ummm did anyone notice ASD is shut down?

I just wonder...do you really think that those entire two + weeks were strictly server upgrades? OR...do you think some other behind the scenes stuff was going on???

 

Here's my two cents worth:

FACT-
Contacted the US Attorney General office this morning. I was trying to get confirmation that an investigation was started. After getting passed around by 8 different people I was finally able to speak with someone that recognized the company name. She said all matters referring to this company should be directed to William Cowden. I asked her his title and she said that he is Chief of the Asset Forfeiture Unit. I checked the USAG search site and sure enough he has been involved in numerous cases involving fraud which resulted in judgements towards the accused. I've tried numerous times to contact William Cowden and continue to reach his voice mail. I did leave a message. Not good.

MY GUT FEELING-
I believe that this inquiry did not just start on Friday. My thoughts are that ASD/Andy has known about this and has been under investigation for the past week or two. The ongoing upgrade was just a diversion while this investigation was taking place. Do I think there were efforts in upgrading the site? Absolutely, but as a result of the investigation they kept delaying the global credits and operation of the site until the results of the investigation were known.

I believe the results are now known, and I don't believe it is a positive outcome, that's the reason the assets of ASD have been frozen.

I really do hope that I am incorrect in my evaluation. I have well over six figures in Ad Packs and have signed up people in Chicago that put in 5 figure amounts. It's heartbreaking that this all may be lost and people will be upset even though they knew it was a risk. Heck, they didn't even get a chance to surf!

Time will tell and all we can do is hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

Good luck to all.

 

>>do you really think that those entire two + weeks were strictly server upgrades? OR...do you think some other behind the scenes stuff was going on???

 

I have been very cautious with ASD since I first saw it pop up here on this forum. At one point I think I may have even suggested it was a scam. It has always been my intentions to help people online, so when my gut tells me something is wrong I speak up.

That being said I would like to point out some POSITVE things, in an effort to at least place some rest in the minds of some people. I have been marketing online now for several years and have seen my fair share of fly by night schemes. So here is a list of GOOD things to help place your mind at ease.

1. Assets are frozen, which means your money is semi safe. Maybe not all of it, but at least what the company had in it's known bank accounts.
2. The owners are trying to legally defend this...and are not leaving the country. This shows that they at least believe in what they are doing and were not outright trying to scam people. Typically owners just up and disappear with people's money.
3. As a business the more I read up the more I learn. The business is to SELL AD Packages for ADVERTISERS, with the possibility of making some of your money back. That being said they do have a "product"...which is a good thing.
4. THEY HAVE A PHYSICAL LOCATION. This does weigh heavy as proof that they are not fly by night.

The only thing that I have no real feeling about is how the business has been portrayed. Has it been sold as an "investment" or income opportunity, or as an advertising company? If anything I believe this may have caused the initial reporting to the AG's office.

Speaking from the outside all you really can do is wait and no amount of screaming is going to change the outcome. I really do hope things pan out for everyone.

Again, I have seen my fair share of "scams" come and go and every time I see one I see 100's of people who will never do anything online again. Just remember that there are opportunities out there.

Best wishes,
Gilbert

 

Update on the U.S. Attorney General Situation
Posted August 4, 2008

ASD is in the process of retaining a Washington based Law Firm that is experienced in dealing with these matters and can better assist us in challenging the allegation from the U.S. Attorney Generals Office.

The ASD offices (customer service and accounting) will be open next week, but we will not be answering the phones. However, there will be a brief recorded message from Andy on our customer service lines. But be assured, we are here.

More information will be released once it becomes available.

[Link removed - Admin]

 

Just found this. I'm afraid it's not the best news for sure.

www.wctv.tv/news/headlines/26280459.html

 

Yes it looks like it's over.

 

Where's the nearest bridge? My $6000. looks like it's gone. Andy I trusted you. You were an old school guy... not the fast talking scam type. Well i will say it again... If it's looks and sounds too good to be true, it usually is. I'm a retard.

 

SixMinuteMan: "Because of the rebate program, some people have asked if ASD or the Ad Cash Generator income opportunity is a "Ponzi" scheme or a pyramid. A Ponzi scheme and/or a pyramid are illegal, because they use money from new investors to pay the first investors in the scheme their promised returns. When the base of the pyramid stops growing, the pyramid collapses. While ASD commits a portion of its future revenues to pay rebates, it does not guarantee a return, and the time it takes to earn rebates is affected by the revenue stream in the future. Not everyone elects to participate in the rebate program, and not everyone will earn rebates."

"ASD's Ad Cash Generator business model is not dependent on a base that continues to expand. Moreover, ASD is developing other revenue sources constantly. Even more important, the rebates are fixed, and will allow the participants to only earn a set amount, and that amount is based on performance. There is no continuing obligation to pay returns to infinity, as in illegal pyramid programs. Because of these major differences, the Ad Cash Generator business opportunity is not an illegal "Ponzi" scheme or pyramid, and it is not in violation of any SEC laws or regulations."

What utter nonsense! ASD pays its participants from the income received by new entrants. The income from "other sources" is a mere morsel compared with what is required to pay out even 125%. Wake up! Even if the other forms of income rise to dizzy heights they will never be the billions required to pay out more than 100% of income. Think about it!!

 

just my 2c question. what is this ASD dealing with?

 

I am repeating this post from another thread so that it doesnt get missed, as I thing that the original poster has made a very very valid point

It is kind of funny that the feds waited until right after the two biggest money rallies. If they really wanted to protect people they would have busted this up BEFORE the 50 million dollars was taken in at the rallies. Or at least prevented the rallies from happening until they checked into the program. It's almost like they purposely waited until the big money came in and then went after the loot.


BRAVO!!!!

And now they want them for money laundering???!!! Funny thing that they didnt seem to want them to get all those W9s on file before they came in, or let them keep a list of the members' cheques not yet cashed, or let them post stuff under supervision.

And what about the tens of thousands of happy advertisers in ASD - they didnt interview them??? Or maybe they did and "forgot" to put up their testimonies on the Complaint??

GO FIGURE

This is so obviously a set up that we need to get OUR voices heard. Noone at ASD has ever scammed me. I have looked everything through with a fine tooth comb and I find no ponzi - just an innovative and sustainable rebate programme as a bonus to my advertising. Right now the only one scamming me is the US Department of Justice.

Send your emails to the address the company gave us

[email protected]

and tell them about the good your advertising with ASD has done for your business and your life.

Write to your congressman, your senator, your newspapers. Tell them you want the ASD site back!!

 

What is ASD?

 

has anyone told me what this ASD is?

 

Gadsden Business Raid: Internet Scheme? UPDATE Save Email Print
http://www.wctv.tv/news/headlines/26280459.html
A | A | A

8/8/08

Ad Surf Daily has been raided by the Feds.

They say the Quincy Internet company is a scam. But the community is divided.

Business is quiet at ASD, after being raided by the Secret Service on Tuesday. But there are still many people who support the company.

Mary Brandt in Iowa has advertised with ASD since March. I asked" Did you lose any money?"

"No, absolutely not, not unless the government ties it up, and won't honor that it is a true business, which they probably will do," says Brandt.

In fact, Brandt says her $10 investment grew to $1,500 in 5 months.
But not everyone is on board with ASD. Jack Arons in Tallahassee says a friend told him about ASD, but he wasn't impressed.

"if you put a thousand dollars in a week you had 9 thousand dollars and that included your rebates that you got from bringing other people in, you got part of their money back," says Arons

He says that type of return made him suspicious. "He's 21 miles from Tallahassee and he's never had a rally never, no rallies in Tallahassee," adds Arons.

Brandt says she expects owner Andy Bowdoin will be exonerated.
She believes the Feds went in without all the information.
"We all just keep praying that God will see us through this and And and Faye Bowdoin will be vindicated," says Brandt.

At this time no criminal charges have been filed against Andy Bowdoin.

But both the US Attorney and the Florida Attorney General have filed civil lawsuits against ASD and Bowdoin.

------------------------------------------------------------------
Ad Surf Daily is being sued by Florida's Attorney General and the U-S Attorney in Washington D.C. alleging it's committing massive wire fraud.

And now Florida's Office of Financial Regulation is looking into the Internet company to see if it falls under its jurisdiction. This could mean more trouble for the Quincy based business that was raided by the Secret Service on Tuesday.

Federal agents seized 2 homes and more than fifty million dollars from ASD and owner Andy Bowdoin. The Florida Attorney General's Office says ASD has scammed victims out of thousands of dollars, and in the process made around one hundred million dollars for themselves.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Sandi Copes, Press Secretary at the Florida Attorney General's Office said, "When you have a company that's claiming to be able to provide huge returns for its investors, but isn't actually generating any revenue and is using new investments to pay off older investors--that's a problem."

The investigation by the Florida Attorney General into Ad Surf Daily has been active since July. On Tuesday afternoon, a search warrant brought Secret Service and Gadsden County Deputies streaming into the business. On Wednesday, a lawsuit was filed by the Florida Attorney General, alleged ASD falsely lured investors on a large scale.

"The company would actually hold conventions and they would invite people to come listen to their business spiel and they would promise them these huge returns on what they invested and they'd rake in millions of dollars really from investors, but they weren't actually generating any kind of income." said Copes.

Attorney General Office says, ASD didn't create an investment base, instead, they say, the cash from fresh investors at the bottom went straight to older investors at the top.

Officials estimate approximately 100 million dollars was made from ASD's conventions in Miami and Tampa over the last several months.

The Florida Attorney General is seeking damages for consumers as well as civil penalties.

ASD's business practice was brought to the attention of authorities through consumer complaints. The lawsuit filed by the Attorney General is not related to a civil suit filed by the U.S. attorney's office Tuesday.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Florida's Attorney General files suit against Ad Surf Daily. On Tuesday, Secret Service agents raided the Internet ad company and seized 2 homes and more than $50 million bank accounts.

But many folks had a lot of good things to say about the company. A lot of people are very passionate about ASD. (As evidenced by many of the comments posted on this story)

Some believe wholeheartedly that the company is scamming people out of their money and others that believe the company is only trying to help business advertise on the web.

ASD is quiet Wednesday morning, a closed sign is posted on the door... a big change from 24 hours earlier when agents raided the business and home of owner Thomas Andy Bowdoin.

The US attorney's office filed a civil lawsuit against the company on Tuesday, and now, Florida's Attorney General also is filing a civil suit alleging the company is a scam. But not everyone agrees.

"As far as I knew it was a legit business, And I had friends that worked there and they were all shocked that it went under investigation," says Allen Lewis, a Gadsden County resident.

Teasha Burns only worked at ASD for a few days before it was shut down, but she says she's confident the business wasn't doing anything wrong. But she says late last week, talk of the business being a Ponzi scheme started circulating and customers began calling.

"So we had to reassure the customers that it was not and we had a couple of customers that were concerned, then some was not because they had been doing it for a while so," says Burns.

"Once you get a better understanding of how the business is run, then you'll like will know this is not a scheme. The customers are confident, the employees are confident, and I was confident. I didn't think something like this was going to happen," adds Burns.

The Attorney General's office says it has received around 30 complaints from people saying they were taken advantage of by

Officials at Florida's Attorney general's Office say over the past several months, ASD hosted large conventions in Miami and Tampa. They say, those conventions brought in approximately 100 million dollars.

No criminal charges filed against ASD or Andy Bowdoin. Both the US Attorney and Florida's Attorney General have filed civil lawsuits against the company and the owners.

The Florida Attorney General's Office says people who feel they have been scammed by ASD should call is 1-866-966-7226 in Florida and 850-414-3990 for people who are out of state.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
It appears to be over... Check these links out!
http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/article764294.ece
http://tallahassee.com/assets/pdf/CD11468785.PDF
Above is the link to the filed court docs...
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/aug2008/tc2008086_509247.htm?chan=top+ news_top+news+index_news+%2B+analysis

 

Tis amazing to me, the number of trolls who have flocked to ASD in the last week or so......little trolls who have lust in their eyes as they dance around the bonfire, throwing more and more and more fuel onto the fire.....

Probably best to turn our eyes away from them.....they're rude little suckahs.....no telling what they might do in front of us, not to mention that we offer the fuel they need to keep their fire lit....

Just say NO to trolls......

 

What is that ASD brought up to people? Can anyone of you guys share with me...?

Thanks!

 

Bottom line and point is, if you are an autosurf the boards/forums have you in their radar and they will get you closed down

Because since ASD and 12 daily pro were proclaimed a ponzi and or a pyramid
THEY ALL WILL BE!

One complaint from any one of the bashers will get the attn of the AG

This experience has taught me to never join a paid autosurf again

AND quite frankly a person who would take advantage and to hawk their latest and greatest autosurf is just plain adding insult to injury
people here are shell-shocked and to suggest that another autosurf is bigger and better and wont get shut down is foolish at best

Watch how fast the one hawked here and on a lot of the threads is shut down, talkgold has it in their sites, hey Jack there's another one for you, and they are just getting warmed up on scam.com

 

luvtravel:

One complaint to the Ag's office will not start an investigation nor will 50 complaints. The Florida Ag's finally got involved on July 24th after Andy, His Fat Buddy Lawyer and the Head of the Gadsden Chamber of Commerce went to the AG's office unannounced to complain about my postings of information. It was their feelings that the AG would tell me to stop. But, it only added fuel to the fire and on July 25 after the AG called me that the investigation by the AG started. The AG was unaware that the Feds were even involved and doing an investigation of their own.

Yes, we have our sights set on AD Sales Daily . If mrich a promoter of the ASDI had not threatened me I would have never considered taking them on. Oh well!

[Post edited - Admin]

 

Investigator: Yes, we have our sights set on AD Sales Daily . If mrich a promoter of the ASDI had not threatened me I would have never considered taking them on. Oh well!


You serious? You still think you brought them down?

What's your time frame for bringing down Ad Sales Daily?

I threatened you? How do you know it wasn't another mrich? Is it possible to have more than one alias? Wait..... you already know the answer to that question.

Still waiting for your call. 616.304.4290.

Have a good day Jack/Investigator/Grand Old Geezer.

Mike

P.S. On a side note and as I've mentioned before. Some of your postings have been informative, but recently they've become egotistical, cheeky, conceited, vain and self-involved. Need proof? Look at the indinuendos you are making with your images. You, of all people, should know that everyone is innocent until proven guilty.

 

Which of your stories is true, Jack:

Investigator
Member


Joined: 10 Jul 2008
Posts: 33 Report post
# Posted: 11 Aug 2008 09:39
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luvtravel:

One complaint to the Ag's office will not start an investigation nor will 50 complaints. The Florida Ag's finally got involved on July 24th after Andy, His Fat Buddy Lawyer and the Head of the Gadsden Chamber of Commerce went to the AG's office unannounced to complain about my postings of information. It was their feelings that the AG would tell me to stop. But, it only added fuel to the fire and on July 25 after the AG called me that the investigation by the AG started. The AG was unaware that the Feds were even involved and doing an investigation of their own.

Yes, we have our sights set on AD Sales Daily . If mrich a promoter of the ASDI had not threatened me I would have never considered taking them on. Oh well!

Oh, no wait.....must be this one that's true:


Investigator
Member

Joined: 10 Jul 2008
Posts: 32 # Posted: 5 Aug 2008 07:50
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According to an individual who posted in one of the ASD forums and who is a Dreamer (since you like to call us bashers) their downline or upline what ever you all call them.

One of Andy's top executives was terminated two weeks ago and that individual took documents to the US Attorney's Office in Washington DC. The US Attorney felt that the information warranted the freezing of the accounts and that they should take a closer look at ASD's operation.

So, if that is true then it was not a basher that turned the dirty deed...but one of your own!!!

Or is it this version?

Investigator
Member


Joined: 10 Jul 2008
Posts: 32 # Posted: 3 Aug 2008 20:50
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Sixminute man:

I would be happy to share it with you since I have posted here and you can see it for yourself. Also, unlike you and your counterparts I have also posted both of my phone numbers and my name which I might add none of you have done.

Yes, I was the one who sent the documentation to the US ATTORNEY and every Law Enforcement Agency. You see when you complain about something or some one they are more apt to listen to what you say when you can back it up with proof. It must have been strong enough proof for them to take a look at ASD. I also sent the data to Interpol, the IRS and to several AG's.


Maybe this one?

Investigator
Member


Joined: 10 Jul 2008
Posts: 32 # Posted: 30 Jul 2008 19:25 ??? Edited by: Investigator
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Jobrick:

I have done extensive research on Andy and his numerous companies all of which have been dissolved by the State of Florida,Georgia and Alabama for various infractions of State Law.

Keep your eyes open as Several Major Newspapers including the Miami Herald, Atlanta Journal Constitution,Tulsa Today and The Tallahassee Democrat will be doing stories on Mr. Bowdoin and his not so clean past. You will see my name mentioned as the source and yes I am still waiting for the lawsuit that the liar Andy Bowdoin said he had filed against me.

The truth hurts don't it jobrick? Your great visionary is not who he says he is and your going to not only your money but your friends and associates that you fooled into joining.

Now we ALL know this isn't true, because it would have made YOU a fool, too..........

Investigator
Member


Joined: 10 Jul 2008
Posts: 32 # Posted: 18 Jul 2008 16:05
Reply Quote

I think I'll stay since I do have 50,000.00 in ad packages and this is a free country. By the way Andy said stir everyone up so that more would join. So, I guess I have accomplished just that.

have a nice day and keep the money rolling in......


Hope you feel REAL good when YOU look in the mirror, Jack.....you've helped to destroy hundreds and thousands of people's livelihoods.......the sad thing is, you have NO clue and think you're some kind of hero, or so it would seem to me.....I hope you'll understand well enough some day....