SEC Files Suit Against Promoter of ZeekRewards
On December 4, 2015 the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed suit against Trudy Gilmond for her participation in the unregistered offer and sale of securities through Rex Venture Group LLC d/b/a ZeekRewards.com, an internet-based combined Ponzi and pyramid scheme. According to the Complaint, from approximately January 2011 until August 2012, when the ZeekRewards website was shut down, Rex Venture Group raised more than $850 million from approximately one million internet customers nationwide and overseas through the website.
The Complaint alleges that Gilmond solicited investors through the Internet and other means to participate in the ZeekRewards program, a self-described “affiliate advertising division” for the companion website, Zeekler.com, through which the company operated penny auctions. The ZeekRewards program offered customers several ways to earn money, two of which – the “Retail Profit Pool” and the “Matrix” – involved purchasing securities in the form of investment contracts. These securities offerings were not registered with the SEC as required under the federal securities laws.
According to the Complaint, Gilmond and others lured investors to ZeekRewards by promising investors a share of the company’s daily net profits in the form of daily profit share awards. The company’s purported calculations consistently resulted in daily award averaging approximately 1.5 percent per day, fraudulently conveying the false impression that the company was extremely profitable. In fact, the daily award percentage was fabricated and investor payouts bore no relation to the company’s net profits. Approximately 98% of ZeekRewards’ total revenues and the “net profits” paid to investors were comprised of funds received from new investors in classic Ponzi scheme fashion. When the company was shut down in August 2012, it was teetering on collapse.
The Complaint further alleges that Gilmond was one of the most successful and prolific promoters of ZeekRewards. From at least September 2011 until ZeekRewards was shut down in August 2012, Gilmond worked closely with the company founders and served as a senior “field liaison” to promote the scheme, persuading scores of unsophisticated retail investors to buy ZeekRewards securities upon the promise of profit sharing. Gilmond also helped conceal from investors and regulators the true nature of the ZeekRewards scheme. She policed affiliate advertisements and communications to ensure they did not use investment-related terms that otherwise may have triggered regulatory scrutiny. Gilmond reaped more than $1.7 million in transaction-based commissions and bogus profit-sharing for her recruiting efforts.
The SEC alleged that Gilmond offered and sold securities in violation of the registration provisions of Section 5 of the Securities Act, acted as an unregistered broker-dealer in violation of Section 15 of the Exchange Act, and violated the antifraud provisions of the Section 17 of the Securities Act. The Complaint requests a permanent injunction, disgorgement of illicit earnings plus prejudgment interest, and civil penalties.
The SEC is continuing their investigation.
For further information about this securities law blog post, please contact Brenda Hamilton, Securities Attorney at 101 Plaza Real S, Suite 202 N, Boca Raton, Florida, (561) 416-8956, by email at [email protected] or visit www.securitieslawyer101.com. This securities law blog post is provided as a general informational service to clients and friends of Hamilton & Associates Law Group and should not be construed as, and does not constitute legal advice on any specific matter, nor does this message create an attorney-client relationship. Please note that the prior results discussed herein do not guarantee similar outcomes.
Hamilton & Associates | Securities Lawyers
Brenda Hamilton, Securities Attorney
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Boca Raton, Florida 33432
Telephone: (561) 416-8956
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