Father, son used Mormon connections to commit $220M Ponzi scheme

FOUNTAIN GREEN, Sanpete County — FBI agents closed a prominent real estate management business here Thursday and began removing documents pertaining to the investigation of what the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission calls a “$220 million Ponzi scheme.”

The SEC claims Wendell and Allen Jacobson used their LDS Church membership to gain the trust of investors.

SEC agents also removed documents from the home of Wendell Jacobson, 58, owner of Management Solutions, who lives across the street from the company’s headquarters.

Federal Judge Bruce S. Jenkins granted an SEC request for a restraining order against Jacobson, and its request that Management Solutions’ assets be "frozen" while their investigation is under way.

A statement by the SEC says Jacobson, and his son Allen, 33, “offer investors the opportunity to share ownership of large apartment communities in eight states," but instead "are merely pooling the money raised from investors into large bank accounts from which they are siphoning money to pay family expenses and the operating expenses of their various companies.”

A civil complaint filed in U.S. District Court alleges the Jacobsons have been engaged in fraudulent practices since at least 2008 and says the father and son “appear to be using their membership" in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to make connections and win over the trust of prospective investors. Wendell Jacobson is bishop of a Snow College student ward.

"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints encourages its members to be honest in their dealings and conduct themselves with integrity," church spokesman Scott Trotter said Friday. "When someone preys upon the members of a congregation or community in order to get personal gain, it is a reprehensible betrayal of confidence, and its perpetrators are rightfully subject to criminal prosecution."

The father and son “raised more than $220 million from approximately 225 investors through a complex web of entities under the umbrella of Management Solutions, Inc.,” the SEC alleges.

“Wendell and Allen Jacobson misled investors to believe they were financially supporting what was portrayed as a widespread and reputable operation to revamp apartment communities and turn a significant profit,” said Ken Israel, director of the SEC’s Salt Lake Regional Office. “Their promises were anything but truthful.”

FBI agents combed through the records of Management Solutions through the night and into Friday morning. Vans were on hand to haul off documents.

The SEC says the father and son “used alleged ‘sales’ as a means of shifting investors into and out of certain properties.” It says most investments were funneled into a “clearing house” corporation known as Thunder Bay Mortgage Company.

In some instances, the SEC alleges, the Jacobsons bought properties they had supposedly sold for a profit with another shell corporation. They also allegedly moved their money into joint accounts to make it appear to investors they were committing their own capital to a project, only to quickly transfer the money back to their own account.

The SEC complaint alleges investors in four of the Jacobsons' corporations received a “6 to 8 percent” return on their investments, though the combined income from the corporations was $32,200. Those corporations' expenses over the period they supposedly profited were $1.3 million.

The complaint argues that Thunder Bay is insolvent. "As of Dec. 31, 2010, Thunder Bay owed investors and investor LLCs more than $103 million. As of the same period, Thunder Bay showed a net loss of over $2.2 million. Having no actual operations, Thunder Bay relied almost entirely on new investor funds as its source of funding. Without these new investor funds, Thunder Bay would immediately cease operation.”

Wendell Jacobson and his brothers Gene and Evan financed the construction of a 21,000 square foot office in the farming community of Fountain Green in 2008.

Wendell Jacobson is the former chairman of the Sanpete County Republican Party. Gene Jacobson is the chairman of Sanpete County’s planning and zoning commission. Neither have been charged in connection with the case.

Calls to the Jacobsons were not returned. Mark Pugsley, the Jacobsons’ attorney, told Bloomberg Businessweek that the two men have cooperated fully in the investigation and intend to “vigorously defend the case.”

That's probably because, like many uninformed FReepers mormons are convinced that the entire membership of mormonism is better than, more honest than, just downright superior to anyone else.

Well... why NOT!!??!!

MORMON

ATTITUDES OF SUPERIORITY

  1. I’m Superior; I have a special gift of the holy Ghost -- you don’t!
  2. I’m Superior; I have God’s true priesthood power -- you don’t!
  3. I’m Superior; I can go in God’s secret Temple -- you can’t!
  4. I’m Superior; I’ve been Endowed with special Gifts and Knowledge -- you’re just normal!
  5. I’m Superior; I’ll have my family with me in heaven -- you’ll be with strangers!
  6. I’m Superior; I’m becoming a God -- you aren’t!
  7. I’m Superior; My women know their place as servants of man and yours don’t.
  8. I’m Superior; YOUR creeds are wrong because they come from man - mine comes from God (you can find each one printed in our Scriptures).
  9. I’m Superior; I don’t HAVE a creed - I’ve got 13 Articles of Faith.
10. I'm Superior; I have 4 "Bibles"-- the standard works (5 if you count the JST) -- you've only got one: in as far as it is translated correctly.
11. I’m Superior; I can lie with impunity about such things as church membership, church growth, church doctrine, church history, church influence, etc. —                           -- You can’t.
12. I’m Superior; I am right (everybody knows) when I say 'evangelical' Christians are lunatics --

-- You’re a hideous narrow-minded bigot, who is persecuting me by practicing discrimination by saying I'm not a Christian.
13. I'm Superior; I have a testimony about a prophet -- you don't.
14. I'm Superior; I have a Scripture-producing Amos 3:7 prophet -- you don't
15. I’m Superior; I have a Living Prophet who talks to god every day -- you have a dim-witted hireling of Satan who only talks to himself.
16. I'm Superior; I have my calling & election made sure -- you don't.
17. I’m Superior; I have magic underwear to protect me from the bogey man -- you don’t.
18. I’m Superior; I have secret clasps and grips to give the angel so I get admitted to the celestial kingdom -- you don’t ;so you can’t.
19. I'm Superior; I know secret handshake codes for afterlife entrances-- you don't.
20. I’m Superior; I will see Joseph Smith setting on the right hand of GOD, when I get to Mormon heaven, and he will recognize me and judge me favorably -- You’re on your own; when you get to wherever you’re going!
21. I’m Superior; I’m going to hie to Kolob -- you’re going to who knows where.
22. I’m Superior; I get to have a harem and act like a celestial stud for time and all eternity -- you don’t.
23. I’m Superior; I have sun stones, moon stones, sky stones, cloud stones, Saturn stones, and the evil eye of Osirus guarding my temple

-- You have nothing but a stupid cross.
24. I’m Superior; My church has billions in assets stashed away -- yours has taken a stupid vow of poverty.
25. I'm Superior; Last - we have the power to keep a whole race out of our priesthood if we wanted to reinsert our 148-year legacy (we ARE still keeping an entire GENDER at bay!)

26. I'm superior; I have the "higher law" -- everyone else "lives under the "lesser law' because I say so...(over and over).

Revision 46.5

Semi-Official creed of the EXclusive club of Freeper Flying Inmans.

All rights liable to be abused.

LDS WELLNESS HERBALIFE SALES

I don't know about the founders, but it looks like it's making it's way through the ranks.

Part of the reason for this is that the LDS sect teaches that it is a sin for women to work outside the home...so they look for these "work at home scams".

The freaking worst I ever saw was the Boyscout "fundraiser popcorn tins"....I was scoutmaster for a several years, and was ORDERED to use this as a fundraiser. I told the bishop at the time that the numbers didn't add up and that almost ANYTHING would have been a better fundraiser for the boys. He was adamant and told me orders had come form "on-high". As I recall, folks were guilt forced into buying $25-50 dollar tins of Christmas popcorn and the poor boys got about 5%. The company was in Salt Lake and no doubt owned by someone with power to give or arrange orders from "on high".

If you mean the Joe Smith dollar, yes it is. He opened a "bank" in kirtland Ohio, printed tens of thousands in funny money and, of course, the bank went under. I think it was the nation's first savings and loan scandal. This was Pre-Federal reserve, mind you. So he did what any cult member would do, he took his minions and fled the state.

Smith also established what was called the "United Order" where all members gave EVERYTHING they have to the leaders and the leaders "REDISTRIBUTE" as need...."From each according to his ability, to each according to his need". After a few years of living under the united order, Smith recinded it and split what had been gathered among himself and about 6 other men, rather than returning it to the poor he piflered it from.

These days if there are members who survive the gauntlet of inter-member fraud, they hear sales pitches for $300 wicker baskets from STAKE PRESIDENTS, who's wives are part of the MLM arm, at mandatory saturday bishopric "training sessions". I am prepared to name names, mormons, don't bother denying it.

Longaberger baskets=mormons too.

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