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Tag: SEC

ASD ALL OVER AGAIN? ‘3 Hebrew Boys’ Accuse U.S. Attorney Of ‘Treason’; Claim Draws Another Parallel To AdSurfDaily

Three men found guilty in South Carolina last week of operating an $82 million Ponzi scheme accused a federal prosecutor of treason on the same day the jury returned its verdict, the FBI said. A treason claim also was made in the federal forfeiture proceeding against assets tied to Florida-based AdSurfDaily, an alleged Ponzi scheme…

Nov 23, 2009
BREAKING NEWS: Prosecutors Allege Ponzi Murder Plot; Jeffrey Lane Mowen Accused Of Soliciting Prisoner To Kill Witnesses In Multimillion-Dollar Case Against Him

EDITOR’S NOTE: In August, a poster here who defended autosurf Ponzi schemes demanded readers to “show me one time where the [U.S. government] has even started a lawsuit or ‘gone after’ a company off shore.” The post concerned the AdVentures4U (ADV4U) autosurf, which, like a number of autosurfs, claimed legal ties to Panama. Promoters said…

Nov 19, 2009
Federal Judge Issues Restraining Order, Asset Freeze In Alleged Mantria Ponzi Scheme; Video Featuring President Obama, Former President Clinton And World Business Leaders Pulled From ‘Speed Of Wealth’ Website

In a day of notable irony, the Obama administration announced the creation of an Interagency Financial Fraud Task Force led by the Department of Justice. Critical support functions will be provided by the Treasury Department, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Securities and Exchange Commission. One of the first cases the new…

Nov 17, 2009
Defendant In $50 Million Texas Ponzi Taken Into Custody

A previous encounter with the Securities and Exchange Commission and a $50,000 fine did not stop Benny Lee Judah from selling unregistered securities, and now Judah has been taken into federal custody. Judah, 50, of Lubbock, Texas, pleaded guilty today to one count of money laundering and one count of sale and delivery after sale…

Nov 12, 2009
FBI Arrests 14, Including 2 Lawyers, In Major Insider-Trading Probe; SEC Says Attorneys Provided Tips For Kickbacks In Latest Scandal That Rocks Wall Street

As the FBI and IRS executed search warrants at the Florida office of attorney Scott Rothstein this morning amid allegations he ran a covert Ponzi scheme that could have drained as much as $500 million from investors, prosecutors up north were concentrating on arresting lawyers in a separate case involving insider trading on Wall Street.…

Nov 5, 2009
UPDATE: Another Parallel To ASD/Golden Panda/AVG Emerges In Canadian Probe Of Manna Trading Corp. Ltd.

Yesterday we reported that the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) ordered penalties and disgorgement totaling $42 million in the case against Legacy Capital Inc., Legacy Trust Inc., Manna Trading Corp Ltd. and Manna Humanitarian Foundation. We reported several parallels to the ongoing investigation in the United States into the business practices of AdSurfDaily/Golden Panda Ad…

Oct 27, 2009
BULLETIN: Richard S. Piccoli, 83, Sentenced To 20 Years In Prison For Ponzi And Affinity-Fraud Scheme

In a case that features some of the same elements of the alleged AdSurfDaily Ponzi scheme — a senior citizen as the operator, appeals to religion, the sale of unregistered securities, commingling of funds, seized assets and advertising materials that promised a payout — an 83-year-old New York man today effectively was sentenced to life…

Oct 21, 2009
INCREDIBLE: Yet Another Florida Man Indicted In Alleged Ponzi Scheme; Prosecutors Say Sean Healy Of Weston Bought A Bentley And ‘Several Ferraris’

There has been nonstop news about Florida Ponzi schemes in the past 48 hours. Several indictments have been announced, the latest involving Sean Healy of Weston. Healy, 38, was charged in a 55-count indictment unsealed in Pennsylvania with multiple counts of wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering and obstruction of justice. Prosecutors said Healy “spent…

Oct 16, 2009
BREAKING NEWS: SEC Attacks ANOTHER Alleged Florida Ponzi And Affinity-Fraud Scheme; FBI Investigating Amid Report Indictments Alleging Securities Fraud, Wire Fraud, Money-Laundering And Conspiracy Have Been Unsealed

UPDATED 2:03 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) The Securites and Exchange Commission — which announced yesterday that it had broken up a $22 million Ponzi scheme in Florida — announced today that it was working with the FBI to break up yet another Ponzi scheme in the Sunshine State. The newest scheme was targeted at Haitian-Americans who…

Oct 16, 2009
BREAKING NEWS: SEC, CFTC Seek To Smash Alleged Florida-Based Ponzi Scheme With Ties To Panama; David F. Merrick Charged With Unlawfully Acting As Investment Adviser And Operating An Unregistered Foreign Investment Firm From Inside The United States

UPDATED 12:39 A.M. EDT (OCT. 16 U.S.A.) In twin actions that may send shockwaves across the offshore autosurfing “industry,” the Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission have gone to court to stop an alleged Florida-based Ponzi scheme that claimed a presence in Panama. Today’s announced actions by the SEC and…

Oct 15, 2009
Richard M. Harkless, Ponzi Scheme Figure, Sentenced To 100 Years In Prison; Judge Says He Showed No Remorse

A California man convicted of wire fraud, mail fraud and money-laundering in a $60 million Ponzi scheme has been sentenced to 100 years in prison and ordered to pay nearly $35.5 million in restitution. Separately, Richard M. Harkless was ordered to pay $42 million in disgorgement, prejudgment interest and civil penalties in a case brought…

Oct 8, 2009