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Did anybody capture some highlights of the news story about Trevor Cook reported by Patrick this morning. I may have been too late to hear the original broadcast. I will be working all over the long weekend and I often fall asleep when I get back. I do not want to miss any Trevor Cook news as it has a lot of historical significance.
Very keen to hear what transpired.
Patrick's Report.
The show will-be an eye-opener for some folks, Judy. Although Cook's fraud wasn't the Ponzi-board type, it had a number of the same elements: magnetic personalities, a sense of exclusiveness, appeals to faith and political beliefs, the brick-and-mortar equivalent of "I got paid" or "social proof" (bogus statements mailed to show fictitious profits to give the investors a sense that something wholesome was occurring and to loosen purse strings so they'd invest more or possibly tell loved ones and friends to board the train) and a sudden collapse.
This episode also offered a memorable line from a banker who assisted the FBI in infiltrating the scam and unraveling it:
"Somehow they had merged into some conglomerate of fraud and scum-baggery."
The show also destroyed some of the myths that surface on the Ponzi boards: That a paying "program" is evidence no fraud is occurring, that a headquarters building or address is evidence no fraud is occurring, that hundreds (or thousands) of people cannot be wrong when they back a "program," that a registered corporation (or corporations) is evidence no fraud is occurring, that silence by the SEC/FBI/CFTC is evidence no fraud is occurring or that a "program" has passed muster.
Cook's fraud destroyed all of those myths (and more -- e.g., "guaranteed" profits and offshore "safety."). The banker Cook approached smelled the scam, called the U.S. Attorney and effectively became the government's eyes and ears. He said he did it for a couple of reasons: senior citizens and unsophisticated investors were being ripped off to the tune of $190 million and legitimate financial professionals had a duty to their industry not to turn a blind eye to these scams.
History shows that law enforcement infiltrated the Legisi and ASD schemes in a similar fashion -- i.e., by finding ways to get inside to observe before bringing a case. And despite the fact all of this is a matter of public record -- as is the sentencing enhancement when senior citizens get duped -- the Ponzi-board hucksters continue to pretend that none of it matters.
PPBlog
BULLETIN: Pat Kiley, Trevor Cook Ponzi Pitchman, Sentenced To 20 Years in Federal Prison
Cook's pitchman sentenced.