Tag Archives: scams

Bloomberg News reports: Donald Trump and three of his children agreed to be questioned under oath for up to seven hours each in a class-action lawsuit over their yearslong promotion on “Celebrity Apprentice” of a troubled multi-level marketing company. The former president, along with Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Ivanka Trump, are among more than a dozen people who …

From the Justice Department: United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the unsealing of an indictment charging Alexander Leszczynski (22, North Redington Beach) with wire fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering. If convicted on all counts, Leszczynski faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison. The indictment also notifies Leszczynski that the United States intends to forfeit $337,000, …

The Daily Beast reports: A new class-action lawsuit filed by an investor in Trumpworld’s favorite “Let’s Go Brandon” meme coin claims that some of the token’s key players orchestrated a pump-and-dump scheme. A number of former President Donald Trump’s most loyal fans bought into the crypto hype, only to see the value of their investments plummet. Ultimately, the 79-page suit …

The Associated Press reports: A New Jersey man who conspired with his then-girlfriend to cook up a feel-good story about a helpful homeless man and then used the lie to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations online was sentenced in federal court Friday to more than two years in prison. Mark D’Amico will also have to serve three …

Law & Crime reports: In the twilight of his administration, Donald Trump pardoned Bannon for charges that he conspired to commit wire fraud and money laundering in connection with a crowdfunded effort to construct a barrier on the U.S.-Mexico border, but the former president left Bannon’s accused co-conspirators twisting in the wind on similar accusations. Now, two of the three …

The Fresno Bee reports: Fresno’s loss to an online phishing scam totaled more than $600,000, was part of a larger scheme targeting multiple municipalities nationwide and the FBI has identified an American suspect, Mayor Jerry Dyer announced in a news conference at City Hall. Some details Dyer reported differed from information he shared the day prior. Dyer said he spoke …

The Independent reports: Melania Trump on Friday lashed out at the press for reporting on a Florida investigation into whether a charity organisation she purportedly raised funds for was properly registered with authorities, accusing reporters of “canceling the hopes and dreams of children by trying to cancel me”. Earlier this week, The New York Times reported Ms Trump’s “Fostering the …

The Daily Beast reports: The MAGA-themed “Let’s Go Brandon” Ethereum cryptocurrency has fallen on tough times. So much so that the value of all 330 trillion coins totals just a few thousand dollars combined, according to the trading sites CoinMarketCap and Crypto, a far cry from the days of pro-Trump investors believing they could strike it rich. That represents a …

Popular Information reports: The Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) accepted an illegal $50,000 contribution from Children’s Health Defense, a leading purveyor of anti-vaccine propaganda run by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The unlawful contribution, which was received by RAGA last summer, was first disclosed in an 87-page document filed with the IRS last week. Children’s Health Defense is organized as a …

The Daily Beast reports: New documents show Kanye West’s doomed White House campaign—styled as an “independent” third-party effort—appears to have disguised potentially millions of dollars in services it received from a secretive network of Republican Party operatives, including advisers to the GOP elite and a managing partner at one of the top conservative political firms in the country. Potentially even …

The New York Times reports: A new favorite tactic of the Republican National Committee has been making it appear as if supporters have urgent and overdue bills. “WARNING: Payment Incomplete” has been the sender line of more than 15 party emails since August, including one just before Thanksgiving. (A warning this week was about membership status as “Trump Social Media …

The Daily Beast reports: Serial MAGA fraudster Jack Burkman has embarked on a new political venture: a website styled after celebrity gossip outlet TMZ—right down to the trademarked logo—that is smearing Democratic Reps. Conor Lamb and Eric Swalwell. Flyers posted Thursday around Capitol Hill and the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C., offer a $10,000 reward for information about an unsubstantiated …

Vice News reports: Scammers are abusing Instagram’s protections against suicide, self-harm, and impersonation to purposefully target and ban Instagram accounts at will, with some people even advertising professionalized ban-as-a-service offerings so anyone can harass or censor others. It appears that in some cases, the same scammers who offer ban-as-a-service also offer or are at least connected to services to restore …

The Insider reports: Save America, the political action committee (PAC) created by Donald Trump, is urging donors to “surprise” the former president with extra money on his birthday. When supporters donate via Save America’s site, the website automatically ticks a box saying they would like to donate the same amount on Trump’s birthday, which is June 14. For example, if …

NBC News reports: A Pennsylvania man fraudulently used then-President Donald Trump’s relatives’ names and photos – including those of Trump’s teen son – to rip off unsuspecting followers of a fictitious political fundraising operation, the FBI said. Joshua Hall, of Mechanicsburg, Penn., allegedly raised thousands of dollars using Trump family identities on his platforms – claiming those relatives were helping …

From the Federal Trade Commission: The operators of the MoviePass subscription service have agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission allegations they took steps to block subscribers from using the service as advertised, while also failing to secure subscribers’ personal data. Under the proposed settlement, MoviePass, Inc., its parent company Helios and Matheson Analytics, Inc. (Helios), and their principals, Mitchell Lowe …

The Associated Press reports: “You’re going to love owning the platinum package,” Charlene Bollinger tells viewers, as a picture of a DVD set, booklets and other products flashes on screen. Her husband, Ty, promises a “director’s cut edition,” and over 100 minutes of additional footage. Click the orange button, his wife says, “to join in the fight for health freedom” …

New Jersey Today reports: Steve Bannon does not typically come across as a paragon of health, so it was probably a bad idea to use the overweight, cigar-smoking, far-right con artist to market vitamins, but the former Trump adviser was hawking a snake oil miracle pill to fight COVID until federal authorities caught up to the scam. Bannon appeared in …

The Washington Post reports: Rep. Dan Crenshaw’s memoir and social critique, “Fortitude: American Resilience in the Era of Outrage,” soared to the top of the bestseller lists when it was published last year. The book helped raise the former Navy SEAL’s profile and burnished his credentials as a rising star among freshman congressmen. The National Republican Congressional Committee, which works …

Mediaite reports: The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) homepage currently includes a prechecked recurring donation box, which if unchecked, will allegedly force the committee to tell Donald Trump that “you’re a DEFECTOR” and have sided with the Democratic party. “We need to know we haven’t lost you to the Radical Left,” reads the statement alongside the prechecked box. “If you …