U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Federal prosecutors have Tweeted a photo of $20 million allegedly found stuffed in a box spring and linked to the massive TelexFree Ponzi- and pyramid caper. The cash was found Jan. 4 by the Homeland Security Investigations branch of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, an arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Agents seized […]

UPDATED 1:56 P.M. ET U.S.A. TelexFree figure Sann Rodrigues could have been sentenced to 10 years for immigration fraud. Instead, he was sentenced yesterday to time served. The office of U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz of the District of Massachusetts said early this afternoon that Rodrigues ended up spending 57 days behind bars after his May […]

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 […]

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story, which easily could be titled “What NOT To Do In MLM,” summarizes a few of the witnesses and exhibits the U.S. government may use against TelexFree’s James Merrill when his trial gets under way Oct. 24 in Massachusetts. The background provided below is based on research by the PP Blog. Prosecutors filed their witness/exhibit […]

UPDATED 4:21 P.M. EDT U.S.A. With trial set to begin on Oct. 24, an eye-popping superseding indictment has been returned in Massachusetts federal court against TelexFree figures James Merrill and Carlos Wanzeler. The indictment adds eight counts of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity and includes a money-laundering forfeiture allegation. Merrill […]

UPDATED 11:51 A.M. EDT U.S.A. Zeek Rewards’ receiver Kenneth D. Bell had no comment this morning on reports that some Zeek clawback defendants also were participants in Traffic Monsoon, alleged last week by the SEC to have been a Ponzi scheme that had gathered at least $207 million. The reports appeared on RealScam.com. In March […]

News came early this morning that the SEC had moved against Traffic Monsoon, calling it a Ponzi scheme. Both the “program” and alleged operator Charles Scoville were charged civilly yesterday in Utah federal court with securities fraud and selling unregistered securities to unaccredited investors. Scoville also was the braintrust behind AdHitProfits, a Ponzi-board “program” in part […]

UPDATED 11:53 A.M. EDT U.S.A. Sept. 23, 2016: The claims deadline has been extended until Dec. 31, 2016, at 4:30 p.m. Prevailing Eastern Time. Claims must be filed through TelexFreeClaims.com. Our earlier story is below . . . **____________** TelexFree participants and others who may have a claim against the estate should read this important notice […]

On April 20, the PP Blog reported that TelexFree Trustee Stephen B. Darr had proposed to add dozens of U.S. defendants to a class-action lawsuit that seeks the return of gains from alleged “winners” in the judicially declared Ponzi- and pyramid scheme. Filings docketed on April 22 show that Darr also is seeking to add […]

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 […]

Zeek Rewards’ receiver Kenneth D. Bell has gone to federal court in the Western District of North Carolina, alleging that the Payza and Payment World payment processors “facilitated” the epic cross-border Zeek Ponzi- and pyramid scheme. More than $13.1 million in funds from North Carolina-based Zeek that could be used to compensate victims ended up in […]