AdSurfDaily Gives Up Ponzi Fight

Many Warriors will remember some of the heated threads last summer about AdSurfDaily Inc.

Longtime Warriors advised supreme caution, saying ASD resembled an autosurf Ponzi scheme.

A number of people defended ASD vigorously, claiming they'd done their homework and that ASD was not using a Ponzi model.

In August, about a month after many Warriors first heard about ASD, federal prosecutors raided its headquarters in Quincy, Fla. Agents from the U.S. Secret Service ultimately seized nearly $100 million.

Prosecutors said ASD was a classic Ponzi scheme that used money from new members to pay off older members in a shell game. They also alleged ASD was an unregistered securities business masked as an "advertising" firm that engaged in wire fraud and money-laundering.

In November, a federal judge ruled that ASD had not demonstrated at an evidentiary hearing that it was a legal business and not a Ponzi scheme. The hearing was held on the narrow issue of whether ASD was entitled to claim back some of the seized funds so it could return to business while awaiting trial.

ASD demanded a jury trial, and a scheduling conference was set for later this month.

But that's all off the table now. Today ASD withdrew its claim to tens of millions of dollars seized by the government, submitting to the forfeiture. It also surrendered valuable real estate that prosecutors said was purchased with Ponzi proceeds.

It's worth noting that ASD collected tens of millions of dollars from members in a matter of only several weeks last summer. Some people took out second mortgages to qualify for matching bonuses. Others spent their childrens' college funds or took out loans so they could buy even more "ads" on ASD.

Patrick