Whatever happened to people just making their fortune the old fashioned way by earning it?
On Aug. 22, Kimberly Schlup, 41, Deerfield, goes on trial charged with stealing more than $77,000 from Barton County Memorial Hospital in Lamar when she was finance director at that institution.
Earlier today, a reader sent me a web page, which has the same woman attempting to interest people in something called Liberty League International. You've all heard of operations like Liberty League. Someone starts them and makes money from investors who are supposed to make money by enticing more people to join with the original founders continuing to get a percentage of each one.
It didn't look right when Mr. Ponzi first introduced the scheme to the United States and it doesn't look right now.
Better Business Bureau does not come right out and call Liberty League a pyramid scheme, but it does everything but. According to the bureau's website, "This company has an unsatisfactory record with the Bureau due to a pattern of complaints. Specifically, complaints allege misrepresentation of the products or services offered by the company. Complaints also concern requests for refunds."
It's also a bad sign when the Bureau requests information from Liberty and it doesn't bother to respond. According to the bureau's report, "Prospective investors should carefully examine a multi-level sales program to be reasonably certain it is not a pyramid scheme which emphasizes recruitment of distributors rather than retail sale of the product." From all appearances, that is exactly what Liberty League is.
"Anyone who participates in these programs could also be subject to criminal prosecution," the Better Business Bureau says.
One would think that when your trying to fight an embezzelement charge you'd stay clear of this type of thing. Amazing.
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