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Tag: Juan Fernandez

  • PRONOUN MYSTERY: ‘We Plan To Go After Akerman [Senterfitt] Next,’ AdSurfDaily Member Writes; No Immediate Comment From Law Firm That Represented Andy Bowdoin

    Andy Bowdoin

    UPDATED 3:59 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) An email attributed to an AdSurfDaily member claims “We are now playing offense” and “We plan to go after Akerman Senifit (sic) next.”

    Why the pronoun “we” was used was not immediately clear. Also unclear is why Akerman Senterfitt has been identified as a prospective target of litigation and what, precisely, constituted “offense” on the part of the unidentified “we.”

    Akerman Senterfitt is the Florida-based law firm that represented ASD President Andy Bowdoin in the immediate aftermath of the August 2008 federal seizure of tens of millions of dollars from Bowdoin’s personal bank accounts by the U.S. Secret Service. The initial forfeiture case — and a subsequent forfeiture case brought by federal prosecutors in December 2008 — were filed as civil actions. ASD lost the cases in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and in the U.S. Court of Appeals — long after Akerman Senterfitt withdrew as counsel to Bowdoin and ASD.

    Charles A. Murray was Bowdoin’s counsel of record when final orders of forfeiture were issued against proceeds seized from Bowdoin and when both appeals were decided against Bowdoin, who once claimed as a pro se litigant that he’d been denied “fair notice” of illegal conduct.

    The email, which was attributed to ASD member Todd Disner, did not explain who comprised “we.” Nor did it explain how and why an apparent group of ASD members intended to “go after” the firm, Florida’s largest and one of America’s largest.

    Akerman Senterfitt appears only to have represented Bowdoin and former ASD Chief Executive Officer Juan Fernandez in the August 2008 civil case. There is no record of the firm filing an appearance notice for individual ASD members on the docket of the case, giving rise to questions about how individual ASD members ever could succeed in a bid to sue a law firm that never represented them. In the earliest days of the litigation, some ASD members compared the legal skills of the firm in its representation of Bowdoin and ASD to those of “Perry Mason” — while at once describing a government attorney as a bumbling, hapless “Gomer Pyle.”

    After a key court ruling went against Bowdoin and ASD in November 2008, some ASD members backed away from their earlier “Perry Mason” boast and blamed Akerman Senterfitt for Bowdoin’s legal troubles. The record of the case, however, shows that the government used ASD’s own words against it at an evidentiary hearing conducted in the fall of 2008 at Bowdoin’s request.

    A voicemail message left by the PP Blog for comment at Akerman Senterfitt in Miami was not immediately returned. Bowdoin fired the firm without notice in 2009, according to court records.

    On Jan. 13, 2009, with Akerman Senterfitt as counsel, Bowdoin submitted to the August 2008 forfeiture “with prejudice” and “consent[ed] to the forfeiture of the properties.” More than a month later — on Feb. 27, 2009 — Bowdoin filed a pro se pleading styled “NOTICE of Rescission and Withdrawal of Release of Claims to Seized Property and Consent to Forfeiture.”

    In April 2009, Akerman Senterfitt advised U.S. District Justice Rosemary Collyer that Bowdoin and ASD “have decided to represent themselves without consulting their counsel.

    “By way of example only,” the firm advised Collyer, “Mr. Bowdoin has recently filed, on a pro se basis, a series of motions. Mr. Bowdoin filed these motions without consulting with counsel and without bothering to advise counsel that he would be submitting motions on his own. Under these circumstances, the Akerman Senterfitt Law Firm cannot render effective assistance of counsel.”

    The firm, which was still Bowdoin’s counsel of record when he began to file freelance motions, asked for leave to withdraw from the case, explaining that its representation had become “unreasonably difficult.”

    Collyer released Akerman Senterfitt from the case on April 15, 2009.

    By the close of April 2009 — in response to one of several pro se pleadings by Bowdoin — prosecutors advised Collyer that he had signed a proffer letter in the case and acknowledged that the government’s material allegations were all true.

    Bowdoin himself later acknowledged that he had met with prosecutors over a period of at least four days in December 2008 and January 2009 and had provided information against his interests.

    Neither Bowdoin nor the government has said whether Bowdoin had provided information against the interests of others. Bowdoin claimed in September 2009 that he had been “hoodwinked” into releasing his claims and cooperating with prosecutors by Steven Dobson, a criminal attorney recommended by Akerman Senterfitt.

    The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit unanimously rejected Bowdoin’s hoodwinking claim in March 2011.

    There was no basis “to conclude that appellants were somehow tricked into releasing their claims,” the panel ruled. “Despite Bowdoin’s protests to the contrary, his own affidavit shows that he understood well that he was receiving no promise in return for relinquishing his claims.”

    In his own court filings, Bowdoin acknowledged that his decision to withdraw his claims to $65.8 million seized by the Secret Service was made because of a “possibility” that he could avoid a jail term.

    These are among the phrases to which Bowdoin swore on Sept. 15, 2009:

    • Dobson represented to me that I could possibly avoid prison or get a reduced sentence if I agreed to disclose details concerning ASD and releasing the assets.
    • I also signed a document stating that I would release my claims in the abovecaptioned civil in rem forfeiture proceeding, again thinking that necessary for a possible avoidance of a prison term.
    • I did all of this on the understanding that by cooperating I could possibly avoid a prison sentence.
    • I agreed not to exercise my rights in the civil forfeiture proceeding, anticipating from representations made by Dobson that this could possibly keep me out of prison.
    • Dobson lead [sic] me to believe that if I cooperated there was a possibility that I would not be incarcerated or imprisoned.
    • I believed that my cooperation would still result in a criminal sentence that could possibly not include imprisonment or incarceration.
    • I slowly came to understand what I understood from Dobson not to be the case: that my agreement to cooperate provided me no benefit in the criminal matter except the possibility of a reduced sentence if the judge desired which would still be a life sentence.

    New Email Circulating Among ASD Members

    Here, verbatim, is a new email circulating among ASD members. The email was attributed to Todd Disner. Disner, like Bowdoin, is among dozens of litigants who filed pro se pleadings in the civil portion of the case. (Italics added.)

    Hi folks,

    I talked to Andy the other day. He was in Atlanta airport coming home from his hearing in Washington .
    He said the government gave his attorney 10 discs full of files .
    The judge gave his attorney only 90 days to review all the documents .
    This was not fair but this is what the judge determined .

    But what was really interesting was when he told me that the
    prosecution was very proud of 11,000 affidavits they received from us through Rust
    Incorporated. .

    They “think” that they have evidence that now ASD was an investment.

    Of course we knew that that was a trap to get unsuspecting and desperate
    people to sign just about anything in an effort to get their money back .
    (My question is where of the other 107,000 people who did NOT sign the
    affidavit?)

    I’m sure that Andy’s attorney will speak to the coercive nature used to created that questionable evidence. To me it appears more and more that our
    government is operating with malice in this case. I think that will be apparent
    to any jury.

    Andy’s attorney is filing a motion to REDO the affidavit, This is a powerful attempt to get our money back by asking the court to make the government issue a “reasonable” form; one that does not make us perjure ourselves in an effort to recover what is rightfully OURS.

    Remember when we enrolled in ASD, we signed the “Term and Conditions” explicitly stating the ASD was NOT AN INVESTMENT. The existing form make liars out of us, one way or the other.

    Andy was in good spirits and very confident about his case .
    Dwight helped him get money back from his second attorney .
    This is a story in itself. Its shows the way Andy has been treated
    by his previous attorneys.

    We plan to go after Akerman Senifit next. (Andy’s first attorneys)

    It is a tragedy how the government must stoop to such tactics in
    order to prove their case against Andy and ASD.

    We are now playing “offense” and will see what happens.

    Keep your spirits up and try to help the cause.

    Best Regards,

    Todd Disner
    [Phone number deleted by PP Blog]

    Rust Consulting Inc. is the government-approved claims processor for victims of the alleged ASD fraud. ASD members who certify themselves crime victims through a process known as remission may be eligible to receive compensation through seized proceeds. The government announced nearly three years ago that it was establishing a restitution program.

    Some ASD members have described the remissions program as a government plot. Meanwhile, two ASD figures — Kenneth Wayne Leaming and Christian Oesch — sought to sue the government last year for the spectacular sum of more than $29 TRILLION.

    Disner started a drive earlier this year to raise money to help him and onetime attorney Dwight Schweitzer file a pro se lawsuit against the government.

    In recent weeks, other ASD members have started a fundraising drive for Bowdoin, who was arrested on ASD-related criminal charges in December 2010.

    There have been at least four efforts by subgroups of ASD members to raise money to litigate against the government since August 2008. Some ASD members who provided funding have contributed multiple times, becoming members of subgroups within subgroups that issued appeals for cash.

    A defunct organization known as ASD Members International (ASDMI) purported in October 2008 to be a Missouri nonprofit whose aim was to litigate against the government even if it was proceeding lawfully and perhaps have prosecutors and investigators charged with crimes.

    Separately, a group known as the ASD Members Business Association (ASDMBA) claimed it had gathered more than $100,000 to challenge the forfeiture and speed the return of seized funds. ASDMBA’s de facto head was Bob Guenther, a convicted felon.

    ASDMBA members complained that Guenther provided no transparent accounting after soliciting funds.

    Disner’s apparent group of ASD members is known informally as “ASD Justice,” the title of a Blog. No accounting has been released of the sums it collected. A plan by Disner and Schweitzer to sue the government in Florida’s federal courts appears to have stalled.

    Bowdoin’s apparent group is calling itself “Andy’s Fundraising Army.” It has missed two launch dates this month, but now says it will launch tomorrow. The group has positioned Bowdoin as “David,” with the government cast as a lawless “Goliath.”

  • Breaking News: More ASD-Connected Assets Seized; Bowdoin Blamed Company Troubles On Russian Hackers

    Federal prosecutors quietly went to court last month, filing a second forfeiture complaint against assets tied to AdSurfDaily Inc. The complaint paints a jaw-dropping picture of insider dealings, special favors, a “silent” ASD partner, people getting paid large sums for doing virtually nothing — and a claim that Russian hackers broke into ASD’s servers and stole more than $1 million.

    ASD President Andy Bowdoin never reported the theft to police or other authorities. He also told different people different stories about the cash struggles ASD was having before the autosurf changed its name to ASD Cash Generator, prosecutors said.

    “Mr.  Bowdoin told some individuals that he had to stop operating the program over the Internet as AdSurfDaily after one or more Russians hacked into his program and caused the ASD operation to issue approximately $1 million to one or more Russians,” prosecutors said.

    Bowdoin explained the money was taken “before [he] discovered that the Russians had not paid any money to ASD to secure for themselves a portion of its revenue stream (as so-called ‘rebates’),” prosecutors said.

    The new forfeiture complaint, which is filed in the District of Columbia but has been assigned a different case number than the still-active August forfeiture complaint, names currency, real estate, luxury vehicles, a 20-foot Triton Cabana boat, jet skis, trailers and computer equipment as the property the government seeks to seize as additional proceeds of an illegal Ponzi scheme.

    Prosecutors seek $634,266 previously deposited in Bartow County Bank in the name of Golden Panda Ad Builder. The money previously was ceded to the government by ASD President Clarence Busby and his daughter, Dawn Stowers.

    In addition, they seek a 2009 Lincoln MKS in the name of Bowdoin/Harris Enterprises; a 2009 Acura registered to Hays McDougal Amos; a 2008 Honda CRV registered to Judy Shriver Harris and George Franklin Harris; a 20-foot Triton Cabana boat, Mercury outboard motor and trailer; two 2007 Bombardier jet skis and a 2008 Confab trailer.

    At the same time, they seek the old Masonic Hall building Bowdoin purchased for $800,000 cash in Quincy, and a home in Tallahassee that was purchased with ASD funds that Bowdoin’s wife diverted to her son, George Harris, with the assistance of Harris.

    On June 10 and June 11 alone, Bowdoin’s family members and employees used $239,957 derived from ASD funds to make personal purchases, prosecutors said.

    Bowdoin’s wife, Edna Faye Bowdoin, worked with her son on June 10, 2008, to create an account at Capital City Bank, into which more than $177,000 in ASD funds were transferred from Bank of America, prosecutors said.

    On June 23, 2008, Harris used $157,216 of the money to pay off the mortgage on the Tallahassee home he occupied with his wife, Judy Harris, prosecutors said.

    “In short, Edna Faye Bowdoin and her son, George Harris, created an entity that funneled ASD proceeds into a bank account from which funds were provided to George Harris, and his wife, to pay off their home mortgage,” prosecutors said.

    Andy Bowdoin and Edna Faye Bowdoin created Bowdoin/Harris Enterprises to help “conceal from the government their expenditures and assets they purchased,” prosecutors said.

    Insider Dealings

    It is clear from the new forfeiture complaint that investigators have interviewed many people, including Bowdoin relatives, and spent considerable time chasing paper. The brackets in the quoted passages below are emphasis we added.

    “Mr. Bowdoin and associates [note the use of the plural] issued ad packages to friends and family (who  paid nothing for the ad packages) as free investment, and compensation programs,” prosecutors said.

    “Mr. Bowdoin, and others [note the plural] working with or associated with ASD, also gave ad packages to employees/workers as compensation for services performed for ASD,” prosecutors said.

    “These individuals also were able to pull out considerable funds from the so-called rebate program even though in many [note the use of the word “many”] cases they put little, if any, of their own money into the scheme,” prosecutors said.

    “For example, a former employee took over $30,000 out of ASD after putting in nothing. Another former employee pulled out over $300,000 after putting in about $10,000,” prosecutors said. “One ASD promoter pulled out almost $100,000 after putting in less than $1,000.”

    Family Spending Spree

    Here is a list of major family transactions last summer that used ASD funds, according to prosecutors.

    • June 10, 2008: Edna Faye Bowdoin and her son, George Harris, opened at account at Capital City Bank, funding it with $177,900 transferred from ASD’s Bank of America accounts. Harris later used $157,216 of the deposit to pay off the Tallahassee home he shared with his wife, Judy Harris.
    • June 11, 2008: Judy Harris and George Harris used $28,607 to purchase a 2008 Honda CRV. The vehicle was paid for with ASD company check No. 1337. On Aug. 8 — about a week after ASD’s assets were seized in the initial complaint — a lien was placed on the vehicle to secure a $5,000 loan Judy Harris took out with a family member.
    • June 11, 2008: ASD Chief Executive Officer Juan Fernandez issued an ASD check for $33,450 that was used to pay for a 2009 Acura registered to Hays McDougal Amos.
    • June 28, 2008: ASD Check No. 2708, for $20,506, was used to purchase the jet skis and a trailer. The bill of sale was made out to ASD, and Edna Faye Bowdoin signed for the goods.
    • July 1, 2008: A check from Bowdoin/Harris Enterprises for $23,445 was used to purchase the Triton boat and other equipment. The funds Bowdoin/Harris used originated in ASD’s Bank of America accounts.
    • July 28, 2008: A cashier’s check from Bowdoin/Harris for $48,244 was used to pay for the Lincoln. The funds originated in ASD’s accounts.

  • Ad View Global, New ‘Advertising’ Program, Debuts

    This morning we read an early pitch for Ad View Global (AVGlobal), a new “advertising” company that is coming online in the wake of the $100 million government seizure of assets tied to AdSurfDaily Inc.

    AVGlobal, according to the promoter’s ad we read, is positioning itself as a guarantee against the recession and poor economy. You’ll have to plunk down a minimum of $360 to get paid for viewing ads. ASD’s minimum purchase was $10, so AVGlobal wants 36 times more to get you started earning fabulous amounts of money for viewing ads while the economy is in the tank.

    Talk about stoking the furnace.

    AVGlobal, which for shorthand purposes also is called AVG, is headquarted in Uruguay, according to the promoter. You shouldn’t worry about this, he implied, because the company has banking relationships throughout the free world and “many” of its employees are “citizens” of the United States or other affluent countries.

    It’s not clear if the “citizens” employed by AVG will continue to live in the United States while they’re running a business from South America.

    At least two of the employees are identified in the promotion, and at least one is an ASD executive: “Gary,” whose last name wasn’t mentioned, appears to be the head man, and Juan Fernandez, chief executive officer of AdSurfDaily, is listed as “national sales manager.”

    Whether Fernandez’ job is to serve exclusively as “national sales manager” for a single country is unclear. One would think a company headquartered in Uruguay might appoint an “international sales manager,” as opposed to a more localized “national sales manager.”

    “National Sales Manager” is an interesting title, to be sure.

    Fernandez, through counsel, notified the federal judge in the ASD case that he would take the 5th Amendment against self-incrimination if called to testify at the Sept. 30-Oct. 1 evidentiary hearing. The judge ruled last month that ASD had not demonstrated it was operating legally and not a Ponzi scheme at the hearing.

    Just two paragraphs below the place in the pitch where the promoter mentions “Gary” and Fernandez by name, he insists “there is no connection with the company ASD . . .”

    There is no disclosure at any point in the pitch about ASD’s legal troubles and the risk associated with participating in an autosurf. What’s important, according to the promoter, is that you can “Make Your Financial Life Recession Proof” by joining Ad View Global, which permits you to plunk down up to $9,500 a day for ad purchases.

    One of the reasons ASD put itself on federal radar screens is because it permitted purchases of $10,000 or more, something that catches the attention of banks, the U.S. Secret Service and the IRS. Banks and the Secret Service and the IRS can become suspicious even of $9,500 transactions, though. They’re smart enough to understand that, if $10,000 is viewed as the magic cutoff to avoid suspicion, some folks just might dial it down a bit.

    It appears that everyone who joins AVGlobal gets dubbed an “account executive,” but if you want to earn you have to become a “VIP” account executive. VIP stands for “Viewing Incentive Program.”

    The promoter stressed that AVGlobal is selling “page impressions,” not simple advertisements.

    “Imagine if NBC paid you to watch their station during the hours of 4:00pm – 8:00 pm each evening, regardless of time zone?” the promoter droned. “What if they had hundreds of thousands of people worldwide that they could guarantee to be watching NBC during this time period? Just how valuable would this time be worth?”

    Exciting stuff, to be sure.

    Hmmm. Perhaps NBC should start paying people for viewing ads, only after making a minimum $360 purchase, registering as account executive VIPs and running things out of South America, of course. If the venture proved to be a Ponzi scheme, NBC could use its own news division to sanitize its own Bernard Madoff or Andy Bowdoin-like scandal.

    Here’s a headline idea: “Make Your Financial Life Recession Proof.”

    Oops. Already taken by AVGlobal. Regardless, NBC has lots of talented writers. Someone will be able to come up with a good headline if the network enters the paid-to-view-ads fray.

    It’s a plain fact that people are hurting as a result of poor economic times. It’s also a plain fact that many folks are turning to the Web to learn ways to supplement their income. Here’s hoping they decide against viewing “page impressions” for a living.

    The Feds believe that ASD President Andy Bowdoin was running a criminal enterprise that sold unregistered securities, called them “advertisements” and operated as a Ponzi scheme. Bowdoin’s own attorneys say he is the target of a criminal probe, and he has been sued in a separate action under federal racketeering laws.

    As pointed out above, Juan Fernandez, Bowdoin’s own CEO, took the 5th at the ASD evidentiary hearing. So did Bowdoin.

    Bowdoin also has been sued by Bill McCollum, the attorney general of Florida, under pyramid statutes. Not long ago Bowdoin claimed during a conference call that “Ponzi” allegations had been dropped in Florida, but “Ponzi” allegations never even were brought in Florida, McCollum’s office said. The state always used pyramid statutes, unlike the federal government, which brought Ponzi allegations.

    Now AVG has emerged, using a similar business model, changing a few things, running things offshore and asking for at least $360 up front so people can play. Perhaps they’ll even get the chance to meet the “national sales manager.”