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Tag: U.S. Secret Service

Forex Ponzi Schemers Who Targeted Deaf Investors Hit With $6.2 Million In Sanctions; ‘Billion Coupons’ Case Drew Comparisons To Defunct Noobing Autosurf

A Hawaii man and his company were hit with sanctions totaling $6.2 million in a case that alleged they targeted people with hearing impairments in a Forex Ponzi scheme. Both the SEC and the CFTC filed actions against Marvin Cooper and his Honolulu-based firm, Billion Coupons Inc. (BCI). The CFTC announced the judgment against Cooper…

Sep 3, 2010
KABOOM! (Florida — Again): FTC Hits Bogus Credit-Repair Firm With $14 Million Judgment; Alleged Schemers Lose Cars, Real Estate In Miami-Dade, Broward Counties

BULLETIN: (UPDATED 11:27 A.M. EDT (U.S.A.) The Federal Trade Commission has lowered the boom on Clean Credit Report Services Inc. of Florida and three individuals associated with the firm. In a settlement from a case brought in October 2008, the FTC has obtained a judgment of $14.4 million. The defendants must surrender their assets, including…

Sep 1, 2010
BULLETIN: Ponzi Scheme Figure William Walters To Be Extradited From Argentina, FBI, Colorado AG Say; Another ‘Offshore’ Myth Exposed

BULLETIN: (UPDATED 9:32 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) William L. Walters has been extradited to the United States from Argentina to face Ponzi scheme charges in Colorado, prosecutors announced. â€œThis extradition is the culmination of years of work and cooperation between my office and the FBI,â€ said Colorado Attorney General John Suthers. â€œIn this case, justice delayed…

Aug 30, 2010
KABOOM! Feds Release Info On ‘Alpha Trade Group’ Forex Scheme With Ties To Mexico, Panama; Records Suggest Scheme Was Collapsing Even Prior To Promos On TalkGold, MoneyMakerGroup Forums

Yet another HYIP scheme pushed on the TalkGold and MoneyMakerGroup forums has been outlined by federal prosecutors — this time in Florida. The name of the scheme was Alpha Trade Group (ATG), and web records show that the scheme was pitched on TalkGold and MoneyMakerGroup beginning on Oct. 7, 2009. Court records, meanwhile, show that…

Aug 23, 2010
Son Says AdSurfDaily’s Andy Bowdoin Used Religion To Fleece Masses And Disgraced Family Name; Huckster’s Scheming Dates Back To 1960s, Another Family Member Says; ‘He Has A Criminal Mind’

Growing up a child of Andy Bowdoin and advancing through adolescence and adulthood was hard because of Bowdoin’s habitual scheming, according to Scott Bowdoin, Andy Bowdoin’s son. “He uses religion — always,” Scott Bowdoin, 42, said flatly of his 75-year-old father, noting he had not spoken to Andy Bowdoin in about 15 years because the…

Aug 16, 2010
KABOOM! Vladislav Horohorin Arrested In France On U.S. Warrant After Undercover Operation On Forums; Secret Service Will Traverse The Globe ‘In Pursuit Of Online Criminals,’ Agency Says

EDITOR’S NOTE: The arrest of Vladislav Horohorin is notable on a number of levels. First, the arrest in Europe was a result of an online fraud scheme that allegedly crossed international borders and made its way to the United States, where criminal charges were filed.Â At the same time, the crime allegedly involved the transfer…

Aug 11, 2010
MYTH-SHATTERING CASE: Local Prosecutors Extradite Ronald Paul Shade From Thailand To Face Real-Estate Ponzi Charges; Shade Also Accused Of ‘Financial Elder Abuse’

EDITOR’S NOTE: The PP Blog has covered a number of stories in which U.S. residents living overseas were extradited to the United States to face Ponzi charges. The case against Ronald Paul Shade is another one — and it’s one that demonstrates that an extradition can occur even if a defendant is not charged with…

Jul 21, 2010
SCAMMER’S GAMBLE BACKFIRES: Fraudster Who Chilled Customer With Lawsuit Threat Pleads Guilty To Mail Fraud; Philip Pestrichello Faces Up To 20 Years In Prison After Plea In ‘Work-At-Home’ Caper

UPDATED 4:51 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) A convicted felon who emerged from prison and almost immediately launched a $1 million fraud scheme known as PPSN threatened to prosecute and sue a consumer who had filed an online complaint, federal prosecutors said. Although the threat caused the consumer to withdraw the complaint against Philip Pestrichello, Pestrichello’s bid…

Jul 19, 2010
WebsiteTester.Biz Pitched On Reborn GoldenPandaAdZone Forum, Plus MoneyMakerGroup, TalkGold And Other Ponzi Havens

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story originally was published June 30. The PP Blog later encountered a database problem, which caused the site to go down and resulted in the temporary loss of some data. The data now has been retrieved. This story is about a new site known as â€œWebsiteTester.biz,â€ but some background is in order.…

Jul 1, 2010
Prosecution, INetGlobal Strike Interim Agreement That Frees Money To Pay Employees, Insurance Under Court Supervision

UPDATED 6:14 P.M. ET (U.S.A., JAN. 20, 2011.) Employees of an Internet company under federal investigation amid allegations it was operating a Ponzi scheme have received some good news: a sum of $125,000 has been released to pay their past-due salaries and $25,000 has been released to pay their past-due healthcare benefits. Meanwhile, $200,000 per…

Jun 20, 2010
BULLETIN: KABOOM x 1,215! Feds Announce ‘Operation Stolen Dreams’ Mortgage-Fraud Sweep; 1,215 Defendants Charged In Largest Mortgage Scammer Takedown In U.S. History

BULLETIN: UPDATED 1:10 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) At least 1,215 criminal defendants have been named in “Operation Stolen Dreams,” which U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder described as a “three and a half month takedown of mortgage fraud schemes throughout the country.” The mortgage-fraud operation began March 1 and is the largest-such undertaking in U.S. history, Holder…

Jun 17, 2010