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Author: PatrickPretty.com

  • PROSECUTORS: Man Operated Identity-Theft Fraud Scheme While Out On Bond In Ponzi Scheme Case; Bryant R. Filter Sentenced To 135 Months In Federal Prison

    While completing its investigation of Bryant R. Filter for operating an insurance Ponzi scheme, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service discovered Filter was operating a second fraud scheme, federal prosecutors said.

    Filter, 39, of Mars, Pa., now has been sentenced to 135 months in federal prison for the Ponzi fraud, and a second scheme in which he stole the identities of customers to obtain fraudulent loans.

    Through a company known as Filter and Associates, Filter fraudulently secured financing for insurance premiums by fabricating “an insurance relationship with a nonexistent representative of an insurance company, and a fictitious underwriter,” prosecutors said.

    He obtained more than $8 million in the insurance scheme, which prosecutors dubbed a “Ponzi” type loan scheme.

    Even as the Ponzi case was before the court and Filter was pleading guilty in April 2009, Filter was knee deep in a second scheme, prosecutors said.

    “Unbeknownst to the Court and the government, Filter committed a second wave of fraud offenses, which resulted in his arrest on May 21, 2009,” prosecutors said.

    In the second scheme, Filter used a company known as Three Rivers Business Group LLC to obtain “personal information from clients seeking to sell or purchase a business and seeking the financing to do so.

    “Filter used the clients’ personal information without their permission to obtain financing proceeds in their names for himself,” prosecutors said.

    As part of the second scheme — and while Filter was out on bond in the Ponzi scheme — Filter “attempted to defraud a bank when he applied to obtain a $50,000 home equity loan in the names of unsuspecting victims, without their authorization, using their house as security.”

    A federal judge revoked Filter’s bond and jailed him when the second scheme was discovered.

    The identity-theft case involved financing for bogus accounts receivable and the “fraudulent acquisition of an $18,000 check after Filter purported to sell his leased vehicle and obtain clear title,” prosecutors said.

    Filter pleaded guilty in November to the identity-theft charges and was sentenced simultaneously on the Ponzi charges.

  • 3 Plead Guilty In Bizarre Shakedown Bid In Anthony Vassallo/EIMT Ponzi Case; 1 Pleads To Conspiracy To Impersonate An Officer

    Three individuals who attempted to shake down the operators of a hedge fund associated with the alleged Equity Investment Management and Training Inc. (EIMT) Ponzi scheme have pleaded guilty in California for their roles in the shakedown bid.

    Craig Anderson, 39, of Chicago, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to impersonate a federal officer and employee; Cassandra Moore, 26, of Beverly Hills, Calif., pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of unlawfully possessing false documents, as did Sean Smartt, 41, of Sacramento.

    The FBI described the crime as “bizarre,” when the shakedown charges were announced in May 2009. In announcing the guilty pleas today, federal prosecutors said the shakedown attempt occurred after a fake meeting was arranged in March 2009 under the guise that a wealthy investor wanted to meet figures associated with EIMT.

    Also participating in the shakedown scheme was Michael David Sanders, 41, of Fair Oaks, Calif., prosecutors said. Sanders has pleaded not guilty. His trial is set to get under way next month.

    “Once the individuals were inside the office, Anderson tapped on the window with an identification badge to gain entry,” prosecutors said. “Sanders, Anderson, Moore, and Smartt entered, wearing bulletproof vests, earpieces, and credentials falsely bearing identification information and the authentication feature of the United States.

    “They carried handcuffs, badges, and some carried radios and appeared to be armed leaving the impression that they were federal law enforcement agents,” prosecutors said.

    Anderson, Moore, and Smartt now “admit that Sanders and Anderson paced around the office, exposed their weapons, and blocked the entrances and exits of the office suite,” prosecutors said. “One of the co-conspirators told the hedge fund operators that the defendants were there to collect funds taken from the . . . (EIMT) account on behalf of fraud victims.”

    Anderson, prosecutors said, “told the hedge fund operators that they had until noon on Monday, March 9, 2009, to wire $378,300.16 to a Patelco Credit Union account in the name of the ‘Spirit Foundation’ and to send an e-mail confirmation,” prosecutors said. “The defendants left a sheet of paper with the wiring instructions, routing number, account number, bank name, amount, and an e-mail address.”

    Anderson faces a maximum of five years in federal prison. His sentencing is set for April 27, before U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez.

    Smartt and Moore are set to be sentenced on April 25 and 26, before U.S. District Judge Gregory G. Hollows. They face up to a year in prison.

    Anthony Vassallo was charged in April 2009, with mail fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering, amid allegations he operated the $40 million EIMT Ponzi scheme.

    Vassallo has pleaded not guilty.

  • Now, A Narc That Car Training Video Shot By Promoter In Parking Lot Of Giant Eagle Supermarket Chain; ‘I’m Not Going To Talk To Anybody,’ Narrator Says

    A Narc That Car promoter recorded a video for the program in the parking lot of a Giant Eagle store. Giant Eagle is one of the largest grocery chains in the United States. Some Narc That Car promoters have recommended that members visit the parking lots of prominent retailers and restaurants to find a never-ending supply of license-plate numbers.

    UPDATED 11 A.M. ET (U.S.A.) A grainy video promotion for Narc That Car was shot in the parking lot of one of the largest grocery-store chains in the United States and posted on YouTube.

    The narrator in the video talked about the “countless cars that are in the parking lot” of a Giant Eagle store. Pittsburgh-based Giant Eagle is one of the largest food retailers and food distributors in the United States, recording about $8 billion in annual sales.

    Narc That Car is a Dallas-based, multilevel-marketing (MLM) company that says it is building a database of license-plate numbers for use by banks and companies that specialize in repossessing automobiles.

    “This is how simple this business is, folks,” the narrator says, as a camera pans around the Giant Eagle parking lot and captures one car after another in video frames.

    “I’m not even going to talk to anybody,” the narrator says, noting he did not know the address of the particular Giant Eagle at which he was recording the video, but would obtain it online.

    Giant Eagle did not immediately return a call seeking comment on the Narc That Car video shot in its parking lot and the practices of Narc That Car and its promoters.

    The narrator cites Giant Eagle’s name in the video, panning on Giant Eagle signage and a nearby gas station.

    “I want to show you how simple and easy this business is,” the narrator intones. “I’m just going to jot down some public information of the license plates. That’s the way this works.”

    The narrator continues, “As a matter of fact, I don’t even know the address of this Giant Eagle. I’ll just look it up online and get the address when I get home. Or, [if] I’m at a gas station, I can do the exact same thing. So, this is really great how simple this business is. Come on and join us [via] Cash For Car Plates.”

    In the the video, which appears to have been shot on a dark and dreary winter day, the narrator raised no issues of propriety, safety, privacy or legality. The narrator did not, for example, instruct Narc That Car members if permission needed to be obtained from companies such as Giant Eagle to write down the license-plate numbers of patrons.

    Nor did the video provide any instruction on what Narc That Car members should do if approached by a store manager or patron while the Narc That Car promoter was writing down license-plate numbers or capturing them on video.

  • STOP THE MADNESS: Now, AmberAlertHelp.org; Narc That Car Promoters Continue To Link Company To Legacy Of Amber Hagerman

    Two days ago, we wrote about FindThatCar.org, a website with a red banner at the top that appeals to visitors to “Help us,” as though it were promoting a charity such as the Red Cross.

    FindThatCar.org actually is promoting Narc That Car, a Dallas-based multilevel-marketing  (MLM) company that is building a database to sell information to companies in the business of repossessing automobiles. Both Narc That Car and its promoters reference the AMBER Alert program in their sales pitches.

    Today we turn your attention to AmberAlertHelp.org. It, too, is selling Narc That Car. Here’s the AmberAlertHelp.org pitch on the site’s main page (italics added):

    Welcome to Amber Alert Help

    Our goal is to build awareness about an opportunity for you, your friends, and your family to get paid for helping build the Amber Alert system database simply by submitting 6 random license plate numbers per month online. It is so easy, and you can get started now.

    Here is the pitch on a secondary AmberAlertHelp.org page (italics added):

    We Joined Narc That Car and feel wonderful about having the ability to:

    • Help find and save missing children
    • Help build the very valuable Amber Alert system database
    • Make extra money easily

    AmberAlertHelp.org also has an AmberAlertHelp.com version of the domain. Both sites were registered Jan. 20, two days after the BBB in Dallas asked Narc That Car to explain its business practices. The inquiry is still open, according to the BBB website.

    The U.S. Department of Justice, which coordinates the AMBER Alert program, said Wednesday that Narc That Car is in “no way affiliated” with the program. On Thursday, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), which manages the Amber Alert Secondary Distribution Program for the Justice Department and 120 Amber Alert coordinators throughout the United States, said Narc That Car “is not a part” of the secondary program.

    Nine-year old Amber Hagerman was abducted 14 years ago while riding her bicycle in Arlington, Texas. She was brutally murdered. The AMBER Alert program — America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response — is her legacy.

    AMBER Alert is about keeping children safe. It is not about keeping the world safe for multilevel-marketing profits. AMBER Alert’s name should be accorded the same dignity accorded Amber Hagerman’s name, which is to say neither name ever should be made part of a pitch fest.

    That AMBER Alert’s name is being mentioned in sales pitches for Narc That Car is beyond the pale. AMBER Alert is about life-altering emergencies. It is not about MLM recruiting and pocketing commissions up to five levels deep.

    Good grief. Narc That Car promoters are using .org extensions — the same extensions used by the Red Cross, the Salvation Army and NCMEC for their noble purposes — to promote a business that is building a database for the repo man — and they are implying it is a public service.

    Today we call on Narc That Car to remove references to AMBER Alert from its marketing materials, including videos. We further call on Narc That Car promoters to do the same.

    Not only are some Narc That Car promoters repeatedly referencing AMBER Alert, they also are referencing government agencies such as the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security as though the agencies have endorsed the Narc That Car program.

    One Narc That Car promoter claims the purpose of the program is “To help The US Dep’t of Homeland Security find terrorists.” Another claims, “We are backed by the better business bureau, the F.B.I., and the Amber Alert system . . . ” Yet another claims, “A company out of Dallas needs to grow a data base of license plates to use for Amber Alerts and other reasons.”

    Elsewhere, a website that uses a name similar to the famous ToysRUs trade name, references AMBER Alert and tells viewers that big money is possible through Narc That Car.

    “I went to Walmart,” a video narrator intones at the PlatesRUs.biz website. “It took me every bit of five minutes to write down 10 tag numbers randomly, go in my back office and log it into the national database through the company, and actually earn a check.”

    This madness must stop.

  • Nilton Rossoni Sentenced To 68 Months In Federal Prison For Colossal eBay Fraud; Elaborate Scheme Featured 59 Mail Drops, 260 Bogus Auction Accounts

    It was a case that was all about the numbers. In the end, the number with the most meaning to Nilton Rossoni was 68 — the number of months he’ll be spending in federal prison.

    Rossoni conducted more than 5,500 fraudulent auctions on eBay. He pulled off his scheme by using at least 260 bogus accounts, at least 59 mail drops, six names, four bogus passports and three banks.

    Rossoni, 50, formerly of Sunny Isles and Hallandale Beach, Fla., collected $717,000 in the scheme between October 2003 and June 2008. The bizarre fraud was smashed by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service

    Winning bidders were notified via e-mail to send a check or money order payable either to Celso Ferreira, Jorge Carlos, Joao Santos, Lourival Philipps, Prime Hill Inc. or Primo Hill Inc. Buyers were instructed to send payments via U.S. Mail to specific addresses, all of which proved to be mail drops.

    “Elaborate” barely described the scheme.

    “Rossoni rented at least 59 separate private mail boxes at various Commercial Mail Receiving Agencies (CMRA), including The UPS Store, Mail Boxes Etc., and Pak-Mail, using fraudulent Brazilian passports in the names of Celso Ferreira, Jorge Carlos, Joao Santos, or Lourival Philipps as identification,” prosecutors said. “After receiving payment, Rossoni deposited the money into various bank accounts he opened at Bank of America, Citibank, and SunTrust Bank, under these aliases.”

    As part of the scheme, “Rossoni registered and established hundreds of eBay accounts and used various names, e-mail addresses, phone numbers, and mailing addresses on those accounts to post items for auction,” prosecutors said.

    He then purchased inexpensive items from himself and posted positive “feedback” on the transaction, prosecutors said.

    Confident that Rossoni was an honest broker because of his positive feedback, buyers lined up to be fleeced, prosecutors said. Rossoni sold them textbooks, computer flash drives, rotisserie grills, tools, sporting equipment, DVD collections, airline tickets, saddles, saddlebags, designer luggage, appliances, metal detectors and more.

    Rather than shipping items, he kept the money.

  • FBI Makes Ponzi Arrest In California; Peter Jerald Frommer Faces Up To 233 Years Behind Bars If Convicted On All Counts

    UPDATED 5:23 P.M. ET (U.S.A.) A California man has been arrested by the FBI and IRS criminal investigators in an alleged Ponzi scheme involving $12 million.

    Peter Jerald Frommer was taken into custody this morning, after a federal grand jury returned a 17-count indictment yesterday.

    Frommer, 34, formerly of Malibu, was charged with two counts of mail fraud, seven counts of wire fraud, five counts of money laundering and three counts of failing to file federal income-tax returns.

    Prosecutors said he faced a maximum sentence of up to 233 years in prison if convicted on all counts.

    “Frommer operated a bogus investment scheme under the names ‘Cap Exchange’ and ‘Cap X’ that purported to trade in surplus property of defunct companies,” prosecutors said. “[He] told numerous victims throughout the United States that he used commercial auction websites to purchase large lots of equipment for resale at higher prices.”

    Between January 2004 and August 2006, prosecutors said, Frommer allegedly solicited “at least $12 million from victims by promising ‘guaranteed’ returns of 8 percent to 15 percent during cycles as short as six weeks.”

    Investors were told Frommer would use their money “to buy the distressed assets for Cap X, and then would share profits from the subsequent sales,” prosecutors said.

    “In addition to personal promissory notes, Frommer issued account statements that purported to show returns in the Cap X investment,” prosecutors said.

    More than 50 investors were targeted in the scheme, including residents of California, Oregon, Virginia, Illinois and Massachusetts, prosecutors said.

    Frommer did not purchase distressed assets with the victims’ money, prosecutors said.

    “Instead, [he] allegedly misappropriated this money to maintain his lavish personal lifestyle and to make Ponzi payments to victims, while falsifying Cap X account statements to lull victims into believing that their money was safe and earning high returns,” prosecutors said.

    It has been a busy week for Ponzi prosecutors in California.

    Miguel Salazar, 36, of West Covina, pleaded guilty to mail fraud Tuesday. Prosecutors said Salazar ran a Ponzi scheme “that took nearly $700,000 from victims who thought they were investing in latex gloves, which were portrayed as being in high demand following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.”

    Salazar’s former partner, Carlos Flores, 43, of Lakewood, pleaded guilty to mail fraud in December.

    In other Ponzi news, an auction company is preparing to sell six vehicles linked to the alleged Trevor Cook/Pat Kiley Ponzi and financial-fraud scheme in Minnesota.

    Among the items set to go up for bid Feb. 13 is a 1989 Rolls Royce Silver Spur linked to Cook. The Cook/Kiley scheme is alleged to be a fraud of at least $190 million.

    In Utah, meanwhile, prosecutors said that Jeffrey Lane Mowen — accused in both a Ponzi scheme and a murder-for-hire plot in which potential Ponzi witnesses were to be killed — used Morse code as part of the murder plot.

  • First Narc That Car, Now ‘PlatesRUs’: Promoter Says He Recorded 10 License Plate Numbers In Walmart Parking Lot And Earned A ‘Check’

    Part of the 'PlatesRUs' pitch for Narc That Car.

    Using a domain name similar to the famous ToysRUs brand name, a domain that has branded itself PlatesRUs.biz is promoting the Narc That Car multilevel-marketing program by telling prospects that earning $50 is a simple as going down to the local Walmart parking lot and writing down 10 license-plate numbers of WalMart shoppers.

    The PlatesRUs video pitch is similar to a pitch apparently put out by a separate Narc That Car downline group known as Team Trinity International. The Team Trinity promo included the logos of 30 famous companies, identifying their parking lots as places NarcThatCar members should visit to harvest plate numbers and record them in a database through a website NarcThatCar provides for a $100 start-up fee and a monthly fee of $24.95.

    A narrator in the PlatesRUs video for Narc That Car tells a simple story:

    “I went to Walmart,” he said. “It took me every bit of five minutes to write down 10 tag numbers randomly, go in my back office and log it into the national database through the company, and actually earn a check.”

    By paying Narc That Car the $100 fee, promoters become a “registered information consultant,” the PlatesRUs promoter explained in the video, noting he was “very excited” to have become one. The pitchman added that the program was “tremendously exciting” and “growing like wildfire.”

    No mention was made in the video of any privacy or legal concerns. Like the Team Trinity video, the PlatesRUs video did not instruct members on matters such as whether Narc That Car participants would need permission to enter retailers’ private property for the purposes of harvesting license-plate data from the retailers’ patrons.

    Viewers were given no instruction on what to do if a Walmart shopper — or a shopper at any other prominent business — observed his or her plate number being recorded and objected, perhaps demanding the paper on which the number was recorded so it could be shown to the store manager or even the police. The implication in both videos was that recording license-plate numbers raised no privacy issues at all and was a perfectly acceptable practice — even on private property.

    Like the Team Trinity video and a video put out by Narc That Car, the PlatesRUs video referenced the AMBER Alert program. The U.S. Department of Justice said this week that Narc That Car was not affiliated with AMBER Alert, despite promoters’ repeated claims that Narc That Car was tied to the AMBER Alert system.

    Some Narc That Car promoters have said the FBI and companies such as the Ford Motor Co. endorsed the Narc That Car program.

    The PatrickPretty.com Blog contacted Ford and provided a reference to the claim, which purports that Ford and two other prominent car companies “have already given their commitment to NARC. They have signed on as clients and will be there to use the database when it is ready. These companies believe in this idea.”

    Ford did not immediately respond to the inquiry.

    Among the claims online about Narc That Car are that it is helping “The US Dep’t of Homeland Security find terrorists” and that “NARC has integrated with Amber Alert to support and assist them in locating missing and/or abducted children.”

  • Frank Constantino Convicted Of Racketeering-Related Charges In Georgia Securities Fraud Case With Ties To Belize; Victim In $2.7 Million Scheme Was 83-Year-Old Woman

    A Georgia man potentially faces decades in prison after being convicted yesterday of racketeering-related charges.

    Frank Constantino, 65, of Marietta, was a recidivist securities offender previously disciplined in Missouri for a Bahamas-based scheme and also linked to a scheme in Belize, officials said. He now faces up to 95 years in prison after his conviction on charges of fleecing an elderly woman in a $2.7 million scheme.

    Constantino was convicted of violating the Georgia Securities Act, theft and exploitation of an elderly person. Records show he first clashed with Georgia securities regulators in 1997, in a case that featured allegations that he claimed investments in a candy company were guaranteed against loss.

    Prosecutors said Constantino had a history of creating shell companies such as Atrium Secure Annuity, Atrium Global Partners and Atrium Investment Partners to fleece investors.

    Now facing up to 95 years in prison, Constantino already has been in the Cobb County jail for 349 days. He lost a Georgia Supreme Court battle in October in which he sought release pending trial, arguing he was in poor health and not a threat to flee.

    Prosecutors argued he posed a “significant”  flight risk because “he did not own any assets in this country, he owned assets in Belize and Nicaragua, and he traveled to Belize on a regular basis.”

    In rejecting Constantino’s bid to be released pending trial, the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed a lower-court ruling that Constantino “posed a significant risk to flee” in part because of an alleged history of funneling “significant amounts of money to investments in Belize.”

  • Narc That Car ‘Not A Part’ Of Secondary AMBER Alert System; National Center For Missing & Exploited Children Official Says Integrity Of AMBER Alert Name ‘Needs To Be Protected’

    UPDATED 2:39 P.M. ET (U.S.A.) Narc That Car is not affiliated with the AMBER Alert Secondary Distribution Program, an official said yesterday.

    Robert Hoever’s comments followed on the heels of a denial by the Justice Department that Narc That Car was affiliated with the AMBER Alert program — despite repeated claims by Narc That Car promoters that participation in Narc That Car benefited AMBER Alert.

    Hoever, associate director of special projects in the Missing Children’s Division of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), manages the Amber Alert Secondary Distribution Program for NCMEC and the Justice Department, and 120 Amber Alert coordinators throughout the United States.

    “Narc that Car is not a part of the AMBER Alert Secondary Distribution Program,” Hoever said.

    Given the inarguably high stakes when a child goes missing, Hoever said it was common for people and organizations to try to get involved and help — “[s]ome by pulling AMBER Alerts off the internet and posting them in various places.”

    But he cautioned that brand dilution and public desensitization can occur when AMBER Alert’s famous name is commercialized.

    “As you might imagine there can be accuracy issues as well as timeliness concerns,” Hoever said. “The integrity of the AMBER Alert program needs to be protected so that we do not over saturate the public, but rather send messages to targeted areas defined by the investigating agency. We do not want to desensitize the public by sending alerts that are commercialized, that do not apply to the recipients, are not completely accurate, or are not timely.”

    Promoters routinely reference AMBER Alert in sales pitches for the Narc That Car multilevel-marketing program, which charges participants a $100 fee up front and a website fee of $24.95 a month to become “independent consultants.”

    Narc That Car’s consultants are instructed to write down the license-plate numbers of 10 automobiles and enter the information into a database Narc That Car maintains. Participants get paid for entering information in the database, and are paid additional commissions if they recruit others into the program and minimum thresholds are met.

    Clients such as major automobile manufacturers, banks, automobile-repossession companies and others are interested in purchasing information from the database for $99, according to Narc That Car.

    Promoters routinely drop the names of AMBER Alert and make references to “law enforcement” in ads for the Narc That Car program, but the company does not publish a list of clients.

    Google search results include references such as this: (Italics/bold added.)

    “This program is supported by all the major vehicle manufactures, FBI, law enforcement and financial institutions to help locate and in some cases reclaim vehicles. Just having an address does not work, people ‘hide’ their vehicles and we provide a pattern of these vehicles movements. We recently allowed the Amber Alert program access to help in their cause when there is a need to track down a vehicle quickly that might be in the National data base.”

    (URL for above still current as of Feb. 4, 2010.)

    Here is another claim (italics/bold added):

    “This is an excellent business opportunity, very very simple, and very lucrative. It is a new business that gathers license plate numbers for various companies.

    Such as:
    *Major Auto Manufactures
    *Private Lien Holders
    * Banks
    *In House Auto Dealers
    *Commercial Vehicle Companies
    *Missing Persons
    *Law Enforcement & Government Agencies
    *Amber Alert

    (URL for above still current as of Feb. 4, 2010)

    Meanwhile, a Google search result includes this claim (italics/bold added):

    “I got my first check from Narc That Car. This is fun and easy, and I’m helping Amber Alerts!”

    UPDATE 2:39 P.M. The screen shot below is a miniaturized version of a logo that appeared today on a site called “FindThatCar.org.” The logo included an appeal to “Help us,” as though it were collecting money for a charity.

  • JUSTICE DEPARTMENT: Amber Alert System ‘No Way’ Affiliated With Narc That Car MLM Program

    Shooting down claims by affiliates of Narc That Car, the U.S. Department of Justice said this morning that the Amber Alert System is in “no way affiliated” with the Narc That Car multilevel-marketing (MLM) program.

    The denial comes on the heels of repeated claims by Narc That Car affiliates that the company, which says it pays “independent consultants” to write down license-plate numbers and enter the information into a database, had ties to law-enforcement agencies and the Amber Alert system.

    Narc That Car is in “no way affiliated with the Amber Alert program,” said Kevin Jenkins, a Justice Department spokesman who works with the component of the agency that coordinates Amber Alert.

    Narc That Car says it sells license-plate numbers to banks and companies in the business of repossessing automobiles, implying that it also has government clients for the license-plate data entered by its affiliates.

    Information on Amber Alerts, which are issued when a child goes missing, scrolls across the bottom of Narc That Car’s website, and affiliates have said the company was started in part to provide information to Amber Alert.

    Amber Alert is referenced in a promotional video put out by Narc That Car. It also is referenced in a video by an apparent Narc That Car downline organization known as Team Trinity International.

    Team Trinity International makes the claim that the Narc That Car program was started “to provide historical location data for lien holders, law enforcement and other entities such as the Amber Alert System.”

    Part of Team Trinity International Narc That Car promotion.

    A Team Trinity video promotion for Narc Thar Car says affiliates should go to the parking lots of famous companies such as McDonald’s, Best Buy, Piggly Wiggly and 27 other famous firms to find a ready supply of license-plate numbers to enter into the company’s database.

    Whether Narc That Car affiliates are required to obtain the permission of companies into whose parking lots affiliates venture to mine license-plate numbers is unclear. Also unclear is whether Narc That Car affiliates are required to obtain the permission of the vehicle owner before recording the license-plate number.

    Another open question is how Narc That Car affiliates are expected to behave if a person who does not want his plate number recorded calls police or an attorney. Yet another open question is how Narc That Car affiliates are expected to behave if a store manager calls police or shoos the affiliate off the premises.

    Jenkins said companies and individuals were not permitted to cite nonexistent Amber Alert ties in advertisements and promotional materials.

  • Video Ad For Narc That Car Claims Program Was Started For Amber Alert System; Prospects Told To Gawk At License Plates At Best Buy, Food Lion, McDonald’s, Others

    A promotional video for a multilevel-marketing (MLM) company that pays members to write down license-plate numbers says the program was started “to provide historical location data for lien holders, law enforcement and other entities such as the Amber Alert System.”

    The video, which appears to be a sales tool for an MLM downline organization known as Team Trinity International, reproduces the logos of 30 famous companies, offering their parking lots as places members of Narc That Car can go to find cars and license plates in plentiful supply to be recorded.

    Segmented by disciplines such as “Retail,” “Grocery Stores” and “Restaurants,” the famous names shown prospects include Best Buy, Kmart, Walgreens, PetSmart, Rite Aid, Bed Bath & Beyond, Food Lion, Kroger, Ralphs, Vons, Piggly Wiggly, Wegmans, Domino’s Pizza, Friday’s, Wendy’s, Red Lobster, Applebee’s, McDonald’s and more.

    It was not clear if the Team Trinity promoter had contacted each of the individual companies to determine if they would approve of Narc That Car members recording the license-plate numbers of their patrons.

    Such actions could lead to both privacy and safety concerns, putting the companies in the awkward position of shooing gawkers and explaining why people carrying pads and pens were continually appearing on private property and writing down plate numbers.

    The video also listed shopping centers, neighborhood businesses, convenience stores, residences and apartment complexes as prime spots to harvest data.

    A promotional video for Narc That Car says license plates can ge found aplenty at these stores.

    In a separate video, Narc That Car said it had recruited “thousands” of “independent consultants”  to write down license-plate numbers and enter the information in a database. Database entries are available to banks, financial companies and firms that specialize in repossessing automobiles, according to the company.

    Web records show that several Narc That Car affiliates are making the claim that law-enforcement agencies and the Amber Alert program have endorsed the company. No testimonials from law enforcement agencies or the Amber Alert program appear on the Narc That Car website, despite promoters’ claims.

    The U.S. Department of Justice did not immediately return a call seeking comment on claims made by Narc That Car promoters. The Justice Department’s Office of Justice is the national Amber Alert coordinator.

    “The AMBER Alert System began in 1996 when Dallas-Fort Worth broadcasters teamed with local police to develop an early warning system to help find abducted children,” the Justice Department said in an FAQ document on the program.

    “AMBER stands for America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response and was created
    as a legacy to 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, who was kidnapped while riding her bicycle
    in Arlington, Texas, and then brutally murdered,” the Justice Department said.

    The Narc That Car business is simple, the company says.

    “Narc a Few Cars,” the company instructs in a video. “Teach Others How to Narc Cars.”

    NarcThatCar does not list the names of any clients on its website. Nor does the company disclose information on how many database clients it has and how many of them are paying fees to receive a report on a target vehicle.

    License-plate consultants are required to act in a “lawful, ethical and moral manner” and perform “with honesty and integrity,” NarcThatCar says, noting it provides instruction on federal and state privacy laws and “fundamental training on the the proper way to gather information.”

    The Dallas branch of the Better Business Bureau says that it contacted Narc That Car Jan. 18 “to request that it substantiate some claims made in its advertising.”

    Narc That Car responded to the inquiry, and the matter was “still pending” as of Feb. 2, the BBB said on its website.

    The Team Trinity International promo is hosted on Blinkweb, a company that provides free hosting space and web-page creation tools.