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Tag: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

Stephen L. Cohen, SEC Official Who Introduced World To Zeek Case, Leaving Agency After Nearly 12 Years

“The obligations to investors drastically exceed the company’s cash on hand, which is why we need to step in quickly, salvage whatever funds remain and ensure an orderly and fair payout to investors. ZeekRewards misused the power of the Internet and lured investors by making them believe they were getting an opportunity to cash in…

Jun 3, 2016
DEVELOPING STORY: Phil Ming Xu Of WCM777 May Be Under Arrest In China

UPDATED 3:11 P.M. EDT U.S.A. A report dated today at ShanghaiDaily.com says an individual “surnamed Xu” and associated with “World Capital Market Inc.” is “now in custody” after a police action against a “pyramid scheme” in China. The PP Blog has contacted the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to determine if the person reportedly under…

May 16, 2016
IFreeX Site Offline; At Least 2 U.S. Officials Involved In TelexFree Ponzi Prosecution Also Involved In Sann Rodrigues Prosecution On Immigration Charge

The website of IFreeX.com is offline. The PP Blog could not immediately determine why. Visitors are seeing a GoDaddy.com page. A PP Blog reader reported the outage at 6:49 p.m. EDT today. The outage occurred one week to the day after TelexFree and IFreeX figure Sann Rodrigues was arrested at a New Jersey airport on…

May 25, 2015
REPORTS: TelexFree Figure Sann Rodrigues Arrested In New Jersey

BULLETIN: (Updated 9:27 p.m. EDT U.S.A.) TelexFree and iFreeX figure Sann Rodrigues has been arrested in New Jersey, according to the Blog of Joaldro Dalla “Billy” Costa, citing a report on radio station WSRO 650 AM in Framingham, Mass. Billy’s story is in Portuguese. Here is the English translation by Google Translate. Rodrigues — listed…

May 23, 2015
DEVELOPING STORY: Did Colombian Narcotics Cartel Use TelexFree To Wash Cash?

Headline Updated 12:15 p.m. EDT Published reports in the Dominican Republic say authorities there are trying to determine if a man arrested in a Colombian money-laundering case involving the Clan Úsuaga narcotics cartel also was involved in TelexFree. Early reports are sketchy. Dominican media have identified the man as Jorge Mercedes Cedeño, describing him as…

May 14, 2015
ZEEK: New Zealand Clawback Defendant With Alleged Username Of ‘sovlife’ Challenges U.S. Court’s Jurisdiction

UPDATED 9:37 P.M. EDT U.S.A. David Ian MacGregor Fraser, a New Zealand resident who allegedly used the Zeek Rewards’ username of “sovlife,” has challenged a U.S. Court’s jurisdiction over him in a clawback lawsuit filed in February by Zeek receiver Kenneth D. Bell. Bell alleged that David Ian MacGregor Fraser received $89,722 from Zeek’s “unlawful…

May 10, 2015
Zeek Rewards’ Dawn Wright-Olivares Loses ‘Several Motor Vehicles’ To Receiver In Cross-Border Ponzi Case; More Actions Coming Against International ‘Winners’ And Vendors

More lawsuits against international “winners” in the Zeek Rewards cross-border Ponzi-and pyramid-scheme case are coming, receiver Kenneth D. Bell has advised a federal judge. Bell also signaled to Senior U.S. District Judge Graham C. Mullen that lawsuits may be coming against alleged international Zeek vendors such as Payza and SolidTrustPay, both of which earlier were…

May 1, 2015
‘Achieve Community’ Issued Cease-And-Desist Order, Accused Of Securities Fraud, Selling Unregistered Securities And Conducting ‘Pure’ Ponzi Scheme In Colorado

BULLETIN: (3rd Update 3:44 p.m. EDT U.S.A.) The Colorado Division of Securities has issued a cease-and-desist order to “Achieve Community” and accused the network-marketing “program” of securities fraud and selling unregistered securities while conducting “a pure Ponzi and pyramid scheme.” The order applies to Achieve, Achieve International LLC, Work with Troy Barnes Inc. and Achieve…

Apr 30, 2015
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…

Apr 20, 2015
EDITORIAL: SEC Announced TelexFree Prosecution 1 Year Ago Today, But Many MLMers Have Missed Or Ignored The Lessons

UPDATED 7:10 A.M. EDT APRIL 18 U.S.A. A year has passed since the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced the prosecution of TelexFree. Here’s the lede from the PP Blog’s story on April 17, 2014: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed charges against the alleged TelexFree pyramid scheme and a federal judge…

Apr 17, 2015
After Seeing Photos Of Its Players On ‘GooBets,’ National Basketball Association To Turn Matter Over To ‘Legal Department’

As the PP Blog reported yesterday, photos of National Basketball Association players and team jerseys are appearing on the .com (https://www) website of “GooBets,” a purported betting entity in which recruits are being told “Everybody Makes 25% to 31% Per Week. Period!!!” The NBA said today that the matter had been forwarded to “our Legal…

Apr 15, 2015