MoneyMakerGroup

Nicholas Smirnow, the operator of the Pathway To Prosperity Ponzi-board “program” charged with fraud by U.S. authorities in 2010, has been sentenced in Canada to seven years in prison. News of the sentence appeared Sept. 30 at MuskokaRegion.com. Smirnow was arrested in Canada for P2P-related crimes in 2014. The United States has submitted an extradition […]

“The threat did not explain now a negative review on BehindMLM could be any worse than a fawning sales pitch on MoneyMakerGroup. ‘Programs’ that have appeared on that forum have caused billions of dollars in losses globally.” — PP Blog, Sept. 5, 2016 TrafficPowerline, a “program” whose thread-starter at the MoneyMakerGroup Ponzi forum has more than 4,700 posts, […]

“The complaint alleges that more than 99% of Traffic Monsoon’s revenue is derived from new investor funds, making claims that it is a successful advertising business merely an illusion.” — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, July 28, 2016 EDITOR’S NOTE: This (below) is the full litigation statement of the SEC on its Ponzi case against […]

News came early this morning that the SEC had moved against Traffic Monsoon, calling it a Ponzi scheme. Both the “program” and alleged operator Charles Scoville were charged civilly yesterday in Utah federal court with securities fraud and selling unregistered securities to unaccredited investors. Scoville also was the braintrust behind AdHitProfits, a Ponzi-board “program” in part […]

2ND UPDATE 2:25 P.M. EDT U.S.A. More horrible PR for the MLM trade: Banners Broker international pitchman and pyramid-scheme figure Kuldip Josun embezzled at least $3.6 million from affiliates, according to a receiver’s report. The money was deposited into a Swiss bank account held by an entity known as World Web Media Inc. and appears […]

BULLETIN: (4th Update 9:13 p.m. EDT U.S.A.) Accused Ponzi schemer Paul Burks ran a “pyramid scheme” known as FollowMe1X2 that was a precursor to ZeekRewards, federal prosecutors say. A quote about FollowMe1X2 that appears in a prosecution filing today also appears verbatim in a post on the MoneyMakerGroup Ponzi forum dated Sept. 4, 2010, by “charlieone.” […]

A fraudster who used “fancy cars and parties” to dupe investors has been arrested after an FBI investigation, said Eileen M. Decker, the top federal prosecutor in the Central District of California. Wenxing Huang, 33, of San Gabriel, has been charged with money-laundering and wire fraud in an alleged Ponzi scheme that gathered at least […]

“These frauds are easily duplicated, and at times, we find ourselves playing ‘whack-a-mole,’ chasing the same set of fraudsters who, after feeling a bit of heat, simply close down one scheme and quickly set up a new one under a different name.” — Andrew Ceresney, SEC Enforcement Division director, March 2, 2016 EDITOR’S NOTE: Type […]

The SEC this afternoon declined comment on an order by a federal judge in Atlanta that could lead to the dismissal of the agency’s 2013 case against Profitable Sunrise, an alleged international pyramid scheme and offering fraud targeted at U.S. residents by one or more murky figures. Such a dismissal almost certainly would embolden overseas HYIP scammers […]

BULLETIN: (8th Update 3:34 p.m. ET U.SA.) The SEC has gone to federal court in Minnesota, alleging that an enterprise known as “TeamVinh” that pushed something called “VPAKs” was operating a securities-fraud scheme targeted at MLMers. TeamVinh, which allegedly recruited more than 5,600 participants,  has a presence on the Ponzi boards, including MoneyMakerGroup and TalkGold. Recent chatter suggests the […]

ABC has made available the first trailer for “Madoff,” a network miniseries debuting Feb. 3, 2016. Richard Dreyfuss plays the notorious Ponzi schemer, with Blythe Danner starring as Ruth Madoff. Bernard Madoff’s name first appeared on the PP Blog nearly seven years ago, on Dec. 13, 2008. It has appeared numerous times since then. Says […]