Wednesday 28 November 2007
Friday 2 November 2007
Tracking Down The Real Internet Crooks Capital Enhancement Club (CEC)
Peeling an onion, much like uncovering a scam, is never a pleasant experience and can bring tears to your eyes. Sometimes, as in the case of CEC, after all the scam layers are gone and you pull aside the curtain to see who is really operating the scheme…the answer might just surprise you!
Securities and Exchange Commission v. David Tanner, individually and d/b/a Capital Enhancement Club, Rocky D. Spencer, Marroc Corp. and Richard P. Kringen, Defendants, and, Omnibus, LLC, Vectra Resources, LLC and Dynamic Environmental Solutions, Inc., Relief Defendants, Civil Action No. 05-4057-SAC
This SEC document identifies, three civil defendants, David Tanner an unknown, Rocky D. Spencer, a convicted felon and recidivist fraudster, and Richard P. Kringen (”Kringen”), one of CEC’s salesmen.*ceclubreceiver
When you first look at this SEC Document, Civil Action No. 05-4057-SAC, it is not possible to fully understand the events and people involved by reading only the header as shown here. It displays only names and often dates.
Let’s peel away a layer and look deeper.
Please Remember - This is just a civil action and no criminal charges have been filed. Also in the interest of fairness, please note that Rocky Spencer and his mother Margaret without admitting or denying the allegations in the Commission’s Complaint have both reached a mutual settlement with the SEC. The settlement between the SEC and Rocky (Defendant) required him to return $454,158.54, representing profits gained as a result of the conduct alleged in the Complaint. The receiver tells me that they no longer have an interest in or the authority to investigate Spencer’s current activities. Just in case you want to take a look, here are some of the web businesses he currently operates……
- http://www.instantgold.net (Instant Gold Exchange)
- http://www.igecard.com (IGE Card)
- http://www.progressivegoldcasino.com [offshore Internet gambling]
- http://www.ultimategoldgoldcasino.com [offshore Internet gambling]
- http://dwgcard.com (dwgcard)
- http://allmenformen.com (gay men’s forum)
Background on Defendants and the case
Richard P. Kringen - On December 16, 1994, the Securities Commissioner of the State of Kansas filed a cease and desist order, showing that through Diversified Consultants, Richard P. Kringen around 68 years of age at the time, solicited the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System to invest in a transactions involving Prime Bank Guarantees with the “top fifty World Banks” and promised his investors an annual return of 50%. Docket No. 95E042 *ceclubreceiver (.pdf) The SEC has repeatedly deemed prime bank schemes a security in enforcement actions, and high yield investment schemes are so similar to prime bank schemes that they should be treated the same. Richard’s final judgment in the CEC scam shows he was ordered to disgorge the amount of $226,113.30 representing his ‘cut’ plus an additional interest amount of $17,410.66.
Rocky D. Spencer - On July 22, 1994 Rocky D. Spencer (Instantgold.net) plead guilty to conspiracy to defraud the Unites States, money laundering, wire fraud and structuring transactions to evade reporting requirements. Spencer served 60 months in prison. This conviction was the result of an successful investigation and prosecution by the Criminal Investigation Division of the Internal Revenue Service. The Marroc Corp. is a Virginia corporation, controlled by Spencer with its principal place of business at Spencer’s residence in Newport News, Virginia. He is listed as president and secretary.
David Tanner - This is an alias and he is considered a recidivist securities law violator. His background requires much more than just a paragraph so please keep reading and you will eventually come to his ‘resume’.
May 2005
The SEC filed an emergency civil enforcement action [SEC Complaint] on May 4, 2005 in the United States federal court in the District of Kansas. On that same day, United States District Court Judge Sam A. Crow issued an order [SEC Memorandum In Support of TRO] temporarily restraining defendants David Tanner, individually and doing business as Capital Enhancement Club (“CEC”), Rocky D. Spencer, Marroc Corp. (“Marroc”) and Richard P. Kringen from violating the antifraud provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws.
How To Choose A Bidder For Outsourcing Your Project?
You have taken the decision to outsource your writing job to a freelancer in a far away land. It seems that this freelancer can write in the language you prefer and the initial impression is favorable. The bidder has given a reasonable cost and time span within which you should receive the content. So far so good and you appear to be satisfied! Now you wait for the results to come back at the stipulated time span, thereby enabling you to implement your much cherished goal of having a web site that will become the envy of others!
Days go by, even a couple of weeks have passed and you have heard nothing from the bidder you so carefully chose to write your web content. You are frustrated and know that nothing can be done since the distance that separates you from your bidder is no easy deal. No replies to your desperate emails and no way you can find out what happened! You now wish that you had first learn how to choose a bidder in this business!
The Seven Steps to the top of the Outsourcing Ladder!
We all wish there was a fool proof method of doing business on the Internet but there is not! We have still to rely upon the "word of mouth" as a means of realizing an outsourced deal. There are many agencies dealing with outsourcing, bidding sites, and freelancers who strive to make it big in the business world. It is therefore good to think of the seven golden rules for choosing a bidder from the multitude of freelancers who reply to your project query. It is like climbing the 7 rungs of the ladder to success, knowing fully well that each rung could give way and you would fall all the way down like in the game of "snakes and ladders"! How do we keep climbing this proverbial Outsourcing Ladder?
• When you choose a bidder to your project, do look at the profile a bit more carefully than just a cursory glance. Read between the lines and try to get into the shoes of your bidder - and what you would do if you were the bidder in this project. In short - know your bidder as you would love to know your client!
• It is a very luring world in the outsourcing field as several bidders will give you attractive propositions. You must remember that it's the "meat" in their bids that is important and not the number of words they write to win your bid. Few words that say a lot is the cue to making a good deal with outsourcing bidders.
• India, Pakistan, China, The Philippines, and other South East Asian countries have made a mark in freelancing due to their lower overheads and cost of living. This is one of the reasons why outsourcing has become such an attractive alternative for the developed nations of the world. Understanding the criteria that guides these freelancers or companies can give you a more viable outsourcing of your project.
• English is a language spoken in many parts of the outsourcing world. If you are in the western hemisphere like US, Canada, or UK - or in Australia where English is the medium of conversation, it is necessary to hire or outsource to freelancers who are proficient in the language. Check out this point before you decide on the final bidder.
• The financial aspects are most important as a fallout in this context can lead to misunderstanding and breakdown of the outsourcing concept. Escrowing funds, PayPal, Moneybookers, fund transfer medium are points worth clarifying prior to sealing the outsourcing deal.
• Check out the credentials of the freelance bidders as that gives valuable information.
• Last but not the least; try to have a direct contact with the freelancers. This is now viable through Instant Messengers, Skype, Google Talk and other cheap communication means!
Nothing is more frustrating than a outsourced project collapse and we must all try to avoid this by taking the right steps in processing our projects.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/how-to-choose-a-bidder-for-outsourcing-your-project-226898.html
Tracking Down The Real Internet Crooks Capital Enhancement Club (CEC)
Peeling an onion, much like uncovering a scam, is never a pleasant experience and can bring tears to your eyes. Sometimes, as in the case of CEC, after all the scam layers are gone and you pull aside the curtain to see who is really operating the scheme…the answer might just surprise you!
Securities and Exchange Commission v. David Tanner, individually and d/b/a Capital Enhancement Club, Rocky D. Spencer, Marroc Corp. and Richard P. Kringen, Defendants, and, Omnibus, LLC, Vectra Resources, LLC and Dynamic Environmental Solutions, Inc., Relief Defendants, Civil Action No. 05-4057-SAC
This SEC document identifies, three civil defendants, David Tanner an unknown, Rocky D. Spencer, a convicted felon and recidivist fraudster, and Richard P. Kringen (”Kringen”), one of CEC’s salesmen.*ceclubreceiver
When you first look at this SEC Document, Civil Action No. 05-4057-SAC, it is not possible to fully understand the events and people involved by reading only the header as shown here. It displays only names and often dates.
Let’s peel away a layer and look deeper.
Please Remember - This is just a civil action and no criminal charges have been filed. Also in the interest of fairness, please note that Rocky Spencer and his mother Margaret without admitting or denying the allegations in the Commission’s Complaint have both reached a mutual settlement with the SEC. The settlement between the SEC and Rocky (Defendant) required him to return $454,158.54, representing profits gained as a result of the conduct alleged in the Complaint. The receiver tells me that they no longer have an interest in or the authority to investigate Spencer’s current activities. Just in case you want to take a look, here are some of the web businesses he currently operates……
- http://www.instantgold.net (Instant Gold Exchange)
- http://www.igecard.com (IGE Card)
- http://www.progressivegoldcasino.com [offshore Internet gambling]
- http://www.ultimategoldgoldcasino.com [offshore Internet gambling]
- http://dwgcard.com (dwgcard)
- http://allmenformen.com (gay men’s forum)
Background on Defendants and the case
Richard P. Kringen - On December 16, 1994, the Securities Commissioner of the State of Kansas filed a cease and desist order, showing that through Diversified Consultants, Richard P. Kringen around 68 years of age at the time, solicited the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System to invest in a transactions involving Prime Bank Guarantees with the “top fifty World Banks” and promised his investors an annual return of 50%. Docket No. 95E042 *ceclubreceiver (.pdf) The SEC has repeatedly deemed prime bank schemes a security in enforcement actions, and high yield investment schemes are so similar to prime bank schemes that they should be treated the same. Richard’s final judgment in the CEC scam shows he was ordered to disgorge the amount of $226,113.30 representing his ‘cut’ plus an additional interest amount of $17,410.66.
Rocky D. Spencer - On July 22, 1994 Rocky D. Spencer (Instantgold.net) plead guilty to conspiracy to defraud the Unites States, money laundering, wire fraud and structuring transactions to evade reporting requirements. Spencer served 60 months in prison. This conviction was the result of an successful investigation and prosecution by the Criminal Investigation Division of the Internal Revenue Service. The Marroc Corp. is a Virginia corporation, controlled by Spencer with its principal place of business at Spencer’s residence in Newport News, Virginia. He is listed as president and secretary.
David Tanner - This is an alias and he is considered a recidivist securities law violator. His background requires much more than just a paragraph so please keep reading and you will eventually come to his ‘resume’.
May 2005
The SEC filed an emergency civil enforcement action [SEC Complaint] on May 4, 2005 in the United States federal court in the District of Kansas. On that same day, United States District Court Judge Sam A. Crow issued an order [SEC Memorandum In Support of TRO] temporarily restraining defendants David Tanner, individually and doing business as Capital Enhancement Club (“CEC”), Rocky D. Spencer, Marroc Corp. (“Marroc”) and Richard P. Kringen from violating the antifraud provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws.
Fraud Alert - The CyberSpaceATM (Illegal and Unlicensed Money Transmitter)
Be warned about using the unlicensed money transmitter CSATM (thecyberspaceatm.com) and any ponzi sites accepting this processor. The first reason, there is absolutely *NO* contact detail given anywhere on the website or in the whois information. No address, no phone number, no nothing but an email address (which is worth squat when the site goes down and the operator is laughing at all the fools who trusted him with their money). Use your God given brain and realize E-Gold, Paypal, Webmoney, Alertpay, Pecunix, E-Bullion, etc (even the lowlifes at CEPTrust) all have their real contact address and phone numbers on the site as well as in their whois information.
Second, CSATM is owned and operated by Andy, the scammer behind XLO autosurf (http://www.xlentopps.net) and The Finer Things (http://xlentxtra.com) who cheated members out of hundreds of thousands of dollars, and then sold XLO for $25,000 to master scammer Bob Krimm who shelved the program. Andy’s sole purpose in opening CSATM is to facilitate a “skim mechanism” similar to CEPTrust that is used to process funds for the ponzi schemes that he is currently operating. It seems Andy learned from the clever little Baptist boys at CEP and from Bob Krimm’s Tri-StarMoneyChangers, that a small percentage could be skimmed and pocketed from each and every transaction conducted into his pyramid schemes.
Mark Herpel at Digital Money World blog recently conducted a very well written and interesting two part interview with the *Andy* (who did not give a name and did the interview anonymously) here. In the interview Mark directly asks, “Do you allow your users to work with HYIPS and AutoSurf/Investment programs? Or do you really know what the users are doing with their accounts?” to which the *Andy* openly replies “CSATM works with HYIPS and autosurfs”. Of course it does, there is no other legitimate businesses that would use a money transmitter that does not provide contact details or a support phone number. Again, the similarity to CEPTrust and Tri-StarMoneyChangers is that there are *no* legitimate businesses using any of these ponzi skim processors.
Also be warned that the blogger TDinoz who runs the blog http://tdinoz-td.blogspot.com/ has been promoting Andy’s newest scams (http://www.thefxoffer.com and www.xlotwo.com) as well as CSATM. She was a moderator on the XLO/TFT forums last year and is as much of a “snake in the grass” as Jake Amedee from ASA (Autosurf Authority) who is also currently promoting Andy’s newest scams. Both are not to be trusted as they will promote anything that they are in at the top of the pyramid and push it until it collapses with them well into profit from the ponzi victims. If you want to know what programs, processors and sites to *AVOID*, check ASA or TDinoz blog and run as far and fast as you can from anything they are promoting.
Sorry TDinoz, I used to like you, but the fact you are knowingly promoting a repeat scammer while you were dishing out the lumps to Bob Krimm makes you no better than your fellow Aussie dirtbag Okosh (aka Jacomatt8 and FTW on MMG forums) who was slamming Bob Krimm while promoting the scammers Jason and Stacy from EZSurfnEarn. I find little or no integrity in somebody who slams one scammer while pimping another.
Anyway, you have been warned.
EstDomains Inc., a US-based domain registrar, announces reduced commissions for payments through e-gold.
EstDomains Inc., a US-based domain registrar, announces reduced commissions for payments through e-gold. Now resellers and end customers can fund their accounts with this popular payment system with commission as low as 3% instead of 10%.
Wilmington, DE -- EstDomains Inc., a US-based domain registrar, announces reduced commissions for payments through e-gold. Now resellers and end customers can fund their accounts with this popular payment system with commission as low as 3% instead of 10%.
Flexible payments options and ability to accept money through as many popular online payment systems as possible is a critical factor of success for any web-based business. When you target customers worldwide, which is typical for e-commerce, it is important to let the buyers use the system they find most convenient and least expensive. Improving its payment system, EstDomains Inc. decided to decrease the commission on payments through e-gold, a popular e-currency. Now customers and resellers of EstDomains Inc. can pay for EstDomains Inc. services through e-gold with a low commission of 3%. Previously the commission on e-gold payments was 10%.
E-gold, a popular online payment system, was started in 1996. The e-currency in this international system is backed up by real gold assets owned by Gold & Silver Reserve, Inc. Low commissions on transfers, fast and convenient payments and availability to customers in all countries of the world made e-gold one of the most popular means of online money transfers. Decreasing the e-gold commission, EstDomains Inc. aims at offering the best payment conditions to clients and resellers all over the world. Today EstDomains Inc. accepts payments in a range of other e-currencies, e.g. ePassporte, Fethard, MoneyBookers, PayPal, Webmoney.
Find out more about the products and special offers from EstDomains Inc. on the company's official site: http://estdomains.com If you need more information, you can also use the EstDomains Inc. trouble ticket system to submit your own question: http://support.estdomains.com
Social engineering: The good guys strike back
That's the approach some researchers at Carnegie Mellon University are suggesting for making it harder for individuals to trade in malware and stolen financial and identity data in the Internet black market.
A lot of the illegal activity that is happening on the Internet these days is readily accessible to absolute newbies as well as to experienced professionals, said Jason Franklin, a doctoral student at CMU's computer science department.
"What used to be a true underground market has emerged more publicly," Franklin said. "It's very easy for anyone to identify forums, chat rooms and other locations where people are trading illicit goods and services of all sorts."
One way to disrupt this booming economy is to make it more unreliable and costly to participate in such transactions, he said, especially for newcomers. The idea is to use slander attacks and other techniques aimed at undermining the verification and reputation system used by cybercrooks, he said.
The suggestion is based on a seven-month study of one underground site by Franklin and three other researchers -- one from CMU, one from the University of California, San Diego, and another from the International Computer Science Institute. The purpose of the study was to measure and quantify the scope of the illegal activity that was happening on such sites.
During that period, the researchers counted more than 80,000 stolen credit cards and illicit goods worth an estimated $37 million offered up for sale on the site.
Honor among thieves, sort of
Buyers interested in purchasing such items typically contacted the seller using e-mail or private instant messages, and transactions were paid for using non-bank payment services such as e-Gold. "These markets have a system for assessing how reliable a buyer or a seller is," Franklin said, explaining that trusted third parties that provide a "verified" identity status to buyers or sellers who have established a track record for keeping their end of the bargain in an underground transaction.
In a transaction between a verified seller and an unverified buyer, the buyer pays upfront for the item being transacted before actually receiving it.
"It's just a convention," says Franklin. Conversely, he said, "the unverified seller will give you the credit card numbers before you provide payment because there's risk involved."
Typically, buyers and sellers are conferred 'verified' status by the operators of the IRC channel in which they are doing business and are identified by little voice administrator flags against their names. To earn the status, a brand new seller may sometimes distribute stolen card numbers for free to others on the IRC channel to demonstrate his access to such information, Franklin said.
One way to disrupt this setup is to create a deceptive sales environment using a so-called Sybil attack, Franklin said.
A Sybil attack is a way of subverting a reputation system by overwhelming it with numerous forged identities or Sybils. "Since these markets have emerged from the underground, they are allowing anyone" to participate in them, he said. "It is basically trivial to connect multiple times and create multiple IDs," said Franklin, whose team also developed a technique to establish fake verified-status identities that are difficult to distinguish from other verified-status sellers.
The goal is to make it hard for buyers to identify the real verified-status sellers from the fake ones. Using the technique, it is conceivable for someone -- from law enforcement, for instance -- to engage in a transaction as a verified buyer or seller and then not fulfill his side of the deal. Doing this often enough could undermine the credibility of all verified-status identities, especially for newcomers, Franklin said. "This won't disrupt already established relationships, but it will make it harder for newcomers" to establish trust relationships, he said, adding that there may be legal implications that need to be explored before such an attack can be implemented.
Another approach suggested by Franklin and his team are slander attacks against those with genuine verified-status identities. This tactic takes advantage of the primitive processes most illegitimate IRC channels use for handling complaints of false transactions, allowing slanderers to wrongly defame someone. Such defamation could easily be accomplished using Sybils with verified-status identities.
Is a common African e-commerce platform possible?
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Tracking Down The Real Internet Crooks Capital Enhancement Club (CEC) pts 3-4
CEC Timeline
October 2004 Starting around this date, the Defendants began their investment HYIP scam and defrauded investors of at least $19 million through the fraudulent offer and sale of securities referred by the name Capital Enhancement Club (CEC) and known as a “private joint venture investment”.
On May 4, 2005, the SEC filed their first Complaint alleging that David Tanner masterminded a scheme to defraud investors and of the $15,000,000 million investors had sent CEC, only about $300,000 was accounted for in US banks. There were NO other assets and no legitimate business activity at all. The entire operation was a ponzi scheme.
Attorneys for Defendant David Tanner, which included one local Topeka lawyer Thomas D. Haney from Wright, Henson, Clark, Hutton, Mudrick & Gragson, L.L.P. , and two high priced legal eagles - Robert L. Herskovits and Michael F. Bachner from the New York City office of Bachner & Herskovits filed a response to the SEC complaint.
What did all those lawyers have to say on behalf of David Tanner?
Most of it went like this…”Pursuant to…all matters are denied about which Tanner is without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief concerning the truth thereof…Tanner denies the allegations.”
In response to discovery requests served with the Complaint, Tanner’s Lawyers produced a sworn declaration indicating “Tanner’s” intention to assert his Fifth Amendment right against self- incrimination.
About One Year Later
On March 2006, the court set a deadline by which all CEC investors must have completed a claim form via the Receiver’s website. That ‘claims bar date’ of April 28, 2006, was approved and was considered, “… a full, fair and informed opportunity to investors who have not already filed a claim, without adding undue delay to the proceedings.”
Early June 2006, the SEC moves to modify the Court’s Scheduling Order and permit them some additional time for discovery in order to, “…determine the true identity of the person or persons who masterminded the CEC scheme and effectively stop defendant “David Tanner” from: (1) defrauding the Court, and (2) using a bogus identity to escape the demands of previously-entered judgments”
A memorandum filed at the same time showed facts suggesting that “Tanner” was an alias for James Tucker!
The court documents explain that up until this time for well over a year, the Plantiff, the SEC, had identified David Tanner through CEC materials as CEC’s managing partner and webmaster. He had also opened e-gold accounts using that same Tanner name plus the website was registered and posted in that name. Unfortunately, all of these items are very easy to do requiring no identification.
6/7/05 Preliminary Report - 6/20/06 Motion to Reopen Discovery
Between June 7, 2005 and June 20, 2006 the Securities Exchange Commission and the Receiver either filed or had received from attorney’s representing defendants a total of 40 (forty) separate court documents all addressing David Tanner.
All of these documents identified the mastermind and defendant as David Tanner. Both law firms representing this defendant, recognized him as David Tanner.
If you look back to May 2005, Tanner’s counsel submitted his sworn declaration indicating Tanner’s intention to assert his Fifth Amendment Right against self-incrimination. It was no surprise that declaration had on it what was prostituted as Tanner’s original signature!
They were all chasing a ghost!
June 20, 2006 the courts were now delaying the action in order to find out exactly who David Tanner really was…. 6/20/2006, SEC Memorandum to Open Discovery to Establish Real Identity of David Tanner
As it turns out, both the SEC and the Receiver deposed a gentleman named Phillip Risby who was the Relief Defendant in another scam called Dynamic Environmental Solutions (“DES”). Risby testified that funds traced from CEC investors to DES were the result of an investment from a person named “James Tucker,” not Tanner.
While Tanner’s Counsel filed an answer essentially denying each of the allegations directed at Tanner, the Receiver’s evidence showed different.
- Many of the early transactions directed by Tucker were executed in E-Gold. E-Gold records show that a computer and the internet were used on December 13, 2000 to open new accounts for CEC, account #226210, and David Tanner, account #226212. The following day, a new account was opened in the same manner by James Tucker, account #226723. The E-Gold internet logs that all three accounts were opened using a computer with the same remote internet protocol address. The CEC and Tucker accounts were used for several hundred transactions until they were closed in July 2004, and there were approximately fifty transactions when the Tucker account and CEC account were used on the same day and from computers with identical IP addresses.
- Another identifying items appears when Tucker directed money transferred to Dynamic Environmental Solutions (DES), a Puerto Rican company. The Marroc Corp bank account records allowed the tracing of $900,000 in funds from CEC investors to DES. The president of DES, Phillip Risby, confirmed that his company received an investment in DES by James Tucker.
- Further examination of CEC bank accounts identified payments totaling $675,000 wired directly to James Tucker at the St. Maarten Commercial Bank and to Paritate Bank in Riga, Latvia to pay credit card bills of James Tucker.
- Tanner’s counsel has received seven payments totaling approximately $400,000. Three of the seven payments, totaling $227,000 originate from RBTT Bank located in the Caribbean and with a branch in St. Maarten.
- While the Receiver can demonstrate that Tucker received or directed payment of approximately $18 million of CEC investor funds—the Receiver has yet to uncover even one financial account indicating that anyone named “David Tanner” obtained or controlled significant CEC funds.
I think its important to point out the the e-gold database properly identified the location and the name James Tucker. E-gold accounts hold vast amounts of data which can be used to track down, identify and prosecute someone who misuses their system. With their database, e-gold identified whom the SEC could not.
There are about a dozen ‘identifying’ money transactions showing the connection to James Tucker in St. Maarten. Consequently, the Receiver concluded and declared under penalty of perjury that David Tanner was an alias for James Tucker, whose last known location was St. Maarten, Netherlands Antilles.
The newer court documents showed that James Tucker, who is apparently an expatriate American, resides in St. Maarten, Netherlands Antilles.
An investigative report by Peter Woglom, Director of Investigations at Control Risks Group, LLC a prominent world-wide private investigative firm, uncovered that James Tucker was living on the Island of St Maarten residing at 13 Greenstarshell Road and described the house as “unapproachable”. His report said the “fortress” includes 24-hour security, six canine units, and security cameras “everywhere.” Tucker, rarely leaves the villa.
May 10, 2007 the SEC and the Receiver jointly move to modify the Agreed Order of Permanent Injunction and Order of Disgorgement Against David Tanner which was originally created almost two years earlier in September 2005.
Enough detailed information was now a part of the court records to establish that “David Tanner” and “James Tucker” were both aliases of Scott Fraiser Klion, formerly of Copperas Cove, Texas. He was also now being labeled “a recidivist securities law violator.”
Court document show that modifying the injunction to reflect Klion’s true identity and ordering him, not Tanner or Tucker, to pay back all that money would, “… promote justice, serve the best interests of the investing public and improve the Receiver’s ability to collect and preserve receivership assets.”
A full two years after the start of the original case, the SEC and the Receiver were now filing evidence demonstrating Klion’s use of various aliases, including the names “David Tanner” and “James Tucker,”
- The photo of Tucker matches the expired Texas driver’s license photo of Klion
- Multiple witnesses who met with Tucker in the Antilles reported meeting a female companion named Liz or Elizabeth who has a daughter named Patricia Alaniz. A woman named Elizabeth Alaniz was identified as Klion’s co-defendant girlfriend
- When the Cen-Tex receiver took possession of Klion’s house in 1998, he found information on obtaining “economic citizenship” from the Lesser Antilles Island of Dominica. Tucker purportedly holds a passport from the Island of Dominica
- Multiple witnesses who met Tucker described that he wore a distinctive Virginia Military Institute (“VMI”) ring and discussed being a VMI graduate. Klion is a VMI graduate and the Cen-Tex receiver identified the VMI ring from the Tucker photograph.
- An individual who personally met the person going by the name James Tucker identified him as Scott Klion.
As of today’s date[10-24-07], no one has disputed the new Scott Klion identity claim and ALL of Tanner’s three prior attorneys, for unspecified reasons, have all withdrawn from the case.
Klion has been involved in at least three cases initiated by the Commission.
In the Receiver’s eighth status report fill with the court on May 10, 2007 we find out exactly where they stand with their recovery and collection efforts.
“…the Receiver has recovered approximately $6.1 million in investor funds. The Receiver has also identified and obtained orders directing the return of an additional $8 million in investor funds deposited in US and European Banks. Furthermore, the Receiver has pending motions for the turnover of approximately $1.4 million in investor funds transferred to a foreign bank. The Receiver has also recovered two properties in Dayton, Nevada which have been listed for sale with a Nevada real estate agent.”
The orders directing the return of $8 million in US and European Banks includes a balance of $4.9 million still owed by Seaforth Meridian. Seaforth Meridian is a defendant in a separate, similar and somewhat connected securities fraud receivership.
Klion was also named as the primary defendant in SEC v. Scott Klion, d/b/a Cen-Tex Alchemy Guild, et al. No. 6:98-CV-186, USDC. Another civil case.
According to the Commission’s complaint, Klion and his fiancee, Alaniz(now also residing in St.Maarten), raised approximately $2.7 million from at least 1,400 investors in several states through the offer and sale of interests in a fraudulent Pure Contract Trust investment program. Klion and Alaniz represented to investors that their money was pooled and then used to make a variety of foreign or offshore investments that Klion and Alaniz claimed were not subject to the jurisdiction of any Agent or Agency of the U. S. Government. The complaint alleges that Klion and Alaniz told investors that these secret investments would generate gross returns of 400% or more, that virtually all of the investments were guaranteed by Top 100 banks, and that the remainder were backed by either unidentified wealthy individuals or the governments of foreign countries. The complaint further states that the trading programs do not exist and that, in fact, the defendants used funds obtained from current investors to pay purported profits in the form of monthly dividends to prior investors, in an obvious Ponzi scheme, and for their own personal expenses, including a $30,000 engagement ring that Klion purchased for Alaniz.*lawhost.com
After the SEC began the Cen-Tex case, Klion fled to St. Maarten. Despite being enjoined from further securities laws violations in the Cen-Tex case, Klion, under the alias David Tanner, formed Capital Enhancement Club, the ponzi scheme.
The Receiver has subpoenaed thousands of pages of bank records and other documents related to the e-currency firms in order to trace the flow of investor funds into CEC and back out to various individuals and companies. The Receiver has deposed several e-currency firms and payment processors related to CEC, several of whom have asserted a Fifth Amendment right not to answer any of the Receiver’s questions.*ceclubreceiver.com
Tanner/Klion enticed at least 1146 investors into the CEC scheme and received net investor funds totaling $19,800,974
As of today, Mr. Klion has refused to engage in meaningful settlement discussions or provide any information needed for the Receiver to recover additional investor funds.
However, a modified copy of this new court order was sent via email to Scott Klion aka James Tucker aka David Tanner at:
jtucker52@hotmail.com, 1234mnbv@safe-mail.net and fjejhw@mail2world.com
Wow.
All the authorities can do is send him an angry email!
Sources:
Estdomains Opens .eu Domain Registration
The .eu TLD was approved by ICANN on March 22, 2005 and put in the Internet root zone on May 2, 2005. Ever, since the European Union has obtained its unique interactive identity on the global web, not as a representative of a single nation, but as an integrated European community. Though, the regional domain names are still on the lead positions, the eu. domain name is currently keeping the third place among the largest domains in Europe and the seventh largest internationally.
Up to now EstDomains, Inc, a US-based domain registrar customers could get a .com, .net, .org, .tv, .info, .biz, .us, .cc, .name, .in, .co.in, .net.in, .org.in, .gen.in, ind.in, .firm.in domain names per as low as stating with 3$ per domain. Please consider to visit EstDomains, Inc homepage at: http://www.estdomains.com for further information. In order to provide company customers with something completely European and become an officially accredited eu. domain name registrar, EstDomains, Inc development team has done great work in fulfilling the General Eligibility Criteria. Eventually, we are proud to announce a perfectly new prospect for those, who wish to overcome the global “dotcom” nature and emphasis the websites European membership through purchasing eu. domain name for the lowest price ever available.
As the eu. is the country code top-level domain for the European Union, and organizations and citizens of European Union member states, the registration of the eu. domain name is available for resident or actively working individual or organization of the European Union. EstDomains, Inc is glad to offer the fastest and easiest way of getting particular eu. domain name for those, whose location and activity is bound to the European Union. To make the eu. domain registration procedure more comprehensible and reliable, the specially adjusted for eu. domain purchasing system, known as SuperSite, is also implied to the offer. Registration is opened at http://register.estdomains.com One can buy eu. domain name, according to the EstDomains, Inc priñe list. Register a eu. domain name for only 7.20$, the cheapest offer on the market at the present time. For your convenience the payment process is organized through widely used payment systems such as PayPal, E-gold, ePassporte, MoneyBookers, Fethard, Webmoney. For additional information about payment methods and the company accepts turn to the EstDomains, Inc homepage: http://www.estdomains.com
Please note, that the prices of EstDomains, Inc still remain tied to the original costs from corporations owning the domain zones. Consequently, it is easier to save money with EstDomains, Inc, which succeeded in keeping to lowest domains prices comparing to others registrars for its customers benefit. The eu. domain name purchased from EstDomains, Inc will save the half of the sum demanded according to the others domain registrars price list.
Make sure not to miss the opportunity and express yourself as a European Union member by choosing EstDomains, Inc as a registrar for the unique web site name of truly European origin for the lowest price that ever has been offered by registrars. From now on the .eu domain name registration is opened on http://register.estdomains.com Feel free about asking questions related to EstDomains, Inc services through using trouble ticket system at: http://support.estdomains.com Check it now for the qualified support management of your services, provided and guaranteed by EstDomains, Inc.
Ron Paul Talks About Digital Gold Currency (2002 Interview)
Digital Gold Currencies such as Liberty Reserve, Webmoney(WMG), c-gold, e-gold, Pecunix, GoldMoney, e-dinar facilitate Internet commerce around the globe without the risks of chargebacks, fraud or the high processing fees associated with credit cards. Anyone receiving a payment in digital gold currency has 100% immediate settlement. Get paid, stay paid and no waiting.
During an interview in 2002, by Bob Nugent for the planetgold.com (now defunct) Ron Paul discussed some ideas about Digital Gold Currency and free market money. The information and the interview are extremely relevant today as the US dollar drops lower and lower ahead of the coming Presidential Campaign. Here are some clips from the interview.
Saturday, March 09, 2002
Bob Nugent for planetgold: Congressman Paul, you’re literally an outstanding member of the US House of Representatives. And, I mean that in the most positive way. And I’d like to thank you for taking the time for a short interview. Ah .. I understand that The Liberty Committee is about 3 years old. What are the sizes of the Liberty Committee’s caucus and membership, currently, and how’s it been doing lately?
Congressman Ron Paul: We have 17 members of congress who belong to, but probably have 60,000 citizens around the country who participate. And the goal is of course to put as much pressure on all the members of Congress to look to the Constitution to find out … to decide on how they’re going to vote. And sometimes it works and sometimes it helps. But we have a long way to go. We need probably a couple hundred thousand people doing that on a regular basis, to put pressure on their members of Congress.
planetgold: Well that’s good to hear and we hope the UN doesn’t get too far at all. In February of this year you introduced the “Monetary Freedom and Accountability Act”. It’s long title being: “To amend title 31, United States Code, to limit the use by the President and the Secretary of the Treasury of the Exchange Stabilization Fund to buy or sell gold without congressional approval, and for other purposes.”. Why did you introduce this bill?
Congressman Ron Paul: There’s a strong suspicion that our government, in the Treasury department and specifically Exchange Stabilization Fund are probably dealing in the gold market with the purpose of keeping the price of gold down. They deny this and maybe they’re getting around it some way. But I wanted to make it explicit that they can’t do it, that it’s illegal, because the interpretation of the law passed in the 1930s did give the Exchange Stabilization Fund some authority to deal in gold. But I want to change that. And I want it to be out in the open. And I want Congress to know about it, if they’re going to loan gold or sell gold. They claim they’re not doing it, but if that’s the case, the Treasury shouldn’t have any objections to a law like this, that just says that Congress is just resuming their responsibilities that they should have had, and should have had never taken away from them.
planetgold: Right. …. I’d like to read a quote supposedly of President John Adams, and then ask you what you think of it. It appears to me, at least partly, that it still holds true today. And, here’s the quote: “All the perplexities, confusion and distress in America arise, not from defects in their Constitution or Confederation, not from want of honor or virtue, so much as from the downright ignorance of the nature of coin, credit and circulation.” What do you think of this statement?
Congressman Ron Paul: Well I think that he does place the morality of it all. Freedom doesn’t work unless you have a moral people. But I certainly would agree with him on this issue of ignorance about the coinage of the money. There’s so little interest in it and so little knowledge in Washington that it’s … it’s unbelievable. Even the committees that , like the banking committee that deals with it, or the sub-committee, the Domestic Monetary Policy subcommittee, those people that serve on there either get stuck on there, or they want to deal with not true coinage but just making the memorial coins or special coins for special occasions, like that.
As far as monetary policy goes there’s no interest and no knowledge about it and yet I consider that so significant. To me it’s the most important economic issue of the day. It’s the nature of money and the Federal Reserve system. It has a lot to do with ignorance but it’s also, I think, it’s convenient too. Because this way if the Fed is responsible for dealing with this major issue of money and banking, and also they know that the Fed can take care of debt that we can’t sell, and they keep interest rates down, I think it’s very convenient for the politician who likes to spend money. So it’s a lot of ignorance and a lot of convenience. But right now, I don’t know what it’s going to take to wake ‘em up. I think the Congress won’t wake up until the people wake up and realize the currency and the dollar is not a very good currency.
planetgold: Ok. Are you aware of private DGCs, Digital Gold Currencies, like e-gold, GoldMoney, e-Bullion, 3PPay and FastGrams?
Congressman Ron Paul: Yes I’m aware of this.
planetgold: Do you have any opinions on ‘em?
Congressman Ron Paul: I think they’re great. I don’t know any of them in detail. And I can’t compare them and tell which one is more efficient. I don’t have any opinion in that detail, but the the idea that we can have digital money and relate it to gold, I think is very very good. I think everything is vulnerable. Just because gold is a good idea doesn’t mean that everybody that comes up with this digital gold will be efficient and honest and all these other things. So that is required … the markets have to sort all that out.
I’ve been asked so many times about what we should do with the system now. If I don’t like the paper money and I don’t like the Federal Reserve, what would I do. And it generally is I wouldn’t get rid of the Federal Reserve in one day, because it would be very very chaotic. But I would like to fully legalize competition in currencies. And I think some of these currencies have .. or gold has trouble in really developing, getting people to use them, because the tax collectors can still come. If you’re using gold coins and your gold coins go from 300 dollars a coin to 400 dollars a coin, you could be taxed on the appreciation of that if you sell those coins and put it into paper. So, you have to eliminate all taxes. Sales taxes and capital gains taxes on gold coinage if we want to do anything to encourage the use of gold as a competing currency.
planetgold: DGCs are pretty much all offshore, right now, even though much of the action is being driven by Americans. In most cases, the central reason is that while the US might be the best place to do business, the Internet financial world is acutely aware that America has a past reputation of gold seizures, and a current and alarming reputation of asset seizures, all without due respect for normal human measures of property and legal process. What would have to be done to make people think America is a safe place for 100%-reserved gold money systems?
Congressman Ron Paul: Well, we’ve made a lot of progress. When I first went to congress gold wasn’t even legal. So in ‘76 with an effort we were able to restore legal ownership of gold. Technically contracts in gold are legal. We had the gold commission in the early 1980s. Something I was very much involved. We were able to get our government doing something that was constitutional. And, that was to mint gold coins, and that is where the Gold Eagle has come from. The precise one ounce of gold and silver. So in that sense we’ve made a lot of progress, but we have to always be concerned with what our government might do. They may confiscate our gold. They may confiscate our guns as well.
But in the mean time I think we should get as many people as involved … the more people that own a gun .. I don’t think the federal government could take the guns away from the American people. It’s just that .. there would be so much resistance, that it wouldn’t happen. There’s not quite the same resistance with gold. And I think that if we had the same attitude with gold as we have with our guns, … we’re not going to allow our government to overstep and do such a thing. But it lingers out there. I just don’t think that it’s likely to happen. But I wouldn’t bet that it’s impossible. I think it is possible. Of course that’s one of the reasons why I’m in Congress hoping to wake people up. To make sure that enough people know that we should not do that. But the danger still exists.
There’s a limit to how often the Fed … can depress the price of gold.
planetgold: Is the world’s financial system systemically sick?
Congressman Ron Paul: I don’t think there’s any doubt about it. I think it has a disease and is systemically sick but it’s one of those hidden diseases, and nobody quite realizes it. But it will show it’s ugly features probably here in the future.
planetgold: Is it conceivable that there comes a time when we can make a contribution to your campaign; and buy your cook books and bumper stickers with a Digital Gold Currency?
Congressman Ron Paul: Well, I would think so. I think some people may have, but I’m not sure in the practical sense, but if it works I think we would welcome it.
Some text of this post was copied from the Internet Archives: http://web.archive.org/web/...PID=96816677 during an interview with Ron Paul in 2002.
PokerRoom.com Wants Players to Bring Home the Canadian Bacon, eh!
PokerRoom.com, one of the largest online poker sites in the world, is celebrating the 30-year high in the value of the Canadian dollar currently trading above par against the American greenback, with an attractive deposit bonus available exclusively to Canadian players.
Both new and existing Canadian PokerRoom.com players have the opportunity to rake in bonuses by simply taking advantage of the variety of payment options available to them on the site. From now until November 30, members depositing money through Moneybookers will receive a bonus of 200 per cent, up to $1,000, while those opting for other payment methods will receive a deposit bonus of 150 per cent, up to $750. Both bonuses are good for 60 days from the date they are issued.
"PokerRoom.com has enjoyed a strong history in Canada with several players going on to become some of the best in the PokerRoom.com family," said Karin Klein, bwin spokesperson for PokerRoom.com. "Being able to offer our Canadian friends this attractive bonus is our way of saying thanks to the many very skilled Canadian poker players."
To redeem this bonus, players will need to collect the required points within 60 days of the deposit. Ten player points are required for every dollar players wish to redeem (for example, a bonus of $30 equals to 300 player points). Each bonus must be completed individually and cannot be used for two bonuses simultaneously.
For more information, go to: http://www.pokerroom.com/promos/right-now/canada-bonus.html
About PokerRoom.com
PokerRoom.com is a proprietary brand of the bwin Group, which has 11 million registered customers (including 7 million "play money" customers) in over 20 core target markets. Operating under international and regional licenses in countries like Gibraltar, Kahnawake (Canada), Germany, Italy, Mexico, Argentina and Austria, the bwin Group is the number one address for sports betting, games and entertainment via digital distribution channels. The Group offers sports betting, poker, casino games, soft and skill games, as well as audio and video streams on top sporting events such as the German Bundesliga. The parent company bwin Interactive Entertainment AG has been listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange since March 2000 (ID code "BWIN", Reuters ID code "BWIN.VI"). Further information about the Company can be found on its investor relations website at www.bwin.ag.
How To Protect Your Digital Currency Account Value…USD, EURO, Gold ?
The US Dollar has been dropping like a rock lately and this has many online financial services looking for safer options.
Even online poker networks are moving away from US Dollar accounts in favor of the Euro. This should be no big surprise for anyone since the UEIGA prohibits play and US gamblers are no longer a ‘target market’. However, when you read the poker network’s reasoning for dropping the dollar, they don’t even mention of the new laws. It seems their actions are mostly due to, “…a possible response to the devaluation of the US Dollar” or “…limit their[customers] exposure to currency exchange fluctuations.” *Gamingintelligencegroup.com
Do you want to help preserve the purchasing power of your online funds?
If your answer is YES, then your best bet might be to move those online funds into a gold backed digital currency account like Pecunix, Webmoney Gold (WMG), C-gold or even GoldMoney. Gold has for thousands of years been a safe store of value.
However, if digital gold currency is not a possibility at this point in time, you may want to switch your current account(s) to a non-USD denominated option like the Euro. Accounts held in Euros, or another strong global currency, can help protect your online purchasing power from a falling US Dollar. Since most digital money accounts are backed by national currencies, the option you choose can have a dramatic effect on the purchasing power of your balance over time.
When offered different currency options, which do you select and why?
PayPal offers multiple options from a list of 16 national currencies. You can toggle one or several national currencies to hold your PayPal balance(s). In all PayPal accounts, the Manage Currency table displays the currencies in which you can maintain a balance. One convenient option PayPal allows is a quick currency conversion. From their selection page in your account, you have the option of converting funds from one currency balance into another.
Moneybookers allows new account holders to select their primary account currency at the time of opening the account. Again, you may want to look at the Euro or another strong currency such as the CAD or AUD and right now avoid a USD backed account. About a year ago [Oct] if you wanted to convert US Dollars to Euros, one Euro would have cost you about $1.25 USD and today that same Euro will cost you about $1.40 USD.
The Euro and the Canadian dollar are both at all time highs against the US Dollar. This fact is easy to recognize from all the Canadian shoppers pouring across the border into the US on extended shopping trips for merchandise and real estate!
While your funds are on deposit in a Digital Gold Currency account, the balance is in denominated in gold and not currency. Consequently if you read the balance on a GoldMoney account, you will see those number as gold grams or Troy ounces. A Pecunix balance of 2, does not mean 2$ it usually means 2 gold grams (about $48).
In the second part of this series I’ll take a closer look at how why a gold balance is a very good thing in today’s world.
New Bakler Auction System: Expired Domain Names Make Money
The Bakler (http://www.bakler.com) is a new system that provides the complete services of on-line auction for domain names.
(PRWEB) October 18, 2007 -- Every true webmaster has dozens of domains, which are no longer in use and will vanish in vain as soon as the expiration date comes. Many domains owners hardly notice that they have missed something, but the real thing they missed is the money they lost with the expired domain name. But the very few of domains owners are aware that there is an easy way of making profit from unnecessary domain names. The most popular and approved by countless generation way of getting rid of old discarder stuff is of course the auction.
The system of how the auction process is organized is widely well known. Basically, it is the process of buying and selling stuff by offering it up for bid, taking bids, and then selling the item to the winning bidder. The Bakler (http://www.bakler.com) is a new system that provides the complete services of on-line auction for domain names. How does it work? It is more than simple now. One can just put ones’ expired domains or domains which are no longer in use out for the auction. A person, who is interested in this domain name or PageRank, age etc offers his bid, the other participant of the auction offers more and so it goes on. As a result, one can sell domain ten times more expensive than if it would has been sold directly to the buyer on any forum. The evaluation of the domain name cost happens automatically according to the special formula. All the parameters such as page name, rank, alexa rank, age etc are taken into account.
Selling domain directly is a bigger risk of losing it without receiving any money at all. As for the Bakler, the main priority is the deals’ security for both sides. The Bakler (http://www.bakler.com) can guarantee that all the deals performed through the system are secure both for the sellers and buyers. As soon as the first has had received money, at once the domain would be moved to the second and placed on the EstDomains, Inc (http://www.estdomains.com) services. Please note, that Bakler does not take any commission fee for the transmission. Both sellers and buyers could pay for the desired domain name or receive the payment using the following payment systems: PayPal, E-gold, MoneyBookers, Webmoney and Fethard.
There are numerous domains, brought out Baklers auctions, so it is easier and more comfortable for buyers to find the one that would perfectly fulfill the requirements. Instead of spending a lot of hours surfing the Internet for interesting offers, one can find and buy the desirable domain in two clicks! The primary backorder service for soon expiring domain names is also available. And yet, there is no need to worry about its transfer to ones’ account or any others technical-related issues, EstDomains, Inc staff takes care for all of it.
For solving the matters considering the Bakler (http://www.bakler.com), the trouble ticket system is available at: http://support.bakler.com
Bulgarians shopping online with Visa and Mastercard
Up until recently Bulgarian online vendors have not been in disposal of any alternative to Internet payments, especially when it comes to payments made from abroad. Some of the local players started working with companies like Paypal and Moneybookers, which accept card payments via their websites. Others tried to set up hybrids for electronic disbursements with the mediation of commercial banks. They all failed though, due to the bad image of Bulgaria abroad following the series of bankcard scams and the country’s inclusion in the black list of card payment organisations.
With Bulgaria’s accession to the EU, Visa and Mastercard International finally ‘showed mercy’ and licensed a couple of local banks – UniCredit Bulbank and Raiffeisenbank to operate payments, as the service is utterly unified with these of Visa and Mastercard. Hence all advantages for both vendors and customers, like easy access to payments, enhanced security and a much hastier procedure. Express Daily reads.
E-Gold Warning
The reason I’m writing this article is a recent block put on Code4Gold’s advertising account for no apparent reason. The E-Gold account in question has never accepted any funds except for payments for advertising. If you knew about our forums and the fact we were the first PTP (Paid to Post) or profit sharing forum, we consequently paid the majority of our advertising earnings back to forum members who were earning .02 for each post they made. Members were never required or asked to upgrade or make a payment to activate their PTP accounts, the PTP system was completely free to join and all that was required to be paid was to make at least 150 quality posts on our forum. Given that information it would seem assinine that E-gold has placed a block on an account with no suspicious activities.
To begin with, I placed a telephone call to E-Gold’s support regarding the blocked account and I had the displeasure of dealing with a very, very nasty person who refused to listen and continued to talk over me stating that I would have to email E-gold support regarding the issue and that they would send me details on recovering my account. I was told I would have to furnish an electric bill or some other proof that I am the account holder. I responded to this crude person stating that E-Gold/Omnipay already had my correct personal information. Omnipay required a user to confirm their “snail mail” address to make out-exchanges. Additionally, my bank account was on file with Omnipay due to the fact I’d out-exchanged to bank wire two times before they were shut down by the DOJ. I asked this rude support person, “What difference does an electric bill matter if you already have my phone number, snail mail address and bank account?” but the response I got was this shrew hung up on me. So I sent the support email to E-Gold on Thursday and as of today, Tuesday, I have yet to hear back from these criminals.
E-Gold is located in Melbourne, Florida and despite their continual lies that they are Nevis based, that in itself is a bold faced lie. While I was speaking to the shrew at E-Gold support, I stated that she could easily look up my name in the Volusia County property appraisers office and see that I’m the owner of the home listed as the snail mail contact in my E-Gold account. Anybody living or working in Melbourne, Florida would be quite aware that Volusia county is the next county up the coast from Melbourne and I would think that a person’s homeownership being listed in a government database might be sufficient proof while a copy of an electric bill could easily be forged by somebody with access to a scanner, Photoshop and a printer. I own twho homes, on in Florida and one in Delaware, all my bills are paid by automatic withdrawl, I have no paper bills. No, the folks at E-gold are definitely a step behind and after my dealings with them I have to agree that they are operating a shady operation and they are worthy of the charges levied against them.
While there was only $100 left in my E-Gold account and I’m also well aware of the simplicity of sending and receiving money from a blocked account (go read Talkgold forums, there are plenty of scammers doing it all the time over there), I refuse to use improper channels to recover my purlioned funds. Instead, I’ve already begun a letter writing campaign to my state representatives regarding E-Gold’s borderline criminal activities. If it is necessary, I will also turn over to the Department of Justice my complete database of over 1700 scam hyip and autosurf program that have used E-Gold since 2005 and scammed millions of dollars from unsuspecting victims while e-Gold turned a blind eye.
I urge anybody reading this article to liquidate your E-Gold accounts as soon as possible because there has baan a rash of people contacting me through Code4Gold forums regarding E-Gold blocking their accounts and allegedly confiscating their funds. Which brings up another good point that a friend mentioned to me. What exactly becomes of funds in blocked accounts that are never recovered? It would seem this is a quick and easy way for E-Gold to pinch money from ponzi autosurf and hyip victims and pocket the money for themselves. I wonder how much money these con artists have pocketed over the last year from scammers accounts who could not or would not provide the necessary information to unblock their accounts.
As for Dr. Douglas Jackson, all the blogging and whining he’s doing right now isn’t going to change the fact that E-Gold is goint to be shut down and it’s principals headed on the way to jail for a long time. The E-gold system is/was a very unique and very innovative system which is why so many of us free minded people embraced and heralded it and granted, E-Gold as a wonderful concept, however, Dr. Jackson, you blew it. Your greed and ignorance allowed you to be a tool for scammers and you collected the profits from those people while turning a blind eye to the law. Let me reimind you Mr. Jackson of something every 9th grade business Law student learns the first day in class, “Ignorance of the law is no defense”.
To Dr. Douglas Jackson, I’ve trackbacked this blog post to your blog, let’s see if you’re half a man and allow the trackback, otherwise the allegations I’m lobbing against you are certainly true. Let’s also see if Dr. Jackson is man enough to respond to this post in person.
The comminity at large needs to be warned of the shady dealings at E-Gold against account holders who have actually been doing legitimate business through this money transmitter and payment processor.
Smooth Operator
Russia's e-commerce market may be underperforming today, but it is tipped to boom soon, and the few trailblazers who have already recognized the potential of one of the national economy's latest El Dorados seem destined to scoop up the profits.
The Moscow News talks to Dmitry Shmakov, vice president for marketing and commercial operations at ChronoPay, one such company doing all it takes to convince you that clicking the "Buy" button on your computer screen is a lot more convenient than counting bills in a department store.
MN: For those among our readers who are not familiar with ChronoPay - what does your company do?
Shmakov: ChronoPay is a universal payment gateway for e-commerce, which facilitates online payments by bank card and e-money. The company, originally established in the Netherlands by a group of investors possessing copious work experience in Internet companies, began operating in 2003. The Moscow office opened practically right after the company launched activities in Europe. Moreover, ChronoPay's main technical subsidiaries are located in Russia. However, the most lucrative markets at the moment are based in Europe. Today, the company has four offices - three in Europe and one in Russia. They are linked with both the markets we're interested in and partner banks based in different countries. In Russia we currently deal with Rosbank, which has been our sole partner here over a lengthy period of time. Today, a number of other banks are displaying a keen interest in e-commerce and Internet acquiring, so we are holding talks with some of them in regard to potential partnerships.
MN: What's the current size of Russia's electronic payments market? How does it compare to other European markets?
Shmakov: It is difficult to properly assess the size of the market. According to figures, released at the recent "E-commerce" conference, the market size is estimated at nearly $2 billion. That number is debatable - last year I heard something about $1 billion. This is minuscule when compared to Europe's leading markets such as Spain ($8 billion), the UK and Germany ($30-40 billion). The Russian market keeps growing by $500 million a year, which is still a great deal far from the numbers in Western Europe's top markets.
MN: How competitive is this market? What helps ChronoPay stand out in the crowd?
Shmakov: As regards different types of electronic payments, bank cards account for 40 percent, the remaining payments are made by means of e-money such as Yandex, WebMoney and others. By the way, we do not consider the operators of e-money payment systems to be our competitors, and, moreover, we intend to create a universal platform that would feature both cards and e-money.
Recently, ChronoPay signed an agreement with Moneybookers, the recognized global leader in this business. The partnership with Moneybookers will help us process the payments made by some of the most popular brands of e-money from all over the world, as well as some of the local bank cards, like Chinese cards, for instance.
We are sure that in the next two to three years in Russia the interest in e-commerce will significantly grow. These are enticing perspectives and there is enough room for all as each player develops its own segment of the market.
MN: What's driving the market and how do you see it grow in coming years?
Shmakov: The catalyst of growth will be the new regulations, which in the foreseeable future, for instance, will oblige all of us to buy e-tickets instead of those printed on paper. The statistics compiled by the European Association for Electronic Commerce suggests that approximately 50 percent of the entire revenue in e-commerce is generated through the sales of e-tickets, hotel and car rental bookings. The chief payment tool here is a bank card - Visa or Master Card - and we can see that the mentality of the clientele in Russia is steadily shifting toward using bank cards. Undoubtedly, the number of our citizens using electronic payment systems will keep growing each year.
MN: How well do you know your clientele? Do you survey the clients' pool and what kind of feedback are you getting?
Shmakov: Our client is the trading company, not the end user that buys goods from a trader in a store. Trading firms survey the market and their polls suggest that, as a rule, clients opt for e-commerce when purchasing goods that don't require delivery, such as mp3 files, computer games available online, different kinds of software, and so on. At the same time, the goods such as books are acquired exclusively for cash upon delivery.
MN: ChronoPay recently announced it would create a platform for introducing e-tickets in Russia, de facto becoming a pioneer in that business here. In your opinion, what prospects does e-ticketing hold and how do you see that market develop?
Shmakov: Plane tickets are a complex assignment, which in a way resembles the building blocks game. The ticket payment is important, but it is not the only key component of that business, because you also have the booking segment and other segments, and many companies involved in these segments are starting to be interested in this business.
Here I'd like to add that we are in talks with the three leading Russian airlines and as of today these negotiations are in their final stage and we should sign contracts by the end of this year. The talks are confidential, and we are obliged to keep the details undisclosed, so unfortunately we can't name the airlines at this point, but all three are leaders in the national aviation market.
MN: What's it like to be running the processing business today in this country? Are you happy with the achievements accomplished so far and what are the company's targets in the future?
Shmakov: The processing business is steadily expanding, the turnover is rising, but we can't say we're happy with the current pace of growth. We'll be able to say that when the market starts growing due to the massive development of the travel industry. In my opinion, that's going to happen once we start implementing the e-ticket payment systems - this could be a turning point for developing this business in Russia. Moreover, I am convinced that in the future all market players will be dividing the timeline into pre- and post-e-ticket era.
MN: Does ChronoPay provide the services of mobile phone payments?
Shmakov: We don't operate stand-alone terminals that process mobile phone payments, but we do provide the same service online. By using ChronoPay's platform a client can transfer money to his account and also use the "Mobile Purse" feature, which, besides adding cash to his account, offers the option to use the cash in the same account for online purchases, too.
MN: Security of payments is one of the key issues that get raised very often in a business like yours, especially when something goes wrong. What do you do to ensure that your clients and their money are sufficiently protected?
Shmakov: There are three levels of security designed to protect the clients' payments. The first level is the protection provided by the bank that issued the card. Probably, many of your readers are familiar with the so-called CVV code, which the bank recommends to be kept in utmost secrecy as it is the key link in the security chain at this level.
The second security level, which hasn't been widely spread in Russia yet, is when the issuing bank seeks additional authorization by the client at the moment when he's making an online purchase.
And finally, the third level of security is a whole package of protective fraud-fighting measures introduced by our company in order to secure the system from hackers and break-ins. These defenses include over 200 automatically adjustable filters, which prevent a fraud transaction at the initial stage. We also have an efficiently-run Risk Department, which manually checks all suspicious-looking and non-transparent transactions. ChronoPay owns a fair number of certificates, such as PCI (awarded on the basis of annual audits) and the Hacker Safe Certificate, which allow us to assert that the transactions conducted through our payment gateway are reliably protected.
In addition to this, we advise online buyers to observe basic security rules, such as not to keep too much cash on the card, which is being used for e-shopping.
Speaking about market tendencies, it needs to be said that the effort to define clear zones of responsibilities of all parties involved in e-commerce has picked up pace recently. While earlier the responsibility in case of a fraud used to lie mostly with the trader, today, owing to a successful implementation of the 3D-Secure data protection system, it's shifting toward the issuing bank itself.
MN: How soon do you expect to see more people in Russia shifting from cash to cards and online payments?
Shmakov: According to some analytical surveys conducted abroad, an average customer in Iceland uses money bills once a month, not more. In Russia, stats are a bit different and they suggest that more than 90 percent of salary cash transferred to employees' accounts is retrieved from ATMs during the first week after the actual transfer.
That figure illustrates pretty well that the culture of card use hasn't yet taken deep roots in Russia. The level of the population's mistrust toward cards is still rather high and such sentiments are especially strong in the Russian provinces, but there's no reason to panic - it's a natural process and it will take a certain while before bank cards become such a common feature in an average Russian's life, such as a parking ticket or a movie ticket.
By Bojan Soc
Casino City Launches Directory of Deposit and Withdrawal Methods for Online Gamblers
NEWTON, MA--(Marketwire - October 25, 2007) - Casino City today announced the addition of a directory of 142 online gambling payment methods to its popular Online.CasinoCity.com website (http://online.casinocity.com), which provides comprehensive profiles and popularity rankings of 2,100 online gambling sites plus the latest news and information on where online gambling enthusiasts can play in today's tumultuous legal environment.
The new directory describes each payment method available at online gambling sites and ranks them in popularity order based on the amount of web traffic received by the gaming sites that use the method. The list is automatically personalized for each visitor, showing only the payment methods used by sites accepting play from the visitor's geographic location and available in the visitor's language. Visitors may change their location and language preferences at any time. They can also order the list of payment methods by number of sites accepting the payment method or alphabetically by payment method name.
When visitors click on a payment method in the directory, they are given some background information on the payment method and also a list of all online gambling sites using that method, ranked by popularity and personalized for the visitor's location and language preferences.
What are the most popular payment methods around the world? Accepted by 2,000 sites, VISA and MasterCard top the list, followed by bank wire transfer and Neteller. Other methods such as Moneybookers, VISA Electron, Diners Club, Solo, Maestro, and playsafecard round out the top ten. For complete information, visit the directory at http://online.casinocity.com/payment-methods/.
According to Michael Corfman, CEO of Casino City, "Staying on top of the changes in the online gaming industry is a huge undertaking requiring continuous monitoring and reporting by a dedicated news and research staff. In fact, we contact every online gaming site on an ongoing basis to find the list of countries and states from which they accept players and the payment methods they use."
At http://online.casinocity.com, not only can visitors search for sites that accept their play and find available payment methods, they can also keep abreast of policy changes affecting the online gambling industry, look up gambling software providers and the sites that use their games, and compare special offers available at different online gambling sites such as welcome bonuses up to 200% and up to $500 in free play.