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Tag: Judy Harris

  • SPECIAL REPORT: SMOKING GUN? MoneyMakerGroup Ponzi Forum Post Made During Same Month Grand Jury That Indicted AdSurfDaily’s Andy Bowdoin Convened May Tie AdViewGlobal To International Penny-Stock Scheme And Collapsed Payment Processor In Arizona

    Combined with corporation records and documents such as news releases, this post on the MoneyMakerGroup Ponzi forum raises questions about whether AdViewGlobal, an autosurf with close ties to AdSurfDaily, was part of an elaborate penny-stock scheme and money-laundering conduit that consumed the EWalletPlus payment processor and left AVG members holding the bag.

    EDITOR’S NOTE: Longtime readers of the PP Blog will recall that the purported AdSurfDaily (ASD) spinoff known as AdViewGlobal (AVG) and some of its members engaged in particularly bizarre behavior in May 2009. The absurdities included announcing (and then unannouncing) a puported deal with a new offshore wire facilitator, announcing (and then unannouncing) a new website with purported new services and claiming the upstart company was healthy enough not only to pay out 250 percent matching bonuses to members and 200 percent matching bonuses to recruiters, but also to pay out multilevel downline commissions and purported surfing income of up to 8 percent a day.

    Just two months earlier — in March 2009 — AVG suddenly announced its account at an unspecified bank had been suspended and that its chief executive officer  had resigned. The firm bizarrely added that CEO Gary Talbert would not leave the company altogether. Rather, Talbert would remain in the accounting department.

    Just a month earlier, Talbert, also a former ASD executive, had been introduced in an AVG conference call by Terralynn Hoy, an ASD member and moderator of the pro-ASD Surf’s Up forum and an emerging forum for the AVG autosurf. The introduction occurred in February 2009 after weeks of assertions by AVG that there were no ties between itself and ASD. The introduction was preceded by a bizarre announcement in late January of 2009 by AVG that the appearance of its graphics on an ASD-controlled webroom was an “operational coincidence.” The person making that announcement on AVG’s behalf was Chuck Osmin, a former ASD employee.

    AVG’s websites ultimately disappeared. Members claimed AVG was owned by George and Judy Harris, and at least one of the AVG websites identified  George Harris as an AVG trustee. George Harris, described in court filings as the head of ASD’s purported real-estate division, is the stepson of Andy Bowdoin and the son of Bowdoin’s wife, Edna Faye Bowdoin.

    It later proved to be the case that May 2009 — the same month in which AVG was reimagining itself as one of the world’s leading advertising and communications firms while at once announcing and unannouncing key bits of purported news — was the same month the grand jury that indicted ASD President Andy Bowdoin had convened.

    The PP Blog is reporting today that records strongly suggest AVG was a cog in a larger fraud  — one that somehow married the AVG autosurf to a penny-stock scheme with a purported arm in the “oil” businesses and a branch that owned an Arizona payment processor known as EWalletPlus that later collapsed.

    Here, now, our Special Report . . .

    Is stock manipulation in multiple venues part of the bigger picture of the AdSurfDaily Ponzi scheme? Out of the clear blue sky in the fall of 2008  — as ASD awaited a critical court ruling in the Ponzi forfeiture case against the assets of President Andy Bowdoin — ASD claimed it expected a $200 million revenue infusion from Praebius Communications, a penny-stock firm that did not disclose audited sales figures.

    But the Praebius announcement, which ASD later withdrew without explaining why, may not be the firm’s only tie to a penny-stock company.

    A May 2009 post on the MoneyMakerGroup Ponzi forum is adding to lingering questions about whether AdViewGlobal — an autosurf with close ties to ASD — was part of an elaborate penny-stock scheme and money-laundering conduit  involving multiple companies, domestic and offshore venues and individuals with ties to ASD.

    On May 5, 2009, a MoneyMakerGroup poster who used the handle of “IMCanadian” claimed he (or she) had received autosurfing payouts totaling $1,300 from AdViewGlobal (AVG) on unspecified dates. The payments, according to the post, were routed through SolidTrustPay (STP), a Canadian payment processor.

    The MoneyMakerGroup post potentially provides a glimpse into how fraudulent securities businesses may layer themselves to confuse both investors and authorities. The post cites two different email addresses as the sources of STP payments from the AVG scheme.  Although the email addresses purportedly were used by AVG to cause STP to issue AVG autosurf payouts, neither of the addresses used  a domain name owned by AVG. Instead, they used Yahoo and Gmail addresses.

    AVG, according to records, could have chosen to use email addresses that corresponded to its own domain names. The firm owned at least two namesake domains before it suspended member cashouts in June 2009: ADVGlobal.com and AdViewGlobal.com.

    But relying on free email providers such as Yahoo and Google was not the sole oddity associated with AVG, a firm an early promoter predicted would become a “1 Billion Dollar Company [before the] end of 2009.”

    “Most if not all of your leaders are joining,” the promoter flatly counseled on a forum known as FreeLunchRoom on Dec. 23, 2008, two days before Christmas.

    The MoneyMakerGroup posts that followed cited not only the Yahoo and Gmail payout addresses, but also two different STP usernames from which AVG payouts to “IMCanadian” purportedly originated. Absent in both usernames was any reference to AVG itself.

    Like AVG, ASD also used STP, according to records. In August 2008, the U.S. Secret Service alleged that ASD had wired “several million dollars” to STP just prior to the seizure of tens of millions of dollars from the personal bank accounts of ASD President Andy Bowdoin.

    A payment of $200 for AdViewGlobal earnings was received through STP from an STP user who used the acronym “avg” as part of a yahoo.com email address, but did not use an AVG domain, according to the MoneyMakerGroup post. The STP username linked to the AVG payout was “karveck,” not AdViewGlobal or AVG, according to the post.

    An AVG payment for $1,100, meanwhile, had come from an STP member who used the words “tmscorp” and “usa” — along with the abbreviation “llc” as part of a Gmail address, according to the post. The STP username for the payout was “tmscorp,” not AdViewGlobal or AVG, according to the post.

    Ten days after the claims appeared on MoneyMakerGroup, the grand jury that indicted ASD President Andy Bowdoin in the District of Columbia was sworn in, according to records. The swearing in occurred just 11 days after the Obama administration announced a crackdown on offshore fraud schemes. On the same day Obama himself spoke about the crackdown — May 4, 2009 — AVG announced it had secured a new offshore wire facilitator in the aftermath of the purported suspension of AVG’s bank account in March 2009. Research by the PP Blog suggests that AVG sought to route money to itself by using a Florida shell company that had sought the services of an offshore firm later banned by the National Futures Association.

    The seal on the Bowdoin indictment was lifted on Nov. 23, 2010, during a period in which some ASD members were discouraging others from filing remissions claims in the ASD forfeiture case brought by federal prosecutors and the U.S. Secret Service in August 2008.

    Bowdoin was arrested in Florida on Dec. 1, 2010. He faces an upcoming trial on allegations of wire fraud, securities fraud and selling unregistered securities for his operation of ASD. AVG’s name does not appear in the indictment.

    The Operative Word: ‘Murky’

    Much remains murky about the degree of connectivity among ASD, AVG, STP, Karveck, TMS Corp and EWalletPlus. It is known that ASD and AVG had members and promoters in common. Both firms used STP to process payments, but it remains far from clear how many STP accounts the companies and their executives or insiders controlled and how much money generated in the ASD scheme remained in offshore accounts that later could be tapped to channel money to AVG.

    ASD and AVG are known to have turned to members and moderators  of the now-defunct Surf’s Up forum to sanitize the respective schemes.  The surf firms, according to AVG, also shared at least two of the same employees: Chuck Osmin and Gary Talbert.

    Some ASD members have claimed Bowdoin was a silent partner in AVG and fronted the money to acquire EWalletPlus, AVG’s purported in-house payment processor. If the assertion that Bowdoin provided money to buy EWalletPlus is true, it may mean that the deal was heavily layered to shield Bowdoin from being identified as the funding source and that AVG had more than one silent partner.

    Karveck and TMS Corp used multiple versions of their names, a potential indicator of money-laundering — i.e., a bid to dupe banks into warehousing fraud-scheme proceeds. Karveck, for example, has been referred to as just plain Karveck, but also Karveck International. Records show that at least three versions of the TMS Corp. name exist: TMS Corp., TMS Association and TMS Corp. USA LLC.

    TMS Corp. USA LLC is listed in Nevada and Arizona records as using ASD’s address in Quincy, Fla. Its manager is listed as Talbert, the former executive at both ASD and AVG.

    Each of the TMS firms appears to have a tie to EWalletPlus, which once shared the same server in Panama with AVG. Despite serving pages from Panama, AVG purported to be based in Uruguay and to enjoy U.S. Constitutional protections even though it was operating offshore. Making the situation even murkier is that a penny-stock company known as Vana Blue Inc.  claimed in 2008 to own TMS Corp., the parent company of the EWalletPlus web portal, and to have have acquired Karveck International in February 2009.

    The claims came in the form of news releases — and news releases are common tools in penny-stock frauds.

    AVG formally launched in February 2009, a year after VanaBlue claimed ownership in a news release of TMS Corp. and EWalletPlus and months after the seizure of Bowdoin’s assets in August 2008. Prior to the seizure, Bowdoin ventured to Costa Rica and Panama, according to court filings by the Secret Service.

    The purpose of the Bowdoin trip, according to the Secret Service, was to to incorporate ASD Cash Generator — a replacement autosurf for a Bowdoin surf that had collapsed in 2007 —  and an entity known known as La Sorta Trading outside of U.S. jurisdiction. The agency made the claim on Feb. 26, 2009, less than a month after the formal launch of AVG and during the same period in which AVG reportedly had met with a convicted securities felon and announced the formation of a purported offshore “private association.”

    Also in February 2009, Vana Blue declared Karveck International  a “newly acquired asset” that had produced $1.8 million in revenue in January 2009. Karveck was described as a company that “specializes in internet advertising and promotion in a search engine and ad clicking type environment.”

    Mysteriously, however, VanaBlue disowned Karveck International just six months later — in August 2009. What Vana Blue initially had described in February as a completed acquisition of Karveck International was redescribed in August as deal that had fallen through as a result of “further due diligence.”

    “Vana Blue was unable to complete this transaction but is in the final stages of negotiation with an oil company to continue its plans of acquisitions,” Vana Blue claimed on Aug. 17, 2009.

    During the month of August 2009, ASD’s Bowdoin announced in court filings that he was “negotiating” with federal prosecutors. The August 2009 negotiations, which collapsed by mid-September of the same year, marked at least the second time that Bowdoin or his legal team claimed that the ASD patriarch was seeking to find a way to settle the ASD forfeiture case.

    Bowdoin’s negotiations pleading appeared on the docket of U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer on Aug. 4, 2009. Thirteen days later — on Aug. 17, 2009 — Vana Blue announced on Business Wire that its acquisition of Karveck International — a deal it described in February 2009 as completed — had fallen through.

    Vana Blue claimed in the same announcement it was proceeding on a deal for an oil company despite its sudden loss of Karveck International.

    Just days before Bowdoin’s Aug. 4, 2009, confirmation that he again was negotiating with prosecutors, Vana Blue’s website suddenly went missing.

    Earlier this year, a source told the PP Blog that she provided $5,000 to her sponsor — and that the sponsor converted her money to cashier’s checks made payable to TMS Association, one of the “TMS” companies records suggest was tied to both AVG and EWalletPlus. The woman told the Blog that she believed she was a victim of the ASD scheme.

    On Dec. 21 2010, just 20 days after Bowdoin was indicted, an email that appeared to have originated with an AVG member began to circulate among ASD members.

    The email accused members of ASD who were participating in the remissions program established by the Justice Department and the Secret Service of signing their “morals and soul away” and supporting “innocent peoples lives being destroyed.”

    In a possible bid to intimidate ASD members, the email further claimed that an unspecified “back lash” would occur against any ASD member who participated in the claims program.

    Last month ASD members who filed approved claims forms received back 100 percent of the money they had directed at ASD. The remissions payments were funded by money seized by the Secret Service in the ASD Ponzi case.

    Although its is believed the government also has opened a probe into the affairs of AVG, prosecutors have made only veiled references to AVG in court filings in the ASD case.

     

  • DEVELOPING STORY: Are AdSurfDaily Pitchmen Who Also Joined AdViewGlobal And Recruited Members For Collapsed ASD Knockoff Confused — Or Are They Trying To Scam Downline Members And Claims Administrator?

    ASD's Andy Bowdoin.

    This post begins with background because the autosurf world, which is dominated by serial scammers, financial fraudsters and shadowy criminals, is about as murky as it gets.

    On Aug. 1, 2008, tens of millions of dollars in the bank accounts of AdSurfDaily President Andy Bowdoin were seized. Federal prosecutors went on to say that Bowdoin, a recidivist swindler in his seventies, was conducting an international Ponzi scheme involving at least $110 million from the small town of Quincy, Fla.

    ASD allegedly had more than 100,000 members.

    Bowdoin was running the massive scheme through his 10 personal bank accounts and trading on the name of the President of the United States to sanitize the fraud, prosecutors said in a forfeiture complaint.

    A federal magistrate judge in the District of Columbia, the nation’s capital and center of power, ordered the money seized by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security after reviewing a 37-page affidavit by the U.S. Secret Service and a 57-page evidence exhibit. Incredibly, though, some ASD members didn’t take the strong clues that the U.S. government had come to view ASD and others like it as a threat to to the nation.

    The government made sure that the allegations and certain information about Bowdoin, including the fact that ASD was not his first brush with securities felonies and that he was partnered with a man implicated by the SEC in the 1990s in three prime-bank schemes, were available for wide distribution. The forfeiture complaint was published on the Internet in multiple places and was made available at no charge by the government.

    Bowdoin reacted to the seizure by describing it as an act of “Satan” and comparing it to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. A message from Bowdoin on ASD’s answering machine claimed God was on the company’s side. Within days of the breathtaking seizure and a follow-up raid of company headquarters caught on camera by a local TV station, ASD members started pitching other fraud schemes, positioning them as ways to make up for ASD losses. The disconnect of ASD members was stunning.

    They hawked cash-gifting schemes, HYIP schemes, cycler matrices and other autosurf schemes — often using an appeal to religion in their pitches and claiming the “programs,” unlike ASD, operated outside U.S. jurisdiction and thus insulated the players from prosecution. They made the claims despite the fact the “programs” were targeted at U.S. citizens and players were paid in U.S. dollars after using U.S. dollars to join the “programs.”

    On Nov. 19, 2008, ASD lost a key court battle. A federal judge ruled that ASD, which had requested an evidentiary hearing, had not demonstrated it was a lawful business and not a Ponzi scheme. Instead of exiting the autosurf  Ponzi “industy,” some ASD members next turned their attentions to an upstart “offshore” surf known as AdViewGlobal.

    Which brings us to the reason for this post . . .

    A woman who said she believed she was an AdSurfDaily investor entitled to restitution through the government remissions program administered by Rust Consulting Inc. told the PP Blog yesterday that she gave $5,000 to her sponsor, who converted the sum to cashiers’ checks made payable to a murky enterprise known as TMS Association.

    The PP Blog referred the woman to the office of U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. in the District of Columbia.

    But her transaction, according to the woman, occurred in April 2009 — eight months after the August 2008 seizure of tens of millions of dollars by the Secret Service in the ASD Ponzi case. ASD ceased operations after the seizure.

    Although the woman apparently believed she was investing in ASD, her story strongly suggests that she actually was investing in AdViewGlobal (AVG), one of the so-called ASD “clones” that launched in the aftermath of the ASD seizure. TMS Association was a murky Arizona business linked to eWalletPlus, which reportedly was the in-house payment processor for AVG.

    The woman, saying she believed she was an ASD victim, also said she believed she was entitled to restitution through the remissions program set up for ASD victims through Rust. Her remissions claim, however, appears to have been rejected because the program is for victims of ASD, LaFuenteDinero and Golden Panda Ad Builder, not victims of AVG.

    “I am having troubles with the Ad Surf Daily Remission Administrator on getting the information that my checks I sent in that were endorsed to TMS Association were ‘linked’ to the Ad Surf fraud suit that is going on,” the woman asserted.

    Facts surrounding TMS, eWallet Plus and AVG are exceptionally murky, and there is no remissions program for victims. It is believed that the U.S. government has opened a probe into the companies, and AVG was referenced as an extension of ASD in a 2009 racketeering lawsuit filed against Bowdoin by a group of ASD members seeking class-action certification.

    At least three companies, including a penny-stock firm known as Vana Blue, have claimed to own eWallet Plus, which AVG also claimed to own. Also adding confusion are the presence of company names such as TMS Corp. USA LLC, TMS Corp., Karveck International and Karveck Corp. — all of which haven been referenced in the context of AVG.

    The woman said she contacted the PP Blog because of its reporting on TMS Association.

    AVG, which had close ASD ties, announced it was suspending cashouts two years ago this month. The surf was positioned as a remedy for ASD losses, amid claims it operated in Uruguay outside of U.S. jurisdiction. Its servers resolved to Panama, as did the servers for eWallet Plus.

    One promo for AVG claimed that $5,000 turned into $15,000 “instantly.” Some ASD members have claimed Bowdoin was a silent partner in AVG and fronted the money to purchase eWallet Plus.

    Although AVG purported to have no ties to ASD, it listed George and Judy Harris as its owners. George Harris is Bowdoin’s stepson. The AVG incongruities did not end there. Indeed, AVG’s graphics once appeared on an ASD-controlled website, an event that was bizarrely explained away as an “operational coincidence.”

    Even as AVG was disclaiming ASD ties in early 2009, the person disclaiming the ties was a former ASD employee, Chuck Osmin, who testified on ASD’s behalf at an evidentiary hearing in 2008. Despite the claims, AVG listed its first chief executive officer as Gary Talbert, a former ASD executive who filed a sworn court affidavit on ASD’s behalf in 2008.

    The woman’s claims, however, lead to questions about whether some AVG members are trying to use the ASD remissions program to cover losses in AVG, perhaps with encouragement of their upline sponsors

    Among other questions raised by the woman’s claims is whether ASD sponsors who promoted for AVG despite the ASD seizure told the truth about ASD to their recruits or shielded them from the news, thus denying recruits information they needed to make an informed decision about joining AVG.

    At the same time, the woman’s story leads to questions about whether AVG recruits denied the facts by their sponsors about the ASD prosecution tried to pressure their AVG sponsors for refunds when the truth became known — and whether the AVG sponsors are trying to cover their tracks by pointing their recruits to the ASD remissions program without disclosing that it is reserved for ASD, LaFuenteDinero and GoldenPandaAdBuilder victims only.

    It is likely that any bids to mask AVG losses as ASD losses will fail because the government requires ASD members to certify themselves as crime victims and provide paperwork as proof of investment.

    Based on the woman’s claims, it also seems possible that some AVG members may have been serving as unlicensed brokers and investment advisers by collecting cash or negotiable instruments from recruits, converting the money to cashiers’ checks and then sending the money to AVG.

    If transactions such as that occurred, it leads to questions about whether AVG investors ever could prove they’d actually joined the program. If the accounts were not opened in their names and instead were opened in the names of sponsors who collected their money, there may be no proof at all that the recruit was the source of the funding.

    Even if the AVG accounts were opened in the names of the recruits, it may be hard for a recruit to prove they provided the funds if the money was converted to cashiers’ checks and submitted to AVG by the sponsors

    The extent to which AVG sponsors may be trying to game the remissions system is unclear. What is clear is that the woman’s story is yet another reminder that the universe in which ASD and other autosurfs operated was dark and dangerous to the purse strings.

  • URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: Accused Fraudster Andy Bowdoin Enters Defense That Could Provide Legal Cover For Autosurf Ponzi Schemes If He Wins Case; ASD Operator Claims Business Model Stands Up To ‘Howey Test’ Scrutiny

    Andy Bowdoin

    BULLETIN: In an argument that almost certainly will give comfort to operators of some of the most corrupt and insidious businesses on the Internet, AdSurfDaily President Andy Bowdoin has advised a federal judge that his company and business practices are legitimate because they stand up to scrutiny when the “Howey Test” is applied.

    Bowdoin, 77, made the argument despite the fact the government claims that he signed a proffer letter at least two years ago in which he acknowledged ASD was operating illegally and that the prosecution’s material allegations were all true. In 2009, Bowdoin acknowledged in his own court filings that he had made statements against his interests over a period of at least four days in the hopes of avoiding a prison sentence by cooperating with investigators.

    But Bowdoin now says criminal charges of wire fraud, securities fraud and selling unregistered securities as investment contracts brought against him last year “must” be dismissed. It is believed that hundreds — if not thousands — of autosurfs are operating over the Internet at any given time.

    Separately, Bowdoin filed a motion to transfer the case to the Northern District of Florida’s Tallahassee Division from the District of Columbia, saying that trying the case in Florida was the fair and most cost-effective thing to do. The government is expected to oppose Bowdoin’s bid to move the case from Washington to Tallahassee.

    U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer, who was assigned the civil forfeiture case against Bowdoin’s assets after the U.S. Secret Service raided ASD in August 2008 and ordered $65.8 million found in Bowdoin’s personal bank accounts ceded to the government after nearly a year and a half of litigation, also was assigned the criminal case. Criminal charges against Bowdoin were announced in December 2010.

    Although Bowdoin previously claimed Collyer was biased against him and sought unsuccessfully to have her removed from the civil case, he has not raised the issue of bias so far in the criminal case. Instead, he petitioned Collyer for an order that would remove the case from her courtroom and put it in the hands of a federal judge in Florida, arguing that most of the witnesses in the case resided in Florida and that hearing the case in Collyer’s court would force unnecessary costs and transportation burdens on both Bowdoin and witnesses.

    An affidavit signed by Bowdoin requesting the transfer was filed yesterday. It appears to have been notarized by Judy Harris of Tallahassee, whom some ASD members said operated the AdViewGlobal (AVG) autosurf with her husband, George Harris. George Harris is the son of Bowdoin’s wife, Edna Faye Bowdoin, and a Tallahassee home owned by the Harrises was seized in an ASD-related forfeiture complaint filed in December 2008.

    Both George and Judy Harris benefited from the ASD Ponzi scheme because a $157,000 mortgage on their house was retired with Ponzi proceeds, prosecutors said in December 2008.

    The Harrises also received a car valued at nearly $30,000 from the scheme, and the car also was paid for with Ponzi proceeds, prosecutors said.

    Florida records show that Judy Harris has been a licensed notary since at least October 2008. Why she would notarize a document for Andy Bowdoin when she, her husband and her mother-in-law were alleged to have been a beneficiaries of the ASD Ponzi scheme was not immediately clear.

    AVG, which purported to be headquartered in Uruguay and launched after the seizure of assets linked to Bowdoin and the Harrises, suspended payouts to members in June 2009. The surf blamed members’ greed for its problems. The name of Judy Harris also appears in a document filed in April 2009 with the Florida Department of State that canceled the fictitious registration of AVG, which also was known as the AV Global Association.

    Andy Bowdoin’s New Argument

    Prosecutors have not responded to Bowdoin’s new assertion filed yesterday that ASD can stand up to Howey Test scrutiny. A blistering response is expected in the days ahead because a ruling in Bowdoin’s favor to dismiss the case or an outright win by Bowdoin at trial could have grave economic and security implications for the United States.

    Autosurfs operate in the darkest corners of the Internet, fueled by corrupt promoters and scammers who position them as legitimate  “advertising” businesses that share revenue with participants. Untold sums of money — believed to be in the billions of dollars — have disappeared in recent years, and prosecutors say the enterprises operate as virtually pure Ponzi schemes.

    Purveyors almost certainly would view any win by Bowdoin as a mandate that legalized Internet-based Ponzi schemes and created a virtual license to collect vast sums of money and simply pocket it by claiming member payouts, which ASD called “rebates,” were not guaranteed.

    “[N]o guarantee or promise of any profits, any specific level of rebate payouts, or return on an alleged ‘investment’ occurred during the AdSurfDaily operation,” Bowdoin claimed. He also asserted that the allegations against him were Constitutionally vague and that none of the four civil cases brought against autosurfs — 12DailyPro, PhoenixSurf, CEP Holdings and the forfeiture case against ASD’s assets filed in 2008 — has clarified the legal issues.

    “As none of these actions has proceeded to final judgment, no judicial opinion has yet clarified whether payment of membership fees by advertisers into auto-surf businesses constitute unregistered sales of ‘securities,’ as alleged by the government,” Bowdoin claimed.

    The criminal charges “must be dismissed because the ad-surf business model employed by AdSurfDaily, Inc. and [Bowdoin’s] related businesses, as alleged in the indictment, cannot constitute an SEC-regulated ‘investment contract’ security as defined under the three-prong test established” by Howey, Bowdoin argued.

    The Howey Test is a threshold securities test and litigation benchmark from the 1946 U.S. Supreme Court decision in S.E.C. v. W.J. Howey Co. The decision spoke to the issue of what constitutes an “investment contract.”

    Bowdoin now claims the entire case against him is fatally flawed because he never sold investment contracts as defined under Howey.

    “[T]he Howey test,” Bowdoin argued, “determines whether a particular instrument or transaction is a prohibited, unregistered ‘investment contract’ by searching for the presence of three factors: ‘(1) the investment of money (2) in a common enterprise (3) with an expectation of profits to be derived solely from the efforts of the promoter or a third party.”

    ASD did not meet any of the three prongs of the Howey Test, Bowdoin argued.

    It was not an investment because ASD was an advertising company, not an investment company through which participants placed money at risk in anticipation of profit, Bowdoin argued. Therefore, he asserted, ASD did not meet the first Howey prong.

    Meanwhile, Bowdoin argued that ASD did not meet the second prong because participants did not place their money in a “common pool” put at risk in expectation of a profit.

    “[T]here was no ‘common enterprise’ at work here,” Bowdoin argued.

    And because ASD members had to click on ads and view them to get paid, they performed “actual efforts,” taking the third prong of the Howey Test out of play, Bowdoin claimed.

    “Here, the payment of both rebates and referral commissions were directly tied to the actual efforts of the advertisers,” Bowdoin argued.

    Prosecutors, though, asserted in the ASD forfeiture case that ASD told investors that rebates “will” be paid until investors received back 100 percent of the money they plowed into the scheme, plus a profit of 25 percent.

    Gerald Nehra, an attorney and expert witness for ASD in the forfeiture case, conceded under cross examination in 2008 that the ASD Terms of Service specified that rebates “will” be paid.

    Bowdoin’s most recent arguments also put him with odds with dozens of ASD members who claimed in court filings that the government had no “evidence” and no “witnesses.”

    In his filings yesterday, Bowdoin said he believed that the “vast majority” of the prosecution’s witnesses resided in Florida. He said he planned to counter them with witnesses of his own — as many as 136 — including George and Judy Harris, Rob Cefail of InTouch Marketing of Clearwater, and Tari Steward, who also provided Clearwater-based marketing services.

    At least 56 of ASD’s witnesses were ASD employees, Bowdoin said. The document was notarized by Judy Harris.

  • A ‘MONEY MAGNET’ AT WORK: Andy Bowdoin Wows Crowd With Photo Of Building Later Seized; Indicted Autosurf Operator Gives Gordon Gekko-Like Speech In Which Greed Is Recast As A ‘Positive’

    ASD President Andy Bowdoin wowed a "rally" crowd by showing a photo of this building in Quincy, Fla. The U.S. Secret Service later seized the building, saying it was purchased from the proceeds of a massive Ponzi scheme. Federal prosecutors said the scheme traded on religion and that Bowdoin emerged with "followers."

    EDITOR’S NOTE: Two videos of sales pitches by AdSurfDaily President Andy Bowdoin are linked below. Both are available at publicly accessible websites.

    The first video shows Bowdoin, in the summer of 2008, wowing a crowd by showing ASD rally attendees a photo of ASD’s new headquarters building in Quincy, Fla. The building later was seized by the U.S. Secret Service as the proceeds of a criminal enterprise. Also of note in the video is a claim by Bowdoin that George Harris is the head of ASD’s purported real-estate division. The video also references Judy Harris.

    George Harris is the son of Andy Bowdoin’s wife, Edna Faye Bowdoin. The Harris home in Tallahassee was seized in December 2008. Federal prosecutors said the mortgage on the home was retired with Ponzi proceeds. Neither George nor Judy Harris ever filed a claim to the home.

    The AdViewGlobal (AVG) autosurf, which launched after the seizure of Bowdoin’s assets, the Harris home and the filing of a racketeering lawsuit against Bowdoin, later identified George and Judy Harris as its operators. AVG purported to be a “private association” headquartered in Uruguay. The surf made the claim it was a private association in February 2009. The claim coincided with a decision by Bowdoin to reenter the ASD forfeiture case as a pro-se litigant.

    Weeks earlier, in January 2009, Bowdoin had submitted to the forfeiture of tens of millions of dollars seized from his bank accounts. Despite the fact that Bowdoin had advised a federal judge that he was withdrawing his claims to the seized money “with prejudice” — meaning he intended never again to reinstitute his claims — he nevertheless sought to reenter the case, acting as his own attorney.

    By April 2009, federal prosecutors said that, not only had Bowdoin submitted to the forfeiture and formally advised a federal judge of his decision to do so, but that Bowdoin also had signed a proffer letter and acknowledged the government’s material allegations in the case were all true.

    Bowdoin met with federal prosecutors in Florida in late 2008 and early 2009 for a period of at least four days, according to court filings.

    Of particular note in the second video is the timing: It was shot (presumably by a rally attendee) in Las Vegas on May 31, 2008. Bowdoin is shown in the video defining himself as a “money magnet” and encouraging ASD members to become the same. The federal grand jury that indicted Bowdoin began to meet in May 2009. Its indictment of Bowdoin was unsealed earlier this month and makes repeated references to the “money-magnet” line.

    The video shows Bowdoin making references to God in his Las Vegas sales pitch. It begins with a Gordon Gekko-like suggestion by Bowdoin that greed is a net positive. Gekko, of course, is the fictional character played by Michael Douglas in the 1987 movie “Wall Street.” Douglas won an Oscar for the role.

    “The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good,” the Gekko character memorably advised the movie audience. “Greed is right, greed works.”

    Here is what Bowdoin said from the stage 21 years later in Las Vegas:

    “Just like, you know, [the belief that] rich people are greedy. Turn that into a positive: Rich people are generous. All right. And you turn it into a positive like that, you repeat that — at least seven times, every time you think about it: Rich people are generous. Because you’ve got to reprogram that subconscious mind.”

    Bowdoin went on to inform Las Vegas rally attendees that he had a plan to create 100,000 millionaires in three years and that it was important for ASD members “to have an attitude of gratitude with God.”

    “And I always say, ‘Thank you, God, for developing me into a money magnet.’ And I see myself as a money magnet in attracting money and, I say, attracting large sums of money,” Bowdoin said.

    He exhorted ASD members to internalize his message and imagine riches “flowing” in from ASD, the PP Blog reported on May 7, 2009.

    About three weeks after the Las Vegas rally — a rally at which Bowdoin encouraged attendees to spend unlimited sums on ASD “ad packs” because a $50,000 ceiling on purchases would be enforced two days later — the $157,000 mortgage was retired on the Harris home.

    ASD’s spending binge actually began about 11 days after Bowdoin exited the Las Vegas stage and ultimately consumed more than $1 million, federal prosecutors said. Other post-rally purchases included jet skis, marine equipment, a Cabana boat, haul trailers, real estate and at least three automobiles, including a Lincoln. One of the automobiles was purchased for George and Judy Harris, according to prosecutors.

    The retired Harris mortgage and the car — a Honda — cost ASD members nearly $186,000, prosecutors said.

    Video One

    Video Two

  • DISTURBING: Out On Bail After Ponzi Arrest, Is Andy Bowdoin Giving Marching Orders? Email Attributed To Former ASD Executive Gary Talbert Advises Members To Tell Claims Processor They Were Purchasing ‘Advertising’

    Andy Bowdoin

    UPDATED 9:28 A.M. ET (U.S.A.) On Dec. 1, a federal magistrate judge set bail of $350,000 for AdSurfDaily President Andy Bowdoin and ordered him not to commit a federal, state or local crime after his arrest by the U.S. Secret Service on charges of wire fraud, securities fraud and selling unregistered securities.

    Bowdoin, 76, was specifically warned that he could be held in contempt of court for violating conditions of his bail. The conditions included an order not to obstruct the investigation or tamper with witnesses.

    Now an email attributed to former ASD and AdViewGlobal executive Gary Talbert has surfaced that is raising questions about whether Bowdoin is trying to suppress the victims’ count and manipulate ASD members who seek to file restitution claims with Rust Consulting Inc., the official claims administrator in the $110 million Ponzi case.

    The email specifically references Bowdoin’s arrest, but makes no reference to the bail conditions set by U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas G. Wilson in advance of a scheduled appearance by Bowdoin in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Dec. 17.

    Bowdoin made his initial court appearance before Wilson in Florida.

    “Got a email from Andy and he told me to go ahead and send this email out to everyone,” noted the email attributed to Talbert, who filed a sworn affidavit on ASD’s behalf in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in 2008. “He does have a hearing on Dec. 17th in Washington D.C. He and his lawyers are still positive on the out come.”

    “Here is just a idea and I think this will work for everyone,” the email continued. “This should keep everyone legal. Because I think everyone understood it was not a investment. I believe it is time to fill out the info. from Rust inc. with the following addendum.

    “Where it asks for your signature write in there ‘See addendum’.

    “Now put this in your own words on the addendum. Here is a out line.

    “On the addendum write that you knew this was not a investment and you where purchasing advertising. Now since the gov. stopped my advertising company and I did not get my advertising I would like to get my advertising money back from whom ever is holding it now. Sign it and send it in with the forms from Rust.”

    News about the email attributed to Talbert was spreading among ASD members last night. Separately, ASD figures Kenneth Wayne Leaming and Christian Oesch have filed an ASD-related lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims that apparently seeks the spectacular sum of $29 TRILLION from a federal judge, three federal prosecutors and a Secret Service agent involved in the ASD Ponzi case.

    On June 30, 2009, AdViewGlobal was cited as an extension of ASD in a racketeering lawsuit filed against Bowdoin by ASD members. The reference was dated June 29, 2009, the same day Bernard Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in federal prison for his Ponzi scheme.

    Federal prosecutors now say Bowdoin faces up to 120 years in prison if convicted of all counts against him.

    “AVG is the next iteration of the Ponzi scheme auto-surf programs, which [are] staffed with former ASD executives and Bowdoin disciples, including George Harris, the stepson of Bowdoin, who is listed as an AVG trustee, Gary Talbert, former ASD executive served as CEO of AVG and now serves as an accountant, Nate Boyd, a former compliance officer at ASD, serves as ‘Protector’ of the AVG association, and Chuck Osmin, a former ASD employee who testified on ASD’s behalf at the evidentiary hearing before this Court last fall is a customer service representative of AVG,” the RICO plaintiffs claimed.

    The grand jury that indicted Bowdoin began to meet in May 2009. During that same month, AVG was scurrying to reconfigure itself after gathering money from members and offering 200 percent “bonuses” for months. AVG launched in the aftermath of the seizure of tens of millions of dollars from Bowdoin in August 2008, the filing by the government of a second forfeiture complaint against ASD-connected assets in December 2008 and the filing of the racketeering lawsuit against Bowdoin.

    The December 2008 forfeiture complaint specifically named Bowdoin family members Edna Faye Bowdoin, George Harris and Judy Harris as beneficiaries of crimes committed by ASD. Edna Faye Bowdoin is Andy Bowdoin’s wife; George Harris is Bowdoin’s stepson; Judy Harris is the wife of George Harris.

    In January 2009, just days prior to its official launch in early February, AVG bizarrely both confirmed and denied it had ties to ASD.

    The appearance of AVG graphics in an ASD-controlled webroom after the federal seizure was an “operational coincidence,” AVG memorably explained. The announcement was attributed to Chuck Osmin, himself a former ASD employee.

    Even though AVG previously had denied ASD ties, the upstart surf then announced that Talbert was its CEO.

    “Since Mr. Talbert was and is the C.E.O. for both companies and had worked with the same web room company while at ASD, it would be very natural for him to choose and use many of the same venders (sic) that he had used before. So, the fact that ASD and AdView Global are using the same web room hosting company is no accident, in fact it is an operational coincidence,” AdViewGlobal said.

    Why the surf identified Talbert as ASD’s CEO was unclear. He was listed in his own sworn court documents in the ASD case as ASD’s “Human Resource Manager, Assistant CFO and Website Editor.”

    By March 2009, AVG announced that Talbert had resigned as AVG’s chief. It also announced that its bank account had been suspended, blaming the development on members.

    In May 2009, AVG announced that it had secured a new, offshore wire facilitator to help it gather money from members. The announcement was made on the same day the Obama administration announced a crackdown on offshore financial fraud. (See this story and included links for updates on AVG’s purported facilitator, KINGZ Capital Management. There is a tie between KINGZ and Minnesota Ponzi schemer Trevor Cook.)

    By June 25, 2009, AVG announced it was suspending cashouts, again blaming the development on members while threatening members and journalists with copyright-infringement lawsuits for reporting the news.

    Just four days later, on June 29, 2009, the RICO plaintiffs in the ASD lawsuit referenced AVG in a court filing docketed the following day, June 30. By September 2009, federal prosecutors made a veiled reference to AVG in filings in the ASD case.

    By Sept. 29, 2009, an email attributed to ASD spokeswoman Sara Mattoon was circulating among ASD members. The email specifically instructed members not to fill out a government form that would be used as part of the restitution process.

    “Soon after the ASD shutdown, the DOJ (Dept of Justice) set up a website for people to file a claim for the money they had in ASD,” Mattoon was quoted as saying in the email. “As soon as I heard about it, I told everyone not to do it because I could see what the Government was trying to do, but some people didn’t realize what it was and afterwards they regretted doing so.”

    The Matton email referenced an earlier email attributed to ASD member and purported trainer Robert Fava. Like the Mattoon email, the Fava email discouraged members from filling out the government form, describing it as “ammunition” that could be used against ASD.

  • Government Scores Clean Sweep In ASD Forfeiture Litigation, But That May Not Be The Biggest News: Is A Separate Legal Drama Playing Out In Background?

    Andy Bowdoin

    UPDATED 11:57 A.M. EDT (U.S.A.) Federal prosecutors have won the second forfeiture case against assets tied to Florida-based AdSurfDaily, meaning the government now holds title to 100 percent of the money and assets seized in the autosurf Ponzi scheme, wire fraud and money-laundering investigation.

    U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer issued a final order of forfeiture March 30 in a case brought in December 2008. On Jan. 4, Collyer issued a final order of forfeiture in a case brought in August 2008. The government now has control over more than $80 million seized in the cases, along with real estate, cars, marine equipment, computers and other property.

    But that may not be the big news.

    Grand Jury Probe

    Indeed, the big news may be that a hidden legal drama is playing out behind the scenes. Appeal documents filed by attorneys for ASD President Andy Bowdoin in the August 2008 case reference two separate matters filed “under seal” and say that attorneys for unnamed “defendants” were called to testify before a grand jury.

    The filings suggest — but do not state plainly — that prosecutors subpoenaed at least two attorneys involved in the defense of ASD-related property to testify and that a federal judge ordered the attorneys to comply.

    Charles A. Murray, an attorney for ASD President Andy Bowdoin, referenced two sealed court cases when informing the appeals court about litigation “related” to ASD.

    “Only one case related to this matter is currently pending before this Court, an interlocutory appeal alleging that the court below erred in ordering the defendant’s attorneys to testify before a grand jury,” Murray wrote.

    Murray identified the case as “Grand Jury Subpoena, Case No. 09-3118 (Under Seal).”

    “This related appeal arose from an ongoing grand jury investigation, In re: Possible Violations of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1341, 1343, and 1349, Misc. No. 09-270 (Under Seal),” Murray wrote.

    The sections of federal law cited in Murray’s appeal brief pertain to mail-fraud, wire-fraud and conspiracy statutes. The attorneys are not named, and the brief does not identify the targets of the grand-jury probe.

    Details Unclear

    Why the attorneys were called to testify is unclear. Also unclear are the identities of the attorneys’ clients, the nature of the information the government sought from the attorneys, whether the attorneys sought to invoke attorney-client privilege and whether they actually testified before the interlocutory appeal filed under seal was brought.

    An interlocutory appeal is an appeal to a higher court of a ruling by a lower court that is made before the trial in the lower court has concluded.

    Such appeals, which higher courts are reluctant to entertain, may be filed when a party believes a lower court’s ruling is severely prejudicial and turns to an appeals court to stop it in its tracks, instead of following the customary procedure of waiting for the case to conclude before filing an appeal.

    Racketeering Case Cited

    Murray also identified as a “related” matter a racketeering lawsuit filed against Bowdoin and ASD attorney Robert Garner by three ASD members in January 2009. The racketeering lawsuit, which alleges ASD was a criminal enterprise as defined under federal statutes, has been placed on hold until issues in the federal case are resolved.

    In June 2009, attorneys for the parties suing Bowdoin and Garner referenced the AdViewGlobal (AVG) autosurf, an entity with close ties to ASD. In September 2009, federal prosecutors made a veiled reference to AVG in a filing that suggested that Bowdoin and family members initially planned to “move to another country and profit from a knock-off autosurf program that Bowdoin funded and helped to start.”

    The assets seized in the December 2008 forfeiture case identified Bowdoin family members as beneficiaries of ASD’s illegal conduct. Members of AVG later identified George and Judy Harris as AVG’s owners, with Bowdoin as a silent partner.

    George Harris is the son of Bowdoin’s wife, Edna Faye Bowdoin, who also was named in the December 2008 complaint as a beneficiary of ASD’s illegal conduct.

    AVG crashed and burned in June 2009, taking an unknown sum of money paid by members with it by exercising its version of a “rebates aren’t guaranteed” clause. There were reports that $2.7 million was stolen from AVG, which purportedly operated from Uruguay.

    Among AVG’s most noteworthy promoters were former ASD members, including some of the moderators of the now-defunct Pro-ASD Surf’s Up forum. Surf’s Up suddenly went missing in the earliest days of 2010.

    Bowdoin, 75, has been portrayed by prosecutors as “delusional.” He pleaded guilty in Alabama during the 1990s to felony securities charges, according to court records. A decade later, he associated with Clarence Busby, the operator of Golden Panda Ad Builder, the so-called “Chinese” option for ASD members.

    Bowdoin and Busby, according to court filings by Busby, talked about forming Golden Panda in April 2008 while on a “relaxing fishing trip” to a Georgia lake.

    Busby, identified by the title “Rev.” at least 120 times in autosurf-related litigation, was implicated by the SEC in three prime-bank schemes in the 1990s, according to records. Golden Panda has ceded more than $14.6 million to the government in the ASD case, including $646,266.13 formally ordered forfeited by Collyer last week, and more than $14 million Collyer ordered forfeited in July 2009.

    In his court filings, Busby said he didn’t know Bowdoin “had prior run ins with the law” and had been arrested in Alabama for defrauding investors.

    Busby did not say if he told his fishing partner about his own run-ins with the law: The SEC said Busby defrauded investors in the 1990s “by offering and selling investment
    contracts in connection with three different prime bank schemes.”

    “Using misrepresentations and omissions in each of the three schemes, Busby raised money for purported programs in ‘prime bank’ notes by fraudulently representing to investors that the investments were risk-free and that the ventures would pay returns ranging from 750% to 10,000%. In total, Busby raised nearly $1 million from more than 70 investors. None of the investors earned the exorbitant returns promised by Busby,” the SEC said.

    Busby went on to operate an autosurf known as Biz Ad Splash, which also crashed and burned, reportedly taking members’ money with it. All of the notable autosurfs that dominated the stage in the aftermath of the ASD seizure — MegaLido, AdGateWorld, BAS, Ad-Ventures4U, Noobing and others — have now either died or are in a serious state of decay.

    Last month, the U.S. Secret Service, which conducted the probes into ASD, Golden Panda and LaFuenteDinero, asserted that INetGlobal, a company operated by Steve Renner, was operating an autosurf Ponzi scheme and targeting Chinese participants.

    The IRS is involved in both the ASD case and the INetGlobal case, according to court filings.

    Steve Renner was convicted of income-tax evasion in December 2009. Federal prosecutors described the INetGlobal case last week as a “major fraud and money laundering investigation.”

    Renner has denied the government’s allegations.

    Bowdoin now says he is appealing the forfeiture order issued by Collyer last week in the December 2008 case. If Bowdoin does appeal the order, it will be his second appeal. He also is appealing the forfeiture order in the August 2008 case.

  • Split In Bowdoin/Harris Family? Members Described As ‘Very Much’ Divided; At Least One Family Member Said To Have Contacted Federal Prosecutors

    Andy Bowdoin

    UPDATED 12:01 P.M. ET (U.S.A.) Has the pressure of being challenged on multiple legal fronts led to a split in the extended family of AdSurfDaily President Andy Bowdoin?

    The depths of any split are unclear, and it is believed that Bowdoin has the continued support of some members of the Bowdoin/Harris family.

    But interviews conducted by the PP Blog and information obtained through sources suggest Bowdoin is unable to travel internationally, no longer is living in Quincy, Fla., does not enjoy the uniform support of the extended Bowdoin/Harris family and has been blamed by some for engulfing them in the flames of a legal nightmare.

    At least one family member has contacted federal prosecutors, according to a source. How prosecutors responded to the overture, which was said to have been made in the summer of 2009, is unclear.

    On Saturday, numerous vehicles were parked at a Florida property associated with Bowdoin’s wife, Edna Faye Bowdoin, according to a source. Edna Faye Bowdoin is the mother of George Harris, the reputed co-owner of Bowdoin/Harris Enterprises and the AdViewGlobal autosurf, as well as the head of ASD’s purported “real-estate” division.

    Several women were present, but Bowdoin was not seen, the source said.

    A second source knowledgeable about the Bowdoin/Harris family described the family as a “family divided.” The PP Blog interviewed the second source in August 2009, and has not published comments from the interview until today.

    The source spoke with the PP Blog on the condition of anonymity, and demonstrated knowledge of the family by voluntarily answering questions posed by the Blog prior to the interview and during the interview. The Blog was satisfied that the source could offer insight into the thinking of certain family members.

    “There is already an unbelievable amount of friction in the family right now because of everything that Andy has done,” the source said. “This is very much a family divided.”

    Less than a month after the Blog conducted the interview, the state of Florida revoked the corporate registrations of ASD and Bowdoin/Harris Enterprises Inc. because neither company filed annual reports despite the continuing presence of active litigation involving both firms and despite being given a five-month window to file required documents.

    Neither Bowdoin nor family members explained why the corporate registrations were permitted to lapse. Only four days prior to the revocation, which could have been prevented by the simple filing of papers, Bowdoin told ASD members in a conference call that he had big plans for ASD.

    On the same date Florida revoked the corporate registrations — Sept. 25, 2009 — federal prosecutors turned up the heat on Bowdoin by accusing him in court filings of trying to lie his way back into the federal forfeiture case against ASD’s assets.

    Prosecutors made a veiled reference to AdViewGlobal in their filings, saying Bowdoin perhaps “was just buying time while searching for a different exit strategy that failed to materialize. Maybe Bowdoin thought that before the government brought its charges he (like some of his family members) could move to another country and profit from a knock-off autosurf program that Bowdoin funded and helped to start.”

    Three days later, on Sept. 28, prosecutors turned up the heat again, filing a Secret Service transcript of an ASD conference call and advising a federal judge that Bowdoin was telling her one story and members another.

    In the weeks that followed, U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer ruled that Bowdoin no longer had standing in the case. Bowdoin then attempted unsuccessfully to have Collyer removed as the judge.

    Collyer has granted the government’s forfeiture petition in a case filed in August 2008 involving tens of millions of dollars. Bowdoin now is seeking a reversal of that order, claiming it came as a result of judicial error. Prosecutors, however, said the judge did not err and that Bowdoin’s arguments are “impenetrably illogical.”

    Purportedly headquartered in Uruguay, AdViewGlobal, which crashed and burned in June 2009, had close family, membership and promotional ties to ASD.

    In the August 2009 interview, the source described George Harris and his wife, Judy Harris, as “very worried.”

    “Judy heard that the Secret Service was staring to investigate [AdViewGlobal,]” the source said.

    Certain family relationships are fractured beyond repair, the source said.

    “These relationships are done,” the source said. The source said that paranoia was gripping certain family members and that there were efforts to compartmentalize knowledge and limit use of the telephone.

    “They became very shady,” the source said.

    Andy Bowdoin led family members and members of ASD and AdViewGlobal down the primrose path, the source said.

    AdViewGlobal was described by Bowdoin as a “wonderful idea,” the source said, noting that Bowdoin described the successor autosurf as ASD with tweaks.

    AdViewGlobal launched after ASD’s assets were seized amid Ponzi, wire-fraud, securities fraud and money-laundering allegations.

    Andy Bowdoin wanted to proceed with AVG, according to the source, “because, with a few little tweaks, this company can make it.”

    In June 2009, less than a year after ASD’s assets were seized, AdViewGlobal announced a suspension of cashouts, exercising its version of a “rebates aren’t guaranteed” clause.

    How much money the surf collected and how much it paid out are unclear.

  • PROSECUTORS: ‘Final Action’ In Second ASD Forfeiture Case Not Expected For ‘Several Months’

    UPDATED 11:46 A.M. ET (U.S.A.) Final judicial action in the second forfeiture case filed against assets connected to AdSurfDaily “is not expected for at least several months,” federal prosecutors said.

    The second action was filed in December 2008. It identified family members of ASD President Andy Bowdoin as beneficiaries of a Ponzi, wire-fraud and money-laundering scheme operated by ASD.

    Among the family members identified in the December complaint were Bowdoin’s wife, Edna Faye Bowdoin, and her son, George Harris. Judy Harris, the wife of George Harris, also was identified in the complaint as a beneficiary of ASD’s alleged illegal conduct.

    Prosecutors filed the initial action against ASD’s assets in August 2008. That case concluded with the Jan. 4 issuance of a final forfeiture order by U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer, prosecutors said.

    The government now has title to nearly $80 million seized in the August 2008 case — the lion’s share of the liquid assets (cash) from the combined cases. Only about $635,000 in cash was listed as seized in the December case, meaning prosecutors have control of more than 99 percent of the money targeted in the combined cases.

    Prosecutors did not explain why they anticipated a considerable delay in finalizing the December 2008 case. (UPDATE: 11:46 A.M: Citing an investigation in progress, a Justice Department spokesman declined to comment.)

    Nothing so far suggests, however, that the December case has been delayed as a result of an appeal by Bowdoin in the August case. The record does not reflect an appeal. The delay appears to be procedural.

    The December complaint alleged that Edna Faye Bowdoin and George Harris used money from two ASD Bank of America accounts to open an account at a third bank.

    The new account was funded with an opening deposit of more than $177,000 — more than $157,000 of which was used to pay off the mortgage of the Tallahassee home George and Judy Harris shared, according to the complaint.

    Read the prosecution’s statement.

  • Bowdoin Purportedly Tells ASD Member That Prosecutors ‘Have’ Finally Admitted To Screwing Up; Email Asks Members To Look For ‘Rally’ Videos; New Flap Starts On Surf’s Up

    breakingnewsUPDATED 5:34 P.M. ET (U.S.A.) In a development reminiscent of a claim made more than a year ago on the Pro-AdSurfDaily Surf’s Up forum that prosecutors had acknowledged behind closed doors that ASD was not a Ponzi scheme and refused to admit it publicly because of embarrassment, a new email missive surfaced today that suggested Bowdoin was on the verge of winning the forfeiture case.

    The claim was made despite the fact that a federal judge has issued a fresh ruling that Bowdoin no longer even has standing in the case.

    Like previous unsubstantiated claims that the government was losing the case, today’s email was published on the Surf’s Up forum. Threadbare of supporting details, the email cited a third-party conversation with Bowdoin and implored ASD members to “get a little excited folks!”

    “Andy explained a few things to me of which I cannot share them all, but I can say that the government attorney’s ‘have’ finally admitted to some things that are totally in our (ASD) favor,” the email claimed.

    No mention was made as to what the government purportedly admitted that was helpful to ASD’s case. The email was posted a short time after news broke that U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer refused to step down from the ASD forfeiture case.

    Collyer’s refusal came in response to a Dec. 17 motion filed by Bowdoin to disqualify her, but Collyer said Bowdoin no longer had standing in the case to make any additional claims or to reassert old claims.

    Today’s Surf’s Up email did not address the judge’s fresh ruling, which was docketed only hours before the new round of unsubstantiated claims was made in the email published on Surf’s Up.

    “Andy said that in cases such as the ASD one the government usually pushes so hard until they get a plea deal. He said that this happens 98% of the time,” today’s email claimed. “But, Andy would not sell us out and he has stood his ground firm since August of 2008 and because of that things are starting to turn around for ASD. This is something the government did not expect.”

    Prosecutors called Bowdoin “delusional” in September 2009, asserting he was telling members one story and Collyer another. They asserted in earlier filings that he has “followers.”

    Despite repeated claims on Surf’s Up beginning in the fall of 2008 that prosecutors had admitted ASD was not a Ponzi scheme, no such proof ever has surfaced. In fact, in December 2008, prosecutors filed a second forfeiture complaint against assets tied to the firm, again alleging that ASD was a Ponzi scheme.

    Even though Surf’s Up claimed the government had admitted ASD was not a Ponzi scheme, no attorney for ASD ever argued a similar claim in court — in either the December 2008 or August 2008 forfeiture cases against the firm. There is not a single entry in the public record of the case that the government ever acknowledged ASD was not a Ponzi scheme.

    In April 2009, prosecutors said Bowdoin signed a proffer letter in the case and had acknowledged the material allegations against ASD were “all true.” Bowdoin had at least two meetings with prosecutors over a period of at least four days last winter, and admitted ASD was operating illegally, according to court filings.

    In September 2009, Bowdoin said in his own court filings that he had admitted “significant information against my interest.”

    Surf’s Up posters have led various campaigns to discredit the prosecution.

    Today’s email urged ASD members to search for videos that might have been taken at ASD  functions, suggesting the videos could be used to prove the prosecution is lying.

    “The reason Andy was calling was to get some help from the members. So, here it is…

    “Andy wants to know if any of you took Videos and/or Audios of ‘him’ speaking at any of the ASD Rallies,” the email said. “The government is stating that Andy said certain things during the rallies and Andy is confident that he did not, but he does not have the proof without being able to provide the video/audio footage.

    “Please share this message with your entire organization so that we can get it out to the
    masses yet today hopefully to see if someone has the supporting evidence for Andy,” the email urged. “If any of you DO have the video footage (or audio recording) then transfer it to DVD and and contact Catherine Parker at [email address deleted].”

    In August, some of Bowdoin’s supporters claimed that Collyer had ordered the prosecution to prove by Aug. 28 that ASD was a Ponzi scheme or dismiss the charges. A similar claim was made in April.

    Collyer has never issued such an order.

    Today’s email asked ASD members to send warm thoughts to Bowdoin and his wife, Edna Faye Bowdoin. Edna Faye Bowdoin and her son, George Harris, were named beneficiaries of ASD’s illegal conduct in the December 2008 prosecution filing.

    Prosecutors alleged that Edna Faye Bowdoin and Harris used money from two ASD Bank of America accounts in June 2008 to open an account at a third bank into which more than $177,000 in illegal proceeds was deposited. Of that sum, more than $157,000 was transferred by wire to yet another bank and used to pay off the mortgage on the Harris home in Tallahassee.

    Bowdoin described George Harris as head of ASD’s real-estate division, according to court filings. He also talked about establishing a business presence in South America. Only months later, the AdViewGlobal autosurf was born, purportedly operated from Uruguay and owned by George Harris and his wife, Judy Harris.

    ‘I asked Andy how Faye was doing and he was quiet for a moment and then said she is not doing so good,” today’s email said. “She is in a very severe depression and has been for quite some time ever since this whole debacle started.

    “So, I have a personal favor to ask of you all. Can you take a few minutes to send her a card or a nice note at the very least to let her know that the members are still thinking about her and Andy?” the email urged.

    Some ASD members immediately questioned why Bowdoin himself had not sent the email and instead relied on a third-party communication to ask for a favor. At the same time, members questioned what had become of Sara Mattoon, reportedly ASD’s official spokeswoman.

    In September 2009, the U.S. Secret Service filed a transcript of an ASD conference call in which Bowdoin and Mattoon were quoted. The filing led to questions about whether the government was contemplating a prosecution for obstruction of justice.

    Prosecutors also made a veiled reference to the AVG autosurf in a September filing. In June, RICO attorneys suing Bowdoin for racketeering made a direct reference to AVG.

    In the prosecution’s September 2009 filing, the government suggested an AVG prosecution could be in the offing.

    “ . . . it may be the case that Bowdoin never intended to plead guilty when he agreed to debrief, and was just buying time while searching for a different exit strategy that failed to materialize. Maybe Bowdoin thought that before the government brought its charges he (like some of his family members) could move to another country and profit from a knock-off autosurf program that Bowdoin funded and helped to start,” prosecutors said.

  • Surf’s Up Celebrates One Year As Bowdoin-Endorsed Blather Box; Forum Deletes Another Discussion About AdViewGlobal Autosurf Amid Member Complaints

    A year ago yesterday these words appeared on AdSurfDaily’s Breaking News site:

    “All ASD Members are encouraged to join the ASD Members Advocate forum. The ASD Members Advocate forum should be your source for up-to-the-minute opinions and commentaries about ASD. We encourage you to join and get involved. Log on to http://asdmembers.ning.com/

    “Surf’s Up, Baby!”

    blatherAt about the same time, the AdViewGlobal (AVG) autosurf was preparing to set up shop — purportedly from Uruguay. The announcement by ASD that it had endorsed Surf’s Up occurred eight days after U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer issued a devastating ruling that ASD had not demonstrated it was a lawful business and not a Ponzi scheme that had gathered tens of millions of dollars from participants, placing the money in ASD President Andy Bowdoin’s personal bank accounts.

    Some of the Surf’s Up Mods went on to start a forum for AVG. That forum went missing during the summer of 2009, after AVG announced it was suspending cashouts and exercising its version of a “rebates aren’t guaranteed” clause. At first AVG, which had promoted a series of 200-percent, matching-bonus offers virtually nonstop in 2009, blamed its lack of cash on the greed of members.

    It later backed away from that position, saying it had been a victim of a $2.7 million theft. George and Judy Harris were AVG’s purported owners. George Harris is Bowdoin’s stepson. Bowdoin identified Harris as the head of ASD’s “real estate division” at an ASD rally in Miami on July 12, 2008. The company reportedly gathered millions of dollars at the rally.

    Less than three weeks later, the U.S. Secret Service seized 10 Bowdoin bank accounts containing a total of about $65.8 million, according to court filings. Money from two of Bowdoin’s accounts was used to start a new account at a separate bank, and more than $157,000 of the opening deposit was used to pay off the mortgage on the Tallahassee home shared by George and Judy Harris, according to federal prosecutors.

    Prosecutors made the announcement in a forfeiture complaint filed Dec. 19, 2008, exactly one month after Collyer’s November ruling went against ASD. Regardless, AVG launched in February 2009, in the wake of two forfeiture complaints and the filing of a racketeering lawsuit against Bowdoin.

    AVG spent part of the month of December 2008 gathering money from prospects and all of the month of January 2009. By March 20, 2009, AVG was announcing its bank account had been suspended because too many members had wired transactions in excess of $9,500.

    At the same time, AVG also announced the resignation of Gary Talbert, its chief executive officer. In January, AVG said it had no connection to ASD, despite the fact Talbert had been an executive at ASD and filed sworn court filings in the August 2008 forfeiture case against ASD.

    Even as AVG was making its series of announcements about bad financial news, promoter Shad Foss sent out an email claiming that $5,000 spent on ASD turned into $15,000 “instantly!” according to recipients of the email.

    In May 2009 — on the same day the Obama administration announced a crackdown on offshore financial fraud — AVG announced it had found a new company to facilitate offshore wire transfers. The surf provided members detailed wiring instructions. Three days later, the company AVG described as a facilitator of the wire transfers issued a public denial that it had any business relationship with AVG.

    AVG never addressed the denial, choosing instead to say it had removed the new wire facility it had just announced because of a breakdown in negotiations. By June 25, AVG was announcing the suspension of cashouts. The AVG forum set up by the Surf’s Up Mods then went dark, as did a forum set up by AVG itself.

    AVG threatened to sue members who spoke out about the firm, saying its communications were protected by copyright laws. The surf also threatened forum members that it would contact their ISPs and file abuse reports for questioning AVG in public.

    Both Surf’s Up and the AVG forum operated by some of its Mods championed the pro se pleadings of Curtis Richmond in the ASD case. Richmond was convicted of contempt of court for harassing federal judges in a separate case, and was among a number of RICO defendants in a separate lawsuit ordered to pay more than $108,000 in damages and costs for engaging in racketeering and mail fraud by nuisancing public employees with vexatious lawsuits.

    Surf’s Up has a history of deleting posts from members who attempt to raise the issue of AVG. The forum’s official explanation is that it is an ASD forum, not an AVG forum, even though its Mods started the AVG forum. Some Surf’s Up members said they joined AVG because of representations made by the Mods.

    A number of Surf’s Up members participated in letter-writing campaigns on Bowdoin’s behalf. Surf’s Up sent an email to members in February 2009, speaking approvingly of the campaigns.

    The email endorsed a mail campaign led by “Professor” Patrick Moriarty. One month later, Moriarty was indicted on tax-fraud charges in a separate case. Research showed that he once started a nonprofit organization for a Missouri man accused of murdering a woman in cold blood and shooting a police officer four times.

    Dozens of Surf’s Up members congratulated Bowdoin in March 2009, after the forum published a letter from Bowdoin. The letter said Bowdoin was reentering the ASD case as a pro se litigant, even though he had given up his claims to tens of millions of dollars in January, assuring Collyer and the prosecutors that he never intended ever to reassert the claims.

    In April 2009, in their final response to a series of pro se motions from Bowdoin to reenter the case, prosecutors revealed he had signed a proffer letter in the case prior to submitting to the forfeiture in January. Bowdoin, prosecutors said, had admitted ASD was operating illegally at the time of the August 2008 seizure and that the company made up numbers in a bid to keep new money flowing into the firm.

    Regardless, some Surf’s Up members continued to shill for Bowdoin. His critics were referred to as “Rats, Bed Bugs, Maggots, Cockroaches And Everything Else.”

    One Surf’s Up poster called for members to form a militia and take up arms against the government.

    In the fall of 2008 and thereafter, Surf’s Up perpetuated a myth that the government had admitted privately that ASD was not a Ponzi scheme. The claim, which was cited on both the forum and in emails, sustained itself even through the summer of 2009.

    Even after the government filed a second forfeiture complaint in December 2008 that accused ASD of operating a Ponzi scheme, Surf’s Up and some of its members continued to insist that prosecutors had said ASD was not a Ponzi scheme and were filing reckless motions in a bid to save face.

    Surf’s Up has not sought to dispel the myth — and a year into its tenure as a Bowdoin-endorsed blather shop, members have raised questions about why it is improper to discuss AdViewGlobal.

  • BREAKING NEWS: Bowdoin Family Knew About December Forfeiture Complaint A Month Prior To Launch Of AdViewGlobal; AdSurfDaily-Connected Assets Seized In December ’08 Case Prepped For Sale

    Even though Andy Bowdoin and his family knew in January 2009 that the government intended to seize the Tallahassee home of his stepson George Harris and an $800,000 building purchased with cash in ASD’s home city of Quincy, Fla., the AdViewGlobal (AVG) autosurf proceeded with its launch in February 2009, according to an analysis of web records and new court filings.

    Although a “Proof of Service” filed by federal prosecutors yesterday did not mention AVG, other records say that Bowdoin was given “direct notice” of a second forfeiture complaint that had been filed in December 2008 against ASD-connected assets. The initial forfeiture complaint against ASD was filed in August 2008.

    Yesterday’s filing by the prosecution showed that the Harris home and ASD building in

    Andy Bowdoin
    Andy Bowdoin

    Quincy were publicly posted for forfeiture on Jan. 8, 2009. AVG launched less than a month later, triggering a virtually relentless series of 200-percent, matching bonus offers to generate cash and events that ultimately led to its collapse after the Harrises were identified by AVG as the owners of the company.

    A Nov. 6 filing by the prosecution states that Bowdoin was given “direct notice” of the December 2008 seizure in January 2009, as were “all known potential claimants.” Prosecutors noted in the Nov. 6 filing that they had “signed receipts” from Bowdoin and others.

    Other records clearly show that AVG’s launch proceeded in February 2009, pushed by former members of ASD despite the filing of two forfeiture complaints against the firm and a racketeering lawsuit.

    Cash and property seized by the U.S. Secret Service in the December 2008 forfeiture complaint against assets tied to Bowdoin, his wife, stepson and Golden Panda Ad Builder are being prepared for liquidation, according to yesterday’s filing in the December case.

    The property includes $634,266.13 in cash seized from a Golden Panda bank account. It is being held in a U.S. Customs Suspense account in Indianapolis.

    The $800,000 building ASD paid for in cash also is being prepared for liquidation. The building is located in Quincy, Fla. It was promoted by Bowdoin as the site to which the company intended to move to accommodate employees and customers, owing to ASD’s rapid expansion.

    ASD’s growth was fueled by both video and written lies that its business was legal, the Secret Service said.

    In only months last year, ASD morphed from a company that earlier said it could not afford to pay members because of a malfunctioning computer script that purportedly had overpaid members and an accompanying  $1 million theft at the purported hands of “Russian” hackers  to a purported cash turbine was was going to buy an interest in an “international bank” and a “call center” in South America, the Secret Service said.

    In August 2008 — in the first forfeiture case filed against ASD’s assets — prosecutors told a federal judge that they believed Bowdoin was preparing to flee the United States. After reviewing a 37-page affidavit filed by the Secret Service and an additional 57 pages of evidence, including surveillance photos taken in Quincy prior to the filing of the application for seizure, a federal magistrate judge ordered Bank of America to freeze 13 bank accounts linked to ASD or Golden Panda and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to seize the money.

    Prosecutors later seized two additional Golden Panda accounts at Bank of America, as part of the August complaint, bringing the total of accounts seized in the August matter to 15 — 10 from ASD, and five from Golden Panda. Those accounts, after reconciliations, contained more than $79.88 million, according to court filings.

    As the investigation continued, prosecutors established more links to ASD-connected assets. In December 2008, they filed a second forfeiture complaint, naming an additional Golden Panda account maintained by Bartow County Bank, rather than Bank of America. The Bartow County account is the one that contained the $634,266.13 now being held in Indianapolis.

    Prosecutors also seized the Tallahassee home of George and Judy Harris in the December complaint, saying its mortgage of more than $157,000 had been paid off with illegal proceeds from ASD. Records show the mortgage  was paid off about three weeks after a May 31, 2008, ASD rally in Las Vegas had concluded.

    George Harris is the son of Bowdoin’s wife, Edna Faye Bowdoin. Judy Harris is the wife of George Harris. The AdViewGlobal (AVG) autosurf, which came to life four months after the August seizure of tens of millions of dollars from Bowdoin’s bank accounts and approximately one month after a key court ruling went against ASD in November 2008, later identified George and Judy Harris as its owners.

    Bowdoin invoked God at the May 2008 Las Vegas rally, imploring members to imagine themselves wealthy and thanking God for providing him tremendous wealth.

    “And I always say, ‘Thank you, God, for developing me into a money magnet,’” Bowdoin said at the rally. “And I see myself as a money magnet in attracting money and, I say, attracting large sums of money.”

    Within days of the conclusion of the rally, according to court filings, ASD money was used by Edna Faye Bowdoin and George Harris to open a bank account into which more than $177,000 of illegal proceeds were deposited. More then $157,000 of the opening deposit was used to pay off the Harris home, which was seized in the December complaint.

    Neither George nor Judy Harris filed a claim to the home, prosecutors said. In September 2009, prosecutors made a veiled reference to the AVG autosurf in court filings.

    “Maybe Bowdoin thought that before the government brought its charges he (like some of his family members) could move to another country and profit from a knock-off autosurf program that Bowdoin funded and helped to start,” prosecutors said.

    AVG purportedly was headquartered in the South American country of Uruguay. Servers of the purported “advertsing” firm that operated in largely the same form as ASD resolved to Panama.

    Also seized in the December complaint were three automobiles: a 2009 Lincoln luxury sedan that had been acquired in July 2008 for nearly $50,000; a 2008 Honda CRV registered to George and Judy Harris acquired in June 2008 for nearly $30,000 after the Las Vegas rally; and a 2009 Acura TXS registered to former ASD figure Hays Amos for nearly $34,000.

    The check to acquire the Acura registered to Amos was signed by ASD Chief Executive Officer Juan Fernandez, prosecutors said.

    Also seized in the December complaint were computer equipment, two jet skis and a hauling trailer that were purchased with $20,506 of ASD money; and a Triton Cabana boat, Mercury motor and trailer purchased with $23,445 of ASD funds, prosecutors said.

    All of the property seized in December now is being prepared for liquidation, pending an order from U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer. Prosecutors said no one made a claim to any of the seized property.

    Based on the lack of claims, it is possible that prosecutors may argue that none of the property was claimed because ASD already had a plan to replace it through AVG.

    ASD’s seized computers are being held at Secret Service headquarters in Orlando, according to to the prosecution court filing. Meanwhile, the Lincoln luxury sedan registered to Bowdoin/Harris Enterprises and the Honda registered to George and Judy Harris are being held at a company in the auto-auction business in Lakeland, Fla.; the Acura registered to Amos is being held at an auto-auction company in Daytona Beach, Fla.; and the marine equipment is being held at auction companies in Fort Lauderdale and Pensacola, Fla.

    The $800,000 building and the Harris home were posted for forfeiture on the same date — Jan. 8, 2009, according to the prosecution filing. Only 5 days later Bowdoin surrendered his claims to the millions of dollars seized in August 2008.

    Regardless, the AVG autosurf proceeded with its formal launch in February 2009 — less than a month after the Harris home in Tallahassee and the ASD building in Quincy were posted for forfeiture.

    By the end of February, Bowdoin attempted to reenter the August case, acting as his own attorney and saying he’d changed his mind about submitting to the August seizure. Coinciding with Bowdoin’s pro se filings was an announcement by the AVG autosurf that it was becoming a “private association” based offshore.

    During the same time period, a poster at the Pro-ASD Surf’s Up forum told members that the Secret Service had seized the bank accounts of ASD promoters. The poster warned members to remove money from their bank accounts before it could be seized.

    By June 25, 2008, AVG announced that it was suspending cashouts. After initially blaming its inability to pay members on the greed of some members, it later changed its story and said $2.7 million had been stolen from the firm.

    The story was remarkably similar to the story the Secret Service said ASD had told about the purported “Russian” hackers to explain why it couldn’t pay members.

    See the prosecution’s filing yesterday that shows ASD’s Quincy building and the Harris home in Tallahassee were posted prior to the February 2009 launch of the AVG autosurf.

    See the prosecution’s Nov. 6 filing that says Bowdoin and family members had “direct notice” of the December 2008 forfeiture case and that the government had “signed receipts” prior to the launch of AVG, which later was linked to George and Judy Harris.