PatrickPretty.com

Tag: Trinity Lines

COLORADO: ‘Achieve Community’ Subject Of ‘Order To Show Cause’

UPDATED 6:17 A.M. EDT APRIL 21 U.S.A. The Colorado Division of Securities has directed an “Order to Show Cause” to “Achieve Community,” alleged in February 2015 by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to be a combined Ponzi- and pyramid scheme that gathered at least $3.8 million.

Colorado’s order cites a “Division Case No.” of “XY 15-CD-08.” This may mean the Division has filed a crease-and-desist order against Achieve. Details were not immediately clear, but a hearing was scheduled for April 17.

“We do expect to issue orders in Achieve community this week,” said Lillian Alves, Colorado’s Deputy Securities Commissioner.

And, she noted, “We plan on doing a statement later this week.”

Based on information on Colorado’s website, the Show Cause order applies to “The Achieve Community; Achieve International, LLC; Work with Troy Barnes, Inc.; Kristine Johnson ( Also known as Kristi Johnson).”

Johnson, of Colorado, and Barnes, of Michigan, were the alleged operators of Achieve Community.

Achieve was known to be under investigation by the Division, Colorado’s state-level securities regulator. On Feb. 18, the Division said that “[t]he factual basis of our investigation parallels that of the SEC case.”

The SEC complaint described Achieve Community as a “pure Ponzi and pyramid scheme” whose revenue “has consisted entirely of investor-contributed funds.”

Achieve International, an entity named a relief defendant in the SEC’s case, has been tied by the SEC to Johnson. At noted above, Achieve International likewise is cited in Colorado’s state-level proceeding.

The action at the state level shows that scams using an MLM or network-marketing business model also may face local trouble — in addition to the trouble they encounter through actions filed by federal agencies such as the SEC.

Some Achieve Community promoters pushed multiple HYIP schemes simultaneously. Some of them, including “Bring The Bacon Home” and “Trinity Lines,” appear already to have gone belly-up. RockFeller.biz, also pushed by some Achieve Community hucksters, may be experiencing payout delays, a source told the PP Blog last week.

Payout delays typically are a sign of doom in the HYIP sphere.

Americans and other peoples of the world who push HYIP schemes may be helping criminal networks gain size — and therefore the ability to steal larger and larger sums of money.

Some Americans are known to have pushed “UFunClub,” a scheme now under investigation in Thailand. Arrests have been made overseas in the UFunClub case, and the dollar volume involved may be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

The PP Blog reported yesterday that a veiled reference to UFunClub was made last week in a conference call for a “program” known as “SVM Global Initiative.” This may suggest the two cross-border “programs” have promoters in common.

Some of the language on the SVM call was reminiscent of language used by “sovereign citizens,” groups of individuals that — though perhaps loosely connected — may push scams and engage in antigovernment extremism.

Apr 20, 2015
UPDATE: ‘Automatic Mobile Cash’ Tanks

“Automatic Mobile Cash,” pushed on YouTube by “Achieve Community” hucksters Rodney Blackburn and Mike Chitty, has tanked, according to chatter on the MoneyMakerGroup Ponzi forum.

MMG poster “im the man,” citing information from SolidTrustPay, claimed yesterday that SolidTrustPay had blocked AMC’s ability “to accept deposits or make withdraws.” Other information in the 16-page, 226-post MMG thread suggests AMC was making selective payouts through SolidTrustPay and Payza at the beginning of March.

Blackburn and Chitty were representatives of something called the “Legendary Income Solutions Team” or LIST, often mixing promos for Achieve Community with appeals for viewers to get on board the LIST train and enroll in various HYIP schemes. YouTube appears to have banned Chitty. Blackburn deleted a number of his pitches for HYIP fraud schemes, and now is suggesting he’s returned to his roots in traditional MLM.

The PP Blog reported last week that Blackburn was touting a “tea” known as “laso,” amid claims it “mitigates” HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

On Feb. 18, the SEC described Achieve Community as a pyramid- and Ponzi scheme that had gathered more than $3.8 million. A federal judge granted an asset freeze. Criminal investigations into Achieve Community reportedly also are under way.

Chitty claimed AMC paid a “dividend.” Blackburn claimed his good friend Chitty was making “3,000 a month” from AMC.

“That’s some ridiculous money,” he said.

In addition, Blackburn published various “earnings” extrapolations for AMC. One claimed that the purchase of 100 “packages” for $2,500 from AMC turned into $73,000 in a year.

In January, Blackburn dared the SEC to investigate Achieve Community and other programs he was pushing. Whether he’ll dare the Federal Trade Commission or the Food and Drug Administration to investigate the laso health claims was not immediately clear.

The laso tea is one of the offerings of an MLM “program” known as “Total Life Changes.”

After Blackburn’s SEC dare, a “program” known as “TrinityLines” that traded on the name of God and allusions to Scripture went missing.

Blackburn also was promoting “MooreFund,” an obvious fraud purportedly operating from the United Kingdom. He also threw in with “Rockfeller,” an obvious fraud trading on the name of the famous Rockefeller family.

“BRING THE BACON HOME” and “Unison Wealth” also were in the stable. The “bacon” program now has carded at least its second failed launch, and reportedly has a plan to launch again tomorrow. Unison Wealth, meanwhile, appears to have developed problems.

Mar 10, 2015
‘Achieve Community’ Figure Rodney Blackburn Now Touting ‘Tea’; Panel From Video Says It ‘Mitigates HIV’ And ‘Prevents Colds And Flu’

Inset from a video promoting TLC’s “laso” tea by Rodney Blackburn on YouTube.

UPDATED 3:08 P.M. ET U.S.A. Fresh from the alleged “Achieve Community” pyramid- and Ponzi scheme, the apparent collapse of “Trinity Lines” and potential debacles involving “BRING THE BACON HOME,” “Unison Wealth” and others, Rodney Blackburn now is promoting a “tea” purported to mitigate HIV.

HIV is the virus that causes AIDS.

The tea, called “laso,” is offered by an MLM “program” known as “Total Life Changes” or TLC, Blackburn says.

Laso also “prevents colds and flu,” “prevents cardiovascular diseases” and reduces cancer risks, according to footage from Blackburn’s TLC promo on YouTube.

At the same time, according to the 11:48 Blackburn promo titled “Total Life Changes – Rodney’s Review,” the tea tackles weight loss, combats aging, “helps in Herpes treatment,” “prevents high blood pressure,” “prevents wrinkles,” “alleviates asthma,” “removes intestinal sludge,” “removes parasites” and plenty more.

The tea, according to Blackburn’s promo, also is “good for reducing diabetes” and even participates in the battle against tooth decay,

On Feb. 12 in a sealed court filing, the SEC described “Achieve Community” as a scheme engaged in securities fraud. A federal judge approved an asset freeze, and one or more Achieve-related criminal investigations are under way. “Trinity Lines” then went missing, and so did a bunch of Blackburn promos for other schemes.

A Blackburn sales video for TLC, however, appeared yesterday. Blackburn suggests in the production that he’s interested in returning to his MLM roots after taking HYIPs out for a ride. He previously claimed that 97 percent of people lose money in MLMs — this in a video in which he was touting multiple HYIP schemes and practically daring the SEC to investigate.

Earlier this year Blackburn was touting something called “Military Medical Relief 21,” or MMR21, a “program” aimed at military personnel. Those promos also disappeared.

“Mitigates HIV,” Blackburn says of the tea, after narrating other purported claims about its medicinal power.

“I mean, strengthens your memory — all sorts of things,” the huckster continues. “They have twenty-six different benefits.”

Read the definition of “mitigate” at dictionary.reference.com. (One of the meanings is “to make less severe.”)

Whether an MLM tea can make HIV “less severe” and do all the other things advertised in Blackburn’s video is an open question.

From a YouTube pitch for TLC’s “laso” tea by Rodney Blackburn.

Mar 5, 2015
BULLETIN: ‘Trinity Lines,’ A ‘Program’ Pushed By ‘Achieve Community’ Huckster Rodney Blackburn, Goes Missing After Targeting People Of Faith
From a Jan. 4 promo for Achieve Community by Rodney Blackburn that included a pitch for “Trinity Lines.”

BULLETIN: (2nd Update 2:35 p.m. ET U.S.A.) A Ponzi-board “program” known as “Trinity Lines” that was targeted at people of faith and was pushed by “Achieve Community” huckster Rodney Blackburn has gone missing.

The domain name now resolves to a GoDaddy page, despite claims from Trinity Lines just two days ago that “[e]xciting times are coming for us” and that a “PURCHASE PARTY” would be held today.

A post dated today and attributed to Trinity Lines on the MoneyMakerGroup Ponzi forum claims the “program” folded because of “the current circumstances that are surrounding Trinity Lines and the attacks, abuse and threats that is being aimed at both the admin and the owner.”

Precisely who is operating Trinity Lines never has been clear.

The news appears first to have been reported on the RealScam.com antiscam forum.

Achieve Community and alleged operators Kristi Johnson and Troy Barnes were charged last week with securities fraud in a complaint filed under seal. The SEC said Achieve was a combined pyramid- and Ponzi scheme. The complaint was made public this week.

Among other things, Trinity Lines claimed to be the purveyor of “high quality scriptural vignettes.” It also claimed:
- “Although this opportunity is geared for those who appreciate the Scriptures, we welcome anybody to join our community.”
- “We at Trinity Lines do believe in God and believe in the power of ‘His Word.’”
Trinity Lines was mentioned by Blackburn in a January video in which he used about six minutes of footage from the SEC website in a curious bid to sanitize schemes he was promoting. The SEC last month declined to comment on the Blackburn production.

“We’re leaving the markets of these crazy MLM companies, and there are people like the Achieve Community, Trinity Lines, Unison Wealth, many of these other companies are coming out,” Blackburn said in the promo. “And they are making programs that are very simplistic, they’re passive, they’re residual incomes. They’re just so simple you just kind of put your money down.”
Feb 20, 2015
In Wake Of Asset-Seizure Claim, Videos By ‘Achieve Community’ Huckster Rodney Blackburn Go Missing From You Tube
With “Achieve Community” members posting on Facebook over the long President’s Day weekend claims attributed to co-founder Troy Barnes that he was under criminal investigation and assets had been seized, something seemed a bit odd on YouTube: Search results appeared to demote Rodney Blackburn in listings when the term “Achieve Community” was entered into the form.

Mass deletions by Blackburn (see below) of Achieve-related content almost certainly explain the apparent SEO erosion. Blackburn, though, hasn’t completely run away from Achieve. A couple of the huckster’s productions remain, including one dated Saturday in which he throws Achieve’s Kristi Johnson under the bus.

It is titled, “Achieve Is Done But We are Not!” The length is 6:24. In the video, Blackburn claims to be “really in shock right now on how everything has played out.”

He further claims he had a falling out with Johnson in the recent past. “I didn’t want to bring that information out because I wanted Achieve to work just as much as each and every one of you,” he said.

This falling out, Blackburn suggests, happened within four days of a Dec. 10 conference call Blackburn co-hosted with Mike Chitty. Johnson, the purported business partner of Barnes in Achieve, was a guest on the call. (Someone who goes by “washable jones” and appears not to be keen on HYIP hucksters posted a recording of the call on YouTube.)

Blackburn and Chitty are Achieve members associated with a sponsor’s group known as the Legendary Income Solutions Team (LIST). On the Dec. 10 call, Blackburn claimed LIST had “over 2,000 people within our marketing team that is supporting Achieve. So, that’s just our little part of the 13,000 people who are in Achieve.”

If “supporting” means “joining,” this means that LIST members alone had plowed at least $100,000 into Achieve and that they constituted 15 percent of Achieve’s membership, something that would have provided Blackburn and Chitty plenty of incentive to keep insisting prosperity for the masses was right around the corner if members would simply not abandon ship when payouts stopped in early November.

It’s not that they stood to gain commissions through Achieve, which claims everybody was on the same team for the common good and promoted a common affiliate link. In Blackburn’s case, what he stood to gain was a payout on the claimed 221 Achieve positions he held. These positions weren’t going to pay if new people did not register and if both existing and new members didn’t keep reinvesting “earnings.”

Blackburn’s expected payout, according to one of his videos, was ballparked at $90,000. And he’d already cashed out $16,000, he said. Registrations for LIST were a second benefit. From there, the LIST “leaders” could plow the marks into other Ponzi-board scams, some of which do pay commissions on top of preposterous interest payments.

The minimum buy-in at Achieve was $50. Much higher buy-ins were possible, with some Achieve members likely spending hundreds or even thousands of dollars and expecting a minimum return of 800 percent, more through the Achieve-endorsed process of plowing “earnings” back into the scheme.

Johnson was a guest on the Dec. 10 call co-hosted by Achieve/LIST members Blackburn and Chitty.

Johnson ostensibly went on the show to lead cheers for Achieve in the aftermath of the payout suspension in November. In that strange network-marketing way, Johnson’s guest spot also gave Blackburn a chance to shine. Rodney, unlike other Achievers, could summon the master and, in some ways, use her to dial down the pressure he might have felt if LIST was responsible for bringing 2,000 people into the “program.”

Most disturbing about the call was the revelation that an elderly woman with an 86-year-old husband who was ill had joined Achieve. She was described by Chitty as “exactly the type of person that the Achieve Community is built around and for . . .”

Blackburn also implied during the call that he was an Achieve insider, telling listeners that Johnson told him things they didn’t get to hear. He also suggested that LIST sponsorship group could do a better job performing customer service than Achieve itself.

These things could not have been music to the ears of Johnson.

It’s now clear that several Achieve promos by Blackburn have gone missing from YouTube, including one in which he recorded six minutes of footage from the website of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission while planting the seed the agency had no jurisdiction over “programs” such as Achieve

On this President’s Day it is unclear if the SEC is investigating Achieve. The agency last month declined to comment on Blackburn’s video. Achieve is reported to be under investigation by state authorities in Colorado and Michigan.

Blackburn’s now-missing SEC challenge was titled, “Network Marketing & MLM Programs Are Getting Better!!!” It returns the message shown below.

Also missing is a video posted in mid-December in which Blackburn appeared to apologize to Achieve Community members for not being supportive enough of Johnson and Achieve “admins” on a Facebook site who were clashing with or deleting individuals who raised concerns about Achieve. It was titled, “Rodney Apology Achieve Community.”

All of these Achieve-themed videos by Blackburn appear to have been removed.
- Achieve Community Update 1 10 2015 By The LIST Marketing Team
- Network Marketing & MLM Programs Are Getting Better!!!
- Achieve Community Update 1/ 4 /2015
- LIST – Achieve Community Update and More!!!
- Rodney Apology Achieve Community
- Achieve Community Update 12-5-14 2014
- Achieve Community Update 12-2-14 Part 2
- Achieve Community Update 12-2-2014 Relaunch is Here! No be patient…
- Achieve Community Update 12 1 14 2014
- Achieve Community Update 11 21 2014
- Achieve Community Relaunch is Coming
- Achieve Update 11-12-2014
- Achieve Community – Believe…
- Achieve Community Are You Ready?
- Achieve Community Update 10 22 2014
- Achieve Community What’s Possible? Paid out $138,000 this week!
- Achieve Community Update- $102,000 Paid Out This Week!!!
- Achieve Community~ Chuck made Money! $8,000!!!
- Achieve Community Come Experience Achieve
- Achieve Community- How to Repurchase Positions and Why…
- The Achieve Community- How Does It Work?
Meanwhile, there have been deletions of certain LIST content and content from other “programs” pushed by Blackburn, including Unison Wealth. Blackburn pitches for Ponzi-board programs such as “Rockfeller,” “Automatic Mobile Cash,” “Bring The Bacon Home” and “Trinity Lines” remain.
Feb 16, 2015
‘Achieve Community’ Huckster Rodney Blackburn In New Ponzi-Board HYIP Scam: Rockfeller Asset Management Limited

“Achieve Community” figure Rodney Blackburn now is promoting Rockfeller.biz, a “program” that purports to pay up to 5 percent a day. The pitch implies a tie to the Rockefeller family. The PP Blog this evening sought comment from former U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller through the Council on Foreign Relations. The Blog is waiting to hear back.

UPDATED 9:54 P.M. ET U.S.A. It’s called “Rockfeller.” Like the massive TelexFree scam in Massachusetts, it is using the address of a Regus office center — only this time the facility is in London.

A Ponzi-board scheme similar to Rockfeller — Profitable Sunrise — may have swindled tens of millions of dollars before disappearing two years ago. While Profitable Sunrise claimed a daily payout of up to 2.7 percent. Rockfeller says it pays up to 5 percent daily.

Note that the scheme’s name is very similar to the name of Rockefeller, the famous American family of financiers and politicians. Scams routinely trade on the names of famous entities or people, sometimes using slight variations of the names.

Speaking in hushed tones in a 9:33 YouTube pitch for Rockfeller today, Rodney Blackburn suggests the “program” is operated by the Rockefeller family.

“Guys, this is a very top-notch, high-quality company,” Blackburn says in a video titled “Rockfeller Asset Management Limited – Review Earn Daily!!!”

“No, I have not talked to the owners of this company. I’m assuming that they’re not going to let me talk to the Rockefellers,” Blackburn says.

The PP Blog this evening sought comment from Sen. Jay Rockefeller through the Council on Foreign Relations. Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat, is the former chairman of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. He retired last month from the Senate and joined the Council on Foreign Relations as a distinguished fellow.

One of his interests is cybersecurity.

The PP Blog is waiting to hear back on its request for comment on the Rockfeller “program.”

Blackburn is promoting multiple schemes with a presence on well-known Ponzi-scheme forums such as MoneyMakerGroup. These include “Achieve Community,” currently the subject of an investigation by the Colorado Division of Securities.

Other “programs” promoted by Blackburn include “BRING THE BACON HOME,” purportedly operating through “Sherilyn” of “Singapore,” and “Trinity Lines,” which is trading on the name of God.

Blackburn also is promoting “Unison Wealth” and other schemes.

Feb 9, 2015
UPDATE: ‘Bacon’ Program Pushed By ‘Achieve Community’ Hucksters Reportedly Put On Hold By ‘Admin’; Second Program May Be DOA After Purported Payza Freeze
“BRING THE BACON HOME” purportedly is operated by an “admin” who is a “young trustworthy girl from Singapore,” according to a Ponzi-board post. If this graphic is to believed, the “program” will produce a happy marriage and bring you children — along with a palm-tree-lined oceanfront mansion near a convenient airport, a big car, lots of U.S. cash and delicious, oversized fruit.

UPDATED 6:20 A.M. ET U.S.A. “BRING THE BACON HOME,” a bizarre Ponzi-board “program” purportedly operated by “Sherilyn” from “Singapore” and pushed on YouTube by Achieve Community hucksters Rodney Blackburn and Mike Chitty, reportedly collapsed during a so-called Beta launch this week and has been put on hold.

The “program” purportedly turns $40 into $1,800. Achieve Community purportedly turns $50 into $400, although it has been dogged by problems for more than two months and now is the subject of an investigation by the Colorado Division of Securities.

“BRING THE BACON HOME” appears to have enabled subscription purchases, but the early haul before the failed Beta is unclear. “Sherilyn” is quoted on the MoneyMakerGroup Ponzi forum in a post dated Jan. 26 as saying, “Just buy the subs and let us do the ‘magic’ for now.”

“My Beta Bacon got Burnt,” one Ponzi-board wag ventured.

Separately, a “program” known as Cycles 24/7 that was advertised on the Achieve Community private forum last month may be dead. Cycles 24/7 initially collapsed at launch, but rebirthed itself — at least long enough to grab some cash.

Cycles 24/7 purportedly is operated by “Rick Fleming.” Like Achieve, Cycles 24/7 purported to turn $50 into $400.

On Jan. 24, a poster on MoneyMakerGroup claimed this about Cycles 24/7: “I have 45$ in payza balance, but admin say that his payza money Frozen, how i can withraw [sic] to egopay?”

The MoneyMakerGroup claim about Payza freezing Cycles 24/7 funds followed by two days a claim on the Blog at EgoPay.com that EgoPay had been hacked and that a “gap” in cash reserves existed.

Cycles 24/7 and “BRING THE BACON HOME” both listed EgoPay and Payza among their processors. Like Achieve Community, Cycles 24/7 is serving ads for other HYIPs.

One ad for “BRING THE BACON HOME” observed today by the PP Blog on the Cycles 24/7 site referenced “Unison Wealth,” yet another Ponzi-board “program” pushed by Achieve Community members.

The ad was titled “Bring Home The Bacon.” A text line read, “Did you miss Unison Wealth on the 1st day?” When clicked, the ad led to the “BRING THE BACON HOME” site.

Unison Wealth also is beaming ads for other HYIP schemes.

It is not unusual for one HYIP venture to try to prop up another through advertising or even to invest in other scams. Beginning in 2005, for instance, the CEP scam allegedly plowed money into at least 26 other schemes.

In 2012, after the collapse of the $897 million Zeek Rewards “program,” a venture known as Wealth Creation Alliance published ads for one HYIP scheme after another. The schemes typically are Ponzi schemes or pyramid schemes — or sometimes both. They engage in securities fraud and the sale of unregistered securities across national borders.

People who openly profess Christian beliefs or faith in God often are at once the marks and the purveyors of such schemes. AdSurfDaily Ponzi schemer Andy Bowdoin, an apparent advocate of The Prosperity Gospel who encouraged his MLM flock to envision money “flowing” to them, once declared himself a Christian “money magnet.”

Federal prosecutors tied Bowdoin to at least four fraud schemes, including at least two that surfaced after the collapse of ASD in 2008. He is now in federal prison.

One of Bowdoin’s schemes was called “One X.” “I believe that God has brought us OneX to provide the necessary funds to win this case,” Bowdoin claimed in 2011.

The “this case” to which he referred was the ASD Ponzi prosecution. Bowdoin lost on all fronts, eventually pleading guilty to wire fraud.

Bowdoin also was associated with a scam known as AdViewGlobal that once threatened to litigate against its own members for asking questions. AVG, as it was known, also created a private forum after its public scam outreach started to create problems.

Achieve Community recently has added a private forum.

Another current Ponzi-board HYIP scheme pushed by one or more Achieve Community promoters is called “Trinity Lines.” Among other things, Trinity Lines claims to be the purveyor of “high quality scriptural vignettes.” It also claims:
- “Although this opportunity is geared for those who appreciate the Scriptures, we welcome anybody to join our community.”
- “We at Trinity Lines do believe in God and believe in the power of ‘His Word’.
Though not writing about any specific MLM HYIP schemes, the associate pastor of an evangelical church in Massachusetts this week called “The Prosperity Gospel” a “pyramid scheme” and “a form of oppression.”

The column is titled, “Why the Prosperity Gospel Is the Worst Pyramid Scheme Ever.”

From the column by Nicholas McDonald at The Gospel Coalition (italics added):

Step One: A snazzy entrepreneur wants to make a lot of money. Said snazzy entrepreneur tells two little old ladies that if they sell his “Wow-What-A-Sham 3000,” they can make some dough to pay off their cat-sitting bills. That will cost them a startup investment of $401.76. And yes, Wow-What-A-Sham 3000 is a gimmick. But that’s okay, it’s not really about selling the product anyway; it’s about recruiting more salespeople.

McDonald is associate pastor at Carlisle Congregational Church, according to his bio line in the column.
Jan 29, 2015
UPDATE: SEC Declines To Comment On Pitchman’s Video Promo For ‘Achieve Community’ And 2 Other Ponzi-Board ‘Programs’ That Used Footage From Agency’s Website

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission declined this morning to comment on a Jan. 9 YouTube pitch from an “Achieve Community” promoter who mixed nearly six minutes of footage from the SEC website into a pitch for Achieve and two other Ponzi-board “programs.”

Rodney Blackburn implied in the 14:27 production that the SEC did not have jurisdiction over “programs” such as Achieve, Unison Wealth and Trinity Lines. Parts of the Blackburn promo were recorded inside his back office of Unison Wealth.

“[D]ecline comment,” the SEC succinctly said today.

Achieve purports that $50 sent to the “program” fetches back $400. Members reportedly were permitted to buy multiple $50 “positions” and to roll a percentage of “earnings” back into the “program,” a straight-line money-cycling scheme.

A similar rollback feature was an element in the Zeek Rewards scheme shut down by the SEC in 2012.

Blackburn says he prefers “passive” programs. The SEC and state-level regulators have a history of acting against such ventures. Zeek, for example, was promoted as a “passive” scheme.

At about the 0:51 mark of Blackburn’s Jan. 9 video, ads for “programs” called “Paradox Cash” and “GlobalAdShare” appear, meaning that people such as Blackburn who sign up for Unison Wealth are being shown promos for still-other Ponzi-board schemes.

“GET PAID DAILY FOR DOING NOTHING,” the ad for GlobalAdShare blares.

Blackburn’s Jan. 9 video is at least the second confirmation that Unison Wealth is beaming ads for other HYIPs.

On Dec. 12, the office of then-U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Heaphy of the Western District of Virginia had no immediate comment on an Achieve Community call in which Blackburn was a host. The call demonstrated that Achieve was driving business by reaching across state lines and that one or more senior citizens had signed up, including a woman who claimed her 86-year-old husband of 53 years had been “in the hospital for a full year and six months in the nursing home.”

Achieve reportedly suspended payouts to members more than two months ago after losing its ability to conduct business through Payoneer. Although it announced a purported deal with Global Cash Card on Dec. 18 to resume payouts, that deal appears to have fallen through.

The “program” said last week that it would resume payouts on an unspecified date through a “temporary” processor. The “temporary” processor was not named.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy recently has dialed up its efforts to educate the public about scams that spread on social-media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. Achieve and its promoters have or had a presence on all three.

Jan 12, 2015
BULLETIN: Achieve Community Says It Has Suspended Sign-Ups, Repurchases

BULLETIN: (7th Update 1:52 p.m. ET Jan. 7 U.S.A.) The Achieve Community says it has suspended “sign ups” and “repurchases” through iPayDNA, a credit-card processor based in Asia.

PP Blog reader “Secwatchin” first reported the news at 2:44 p.m. ET today. The Blog confirmed that orders for “positions” could not be placed by visiting the ReadyToAchieve website, clicking on the “Sign Up” tab and clicking again on a “Join Now!” button. The message we received is reproduced in the graphic at the top of this story.

Colorado-based Achieve co-founder Kristi Johnson reportedly advised Achieve members that its “merchant” — iPayDNA — needed to “get caught up.”

Why iPayDNA purportedly had fallen behind in processing credit-card transactions wasn’t explained.

On Jan. 4, Johnson announced to Achieve members that Global Cash Card, which Achieve had claimed to be its new “payout” processor, “is not going to work with us after all.” On Dec. 18, Achieve had positioned its relationship with U.S.-based GCC as a done deal.

Why Achieve, a money-cycling “program” operating in the United States with a presence on well-known Ponzi-scheme forums, needed separate vendors to process “money in” and “money out” transactions has not been explained.

Here is what Johnson reportedly told members today (italics/carriage returns added):

Hello Achieve Community!

We are going to stop sign ups and repurchases for a few days beginning in about 30 minutes, so that our merchant can get caught up. And we won’t be doing more sign ups until we have more information about payout options for us.

I hope to have some good news on that in the next few days! Thursday I’ll be meeting again with the lawyers and that will give me a better time frame for when Achieve will be completely ready to go again. I will keep letting you know how things are going as the information becomes available to me.

In the meantime, while this process is going on, there is very little that I can tell you without risking hurting the entire process. So please, keep the speculation quiet, you will hear everything, just be patient please. Although we won’t be doing sign ups, you all will still have access to the members area, your banners, the Forum, and your products. Thank you all for taking care of each other! Achieve is the best Community ever!

Kristi

Some Achieve members have turned to promoting other Ponzi-board “programs” such as Unison Wealth and Trinity Lines. Promos from Achieve members also promoting Unison Wealth show that Unison Wealth is beaming ads for HYIP schemes inside the back offices of its members.

Jan 6, 2015
RODNEY’S FOLLY: ‘We Want Achieve To Work So Badly,’ But Sign Up For ‘Trinity Lines’ While You’re Waiting

“They want so badly to believe in the tooth fairy.” — Fred Joseph, then-Colorado Securities Commissioner, February 2013. (As told to the Durango Herald in “For a Ponzi payout, call the tooth fairy.”)

Achieve Community promoter Rodney Blackburn laments developments with that “program,” and now is encouraging prospects to sign up for “Trinity Lines,” another Ponzi-board “opportunity.” Like other Achievers, Rodney also is promoting “Unison Wealth,” yet another Ponzi-board “program.”

UPDATED 1:27 P.M. ET U.S.A. Fred Joseph announced his retirement in December 2013, after 30 years in public service. He’d seen it all during the course of his career, including the case of Frederick H.K. Baker, infamous as an instance in which an HYIP scammer tried to “scam the scammers.”

Now comes word that “Achieve Community,” a Ponzi-board “program” that appears to be operating out of Colorado and Michigan, is in an even deeper crisis than the one it confronted after reportedly losing its ability to do business with Payoneer in late October or early November.

This is because Global Cash Card, which Achieve apparently envisioned as a substitute “payout” processor after the Payoneer debacle, reportedly is unwilling to work with Achieve — this after Achieve sold the asserted GCC arrangement as a done deal on Dec. 18.

Achieve promoter Rodney Blackburn, in our view, is a classic example of a person who wants badly to believe in the tooth fairy.

“Quite honestly, there’s a lot of upset people out there, and rightfully so,” Rodney says of the GCC development, attributing the news to Colorado-based Achieve co-founder Kristi Johnson. “I can understand where everybody is upset. There was a lot of rumors going on out there. There has not been a lot of transparency, as far as the details . . .”

“Kristi has brought out information that’s in the forum [pertaining to the GCC development]; I can’t dispute that. But as far as what’s been going on with Global Cash Card — that has been declined, for whatever reason we don’t know.”

Rodney says Achieve owes him $90,000.

“We all just have to wait it out,” he says, adding that he “trust[s] Kristi enough to where she is going to make this wrong right, that she is going to give everything that she’s got to get Achieve up and running. She had a vision from the beginning. The vision has never, you know, swayed. But definitely something going on in the background, and it would be nice if she was a little bit more open about what’s going on. I know she likes to kinda hold everything to the vest close to her. But . . . it’s tough because there are so many of us out there that are really needing the money. That’s why we get into this industry. We want Achieve to work so badly . . .

“The best thing I can tell everybody as of right now is to look into other options.”

Rodney’s remarks are contained within a 11:59 YouTube video published Jan. 4 and titled “LIST – Achieve Community Update 1/ 4 /2015.” LIST stands for Legendary Income Solutions Team, a group that pushes “programs.” Just seconds after Rodney laments the situation at Achieve, it becomes clear that he won’t be just sitting around. No, Rodney is now pushing “Trinity Lines,” another Ponzi-board “program.”

As noted earlier, Rodney also is pushing Unison Wealth. It, too, is a Ponzi-board “program.”

Because Ponzi-board “programs” often have promoters in common, this sets the stage for fraudulent proceeds to circulate between and among scams.

Little wonder GCC appears not to be keen on Achieve. Its promoters may be polluting the money stream at multiple points of contact by pushing other scams, even as Achieve appears to be boxed in.

Jan 5, 2015