Blogger Gets Paid By Newspaper That Stole His Content
Undoubtedly, the internet has made it easier for consumers to get news. It has also made it easier for people to rip off the reporting and creative works of others.
Recently, All American Blogger Duane Lester got ripped off by the Oregon Times Observer, a local newspaper based in Oregon, Missouri. Lester’s May 1 article “Changes Implemented After MO Auditor Finds ‘Serious Shortcomings’ In Holt County Sheriff’s Department” was ripped off almost word for word and published on the front page of the May 10 Oregon Times Observer:
Take Shape For Life and Medifast: Court Filing Explains Pyramid Scheme Allegations
This week, response briefs were due from the defendants in the case of Medifast v. Barry Minkow, Fraud Discovery Institute, Robert FitzPatrick, Tracy Coenen, and Sequence Inc. I was dismissed from Medifast’s SLAPP suit (see information on the lawsuit here), and my brief in the Medifast appeal can be found here. The brief of Minkow and Bob FitzPatrick was also filed this week, and sheds some light on the allegations that Take Shape For Life (TSFL) and Medifast are offering a pyramid scheme to distributors (called “health coaches”).
The entire brief filed on behalf of Minkow, FDI, and FitzPatrick is found here (10MB file). Below I highlight some of the most relevant (and most interesting) portions, particularly the bits regarding the allegations that Medifast’s multi-level marketing business is a pyramid scheme or endless chain recruitment scheme.
Sam Antar on Green Mountain: Inventory Changes Signal Trouble
Sam Antar, former CFO of Crazy Eddie, a massive fraud in the 1980s, has been following Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) for a long time. He has pointed out red flags of fraud over and over, and the current problem is with the level of inventory. Sam has noted that the inventory of Green Mountain has grown to “toxic levels,” even when the company was beating revenue and earnings targets.
Here’s a recent interview in which Sam details the inventory issue at Green Mountain, along with a few other criticisms of management.
On Becoming a Big 4 Audit Partner
This was left as a comment to an article here, but I didn’t want it to get lost in the shuffle. It gives good insight on becoming a partner at a Big Four firm.
I joined PwC as a director, with explicit expectations that I’d have a leadership role building a new consulting practice. Along with that, I was told I could make a run at partner if my sales numbers were good. Even when the leadership role and the new practice never materialized, I had great numbers and terrific reviews.
After over a year of solid performance and high praise, I found out only by chance that the partnership isn’t an option for me because of my age. Of course this came as a shock. When I asked about my only other option for advancement, the Managing Director role, a partner told me it has similar revenue targets as the partnership but with greater risks.
A New Look at Herbalife
Yesterday the stock of Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) dropped 20 percent when David Einhorn of Greenlight Capital began asking questions during the company’s earnings call. Herbalife is a multi-level marketing company which sells vitamins. The company describes itself:
We pursue our mission of “changing people’s lives” by providing a financially rewarding business opportunity to distributors and quality products to distributors and customers who seek a healthy lifestyle. We are one of the largest network marketing companies in the world with net sales of approximately $3.5 billion for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011. As of December 31, 2011, we sold our products in 79 countries through a network of approximately 2.7 million independent distributors.
Fortune on Herbalife and David Einhorn
Two weeks ago the big news was Herbalife’s earnings call, and questions asked by David Einhorn. Stephen Gandel, senior editor at Fortune Magazine wrote a great article on the Herbalife questions and their significance. I was quoted relative to the issues of distributors and recruiting:
It’s not clear Einhorn has already placed his bets against Herbalife, but it seems likely he would do so before tipping his hand, even slightly. Einhorn only asked three questions on the conference call, so it’s not clear why he thinks the company’s shares will fall. But Tracy Coenen, a forensic accountant, who has been following Herbalife for a few years, says that from Einhorn’s questions it appears he is concerned about Herbalife’s growth.
Medifast and Take Shape For Life: Appeals, Pyramid Schemes, Truth, and Lies
Yesterday my attorneys filed my response to the appeal in the lawsuit brought against me by Medifast, Inc. for my non-defamatory writings about the company and its Take Shape For Life multi-level marketing business. Medifast sued me on February 17, 2010, lied repeatedly to the court about my writings leading up to the lawsuit, and ultimately the judge dismissed me from the lawsuit on March 29, 2011.
You can read an important filing related to our anti-SLAPP motion here, which details what did and did not happen prior to the lawsuit. Medifast is appealing my dismissal from the lawsuit. Below is our response to Medifast’s appeal, and a pdf of the filing is found here.
My favorite quote from the brief: “Medifast claims that Coenen published false information, but it is Medifast that continues to make false accusations against Coenen.”
Why a Lifestyle Analysis Is So Important in Divorce
In the early stages of divorce, clients are required to complete financial affidavits, financial declarations, or other similarly titled disclosures. The importance of an accurate disclosure of assets, liabilities, and income is obvious. Yet many clients are unable to accurately prepare this financial information.
Particularly in high net worth divorces, it may be difficult for the husband or wife to report these financial details because of a large volume of data and/or an inability to compute the numbers. The financial declaration will be a primary piece of information used to divide assets, calculate alimony, and calculate child support. Errors can therefore be very costly.
Dooce Will Sue You
Ever since Get Off My Internets (GOMI) scooped Heather Armstrong (the blogger known as Dooce) on her trial separation / divorce news, (announcing it January 4th, Dooce announced it on January 17th,) Heather has been looking for a chance for payback. She delivered big with the threat of a lawsuit.
On April 26, 2012, GOMI posted an article regarding a tip received about Armstrong. The article stated that the author received a tip that Dooce was not on the announced “blog break,” but instead was in Los Angeles filming a video for YouTube.
The article noted that the information came from a “source,” and that if it was true, the author thought Heather was being manipulative when she said she was taking a break on April 17. In fairness, Dooce never defined what a “break” meant to hear, so we don’t know if taking a break from blogging but still participating in work activities qualifies as a break. Nonetheless, GOMI gave their opinion that the (alleged) acts seemed manipulative:
McMama Bankruptcy Update: Trustee Files Motion Objecting to Exempt Property
Whether or not you are a reader of MckMama (or mommy blogs in general), this post has good information on bankruptcy fraud. Last week we looked at the bankruptcy filing of Jennifer Howe Sauls McKinney and Israel McKinney, and discussed the many red flags of fraud that have been detected. Jennifer / MckMama has made a very public spectacle of her life, her finances, and her many money-making scams on her blog My Charming Kids, and things may finally be catching up to her.
Today the bankruptcy trustee filed a motion objecting to exempt property, essentially asking the judge to order that certain assets are NOT exempt from the bankruptcy. What does this mean?
