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Tag: TelexFree International

Did TelexFree Affiliates Fund Millions Of Dollars In Loans To Various TelexFree-Connected Enterprises?

Part of the TelexFree LLC “Balance Sheet” as it appears on the website of the Washington state Utilities and Transportation Commission.

A document published on the website of the Washington State Utilities and Transportation Commission claims that TelexFree LLC has provided millions of dollars in loans to other TelexFree enterprises, including a Nevada entity known as TelexElectric LLLP.

The loan sum was more than $2.022 million, according to the document. The business purpose of TelexElectric was not immediately clear. Also unclear is why the document was published on Washington state’s government website and whether members of the TelexFree MLM “program” knew they were funding intracompany loans.

TelexElectric was formed in Nevada on Dec. 2, 2013, according to Nevada records. TelexFree LLC also is a Nevada business. Both firms list TelexFree Inc. executives James Merrill and Carlos Wanzeler as partners or managers. TelexFree Inc., headed by Merrill and Wanzeler, is based in Massachusetts. Brazilian TelexFree executive Carlos Costa, who is or was associated with TelexFree LLC, is listed in Nevada as a “historical” TelexElectric general partner.

From Google search results.

The Washington state document is dubbed “Telexfree LLC Balance Sheet As of December 31, 2013.” The document claims that, in addition to the $2 million-plus loan to TelexElectric, a loan of more than $3.8 million was provided to an entity known as Telexfree Financial Inc.

Telexfree Financial appears to be a Florida entity under the control of Merrill and Wanzeler. The firm, which was formed on Dec. 26, 2013, lists an address in Coconut Creek, Broward County, according to Florida records.

Meanwhile, the Washington state document lists a loan of more than $500,000 to an entity known as TelexMobile. Where TelexMobile is based could not immediately be determined.

In addition to the loans to TelexElectric, Telexfree Financial Inc. and TelexMobile, there is a loan listed of more than $291,800 to an entity described as Ympactus. A TelexFree-related entity known as Ympactus Comercial Ltd. is based in Brazil.

Listed as an additional asset by TelexFree LLC is a “Propay Reserve” account said to contain more than $4.4 million.

According to the Washington state document, TelexFree LLC has or had accounts at ProPay, TD Bank (three accounts), Citizens Bank, Fidelity Bank, Fidelity Bank Sweep and Middlesex Savings. Most of the accounts were said to have modest balances, but the Middlesex Savings account was said to contain more than $5.4 million.

An entity described as “e-Wallet” was said to have a much larger balance: more than $31.6 million.

TelexFree LLC, according to the document, listed “other assets” totaling more than $27.4 million. These included more than $18 million at Fidelity Investment, nearly $7.3 million at Waddell and Reed, an asset-management firm, and $2 million in a savings account at Middlesex Savings.

The document appears to be dated Feb. 20, 2014.

TelexFree also is using the name “TelexFree International.” Where that entity is based is unclear.

TelexFree is the subject of a securities investigation in Massachusetts. Investigators in Brazil have called TelexFree a pyramid scheme.

Some promoters have claimed that the TelexFree “program” triples or quadruples money in a year. There also have been claims that TelexFree was building 500 hotels in Brazil in the run-up to this year’s World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics.

The bottom lines of TelexFree Inc. and the other TelexFree-related entities are not addressed in the TelexFree LLC document. TelexFree LLC is said to have more than $76.1 million in “total liabilities and equity.”

Mar 9, 2014
TELEXFREE LA-LA LAND: Promo For Alleged Pyramid Scheme’s International Convention Is Voiced By Former SEC Defendant (In Pyramid-Scheme Case) — And Uses Images Of Pyramids Of Giza And American MLM Lawyer

In a curious promo, Egyptian pyramids are being used as an art element by cheerleaders for TelexFree, an alleged pyramid scheme. Source: ConventionTelexFree.com. Red highlight by PP Blog.

U.S.-based TelexFree, alleged in Brazil to be a massive pyramid scheme, is serving up a heaping helping of strangeness.

For starters, a promo for TelexFree’s International Convention set for Spain next month is being voiced by Sann Rogrigues, whom the SEC successfully sued in 2006 amid allegations he was operating a pyramid scheme and engaging in affinity fraud aimed at the Brazilian community.

The promo curiously is playing against the backdrop of an image of the Pyramids of Giza. For good measure, images of other famous world landmarks are thrown in. These include St. Basil’s Cathedral (near the Kremlin) in Moscow; Big Ben in London; The Eiffel Tower in Paris; the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty in New York; the Leaning Tower of Pisa; and the Burj al Arab Hotel in Dubai.

TelexFree operates out of Marlborough, Mass., and Las Vegas in the United States. Its convention is scheduled for March 1 and 2 in Madrid.

The promo in which Rogrigues dispenses the TelexFree convention wisdom appears on a website styled ConventionTelexFree.com. Among the claims on the site is that American MLM lawyer Gerald P. Nehra will be among the “Special Guests” at the rah-rah fest in Spain.

American MLM lawyer Gerald Nehra will be a special guest at TelexFree’s International Convention in Madrid next month, according to ConventionTelexFree.com.

Serving as an expert witness for AdSurfDaily in 2008, Nehra opined that ASD was not a Ponzi scheme. ASD operator Andy Bowdoin, now serving 78 months in federal prison at the age of 79, later disagreed with his own expert. In 2012, Bowdoin admitted that ASD was a Ponzi scheme that had gathered $119 million and said the “program” never operated lawfully from its inception in 2006.

ASD promoted a return of 1 percent a day. Some TelexFree promoters say that “program” triples or quadruples money in a year. Some promos solicit sums of $15,125.

Nehra’s law firm also was touted by Zeek Rewards. In 2012, Zeek was accused by the SEC of operating a massive international Ponzi- and pyramid scheme that gathered hundreds of millions of dollars by planting the seed that returns would average 1.5 percent a day. At least two Zeek figures potentially now face prison sentences after pleading guilty for their roles in the scheme.

The court-appointed receiver in the Zeek case says he’s on the brink of filing lawsuits against thousands of Zeek promoters.

TelexFree appears recently to have begun operating under the name TelexFree International. Precisely where TelexFree International is based is unclear.

In the past, Nehra has described himself an an attorney for “TelexFREE in the USA,” according to BehindMLM.com. Whether he represents the TelexFree International derivative is unclear. Convention promoters, however, appear to believe he does.

Feb 18, 2014
SporTV Video Shows That TelexFree, An Alleged Pyramid Scheme, Is Using A Shared Office Facility In Massachusetts With At Least 25 Other Firms
A SporTV reporter enters suite 200. Source: screen shot from SporTV video.

UPDATED 9:21 A.M. ET (FEB. 22, 2014 U.S.A.) As the PP Blog reported on July 4, 2013, TelexFree is using a shared office facility in Marlborough, Mass. Promoters of TelexFree, alleged in Brazil to be a massive pyramid scheme that may be using a VOIP product as a front, have shown photos of TelexFree President James Merrill posing outside the building. Some promoters appear to believe that the building somehow serves as proof that TelexFree is legitimate and has a large-scale, brick-and-mortar presence in the United States.

It is somewhat common for MLM schemes to create the illusion of physical scale as a means of instilling confidence in promoters. Other than the facility and suite it shares with other firms, however, TelexFree appears to have no physical presence in the United States.

Apparently flush with cash despite a freeze on funds in Brazil, TelexFree announced last week that it was sponsoring the Botafogo soccer club in Rio de Janeiro. This prompted Brazil’s SporTV to send a crew to Marlborough and to seek comment from Merrill.

The video report that emerged [Feb. 22 edit: If you can’t see the video, look here] appears to show that TelexFree is a tenant with at least 25 other firms in a single suite: suite 200. An August 2011 report at Examiner.com about office options in Marlborough noted that suite 200 “is home to 103 different companies, 45 of which actually reside at the Regus center on the second floor.”

As shown in the screen shot above from the SporTV video, the camera shows the reporter entering suite 200.

After being greeted by a receptionist in the suite — and it’s unclear if the receptionist worked for TelexFree or the leasing company — the reporter sits down with Merrill.

“I don’t want to get into the financial end of the [Botafogo] sponsorship,” Merrill told the reporter.

Some Brazilians have expressed concerns that TelexFree’s sponsorship of Botafogo could hurt the image of Brazil and soccer in the country, which produced the internationally acclaimed Pelé, one of the most famous athletes in the world and soccer’s most enduring figure. (For many Americans of a certain age, Pelé, who briefly played for the New York Cosmos in the 1970s after playing for the Brazilian national team and the celebrated Santos club, represented their first contact with a sport that is hugely popular internationally but less so in the United States, where baseball, American football, basketball and hockey dominate the airwaves. Decades after his stint with the Cosmos, however, Pelé still is spoken about warmly in the United States.)

TelexFree, which has “Inc.” (Massachusetts) and “LLC” (Nevada) versions of its name, appears also to be using the name TelexFree International, including at the Marlborough office facility. Where the “International” version of TelexFree is officially based is unclear. A Nevada entity known as WorldTelexFree LLC is listed as in “default,” according to Nevada records.

A Facebook site dubbed “TelexFree International” forms part of its URL with the slug of “getpaidweeklyguaranteed.”

In other TelexFree news, a Facebook site styled “TelexFreeInUSA” appears not to have been updated since Jan. 10. The site, which is linked to TelexFree promoter and cash-gifting enthusiast Scott Miller, had been updated almost daily prior to the 10th.

At the time of this PP Blog post, the last headline on the TelexFreeInUSA site read, “OVER THIRTY THOUSAND! Positions Under Me! 100% Of Them Being Paid Weekly! STOP Marketing Programs Where Only 1% Ever . . .”

The site appears not to include an explanation for the sudden lack of postings.

Some promos for TelexFree, including promos from Miller’s group, have claimed that $15,125 sent to the firm returns $57,200 ($42,075 plus the return of the full initial outlay) in a year and that lesser sums return lesser amounts. TelexFree promoters claim they get paid for posting ads online about the company. In 2012, Zeek Rewards, a U.S. company with a similar ad-posting requirement, was accused by the SEC of operating a “classic” Ponzi scheme that gathered hundreds of millions of dollars and paid members with incoming funds from other members.

Among other things, Zeek promoters appeared to believe that an office the company controlled in North Carolina somehow demonstrated that Zeek was not a scam. Not only was Zeek a scam, but it may be the largest Ponzi scheme in U.S. history based on the number of victims created, an estimated 800,000. The SEC accused Zeek of securities fraud and selling unregistered securities.

Based on Google search results in July 2013, TelexFree promoters seemed to be confused about the physical presence of TelexFree and how old the company is. These phrases appeared in the July search results:
- “TelexFree is real brick and mortar 9 year old business, a solid program where . . .”
- “TelexFREE itself with its cutting edge products have been around for over 10 years . . .”
- “Telexfree is an 11 year old company . . .”
- “This 13 year old Advertise & Technology company called TelexFREE, will pay you . . .”
- “Telex Free is a multi level marketing company that was established in Brazil in 2002 . . .”
TelexFree appears to have been formed from the shell of an entity known as Common Cents Communications Inc. in February 2012.
Jan 15, 2014