Mitch Gold Charity Telemarketing Scams Keep Rolling

Mitch Gold is in prison, but his network of charity telemarketing scams is stronger than ever.   Meanwhile, the law enforcement team that put him behind bars (after he had been in business nearly 15 years) has been disbanded and is unlikely to reassemble due to changed priorities after 9/11. 

Reporter Ronald Campbell in the OC Register has put together an extensive investigative report that boasts its own web portal worth exploring for its graphics and documents.  But the main article on Mitchell Gold is here and the one on protégé Joe Shambaugh is here.  On the other side, there a profile of prosecutor Ellyn Lindsay and even U.S. district court judge David Carter.

The sheer volume of assembled data and stories is a bit overwhelming.  To me, the only serious omission is the absence of a link to the Department of Justice Inspector General Report that details the investigative gap after 9/11.  The web portal puts more emphasis on the old prosecutor's argument that Supreme Court cases tie their hands, when it does appear that it is more a matter of putting the right resources on the job. 

WMN has noted before that it typically takes a decade to bring these cases to justice, whether it is Richard Blaich hijacking a foundation or another telemarketing scam like Global Mindlink. 

The data really speaks for itself, so WMN also finds disappointing that the article also offers some general quotes disdaining telemarketing firms from the self-appointed charity watchdog Daniel Borochoff and from Nonprofit FAQ editor Putnam Barber.  This reporter has offered us much more in the way of understanding the details of these operations, and the issue to me is not so much how bad the bad guys are, but why it takes the good guys so long to stop them. 

Gold had a network of charity boiler rooms that generated millions via $6 per hour telemarketing reps collecting for charities with names like American Veterans Network, the Association for Disabled Firefighters, Emmanuel Outreach Ministries, Hospitalized Children Fund, Help for the Homeless Program and Hear the Cry of the Children International.  Some were charities set up by Gold, but there were also many small charities willing to participate in return for tiny percentages of the proceeds.

Of course, Gold's firm controls the donor lists, so that the charities never could develop their own fund raising base. 

Gold started in 1987, but It took law enforcement officials over a decade to catch up with him.  He was indicted on September 5, 2001, then in July, 2002 he was sent to prison for eight years for fraud. The key to the successful pursuit was a federal prosecutor named Ellyn Marcus Lindsay who directed a group called the County of Orange Boiler Room Apprehension task force (COBRA), a group of local and federal cops based in Santa Ana.

However, after 9/11, the FBI saw its priorities change.  A 2005 report from the Department of Justice Inspector General described how the FBI commitment of agents for telemarketing fraud went from 60 in 2000 to 16 in 2004.  In 2000, there were 215 new cases but only 56 in 2004.  In the PDF report, the material on telemarketing fraud starts on the page numbered 45, which is page 65 of the PDF file.   The report found that these cases transcend state boundaries and local officials are not in the best position to investigate them.  It concluded that the FBI's limited involvement creates what it called an investigative gap that hinders successful prosecution of these cases.

Gold's successors include Joe Shambaugh, who has refined the technique by using management contracts that further obscure his involvement in the telemarketing schemes. 

Comments

[Mitch L Gold]

Please change the posting on your site when referring to MItch Gold. Please show Mitch D Gold rather than just Mitch Gold as I am MItch L Gold and my reputation is being smeared by your use of my name, incorrectly.

This is my second note to your organization.

Thnaking you in advance.

Peace

Mitch L. Gold

[ghd lisseur]

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[バーバリーマフラー]

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[バーバリーマフラー]

複数の政府関係者が明らかにした。外交安全保障政策で助言を得るためとしているが、政府の役職に野党関係者を起用するのは極めて異例だ。国会対策で焦点となる公明党との関係強化を模索する狙いもあるようだが、民主、公明両党間の正式ルートで協議した痕跡はあまり見えず、“民公”接近につながるかどうかは微妙だ。
関係者によると、高野氏の起用は、藤村官房長官が高野氏に「外交機能を強化したい」と打診した。政府高官は３日、「外交関係のアドバイザーだ。国連平和維持活動（ＰＫＯ）の問題も含め、広く意見をうかがう」と説明した。ただ、政府内にも「公明党とのパイプ強化を狙ったものだろう」との見方が強い。

[ティンバーランド]

ティンバーランド堺市北区の象印マホービン元副社長、尾崎宗秀さん（８４）が自宅で襲われ殺害された事件で、尾崎さんが発見される約２時間前、自宅周辺を黒の原付きバイクで往復する不審な男が目撃されていたことが、捜査関係者への取材で分かった。数日前から近所の複数の住民らも目撃しており、大阪府警はこの男が尾崎さん殺害に関与したとみている。

　ティンバーランド捜査関係者によると、尾崎さんは１日午前１０時２０分ごろ、自宅２階の納戸で顔を粘着テープなどで巻かれ、両手足を結束バンドで縛られた状態で発見された。目撃情報は午前８時前後で、通行人が尾崎さん方の周りを走る不審なバイクの男を見ていた。男は黒っぽい服装で、ヘルメットをかぶっていたという。