Who is Behind 12 Daily Pro?

In the 12 Daily Pro debacle, someone will have to give an accounting to federal and state investigators. Someone will have to answer to the estimated 300,000 – plus members in the now paralyzed money scheme. Right now, that someone is Charis Johnson, the administrator of 12 Daily Pro. But is here another?

ABC 4 followed up on rumors floating in internet forums and found the name of Kevin Wessell. Wessell signed the articles of corporation with the North Carolina Secretary of State. The rumors claimed he is the mastermind behind 12 Daily Pro. However, ABC 4 contacted Wessell at his business in Santa Clarita.

Wessell is the President of Companies Inc. It helps all sorts of people incorporate. Wessell says his signatures appear on roughly 20,000 filings for Limited Liability Corporations a year. His company does the paper work but nothing more.

Concerning the Canceled Convention Monday evening, just days before a convention of 12 Daily Pro members was scheduled to begin, Charis Johnson canceled it. In her original posting, she said her attorneys advised her to cancel. Now she says it was the fault of ABC 4 reporter Brent Hunsaker. In a post on her 12 Daily Pro forum today she wrote,

“This weekend, Mr. Hunsaker took it upon himself to not only announce and focus on the convention, but make our members think it was something that it wasn't. In doing so, he invited troubled and gave several other news media outlets the idea that this was a 12 Daily Pro convention and that we were out there having a party while people were losing money. He invited legal authorities (with whom we are already voluntarily cooperating with) to attend implying that I was hiding and that would be where they could find me and, he encouraged people looking for their money to attend, attempting to create a volatile situation that he and his media friends could catch on tape and make us look bad.”

In realty, ABC 4 only mentioned the convention Sunday evening in the 10:00 p.m. broadcast. Here’s the complete text: “Undaunted by allegations and investigations, Charis Johnson presses on with plans for a convention this weekend where sources tell us she'll likely push yet another internet based scheme: HitsDailyPro.”

That’s it. That’s all we said. And yet she now claims based on that sentence she canceled the convention. That move, her attorney tells the Charlotte Observer, cost her (or her company) $30,000. It also left 500 of her faithful members scrambling to cancel their travel plans.

Charis Johnson has made several unfounded, outrageous claims about ABC 4’s reporting on the 12 Daily Pro debacle. To answer charges made by her, we have posted at the bottom of this article the comments made by Jeff Johnson, in streaming video.

Jeff Johnson is a Provo, Utah resident and a member of 12 Daily Pro who last week traveled to Tennessee and North Carolina looking for answers. This is the final video interview with Jeff Johnson made before he returned to Utah:

Jeff Johnson's Complete Comments Concerning ABC 4 News

Story by: Brent Hunsaker
brent @abc4.tv

Convention For 12 Daily Pro Members Canceled

Some members of 12 Daily Pro, an internet money-making scheme that has been paralyzed since the beginning of the month, have already lost a lot of money. As of Tuesday, a few have lost even more. The “GPT Convention” has been canceled. Travel plans will have to be scrapped. Those with non-refundable reservations and airline tickets will have to absorb yet another financial loss.

The convention was billed as an opportunity for a privileged 500 members to learn about making money on the internet. It was supposed to be a time to network with other internet “ad pros”. There was scheduled a VIP dinner, lectures, and a mysterious keynote speaker. But now, nothing. Some members found out on their own Monday afternoon when they called the Embassy Suites Hotel in Charlotte, North Carolina. The rest heard it from Charis Johnson, the woman behind 12 Daily Pro, who made the announcement that she’s pulled the plug on Tuesday, just 3 days before the convention was set to begin.

And in typical Charis Johnson style, she blamed someone else. “Some in the media,” she wrote on the convention’s webpage, “have twisted the purpose of the convention and in doing so have invited the potential for confrontations, civil unrest and security risks.” She says that the cancelation came on advice of her attorneys.

Most members writing in the online 12 Daily Pro forum accepted her explanation, but a few weren't so charitable.

"Ryank78" wrote,

“Now the attorneys suddenly advise to cancel it??? Where were these attorneys a we ago?? 2 weeks ago?"

"Atrader53" had this advice for Charis Johnson,

“Come clean and tell us the truth.”

"NickaBusey" wrote,

“I am considering legal action against 12 Daily …”

"Negsmeister" complained he’s got,

“$550 worthless plane ticket here. This is disgusting, to say the least!!!”

"Optimistic" added this comment:

“I don't care what Charis’s lawyers advised her to do … she should show up and face her “investors” and let the chips fall where they may. As far as getting terrible media attention and having some possible, ‘uncontrollable situations’ at the convention, I think that is nonsense.”

Johnson didn't give her members much notice. Aside from canceling all other travel arrangements, a front desk clerk at the Embassy Suites Hotel told ABC 4 that 72 hour notice is required to cancel a room reservation for this convention. Otherwise, the person will be charged for one night’s room and tax.

Johnson pledged a refund of travel expenses. She offered no details, saying only that more information will be coming next week.

12 Daily Pro's Charis Johnson Breaks Her Silence

Day two in Charlotte picked up where day one left off – with dead ends. We had tried every phone number and address that we knew for Charis Johnson – we wanted to give her an opportunity to tell her side of the 12 Daily Pro debacle on camera. We wanted her to explain how her program could promise on it’s website a 12% return “daily”.

We were turned away Tuesday afternoon at the building where she has an office. We began Wednesday with another rejection. We also went to the address she'd given for her legal defense fund. Turns out it is a UPS store. And then there was the corporate address on file with the state of North Carolina. That was an apartment she used to rent. She apparently had moved out in late December or early January.

By noon, we'd exhausted all known possibilities. But then, a source close to Georgia consumer investigation of 12 Daily Pro gave us one more address. Turns out it was for a new house in a new subdivision in suburban Charlotte. We knocked on the door. No answer. Another dead end.

Or so we thought. Just as we were getting ready to leave…a car pulls into the driveway. In it was a man who is apparently Charis Johnson’s husband, Scott Horwitt. Although some 12 Daily Pro members have speculated about his involvement in the program, ABC 4 news has been unable to find his name on any documents related to the venture.

He was obviously flustered by the camera. And even though we were standing on a public sidewalk across the street from him, he ordered us off, saying we were on private property.

When he went inside, he apparently called Charis who then called the ABC 4 news. It was the first time she'd attempted to make contact with us, but her motivation had nothing to do with shedding light on 12 Daily Pro. Instead, during a 10 minute conversation which she grew increasing hostile, Charis Johnson threatened a lawsuit if we aired any part of what we shot at the house.

But the phone call at least led to us getting a name and number of her Charlotte attorney. Noell Tin has been retained by Charis to handle state and federal investigators. All previous contact had been through Steven Carr, an attorney in Raleigh, North Carolina. He is still working for Charis on negotiations with Storm Pay over the frozen 12 Daily Pro account.

We met Tin in his offices in downtown Charlotte Wednesday evening. He said he could not comment on any of the particulars of the 12 Daily Pro business model, the number of members in the program or the amount of money taken in. To do so, he said, would be inappropriate during an investigation. He did say that Charis is cooperating fully with the FBI, which has taken the lead in the North Carolina investigation.

Earlier this month 12 Daily Pro’s money transfer account with Storm Pay was frozen. That forced 12 Daily Pro to suspend operations – it no longer accepts upgrades (additional investment) or new members. Storm Pay is reportedly holding $50,000,000. Storm Pay said it froze the account claiming that 12 Daily Pro was a likely Ponzi scheme.

What is Ponzi Scheme?

A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation that involves paying abnormally high returns ("profits") to investors out of the money paid in by subsequent investors, rather than from net revenues generated by any real business. In fact, a Ponzi scheme must have abnormally high short-term returns in order to entice new investors. The high returns that a Ponzi scheme advertises (and pays) require an ever-increasing flow of money from investors in order to keep the scheme going.

The system is doomed to collapse because there are little or no underlying earnings from the money received by the promoter. However, the scheme is often interrupted by legal authorities before it collapses, because a Ponzi scheme is suspected and/or because the promoter is selling unregistered securities. (As more and more investors become involved, the likelihood of the scheme coming to the attention of authorities will continue to increase.)

The scheme is named after Charles Ponzi, who became notorious for using the technique after immigrating to the United States from Italy in 1903. Today's schemes are often considerably more sophisticated than Ponzi's (though the underlying formula is quite similar), but the principle behind every Ponzi scheme is to exploit a lack of judgment based on greed.

StormPay Executives Talk To Utahn Who Shows Up On Their Doorstep

Jeff Johnson awoke Monday morning in Clarksville, Tennessee and immediately got two surprises. The first was a call from someone claiming to be Charis Johnson -- the elusive woman behind 12 Daily Pro. He wants to talk to her about claims that she's working on refunds for 12 Daily Pro members caught in the dispute between her and Storm Pay. She told him that's not going to happen. But she left open the possibility that her attorney might be willing to talk to him.

The other surprise also came by way of a phone call. It was an FBI agent from Charlotte. She took down his information and said they are investigating 12 Daily Pro. At this point, no follow-up interview is planned.

All this happened before he could get out of the parking lot of the motel and drive to the worldwide headquarters of Storm Pay -- 12 Daily Pro's onetime online payment partner that now appears to be it's sworn enemy. Storm Pay froze Charis' 12 Daily Pro account at the beginning of this month. That effectively cut off all fund transfers to and from 12 Daily Pro. Within days, Charis was forced to announce that no new memberships or upgrades could be processed -- essentially shutting down the program.

When Johnson arrived at the Stormpay headquarters building, he found it unimpressive. It's an old church turned pharmacy turned office that's currently being renovated. Across the street is a laundromat and car wash. It's flanked on either side by gas station convenience stores. Storm Pay's office is well removed from historic downtown Clarksville or the stately campus of Austin Peay. And yet, it is by some accounts a significant financial player in this town of just over 130,000. It's now the single largest sponsor of the Clarksville Raceway and reportedly the largest single client of a local bank. Storm Pay appears to prove the theory that an impressive "bricks and mortar" presence is not needed for internet successful.

And yet, executives of this growing internet payment service (they claim it is 2nd behind the industry's giant, PayPal) are saddled with a financial and public relations nightmare that by their own admission, they wish would just go away. For an hour and a half Monday afternoon, Jeff Johnson and ABC 4's Brent Hunsaker sat down with StormPay CEO Steve Girsky and owner John McConnell. It was a sometimes cordial, sometimes intense exchange that happened away from the ABC 4 camera that has been following Johnson on his journey for answers. Girsky and McConnell prohibited all photography. Since the scandal began, they say they've received numerous, credible death threats. For that reason, they would not allow us to show them or any of their employees.

As they see it, they froze the core 12 Daily Pro account to protect the money for 12 Daily Pro members. But many members apparently didn't see it that way. Since then, those members have flooded the offices of both the Middle Tennessee Better Business Bureau and the Tennessee Division of Consumer Affairs with complaints. Those complaints have resulted in a continued, unsatisfactory report from the bureau, a state audit and investigation by state agents. Girsky says all the scrutiny is a welcome chance for them to clear the air. "We have nothing to hide," he earlier told The Leaf-Chronicle of Clarksville.

What's more, they say their computer servers have been relentlessly attacked in an attempt to shut them down. Those attacks were somewhat successful. The Storm Pay website has been up and down for more than a week now.

On other aspects of the Storm Pay vs 12 Daily Pro controversy, Storm Pay offered the following explanations:

- While confirming Storm Pay has made "charge backs" to some 12 Daily Pro member accounts, they strongly deny they have gone into any member's bank or credit card account and taken out additional funds. Rumors have run wild on the internet and among many Utahns that such illegal debiting of accounts occurred. But as reported earlier, ABC 4 could find no first hand accounts proving the rumors.

- They claim that the freezing of the 12 Daily Pro account was ordered to preserve the money for investigators. But when pressed, they would not say which agency of the government made the order or if it came in the form of a subpoena. ABC 4 is aware of inquires initiated into the debacle by state agencies in North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and Utah. ABC 4 has also been told by Francine Giani, head of the Utah Division of Consumer Protection, subpoenas may be issued requiring 12 Daily Pro and/or Storm Pay to surrender its records.

- They say 12 Daily Pro represented only "3 to 10%" of Storm Pay's business. They say 12 Daily Pro didn't even "pop up on their radar" until November and December of 2005 when it's transactions skyrocketed. They also say in January, 12 Daily Pro was taking more and more time to pay it's members after they completed their 12 day cycle with the auto-surfer.

- They say they are willing to work with Charis and her attorney on organizing and distributing refunds to members, but they refuse to allow her access to any of the money. Still, they remain vague on when the money will be returned to members. They refused to offer a timetable. Nor would they say how it was to be determined who would get what. They call it a huge task and leave open the possibility that an independent, outside auditor might be called on to accomplish it. They also warn that they do not hold in the 12 Daily Pro account enough money to pay everyone what they claim they've lost.

- They say they are holding "millions of dollars" but refused to give an exact number. Last week, a source with first hand knowledge of the preliminary investigations in Tennessee told ABC 4 that they were holding $50,000,000. McConnell denies that. As for who would be entitled to the interested earned while the 12 Daily Pro money is frozen, McConnell said it was in a "non interest bearing" account with their bank.

At the end of the day, Jeff Johnson asked all of the questions he came to ask. But he did not get the hoped-for answers. Nevertheless, he gave credit to both men for their openness and candor. While still frustrated, Johnson says they both now have more "credibility" with him.

He flies to Charlotte, North Carolina on Tuesday.

ABC 4 will follow him there.

Provo Man Goes To Tennessee Looking For Answers In The 12DailyPro Debacle

Jeff Johnson boarded an 8:30 a.m. Delta flight at Salt Lake City International. His final destination: Clarksville, Tennessee. It would take most of the day to get there. Why Clarksville? It's home to StormPay.com -- the internet payment service that earlier this month froze all 12DailyPro accounts. That started a cascade that shutdown 12DailyPro to new and existing members and tied up millions of dollars.

Johnson was frustrated with the lack of communication from StormPay and the lack of specifics from 12DailyPro. He also feels more than a little guilty that he got so many of his friends and family to also sink their money into program. "If I don't get back a dime of what I now have in StormPay and 12DailyPro, I'll still come out ahead," says Johnson. It's all the others that he worries about. "I'm not doing this for myself."

Most of those same friends and family are optimistic that Johnson can actually break the ice jam that has kept their money frozen. He is a bit more realistic. "My trip will be a success if I just put a face on the people out there who are just asking -- where's my money?" He wants to at least meet with the principals at both StormPay and 12DailyPro so they will understand that those who have suffered a loss are real people -- not just names and membership number transmitted in cyberspace. He will also meet with state investigators in Tennessee on Monday and later this week, he'll be interviewed by Federal investigators in Charlotte, North Carolina -- the headquarters of 12DailyPro. He believes that they too need to understand that the apparent victims in this debacle are real.

As Johnson drove up I-24 Sunday evening, he rehearsed questions that he would like to ask Steve Girsky, CEO of StormPay. Now if only he can get the chance.

More alarms are sounding on an internet "get-rich-quick" scheme.

More alarms are sounding on an internet "get-rich-quick" scheme. But for hundreds of investors in Utah and hundreds of thousands worldwide, it may already be too late.

Accounts connected to 12DailyPro -- an "auto-surf" program that pledged members could earn 12% daily -- were frozen at the beginning of the month by the payment service StormPay. 12DailyPro members report that many of those accounts have seen their balances drop to zero because of mysterious "charge backs". A few even claim that StormPay has accessed their bank accounts and withdrawal additional funds without authorization.

While not commenting on the specifics of the allegations of 12DailyPro members, Francine Giani of the Utah Division of Consumer Protection advises anyone who has given their to either company their bank account information, to close those accounts immediately. "If they want to continue to leave that risk out there, then I guess they can keep that account open," says Giani. "But we recommend that they close it down." Once you have authorized an entity to have access to a bank account, it can withdraw or deposit any amount at any time. "Unless these consumers who have been injured shutdown their (bank) account, they could be potentially injured again. There is no way for us to stop that from happening."

Matt and Jamie Ash had been 12DailyPro members since September of last year. "We had a lot of money sitting there in pending payouts," says Matt. But that money is now in internet limbo. They don't know where it is or how to get it back. But they have taken steps to make sure unauthorized charge backs do not take any more money from their accounts. Jamie says, "I went and closed one account and he closed another." Matt added, "and we closed (accounts) with both of the credit cards that were involved with 12DailyPro and StormPay."

Jeff Johnson was also a big player in 12DailyPro and used a StormPay account to transfer funds. "I ran down to my bank immediately," says Jeff, "and closed the account. While I was there, there must have been a dozen people doing the same thing."

Meanwhile, Giani says Utah and other states plan on issuing subpoenas to determine who is owed what. The idea is to track down what money there is, but Giani says, "We want to make it perfectly clear that the chances of restitution are probably very slim."

One of those other states looking into the 12DailyPro/StormPay debacle is Georgia. It's Office of Consumer Affairs issued a warning today.

12 Dailypro Scandal

With tens of millions of dollars at stake in the 12DailyPro scandal, a Provo man who invested in 12DailyPro is taking action. Jeff Johnson's phone calls and e-mails have gone unanswered, so he's getting on an airplane this weekend and flying back east to get answers in person.

Johnson leaves Sunday. His first stop: Clarksville, Tennessee and the home of StormPay, the internet payment service that handled all the money transactions for 12DailyPro. Earlier this month it froze all accounts related to 12DailyPro. StormPay claimed that 12DailyPro may be an illegal pyramid scheme and that it was taking action to protect the money it held and the people it rightfully belonged too. But since freezing the accounts, some 12DailyPro members have seen their balances reduced to "0" by unexplained "charge backs". Others claim that StormPay has made unauthorized withdrawals from their bank and credit card accounts.

Johnson will attempt to talk to StormPay management to get an explanation of the "charge backs", as well as details of when and how accounts will be "thawed" and refunded.

His next stop will be Charlotte, North Carolina, where 12DailyPro has it's headquarters. Although 12DailyPro's administrator, Charis Johnson, has been communicating through website postings, he says there are still a lot of unanswered questions.

Also along the way, Johnson will interview with investigators with the U.S. Postal Service, the U.S. Attorney in Charlotte and the Tennessee Office of Consumer Affairs.

Johnson is not just going for himself. He encouraged a number of friends, neighbors and family members to also join 12DailyPro. He says he feels responsible for them. Friday night, a few of them got together at Johnson's home to talk strategy for the trip.

Johnson has also established a trust through an attorney and is collecting money for possible legal action. He knows that a knock doesn't always open a door. If the doors in Clarksville and Charlotte remain closed, he vows that his next stop will be the courts.

ABC 4 will accompany Johnson on his quest for answers. Watch for reports from both Tennessee and North Carolina beginning Sunday on ABC 4 News at 10:00 p.m.

Autosurf Business

Dear Reader,

Currently all recomendation to join Autosurf program is pending. Due to some FBI investigating and Stormpay issue, I withdraw any recommendation for this moment.

Tq.

Stormpay - Rumors Put to Rest

StormPay Inc. is currently suffering from DDOS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks which prevent StormPay from sending or receiving email communications as well as prevents customers from being able to access their StormPay account’s through the StormPay.com website. These DDOS attacks in no way compromise the security of your StormPay account as they are only designed to prevent legitimate traffic access. Federal authorities are investigating the origination of the attacks and have confirmed that they are very close to making arrests in connection with the DDOS attacks.

We are sure that many of you are aware of the recent controversy with Charis F. Johnson and other “Auto-Surf websites”. The funds of those merchant’s and specifically Charis F. Johnson have been locked in their StormPay accounts as investigations are ongoing into what appears to be massive illegal Ponzi schemes. Any payments you may have received from these “Auto-Surf’s, that were still within the StormPay system have been restored back to the accounts’ of those ‘Auto-Surf’s where the funds are protected and preserved in an effort to try and refund customers who may have been victims of these programs. We can confirm that there will not be enough money available to get everybody reimbursed but we are formulating an orderly plan to reimburse victims to the limited extent that may be possible.

The problem we are seeing is that customers are viewing their "earnings" from the “Auto-Surfing” websites’ and believe that StormPay Inc. is holding funds sufficient to cover those "earnings". StormPay is not holding funds sufficient to cover the alleged "earnings" or "payments" or "payouts" that are reflected on the Auto-Surf’s website (we suspect we are holding only a small fraction of what is being reflected as "owed" to customers on the websites). Some customers that received a "payout" from these “Auto-Surf’s received that at the expense of somebody else who contributed to the program but who may have never received any "payout". Consequently, the reason that we have restored funds back to the accounts of these so called “Auto-Surfs” that represent payments that some members received was so that we can attempt to reimburse as many people as possible. In the usual Ponzi scheme, if you received a payment from the program it had to have come from the payments that another member made to the program. Therefore, if you have received a payment, you received someone else's money. That is the problem with a Ponzi scheme, once it collapses a lot of people get hurt. There is no way to make everybody “whole” and most people will lose money as there simply won't be available funds to make everybody “whole.” The reason that is, once people withdraw their “payouts” or “earnings” out of StormPay, that represents other peoples money, and if the only money coming in is from new “investors” (and not any other source), there is no “new” money available to make payouts or even refunds to some members.

Assume you have a customer (customer #1) who funds their StormPay account with $1000 and sends that money to one of these “Auto-Surf’s”. Then customer #2 follows up by funding their StormPay account and thereafter sends $1200 to the same “Auto-Surf”. Thereafter, the “Auto-Surf” sends $1200 to customer #1 for their percentage of promised “return” on their original “payment" and thereafter, the program shuts down as it did in these cases. In a Pyramid type operation/program/scheme there is no longer any new money coming into the program to pay back customer #2. Customer #2’s payment was what was used to pay customer #1. If this is not a Pyramid operation there should be money to refund customer #2 but there is not in this case. StormPay Inc. cannot allow customer #1 withdraw the money in his StormPay account (which was received from the “Auto-Surf”) into his own personal bank account, since it is really the money belonging to customer #2. The only solution is to reverse as many of the funds as possible so that many more victims of the ponzi/pyramid schemes can be reimbursed their original “investment”. Keep in mind that many of the first people into the schemes have already withdrawn the funds rightfully belonging to the later participants. Despite our best efforts to correct the seemingly wrong doing of these “Auto-Surfs”, there simply will not be enough remaining monies to make everyone “whole”. Again, this is due to those admins and other participants of the programs’ who have withdrawn monies rightfully belonging to others. StormPay Inc. is currently undergoing an audit, near completion, and done with our absolute and complete cooperation, which will show that every penny of money we have ever had control of can and has been accounted for.

StormPay does not permit the processing of payments for any illegal program and our Terms of Service expressly prohibit the processing of any payments for any illegal Ponzi or Pyramid scheme. Our Terms of Service do expressly provide:

“17. Get Rich Quick" Schemes: Get Rich Quick Schemes are prohibited resell items by StormPay. Get Rich Quick schemes include any type of self-employment, start-up businesses, or investment opportunity where the claims of profit or returns on investment are unrealistic or unsupported. By law, if a business opportunity costs $500.00 USD or more, the promoter is required to support any claims regarding earnings or profits with written documentation.

Pyramids don't pay. StormPay Inc. and the Federal Trade Commission caution consumers about clubs or programs that promise quick money for recruiting new members. Don't bank on the pyramid promise that someone else will pay you. For more information on get-rich-quick schemes, visit the FTC at www.ftc.gov.”

There are claims afloat that StormPay Inc. has performed unauthorized charges from customers’ bank accounts or credit cards. StormPay can, and will prove to any and all investigators that all charges made were made from each individual’s own computer, or a computer from which the customer has accessed, and was an authorized charge by that customer. StormPay Inc. intends to investigate each and every assertion wherein it has been claimed that StormPay Inc. initiated and unauthorized bank or credit card debit, and will prosecute those persons, and seek recovery of, all funds wrongfully charged back, including all costs involved to do so.

StormPay Inc. would like to take this opportunity thank it's customers for their continued support - past, present, and future. We very much look forward to the time in which all investigations have been completed and the truth is revealed to the public and our valued customers. We anticipate having access to our website in the coming hours and resuming normal business operations.

Sincerely,

StormPay Inc.
1690 Golf Club Ln.
Clarksville, TN 37043