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Tag: Phil Piccolo

  • UPDATES/NEWS: ASA Ponzi Forum Now Redirects To CashX.com; Arthur Nadel Gets 14 Years In Florida Ponzi Case Brought By Obama Task Force; Former Indiana Pastor Who Bilked Christians Convicted Of Securities Fraud

    President Obama formed the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force in November 2009. He later became the subject of an attack ad by an affiliate of the purported MPB Today "grocery" MLM.

    UPDATED 10:56 A.M. EDT (U.S.A.) The ASA Monitor Ponzi and criminals’ forum now is redirecting to a website operated by CashX.com, a Canadian payment processor that hawks MasterCard debit cards and says it permits customers to withdrawn money to Liberty Reserve.

    Liberty Reserve is a Ponzi-friendly payment processor purportedly headquartered in Costa Rica after earlier operating from Panama.

    Meanwhile, confessed Ponzi schemer Arthur Nadel — who briefly went on the lam from Florida in early 2009 as his $390 million scheme was disintegrating and became known as one of the original “mini-Madoffs” — has been sentenced by a federal judge in New York to 14 years in prison.

    It is effectively a life sentence for Nadel, who is 77 and one of several senior citizens implicated in U.S. Ponzi schemes.

    At the same time, a former clergyman from Indiana who told congregants it was their “Christian responsibility” to become pitchmen for his then-undiscovered bond scheme has been convicted of nine counts of securities fraud.

    Vaughn Reeves, 66, is scheduled to be sentenced next month. The jury deliberated only four hours before returning the verdict against Reeves, himself a senior citizen. Congregants believed they were helping raise money for church-building projects, but it was a scam that led to foreclosure proceedings against eight places of worship. (See link to AP report below.)

    Claims made by Reeves are similar to claims made by the Data Network Affiliates (DNA) MLM program, which told members that churches had the “MORAL OBLIGATION” to help bring business to the Florida-based firm and qualify for commissions ten levels deep. DNA purports to be in the license-plate data collection business, claiming it can help law enforcement and the AMBER Alert program recover abducted children.

    Incongruously, DNA also purports to sell a “protective spray” that shields cameras from taking photographs of license plates. Equally incongruously, the company said that it could offer a free cell phone with unlimited talk and text for $10 a month. The company later backtracked on the claim, bizarrely saying it studied pricing structures only after announcing it had become the world’s low-price leader while acknowledging it hadn’t vetted its purported vendor for the service.

    DNA figure Phil Piccolo later threatened to sue critics. Earlier, Dean Blechman, who said he was the company’s CEO before resigning in February, threatened to sue critics. DNA withheld the announcement of Blechman’s departure for nearly a week and then misspelled his name. DNA also described Blechman as the “future” CEO, even though Blechman had described himself as the current CEO.

    Blechman complained to the PP Blog about “bizarre” events at DNA.

    ASA Monitor, which is referenced in court filings as a place from which the alleged Pathway To Prosperity (P2P) Ponzi scheme was pitched and was a site from which the purported “grocery” MLM operated by Florida-based MPB Today was pitched, suddenly announced on Oct. 12 that it was closing.

    Like MPB Today, DNA also was pitched from Ponzi and criminals’ forums.

    The ASA Monitor closure announcement coincided with a flap in which an ASA forum moderator sought to muzzle critics of the MPB Today program, which is being targeted at Christians, foreclosure subjects, Food Stamp recipients, senior citizens, people of color and members of the alleged AdSurfDaily (ASD) Ponzi scheme.

    ASD also operated from Florida before the U.S. Secret Service seized tens of millions of dollars in August 2008, amid allegations of wire fraud and money-laundering. Robert Hodgins, an international fugitive wanted by Interpol in a narcotics-trafficking and money-laundering case filed after an undercover probe by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in Connecticut, provided debit cards to ASD, members said.

    Nadel’s scheme, meanwhile, operated in the Sarasota area.

    “Through his massive Ponzi scheme, Arthur Nadel greased his own pockets and financed his lavish lifestyle, using money his clients relied on him to invest,” said U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara of the Southern District of New York.

    “He cheated his elderly and unwitting victims out of their retirement savings and consigned others to poverty,” Bharara said. “The message of [yesterday’s] sentence should be loud and clear — we will continue to work with our partners at the FBI to find the perpetrators of financial fraud and use every resource we have to bring them to justice.”

    U.S. District Judge John G. Koeltl ordered Nadel to forfeit $162 million, five airplanes, a helicopter and real estate in Florida, North Carolina and Georgia.

    The prosecution of Nadel was brought in coordination with President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder traveled to Florida earlier this year to warn fraudsters that the United States was serious about putting scammers in prison.

    By September, an affiliate of MPB Today had created a video in which Obama was depicted as a left-handed saluting Nazi who cowered to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who was depicted as a drunk. First Lady Michelle Obama, the mother of two daughters, was depicted as having experienced an embarrassing gas attack in the Oval Office after sampling beans at a Sam’s Club store.

    Clinton, depicted in the sales promo as “Hitlary,” knocked out Michelle Obama after barging into the Oval Office bawling and carrying a bottle of wine. Clinton, the mother of one, was the first woman ever appointed to the Walmart board of directors.

    Some MPB Today affiliates have claimed Walmart is affiliated with MPB Today and that the government backs the MLM program, which appears to have accounts at at least two banks in the Pensacola area. One of the banks is operating under a consent agreement with the FDIC.

    Read the AP story on the Vaughn Reeves scheme in Indiana.

  • BULLETIN: Florida — Again: SEC Sues Atlantis Technology Group In Alleged Online Television Pump-And-Dump Scheme; CEO Christopher M. Dubeau Threatened ‘Bashers’ For Making ‘Slanderous’ Postings, March News Release Says

    BULLETIN: UPDATED 10:51 A.M. EDT (U.S.A., Oct. 1.) About six months after the chief executive officer of Atlantis Technology Group (Atlantis) was quoted in a Marketwire news release that threatened online commentators for “making slanderous postings” about the company, the SEC has gone to federal court in Florida to accuse Atlantis CEO Christopher Dubeau and the firm of running a penny-stock swindle.

    The SEC’s lawsuit concerns the operations of an Atlantis subsidiary known as Global Online Television (GOTV), which allegedly used a commission-based sales force to promote the purported TV company.

    Dubeau and Atlantis actually were operating a “pump-and dump” stock fraud, the SEC charged in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

    “From at least August 7, 2009 through April 5, 2010 . . . Atlantis and Dubeau issued numerous false and misleading press releases that artificially inflated the trading volume and price of Atlantis’s stock,” the SEC charged. “Dubeau benefited financially from Atlantis’s artificially increased trading volume and stock price. In December 2009, he sold more than 60 million shares of Atlantis stock for proceeds of about $240,000, and in August 2009 he received $77,000 of the proceeds from an associate’s sale of more than 16 million shares.”

    A Marketwire news released dated March 26, 2010, and issued under the names of Atlantis and Dubeau accuses “bashers” of making “slanderous” remarks about the company online.

    “I can assure you I will not play the bashers’ games,” Dubeau was quoted as saying. “Atlantis has Launched an Investigation into these Individuals that are attacking the Company and its Associates. Atlantis has Identified at least 3 of these Participants in what we deem to be manipulation of the Company’s Stock price by making slanderous postings. We will seek every avenue available to bring these persons of interest to the forefront of the Judicial System.”

    Now, six months later, the SEC has accused Dubeau of operating a large-scale fraud by fabricating news about the company’s ability to offer online TV and video-phone services.

    “Atlantis’s press releases were false because Atlantis’s subsidiary has never offered
    Internet protocol television service or video phone services,” the SEC charged. “At the time the company and Dubeau issued these press releases, the subsidiary did not offer (and was not able to offer) either service, and it did not have relationships with television networks to offer content to Atlantis’s subscribers. In fact, until March 1, 2010, neither the subsidiary nor Atlantis had any product or service to offer to consumers.”

    Threats against critics who voice concerns about business opportunities online are common, as is the issuance of news releases to spread false information. In the alleged AdSurfDaily Ponzi scheme, for example, ASD President Andy Bowdoin threatened critics with lawsuits. ASD operated from Florida.

    An operation known as AdViewGlobal (AVG) that has close ASD ties and also operated at least in part from Florida also threatened critics. AVG even threatened its own members with lawsuits.

    Critics of Data Network Affiliates (DNA), a Florida company that purports to offer an MLM program that collects license-plate data to aid law enforcement and the AMBER Alert program rescue abducted children, also were threatened.

    DNA figure Phil Piccolo used an online radio program last month to threaten critics.

    Convicted Florida Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein, who ran one of the largest scams in U.S. history, also threatened critics. Rothstein pleaded guility to racketeering.

    Read the SEC complaint against Atlantis and Dubeau of Fort Lauderdale and Weston, Fla.

  • Two-Thirds Of Poll Respondents Rate Data Network Affiliates’ Pitch A ‘Complete Failure’; Nearly 90 Percent Rate It ‘Poor’ Or Worse

    UPDATED 11:53 A.M. EDT (U.S.A.) The sales pitch of a multilevel-marketing (MLM) company that plucks the heartstrings of members by suggesting it can help law-enforcement and the AMBER Alert program locate abducted children has been rated  a “Complete Failure” by 66 percent of respondents in a PP Blog Poll.

    Meanwhile, 88 percent of respondents rated Data Network Affiliates’ message “Poor” or worse.  Only 12 percent rated the sales pitch either “Good,” “Very good” or “Exceptionally professional.”

    Separately, some DNA members said the firm, which had been barraging them with sales pitches, has been less communicative in recent days. The company has been mysterious from the start, registering its domain name behind a proxy in the Cayman Islands while incongruously suggesting its services could be beneficial to the U.S. government.

    DNA initially explained that its domain was registered privately in the Caymans to prevent management from having to “put up with 100 stupid calls a day.”

    Customer service has been conducted via a free Gmail address for months, although the firm in recent weeks has published a street address in Boca Raton, Fla.

    Fifty votes were cast in the PP Blog Poll, which was unscientific. Despite the low turnout, the poll results suggest that respondents were deeply turned off by the DNA sales pitch — to the point of revulsion. Regardless, 8 percent of respondents rated the pitch an “A,” meaning they viewed at as “Exceptionally professional.”

    Some PP Blog posters have speculated that voters might have rated the pitch “Exceptionally professional” because it deliberately was crafted by MLM hucksters to recruit members into an insidious lead-capture system through which they’d be pitched relentlessly on products other than DNA’s purported database product.

    Under this theory, the pitch was deemed “Exceptionally professional”  because it achieved the dubious purpose of lining up people by the tens of thousands to be fleeced.

    DNA, whose members have claimed Donald Trump and Oprah Winfrey endorse the company even though there is not a shed of evidence that the claim is true, purportedly has attracted more than 130,000 members. It is possible that some or all of the 8 percent of respondents who rated the sales pitch “Exceptionally professional” believe the pitch has merit beyond its ability to suck people into an insidious system.

    The database product purportedly is being built by members who appear in the parking lots of doctors’ offices, churches and giant retailers such as Walmart and Target to write down license-plate numbers or take photos with cell phones or video cameras of license plates for entry in the database.

    One of DNA’s leading pitchmen on conference calls has described the parking lots of medical facilities, places of worship and retail stores as wonderful places to gather data. He further suggested that members should behave in an inconspicuous fashion when gathering the data.

    DNA delayed its launch date twice in February. After its “free” data-collection program purportedly got under way in March, the company quickly began pitching other products to members, including a $127 upgrade that purportedly would improve the ability of “free” members to enter license-plate data into the system.

    The company said its “Pro” data-entry module was better than its “free” module. Prior to the introduction of the “Pro” module, “free” members did not know they would be receiving a data-entry tool the company itself described as a clunker.

    News about the “Pro” module began to spread March 10, only days after DNA told members who listened to an “Oscar” night conference call that the company’s “free” affiliates would “receive the same kind of commitment and respect from our DNA management team” as paid members received.

    DNA said its “Pro” module was part of a Business Benefits Package (BBP).

    “Upon close inspection of the B.B.P. you will find a minimum of 10 times the cost of such package to the end user in value savings and benefits,” DNA said in an email to members. “The two that stand out the most is (sic) the FREE 1000 REWARD DOLLARS with FREE REFILLS and the $402 Travel Agent Value Package for only $49.”

    In recent weeks, DNA mysteriously referred to its BBP package as the “BBB” package. Precisely why DNA would change the acronym of its package to the acronym associated with the Better Business Bureau was unclear.

    “6 OF THE 10 WILL BUY THE B.B.B. AND GET 1 OTHER TO BUY THE B.B.B. WITHIN 24 HOURS,” DNA declared earlier his month.

    Earlier, in April, the company announced that it was in the cell-phone business. The announcement came out of nowhere, and DNA boldly declared, “GAME OVER — WE WIN.”

    Without doing any checking, members raced to YouTube and Craigslist to announce that DNA was offering an unlimited cell-phone talk and text plan for $10 a month and, for $19.95 a month, was offering unlimited talk, unlimited text and 20 MB of data.

    DNA, which had no experience in the cell-phone business and yet declared it had slayed all competitors, later announced it had not researched pricing prior to announcing the plan.

    “[W]e found that there are no such service plans to be found by any carrier, anywhere on the planet, by any company in the industry,” DNA said in an email to members that un-announced the announcement weeks earlier of the $10 unlimited plan.

    DNA insisted it would have a new plan by May, but May passed without such a plan. The company then said it would have a plan in June. No such plan has emerged.

    A video on YouTube implied that DNA had a branding deal with Apple’s iPhone and that the phone would be called the “DNA iPhone.” The video asserted that DNA is the “ONLY Network Marketing Company With Branded iPhones.”

    Meanwhile, a separate YouTube video implied that DNA not only had an iPhone, but that the iPhone came with a “No Term Contract” for $10 a month.

    “You are Not in Kansas Anymore!” the second video screamed. “This is Global Baby!”

    Apple, which is known to defend its brand and intellectual property vigorously, did not respond to the PP Blog’s request for comment on the claims.

    DNA also has bragged about something called “RETIRE BY CHRISTMAS 2010 with DNA
    in “3″ to “6″ steps . . .” and various guarantees, including a purported “$100,000 DNA Minimum Income Guarantee” and a purported “$1,000,000 DNA Minimum Income Guarantee.”

    It is possible that the purported “income guarantee” exceeds the revenue DNA has posted to date. Like Narc That Car (Crowd Sourcing International), DNA’s purported Dallas-based competitor, the company publishes neither revenue figures nor the names of purported clients of the database product.

    The BBB has raised pyramid concerns about Narc/CSI.

    DNA also has urged members to imagine themselves driving 10,000 miles a year in pursuit of their DNA businesses to qualify for an IRS tax write-off of $5,000.

    In 2009, an MLM company known as YourTravelBiz (YTB) was enjoined in California from making tax claims under the terms of settlement of a pyramid-scheme lawsuit by Attorney General Jerry Brown that ordered the firm to pay $1 million.

    DNA has acknowledged that Phil Piccolo is part of its organization, and web records suggest Piccolo was actively involved in YTB. Separately, Narc That Car President Jacques Johnson was a director in YTB, according to court filings.

  • DNA President’s ‘Oscar’ Night Comments Sandwiched Between 28 Minutes Of Hype; No Substantive Issues Addressed Directly

    Billed as the “Oscar” night presentation because it coincided with the Academy Awards, a conference call hosted by Data Network Affiliates (DNA) lasted for a total of roughly 32:10.

    Almost all of the call — about 28 minutes — consisted of  hype.  (Looking it as a percentage, about 87.5 percent of the call was hype.) Roughly the first three minutes were consumed by people announcing their presence on the line, with the encouragement of a pitchman. The balance of the call largely consisted of hype from two DNA pitchmen, with discussion of issues such as privacy concerns spoken about only indirectly through a reference to Google.

    One of the pitchmen made the broad point that Google collects data. DNA says it collects the license-plate numbers of cars for entry in a database. The parallel between what Google does and what DNA does was not made clear in the call, and the pitchman appeared to be trying to make the point that data collection was just a part of life.

    The same pitchman — in a previous call — described the parking lots of giant retail stores, churches and doctors’ offices as sources of license-plate data. Those comments, coupled with claims by other DNA promoters that have ignored privacy and other concerns or pooh-poohed them — are among the things fueling critical commentary about the firm.

    When Kurek came on the “Oscar” call at roughly the 21:30 mark after more than 18 minutes of hype by the pitchmen, he spoke for about four minutes, covering his business experience that previously had been covered by both pitchmen.

    The balance of the call was more hype. No issues raised by critics on matters such as the propriety, safety and legality of DNA were addressed directly. Kurek did say he had experience with companies that maintained private data and that his business experience had taught him about “accountability” and “organization.”

    Kurek did not participate in the hype. He thanked members for listening in — and the thanked the pitchmen and DNA’s 63,000 affiliates.

    “My true talent is also finding the right people to get the job done,” Kurek said. “I truly believe we’ve assembled the best MLM minds in the world.”

    His vision, he said, was to provide services and benefits never before thought of. Kurek spoke with an even voice throughout his time on the line. He did not address comments made last week by Dean Blechman, DNA’s former CEO, that the company had a “back door guy” within its operation and that some communications put out by the company were “bizarre” and misleading.

    Because the lines were muted, no caller asked a question. Neither the pitchmen nor Kurek solicited listeners to ask questions during the call. After the call ended, several issues were left dangling, including whether Phil Piccolo somehow had become involved in DNA.

    Piccolo is a lightning rod for MLM critics.

    Blechman did not rule out last week that Piccolo was involved. When pressed for a definitive answer, Blechman suggested that one could be forthcoming.

    Piccolo is the subject of considerable scorn online. Whether he is part of the company remains unclear, and rumors of his involvement continue to swirl.

    In other DNA news, some affiliates of the company appear to be pulling their ads from craigslist. Other craigslist ads by DNA affiliates have been labeled “flagged for removal.” Still others have expired.

    Some craigslist ads remain. One of them — dated Feb. 26, two days after Blechman’s departure as CEO — is posted in Los Angeles. The ad claims that its contents came from a DNA “press release” dated Feb. 25.

    “A very high powered CEO with Public Company Experience is stepping up to the plate with exciting plans being put into place to make D.N.A. one of the most powerful Viral Affiliate Marketing Companies in the U.S.A. and around The World,” the ad reads.

    “The D.N.A. company is signing a MEGA MILLION DOLLAR DEAL with a publicly known industry giant. Between this agreement being sign and the D.N.A. Top Secret Product being announced on March 27th, 2010. D.N.A. is positioning itself to be Global Giant.”

    Blechman noted last week that the company did not announce his Feb. 24 departure until March 2. He questioned why the company had waited so long.

    At roughly the 3:26 mark of the call, one of the pitchmen said, “I mean, I gotta tell ya, if they were giving out some Oscar awards in multilevel marketing, or, you know, something special, I believe DNA would definitely get something tonight.”

    The Oscar awards, of course, are for proficiency in acting.

  • EDITORIAL/ANALYSIS: Events Are Controlling DNA, Not The Other Way Around; Prosecutor’s Office Mum On Narc That Car Inquiry In Texas

    This Narc That Car promoters' check-waving video is now missing from YouTube's public channel, after being placed there March 1. The video, however, is said to be available through a private YouTube channel. It is unclear whether Narc That Car asked its promoter — "Jah" of the Cash For Car Plates Blog — to remove the video, which also claimed repping for Narc That Car was like working for the U.S. "Census Bureau."

    First, some news: A website titled DeanBlechman.com now resolves to a parked page at the offshore registrar directNIC. As first reported on the PP Blog, the site previously redirected to the website of Data Network Affiliates (DNA).

    directNIC is “based in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands,” relocating from its former base in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, according to the firm’s website. directNIC is DNA’s registrar, and also the registrar for the DeanBlechman.com domain and a DNA-associated domain known as TagEveryCar.com.

    In a bizarre autoresponder message earlier this week, DNA said it had chosen “privacy” protection for $5 “to prevent management from having to “put up with 100 stupid calls a day,” a source told the PP Blog.

    In an interview Wednesday with the Blog, Blechman, DNA’s former chief executive officer, said he was “surprised” to learn of the DeanBlechman.com site, painting a picture that the company was not in control of its own message and had a “back door guy” who was authoring “bizarre” communications.

    Blechman did not identify the “back door guy.” Precisely when the DeanBlechman.com domain stopped redirecting to DNA’s website is unclear. It was still redirecting to the site early yesterday, but now is resolving to the directNIC page.

    Meanwhile, the PP Blog contacted the office of R. Scott McKee, the district attorney of Henderson County, Texas, yesterday. McKee is training for deployment to Iraq, and was not available immediately to answer questions on his inquiry into Narc That Car, according to a woman who answered the phone.

    The woman said it was possible that an assistant prosecutor would contact the Blog, but the call was not returned yesterday.

    McKee’s office opened a civil inquiry into Narc That Car (NTC) more than a month ago, turning to the office of Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott for assistance and saying it had received “numerous calls and complaints inquiring into the legitimacy and legality” of NTC.

    How that inquiry is proceeding is unclear. Two days ago, the Dallas branch of the BBB reduced its rating on NTC from “No Rating” to “F,” the worst possible rating on the BBB’s 14-step scale that begins with “A+.”

    NTC now joins companies such as AdSurfDaily and Speed of Wealth as firms that have scored an “F.”

    It is possible that NTC could improve its score at the BBB over time, but the score of “F” it holds now was arrived at after the company had been given more than a month to explain its compensation program to dampen pyramid concerns. The BBB also said it asked NTC to “substantiate some claims made in its advertising” Jan. 18. That inquiry remains open.

    NTC does not publish the name of customers of its database product. Some affiliates have claimed the firm was associated with major automobile manufacturers, the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and the AMBER Alert program.

    The company removed a video reference to the AMBER Alert program after the U.S. Department of Justice, which administers AMBER Alert, denied it had any affiliation with NTC.

    ASD never improved its BBB score because it became consumed by a government investigation. ASD is implicated by the U.S. Secret Service in a Ponzi scheme.

    Speed of Wealth, which also became consumed in government litigation, also did not improve its BBB score. It is implicated by the SEC in a Ponzi scheme involving Mantria Corp., whose BBB rating is being “updated,” according to the BBB. Mantria currently is listed as “No Rating.”

    On another matter, MLM aficionado Troy Dooly now is openly challenging DNA officers Arthur Kurek and Donald Kessler to explain what is happening at the company.

    Rumors are rampant that Phil Piccolo, a notorious figure in MLM, somehow had become involved in DNA. Absent a firm denial from company management, the rumors continue to fly.

    For his part, Blechman, DNA’s former CEO, did not rule out that Piccolo was involved in the firm.

    In the absence of a unified message from DNA and plain statements on issues such as whether Piccolo is involved and what steps have been taken to assure that DNA is compliant with state and federal law, events are controlling DNA, not the other way around.

    The suggestion that “privacy” protection was chosen so management would not have to put up with “stupid” calls is patently absurd — as is the amount of hype being put out under DNA’s name.

    No one at the company has emerged to speak on issues of legality and privacy. DNA says it is in the business of recording license-plate numbers. Like Narc That Car promoters, DNA promoters have made sweeping statements, asserting that affiliates could record plate numbers at places such as Walmart, Target, church parking lots and parking lots at doctors’ offices.

    Company conference calls have been cheerleading sessions — with DNA’s own pitchmen leading the cheers.

    Whether DNA and NTC affiliates are required to seek  permission from owners of private property or the permission of local jurisdictions to record plate numbers remains unclear. Also unclear is how affiliates are required to behave if confronted by property owners or police who question what they are doing.

    Sweeping assertions have been made by affiliates that plate data is “public information” available for the taking in the parking lots of large retail stores. One NTC promoter said on YouTube that his wife recorded plate numbers at a university. The PP Blog believes the university was the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

    The office of Sen. Harry Reid, D.-Nev., did not return a call from the Blog seeking comment on the practice recommended by the NTC promoter. Nor did Reid’s office return an email sent by the Blog. Reid is Senate Majority Leader. One of the buildings on UNLV’s campus bears his name. The same NTC promoter recommended “libraries” as excellent sources of plate numbers.

    Among the privacy concerns is whether the companies, which appear to be targeting as clients of the database product firms that repossess automobiles, could use the data to create profiles on the movement of people.

    In a DNA conference call, one company pitchman said DNA hoped to attract enough affiliates to make it possible for the company to record a plate number at Walmart at noon — and the same plate number at a “doctor’s office” at 1 p.m. and the same plate number elsewhere at 4 p.m. The same pitchman suggested churches were good sources of license-plate numbers.

    Adding to the fog of uncertainty is a pattern of strange communications from the firm, which is using Google’s free gmail service to conduct customer service. Emails received by DNA members do not include a street address, which brings issues of transparency into play and potentially brings issues of federal compliance into play.

    The PP Blog, which is a Blog among millions of Blogs, has received repeated affiliate spam from DNA and Narc That Car promoters. For weeks, there was no way even to contact DNA to report spam. The Blog will not contact the company via the gmail address — which was made public only days ago –out of concern its email address will be harvested and added to a database controlled by an unknown party.

    Narc That Car, meanwhile, has a “Span Policy” — as opposed to “Spam Policy” — link at the bottom of its website. Some of its promoters have produced check-waving videos, including a video that claimed repping for NTC was like working for the “Census Bureau,” a government agency.

    One of the videos showed that NTC payments are issued by check drawn on the account of “National Automotive Record Centre Inc.” That entity, which uses the word “National” in its name and the British spelling of “Centre” — as opposed to the U.S. spelling of “Center” — is registered in Nevada. NTC also is associated with a Texas company known as Narc Technologies, which, according to a YouTube video now made private, once issued checks for affiliates.

    These things hardly inspire confidence in the NTC enterprise.

    Just this morning, the PP Blog received information from a DNA member that the company emailed members, claiming “D.N.A. archived e-mail communications were erased by design.

    “We will send you the last 3 e-mail communications within the next 24 hours,” the email said. “If you do not wish to receive D.N.A. Daily Communications please visit your back office.”

    Even if the email was perceived by management as a means of demonstrating that DNA was trying to gain control over its message, such a communication only leads to more questions. The email did not include a street address. It also implied that members needed to opt out of communications by doing so within their back offices, rather than opting out by clicking on a link at the bottom of emails they receive.

    The hype from DNA and its promoters — dropping names of icons such as Donald Trump and Oprah Winfrey — and making claims that a “MEGA MILLION DOLLAR DEAL with a publicly known industry giant” and a “Top Secret Product” are on the horizon are rubbing some MLM aficionados the wrong way.

    MLM has a miserable reputation. Messages from DNA are doing the industry no favors.

    If DNA is attempting to seize back its communications apparatus, it needs to explain precisely why it lost control of it early on. And a corporate face must emerge for the company — one who is willing to answer the hard questions on the propriety, safety, legality and privacy concerns the firm is sparking.

    For now, at least, it is a tangled web fueled by hype that ducks the issues and causes the company to look silly — day after day.

  • Data Network Affiliates Now Says Launch Is ‘Beta Test’; Adds ‘JK Wedding Entrance Dance’ Video To Sales Pitch; Former CEO May Make Statement This Week

    After delaying its launch twice in February and finally settling on a March 1 launch date, Data Network Affiliates (DNA) now describes tomorrow’s launch as a “Beta Test.”

    Meanwhile, the company has added a hugely popular YouTube video known as “JK Wedding Entrance Dance” to its website, using the video to promote DNA.

    On the YouTube site, the video and a related webpage that solicits donations for the Sheila Wellstone Institute are are used to create awareness about domestic violence. Because the video is is miniaturized on DNA’s site, the violence-prevention message is not visible unless viewers expand the size.

    At the same time, a person who identified himself as Dean Blechman, DNA’s former chief executive officer, has emailed the PP Blog, saying he no longer is affiliated with DNA in any way.

    “I am no longer the CEO of DNA,” the email said. “I have no affiliation with the company whatsoever.”

    The email could not immediately be confirmed as authentic, but the PP Blog believes the sender was Blechman. The sender did not respond immediately to a request to explain matters pertaining to DNA, saying via email  he was on vacation with his wife until Tuesday and adding that he would contact the Blog again after he returns home.

    DNA does not explain Blechman’s departure on its website, which lists an address in the Cayman Islands. Nor does the company explain why it now is describing the launch date as a “Beta Test.”

    The company, which says it is in the business of recording license-plate numbers for entry in a database, repeatedly has advertised various launch dates. Critics have raised questions about privacy matters and the propriety, safety and legality of DNA.

    Some critics have said that Phil Piccolo, a notorious figure in multilevel marketing, is associated with the firm.

    It was not immediately clear if DNA was authorized to post the “JK Wedding Entrance Dance” video on its website and use it in the context of advertising DNA. The video has received more than 43.7 million views on YouTube. Its producers created the video to share the joy of their wedding, and also to create awareness about domestic violence, according to a message linked to their YouTube website.

    An email to the producers — Jill and Kevin Heinz — by the PP Blog was not immediately returned. Among other things, the couple has appeared on the Today Show to explain their joyous, music-rich video, which features the entire wedding party dancing to the altar and has been a spectacular hit on YouTube — one with a serious message attached.

    In a page that accompanies the couple’s video, Jill is described as a PhD candidate whose work focuses on breaking cycles of violence in society. Kevin is described as a law student with a passion for social justice. The site includes a link to donate to the Sheila Wellstone Institute.

    Sheila Wellstone was a human-rights advocate. She and her husband, Sen. Paul Wellstone, D-Minn., were killed in a plane crash in 2002. Their daughter, Marcia, died in the same crash.

    DNA’s site does not reference the serious message associated with the YouTube video. Instead, it uses the video to promote DNA, under a headline of “WARNING: What happens when The Wedding Party found out about D.N.A. 5 minutes before THE WEDDING WAS TO TAKE PLACE…”

  • BULLETIN: Dean Blechman’s Name Removed From Data Network Affiliates’ Website; Audio In Which CEO Threatened Critics Also Removed

    UPDATED 12:24 P.M. ET (U.S.A.) Is Dean Blechman no longer the chief executive officer of Data Network Affiliates (DNA), an MLM firm that purports to be in the business of recording license-plate numbers of cars as they move from destination to destination?

    Blechman, who identified himself as the CEO in an audio recording and was identified as the CEO in DNA marketing materials, no longer is listed on the website as an officer in any capacity.

    An audio recording in which Blechman suggested he was monitoring “everyone that’s a distraction out there and anyone that’s printing stuff on the Internet or anywhere” and perhaps preparing to sue critics also has been removed from the website.

    DNA has become the subject of criticism amid concerns about privacy and the propriety, safety and legality of recording license-plate numbers. The information purportedly was being collected for sale to companies that repossess automobiles. Because DNA customers would receive the addresses at which license-numbers were recorded by members, it raised the specter that repo men — or any data customer of DNA — could determine where car owners went to church, shopped and received medical care, including psychological treatment.

    Some critics have said they believed Phil Piccolo, a notorious figure in MLM, was associated with the firm.

    DNA’s website lists an address in the Cayman Islands.

    It was not immediately clear if Blechman had resigned. Also unclear is why the recording was removed from the front page on the website. Blechman’s name has been removed from a roster of officers published on the website, leaving only the names of Arthur M. Kurek and Donald Kessler as officers.

    Anthony Sasso is listed as a special consultant and founder. The site no longer lists a CEO. Blechman’s name was removed from both the main page of the website and from a page that appears after visitors click on an “About Us” tab at the top of the page.

    The move occurred about three days prior to DNA’s claimed launch date of March 1. The launch date was postponed twice in February.

    Video promotions for DNA have used images of Donald Trump and Oprah Winfrey. It is unclear if Trump and Winfrey approved the use of their images. At the same time, DNA members have made videos that identified stores such as Walmart and Target as the source of a ready supply of license-plate numbers.

    Meanwhile, promoters have suggested that churches and doctors’ offices also were sources for license-plate data.

    Blechman did not respond to the criticism. At the same time, threats to take legal action could be construed as a bid to muzzle affiliates to prevent them from writing anything less than a flattering review of the company in Blog and website posts, and in emails sent to prospects.