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Tag: SEC

WHEN PONZIS COLLIDE: Receiver’s Probe Into Commodities Online LLC ‘Severely Delayed And Impeded’ By ‘Noncooperation’; Federal Judge Orders James Clark Howard III And Sutton Capital LLC To Disgorge $1.45 Million; Firm That Listed AdSurfDaily Figure (And ‘Surf’s Up’ Mod) As ‘Director’ Sued Howard In 2010

A federal judge in Florida has ordered a convicted narcotics and firearms felon who emerged as a central figure in a Ponzi scheme case after his release from prison to disgorge $1.45 million. The order, signed Aug. 23 by U.S. District Judge Patricia A. Seitz, applies to James Clark Howard III and Sutton Capital LLC.…

Aug 30, 2011
BULLETIN: FLORIDA — AGAIN (UPDATE): James Risher Ponzi Scheme Used Pitchman Who Targeted Teachers, Retirees, Church Members, Golfers, SEC Says; Risher Had 5 Prior Criminal Convictions; Pitchman Daniel Joseph Sebastian Now Charged Civilly

“[Y]ou invest in this fund and all of a sudden you start making more money than you’ve ever made in your life with your investors. And then all of a sudden you start making enough money where you don’t have to go to work . . . [a]t Safe Harbor, you could retire today, like…

Aug 29, 2011
UPDATE: CONSOB, Italy’s Securities Regulator, Issues New Order In Probe Related To Club Asteria; Findings And Effect Not Immediately Clear; Google Translation Software Calls CONSOB A ‘Bag’; Yahoo Calls Club A ‘Starfish’; PP Blog Awaits Official Government Translation

Dear Readers, The PP Blog became aware last night that CONSOB, Italy’s equivalent of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), had issued a new order on Monday in its investigation into certain claims made online in Italy about the purported Club Asteria business “opportunity.” Club Asteria has been widely promoted online as a “passive”…

Aug 24, 2011
UPDATE: HYIP Known As ‘Insectrio’ Has Collapsed; Website Of LibertyReserve- And PerfectMoney-Enabled Scheme Pushed On Ponzi Boards Goes Missing; Both Payment-Processing Firms Referenced In SEC’s Complaint Against Imperia Invest IBC

UPDATE: (UPDATED 11:53 A.M. EDT (U.S.A.) RealScam.com is reporting that the website of a bizarre HYIP known as “Insectrio” will not resolve. As the PP Blog reported on May 27, Insectrio was emerging as a darling on the Ponzi boards. The purported “opportunity” even used a graphic showing the logos of TalkGold, MoneyMakerGroup and DreamTeamMoney…

Aug 22, 2011
Recidivist Felon Robert Stinson Of ‘Life’s Good’ Pleads Guilty To 26-Count Ponzi Indictment, Faces Decades In Prison

Robert Stinson Jr., the Philadelphia-area recidivist felon and securities swindler accused last year of stealing $17 million in a Ponzi scheme and wiring money to prevent it from being seized even as the FBI was conducting a raid, has pleaded guilty. Stinson, 56, of Berwyn, faces a maximum under federal sentencing guidelines of nearly 34…

Aug 15, 2011
ONLY ON THE INTERNET: Accused Huckster Andy Bowdoin’s Email ‘Blast’ To Raise 500K In Defense Funds May Begin Today; Recidivist Fraudster And Self-Described ‘Money Magnet’ Also Plans Facebook Appeal

Federal prosecutors say Andy Bowdoin scammed investors in a securities swindle in the 1990s. They add that one of his partners in the autosurf trade was accused by the SEC in the 1990s of pitching a prime-bank swindle. Bowdoin, 76, was arrested in December on charges that he presided over an autosurf Ponzi scheme known…

Aug 11, 2011
ASD ECHO CHAMBER? Bizarre Ponzi Case That Included Apparent ‘Sovereign Citizens’ And Crackpot Legal Theories Ends With Spectacular Total Of 465 Guilty Verdicts Against Final 2 Defendants

UPDATED 7:57 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) It featured a Ponzi huckster touting a can’t-miss earnings scheme in an Internet video. For good measure, it featured apparent “sovereign citizens,” crackpot claims that U.S. law did not apply to the scheme and incongruous claims that the scheme had passed muster with the SEC. It also included a failed…

Aug 9, 2011
BULLETIN: Judge Finds That Purported Forex ‘Experts’ Used Bogus Website, Former High School Coaches And J.C. Penney Sales Clerks In Scheme That Funneled Millions To Ponzi Schemer Now Jailed With Bernard Madoff

EDITOR’S NOTE: Both the CFTC and SEC have encountered incredibly elaborate fraud schemes — some with elements that only can be described as bizarre and deeply disturbing. The story below is based on a fraud case brought by the CFTC against Gary D. Martin and Brenda K. Martin of St. Augustine, Fla. The Martins are…

Aug 9, 2011
URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: Judge Declares Mantria Corp. A ‘Smoke And Mirrors’ Ponzi Scheme, Says Troy Wragg And Amanda Knorr-Led Firm Acted With ‘Sociopathic Greed’; Defendants ‘Shamelessly’ Raised $54.5 Million Through ‘Blatant Lies’

URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: Using direct, no-nonsense language, U.S. District Judge Christine M. Arguello has ruled Mantria Corp. a Ponzi scheme that operated with “sociopathic greed” to defraud investors of millions of dollars. Some investors were encouraged to drain equity in their homes to invest with Mantria, according to the ruling. The ruling was…

Aug 8, 2011
UPDATE: CenturionWealthCircle, ‘Program’ Pushed By Club Asteria Cheerleaders On The Ponzi Boards, May Be Trying To Address Ponzi Collapse By Implementing ‘Feeder’ Ponzi; ASD Tried The Same Thing, Only With ‘Autosurfs,’ Court Filings Say

CenturionWealthCircle (CWC) appears to be moving from the ridiculous to the absurd, fueled in no small measure by serial, wink-nod scammers on the Ponzi boards. Members of Club Asteria, an “opportunity” that suspended cashouts weeks ago amid reports its PayPal account had been frozen, were among CWC’s early cheerleaders. Club Asteria promoters also have been…

Aug 8, 2011
URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: Former Major League Baseball All-Star Doug DeCinces Charged With Insider Trading; Attorney, Physical Therapist And Businessman Who Knew Longtime Third Baseman Charged In Same Case

URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: Former Major League Baseball star Doug DeCinces, who threw out the honorary first pitch last night at a game between the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the Minnesota Twins, today was charged with insider trading by the SEC. Also charged in the civil case were attorney Fred Scott Jackson,…

Aug 4, 2011