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  • Is A New Company Known As RGMG Emerging To Promote Elements Of Inter-Mark Corp. In Wake Of Secret Service Raid At INetGlobal Amid Ponzi Allegations?

    Image of the logo of V-Local.com from a March 2009 news release.

    UPDATED 5:43 P.M. ET (U.S.A., Jan. 20, 2011.) On Feb. 23, the U.S. Secret Service raided the Minneapolis offices of INetGlobal, a company operated by Steve Renner under the Inter-Mark Corp. umbrella. The raid occurred amid allegations that INetGlobal was operating an autosurf Ponzi scheme and also engaging in wire fraud and money-laundering.

    A week later — on March 2 — a domain titled RGMG.net was registered in the name of Matt Renner, according to web records. The domain lists a different Minneapolis address than the Steve Renner entities, some of which used a “V” theme: “V-Media” and “V-Local,” among others.

    Matt Renner, 27, is Steve Renner’s son.

    “We’re running a legitimate business,” he said of RGMG.

    V-Local, which has a website at V-Local.com that is registered to Renner’s Inter-Mark in Las Vegas, was “offered to iNetGlobal members as a service they could sell,” the Secret Service said in an affidavit last month.

    Matt Renner, who worked as an executive at V-Local, said V-Local provided legitimate products and services.

    “We at V-Local were doing nothing wrong,” he said.

    And Matt Renner defended his father. “I don’t believe any wrongdoing was done,” he said.

    Steve Renner was convicted in December of four felony counts of income-tax evasion.  He was awaiting sentencing in the tax case, even as the Ponzi allegations surfaced against INetGlobal.

    V-Local’s logo is featured prominently on the RGMG.net site, which says, “RGMG LLC is a rising player in Digital Media Planning, Buying, Selling and Development. With over 35 years combined digital marketing experience and more than 800 past and current clients, the team at RGMG has the experience to deliver high value wide ranging services.”

    Another section of the RGMG site says, “Based out of the Beautiful city of Minneapolis Minnesota, RGMG started because the demand for a company who’s (sic) Executives pay more attention to their customers (sic) needs, than their own pocket books, was felt by Founder and President, Matthew D. Renner.”

    Yet another section of the RGMG site says, “The team at RGMG has developed many custom platforms including in partnership with V-Media and iNetGlobal the powerful local lifestyle and business directory V-Local.com.”

    Although there are serious allegations of wrongdoing against INetGlobal and it is possible that Ponzi proceeds were used to fund V-Local, the RGMG.net site does not mention the allegations or inform visitors that the Secret Service painted a picture that Steve Renner’s claims about V-Local were overblown. (Read a section of the affidavit concerning V-Local lower in this story.)

    “[T]here is probable cause to believe that [Steve] Renner is operating a large, Internet-based, Ponzi scheme through his umbrella corporation, InterMark, and some of its subsidiaries, particularly Virtual Payment Systems [LLC of Wisconsin/Brackets Denoting the LLC Designation added Jan. 20, 2011], V-Media, Cash Cards International, and V-Local,” the Secret Service said last month. It further alleged that INetGlobal was the “primary vehicle for the perpetration of this fraud.”

    NOTE IN BOLD ADDED JAN. 20, 2011: An Indianapolis-based company known as Virtual Payment Systems Inc. has contacted the PP Blog to let it know it is not affiliated with the Renner company Virtual Payment Systems LLC of Wisconsin, which is referenced in the paragraph above.

    There have been no assertions of wrongdoing against RGMG, and the RGMG site does not appear to have a surfing component among the services listed. RCMG stands for “Renner Global Media Group,” according to the site.

    Matt Renner, who said he read the Secret Service allegations, said he was not worried that problems could spill over into RGMG and create a problem for the emerging brand.

    “It’s a legitimate website,” he said. “It’s a legitimate company; it’s absolutely a valuable service.”

    The site, however, may come with a built-in PR dilemma: how to navigate the choppy waters of embracing the Steve Renner V-Local brand without addressing the Ponzi assertions against INetGlobal and V-Local, perhaps especially if a Renner family member is at the head of RGMG.

    At the same time, certain marketing materials and the prominence with which Steve Renner’s V-Local is referenced on the RGMG site — indeed, V-Local’s logo appears on the site in at least two places and RGMG encourages visitors to make V-Local their “new Homepage” — may leave some customers and employees of INetGlobal and its “V” entities scratching their heads.

    V-Local’s name is prominently mentioned in INetGlobal marketing materials, including a news release dated March 25, 2009. The headline on the news release said, “iNetGlobal launches V-Local and iNetSurf on Saturday, March 28, 2009.” The news release included the V-Local.com logo (pictured above.)

    Despite the claim that V-Local launched in March 2009, a news release issued 11 months later — in February 2010 — claimed a January 2010 launch date for V-Local under this headline: “V-Local Reports Exponential Growth Following January Launch.” The Feb. 16 news release includes a graphic of a logo for V-Local labeled “BETA.”

    Why the news releases list two different launch dates for V-Local is unclear. Steve Renner’s own website — SteveRenner.com — announced the launch of V-Local on March 3, 2009.

    “Steve Renner who is known for his knack of creating successful online ventures, has Struck Gold with his latest project, V-Local,” the website reported.

    No mention was made that Renner already was under indictment for tax evasion and that another Renner entity — Cash Cards International — had been unable to return money to victims of a Ponzi scheme known as “Learn Waterhouse,” amid assertions that Renner had spent customers’ money as though it were his own and had invested $250,000 in the Learn Waterhouse scheme.

    Renner’s site said the type of service V-Local provided “would normally cost the $1,000’s but V-Local has set the price at an extremely affordable price of just $59 per month, for their Top Of The Line ‘Showcase’ listing.”

    By clicking on the “Contact Us” link on The V-Local.com website, visitors arrive at a page that lists the street address of Steve Renner’s Minneapolis entities.

    A section of the Feb. 16, 2010, news release reads, “V-Local, the first-of-its-kind online business and lifestyle directory, announced today that it has experienced unprecedented growth since its launch on Jan. 15, 2010. Site traffic increased 900 percent in February alone, according to Google Analytics, with more than 100,000 visitors since the site’s launch.”

    Going back 11 months, the body copy of the March 2009 news release that announced V-Local’s launch read, in part: “On Monday, March 16, 2009 iNetGlobal did a ‘soft’ launch of iNetSurf. This product and had over 3,000 internet users sign up in one work day. At iNetSurf current pace, we can expect over 200,000 active ‘surfers’ in 6 months!”

    Meanwhile, the emergence of RGMG after the Secret Service raid at INetGlobal could lead to questions about why INetGlobal ever used an autosurf component and folded components such a V-Local into the enterprise.

    Between Jan. 11 and Jan. 29, according to a Secret Service affidavit, undercover agents logged in to the INetGlobal website on “multiple occasions.”

    Among the things agents noted while logging in, according to the affidavit, was that ‘V-Local’ has an address listed as 250 Second Avenue South, Suite 145, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55401.”

    The Secret Service said it conducted surveillance of the office suite in January — prior to the raid — from a skyway and corridor open to the public.

    “Agents saw signs reading ‘iNetGlobal’ and ‘V-Local.com’ at the door of Suite 106A, and saw signs reading ‘V-Records’ and ‘VWebs’ at the door of suite 145,” the agency said. The office suites later were searched as part of the raid.

    The phone number associated with RGMG.net in its domain registration also is referenced in INetGlobal marketing materials that quote Matt Renner.

    In the Feb. 16 news release, which was issued about a week before the Secret Service raid, INetGlobal is described as V-Local’s parent company.

    “V-Local is a lifestyle and business directory, featuring over 3.5 million businesses, events, classifieds and coupons,” the release said. “As a premier online advertising resource for businesses, V-Local provides a platform for businesses to leverage their brand and generate local and global exposure. V-Local bridges the gap between businesses and consumers at both global and local levels.”

    A week after the Feb. 16 news release, the Secret Service suggested in its affidavit for a search warrant that Steve Renner’s V-Local marketing claims were overblown. Here is a snippet from the affidavit:

    “[Steve] Renner claimed that iNetGlobal’s business directory, V-Local, had over 3.5
    million businesses signed up. He explained that attendees could make a great deal of money selling V-Local and signing up businesses to participate in V-Local.

    “[Steve] Renner stated that V-Local was expanding into Canada, Europe, and China. He claimed that when a company was listed on V-Local, iNetGlobal would list the business with over 65 local directories, plus social networking sites, and would arrange for the business to be input into Garmin and TomTom GPS navigation devices, as well as Cadillac OnStar.

    “On January 28, 2010, [an undercover agent] searched for ‘coffee shop’ in Minneapolis, Minnesota on V-Local, asking V-Local to find the nearest coffee shop. There were no results. [An undercover agent] then broadened the search to coffee shop, food and dining. V-Local then identified six coffee shops in Iowa, Kansas, and other states, only one of them in Minnesota (in Byron).

    “[Steve] Renner stated that if an attendee wanted to sell V-Local the attendee would need to pay $300, watch several videos, and take a certification test. Renner stated that for every person in a member’s ‘downline’ who got certified to sell V-Local, the original member would receive $100. Renner stated that this would be an enormous jump in a member’s income. Approximately one week after the Freedom Conference [in New York Jan. 23], [an undercover agent] searched on V-Local for ‘gym’ and ‘restaurant. There were no hits in the search for gym, and only one hit in the search for restaurant.”

    Matt Renner said he believed RGMG would emerge a leader, despite the assertions against INetGlobal.

    “They didn’t shut the company down,” he said, referring to INetGlobal. “No arrests were made. RGMG is a company that will generate good, positive results.”

  • AdSurfDaily’s Bowdoin Says He’s Appealing Forfeiture Order Issued By Federal Judge; Notice Filed 6 Days After INetGlobal Raid; Riddle Of Bowdoin’s Competing Affidavit Claims Unsolved

    Andy Bowdoin

    The president of a Florida-based autosurf company implicated in a Ponzi scheme by the U.S. Secret Service says he is appealing a forfeiture order that gave the government title to more than $65 million seized from his personal bank accounts in 2008.

    Notice of the appeal by Andy Bowdoin of AdSurfDaily was filed by his attorneys March 1, about six days after federal agents — citing the Jan. 4 forfeiture order by U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer of the District of Columbia — raided the Minneapolis offices of INetGlobal.

    In an affidavit for a search warrant last month, the Secret Service said INetGlobal, a company operated by Steve Renner, was operating a similar autosurf Ponzi scheme and also engaging in wire fraud and money laundering.

    The INetGlobal affidavit asserts, among other things, that a member of ASD attempted to recruit an undercover Secret Service agent into INetGlobal despite the member’s own reservations about ASD.

    INetGlobal was described by the ASD member as a wink-nod enterprise, according to the Secret Service affidavit. The company “uses the same terminology and business model as ASD,” the agency said.

    In court filings prior to the INetGlobal raid, Bowdoin’s attorneys laid the groundwork for an appeal of Collyer’s Jan. 4 forfeiture order on the grounds of judicial error, arguing that Bowdoin had not received proper notice about orders Collyer issued last year and did not react to them because of computer glitches at the office of one of his attorneys, Charles A. Murray.

    “I experienced as yet unidentified computer/server issues, wherein multiple email messages apparently never loaded to the firm’s Inbox,” Murray said in court filings on Feb. 17.

    The glitches occurred between Nov. 10 and “early January” of this year, Murray said.

    Paperwork for Bowdoin’s appeal shows a “minute order” issued by Collyer Feb. 21, denying earlier motions by Bowdoin.

    A “minute order” is a document that encapsulates legal issues before a judge. Minute orders sometimes are used when paperwork among the parties in a case is flying and a judge memorializes rulings by addressing them in a short entry, as opposed to issuing lengthy orders for each issue.

    “The Court’s Order of November 10, 2009 . . . was not a final, appealable order,” according to Collyer’s minute order. “Nor has Mr. Bowdoin shown that the Court erred in entering . . . the November 20, 2009, Order to Show Cause. The order granting default judgment and final order of forfeiture . . . is the final order in this case.”

    On Nov. 10, Collyer ruled that Bowdoin no longer had standing in the case after he had battled for 10 months to reenter the case. Bowdoin submitted to the forfeiture in January 2009 — and then changed his mind, first acting as his own attorney and later acting with Murray’s help because Bowdoin had fired his previous paid counsel.

    On Nov. 20, Collyer issued an order that gave potential claimants in the case 30 days to come forward. No claimant emerged. On Dec. 17, however, Bowdoin filed a motion to disqualify Collyer, saying she was biased. Collyer denied the motion Dec. 18. She issued the forfeiture order Jan. 4.

    In February, Bowdoin, 75, flatly claimed in a sworn affidavit that he was told by a former defense attorney that, if he submitted to the forfeiture in January 2009 of tens of millions of dollars, he would face no jail time if criminal charges were filed in the ASD Ponzi scheme case.

    He did not name the attorney in the February filing, referring to him obliquely as “prior counsel.” In an earlier filing, Bowdoin identified his counsel as Stephen Dobson.

    “I was assured by my prior counsel that, if I released my claims in this [civil-forfeiture] action, I would not be facing any incarceration,” Bowdoin claimed last month. “My January 2009 motion to withdraw my claim . . . was solely based upon prior counsel’s unilateral mistaken belief that my release of claims would unequivocally assure that any subsequent criminal sentence entered would not include any prison time.”

    Last month’s filing was witnessed by Florida notary public Joe B. Cox of Lee County.

    But in a sworn affidavit Bowdoin signed Sept. 15 before a different notary public — Patricia C. Sanson of Lee County — Bowdoin repeatedly said Dobson had said only that there was a possibility Bowdoin would not be sentenced to prison if criminal charges emerged.

    In the Sept. 15 affidavit, Bowdoin repeatedly swore that Dobson had not promised him no jail time.

    These are among the phrases Bowdoin swore to in the Sept. 15 affidavit (emphasis added):

    • 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.

    Bowdoin’s filing last month led to questions about whether he deliberately chose to appear before a different notary to swear to the affidavit. At the same time, it led to questions about whether Bowdoin somehow was unaware that Collyer already had cited Bowdoin’s Sept. 15 sworn affidavit in a major ruling that Bowdoin no longer had standing in the case.

    On Nov. 10, Collyer noted Bowdoin’s repeated use of the words “possibly,” “possible” and “possibility” in the Sept. 15 affidavit when referring to the advice Dobson had given him on the matter of jail and finding that Dobson had behaved responsibly while representing Bowdoin.

    “Such an approach from counsel could be seen as the norm when the Government’s evidence is strong,” Collyer said. “What Mr. Bowdoin hoped to gain from his release of claims/early acceptance of responsibility and his debriefing with the Government was a promise of no jail time. When that was not forthcoming from the Assistant United States Attorney, Mr. Bowdoin balked and tried to back up, as if he had not already released his claims and talked to the Government.”

    There may be other news associated with Bowdoin’s appeal: The filings suggest that William Cowden, who spearheaded the forfeiture case for the Department of Justice as an assistant U.S. Attorney and then accepted a job in the private sector, may be returning as a special prosecutor while maintaining his job in the private sector.

    Cowden was derided by Bowdoin supporters as “Gomer Pyle,” but piloted the case through an evidentiary hearing that resulted in a ruling from Collyer in November 2008 that ASD had not demonstrated it was a legal business and not a Ponzi scheme.

    With the Secret Service leading the investigation, Cowden then filed a second forfeiture complaint against assets linked to ASD. The second complaint was filed in December 2008 and named members of Bowdoin’s family as beneficiaries of ASD’s illegal scheme.

  • A PONZI MYSTERY: Trevor Cook’s Faberge Eggs, Iraqi Dinars Missing; Appraiser Braves Elements, Accesses Cook’s Frozen Island Retreat In Canada By Snowmobile

    It’s starting to read like Ian Fleming fare, something straight out of James Bond and “Octopussy.”

    R.J. Zayed, the receiver in the alleged Trevor Cook/Pat Kiley Ponzi scheme in Minnesota, says he did not find Cook’s collection of Faberge eggs when, armed with a court order, he searched Cook’s home in Apple Valley. The precise size of the collection is unclear, but it has been described in court filings as featuring “numerous” eggs.

    The fabulous jeweled eggs also didn’t turn up at the Van Dusen mansion in Minneapolis, which Cook and Kiley used as an office. Potentially “millions” of Iraqi dinars once stored on the third floor of the mansion also are missing, according to court filings.

    Zayed was able to get cursory information on Cook’s island getaway in Canada, though — thanks to a real-estate appraiser who was willing to venture to the Rainy Lake Island property near Fort Francis, Ont., on a snowmobile.

    “Given the difficulty traveling to the island during the winter, however, no other licensed appraisers have been able to make an on-site inspection as of [yesterday],” Zayed said.

    Additional appraisals will be obtained with the spring thaw, presumably in April, “when the weather allows easier access to the island,” Zayed said.

    The Rainy Lake Island property consists of 2.3 acres of land. There are “several structures on the property, including an 1130 square foot log cabin, a guest cabin, docks and sheds,” Zayed said.

    “The dwelling structures are newly constructed and weather tight, but unfinished on the inside. The property is serviced with electrical power supplied by under water cable originating from the Minnesota side of the lake,” Zayed said.

    He estimated that the property was worth about $400,000 to $500,000.

    Cook, who is jailed for contempt of court for not turning over receivership assets, purportedly purchased a submarine to access the island, but discovered the waters were too dark for the submersible craft.

    Because of the unfriendly waters, Cook talked about moving the craft to Panama, whose waters he believed more suited for use of his submarine, according to court filings. The submarine purportedly was purchased on eBay.

    Zayed was able to locate 31 watches in a collection described in court filings as “vast,” including a “diamond studded Rolex watch that Cook gave to his wife and that she maintained in a safe deposit box.” He also recovered a ROM exercise machine that retailed for $14,165.

    Investors in the alleged $190 million scheme may get “pennies on the dollar,” Zayed said.

    Prior to being jailed in January, Cook asked Chief U.S. District Judge Michael Davis for a monthly allowance of $6,679, including a monthly outlay of $105 to cover the expenses of his three housecats and $100 for a gym membership.

    While searching Cook’s home, Zayed seized three automobiles: a 2005 Lexus 33 series; a 2004 Lexus L43; and a 1997 BMW 328ic. He is seeking to auction them off.

    Zayed already has sold a 1989 Rolls Royce; a 2004 Audi RS6; a 1985 Pontiac Fiero “Lamborghini Kit Car”; a 1998 BMW Z3; a 1989 Mercedes 420 SEL; and a 2000 Lexus. The cars, some of which had high mileage, fetched $73,100, according to court filings.

    All buyers were required to “sign a statement certifying that they were not serving as a proxy” for Cook or any other person or entity that is part of the probe, Zayed said.

    Meanwhile, Zayed sold Cook’s large-screen, high-definition TVs and other items such as computers and gambling equipment for “at least” $24,000 — higher than the expected amount, according to court filings. A final accounting of the auction was not yet finalized.

    An inventory of items suggested that the collection featured 10 TV sets with 50-inch screens and two sets with 42-inch screens. Like the car-buyers, the TV-buyers had to certify they were not acting as a proxy.

    The Cook/Kiley entities perpetrated “a massive scheme to defraud and that they never operated as legitimate investment vehicles,” Zayed said, noting that he believes the entities “have no value as ongoing businesses” and that “the value of any ‘investments’ in these entities has a present value of zero dollars.”

    Zayed said the Van Dusen mansion has a “still-confidential buyer” willing to pay $1.6 million in cash for the historic structure. A deal could close next month, if no buyer willing to pay more emerges.

    The property was marketed for $1.995 million, and racked up some big bills for security, repair of furnaces, repair of the alarm system, snow removal, cleaning and other maintenance.

    Cook, Kiley and several companies were implicated in an alleged $190 million Ponzi and forex fraud in November by the SEC and the CFTC. Kiley formerly hosted a show on Christian radio.

  • BULLETIN: Trevor Cook Jailed For Contempt In Minnesota Ponzi Scheme Case; Judge Orders Him To Surrender $27 Million, Submarine, Houseboat, More

    UPDATED 7:55 P.M. ET (U.S.A.) A federal judge has ordered Trevor Cook jailed for not turning over assets in a Minnesota Ponzi scheme case brought by the SEC.

    Chief U.S. District Judge Michael J. Davis found Cook in civil contempt of court. U.S. Marshals “escorted Cook from the courtroom to jail,” the SEC said.

    “Mr. Cook has elected to disregard the court’s orders and will now be a guest of the federal correctional system until he mends his ways,” said Merri Jo Gillette, director of the SEC’s Chicago Regional Office.

    Cook, accused with Christian radio host Pat Kiley in November of operating a complex financial fraud involving forex trading, would remain jailed until he surrendered $27 million “located in offshore accounts, a BMW and two Lexus automobiles, a submarine, a houseboat, a collection of expensive watches, a collection of Faberge eggs, Bon Jovi concert tickets, and $670,000 in cash,” the SEC said.

    An investor said in a court deposition that Cook told him he bought the two-person submarine on eBay for $40,000 to access a private island in Canada. Investigators said the scheme involved at least $190 million.