TelexFree @ BehindMLM

As per an SEC filing earlier today, following the issue of an arrest warrant on January 15th, Sanderley Rodrigues was arrested in Florida on January 20th. After his arrest he appeared before Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Jenkins of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida (Tampa) regarding the terms of his incarceration. [Continue reading…]

Following a last-ditch effort to fend off being found in contempt of court, Sanderley Rodrigues proposed the sale of motivational videos and books. Rodrigues’ plan would see him remit 20% of whatever he made on sales each month, to clear a court-ordered $474,503 remittance to the SEC. The SEC were not amused, with the regulator labelling Rodrigues’ [Continue reading…]

With an affiliate-base of almost two million and an estimated three billion dollars invested, TelexFree is undoubtedly the biggest MLM Ponzi scheme we’ve seen yet. Now, as we near the two-year anniversary of the scheme’s shutdown, the first round of clawback litigation has been filed against its top investors.

The emergence of a new Temporary Restraining Order in the TelexFree civil case has left me stumped. I’m still trying to suss out what’s going on, but for now here’s a breakdown of what we know.

The long-running contempt feud between the SEC and Rodrigues looks set to be resolved one way or another, with a decision on whether Rodrigues should be incarcerated before the court. Working against a January 15th repayment deadline, Rodrigues on the 14th filed a proposed stay of the contempt proceedings against him. Submitted with the proposal [Continue reading…]

Remember that brief but weird “tell all” video phase Sann Rodrigues went through last month? Turns out it might have all just been a preliminary marketing pitch for upcoming Rodrigues-branded products.

Following an Interim Status Conference held on December 4th, a report reveals that a plea agreement between James Merrill is “unlikely”. There have been some very preliminary plea discussions; the parties believe that a plea is unlikely. Also out are the defenses of ‘insanity, public authority, or alibi.

Fed up a year of lies and stalling, in August the SEC filed a motion requesting that Sann Rodrigues be found in contempt of court. The regulator demanded Rodrigues be sent to jail, pending identification of all his current accounts and restoration all assets transferred or disposed of in violation of the Asset Freeze. Rodrigues initial [Continue reading…]

As the contempt feud between Sannderley Rodrigues and the SEC heads towards a judicial ruling, Rodrigues has made an appearance in a YouTube video. The video is titled “Evento Único com Sann Rodrigues 1”, which Google translates to “Single Event Sann Rodrigues 1”.

Earlier in August the SEC filed a Motion For Contempt against Sannderly Rodrigues. In their motion, the SEC argued that Rodrigues had failed to provide the regulator with detailed accounting records for over a year. This, the regulator contended, was grounds to send Rodrigues back to jail until the court order had been complied with. [Continue reading…]