UPDATED 1:43 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) Friday was a day unlike any previous day in the so-called autosurf “industry.” A federal judge issued orders on two fronts: a forfeiture case brought by the U.S. government against AdSurfDaily Inc. and a racketeering lawsuit brought by ASD members against ASD President Andy Bowdoin and others.
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For good measure, BizAdSplash (BAS) announced a financial “crisis,” saying it was suspending cashouts until at least Sept. 1 and conducting an audit of itself. BAS says Clarence Busby, the former president of Golden Panda Ad Builder and a central figure in the ASD prosecution, is its “chief consultant.” Incongruously, Busby also claims to run the company — something consultants normally don’t do.
Busby’s video announcement of the BAS crisis appears to have occurred on July 24, the one-year anniversary date of the formal launch of Golden Panda.
Meanwhile, AdGateWorld (AGW), still another surf that began operating at a purported offshore location after the seizure of ASD’s assets, announced it was selling itself to unnamed interests in the Middle East.
All of this came on the heels of announcements that AdViewGlobal (AVG), yet another surf purportedly headquartered offshore, was suspending payouts, conducting an audit of itself and making an 80/20 program mandatory should payouts ever resume.
So, three surfs that launched after the ASD seizure — AVG, BAS and AGW — all announced important developments in the days leading up to the one-year anniversary (Aug. 1) of the date ASD was notified its bank accounts were being seized.
Yes, all of these things happened just shy of the ASD anniversary date.
New Name Surfaces: Who is Karveck International?
Lost in the blizzard of news Friday was a report that AVG had fired its staff in Uruguay, and that owners George and Judy Harris and other Bowdoin/Harris family members are or were in Uruguay and had rented homes and acquired automobiles.
These reports have not been confirmed.
At the same time, a person who uses the handle “Luisa” and may be in position to have some knowledge about AVG, said the company initially registered in Uruguay as Karveck International.
Some things about Karveck International can be confirmed. The company, for instance, is listed as an acquisition of Vanu Blue Inc., which trades as a pinksheet stock (VBLU.PK). Vana Blue issues news releases. One of the news releases referenced the acquisition of TMS Corp., also known as TMS Association, which was the purported owner of eWalletPlus.
This news release, dated Feb. 21, 2008 — a year and a half ago — vaguely announces a name change for Vana Blue (from what to what isn’t clear) and announced the acquisition of TMS Corp.
Meanwhile, this news release, dated Jan. 30. 2009 — just a few days before the formal launch of AVG — announced the acquisition of “Karveck Corporation” had been finalized.
On Feb. 18, 2009 — when AVG had been formally operating in launch phase for just shy of three weeks after operating in January in prelaunch phase — Vana Blue announced that “Karveck International” had posted $1.8 million in revenue in January. How Karveck Corporation apparently became Karveck International wasn’t clear.
“Karveck will be offering increases in affiliate incentives and payouts coming up in March to maintain momentum,” Vana Blue said.
eWalletPlus once worked side by side with AVG. In March, after AVG announced its bank account had been suspended because too many members had wired transactions in excess of $9,500, eWalletPlus quickly faded from the stage.
At the same time in March, an AVG member posted an ad for AVG on a small-business website Bank of America provides as a free service.
“All of you who were associated with ASD. Do not link this to AVGA!” the poster warned March 27, just a few days after AVG announced the suspension of its bank account. The poster also shared news about TMS.
“We are happy to inform you that TMS Corporation has been dissolved and a new association,TMS Association, has been formed which is a member of AV GLOBAL ASSOCIATION,” the poster wrote.
The eWalletPlus website once resided on the same server that powered AVG, according to web records. The eWalletPlus site now appears to have been listed for sale on sedo.com. The site simply beams ads now.
Vana Blue used an address of 4757 E. Greenway Rd Suite 107B-105 in a news release. It is an address that resolves to a PostNet outlet in Phoenix, the home state of TMS Association. PostNet describes itself as a “Mailbox Rental, Fax, Passport Photos, Copies, Notary, UPS, DHL, FedEx, USPS” service.
At a minimum, the information suggests AVG had strong ties in Arizona, particularly in the Phoenix area.
In February, Vana Blue announced that Karveck International posted $1.8 million in revenue in January. That’s when AVG was in prelaunch.
Vana Blue did not use AVG’s name in the news release. Instead, it described Karveck International as a company that “specializes in internet advertising and promotion in a search engine and ad clicking type environment.”
News releases associated with many penny-stock companies tend to be vague. Many such companies speak in broad generalities. News releases sometimes are employed as a means of generating buzz about the companies, and they often leave more questions unanswered than answered.
Vana Blue’s entry into the AVG story is not the first time a pinksheet stock has been associated with an autosurf. ASD, for example, announced last year that it was expecting $200 million in revenue from the penny-stock company Praebius Communications. ASD withdrew the news release from its Breaking News site after members said they intended to call Praebius to confirm or deny the deal.
And, speaking of the ASD Breaking News site: It is no longer there. It has been replaced by a site that beams ads.
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