Tag: SEC
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URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: SEC Charges Alleged HYIP Operators Who Ran ‘Profits Paradise’ From India; Scammers Allegedly Used Fake Names And Engaged In Wanton Deception
URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: (Updated 9:33 p.m. ET U.S.A.) The SEC has charged two Indian nationals with running an HYIP scheme known as “Profits Paradise” that reached into the United States and offered “extraordinary” returns of up to 480 percent in 240 days, plus “compounding.” As is typical in HYIP schemes, the “program” gained…
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URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: First U.S. Criminal Prosecution Of Bitcoin-Themed Scheme; Trendon Shavers Arrested
In the first U.S. criminal prosecution involving a Bitcoin-themed scheme, Trendon Shavers has been arrested and charged with securities fraud and wire fraud. Shavers, 32, of McKinney, Texas, was charged civilly by the SEC in July 2013. He is known as “pirateat40,” and allegedly pushed his Bitcoin Savings and Trust Ponzi scheme from a forum.…
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SEC Official Speaks On TelexFree Case At ‘Fraud Affects Every Community’ Event At FTC, Announces ‘Pyramid-Scheme Task Force’ And Tells Audience That ‘Program’ Consumed Entire $50,000 Retirement Account Of Trusting Mom
“We know of at least one victim who borrowed, I think, $50,000 from his mother and gave it all to [TelexFree]. And it was her entire retirement.” — Melissa Armstrong, assistant chief litigation counsel, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Oct. 29, 2014 UPDATED 12:19 P.M. EDT OCT. 30 U.S.A. Affinity fraud was one of the…
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TelexFree Probe Continues; ‘Substantial Amount’ Of YouTube Video Content Sought In Search Warrant Served Oct. 16
The TelexFree probe continues in the United States, with prosecutors revealing today that federal agents served a search warrant on Google on Oct. 16 that sought a “substantial amount” of content on YouTube. Precisely what content prosecutors are seeking was not immediately clear. Google told agents that “compliance will take several weeks,” according to the…
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Tweets Claim SEC Inquiring About ‘Hundreds’ Of Bitcoin-Themed Companies
4th UPDATE 8:09 A.M. EDT OCT. 30 U.S.A. In the past several hours, Tweets sourced to Bitcoin-themed publications such as CoinFire, CryptoCoinsNews and CoinTelegrah claim the SEC has opened preliminary inquiries into hundreds of Bitcoin-themed enterprises. On the CoinTelegraph website, the publication asserts there is a “gag order attached to these requests for voluntary cooperation.”…
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Top Official Who Warned About Cross-Border ‘Criminal Enterprises’ And ‘Frivolous Libel Cases’ To Mask Them Is Leaving Justice Department
Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole, the No. 2 official at the U.S. Justice Department, is leaving after four years, Attorney General Eric Holder confirmed in a statement. (Holder also is leaving, a topic for another day.) Cole said something in Mexico City at the High-Level Hemispheric Meeting Against Transnational Organized Crime in March 2012 that…
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CKB/CKB168, WCM777 And TelexFree Prosecutions Make SEC’s 2014 Highlight Reel; Agency Says Its Job In MLM Sphere Isn’t Done
The prosecutions of the CKB/CKB168, WCM777 and TelexFree “programs” made the SEC’s highlight reel for fiscal year 2014, which began on Oct. 1, 2013 and ended on Sept. 30 of this year. In a statement today, the SEC said “new investigative approaches and the innovative use of data and analytical tools contributed to a very…
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RECEIVER: Zeek Rewards Was ‘Pig’ To Which MLM Lawyers Attemped To Apply ‘Lipstick’ — While One Of The Lawyers Participated On Massive Ponzi Scheme’s ‘Leadership Calls’
EDITOR’S NOTE: Kevin Grimes, MLM Compliance VT LLC and the Grimes & Reese law firm have argued that the claims against them should be dismissed. Zeek’s receiver argues otherwise, saying a “bogus ‘compliance course’” advanced by Grimes helped dupe the Zeek masses. Zeek affected hundreds of thousands of people, the SEC has said. Legal malpractice…
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DEVELOPING STORY: Zeek Figure Robert Craddock Accused Of Trademark Infringement And Engaging In ‘Shake-Down’ Bid Against MLM Affiliates
EDITOR’S NOTE: The story below focuses mostly on a lawsuit filed against Zeek Rewards figure Robert Craddock by a Nevada company known as BTG180. A lawsuit filed against Craddock by a Wyoming company known as OfferHubb.net Inc. makes similar claims against Craddock. ** ___________________________________** DEVELOPING STORY: (4th Update 10:12 a.m. EDT Oct. 14 U.S.A.) Zeek…