Coin Companies Fraud.
 

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/st...04527296&EDATE=

http://prnewswire.122.2o7.net/b/ss/p...hp=N&[AQE] <!--Today's News

--><!--commented to solve the problem of badly displayed images--><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=650 border=0><!--<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0">--><TBODY><TR><!--- Print and email icons ---><!--- modified for prn.com 1_3 - omniture implementation ---><TD vAlign=top align=left width="50%">http://www.prnewswire.com/images/print_1.gif http://www.prnewswire.com/images/email_1.gif http://www.prnewswire.com/images/link_2.gif </TD><TD vAlign=top align=right width="50%">http://www.prnewswire.com/images/rss.gif <!-- added for post to delicious -->http://www.prnewswire.com/images/del.icio.us.gif http://www.prnewswire.com/images/digg.gif <!-- change for PRN.Com _1.3- ends --><!-- added for PRN.Com_1.4_F010- begins -->http://www.prnewswire.com/images/technorati.gif</TD></TR><!-- added for PRN.Com_1.4_F010- ends --><TR><TD colSpan=2 height=5><HR align=center width="100%" color=#6d8cc4 SIZE=1>
</TD></TR>
</TBODY></TABLE><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=649 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>Coin Companies Accused of Defrauding Consumers, Targeting the Elderly in Texas Lawsuit

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

<TR><TD height="5"></TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- #BeginEditable "release" -->
HOUSTON, Feb. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Consumers from 10 states have sued agroup of Texas telemarketers for fraud and deceptive trade practices in themarketing of "rare" coins, according to the law firm representing theconsumers. In a lawsuit filed in state court in Beaumont, Texas, 21 affiliatedcompanies and individuals are accused of using high-pressure, unlawfultelemarketing tactics to convince senior citizens and others to accessretirement savings, obtain home equity loans, or liquidate assets such asstocks, bonds or real estate to buy gold, platinum and silver coins ofdubious worth and origin. The defendants -- which operate out of a Beaumont, Tex., compound andgross an estimated $300 million annually -- also are accused of makingunauthorized charges to credit cards, sending unordered coins to customers,fabricating information about the origin and current and likely futurevalue of coins, and not honoring return guarantees. The defendants includeUniversal Coin & Bullion, Ltd., 1st American Reserve, 1st Capital Reserve,1st Fidelity Reserve, and 1st National Reserve, among others. Attorney Jason A. Gibson, of The Gibson Law Firm in Houston, representsthe 15 consumers, who spent $3.4 million on coins marketed by thedefendants. The group's petition alleges violations of Texas law, includingnegligence, negligent misrepresentation, fraud, the Deceptive TradePractices Act (DTPA), and conspiracy. The plaintiffs are seeking actual andexemplary damages of $500 million, including trebling of damages allowedunder the Texas DTPA. Mr. Gibson said, "The Federal Trade Commission and state attorneysgeneral throughout the nation have issued warnings about unethical coindealers and telemarketers. Now, consumers, supported by reputable coindealers, are fighting back. The abuses committed by the very sophisticated'boiler-room' operations of this unregulated industry are predatory, andmust be stopped by the government or in the courts. Everything from the9/11 tragedy to the natural fears of the elderly was invoked to inducesales. Several of our clients are in their 80s, and one has Alzheimer'sdisease. The conduct in this case is outrageous." According to the complaint, the defendants: - Use a company-wide scheme that encourages sales persons to use unlawful and misleading selling points and sales tactics on unsuspecting customers; - Obtain credit card numbers and charge customers' cards, without permission in a practice known as "banging" or "burning" a credit card; - Mislead customers about the mark-up of each coin being sold, failing to disclose the real mark-up and failing to disclose that a "middle-man" company has been established to allow an additional mark-up of coins that is not disclosed to customers; - "Bait and switch," selling customers on more expensive coins or coins defendants know they do not have in their possession, and then send customers less expensive coins or coins the customers did not order; - Represent and market themselves as different companies with different addresses, when in reality, they are all located under the same roof on the same premises. The plaintiffs are from Birmingham, Ala.; Gulf Shores, Ala.; NewportBeach, Calif.; Rexburg, Idaho; Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.; Tavares, Fla.;Birden, Ill.; Belle Chasse, La.; Freemont, Mich.; Johnson Lake, Neb.;Columbus, Ohio; Austin, Texas; and San Antonio, Texas. The case is "O'Neill, et al., v. 1st Capital Reserve, L.P., et al.,"(No. D 178-641) in the 136th District Court of Jefferson, County, Texas. Attorney Contact: Jason A. Gibson (jag@jag-lawfirm.com) The Gibson Law Firm Houston (713) 650-1010 http://www.jag-lawfirm.com<!-- begin SiteCatalyst code version: H.4. --><SCRIPT language=JavaScript>s.server=server()s.channel="Ne ws Release"s.pageName="Coin Companies Accused of Defrauding Consumers, Targeting the Elderly in Texas Lawsuit"s.prop2="104"s.prop3="02-14-2007"s.prop4=""s.prop5=""/************* DO NOT ALTER ANYTHING BELOW THIS LINE ! **************/var s_code=s.t();if(s_code)document.write(s_code);//--></SCRIPT><!-- End SiteCatalyst code version: H.4. --></PRE>SOURCE The Gibson Law Firm

Re: Coin Companies Fraud.
 

Someone posted in GIM that their elderly father had bought huge amounts of stuff from them.

I wonder how that all worked out?

LG :smokin:

Re: Coin Companies Fraud.
 

hahaha those guys are something

they have been running lots of ads for ngc certified gem uncirc bullion at attractive prices

the problem is if you call they will not take an order just take your name and have one of their aggressive flunkies call you back. these clowns will try to sell you an arm and a leg and get all surly when you stick to your order. they will also of course be offering a diff price than offered in the ad. last summer I did this foolishness with them and called them on the carpet when the increased the spread between their advertised "basis" price and the price in the ad, and when I demanded the markup not be any worse, they capitulated. of course their was an excessive s/h fee too.

bottom line, anything they are selling in their overly attractive ads can in reality be obtained elsewhere. since last year I've come to wonder what the point of certified bullion is anyhow. I suppose it's nice to have if you dont pay much extra at all for it, but, really, if you're not selling online whats the point

Re: Coin Companies Fraud.
 

I have only bought their bullion silver and gold intro deals. But of course I came here to find out about them first and resisted all those tempting offers :bear_w00t: !!! They called last week and said I just had to have an NGC MS64 1/2 ounce GAE for the low low price of $620.00!!!!!!!!!! So I said hold on...then told them you know I can buy a PCGS MS69 1/2 ounce GAE right now from a REPUTABLE dealer for $419.00. He hung up :9536: :rofl:

I know they prey on the elderly and it is really sad but they still have minds and should be able to say "not until I check it out first" At least I wish they could

Anyway I hope they nail these morons and some of the money gets to the swindled!!!!!!!!