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View Full Version : Rod Cook and Kerry Lee Hein & the Scambusters Triumphing Against Medifast



Soapboxmom
04-02-2011, 05:25 PM
Rod Cook opinined:
MLM Illegal PrePaid Legal, Medifast, Usana, Herbalife - MLM CRITICS MINKOW, ROBERT FITZPATRICK, JON TAYLOR..... USANA STOCK SCAM? (http://www.mlmwatchdog.com/MLM_pyramid_Minkow_Robert_Fitzpatrick_Jon_Taylor.h tml)



ROBERT L. FITZPATRICK NAILED TO THE WALL IN THE MEDIFAST CASE!

1 April 2011 -- No April Fools Day joke here! Editor's opinion note: Here is the lawsuit by Medifast, read the end of it! Anti-MLMer Robert L. Fitzpatrick is going to be paying some serious damages to Medifast. What does that mean? Robert L. Fitzpatrick will be living out of the trunk of a car... and eating at swank garbage cans! Minkow we will skip since he will be back in Club Fed (Federal Prison)....

ROBERT L. FITZPATRICK

31 March 2011 - Editor’s Opinion Note: This part of the deposition was poor in your Editor's opinion. Section II, page 45 of Robert Fitpatrick’s book “False Profits” is titled “The Scene of the Crime.” The terms used in this Section II “Scene of the crime” are “we and “us". They leave no doubt that Robert Fitzpatrick was a participant in the criminal “Airplane” Pyramid Scheme. Thus, just like Barry Minkow, Robert Fitz participated in criminal activity. The only difference is that Barry Minkow was caught and jailed. Barry Minkow and Robert Fitzpatrick still have one more thing in common, which is recidivism and falling back into their criminal activity by lying and attacking the MLM Industry. Ed. Opinion Note: Barry Minkow is headed back to prison, too bad his recidivist buddy Robert L. Fitzpatrick is not going with him!...

Ed. Note: In my opinion the FBI is no doubt looking at Minkow’s earlier short selling of Herbalife, Prepaid Legal, Medifast. No doubt they are looking at his co-horts Jon Taylor and Robert Fitzpatrick in those fraudulent short sells of MLM publicly traded...

Editor’s Notes: Minkow’s Fraud Discovery (Creation I call it) Attacked MLM Public Companies and successfully lowered their stock prices. The case he is being convicted on is a large house builder. However I bet some of these MLM Companies may have contributed information to the legal action taken against Minkow since he attacked them:

PrePaid Legal, Herbalife, USANA, Medifast

It is too bad that his cohorts in some of these Minkow scam MLM short sells Robert Fitzpatrick and John Taylor were not included in his latest short selling scam. They could have gotten hand cuffs too!...

Editors opinion note: Minkow was aided by Robert Fitzpatrick who, by his past actions, is an un-convicted felon in your editor's opinion....

opinion note: It would be nice if the SEC gave Minkow and Fitzpatrick adjoining cells as a result of their investigation of Fraud Discovery Institute....

BARRY MINKOW - FDI -ROBERT FITZPATRICK - CAUGHT IN SHORT SELL

I asked our colleagues at Quatloos for their thoughts on this. Wserra was kind enough to reply here. (http://www.quatloos.com/Q-Forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=6729&start=20)

I find it hilarious Kerry Lee Hein viciously attacks MLM critics with nonsense personal attacks and totally unfounded criminal allegations like these. Barry Minkow has shorted stock on several occasions and paid the price. There is zero evidence that anyone who provided a professionally prepared report to him was in any way involved in these stock shenanigans. Please see the judge's decision (http://www.sequenceinc.com/fraudfiles/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Medifast-Order.pdf)page 21. But, our bonehead colossal MLM failure Kerry Lee Hein (Ohein56) was quick to start a thread accusing MLM critics of criminal activity. He is the same knucklehead who claims the MLM critics attacking MLM have no evidence themselves. Interestingly, he has yet to refute anything he disagrees with by producing facts of course.

Now as to the most recent case Heiney and Cook have been blathering about, here is the judge's decision (http://www.sequenceinc.com/fraudfiles/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Medifast-Order.pdf). The scambusters had a resounding victory. Minkow and Coenen's motions were granted and they are out and Minkow got his cost of courts awarded to him. Fitzpatrick's motion was granted in part.

Medifast can proceed on the issue of Fitzpatrick making criminal allegations about them violating state law, however Medifast has to prove those allegations. I am sure Mr. Fitzpatrick's report was well researched and substantiated as is his custom from what I have read. Will Medifast be able to prove that there are sufficient retail sales (those to folks that are not in the pay plan) to demonstrate there is no violation of the pyramid statue in CA? That is the only issue that will go forward. I recall a similiar suit where claims of retail sales were decided by the judge to be form over substance as the payout though alleged to be tied to the product in essence really was a recruitment payment as there was such an appalling lack of retail sales to the general public.

I watch the MLM industry and retail sales are generally laughable. Melaleuca has a relatively high number compared to many MLMs and only 60% of the purchasers are retail customers. USANA I believe was running around 20%. Ignite / Stream electric had 2.75 customers per rep the last time I calculated it. This lack of retail sales is one reason why the vast majority of reps are losing money in these deals. The real money is in being at the top of the pyramid recruiting. The little guys sure aren't selling enough to even cover their own purchases. The only way Medifast can win is to basicly make all their numbers public and prove that there is no way a reasonable person would conclude they violated CA law I take it. Robert Fitzpatrick always documents everything carefully and I think his conclusions have always made good sense. This is definitely one to watch.

Soapboxmom

GlimDropper
04-02-2011, 07:13 PM
I must admit to being a little disappointed in Mr.Cook over this article. It isn't infrequent that I disagree with some of Rod's opinions but by and large I think he's coming from the right place. I'm not as staunchly anti-MLM as SBM but clearly not as favorable to it as Mr.Cook, but while we might have slightly different interpretations of what is or isn't a scam it's quite plain, all three of us are against them.

Barry Minkow gets part of the blame here. Even Len Clements admits that for some time in the past Mr.Minkow did some very fine scam busting but Barry's subsequent actions (buying Put options on publicly traded stock companies as he accused them of being scams) has wiped out much if not all the good things he'd done previously. Now the people Minkow offended in the past are trying to paint some of the people who worked with Minkow with the same brush. In a way it's almost natural but I would have expected a man with as good a reputation as Rod Cook to check his facts before publishing a story like that. Oh well, we all make mistakes. I know I sure do. And so it would seem does Rod.

I remember an MC Escher drawing, one hand holding a pencil drawing another hand holding a pencil which in typical Escher style, was in turn drawing the first hand. I'm by no means adverse to non sequiturs but let's see if I can explain why that picture sprung to mind. We start off with Rod Cook unfairly comparing Robert Fitzpatrick to Barry Minkow, the two did work together but there is no evidence that Fitzpatrick is involved with any of the issues the law is finding with Minkow. Then move on to my good friend SBM unfairly comparing Rod Cook to a rather tiresome forum poster who I'm sure we're all glad hasn't elected to join us over here. OK, maybe not MC Escher so much as Slug Signorino. In writing what SBM quoted above, Rod Cook was not having his best day. We do disagree in some specific definitions of what makes a scam but Mr.Cook is a scam buster worthy of respect who reaches a crowd we don't. Even if he's only as fallible as we are.

Soapboxmom
04-02-2011, 08:13 PM
Whoops! Not intending to compare Rod Cook to poor hapless Kerry, a walking advertisement for the devastating effects of MLM addiction. I was pointing out that both of them have been making these same criminal and unfounded allegations. Barry Minkow has been accused of stock manipulation on more than one occasion and it appears his greed will be his downfall. He comes up with excellent information, but just can't stay on the straight and narrow.

Kerry takes great delight in quoting Cook. Cook has made a few good points about MLM, especially acknowledging that a retail sale should be to an end user and not a participant in the pay plan, but for the most part I don't agree with anything he says. I believe we should all insist on the publishing of the evidence Cook has that led him to accuse Fitzpatrick and Taylor of wrongdoing. Where is there one shred of evidence they made a dime off of any company stock with Minkow? I bet Cook has zero evidence.

Cook is usually on the opposite side of the fence from Robert Fitpatrick and Dr. Jon Taylor whose work I do find very informative and trustworthy. Of course, with these latest wild accusations I have lost all respect for Cook. This exchange (http://www.mlmwatchdog.com/MLM_Lies_Myths_2.html)on the same subject with our own little Lenny Clements weighing in does nothing to boost my opinion of Cook. What a bunch. Clements neglects to mention he got legitimate posts removed from yahoo, Scam and elsewhere himself in a desperate effort to sweep things under the rug, so how can he complain about his own posts being removed. Can't have it both ways, now can we. Time for them boh to join us here and have a real debate!

Soapboxmom

Soapboxmom
04-02-2011, 09:53 PM
Medifast “Take Shape For Life” Lawsuit: Total vindication for Tracy Coenen in SLAPP suit

Posted on March 29th, 2011
More than a year ago, Medifast Inc. (NYSE:MED) sued me, my company Sequence Inc, Barry Minkow, his company Fraud Discovery Institute, Robert FitzPatrick, William Lobdell, and an anonymous message board poster for defamation (http://www.sequenceinc.com/fraudfiles/2010/02/19/medifast-files-lawsuit-fraud-discovery-institute-reopens-investigation/). Barry Minkow and FDI initiated an investigation of the company in 2008, and the rest of us researched the company and contributed our opinions to FDI’s reports on the company and its multi-level marketing division Take Shape For Life (TSFL).
We criticized the company and its MLM business model. We expressed negative opinions about the disclosures Medifast makes about this “business opportunity.” I dared to suggest that Medifast might be a weight loss pyramid scheme (http://www.sequenceinc.com/fraudfiles/2009/09/14/medifast-and-take-shape-for-life-weight-loss-pyramid-scheme/).
A year after the first report on the company was released by FDI, Medifast sued us for $270 million (http://www.sequenceinc.com/fraudfiles/2010/02/19/medifast-files-lawsuit-fraud-discovery-institute-reopens-investigation/), alleging defamation, criminal conspiracy, unfair business practices, and market manipulation. The defendants each filed anti-SLAPP motions (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_lawsuit_against_public_participation), basically saying that Medifast was attempting to silence critics in violation of our First Amendment rights.
It was clear to me that Medifast was trying to intimidate anyone who might dare to criticize the company (http://www.sequenceinc.com/fraudfiles/2010/07/20/medifast-is-abusing-the-legal-system-to-punish-critics-of-take-shape-for-life/). Give a negative opinion of Medifast and TSFL, and you too could be subject to a malicious multi-million dollar lawsuit filed by a company with deep pockets. And don’t expect those suing you to play fair. Medifast took the opportunity to blatantly lie to the court on multiple occasions (http://www.sequenceinc.com/fraudfiles/2010/04/13/medifast-lawyers-continue-to-lie-to-the-court/).
The defendants each filed anti-SLAPP motions in the case (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_lawsuit_against_public_participation), requiring the defendants to prove that their activity is protected conduct (such as free speech protected by the First Amendment), and requiring the plaintiff to demonstrate a probability of prevailing on their claims.
After months of discovery and hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees, the process ended with oral arguments in front of Judge Janis Sammartino. In a decision released today (http://www.sequenceinc.com/fraudfiles/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Medifast-Order.pdf), the judge granted my anti-SLAPP motion and I will be dismissed from the case.
What does this mean? The truth has prevailed (http://www.sequenceinc.com/fraudfiles/2011/01/18/the-truth-comes-out-in-the-medifast-litigation/). Total vindication for Tracy Coenen in the malicious lawsuit brought by Medifast Inc. The judge ruled that I did not defame Medifast, and now Medifast is on the hook for all of my legal fees, which are in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. It should be noted that Bill Lobdell, Barry Minkow, ibzreporting.com, and Fraud Discovery Institute were all dismissed from the case as well. Medifast is allowed to proceed against Robert FitzPatrick on the issue of libel per se.

While it may be true that Barry Minkow has engaged in some bad acts (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704438104576219662795056534.html), I did not know about any of them and I did not participate in any of them. I was simply a consultant doing work for a client, and I stand behind the work I did. While Barry may have (http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/2010/12/barry_minkow_destroys_evidence.php) lied to the court, fabricated documentation, destroyed evidence, concealed witnesses, and intentionally hid information, I was not involved in any of those bad acts and did not know that they were occurring. I never engaged in any misconduct in any litigation, and I was not involved in the concealment or destruction of any evidence.
The court has ruled in the Medifast case, and I have been exonerated. It has taken a long time and a lot of money, but the judge has made it clear that I did not defame Medifast, and the company was not justified in bringing suit against me. (Analysis of the judge’s decision coming in future articles.)
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I have been in Tracy's shoes. Trying to silence critcs can cost the filer of the frivolous suit more than hundreds of thousands in attorney fees. The frivolous filers often find their business destroyed by such shenanigans. And, to those out there who have scammed people. If you have ripped someone off. Do yourself a favor and pay up fairly. The bad publicity generated can be an exceedingly high price to pay not mentioning the attorney fees, of course.

I intend to keep exposing scams and their perpetrators and am grateful for the chance to help folks avoid being taken. Kudos to our good friend Tracy for standing up for all of us legitimate critics!!!

Soapboxmom

wserra
04-03-2011, 11:09 AM
It isn't infrequent that I disagree with some of Rod's opinions but by and large I think he's coming from the right place.

It's not clear to me why you think that. AS SBM posted above, I go through Cook's latest diatribe on Quatloos (http://quatloos.com/Q-Forum/viewtopic.php?p=117140#p117140). Some of it is false, and most is misleading. That isn't "not having his best day", that's pandering BS.

And it isn't the first time. I can't pretend I regularly read Cook, but I have when he discusses subjects that interest me. For example, here (http://www.mlmwatchdog.com/mlm_scams_minkow_taylor_usana.html) is his earlier diatribe on Minkow and USANA. Some excerpts (remember this is supposedly about USANA, not Lennar):
Well, three days later, Barry Minkow's Fraud Discovery Institute submits a smear job to the SEC saying Usana was a bunch of crooks. That was all false, and it turns out, as a federal judge in Florida has found, Barry Minkow didn’t really do any researchFalse. The Florida suit was Lennar, not USANA, and it was in state court, not federal court. The USANA suit was in Utah, and the judge there found that Minkow was truthful (technically, that USANA had no reasonable likelihood of showing that Minkow's claims were defamatory).


Usana filed a defamation lawsuit against Minkow and his FDI and asked the SEC to investigate the source of the allegations against Usana. Now that defamation lawsuit has gained power with the stockholder lawsuit being dropped and the SEC backing off. That leaves Barry Minkow, John Taylor Phd and Robert Fitzpatrick left hung out to dry. Because of all the scam information they have put out the defamation lawsuit should be very exciting

Amazingly, on a lengthy page devoted to Minkow and USANA, Cook never reports on the outcome - all of USANA's defamation claims dismissed, USANA directed to pay Minkow $142K in costs and attorneys' fees, and then USANA and Minkow settling. Nice "hung out to dry".

Why didn't Cook report this? Well, let's look at his home page. Right on top: "Our Golden Word Helping Good Folks make money". If he said the truth - that even with the poster boys for the "industry", your chances of making what you would make at the counter at Mickey D's are slim to none - there wouldn't be a lot of reasons for folks to read his golden words.

Or buy his books. Or his paid subscriptions.

GlimDropper
04-03-2011, 04:47 PM
Thank you for stopping by wserra, your contributions are always most welcome here. Even, hell especially when inviting me to clarify my position.

Permit me to back up for a moment, I was raised in the sort of Baptist church that wore the title "fundamentalist" as a badge of honor. Stark, grim and absolute were they in their faith that there was always and only one way to interpret the Bible and anyone who disagreed with them was not only wrong but likely going to hell. It seemed as a matter of focus they were less concerned with amplifying what good things could be done on earth so much as defining all the ways people were going to be damned. I forget what Latin American tragedy happened thirty some years ago but I can recall pointing out that some charities connected with the Catholic church stepped in to aid it's victims. "Sure, they'll feed those peoples bodies today but they'll be starving their souls with false faith" was what i was told. I didn't bother to mention that our church wasn't doing anything to feed those victims bodies or souls.

I'm not drawing any equivalencies here but rather encouraging some sort of ecumenical pragmatism. I can and do disagree with Rod Cook on many things, his writings that you and SBM have presented here are fine examples. However you know as well as I do that arguing with a scam promoter in some ways is a fools errand, you wont convince them nor they you, generally your best efforts are spent using that promoter as a sounding board to convince people reading the argument not to buy into that scam. Make sure that the important facts are available and pick the pitch apart, level the playing field for the consumer by letting them make a more informed decision, that is many times the best we can do.

But there's an additional problem, there are certain "sovereign citizens" for example who might listen to me but would never listen to a B.A.R. carded attorney like yourself despite the fact that your advice is generally far better than mine and unquestionably better in your area of professional expertise. In the very same way there are people who'd never listen to some "anti-MLM zealots" about scams like Ad Surf Daily or MPBToday but who will listen to man like Rod Cook. It's very easy to point out that his definition of a scam isn't the same as yours or mine, in fact there are some important reasons to point that out. But Rod Cook does have an audience and he does warn those people against some things we all agree are scams.

We're all a product of our upbringing and perhaps my quest for finding common ground is an over reaction to the monomania of mine own. But I don't have to agree with everything someone does to make mention of the things they do that I do agree with.

Doc Bunkum
04-04-2011, 01:35 PM
If you want a definition of the word "retarded" you should read some of the stupid stuff airhead is posting on scam.

ie:


Great quote Kerry!

Now, who would you respect and believe more, the man above (Senator Orrin Hatch) or a failed chef, a lawyer who spends all day on a forum and a woman who gets herself fined 3 grand in a court for contempt?


The problem with you, this lawyer geezer and SBM is that you all believe every MLM is a scam. Thats where you look stupid.

And no, I dont have any money invested in MLM, it pays me to be in it.


He's sooo successful he has the time to moderate a whole forum, all by himself.

Anti-MLM BS.

Regardless of what I do with MLM or not, the DIrect Selling industry is here to stay. Like it or not. Get over it.

Hey Chris, here's another one for your quote thread...


Well said Senator Hatch!

I'm pretty sure Senator Hatch has a much better grasp on Direct Selling/Network Marketing than the Anti-MLM wrecking crew. I'm open to his message. Forget Doc & his anti-MLM goons. They're 110% clueless.:judges:

Hey Doc, tell SBM thanks for posting me along with Rod Cook. I'll wear that like a badge of honor. Thanks!:rasta:

Kerry

... and so on and so forth ad nauseam.

Soapboxmom
04-04-2011, 03:55 PM
Let's follow the money:
Orrin G. Hatch: Campaign Finance/Money - Top Donors - Senator 2010 | OpenSecrets (http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/contrib.php?cycle=2010&cid=n00009869&type=I&newmem=N)


Senator Orrin G. Hatch has reported a total of 989 contributions ($200 or more) totaling $1,029,736 in the current cycle. http://www.opensecrets.org/img/politicians/search.gif (http://www.opensecrets.org/indivs/index.php?cand=Hatch%2C+Orrin+G&c2010=Y) Top 20 Contributors to Campaign Cmte

Rank http://images.opensecrets.org/arrownone.gif (http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/contrib.php?cycle=2010&cid=n00009869&type=I&newmem=N#)Contributor http://images.opensecrets.org/arrownone.gif (http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/contrib.php?cycle=2010&cid=n00009869&type=I&newmem=N#)Total http://images.opensecrets.org/arrownone.gif (http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/contrib.php?cycle=2010&cid=n00009869&type=I&newmem=N#)Indivs http://images.opensecrets.org/arrownone.gif (http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/contrib.php?cycle=2010&cid=n00009869&type=I&newmem=N#)PACs http://images.opensecrets.org/arrownone.gif (http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/contrib.php?cycle=2010&cid=n00009869&type=I&newmem=N#)
1Blue Cross/Blue Shield (http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/summary.php?id=D000000109)$52,603$27,100$25,503
2Xango LLC$46,200$46,200$0
3Schering-Plough Corp$38,000$23,000$15,000
4Herbalife International$35,280$21,200$14,080
5Bear Stearns (http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/affiliates.php?id=D000000103)$30,700$27,700$3,000
6Eli Lilly & Co (http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/summary.php?id=D000000166)$30,500$21,500$9,000
7Headwaters Inc$28,500$17,500$11,000
8General Electric (http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/summary.php?id=D000000125)$28,000$18,500$9,500
9Fresenius Medical Care$27,402$17,800$9,602
10Nu Skin Enterprises$27,000$27,000$0
11Amgen Inc$26,400$14,400$12,000
12EnergySolutions Inc$26,300$20,300$6,000
13Dell Inc$25,500$15,500$10,000
14Hewlett-Packard$25,050$15,050$10,000
15St Jude Medical$25,000$19,000$6,000
16Intel Corp$22,700$13,700$9,000
17Oracle Corp$22,600$21,100$1,500
18Micron Technology$22,450$22,450$0
19JPMorgan Chase & Co (http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/summary.php?id=D000000103)$22,000$17,000$5,000
20DLA Piper (http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/summary.php?id=D000021569)$21,500$10,750$10,750

Hatch is in MLM central -- Utah. He is bought and paid for. These MLMs tell him wild tales of the American Way and entrepreneurship etc. What about selling overpriced, overhyped products MLM style is in the least bit entrepreneurial? Absolutely nothing! Many very well educated and well read people are not aware of the inherent fraud that is MLM. I believe MLM does severe economic harm and since 97% or more of those involved lose money the harm is self-evident.

Hatch depends on those MLMs to fund his campaigns. Who is going to bite the hand that feeds them?

Sopaboxmom

Doc Bunkum
04-04-2011, 04:26 PM
Now isn't that just special! :RpS_laugh:

Good find!

Good ol' Senator Hatch - who follows his LDS faith's admonition against smoking, took the fifth-most money this year among all congressional candidates from tobacco interests. The $13,000 he took was more than was donated to such tobacco-state politicians as Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C. ($11,000), and Rep. Mike McIntyre, D-N.C. ($9,500).

As MormonTruth blog (http://mormontruth.blogspot.com/2005/10/orrin-hatch-perfect-mormon-hypocrite.html) noted...

"Now if we can just find where Orrin Hatch profits from porno, then the circle will be complete."

Soapboxmom
04-04-2011, 04:29 PM
Now as to Chrissy and Kerry contending that the scambusters have been put in their place, how does they explain that every allegation save one went in the favor of the scambusters? Only one issue is left to litigate. Tracy Coenen and Barry Minkow got all their costs of court awarded them is well. A complete victory and vindication.

Robert Fitzpatrick published a report that also went to law enforcement explaining why he believed Medifast was operating illegally in regards to the "endless chain" or pyramid statues of California. Now, I don't know how the libel law in California reads, but let's discuss some possible outcomes for this last issue.

I will guarantee that he came to that conclusion based on his understanding of the law and good solid information. So, in addition to the boatloads of discovery already turned over this could lead to more. Medifast is going to have to reveal all their numbers no matter how embarassing to prove that they are in fact compliant with the law and so Fitzpatrick can prepare his defense.

What MLM would, after being ordered to pay all costs of court for the other defendants, keep going on this one single issue. Hundreds of thousands in additional legal fees could be garnered and lots of embarassing information could be made public. I have watched scams collapse after foolish legal adventures like this. I would think it will accomplish exactly what the scambusters desired all along which was to warn and inform the public so folks can make a decision based on the facts.

I will be watching this one closely. Maybe Kerry and Chris will volunteer to testify as MLM experts. I mean who wouldn't take Kerry seriously as he has been in almost a dozen MLMs and never exceeded $800 a month in earnings. Come on!!!

Soapboxmom

laidback
04-04-2011, 04:31 PM
Now isn't that just special! :RpS_laugh:

Good find!

Good ol' Senator Hatch - who follows his LDS faith's admonition against smoking, took the fifth-most money this year among all congressional candidates from tobacco interests. The $13,000 he took was more than was donated to such tobacco-state politicians as Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C. ($11,000), and Rep. Mike McIntyre, D-N.C. ($9,500).

As MormonTruth blog (http://mormontruth.blogspot.com/2005/10/orrin-hatch-perfect-mormon-hypocrite.html) noted...

"Now if we can just find where Orrin Hatch profits from porno, then the circle will be complete."

LOL, maybe some of his 'wives' are in the business...?

Doc Bunkum
04-04-2011, 07:26 PM
Oh goody! :RpS_smile:

Lenny finally weighs in on this!

4/4/2011
Minkow Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy/Fraud - Robert FitzPatrick to be Tried for Libel (http://www.marketwaveinc.com/viewalert.asp?id=147)

littleroundman
04-04-2011, 07:48 PM
Oh goody! :RpS_smile:

Lenny finally weighs in on this!

4/4/2011
Minkow Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy/Fraud - Robert FitzPatrick to be Tried for Libel (http://www.marketwaveinc.com/viewalert.asp?id=147)

There's one major problem with what is said in that article, and that's the fact Clements said it.

Poor ol' Lenny's reputation now precedes him wherever he goes and whatever he says.

The Clements believability ratings are so low, he could discover the secret to solving the Middle East crisis or promote world peace and absolutely nobody would pay any attention.

Spin doctoring can only take you so far and work for so long before people start demanding substance.

People can hardly be expected to take the author seriously when they can find an article proclaiming Yoli to be the best thing since sliced bread, another preempting the outcome of a court case while declaring a federal court judge has wrongly interpreted the law and all the while extolling the virtues of the MLM "industry" under the same byline.

Talk about the boy who cried wolf.

Whip
04-04-2011, 07:50 PM
Again? He really hates being wrong but he does it so well.

Soapboxmom
04-04-2011, 10:00 PM
Len Clements just made the most intelligent and succinct statement he has ever managed:


Now I'm completely confused.

No kidding Clem, really? Are you sure????


It would seem that the rule all anti-MLM critics need to follow now is, say the MLM company is an "evil", "fraudulent", "illegal pyramid" that is a "crime in progress" and "doomed to fail" - just don't specify what penal code they violated.

Thanks for the encouragement! You know just how to draw attention to an obvious problem, don't you Lenny. Now Medifast will have lots of people anxiously awaiting the next round in court. And, as all the other scambusters have prevailed, Medifast looks like the complete clown college it and many other MLMs have proven to be. It is really brilliant to fuel the fire when well respected critics have concluded your company does fit the criteria for violating the pyramid statues of California. I am sure finding that a fascinating aspect of the case to discuss.


This gets even more bizarre.

Again some of your most brilliant commentary there, Clem!

Oh and bonehead, you choked again:


Tracy Coenen is specifically identified as having "deleted emails about Lennar (she) had exchanged with Minkow."
Anything deleted before the suit was filed is no problem. When folks that have had a suit served on them delete, remove and destroy evidence then that is different. The court concluded, despite the lies you tell, that she did nothing wrong from what I have read.
His parting brilliance:


So once again, all bets are off.

Len, you are an idiot, but a damned funny one to be sure!

Soapboxmom

GlimDropper
04-05-2011, 03:55 PM
Now I'm completely confused.Honestly, Len isn't the only one. I reread the ruling (I'm sure it's linked up thread but here's the link again (http://www.sequenceinc.com/fraudfiles/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Medifast-Order.pdf)) and it is a little difficult to understand the reasons that Minkow’s and Coenen’s anti-SLAPP motions were granted but part of FitzPatrick's motion was denied. I'm still parsing it and perhaps if wserra happens through again he could explain it.

The phrase “sufficient prima facie showing of facts to sustain a favorable judgment” seems to be key here. It seems that what the defendants said or wrote isn't the sole determinant in the verdict. The claim against FitzPatrick that still stands is where he made a specific falsifiable statement, the accusation that Medifast violates California Penal Code section 327 AND Medifast made a prima facie showing that FitzPatrick's statements were false which FitzPatrick did not effectively rebut.

Now obviously the issue of if Medifast is in violation of California law was not settled in this action. They provided this judge with enough information to indicate that there was some level of probability that they could prove FitzPatrick's claim was false but that wasn't the focus of this action. From a procedural standpoint had they not presented the argument or if FitzPatrick had more effectively rebutted it the motion would have been granted without any other findings of fact.

This court case was about whether Minkow, Coenen and Fitzpatrick's anti-SLAPP motions met the statutory requirements to be granted and with one exception they were. There was no final finding of fact in the remaining issues, notably if Robert Fitzpatrick's statement was libelous or if Medifast's "Take Shape for Life" program is a pyramid.

Gah, too much legalize to deal with without a drink.

Soapboxmom
04-06-2011, 05:33 PM
Len Clements beset buddy has weighed in on this as well:
Medifast Lawsuit Proceeds : THE MLM ATTORNEY (http://www.themlmattorney.com/medifast-lawsuit-proceeds/)


I need to tip my hat to my sources. Mel Atwood, MLM compensation plan design and software extraordinaire (http://yoursolutions.net/), sent me the link to Rod Cook’s site. Thanks, Rod, for breaking the story (http://www.mlmwatchdog.com/MLM_pyramid_Minkow_Robert_Fitzpatrick_Jon_Taylor.h tml).

In February of 2010, Medifast filed a lawsuit against a few of the prominent MLM detractors. Namely, Barry Minkow, Tracey Coenen and Robert Fitzpatrick. I’ve written about Barry Minkow’s antics game (http://www.themlmattorney.com/barry-minkow-busted/) before. Since writing the first article about Barry, he has apparently been charged with Securities Fraud (source (http://www.marketwaveinc.com/viewalert.asp?id=146)).
Note, I have not taken the time to confirm the accuracy of the criminal charge; however, Len Clements is as reliable a source as they come.

In the lawsuits, the defendants all filed motions to have the lawsuit dismissed. The majority of claims were dismissed. However, based on one of Fitzpatrick’s reports where he concludes that Medifast was an “endless chain scheme,” Fitzpatrick’s motion was Denied.

This is significant for a few reasons. First, when you’re critiquing a company, be careful. Be sure to calculate your words to express your opinion instead of making statements of fact. Statements of fact designed to convince others of the truthfulness of the words are actionable, opinions (in most cases) are not. I’m not familiar with Medifast’s model and I’m not in a position to say Fitzpatrick was wrong or not. However, I will say, the method could have been better. Second, if there’s no settlement, there’s going to be a trial about Medifast’s business model. In defamation actions, truth is an absolute defense. When Medifast sued for defamation, it opened up the door for the defendants to say “it’s the truth, and here’s why.” Sometimes, when filing a lawsuit, the gun can kick harder than it shoots. I’m assuming Medifast was aware of this and they’re confident that their model can withstand the scrutiny. Regardless, this is going to be a case to watch.

Kevin Thompson thinks, "Len Clements is as reliable a source as they come." That puts his credibility in question. Not to mention he thanks Rod Cook. I like the way he ignores the criminal allegations of stock manipulation his friend Rod made. Nice try at glossing over that.

He does make some interesting points, however. He admits the majority of the claims were dismissed. All save one actually. He states that there will be a trial about Medifast's business model. Exactly! Truth is an absolute defense. There he does seem to be agreeing with me. Now, the State of California has not taken action against Medifast as a pyramid scheme, but FitzPatrick has documented his conclusions well and should have no difficulty shwoing that Medifast does in fact fit the criteria for a pyramid scheme under the California law.

It is going to be a case to watch and I suspect that Medifast has almost no chance of standing up to the scrutiny. This will make for tons of publicity for another MLM scam!

Soapboxmom