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Tag: Wealth4AllTeam

  • HourlyRevShare, Another ‘Ken Russo’ Ponzi-Board ‘Program,’ Reportedly DOA

    krussohourlyrevshareHourlyRevShare, another in a long list of incongruous HYIP Ponzi-board “programs” pushed by serial huckster “Ken Russo” (also known as “DRdave”), reportedly has collapsed after taking a second bite of the Ponzi apple (purportedly as HRS II) after the original iteration collapsed. Other recent “programs” pushed by “Ken Russo” include Zeek Rewards and Profitable Sunrise, both of which cratered after regulatory actions in the United States.

    “Ken Russo” also pushed Felmina Alliance, which became the subject of an Investor Alert in Canada; AdSurfDaily, a $119 million Ponzi scheme that put operator Andy Bowdoin in federal prison in Florida; MPB Today, a scheme that led to racketeering charges being filed in Florida against operator Gary Calhoun; Club Asteria, a scheme that falsely planted the seeds it was endorsed by actor Will Smith and the American Red Cross while also trading on the name of slain human-rights champion Mahatma Gandhi; a scheme known as Gold Nugget Invest that cratered in at least two forms; JSS Tripler/JustBeenPaid, a multiple-name scheme purportedly operated by Frederick Mann that promised a return of 730 percent a year and has encountered regulatory actions in Italy and the Philippines;  knockoff scams known variously as JSSTripler 2 and Compound 150 purportedly operated by “Dave” between purported bouts with Dengue Fever; and Wealth4AllTeam, a “program” that experienced business halts and relaunches with new names, at one time claiming it was impervious to U.S. regulators at the state and federal level while incongruously claiming disputes would be settled under California law.

    Among other things, the lead pitchman for HourlyRevShare on the MoneyMakerGroup Ponzi forum claimed that the “program” offered “Daily guaranteed Payouts.” The promoter also claimed (italics added):

    “Earn 4.5% to 6.5% daily for 20 days.”

    “Earn 135% to 195% on your shares.”

    “Earn 0.18 to 0.29 every hour.”

    On April 9, 2013, less than a month after the Profitable Sunrise HYIP scheme collapsed amid SEC allegations a ghost might have been at the wheel, Ken Russo (as “DRdave”) claimed on TalkGold that he’d just received a payment of $4,850 from HourlyRevShare, which was using a Gmail email address. Critics of HourlyRevShare claim the “program” is linked to individuals known as Analie or Anelie Steinway and Dr. Leiven Van Neste.

    Whether these individuals actually exist remains an open question.

    “Ken Russo” also has been leading cheers for a “program” known as NEOMutual, yet-another Ponzi-board darling. NEOMutual is being pushed alongside a “program” bizarrely known as “CashCropCycler.”

    Also see Comments thread below this PP Blog story on the JSS/JBP-linked ProfitClicking scam.

     

  • UPDATE: Teetering ‘Wealth4AllTeam’ Scheme Reportedly Was Using I-Payout, Same Facilitator Cited By ‘OneX’ Scheme In July

    Screen shot: I-Payout website showing logos of "Global Strategic Partners." Ponzi-forum reports surfaced yesterday that the Wealth4AllTeam HYIP scheme was using I-Payout. In July, a scheme known as "OneX' that federal prosecutors previously described as a fraud and a "pyramid" announced that it was transitioning to I-Payout.

    UPDATE: Wealth4AllTeam, one of the many HYIP schemes pushed by Zeek Rewards “I Got Paid” cheerleader “Ken Russo,” reportedly was using I-Payout as a payment facilitator, according to new Ponzi-forum reports.

    Wealth4AllTeam appears to have suspended operations, leaving the Ponzi forums in an uproar amid claims that it is transitioning to a new business model that incorporates something called “Project Genesis.”

    Earlier this year, Wealth4AllTeam planted the seed that it would sue the RealScam.com antifraud forum  for publishing information unfriendly to Wealth4AllTeam.

    “I-payout quick links has been removed….all the attached bank account has been deactivated..there is no option left to deposit or withdraw…Looks like W4all have a hold on I-payout,” MoneyMakerGroup poster “jhakas22” claimed yesterday.

    If the report is true — and MoneyMakerGroup poster Tobwithu claimed that he (or she) “can confirm that all links at i-payout are gone!’ — then it means that Wealth4AllTeam was using the same facilitator to which the mysterious “OneX’ scheme claimed it was transitioning.

    In April, federal prosecutors described the purported OneX “program” as a “fraudulent scheme” and “pyramid” pushed by former AdSurfDaily President Andy Bowdoin. ASD was a $119 million Ponzi scheme. In August, Bowdoin was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison.

    On July 19, the PP Blog reported that OneX claimed it had dropped SolidTrustPay — a Canada-based processor linked to fraud scheme after fraud scheme — in favor of I-Payout. That announcement was made by “J.C.,” later identified by federal prosecutors as James C. Hill.

    I-Payout’s website publishes the logos of HSBC, Deutsche Bank, Barclays and other “Global Strategic Partners,” including Bank of America.

    “J.C.” made the OneX I-Payout announcement on July 17, the same day the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations was grilling HSBC executives on HSBC’s anti-money-laundering practices, including an executive who announced his resignation in front of the panel.

    (Also see June 20 PP Blog report about OneX claim that it was working with a processor with a tie to Bank of America. Given events that occurred after the dropping of Bank of America’s name and the appearance of the bank’s name on the I-Payout site, it appears “J.C.” was alluding to I-Payout in June.)

    Any number of ASD Ponzi-scheme pushers used Bank of America’s name to sanitize the ASD fraud. In raising Bank of America’s name in June and announcing the I-Payout transition in July, OneX appears to have been doing the same thing.

    Name-dropping to sanitize fraud schemes is common in the HYIP sphere. So are lawsuit threats and other bids to chill websites that publish information critical of HYIPs.

    In July, Robert Craddock, a purported “consultant” for Rex Venture Group LLC — the operator of the Zeek Rewards MLM scheme — sought to have a HubPages site operated by Zeek critic “K. Chang” removed from the web by filing a complaint with HubPages about purported copyright and trademark infringement and libel. Craddock’s efforts succeeded temporarily.

    In a bizarre Blog post on Aug. 4, Zeek claimed that “all” criticism of Zeek was unfair and planted the seed that unspecified “North Carolina Credit Unions” were circulating a purported “internal memo” that allegedly was “at once unfavorable to Zeek Rewards and false.”

    The Zeek post, attributed to then-acting COO Gregory J. Caldwell, complained the credit unions were slandering Zeek and warned Zeek members to toe the company line.

    Thirteen days later, the SEC filed an emergency court action that described Zeek as a $600 million Ponzi- and pyramid scheme.

    Craddock now is involved in a purported effort to defend Zeek affiliates from clawback actions by the court-appointed receiver in the SEC’s Zeek case. That effort began after the SEC’s actions against Zeek and also included name-dropping. During a pitch for Zeek members to send in money, Craddock dropped the name of former Florida Attorney General (and former U.S. Rep.) Bill McCollum.

    McCollum, now a partner at the SNR Denton law firm, no longer is in public office. Precisely why Craddock mentioned McCollum’s name is unclear, although Craddock initially said that the Zeek affiliates were hiring SNR Denton. That effort appears now to have fallen through.

    As Florida’s Attorney General, McCollum sued ASD for fraud in August 2008. Some ASD members countered that McCollum should be sued for Deceptive Trade Practices for holding the view that ASD was a fraud. Although McCollum’s office later dropped the ASD lawsuit, it said it had gathered names of ASD fraud victims and provided them to the U.S. Department of Justice, which had established a remissions process through which ASD victims could receive compensation from proceeds seized by the U.S. Secret Service in the ASD Ponzi case filed at the federal level in the District of Columbia.

    Zeek is known to have members in common with the ASD Ponzi scheme. Some Zeek members also promoted OneX, the scheme promoted by ASD’s Bowdoin after his December 2010 arrest by the U.S. Secret Service on Ponzi-related charges of wire fraud, securities fraud and selling unregistered securities.

    Bowdoin told prospects that OneX was good for “college students.”

    “Ken Russo” also is known as “DRdave.”

  • Wealth4AllTeam, ‘Program’ Pushed By Zeek ‘I Got Paid’ Cheerleader ‘Ken Russo,’ Appears To Have Suspended Operations

    There are Ponzi-forum reports today that “Wealth4AllTeam” has suspended operations. Wealth4AllTeam was a “program” pushed by legendary Ponzi-forum huckster “Ken Russo,” also known as “DRdave.”

    “Ken Russo” regularly made “I Got Paid” posts for Zeek Rewards on the TalkGold Ponzi forum. He also led cheers for Club Asteria, a “program” that encountered trouble from CONSOB, the Italian securities regulator. Meanwhile, Ken Russo led cheers for the bizarre JSS Tripler 2 “program,” which appears to have based its name on the JSS Tripler/JustBeenPaid scam-in-progress purportedly operated by Frederick Mann.

    JSS/JBP appears now to be morphing into a scam known as “ProfitClicking.”

    Among other things, the JSS Tripler 2 scam touted by “Ken Russo” hatched a companion fraud scheme known as “Compound150.”

    A message today on the Wealth4All website accessible by clicking a link styled “Click Here for Other Forms of Payments” says “Temporally [sic] Down Please Check your e-mail.”

    Separately, a message on the Ponzi boards attributed to “Wealth4allteam Management” in part says this (italics added):

    As you are aware from previous communications, we have been working hard at getting our Project Genesis off the ground. The goal of Project Genesis is to create a business model that offers the right balance between a product and a rewarding financial opportunity. We’ve created an amazing model that will offer several income opportunities to a wide spectrum of people, from beginners to the more experienced network marketers.

    In the past, we also informed you that we were consulting with both our legal team and with a compensation consulting firm to help us integrate our existing pay structure with the new model. During these consultations, it has become clear to us that the required changes to the current compensation plan are too drastic and complicated to be done effectively. Based on that, our counsel has advised us to create a completely new business model that will better serve everyone for our new business.

    On Aug. 17, the SEC called Zeek a $600 million Ponzi- and pyramid scheme. Just weeks earlier, “Ken Russo” left a series of “I Got Paid” posts for Zeek on the TalkGold Ponzi forum.

    Included in his signature line was a link for the Wealth4AllTeam “program.”

    Precisely what Wealth4AllTeam’s “Project Genesis” entails is unclear. The name, however, is reminiscent of an earlier scam known as the “Alpha Project” that was linked to another scam known as FEDI.

    Read more on the FEDI scheme. FEDI operator Abdul Tawala Ibn Ali Alishtari, also known as “Michael Mixon,” pleaded guilty in September 2009 to fleecing investors out of millions of dollars and to financing terrorism.

  • A PONZI WORLD FIRST? JSS Tripler 2 Collapses — And Obvious Ponzi ‘Program’ Blames Ponzi-Pushers’ Forum For Demise

    UPDATED 4:05 PM EDT (U.S.A.): It’s MoneyMakerGroup’s fault that JSS Tripler 2 (T2) — also known as T2MoneyKlub — has collapsed.

    And it’s also the fault of “Elmer,” a forum poster who apparently committed the unpardonable sin of questioning the legitimacy of a scheme that advertised a return of 2 percent a day — after naming itself after another scheme that advertised 2 percent a day and after T2 gave birth to itself in a forum referenced in U.S. court filings as a place from which massive HYIP Ponzi schemes such as Legisi and Pathway to Prosperity were promoted.

    The bizarre assertions were made by T2 Admin “Dave,” a self-described newlywed apparently fully recovered from a recent bout with Dengue Fever but no longer able to ward off a case of Ponzi topplitis fatalis.

    “CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE!!” the T2 site screamed last night in all-caps and red type. “DUE TO INCESSANT UNDERMINING BY THE STAFF AND A SELECTION OF ‘STAFF ASSISTED’ MEMBERS OF MONEYMAKERGROUP.COM.”

    Only days before, “Dave” announced that members who plowed money into the scheme would begin receiving payments to make them whole and put them in profit. Whether those payments were made remains an open question. Serial scammers and willfully blind Ponzi recruiters who populate the Ponzi boards and organize their public and private sales pitches to speed the flow of cash to the schemes as a means of harvesting commissions as illegal broker-dealers may be the only winners — other than “Dave” himself.

    Whether “Dave” assigned himself a Ponzi “rake” is unclear. In the AdSurfDaily online Ponzi case, federal prosecutors said ASD President Andy Bowdoin and a “silent partner” who was Bowdoin’s sponsor in the 12DailyPro online Ponzi scheme agreed to a rake of 10 percent of ASD’s “gross sales.”

    The U.S. Secret Service said ASD had gathered at least $110 million. Bowdoin was charged in 2010 with wire fraud, securities fraud and selling unregistered securities. He faces a Ponzi trial in September and a bond-review hearing May 18. Investigators say he continued to scam after the  Secret Service raided ASD in August 2008.

    Ponzi-board posts suggest “Dave” had access to hundreds of thousands of dollars sent in by T2 members, beginning late last year and at least into the early part of 2012. But a problem with an offshore (from a U.S. perspective)  payment processor purportedly developed, a situation that purportedly led to a freeze on cashouts. “Dave” claimed he was operating the program from both Britain and Thailand, while also venturing to countries such as Cambodia.

    The collapse of T2 occurred just days after the conclusion of a conference in Israel at which INTERPOL President Khoo Boon Hui described two recent online scams operating in Asia that had gathered billions of dollars and resulted in 220 arrests.

    Some of the suspects were trying to make a fast getaway at an airport, Hui said, describing the purveyors as transnational criminals.

    “[Eighty] per cent of crime committed online is now connected to organized gangs operating across borders,” Hui said, citing figures from a study by London Metropolitan University. “Criminal gangs now find that transnational and cybercrime are far more rewarding and profitable than other riskier forms of making money.”

    MoneyMakerGroup is referenced in both the Legisi and Pathway To Prosperity cases as a place from which Ponzi and fraud schemes are promoted. The combined hauls of those schemes exceeded $140 million, according to court filings.

    The combined hauls of ASD, Legisi and Pathway To Prosperity exceeded $250 million, according to court filings. Like Legisi, Pathway To Prosperity and T2, ASD also was promoted on the Ponzi forums. Federal prosecutors now say that OneX — yet another “opportunity” promoted on the forums — is a “fraudulent scheme” and “pyramid.”

    Bowdoin now is accused of promoting OneX.

    Although the closure announcement on the T2 site did not reference Elmer, remarks attributed to “Dave” (as Peakr8) on MoneyMakerGroup made it plain that “Dave” holds Elmer equally accountable for the collapse of the T2 scheme, which recently started a Ponzi feeder program known as “Compound150.”

    Here’s “Dave” as Peakr8 yesterday on MoneyMakerGroup (italics added):

    I got an email from [MoneyMakerGroup Admin] Yippee some months back. Included in it was one line I will never forget.

    Elmer and his friends will NEVER be banned from MMG, the owner wants them there. To create ‘interesting discussion’.

    My kids found this doing a search about T2MK… The youngest is 9 years old, the oldest is 13… they cried.

    Hope you feel great about that Elmer and friends.. Hope you all feel great!!

    I am closing both programs down as of NOW, and i will leave it to the processors to distribute the funds.

    Yippee said hogwash.

    “This is a BOLD FACED LIE!” Yippee exclaimed.

    Elmer said “Dave’s” Ponzi experienced a meltdown and that “Dave” had become the “newest member of the ‘Crazy admin excuses’ club.”

    “Why don’t you just tell the truth Dave? Elmer quizzed. “Your ponzi imploded. It ran out of cash to pay with.”

    As part of its fraud, T2 maintained its own fraud forum. In a moment of almost-perfect fraud symmetry, legendary fraudster “Ken Russo” made the last “I got paid” post in T2s subfraud forum for its Compound150 fraud.

    Ken Russo’s signature line at T2’s fraud forum led to an “opportunity” known as “Wealth 4 All Team,” which appears to have a cheerleader who is planting the seed that the RealScam.com antifraud forum may get sued for publishing information unfriendly to Wealth4AllTeam.

    Whether “Ken Russo” had plowed into Wealth4All any of his purported May 11 net payout of $535.95 from “Dave’s” multifaceted T2 Ponzi venture is unknown.

    “Ask About My Matching Loan Offer,” “Ken Russo” prompted in his ad for Wealth4AllTeam at “Dave’s” forum for the combined T2 frauds.

    In March, “Dave” asserted that the PP Blog and “all your lackies” had “completely undermined your credibility . . .  from the word go” in stories and comments about T2.

    The T2 death notice followed about two months after “Dave’s” assertions on the PP Blog.