A publishing network drew consumer complaints and regulator actions for two decades. Across the record, one individual was criminally convicted: a marketing employee. This is that record, built entirely from public filings.
Each entry is a public court filing or government action. The order is the argument: the warnings were on the record for years before anyone acted.
The SEC sued Agora, its subsidiary Pirate Investor, and Frank Porter Stansberry over emails selling "inside information" about a stock. Judgment ran against Pirate Investor and Stansberry only, roughly $1.55M, affirmed by the Fourth Circuit in 2009. Agora Inc. itself was found not liable.
Public review platforms carried complaints about Money Map Press products and the MOBE affiliate program years before any enforcement action against either.
The FTC acted against MOBE and its principal. Resolved without admission of liability; the program ceased operations. Arrington participated as an affiliate.
The FTC accused Agora and affiliates of deceptive marketing of health and financial products. Settled for $2 million, without admission of liability, with a bar on false or unsupported claims.
Federal wire-fraud case in the District of Maryland (RDB-19-0264), concerning charges on a corporate American Express account. The only individual criminally convicted across these matters. Supervised release was terminated early on April 1, 2025, as satisfactory.
The City of Baltimore alleges violations of its Consumer Protection Ordinance, naming the holding company, the shared-services affiliate, and multiple editors. The City argues the network's shifting roster of affiliates lets it evade responsibility. Agora denies the claims, cites First Amendment concerns, and moved to dismiss on July 30, 2026.
Figures as stated in the Baltimore filing and contemporaneous reporting on the Agora network.
The City names the parent, the shared-services arm, and the operating affiliates as defendants. This is the structure a former employee's 2019 research had already assembled.
Independent of any characterization, these records are authenticated and establish the employment relationship. Email exhibits carry passing DKIM signatures.
April 11, 2011, confirmed in a 2016 email from the direct supervisor.
A 2016 email from the company's own mail system calls the employee a "trail blazer in the industry" and "partner and friend."
A 2018 thread on an outside consultant, copied to multiple staff, showing the initiative was known at the supervisory level.
IRS Form 1099-K documents, tax returns, a business EIN registration, and 2013–2016 PayPal transaction history.
Supervised release ended April 1, 2025, found "warranted by the conduct of the released defendant and the interest of justice."
Carfagno v. Money Map Press (M.D. Fla., 2019) and Ingram v. Money Map Press (N.D. Cal., dismissed 2024).
Across this network, a public record of consumer complaints preceded each enforcement event by years. The corporate entities resolved their matters by settlement without admission of liability and continue operating. The one individual criminally convicted was a marketing employee.