U.S. District Court Appoints Kenneth D. Bell as Temporary Receiver Over Rex Venture Group, LLC d/b/a ZeekRewards.com

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Aug. 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The following statement is being issued to announce the appointment of Kenneth D. Bell as temporary receiver over Rex Venture Group, LLC d/b/a ZeekRewards.com.

Authority of Receiver

On August 17, 2012, Judge Graham C. Mullen of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, Charlotte Division, entered an order appointing Kenneth D. Bell of McGuireWoods LLP as temporary receiver of ZeekRewards for the purposes of marshaling and preserving all assets of ZeekRewards and those assets (a) held or possessed by ZeekRewards; (b) held in constructive trust for ZeekRewards; and (c) fraudulently transferred by ZeekRewards.

The Court's Order gives the Receiver all powers, authorities, rights and privileges that were possessed by ZeekRewards and its officers, directors, members, managers and general and limited partners.

The Receiver assumes and controls the operation of ZeekRewards and, among other things, uses reasonable efforts to determine the nature, location and value of all property interests of ZeekRewards, of whatever kind, which ZeekRewards owns, possesses, has a beneficial interest in, or controls directly or indirectly.  The Receiver will work diligently and efficiently to obtain receivership property and then maintain control and custody of the property.

The Order appointing the Receiver was issued in connection with a lawsuit by the Securities and Exchange Commission alleging that ZeekRewards and its principal, Paul Burks, offered and sold unregistered securities in a combined Ponzi and pyramid scheme.  It is alleged that, since approximately January 2011, ZeekRewards and Burks raised more than $600 million from approximately 1 million investors nationwide and overseas by making unregistered offers and sales of securities through the ZeekRewards website in the form of Premium Subscriptions and VIP Bids.

Receivership Process

The Receiver is systematically obtaining control over the Receivership assets and records (1) by placing affected persons and the public on notice of the Complaint and the Order appointing a temporary receiver, and (2) by physically securing the place of business.

Receiverships generally involve putting into place people and procedures to preserve assets and to analyze the claims against the assets.  After completing that, such receiver would file a motion with the court with a recommendation as to treatment of the assets and claimants.  The proposal would generally be made available to all affected persons.  Such persons would be given an opportunity to object to the proposal and any continuing objections would be determined by the court.  Finally, the assets and claimants would be treated as the Court would determine after reviewing the receiver's recommendations and any objections to them.  Reports will be filed with the Court periodically and major reports will be posted on the Receivership's website.

Contacting the Receivership

The Receivership may only be contacted in writing.  Emails may be sent to: [email protected].

The Receivership's website, which may be found at www.ZeekRewardsReceivership.com, will be the Receiver's primary means of communicating with customers and the public.

SOURCE McGuireWoods LLP