PatrickPretty.com

Tag: Patrick Moriarty

  • As Zeek-Related Fundraising Efforts Begin, ‘Andy’s Fundraising Army’ Down For The Final Count: AdSurfDaily Patriarch Andy Bowdoin Awaits Sentencing In Pre-Zeek, 1-Percent-A-Day Ponzi Scheme Case

    UPDATED 11:31 P.M. EDT (AUG. 26, U.S.A.) After the collapse of AdSurfDaily in 2008, there were at least four efforts to raise funds to “defend” the Ponzi enterprise and/or its participants. The PP Blog has received reports that at least one such effort is under way in the aftermath of the collapse last week of Zeek Rewards, which the SEC called a $600 million Ponzi- and pyramid scheme that had affected more than 1 million people. Zeek also is under investigation by the U.S. Secret Service and the office of North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper.

    Zeek members who cling to a belief that the government somehow got it wrong perhaps can save themselves both money and heartache by looking at the history of the various ASD-related efforts to “defend” the multilevel marketing “program” after the U.S. Secret Service seized 15 bank accounts (and about $80 million) in ASD-related proceeds in August 2008.

    Here are briefs on the various ASD-related “defense” efforts:

    “Andy’s Fundraising Army”: This bizarre effort was the fourth and final of a series of failed ASD-related efforts. Started by accused ASD Ponzi schemer Thomas A. “Andy” Bowdoin himself last summer (with the purported help of ASD cheerleader Tari Steward), the effort immediately devolved into a symphony of the bizarre.

    With Bowdoin effectively having been out of public view for nearly three years, the purported “army” teased potential contributors for days with a photo that showed Bowdoin smiling broadly and looking confident. Among other things, the teaser asserted there was “MORE GOOD NEWS” and plenty of reasons to help Bowdoin raise $500,000 to pay for his criminal defense.

    It went on to assert that “A Recent Survey of ASD Members Proves that the Vast Majority of You Want to Join Andy’s Fundraising Army” and that “[P]er standard and accepted industry guidelines, public opinion surveying of 140 members of a large group of members that all share a common interest or purpose, of any size, even in the millions, will give an excellent cross section of the opinions and viewpoints of the entire group.”

    But the “army” site did not describe the characteristics of the 140 ASD members purportedly sampled. Nor did it define what specific surveying “standard” it applied or define the source of the purported “industry guidelines.”

    And what would a good, MLM-like approach to raise funds for an accused HYIP scammer (1 percent a day) be without a “prelaunch” phase? With the teaser in place, a placeholder website for “Andy’s Fundraising Army” promised a full launch to come, along with the exciting opportunity for ASD members to send funds to the man accused of defrauding them to the tune of $110 million.

    But like a bad HYIP dream, the “army” website naturally missed its first advertised launch date. This was blamed on the need for more “testing,” reinforcing one of the HYIP world’s longstanding clichés. It then missed its second advertised launch date, explaining that “one last important system is being finalized.” With the first two launch dates missed, the site reported that it had set a “Final Revised Launch Date.”

    During the evening of July 26, 2011, the launch finally occurred. Like many things ASD, it provided minute after minute of MLM infamy. Indeed, Bowdoin appeared in a fundraising video with symbols of American patriotism as the backdrop.

    Among other things, Bowdoin — who in 2008 described himself as a Christian “money magnet” and advised ASD members after the Secret Service raid that “God” was on the company’s side and that “Satan” had infiltrated the government — claimed in the video that he’d been “crucified” by U.S. law enforcement.

    He blamed the ASD-related losses in civil court on a federal judge, the prosecutors and his own former defense counsel. Bowdoin asked members to provide $500,000 to help him pay his new defense team.

    It is believed he raised about $26,000 in the following weeks — but things continued to unfold like a bad HYIP dream. There was a report that a hurricane knocked the fundraising site offline, for instance. By January 2012, the site had lost its ability to collect money via PayPal. Federal prosecutors declined to comment on the development, which occurred after Bowdoin had become a pitchman for “OneX.”

    In April 2012, prosecutors described OneX as a fraudulent scheme and pyramid. Bowdoin pleaded guilty to wire fraud the following month, admitting ASD was a Ponzi scheme. His fundraising website, which published purported “expert” opinions from attorney Gerald Nehra and consultant Keith Laggos that ASD was not a Ponzi scheme, remained online for weeks after the guilty plea.

    The “Andy’s Army” site is now offline and is listed as an expired domain. In recent days, Bowdoin — as part of his plea agreement — has dropped his last remaining claim to cash seized in the ASD case. (A third ASD-related forfeiture complaint was filed by the government in December 2010. Bowdoin entered a claim.) He is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 29.

    Nehra’s law firm later became counsel for Zeek, according to Zeek. And Laggos became a purported “consultant.”

    Todd Disner and Dwight Owen Schweitzer: Even as Bowdoin was rolling out his “army” website and repeatedly missing launch dates, ASD figures Todd Disner and Dwight Owen Schweitzer were advancing a plan to raise money to sue the government. An email attributed to Disner surfaced in July 2011 that introduced a pronoun mystery: “We plan to go after Akerman Senifit (sic) next,” the email read in part.

    Akerman Senterfitt was the name of Bowdoin’s original defense law firm in the civil portion of the ASD case. In the earliest days of the case, ASD cheerleaders on the now-defunct “Surf’s Up” forum positioned the well-known firm as the “Perry Mason” firm; the government, meanwhile, was said to be represented by “Gomer Pyle.” A federal judge was described as “brain dead” if she ruled against ASD, and a federal prosecutor was described as an individual who deserved to be placed in a medieval torture rack.

    Why Disner chose the pronoun “we” was never explained. The July 2011 email followed an April 2011 email attributed to Disner that included this declaration: “Let the games begin!”

    During this period, Disner and Schweitzer were soliciting funds to sue the government. This effort began at an unclear point of time after November 2008, the month a federal judge issued a key court ruling against ASD while saying Nehra’s opinion could not be relied upon in part because it “relied solely on the written words contained in the Terms of Service without independent investigation or review of ASD’s business records to ascertain how ASD operates in fact before opining.” (Bolding added.)

    If the judge’s ruling could be reduced to two words, it might read, “Gomer won.”

    At an unclear point in time, both Disner and Schweitzer became reps for Zeek. They filed their ASD-related lawsuit in November 2011, claiming, among other things, that the government had presented a “tissue of lies” when bringing the August 2008 forfeiture case. As part of their apparent strategy, Disner and Schweitzer pointed to purported expert opinions of Nehra and Laggos. Disner and Schweitzer produced those opinions months after ASD had lost two civil-forfeiture cases in both U.S. District Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals.

    Months later, Bowdoin himself put both Disner and Schweitzer in a box. In May 2012 — after Nehra and Laggos both had opined ASD was not a Ponzi scheme and after Disner and Schweitzer had sued the government — Bowdoin admitted that ASD was a Ponzi scheme.

    Bob Guenther and ASDMBA: In 2008, ASD member Bob Guenther became the de facto head of an entity known as the ASD Members Business Association. The stated goal of ASDMBA was to raise funds to hire Dallas attorney Larry Friedman to represent ASD members’ interests in the case.

    ASDMBA soon devolved into a circus, with Guenther using its website to promote a company that was developing an online game. Along the way, Friedman sued ASD critic Jack Arons, triggering a side drama that lasted for weeks and burying Arons in an avalanche of paperwork. (As a matter of pure PR, high-powered Friedman came out the loser for bringing out nukes against a web critic armed with a fly-swatter. The avalanche finally ended, with Arons, a Florida retiree who lives in a manufactured home, largely unscathed.) Guenther, meanwhile, refused to provide a reliable accounting of how the tens of thousands of dollars raised by ASDMBA was spent, according to members.

    Guenther bizarrely dismissed his critics as “left wing liberal no balled people,” calling one an “ignorant mouthy broad.” He also claimed ASDMBA was instrumental in returning money to ASD victims, saying the group retrieved funds for retired and active-duty police officers in Texas and California, and for a high profile Dallas Cowboy’s executive.

    Nothing in the public record suggests Guenther had any standing to perform any services on behalf of ASD members. It later emerged that Guenther was a convicted felon. Months after the 2008 formation of ASDMBA, in March 2009, Guenther was charged with two felony counts of aggravated harassment. Mesa, Arizona, police said Guenther repeatedly violated a court injunction for workplace harassment that prohibited him from nuisancing Cheyenne Mountain and Affiliates, the Arizona business that was developing the online game promoted on ASDMBA’s website.

    Guenther later accepted a plea agreement in the harassment case. No jail time was ordered.

    ASD Members International: This one was hatched by members of the pro-ASD “Surf’s Up” forum, which became Bowdoin’s official mouthpiece after the key court ruling went against ASD in November 2008. ASDMI was a purported nonprofit entity formed in Missouri. Its bizarre mission was to raise funds to litigate against the government even if the government was proceeding lawfully. In short, ASDMI planted the seed that prosecutors and investigators would be sued and/or charged with crimes.

    It is believed that at least 168 people contributed money to ASDMI.

    Included in the ASDMI braintrust was former Surf’s Up moderator Barb McIntyre, who enforced a “Poof Penalty” when ASD members left links on Surf’s Up to stories on the PP Blog.

    But if there was an ASDMI “star,” it was “Professor” Patrick Moriarty, one of the most unusual characters in the entire ASD drama. Moriarty was an early advocate for Curtis Richmond, a purported “sovereign” being who advanced a theory that all commerce was lawful as long as the buyer and seller agreed to a contract. Among other things, it was a position that would have legalized slavery and human trafficking. Richmond went on to accuse a federal judge of “TREASON” and to accuse investigators of theft.

    Richmond was hailed a “hero” on Surf’s Up, which never revealed that Richmond had been found in contempt of court for threatening federal judges and was part of a Utah “Indian” tribe a federal judge ruled a “complete sham.” (This is the “tribe” known derisively as the “Arby’s Indians” because it once held a meeting in an Arby’s restaurant in Utah. The purported “tribe” also had a purported “Supreme Court.” The address for the “Supreme Court” was the address of a doughnut shop. Richmond was sued successfully under the federal racketeering statute (RICO) by public officials in Utah targeted in a vexatious legal campaign by Richmond and other “tribe” members.)

    With Surf’s Up fanning the flames that federal prosecutors and a U.S. Secret Service agent needed to be investigated and prosecuted for their roles in the ASD Ponzi case, it emerged that Moriarty — who once sold fake academic degrees on eBay, claiming they were gag gifts — once had started a purported nonprofit in the name of a man accused of killing a woman in cold blood and ambushing two Missouri police officers and another man.

    Moriarty later was indicted on charges of tax evasion. He pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to federal prison.

    NOTE TO ZEEK READERS: This document, which was filed by federal prosecutors in December 2008, is the second of three known forfeiture complaints filed against ASD-related assets. It is highly recommended reading.

    The document was filed about four months after the original — and best-known ASD forfeiture complaint — was filed.

    The ASD case started as a civil case with a parallel criminal investigation. Zeek-related litigation may follow the same track. Ponzi investigations take time. The December 2008 ASD forfeiture complaint shows that investigators continued to “follow the money” and to destroy ASD’s cover story after the original forfeiture complaint was filed.

    It likely is true that the August 2008 complaint has received the most attention — no doubt because it laid out the core elements of the government’s case. But the December 2008 filing was tremendously damaging because it provided the first real inside glimpse into how ASD truly was operating.

     

     

  • ASD-LIKE LITIGATION PLAYBOOK BACKFIRES: Washington State Man Indicted For Placing Fraudulent Liens Against Prosecutors, IRS Agent; Ronald James Davenport Faces Decades In Prison If Convicted

    EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a post in which the introduction is longer than the actual story (below). The story demonstrates the dangers of jumping on bandwagons before giving them careful thought.

    Longtime readers of the PP Blog will recall our coverage of Curtis Richmond, “Professor” Patrick Moriarty and ASD Members International (ASDMI). Each was a mainstay in the AdSurfDaily autosurf Ponzi scheme case.

    Richmond, a member of a sham Utah “Indian” tribe, was sued successfully in 2008 under federal racketeering statutes for being part of a group that placed enormous financial judgments against Utah public officials in performance of their duties. The judgments were bogus. Richmond and other members of the sham tribe were ordered to pay damages and penalties totaling more than $108,000.

    Richmond has described himself in court filings as a “sovereign” being answerable only to Jesus Christ.

    Moriarty, now in federal prison in Missouri after pleading guilty in January to filing a false tax return, advocated Richmond’s legal theories in the ASD case. Among other things, Moriarty, who claimed to be skilled in the art of “karma restoration” and once sold fake academic degrees on eBay by explaining they were gag gifts, was part of a group — ASDMI — whose membership roster consisted of members of the now-defunct Surf’s Up forum.

    ASDMI came out of the gate by announcing a scorched-earth legal campaign against the government for its seizure of tens of millions of dollars in the ASD case. At least two federal prosecutors and at least one Secret Service agent became targets of a hectoring campaign that involved the use of certified mail. Surf’s Up championed the campaign, which was designed to demand a litigation result from the government by trapping the recipients of the certified mail into a contract to which they never agreed. The approach, which also was used by the sham Utah tribe in litigation separate from the ASD case, sometimes is known as “paper terrorism” or “mailbox arbitration.”

    Surf’s Up also championed a secondary campaign to write letters to Sen. Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Surf’s Up described the ASD case as a legal “travesty that was committed against the 100,000-plus members of ASD by US attorneys Jeffrey Taylor and William Cowden.”

    Richmond, fresh from his RICO rebuke in “Indian”-related litigation in Utah, then became a mainstay in the ASD case. He filed a series of pro-se pleadings accusing U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer and the prosecutors of crimes and threatening prosecution and lawsuits under federal racketeering statutes.

    Some ASD members cheered the filings. Richmond was dubbed a “hero” on Surf’s Up, and also on a forum some of the Surf’s Up Mods established to promote the AdViewGlobal (AVG) autosurf, which had close ASD ties. One of Richmond’s motions claimed that actions by Collyer, a court clerk and two prosecutors prevented an ASD member named Alana Holsted from “Collecting on an Entry of Default Affidavit for $30 million for each Defendant.” In the Utah “Indian” case, Richmond tried to force the federal judge presiding over the litigation to step down by claiming the judge owed him $30 million.

    It is believed that bogus payment claims against Collyer, the prosecutors and the court clerk by some pro-se litigants in the ASD case totaled at least $120 million. It is unclear if overt steps were taken to formalize the purported judgments by filing liens against the judge, the clerk and the prosecutors.

    Previously Richmond had been linked to a scheme to imprison federal judges and litigation opponents and had been declared in contempt of court in California for threatening and trying to intimidate judges.

    Although the story about Ronald James Davenport is not related to the ASD case, it demonstrates the risk of some of the approaches advocated by Richmond, Moriarty and ASDMI — and it shows the utter madness of the advocacy of the Surf’s Up forum. It was the type of advocacy that can land followers in prison for decades.

    Here, now, a brief on Ronald James Davenport . . .

    A Washington state man faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted on charges of filing fraudulent liens against a U.S. Attorney and other government officials, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

    Bogus liens filed by Ronald James Davenport of Deer Park sought the spectacular sum of nearly $5.2 billion from each of the officials, including U.S. Attorney James McDevitt of the Eastern District of Washington, an assistant U.S. attorney, a court clerk and an IRS agent, according to court records.

    Prosecutors described Davenport as a “tax defier.” Davenport has described himself in court filings as a “sovereign.”

    In a civil case that preceded the criminal indictment against Davenport, Senior U.S. District Judge Justin L. Quackenbush ruled last month that the liens “were filed to retaliate against the officers for their good-faith efforts to enforce the tax laws against Mr. Davenport.”

    Quackenbush struck the liens, which were filed in the form of UCC Financing Statements with the Washington State Department of Licensing, according to records. The liens not only were fraudulent, but also contained “sensitive personal information” that violated privacy laws, the judge ruled.

    Davenport also filed instruments dubbed “Notice[s] of Claim of Maritime Lien” with the Spokane County Auditor’s Office, according to records. Those, too, were struck.

    The government sued Davenport civilly in 2008 “to collect delinquent income taxes,” prosecutors said.

    Records show that Davenport responded by filing liens against the officials.

    “The indictment alleges that in retaliation for attempting to collect the delinquent taxes, Davenport made a series of fraudulent claims in December 2009,” prosecutors said.

    “Davenport filed liens against the property of these government officials, falsely claiming that each of them owed Davenport $5,184,000,000,” the Justice Department said.

  • Bowdoin ‘Most Interesting’ Figure In ASD Story; Prosecutors’ Court Wins Have Secured Control Over More Than 99 Percent Of Liquid Assets In Forfeiture Cases

    Andy Bowdoin

    EDITOR’S NOTE: This story is about the “Most Interesting ASD Figure” poll conducted by the PP Blog. It also includes data from court files that suggest federal prosecutors have won court battles that have secured control over more than 99 percent (99.2 percent) of the liquid assets available in the ASD/Golden Panda civil-forfeiture cases — with less than 1 percent (0.8 percent) of the remaining liquid assets still tied up in litigation.

    Here, now, the story . . .

    UPDATED 7:40 A.M. ET (U.S.A.) It is said — perhaps apocryphally — that Groucho Marx once entered a Groucho Marx look-alike contest and finished third.

    A similar fate almost befell AdSurfDaily President Andy Bowdoin, one of seven choices in our poll that asked readers to select the “Most Interesting Figure In The Alleged AdSurfDaily Ponzi Scheme Story.”

    But in the final days of the poll, Bowdoin, who had trailed early and was in second place at various times, eked out a win over eventual second-pace finisher Bob Guenther and the five other poll subjects.

    Voting was light with only 53 votes cast, and the sample was not scientifically meaningful. The results, however, at least suggest that readers interested in ASD consider Bowdoin the star of his own story — a story that began in August 2008, when the U.S. Secret Service seized tens of millions of dollars from 10 Bowdoin bank accounts.

    ASD was a Florida-based Ponzi scheme that had engaged in wire fraud, money-laundering and the sale of unregistered securities, federal prosecutors said. Just last week prosecutors scored a big win, when a federal judge issued a final order of forfeiture in the August 2008 civil forfeiture case, granting the government title to more than $65.8 million seized from Bowdoin accounts.

    In July, the judge issued an order granting the government title to more than $14 million seized from the bank accounts of Golden Panda Ad Builder, whose assets were seized as part of the ASD civil-forfeiture case. A second civil-forfeiture case — filed in December 2008 against ASD/Golden Panda-connected assets — appears to be nearly resolved. The December case involves only a fraction of the money seized in the overall case.

    To date, prosecutors have scored wins that secured more than $79.88 million — more than 99 percent of the available cash pool (liquid assets) in both cases, with less than 1 percent of the pool still in litigation. The total pool of liquid assets in both cases amounts to about $80.52 million, according to court records. A prosecution win of the fraction of 1 percent remaining to be secured is a virtual certainty. Neither the ASD side nor the Golden Panda side has secured any financial wins. Golden Panda quit trying shortly after the August 2008 case was brought.

    Here is a way to look at the pool from both cases as a fraction. Of the $80.52 million available, prosecutors have control over $79.88 million: 79.88/80.52 — or 99.2 percent. If the prosecutors gain control over more than $600,000 remaining in litigation, they will have gained control over 100 percent of the available pool.

    The current cash pool does not count illiquid assets such as real estate, a Cabana boat, automobiles, jet skis and marine equipment that must be sold before it can be converted to cash and added to the pool.

    A big wild card is whether Bowdoin, who initially submitted to the forfeiture in January 2009 under advice from paid counsel but attempted to reassert his claims in February 2009 as a pro se litigant, will appeal. U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer ruled in November 2009 that Bowdoin no longer has standing in the August 2008 case. Bowdoin never established standing in the December 2008 case.

    Poll Results

    Bowdoin, 75, captured 36 percent of the vote in the “Most Interesting” poll; Guenther, 62, a government critic who led the poll at times, finished second, capturing 32 percent of the vote.

    Guenther is the de facto head of the ASD Members Business Association (ASDMBA). He emerged as a harsh critic of the manner in which prosecutors have handled the case, claiming he planned to rely on “political connections” to embarrass the Justice Department.

    “Soon, very soon, I am going to call on some political connections, and I am going to share everything I knew then, know now and everything I tried to provide you with,” Guenther said in an email last year to one of the prosecutors.

    Among Guenther’s assertions were that the government ignored leads he provided and that a prosecutor did not return more than 50 emails he had sent. Guenther pleaded guilty to a count of bank fraud in the 1990s in a case in which 10 other counts were withdrawn in a plea deal. Some ASDMBA members said they would not have contributed to the organization, which gathered money with the aim of protecting members’ interests in the ASD case, had they known Guenther had a felony record.

    Some ASDMBA members have complained that Guenther did not provide transparent accounting of how the organization spent its money. Guenther said ASDMBA’s accounting was transparent, describing his critics as uninformed whiners and liberals.

    Finishing third in the poll were the “Surf’s Up Mods.” Surf’s Up was a Pro-ASD forum that suddenly went missing nine days ago, about two weeks after Bowdoin reportedly made an appeal through a third party for members to search for videos of ASD “rallies.”

    “Andy [Bowdoin] wants to know if any of you took Videos and/or Audios of ‘him’ speaking at any of the ASD Rallies,” according to a Dec. 21 post on Surf’s Up. The post cited a third-party email.

    “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 post 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].”

    The post did not specify precisely what video evidence Bowdoin hoped to obtain from members. In the August 2008 forfeiture complaint, prosecutors entered an exhibit that included a members’ transcription of remarks Bowdoin allegedly had made at a July 2008 rally in Miami.

    In the exhibit, Bowdoin identified George and Judy Harris as ASD employees, without telling members Harris was his stepson and that Judy Harris — the wife of George — also was a member of the Bowdoin family. Bowdoin described George Harris as head of ASD’s real-estate division, and Judy Harris as a clerical employee.

    Prosecutors later said that George Harris and his mother — Edna Faye Bowdoin, Andy Bowdoin’s wife — used more than $177,000 in illegal proceeds from two ASD accounts at Bank of America and opened an account at a third bank. The account was opened on June 10, 2008, less than two weeks after an ASD “rally” had concluded in Las Vegas.

    Before June had come to an end, prosecutors said, George Harris used more than $157,000 of the opening deposit to pay off the mortgage on the Tallahassee home he shared with his wife. The transaction was completed via wire transfer, with George Harris making the request over the telephone, prosecutors said.

    George and Judy Harris and Edna Faye Bowdoin were identified in the December 2008 forfeiture complaint as beneficiaries of ASD’s illegal conduct. The AdViewGlobal (AVG) autosurf, which launched after the seizure of ASD’s assets, later identified George and Judy Harris as AVG’s owners. Prosecutors seized the Harris home in the December 2008 forfeiture complaint, and neither George nor Judy Harris filed a claim to the home.

    Some ASD members said Bowdoin was the silent head of AVG. Surf’s Up received ASD’s official endorsement on Nov. 27, 2008, eight days after a key court ruling went against ASD. AVG emerged in the days ahead as an autosurf purportedly headquartered in Uruguay, and some of the Surf’s Up Mods peeled off and started a forum to promote AVG.

    Surf’s Up, whose members reportedly sent brownies and delicious baked goods to Bowdoin after he was implicated in the alleged Ponzi scheme and declared he was “too honest” to testify after Bowdoin had taken the 5th Amendment in the forfeiture case, received 17 percent of the vote in the “Most Interesting Figure” poll.

    Finishing in fourth place, with 8 percent of the vote, were the “Conspiracy Theorists” — those ASD members who speculated that President Kennedy was assassinated because he planned to expose a banking conspiracy and that President George W. Bush planned the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Some of the “Conspiracy Theorists” also claimed that the United States passed secret legislation in the 1990s in anticipation of a visit by reptilian aliens.

    Curtis Richmond, described by Surf’s Up as a “hero,” finished with “Professor” Patrick Moriarty in a tie for fifth in the poll. Each gleaned 4 percent of the vote. Richmond is associated with the so-called “Arby’s Indians,” a tribe ruled a “complete sham” by a federal judge in a case in Utah.

    The “tribe” got its derisive name because it held a meeting in an Arby’s restaurant in 2003. Members also established a sham “Supreme Court” at the address of a doughnut shop in Vernal, Utah, and also established a sham “arbitration” service that it used to pester public officials with spectacular claims that they had defaulted on contracts.

    At least two people who used the services of the tribe’s bogus “arbitration” panel were sentenced for federal prison for tax crimes.

    One of them was Bruce Robert Travis. Among other things, Travis is the self-published author of “My Past Life As Jesus” and “The Messiah For Hire.”

    Travis, associated with tax denier Royal Lamarr Hardy, now reportedly is working on a book in which he’ll describe what it’s like to be Jesus behind bars.

    “Tribe” members, including Richmond, were ordered in 2008 to pay more than $108,000 in damages in a racketeering lawsuit brought by the public officials. Richmond later emerged as a pro-se litigant in the ASD case, cheered on by Surf’s Up. Richmond attempted to have U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer disqualified from the ASD case — something Bowdoin himself later tried to do.

    Moriarty, who was indicted in March 2009 for filing false tax returns, now has entered a guilty plea in the tax case. He was a co-founder of — along with members of Surf’s Up — of ASD Members International (ASDMI).

    ASDMI promised to litigate against the government for its actions in the ASD case, even if the government was behaving legally. Moriarty, cheered on by Surf’s Up, was part of a letter-writing campaign to Sen. Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The campaign was aimed at getting the Senate to investigate the ASD prosecutors.

    Finishing last in the poll was “joe,” who received no votes. “joe” purported to be a Vietnam POW and a staunch advocate for autosurf Ponzi schemes.

  • EDITORIAL: Members Turn On Each Other As 11th Hour Dawns For Andy Bowdoin And AdSurfDaily Inc.

    The coming hours and days may mark the end of AdSurfDaily. Fragmentation, fractiousness and bitterness are marking ASD’s final descent into infamy.

    Steve Watt of TheJoyLuckClub, for instance, is accusing the Mods at the Pro-ASD Surf’s Up forum of covering up for Andy Bowdoin and AdViewGlobal (AVG), an offshoot of ASD.

    We wish we could applaud Watt’s actions. We cannot.

    Steve Watt is promoting yet another surf site at TheJoyLuckClub, despite everything that has happened and despite announcing that he was out of the surf-promoting business. He also has contributed to the delay of the government’s proposed restitution program by being an early champion of Curtis Richmond’s pro se pleadings, and doesn’t seem to understand that TheJoyLuckClub’s message is at odds with itself.

    At one time, Watt announced a denial by U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer of a Richmond pro se pleading would lead to a “Major Criminal Complaint that will be filed with the U.S. Atty. General.” Watt encouraged members to join a nonprofit organization he and other Surf’s Up members formed — ASD Members International (ASDMI) — to litigate against the government even if it was behaving legally.

    One of ASDMI’s co-founders was Patrick Moriarty, currently under indictment for federal tax fraud. In 2006, Moriarty started a nonprofit for a Missouri man accused of murdering a woman in cold blood, shooting a police officer four times and shooting another man eight times.

    Richmond, meanwhile, is associated with a Utah “Indian” tribe a federal judge ruled a “complete sham.” The “tribe” became infamous for becoming embroiled in vexatious litigation against public officials, and the oddities did not end there.

    Some people who used a sham tribal “arbitration” panel known as the Western Arbitration Council (WAC) to do their bidding against the government were jailed for tax crimes, including Bruce Robert Travis. Among other things, Travis is the self-published author of “My Past Life As Jesus” and “The Messiah For Hire.”

    Travis, associated with tax denier Royal Lamarr Hardy, now reportedly is working on a book in which he’ll describe what it’s like to be Jesus behind bars.

    Dale Stevens, “chief” of the sham Utah tribe to which Richmond belonged — the Wampanoag Nation, Tribe of Grayhead, Wolf Band — was arrested for child pornography and anounced his intention to marry two underage girls.

    One of the girls was 12. Stevens, 69, said he’d hoped to enter into marital bliss with her in exchange for half a cooler of “energy bars.”

    Despite all the information at their disposal about entities and individuals with whom they were associating themselves on the periphery, neither Watt nor Surf’s Up divorced themselves from the circus.

    Regardless, Watt now writes that he is unhappy that the Mods refused to send an email blast to encourage Surf’s Up members to cooperate in a story proposed by Mike Mason, who once worked as a television journalist in Florida and has started a Blog.

    The Mods at one time sent blasts if Bowdoin or favorite sons cleared their throats. They used the forum to champion ridiculous, pro se pleadings after Bowdoin declared his paid attorneys incompetent and fired them — and even after a federal judge in a separate case had ruled that Curtis Richmond and others had engaged in racketeering and mail fraud in a bid to destroy the credit of public officials in Utah by placing enormous, fraudulent judgments against them for having the temerity actually to do their jobs.

    Richmond was hailed a “hero” on Surf’s Up. Never mind that he once signed a fraudulent “award” issued by WAC against a family-services worker in Utah for $300,000.

    A family-services worker who was doing the good work of protecting children.

    Good grief.

    And never mind that Bowdoin and Richmond’s drivel delayed for months the government’s plan to implement a restitution program for participants who certified under oath they were crime victims. Surf’s Up almost never missed a chance to rally the troops to hate the government, even if it meant dispossessed widows caught up in the scheme had to wait even longer for their chance to get some money back.

    At Surf’s Up, the widows always could wait.  It’s a plain fact that some of the Mods and members started a forum to promote AVG after receiving ASD’s official endorsement just days after a key ruling went against Bowdoin in November, just weeks after Bowdoin took the 5th Amendment in his own case.

    “Too honest” to testify, a Surf’s Up poster ventured. A $50,000 Lincoln was parked in Bowdoin’s driveway when the remark was made, having been purchased for cash with ASD “rally” money diverted to another Bowdoin enterprise. Meanwhile, victims of a Bowdoin securities scheme a decade ago got a check for $100.

    Not to worry. If Bowdoin could not produce an audited balance sheet certifying ASD’s solvency and the courts could not see the beauty of ASD’s business plan, the widows always could make up their losses in AVG, which purportedly was headquartered in Uruguay and immune from all the meddling by the evil U.S. government.

    Here is a plain fact — and it is a fact no matter what you read on Surf’s Up: ASD was catastrophically insolvent. It ignored the liabilities side of the ledger and hid behind “rebates aren’t guaranteed.”  As a practical matter, ASD had no means even to deliver all the “ads” it sold. If you joined ASD, you gave Andy Bowdoin a license to keep your money.

    The government intervened to give you a shot at getting some of your money back before the Ponzi scheme collapsed. The reason the restitution program hasn’t started is because the government has been unable to perfect its title to the money because of pro se pleadings by Bowdoin and others. No restitution program can begin until the government has clear title to the proceeds seized from ASD.

    AVG, for its part, announced in June that it was suspending cashouts and exercising its version of a “rebates aren’t guaranteed” clause. In effect, AVG seized the money — the exact same thing Surf’s Up railed against the government for doing last year. The AVG forum started by some of the Surf’s Up Mods and members went missing after AVG suspended cashouts.

    Two of the Surf’s Up Mods announced yesterday that no email blast urging members to cooperate with Mason would be forthcoming. It first was explained that one of the Mods had been sick and that the proposal couldn’t be addressed immediately. Then it was said the Mods had to consult by phone to approve any blast. Finally, it was said that two of the Mods had communicated with Mason, but a decision had been made not to bring the matter to the attention of the full Surf’s Up membership.

    In essence, the Mods explained that Mason was an unknown commodity and might slant his coverage to the government’s point of view.

    For all intents and purposes, the ASD forfeiture case will end soon. It will be a clear, clean win for the public officials who prevented this contemptible Ponzi scheme from mushrooming globally and sucking wealth from 84 percent of members so 16 percent could enrich themselves.

    We’d like to give Steve Watt credit for calling out the Surf’s Up Mods and regret that we cannot — and we sincerely hope that Steve will see the light.

  • Patrick Pretty ‘Poof’ Penalty Plagues Portal Posters

    A poster at the Pro-AdSurfDaily Surf’s Up forum has just made brief posts in 11 separate threads in a period of only minutes. The effect of the posts was to knock a post pertaining to this Blog’s coverage of the indictment against ASD mainstay “Professor” Patrick Moriarty off the front page at Surf’s Up.

    The poster punctuated his burst of activity by starting a thread titled, “Overrun With Rats, Bed Bugs, Maggots, Cockroaches And Everything Else.”

    In the thread, he advised readers about what he had just done.

    “This is what happens when you leave a forum go on by itself,” he said. “What would you do if this forum was shut down[?] Would you miss it????”

    The move came on the heels of recent deletions at Surf’s Up that referenced our reporting on the ASD case. Surf’s Up announced Friday that it had a “poof!” policy with respect to this Blog.

    Mention the Patrick Pretty.com Blog at Surf’s Up and your post may go “poof!” It even may go “poof!” if you do not mention the name of this Blog, if the Mods can ascertain that the information might have originated here.

    Two such threads on prosecutors’ recent actions in the ASD case went “poof!” over the weekend, and yesterday an individual post that referenced our reporting Sunday on the Moriarty indictment went “poof!”

    A different member, however, started a new Moriarty thread later yesterday in which another Surf’s Up member referenced our Sunday and Monday reports — and it survived for hours, before being knocked to the second page this morning in a furious burst of posts.

    Surf’s Up management, so far, has chosen to say nothing about the Moriarty indictment or even inform members about it.

    Here is the official explanation for the “poof!” policy from Surf’s Up Mod Barb McIntyre. McIntyre announced the policy Friday night.

    “[P]osting PP BS is nothing but stirring trouble so I am calling the other mods and don’t be surprised if it goes ‘poof!’” McIntyre said.

    McIntyre, along with Moriarty, was one of five co-founders of a defunct organization known as ASD Members International (ASDMI). The organization registered as a Missouri nonprofit in October, making the strange claim that it would litigate against government entities involved in the AdSurfDaily case — even if they were behaving legally. If lawsuits didn’t work, then perhaps ASDMI would see about having prosecutors charged with crimes.

    ASDMI existed for less than 90 days — Oct. 30, 2008 through Jan. 26, 2009. The process of dissolving the entity actually began on Dec. 10, about 41 days after its founding. Formal papers were signed Jan. 21, and the dissolution was recorded Jan. 26.

    ASDMI gathered contributions from at least 167 ASD members before dissolving itself. No lawsuit was filed. Even after ASDMI ceased business, Surf’s Up continued to promote Moriarty. McIntyre sent an email to members, announcing an important letter Moriarty had written to Sen. Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

    Despite the fact ASD’s assets were seized as the proceeds of a criminal wire-fraud, money-laundering and Ponzi-scheme operation, Moriarty advised Leahy that the Senate should set its sights on the prosecutors who prevented the scheme from mushrooming globally — not Andy Bowdoin, the person responsible for organizing the scheme

    “Over 50 individual and notarized DEMAND[S] FOR LEGAL EVIDENCE were sent to Jeffrey Taylor, US Attorney; William Cowden, Assistant US Attorney; and Roy Dotson, Special Agent, US Secret Service,” Moriarty said in the February letter to Leahy.

    “Not once did any of these three Government Servants respond,” Moriarty said.

    “Innocent Americans have suffered and continue to suffer because of these incredulous and despicable acts” by prosecutors, Moriarty said.

    Yesterday this Blog reported that, in 2006, Moriarty set up a nonprofit in the name of a man accused of breaking into a woman’s home and murdering her. The man also shot a police officer four times and another man eight times. The man pleaded guilty to first-degree (premeditated) murder last month.

    The Power Of ‘Poof!’

    If you have some money — and if you believe anything you read on the PatrickPretty.com Blog — McIntyre will sell you a bridge in Arizona, she said.

    “Comes with ocean frontage,” McIntyre added.

    Posting a reference to PatrickPretty.com is an act consistent with “trouble makers” and inconsistent with adult behavior, McIntyre advised.

    “We fixed the forum so that the trouble makers could not harass and most of you are not troublemakers and do not need babysitting…or so we thought,” she said.

  • ‘Professor’ Moriarty Started Nonprofit In Name Of Suspect Accused Of Murdering Woman And Shooting Police Officer

    UPDATED 4:28 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) On June 2, 2006, Bryan Tullock ran a stop sign in his white Cadillac and was pulled over by police in Montgomery City, Mo., investigators said.

    As officer Brandon LyBarger, 25, approached the car shortly after midnight, Tullock shot him four times with a 9-mm handgun and also opened fire on LyBarger’s partner.

    The second officer, Jarrod Brooks, returned fire, striking the Cadillac but not Tullock.

    When officer Brooks called for backup and went to the aid of his downed colleague, Tullock fled, police said.

    Tullock stopped about a block away and broke into the home of Heidi Casagrand. He shot Casagrand twice. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

    Casagrand, 32, was just just days away from the start of her college career, having recently passed her entrance exams.

    Tullock also shot at Casagrand’s husband, David McManus, before leaving the home.

    About a block away from the murder scene, Tullock confronted Ricky Fry, 33. Tullock shot Fry eight times outside of his home, leaving him for dead.

    A manhunt ensued by Montgomery City Police, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, the Audrain County Sheriff’s Office, Wellsville Police, Jonesburg Police, the Missouri Department of Conservation and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

    Police captured Tullock at 5:42 a.m., less than six hours after the shootings. The date was June 2, 2006.

    On Oct. 2, 2006, four months to the day after the rampage, the state of Missouri recorded the registration of a nonprofit corporation in Tullock’s name.

    Records show that AdSurfDaily mainstay Patrick Moriarty was the registrant of the corporation. Moriarty uses the title “Professor,” and also claims to be a minister and “Tax Return Specialist” who also is skilled in “Karma Restoration.”

    Both officer LyBarger and Ricky Fry survived Tullock’s rampage. They had been struck by a combined total of 12 bullets, according to witness accounts. Two bullets had been fatal to Casagrand.

    After nearly three years, Tullock pleaded guilty to the crimes last month and threw himself on the mercy of the court. He was sentenced to life in prison without opportunity for parole, but could have been sentenced to death. The guilty pleas to multiple crimes, including first-degree murder and shooting a police officer, were not the result of a deal with prosecutors.

    Some of his supporters said Tullock had been abused by a priest as a child, insisting that the shootings were an expression of rage against the priest.

    Others said Tullock coldly planned the shootings and carried them out in a jealous rage because he was unhappy that his ex-girlfriend was friends with Fry. Casagrand was the best friend of Tullock’s ex-girlfriend.

    Moriarty named the nonprofit “Bryan Tullock Org, Inc.” He told Missouri state officials that the organization’s mission was to “protect children from becoming victims of pedophiles and to perform any other legal acts as allowed by Missouri Law and Statutes.”

    All proceeds would be distributed to the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), Moriarty said.

    Missouri dissolved Moriarty’s nonprofit on Dec. 27, 2007, about 14 months after registration, for failure to file an annual report.

    Moriarty, a mainstay in the AdSurfDaily case — and a co-founder in October 2008 of ASD Members International (ASDMI), another nonprofit — was indicted in March on charges of filing false tax returns.

    Part of ASDMI’s stated mission was to litigate against the government in the AdSurfDaily case and perhaps even bring criminal charges against prosecutors. ASDMI dissolved itself in January 2009, less than 90 days after registering as a corporation in Missouri.

    ASDMI collected money from at least 167 contributors, but never brought any litigation.

  • BREAKING NEWS: ‘Professor’ Patrick Moriarty Indicted On Tax Charges; ASD Mainstay Simultaneously Battles Cancer

    UPDATED 3:39 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) “Professor” Patrick Moriarty has been indicted on federal tax charges. Parts of the indictment in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri were filed under seal March 19.

    A redacted True Bill charged Moriarty with filing false income-tax returns for the tax years 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005. In court filings, prosecutors identified him as the owner of PCM Enterprises.

    If convicted on all counts, Moriarty would face up to 12 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million. Moriarty is suffering from cancer. The court is aware of his condition and has been flexible in scheduling proceedings. A Nov. 2 trial date has been set. The charges are felonies.

    Assistant Federal Public Defender Thomas F. Flynn, Moriarty’s attorney, described the litigation as “a complex tax fraud case involving allegedly fraudulent returns.”

    Moriarty, who fashioned a theory in the AdSurfDaily case that the government was interfering with commerce and espoused the legal theories of Curtis Richmond, was arrested March 24 and is free on recognizance bond.

    Richmond is a member of a sham Utah Indian tribe known for filing vexatious litigation, including litigation that resulted in a successful counter-suit brought by Utah public officials under federal racketeering statutes. Although not a lawyer, Richmond holds the unusual distinction of having been banned from the practice of law in Colorado.

    Moriarty Allegations

    Prosecutors said Moriarty underreported his income by an unspecified amount for the tax year 2002; claimed a false deduction of $30,000 for “legal fees” for the tax year 2003; and claimed a false amount of $23,533 withheld for the tax year 2004 and a false amount of $23,433 withheld for the tax year 2005.

    The state of Missouri dissolved PCM Enterprises in 2005 because Moriarty did not file an annual report, records show. The company’s website now resolves to a free hosting domain at tripod.com.

    Moriarty, who once sold fake academic degrees on eBay, explaining they were gag gifts, uses the title “Rev” and purports to be the “minister” of the Universal Life Church (ULC) of Troy, Mo. He lists his qualifications as a Ph.D. and a D.D., and notes he also is an accountant and “Tax Return Specialist.”

    The credentials are listed on a church-provided website, which includes a link by Moriarty to MLM opportunities at the tripod.com page.

    ULC has been the subject of controversy. The church ordains up to 10,000 individuals per month, without charging a fee or holding any classes. Advanced degrees can be obtained for as little as $29.95 with little academic effort, according to ULC’s Wikipedia entry.

  • Ramping Up The AdSurfDaily Insanity

    UPDATED 11:41 A.M. EDT (March 12, U.S.A.) AdSurfDaily President Andy Bowdoin, acting as his own attorney, acknowledged in court filings yesterday that the company had been operating illegally when the government seized tens of millions of dollars last summer.

    The concession was nuclear. It undermines the work of his previous paid attorneys and puts Bowdoin in the position of having to explain previous representations given the court that are completely at odds with what he is saying now.

    At the same time, it undermines self-filed pleadings Bowdoin entered into the record last week. Meanwhile, it undermines pleadings by others, including four people who told the court that they were permitted to enter into commercial contracts with whomever they pleased and for whatever commercial interest they pleased.

    Bowdoin now has told the court that he was operating an illegal commercial enterprise, thus nuking the argument of Curtis Richmond and three others. Richmond, himself a pro se litigant, is linked to a sham Utah “Indian tribe” known for filing vexatious pleadings that make tortured legal constructions.

    “Professor” Patrick Moriarty, an ASD mainstay, has advanced commercial theories similar to Richmond’s. Moriarty got nuked yesterday, too, only a few days after congratulating Bowdoin in a column for his excellent, pro-se pleadings.

    Andy Bowdoin’s pleadings, though, are jeopardizing the freedom of members of his family, ASD insiders and top promoters, and strategic shills.

    Yesterday, the Pro-ASD Surf’s Up forum celebrated the filings. The forum Mods appear not to have connected the dots that Bowdoin just nuked them. Some of the Mods and members set up a site to promote AdViewGlobal (AVG), which has close ties to ASD. Bowdoin nuked AVG yesterday, too.

    Today Surf’s Up has banned at least one member for not carrying Bowdoin’s water bucket. The forum even has banned members who post unflattering opinions about Bowdoin or ASD on other forums.

    The Mods can tell you until they’re blue in the face that Bowdoin’s filings were something to celebrate; the announcement, as always, came with exclamation points, both in the thread and in an email Surf’s Up members received.

    But this was nothing to celebrate if you’re a top promoter, an insider or a strategic shill. And it certainly was nothing to celebrate  if you’re a rank-and-file member of ASD: Bowdoin just told you he ripped you off. His excuse was that the government didn’t give him fair notice that he was ripping you off.

    Surf’s Up, which previously postioned Bowdoin as a genius, now is telling you his genius didn’t extend to the recognition of a Ponzi scheme and money-laundering operation. A Mod explained that Andy didn’t know he was ripping people off because the government never told him until after it seized the cash.

    ASD advertised CEP Trust.
    ASD advertised CEP Trust.

    It is a steaming pile. ASD once advertised that it used CEP Trust, the failed payment processor run by the operators of the CEP Ponzi scheme. This Blog published a screen shot of ASD’s CEP pitch months ago, along with a screen shot of an ad that told the audience that ASD deposits were insured by the FDIC.

    Bowdoin’s claims do not pass the giggle test — not that anybody is laughing at this point. There simply is no delight in unmasking these lies.

    Claim that ASD deposits were FDIC-insured.
    Claim that ASD deposits were FDIC-insured.

    This Blog has refrained from calling Surf’s Up the “Loony Bin” as it is known elsewhere, and it has refrained from using the phrase “Kool-Aid drinkers,” except in cases such as quotations. We have used the word “crackpot” to describe “Surf’s Up.” It was the least-objectionable word we could think of to instill a sense of the madness taking place at Surf’s Up.

    Despite everything that happened to ASD last summer, the insiders at AVG implemented a new surf and started collecting money. The operation has ASD’s fingerprints all over it, and the inescapable conclusion is that Bowdoin’s pleadings in the ASD case are setting the stage for the planned defense of AVG.

    The operative word in the previous sentence is “planned.” Bowdoin and insiders got caught again. Now they are desperately trying to wiggle out of a prosecution against AVG by making the no “fair-notice” claim. It is utterly preposterous, and yet the Surf’s Up Mods serve it up daily.

    AVG, by the way, is still online — despite Bowdoin’s concession to a federal judge and the prosecution that ASD was operating illegally.

    They have taken no hints — including the RICO lawsuit filed by other ASD members in which Bowdoin, ASD Attorney Robert Garner and Golden Panda Ad Builder President Clarence Busby were accused of racketeering. None of the principal defendants has filed a single piece of paperwork in the case — not after two months.

    We believe it likely there are sealed criminal indictments in the ASD case. At the same time, we believe it probable that some ASD/AVG insiders know they are targets of a criminal probe.

    And we believe it equally likely that Bowdoin and the insiders have shielded members from this knowledge, while using Surf’s Up to whip up support. If the Mods have insider’s knowledge they are at risk of indictment. Even a whiff of it is enough.

    No AVG participant also in ASD, for example, will be able to claim they did not know the possible consequences of their actions as they pertained to AVG. And with George Harris, Bowdoin’s stepson; Gary Talbert, a former ASD executive; and Chuck Osmin, a former ASD employee who testified for ASD at the evidentiary hearing in the AVG lineup, there will be no credible way to claim ignorance. Nate Boyd, listed as the “Protector” of the AVG association, formerly was the head of compliance for ASD, members said.

    Do not be surprised if you see the no “fair notice” argument ported over to AVG.

  • Genesis Of The Utah ‘Indian’ Cases And Why They Could Spell Bad News For ASD Members Who Are Seeking Refunds

    Meet Curtis Richmond and the so-called “Arby’s Indians.”

    This stupefying drama actually started almost a decade before the fabled meeting inside an Arby’s restaurant in Provo, Utah, on April 18, 2003. The birth of Wampanoag Nation, Tribe of Grayhead, Wolf Band — a sham Utah “Indian” tribe not to be confused with a legitimate Massachusetts tribe with a similar name — dates back to the “Sovereign Citizen Movement” and “Patriot” eras of the 1990s in which Timothy McVeigh was making headlines for blowing up the federal building in Oklahoma City and killing 168 people.

    “Mr. [Dale] Stevens . . . had actually started the organization . . . some nine years before that meeting in Provo,” said U.S. District Judge Stephen Friot, in findings of fact and conclusions of law. “Curtis Richmond was admitted to the tribe, because, in the words of Mr. Stevens, he is a believer in fighting for liberty, not because of any heritage as a member of the Wampanoag Nation.”

    Friot ruled the tribe a “complete sham.” Richmond now is a central figure in the AdSurfDaily Ponzi litigation.

    The Arby’s meeting in April 2003 was important, though, because it established a date from which a bizarre conspiracy evolved that rattled nerves, subjected public officials, attorneys, investigators and bankers to monumental inconvenience and, ultimately, created the stage from which Curtis Richmond introduced himself  to a wider audience than just the folks back home in California. He has been a thorn in the side of the judiciary there, too, and was convicted in 2007 of criminal contempt of court for threatening federal judges.

    Richmond invokes authority of sham tribal "Supreme Court."
    Richmond invokes authority of sham tribal "Supreme Court."

    Richmond has never been linked to violence. But he has a deep and storied history of threatening federal judges in court filings. And he has drawn the attention — and ire — of banks in courts from coast to coast. Richmond, who is not an attorney and yet holds the unique distinction of having been banned from the practice of law in Colorado, became a player in a scheme in which he advised people who were being sued by banks for defaulting on credit-card debt to “assign” the debts to him.

    This was done by fiat, without the banks’ approval, and was designed to cripple their ability to collect on legitimate debts.  Richmond became embroiled in litigation, and turned to a sham arbitration panel and sham “Supreme Court”  set up by the sham “Indian” tribe to gum up the mix.

    Because the “tribe” itself also was embroiled in litigation — mostly against public servants in Utah — the state became the staging ground for litigation that only can be described as bizarre.

    In one case, for example, the “tribe” divined itself the authority to issue license plates. When a member was stopped by a deputy sheriff for having an illegal tag, litigation ensued that ultimately threatened the sanctity of the state and federal court systems and the government’s ability to prosecute criminals and provide public services.

    Not even the Utah Division of Child and Family Services was immune from tribal interference and harassment. Indeed, the tribe even divined itself the authority to intervene in family matters.

    “A good example of this pattern of racketeering activity would be Wampanoager [Name Deleted To Protect Privacy Of Children,]” victims in the case said. “[Name Deleted] applied for membership in the Wampanoag Nation on October 20, 2002.  His ‘application’ was received into evidence at trial as Exhibit 29. It reflects that Dale Stevens is the Tribal Chief, Thomas Smith is the Chief of Ministry of Justice and Terry Campbell is the Chief Minister of Law Enforcement.

    “[Name Deleted] later became embroiled in litigation with the Utah Division of Child and Family Services regarding his minor children. [Name Deleted] served Mr. Michael Atkin, a  representative of the Utah Division of Child and Family Services, by certified mail, with a demand for payment of $300,000.00, allegedly for breach of contract. This demand, termed a ‘Statement of Account[,]’ advises Atkin that he will be subject to binding arbitration to collect that debt.”

    Curtis Richmond, who is being called a “hero” on the Pro-ASD “Surf’s Up” forum, served as the “arbitrator” and approved the fraudulent $300,000 award.

    Curtis Richmond's signature as "arbitrator" for $300,000 award in family matter involving minor children.
    Curtis Richmond's signature as "arbitrator" for $300,000 award in family matter involving minor children.

    Justice Perverted

    “Insisting that their status as tribal members exempts them from state and local laws, Stevens and the other Wampanoagers engaged in a pattern of racketeering activities involving sham arbitrations before an entity known as the Western Arbitration Council,” said victims of the scheme, in court filings.

    “The Western Arbitration Council is a dba for a Utah corporation called the Order of White Light,” the victims continued. “The Order of White Light, in turn, claims to be a private ‘ecclesiastical corporation sole’ of which Thomas Smith is the ‘presiding patriarch.’

    “Stevens and the Wampanoagers obtained hundreds of millions of dollars in fraudulent arbitration awards against local governmental officials, judges and prosecutors and then

    Richmond uses sham 'Indian Supreme Court' to overturn legitimate court rulings and threaten federal judges.
    Richmond uses sham 'Indian Supreme Court' to overturn legitimate court rulings and threaten federal judges.

    recorded those ‘awards’ as liens against the officials’ property, including the property of Uintah County, Utah, Uintah County Attorney Joan Stringham, former Uintah County Sheriff Hawkins and Uintah County Deputy Sheriff Laursen. The Wampanoagers did this in order to frustrate, harass, interfere with and obstruct local law enforcement so as to continue their respective commercial activities free of governmental regulation,” the victims said.

    All of this potentially spells bad news for ASD members.

    For scale, consider that the first filing in one of the Utah cases involving Richmond was entered on Aug. 11, 2004 — four and a half years ago. The most recent filing is dated Jan. 14, 2009, and the case file includes 321 separate entries, not taking entries that don’t qualify as formal filings into account.

    By comparision, the ASD case has 42 entries since it was opened in August 2008 — and was nearly litigated to conclusion before Richmond entered the fray. If the case drags on interminably — and if people expecting to petition the government for a refund from seized funds have to wait even longer — they can blame it on Curtis Richmond, “Professor” Patrick Moriarty and some of the members of the “Surf’s Up” forum who advocated a scorched-earth campaign against the government.

    A linchpin of the stragegy is to send demand letters to litigation opponents, judges and officers of the court by certified mail. The letters demand a specific course of conduct and include a compressed time frame in which the demand must be met. If the demand is not met or if the recipient ignores the letters, the practitioners claim a contract violation has occurred and seek astronomical judgments against the targets of the letters.

    If any of this sounds unreasonable and dangerous to you, consider you’re not alone in your concern. In one of the Utah cases, the recipients sued under federal racketeering and mail-fraud statutes — and won. On the eve of an “Indian” trial in Utah, Richmond tried to force Friot to recuse himself from the case, claiming that Friot couldn’t be fair because he “owes Curtis Richmond $30 million in Damages for Violating Curtis Richmond’s Sovereign & Constitutional Rights.”

    And Richmond piled on threats: “The Judge Disqualifies Himself Or He Will Face Criminal Charges,” he demanded.

    Friot refused to step down. He found that the “tribe” had engaged in racketeering and mail fraud, ordering more than $108,000 in damages to the victims.

  • Will Richmond Filing Trigger New Federal Probe Or Lead To Interminable Delays In The AdSurfDaily Inc. Forfeiture Case?

    UPDATED 1:29 P.M. EST (U.S.A.) A California man associated with a sham Utah “Indian” tribe purportedly founded inside an Arby’s Restaurant lambasted District of Columbia federal judges, federal prosecutors and a court clerk in legal filings this week, accusing them of crimes and threatening them with litigation and jail time.

    Curtis Richmond said Pacific Ministry of Giving International — an entity of which he is chairman — had $41,000 at stake in AdSurfDaily Inc. and lost access to the money because of a forfeiture action prosecutors filed in August against assets linked to ASD.

    Electronic records at the California Department of State website list Pacific Ministry of Giving’s registration with the state as “forfeited” in 2004. The organization, though, is registered as a corporation sole and “religious organization” in Utah, according to electronic records in Utah.

    Judge Rosemary Collyer, who’d earlier denied Richmond leave to file in the case, permitted Richmond’s latest motion to be docketed. In the motion, Richmond accuses Collyer of dozens of felonies, saying she could spend up to 252 years in federal prison for her actions in the case.

    Richmond’s filing is a bid to set aside the forfeiture of tens of millions of dollars seized by the government. In the motion, he threatens additional litigation and criminal prosecution. At the same time, the motion appears to be designed to force Collyer to withdraw from the case.

    “Professor” Patrick Moriarty, a former board member of ASD Members International (ASDMI) and a person who championed Richmond’s legal approach, applauded the filings on his website today. Meanwhile, Steve Watt, another former ASDMI board member, said the filings equated to “credibility” for the ASD cause.

    TheAdViewGlobal Members’ forum, operated by some of the Mods at the Pro-ASD “Surf’s Up!” forum, named Richmond “Hero Of The Day!” For its part, Surf’s Up heralded the action with a three-exclamation-point headline celebrating Richmond’s legal heroics.

    But some members of other forums discussing the ASD case are scratching their heads in disbelief. They’re wondering how the filings by Richmond, who has a felony conviction for contempt of court for threatening federal judges in a separate case and is associated with a bogus Utah “Indian tribe” infamous for trying to extort favorable court results by intimidating judges and prosecutors, adds up to anything credible at all.

    What’s Ahead?

    How Richmond’s filings will affect the case is unclear. One possible outcome is that justice will be delayed — meaning that ASD members who’d hoped to get a refund through the government will have to wait even longer if Richmond and the government square off in protracted litigation.

    “Protracted” is a word that frequently accompanies litigation involving Richmond or filed by him. ASD members expecting a refund may be none too pleased if Richmond’s entry into the ASD fray results in interminable delays.

    Another possible outcome is that the litigation will trigger probes by the U.S. Marshal’s Service, which is in charge of securing federal courtrooms and federal judges, and the FBI. The FBI and the U.S. Marshals entered a probe of Richmond in California for threatening or trying to intimidate federal judges through vexatious court filings — under circumstances that are very similar to what is happening now in the ASD case.

    Richmond was convicted of criminal contempt of court in 2007, and was sentenced to six months’ home confinement with electronic monitoring, a fine of $1,000 and five years’ supervised probation. He also was ordered not to file vexatious legal pleadings in California. Richmond appealed the sentence.

    “Our office is committed to protecting the safety, security and integrity of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California,” said U.S. Attorney Carol C. Lam, upon Richmond’s February 2007 conviction. “While every citizen has the right of free speech and the right to address grievances in our courts, no one has the right to intimidate and harass judges and court staff.”

    Federal prosecutors in California said U.S. District Judges “had previously rejected arguments advanced by Richmond in civil litigation, and Richmond had responded by accusing those judges of treason, threatening to bring multi-million dollar lawsuits against them, and attempting to have the U.S. Marshal’s Service execute fraudulent arrest warrants against those judges.”

    Richmond had been “advised on several occasions that such conduct was viewed as threatening, and explicitly warned that if he continued to file pleadings accusing judges of criminal conduct he would be subject to prosecution for criminal contempt,” prosecutors said.

    In May 2006, prosecutors said, Richmond filed a pleading that accused a federal judge of engaging in fraud and criminal conspiracy and “willfully violated” an injunction banning him from filing vexatious legal papers.

    In his ASD filings, Richmond accused Collyer of conspiring with prosecutors to deny ASD members justice.

    Prosecutors and Collyer had “No Authority or Jurisdiction To Steal Most of the $93 million” seized in the case, Richmond said. He claimed prosecutors, Collyer and the court clerk were “guility” of interference with commerce, and he threatened to prosecute them for crimes, sue them under racketeering statutes and hold them “personally liable” for damages.

    In his motion, Richmond claimed Collyer and a court clerk are guilty of at least 60 felonies for not permitting 21 documents he submitted in November to be filed. These actions could lead to to prison sentences of up to 12 years for each of the documents that weren’t filed, he said.

    “Judge Collyer had the Clerk of the Court Return All Of The Motion To Dismiss Affidavits[,] including the 19 Demand For legal Evidence Notarized Affidavits In Support to Curtis Richmond,” he said.

    “This is like having 21 Witnesses to a Murder,” Richmond said. “Judge Collyer is Guilty As Charged . . .”

    Meanwhile, Richmond accused Collyer and Chief U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth of presiding over a “Kangaroo Court” and conspiring to thwart justice.

    Utah ‘Indian’ Cases

    Richmond claims to be an adopted member of Wampanoag Nation, Tribe of Grayhead, Wolf Band, a purported “Indian” tribe a federal judge ruled a sham last year. The judge had to be brought in from an outside district because the sham tribe brought or threatened legal action against the available judges in the jurisdiction.

    Some of the legal filings read like impossible fiction, but they resulted in monumental inconvenience for judges, prosecutors, opposition attorneys, investigators, police officers and others involved in tribal litigation.

    The tribe, for instance, established its own sham “Supreme Court” and issued arrest warrants for judges and litigation opponents.

    Despite the fact he is not an attorney, Richmond has been banned from practicing law in Colorado.