SOBERING: Cyber Criminals May Be Responsible For ‘The Greatest Transfer Of Wealth In History,’ Top Justice Department Official Says At Seattle Conference
“The Intelligence Community’s most recent Worldwide Threat Assessment confirms that U.S. networks have already been subject to ‘extensive illicit intrusions.’ The head of the National Security Agency and the Pentagon’s Cyber Command, for one, believes such intrusions may have resulted in ‘the greatest transfer of wealth in history.’” — Lisa Monaco, Assistant Attorney General for […]
EDITORIAL: The Deeply Disturbing Attack On The Federal Trade Commission, A Public Official And The Court-Appointed Receiver In The Jeremy Johnson/IWorks Fraud Case
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story originally was published Dec. 22, 2011, 10:41 a.m. It was updated at 8:11 a.m. on Dec. 23, 2011. The PP Blog temporarily “unpublished” the story on March 23, 2012. Explanation of why it was taken offline temporarily is here. On March 23, 2012, the PP Blog’s security software recorded a “mass […]
UPDATE: 5 Convictions To Date In Money-Laundering Cases Involving Colombian Drug Operation That Used Same Debit Card As AdSurfDaily Autosurf
Federal prosecutors have announced five convictions in an international money-laundering case involving drug proceeds and the use of “stored-value” debit cards. (See subhead below.) The cases were brought by the Drug Enforcement Administration in 2008 as a result of an undercover operation. The debit cards used in the transactions were provided by Virtual Money Inc., […]
FBI Director Again References ‘Shadow Banking System’ In Congressional Testimony; Warns About ‘Homegrown Violent Extremists’ And ‘Lone Actor’ Terrorists
EDITOR’S NOTE: Still selling autosurfs and HYIPs? Quick! Name your autosurfing neighbor, his or her neighbors, the source of their funding — and describe their intent. Do you even know the names of the program owners, the venues from which they operate and the sources of their funding? How many companies do they own? How […]
BULLETIN: Trevor Cook, Minnesota Ponzi Scheme Figure, Pleads Guilty In $190 Million Fraud Case
BULLETIN: (UPDATED 12:35 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) Trevor G. Cook, implicated in a $190 million Ponzi scheme that pushed tremendous sums of money all over the world and is believed to have fleeced investors out of at least $139 million, has entered a guilty plea in federal court in Minnesota. No sentencing date has been sent. […]
Another Fraud Case In Minnesota: Renee Marie Brown Accused By SEC Of Starting ‘Sham’ Investment Fund Known As ‘X’
UPDATED 7:52 A.M. EDT (April 13, U.S.A.) On the very day Tom Petters was sentenced in Minnesota to 50 years in prison for operating a colossal Ponzi scheme, a federal judge froze the assets of Renee Marie Brown after the SEC accused her of ripping off clients by persuading them to invest in a mysterious […]
Secret Service Busts Another Alleged Ponzi In Florida; Michael Greenberg Accused Of Using 9 Company Names To Bilk Investors, Banks, Law Firm, Small Business Administration
A Florida man who spent time in prison for wire fraud and money-laundering in a previous Ponzi scheme embarked on a new scheme after his release, federal prosecutors said. Within two years of being released from custody in 1996 — and while still on supervised probation — Michael Greenberg, 50, started a new Ponzi and […]
BULLETIN: Autosurf Biz Takes Another Pounding; Federal Judge Adds Noobing As Receivership Defendant In Fraud Case Against Parent Company; 14 Other Subsidiaries Named
UPDATED 6:05 P.M. EDT (U.S.A., Jan. 20, 2011.) In yet another case that portends disaster for the so-called “autosurf” industry, a federal judge has ordered the Noobing autosurf to be added as a receivership defendant in a fraud case brought against its parent company. The FTC and attorneys general from Minnesota, North Carolina and Kansas […]