    For now, the Blog is reporting that suspension orders against two websites CONSOB identified in May as Club Asteria troublespots apparently continue to be in effect and that the sites are serving PDFs in Italian of the Italian allegations.

    Posters on Ponzi scheme forums well-known to U.S. law enforcement claim that Club Asteria has more than 300,000 members globally — and Club Asteria sales pitches on the Ponzi forums and websites independent of the forums are almost incomprehensibly reckless.

    Some members have claimed that a monthly payment of $19.95 to Club Asteria produces a “passive” income of $20,800 a year. In other words, more or less pay Club Asteria a yearly total of $240 in 12 easy installments of $20 a month. Do nothing else unless you want to sponsor new members to make even more money. Receive  nearly $21,000 annually — forever.

    The offers are targeted at the world’s poor.

    Whether the impoverished people of the world made any meaningful money after becoming pitchmen for Club Asteria remains far from clear. What is clear — if the “I Got Paid” posts on Ponzi forums are reliable — is that well-known Ponzi pitchmen cleaned up by recruiting members for Club Asteria.

    In July 2010, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) issued a warning about HYIP schemes popularized in web forums and through social-media outlets. FINRA called the HYIP sphere a “bizarre substratum of the Internet.”

    Just a month before, in June 2010, the United States and six other member-nations of the International Mass Marketing Fraud Working Group (IMMFWG) issued a warning about global marketing fraud.

    It is known that some promoters race from online scheme to online scheme.

    A photograph of Hank Needham, a Club Asteria principal, appears online in a 2008 sales pitch for the alleged $110 million AdSurfDaily Ponzi scheme. Like Club Asteria, ASD was based in the United States — and also was promoted on the Ponzi boards.

    ASD President Andy Bowdoin was arrested by the U.S. Secret Service in December 2010 after his indictment on felony charges of wire fraud, securities fraud and selling unregistered securities online.

  • BULLETIN: ASDCashGenerator Website Now Returns A Server Error; PP Blog Observed Error After Clicking On Link In 2008 ASD Promo That Featured Photo Of Current Club Asteria Pitchman Hank Needham

    This 2008 ad for AdSurfDaily features an image of Hank Needham and continues to appear online. Last month, an old ASD Cash Generator affiliate link within the ad began to resolve to a page for an opportunity known as Ad Sales Daily International. Today, however, the link is resolving to a page that returns a server error. The reason why was not immediately clear. In a video released last month, Needham identified himself as a principal of Club Asteria. The video was released after Club Asteria, which trades on the name of the World Bank, acknowledged that its PayPal account had been frozen and claimed that it had suspended payouts to members. Club Asteria blamed the developments on members. But some Club Asteria members, including "Ken Russo," have claimed that they continue to be paid by Club Asteria through AlertPay, a Canadian payment processor. "Ken Russo" posts as "DRdave" on the TalkGold Ponzi forum. Talk Gold, which is known for helping HYIPs and other "programs" that promise or suggest preposterous weekly or even daily payouts to members achieve virality on the Internet, moved ClubAsteria to its scam folder last week. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) said in July 2010 that "HYIPs are old-fashioned Ponzi schemes dressed up for a Web 2.0 world." Some "programs" have tried to distance themselves from the term "HYIP" by declaring themselves "revenue-sharing" programs or using other language tweaks in their offers. Some Club Asteria members have claimed that the firm's program paid out up to 520 percent a year — while preemptively denying Club Asteria was an HYIP or Ponzi scheme and describing it as a revenue-sharing program. Other members described Club Asteria as a "passive" program that provided a weekly return on investment and an income of more than $20,000 a year if members paid only $19.95 a month.

    BULLETIN: (UPDATED 10:16 A.M. EDT (AUG. 22, U.S.A.) As the PP Blog first reported on July 12, the ASDCashGenerator.com domain once controlled by accused Ponzi schemer Andy Bowdoin had returned online and was promoting a mysterious opportunity known as “Ad Sales Daily International.”

    But the ASDCashGenerator website now is throwing a server error and returning this message: “The server encountered an unexpected condition which prevented it from fulfilling the request. The script had an error or it did not produce any output . . .”

    In July, the PP Blog observed that the ASDCashGenerator domain had become operational again after clicking on a link from a 2008 ASD affiliate promotion that featured a photograph of Hank Needham. After his days in 2008 as an ASD pitchman and lead generator, Needham emerged as a principal in Club Asteria.

    Club Asteria, which trades on the name of the World Bank and targets its offer to the world’s poor, announced weeks ago that its PayPal account had been frozen and that it had suspended payouts to members amid a serious cash crunch. The firm blamed the developments on members.

    Claims about Club Asteria are under investigation by Italian regulators.

    Some Club Asteria promoters claimed Club Asteria was a “passive” investment program that paid a return of up to 10 percent a week. The news section of the firm’s website has not been updated since July 21. The last Club Asteria news update occurred nine days after the PP Blog reported that the old ASD Cash Generator URL associated with Needham was sending visitors to the purported Ad Sales Daily International opportunity, which appears to have been an upstart that did not fully launch.

    Precisely when the old ASD Cash Generator domain became operational again is unclear. The domain, however, appears to have directed all old ASD affiliate links to the purported Ad Sales Daily International opportunity, which had its own logo.

    The PP Blog observed the server error on the ASDCashGenerator site today after it again clicked on the old ASDCashGenerator affiliate link in the 2008 ASD promotion that featured Needham’s photograph. On July 12, the same affiliate link returned a pitch page for the mysterious Ad Sales Daily International program.

    Federal prosecutors declined to comment in July on the curious return of the ASDCashGenerator website and the reactivation of the ASDCashGenerator domain name, which previously had been associated with Bowdoin and the alleged ASD Ponzi scheme.  The site had been reregistered in the name of Barbara Cruz.

    Cruz was associated in 2009 with an ASD cheerleading site known as ASD2Day that made confusing claims about the then-Bowdoin controlled ASDCashGenerator site, including a claim that ASD could not be a Ponzi scheme because the script employed by ASD could not be programmed to permit a Ponzi scheme to occur. The ASD2Day site also asserted that U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer was on an Aug. 28 [2009] deadline “to determine if the US Attorney General’s case against ASD should move forward.”

    Collyer, who presided over the civil-forfeiture cases involving Bowdoin and ASD Cash Generator and now is presiding over the criminal case against Bowdoin after he was arrested for wire fraud and other crimes in December 2010, was under no such deadline. Although a deadline did exist at the time, it was not one that applied to Collyer.

    Rather, it was a deadline imposed by Collyer on Bowdoin to file pleadings in one of the ASD civil-cases or face the forfeiture of more than $65.8 million seized by the U.S. Secret Service in August 2008. After not having heard from Bowdoin for more than two months, Collyer issued the order to Bowdoin in July 2009.  Bowdoin then asked for a series of delays to comply with the order, saying he was in negotiations with federal prosecutors.

    Collyer ultimately gave Bowdoin until Sept. 14, 2009, to comply with the order. Bowdoin ultimately complied, apparently after his negotiations with prosecutors had broken down.

    A supporter of the ASD2Day cheerleading site for ASD claimed on the PP Blog on Oct. 23, 2009, that Cruz was his mother and that “we where (sic) one of the biggest [ASD] leaders earning over $8,000 daily.”

    Little is known about the purported Ad Sales Daily International “opportunity” that, at least for weeks, was accessible through Bowdoin’s old ASDCashGenerator website that had been reregistered in the name of Cruz. The ASD2Day website, which also had a Cruz tie and promoted Ad Sales Daily International, now is displaying a page that beams advertisements.

    The domain registration for ASD2Day appears to have expired Aug. 19. AdSalesDailyInternational appears not to have a domain registered in its own name.

    Today’s strange developments follow on the heels of a bizarre bid by Bowdoin to raise $500,000 to pay for his criminal defense through a series of “blast” emails to the very individuals he is accused of defrauding: ASD members.

    Bowdoin disses Collyer in a fundraising video released July 26 — without mentioning Collyer by name.

    ASD is known to have ties to so-called “sovereign citizens.”