Who is making money with zeekrewards

The program offered a share of the penny auction's profits to people who invested money, promoted the company on other websites and recruited other participants. Under a complicated formula, investors were issued "profit points" that grew every day. Some mortgaged homes to raise their investment. At first, ZeekRewards complied when investors sought to cash out.

And that became the best ad of all: happy investors with their checks in Facebook photos. People who didn't trust the mail traveled long distances to drop off checks at the cramped office building where security guards allowed only seven inside at a time. Employees collected money and wrote out receipts at the office cluttered with dozens of plastic mail bins stuffed with check-filled envelopes.

To withdraw money, investors filed an online request — or called — and then had to wait for a check. By the end of , it seemed like everybody in Lexington was talking about ZeekRewards. Many saw it as a way to make extra cash to pay bills or help family. Sarah Chavez wanted extra money for her daughter's frequent hospital visits for leukemia.

But everyone told us it was a sure thing," she said. Burks mostly kept to himself, and few locals knew anything about the quiet, balding man with thick glasses.

In the s and early s, the Shreveport, La. Burks moved to Lexington in the early s because his wife was from the area. Most afternoons, he ate lunch at the same downtown restaurant with an entourage of managers.

Conference calls with investors were posted on YouTube. He produced glossy brochures touting the company. The publicity paid off. When the Association of Network Marketing Professionals held its annual convention in March , it called ZeekRewards the model of legal compliance. But behind the scenes, there were troubling signs, according to documents, company emails and consumer complaints reviewed by the AP. In early June, the state of Montana gave ZeekRewards the boot.

Montana requires multilevel marketing companies to register. This will involve filing a motion for summary judgment, and potentially litigating some claims in hearings before the Special Master appointed in this matter.

Like the previous Receiver, I have considered the possibility of making another partial, interim distribution to claimants prior to the resolution of the litigation, and I have reached the same conclusion that the substantial costs of making such a distribution would reduce the amount ultimately paid out to claimants.

While we hope to be able to file the Final Distribution Plan and make a final distribution before this date, it will depend on the timing of the litigation that I have discussed. We thank you for your continued patience. The decision of the Court of Appeals means that all judgments of liability against the defendant class members are now final. Based on this decision, I will now move forward to pursue collection of the Judgments or their sale to a third party.

This leaves only approximately net winners against whom the Receivership has not yet sought but intends to seek a final Judgment. That effort will proceed this summer, and all net winners who initially challenged the amount of their net winnings in the process for determining the amount of net winnings are encouraged to communicate with the Receivership at NetWinningsResponse zeeknetwinnerclass. This favorable ruling moves us one step closer to a final distribution to claimants.

Those claims must be completed before a final distribution occurs. While I have considered making another partial, interim distribution to claimants prior to the resolution of those claims, the costs of making such a distribution are substantial, and it has been my judgment so far that the costs of making additional distributions prior to the final distribution, which will reduce the amount ultimately paid out to claimants, outweigh the benefits of another small partial distribution.

We appreciate the continued patience of the claimants and will of course continue to work to complete the Receivership as soon as possible. I want to give you a status update concerning the Receivership, including our plans for future distributions to affiliate claimants holding allowed claims and pursuing additional assets. We hold funds sufficient to make another small interim, partial distribution. However, the expense associated with making such a distribution counsels against making it.

Instead, I expect to make only one final distribution at the end of the Receivership. This final distribution will be greater if we do not make small interim distributions. Also, we continue to pursue significant receivership assets through litigation against several parties, most notably the net winner defendant class members, Victoriabank of Moldova and others who supported the scheme.

Absent further settlements with the net winners with whom we have not yet settled, we will soon seek to sell the judgments against them to debt collection firms or engage such firms on a contingency basis. I very much hope that we are able to resolve this remaining litigation during As previously announced, on March 15, , the Receivership Estate made the third partial interim distribution to Affiliates who are holders of Allowed Claims against the Receivership Defendant.

If you previously have received a distribution payment from the Receivership, you will receive another payment in this distribution. Distribution checks are being sent by United States mail and may take a week or more to be delivered to Affiliates in the United States. Delivery of distribution checks to Affiliates that are located outside the United States will take additional time.

I ask your patience in the delivery process. You may request a reissuance of your distribution check if you do not receive it timely. I ask that you wait until at least April 17, to make such a request because addressing reissuance requests will reduce the amount of funds we have to make future distributions. I thank you for your patience and your continuing support.

I am confident that we will make a further distribution in the future. Cogburn, Jr. Judge Cogburn cited the need to balance the harm caused by Mr.

There is no parole available under the federal court system. The Court also ordered Mr. Burks essentially all of his assets. For similar reasons the Court found that Mr. Burks has no ability to pay a fine and declined to enter a fine. The Court allowed Mr. Burks to remain free on bond until instructed to report to a federal prison by the Bureau of Prisons. The process of designation to a federal prison usually takes 30 days. That amount plus prejudgment interest will then become the amount of the Final Judgment to be entered against the net winner.

I intend to pursue collection of these judgments vigorously, and expect the ultimate amount collected, while uncertain, will be a substantial sum. The first step in the process — notifying each Net Winner of the amount of their net winnings — is expected to begin next week. After notification, each Net Winner is required to provide a response stating whether he or she accepts or disagrees with that amount within 60 days of the notification using a website Net Winnings Determination Response Portal.

More information and links to the Response Portal will be sent to the Net Winner Class members in the notification email. If a Net Winner does not receive their notification by February 13, then he or she should email netwinningsresponse zeeknetwinnerclass. Hundreds of settlements have been negotiated with Net Winners and approved by the Court. The sentencing hearing is open to the public and will be held at the Federal Courthouse at W.

Trade Street, Charlotte, NC. Victims of these offenses are entitled to be heard at sentencing. If a victim would like to have a letter describing the impact that ZeekRewards had on them submitted to the Court please send an email to HearingLetter zeekrewardsreceivership. In particular, the Court would like to hear about any of the below circumstances:. I will be attending the hearings on behalf of all ZeekRewards victims and will present your letters to the Court.

I am pleased to announce that we will be making a third partial interim distribution to all Affiliates who hold Allowed Claims on March 15, If you previously have received payment from the Receivership, or receive a payment for the first time during the January 31 distribution, you will be issued another payment on March 15, Their failure to do so has permitted me to release these reserves and to pay the third partial interim distribution to Affiliates that hold Allowed Claims.

Finally, we do not have authority to accept new claims and are not considering further requests to amend previously allowed claims. The time to file claims or to amend claims has passed. I ask you for your patience, and thank you for your continuing support. All claimants who fall into this category received emails on October 1, November 1 and December 1 asking them to complete the process.

They received another email from the Receiver today making a personal appeal for them to sign the forms online. These claimants must follow these steps:. Failure to complete this process by December 31, will result in forfeiture of claim, meaning a distribution check will never be issued. Those affiliates have already completed the required process.

This is not a new opportunity to file a claim. The time to make a claim ended on September 5, by order of the Court. Please do not attempt to file a claim now. The opinion may be viewed by following this link. As I have previously stated, the next step will be for the Receiver and counsel for the Net Winner Class to confer and then ask the Court to approve a process to determine the amount of judgment, or money owed, by each of the class members other than the named defendants who have already been found liable for the full amount of their net winnings to the receivership.

Burks' former chief operating officer, Dawn Olivares, and her tech-savvy stepson have made plea deals with prosecutors and are expected to testify against him. Olivares became friends and worked with Burks on multilevel marketing companies since in the s. He was a former county music disc jockey and performed as a magician in nursing homes in the s and '90s. After Burks' company was shut down, federal investigators found a massive country music memorabilia collection that has since been auctioned off to refund investors.

Defense attorneys counter that Burks didn't misrepresent the ZeekRewards program and didn't mastermind a Ponzi or pyramid scheme. The parent company behind Burks' operations sold actual products -- bids for the penny auction site or stakes in ZeekRewards, defense attorneys wrote in summing up expected trial arguments.

The ZeekRewards program collapsed under the pressure of rapid growth from more than 57, distinct users after the first year to 1.