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Tag: San Diego

  • BULLETIN: Renner Case Takes West Coast Turn; Prosecutors Seek Forfeiture Of San Diego Property Allegedly Bought With Funds From INetGlobal Advertisers

    BULLETIN: UPDATED 1:47 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) Federal prosecutors and the U.S. Secret Service have filed paperwork that says INetGlobal’s parent company — Inter-Mark Corp. — acquired a property in San Diego last year and intended to remodel it with proceeds from a Ponzi scheme.

    Records suggest the purchase price of the property was $595,000 and that Inter-Mark intended to spend a substantial sum on renovations paid for with money from INetGlobal members’ advertising purchases.

    Prosecutors have filed a forfeiture complaint against the property, saying it is the proceeds of a criminal wire-fraud and money-laundering scheme. The forfeiture case was filed March 15 and is proceeding on a litigation track separate from a criminal probe that was launched into the business practices of INetGlobal operator Steve Renner in February.

    The case number for the forfeiture action was disclosed in court filings by the defense in the criminal investigation earlier this week. Records suggest that Renner, Inter-Mark and INetGlobal have been aware of the forfeiture case since at least April 19. It was not immediately clear if  Renner or the companies took any steps to inform members that the government had opened a second litigation front amid allegations of criminal conduct.

    In April, some INetGlobal members — apparently unaware of the government’s claim that money from advertisers was used to pay for and renovate a California building far removed from INetGlobal’s base of operations in Minnesota — suggested the prosecution’s case was disintegrating.

    The property, whose address is 3864 Mission Boulevard, San Diego, Calif., was acquired in August 2009 after funds from customers’ credit-card purchases were used in a series of illegal transactions, according to the Secret Service.

    “These deposits are believed to be from individuals who are ‘purchasing’ advertising,” the agency alleged.

    “More specifically, the purchase of the defendant real property was funded by the following transactions,” the agency alleged. “During the month of July 2009 over $2.5 million dollars in credit card transactions were deposited to Wells Fargo Inter-Mark Account #665543xxxx. These funds were later used to purchase the defendant real property (italics added):

    “a. On August 10, 2009, $350,000 was transferred to Inter-Mark Account #137922xxxx from Account #66543xxxx.

    “b. On August 11, 2009, an additional $300,000 was transferred to Inter-Mark Account #137922xxxx from Account #66543xxxx.

    “c. On August 31, 2009, $650,000 was transferred to Inter-Mark Account #224620xxxx from Account #137922xxxx.

    “d. On the same date, $20,000 was wire transferred from Account #224620xxxx to Eaton Escrow in San Diego, California.

    “e. On September 14, 2009, $450,000 was transferred to Inter-Mark Account #224620xxxx from Account #137922xxxx.

    “f. On September 14, 2009, $575,517 was wire transferred from Account #224620xxxx to Eaton Escrow. These funds were used to purchase a commercial building located at 3864 Mission Blvd., San Diego, California.

    “g. On September 23, 2009 Eaton Escrow issued a check payable to Inter-Mark Corporation in the amount of $348.77 with a notation that the check proceeds was a “refund.”

    The Secret Service alleged that “[r]emodeling work is currently in progress to renovate the
    defendant real property.

    “Substantial sums of money have been invested towards the remodeling project,” the agency alleged.

    On May 4, Renner, Inter-Mark and a related entity known as V-Media Marketing denied the allegations in the forfeiture complaint.

  • SEC Moves To Smash Alleged Advertising Ponzi Scheme In California; Agency Charges Dean P. Gross, Gregory W. Laser

    breakingnewsTwo California men have been charged with securities fraud by the SEC in an emergency court action that alleged they pushed a Ponzi scheme that collected more than $18 million.

    Investors were duped into believing that a company known as Bridon Entertainment bought advertising space in bulk and resold it at a substantial profit to famous companies such as Home Depot, Federal Express, DIRECTV, Warner Brothers and Slim-Fast, the SEC said.

    No such advertising deals existed and the investors were duped by “fake” contracts that included the famous names, the SEC said.

    Named defendants were Dean P. Gross, 47, of Agoura Hills, and Gregory W. Laser, 46, of San Diego. Their assets have been frozen. Gross did business as Bridon Entertainment and diverted $6 million to his own use, the SEC said.

    The scheme began in December 2006, according to the SEC.

    “Gross provided investors a fabricated contract that appeared to be between Bridon and a representative of the well-known corporation,” the SEC said. “Gross and Laser told investors that Gross would use their money to purchase advertising time and space, and that their promised returns would be generated by the profitable resale of that advertising to the specifically identified company.

    But “Gross did not have relationships with the well-known companies he claimed were his clients,” the SEC said. “Gross did not buy or resell advertising, and investors’ purported returns were not generated by the sale of advertising, but instead came from money raised from subsequent investors, in classic Ponzi fashion.”

    At least 45 investors were fleeced in the scheme, which featured both short-term and longer-term investments, the SEC said. Interest rates pitched in a 30-to-90-day program ranged from 8 percent to 30 percent.

    A year-long program offered rates typically between 10 percent and 20 percent.

    “In some instances, Gross offered a 40 percent return,” the SEC said.

    Read the SEC complaint against Gross and Laser.