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Tag: U.S. Secret Service

BULLETIN: Class-Action Proposed Against 20,000 Alleged TelexFree Winners — With MAPS Pitchman As Lead Defendant

BULLETIN: Class-action attorney Robert J. Bonsignore has asked a federal judge for permission to file a third amended consolidated complaint that effectively would sue at least 20,000 “net winners” in the TelexFree scheme shut down by the SEC last year. The proposal would name alleged TelexFree promoter Daniil Shoyfer the lead class-action defendant, effectively making…

Sep 25, 2015
BULLETIN: Feds Seek Information From Victims Of ‘Achieve Community’ Scam

BULLETIN: (2nd updated 8:54 p.m. EDT U.S.A.) The office of Acting U.S. Attorney Jill Westmoreland Rose of the Western District of North Carolina has published a webpage for victims of the “Achieve Community” scam. Victims are asked to “submit information concerning the amount of your losses to the U.S. Probation Office,” which is compiling a…

Jul 30, 2015
ACHIEVE COMMUNITY’S TROY BARNES: ‘I Am Guilty Of Being Ignorant’

UPDATED 10:10 P.M. EDT U.S.A. His Achieve Community cycler colleague Kristi Johnson now charged both civilly and criminally, Troy A. Barnes is professing ignorance. In a June 22 letter to U.S. Magistrate Judge Craig B. Shaffer of the District of Colorado, Barnes offered reasons for missing a June 3 conference call with the court. The…

Jun 29, 2015
URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: Achieve Community’s Kristi Johnson Charged Criminally

URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: (13th Update 1:43 p.m. EDT U.S.A.) After an investigation by the U.S. Secret Service, Kristi Johnson (Kristine Louise Johnson) of the “Achieve Community” has been charged criminally with wire-fraud conspiracy and has agreed to plead guilty, federal prosecutors said. “By the time the scheme collapsed in February 2015, the conspirators…

Jun 19, 2015
SPECIAL REPORT: MyAdvertisingPays, Zeek Figures Sued In TelexFree Class Action; AdSurfDaily And Zeek Cases Cited Repeatedly; Alleged ‘Private Jet’ Also Referenced In 200-Page Complaint

EDITOR’S NOTE: Certain reports by the PP Blog that are available to any person with an Internet connection are referenced in a consolidated, amended prospective class-action complaint that makes claims against various defendants with an alleged association with TelexFree. Information from other publicly available sites, including BehindMLM.com, RealScam.com and others, also is referenced. The purpose…

Jun 15, 2015
In TelexFree Trustee’s Probe, Advisers Turn To Cross-Border Zeek Case For Guidance

Billing records in the TelexFree bankruptcy case show that advisers to court-appointed Trustee Stephen B. Darr held an hour-long teleconference with McGuireWoods, counsel to Zeek Rewards’ receiver Kenneth D. Bell. This appears to mark the first time that Zeek’s name has surfaced in TelexFree-related court matters. The two cross-border MLM/network-marketing fraud schemes allegedly gathered a…

May 9, 2015
In Conference Call For ‘SVM Global Initiative,’ Speaker Makes Veiled Reference To UFunClub Cross-Border Scheme Under Investigation In Thailand: Are North American ‘Sovereign Citizens’ At Work?

Are “sovereign citizens” immersed in the “SVM Global Initiative” and “UFunClub” cross-border, network-marketing schemes? “Sovereign citizens” may have an irrational belief that laws do not apply to them. It is not unusual for them to be involved in financial fraud, and some “sovereigns” have been linked to MLM HYIP frauds and securities offering frauds. Individuals…

Apr 19, 2015
UPDATE: IntellaShares Now Under Scrutiny By Save The Children

IntellaShares, a collapsed “program” with a presence on the Ponzi boards and purportedly prepping for “relaunch,” now is under scrutiny by Save the Children. Jeremy Soulliere, a spokesman for Save the Children USA, confirmed the inquiry to the PP Blog this morning. Save the Children USA is an arm of Save the Children Federation Inc.,…

Apr 2, 2015
Two Former Federal Agents Involved In Silk Road Probe Were Bitcoin Thieves And One Was An Extortionist, Justice Department Says

UPDATED 8:33 P.M. EDT U.S.A. There must be some long faces at the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Secret Service today. That’s because two federal agents once assigned to a Task Force investigating the illicit Silk Road marketplace have been charged with federal crimes. Carl M. Force, 46, of Baltimore, was a DEA…

Mar 30, 2015
BULLETIN: Receiver Sues USHBB Inc., Maker Of Zeek Videos — And Ties Firm To AdSurfDaily Ponzi Scheme

9th UPDATE 9:01 P.M. EDT U.S.A. Indianapolis-based USHBB Inc. and three of its principals — James A. Moore, Robert Mecham and Oscar H. Brown — have been sued by the court-appointed receiver in the Zeek Rewards Ponzi- and pyramid-scheme case. Receiver Kenneth D. Bell alleges USHBB, a producer of videos, also did work for the…

Mar 27, 2015
SEC Enforcement Chief References Investor Alert On ‘Pyramid Schemes Posing As Multi-Level Marketing Programs’ In Congressional Testimony Today, Says ‘Coordinated Effort’ To Disrupt Them Under Way

“The staff also has recently seen what appears to be an increase in pyramid schemes . . . under the guise of ‘multi-level marketing’ and ‘network marketing’ opportunities . . . These schemes often target the most vulnerable investors, and social media has expanded their reach. The Division is deploying resources to disrupt these schemes…

Mar 19, 2015