SEC

“Initially, Defendant Steve Chen aka Li Chen (“Chen”) was not present at the Company Offices. Shortly after the Receiver arrived and the U.S. Marshals secured the Company Offices, Chen arrived. He was wearing a security guard uniform and carried a loaded gun, which was not concealed. The U.S. Marshals seized the weapon and also found […]

Back in February 2015, the SEC brought a Ponzi- and pyramid action against the alleged operators of “Wings Network,” alleging a cross-border MLM fraud that had gathered tens of millions of dollars. Massachusetts Commonwealth Secretary William Galvin, head of the Massachusetts Securities Division, charged Wings Network and some individuals in 2014. The SEC announced today […]

UPDATED 4:06 P.M. ET U.S.A. Campus police departments at Southwestern University, Eastern Connecticut State University, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Texas Tech University had no immediate comment today on a developing story that may be flowing from the bizarre WCM777 Ponzi scheme allegedly operated by SEC defendant Phil Ming Xu, also known as Dr. Phil […]

EDITOR’S NOTE: The story about Phil Ming Xu’s asserted cooperation with the government appears below the subhead. We’ll lead with the news of extension of the claims deadline for WCM777 victims. If you’re a victim of the World Capital Market/WCM777 Ponzi- and pyramid scam shut down by the SEC last year, you now have until […]

Still promoting your securities scam on YouTube? As the PP Blog reported on Oct. 3, YouTube promos for the alleged DFRF Enterprises’ Ponzi scheme were cited in two of three wire-fraud counts against accused operator Daniel Fernandes Rojo Filho. Filho, allegedly at the helm of a fraud that gathered tens of millions of dollars, has […]

Uncharged in the Zeek Rewards’ case, Robert Craddock nevertheless has received prison time after pleading guilty to swindling more than $117,000 from the Deepwater Horizon oil-spill fund. U.S. District Judge Gregory A. Presnell of the Middle District of Florida yesterday sentenced Craddock to two six-month terms in federal prison to be served concurrently, followed by three […]

In October 2014, federal prosecutors alleged that the Zeek Rewards MLM “program” shut down by the SEC two years earlier was in part a scam that caused “victim-investors to file inaccurate tax returns for phantom income they never actually received.” Now, a year later, a member of the TelexFree MLM scheme shut down by the […]

Federal criminal prosecutors in the office of U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz of the District of Massachusetts have moved to stay discovery in the SEC’s civil case against DFRF Enterprises and alleged Ponzi- and pyramid-scheme operator Daniel Fernandes Rojo Filho. Initially charged in July 2015 via criminal complaint with wire fraud,  Filho was indicted by […]

BULLETIN: (7th update 3:26 p.m. EDT U.S.A.) An SEC complaint against USFIA Inc. first reported on Tuesday by the Sierra Madre Tattler and BehindMLM.com now has become public, with the SEC calling the venture a “worldwide pyramid scheme” that gathered on the order of $32 million while claiming it was backed by amber mines and duping […]

BULLETIN: Class-action attorney Robert J. Bonsignore has asked a federal judge for permission to file a third amended consolidated complaint that effectively would sue at least 20,000 “net winners” in the TelexFree scheme shut down by the SEC last year. The proposal would name alleged TelexFree promoter Daniil  Shoyfer the lead class-action defendant, effectively making […]

UPDATED 8:41 A.M. EDT U.S.A. DFRF Enterprises’ and Platinum Trade Bancorp figure Daniel Fernandes Rojo Filho this morning is listed as an inmate at FDC Miami, a federal detention facility. His inmate registration number is 08217-104 and he is listed in federal Bureau of Prison records as “Daniel F Rojo Filho.” Some apparent DFRF apologists […]