U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz

BULLETIN: Federal authorities have arrested a man and have found $20 million allegedly linked to TelexFree in a box spring in an apartment in Westborough, Mass. Agents have seized the cash and charged Cleber Rene Rizerio Rocha, 28, with conspiring to commit money-laundering. Rocha may be a Brazilian national with ties to a nephew of TelexFree […]

If Brazil’s Federal Police wish to ask him about TelexFree’s involvement in wire fraud and an underlying conspiracy, James Merrill is required to provide a “complete and truthful proffer,” according to the terms of his plea agreement with U.S. prosecutors in Massachusetts. Merrill, 55, of Ashland, Mass., also is required to cooperate with U.S. agencies that […]

9TH UPDATE 2:08 P.M. EDT U.S.A. U.S. District Judge Timothy S. Hillman’s calendar shows a plea hearing for TelexFree operator James Merrill at 2:30 p.m. Monday at the federal courthouse in Worcester, Mass. The Boston Globe, citing the “U.S. Attorney,” is reporting Merrill will plead guilty “to fraud and other charges.”  The Telegram & Gazette also is reporting […]

BULLETIN: (4th Update 7:23 p.m. EDT U.S.A.) Sann Rodrigues, a figure in the TelexFree Ponzi- and pyramid-scheme case, has agreed to plead guilty to a charge of immigration fraud, court documents say. The agreement potentially puts the native Brazilian at risk of deportation and a U.S. prison term of up to 10 years. He last was […]

DEVELOPING STORY: (Updated 9:23 p.m. ET U.S.A.) A TelexFree rep being sued by the court-appointed bankruptcy trustee for the return of more than $2.6 million in alleged winnings from the judicially declared Ponzi- and pyramid scheme claims that Herbalife “executives” and “personnel” attended a March 2014 TelexFree event in Boston and helped sell him on the ill-fated […]

EDITOR’S NOTE ADDED 10:10 P.M. EDT U.S.A.: About 16 minutes after the post below was published, PP Blog reader “Diego” sent a note and a link to an AP report dated today. The report says Rodrigues was arrested today in Boston at the request of Brazilian authorities. Our original story is below. The URLs to […]

TelexFree and IFreeX promoter Sann Rodrigues has been released on “conditions,” including “the surrender of his passport and the passports belonging to his family members, a $200,000 secured bond, 24-hour electronic monitoring, and home confinement.” A U.S. Magistrate Judge in the District of New Jersey imposed the conditions on Rodrigues, according to a statement today […]

The TelexFree probe continues in the United States, with prosecutors revealing today that federal agents served a search warrant on Google on Oct. 16 that sought a “substantial amount” of content on YouTube. Precisely what content prosecutors are seeking was not immediately clear. Google told agents that “compliance will take several weeks,” according to the […]

EDITOR’S NOTE ADDED 1:32 P.M. EDT SEPT. 28 U.S.A. TelexFree.com appears to be back online. At this time, why the landing page wouldn’t load remains a mystery. Our earlier story is below . . . The website of TelexFree, alleged in April by the SEC and the Massachusetts Securities Division to have operated a billion-dollar […]

BULLETIN: (3rd Update 1:34 p.m. EDT U.S.A.) A Massachusetts bank that established accounts for TelexFree and whose president is the brother of alleged TelexFree Ponzi- and pyramid-schemer James Merrill has settled with the Massachusetts Securities Division for $3.5 million. The settlement between MSD and Fidelity Co-operative of Fitchburg means that an escrow account consisting of […]

BULLETIN: (Updated 2:35 p.m. EDT U.S.A. Aug. 29) Lyoness, the purported “Plan B” scheme of Zeek Rewards and AdSurfDaily figure Keith Laggos, has been charged in Australia with operating a pyramid scheme. News of the Australian prosecution was published tonight by BehindMLM.com. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has issued a statement on the […]