Tuesday, March 18, 2014

The End of the Wicked

This morning I logged on and read that TV pitchman Kevin Trudeau has been sentenced to ten years in prison.  It seemed like the right time to publish this post I put together recently which talks about Trudeau and other famous scammers. 

I don't talk about religion much, but since there are so many people of faith invested in the dinar I thought it might be a good idea to venture out on a certain topic.  In Psalms. 73:3-19 David mentions that he struggled with the fact that dishonest people often prosper while honest people struggle.  He says:

3  ... I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 4 They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. 5 They are free from the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by human ills. 6 Therefore pride is their necklace; they clothe themselves with violence. 7 From their callous hearts comes iniquity; the evil conceits of their minds know no limits. 8 They scoff, and speak with malice; in their arrogance they threaten oppression. 9 Their mouths lay claim to heaven, and their tongues take possession of the earth. 10 Therefore their people turn to them and drink up waters in abundance. 11 They say, "How can God know? Does the Most High have knowledge?" 12 This is what the wicked are like-- always carefree, they increase in wealth. 13 Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence. 14 All day long I have been plagued; I have been punished every morning. 15 If I had said, "I will speak thus," I would have betrayed your children. 16 When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me 17 till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny. 18 Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin. 19 How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors! 



David concludes that the wicked may appear for now to be impervious to any consequences for their actions, but in the end they will surely face the music.  Submitted for your approval ...



Don Lapre
Remember a guy named Don Lapre?  He was known as the king of infomercials, appearing in late night spots for nearly 20 years pitching everything from a classified ad "get rich quick" scheme to 900 number businesses to MLM to vitamins.  In 2011 he was charged with 41 counts of fraud and committed suicide at the age of 47.


Dave Del Dotto





Before him there was a real estate infomercial guy named Dave Del Dotto.  He ended up paying a $200,000 fine for defrauding investors in 1996 and wisely retired from the infomercial game.  He went legit and founded a successful winery in Napa Valley.



Robert Tilton



One man who was inspired by Del Dotto was televangelist Robert Tilton, whose 5,000 member megachurch in the Dallas area dwindled to a congregation of about 300 before being dissolved in 1996 after he was the subject of an ABC Prime Time Live investigation on televangelists.




Kevin Trudeau


Another popular infomercial guy is a douche named Kevin Trudeau.  He also pitched a number of products on television for 20 years before being incarcerated.  From Wikipedia:

He was convicted of larceny and credit card fraud in the early 1990s, and in 1998 he was sued by U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for making false or misleading claims in infomercials promoting his book The Weight-Loss Cure "They" Don't Want You to Know About. In 2004, he settled that action, by agreeing to pay a $500,000 fine and consenting to a lifetime ban on promoting products other than his books via infomercials.   On Nov. 29, 2011, theSeventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a $37.6 million fine levied against him for violating that 2004 settlement. Additionally, on remand, the district court modified its final order, requiring that he post a $2 million bond before engaging in future infomercial advertising.   In April 2013 he was reported to have filed for bankruptcy to avoid fines and stay further Federal prosecution.   In September and October 2013, he was twice briefly jailed for continued failure to pay fines related to his conviction, pleading poverty while continuing to live a lavish lifestyle.   In November 2013, Trudeau was convicted of criminal contempt and incarcerated.

Here's a good journalistic piece on Trudeau.




Klee Irwin


Do you recognize this creepy guy?  He's Klee Irwin of Irwin Naturals, a company that makes bowel cleansing kits which are pitched through infomercials as well.  He was ordered to pay over $2.5 million in fines for fraud and unfair business practices.  Seems the only thing getting cleaned out was the bank accounts of his customers.









Bernie Madoff
Federal Bureau of Prisons - Inmate #61727-054
Then of course there's the story of Bernie Madoff, the famous investment manager who bilked investors out of billions before being charged and convicted of investment fraud.  He ran his investment firm/ponzi scheme for nearly half a century before it all came tumbling down on him.  He's now serving what amounts to a life sentence in a prison in North Carolina.  





I could include a few dozen more if I had the time.  Scammers have been hawking worthless crap on TV and the internet since they were invented.  Everything from diet pills/supplements to exercise equipment to winning lottery techniques to miraculous stock trading software.  But I think I've made my point.  I'm bringing all of this out for a couple of reasons.  First, you should know that 90% of what you see in infomercials and investment enticements is BS.  This is why we have the BBB, Consumer Reports, the SEC, the FTC ... etc.  Always proceed with caution with any claims that sound dubious, and double check everything.  And second, this should serve as a warning to scammer wannabees.  You might get away with it for awhile, but judgment day always comes.  You might be riding high on the naivety of others today, but you're going to be brought down eventually. 

The bible also says "Better is the poor that walketh in his uprightness, than he that is perverse in his ways, though he be rich." (Prov. 28:6)    In other words, you're better off honest and poor than a rich douchebag.  (That's the Sam I Am paraphrase.)

All of these people made millions by defrauding the public.  They all appeared successful and untouchable at one time, but they all had to pay the piper when the music ended.  Such will be the fate of those behind the dinar scam.



For further reading:


http://www.infomercial-hell.com/

http://www.quackwatch.com/

http://money.howstuffworks.com/personal-finance/financial-planning/investment-scams1.htm

http://www.johntreed.com/Reedgururating.html#anchor496881



 



10 comments:

  1. I hate to disagree with you, Sam, but I think many of the dinar clowns will get away with it. I think some already have. People like Loechin or Flashing that just fade away. Or people like TD that claim to have an epiphany and suddenly change their view. These people have caused great financial and emotional harm to others and won't be held accountable. Unfortunately, in the history of man, there have been cons, shysters and flim flam artists trying to exploit the emotional vulnerabilities of their fellow man. While it's encouraging that some of them are caught and finally held to account for their lies and deception, there are far more that are never exposed. I think the dinar scam will be no different. Most of the scammers will escape with nothing more than the ire of their disciples.

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    1. I tend to agree with your statement. I think the percentage of people who bought into this is minor and of that percentage very few if any were of the "wealthy elite" so it tends to go unnoticed or ignored by the PTB. Also, sales via television and radio aren't the norm so FCC flags weren't being raised.

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    2. I'm not saying that everybody who has ever said "GO RV" is going to prison, but I do believe that the main players in this scam are going to get their come-uppance sooner or later. O.J. Simpson didn't go to prison for murder, but he's still incarcerated. Joran van der Sloot didn't go to prison for the Natalee Holloway case, but he's still rotting away in a Peruvian prison. As I indicated with Bernie Madoff, sometimes it takes decades for the consequences to unfold, but they always seem to have a way of catching up with these douchebags.

      According to Marcus Curtis' research there are tens of trillions of dinar being held by millions of speculators around the world. This thing is much bigger than most people realize, and when the RD eventually happens the magnitude of it will hit with full impact. Then the authorities will be forced to respond IMO.

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  2. Great, Sam....just brilliant.

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  3. With the probable exception of Madoff it would seem these guys are small compared to the massive Dinar scam so how do the gurus/dealers get away with it? It's really frustrating, this just goes on and on and it seems that no matter how blatant the lies and no matter how obvious this scam is the law seems, for the most part, to be completely unconcerned!

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  4. Thanks Sam, I was shocked to read that Kevin Trudeau was sent to prison. I bought his book Natural Cures in 2005 and never really thought I was had. I've seen him on the tele evangelists Joyce Meyer and Benny Hinn. I was an Evangelist until 2006 when I got sober and woke up lol.The tele evangelists are some of the biggest douchebags preying on people who are poor or sick telling them through their own personal ''I have a special connection'' experience with God they can prosper or be healed by them.I literally believed Benny Hinns healings and sang in the choir of one of his healing conferences.I literally look at people who have goatees differently since watching these scam artists on tv. Mike Murdoch is one of the most disgusting of the disgusting on tv.I hope Tony Turd reads this Trudeau got 10 yrs for stealing $30 from people not thousands like TURD.

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  5. Its interesting that Trudeau was jailed for violating a previous court order.

    "Trudeau, 51, was sentenced to 10 years on Monday for criminal contempt for violating a 2004 federal court order that prohibited him from making misleading infomercials and misrepresenting his weight-loss books." http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/17/justice/illinois-pitch-man/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

    So that previous trial in 2004 does not seem to have been able to convict him directly or at least was not able to impose a prison sentence, but did mange to issue an order to "stop doing it" so to speak. Whether or not the dinar scam will continue long enough for a similar situation to unfold, is not clear.

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  6. and hopefully this moron will be right there with him along with poppy, millionday and all the rest of the lying scammers

    BGG – (Article quote) Kanani and pointed out that “the coin can not be used in Iraq as long as there is inflation in prices,” he said, adding that “the success of the road is used to remove three zeros from the Iraqi dinar.” - this is Prince Kanani talking – he says “YOU CAN’T HAVE COINS WHILE YOU HAVE 000 notes”!! (basically – you have to raise the value…). Like I said – no matter what happens – this is a very public topic.
    OK SO BGG, ALL THEY HAVE TO DO IS LOP THE ZEROS OFF! SO THEN YOU CAN HAVE COINS AS YOU PUT IT!

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  7. With more and more doubt creeping into Dinarland, faith in the RV eroding, and more warnings from state agencies about this scam, what is a Dinar huckster to do these days to keep up those VIP memberships?

    Prizes of course!
    Adam Montana 3/18/2014 http://snipurl.com/28pv645

    "So that's it for this week! Just a quick reminder, there's a special VIP
    deal going on right now, and at the end of the month 3 of you VIP's
    will be chosen to receive the following:

    3rd place: 250,000 dinar
    2nd place: 500,000 dinar
    1st place: 1,000,000 dinar and a complimentary Platinum VIP account!

    You have to be a VIP to qualify! "

    What's next, toasters? I think we can rule out coupons for investment advise from a certified fiduciary.

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  8. And guess who will win these prizes?????? Three of "Montana's" alter egos of course!

    What? Am I suggesting this promotion is a scam? Would "Adam" actually scam his flock? Naw he wouldn't do THAT would he? REALLY?

    What do you think?

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