Tag Archives: scams

Via press release: Heartened by the overwhelming support of fellow Americans who have donated over $20 million to the viral GoFundMe campaign “We the People Will Fund the Wall,” war hero and triple-amputee veteran Brian Kolfage announced the launch of a 501(c)4 called “We Build the Wall, Inc.” which will fund the private construction of a wall along the United …

The Associated Press reports: A New York judge has signed off on a deal to close President Donald Trump’s embattled charity and give about $1.7 million in remaining funds to other nonprofits. Justice Saliann Scarpulla approved the deal late Wednesday, triggering the start of a court-supervised process for putting the Trump Foundation out of business. New York’s attorney general and …

The Washington Post reports: President Trump has agreed to shut down his embattled personal charity and give away its remaining funds amid allegations that he used it for his personal and political benefit, the New York attorney general announced Tuesday. New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood announced that the Donald J. Trump Foundation is dissolving as her office pursues its …

The Washington Post reports: Months after joining the advisory board of a Miami-based patent company in 2014, Matthew G. Whitaker began fielding angry complaints from customers that they were being defrauded, including from a client who showed up at his Iowa office to appeal to him personally for help, records show. Yet Whitaker, now the acting attorney general, remained an …

Open Secrets reports: A single six-figure donor accounted for 100 percent of funding raised by a nonprofit run by acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker before he became Jeff Sessions’ chief of staff last year, new tax documents obtained by the Center for Responsive Politics reveal. President Trump tapped Whitaker to become acting Attorney General earlier in November after Jeff Sessions …

The Daily Beast reports: Trump supporter Hayes Kotseos runs a North Carolina pool-maintenance company, but she’s got a side bet that she thinks might make her fabulously wealthy: the Iraqi dinar. The currency is nearly worthless outside of Iraq, but Kotseos bought millions of dinars in April, after watching a video of President Trump at a 2017 press conference. In …

Mississippi’s Starkville Daily News reports: A Starkville priest is at the center of a criminal investigation involving a string of fraudulent charity efforts that federal agents believe was covered up by church leaders in Jackson. According to a 37-page affidavit filed Friday by Department of Homeland Security Special Agent William G. Childers in U.S. District Court in Jackson, an ongoing …

NBC News Philadelphia reports: A New Jersey couple accused of scamming a homeless good Samaritan out of hundreds of thousands of dollars as part of an online fundraiser that went viral a year ago had initially conspired with him to concoct a “fictitious story,” prosecutors allege. A complaint obtained by NBC Philadelphia says couple Mark D’Amico and Kate McClure made …

Mother Jones reports: In November 2014, a Miami Beach-based firm, World Patent Marketing, announced the “marketing launch” of a “MASCULINE TOILET,” which boasted a specially designed bowl to help “well-endowed men” avoid unwanted contact with porcelain or water. “The average male genitalia is between 5″ and 6″,” the firm’s press release said. “However, this invention is designed for those of …

The Miami Herald reports: A South Florida company that collected more than $100 million in premiums selling sham health insurance “for smart people” through a network of deceptive websites, including one called trumpcarequotes.com, was ordered by a federal judge to temporarily shut down following consumer complaints to the Federal Trade Commission. Simple Health Plans, based in Hollywood, lured “tens of …

The Daily Beast reports: Money that Jill Stein raised to recount votes in 2016 swing states is being used by her campaign to pay for legal bills stemming from the investigation of Russian interference in the last presidential election. In June, The Daily Beast reported that the the U.S. Green Party candidate’s campaign, which raised $7.3 million for recounts in …

Yahoo News reports: If you have ever suffered a bout of insomnia, chances are you’ve seen some bizarre infomercials. You may therefore be familiar with MyPillow and have found yourself wondering if the product is the answer to your sleep issues. The company, MyPillow, has at least one huge fan. At a rally in Fargo, N.D., on Wednesday, President Trump …

The Daily Beast reports: The Department of Justice on Thursday brought federal criminal charges against two Arizona men accused of using fake political groups to defraud thousands of unwitting donors out of millions of dollars. Such groups are generally referred to as “scam PACs.” And DOJ’s criminal prosecution represents a major legal escalation against the practice by which those PACs’ …

The Associated Press reports: A personal finance expert launched a lawsuit against Facebook in Britain on Monday, claiming the social media company is allowing the publication of scam ads featuring his name. Martin Lewis, who founded the MoneySavingExpert website, says his name has appeared on more than 50 advertisements in the last year, many of them get-rich-quick scams to con …

Kyle Mantyla reports at Right Wing Watch: Back in 2013, the Texas megachurch run by televangelist Kenneth Copeland, a member of President Trump’s faith advisory council who recently became the proud owner of a Jesus-provided private plane, was at the center of a measles outbreak that was attributed to the church’s belief that congregants can forego vaccines because Jesus will …

The Palm Beach Post reports: Donald Trump’s deal with the town of Palm Beach to turn Mar-a-Lago into a private club hinged on an act of charity crafted to skirt IRS scrutiny and deliver for Trump a seven-figure tax break, a Palm Beach Post investigation has found. To make sure Trump could get the $5.7 million deduction, America’s future president …

The Associated Press reports: The Senate is expected to pass the legislation Tuesday night, but the plan to send it on to Trump for his signature had to be scrapped. Democrats noted that three provisions violated Senate rules and had to be removed. So the massive bill will be hauled back across the Capitol for the House to re-vote on …

The New York Times reports: The House on Tuesday approved the most sweeping tax overhaul in decades, voting along party lines to enact deep and permanent tax cuts for corporations and temporary cuts for individuals. The vote puts Republicans one Senate vote and one presidential signature away from their first significant legislative achievement. The Senate is expected to approve the …

World Net Daily regularly sends out email blasts to “introduce major advertisers to our loyal readers.” This one just arrived: Can a homemade “beverage” permanently end Alzheimer’s disease? That’s what experts are now claiming after seeing THIS drink in action. Recently, a Tufts University educator unveiled an Alzheimer’s-Reversing “Cocktail” recipe and, after watching dramatic transformations of the patients who used …

The Associated Press reports: The Trump administration is further delaying Obama-era protections for students defrauded by for-profit colleges, saying it needs more time to write new regulations. Tuesday’s announcement renewed criticism by Democrats and advocacy groups that the administration favors the interests of for-profit universities over students. The Education Department posted a notice in the Federal Register saying it wants …