(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Trump speech to TP USA was sponsored by a conman under investigation for $30M gold fraud [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-06-26 Introduction Back in the day, even conservative organizations would not have willingly taken buckets of sponsorship cash from a man accused of committing financial fraud on senior citizens. But we are now in the age of MAGA. The cult celebrates criminality as ‘good business’ perpetrated by ‘smart’ people. Even when it’s the MAGAs themselves who are the victims. The conference This June, Turning Point, USA - yet another conservative organization dedicated to picking pockets and spreading lies - invited the true believers to Detroit. There, for $100 a pop ($900 for VIP status), the MAGAs were entertained by the usual clowns. For three days, conservative politicians such as MT Green, JD, Vance, Rick Scott, and Matt Gaetz; Trump family members Don Jr., Lara, and Kimberly Guilfoyle; gadflies like Roger Stone; and nutters like Mike Lindell, entertained the crowd with their usual shtick. Underwriting this phantasmagorical propaganda were companies willing to fork over at least $250,000 to be listed as a sponsor. In return, they were given time to peddle their wares during breaks in the action. One of these sponsors was Fisher Capital. The company was represented by its owner, Alexander Spellane. He was given a spot soon before Trump spoke. He took advantage of his prime real estate to do what he does best — convince the financially illiterate that they could secure their fiscal futures by buying his gold coins. Spellane used his 10 minutes to tell the audience of the advantages of doing business with him. He did not tell the crowd that he has been under investigation for 14 months by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for fraudulent business practices. Spellane could rely on the MAGAs not bothering to fact-check. And TP USA was not going to let criminal charges stop them from pocketing his cash and giving the con man some stage time. This is not surprising. It is hard to trouble the conscience of people who have none. And if every charge against Spellane proves true, he is still a minor-league criminal compared to the event’s headliner. The criminal (alleged) Spellane is so dishonest that even his name is flexible. He’s also gone by — and been charged under — the name ‘Alexander Overlie’. Which is a strange, but appropriate, choice for a man who rarely tells the truth. The crime Fischer Capital is a boiler room. Its marketing strategy is to find unsophisticated investors and get them to call a phone number. Once on the phone, the customer is subject to a high-pressure sales pitch using trigger words and phrases that prove irresistible bait to many. Its website lists the gold and silver coins they sell as a better investment than such ‘risky’ (their word) propositions as the stock market. This is bullshit. Gold is an arbitrary and capricious investment. If you had bought it in 2001, you are a happy camper. If you bought it in 2011, you are sad. And if you bought it in 1980, you threw most of your money away. Note: gold is currently trading at $2,300. Historical trends suggest this is a very bad time to buy it. On the other hand, the stock market, which has seen an annualized return of over 10% in the last 30 years has increased in value in almost any 10-year period you select. Besides being a dubious investment, Fisher’s con is to pressure people into buying ‘numismatic’ coins rather than bullion coins. The latter are sold by reputable dealers for not much more than “melt value” - the price of the gold itself, Fisher’s coins, on the other hand, come with a numismatic premium. This is an arbitrary cost the buyers pay for an item represented as having a collectible value. A value that Fisher is charged with inflating by as much is 1,500%. The complaint filed by the CFTC alleges that Fisher/Spellane/Overlie had: “engaged and continue to engage in a fraudulent scheme targeting a vulnerable population of mostly elderly and retirement-aged persons throughout the United States. Defendants’ scheme was to fraudulently persuade victims, through materially false and misleading statements and deceptive sales tactics, to invest their retirement funds and savings in gold and silver coins (“Precious Metals”) at grossly inflated prices that frequently were double or even triple the prevailing market value of those coins.” Spellane is a lowlife. It is probably a safe bet he will be found guilty of fraud, which made him the perfect warm-up speaker for a man already civilly liable for fraud and criminally guilty of felonious business practices. The sewer MAGA isn’t a swamp. It’s a sewer. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/6/26/2248834/-Trump-speech-to-TP-USA-was-sponsored-by-a-conman-under-investigation-for-30M-gold-fraud?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=latest_community&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/