ICE

Federal prosecutors have Tweeted a photo of $20 million allegedly found stuffed in a box spring and linked to the massive TelexFree Ponzi- and pyramid caper. The cash was found Jan. 4 by the Homeland Security Investigations branch of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, an arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Agents seized […]

BULLETIN: (Updated 9:27 p.m. EDT U.S.A.) TelexFree and iFreeX figure Sann Rodrigues has been arrested in New Jersey, according to the Blog of Joaldro Dalla “Billy” Costa, citing a report on radio station WSRO 650 AM in Framingham, Mass. Billy’s story is in Portuguese. Here is the English translation by Google Translate. Rodrigues — listed […]

EDITOR’S NOTE: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) are referenced in the story about purported “sovereign citizen” James T. McBride below. ICE/HSI also are involved in the investigation of the alleged TelexFree Ponzi- and pyramid scheme. Whether TelexFree had any “sovereign citizens” in its ranks is unclear. “Sovereign citizens,” however, […]

If you’ve been following TelexFree developments, you’ve probably heard about “Operation Orion,” the code name for the investigation that led to raids against TelexFree’s Ympactus arm last week by the Brazilian federal police. The Orion name was chosen, police said, because it fit splendidly within the context of a pyramid-scheme case. How so? The Pyramids […]

URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: The United States and 10 law-enforcement agencies in Europe and Hong Kong have seized 706 domain names in a Cyber Monday fraud crackdown, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said. The photo above is from one of the domains: nfl-go.com, which has been linked to counterfeiting, according to a seizure […]

With Cyber Monday and the traditional online sales coming up a few days from now on Dec. 2, this is what we know: Payza, the successor brand to Montreal-based AlertPay, a Ponzi-forum darling and chronic HYIP- and fraud-enabler, suddenly says this in a headline on its Community forum: “US Funds Frozen | Obopay/Ultralight FS. issue.” […]

URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: (15TH UPDATE 2:31 P.M. EDT U.S.A.) Liberty Reserve, its founder and several others have been indicted in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (Manhattan). The charges, which include conspiracy to commit money-laundering, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business, were […]

In fleeing to Thailand, becoming a fugitive listed by INTERPOL and leaving dozens of U.S. victims in his wake when his Ponzi scheme collapsed, John Chiyuan Lee shattered the Ponzi-forum myth that “offshore equals safe.” “Safe — for a while while INTERPOL is beaming your picture 24/7 and U.S. authorities at the local, state and […]

One of the enduring myths of the Ponzi boards — “offshore equals safe” — has been shattered again. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department says it got its man — with help from the government of Thailand, the U.S. Marshals Service and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Ponzi scheme suspect John Chiyuan Lee became […]

URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: An undercover sting by the FBI in Florida has led to criminal and civil charges against five alleged penny-stock fraudsters in Florida, Texas, Nevada and California. The sting featured a phony “consulting” company created by the FBI, authorities said. News about the make-believe consultancy followed on the heels of news […]

A recidivist securities felon tied to at least 24 bank accounts had an airline ticket for Bermuda last week but was arrested in Florida  before he could get offshore after scamming investors in a long-running fraud scheme that had gathered $20 million, according to law-enforcement officials. Charged in a criminal complaint by the U.S. Postal […]