Rick Koerber and Producer Revolution..

[FTC]

Well, looks like someone (most likely Rick) removed a thread about it from the freecapitalist Facebook forum. Oddly enough, LDSConservative's post "The Freedom to Fail" has also now been deleted from there, too.

[howdy123]

Well, looks like someone (most likely Rick) removed a thread about it from the freecapitalist Facebook forum.

This doesn't come as a surprise. Rick constantly removes topics and comments from his websites when facts that he doesn't want public (e.g., the Alpine Mansion foreclosure, the numerous lawsuits against him).

I find it sad that he removed post. Someone asked for some information straight from Rick and others so he/she could get some real information instead of listening to rumors from third parties.

No doubt when Rick decides to do another radio show, he'll denounce those who are engaged in rumor mongering but never answers the questions surrounding the rumors.

Figures. He doesn't care about facts. Just his public appearance.

[creator]

Oddly enough, LDSConservative's post "The Freedom to Fail" has also now been deleted from there, too.

I deleted that one on my own - no worries there.

After some discussion on that post on this forum I realized I hadn't fully thought it all out and wasn't clear enough on what I was trying to say. There were some parts to it that are simply for the fun of a philosophical discussion and not necessarily my solid beliefs...

[howdy123]

Rick Koerber just can't stay out of the news....another one of his investors, Todd Huff (who happens to be Rick's cousin) is in trouble....this time in Glenrock, Wyoming.

http://www.trib.com/articles/2008/12/17 ... 04c12c.txt

Some highlights (or lowlights)

JJ's General Store in Glenrock had nearly everything a small town could want: fuel, food, milk, sandwiches, cigarettes, fountain drinks, and a place for kids to buy candy.

But in late July, it closed its doors a week before the 2,200-population town's rambunctious Deer Creek Days....

The store's buyer, Todd Huff of Casper, has tried to obtain financing through Founders Capital Investments LLC, which is one of the companies under the control of Claud Roderick "Rick" Koerber. In 2000, the Wyoming Securities Division issued a cease and desist order against Koerber and National Business Solutions for violating the state's securities laws. Since then, Koerber moved to Utah, began a radio show called Free Capitalist, started a number of real estate investment businesses including FranklinSquires, and has been sued by unhappy investors....

The decline of the profitable JJ's began on Feb. 28, 2007, when the Beagles entered into a contract for deed and conditional sale of the store and its contents with Huff, according to their complaint filed in Converse County District Court in November.

The Beagles priced the real estate, the store's equipment and inventory at $690,000, and Huff was to put up two rental properties in Casper as collateral, make monthly payments to the Beagles and third parties, maintain the store's condition, and name the Beagles as the insured on the policy insuring the premises, according to the complaint filed by their attorney Patrick Holscher of Casper.

Huff allegedly failed to meet his end of the bargain, so the Beagles have sued him for breach of contract, breach of good faith, wrongfully appropriating the store's inventory, and knowing he wasn't able to obtain legitimate financing, according to the complaint. They also seek punitive damages.

Huff responded that the Beagles themselves breached the contract, failed to help him arrange permanent financing for the sale, were negligent themselves, stated he had made all payments to the Beagles, stated they overstated the store's profitability, and stated the Beagles rejected the financing obtained by Huff, according to his answer filed by his attorney Jeff Meyer of Casper.

[shadow]

So what does Roderick Koerber have to do with this? It appears his cousin, Huff, might not be at fault here as he said the Beagles breached their agreement. Of course Beagles rarely get into a Huff, they're fairly tame dogs . We'll have to wait and see the results.....

[jeremy.ashton]

I was just thinking about the FreeCapitalist Project this morning on my way to work. I am taking a distance learning class from American Founders University and haven't received any response back from them for over a week now. When I've tried the numbers in the past, they haven't worked. Does anybody know the current status of this organization? Has AFU ceased its operations? Is the radio program still being broadcast everyday (probably reruns)? Out here in Virginia, I don't hear much other than what is said on this forum.

[howdy123]

So what does Roderick Koerber have to do with this? It appears his cousin, Huff, might not be at fault here as he said the Beagles breached their agreement. Of course Beagles rarely get into a Huff, they're fairly tame dogs . We'll have to wait and see the results.....

\

Opps. I forgot to paste a part of the article in. Again, I recommend that everyone read the article in its entirity and not just the snipits I'm posting here. (Entire article can be found at: http://www.trib.com/articles/2008/12/17 ... 04c12c.txt)

From the article:

On July 17, 2008, Huff's company JTH Properties FLLC took out a mortgage on one of the rental properties for $280,318.15, and a mortgage on the other rental property for $175,000, then turned the mortgages over to Founders Capital. If the Beagles had accepted the two properties as collateral, they would have been obligated to pay off the mortgages by Dec. 31, 2009, or lose the collateral, according to the records filed with the Natrona County Clerk.

So basiclly Huff put up two homes up for collaterial then mortgaged them to the hilt and gave the money to Rick (Founder's Capital).

For those familiar with Founders Capital, this is about the same time they stopped paying their downlines.

[howdy123]

I was just thinking about the FreeCapitalist Project this morning on my way to work. I am taking a distance learning class from American Founders University and haven't received any response back from them for over a week now. When I've tried the numbers in the past, they haven't worked. Does anybody know the current status of this organization? Has AFU ceased its operations? Is the radio program still being broadcast everyday (probably reruns)? Out here in Virginia, I don't hear much other than what is said on this forum.

Rick's organization is down to three people: Himself, Jewel Kimber-Skousen, and Kenny Snarr. Everyone else has been laid off or realized that Rick was simply the Wizard of Oz: A lot of smoke and mirrors.

AFU used to have a fancy building near the Novell campus in Provo. Now it's being run out of Rick's basement by those three clowns.

My guess is that it will be awhile before you hear from anyone. Hope your tuition came with a money back guarentee.

[shadow]

Do you know what happened to Ricks right hand man and side-kick, Gabe?

[howdy123]

Do you know what happened to Ricks right hand man and side-kick, Gabe?

I have no idea. Unlike Rick, he's kept a low profile. If anyone else knows, I'd be curious to know what's up.

[howdy123]

Update: If anyone knows where Gabe is, you might want to let him know that there's a $2.4 million judgement against him in Idaho. See http://www.idahostatesman.com/business/ ... 13565.html for the full story.

Armed with a court ruling, the state will move to collect $2.4 million from a Utah man and his company that profited from a fraudulent investment scheme that bilked 45 people, mostly from Southwest Idaho, of about $5 million in all.

But state officials don't know whether the investors will get back more than a few cents on each of their dollars, said James Burns, investigations chief of the Securities Bureau for the Department of Finance.

District Judge Patrick H. Owen in Boise ordered Gabriel Joseph of Cedar Hills, Utah, and his company, Annuit Coeptis LLC, to return more than $2.4 million obtained illegally from Idaho investors. Owen entered a default judgment after Joseph and Annuit Coeptis failed to defend themselves.

Joseph and his company were part of a scheme in which Boisean Michael Breinholt and his company, Streamline Financial LLC, issued promissory notes to investors. The state sued Breinholt in December 2007, alleging that he promised investors returns of 18 percent to 24 percent a year, risk-free, in investments backed by real estate and precious gems and metals.

Owen has ordered Breinholt to pay $5 million in restitution to investors, but he will pay just $1,000 a month for 10 years, or $120,000 in all, because he told authorities he has no money.

"There was at least some indication that Breinholt was raising money for Gabriel Joseph," said James Burns, investigations chief of the Securities Bureau for the state Department of Finance.

This may be an example of affinity fraud, Burns said, which is a type of scam that targets member of a particular demographic.

When the state sued in 2007, Burns said it appeared that many of Breinholt's investors were fellow Mormons.

"As investors we tend to place a higher level of confidence in folks like us, be it Kiwanis or Elks," Burns said. "It doesn't matter if it's a church or a community organization: When you make investments, you have to have the same level of skepticism for each." Breinholt admitted to violations of Idaho securities laws earlier this year and agreed to cooperate with the state's investigation. In late November, Terry Deeble of Boise admitted to acting as an unregistered sales agent for Streamline Financial and agreed to pay a $73,000 judgment.

The state doesn't know what Joseph and Annuit Coeptis will be able to pay, Burns said.

The Department of Finance has closed its investigation.

[creator]

Do you know what happened to Ricks right hand man and side-kick, Gabe?

I don't know much about what they're doing now, except for what I read on Facebook... why don't you add them as friends on facebook?

District Judge ...ordered Gabriel Joseph ...to return more than $2.4 million

These guys (Rick and Gabe) have gotten way in over their heads!

[shadow]

Do you know what happened to Ricks right hand man and side-kick, Gabe?

I don't know much about what they're doing now, except for what I read on Facebook... why don't you add them as friends on facebook?

I don't participate on facebook.
Years ago when I listened to the free capitalist radio program I enjoyed it. I never participated with their group but I know some that did. All 4 lost money. One filed for bankruptcy, a 2nd foreclosed on 2 or 3 homes and is now renting and a 3rd is well on his way to a million $$ foreclosure. The 4th only invested some of their savings and didn't pull out any equity from their home. The question I have is how much of this failure (if any) can be blamed on the obvious manipulated market and banking/credit crisis? I wonder what excuses Gabe & Rick are giving? Anyone know?

[howdy123]

Years ago when I listened to the free capitalist radio program I enjoyed it. I never participated with their group but I know some that did. All 4 lost money. One filed for bankruptcy, a 2nd foreclosed on 2 or 3 homes and is now renting and a 3rd is well on his way to a million $$ foreclosure. The 4th only invested some of their savings and didn't pull out any equity from their home. The question I have is how much of this failure (if any) can be blamed on the obvious manipulated market and banking/credit crisis? I wonder what excuses Gabe & Rick are giving? Anyone know?

Like Illuminated, I had friends and co-workers that became preferred buyers, etc. They're all worse off now than before they "invested" with Rick and his companies. One had some homes that he bought as a “preferred buyer” foreclosed on him, another took out equity in his home and lost it. As a result he is getting kicked out of his home next week. Another person I know lost over 100k. Some are looking at jail time for soliciting money to send to Rick. The lucky ones just lost the tuition the coughed up for his real estate courses.

As a former employee of Mr. Koerber, my personal observations are that the failure of FranklinSquires, Hill Erickson, Founders Capital, etc /have less to do with the banking/credit crisis and more to do with Rick's own ineptitude as a businessman. The financial problems at those companies started in Summer 2007 -- a full 15 months before the credit crisis took hold. My personal observation was that Rick's businesses spent money like crazy and brought very little in. Many of the homes the company bought were left empty and not rented. Many of the executives lived in expensive company homes, drove company cars, and didn’t have to pay a dime of rent to Rick or his companies. No one seemed to care until the money started to run out. At that point we were all told that we had to bring in enough revenue to pay our salaries. That didn’t happen and Rick pretty much let everyone go in February 2008 and, in a longwinded speech, blamed the employees for working hard enough as reason for the company’s financial difficulties.

I don’t know about Gabe –he’s largely disappeared from public view -- but Rick is blaming everyone but himself for their financial problems. From talking to those who have been ruined financially, they say as far as Rick’s concerned, no one was forced to buy homes, take classes, etc. He casts those who lost money, credit scores, etc. and are whining about it to him as victims. He says these people need to buck up and take responsibility for their actions. Having worked for Rick, this doesn’t surprise me.

[Proud 2b Peculiar]

I never had a good feeling about any of this,and there are family members on this forum that could tell you that.

I am SO glad that I lectured the heck out of them into not doing these things.

It was really hard when the ideas they were being sold were based on giving to others, and having more time to serve and so on, but my gut said no and then the spirit said no way.

Everyone involved does have some responsibility. Those that took the high risk, and those that misled about the level of the risk etc etc.

[HeirofNumenor]

Like Illuminated, I had friends and co-workers that became preferred buyers, etc. They're all worse off now than before they "invested" with Rick and his companies. One had some homes that he bought as a “preferred buyer” foreclosed on him, another took out equity in his home and lost it. As a result he is getting kicked out of his home next week. Another person I know lost over 100k. Some are looking at jail time for soliciting money to send to Rick. The lucky ones just lost the tuition the coughed up for his real estate courses.

As a former employee of Mr. Koerber, my personal observations are that the failure of FranklinSquires, Hill Erickson, Founders Capital, etc /have less to do with the banking/credit crisis and more to do with Rick's own ineptitude as a businessman. The financial problems at those companies started in Summer 2007 -- a full 15 months before the credit crisis took hold. My personal observation was that Rick's businesses spent money like crazy and brought very little in. Many of the homes the company bought were left empty and not rented. Many of the executives lived in expensive company homes, drove company cars, and didn’t have to pay a dime of rent to Rick or his companies. No one seemed to care until the money started to run out. At that point we were all told that we had to bring in enough revenue to pay our salaries. That didn’t happen and Rick pretty much let everyone go in February 2008 and, in a longwinded speech, blamed the employees for working hard enough as reason for the company’s financial difficulties.

I don’t know about Gabe –he’s largely disappeared from public view -- but Rick is blaming everyone but himself for their financial problems. From talking to those who have been ruined financially, they say as far as Rick’s concerned, no one was forced to buy homes, take classes, etc. He casts those who lost money, credit scores, etc. and are whining about it to him as victims. He says these people need to buck up and take responsibility for their actions. Having worked for Rick, this doesn’t surprise me.

Ditto...
I didn't work for him, BUT....

My observations are inline with yours, including family members getting burned, his suspension of economic laws and principles, etc... I'll expound more on this later...

[howdy123]

Rick Koerber has gone on the offensive, threatening to go after the corrupt government officials. (See http://daily.freecapitalist.com/2009/01 ... uption/964

According to the article:

On Monday January 5, Utah County businessman and talk radio host C. Rick Koerber announced that he will begin releasing to the public a mountain of evidence implicating several government employees and officers. The evidence is in the form of secret audio recordings, photographs, recordings of telephone conversations and printed documents authored by Utah officials. Beginning Friday January 9, 2008 Koerber has announced his plan to publish in a series information releases including web links to audio files and .pdf documents.

I must admint that I think the Department of Commerce and other government agencies need a good housecleaning. However, Koerber isn't the person do be doing this after taking people's money and ruining their credit scores. No doubt business have been hurt by the actions of government officials. However, Koerber's own actions have been just as damning.

***

On a side note, I found this part of the article to be hilarious.

One Department of Commerce insider, who requested to remain unnamed for fear of reprisal, confided about the Department and actions taken by Executive Director Francine Giani, “You have no idea how crazy this place is. Its all about territory, power and egos. Once the audit came out Francine put on a happy face but things around here got put on lock down. Quite frankly, so long as Francine and people like Michael Hines have free reign, I would hate to be a business owner in Utah.”

It's funny because Rick routinely calls anonymous online posters cowards for not revealing their identity. (Most do this because they fear frivolous lawsuits from Rick.) Yet he has no problem using a anonymous source when it benefits himself.

Apparently Rick Koerber has two sets of rules: One that he lives by and one that he wants everyone else to follow.

[shadow]

It's funny because Rick routinely calls anonymous online posters cowards for not revealing their identity. (Most do this because they fear frivolous lawsuits from Rick.) Yet he has no problem using a anonymous source when it benefits himself.

Apparently Rick Koerber has two sets of rules: One that he lives by and one that he wants everyone else to follow.

Rick very well might think this anonymous person is a coward. If what the anonymous person said is true then I think he/she's a coward, don't you? It doesn't change what the anonymous person thinks about his/her co-workers. I'm fairly sure Rick would preferr to print the name of the person. It would help his cause be more effective if he could (my opinion).

[howdy123]

Rick's in the news again. This article focuses on how he helped wreck Utah's economy.

http://slweekly.com/index.cfm?do=articl ... D3FF68159D

Some highlights (or lowlights)

And in Utah some say one company in particular, FranklinSquires Companies LLC run by Rick Koerber, took advantage of loose-lending regulations and a reckless business model to inflate the state real-estate bubble. Koerber, known by billboards touting him as “The Free Capitalist,” may have had quite a lucky streak when the housing market was booming, critics say. But now, after helping pop the bubble, Koerber’s empire is crumbling, forcing him to walk away from investors. Some claim they are owed millions by Koerber and his companies—often leveraged out of life savings and equity from the homes in which they live. Some face foreclosure and bankruptcy. They have lost almost all hope they will see their money again. Critics say Koerber has done his share to contribute to the state’s economic meltdown: home prices sinking into a seemingly bottomless pit, a frozen-stiff credit market and growing unemployment.

***

William Young doesn’t remember anything about Koerber being in the business for the long haul. The Springville real-estate developer recalls working with Koerber when Koerber expressed interest in actual real-estate development. Young also had an agent helping Koerber buy and sell investment properties. “They were poor stewards of the properties they purchased,” Young says. “They had hundreds of properties that were left vacant,” he says, noting infrequent maintenance and unwatered lawns. Young waited for Koerber to commit to development, but he never did. “He just refused to take the step, he didn’t have the liquidity.” Young also disapproved of how Koerber’s business relied on sellers using promissory notes for security. The practice, Young says, was common in the ’70s before many loan options were available, but generally, participants would get an escrow company to back up their financing. “Those things weren’t being taken care of,” he says. Instead, average folks were making transactions based solely on promissory notes with little backing in case things went bad. Young parted ways with Koerber in 2007.

Koerber says Young’s claim of vacant properties is unfair because Young’s exposure to those properties was limited. He does concede his company had trouble getting renters into properties. “It was a big challenge we had,” Koerber says. “One we battled from Day 1.”

Ron Brown also complains Koerber left properties vacant. As Koerber’s property-maintenance man, Brown kept track of more than 160 homes across the state. All of these homes were empty, Brown says.

Koerber denies Brown’s characterization of the homes, thinking it preposterous for Brown to claim he cared for that many homes. “He’s an 80-year-old guy,” Koerber says, overreaching by four years. He adds Brown’s responsibilities were much more limited. Koerber disagrees with the idea his properties’ equity was stripped, since he is continuing to work from his home trying to liquidate assets and pay off debts. “We’re part of the team that’s trying to alleviate the current mess.”

The Midas Touch
In spring 2007, again in Creative Real Estate Lifestyles magazine, Koerber was extolled as the guy with a Midas touch—even minting his own silver and gold coins as a bit of a show. “Rick says he always wanted to tell his mother he finally started ‘making money,’” writes the author. But now, Koerber struggles amid lawsuits, state and federal investigations and a frozen credit market to resurrect his company. He’s not the only one struggling.

Ron Brown is fighting off home foreclosure. The FranklinSquires investor who holds the deed to his home is no longer receiving payments from Koerber, so he is demanding $2,300 a month in rent (well over Brown’s old $1,700 mortgage payments) for the home Brown built with his own hands. The increased payment comes from the fact that his home had been refinanced and a second mortgage put on it by Koerber’s program. Making the payments will be tough, since Koerber fired all of his employees in February 2008, including Brown. In dire straits, Brown and his wife have few options left.

“Find the money to pay it off,” Brown says with a weak smile. “Or get our tent out.”

[ShawnC]

I gotta jump in here.

If you go back to the first page of this Rick Koerber thread, you'll notice there were a few people calling a spade a spade by saying that Mr. Koerber was essentially a fraud. Especially since the way I was introduced to the Producer Revolution was a video using a quote out of context from President Hinckley, encouraging people to get involved in this garbage. Wasn't right then, and never will be.

Stephen R. Christiansen in his book "Following Christ" points is out very simply. When somebody tries to use your religion, to manipulate and or sell you something, you can know that it is not right, and not of God.

Just use the Spirit in things like this. These uncomfortable feelings that at least I get when I hear about these kind of things tell me to stay away. I've learned to listen to those over the years and I like to think that I am a better person for it.

If you are having trouble staying away from get rich quick schemes, then I suggest you get out of Utah where people seem to be preyed on for this sort of thing.

Shawn

[buffalo_girl]

Excellent point, ShawnC!

Utah Mormons seem to love being bamboozled by snappy salesmen promising unbelievable returns on investment. There was a whole spate of this kind of thing back in the mid-80's. Unfortunately, we fell for one of those sales pitches initially, but had the better fortune of withdrawing our savings from a corrupt institution just prior to its collapse. Thankfully, that money was put down on a home instead of disappearing into the great real estate Savings & Loan scheme of the moment.

[buffalo_girl]

Well, "the mansion" is now owned by Washington Mutual.

Ooo...wasn't Washington Mutual one of the banks the Feds bought with our tax dollars?

See, it all came around to us anyway. We each have a $100,000 stake in the New Financial Order brought to us through the digital Producer Revolution.

Sadly, for us common folk the $100,000 we supposedly owe the Federal Reserve for the 'bail out' will have to be in the hard cash required by our slave labor.

Think they might take a few sheep, a couple of vehicles from the 90's, some scrap metal in the coulee...?

[jbalm]

Stephen R. Christiansen in his book "Following Christ" points is out very simply. When somebody tries to use your religion, to manipulate and or sell you something, you can know that it is not right, and not of God.

Absolutely true. After learning the hard way many times, now even the slightest mention of religion as a sales tactic is an immediate deal killer. No further conversation is necessary.

[howdy123]

If you are having trouble staying away from get rich quick schemes, then I suggest you get out of Utah where people seem to be preyed on for this sort of thing.

Utah Mormons seem to love being bamboozled by snappy salesmen promising unbelievable returns on investment.

People on this board seem to think that Utah is the center of the universe. It isn't. People get scammed outside of Utah too.

Bernard Madoff anyone? Last time I checked he ran the largest ponzi scheme in history. Amazingly, he did it outside of Utah and wasn't a member of the LDS church.

Oh, and a quick Google news searched revealed this article.

Ponzi Scheme Targeted Catholics, Priests, U.S. Says

U.S. prosecutors and market regulators accused a Buffalo, New York-area investment adviser of operating a Ponzi scheme that targeted Catholics, including priests.

Richard Piccoli, 82, was charged with mail fraud at federal court in Buffalo, U.S. Attorney Terrance Flynn said today in a statement. Piccoli placed advertisements in Catholic newspapers across the country while raising at least $17 million since 2004, according to the statement.

(Read full article here: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid= ... refer=home)

Anyone want to start a discussion thread on how Catholics in upstate New York are more likely to get scammed?

The truth is anyone can get scammed. Those self-righteous people on this board that seem to be "above" being scammed by people like the FreeCapitalist are just as succepatble as anyone else. The con man has to find another way, aside from the religious aspect, to do it.

[shadow]

Bernard Madoff anyone? Last time I checked he ran the largest ponzi scheme in history.

Madoff isn't even close to running the largest ponzi scheme. Social Security is the largest I'm aware of. How many on this board have been duped ("bamboozled") into that scheme? And if you know it's wrong why do you still invest or even accept it's returns? Ahh, the promise of high returns on your investment (by robbing from your kids and grand kids ). Suckers!
There are schemers all around us that we all participate with. Who shops at Wal*Mart? You've been duped! Who made your shoes? Probably some 10 yr old in a sweat shop. You've been duped into saving a few bucks (get rich quick) at the expense of abused people! Feel good? I could go on.