Scam Absurdities: Birds of a Feather Flock Together, or the Rodrigues and Filho financial links

There was an old saying: Birds of a Feather, Flock Together

Basically means: like attracts like.

So how does this apply to Ponzi schemes? One needs to look no further than Sanderlay Rodrigues De Vasconcelos aka "Sann Rodrigues", and his ties to Daniel Rojo Filho.

For those of you who don't know "Sann" Rodrigues... he used to go by the title "First Millionaire TelexFree US". That's right... he's a "net winner" in the TelexFree scam in both Brazil and the US. Previously he operated a Ponzi scheme called FoneClub that was shut down by the SEC around 2006. Oh, gee, now here he is again, a top leader in ANOTHER Ponzi scheme, TelexFree, shut down by the the SEC! But it gets better. At the time Sann was in Brazil, and he simply came up with a new scheme... called iFreeX.  And within a few months Massachussetts called it suspect Ponzi, which apparently prompted Brazilian authorities to raid his recruiting seminar and invited him downtown for a long chat.  He was released but apparently under travel restrictions, roughly March 2015 or so.

MLMSkeptic was immediately reminded of the circumstances how half of the TelexFree US, Carlos Wanzeler, escaped the country... by driving into Canada ahead of the authorities with his daughter, leaving his wife behind, and from there they flew to Brazil, where they cannot be extradited against their will (as per Brazilian constitution. Wanzeler still holds Brazilian citizenship). When his wife Katia Wanzeler tried to join them she was arrested at the airport by Federal agents, minutes before she got on the plane.  She had previous told Federal agents serving a search warrant on the Wanzeler house that Carlos is staying at a hotel when it was later discovered that when she told the Federal agents Carlos and daughter was in fact heading toward the Canadian border in a car registered to her company.

But we're here to talk about Sann Rodrigues... Any way... Apparently Sann Rodrigues managed to get himself out of Brazil despite Brazilians told him to not go anywhere. So when he disappeared, Brazilian authorities put out a Interpol Red WANTED notice:

Interpol Wanted Notice for Sann Rodrigues

So when he showed up in Newark, New Jersey (yes, in the US) getting back into the US... He was promptly arrested for VISA fraud. He had apparently neglected to mention that he was arrested for Ponzi scheme back in 2008 or so... among other problems. He posted bail, had his passport (and those of his family) confiscated, only to be arrested AGAIN for the Interpol warrant. He spent another weekend in jail until Brazilians eventually responded "you can keep him for now".

Okay, so what does this have to do with Daniel Rojo Filho? And who is Daniel Rojo Filho? Pretty complex guy... and "ambassador of the Sinaloa Drug Cartel", according to a Mexican article.

NEWS UPDATE: TelexFree may be the widest Ponzi scheme ever, surpassing ZeekRewards

Previously the Ponzi scheme with the widest reach is believed to be Zeek Rewards at 1 million victims and almost nine hundred million dollars. It was shut down in 2012 by SEC and other US agencies.

The bankruptcy trustee in charge of shutting down TelexFree after it tried to declare bankruptcy revealed that TelexFree fraud may be even bigger... with possibly up to 2.1 million victims and OVER a billion dollars.

There are 60000 victims in SOUTH AFRICA... the opposite side of the globe.

Boston Globe reported that some unscrupulous lawyers are encouraging victims to flood Darr's office with paper claims (i.e. physical documents).  He is NOT, repeat NOT taking paper claims because it cost too much to process. Soon claimants will be able to go to a website (much like Zeek Rewards Receivership) to file claims, and they will process the claims online.

Read the full article at  http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2014/12/16/telexfree-trustee-stephen-darr-may-have-toughest-job-boston/Wkk5JzcPtjfyar6c9QD1sI/story.html#

Scam Psychology: Naive Realism / Anecdotal Fallacy / Argument from Illusion

Illustration of Naive realism or Direct realism. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

One of the most often used counter-arguments by a scheme participant against skepticism is the self-testimonial, as in "I have done this, so I know it works, and therefore the whole business works!"

Let us assume that they are not outright scammers for the moment (i.e. liar, liar, pants on fire)

What they don't realize is they are operating from "naive realism", i.e. they assumed that everything they experienced is real, when it is quite possible they've been defrauded (magic trick), and they then extrapolated from their limited (but realistic) experience to conclude that the whole business must be "real".  One version of such self-testimonial, and the most often used, is the "It paid me" argument, as in "this opportunity paid me, therefore it's not a scam".

Yet this is the most powerful of all arguments, even if it's false. TelexFree victims in and around Boston, Massachusetts told Boston Globe that pressure from friends and family, esp. when posing with new house, new car, new luxuries, etc. often prove to be impossible to resist, esp. by people with (naive) "unbridled enthusiasm". Quoting from the Boston Globe story:

...Fausto da Rocha said he probably lost $45,000, the proceeds of an insurance payment from an auto accident. He had initially resisted TelexFree, but after friends profited, he decided to join, hoping the investment would accelerate his recovery from bankruptcy a few years earlier and losing his house. Da Rocha, well known in the Brazilian community, said he recruited about 20 relatives and friends. 

“I feel guilty,” da Rocha said as tears clouded his eyes. “My career is gone. I’m going to clean houses with my wife. Cleaning houses is a good business.”

But the social cost is even greater. He had 20 relatives and friends he can never look in the eye again.

Sann Rodrigues, one of the "TelexFree 8" charged by SEC
as part of a scam, showing off his Ferraris and MB and mansion
in Florida in one of his videos (screencap from Vimeo)