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Tag: U.S. Postal Inspection Service

‘SURF/HYIP HELPERS BEWARE: Woman Who Helped Tennessee Ponzi Schemer Cover Up Fraud Sentenced To 6 Years In Federal Prison; Donna Jones’ Role In $12.3 Million Caper Outlined By Jailed Boss In Court After Investigators ‘Follow The Paper Trail’

EDITOR’S NOTE: Although Donna Jones did not run an autosurf or online HYIP fraud, the case against her is instructive. Indeed, prosecutors said, Jones was an insider who was aware of the Ponzi scheme being conducted by her boss, Michael J. Park. And Jones took an active role in the scheme, encouraging customers to invest,…

May 8, 2011
A PONZI QUANDARY: Convicted And Jailed, 61-Year-Old Schemer May Have Enough Life Insurance To Make Victims Whole. Case May Pose Unique Challenges To Court-Appointed Receiver And Victims Of William Huber’s Massive Fraud

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Ponzi world is infamous for serving up long-term, dark skies and odd stories. Here is a new weather report and entry for the Ponzi Strange-O-Meter. By some accounts, the best definition of financial success is written by CPAs on the Last Great Day of a client’s life. When the final beans are…

Apr 11, 2011
SPECIAL REPORT: Investor In Alleged Florida Forex Caper Arrested For Bankruptcy Fraud; Botfly LLC Ponzi Case Reminiscent Of ASD Case; Female Investigator Called Vile Names; Accused Schemer David Lewalski Shifted Blame To Government, Feds Say

UPDATED 1:14 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) A Florida man who allegedly received $1.5 million from an international Forex fraudster now jailed in the United States has been arrested on charges of bankruptcy fraud, federal prosecutors said. The three-count indictment against Jon Jerald Hammill, 39, of St. Petersburg, was unsealed yesterday. It marked the fourth major Ponzi-related…

Apr 1, 2011
PRIMING THE PUMP: TalkGold, MoneyMakerGroup Publish String Of ‘I Got Paid’ Posts From Club Asteria Members; ‘It’s No Scam Now,’ Poster Declares

Two forums listed in federal court documents as places from which Ponzi schemes are promoted have published a series of “I got paid” posts from commentators who say they are members of Club Asteria (CA). The “I got paid” posts on MoneyMakerGroup and TalkGold appeared after CA members had complained publicly about not getting paid…

Mar 23, 2011
SEC Chief Makes Veiled Reference To Imperia Invest Case In Congressional Testimony: Will Ongoing Law-Enforcement Initiatives Spell More Trouble For Serial Online Scammers And Their Enablers?

SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro alluded to the agency’s investigation of the alleged Imperia Invest IBC scam in testimony before Congress this morning, a development that may signal more bad news is in the offing for serial scammers online. Without mentioning Imperia by name, Schapiro told members of the House Subcommittee on Financial Services and General…

Mar 15, 2011
KABOOM! SEC, Feds Target Alleged Money-Laundering Operation In Costa Rica; 6 People From Various Countries Charged Criminally; 7 Charged Civilly In Coordinated Probe Of ‘Pump And Dump’ Schemes

BULLETIN: Two days after Southern Florida’s top federal prosecutor warned that offshore fraudsters who targeted Americans had no safe haven, six people from various parts of the world who allegedly ran or contributed to a pump-and-dump scheme that used the services of a money-laundering operation in Costa Rica have been charged criminally, authorities said. The…

Feb 18, 2011
Southern Florida’s Top Federal Prosecutor Says Offshore Biz-Op Fraudsters Have No Safe Havens; United States Throws Down Gauntlet To Criminal Hucksters

A top federal prosecutor said today that the United States would vigorously investigate and prosecute “business opportunity” fraudsters who target Americans. “This is true even if they operate from outside of the United States,” said Wifredo A. Ferrer, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. “International law enforcement cooperation eliminates safe havens for those…

Feb 16, 2011
EDITORIAL: On Club Asteria, FxPowerPro And DisasterClub — And What The U.S. State Department Could Do To Contain The Danger Posed By The Talk Gold Ponzi And Criminals’ Forum And Others Of Its Ilk Worldwide

Let’s start with the chaos in Egypt this week. Protesters have streamed into the streets to demand that President Hosni Mubarak step down after three decades of autocratic rule. The government initially reacted by shutting down the Internet. As tensions rose, protesters, activists and journalists covering the events were beaten. Some of the protesters were…

Feb 4, 2011
Judge Effectively Orders Treble Financial Penalty By Imposing $64.8 Civil Fine Against Ponzi Swindler Already Convicted In Criminal Case; Scammer Charles E. Hays Also Ordered To Disgorge $19.9 Million In Illicit Profits And Banned From Trade For Life

UPDATED 2:37 P.M. ET (U.S.A.) If you’re a modern-day commodities fraudster and Ponzi schemer, be prepared to have massive criminal and civil exposure. The recent cases against Charles E. “Chuck” Hays of Minnesota tell a tale of significant prison time, a huge criminal restitution order and civil fines that effectively exposed him to treble damages…

Feb 3, 2011
EDITORIAL: ASD By The Numbers: Why America And The World Should Be Shocked — And Why Serial Autosurf And HYIP Promoters Should Be Prosecuted

UPDATED 12:04 P.M. ET (U.S.A.) In court filings this week in the AdSurfDaily autosurf Ponzi scheme case, federal prosecutors in the District of Columbia revealed a series of jaw-dropping numbers. The biggest of these is 500,000 — the number of pages of emails gleaned so far in the investigation, which began in July 2008. Because…

Jan 13, 2011
LETTER TO READERS: Reflections On 1,000 PP Blog Posts, The Lionization Of Fools And An Unprecedented Crime Wave That Threatens National Security And Is Filling Stadiums With Victims

Dear Readers, This is actually Post No. 1,007 since the PP Blog switched to the WordPress platform two years ago this month. We’d hoped to commemorate our 1,000th WordPress post in the actual 1,000th post, but missed the chance because of Breaking News concerning the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force’s Operation Broken Trust. Several hours…

Dec 12, 2010