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Tag: SEC

REPORT: TelexFree Diverted $88 Million After Brazilian Judge Blocked Payments

UPDATED 1:04 P.M. (JULY 5, U.S.A.) Quoting a prosecutor, the website of iG — a Brazilian communications provider — is reporting that the TelexFree MLM “program” allegedly diverted $88 million after a judge in the state of Acre blocked payments as a pyramid-scheme probe got under way last month. TelexFree also operates in the United…

Jul 3, 2013
Law Firm’s Name Used In Bid To Dupe Members Of Banners Broker, Profit Clicking, MLM Attorney Says

UPDATED 11:28 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) Scammers have used the names of government agencies and famous businesses in bids to dupe the public. Now, the name of a well-known MLM law firm appears to have been used for the same purpose. Attorney Kevin Thompson published a Blog post today that warns of a bogus Banners Broker/Profit…

Jul 2, 2013
UPDATE: Italy Finalizes Suspension Order Against Alleged Profitable Sunrise Pitchman Who Got Booted By WordPress

UPDATE: CONSOB, the Italian securities regulator, has finalized a March 27 suspension order against alleged Profitable Sunrise pitchman Daniele Verzari. Verzari allegedly pitched Profitable Sunrise as the “founder” of the Vdproject Italy team on a Blog hosted by WordPress. After CONSOB announced a temporary suspension order on April 2, WordPress gave Verzari the boot. He…

Jun 25, 2013
BULLETIN: SEC Backs Legisi Receiver’s Bid To Pursue E-Bullion Cash

BULLETIN: The SEC has asked a federal judge to permit the receiver in the Legisi HYIP Ponzi-scheme case to pursue funds tied up after the arrest of James Fayed, the operator of the e-Bullion payment processor. Fayed was convicted in 2011 of ordering the murder of his wife, a potential witness against him. Pamela Fayed…

Jun 24, 2013
Zeekers Share Their Conspiracy Theories At Newspaper Site

The Dispatch of Lexington, N.C., published a story June 7 to update readers on Zeek Rewards-related litigation — specifically the date of a hearing on a motion by certain Zeek members (alleged net winners) to dissolve the receivership. (See link to story/Comments below.) As of this morning, about 27 comments appear below the story. The…

Jun 21, 2013
Global Corporate Alliance, Dallas-Based Medical Insurance Firm, Allegedly Was $10 Million Ponzi Scheme; Operators Charged Civilly, Criminally; Purported Opportunity Tried To Build Street Cred By Tying Itself To Racing Sponsor

Global Corporate Alliance (GCA) was not an MLM or HYIP firm. Even so, some of the allegations against the Dallas-based company read like U.S. government complaints filed against Zeek Rewards, Profitable Sunrise and AdSurfDaily. Perhaps most notable is the SEC’s allegation that GCA had no underlying profitable business through which it generated payments to investors,…

Jun 18, 2013
‘Earn Profit Click,’ Scheme Targeted At Profitable Sunrise Victims On Facebook, Says It Will Build Its Program With Targeted Spam On Facebook And Twitter

An emerging scheme that butchers the English language and contends it opposes spam also bizarrely says it intends to build its business by requiring members to post ads on Facebook and Twitter. Equally bizarrely, the scheme says it accepts Liberty Reserve, the now-shuttered payment processor implicated by the United States last month in an alleged…

Jun 17, 2013
SEC And FINRA Say ‘Pump And Dump’ Spam Increasing Sharply; McAfee Says ‘Botnet-Creating Malware’ Was Being Sold Through Liberty Reserve

DISCLOSURE: The PP Blog uses McAfee security software. The Blog is not compensated for its use of the software. UPDATED 10:23 A.M. (JUNE 15, U.S.A.) The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) have issued an Investor Alert warning about a sharp increase in spam linked to “pump-and-dump” stock schemes.…

Jun 14, 2013
International Scammer Pleads Guilty In United States To Swindling Retirees In ‘Jamaican Lottery Scheme’; O’Brain J. Lynch Potentially Faces Decades In Federal Prison

“Investigators from [the Social Security Administration] discovered that hundreds of victims throughout the United States were losing their social security benefits and their life savings either because they believed that they had won ‘The Jamaican Lottery’ or because, as part of another telemarketing scheme, they revealed enough information about themselves that allowed the thieves to…

Jun 11, 2013
YouTube Video Pitchmen For Profitable Sunrise Hit By Subpoenas From SEC

EDITOR’S NOTE: Much remains murky about Profitable Sunrise, the alleged purveyor of five HYIP “plans,” including one bizarrely dubbed the “Long Haul” that purported to pay a preposterous 2.7 percent a day. The “Long Haul” payoff was dubbed the “Easter Gift.” Investors were told it would arrive April 1 — but it never materialized. One…

Jun 5, 2013
‘Felmina Alliance,’ Another Ponzi-Board ‘Program’ Pushed By ‘Ken Russo,’ Appears To Be DOA

Felmina Alliance, another in a long line of HYIP “programs” pushed on the Ponzi boards by serial huckster “Ken Russo,” appears to be DOA. “Ken Russo” also is known as “DRdave.” His record in promoting scams, pooh-poohing or ignoring regulatory actions and engaging in willful blindness may be unparalleled. Regulators in the United States and…

Jun 4, 2013