Litigation

Running a profitable franchise

Posted on May 18, 2008
Owning a franchise can be the best and the worst of times. Franchises are successful because the parent company has a proven business model, excellent training and business development guidelines, a brand that has a lot of goodwill with customers, and advertising leverage that a single owner could never have...

This week?s WalletPop personal finance articles

Posted on May 18, 2008
You’re not going to miss $5,000 - Politicians spending your money again! Don’t spend my tax dollars to prove the Patriots are cheaters! - Yes, we know they’re cheaters. Get over it! More discounts at Wal-Mart benefit consumers across the board - Wal-Mart haters take note: They’ve helped keep prices low, wherever you shop...

The United First Financial system is based on the Australian banking system!

Posted on May 18, 2008
I have had a ton of fun researching the United First Financial “program” being sold for $3,500 by multi-level marketing people. The more I read, the more it’s clear that this is a bad way to spend $3,500. Apparently, telling consumers that it was based on the “Australian banking system” is intended to give it some [...

Maybe auditors aren?t as smart as they want you to think they are

Posted on May 17, 2008
Francine McKenna over at re: The Auditors has a nice piece about Dan Stulac, a former Arthur Andersen partner who was in charge of the Peregrine Systems audit. Dan used the “I was duped” defense in his criminal case (charges of conspiracy, securities fraud, and wire fraud)...

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United First Financial agent compensation plan

Posted on May 17, 2008
In researching United First Financial and the Money Merge Account, there weren’t many sources of information on the compensation structure for agents. What I do know is this: The official corporate website does not mention “the opportunity” or “business opportunity,” as most other multi-level marketing companies do...

I can save you $68,504 (without United First Financial)

Posted on May 16, 2008
I promise this will be my last post for today on United First Financial. The more research I do, the more I think this company’s program sucks. Those who promote it suck. And those who participate… they’re suckers. So here’s how my plan works, and I’m giving you this for free! I’m using a $200,000 [...

What does Dave Ramsey think about United First Financial

Posted on May 16, 2008
In my book, Dave Ramsey is hands down one of the best and most credible experts on getting out of debt. While I disagree with him on a few technicalities, we’re on the same page for most of what he preaches. The guy talks sense. So when United First Financial representatives scammers began emailing me, calling [...

Fun with numbers: I can save you $19,714 (without United First Financial)

Posted on May 16, 2008
Yesterday I wrote about my research on a multi-level marketing company called United First Financial. My problem with the company is not that what they’re selling isn’t good or doesn’t help people. The plan can help people pay down their debt faster...

Great comments on The Fair Tax proposal

Posted on May 15, 2008
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 [...

A new pyramid scheme: United First Financial

Posted on May 15, 2008
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...

Supporting pyramid schemes is lucrative for politicians

Posted on May 14, 2008
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...

LinkedIn: Like a bad chain letter

Posted on May 14, 2008
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 [...

Irresponsible reporting about Usana by The Associated Press

Posted on May 13, 2008
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 [...

Nominee for Mother of the Year

Posted on May 13, 2008
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 [...

Usana Health Sciences buyout news

Posted on May 13, 2008
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...

You ask Google, I answer

Posted on May 12, 2008
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.

Fraud at local church likely

Posted on May 12, 2008
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...

Carnival of Fraud - May 12, 2008

Posted on May 12, 2008
Welcome to the May 12, 2008 edition of carnival of fraud. Tracy Coenen presents Mary Kay Cosmetics suing little company for daring to make money off Pink posted at The Fraud Files Blog, saying “Mary Kay Inc. is trying to shut down a small company that helps consultants get rid of excess inventory...

How does one get headhunters to leave her alone?

Posted on May 12, 2008
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...

This week?s articles from AOL?s blog WalletPop

Posted on May 10, 2008
Still writing a lot for AOL but having a good time doing it! Win some spending money at Comic Wonder - A very cool site started by local serial entrepreneurs. And you think YOUR kids are expensive? - The Duggars are at it again. Child #18 on the way. What would a gas tax holiday really do for [...

Mary Kay Cosmetics suing little company for daring to make money off Pink

Posted on May 09, 2008
This is outrageous! Touch of Pink Cosmetics is a company that buys excess inventory from current and former Mary Kay consultants and then resells it to their customers. They basically help these people who were frontloaded with tons of product, purchasing it from them at a discount and then passing those savings on to consumers...

Former Herbalife Director of Venezuela and Columbia comes forward with Fraud Claims, Reports Fraud Discovery Institute

Posted on May 09, 2008
Herbalife (NYSE: HLF) whistleblower says illegal acts likely responsible for region’s dramatic supervisor growth Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) executives identified Venezuela as a Top 10 market for the company in their May 2, 2008, conference call, and indeed, triple digit new supervisor growth was reported there in the first quarter...

eBay going PayPal only?

Posted on May 09, 2008
eBay is considering going “PayPal only” and is starting the policy in Australia in June. How do you suppose eBay users will react to this? I suspect not well. Not well at all. When eBay bought PayPal a couple of years ago, buyers and sellers recognized that eBay was going to be getting greater profits off [...

Usana insiders unloading stock prior to the release of Barry Minkow?s report

Posted on May 08, 2008
This message was posted today on the Yahoo stock board. I sometimes forget about this. About the fact that Kroll tipped off Usana Health Sciences (NASDAQ:USNA) about Barry Minkow’s investigation of the company and how these insiders unloaded a ton of stock right before the release of the report...

Essentials of Corporate Fraud featured on Networking Today

Posted on May 08, 2008
Barb Bartlein’s article about my book, Essentials of Corporate Fraud, was featured on Networking Today last week. A big thank you to Barb for creating such great buzz about my book, and for help getting the word out about what executives need to know about employee fraud.

Usana Health Sciences ordered to pay Barry Minkow?s legal fees

Posted on May 07, 2008
Judge Alba just ruled that Usana Health Sciences (NASDAQ: USNA) must pay the legal fees of Barry Minkow and Fraud Discovery Institute for its bogus lawsuit. $142,510 to be paid by Usana!

Could it be my lucky day?

Posted on May 06, 2008
It could… Upstart Blogger is giving away more cool stuff. This time it’s a great domain name with an established blog with a stream of advertising revenue. Not a bad giveaway, if I might say so myself.  So here I am, throwing my name in the hat and maybe (just maybe) I will win...

Huffington Post writes about Tim Sykes and his new website

Posted on May 06, 2008
The Huffington Post ran a really nice story about the one and only Timothy Sykes today. Tim just rolled out a new website, which is kind of a portal for everything related to stock trading. Of course he peddles his book and DVD set there, but he also details his stock trades and teaches others [...

LifeLock sucks?

Posted on May 06, 2008
I did a post yesterday on WalletPop about LifeLock. They basically advertise services to protect you from identity thieves. When the service first was unveiled, I was intrigued. So much so, that I signed up to be an affiliate. (I never actually marketed the services as an affiliate, sold any products, or received any compensation, though...

Nominee for Mother of the Year

Posted on May 05, 2008
Mother: Angelique R. Vandeburg of Sheboygan Act: Shooting her daughter with a BB gun to win a $1 bet with her boyfriend Last week, Vandeburg’s 8-year-old daughter reported the incident to a school counselor. She said that her mom had 10 to 12 beers with her boyfriend, and the boyfriend offered Vandeburg $1 to shoot the girl [...

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