SEO Company CEO Arrested, Jailed: Accused of Foreclosure Scam
Traffic Power earned an infamous reputation as a search engine optimization firm, allegedly using “black hat” tactics that may have resulted in bans by Google, Yahoo and other search engines.
Now Traffic Power’s CEO is behind bars, jailed for allegedly running a housing foreclosure scam.
Search Engine Watch reader Julie Vazquez tipped us off to the online news story and video by KVBC investigative reporter Mitch Truswell.
Truswell interviewed Carolyn Ellsworth with the Nevada Secretary of State’s office, who said at least sixty homeowners thought Marlon — at times using four different aliases and 45 corporations to allegedly buy homes — could help save them from foreclosure. But he didn’t really buy the house or pay off the mortgage, according to Ellsworth, who told KVBC that Marlon would get the rightful owners out of the house under false pretenses and would, instances, rent the houses to tenants.
KVBC’s report invites viewers who recognize Matt Marlon as the person who tried to buy their house or they thought bought their house, to call the Nevada Secretary of State’s Securities Division at 702-486-2440.
Matt Cutts confirmed that Google has removed traffic-power.com and domains promoted by Traffic Power from Google’s index because of search engine optimization techniques that violated Google webmaster guidelines.
Cutts advises clients or former clients of Traffic Power with site(s) not in Google, to learn what steps to take to be reincluded in Google’s index.
In December, Traffic-Power’s litigious CEO, Matt Marlon, was profiled by Dave Kesmodel in The Wall St. Journal , while the SEO firm’s tactics have been discussed in the Search Engine Watch Forums, Threadwatch and other industry forums.
More about:
The Merkle B2B 2023 Superpowers Index outlines what drives competitive advantage within the business culture and subcultures that are critical to success. It is the indispensable guide for B2B marketers to deliver world-class experiences and keep pace with the dynamic environment. Download Now
The ClicData survey found that various challenges exist that prevent organizations from achieving such gains. These challenges included inaccessible data formats and limited flexibility in displaying data in dashboards. Download Now
The need for fraud prevention in the digital world is critical now more than ever. Why? Thinking about your own behavior, consider how you complete transactions and how this has changed over the last 5 years. Download Now
The need for fraud prevention in the digital world is critical now more than ever. Why? Thinking about your own behavior, consider how you complete transactions and how this has changed over the last 5 years. Download Now