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Tag: SEC

SPECIAL REPORT: How The SEC Silently Squared Off Against ‘Achieve Community’ In The Days Leading Up To The Asset Freeze

EDITOR’S NOTE: The personnel information in the first section below is gleaned from public records in the SEC’s pyramid- and Ponzi case against the “Achieve Community” and alleged principals Kristi Johnson and Troy Barnes. Some of the numbered points include additional notes by the PP Blog. These notes are based on public records or information…

Feb 23, 2015
BULLETIN: Zeek Receiver Sues Alleged ‘Winners’ In Norway

BULLETIN: (5th update 8:31 p.m.) Zeek Rewards receiver Kenneth D. Bell has sued more than a dozen alleged “winners” with residencies in Norway. These are believed to be the first cases against defendants in Europe. Bell previously has sued U.S. residents and residents of Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the British Virgin Islands. As is…

Feb 19, 2015
URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: SEC Charges ‘Achieve Community,’ Troy Barnes, Kristi Johnson; Federal Judge Approves Asset Freeze

URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: (17th update 3:07 p.m. ET U.S.A.) The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has charged “Achieve Community” (as Work With Troy Barnes Inc.) and alleged operators Troy A. Barnes and Kristine L. Johnson with operating a combined pyramid- and Ponzi scheme that raised more than $3.8 million. A federal judge in…

Feb 18, 2015
In Wake Of Asset-Seizure Claim, Videos By ‘Achieve Community’ Huckster Rodney Blackburn Go Missing From You Tube

With “Achieve Community” members posting on Facebook over the long President’s Day weekend claims attributed to co-founder Troy Barnes that he was under criminal investigation and assets had been seized, something seemed a bit odd on YouTube: Search results appeared to demote Rodney Blackburn in listings when the term “Achieve Community” was entered into the…

Feb 16, 2015
EDITORIAL: Case Against Alleged New York Scammer With Eye-Pleasing Website Could Help Educate ‘Achieve Community’ Members And Newcomers Who Encounter The Ponzi Boards — If They Choose To See

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is one to think about if you’re an “Achieve Community” fan who’s moved over to the “Rockfeller” Ponzi-board scam while asserting its professional-looking website puts you at ease — even though you don’t know who’s running the purported company and apparently have formed the irrational belief that engaging a “chat” attendant through…

Feb 14, 2015
BULLETIN: Zeek Receiver Sues Alleged ‘Winners’ In New Zealand And British Virgin Islands

BULLETIN: (9th update 9:57 p.m. ET U.S.A.) Zeek Rewards receiver Kenneth D. Bell has sued alleged “winners” with residencies in New Zealand and the British Virgin Islands. One BVI winner is alleged to have gained more than $2 million from Zeek’s combined Ponzi- and pyramid scheme. Bell identified her as Agnita Solomon of Road Town,…

Feb 13, 2015
Court Filings Show Self-Identified Church Sent $10,000 To Zeek Rewards 9 Days Before Collapse; 2 Other Checks From An Individual Were Marked ‘Blessing’

UPDATED 8:42 P.M. ET U.S.A. Members of the faith community joining MLM HYIP schemes is a problem. It happened with the $119 million AdSurfDaily Ponzi scheme and the $72 million Legisi scam in 2008, for example. It’s happening currently with the “Achieve Community” scheme. Earlier, members of TelexFree — an alleged $1.8 billion pyramid scheme…

Feb 6, 2015
Zeek Figure Robert Craddock’s Fun Club USA Severely Sanctioned In Trademark-Infringement Case; Judge Orders Default For Failure To Follow Court Order

OfferHubb.net Inc. sued Zeek Rewards figure Robert Craddock in February 2014, alleging Craddock “immediately” embarked on a web-based disparagement campaign after OfferHubb chose in July 2013 not to renew a contract with Craddock and Craddock’s Fun Club USA Inc. Co-defendants included Craddock’s wife, Sylvia Salgado Craddock, and Fun Club. Craddock was accused in the complaint…

Feb 4, 2015
‘Achieve Community’ Websites Inaccessible

UPDATED 12:20 P.M. ET U.S.A. Two websites associated with the “Achieve Community” — ReadyToAchieve.com and TheAchieveCommunity.com — are inaccessible this morning. Achieve Community is under investigation by the Colorado Division of Securities. The PP Blog asked the Division this morning if it was aware of the outage and whether the inaccessibility of the sites had…

Feb 4, 2015
URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: Bankruptcy Trustee Says TelexFree Was ‘Pyramid Scheme’ That Gathered As Much As $1.8 Billion

URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: (10th Update 8:53 p.m. ET U.S.A.) In his first formal report to the Massachusetts bankruptcy court, TelexFree Trustee Stephen B. Darr calls the company a “pyramid scheme” that may have involved 1 million or more participants globally and gathered as much as $1.8 billion through arms in the United States…

Feb 3, 2015
TelexFree/iFreeX Figure Sann Rodrigues Appears In Car With Emerson Fittipaldi; Is Brazilian Racing Legend Being Duped By MLM Huckster?

UPDATED 2:14 P.M. ET U.S.A. It is not unusual for financial fraudsters to seek to rub elbows with famous people or to imply ties to them as a means of sanitizing purported “opportunities” or accenting their own bona fides. Recent examples of this include Florida-based Ponzi-schemer/racketeer Scott Rothstein, who mixed with the elite as his…

Jan 19, 2015