The Fall of PhoenixSurf: Not my fault, says Jonathan Mikula

James Ryan Jonas

Non est mea culpa. Not my fault.

This is what Jonathan Mikula seems to be saying about the fall of PhoenixSurf (www.phoenixsurf.com), the erstwhile popular autosurf program he used to run.

In an interview with The Red and Black, student newspaper of the University of Georgia, Jonathan Mikula chronicled the collapse of the autosurf program:

In November 2005, Mikula’s company, New Millennium Entrepreneurs (NME), registered PhoenixSurf.com as a limited liability corporation with the Georgia Secretary of State.

Soon afterwards, Mikula enlisted the help of Organa Consulting and Avante Holding Group, consultation firms run by Florida businessmen Christian Rishel, Michael Hawkins, and Jason Benoit. Mikula admitted they needed consultants to help operate the autosurf program because they were “inadequate in certain areas in terms to run the site.”

Non est mea culpa. Not my fault.

This is what Jonathan Mikula seems to be saying about the fall of PhoenixSurf (www.phoenixsurf.com), the erstwhile popular autosurf program he used to run.

In an interview with The Red and Black, student newspaper of the University of Georgia, Jonathan Mikula chronicled the collapse of the autosurf program:

In November 2005, Mikula’s company, New Millennium Entrepreneurs (NME), registered PhoenixSurf.com as a limited liability corporation with the Georgia Secretary of State.

Soon afterwards, Mikula enlisted the help of Organa Consulting and Avante Holding Group, consultation firms run by Florida businessmen Christian Rishel, Michael Hawkins, and Jason Benoit. Mikula admitted they needed consultants to help operate the autosurf program because they were “inadequate in certain areas in terms to run the site.”

Non est mea culpa. Not my fault.

This is what Jonathan Mikula seems to be saying about the fall of PhoenixSurf (www.phoenixsurf.com), the erstwhile popular autosurf program he used to run.

In an interview with The Red and Black, student newspaper of the University of Georgia, Jonathan Mikula chronicled the collapse of the autosurf program:

In November 2005, Mikula’s company, New Millennium Entrepreneurs (NME), registered PhoenixSurf.com as a limited liability corporation with the Georgia Secretary of State.

Soon afterwards, Mikula enlisted the help of Organa Consulting and Avante Holding Group, consultation firms run by Florida businessmen Christian Rishel, Michael Hawkins, and Jason Benoit. Mikula admitted they needed consultants to help operate the autosurf program because they were “inadequate in certain areas in terms to run the site.”

Non est mea culpa. Not my fault.

This is what Jonathan Mikula seems to be saying about the fall of PhoenixSurf (www.phoenixsurf.com), the erstwhile popular autosurf program he used to run.

In an interview with The Red and Black, student newspaper of the University of Georgia, Jonathan Mikula chronicled the collapse of the autosurf program:

In November 2005, Mikula’s company, New Millennium Entrepreneurs (NME), registered PhoenixSurf.com as a limited liability corporation with the Georgia Secretary of State.

Soon afterwards, Mikula enlisted the help of Organa Consulting and Avante Holding Group, consultation firms run by Florida businessmen Christian Rishel, Michael Hawkins, and Jason Benoit. Mikula admitted they needed consultants to help operate the autosurf program because they were “inadequate in certain areas in terms to run the site.”

Non est mea culpa. Not my fault.

This is what Jonathan Mikula seems to be saying about the fall of PhoenixSurf (www.phoenixsurf.com), the erstwhile popular autosurf program he used to run.

In an interview with The Red and Black, student newspaper of the University of Georgia, Jonathan Mikula chronicled the collapse of the autosurf program:

In November 2005, Mikula’s company, New Millennium Entrepreneurs (NME), registered PhoenixSurf.com as a limited liability corporation with the Georgia Secretary of State.

Soon afterwards, Mikula enlisted the help of Organa Consulting and Avante Holding Group, consultation firms run by Florida businessmen Christian Rishel, Michael Hawkins, and Jason Benoit. Mikula admitted they needed consultants to help operate the autosurf program because they were “inadequate in certain areas in terms to run the site.”

Supposed terms of the deal included:

  • Investing monies in IPO’s (initial public offering) controlled and selected by the consultants, generating “quick and huge” profits which would render Phoenixsurf.com to be profitable and in compliance with all securities laws;
  • Finding legal counsel to insure that Phoenixsurf.com was operating in a legal manner; and
  • Filing a request for a “No Action” letter from the SEC. The letter does not approve or endorse a business’s methods, but indicates that the SEC does not see a basis to take any legal action against a business.

Sabotage

Mikula, however, claimed that Rishel, Hawkins, and Benoit sabotaged the program by violating federal and state securities laws, hacking the site, and stealing money. The three allegedly intended PhoenixSurf to collapse so that investors would move to AdTitans (www.adtitans.com), another autosurf program owned and operated by the three.

According to lawsuits filed by Mikula and other NME members in the Middle District Court of Georgia, the three invested more than $1.5 million worth of NME funds in companies they controlled without prior consent from NME or Phoenixsurf.

Mikula claimed they saw no return from those investments. “It would have been wonderful to know about these investments,” he said. “We were told they were IPO’s that would flip quickly.”

The three, however, defended themselves in lawsuits filed in the Brevard County circuit court in Florida, saying these IPO investments were “long term growth types investments and do not provide significant (if any) cash flow to the investor.”

These investments formed only a small part of NME’s entire investment portfolio, they added, designed to show independent income to support PhoenixSurf.

Embezzlement 

A more serious accusation Mikula had against the three was the alleged embezzlement of NME  and PhoenixSurf funds. Mikula claimed Rishel, Hawkins, and Benoit used their control over the computer program to convert more than $2 million of funds to themselves in various ways including sending money to fictitious accounts.

In one instance, Rishel supposedly told one PhoenixSurf.com member, Chase Shuman, to move more than half a million dollars of PhoenixSurf funds into accounts controlled by himself, Benoit, and Hawkins to “protect” the money from hacking and DDOS attacks.

Despite the apparent arrangement that the funds were to be held “in escrow,” Mikula claimed Rishel never returned the money.

Mikula also accused Gabe Frankewich, President of PhoenixSurf.com, of conspiring with Hawkins, Rishel, and Benoit to embezzle money from the autosurf program. More than $95,000 of PhoenixSurf funds were allegedly transferred to Frankewich to pay for an unnamed payment processor.

“He bought a payment processor and we never got our hands on it,” Mikula said.

Who’s to blame? 

Attempts of The Red and Black to reach Hawkins, Rishel, Benoit, and Frankewich for comment were unsuccessful, but in the lawsuits filed in Florida and in counterclaimants filed in Georgia, they all denied Mikula’s allegations.

The complete transcript of The Red and Black article is posted here. 

Who do you think was responsible for the collapse of PhoenixSurf? Share your thoughts in the PhoenixSurf board in the PMT Forum.

Supposed terms of the deal included:

  • Investing monies in IPO’s (initial public offering) controlled and selected by the consultants, generating “quick and huge” profits which would render Phoenixsurf.com to be profitable and in compliance with all securities laws;
  • Finding legal counsel to insure that Phoenixsurf.com was operating in a legal manner; and
  • Filing a request for a “No Action” letter from the SEC. The letter does not approve or endorse a business’s methods, but indicates that the SEC does not see a basis to take any legal action against a business.

Sabotage

Mikula, however, claimed that Rishel, Hawkins, and Benoit sabotaged the program by violating federal and state securities laws, hacking the site, and stealing money. The three allegedly intended PhoenixSurf to collapse so that investors would move to AdTitans (www.adtitans.com), another autosurf program owned and operated by the three.

According to lawsuits filed by Mikula and other NME members in the Middle District Court of Georgia, the three invested more than $1.5 million worth of NME funds in companies they controlled without prior consent from NME or Phoenixsurf.

Mikula claimed they saw no return from those investments. “It would have been wonderful to know about these investments,” he said. “We were told they were IPO’s that would flip quickly.”

The three, however, defended themselves in lawsuits filed in the Brevard County circuit court in Florida, saying these IPO investments were “long term growth types investments and do not provide significant (if any) cash flow to the investor.”

These investments formed only a small part of NME’s entire investment portfolio, they added, designed to show independent income to support PhoenixSurf.

Embezzlement 

A more serious accusation Mikula had against the three was the alleged embezzlement of NME  and PhoenixSurf funds. Mikula claimed Rishel, Hawkins, and Benoit used their control over the computer program to convert more than $2 million of funds to themselves in various ways including sending money to fictitious accounts.

In one instance, Rishel supposedly told one PhoenixSurf.com member, Chase Shuman, to move more than half a million dollars of PhoenixSurf funds into accounts controlled by himself, Benoit, and Hawkins to “protect” the money from hacking and DDOS attacks.

Despite the apparent arrangement that the funds were to be held “in escrow,” Mikula claimed Rishel never returned the money.

Mikula also accused Gabe Frankewich, President of PhoenixSurf.com, of conspiring with Hawkins, Rishel, and Benoit to embezzle money from the autosurf program. More than $95,000 of PhoenixSurf funds were allegedly transferred to Frankewich to pay for an unnamed payment processor.

“He bought a payment processor and we never got our hands on it,” Mikula said.

Who’s to blame? 

Attempts of The Red and Black to reach Hawkins, Rishel, Benoit, and Frankewich for comment were unsuccessful, but in the lawsuits filed in Florida and in counterclaimants filed in Georgia, they all denied Mikula’s allegations.

The complete transcript of The Red and Black article is posted here.

Who do you think was responsible for the collapse of PhoenixSurf? Share your thoughts in the PhoenixSurf board in the PMT Forum.

Supposed terms of the deal included:

  • Investing monies in IPO’s (initial public offering) controlled and selected by the consultants, generating “quick and huge” profits which would render Phoenixsurf.com to be profitable and in compliance with all securities laws;
  • Finding legal counsel to insure that Phoenixsurf.com was operating in a legal manner; and
  • Filing a request for a “No Action” letter from the SEC. The letter does not approve or endorse a business’s methods, but indicates that the SEC does not see a basis to take any legal action against a business.

Sabotage

Mikula, however, claimed that Rishel, Hawkins, and Benoit sabotaged the program by violating federal and state securities laws, hacking the site, and stealing money. The three allegedly intended PhoenixSurf to collapse so that investors would move to AdTitans (www.adtitans.com), another autosurf program owned and operated by the three.

According to lawsuits filed by Mikula and other NME members in the Middle District Court of Georgia, the three invested more than $1.5 million worth of NME funds in companies they controlled without prior consent from NME or Phoenixsurf.

Mikula claimed they saw no return from those investments. “It would have been wonderful to know about these investments,” he said. “We were told they were IPO’s that would flip quickly.”

The three, however, defended themselves in lawsuits filed in the Brevard County circuit court in Florida, saying these IPO investments were “long term growth types investments and do not provide significant (if any) cash flow to the investor.”

These investments formed only a small part of NME’s entire investment portfolio, they added, designed to show independent income to support PhoenixSurf.

Embezzlement 

A more serious accusation Mikula had against the three was the alleged embezzlement of NME  and PhoenixSurf funds. Mikula claimed Rishel, Hawkins, and Benoit used their control over the computer program to convert more than $2 million of funds to themselves in various ways including sending money to fictitious accounts.

In one instance, Rishel supposedly told one PhoenixSurf.com member, Chase Shuman, to move more than half a million dollars of PhoenixSurf funds into accounts controlled by himself, Benoit, and Hawkins to “protect” the money from hacking and DDOS attacks.

Despite the apparent arrangement that the funds were to be held “in escrow,” Mikula claimed Rishel never returned the money.

Mikula also accused Gabe Frankewich, President of PhoenixSurf.com, of conspiring with Hawkins, Rishel, and Benoit to embezzle money from the autosurf program. More than $95,000 of PhoenixSurf funds were allegedly transferred to Frankewich to pay for an unnamed payment processor.

“He bought a payment processor and we never got our hands on it,” Mikula said.

Who’s to blame? 

Attempts of The Red and Black to reach Hawkins, Rishel, Benoit, and Frankewich for comment were unsuccessful, but in the lawsuits filed in Florida and in counterclaimants filed in Georgia, they all denied Mikula’s allegations.

The complete transcript of The Red and Black article is posted here. 

Who do you think was responsible for the collapse of PhoenixSurf? Share your thoughts in the PhoenixSurf board in the PMT Forum.

Supposed terms of the deal included:

  • Investing monies in IPO’s (initial public offering) controlled and selected by the consultants, generating “quick and huge” profits which would render Phoenixsurf.com to be profitable and in compliance with all securities laws;
  • Finding legal counsel to insure that Phoenixsurf.com was operating in a legal manner; and
  • Filing a request for a “No Action” letter from the SEC. The letter does not approve or endorse a business’s methods, but indicates that the SEC does not see a basis to take any legal action against a business.

Sabotage

Mikula, however, claimed that Rishel, Hawkins, and Benoit sabotaged the program by violating federal and state securities laws, hacking the site, and stealing money. The three allegedly intended PhoenixSurf to collapse so that investors would move to AdTitans (www.adtitans.com), another autosurf program owned and operated by the three.

According to lawsuits filed by Mikula and other NME members in the Middle District Court of Georgia, the three invested more than $1.5 million worth of NME funds in companies they controlled without prior consent from NME or Phoenixsurf.

Mikula claimed they saw no return from those investments. “It would have been wonderful to know about these investments,” he said. “We were told they were IPO’s that would flip quickly.”

The three, however, defended themselves in lawsuits filed in the Brevard County circuit court in Florida, saying these IPO investments were “long term growth types investments and do not provide significant (if any) cash flow to the investor.”

These investments formed only a small part of NME’s entire investment portfolio, they added, designed to show independent income to support PhoenixSurf.

Embezzlement 

A more serious accusation Mikula had against the three was the alleged embezzlement of NME  and PhoenixSurf funds. Mikula claimed Rishel, Hawkins, and Benoit used their control over the computer program to convert more than $2 million of funds to themselves in various ways including sending money to fictitious accounts.

In one instance, Rishel supposedly told one PhoenixSurf.com member, Chase Shuman, to move more than half a million dollars of PhoenixSurf funds into accounts controlled by himself, Benoit, and Hawkins to “protect” the money from hacking and DDOS attacks.

Despite the apparent arrangement that the funds were to be held “in escrow,” Mikula claimed Rishel never returned the money.

Mikula also accused Gabe Frankewich, President of PhoenixSurf.com, of conspiring with Hawkins, Rishel, and Benoit to embezzle money from the autosurf program. More than $95,000 of PhoenixSurf funds were allegedly transferred to Frankewich to pay for an unnamed payment processor.

“He bought a payment processor and we never got our hands on it,” Mikula said.

Who’s to blame? 

Attempts of The Red and Black to reach Hawkins, Rishel, Benoit, and Frankewich for comment were unsuccessful, but in the lawsuits filed in Florida and in counterclaimants filed in Georgia, they all denied Mikula’s allegations.

The complete transcript of The Red and Black article is posted here. 

Who do you think was responsible for the collapse of PhoenixSurf? Share your thoughts in the PhoenixSurf board in the PMT Forum.

Supposed terms of the deal included:

  • Investing monies in IPO’s (initial public offering) controlled and selected by the consultants, generating “quick and huge” profits which would render Phoenixsurf.com to be profitable and in compliance with all securities laws;
  • Finding legal counsel to insure that Phoenixsurf.com was operating in a legal manner; and
  • Filing a request for a “No Action” letter from the SEC. The letter does not approve or endorse a business’s methods, but indicates that the SEC does not see a basis to take any legal action against a business.

Sabotage

Mikula, however, claimed that Rishel, Hawkins, and Benoit sabotaged the program by violating federal and state securities laws, hacking the site, and stealing money. The three allegedly intended PhoenixSurf to collapse so that investors would move to AdTitans (www.adtitans.com), another autosurf program owned and operated by the three.

According to lawsuits filed by Mikula and other NME members in the Middle District Court of Georgia, the three invested more than $1.5 million worth of NME funds in companies they controlled without prior consent from NME or Phoenixsurf.

Mikula claimed they saw no return from those investments. “It would have been wonderful to know about these investments,” he said. “We were told they were IPO’s that would flip quickly.”

The three, however, defended themselves in lawsuits filed in the Brevard County circuit court in Florida, saying these IPO investments were “long term growth types investments and do not provide significant (if any) cash flow to the investor.”

These investments formed only a small part of NME’s entire investment portfolio, they added, designed to show independent income to support PhoenixSurf.

Embezzlement 

A more serious accusation Mikula had against the three was the alleged embezzlement of NME  and PhoenixSurf funds. Mikula claimed Rishel, Hawkins, and Benoit used their control over the computer program to convert more than $2 million of funds to themselves in various ways including sending money to fictitious accounts.

In one instance, Rishel supposedly told one PhoenixSurf.com member, Chase Shuman, to move more than half a million dollars of PhoenixSurf funds into accounts controlled by himself, Benoit, and Hawkins to “protect” the money from hacking and DDOS attacks.

Despite the apparent arrangement that the funds were to be held “in escrow,” Mikula claimed Rishel never returned the money.

Mikula also accused Gabe Frankewich, President of PhoenixSurf.com, of conspiring with Hawkins, Rishel, and Benoit to embezzle money from the autosurf program. More than $95,000 of PhoenixSurf funds were allegedly transferred to Frankewich to pay for an unnamed payment processor.

“He bought a payment processor and we never got our hands on it,” Mikula said.

Who’s to blame? 

Attempts of The Red and Black to reach Hawkins, Rishel, Benoit, and Frankewich for comment were unsuccessful, but in the lawsuits filed in Florida and in counterclaimants filed in Georgia, they all denied Mikula’s allegations.

The complete transcript of The Red and Black article is posted here. 

Who do you think was responsible for the collapse of PhoenixSurf? Share your thoughts in the PhoenixSurf board in the PMT Forum.

James Ryan Jonas teaches business management, investments, and entrepreneurship at the University of the Philippines (UP). He is also the Executive Director of UP Provident Fund Inc., managing and investing P3.2 Billion ($56.4 Million) worth of retirement funds on behalf of thousands of UP employees.