SEC

A Facebook site set up to promote the Profitable Sunrise HYIP scheme has changed the lead graphic on the page to drive traffic to a site known as “DollarsBluePrint” — apparently through a web entity known as “Big Idea Mastermind.” The previous lead graphic was a leftover from the fraud reign of Profitable Sunrise. The [...]

The claims portal for Zeek Rewards has opened on schedule. It is accessible through a “File a Claim” button on the website of the court-appointed receiver and also has a separate URL. Claims must be filed by 11:59 p.m. (prevailing Eastern time) on Sept. 5, 2013. A claims FAQ is accessible here. Senior U.S. District [...]

BULLETIN: The state of Kansas has issued a cease-and-desist order against the alleged Profitable Sunrise HYIP scheme, saying the “program” offered “gaudy” returns “of 1.6% to 2.7% on a daily basis.” In a statement, Kansas securities officials say the order names Florida resident David P. Cozzocrea as a Profitable Sunrise pitchman. Cozzocrea’s promo appeared on [...]

Two men conducted an offering fraud tied to a purported “bridge lending” business and wiped out investors in a $52 million Ponzi scheme, the Alberta Securities Commission said yesterday. Some of the allegations against Dale Joseph Edgar St. Jean and Gregory Dennis Tindall were remarkably similar to allegations in the United States against the Profitable [...]

BULLETIN: The SEC has asked a federal judge not to permit a Virginia man to intervene in the Profitable Sunrise HYIP fraud case, saying that the man’s self-filed pleading “would open the floodgates for other investors to file similar motions.” In late April, James Paul Schilling of Mechanicsville effectively asked U.S. District Judge Thomas W. [...]

In a bizarre and disturbing video playing on YouTube, a former Profitable Sunrise pitchman claims a new “program” he joined is operating from Hong Kong and is purveyed by an unidentified  “doctor.” The purported opportunity is “1,000 percent better” than Profitable Sunrise or Zeek Rewards, according to the video. News of the video first was [...]

Sentencing for Legisi HYIP Ponzi scheme purveyor Gregory N. McKnight has been delayed again — this time until Aug. 6 at 1:30 p.m. McKnight had been scheduled to be sentenced today in the Eastern District of Michigan. The postponement marks at least the fifth in the case. Legisi, which had a presence on infamous Ponzi [...]

UPDATED 6:12 P.M. EDT (MAY 7, U.S.A.) McAfee Site Advisor has issued a phishing warning for the website domain of “UPrivateBanking,” one of the “programs” targeted on Facebook at victims of the Profitable Sunrise HYIP scheme. McAfee is an Internet security service. The PP Blog, which uses the McAfee service, observed the warning on a Profitable [...]

UPDATED 8:52 P.M. EDT (U.S.A.) A Virginia man has asked for the return of $57,300 wired to Profitable Sunrise in a series of transfers from Bank of America between Jan. 17 and Feb 28. It was unclear from the filing whether the man was a simple investor in Profitable Sunrise, an individual who also was [...]

EDITOR’S NOTE: One way to read a report filed yesterday by the court-appointed receiver in the Zeek Rewards Ponzi-scheme case is as a warning manual that brings to life the kind of vexing problems HYIP schemes create for operators, vendors and participants — including “insiders.” Kenneth D. Bell’s report to Senior U.S. District Judge Graham [...]

Gary Calhoun, the operator of the MPB Today MLM “program,” has joined AdSurfDaily Ponzi schemer Andy Bowdoin as a member of a dubious club: A Florida judge has ordered Calhoun not to get arrested on new charges and to stay away from MLM while he awaits sentencing in a racketeering case brought by Florida authorities [...]