TelexFree News
Press releases and network marketing news for TelexFree, archived on Npros.
TelexFree press releases and updates
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TelexFree Fugitive Loses Citizenship
February 22, 2018 -- Carlos Wanzeler, the fugitive co-founder of TelexFree, was stripped of his Brazilian citizenship last week -- an unusual move by the Brazilian government which may open the door for his extradition to the United States. Wanzeler left the United States for Brazil the day feder... Read more
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TelexFree President Sentenced
James Merrill, former president of TelexFree, was sentenced on March 22 to six years in prison and three years of probation. Merrill pleaded guilty last October to one count of wire fraud conspiracy and eight counts of wire fraud. Merrill founded TelexFree with business partner Carlos Wanzeler, wh... Read more
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Agents Seize Approximately 20 Million in Scheme to Launder TelexFree Funds
January 26, 2017(Boston)--Approximately $20 million in cash hidden inside a box spring in a Westborough, Massachusetts, apartment was seized late yesterday, and a Brazilian man was arrested in connection with conspiring to launder proceeds of the massive TelexFree pyramid scheme. Cleber Rene Rizeri... Read more
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TelexFree President Pleads Guilty
Worcester, MA - October 25, 2016 -- James Merrill, president of TelexFree, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud conspiracy and eight counts of wire fraud in U.S. District Court. Prosecutors called TelexFree one of the largest Ponzi schemes in history, with nearly 1 million people losing close ... Read more
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TelexFree Exec Requests Suppression of Evidence
An attorney for James Merrill has requested suppression of evidence seized during a raid of TelexFree's offices in April 2014. In a court filing, Robert Goldstein said the document seizure was "unconstitutionally overbroad" and that his client "respectfully submits that all evidence seized pursuant... Read more
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Claims Against TelexFree May be Filed Starting April 1
February 28, 2016 -- Alleged victims of TelexFree, Inc. will be able to start filing claims online on April 1. Telexfree's bankruptcy trustee has been contacted by alleged victims from as far away as Russia and China. Claims will require approval by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US D... Read more
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TelexFree Rep Jailed for Contempt
January 21, 2016 -- A former top rep with TelexFree is being held in jail in Florida on a contempt charge after failing to return assets that securities regulators had frozen. Sanderley Rodrigues de Vasconcelos, also known as Sann Rodrigues, was arrested in May on visa fraud charges after he presen... Read more
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Bankruptcy Judge Finds TelexFree Operated a Fraudulent Scheme
A federal bankruptcy judge formally ruled that TelexFree "operated a Ponzi and pyramid scheme" and that the company is liable for claims made by investors. Stephen Darr, the trustee overseeing TelexFree's Chapter 11 case, requested the court's ruling and asked Judge Melvin Hoffman to suspend all ot... Read more
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Lawyers in TelexFree Case Seek to Delay Trial
During a recent hearing, lawyers in the TelexFree case asked a federal judge to delay the trial of TelexFree principal James Merrill from April to November 2016. Merrill is under house arrest at his home in Massachusetts, awaiting trial for fraud. Both the Assistant U.S. Attorney prosecuting the... Read more
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First Group of Claimants Receive TelexFree Settlement Checks
August 14, 2015 -- Thousands of former TelexFree customers have received checks from a $3.5 million fund set up by Fidelity Co-operative Bank of Fitchburg, MA as part of a settlement with the Securities Division of Massachusetts last year. The bank was accused of inadequate oversight and failure to... Read more
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Class-Action Lawsuit Filed Against TelexFree
A class-action lawsuit has been filed against TelexFree Inc., consolidating the complaints of at least 780,000 alleged victims and accusing the company, its principals and top promoters of "knowingly, maliciously, and willfully" conspiring "to perpetrate...the TelexFree pyramid scheme with full awar... Read more
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Trustee in TelexFree Case Details Alleged Fraud
The court-appointed bankruptcy trustee in the TelexFree case said in a recent filing that the company took in over $1 billion in only 16 months from almost 1.9 million participants. Stephen Darr, the trustee, said he could not be certain the information was accurate because "the physical books and ... Read more
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TelexFree Victims May Have a Long Wait to Settle Claims
At least $153 million could potentially be used to settle claims of people who can prove they were defrauded by TelexFree Inc. For most, it will be a long wait before they receive any of their money back. $3.5 million which resulted from a settlement by Massachusetts Secretary State William F. Ga... Read more
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Warning Issued Against iFreex, Possible Offshoot of TelexFree
September 30, 2014, Worcester, MA -- Massachusetts Secretary of State William F.Galvin is concerned that a new phone service app is an offshoot of TelexFree and is warning people to be wary of investing in iFreex. Complaints have been made against Sanderley Rodrigues de Vasoncelos (AKA Sann Rodrigu... Read more
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Group Represents TelexFREE Victims
September 19, 2014 -- An ad hoc committee made up of approximately 100 former TelexFREE representatives and claiming to represent all victims of the company has urged the court to prevent the legal payments of millions of the nearly $300 million prosecutors estimate the company took in over that las... Read more
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TelexFree Accountant Denies Wrongdoing
August 8, 2014 - Boston, MA -- In response to a civil suit filed against him by the SEC, TelexFree Inc.'s accountant, Joseph H. Craft, said he didn't assist in any wrongdoing and asked to have the charge against him dismissed.Craft, who was not an employee of TelexFree, performed accounting services... Read more
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Feds Seek Assets in TelexFree Case
August 2, 2014 -- Criminal and bankruptcy authorities are going after nearly $97 million in assets in order to repay people claiming to be victims of the alleged pyramid scheme or to fund law enforcement activities. The assets include cash, checks, bank accounts, high-end automobiles, boats and rea... Read more
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TelexFree Owners Indicted in Federal Court
TelexFree co-owners Carlos N. Wanzeler and James M. Merrill, founders and owners of Marlboro, Massachusetts based TelexFree, were indicted Wednesday on charges of wire fraud and conspiracy.Wanzeler and Merrill were charged Wednesday with a nine-count indictment in U.S. District Court in Worcester, ... Read more
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U.S. Challenges Merrills Bid for Access to Funds in TelexFree Case
July 14, 2014 -- U.S. prosecutors asked the U.S. District Court in Boston to deny James Merrill's request for access to $4 million in funds currently frozen by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Merrill, a co-founder of TelexFree, requested access to the funds to help pay for his defense. U.S... Read more
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TelexFree President Seeks Release of Frozen Assets
July 2, 2014 -- Lawyers for TelexFree president and co-owner James Merrill filed papers Tuesday in the U.S. District Court in Worcester, MA, requesting the release of more than $4 million from frozen bank accounts to pay for his defense.Merrill's attorneys said that the amount they are requesting be... Read more
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Judge Allows Bail for TelexFree Co-Owner
June 17, 2014 Worcester, MA -- A federal judge ordered that TelexFree co-owner James Merrill be released on bail while awaiting trial for fraud, saying that prosecutors had not proven that he would flee if released. Merrill has been held in a Rhode Island detention center for the past five weeks. H... Read more
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Trustee Appointed for TelexFREE, Class Action Lawsuits Filed
Boston, MA -- Stephen B. Darr, Senior Managing Director of Mesirow Financial Consulting in Boston, has been appointed the Chapter 11 trustee for TelexFREE. Darr will take over management of TelexFREE through the company's bankruptcy. Meanwhile, three class-action lawsuits seeking in excess of $10 ... Read more
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TelexFree Co-Owner Denied Bail
James Merrill, co-owner of TelexFree Inc., was denied bail by a federal judge in Worcester, MA, pending trial for allegedly committing fraud and operating a pyramid scheme. Prosecutors said Merrill has access to hundreds of millions of dollars in accounts around the world and motivation to flee b... Read more
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Wife of TelexFree Co-Owner Arrested While Trying to Flee Country
May 15, 2014 -- Federal Agents arrested TelexFree co-owner Carlos Wanzeler's wife, Katia, at JFK International Airport as she was about to board a flight with a one-way ticket to Brazil on Wednesday night. Carlos Wanzeler drove into Canada as agents raided the TelexFree offices in April and flew to... Read more
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TelexFree Owner Arrested
May 10, 2014 -- The owners of TelexFree were criminally charged in federal court Friday with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. James Merrill was arrested Friday afternoon in Worcester, MA. An arrest warrant was also issued for Carlos Wanzeler, who is believed to have fled to Brazil and is now consi... Read more
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TelexFree Owner Appears to Have Left the US
May 8, 2014 -- Lawyers for the Securities and Exchange Commission said they believe that TelexFree co-owner Carlos Wanzeler has left the U.S. for Brazil. Since no criminal charges have been brought against anyone in connection with the case, Wanzeler is free to travel.Federal and Massachusetts regul... Read more
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TelexFREE Sets Up In Canada
TelexFREE, which was shut down recently by regulators in the U.S., has registered as a business in Richmond, British Columbia. James Merrill and Carlos Wanzeler, who are charged with running a pyramid scheme in the United States, are listed as two of the company's directors in the Canadian business... Read more
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SEC Urges Federal Judge to Move TelexFREE Case to MA
According to the Boston Globe, Federal Securities regulators filed a motion requesting the bankruptcy judge in the TelexFREE case to move the case to Massachusetts.According to the filing, the hastily filed bankruptcy on a Sunday evening in Las Vegas, just two days before the Marlboro, MA TelexFREE ... Read more
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TelexFree Issues Statement
MARLBOROUGH, Mass., April 18, 2014 -- TelexFREE LLC issued the following statement:Earlier this week, TelexFREE filed voluntary petitions for relief under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The Chapter 11 filing is intended to protect TelexFREE assets, quantify legitimate claims, restructure ou... Read more
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38M in Checks Recovered as CFO Flees TelexFree
Marlborough, MA, April 18, 2014 -- The chief financial officer of TelexFree, Joseph H. Craft, was stopped by a deputy sherriff as he attempted to leave during federal agents' search of TelexFree's offices this week. Craft told the deputy he was only a consultant assisting TelexFree with its bankrupt... Read more
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TelexFree Headquarters Raided by Feds
Marlborough, MA, April 17, 2014 -- Agents from the FBI and Homeland Security, acting on a search warrant, raided the headquarters of TelexFree Inc. on Thursday after Securities regulators in Massachusetts filed a lawsuit against the company, accusing it of defrauding tens of thousands of investors.M... Read more
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TelexFree Files for Bankruptcy
MARLBOROUGH, Mass., April 14, 2014 -- TelexFREE LLC today announced that it and certain of its subsidiaries and affiliates filed voluntary petitions for relief under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, in an effort to address certain operational challenges. The petitions were filed in the U.S. B... Read more
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State SEC Charges TelexFREE
On Tuesday, April 15th, Massachusetts Secretary of State William F. Galvin charged phone service marketer TelexFree with running a billion-dollar pyramid scheme that primarily targets Brazilian immigrants. The charges claim that TelexFREE Inc has been offering unregistered securities in Massachuset... Read more