Sequence Inc. Fraud Files Blog

Failure rates in YTB and other MLMs

Noted MLM expert Robert FitzPatrick did a recent blog post on the YourTravelBiz.com lawsuit filed by the California Attorney General. He has a nice analysis of how and why YTB is nothing more than a pyramid. These multi-level marketing companies are almost always the same, they each just have a different “hook.” In this case, [...]

What Joe Biden says about his running mate

Expert Fraud Investigation hits Amazon.com

My next book, Expert Fraud Investigation: A Step-by-Step Guide won’t be out until February 9, 2009, but it’s already on Amazon.com and available for pre-order. From the product description: A fraud investigation is aimed at examining evidence to determine if a fraud occurred, how it happened, who was involved, and how much money was lost. Investigations occur [...]

What does another expert say about mortgage acceleration programs like United First Financial?

Don’t just take it from me and from Dave Ramsey. We think the mortgage accelerator program sold by United First Financial for $3,500 is a waste of money. We’re pretty smart, but are there other smart people who agree with us? YES! Jack M. Guttentag is  Professor of Finance Emeritus and former Jacob Safra Professor [...]

More wasting of taxpayer money by MPS (surprise!)

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ran this story a few days ago, and it’s just so indicative of the mismanagement of the district from a financial standpoint. No one in the private sector would get away with wasting billions of dollars and not be held accountable. Yet the district will again spend almost $1.2 billion or [...]

Usana’s new REV3 Energy Drink

Back in April I told you that Usana Health Sciences (NASDAQ:USNA) would be rolling out a new “energy drink” at their annual convention: The new product is an energy drink. Apparently, studies by Usana show that you could get a bigger kick from a cup of coffee, but they are counting on the cult mentality to [...]

Only in Eugene Kane’s world

For those who aren’t local to Milwaukee, Eugene Kane is a columnist for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel who writes about racism. No matter what happens, it’s always motivated by racism. The debate about light rail has been going on for years. The bottom line is that it won’t work for Milwaukee. It’s too expensive, will have [...]

United First Financial Lies: You can pay off your mortgage faster with no change in spending

Probably the biggest single lie told by United First Financial “agents” is that you can pay off your mortgage faster than scheduled, with no change in your spending or lifestlye. That sounds too good to be true, because it is. Simple math debunks this claim. Think about it. If you’re currently paying $1,500 a month on [...]

Carnival of Fraud - August 18, 2008

Welcome to the August 18, 2008 edition of carnival of fraud. Helen Anderson presents Protect Yourself When Shopping Online posted at Savings Accounts. Jeremy presents Criminal Charges: Volume I posted at blogs.creditcards.com. Tracy Coenen presents When money talks, Mark Shurtleff listens posted at Fraud Files Blog.

When money talks, Mark Shurtleff listens

How much does it cost to get Mark Shurtleff, Utah’s Attorney General, to lie for you? Apparently only $5,000. What a bargain! Today Sam Antar has an enlightening piece on his blog, entitled “Overstock.com (NASDAQ: OSTK) CEO Patrick Byrne Pays Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff to Defame a Blogger.” It details a situation in which a [...]