Steve Renner, founder of Acesse Corporation, faces renewed scrutiny as his current venture, Acesse, appears to mirror the structure of iNetGlobal, a company previously investigated for operating a suspected Ponzi scheme. Federal agents raided Renner's Minneapolis business, Inter-Mark Corp., on February 24, 2010, seizing files and computers in connection with alleged fraud affecting tens of thousands globally.

John Kirkwood, Special Agent in Charge for the Secret Service in Minneapolis at the time, confirmed the agency investigated "a suspected Ponzi scheme that is headquartered in Minneapolis and that is operating over the Internet." A court order allowed the Secret Service to seize funds from bank accounts believed to hold proceeds from this alleged fraud. Approximately $22 million was returned to iNetGlobal victims in 2011, though no charges were ever filed against Renner or the company.

Renner was serving an 18-month jail sentence for tax fraud related to an earlier venture, Cash Cards International, when iNetGlobal received permission to restart operations in June 2011. Conditions for the restart included Renner's disassociation from the company. Its compensation plan, financial statements, and internet products underwent review by outside experts. Inter-Mark resumed business in July 2010.

The iNetGlobal model required affiliates to invest $2000 and earn returns by clicking advertisements and recruiting new participants. This structure is a classic Ponzi/pyramid hybrid. The reasons for the lack of further prosecution remain unclear. Today, the iNetGlobal website is defunct, but Google search results show a redirect to Acesse.

Acesse, under Renner's renewed leadership, lacks transparency on its website regarding its ownership and operations. While its "about" page vaguely claims the company started in 2006 as a small ISP, domain registration records list Steve Renner as the owner, with a Minnesota address. His LinkedIn profile identifies him as the "Founder of Acesse Corporation, a global leader of internet products and advertising services for small businesses."

Renner asserts Acesse serves over 500,000 customers across 200 countries. He claims the site ranks among the top 500 most trafficked worldwide. He divides his time between Minneapolis, a Silicon Valley tech center in Redwood City, and a Hong Kong office. The US addresses appear on the Acesse site, but the Hong Kong location does not. The California address hosts multiple businesses, suggesting a rented virtual office or a mailbox. The Minnesota address appears to be a legitimate physical location.

Alexa traffic data, however, indicates a different operational reality. China accounts for 78.8% of Acesse visitors. Taiwan (6.3%), Japan (5.5%), the US (2.4%), and South Korea (1.6%) complete the top five. This data suggests Acesse operates predominantly from Hong Kong, despite its US figurehead. At the time of this report, Alexa ranked Acesse as the 162nd most visited site in China and 1050th globally.

Acesse offers no identifiable retailable products or services. A "purchase products" link leads to a page describing "v-services" as "essential business and communication tools." Clicking "View and Purchase Services!" redirects to an affiliate login page. No pricing or product details are available to the general public, indicating that these "v-services" are not intended for retail customers.

Instead, Acesse sells three packages exclusively to affiliates: the Small Business Package for $559.95, the Executive Business Package for $2059.95, and the Corporate Business Package for $5000. Each package includes advertising credits meant for displaying ads to other Acesse affiliates.

The company employs a multi-level marketing structure with six affiliate ranks: Consultant, Gold Executive, Platinum Executive, Diamond Executive, Blue Diamond Executive, and Black Diamond Ambassador. Each rank demands specific recruitment and spending requirements tied to an "autoship" system, where affiliates purchase ads shown to other affiliates at costs ranging from 15 to 25 cents each.

Affiliates receive daily returns based on their investment level: $1 per day for the Small Business package, $6 per day for the Executive Business package, and $9 per day for the Corporate Business package. To qualify for these daily returns, affiliates must view 25 company-supplied ads each day.

Recruitment commissions are paid through a unilevel structure spanning twelve levels, with percentages varying by affiliate rank. An additional Infinity Bonus extends commissions beyond the twelfth level through generations. Affiliate membership requires purchasing one of these packages, with higher-tier packages granting greater income potential.

Affiliate marketing pitches promise investors will recoup their money "as long as you are committed to viewing 25 Ads per day, that's a commitment of just 15 minutes a day!" Some promoters claim members earn over $300 daily, with others reportedly exceeding $10,000 daily.

Acesse's website features a search engine, implying it operates a proprietary search platform. However, source code analysis reveals the site uses multiple spreadsheet templates referencing OpenSearch, a collection of simple formats for sharing search results, and mentions Baidu, a Chinese search engine. Acesse uses OpenSearch to syndicate third-party search results and possesses no unique search technology or properties.

The core of Acesse's operation involves affiliates buying into packages ranging from $559 to $5000, recruiting others, and receiving a daily portion of newly invested funds company-wide. Referral commissions are paid on recruited investments through the unilevel structure. This model resurrects the AdSurfDaily autosurf scheme, bundled with an irrelevant search platform, and is primarily based in China.

The absence of retail pricing on the website demonstrates a lack of legitimate non-affiliate advertisers. Only newly invested affiliate funds pay existing investors, a hallmark of a classic Ponzi scheme. The advertising component serves solely to perpetuate the fraud, as affiliates must view ads to qualify for their daily returns.

The system also includes a pay-to-play element. Purchasing the Executive Business Package ($559.95) grants Gold Executive rank, while the Corporate Business Package ($5000) confers Platinum Executive rank, both tied to increased income potential.

Given Acesse's focus on Chinese markets, the lack of intervention from US regulators is notable, particularly considering Renner's past legal issues in the United States. Acesse's current compensation plan, paying a maximum of $9 daily ($270 every 30 days) on a $5000 investment, suggests a long-term scheme. An investor would need 555 days to break even on a single $5000 investment, without accounting for referral commissions, before drawing funds from later investors. Acesse has not been operating this compensation plan for that duration.

Barring regulatory intervention, the scheme will likely collapse once Ponzi liabilities exceed new affiliate intake. There is no external interest beyond the affiliate program; the funds affiliates invest are the only source for payouts. The advertised $9 daily returns plus referral commissions are not sustainable indefinitely.

The full extent of the iNetGlobal situation in 2010 remains ambiguous, but it clearly constituted a scam that regulators should have permanently shut down. Its re-emergence as Acesse now spreads this financial instability across Asia. The total amount investors have put into Acesse is currently unknown.