UPDATED 9:24 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) A spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney B. Todd Jones of the District of Minnesota refused to say today whether the government’s probe into the business practices of Inter-Mark Corp. and INetGlobal is over.
“[W]e never confirm or deny the existence of investigations,” said Jeanne Cooney.
The firms announced yesterday that prosecutors had agreed to return more than $20 million seized by the U.S. Secret Service in a Ponzi scheme probe in February 2010. Some INetGlobal members instantly seized on the news, claiming the government’s release of the funds validated the company’s business practices as they existed at the time of the seizure.
Separately, INetGlobal members circulated a statement from Inter-Mark Board Chairman Bob Kinsella. The PP Blog was sent a copy of the statement by an INetGlobal member, under a subject line of “Gov. Releases funds Lets Rock!”
“Today’s outcome is validation of the Inter-Mark Corporation business model,” the statement quoted Kinsella as saying. “I wonder if any business has been more researched and analyzed as Inter-Mark in the last year. Sales Associates all over the world should have complete confidence in the future of Inter-Mark Corporation.”
Cooney had no immediate comment today on Kinsella’s statement that the firm’s business model had been validated.
But Cooney did say that she believed a claim on the INetGlobal Blog that the firm had been validated had been made in “error” by the company — and that the firm “removed” the claim from its Blog.
Agreement
The money is not being released to INetGlobal directly, under the terms of an agreement approved by U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank. Instead, it is being released to attorney R.J. Zayed, who was appointed Temporary Administrator of Seized Funds.
Zayed, who also is the court-appointed receiver in the Trevor Cook Ponzi scheme, will distribute the funds under judicial supervision to INetGlobal affiliates owed money at the time of the February 2010 seizure.
Frank gave the government up to 45 days to turn over the money to Zayed. Prosecutors can petition for an extension of time beyond 45 days for “good cause,” according to the order.
“The Administrator shall conserve, hold, and manage the Seized Funds transferred by the United States as part of the Court’s Order, and shall perform all acts reasonably necessary or advisable to preserve the value of the Seized Funds until they are validly distributed to the members of Inter-Mark,” according to the order.
“If the Administrator is satisfied, in his sole discretion, that the identity of the Inter-Mark member is correct, that the amount due and owing to the member is correct, and that the name, address, government identification documents, and IRS tax forms of that member are proper, the Administrator shall wire transfer from the Seized Funds to that member’s ‘e-wallet’ account with International Payout Systems the amount due and owing to that member,” according to the order.
Funds that remain after Zayed pays INetGlobal affiliates will be returned to the company, according to the agreement.
No one has been charged criminally in the INetGlobal probe. Former executive Steve Renner, who denied wrongdoing, was sentenced in 2010 to 18 months in federal prison in an unrelated tax case. He is scheduled to be released in October.
The firm says it will have an exciting future.
“InetGlobal will use the remaining funds to launch a new and exciting array of products, many of which have been delayed due to the seizure of the funds,” the company announced on its Blog. “What working capital was available was used to service the existing business and to pay for the expensive process required to convince the United States government that iNetGlobal’s business is legal.”
An INetGlobal supporter who emailed the PP Blog this afternoon included a link to the Star Tribune story, which included Kinsella’s comment that the firm had been validated.
“Wow, it looks like you have some explaining to do,” the sender opined, referring to the Blog’s coverage of the allegations against the firm.
The sender then imagined a fantasy conversation in which the Blog would say “oh uh uh well uh” — and which he would say in return, “THAT’S WHAT I THOUGHT!!”
The investigation into the business practices of INetGlobal is turning into a legal slog reminiscent of the AdSurfDaily autosurf Ponzi scheme case.
In April, attorney Paul Engh filed a motion, saying he represented INetGlobal employees. Among other things, Engh sought an order that effectively would have blocked the U.S. Secret Service from interviewing the employees, as the agency’s Ponzi probe into the company moved forward.
Engh asserted that, by contacting employees on a cold-call basis, the government was conducting the investigation “on some federalist notion of superiority or entitled sense of un-accountability.â€
Prosecutors shot back in May, claiming INetGlobal was trying to derail the probe.
“Mr. Engh indicates that he ‘was hired’ to represent these employees, but refrains from indicating who it was who hired him,†prosecutors said. They added that “many of [Engh’s] purported clients seem to have never spoken with him.â€
On May 28, U.S. Magistrate Judge Franklin L. Noel issued an order that required Engh to compile “a complete list of the names of current and former Inter-Mark and iNetGlobal employees whom he purports to represent” and permitted the government to continue to contact both current and former employees.
“Before interviewing current and former employees of Inter-Mark and iNetGlobal, law enforcement shall first ask each individual if he or she is represented by an attorney,” Noel wrote in the order.
“If the individual responds that he or she is not represented by counsel, the interview may proceed,” Noel continued. “If, however, the individual indicates that he or she is represented by an attorney, law enforcement shall ask that individual for the name of his or her lawyer; at that time, questioning must immediately cease until such a time as the Government’s attorney obtains the consent of the lawyer named, whether Mr. Engh or otherwise, to communicate with the individual ‘about the subject of the representation.’”
Last week, Engh filed an “appeal from the order,” saying the judge is misinterpreting the law and that INetGlobal employees are entitled to protection from “isolated and surprise contact” by the government.
In February, the U.S. Secret Service said it believed INetGlobal operator Steve Renner was running an international Ponzi scheme through his affiliated companies that largely targeted Chinese members, including members from Mainland China. No criminal charges have been filed, but the government has seized about $26 million in the case, alleging wire fraud and money-laundering.
Prosecutors later filed filed a forfeiture complaint against a San Diego property allegedly acquired for $595,000 by Inter-Mark in August 2009 with criminal proceeds from a Ponzi, wire-fraud and money-laundering scheme.
Inter-Mark is INetGlobal’s Las Vegas-based parent company. INetGlobal operates from Minneapolis. Renner has denied wrongdoing.
Donald Allen
In late April, Donald W.R. Allen II, a former Renner employee, said he’d been contacted by the Secret Service and was cooperating in the probe “100 percent.”
Allen complained that the company had blocked access to a public-affairs Blog he published and that he was being punished by the firm “for coming forward to answer ANY questions the Government has regarding iNetGlobal.â€
Renner then got a restraining order against Allen, asserting that Allen tried to extort $100,000 from the company and had engaged in a pattern of abusive behavior, including raising “havoc†with employees, threatening “to destroy him and his family,†posting libelous and defamatory material on the Internet and engaging in verbal harassment.
Allen also was accused to taking pictures of Renner’s offices and employees without their consent.
“[Allen] has attempted to extort $100,000 from Petitioner’s businesses [and] if not paid will go to the FBI and Secret Service,†Renner asserted.
Allen denied Renner’s claims, saying Renner had made similar extortion claims against Steven Keough, INetGlobal’s former chief executive officer and potentially the government’s star witness in the case.
Ponzi litigation against assets tied to AdSurfDaily has been under way for nearly two years. The government has been awarded title to tens of millions of dollars seized in the ASD case, but ASD President Andy Bowdoin has filed an appeal.
Federal prosecutors say they believe INetGlobal and its parent company — Inter-Mark Corp. — hired an attorney for employees to derail a criminal probe into the companies’ business practices by muting the voices of workers who could become witnesses in the case.
Prosecutors made the dramatic claim in response to INetGlobal’s request last week for a court order that would prevent the U.S. Secret Service and other law-enforcement agencies “from contacting these represented individuals and requesting interviews.â€
No attorney-client relationship exists between the workers and attorney Paul Engh, prosecutors argued.
“Mr. Engh indicates that he ‘was hired’ to represent these employees, but refrains from indicating who it was who hired him,” prosecutors said. They added that “many of [Engh’s] purported clients seem to have never spoken with him.”
Engh argued last week that government agents were approaching employees “on a cold-call basis, at [employees’] homes, at night or in the early morning hours, and all without notice to counsel.†He added that the government appeared to be ignoring his duty as counsel to INetGlobal employees “on some federalist notion of superiority or entitled sense of un-accountability.â€
Nonsense, the government said.
“The United States opposes these outlandish claims of sweeping representation, and respectfully asks the Court to deny the pending motion for a protective order,” prosecutors said. “On May 4, 2010, the corporate targets made clear what lies behind Mr. Engh’s motion. The companies joined in the motion for a protective order . . . and quite candidly admitted that they have done so because ‘statements taken by the government could be used against IMC (InterMark Corporation) in subsequent proceedings.
“This, of course, crystallizes the motive behind the motion for a protective order,” prosecutors asserted.
Minnesota-Based Case Takes California Swing
The prosecution’s move occurred against the backdrop of a revelation Tuesday by the defense that the government had filed a forfeiture complaint March 15 against a San Diego property allegedly acquired for $595,000 by Inter-Mark in August 2009 with criminal proceeds from a Ponzi, wire-fraud and money-laundering scheme.
Inter-Mark lists Las Vegas as its home; INetGlobal and other related companies operate from Minneapolis.
A Secret Service agent alleged that the San Diego property was acquired with funds from INetGlobal advertisers in a multistep transaction in which credit-card payments from customers were funneled through at least three Inter-Mark bank accounts to pay for the building, which is situated near a beachfront and bay.
Court records suggest that INetGlobal has known about the forfeiture action since at least April 19, leading to questions about whether the firm withheld the news about the action from the membership at large for at least 15 days in a bid to prevent its support base from eroding. The forfeiture case is proceeding on a litigation track separate from the probe into INetGlobal operator Steve Renner’s business practices.
In February, the Secret Service said it believed Renner was operating an international Ponzi scheme through his affiliated companies that largely targeted Chinese members, including members from Mainland China. No criminal charges have been filed, but the government has seized about $26 million in the case, alleging wire fraud and money-laundering.
Prosecutors said Thursday that the probe into Renner’s business practices was continuing and that the government was “carrying out its constitutional obligation to ‘take care that the laws be faithfully executed’ . . . by investigating credible allegations of serious criminal conduct.”
Whether INetGlobal members at large knew about the building in San Diego remains unclear. At least one prominent supporter of the firm said she did not. She added that she did not believe it was a crime to expand a business and open a branch in California, but the government never alleged that opening a legal business was a crime.
The allegation against Inter-Mark in the forfeiture case was that it used criminal proceeds to purchase the building and that the building itself was the proceeds of a crime.
On Thursday — in a filing peppered with the words clients and client encased in quotation marks in what might have been a bid to highlight an emerging theory that the other side was trying to pull the wool over the eyes of both INetGlobal employees and the court, prosecutors said the legal approach chosen by the Renner companies could backfire because the employees Engh says he represents could have competing legal interests. (Emphasis added.)
“The potential for conflicts of interest also does not seem to have been considered in any depth by the corporation,” prosecutors said. “The motion filed by Mr. Engh is silent as to what course of action he will follow should one of his ‘clients’ implicate another ‘client’ in wrongdoing, or what he will do when one ‘client’ directs him to negotiate favorable terms with the government under which the first client may impart information that may incriminate other ‘clients.’
“The lack of planning for these eventualities is itself circumstantial evidence that this blanket assertion of representation is more strategic than real,” prosecutors argued.
The legal situation confronted by INetGlobal’s 70 employees perhaps is analogous to a hypothetical case in which a corporation believed to have stolen money arranged blanket counsel for employees whose ranks could include workers who had knowledge about the theft and workers who did not.
If the same lawyer is representing each of the employees — and if the employees have competing legal interests — serious doubts about a client’s right to receive thorough representation could arise.
Prosecutors said they would “scrupulously observe the limitations that the law places on investigative activities,” but added that they would not submit to defense maneuverings designed to derail the investigation.
“[W]e need not, and shall not, voluntarily accede to sweeping assertions that entire categories of potential witnesses are out-of-bounds because the investigative target has retained counsel and declared that attorney to be the legal representative of those witnesses,” prosecutors said.
“If a person from whom agents request an interview declines the request, the agents will depart; if the person states that they wish the interview request to go through their lawyer (whoever that lawyer may be) that request will be honored.
“Otherwise, we plan to proceed with our investigation, and to make use of all the investigative tools at our disposal, to the fullest extent allowed by law, including contact and interviews with witnesses,” prosecutors concluded.
BULLETIN:UPDATED 1:47 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) Federal prosecutors and the U.S. Secret Service have filed paperwork that says INetGlobal’s parent company — Inter-Mark Corp. — acquired a property in San Diego last year and intended to remodel it with proceeds from a Ponzi scheme.
Records suggest the purchase price of the property was $595,000 and that Inter-Mark intended to spend a substantial sum on renovations paid for with money from INetGlobal members’ advertising purchases.
Prosecutors have filed a forfeiture complaint against the property, saying it is the proceeds of a criminal wire-fraud and money-laundering scheme. The forfeiture case was filed March 15 and is proceeding on a litigation track separate from a criminal probe that was launched into the business practices of INetGlobal operator Steve Renner in February.
The case number for the forfeiture action was disclosed in court filings by the defense in the criminal investigation earlier this week. Records suggest that Renner, Inter-Mark and INetGlobal have been aware of the forfeiture case since at least April 19. It was not immediately clear if Renner or the companies took any steps to inform members that the government had opened a second litigation front amid allegations of criminal conduct.
In April, some INetGlobal members — apparently unaware of the government’s claim that money from advertisers was used to pay for and renovate a California building far removed from INetGlobal’s base of operations in Minnesota — suggested the prosecution’s case was disintegrating.
The property, whose address is 3864 Mission Boulevard, San Diego, Calif., was acquired in August 2009 after funds from customers’ credit-card purchases were used in a series of illegal transactions, according to the Secret Service.
“These deposits are believed to be from individuals who are ‘purchasing’ advertising,” the agency alleged.
“More specifically, the purchase of the defendant real property was funded by the following transactions,” the agency alleged. “During the month of July 2009 over $2.5 million dollars in credit card transactions were deposited to Wells Fargo Inter-Mark Account #665543xxxx. These funds were later used to purchase the defendant real property (italics added):
“a. On August 10, 2009, $350,000 was transferred to Inter-Mark Account #137922xxxx from Account #66543xxxx.
“b. On August 11, 2009, an additional $300,000 was transferred to Inter-Mark Account #137922xxxx from Account #66543xxxx.
“c. On August 31, 2009, $650,000 was transferred to Inter-Mark Account #224620xxxx from Account #137922xxxx.
“d. On the same date, $20,000 was wire transferred from Account #224620xxxx to Eaton Escrow in San Diego, California.
“e. On September 14, 2009, $450,000 was transferred to Inter-Mark Account #224620xxxx from Account #137922xxxx.
“f. On September 14, 2009, $575,517 was wire transferred from Account #224620xxxx to Eaton Escrow. These funds were used to purchase a commercial building located at 3864 Mission Blvd., San Diego, California.
“g. On September 23, 2009 Eaton Escrow issued a check payable to Inter-Mark Corporation in the amount of $348.77 with a notation that the check proceeds was a “refund.â€
The Secret Service alleged that “[r]emodeling work is currently in progress to renovate the
defendant real property.
“Substantial sums of money have been invested towards the remodeling project,” the agency alleged.
On May 4, Renner, Inter-Mark and a related entity known as V-Media Marketing denied the allegations in the forfeiture complaint.
UPDATED 8:29 A.M. EDT (APRIL 18, U.S.A.) Despite Internet and email claims yesterday and today by supporters of INetGlobal that the company had won a key battle with prosecutors, that the case was “over” and that news about the litigation engulfing the company “is better than anything we expected,” an order and memorandum by a federal judge suggests that celebrations could be premature.
U.S. District Judge Donovan W. Frank yesterday sent the case back to Magistrate Judge Franklin L. Noel for the “limited” purpose of “maintaining the status quo” while clarifying elements of the case and seeing if there was a way to forge a settlement of at least some of the issues. (See subhead below.)
As things stand, Frank said, certain issues on which INetGlobal owner Steve Renner and his affiliated companies are awaiting rulings “could be rendered moot” if Renner is “indicted or otherwise charged with one or more criminal offenses.”
Renner has asked the court to return about $26 million and business records seized by the U.S. Secret Service in a Ponzi scheme, wire-fraud and money-laundering probe. Renner also wants Frank to conduct an evidentiary hearing.
For its part, the prosecution has said it opposes Renner’s requests because a “major fraud and money laundering investigation is under way bearing serious criminal consequences†and because Renner’s filings were a “thinly veiled attempt to force the government to reveal facts relating to an on-going criminal investigation.â€
The money is “evidence,” and its release would mean “the money will be spent, and will be unavailable for future return to victims†should the government prevail, prosecutors said.
In his memo, Frank said he was not prepared yesterday to rule on critical issues, given the procedural history of the case and recent filings by both the INetGlobal side and the prosecution.
“Inter-Mark Corporation and its subsidiaries, without notice to the Court, filed a notice joining in the motion of Steven Renner,” Frank said. “That motion was filed by Mark J. Kallenbach, who is now the subject of a motion to be disqualified by the United States, given his 20-page, 81-paragraph affidavit filed on behalf of Steven Renner . . .”
Prosecutors filed a motion 10 days ago that asked Frank to disqualify Kallenbach as an attorney for INetGlobal and related companies, saying Kallenbach had “made himself a necessary witness” by conducting an “investigation” and filing an affidavit prior to entering his notice of appearance as INetGlobal’s attorney.
Kallenbach was trying to be both an attorney and a witness in the same case, prosecutors claimed.
Jon Hopeman, an attorney for Renner, disputed the government’s contention about Kallenbach earlier this week, and Kallenbach joined in the brief.
Although Frank delayed ruling on the issue, the order and memorandum he issued yesterday spoke to the dispute.
“The Court reserves the right, pending receipt of Magistrate Judge Noel’s report, to rule on the motion of the United States to disqualify attorney Mark J. Kallenbach, although the Court would observe that, given the 20-page, 81-paragraph affidavit submitted on behalf of Steven Renner, it would appear that attorney Kallenbach is a primary fact witness in the above-entitled matter, absent stipulation of the parties.”
The order and memorandum may signal that, based on the current record of the case, Frank may be inclined to view Kallenbach as a witness subject to both cross examination by the prosecution and direct examination by the Renner/INetGlobal side.
Judge Frank Orders Parties To Schedule Conference With Magistrate Judge Noel
Frank ordered both sides to schedule a settlement conference with Magistrate Judge Noel. The order does not mean the case is “over” or that either side has won or lost.
The conference will be “limited in scope,” Frank ordered.
Among the issues to be determined (note: these are verbatim, from Frank’s order):
“The amount of money necessary to provide wages and health insurance coverage to the current employees maintaining a portion or portions of the business of Inter-Mark Corporation and its subsidiaries.”
“The amount of money presently being held by the Court, if any, in the event the parties agree that it is necessary to continue aspects of Inter-Mark Corporation, and its subsidiaries, pending resolution of the motion before the Court, pending completion of the investigation, be it civil or criminal, or both, by the United States.”
“Items seized by the United States by means of a search warrant, including, but not limited to, computers and other property necessary to the operation of the business.”
“Discussion of any items alleged to be attorney-client privileged items seized by the Government pursuant to the search warrants executed at Steven Renner’s companies on or about February 23, 2010, and thereafter.”
Frank said the conference with Noel, absent an agreement by the parties, “shall be limited to maintaining the status quo, on a limited basis, pending the Court granting or denying an evidentiary hearing.”
“The focus of the Status-Settlement Conference before Magistrate Judge Noel, absent agreement of the parties to broaden the scope and focus of the conference, will be the return of some portion of the money so that Steven Renner and the associated business entities can maintain the status quo of their business, including the maintenance of a skeletal crew of employees and the insurance for those employees,” Frank said.
“The Court has conferred with Magistrate Judge Noel with respect to the purpose and limited scope of the conference,” Frank said.
He added that he may defer ruling on Renner’s motion for an evidentiary hearing until after the settlement conference is conducted and the court had received Noel’s report on the status of the case.
And Frank said the court “reserves the right, pending receipt of Magistrate Judge Noel’s
report, to rule on the motion of the United States to disqualify attorney Mark J. Kallenbach, although the Court would observe that, given the 20-page, 81-paragraph affidavit submitted on behalf of Steven Renner, it would appear that attorney Kallenbach is a primary fact witness in the above-entitled matter, absent stipulation of the parties.”
Spinning It As An INetGlobal ‘Win’
As was the case in the AdSurfDaily autosurf Ponzi prosecution, some INetGlobal members are reporting to downline members that the prosecution’s case may be in the process of disintegrating.
Despite the frequent claims in the ASD case, a federal judge went on to issue three orders of forfeiture totaling more than $80 million, handing ASD one shattering loss after another.
One INetGlobal member sent an email to downline members yesterday that claimed “the indication is that we may have a huge win,” a member of his downline said.
This email from the member was followed by another one with a five-exclamation point headline titled “Major News !!!!!”
“The Judge has ordered a ‘Status Settlement Conference’ between both parties,” the sender advised members of his INetGlobal downline. “This news is better than anything we expected.
“We thought a hearing would be set for 30 days plus from now and release of some money,” the sender continued. “This was to be a ‘evidential (sic) hearing’ to present a full days (sic) evidence about our business and hear from the Federal authorities on their side.
“Also we were looking for some funds to be release (sic) for general operations of the business,” the sender wrote. “But today’s ruling is an acknowledgment of the facts of the case that this (sic) not at (sic) clear ‘Ponzi’ business and which therefore would apply to the Federal ‘Forfeiture Laws.’
“This may lead to a negotiated deal with the government,” the sender wrote. “Also in the meantime we are much likely (sic) to get operational sooner than we ever thought.”
Contrary to the email claim, nothing in Frank’s order and memorandum suggested that any of the facts of the case had been determined. Moreover, no “acknowledgment” was made by the judge or the government that INetGlobal was not operating as a Ponzi scheme. The judge has issued no orders pertaining to forfeiture because the government — as the record of the case stood yesterday — had filed neither a criminal nor a civil action against Renner or INetGlobal-connected assets that seeks forfeiture of property.
The sender conceded that “my details and interpretation could be off,” according to the email, parts of which were republished on the Internet.
It is indeed true that Frank referenced a Status-Settlement Conference, but the email sent by the INetGlobal member did not outline any details of the conference, including the fact it had been scheduled for a limited purpose.
At the same time, the email made no reference to the fact that Frank said the case could take another turn and render some of the current issues moot if the government proceeds with an indictment.
On April 2, the prosecution described the case as a “major fraud and money laundering investigation,” noting that the IRS had joined the U.S. Secret Service in the probe.
A separate claim by an apparent INetGlobal supporter that the case was “over” was published today in the comments section of the Hospitalera Blog.
“Inetglobal case is over!” the comment read in part. The commentator described the information as a claim made by his upline.
“At the end of this afternoon, court has not received further evidence from government to accuse Inetglobal of Ponzy (sic) Scam in the period of time,” the comment read in part. “Judge made decision that the case could not be established. The written document from court will be released on Monday.”
Frank made no such decision that a “case could not be established.”
The Hospitalera Blog said in February that it had been targeted in a lawsuit for calling INetGlobal a “scam” in Sepember 2009. Some INetGlobal members have attacked the Blog for its point of view on INetGlobal.
Image of the logo of V-Local.com from a March 2009 news release.
UPDATED 5:43 P.M. ET (U.S.A., Jan. 20, 2011.) On Feb. 23, the U.S. Secret Service raided the Minneapolis offices of INetGlobal, a company operated by Steve Renner under the Inter-Mark Corp. umbrella. The raid occurred amid allegations that INetGlobal was operating an autosurf Ponzi scheme and also engaging in wire fraud and money-laundering.
A week later — on March 2 — a domain titled RGMG.net was registered in the name of Matt Renner, according to web records. The domain lists a different Minneapolis address than the Steve Renner entities, some of which used a “V” theme: “V-Media” and “V-Local,” among others.
Matt Renner, 27, is Steve Renner’s son.
“We’re running a legitimate business,” he said of RGMG.
V-Local, which has a website at V-Local.com that is registered to Renner’s Inter-Mark in Las Vegas, was “offered to iNetGlobal members as a service they could sell,” the Secret Service said in an affidavit last month.
Matt Renner, who worked as an executive at V-Local, said V-Local provided legitimate products and services.
“We at V-Local were doing nothing wrong,” he said.
And Matt Renner defended his father. “I don’t believe any wrongdoing was done,” he said.
Steve Renner was convicted in December of four felony counts of income-tax evasion. He was awaiting sentencing in the tax case, even as the Ponzi allegations surfaced against INetGlobal.
V-Local’s logo is featured prominently on the RGMG.net site, which says, “RGMG LLC is a rising player in Digital Media Planning, Buying, Selling and Development. With over 35 years combined digital marketing experience and more than 800 past and current clients, the team at RGMG has the experience to deliver high value wide ranging services.”
Another section of the RGMG site says, “Based out of the Beautiful city of Minneapolis Minnesota, RGMG started because the demand for a company who’s (sic) Executives pay more attention to their customers (sic) needs, than their own pocket books, was felt by Founder and President, Matthew D. Renner.”
Yet another section of the RGMG site says, “The team at RGMG has developed many custom platforms including in partnership with V-Media and iNetGlobal the powerful local lifestyle and business directory V-Local.com.”
Although there are serious allegations of wrongdoing against INetGlobal and it is possible that Ponzi proceeds were used to fund V-Local, the RGMG.net site does not mention the allegations or inform visitors that the Secret Service painted a picture that Steve Renner’s claims about V-Local were overblown. (Read a section of the affidavit concerning V-Local lower in this story.)
“[T]here is probable cause to believe that [Steve] Renner is operating a large, Internet-based, Ponzi scheme through his umbrella corporation, InterMark, and some of its subsidiaries, particularly Virtual Payment Systems [LLC of Wisconsin/Brackets Denoting the LLC Designation added Jan. 20, 2011], V-Media, Cash Cards International, and V-Local,” the Secret Service said last month. It further alleged that INetGlobal was the “primary vehicle for the perpetration of this fraud.”
NOTE IN BOLD ADDED JAN. 20, 2011: An Indianapolis-based company known as Virtual Payment Systems Inc. has contacted the PP Blog to let it know it is not affiliated with the Renner company Virtual Payment Systems LLC of Wisconsin, which is referenced in the paragraph above.
There have been no assertions of wrongdoing against RGMG, and the RGMG site does not appear to have a surfing component among the services listed. RCMG stands for “Renner Global Media Group,” according to the site.
Matt Renner, who said he read the Secret Service allegations, said he was not worried that problems could spill over into RGMG and create a problem for the emerging brand.
“It’s a legitimate website,” he said. “It’s a legitimate company; it’s absolutely a valuable service.”
The site, however, may come with a built-in PR dilemma: how to navigate the choppy waters of embracing the Steve Renner V-Local brand without addressing the Ponzi assertions against INetGlobal and V-Local, perhaps especially if a Renner family member is at the head of RGMG.
At the same time, certain marketing materials and the prominence with which Steve Renner’s V-Local is referenced on the RGMG site — indeed, V-Local’s logo appears on the site in at least two places and RGMG encourages visitors to make V-Local their “new Homepage” — may leave some customers and employees of INetGlobal and its “V” entities scratching their heads.
V-Local’s name is prominently mentioned in INetGlobal marketing materials, including a news release dated March 25, 2009. The headline on the news release said, “iNetGlobal launches V-Local and iNetSurf on Saturday, March 28, 2009.” The news release included the V-Local.com logo (pictured above.)
Despite the claim that V-Local launched in March 2009, a news release issued 11 months later — in February 2010 — claimed a January 2010 launch date for V-Local under this headline: “V-Local Reports Exponential Growth Following January Launch.” The Feb. 16 news release includes a graphic of a logo for V-Local labeled “BETA.”
Why the news releases list two different launch dates for V-Local is unclear. Steve Renner’s own website — SteveRenner.com — announced the launch of V-Local on March 3, 2009.
“Steve Renner who is known for his knack of creating successful online ventures, has Struck Gold with his latest project, V-Local,” the website reported.
No mention was made that Renner already was under indictment for tax evasion and that another Renner entity — Cash Cards International — had been unable to return money to victims of a Ponzi scheme known as “Learn Waterhouse,” amid assertions that Renner had spent customers’ money as though it were his own and had invested $250,000 in the Learn Waterhouse scheme.
Renner’s site said the type of service V-Local provided “would normally cost the $1,000’s but V-Local has set the price at an extremely affordable price of just $59 per month, for their Top Of The Line ‘Showcase’ listing.”
By clicking on the “Contact Us” link on The V-Local.com website, visitors arrive at a page that lists the street address of Steve Renner’s Minneapolis entities.
A section of the Feb. 16, 2010, news release reads, “V-Local, the first-of-its-kind online business and lifestyle directory, announced today that it has experienced unprecedented growth since its launch on Jan. 15, 2010. Site traffic increased 900 percent in February alone, according to Google Analytics, with more than 100,000 visitors since the site’s launch.”
Going back 11 months, the body copy of the March 2009 news release that announced V-Local’s launch read, in part: “On Monday, March 16, 2009 iNetGlobal did a ‘soft’ launch of iNetSurf. This product and had over 3,000 internet users sign up in one work day. At iNetSurf current pace, we can expect over 200,000 active ‘surfers’ in 6 months!”
Meanwhile, the emergence of RGMG after the Secret Service raid at INetGlobal could lead to questions about why INetGlobal ever used an autosurf component and folded components such a V-Local into the enterprise.
Between Jan. 11 and Jan. 29, according to a Secret Service affidavit, undercover agents logged in to the INetGlobal website on “multiple occasions.”
Among the things agents noted while logging in, according to the affidavit, was that ‘V-Local’ has an address listed as 250 Second Avenue South, Suite 145, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55401.”
The Secret Service said it conducted surveillance of the office suite in January — prior to the raid — from a skyway and corridor open to the public.
“Agents saw signs reading ‘iNetGlobal’ and ‘V-Local.com’ at the door of Suite 106A, and saw signs reading ‘V-Records’ and ‘VWebs’ at the door of suite 145,” the agency said. The office suites later were searched as part of the raid.
The phone number associated with RGMG.net in its domain registration also is referenced in INetGlobal marketing materials that quote Matt Renner.
In the Feb. 16 news release, which was issued about a week before the Secret Service raid, INetGlobal is described as V-Local’s parent company.
“V-Local is a lifestyle and business directory, featuring over 3.5 million businesses, events, classifieds and coupons,” the release said. “As a premier online advertising resource for businesses, V-Local provides a platform for businesses to leverage their brand and generate local and global exposure. V-Local bridges the gap between businesses and consumers at both global and local levels.”
A week after the Feb. 16 news release, the Secret Service suggested in its affidavit for a search warrant that Steve Renner’s V-Local marketing claims were overblown. Here is a snippet from the affidavit:
“[Steve] Renner claimed that iNetGlobal’s business directory, V-Local, had over 3.5
million businesses signed up. He explained that attendees could make a great deal of money selling V-Local and signing up businesses to participate in V-Local.
“[Steve] Renner stated that V-Local was expanding into Canada, Europe, and China. He claimed that when a company was listed on V-Local, iNetGlobal would list the business with over 65 local directories, plus social networking sites, and would arrange for the business to be input into Garmin and TomTom GPS navigation devices, as well as Cadillac OnStar.
“On January 28, 2010, [an undercover agent] searched for ‘coffee shop’ in Minneapolis, Minnesota on V-Local, asking V-Local to find the nearest coffee shop. There were no results. [An undercover agent] then broadened the search to coffee shop, food and dining. V-Local then identified six coffee shops in Iowa, Kansas, and other states, only one of them in Minnesota (in Byron).
“[Steve] Renner stated that if an attendee wanted to sell V-Local the attendee would need to pay $300, watch several videos, and take a certification test. Renner stated that for every person in a member’s ‘downline’ who got certified to sell V-Local, the original member would receive $100. Renner stated that this would be an enormous jump in a member’s income. Approximately one week after the Freedom Conference [in New York Jan. 23], [an undercover agent] searched on V-Local for ‘gym’ and ‘restaurant. There were no hits in the search for gym, and only one hit in the search for restaurant.”
Matt Renner said he believed RGMG would emerge a leader, despite the assertions against INetGlobal.
“They didn’t shut the company down,” he said, referring to INetGlobal. “No arrests were made. RGMG is a company that will generate good, positive results.”
UPDATED 2:20 P.M. ET (U.S.A.) Did people associated with a company implicated by the U.S. Secret Service in a Ponzi scheme, wire-fraud and money-laundering case participate in a misinformation campaign?
A Twitter website with a tie to the Inter-Mark companies operated by Steve Renner claims that federal officials are “leaking” information to the PP Blog.
“Didn’t happen — ever,” the PP Blog said today. “The information we published was not leaked to the Blog. The Blog obtained the information from a public source, through the normal course of its reporting, and the information was available to reporters and the public before the Blog even published its first story based on the information.”
Meanwhile, another website with a tie to a Renner’s Inter-Mark Corp. is making the claim that a Blogger Inter-Mark is targeting in a lawsuit for calling INetGlobal a “scam” issued an “apology.”
The apology claim appears on a domain titled CheapClix.net, whose domain registration lists V-WEBS.COM as its nameserver. A Renner company dubbed V-Webs LLC appears to be an inactive Minnesota corporation that used the same Minneapolis street address as InetGlobal and other Renner companies, according to public records.
A CheapClix.net post headlined “HOSPITALERA.COM APOLOGIZES TO iNetGlobal” and dated Feb. 4 claims that the Hospitalera Blog issued an apology to INetGlobal on a date uncertain and implies that Hospitalera now even endorses INetGlobal.
“We are deeply saddened by the actions taken by this blog to defame iNetGlobal,” the CheapClix.net site says, apparently quoting from the purported apology. “iNetGlobal is one of the top Internet Marketing firms in the United States. We reach out to them with a sincere apology in hopes that we too can use the iNetGlobal products and services.
“After careful review of iNetGlobal’s services and products, we find the company is real and the services are true to what iNetGlobal represents. Again, we apologize.â€
The apology claim is dubious because Sybille Yates, who operates the Hospitalera Blog from the Czech Republic, told the PP Blog last week that she was not even aware that Renner’s company was suing her until Feb. 25 — three weeks after the date of her purported apology.
Yates did not immediately return an email from the PP Blog today seeking comment on the apology claim and whether she had, in fact, apologized. A Feb. 16 post from Yates on the Hospitalera Blog, however, describes the news release that announced the apology as “faked.”
Whether the apology claim somehow sprouted from some fantastic reshaping of facts by an INetGlobal supporter or was just an outright lie that was part of a misinformation campaign was not immediately clear.
It has been common in the so-called autosurf “industry” for lies, misstatements, misrepresentations, misinformation and claims not based on facts to spread virally on the Internet as though they were truth.
In the AdSurfDaily case, for instance, claims were made that the prosecution admitted ASD was not a Ponzi scheme, that ASD President Andy Bowdoin had received an award from the President of the United States for business acumen, that Google and ASD were partners and that ASD had the backing of huge corporations with huge advertising budgets.
All of the claims were untrue.
The CheapClix.net claim about the purported apology adds another strange twist to the INetGlobal story. If Yates never issued such an apology — and Yates’ Blog says no such apology was issued — it leads to questions about why someone would claim such an apology had been issued and even go so far as to issue a news release to announce an apology that had not been made.
The introduction to Hospitalera’s purported apology as reported by CheapClix net begins, “We appreciate this step taken by the people at the hospitalera web-site to make amends for their erroneous publications.”
The CheapClix.net post from Feb. 4 includes a link to what appears to have been a news release issued by an unknown party to herald Hospitalera’s purported apology. The news release link to PRLog.org resolves to an error page. PRLog.org is a free news-release distribution service.
Yates’ Blog says she contacted PRLog to have the fake news release removed, and that PRLog took down the bogus release “in a heart beat.”
UPDATE 2:20 P.M. Yates has confirmed she never issued an apology.
“I never issued said apology, nor did I ever authorize anybody to do so in my name,” Yates said.
“I never issued or published a press release on prlog.org. As I came across the forged and false press release, I contacted prlog.org immediately and they took it down. I have no information who published/submitted said press release to prlog.org.”
A second link in the CheapClix.net post that heralded the purported apology resolves to TweetMeme.com, a site that aggregates Twitter links. A small icon that reads “V News Network” appears below a headline of “iNetGlobal Scam: Hospitalera Blog apologizes to iNetGlobal.”
Records suggest that “V News Network” may be yet another Renner entity.
A headline heralding a purported apology from the Hospitalera Blog for calling INetGlobal a scam appears on a website known as CheapClix.net. The Hospitalera Blog says the apology was "faked."
‘Leaking’ Claim
Why the Twitter site, which is tied to IBBN.org, made the claim of that the government was “leaking” to the PP Blog is unclear. The Twitter post is dated Feb. 28. IBNN, which stands for The Independent Business News Network, is registered in Renner’s name. The site is operated by Donald W.R. Allen II, IBNN’s editor-in-chief and the the vice president and director of public relations for V-Newswire — a company in Renner’s INetGlobal family.
Renner is listed as the IBNN domain registrant.
Allen did not comment Friday when the PP Blog advised him that the government leaked no information to the Blog. The Twitter site does not list a source for its claim that federal officials “leaked” information to the Blog, but asserts that such an event was possible “Only in America!” The Twitter site continues to make the claim.
The site also claims “iNetGlobal not a Ponzi.” No source is listed for the denial. It is unclear if IBNN has access to audited and certified balance sheets and financial statements of the Renner enterprise that could destroy the government’s Ponzi assertions.
IBNN previously skewered the Star-Tribune newspaper of Minneapolis/St. Paul, asserting that the paper, which covered the INetGlobal raid, was displaying “defamatory contempt [for the Renner entities] prior to a full investigation and a Grand Jury inquiry.”
Allen, who signed the IBNN opinion piece, did not disclose his tie to the Renner companies when the piece was published. The piece went missing after the PP Blog published a story in IBNN’s tie to Renner, but since has been restored — with a few lines added.
The U.S. Secret Service, which raided Renner’s operations in Minneapolis last month, asserted that INetGlobal and other Renner companies were part of an international Ponzi scheme that was engaging in wire fraud and money-laundering.
The PP Blog cited as its source a Secret Service affidavit for a search warrant. The affidavit was published openly on a government website.
At various times in its history, the PP Blog has been accused by participants in alleged Ponzi schemes of being part of a government operation. The Blog has reported on paranoia that often accompanies Ponzi scheme participants, some of whom become preoccupied with thoughts about government “plants.”
Such claims about the PP Blog have been made from one Ponzi scheme case to the next, but they simply are not true. Ponzi promoters have accused the Blog of idiocy, occasionally resorting to name-calling or posting under multiple identities in a bid to create the appearance that a particular company caught up in Ponzi allegations the Blog was covering had more supporters than it actually had.
As was the case with AdSurfDaily, a Florida company implicated in an autosurf Ponzi scheme by the Secret Service in 2008, the Secret Service used undercover agents as part of the investigation into INetGlobal, according to a court affidavit. At least one of the undercover agents also was involved in the ASD investigation, according to court filings.
Other court filings reviewed by the PP Blog have described various investigative techniques the agency uses, including surveillance from automobiles of subjects under investigation at places such as residences, parking lots and post offices — and even trash Dumpsters.
At least two Secret Service agents were in the room to observe an INetGlobal function in New York, according to court filings. Agents also observed an ASD function in Miami in 2008, according to court filings.
An agent involved in the ASD case listened to an INetGlobal sales pitch by an ASD member, according to the affidavit in the case. It is plain from multiple public filings that the Secret Service is well aware of the so-called autosurf “industry” — and also the so-called “matrix” industry.
It was publicly known that Renner had been under federal indictment for income-tax evasion since September 2008, a month after the ASD raid. There also is a considerable, public paper trail consisting of court filings, news releases and other information that links Renner to a Ponzi scheme known as Learn Waterhouse, elements of which were prosecuted by both the SEC and the U.S. Department of Justice.
The public paperwork in the Learn Waterhouse case dates back to 2004. A Renner entity known as CCI provided payment-processing services for the Learn Waterhouse Ponzi scheme.
UPDATED 11:07 A.M. ET (U.S.A.) One of the undercover Secret Service agents who joined INetGlobal discovered that the company had implemented an “automatic repurchasing” program by default and that the program could not be switched off, thus distancing participants — many of whom may not have understood English — from their money.
Although it is unclear when the automatic-repurchasing program began, it was in operation in the weeks after INetGlobal owner Steve Renner was convicted on Dec. 8, 2009, of four felony counts of income-tax evasion, according to court filings.
Other filings show that another Renner company — Cash Cards International (CCI), a money-transmission business — was upside down by more than $2.5 million when a court-appointed receiver in a Ponzi scheme case sought to convert electronic credits to cash to compensate victims of the scheme.
Beginning on Feb. 1, the Secret Service agent — a woman — repeatedly tried to turn off INetGlobal’s automatic-repurchasing feature, but it “came back on” each time. The agent, who speaks and writes in English, attempted to disable the feature “several times on different days,” failing each and every time, according to an affidavit for a search warrant filed in the case.
INetGlobal had a high concentration of Chinese members who did not speak English, according to the affidavit. How they even could understand the automatic-repurchasing scheme or fully comprehend INetGlobal’s operations and English-language website is far from clear, and has led to questions about whether the company deliberately was targeting members who could not understand what they were purchasing and would have both a language and a geographic disadvantage when seeking explanations or filing complaints with authorities.
The company generated “at least” 87 percent of its revenue from the sale of memberships to members “residing in China,” according to an analysis referenced in the affidavit. The analysis was performed by an unnamed INetGlobal employee.
On Feb. 17, the undercover agent sent an email to INetGlobal customer service, asking if the feature could be turned off.
“Customer service replied in the negative,” the agent said, suggesting that the automatic-repurchasing feature was forcing participants to keep at least 40 percent of their money in the company.
In the affidavit, the Secret Service said a “high level iNetGlobal member” from Nevada was becoming increasingly frustrated by an inability to withdraw funds. The member complained to management that “for over one week [in January] they had been unable to get a money order payment from the company for value they are owed.”
“The victim contacted iNetGlobal’s customer service on several occasions only to get excuses,” the Secret Service said.
Eventually, the victim spoke with former InetGlobal CEO Steven Keough.
Keough, according to the Secret Service, told the victim on Jan. 11 to “cash out” of the system.
“We can’t cash out,” the victim said. “[I]t is not possible, due to mandatory repurchasing built into the system.â€
On the very next day — Jan. 12 — Keough, an attorney and former naval officer, met with the Secret Service. He had contacted federal prosecutors Jan. 8 to express concerns about the company’s business practices. His first contact occurred only two months after he was appointed CEO on Nov. 7, 2009, according to the affidavit.
Steve Renner’s Tax Convictions, Link To Previous Ponzi Scheme
Renner was found guilty Dec. 8 of four felony counts of federal income-tax evasion.
Prosecutors said he “diverted substantial funds” from CCI between 2002 and 2005 to pay his personal living expenses as well as to make personal investments in coins, oil wells, art, stamps, and vintage musical instruments.
CCI, which once served as a money-transmitter for a California Ponzi scheme known as “Learn Waterhouse,” used the same office facility in Minneapolis as INetGlobal, the Secret Service said.
When a court-appointed receiver in the Learn Waterhouse case attempted to get Renner to return money due Ponzi scheme victims, he explained that he could not do so because it had been “invested,” according to the affidavit.
Thomas Lennon, the receiver in the Learn Waterhouse case, met with Renner, who “provided . . . financial statements indicating that the assets of Cash Cards and Renner are insufficient to cover all outstanding vcredit balances and obligations to other creditors.
“Specifically, the statements show that Cash Cards and Renner have assets with an estimated value of $2,946,000 and an outstanding v-credit liability of $5,450,000,” Lennon said in court filings in 2007. “Renner has also informed the Receiver that he is currently being audited by federal and state taxing authorities which may result in large additional liabilities and liens on his property.”
Lennon’s name is well-known among victims of financial crimes. He also was the court-appointed receiver in the 12DailyPro autosurf Ponzi scheme.
Repurchasing programs, which autosurf operators employ to minimize the outflow of cash, are one of the oldest tricks in the Ponzi book. “Trainers” for Florida-based AdSurfDaily, implicated in a $100 million Ponzi scheme, routinely pushed a so-called “80-20” program whereby members would remove no more than 20 percent of money they were due and plow 80 percent back into the surf.
In June 2009, AdViewGlobal, an autosurf with close family, management and promotional ties to ASD, announced it was ceasing payouts and making an 80/20 program mandatory should payouts ever resume. AdViewGlobal promptly crashed and burned.
In January, according to the affidavit, Keough told investigators that he could not make sense out of what was going on inside INetGlobal and had observed instances in which Renner appeared to be gaming the payout system.
“Keough said he was concerned that large amounts of money were flowing through bank accounts related to iNetGlobal and that unusual system manipulation was being conducted by . . . Renner,” the Secret Service said. “Keough had recently been fired by Renner. Keough believed he had been fired because he continually questioned iNetGlobal’s business practices.”
On Jan. 20, according to the Secret Service, the agency received information that TCF National Bank was closing the accounts of a Renner entity known as Inter-Mark Corp. after an investigation by the bank led to “suspicions that the activity in the accounts might be money laundering,” according to the affidavit.
“TCF Bank had given notice to Renner that the accounts were going to be closed,” the Secret Service said. It is unclear if Renner ever advised INetGlobal members that the bank had closed the accounts, citing suspicions they were being used to commit crimes.
TCF prepared a cashier’s check for “for a little over $5 million,” presenting it to a Renner employee.
Later that day, the check was deposited into Bremer Bank, which also held Renner-connected accounts, according to the Secret Service.
Balances in Renner-connected accounts began “moving up sharply in August 2008,” the Secret Service said.
August 2008 was the month in which the Secret Service raided the headquarters of ASD — and the month in which Renner’s autosurf was coming onto the stage. Golden Panda Ad Builder, a surf that is part of the ASD litigation, positioned itself as a company that sought to cater to Chinese members.
Golden Panda’s operator — Clarence Busby — was implicated by the SEC in a prime-bank investment scheme in the 1990s, the same sort of scheme that engulfed Learn Waterhouse and later resulted in the determination that Renner’s CCI money-services business was impossibly upside down because he had used customers’ money to make personal purchases.
INetGlobal issued a statement yesterday that acknowledged the Secret Service probe, but did not mention Renner’s tax conviction in December or the trouble he encountered when he could not fund a payment to the Learn Waterhouse receivership estate in the Ponzi case.
“iNetGlobal offices will remain open to provide support to our 1,000’s of customers from around the world,” the company said. “iNetGlobal will continue to provide the level of quality service our customers have come to expect now and into the future.
“We would like to thank all of our Members and Customers for their support and well wishes in this trying time,” the company said.
UPDATED 10:40 A.M. ET (U.S.A.) Federal and state agents have raided the Minneapolis offices of Inter-Mark Corp., seeking evidence of a Ponzi scheme, the Star Tribune of Minneapolis/St. Paul is reporting.
Inter-Mark Corp. is operated by Steve Renner, who also operates a purported “advertising” service known as INetGlobal. In a scene that resembled the August 2008 raid at the headquarters of Florida-based AdSurfDaily, agents in Minnesota were seen carting boxes of documents and computers.
ASD was implicated in a $100 million Ponzi scheme.
Renner has been under investigation for at least 17 months and likely longer. He was indicted on charges of tax evasion in September 2008, about a month after the ASD raid. He was convicted in December 2009 of evading more than $332,000 in taxes between 2002 and 2005.
Renner, 54, “diverted substantial funds from his business, Cash Cards International (CCI), between 2002 and 2005 to pay his personal living expenses as well as to make personal investments in coins, oil wells, art, stamps, and vintage musical instruments,” prosecutors said in December.
He also used CCI funds to promote his musical band, “Stevie Renner and the Renegades,†prosecutors said.
“From 2001 to 2006, Renner owned CCI, an Internet-based stored-value card and money
transmission business, with locations in Minnesota, South Dakota, and Hawaii,” prosecutors said. “Although he was legally obligated to file federal income tax returns and pay all federal taxes owed, he failed to file his income tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service for tax years 2002 through 2004 until March 5, 2006, the date on which he also filed his 2005 federal income tax return.”
“Tax evasion is not a victimless crime,†said Julio La Rosa of the IRS, upon Renner’s conviction.
“Honest, hardworking taxpayers pay the price when others choose to evade their tax obligations,” La Rosa said. “As this verdict shows, those that cheat will get caught.â€
Renner faces up to 20 years in federal prison in the tax case.
Renner also is associated with a domain known as AdPacs.com, which is throwing a server error. It is believed that AdPacs promoters also promoted the AdViewGlobal (AVG) autosurf, which had close ties to ASD.
Affiliates of Steve Renner's AdPacs.com pushed AdViewGlobal just prior to its February 2009 launch. This screen shot of search result that appeared online more than a year ago lists the name of Juan Fernandez, the CEO of AdSurfDaily. ASD is implicated in a $100 million Ponzi scheme. AVG launched AFTER the federal seizure of tens of millions of dollars in the ASD case. Like ASD President Andy Bowdoin, Fernandez took the 5th Amendment at an evidentiary hearing in September 2008. Now, Renner's company is the subject of a major federal probe. ASD sold "ad-packs." AVG referred to its version of "ad-packs" as "viewer impressions" after the phrase "ad-packs' became radioactive.
As was the case with the ASD raid in Florida, local media caught the events at Renner’s office yesterday on video. Minnesota has been plagued by Ponzi schemes. Some ASD members from Minnesota have been among the loudest advocates for ASD President Andy Bowdoin.
The Minnesota Financial Crimes Task Force assisted in the raid.
Earlier this month, the Secret Service announced the formation of an Electronic Crimes Task Force (ECTF) based in Memphis. The agency also has ECTFs in St. Louis, Kansas City, New Orleans and Europe.
“One of the top priorities for the Secret Service continues to be combating the computer
related crimes perpetrated by domestic and international criminals that target the U.S.
financial infrastructure,†said Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan.
“The Secret Service, in conjunction with its many law enforcement partners across the United States and around the world, continues to successfully combat these crimes by working closely with experts from all affected sectors to constantly refresh and adapt our investigative methodologies.â€
UPDATED 9:24 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) A spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney B. Todd Jones of the District of Minnesota refused to say today whether the government’s probe into the business practices of Inter-Mark Corp. and INetGlobal is over.
