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Tag: John Schepcoff

  • YouTube Video Pitchmen For Profitable Sunrise Hit By Subpoenas From SEC

    John Schepcoff says he potentially lost more than $193,000 in Profitable Sunrise but that a new “program” is “1,000 percent” better.
    John Schepcoff says on YouTube that he potentially lost more than $193,000 in Profitable Sunrise but that a new “program” operating from Hong Kong is “1,000 percent” better.

    EDITOR’S NOTE: Much remains murky about Profitable Sunrise, the alleged purveyor of five HYIP “plans,” including one bizarrely dubbed the “Long Haul” that purported to pay a preposterous 2.7 percent a day. The “Long Haul” payoff was dubbed the “Easter Gift.” Investors were told it would arrive April 1 — but it never materialized.

    One thing that is abundantly clear is that Profitable Sunrise potentially has created legal exposure and inconvenience for individual pitchmen, even though purported operator “Roman Novak” appears to be gone like a thief in the night.

    Still pushing HYIP schemes?

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    At least three Profitable Sunrise pitchmen — including at least two who pushed the “program” on YouTube — have been subpoenaed by the SEC to appear at depositions this month. The agency’s move is occurring in the aftermath of the depositions of at least two other Profitable Sunrise figures in Florida and Utah in April.

    In July 2010, the PP Blog reported that the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) warned investors worldwide “to stay away from HYIPs,” saying that they use social-media sites such as YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and online forums and “rating” sites to spread Ponzi misery globally.

    At least two of the men named in the new round of subpoenas went on to push other purported “opportunities” after the SEC described Profitable Sunrise in April as a murky HYIP that had used a “mail drop” in England and a series of offshore bank accounts in multiple countries to scam investors potentially of tens of millions of dollars.

    A subpoena was docketed yesterday in federal court in Atlanta for John Schepcoff of Carmichael, Calif. Schepcoff also is known as James Schepcoff, according to the SEC. His deposition has been scheduled for June 12 at 10 a.m. in San Francisco.

    After pitching Profitable Sunrise on YouTube prior to its March collapse amid especially murky circumstances, Schepcoff returned to YouTube in late April and began pitching yet another murky “program” purportedly operating from Hong Kong. Although the identity of the Hong Kong “program” was unclear, records suggest it was a Zeek Rewards-like “opportunity” known as “Better-Living Global Marketing.”

    In August 2012, the SEC described Zeek as a $600 million Ponzi- and pyramid scheme that had pushed unregistered securities on hundreds of thousands of people and duped them into believing they were receiving a legitimate return of about 1.5 percent a day. The U.S. Secret Service also said it was investigating Zeek.

    A subpoena also was docketed in Atlanta yesterday for video pitchman Melton McClanahan of Fairfield, Calif. McClanahan was identified in a March order by the Alabama Securities Commission (ASC) as a Profitable Sunrise agent. McClanahan then posted a YouTube video denying he was an agent and yet claiming the information he passed along to lure prospects “was given to me.”

    McClanahan’s deposition is scheduled for June 11 at 10 a.m. in San Francisco.

    An SEC subpoena also was docketed yesterday in Atlanta for Don Gillette of Miami. Gillette reportedly told members of his Profitable Sunrise downline that he was turning to a new “program” that “must have a realistic earning potential of at least $500 a day or more,” according to a post at the RealScam.com antiscam forum.

    Details about the scheduling of Gillette’s deposition are unclear.

    As part of its ongoing Profitable Sunrise probe, the SEC also has subpoenaed records at PayPal and at Societe Generale in New York, according to the docket of U.S. District Judge Thomas W. Thrash Jr. in Atlanta. Whether Profitable Sunrise or its members were using the companies to move money is unclear.

    One of the problems with HYIP schemes is that they may cause laundered funds or proceeds of criminal enterprises to pass through or be placed on deposit at legitimate financial institutions.

    News of the new round of Profitable Sunrise subpoenas follows on the heels of the takedown last month of Liberty Reserve, amid allegations it had orchestrated a $6 billion money-laundering conspiracy. Liberty Reserve was popular with HYIP scammers and other criminals.

    NOTE: Thanks to the ASD Updates Blog.

     

  • BULLETIN: SEC Moves To Block Virginia Man From Intervening In Profitable Sunrise Case; Appointment Of Receiver Will Depend On Success Of Efforts To Repatriate Assets To United States

    breakingnews72BULLETIN: The SEC has asked a federal judge not to permit a Virginia man to intervene in the Profitable Sunrise HYIP fraud case, saying that the man’s self-filed pleading “would open the floodgates for other investors to file similar motions.”

    In late April, James Paul Schilling of Mechanicsville effectively asked U.S. District Judge Thomas W. Thrash Jr. of the Northern District of Georgia to unfreeze $57,300 sent to Profitable Sunrise via wire in a series of transfers in January and February. In early April, the SEC described Profitable Sunrise as a pyramid scheme that may have collected tens of millions of dollars while operating through a “mail drop” in England and using other companies to gather the funds.

    Money from the scheme was directed at entities in several countries, the SEC said.

    Profitable Sunrise was targeted at U.S. residents, the SEC said in April. One of the claimed “plans” of Profitable Sunrise was bizarrely dubbed the “Long Haul” and purported to pay 2.7 percent a day.

    “In this case, permitting S[c]hilling to intervene and retrieve money commingled with funds deposited by thousands of other investors would open the floodgates for other investors to file similar motions, which would create an unnecessary strain on this Court’s resources thereby delaying the proceedings and, ultimately, any distribution of funds to investors,” the SEC argued.

    The agency said in its opposition to Schilling’s motion that it was contemplating asking the court to appoint a receiver, but any decision to ask for the appointment would depend on whether the SEC’s “efforts to repatriate funds are successful.

    “A Receiver could best administer a process to return funds to defrauded investors pursuant to a plan of distribution approved by the Court,” the SEC said.

    In April, the SEC said that “Hungarian law enforcement authorities” had frozen an account holding $11.3 million connected to the scheme as part of an “investigation of suspected money laundering.”

    Whether that money will be returned to the United States is unclear. Also unclear is whether Profitable Sunrise funds that may be held in other countries ever will be returned. Among other things, the Profitable Sunrise case demonstrates the dangers of doing business with murky enterprises, regardless of where an investor lives. Investors by the thousands could be left holding the bag.

    Profitable Sunrise was promoted on well-known Ponzi scheme forums such as TalkGold and MoneyMakerGroup. Although promoters claimed “Roman Novak” was running Profitable Sunrise, it remains unclear whether he actually exists. The scheme spread through an MLM-style network of promoters hoping to glean commissions.

    The SEC is asking Thrash to summarily deny Schilling’s motion or “in the alternative, order that Shilling support the motion with admissible evidence and provide citation to the legal authorities that he claims support his motion.”

    Despite the murkiness of Profitable Sunrise, former pitchman John Schepcoff is telling YouTube viewers that he’s identified another venture that is “1,000 percent better” than Profitable Sunrise and Zeek Rewards. In August, the SEC described Zeek as a $600 million Ponzi and pyramid scheme, saying it duped people into believing a return of about 1.5 percent a day was legitimate.

    The Profitable Sunrise “Long Haul” plan offered about double the purported returns of Zeek.

    NOTE: Our thanks to the ASD Updates Blog.

  • Pitchman Says Hong Kong-Based ‘Program’ Is ‘1,000 Percent Better’ Than Profitable Sunrise And Zeek Rewards

    John Schepcoff says he potentially lost more than $193,000 in Profitable Sunrise but that a new "program" is "1,000 percent" better.
    John Schepcoff says he potentially lost more than $193,000 in Profitable Sunrise but that a new “program” is “1,000 percent” better.

    In a bizarre and disturbing video playing on YouTube, a former Profitable Sunrise pitchman claims a new “program” he joined is operating from Hong Kong and is purveyed by an unidentified  “doctor.”

    The purported opportunity is “1,000 percent better” than Profitable Sunrise or Zeek Rewards, according to the video.

    News of the video first was reported on the RealScam.com antiscam forum.

    Pitchman John Schepcoff did not identify the new “program” in the 14:32 video. But he described it as invitation-only. Zeek made similar claims, according to the SEC’s August 2012 Ponzi- and pyramid action against the North Carolina-based firm and accused operator Paul. R. Burks. The SEC described Zeek as a $600 million fraud scheme.

    In April 2013, the agency described Profitable Sunrise as a pyramid scheme that may have gathered tens of millions of dollars, in part through using financial conduits in the Czech Republic, Australia, Panama and China.

    “There’s a litttle bit of a [learning] curve, like also Zeek Rewards in a way, but he made it 1,000 percent better,” Schepcoff said of the new Hong Kong “program.”

    Earlier in the video, Schepcoff claimed the new program was “1,000 percent better” than Profitable Sunrise.

    Schepcoff put $8,225 into the new program, he claimed in the video. He further claimed he’d potentially lost more than $193,500 in Profitable Sunrise but is holding out hope that “Roman Novak” somehow will resurrect the “program.”

    It is unclear whether “Roman Novak” actually exists, according to court filings.

    Among other things, Schepcoff claims in the video that Profitable Sunrise participants need to accept personal responsibility for their losses in the “program” and should not blame individuals such as himself or Profitable Sunrise pitchwoman Nanci Jo Frazer.

    “Stop blaming people, and say, ‘I am responsible,’” Schepcoff coached. Other people who should not be blamed include “Roman Novak,” he noted.

    And Schepcoff claimed he is “so happy” and “really, really happy” he got into the new program. Smiles, however, are absent from his face throughout the video.

    With respect to Profitable Sunrise, Schepcoff described the “program’s” scheme that purportedly permitted “compound[ing]” at a daily interest rate of between 2.15 percent and 2.7 percent as a “no-brainer” for a coach and mentor in finance such as himself.

    “And I teach people about the . . . way how things are done,” he said.

    When he heard about Profitable Sunrise in December 2012, Schepcoff said, “I basically ran to my bank, and I couldn’t get the money in fast enough.”

    Just four months earlier — in August 2012 — the SEC said Zeek duped people into believing they were receiving a legitimate return of about 1.5 percent a day. The Profitable Sunrise “Long Haul” plan purported almost to double Zeek’s purported daily payout.

    “I kept putting wire transfers after wire [transfer]” into Profitable Sunrise,” Schepcoff said, suggesting he took money out of retirement accounts to do so.

    “Greed” that became like a “cancer” controlled his behavior in Profitable Sunrise, he said. Schepcoff did not explain what was driving his behavior in sending funds to the purported Hong Kong “program” purportedly purveyed by the “doctor.”

    The new program apparently relies on a secret strategy designed to prevent links from being shared publicly and is “amazing” in “what it does,” he said. “There’s people — I can tell you this — that are bringing out only in five months over [$]40,000.”

    One person, according Schepcoff, told him that he’d taken out “over [$]200,000” from the new program in a single day.

    Some HYIP “programs” are pitched by “sovereign citizens” and political extremists who divine a construction by which participants are “free” to spend their money as they see fit and that specific word combinations insulate purveyors from any liability if a “program” collapses or becomes the subject of an action by law enforcement.

    HYIP scams typically are promoted on social-media sites such as YouTube, Twitter and Facebook, FINRA said in a 2010 warning.