Still No Evidence

Invariably, in any discussion regarding the legitimacy of Nouveau Riche University, the NRU apologists eventually make claims along the lines of Wallace, a one-time commenter on this blog, or Matthew, some dude with zero friends over at Tribe.net. The refrain quickly becomes very familiar... they were once just as skeptical as the rest of us, but in the last X months they've bought Y properties and increased their net worth by some $ZZ,000... bla bla... The Secret... bla bla...

Of course when pressed for any actual property addresses the apologists either claim they're all hidden away in corporate entities ("bla bla... asset protection, bla bla") or they don't respond at all.

Not content to leave well enough alone, I've been actively researching public records in the hopes of finding anything of relevance to my particular Independent Student Advisor (ISA) and her purported status as a real estate investor. So far, in addition to finding her aforementioned corporate entities and documents in Maricopa County, all I've uncovered is her blog, as well as an NRU recruiting site called Fast Track Club (a site distinct from the one I mentioned in my prior post on NRU), which led me to a property marketing site called Nextep Real Estate Solutions - which currently has zero listings. Not even historical properties. Nothing.

A close look at the fine print of The Fast Track Club reveals the name of my ISA's business partner, who not surprisingly is listed as an agent in one of her corporate entities. Now we're getting somewhere! Unlike my ISA, this guy seems to actually own a few investment properties. But wait! Among all the warranty deeds, etc., we find a Civil Judgment (the fact it's in his favor is beside the point), and not one, but two trustee's sale notices!

I thought NRU was supposed to teach people how to be successful real estate investors!

Is there anybody out there?

UPDATE MAY 2, 2008: All of my ISA's NRU web sites have been defunct for a while, now, but it appears that Jess is still involved in a real estate scheme - Something called "INFOclosure", that appears to be a combination foreclosure listing service slash investment education thing. Well, I hope she likes her new line of work!

Daniel Reed Smith Wiki

This page on Wikipedia is slated for deletion in 4 days - and for blindingly obvious reasons. Since the page's subject matter is Dan Smith, from the Smith & Merritt Institute, and is thus relevant to other posts on this blog, I've decided to copy the text of the entire page, warts and all, along with the associated discussion page. Please note that I am not the author of any part of either page, and my reproduction of their information here is in no way an endorsement or corroboration of any of their content.

Daniel Reed Smith

Daniel Reed Smith is currently residing in North Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. He and Kathryn Merritt are longtime co-workers and friends who started the company Acentus. This company was based out of Salt Lake City, Utah and in 2006 was bought out by the College Partnership. Acentus was a sales marketing company that housed different accounts, the main one was Transforming Debt into Wealth by the world famous Finacial guru John Cummuta. Acentus worked off 2nd hand leads provided by The Prosper Learning Company, based out of Provo, Utah. They held the leadsource and their sales teams would solicit existing "TDIW" clients and offer them a long term coaching program which is very successful to this day.

Several members of the upper management broke off from Acentus when they suspected both Dan and Kathryn of fraudulent motives with the companies dealing with both employees and clients as well as Prosper. They ended up working for Prosper and learned that Acentus owed Prosper $2.2 million in debt, a falsehood as Acentus claimed they were "debt free". The downward spiral started when their employees started experiencing dishonest acts and most of which each obtained employment at The Prosper Learning Company with the understanding that the ties they had formerly with Acentus would be left at the door as to let the legal teams battle it out and keep the then existing relationship professional. A few former members of the Management team who had been recruited by Prosper filed a claim with the Utah Securities division in which it was claimed Acentus was committing fraud by not disclosing formal paperwork for investing with the company and becomming a shareholder. Acentus is guilty of taking money from the employees offered this deal (only management and a select few at that were offered this deal) before any paperwork was drawn up. The company was scheduled to go public on the trading market in August 2006, and then they claimed they would go public by December 2006. Both dates never happened and the company never made it public at all. One reported "shareholder" did recieve their money back but with a threat of a lawsuit, several others are in the process of getting back their money, some of which had filed together as a tag team.

Daniel Reed Smith is guilty of Tax fraud as well as Securities Fraud, he also has other fraud business practices pending filing. He is to date being sued and/or has negative claims to fraud pending in the states of AZ, CO, UT, CA and NV. He is currently married to Misty Adams Smith and resides in North Salt Lake City, Utah. A divorce for the obvious reasons above has been pending between the two. They have no natural children together as "Dan" has had a vasectomy. Dan has two other children from a first wife of whom he divorced from. She is living in a suburb of Salt Lake City, Utah. He was known to be pompus and arrogant and will try and sell you his own toilet water if it means he will make a profit of it. He was heard by several members of his company speak very candidly about his trip he took his wife on to Paris, France and on one activity there ate at the top of the Eiffel Tower in the resturant with a meal costing $700 when no one in the whole company was making a cent, even his own family members whom he fired unfairly because they called him out on his dishonesty and would not stoop to his disgraceful level. He was known in the company to be tolerant of loose morales and values with several members of his administrative offices performing sexual acts of being Swingers and all modesty out the window running a down low high priced hooker fest. Several of the company members who left the company state this is one of the main reasons they left besides not making any money. Many people are wittness to this activity and it is not yet determined if an underground prositution ring lawsuit will still be filed. Wittnesses are still being gathered for this illegal (by the State of Utah) activity. It is claimed with wittnesses that Dan did engage in this vulgar activity. No verification if Kathryn was involved as of posting date to this article.

Prosper Learning is not associated with acts of this conduct or dishonest dealings. They are in no way connected to this information other than a company both Dan and Kathryn own money to and have dealt dishonestly with.

Dan and Katheryn both wrote a book called Abundance Spend your way to Wealth, however the book was never published. They did however try and sell the book and coaching program while waiting for approvals on all legal aspects for the book and program to be approved.

It is known that Dan is trying to file personal bankruptcy and it would be a very minor sentence for even one fraud act he is guilty of to serve 7-10 years in prison for. For more information on how you can add your claim to get a lawsuit filed and join in on the complaints please contact your local BBB as well as the Utah Labor Commission and Securities Division as well as the Tax dept of the USA. Numerous claims on the internet were circulating and that is the reason for this info to be pooled together for the strength in community to bring this dishonest man down for coorporate fraud and give him the sentence he deserves-BEHIND BARS!

Talk: Daniel Reed Smith

At the attention of the over all article it is written in a way as to push blame and origin to others you have heard the allegations from. If none of the said “fraudulent acts” or “disgraceful behavior” happens to concern you directly, there is no reason for you to put your words into such a situation.

I can disclaim many of your accusations with solid facts. If you were trying to post a document so that you may reach out to others concerning what was once a blooming company, than you should not have tried to slam Daniel Reed Smith’s personal reputation in the process. It now is a trash filled nonsense article.

I’ll correct you on just a few “facts” you have written about. You wrote, “One reported shareholder did receive their money back but with the threat of lawsuit,” the said “shareholder” did not receive the money back because of a lawsuit threat. If you or the “shareholder” truly believes the money was returned over bullying, you are mistaken.

You wrote, “Their [Acentus] employees started experiencing dishonest acts and most of which each obtained employment at The Prosper Learning Company with the understanding that the ties they had formerly with Acentus would be left at the door as to let the legal teams battle it out and keep the then existing relationship professional.” Although I know you may believe many of the previous Acentus employees that chose to work for The Prosper Learning Company left ties at the door, it’s apparent that is not true. Leaving ties would most likely include not contacting employees still working for Acentus to recruit, illegally. Yes, a non compete was signed by most if not all of the employees that were once with Acentus. Also, since the “professional” relationship you stated as a then existing one, I can only be lead to believe that they are no longer associated with one another. If that is the case, then why is it that you have taken the matter to yourself and not just let the legal teams battle it out? It seems that no matter what the relationship status, legal teams seem to be what should be on hand, not someone with a grudge and a quick-to-judge personality writing this document slandering Daniel Reed Smith’s name.

You wrote, “He is currently married to Misty Adams Smith and resides in North Salt Lake City, Utah. A divorce for the obvious reasons above has been pending between the two.” First of all, there is no logical reason for stating where they reside. Second of all, you have no clue as to why the two may or may not have a pending divorce. The second sentence calling the divorce over “obvious reasons stated above” in your text still cracks me up. The third paragraph in your document is all together hilarious. It’s as though you were there on top of the Eiffel Tower looking at the receipt for their supposed $700 meal. I’ll correct you sentence by sentence starting with, “They have no natural children together as Dan has a vasectomy.” How do you know if Dan has a vasectomy or not? If you were so close to Dan as to knowing something like that for fact, why are you wasting your time writing this? If he does, how is that any of our business? Again, there is no reason to state where anyone resides. Dan would not sell you his own toilet water if it means he’ll profit from it. Whoever told you all this garbage would sell you THEIR toilet water because it favors them. Your accusations are, after all, shit. Dan’s family members had their reasons for leaving. I’d like to hear from the administrative staff about a so called hooker fest involving Daniel Reed Smith, because I can then call them liars. I don’t believe anyone from the administrative staff to say such crude lies. I believe them to be better people than that. I know for a fact neither Daniel Reed Smith or Katheryn Merritt to be involved in an underground prostution ring, or engage in any of the alleged vulgar activity. If such activities did occur, it was not known to Daniel Reed Smith.

I hope you have sent a copy of this to Daniel Reed Smith and Katheryn Merritt. If you can say it here, you can say it to them. Without mentioning anything about your grammer I’d just like to tell you that the Tax department of the USA, is also widely known as the IRS. Where else may we find these allegations on the internet? Here is a better question, where may we find the truth circulating around on the internet? Like they say, there’s two sides to every story. Susan Peters 19:33, 26 July 2007 (UTC)S. Peters

College Partnership versus Smith & Merritt

Here is the current case summary for the suit between College Partnership and Acentus/SMI. I'm going to write to the court and try to get copies of things like the complaint, etc., but in the meantime, if you happen to be in Jefferson County Colorado and wouldn't mind stopping in...

Case Number: 2007CV002010 Date Filed: 05/03/2007 College Partnership Inc v. Acentus Consulting Group Llc Et. Al. Injunctive Relief; CV -Civil -District Summary Judge: Tamara S Russell Court: Jefferson District Court Division: 4 EFiled: Y Appealed: N Case Closed Date: n/a Case Status Judge or Magistrate Name BAR Number Tamara S Russell 17037 Agency Agency Agency Case Tkt/Summons Nbr Arrest Nbr Participants Litigant Attorney College Partnership Inc Murr, Joseph Allen Plaintiff 1 Role: Privately Retained Attorney BAR: 14427 Primary Attorney: Y Welch, Torben M Role: Privately Retained Attorney BAR: 34282 Primary Attorney: Y Acentus Consulting Group Llc Walker, Edward Timothy Defendant 1 Role: Privately Retained Attorney BAR: 35120 Primary Attorney: Y Schmidt, Lauren E Role: Privately Retained Attorney BAR: 37002 Primary Attorney: Y Smith and Merritt Institute Llc Schmidt, Lauren E Defendant 2 Role: Privately Retained Attorney BAR: 37002 Primary Attorney: Y Modius Financial Llc Schmidt, Lauren E Defendant 3 Role: Privately Retained Attorney BAR: 37002 Primary Attorney: Y Frv Partners Llc Schmidt, Lauren E Defendant 4 Role: Privately Retained Attorney BAR: 37002 Primary Attorney: Y Smith, Daniel R Schmidt, Lauren E Defendant 5 Role: Privately Retained Attorney BAR: 37002 Primary Attorney: Y Merritt, Kathryn Schmidt, Lauren E Defendant 6 Role: Privately Retained Attorney BAR: 37002 Primary Attorney: Y Rees, David M Schmidt, Lauren E Defendant 7 Role: Privately Retained Attorney BAR: 37002 Primary Attorney: Y Vincent, Jeffrey M Warden, Daniel Francis Defendant 8 Role: Privately Retained Attorney BAR: 13514 Primary Attorney: Y Schmidt, Lauren E Role: Privately Retained Attorney BAR: 37002 Primary Attorney: Y Flint, George Warden, Daniel Francis Defendant 9 Role: Privately Retained Attorney BAR: 13514 Primary Attorney: Y Schmidt, Lauren E Role: Privately Retained Attorney BAR: 37002 Primary Attorney: Y Lautes, Albert Schmidt, Lauren E Defendant 10 Role: Privately Retained Attorney BAR: 37002 Primary Attorney: Y Garner, Julie Schmidt, Lauren E Defendant 11 Role: Privately Retained Attorney BAR: 37002 Primary Attorney: Y Mello, Melissa Schmidt, Lauren E Defendant 12 Role: Privately Retained Attorney BAR: 37002 Primary Attorney: Y Grogg, Bruce Schmidt, Lauren E Defendant 13 Role: Privately Retained Attorney BAR: 37002 Primary Attorney: Y Dowding, Clark Schmidt, Lauren E Defendant 14 Role: Privately Retained Attorney BAR: 37002 Primary Attorney: Y Johnson, Nicolas Schmidt, Lauren E Defendant 15 Role: Privately Retained Attorney BAR: 37002 Primary Attorney: Y Parker, Robert Schmidt, Lauren E Defendant 16 Role: Privately Retained Attorney BAR: 37002 Primary Attorney: Y Anderson, Dee Schmidt, Lauren E Defendant 17 Role: Privately Retained Attorney BAR: 37002 Primary Attorney: Y Nelson, Jeff Schmidt, Lauren E Defendant 18 Role: Privately Retained Attorney BAR: 37002 Primary Attorney: Y Wilbur, Justin Schmidt, Lauren E Defendant 19 Role: Privately Retained Attorney BAR: 37002 Primary Attorney: Y Roat, Don Schmidt, Lauren E Defendant 20 Role: Privately Retained Attorney BAR: 37002 Primary Attorney: Y Ricks, Michael Schmidt, Lauren E Defendant 21 Role: Privately Retained Attorney BAR: 37002 Primary Attorney: Y Lott, David Walker, Edward Timothy Defendant 22 Role: Privately Retained Attorney BAR: 35120 Primary Attorney: Y Schmidt, Lauren E Role: Privately Retained Attorney BAR: 37002 Primary Attorney: Y Bradford, Steve Walker, Edward Timothy Defendant 23 Role: Privately Retained Attorney BAR: 35120 Primary Attorney: Y Schmidt, Lauren E Role: Privately Retained Attorney BAR: 37002 Primary Attorney: Y Ricks, Kristin Walker, Edward Timothy Defendant 24 Role: Privately Retained Attorney BAR: 35120 Primary Attorney: Y Schmidt, Lauren E Role: Privately Retained Attorney BAR: 37002 Primary Attorney: Y Grace, John J Murr, Joseph Allen Defendant 25 Role: Privately Retained Attorney BAR: 14427 Primary Attorney: Y Jones Dr, Janice A Murr, Joseph Allen Defendant 26 Role: Privately Retained Attorney BAR: 14427 Primary Attorney: Y Charges Count Date Details Scheduled Events Date Time Details 05/24/2007 8:30 Temporary Restraining Ord Hrg Room: 5C Judge: Tamara S Russell Status: Hearing Held 06/08/2007 10:00 n/a Room: 5C Judge: Tamara S Russell Status: Hearing Held Proceedings Date Code Description 05/03/2007 CMPL Complaint ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/03/2007 COVR Civil Case Cover Sheet ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/03/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/03/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/03/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/03/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/03/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/03/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/03/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/03/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/03/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/03/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/03/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/03/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/03/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/03/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/03/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/03/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/03/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/03/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/03/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/03/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/03/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/03/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/03/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/03/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/03/2007 MOTN Motion ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/03/2007 MOTN Motion ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/03/2007 FOTH Filing Other ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/07/2007 ORDR Order 05/08/2007 NOTC Notice Filed ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/08/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/08/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/08/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/08/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/08/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/08/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/08/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/08/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/08/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/08/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/08/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/08/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/08/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/08/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/08/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/08/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/08/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/08/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/08/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/08/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/08/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/08/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/08/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/08/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/18/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/22/2007 RS Return of Service ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/22/2007 RS Return of Service ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/22/2007 RS Return of Service ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/22/2007 RS Return of Service ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/22/2007 RS Return of Service ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/22/2007 RS Return of Service ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/22/2007 RS Return of Service ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/22/2007 RS Return of Service ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/22/2007 RS Return of Service ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/22/2007 RS Return of Service ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/22/2007 RS Return of Service ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/22/2007 RS Return of Service ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/22/2007 RS Return of Service ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/22/2007 RS Return of Service ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/22/2007 RS Return of Service ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/22/2007 RS Return of Service ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/22/2007 RS Return of Service ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/22/2007 RS Return of Service ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/22/2007 RS Return of Service ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/22/2007 RS Return of Service ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/22/2007 RS Return of Service ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/22/2007 RPRT Report ATY/ Welch, Torben M PTF/ College Partnership Inc 05/22/2007 ENTR Entry Of Appearance DEF/ Acentus Consulting Group Llc DEF/ Smith and Merritt Institute Llc DEF/ Modius Financial Llc DEF/ Frv Partners Llc DEF/ Smith, Daniel R DEF/ Merritt, Kathryn DEF/ Rees, David M DEF/ Vincent, Jeffrey M DEF/ Flint, George DEF/ Lautes, Albert DEF/ Garner, Julie DEF/ Mello, Melissa DEF/ Grogg, Bruce DEF/ Dowding, Clark DEF/ Johnson, Nicolas DEF/ Parker, Robert DEF/ Anderson, Dee DEF/ Nelson, Jeff DEF/ Wilbur, Justin DEF/ Roat, Don DEF/ Ricks, Michael DEF/ Lott, David DEF/ Bradford, Steve DEF/ Ricks, Kristin 05/24/2007 MINC Minute Order (Print) 05/24/2007 NTHR Notc of Hearing DEF/ Acentus Consulting Group Llc DEF/ Modius Financial Llc DEF/ Frv Partners Llc DEF/ Merritt, Kathryn DEF/ Rees, David M DEF/ Flint, George DEF/ Lautes, Albert DEF/ Garner, Julie DEF/ Mello, Melissa DEF/ Grogg, Bruce DEF/ Dowding, Clark DEF/ Johnson, Nicolas DEF/ Parker, Robert DEF/ Anderson, Dee DEF/ Nelson, Jeff DEF/ Lott, David DEF/ Bradford, Steve 06/05/2007 MOTN Motion DEF/ Acentus Consulting Group Llc DEF/ Smith and Merritt Institute Llc DEF/ Modius Financial Llc DEF/ Frv Partners Llc DEF/ Smith, Daniel R DEF/ Merritt, Kathryn DEF/ Rees, David M DEF/ Vincent, Jeffrey M DEF/ Flint, George DEF/ Lautes, Albert DEF/ Garner, Julie DEF/ Mello, Melissa DEF/ Grogg, Bruce DEF/ Dowding, Clark DEF/ Johnson, Nicolas DEF/ Parker, Robert DEF/ Anderson, Dee DEF/ Nelson, Jeff DEF/ Wilbur, Justin DEF/ Roat, Don DEF/ Ricks, Michael DEF/ Lott, David DEF/ Bradford, Steve DEF/ Ricks, Kristin 06/06/2007 RSPN Response DEF/ Acentus Consulting Group Llc DEF/ Smith and Merritt Institute Llc DEF/ Modius Financial Llc DEF/ Frv Partners Llc DEF/ Smith, Daniel R DEF/ Merritt, Kathryn DEF/ Rees, David M DEF/ Vincent, Jeffrey M DEF/ Flint, George DEF/ Lautes, Albert DEF/ Garner, Julie DEF/ Mello, Melissa DEF/ Grogg, Bruce DEF/ Dowding, Clark DEF/ Johnson, Nicolas DEF/ Parker, Robert DEF/ Anderson, Dee DEF/ Nelson, Jeff DEF/ Wilbur, Justin DEF/ Roat, Don DEF/ Ricks, Michael DEF/ Lott, David DEF/ Bradford, Steve DEF/ Ricks, Kristin 06/06/2007 RMDS Response to Motion to Dismiss DEF/ Acentus Consulting Group Llc 06/07/2007 RSPN Response DEF/ Lott, David DEF/ Bradford, Steve DEF/ Ricks, Kristin 06/08/2007 MINC Minute Order (Print) 06/08/2007 ORDR Order 06/13/2007 MOTN Motion DEF/ Acentus Consulting Group Llc DEF/ Smith and Merritt Institute Llc DEF/ Modius Financial Llc DEF/ Frv Partners Llc DEF/ Smith, Daniel R DEF/ Merritt, Kathryn DEF/ Rees, David M DEF/ Vincent, Jeffrey M DEF/ Flint, George DEF/ Lautes, Albert DEF/ Garner, Julie DEF/ Mello, Melissa DEF/ Grogg, Bruce DEF/ Dowding, Clark DEF/ Johnson, Nicolas DEF/ Parker, Robert DEF/ Anderson, Dee DEF/ Nelson, Jeff DEF/ Wilbur, Justin DEF/ Roat, Don DEF/ Ricks, Michael DEF/ Lott, David DEF/ Bradford, Steve DEF/ Ricks, Kristin 06/17/2007 ORDR Order 06/29/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M DEF/ Grace, John J DEF/ Jones Dr, Janice A PTF/ College Partnership Inc 06/29/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M DEF/ Grace, John J DEF/ Jones Dr, Janice A PTF/ College Partnership Inc 06/29/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M DEF/ Grace, John J DEF/ Jones Dr, Janice A PTF/ College Partnership Inc 06/29/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M DEF/ Grace, John J DEF/ Jones Dr, Janice A PTF/ College Partnership Inc 06/29/2007 SUMM Summons Issued ATY/ Welch, Torben M DEF/ Grace, John J DEF/ Jones Dr, Janice A PTF/ College Partnership Inc 06/29/2007 ACMP Amended Complaint ATY/ Welch, Torben M DEF/ Grace, John J DEF/ Jones Dr, Janice A PTF/ College Partnership Inc 07/13/2007 ENTR Entry Of Appearance ATY/ Warden, Daniel Francis DEF/ Vincent, Jeffrey M DEF/ Flint, George 07/16/2007 MODS Motion to Dismiss ATY/ Warden, Daniel Francis DEF/ Vincent, Jeffrey M DEF/ Flint, George 07/16/2007 ANSC Answer and Counterclaim DEF/ Acentus Consulting Group Llc DEF/ Smith and Merritt Institute Llc DEF/ Modius Financial Llc DEF/ Frv Partners Llc DEF/ Smith, Daniel R DEF/ Merritt, Kathryn DEF/ Rees, David M DEF/ Lautes, Albert DEF/ Garner, Julie DEF/ Mello, Melissa DEF/ Grogg, Bruce DEF/ Dowding, Clark DEF/ Parker, Robert DEF/ Anderson, Dee DEF/ Wilbur, Justin DEF/ Ricks, Michael DEF/ Lott, David DEF/ Bradford, Steve DEF/ Ricks, Kristin 07/16/2007 MOTN Motion DEF/ Acentus Consulting Group Llc DEF/ Smith and Merritt Institute Llc DEF/ Modius Financial Llc DEF/ Frv Partners Llc DEF/ Smith, Daniel R DEF/ Merritt, Kathryn DEF/ Rees, David M DEF/ Vincent, Jeffrey M DEF/ Lautes, Albert DEF/ Garner, Julie DEF/ Mello, Melissa DEF/ Grogg, Bruce DEF/ Dowding, Clark DEF/ Parker, Robert DEF/ Anderson, Dee DEF/ Wilbur, Justin DEF/ Roat, Don DEF/ Ricks, Michael DEF/ Lott, David DEF/ Bradford, Steve DEF/ Ricks, Kristin 07/16/2007 MOTN Motion DEF/ Acentus Consulting Group Llc DEF/ Smith and Merritt Institute Llc DEF/ Modius Financial Llc DEF/ Frv Partners Llc DEF/ Smith, Daniel R DEF/ Merritt, Kathryn DEF/ Rees, David M DEF/ Vincent, Jeffrey M DEF/ Lautes, Albert DEF/ Garner, Julie DEF/ Mello, Melissa DEF/ Grogg, Bruce DEF/ Dowding, Clark DEF/ Parker, Robert DEF/ Anderson, Dee DEF/ Nelson, Jeff DEF/ Wilbur, Justin DEF/ Ricks, Michael DEF/ Lott, David DEF/ Bradford, Steve DEF/ Ricks, Kristin 07/16/2007 MOTN Motion DEF/ Acentus Consulting Group Llc DEF/ Smith and Merritt Institute Llc DEF/ Modius Financial Llc DEF/ Frv Partners Llc DEF/ Smith, Daniel R DEF/ Merritt, Kathryn DEF/ Rees, David M DEF/ Vincent, Jeffrey M DEF/ Lautes, Albert DEF/ Garner, Julie DEF/ Mello, Melissa DEF/ Grogg, Bruce DEF/ Dowding, Clark DEF/ Johnson, Nicolas DEF/ Parker, Robert DEF/ Anderson, Dee DEF/ Wilbur, Justin DEF/ Ricks, Michael DEF/ Lott, David DEF/ Bradford, Steve DEF/ Ricks, Kristin 07/17/2007 SUMM Summons Issued DEF/ Acentus Consulting Group Llc DEF/ Smith and Merritt Institute Llc DEF/ Modius Financial Llc DEF/ Frv Partners Llc DEF/ Smith, Daniel R DEF/ Merritt, Kathryn DEF/ Rees, David M DEF/ Lautes, Albert DEF/ Garner, Julie DEF/ Mello, Melissa DEF/ Grogg, Bruce DEF/ Dowding, Clark DEF/ Parker, Robert DEF/ Anderson, Dee DEF/ Wilbur, Justin DEF/ Ricks, Michael DEF/ Lott, David DEF/ Bradford, Steve 07/17/2007 SUMM Summons Issued DEF/ Acentus Consulting Group Llc DEF/ Smith and Merritt Institute Llc DEF/ Modius Financial Llc DEF/ Frv Partners Llc DEF/ Smith, Daniel R DEF/ Merritt, Kathryn DEF/ Rees, David M DEF/ Lautes, Albert DEF/ Garner, Julie DEF/ Mello, Melissa DEF/ Grogg, Bruce DEF/ Dowding, Clark DEF/ Parker, Robert DEF/ Anderson, Dee DEF/ Wilbur, Justin DEF/ Ricks, Michael DEF/ Lott, David DEF/ Bradford, Steve 07/17/2007 SUMM Summons Issued DEF/ Acentus Consulting Group Llc DEF/ Smith and Merritt Institute Llc DEF/ Modius Financial Llc DEF/ Frv Partners Llc DEF/ Smith, Daniel R DEF/ Merritt, Kathryn DEF/ Rees, David M DEF/ Lautes, Albert DEF/ Garner, Julie DEF/ Mello, Melissa DEF/ Grogg, Bruce DEF/ Dowding, Clark DEF/ Parker, Robert DEF/ Anderson, Dee DEF/ Wilbur, Justin DEF/ Ricks, Michael DEF/ Lott, David DEF/ Bradford, Steve 07/19/2007 RS Return of Service DEF/ Acentus Consulting Group Llc DEF/ Smith and Merritt Institute Llc DEF/ Modius Financial Llc DEF/ Frv Partners Llc DEF/ Smith, Daniel R DEF/ Merritt, Kathryn DEF/ Rees, David M DEF/ Lautes, Albert DEF/ Garner, Julie DEF/ Mello, Melissa DEF/ Grogg, Bruce DEF/ Dowding, Clark DEF/ Parker, Robert DEF/ Anderson, Dee DEF/ Wilbur, Justin DEF/ Ricks, Michael DEF/ Lott, David DEF/ Bradford, Steve 07/19/2007 RS Return of Service DEF/ Acentus Consulting Group Llc DEF/ Smith and Merritt Institute Llc DEF/ Modius Financial Llc DEF/ Frv Partners Llc DEF/ Smith, Daniel R DEF/ Merritt, Kathryn DEF/ Rees, David M DEF/ Lautes, Albert DEF/ Garner, Julie DEF/ Mello, Melissa DEF/ Grogg, Bruce DEF/ Dowding, Clark DEF/ Parker, Robert DEF/ Anderson, Dee DEF/ Wilbur, Justin DEF/ Ricks, Michael DEF/ Lott, David DEF/ Bradford, Steve 07/19/2007 RS Return of Service DEF/ Acentus Consulting Group Llc DEF/ Smith and Merritt Institute Llc DEF/ Modius Financial Llc DEF/ Frv Partners Llc DEF/ Smith, Daniel R DEF/ Merritt, Kathryn DEF/ Rees, David M DEF/ Lautes, Albert DEF/ Garner, Julie DEF/ Mello, Melissa DEF/ Grogg, Bruce DEF/ Dowding, Clark DEF/ Parker, Robert DEF/ Anderson, Dee DEF/ Wilbur, Justin DEF/ Ricks, Michael DEF/ Lott, David DEF/ Bradford, Steve 07/20/2007 NOTC Notice Filed DEF/ Acentus Consulting Group Llc Judgments # Date Details Bond Information ID Details Financial Summary Un-Assigned Rcps Received ----------------- -------- Civil Filing Fee $270.00 Court Security Cash Fund $10.00 Civil Action Tax $1.00 Stabilization Fund - USER Fee $190.00 Total Un-Assigned $471.00

The Thrill of Victory

On June 23rd I was a competitor in the Arizona Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu State Championships. I signed up for the Blue Belt Masters division so that I wouldn't have to fight anyone under 35.

Unfortunately they didn't have a Masters division, which explains why I found myself up against Jamie Varner for my second fight.

The Agony of Defeat

I recently competed in the 2007 Arizona Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu State Championship. I won my first fight, apparently 8 to 0, though I was exhausted for my second match, against my much younger and much stronger opponent, Jamie Varner, who (not surprisingly) went on to place first in the division.

Here I am tapping out to a choke you can see I am only feebly defending against.

College Partnership continuing "growth plan"

The comments continue to roll in on my Spend your way to lameness post (why it's specifically that post that attracts all the comments is something I still haven't figured out).

One comment in particular makes the claim that College Partnership is now suing Smith & Merritt. Is it only me who finds it odd that a company would sue its own wholly-owned subsidiary?

I admit that I'm incredulous at this point - though certainly curious to learn more.

Meanwhile, College Partnership seems intent on improving their image in the marketplace:

LAKEWOOD, CO -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 05/16/07 -- College Partnership, Inc. (PINKSHEETS: CGPA) announced today that it has engaged The Eversull Group of Dallas, Texas for investor relations consulting.

Dr. Janice A. Jones, Executive Vice President and co-founder of College Partnership, remarked, "After an extensive search, we selected The Eversull Group to assist the firm in building credibility and shareholder value with the investment community. The Eversull Group was recommended to us as a trustworthy and successful communicator that could guide our firm in attracting capital, gaining support and sponsorship. With their help, we expect to recommence executing our growth plan."

With SMI in tow (and no history of profitability), they've got a hard road ahead, in my humble opinion. I also feel compelled to remark that the Eversull Group's web page is currently so awful that perhaps they ought to be concerned about the log in their own credibility before they deal with the mote in College Partnership's.

What Atheist Do I Be?

Jim just took this quiz and posted his results, so I figured I'd do it, too.

I take serious issue with scoring "33% theist"!

You scored as Scientific Atheist, These guys rule. I'm not one of them myself, although I play one online. They know the rules of debate, the Laws of Thermodynamics, and can explain evolution in fifty words or less. More concerned with how things ARE than how they should be, these are the people who will bring us into the future. Scientific Atheist 75% Angry Atheist 50% Apathetic Atheist 50% Agnostic 42% Militant Atheist 33% Theist 33% Spiritual Atheist 17% What kind of atheist are you? created with QuizFarm.com

Nouveau Riche University

This morning I attended an introductory meeting (a.k.a., "sales pitch") for the "real estate investment college", Nouveau Riche (NRU). I had stumbled upon the company, quite randomly, a few months ago while perusing some of the local groups at Meetup.com, but until recently I just couldn't bring myself to take the time to check them out in any detail.

The first red flag to jump out about NRU, though, is that its founder, Jim Piccolo, was also the founder of the MLM company TruDynamics (a.k.a., Travel Dynamics). In my book, anyone who starts a network marketing company is not a trustworthy individual.

There's always a chance, though, that a person can reform, and I wasn't really doing much with my Saturday morning anyway, so I figured "what the hell?" and headed to one of their twice-weekly meetings. When I arrived I could tell immediately I was in the right place, since two of the cars parked there had huge wraparound signs on them, asking "Did you make $30K last month?" and, if you didn't, suggesting to call the supplied phone number.

Much of the content of the meeting itself can be found here, including the actual Powerpoint slide show used by the presenter. Several things struck me about the meeting, though. There were roughly 15 people there, including myself, but I'd say 10 or 11 of them had already either purchased the R2E2 or paid the full "Regents" tuition. This struck me as odd, but one thing they did seem to stress - especially when 4 of the attendees stood up to tell their own success stories since joining (one of the 4 strongly implied that her 19-year-old daughter would be skipping "regular" college and just attending NRU - yikes!) - was NRU's "community" aspect. Supposedly you won't ever be left out in the cold if you join up. I'm guessing many of the people there were enjoying the community? (Yes, it's true that at least some of the people were probably there in hopes of earning a commission on a sale.)

Another thing they stressed was the Investor Concierge service, which sounds pretty cool, but, as this website points out, the example property shown in the presentation used suspicious numbers, such as a 5.25% interest-only loan. For reasons I'll get to in a moment, I strongly suspect the Investor Concierge has a chronic shortage of properties - profitable or not (I'd suspect mostly not) - but a look at one of the "Last 20 Sold" houses using the site's guest account revealed something even more suspicious. Here's a screenshot of a Phoenix AZ property listing on the Investor Concierge site (click images for full size):


Here's the same property's details from the records of Transnation Title:


The discrepancies ought to be patently obvious. The Arizona Regional Multiple Lising Service corroborates Transnation Title's data (big surprise there!). No recent sale of 3302 W Acoma has taken place - at $139K or any other price. I'll let you draw your own conclusions, but I hope you're as disturbed as I am by the implications.

They also highlighted their "business opportunity" aspect - not surprisingly, invoking Kiyosaki's "cashflow quadrant" in the process. While it doesn't technically meet the definition of MLM, the "opportunity" certainly resembles it in many aspects. I'll skip going into any real detail, but the basic idea is that you, as a sales rep for NRU, bring in 2 paying customers, which will result in 50% commissions being paid to your trainer/sponsor/mentor person (the one who introduced the company to you). After that, the first two people those people bring in will result in a 50% commission being paid to you. It's not MLM, exactly, but it does suffer from the serious drawback of quickly creating too many sales people in a given region.

Think about that, for a moment. You might remember that old shampoo commercial: "They'll tell two friends, and they'll tell two friends, and so on, and so on..." That may work great for shampoo, but is such a scenario even remotely workable for real estate investing?

For sake of argument, let's grant that, say, 5 of the people with the big car signs really do, consistently, month in and month out, make $20K-30K selling NRU tuition packages. They claim that 98% of the people who sign up do so at the "Regents" level. That's an $8K commission to the person who signed them up. So, that's roughly 3 new "students" per salesperson signed up every month, or 3x5x12=180 new "real estate investors" recruited in a year by those 5 salespeople. Now, as you know, those 180 people were, in part, enticed to join NRU with the promise that they could each also make approximately $288K in a year. But to do that they'll have to bring in another 6,480 people. And what about those people? How easily do you think they'll each make $20K/month?

According to a recent article on azcentral.com, homeowners in the Metro Phoenix area who default on their mortgages get an average of 300 pieces of mail from foreclosure investors. Assuming your typical pre-foreclosure investor sends a "campaign" of 5 letters to one house, that means that there are somewhere around 60 people competing for each potential investment property. The competition has gotten so fierce that now some foreclosure sharks are sending oddly shaped colored envelopes with hand-written addresses - and even including pieces of Jolly Rancher candies inside! All in the hopes that their ad doesn't simply go straight to the trash, ignored. Nouveau Riche University wants to increase that number from 60 to 6,480 competitors, plus! Does that seem even remotely sustainable to you? Are you interested in being one of those 6000+ "investors" competing for investment properties? In what other industry (aside from MLM) are the "sales reps" actively working to undermine their own success by training their own competition?

In spite of the obvious mathmatical unworkability of NRU, their introductory meeting's sales pitch is definitely a slick presentation, and you can't help but get caught up in the warm and friendly atmosphere they, no-doubt, carefully cultivate. At the conclusion of the presentation they instruct you to immediately go and tell your sponsor-person if you're interested in signing up, learning more, or just want to leave. I told my Independent Student Advisor that I was somewhat interested in learning more, but that I still had a number of questions. Foremost in my mind at this point is why this person, who has been with NRU for about a year, doesn't appear to own any investment properties - at least not locally.

It probably goes without saying that I won't be plunking down any money for this "opportunity" any time soon.

A superb, must-read, critique of the whole Nouveau Riche phenomenon can be found at cockeyed.com.

UPDATE, 7/16/07: I received an email today from my independent student advisor contact, asking me to remove all mention of her from this post and the comments following. The ISA's contention was that the inclusion of this information is "disrespectful" and "unnecessary". I have agreed to remove all mention of her name - to protect against the possibility of unrelated future Google searches by, for example, potential stalkers - but I believe that the links to the public record are necessary. Anyone interested in the truth should be in favor of greater transparency, in my humble opinion. This is why I include links to both the Maricopa County records, and the AZ Corporation Commission records, since she claims not to own any investment properties by name.

As part of this update, I had to delete several of the comments from the comments thread. Those are reproduced here, with the ISA's name replaced by strings of X's.

KIWI said...
And by the way, XXXXXXXXXX DOES own several properties here and in Las Vegas! Please do not make assumptions about things you know nothing about.

7/02/2007

Einzige said...
Kiwi,

What's with the ALL CAPS? Do you think that by shouting at me you'll win others to your cause?

You say: I KNOW WHATEVER I SAY WON'T BUDGE YOUR STUBBORN MIND...

Quite the contrary, I am more than willing to listen to substantive arguments, consisting of logical analysis and the presentation of empirical evidence in support of your assertions. Unfortunately your comments so far have provided neither of those. Instead, you've simply made a number of bald assertions and insults to my character - while simultaneously ignoring the bulk of my complaints against NRU. Hardly persuasive stuff, I'd say.

WHY WOULD YOU THINK INTEREST ONLY IS BAD FOR A BUY AND HOLD?

I'll skip delving deeply into the details, but each potential loan is going to have its pluses and minuses, and should be evaluated on an individual basis. The main questions with respect to an interest-only loan should be: 1) How long is the interest-only period? and 2) When the reset comes, what are my best- and worst-case monthly payments going to be? I suppose there are situations where an interest-only loan is appropriate, but given the future's uncertainties, I'd prefer knowing what my payments are going to be.

Why don't you explain your thought process, rather than insult me for my apparent ignorance in this area?

And by the way, XXXXXXXX DOES own several properties here and in Las Vegas!

How do you know this? Note I didn't "assume" anything. All I said was that she doesn't seem to own any investment properties locally, based on Maricopa County records associated with her name and the name of the corporate entity I could find associated with her - I even provided a link to the relevant MC records! I didn't claim that this was definitive proof.

On the other hand, if she wants to convince potential recruits that NRU is an effective means of becoming a successful RE investor, she ought to make it easy for folks to find evidence that she actually is one herself. Don't you think?

What about you, Kiwi? Where are your investment properties? I'd like their full addresses, for starters. Maybe some rental agreements, too. Otherwise I think those of us who are incredulous are entitled to remain so.

7/02/2007

UPDATE TWO (01/09/08): It seems that all of my ISA's promotional web sites for NRU and real estate investment are now defunct. This is certainly not evidence in favor of NRU.

Smith & Merritt: Waffle Your Way To Wealth

I'm beginning to like S&M's slogan. It's such an easy target.

Below is a scan of a refund letter sent to gthomp62, a commenter here on Die Eigenheit, signed by Kathryn Merritt herself. In it, she says that Smith & Merritt are "sorry", "embarassed", and, "most of all, deeply apologetic" about "unforeseen problems and issues" that "took longer to overcome" than they planned. They're also "truly sorry" and sad about the "anxiety, frustration, and inconvenience" they've caused.

The reason the refunds are late? The acquisition of S&M by College Partnership, which has a board of directors who are now in charge of managing and approving "the funds to be allocated and released to Smith and Merritt for past client services and refunds." I might be naïve about such things, but that sounds like bullshit to me. When one company acquires another it does so with the full knowledge and understanding that it has existing assets and liabilities, as well as pending agreements and obligations. Those things don't suddenly become null and void or change their terms just because their ownership has changed!

Oh, I love this quote (my emphasis):

We have begun putting a comprehensive plan in place to provide better and timelier information to you regarding refunds...As this is decided and we receive the information, we will be able to give you a better idea of the timing on your refund and when you can expect to receive it.

Not just the timing, you see, but also when you're going to get it, since "Nothing is more important than providing [the refund] you expect."

Whew! I'm sure everyone who got a copy of this letter feels better already.