WebProNews

TrafficPower's history is rather nasty, and includes allegations of black-hat SEO tactics that ultimately got them and their clients banned from Google's index. The company subsequently changed its name to 1P, which apparently is now also defunct, perhaps after word got out that it was the same company labeled by commentators as "the lowest of the low."

 

In general, they didn't like people talking about it, hence the lawsuits and the bad blood. The SEO community contributed to Wall's legal fund, and Google's Matt Cutts, in a rare report, confirmed that TrafficPower was banned from Google's index.

 

And then we didn't hear much about them for a long time, until this week. TrafficPower CEO Matt Marlon is spending the new year in a Las Vegas jail as Nevada police investigate how many people he allegedly scammed out of their homes.

 

SearchEngineWatch makes the connection that Marlon is/was the CEO of TrafficPower, which isn't mentioned in the initial KVBC report. According to KVBC, Marlon researched local records in order to find out whose homes were near foreclosure. He'd then show up with paperwork and a notary and tell the troubled owners he'd buy their house or pay off their mortgage.

 

Only he didn't do that. He just got them out of the house so he could rent it to other people. KVBC reports that Nevada's Secretary of State Office is looking for more people who might recognize him, as he used about four aliases and created 45 corporations to pretend-buy people's homes. Marlon is also said to have scammed the government offices with fake stock certificates to get out of paying property transfer taxes.