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Outside magazine on Blackwater-type fraud

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Dick Whitman, Oct 13, 2014.

  1. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    Great piece here - but long - on a guy who tried to start a Blackwater-style security company, but apparently invented his entire background. Along the way, his outfit trained people for the U.S. Military, secured contracts with the Air Force, and the DOD, and scammed a retired couple out of $12.5 million.

    http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/media/books/Secret-Agent-Man-or-Undercover-Fratboy.html
     
  2. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    I feel bad for those people in Bucks County, as dumb as they are. What is about a fool and his money that they say?

    This mostly makes my blood pressure go up. It's a lot of little stories like this that explain our huge governmental budget and accumulating debt. It runs across unaccountable governmental agencies, but the DoD is particularly egregious because it shrouds itself in a deliberate paternalism to try to suggest that they don't have to answer questions about what they do and how they spend their billions of dollars, because their work is somehow beyond reproach. It's like everything else when you have public money involved. There is corruption and there is no accountability. It's a deadly duo, and this guy demonstrates it at the low levels. I found it funny that the DoD even did that formal, "suspended from contracts for 3 years." Really? Because 3 years should be enough of a break from dealing with a con artist who has a judgment against him for ripping off two people of their $12.5 million life savings? Given the Fed's track record, I wouldn't be surprised if he is back bidding for public money from them for some BS training (does anyone think that this guy provided any kind of "training" that anyone who didn't play GI Joe as a kid couldn't have?) in 3 years, and there is public money flowing to him again.

    Also, how doesn't he even rate a prosecution? The AG who declined is probably racking up stats locking up people who can't afford non-court appointed attorneys for victimless "crimes," such as drugs or prostitution. ... but it would be too hard to convince a grand jury to indict the guy who scammed people out of their $12.5 million life savings? Maybe they should hire Outside magazine to do the job for them, because that piece could get the actual conviction, let alone the indictment.
     
  3. JayFarrar

    JayFarrar Well-Known Member

    Fascinating read. I'm pretty familiar with that part of the world and I've asked the people I know there, what they know about that guy.

    It sounds like he was the very definition of truthiness,.
     
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