UPDATE: The PP Blog wrote about Biwako Bank Limited on April 29 after it was touted on a Profitable Sunrise Facebook site as a good “program” for individuals ripped off in the alleged Profitable Sunrise pyramid scheme.
But now Biwako Bank’s website has disappeared, with the “program” apparently following Profitable Sunrise into the darkness.
“**THIS IS NOT AN HYIP , THIS IS A BANK**” a pitchman bizarrely claimed about Biwako on the Profitable Sunrise Facebook site last month. The program curiously said it hoped to attract “costumers.”
The non-HYIP claim was made despite the fact Biwako Bank listed four color-coded “plans” that purported to provide daily payouts of between 1.95 percent and 3.05 percent. The highest-paying plan — the “Red Plan” at 3.05 percent a day — advertised a percentage even higher than the purported “Long Haul” plan of Profitable Sunrise.
The “Long Haul” plan claimed to pay 2.7 percent a day.
In April, the SEC alleged that Profitable Sunrise was a pyramid scheme that may have gathered tens of millions of dollars at least in part by using offshore companies and wire transfers.
Regulators have repeatedly warned about reload scams targeted at victims of fraud schemes. Like Profitable Sunrise, Biwako had a presence on the TalkGold and MoneyMakerGroup forums. So did Zeek Rewards, which the SEC described in August 2012 as a $600 million Ponzi- and pyramid scheme.
Biwako’s haul is unknown.
Other reload programs promoted on the Facebook site by boat-sharks include (at least) “SuperWithdraw,” “Whos12,” “Maxi-Cash,” “FairyFunds,” “Roxilia,” “OptiEarn,” “AVVGlobal,” “ProForexUnion,” “MajestiCrown” and “TelexFree.”
BULLETIN: The SEC has asked a federal judge not to permit a Virginia man to intervene in the Profitable Sunrise HYIP fraud case, saying that the man’s self-filed pleading “would open the floodgates for other investors to file similar motions.”
In late April, James Paul Schilling of Mechanicsville effectively asked U.S. District Judge Thomas W. Thrash Jr. of the Northern District of Georgia to unfreeze $57,300 sent to Profitable Sunrise via wire in a series of transfers in January and February. In early April, the SEC described Profitable Sunrise as a pyramid scheme that may have collected tens of millions of dollars while operating through a “mail drop” in England and using other companies to gather the funds.
Money from the scheme was directed at entities in several countries, the SEC said.
Profitable Sunrise was targeted at U.S. residents, the SEC said in April. One of the claimed “plans” of Profitable Sunrise was bizarrely dubbed the “Long Haul” and purported to pay 2.7 percent a day.
“In this case, permitting S[c]hilling to intervene and retrieve money commingled with funds deposited by thousands of other investors would open the floodgates for other investors to file similar motions, which would create an unnecessary strain on this Court’s resources thereby delaying the proceedings and, ultimately, any distribution of funds to investors,” the SEC argued.
The agency said in its opposition to Schilling’s motion that it was contemplating asking the court to appoint a receiver, but any decision to ask for the appointment would depend on whether the SEC’s “efforts to repatriate funds are successful.
“A Receiver could best administer a process to return funds to defrauded investors pursuant to a plan of distribution approved by the Court,” the SEC said.
In April, the SEC said that “Hungarian law enforcement authorities” had frozen an account holding $11.3 million connected to the scheme as part of an “investigation of suspected money laundering.”
Whether that money will be returned to the United States is unclear. Also unclear is whether Profitable Sunrise funds that may be held in other countries ever will be returned. Among other things, the Profitable Sunrise case demonstrates the dangers of doing business with murky enterprises, regardless of where an investor lives. Investors by the thousands could be left holding the bag.
Profitable Sunrise was promoted on well-known Ponzi scheme forums such as TalkGold and MoneyMakerGroup. Although promoters claimed “Roman Novak” was running Profitable Sunrise, it remains unclear whether he actually exists. The scheme spread through an MLM-style network of promoters hoping to glean commissions.
The SEC is asking Thrash to summarily deny Schilling’s motion or “in the alternative, order that Shilling support the motion with admissible evidence and provide citation to the legal authorities that he claims support his motion.”
Despite the murkiness of Profitable Sunrise, former pitchman John Schepcoff is telling YouTube viewers that he’s identified another venture that is “1,000 percent better” than Profitable Sunrise and Zeek Rewards. In August, the SEC described Zeek as a $600 million Ponzi and pyramid scheme, saying it duped people into believing a return of about 1.5 percent a day was legitimate.
The Profitable Sunrise “Long Haul” plan offered about double the purported returns of Zeek.
Sentencing for Legisi HYIP Ponzi scheme purveyor Gregory N. McKnight has been delayed again — this time until Aug. 6 at 1:30 p.m. McKnight had been scheduled to be sentenced today in the Eastern District of Michigan. The postponement marks at least the fifth in the case.
Legisi, which had a presence on infamous Ponzi forums such as TalkGold and MoneyMakerGroup and became the subject of both civil (SEC) and criminal (U.S. Secret Service) probes prior to its 2008 collapse, was a fraud that gathered about $72 million. McKnight pleaded guilty to wire fraud in February 2012. Prosecutors have asked for a sentence of 15 years, describing McKnight’s wordplay when trying to sanitize his HYIP scheme as “semantic obfuscation.”
Meanwhile, sentencing for Legisi pitchman Matthew John Gagnon has been moved from today until May 21 at 1:30 p.m. Gagnon pleaded guilty to not disclosing he’d been paid more than $1 million by Legisi and McKnight to tout the “program” online. Gagnon pushed the “program” on Mazu.com.
The name of MoneyMakerGroup appears in an evidence exhibit in the Legisi case. Also included in the exhibit is Legisi’s bizarre Terms of Service, which required investors to avow they were not an “informant” for government agencies such as the CIA, FBI, SEC, “Her Majesty’s Police,” the Intelligence Services of Great Britain and the Serious Fraud Office, among others.
Other recent Ponzi-board “programs” that became the subjects of major investigations include Pathway To Prosperity, Imperia Invest IBC, AdSurfDaily, Zeek Rewards and Profitable Sunrise. All of the “programs” claimed absurd rates of return.
The SEC said last month that Profitable Sunrise was operating from a “mail drop” in England and that pitchmen may not even have known for whom they were working when touting the “opportunity,” which may have gathered tens of millions of dollars.
ASD was a $119 million Ponzi scheme. Zeek, according to the SEC, was a $600 million Ponzi- and pyramid fraud. Imperia targeted thousands of deaf investors and consumed more than $7 million. Pathway to Prosperity gathered about $70 million, according to court filings.
ASD’s Andy Bowdoin — now serving a prison term of 78 months — also engaged in semantic obfuscation, prosecutors said. ASD, a massive Ponzi scheme, purported to pay 1 percent a day. That’s about a third of the purported payout of the Profitable Sunrise “Long Haul” plan, which promoters said paid 2.7 percent a day.
Like Legisi, Profitable Sunrise claimed to be in the “loan” business.
Numerous securities regulators have described Profitable Sunrise as a form of affinity fraud targeted at people of faith. At least 35 agencies in the United States and Canada have issued cease-and-desist orders or Investor Alerts against the HYIP “program,” which had a presence on infamous Ponzi forums such as TalkGold and MoneyMakerGroup.
The website of Profitable Sunrise has been missing since at least March 14. On April 1 — the day after Easter Sunday and April Fools Day — the “program” failed to make good on promised payouts from the bizarrely named “Long Haul” plan. The “Long Haul” was purported to pay interest of 2.7 percent a day. Its claims were similar to other collapsed schemes promoted on the Ponzi boards.
On Dec. 30, the PP Blog reported that Profitable Sunrise appeared to be relying on appeals to faith in a bid to attract investors in the wake of the August 2012 collapse of the Zeek Rewards “program.” Zeek, which allegedly planted the seed it paid interest of 1.5 percent a day, also had a presence on the Ponzi boards. In August, the SEC described Zeek as a $600 million Ponzi- and pyramid fraud.
The PP Blog learned last month that at least one apologist for the NJF Global Group has relied on purported “research” by a notorious cyberstalker known as “MoneyMakingBrain” in an apparent bid to discredit critics of the “program.”
MoneyMakingBrain emerged in 2012 as an apologist for the JSSTripler/JustBeenPaid “program” purportedly operated by Frederick Mann. JSS/JBP purported to pay 2 percent a day. MoneyMakingBrain claimed he’d defend Mann “so help me God.”
JSS/JBP, which appears to have morphed into secondary and tertiary scams (ProfitClicking and ClickPaid) after the August collapse of Zeek, may have ties to the “sovereign citizens” movement. Mann has compared the U.S. government to the Mafia, claiming that government employees were part of “a criminal gang of robbers, thieves, murderers, liars, imposters.”
Profitable Sunrise also may have ties to the “sovereign citizens” movement.
Some “sovereign citizens” have an irrational belief that laws do not apply to them. It is known that the AdSurfDaily Ponzi scheme in 2008 also had ties to “sovereign citizens,” including Kenneth Wayne Leaming. Leaming, a resident of Washington state, was convicted earlier this year of filing false liens for billions of dollars against public officials who had a role in the prosecution of the ASD Ponzi scheme.
ASD operated from Florida, planting the seed it paid a return of 1 percent a day. ASD President Andy Bowdoin — now serving a 78-month prison term — also was associated with a 1-percent-a-day scam known as AdViewGlobal. AVG bizarrely claimed in 2009 that it enjoyed the protections of the U.S. and Florida constitutions while purportedly operating from Uruguay. The scam collapsed during the summer of 2009 — but not before issuing threats to members and critics.
In May 2009, AVG bizarrely announced it had secured the services of an offshore facilitator. The announcement was made on the same day President Obama announced a crackdown on offshore scams.
The Associated Press is reporting that Zeek Rewards operator Paul R. Burks claims that he is not at fault and that Zeek participants are to blame if they lost money.
From the AP (via Yahoo News/italics added):
“I never told anyone to invest more money than they could afford,” Burks snapped. “I didn’t tell them to do that. Never.”
He said if they lost money, “it’s their fault. Not mine. Don’t blame me.”
Zeek rose in part through promotions on well-known Ponzi scheme forums such as TalkGold and MoneyMakerGroup. In August, the SEC alleged that Zeek was a $600 million Ponzi- and pyramid scheme operating from Lexington, N.C. Court records suggest the SEC’s Zeek probe began at least in April 2012.
Serial hucksters on the Ponzi boards often rationalize Ponzi train wrecks by claiming that no one advised participants to spend more than they could afford to lose.
Convicted Ponzi schemer Dennis Bolze — one of the original so-called “mini-Madoffs” — tried a version of the “don’t invest more than you can afford to lose” rationalization in an unsuccessful bid to reduce his 27-year prison sentence for his brick-and-mortar scheme. A judge applied a sentencing enhancement in the Bolze case because senior citizens were among the victims.
Bolze used a similar argument for a sentencing reduction, asserting that his victims invested only “discretionary money.”
He further argued that age alone was not sufficient to justify the enhancement “and that the present poor financial condition of his victims is not relevant to whether they were unusually vulnerable at the time they invested their money with him,” according to the 6th Circuit.
Meanwhile, Bolze “denied that he forced anyone to invest” and claimed “that he did not know” certain investors “because his associate dealt with them.”
The panel rejected each of those arguments.
Burks, 66, has not been charged criminally. The SEC sued Burks and Zeek parent Rex Venture Group LLC last year.
Ponzi-board hucksters have promoted numerous Internet-aided scams. AdSurfDaily, a $119 million Ponzi scheme opearting from Florida, had a presence on the boards. So did Legisi, a $72 million Ponzi scheme operating from Michigan. So did Pathway to Prosperity, a $70 million scam alleged to have penetrated 120 countries. So did Imperia Invest IBC, a shadowy entity that stole millions of dollars by targeting people with hearing impairments.
The most recent Ponzi-board scam to make major news is Profitable Sunrise, another shadowy entity purportedly operated by “Roman Novak.” Profitable Sunrise purported to pay interest of 2.7 percent a day through its bizarrely named “Long Haul” plan targeted at Christians. Members were due a purported “Easter gift” on Monday, April Fool’s Day.
The Profitable Sunrise website has been missing for more than two weeks. At least 34 U.S. states or provinces in Canada have issued Investor Alerts or cease-and-desist orders against Profitable Sunrise. The United Kingdom and New Zealand also have issued warnings.
Research shows that Profitable Sunrise had members in common with ASD and Zeek.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Thanks to PP Blog reader “Tony” for pointing us to the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) warning against the Lucra Fund and Goldenarium HYIP schemes. Earlier this month, BCSC issued a warning on the Profitable Sunrise scheme.
The British Columbia Securities Commission has issued warnings on HYIP “programs” known as Lucra Fund and Goldenarium. BCSC’s move follows on the heels of its move earlier this month to issue a warning against Profitable Sunrise.
All three “programs” had a presence on well-known Ponzi scheme forums such as TalkGold and MoneyMakerGroup. The Zeek Rewards “program,” which the SEC in August 2012 described as a $600 million Ponzi- and pyramid scheme, also had a presence on the forums. So did many other collapsed schemes, including the $119 million AdSurfDaily Ponzi scheme, the $72 million Legisi Ponzi scheme and the alleged $70 million Pathway to Prosperity Ponzi scheme. P2P spead Ponzi misery to at least 120 countries, according to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
BCSC said it became aware of Lucra Fund on March 11 “after a BCSC staff member received a promotional e-mail.
“The sender of the e-mail wrote that Lucra Fund offered 5.5% daily returns, and promised a referral commission,” the agency said.
And, it noted, “[t]he Lucra Fund website stopped working soon afterwards.”
Among the talking points of Lucra Fund was that it employed “DDoS Protection By BlockDos,” according to a pitchman’s post at MoneyMakerGroup.
That appears to be the same firm that provided protection for Profitable Sunrise. The Profitable Sunrise website also has gone missing. (At the time of this post, the Profitable Sunrise website has been inaccessible for nine days.)
On March 19, BCSC said, the agency “became aware of what appears to be a BC-connected promotion of Goldenarium through Twitter. Similar to Profitable Sunrise, this high-yield investment promotion offered a minimum investment of $10 and high daily returns. It also offered a referral fee.
“The Goldenarium website no longer works, and people on numerous Facebook pages connected to the scheme are questioning whether the entity will reactivate its website,” BCSC said.
In August 2012, a pitchman on the DreamTeamMoney Ponzi forum described Goldenarium as “a company registered in England and Wales (United Kingdom) that “fulfills all the necessary requirements to provide a serious and highly reliable service to all our customers.
In order to accomplish that we not only strictly comply with both United Kingdom’s Law and International Law.”
Before its 2011 collapse, “Insectrio” used the logos of DreamTeamMoney, TalkGold and MoneyMakerGroup in sales pitches.
In August 2011, the PP Blog wrote about the collapse of a bizarre “program” known as Insectrio that advertised an “Egg” plan purported to pay 103 percent after one day, a “Larva” plan purported to pay 120 percent after five days and other plans advertised to pay even more. It was enabled by the offshore processors LibertyReserve and PerfectMoney, two of the processors used by Profitable Sunrise.
LibertyReserve and Perfect Money also are referenced in the SEC’s October 2010 fraud complaint against Imperia Invest IBC, a scheme that targeted deaf investors. Imperia also had a presence on the Ponzi boards.
Insectrio used the logos of DreamTeamMoney, TalkGold and MoneyMakerGroup in promos.
In July 2010, after the collapse of the P2P and Genius Funds HYIP schemes, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) issued a warning about HYIP schemes, pointing out that they trade through social media.
FINRA specifically warned about websites that “Rank the latest programs and provide details of ‘payout options.’” At the same time, it warned about sites that “Allow web designers to buy ready-made HYIP templates and set up an ‘instant’ HYIP.” Meanwhile, it warned about sites that “Blog, chat and ‘teach’ about HYIPs.”
“Some HYIP ‘investors’ proffer strategies for maximizing profits and avoiding losses — everything from videos showing how to ‘make massive profits’ in HYIPs and ‘build a winning HYIP portfolio’ to an eBook on how to ‘ride the Ponzi’ and get in and out before a scheme collapses,” FINRA said.
“Other HYIP forums discuss how to enter ‘test spends,’ how to identify new HYIPs to maximize one’s chances of being an early stage payee and even how to check when a HYIP’s domain name expires so you can guess how long it might pay returns before shutting down,” FINRA noted.
Read BCSC’s March 22 Investor Alert against Lucra Fund and Goldenarium. (The document references the earlier warning against Profitable Sunrise.)
EDITOR’S NOTE: Information from Tennessee was received after this story was published. The Tennessee info is published in the Comments thread below . . .
UPDATED 8:18 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) Louisiana has issued an Investor Alert on the Profitable Sunrise HYIP, joining a growing list of U.S. states and Canadian provinces to have done so.
Profitable Sunrise has a presence on well-known Ponzi-scheme forums such as TalkGold and MoneyMakerGroup. The “program” purportedly is operated by Roman Novak and is trading on Bible verse.
“Consumers who have invested with Profitable Sunrise are encouraged to contact the Securities Division of the Office of Financial Institutions at (225) 925-4512,” the office of Louisiana Commissioner of Securities John Ducrest said.
With Louisiana’s action, the unofficial total of U.S. states or Canadian provinces issuing Investor Alerts or cease-and-desist orders against Profitable Sunrise now stands at 27. (See current list here.)
From the statement by Ducrest’s office (italics added):
Investments are purportedly used to provide short-term loans to companies at 3% interest per day. The company’s website also states that investors may earn money by recruiting others through a referral program that pays 5% of deposits generated from recruits.
Consumers should be aware that neither Profitable Sunrise, nor its investment products, are registered in Louisiana as required by the Louisiana Securities Law. High-yield investment programs often have common red flags of fraud that consumers should be looking for, such as unusually high yields; lack of information regarding the investment operator; unclear methodology for achieving returns; off-shore operations; incentives to recruit new investors; and online advertisements containing typographical errors and grammatical mistakes.
The Financial Markets Authority of New Zealand (FMA) has joined regulators in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom in issuing a warning on the Profitable Sunrise HYIP “program.” New Zealand’s warning also extends to NJF Global Group, which appears to be a Profitable Sunrise recruitment organization operating from the United States. (More below.)
FMA’s announcement described Profitable Sunrise as “illegal,” saying the “program” also is known as ProSun and is being advertised on YouTube by an individual named Robert “Bob” Hughes. The “NJF” initials appear to stand for Profitable Sunrise promoter Nanci Jo Frazer of Ohio. The NJF Global Group now appears to be calling itself “The Global Impact Resource Alliance Group.”
North Carolina regulators said late last month that Profitable Sunrise listed a business address in the United Kingdom and was asking that money be sent by wire to the Czech Republic. Warnings subsequently were issued by the state of Alabama, the Financial Services Authority of the United Kingdom and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec.
At least some of the Profitable Sunrise videos attributed to Hughes appear to have been removed from YouTube or to have been blocked from public access. Google cache (from Feb. 10, 2013) shows that the videos also touted NJF Global Group and positioned Profitable Sunrise as a better option than “Banners Broker.” One of the videos was titled “Income From Profitable Sunrise Blows Away What You Can Make With Banners Broker.” Another was titled “Forget Banners Broker & Make Real Money With Profitable Sunrise & NJF Global Group.”
Like Profitable Sunrise, Banners Broker also is being promoted on well-known Ponzi scheme forums such as TalkGold and MoneyMakerGroup.
There were reports today that Banners Broker has been stripped of its ability to distribute money via MasterCard debit cards. Other Ponzi-board “programs,” including Imperia Invest IBC in 2010, have met similar fates. Imperia was met with a cease-and-desist order from Visa. An action by the SEC to halt Imperia’s operations followed.
Other Profitable Sunrise videos attributed to Hughes made headline appeals to populations in entire countries and had titles such as:
“Our NJF Global Team In Profitable Sunrise Invites Those In New Zealand To Join Us”
“Our Private NJF Global Team In Profitable Sunrise Is Inviting Those In Korea To Join Us”
“Our NJF Global Group In Profitable Sunrise Invites Those From India To Join Our Top Team”
“NJF Global Group / Profitable Sunrise Invites Those In The Philippines To Join Our Private Team”
“NJF Global Group / Profitable Sunrise Invites Those In Thailand To Join Our Amazing Team”
“Our Profitable Sunrise / NJF Global Group Invites Those From Germany To Join Our Team”
“Our NJF Global Group In Profitable Sunrise Invites Those In China To Join Our Amazing Team”
“Our NJF Global Group In Profitable Sunrise Invites Those In Australia To Join Our Team”
“Profitable Sunrise – The 2.7% Daily Long Haul Plan Is Closing Soon”
“Profitable Sunrise – How To Move Money From The Private Plan To The Long Haul Plan”
“Profitable Sunrise & Our NJF Global Group Really Are Helping People To Retire Early”
“The Best Way To Join Profitable Sunrise Is Through Our Private Group – NJF Global Group”
Here is the New Zealand warning, as published March 11 (italics added):
Warning: Beware of offerings of securities made by NJF Global Group and Profitable Sunrise
11 March 2013
The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) warns the public of an illegal offering of securities by Profitable Sunrise (Prosun) and/or NGF Global Group which has been advertised on ‘youtube’ by Mr Robert(Bob)Hughes, also known as Bob Hughes.
It is FMA’s understanding that these entities are operating from the UK and the US.
FMA is concerned that Prosun is illegally offering securities to the public in New Zealand in breach of NZ securities law, and warns New Zealanders not to invest in the above entities.
If you have invested with Profitable Sunrise or NJF Global Group, FMA would like to hear from you. Please contact our helpline on 0800 434 567.
BULLETIN: The Alberta Securities Commission (ASC) has issued a warning on the Profitable Sunrise “program.” The Canadian agency’s move followed on the heels of reports from First Calgary Financial that “several of its Calgary customers have attempted to withdraw significant amounts of funds from their accounts for wire transfers to the Czech Republic,” ASC said.
“Albertans should be aware that Profitable Sunrise and its agents are not registered to sell securities in Alberta,” the agency said.
ASC is Alberta’s securities regulator. The agency noted that the Securities Division of the North Carolina Secretary of State issued a cease-and-desist order to Profitable Sunrise last month, amid allegations that the “program” was selling unregistered securities.
“It’s important for investors to know that there is no such thing as a high return, no risk investment,” said Bill Rice , chair and CEO of the ASC. “If you are persuaded to send money overseas, it may be difficult, if not impossible to get it back if something goes wrong.”
First Calgary is Canada’s ninth-largest credit union. A First Calgary executive said the company contacted ASC after observing unusual transactions.
“Our front-line employees are trained to identify suspicious transactions by members so that we may be able to stop them from becoming the possible victims of an investment scam,” said Debbie Pratt, vice president of retail banking for First Calgary Financial. “In this case, we noticed a trend and a quick call to the ASC allowed us to alert our members.”
Profitable Sunrise lists a business address in the United Kingdom. Regardless, the enterprise is soliciting funds to be sent to Raiffeisenbank AS in the Czech Republic, according to North Carolina investigators. An entity known as Melland Company SRO was listed in Profitable Sunrise wiring instructions as the beneficiary, according to the North Carolina order.
A credit union used by a North Carolina-based Profitable Sunrise investor blocked at least one transaction directed toward the Czech bank, citing suspicions of fraud, according to the order.
Among other claims, Profitable Sunrise purported to offer a “Long Haul” plan that paid 2.7 percent a week with an Easter payout. The Profitable Sunrise “program” is being pitched on well-known Ponzi scheme forums such as TalkGold and MoneyMakerGroup.
Zeek Rewards, which the SEC in August 2012 called a $600 million Ponzi- and pyramid scheme, was promoted in part from the same forums. Some individuals have promoted both Zeek and Profitable Sunrise.
BULLETIN: The Financial Services Authority (FSA) of the United Kingdom has placed the Profitable Sunrise “program” on a warning list of “unauthorised firms and individuals.”
Profitable Sunrise also is under scrutiny by American regulators in North Carolina and Alabama. The HYIP “program” purportedly is operated by Roman Novak.
Separately, the New Zealand Herald is reporting that New Zealand’s Financial Markets Authority “says it is also looking into the activities of the website.”
Like “programs” such as Zeek Rewards, Legisi, AdSurfDaily and others, Profitable Sunrise is being promoted on well-known Ponzi scheme forums such as TalkGold and MoneyMakerGroup.
Zeek, Legisi and ASD scammed a combined sum of at least $791 million, according to court filings in the United States.
UPDATED AT 10:40 A.M. ET (U.S.A.) A member of the “Banners Broker” program tells The Bristol Post that he used a prepaid Banners Broker MasterCard at a NatWest ATM to withdraw £600 and that a counterfeit £20 note was in the stack of cash dispensed by the machine.
The plan, Paul Scoplin reportedly told the paper, was to withdraw the cash at NatWest and then to deposit it into an HSBC account — but the plan didn’t go swimmingly.
“I took the cash over to HSBC straight away and they flagged up one of the notes,” he reportedly told the paper.
NatWest is investigating the note, according to The Post.
Banners Broker is a “program” that gained a head of steam in part from ceaseless promotions on Ponzi-scheme boards such as TalkGold and MoneyMakerGroup. Members are complaining about not getting paid and suggesting that Banners Broker is making selective payouts to sustain a fraud scheme.
Whether Scoplin’s reported claim that counterfeit currency somehow made its way into a NatWest machine would result in additional scrutiny of the Banners Broker “program” was not immediately clear.
In June 2012, the PP Blog reported that a site purportedly selling “customers” to members of the Zeek Rewards “program” also was pushing traffic to Banners Broker and JSS Tripler/JustBeenPaid, the bizarre, 730-percent-a-year “program” purportedly operated by Frederick Mann.
JSS/JBP may have ties to the “sovereign citizens” movement.
In August 2012, the SEC described Zeek as a $600 million Ponzi- and pyramid scheme operating online. JSS/JBP then morphed into a “program” known as “ProfitClicking,” amid reports of the sudden retirement of Mann. But now Mann, a former pitchman for the AdSurfDaily online Ponzi scheme, is back — this time as a pitchman for a “program” known as “ClickPaid.”
When Mann spoke during a recent ClickPaid conference call, the VOX identifier displayed the name “J. J. Ulrich” when Mann was speaking. Ulrich was associated with ProfitClicking, which has led to questions about whether Mann and Ulrich simply were extending an online fraud that started with JSS/JBP.
The presence of the various “programs” on forums linked to Ponzi schemes has led to questions about whether banks and payment processors are coming into possession of funds tainted by fraud. The “programs” are known to have promoters in common.
UPDATE: The PP Blog wrote about Biwako Bank Limited on April 29 after it was touted on a Profitable Sunrise Facebook site as a good “program” for individuals ripped off in the alleged Profitable Sunrise pyramid scheme.
