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Tag: SEC

  • Stephen L. Cohen, SEC Official Who Introduced World To Zeek Case, Leaving Agency After Nearly 12 Years

    “The obligations to investors drastically exceed the company’s cash on hand, which is why we need to step in quickly, salvage whatever funds remain and ensure an orderly and fair payout to investors. ZeekRewards misused the power of the Internet and lured investors by making them believe they were getting an opportunity to cash in on the next big thing. In reality, their cash was just going to the earlier investor.” — Stephen L. Cohen, Associate Director, SEC Division of Enforcement, Aug. 17, 2012

    Our best wishes to Stephen L. Cohen, who delivered the words above nearly four years ago. Cohen is leaving the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission after nearly 12 years of service.

    “Throughout his career at the SEC, Steve has made substantial and long-lasting contributions to the Commission’s mission,” said Andrew J. Ceresney, director of the SEC’s Enforcement Division.  “He has supervised significant cases involving a wide variety of misconduct and has been closely involved in the implementation of various enhancements to the enforcement program.  His keen intellect and enthusiasm will be missed.”

    One of the cases he supervised — as the SEC noted today — was Zeek Rewards.

    The PP Blog’s lede in the story reporting the SEC’s Zeek action on Aug. 17, 2012 (italics added):

    The SEC has filed an emergency action in federal court in Charlotte, N.C., that alleges Zeek Rewards is a $600 million Ponzi and pyramid scheme.




  • Sept. 26 Deadline Set For Filing TelexFree Claims; Claims Portal Opens As James Merrill Fights Evidence In Criminal Case

    newtelexfreelogoUPDATED 11:53 A.M. EDT U.S.A. Sept. 23, 2016: The claims deadline has been extended until Dec. 31, 2016, at 4:30 p.m. Prevailing Eastern Time. Claims must be filed through TelexFreeClaims.com. Our earlier story is below . . .

    **____________**

    TelexFree participants and others who may have a claim against the estate should read this important notice from bankruptcy Trustee Stephen B. Darr. It is styled “Notice of Deadline for Filing Electronic Proofs of Claim and Claims Procedures” and appeared on the docket yesterday.

    The electronic claims portal has been established at TelexFreeClaims.com and is operational, according to Darr’s notice. The deadline to file claims is Sept. 26, 2016, at 4:30 p.m. prevailing Eastern time.

    BMC Group Inc. is administering the electronic proof of claim (ePOC) form and its name appears on the TelexFree claims portal.

    Chief Bankruptcy Judge Melvin S. Hoffman of the District of Massachusetts has ruled TelexFree a Ponzi- and pyramid scheme.

    In a separate case, TelexFree principals James Merrill and Carlos Wanzeler were indicted in 2014 on charges of wire fraud and wire-fraud conspiracy. Wanzeler allegedly became an international fugitive by fleeing the United States for Brazil.

    Merrill this month sought to suppress evidence obtained as a result of a search of TelexFree headquarters in Marlborough, Mass., on April 15, 2014, two days after TelexFree’s bankruptcy filing, according to defense court filings in the criminal case.

    Through attorney Robert Goldstein, Merrill argued that the search by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security was “unconstitutionally overbroad and unparticularized” in that it targeted “all computers” and “all records.”

    Among other things, agents seized a laptop computer that day from TelexFree “consultant” Joseph Craft, according to the defense. Merrill argues that Craft’s laptop and all other evidence seized that day should be excluded.

    In 2014, the SEC alleged that Craft was TelexFree’s CFO and was in possession of nearly $38 million in TelexFree-related cashier’s checks on the date of the search.

    As the PP Blog reported on April 17, 2014 (italics added):

    “The Deputy Sheriff told Craft he could not take the laptop and bag and that these items would be subject to the search,” the SEC said in the affidavit. “[Homeland Security Investigations] Agents searched the bag and identified ten Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. cashier’s checks totaling $37,948,296.”

    Nine of the checks were dated April 11, 2014, just two days before TelexFree petitioned for bankruptcy in Nevada, according to the SEC affidavit and other court filings.

    The nine checks were “remitted to” James M. Merrill, TelexFree’s co-owner and former president. Of the nine, five were made out to TelexFree LLC “totaling $25,548,809, and one was made out to Katia B. Wanzeler,” believed to be the wife of TelexFree co-owner and treasurer Carlos Wanzeler,” the SEC asserted in the affidavit.

    The Katia Wanzeler check was for the sum of $2,000,635, the SEC alleged.

    A check dated April 3 was “remitted to” Carlos Wanzeler and made out to “TelexFree Dominicana SRL in the amount of $10,398,000,” the SEC alleged in the affidavit.

    TelexFree Dominicana SRL’s relationship to TelexFree was not immediately clear.

    On April 15, two days after the TelexFree bankruptcy filing and apparently just hours before the raid, Merrill “submitted an unsolicited order to sell $1,150,000 of his mutual fund holdings” and to have the money transferred to a bank in Massachusetts, the SEC said in the affidavit.

    “Bank statements show that two companies controlled by Craft received more than $2,010,000 between November 19, 2013 and March 14, 2014,” the SEC said in its complaint.

    NOTE: Our thanks to the ASD Updates Blog.




  • Alleged Zeek ‘Winner’ Repeatedly Invokes Fifth Amendment In Clawback Case

    UPDATED 3:07 P.M. EDT U.S.A. Darren Miller, an alleged winner of more than $1.635 million in Zeek Rewards and one of the lead defendants in a civil class-action clawback lawsuit filed by Zeek receiver Kenneth D. Bell, repeatedly has invoked his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself, according to new court filings by Miller.

    In response to Bell’s 2014 clawback action in which the receiver seeks return of the winnings plus interest, Miller, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, also marked “sic” next to mentions of himself as a defendant. Bell is suing Miller and more than 9,000 alleged Zeek “winners.” The case is styled Bell v. Disner.

    Miller appears to have invoked the Fifth Amendment 41 times in response to 41 inquiries from Bell — 14 questions and 27 requests for documents.

    His response provides an overview of the sorts of questions Bell asked alleged “winners” through interrogatories. It also provides an overview of the type of documents sought from defendants by the receiver. Zeek was part of Rex Venture Group or RVG, alleged by the SEC and federal prosecutors to have been a North Carolina-based Ponzi- and pyramid scheme that gathered hundreds of millions of dollars before the SEC shut it down in August 2012.

    The Zeek clawback litigation itself shows the perils of pushing MLM schemes authorities deem to be fraudulent. Not only is money received from a “program” at great risk of clawback, expensive and emotionally draining legal proceedings on multiple fronts may ensue.  Some defendants even may fear criminal prosecution.

    At the same time, the Zeek clawback actions may provide something of a preview of what’s in store for tens of thousands of TelexFree “winners” pursued by the trustee in that Massachusetts case for return of their gains. TelexFree also was an MLM scheme.

    Pictured below is the first of 14 interrogatories advanced by Bell, according to Miller’s response:

    Question 1 of the Zeek interrogatories.
    Question 1 of the Zeek interrogatories.

    As you can see above, Bell not only asked about Miller’s involvement, he also asked about the involvement of others, potentially including upline sponsors. Here’s how Miller answered Question 1 and 13 others. (Only minor variations such as the Interrogatory number were present.)

    Darren Miller's answer to the first Zeek interrogatory.
    Darren Miller’s answer to the first Zeek interrogatory.

    For years now, the SEC has expressed concern about scams spreading on social media. Bell also had a question about that — in this case, in Interrogatory 14 (as show below):

    The Zeek receiver asked about social-media accounts. There has been a longtime concern about scams spreading on Faceek, Twitter, YouTube and other sites.
    The Zeek receiver asked about social-media accounts. There has been a longtime concern about scams spreading on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other sites.

    In the interrogatories, Bell wanted to know when an individual’s participation began and when it ended. The receiver also was interested in dates and sums and outcomes — such as when money was paid to Zeek and when money was received from the “program” and how it was spent or kept.

    Individuals also were asked to name people who had information “related to your defenses or claims,” according to Miller’s response. Meanwhile, they were asked if they contended Zeek was not a Ponzi or pyramid scheme and to provide the names of individuals who could back up the claim.

    Bell previously expressed concern that some MLMers were moving from one fraud scheme to another in serial fashion.

    On the document front, Bell had 27 specific requests for production, according to Miller’s response. Here is how Miller answered a request to produce documents used “in connection with recruiting persons to participate” in Zeek.

    Miller's response to a request for document production by the receiver.
    Miller’s response to a request for document production by the receiver.

    Miller’s response to the 26 other requests for documents was substantially similar.

    Also see PP Blog editorial from July 1, 2014: On The War In Zeekland And HYIP Rabbit Holes.

    NOTE: Our thanks to the ASD Updates Blog.




  • DEVELOPING STORY: Phil Ming Xu Of WCM777 May Be Under Arrest In China

    wcm777UPDATED 3:11 P.M. EDT U.S.A. A report dated today at ShanghaiDaily.com says an individual “surnamed Xu” and associated with “World Capital Market Inc.” is “now in custody” after a police action against a “pyramid scheme” in China.

    The PP Blog has contacted the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to determine if the person reportedly under arrest in China is “Phil” Ming Xu of the World Capital Market/WCM777 scheme from 2014.

    If the individual proves to be the Xu in the SEC case, it would mean that Xu left the United States sometime after being charged civilly by the SEC in March 2014 with a fraud alleged to have gathered tens of millions of dollars. It also potentially means the scheme, which allegedly operated under different names and resulted in the appointment of a receiver by a U.S. federal court, continued offshore after the U.S. action.

    Phil Ming Xu resided in Temple City, Calif., the SEC said in 2014.

    From Shanghai Daily (italics added):

    Last June and August, police received alerts from the People’s Bank of China and the Guangdong branch of China Securities Regulatory Commission that the company and its owners were not qualified to conduct public financing, and a criminal investigation began.

    A U.S. criminal probe into World Capital Market and related companies or figures also is believed to be under way.

    The WCM777 story in the United States has been consistently bizarre. MLM hucksters, for example, pitched the “program” in churches and claimed the company had given loans for spectacular sums to some top American businesses.

    There also was a claim a former CIA operative was involved, that the appearance of “blood moons” in the sky would provide investors guidance, that Ming Xu had acquired a company that produced “Innocence of Muslims,” a film that has been described as anti-Islamic and denigrating to the prophet Muhammad, that Ming Xu was an educator at a purported university known as the Joseph Global Institute.

    UPDATE 2:03 P.M. EDT MAY 17 U.S.A. The SEC said today that it didn’t have anything on whether the Xu reportedly under arrest in China is the Xu from the agency’s March 2014 case.


  • After FBI Probe, Ju Ding Inc. (Juding) Exposed As Ponzi, Feds Say; Wenxing Huang Arrested

    From Twitter.
    From Twitter.

    A fraudster who used “fancy cars and parties” to dupe investors has been arrested after an FBI investigation, said Eileen M. Decker, the top federal prosecutor in the Central District of California.

    Wenxing Huang, 33, of San Gabriel, has been charged with money-laundering and wire fraud in an alleged Ponzi scheme that gathered at least $6.9 million. He operated a Brea-based entity known as Ju Ding Inc. Huang also is known as “Di Peng” and “Fatty,” prosecutors said.

    At one point, Huang “orchestrated a Ju Ding holiday party . . . at the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center in which luxury items, including a Mercedes-Benz automobile were raffled off,” prosecutors said.

    “Records from the facility show that the event for 2,000 people cost more than $180,000,” prosecutors said.

    Ju Ding Inc. was known simply as “Juding” on Ponzi boards such as MoneyMakerGroup. The “program” also had a presence on social media such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. The scheme, prosecutors said, traded on false promises that investors’ “money would be used to invest in and develop technology based on graphene, which is a layer of pure carbon that is only one atom thick.”

    In November 2013, BehindMLM.com reported it had observed potential links between Juding and WCM777, a scam exposed by state regulators and the SEC in 2014. WCM777 purported to be in the cloud-computing business.

    A news release yesterday from Decker’s office on the Juding scheme did not reference WCM777, although the U.S. government is believed still to be investigating that “program.”

    From a statement by Decker’s office (italics added):

    As part of the scheme, Huang allegedly offered compensation to investors who recruited others, according to the complaint, which alleges that many investors received little, if any, return on their investments. However, approximately $2.2 million appears to have been returned to clients in what were essentially Ponzi payments.

    Huang is charged with money laundering for allegedly using approximately $1.2 million in investor funds to purchase the Diamond Bar home, which has since been sold.

     

  • TelexFree’s Sann Rodrigues Pushing ‘WowApp’ For ‘Every Day Gains,’ Promo Says

    Accused securities and immigration fraudsters Sann Rodrigues of TelexFree now is pushing WowApp, according to this promo.
    Accused securities and immigration fraudster Sann Rodrigues of TelexFree now is pushing WowApp, according to this promo.

    2ND UPDATE 2:22 P.M. EDT U.S.A. “WowApp,” which has a Facebook page that thanks the “deaf community” for joining, now is being pushed by TelexFree figure and alleged immigration fraudster Sann Rodrigues, according to a web promo.

    WowApp says it is a communications platform. It further says it is based in Hong Kong and urges members to “Use your WowCoins to contribute to a cause of your choice or cash them out.”

    WowCoins purportedly have a value of 1 U.S. cent.

    A post pitching WowApp on the MoneyMakerGroup Ponzi forum claims “You Can Cashout To Paypal,BankWire Or CC / Donate To 2000 Charities In 110 Countries!”

    “CEO Thomas C. Knobel Founder Nobel (company) Released WOWAPP!” the Oct. 30, 2015, MoneyMakerGroup post says.

    WowApp is part of YouWowMe Limited of Hong Kong, according to its website.

    From the WowApp Terms and Conditions (italics added):

    In an effort to earn your loyalty and repeat business, YouWowMe offers you a 10% reward back (“Self-Earnings”) on all of your paid calls using the Service. Immediately following completion of each paid call, the Self-Earnings are credited to your WowApp Account as “WowCoins”, our own special currency. Starting from 100 Wow’s (or its equivalent $1.00), you may use Self-Earnings which are credited to your YouWowMe Account to place additional paid calls. Because you have this option of using your “WowCoins” to make future paid calls using WowApp, for which you will receive an additional 10% reward, our maximum reward for these call offering is 11.11% (“max self-earnings”).

    Translated by Google Translate from Portuguese to English, The WowApp promo credited to Rodrigues reads, “It’s free. It is simple and gives every day gains! This application works better than whatapp and the coolest is that it generates every day gains. I believe this is the future. Free things that generate in earnings. USE EVERY DAY!”

    Rodrigues has a history of hitching his wagon to “programs” that pitch communications devices.

    The SEC, which charged Rodrigues with securities fraud  in the TelexFree Ponzi- and pyramid case in 2014 and later linked him to alleged DFRF Enterprises Ponzi-schemer Daniel Fernandes Rojo Filho,  did not respond immediately to a request for comment. (Update 2:04 p.m. The SEC declined to comment.)

    Rodrigues also is charged criminally in a separate case that alleges he engaged in visa fraud to enter the United States from his native Brazil.

    NOTE: Our thanks to a reader.




  • CKB168 CASE: 2 Promoters Plead Guilty To Criminal Counts; 3 Others Face Trial

    recommendedreading1Two U.S.-based promoters of the noxious CKB168 cross-border pyramid scheme aimed at Chinese-Americans have pleaded guilty to wire-fraud, the office of U.S. Attorney Eileen M. Decker of the Central District of California said.

    The SEC sued Cheong Wha “Heywood” Chang, 48, and his wife, Toni Chen, 47, in 2013. Federal prosecutors later charged them criminally, alleging they duped people into investing in a “Profit Reward Points” scam and then tried to obstruct the SEC investigation.

    Both reside in Hacienda Heights, Calif.

    “These defendants defrauded investors out of millions of dollars, and then they attempted to obstruct justice when the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit,” Decker said. “The fraudulent conduct in this case has harmed many people, both in the United States and abroad.”

    The FBI handled the criminal probe.

    Various investment schemes with apparent footprints in Hong Kong have been pushed by online hucksters since the SEC moved against U.S. based Zeek Rewards in 2012. The agency said CKB and related entities purportedly sold children’s educational courses.

    What the purported opportunity really sold was the “false promise of easy wealth,” the SEC said in 2014.

    “Potential purchasers of CKB products must invest in CKB to get one of its courses,” the SEC said. “Defendants promise that those investors will earn exponential, risk-free returns. In addition to the course, each purchaser/investor receives “Profit Reward Points” (“Prpts”) with a purported value of $750.”

    From Decker’s office (italics added):

    Chang and Chen each admitted that made false statements to investors, including: CKB was a successful and profitable business; with each investment of $1,380, an investor would receive “Profit Reward Points” (PRPTs) that were worth $750 and could be exchanged for money; PRPTs would increase in value as a passive investment, even if investors did not actively recruit new investors to CKB or sell CKB courses; and PRPTs were analogous to, or could be converted into, pre-IPO or future shares of CKB that would increase greatly in value when CKB went public. These statements to investors were false.

    Also facing criminal charges of conspiracy and wire fraud from the SEC case are Wen Chen “Wendy” Lee, Daliang “David” Guo and Chih Hsuan “Kiki” Lin. They are scheduled to go on trial before U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer in November, Decker’s office said.

    Fischer has set a February 2017 sentencing date for Chang and Chen.

    The SEC alleged that Guo was atop the pyramid.

    In 2014, the CKB prosecution and other pyramid-scheme cases made the SEC’s highlight reel.




  • Faith Sloan’s Alleged TelexFree Haul: $710,319

    newtelexfreelogoUPDATED 3:32 P.M. EDT U.S.A. Faith Sloan received $710,319 from the TelexFree Ponzi- and pyramid scheme, according to filings by TelexFree bankruptcy Trustee Stephen B. Darr.

    Sloan, whose address was listed as Virginia Beach, Va., is a longtime Illinois HYIP huckster on Ponzi boards and social media. She and three other TelexFree promoters were charged in April 2014 with securities fraud by the SEC. The state of Illinois later barred her from the securities industry and warned her that violating the ban could result in a felony charge.

    Her alleged TelexFree haul was not known at the time.

    Darr, who has been investigating TelexFree for nearly two years, now wants to add Sloan and dozens of other alleged major winners as named defendants in a proposed class-action lawsuit filed in February that would return the winnings to the bankruptcy estate. Another proposed defendant is Randy Crosby, charged alongside Sloan by the SEC two years ago. His alleged haul, according to Darr, was $487,621.

    An individual identified as Sonya Crosby at the same address received $541,450, according to Darr. She, too, has been named a proposed defendant in the class action.

    As of April 4, no adequate class representative had been found, Darr advised Chief Bankruptcy Judge Melvin S. Hoffman of the District of Massachusetts.

    Sloan previously had complained that the SEC was picking on her, given that others in TelexFree had received more from the scheme and were not charged by the agency. As investigations evolve, however, the SEC sometimes files amended complaints or brings individual actions against defendants not charged out of the gate.

    Such as the case with HYIP huckster Matthew John Gagnon in 2010. He also was sued by a court-appointed receiver and charged criminally by the U.S. Secret Service.

    Alleged Zeek Rewards’ winner Trudy Gilmond wasn’t originally charged by the SEC. But as the probe continued, Gilmond was sued by both the agency and the receiver.

    Zeek receiver Kenneth D. Bell has expressed concerns about promoters moving from one fraud scheme to another. In March, SEC Enforcement Director Andrew Ceresney commented on the “whack-a-mole” nature of online pyramid schemes.

    Sloan has not been charged criminally. On the civil side, she is defending against the action filed by the SEC and also is named a defendant in multiple TelexFree fraud actions brought by private plaintiffs. If Hoffman approves Darr’s motion to file an amended complaint naming Sloan a “winner,” it would open a new litigation front against her.

    It is unclear if the SEC will name any additional TelexFree defendants.

    Darr’s motion to amend the complaint to include Sloan and additional defendants is available on the Trustee’s website. The proposed complaint is included as Exhibit A.



  • MyAdvertisingPays Incorporated In Jurisdiction Mentioned Prominently In ‘Panama Papers’; Its Payment Vendor Lists Individuals Referenced In At Least 2 Spectacular Fraud Schemes

    recommendedreading1 (1)8TH UPDATE 11:53 P.M. EDT U.S.A. Before we get to the news that a federal judge took only a day to dismiss an April 6 libel lawsuit filed by the MyAdvertisingPays (MAPS) scheme and operator Michael E. Deese against the TaraTalks Blog, we’ll note that the 16-page complaint confirms that MAPS is incorporated in Anguilla.

    Anguilla is a British overseas territory in the Caribbean. It is not illegal to incorporate offshore, but some schemes do so to avoid taxes or to engage in money-laundering and other crimes. There has been a longstanding concern that narcotics traffickers and even terrorists are using corporate shells to hide a criminal agenda.

    Class-action attorneys in the United States pursuing claims in the massive TelexFree fraud scheme operating from Brazil, the United States and other countries have called MAPS a Ponzi scheme and promoter Simon Stepsys a “Ponzi mogul.”

    Only days before the filing of the MAPS lawsuit and nearly instant dismissal, news of the “Panama Papers” and a giant leak to reporters broke through the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. Anguilla was mentioned prominently as a tax haven. MAPS, originally incorporated in Mississippi, has been touting its Anguilla connection for months.

    MAPS, for two years, also has been touting its relationship with an e-wallet vendor known as VX Gateway that operates out of Panama. Here’s where things really get interesting.

    VX lists Roger Alberto Santamaria del Cid as a “subscriber.” Del Cid’s name has appeared on the PP Blog a couple of times. On Feb. 8, 2011, the Blog reported that his name had appeared in court filings in a federal forfeiture case involving assets linked to the notorious EMG/Finanzas Forex scheme in the Middle District of Florida. (See Paragraph 10 of this affidavit by a Task Force investigator.)

    Money from EMG/Finanzas was linked to the international narcotics trade. OpenCorporates lists del Cid here as a Finanzas “subscriber.” The site lists Tatiana Itzel Saldaöa Escobar as another Finanzas subscriber, and the same name appears alongside Del Cid as a VX subscriber.

    As the PP Blog reported on Feb. 10, 2011, del Cid’s name also had appeared as the contact person for Perfect Money, another financial vendor purportedly operating from Panama. The SEC has linked Perfect Money to the incredibly toxic Imperia Invest IBC offshore scheme that targeted thousands of people with hearing impairments.

    Del Cid apparently works as a nominee director of offshore companies with ties to Panama. (See April 7, 2013 story that mentions his name on the website of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists: “Faux Corporate Directors Stand in for Fraudsters, Despots and Spies.”

    With American lawyers calling MAPS a Ponzi scheme and with MAPS having promoters in common with TelexFree and the alleged Zeek Rewards Ponzi- and pyramid scheme, MAPS went to federal court in Illinois to sue TaraTalks, a longtime critic of the scheme. The complaint is posted at the RealScam.com antiscam forum.

    The judge tossed the complaint in 24 hours, finding the court did not have jurisdiction, according to BehindMLM.com, another MAPS critic.

    TaraTalks, which calls MAPS a Ponzi scheme, operates on Google’s Blogger platform, but MAPS apparently can’t pin down the precise location. Nor can MAPS identify the author of TaraTalks and the author’s location. All three things are important for establishing diversity jurisdiction.

    But the complaint may have another jurisdiction issue. Although it says plaintiff Deese lives in “Harrison County, Louisiana,” no such place exists. Louisiana does not have counties; it has parishes, and there is no Harrison Parish.

    Whether MAPS is under investigation by any U.S. government agencies is unknown. Similar schemes have led to prosecutions, and references by class-action attorneys to MAPS potentially put it on the U.S. radar.




  • Tax Problems Mount For TelexFree In Brazil, As Criminal Investigations Continue

    Carlos Wanzeler of TelexFree allegedly fled from the United States to Brazil while U.S. investigators were closing in on the company in 2014.
    Carlos Wanzeler of TelexFree allegedly fled from the United States to Brazil while U.S. investigators were closing in on the company in 2014.

    It’s easy enough to forget that TelexFree and its principals have epic legal problems outside the United States, where the company has been found a Ponzi- and pyramid scheme and alleged operators James Merrill and Carlos Wanzeler are under criminal indictment.

    History shows, however, that the problems began in the Brazilian state of Acre in 2013. That’s when the state government seized millions of dollars tied to the MLM “program,” amid pyramid-scheme allegations. In Brazil, TelexFree operated through a company known as Ympactus.

    Certain U.S. TelexFree promoters who allegedly pushed the “program” after the Acre action have been charged with fraud in the United States by the SEC.

    Now, GazetaOnline (Brazil) is reporting in Portuguese that TelexFree may owe billions of reais in back taxes to Brazil’s federal government. (See translation to English by Google Translate.)

    At the same time, the publication is reporting that two criminal probes into TelexFree by Brazil’s government for “suspicion of tax evasion, money laundering, and to act without authorization in the financial and capital markets” continue, according to a Google translation.

    Brazil’s government may have a claim to a large portion of the money seized in Acre. For starters, it appears to be going after about R$130 million (roughly $36 million U.S.) of the R$600 million seized. If the federal government is successful, the $36 million would be transferred from state court in Acre to federal court in Espirito Santo.

    NOTE: Our thanks to Mikaella Campos of GazetaOnline.




  • SEC, Lawyer Clash Over Representation Of TelexFree Figure Sann Rodrigues; Lamborghini Once Owned By Accused DFRF Enterprises’ Ponzi Schemer Daniel Fernandes Rojo Filho Was Used To Pay Sann’s Legal Fees

    In court filings, the SEC says it has traced the ownership of a 2008 Lamborghini once owned by TelexFree figure Sann Rodrigues and determined the car once was owned by accused DFRF Enterprises' Ponzi schemer Daniel Fernandes Rojo Filho. This was the check Filho used to purchase the vehicle. Source: Federal court fililes. Masking by PP Blog.
    Small world between accused scammers: In court filings, the SEC says it has traced the ownership of a 2008 Lamborghini owned by TelexFree figure Sann Rodrigues and determined the car once was owned by accused DFRF Enterprises’ Ponzi schemer Daniel Fernandes Rojo Filho. This, according to an SEC exhibit, was the check Filho used to purchase the vehicle and, apparently, a 2006 Ferrari. Source: Federal court files. Masking by PP Blog.

    3RD UPDATE 9:36 AM EDT MARCH 17 U.S.A. This one features highly questionable dealings between an alleged MLM securities fraudster (TelexFree’s Sann Rodrigues) and an alleged Ponzi schemer (Daniel Fernandes Rojo Filho of DFRF Enterprises). Filho also has been linked to the alleged 2010 Finanzas Forex/Evolution Market Group Ponzi scheme, a Ponzi-board “program” that allegedly had ties to the narcotics trade.

    Suffice to say, this developing story has a lot of moving parts. Here’s our distillation:

    On March 14, the SEC alleged that Rodrigues — whose assets are frozen — had transferred two expensive cars to Florida attorney Robert Eckard. Eckard is representing Rodrigues in the SEC’s civil case against him and other TelexFree figures and also in the Justice Department’s criminal case against him for immigration fraud.

    The transfers potentially created a conflict of interest for Eckard, given that Rodrigues currently is jailed for civil contempt for violating the asset freeze and has not purged that contempt, according to the SEC. Getting out of hock with the court will cost the huckster at least $334,000, perhaps more. Rodrigues claims he cannot pay and that the court should free him and put him on a payment plan.

    U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton of Massachusetts is hearing the case.

    Why didn’t Rodrigues apply the two cars to purge the contempt?

    Well, according to the SEC, the cars — a 2008 Lamborghini Gallardo and a 2012 Fisker Karma — were transferred to Eckard after the agency moved for contempt against Rodrigues in August 2015.

    The SEC further suggested in its filings that Eckard paid far below book value for the cars. In the case of the used Lamborghini, the SEC said, the lawyer paid only $30,000 for a car that months earlier had sold for five times that sum.

    Eckard paid only $20,000 for the Fisker Karma, which months earlier had sold for three times that sum, the SEC said. Fisker Karma is an electric luxury vehicle whose operator declared bankruptcy..

    Reached by the PP Blog today, Eckard pointed to court filings in which he says Rodrigues — strapped for cash because of the freeze — paid him with cars, rather than cash. And, the lawyer contended, no conflict existed and the SEC had cleared the cars from the asset freeze.

    Because Rodrigues paid with cars, not cash, it created an unusual situation with vehicle taxes, Eckard said. He added that he consulted with authorities in Pasco County and with the Florida Department of Revenue when transferring the cars to his name.

    “I did not pay anything for the vehicle, but was required to put an amount down for tax purposes, since it was not a gift,” Eckard advised Gorton about the Lamborghini.

    The Fisker Karma was accepted from Rodrigues as payment for legal fees and proved to be a lemon with bad electrical parts and bad tires, Eckard contended.

    Eckard is moving to strike the SEC’s assertions from the court docket.

    Both Rodrigues and Filho are Brazilian by birth and Florida residents. How they came together remains unclear.

    The SEC linked Rodrigues to Filho last year.

    NOTE: Our thanks to the ASD Updates Blog.

    UPDATE 3:53 P.M. EDT U.S.A. MARCH 22: Looks as though Rodrigues will be released from jail, after coming up with a plan to purge the contempt. This matter is separate from the SEC’s securities-fraud case against him filed in April 2014.