Friday, November 30, 2012

Goldline, the precious metal seller endorsed by Glenn Beck, guilty of fraud. Shocked, that's what I am. Shocked!

Courtesy of Salon:

If you’ve ever listened to conservative talk radio, you’ve probably heard of Goldline, the precious metal seller endorsed by Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity and others. But,critics allege that Goldline is misleading its consumers, much like the talkers they sponsor. 

The company’s business model was built on systemically swindling and scaring its mostly elderly clientele into purchasing overpriced gold coins, prosecutors in California alleged, leading the company to settle for $4.5 million in refunds to its customer. The City Attorney in Santa Monica, where the company is based, brought 19 criminal fraud charges against the company that were later dropped, but a Los Angeles judge last year instructed the company to foot the bill for a court-appointed monitor, who was tasked with ensuring the company revealed its price markups and stopped misleading consumers. 

But now, the company’s former compliance officer is saying she was fired for complaining to her bosses that she was being prevented from speaking with the monitor, Courthouse News Service reported yesterday. Carol Taylor Gabrelow, who is suing Goldline in LA for wrongful termination, says her bosses were afraid she would spill the beans to the monitor about her company’s shady tactics. Her complaint alleges: 

“Goldline specifically targets vulnerable consumers with sales tactics designed to pressure those consumers into buying products that would often result in the consumer losing over one-third of his or her investment the instant the purchase is made meaning that, even when the price of the precious metals increases, because these consumers were deceived into purchasing coins with mark-ups exceeding 50 percent, it could be years, if ever, before the consumer recoups, much less makes any profit on, the investment.”

I have actually almost completely lost touch with Beck after he was summarily dismissed from Fox News for being even too wingnutty for them.

But once in a while DO catch a portion of his radio broadcast, usually on Mediaite or some other internet site calling him out for being ridiculous, and I have noticed that his schtick seems to be focused almost exclusively on frightening people into not trusting the internet, banks, or the government, and then selling them some product to protect their identity, money, or help them get a boner.

Like many of his fellow Right Wing radio shock jocks, Beck's audience is made up of mostly elderly people who cannot yet figure out how to turn on their computers and poor white trailer trash survivalists who seem to think that Beck is broadcasting out of a bunker somewhere, while hiding behind a pile of sandbags.

And while I feel badly that these poor wretched mouth breathers are getting ripped off by this fly by night gold exchange company, part of me thinks "That's what you get for listening to fucking Glenn Beck!"

I mean come on! Beck has NEVER met a conspiracy he did not believe in wholeheartedly, and is so incredible arrogant that he even started his own online school so he could personally help dumb down the American people.

As if his stupid radio show wasn't doing that already.


15 comments:

  1. AKaurora2:48 AM

    Beck was scheduled to appear in Anchorage back in Sept, but then I never saw any more about him. Did he cancel? I was ready to pull out my protest sign from 2010 which featured him and gold coins: Fleecing Americans One Sheep at a Time. Nice to see some action finally.

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  2. Randall3:01 AM

    Glenn Beck, Goldline are frauds, hunh?
    Gee, THAT'S a shock.


    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous3:27 AM

    I am no economist, hell, I can barely add and subtract, but what doesn't make sense to me is why people still promote gold as a safe investment since the dollar is no longer tied to it for value and hasn't been since the 70's????? Can anyone explain? Oh and Glenda is still an Asshole, but we knew that.

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    Replies
    1. Leland9:37 AM

      Gold will ALWAYS be the go-to currency of emergency. The reason these people buy and save gold is for AFTER a currency collapse, which a lot of them fear is coming. But it is a historic thing, also.

      If you look at the buying and selling of gold, the major jumps and peaks always occur during times of economic uncertainty and political instability.

      I would be willing to bet that if you asked the ultra fanatical "survivalists" who are buying up all sorts of food stocks - assuming they know you well enough to answer you - they will admit to hoarding gold.

      Don't get me wrong. I think keeping emergency food stocks is a good idea, just not for THEIR reasons.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous5:17 AM

    Sarah has a Phd, with honors, from Beck University.

    Her thesis was "Grifting is Fun"

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous6:40 AM

    Wonder if Sarah invested in Goldline..serves her right, kissing up to Hannity and Beck!!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous7:40 AM

    I know people at work who listen to this idiot. They encourage everybody to buy gold because the end is near and then parrot his crap but don’t admit Beck is where they learned their BS. They avoid any conversation that rebuts Beck’s propaganda. Bullies and cowards.

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  7. Anonymous8:40 AM

    O/T

    Shocking! The real purpose of your life!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwmbUzMViiU&feature=endscreen&NR

    ~Dance Like No One's Watching~

    We convince ourselves that life
    will be better after we get married,
    have a baby, then another.
    Then we are frustrated that the kids aren't old enough
    and we'll be more content when they are.

    After that we're frustrated that we
    have teenagers to deal with,
    we will certainly be happy
    when they are out of that stage.

    We tell ourselves that our life will be complete
    when our spouse gets his or her act together,
    when we get a nicer car,
    are able to go on a nice vacation,
    when we retire.
    The truth is there's no better time
    to be happy than right now.
    If not now, when?

    Your life will always be filled with challenges.
    It's best to admit this to yourself
    and decide to be happy anyway.
    One of my favorite quotes comes
    from Alfred D Souza.

    He said, "For a long time it had seemed
    to me that life was about to begin -real life.
    But there was always some obstacle in the way,
    something to be gotten through first,
    some unfinished business,
    time still to be served,
    a debt to be paid. Then life would begin.
    At last it dawned on me that these
    obstacles were my life."

    This perspective has helped me to see
    that there is no way to happiness.
    Happiness is the way,
    so, treasure every moment that you have.
    And treasure it more because you shared it
    with someone special,
    special enough to spend your time...
    and remember that time waits for no one.

    So stop waiting until you finish school,
    until you go back to school,
    until you lose ten pounds,
    until you gain ten pounds,
    until you have kids,
    until your kids leave the house,
    until you start work,
    until you retire,
    until you get married,
    until you get divorced,
    until Friday night,
    until Sunday morning,
    until you get a new car or home,
    until your car or home is paid off,
    until spring, until summer,
    until fall, until winter,
    until you are off welfare,
    until the first or fifteenth,
    until your song comes on,
    until you've had a drink,
    until you've sobered up,
    until you die, until you are born again
    to decide that there is no better time
    than right now to be happy...
    Happiness is a journey, not a destination.


    Work like you don't need the money.
    Love like you've never been hurt.
    Dance like no-one's watching.
    Sing like no-one's listening.
    Live like there's no tomorrow.

    ~Author Unknown~

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous8:42 AM

    The genius Beck has now gone to war AGAINST God for not favoring the GOPTP in the elections. He claims that God must be shown the error of his ways & I guess he's just the one who will do it. Can't remember where I just read it, but it sounds like something the Onion would write. I do know I didn't read it there though.

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  9. Beck is a clown and a well-paid shill. Anyone who takes his words seriously and takes actions that he recommends is being foolish. Period. But it's their money, their time, and their reputation that they are risking in following this kook so of curse they are entitled to make stupid investments and believe his ridiculous conspiracies, which usually contain a grain of truth, but a ton of bullshit.

    So many people who have no clue as to diversification of their assets and their need for liquidity are buying these gold coins which are marked up 50 to 100% at point of sale, and then they feel they are "protected" from inflation risk. Every casino in this country offers MUCH better odds than these shysters like Goldline.

    A major part of making wise decisions, including financial investments, is dealing with someone who is honest whose word can be trusted. It's a shame that these grifters bait the field with these cons for those who are sometimes too proud to understand that they are NOT savvy investors.

    The price of ignorance is often failure.

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  10. It must be a curse. Glen was doing a commercial for a local realtor, Johnny Stine. Guess what? Johnny Stine is now in jail for mortgage fraud. How many of these does there have to be before people stop trusting what he says?

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  11. I could never understand why people think gold is such a great deal...pretty, yes...but if you can't eat it, wear it, get out of the rain or keep warm in it, when the shit hits the fan, what have you got?

    How many gold coins for a loaf of bread?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gold is also used in industry, dentistry, electronics and computers. It's the special properties of gold that make it useful as well as beautiful.

      Delete
  12. Anonymous3:44 PM

    Ah, once again, South Park did it best in this season 16 episode 2.

    http://www.southparkstudios.com/full-episodes/s16e02-cash-for-gold

    ReplyDelete
  13. http://j.mp/W1AU0i

    ReplyDelete

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