Thu 15 May 08 · Filed under Pyramid Schemes & MLM, Scam Busting
Recently, someone on my consumer awareness site Pink Truth asked about United First Financial. I did some quick research and came to the conclusion that it was a typical multi-level marketing scheme… basically a pyramid scheme that relies on the continuous recruitment of new members. I didn’t think another thing about the company.
But a fellow blogger on the personal finance site WalletPop recommended the company today and I couldn’t believe it, so I had to do some research again. She promoted United First Financial as a program that is “the debt snowball on steroids.” She spent $3,500 to sign up for their “program” to help her reduce her debt. [Read more...]
Thu 15 May 08 · Filed under Fraud News Stories
This comment was left on WalletPop, AOL’s personal finance blog. He was responding to a thread on hidden taxes and an ongoing discussion there.
Our current tax system is so complex that many of the taxes we pay are in fact, hidden from us. Consumers often rant about how big naughty corporations should pay their fair share of taxes. Yet the truth is that those taxes on corporations are actually paid by consumers. It’s just done in a convoluted way that obscures who’s really paying!
The comments relative to The Fair Tax: [Read more...]
Wed 14 May 08 · Filed under Pyramid Schemes & MLM, Scam Busting
As Barry Minkow (Fraud Discovery Institute), Dr. Jon Taylor, Robert FitzPatrick, Eric Scheibeler and others (including me) continue the unpopular fight against multi-level marketing companies (which are nothing more than disguised pyramid schemes), I occasionally come across items of interest…
Like this one. Did you know that Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff has received tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from Pre-Paid Legal Services (NYSE:PPD)? He has. [Read more...]
Wed 14 May 08 · Filed under Scam Busting
A couple of years ago, I got sucked into LinkedIn, thanks to my friend Ben. It was supposed to be a way to share your professional contacts with other professionals of your choosing. You set up your profile, and you start linking to others.
They can see your list of links (unless you hide it, which totally defeats the whole purpose) and you can see theirs. Then the race is on to link to some of their contacts and begin to build your network. [Read more...]
Tue 13 May 08 · Filed under Pyramid Schemes & MLM
In an article today about the Usana Health Sciences (NASDAQ:USNA) buyout offer by Myron Wentz (Gull Holdings), the following inaccurate statement was made:
The Securities and Exchange Commission concluded during the first quarter USANA’s marketing model is not a pyramid scheme, but the stock has a short interest about 34 percent, meaning many investors are betting the stock will fall.
The SEC did not say that Usana is “not a pyramid scheme.” Nothing could be further from the truth, although company management would like you to believe that this is what the SEC said. [Read more...]
Tue 13 May 08 · Filed under Fraud News Stories
The Milwaukee NBC affiliate is reporting that Corinna Kuhnke allowed her 2-year-old to smoke a cigarette at a restaurant. Witnesses say that a woman with Kuhnke and her son lit the cigarette that the boy put in his mouth. Kuhnke denies it all, and says that her son just got his hands on her cigarettes that were on the table, but that no one lit it.
Kuhnke and her aunt both received citations for giving tobacco to a minor.
Tue 13 May 08 · Filed under Scam Busting
This morning, it was announced that Usana founder and current chairman and CEO Myron Wentz offered to buy all outstanding stock of Usana Health Sciences (NASDAQ:USNA) at $26.00 per share. The closing price of the stock on May 12 was $20.83, so this represented almost a 25% premium.
The buyout would be made through Unity Acquisition Corp, an entity controlled by Gull Holdings. Gull Holdings is owned by Myron Wentz, and that entity (along with the “other participants” in the buyout) owns 68% of Usana currently.
Experts speculated that the company might be taken private in order to prevent future scrutiny by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Indeed, the company says that going private will give them “significant cost savings.”
Mon 12 May 08 · Filed under Productivity & Professional Development
Have I ever mentioned how sick of headhunters I am? Well I am. I don’t want their phone calls. I don’t want their emails. I don’t want the crappy job they’re offering, and I don’t know anyone who is qualified to apply for the crappy job they’re offering. It’s not crappy, they say? I don’t care. I don’t want to discuss it.
I know you didn’t “get my name from someone while networking.” That lie is old. Quit using it. I know you found me in a CPA directory or on the internet. When you lie, I hate you even more. So can we stop the charade?
What must I do to get headhunters to quit contacting me? Any suggestions are deeply appreciated.
Mon 12 May 08 · Filed under Fraud News Stories
Question: Did Enron have good cash flow?
Answer: No. That was one of the signs that a fraud was occurring. In spite of financial statements that showed increasing revenue and profits, the company was constantly in a poor cash position. This is one common red flag of fraud discussed in my book, Essentials of Corporate Fraud.
Mon 12 May 08 · Filed under Fraud News Stories
One of Milwaukee’s largest Catholic churches is likely the victim of financial fraud at the hands of a now dismissed priest. Leaders at St. John Vianney in Brookfield are urging people not to rush to judgment and to wait until the forensic examination is over and we have all the facts. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like the news will be good.
Last December, Father Leonard Van Vlaenderen was arrested and charged with misdemeanor cocaine possession. He has pleaded no contest to the charge and will be sentenced this month. He was put on leave from the church, and three parishoners began examining the church’s books. [Read more...]
Older Posts »
