CA CA - John Beck, 73, Alameda, 9 Feb 2016 #1

[Lilibet]

Wow..with a capital W..i didn't know john had that kinda money...he's probably resetting on the beach...where i should be..lol:laughing:

I know. That's a lot of spare change. We all should be on the beach. :summer: The thing is, the government knows about that money. If they can get at it, they will, whether John is on a beach somewhere or committed suicide. There is no reason to disappear or die over that money. It just hurts his family to lose both the money and John.

But now I'm wondering what, if any, he squirreled away in 2008 when the FTC started looking at him closely. His business partner Gravink sent money to Switzerland, and gave money to his kids and businesses in 2008 as we discussed last night. Would John have done that?

If there is hidden money, there is a reason to disappear. It's interesting that JB disappeared less than a month after the court document about Gravink's hidden money was filed and on the day of another bankruptcy hearing. Ugh! I really don't want to think this way! Someone talk me down!

https://www.unitedstatescourts.org/federal/cacb/1733313/1-0.html

 

[cujenn81]

Doing some math...transactions before Chapter 11 in Sept 2012...

660,000 property sold, money pocketed
300,000 property sold to daughter
Total $960,000

Less $40,000
10,000 paid on mortgage
30,000 paid to attorney

Total $920,000 minus unknown amount added to his 1.3 million pension

Where did this money go? I seriously doubt he added the whole amount to his pension. Can the government touch his pension?

http://alamedasun.com/news/john-beck-still-missing-his-case-unfolds

I mean, with the $920K, he was close to having enough money to pay the judgment in full (and if he withdrew the rest of what he owed from his pension, he would be able to pay it completely). So, why not just do that and be done with it all rather than add to your pension and worry about the government seizing property that you and your family need and live in? If that's true, he definitely wasn't stressing out about his family being homeless or worrying about how he was going to come up w/ the money. Period.

...which makes his disappearance all the more confusing. And, honestly, it really pisses me off to think that he could have disappeared for reasons that only benefit himself, while causing his family to deal with an enormous amount of unnecessary grief.

 

[cujenn81]

No it's not good. Although I understand that the family and friends have a different take on this, we only have what we read. There is no verified insider on this thread, let alone one who truly knows all the details. Yes, the government can say whatever it wants and the Becks have to keep quiet. I understand all that. But looking at just the little we know about this case involving John and the people he did business with...not good at all.

I hope that, if John is able, he will come home so that his wife does not have to face what is happening by herself. He has lost his appeal. The liquidation that was set up last August to take place when the appeal was decided will happen. The family home and rental will be sold. She will have to pack up many years of their marriage all by herself and live elsewhere without him. I can't begin to imagine her pain.

http://www.robbevans.com/assets/case-files/johnbeckorder01.pdf

It makes me really, really sad. I hope she has a job that pays her well enough to support herself and find a new home.

 

[Lilibet]

It makes me really, really sad. I hope she has a job that pays her well enough to support herself and find a new home.

It's heartbreaking. She and John have been married 47 years! If she was as young as 18 when they married she's about 65 now, or she could be even older. Unless she already has a good job and hasn't retired yet, it's pretty hard to get hired at that age. I'm sure her daughters will help, but no one wants to feel like a burden to their kids...even if their kids welcome them with open arms. The whole situation is tragic for her, the girls and the grandkids. I'm sure they'll work it out, but such grief!

 

[Tssiemer]

Holy crap guys. The plot thickens.


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[kimi_SFC]

I've been reading along here, quietly and sadly. I thank you all for taking the time to delve into the details of the BK case and sharing the details with us.

I am with you all, conflicted and upset. I can't imagine how the family must feel. Perhaps this explains the silence on their part. The cold realization of what anymore activity here and on the Facebook page for those people affected by the case.
:dunno:

Here's where I stand:

How could it get to this point? How did a military veteran ever become so deeply involved in a "business" that was foundationally built upon hurting people for profit? I don't type these words easily or lightly. The Court has ruled, and more so based on the actions John took just before he seemingly vanished off the face of the earth!



Lands End holds special meaning to me. It is where my Father first taught me photography as a young child. I still have that old Canon camera. :tears:

I don't understand. I. Just. Don't.

Military men, in my personal experience, stand up for what is right. Yes, they are imperfect, and many of you know my story. My Father raised me by these rules:
•Don't lie
•Don't cheat
•Don't steal
•Don't dishonor the family name

What's happened here leaves me almost breathless because of the damage it is causing the family left behind. It is entirely counterintuitive to the what I know of how military men are, especially when it comes to their own! They just wouldn't do this to their own flesh and blood :moo:

How did we get here? How did John get to this point? I don't want to believe he would do this willingly.

Was there duress? Did he do this TO SAVE or PROTECT THEM???

That's where I am right now. That's the only thing that makes sense - and even that doesn't jive with the business model of the company.

So, here I sit. After my posts about John, I just don't know anymore.

So, to Mr. John Nelson Beck, I say to you, Sir:

Your loving family is still waiting for you. What is left of this case is just about money. All that can be worked out.

What matters, in my humble (and unasked opinion) is the beautiful and loving family left behind. I don't know if you walked away or if something more sinister happened. If the former occurred, make the call. They're waiting for you.

If it is the latter, then it is my worst fear. I pray with all my heart it is not. LE is not actively investigating the case. It is for that reason I will not give up on this case.

Leave no soldier behind.

:candle:


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[Damarna]

I am grateful for all of the work you guys are doing. I've been reading along. And honestly getting angrier by the turn of each page. I pray his family wasn't duped. I pray he just got in so deep he lost himself. I hold his loved ones close to my heart.

 

[Lilibet]

I mean, with the $920K, he was close to having enough money to pay the judgment in full (and if he withdrew the rest of what he owed from his pension, he would be able to pay it completely). So, why not just do that and be done with it all rather than add to your pension and worry about the government seizing property that you and your family need and live in? If that's true, he definitely wasn't stressing out about his family being homeless or worrying about how he was going to come up w/ the money. Period.

...which makes his disappearance all the more confusing. And, honestly, it really pisses me off to think that he could have disappeared for reasons that only benefit himself, while causing his family to deal with an enormous amount of unnecessary grief.

I didn't see this in time to respond last night, but he wasn't all that close to $113 million. I think the total assets he claimed were under $10 million and his total debt that he claimed was up to $500 million (apparently owed to the others involved in this business, which seems strange).

If, as Joy stated, he didn't make as much money on the infomercials as the FTC claims (and so didn't squirrel any away in 2008), then he's miles away from being able to pay the government's bill. So it seems his only recourse was to have everything taken away and live off his daughters. They seem very loving, so even though it's humiliating, at least they'd all be together.

ETA: My math skills are such that I was about to agree with you until I did the math on paper and realized you were thinking $1,113,000 instead of $113 million. It's hard to keep all the numbers straight.

 

[Lilibet]

Kimi, I don't know your story and I had no military veterans in my immediate family, but your post reached in and grabbed my heart. :heartbeat: I have no answers, but lots of hugs. Thank you for your amazing post.

 

[Xara]

Kimi....just wondering, how well do you know the trails at Lands End? I hate to even say or think this, but could he have committed suicide from somewhere along the trail instead of from the bridge?

 

[kimi_SFC]

Kimi....just wondering, how well do you know the trails at Lands End? I hate to even say or think this, but could he have committed suicide from somewhere along the trail instead of from the bridge?

Lands End is beautifully dangerous. The cliffs have posted signs warning people of the risks. Here's an article from the National Parks Service. It has been historically linked to suicide dating back for many many years.




http://www.nps.gov/goga/learn/historyculture/upload/Suicides_sr_2014.pdf




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[Xara]

Thanks Kimi.

 

[Lilibet]

Lands End is beautifully dangerous. The cliffs have posted signs warning people of the risks. Here's an article from the National Parks Service. It has been historically linked to suicide dating back for many many years.




http://www.nps.gov/goga/learn/historyculture/upload/Suicides_sr_2014.pdf

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Here are some photos from the SAR search 2/16. I'm sure he could have been in the surf and long gone, but they used a drone and hiked the rocks. I don't remember if they used a cadaver dog on the trails. I hope so.

https://www.facebook.com/alcosar/posts/1019129091478097

https://www.facebook.com/alcosar/posts/1019125318145141

 

[cujenn81]

I didn't see this in time to respond last night, but he wasn't all that close to $113 million. I think the total assets he claimed were under $10 million and his total debt that he claimed was up to $500 million (apparently owed to the others involved in this business, which seems strange).

If, as Joy stated, he didn't make as much money on the infomercials as the FTC claims (and so didn't squirrel any away in 2008), then he's miles away from being able to pay the government's bill. So it seems his only recourse was to have everything taken away and live off his daughters. They seem very loving, so even though it's humiliating, at least they'd all be together.

ETA: My math skills are such that I was about to agree with you until I did the math on paper and realized you were thinking $1,113,000 instead of $113 million. It's hard to keep all the numbers straight.

You're exactly right... I was thinking $1,113,000! It is definitely hard to keep up with all the numbers, especially when I'm not good with numbers to start with!

 

[DanceCard]

You're exactly right... I was thinking $1,113,000! It is definitely hard to keep up with all the numbers, especially when I'm not good with numbers to start with!

Same here! $1,113,000 is a figure I can kind of contemplate and I had been thinking was the amount. $113 million is a figure I can't even comprehend!

 

[Deleted member 165632]

Wow everyone!
Catching up on all the posts.

In terms of what was discussed in this article:
http://alamedasun.com/news/john-beck-still-missing-his-case-unfolds

About Chapter 11 Bankruptcy (what JB originally filed, allowing him to reorganize & remain in biz) vs. Chapter 7 (force liquidation to pay creditors) what the bankruptcy trustee urged the court convert it to .

JB was an attorney & I also wonder how much his counsel had to do with advising him on Ch11 vs Ch7 as a delay tactic. This sounds to me like a pretty standard and familiar defensive play by attorneys.
Delay delay delay.
Motions motions motions.
Appeal, rinse & repeat!
etc that kind of legal process

I'm not defending any of it.
In cases like this, with a long protracted battle, lawyers probably revert to something like trench warfare... defending what little they have inch by inch...
JMO... anyone with law experience pls weigh in.

2 things I find difficult to stomach:
1- The company JB kept. He was an educated man who clearly had to know that this was a shady enterprise. His biz partners do not seem like people on the up and up
2- How could JB allow himself to be the front of the biz? To allow it to carry his name and image... I find that very difficult to understand.

Even if there was a zealous govt crackdown (thanks to the subprime mess) JB's company was in the cross-hairs for a reason. There were clearly disgruntled consumers. Google Ripoff Report and John Beck. There are complaints dating back to 2006.

Here's a link to the Better Business Bureau article from 2012.
http://www.bbb.org/blog/2012/05/john-beck-amazing-profits-not-so-amazing/
"John Beck Amazing Profits LLC, the company responsible for the John Beck infomercial, has earned an F rating at www.bbb.org. The BBB asked this company to substantiate its advertising in 2007, but was not satisfied with its response. The court found that this company falsely represented that consumers could purchase homes at tax sales for pennies on the dollar and that they could make money easily with little financial investment."

 

[QueenBea13]

I get that everyone wants to get rich with little to no investment, like playing the lotto for mega millions, imo if it sounds too good to be true it usually is. Common sense would wave a big red flag to consumers imo.


The thoughts & opinions stated above are that, MY random thoughts & opinions.

 

[Lilibet]

Excellent post DS. I agree about the legal maneuvering/trench warfare being standard, although unethical IMO, procedure.

Beck's business partners were NOT on the up and up. I've just spent a couple of hours googling Doug Gravink and Gary Hewitt. It wasn't hard to dig up dirt. Whether that dirt was available on Google when Beck connected with them around 2005? is anybody's guess. But an educated attorney should never join forces and allow himself to be used by anyone without vetting them. I can't believe he's as misled as the people who bought his product. His family seems to think he was, and I can see why they feel that way. I agree with them that John was a pretty small fish in a large net, captured by two master fishermen. But he IS an attorney, after all, more savvy than average I would hope.

DG and GH have been doing business together since the early 1990's at least...LOTS AND LOTS of business, including telemarketing. Take a look at this corporation wiki for the two of them.
http://www.corporationwiki.com/California/Van-Nuys/family-products-llc/46338998.aspx

It shows the interconnection of all their companies. You can click on each one and it will show a different chart. Here is a screenshot of the chart for Family Products that also shows the companies the FTC went after along with Beck...Paul, Alexander, Family Products, Mentoring of America. It's a little hard to read, but Beck and Paul are at the top and you can find the rest.

Speaking of Mentoring of America, they got in trouble in Utah, but just got lightly slapped. There was the belief that their contributions to the Attorney General's campaign helped.

In fact, the company has been under three separate investigations that resulted in administrative citations and one enforcement action by the Utah Attorney General’s Office, between 2004 and 2007. Not for drugs, however, but for allegations the company fraudulently promised unrealistic guarantees to customers, sold them programs they couldn’t use and otherwise conducted deceptive trade practices. These investigations were brought by the Utah Division of Consumer Protection. The last time Mentoring of America was behind the 8-ball for alleged shady business practices, during winter 2007-08—five months before Beckstead took his life—MOA stood to potentially lose its license and have to eat $113,500 in fines and statutory penalties from the Division of Consumer Protection. In March 2008, however, the charges were dismissed, and MOA dodged a bullet and paid no fines.

MOA has managed to rack up quite a legal bill, having to defend itself against consumer complaints nearly every year since it opened its doors in 2002. Owned by Doug Gravink and Gary Hewitt, the company must be making some dough to pay those attorney bills. According to former employees, MOA, through the sale of programs teaching customers how to turn a profit from home tax-lien sales, made up to $1.2 million per week. And that’s only from MOA’s Utah County location and doesn’t include numbers for the company’s operations in Nevada and California.

And while this multimillion-dollar operation might not have been paying a lot in fines, the company was investing in political goodwill. In fact, on Jan. 16, 2008, almost a month after it received its most recent charges from the state, MOA contributed $20,000 to Attorney General Mark Shurtleff’s 2008 re-election campaign. Three months after the charges were dropped by the Utah Division of Consumer Protection, Shurtleff would bank another $10,000 from the company, according to MOA’s PAC report.

http://www.cityweekly.net/utah/called-into-question/Content?oid=2137457

Just to end on a lighter note, Hewitt applied for a patent for, among other things, a disposable kitty litter box! I guess they both learned how to cover their poop pretty well until 2008 when the FTC started digging it up.
http://patents.justia.com/patent/20040244708
http://patents.justia.com/inventor/gary-hewitt

Wow everyone!
Catching up on all the posts.

In terms of what was discussed in this article:
http://alamedasun.com/news/john-beck-still-missing-his-case-unfolds

About Chapter 11 Bankruptcy (what JB originally filed, which would allow him to reorganize & remain in biz) vs. Chapter 7, what the bankruptcy trustee urged the court convert it to (force liquidation to pay creditors).

JB was an attorney and I also wonder how much his counsel had to do with advising him on Ch11 vs Ch7 as a delay tactic. This sounds to me like a pretty standard and familiar defensive play by attorneys.
Delay delay delay.
Motions motions motions.
Appeal, rinse & repeat!
etc that kind of legal process.

I also believe his attorneys would have been FULLY aware that he was selling real estate (assets) PRIOR to filing Ch 11.

I'm not defending any of it. Just saying it seems like legal tactics.
In cases like this, when a legal team is aware that it is a protracted battle, they probably revert to something like trench warfare... defending what little they have inch by inch... Does that make sense?
This is just my opinion... anyone with law experience pls weigh in.

2 things I find difficult to stomach:
1- The company JB kept. He was an educated man who clearly had to know that this was a shady enterprise. His biz partners do not seem like people on the up and up
2- How could JB allow himself to be the front of the biz? To allow it to carry his name and image... I find that very difficult to understand.

Even if there was a zealous govt crackdown (thanks to the subprime mess) I still feel that JB's company was in the cross-hairs for a reason. There were clearly disgruntled consumers, I googled Ripoff report and John Beck and there are complaints dating back to 2006.

Here's a link to the Better Business Bureau article from 2012.
http://www.bbb.org/blog/2012/05/john-beck-amazing-profits-not-so-amazing/
"John Beck Amazing Profits LLC, the company responsible for the John Beck infomercial, has earned an F rating at www.bbb.org. The BBB asked this company to substantiate its advertising in 2007, but was not satisfied with its response. The court found that this company falsely represented that consumers could purchase homes at tax sales for pennies on the dollar and that they could make money easily with little financial investment."

 

[Damarna]

I get that everyone wants to get rich with little to no investment, like playing the lotto for mega millions, imo if it sounds too good to be true it usually is. Common sense would wave a big red flag to consumers imo.


The thoughts & opinions stated above are that, MY random thoughts & opinions.

DH and I got tangled in a sketchy business deal many moons ago. We knew a couple other people involved...who knew a couple more and so on. If THEY were involved it must be ok? Right? (Ends up we all said the same thing). In the end it turned out ok. But IMO many people are vulnerable to falling into these traps. I don't know if JB was predatory in his business practices - but someone seemed to be. Again MOO

 

[Deleted member 165632]

Excellent post DS. I agree about the legal maneuvering/trench warfare being standard, although unethical IMO, procedure.

Beck's business partners were NOT on the up and up. I've just spent a couple of hours googling Doug Gravink and Gary Hewitt. It wasn't hard to dig up dirt. Whether that dirt was available on Google when Beck connected with them around 2005? is anybody's guess. But an educated attorney should never join forces and allow himself to be used by anyone without vetting them. I can't believe he's as misled as the people who bought his product. His family seems to think he was, and I can see why they feel that way. I agree with them that John was a pretty small fish in a large net, captured by two master fishermen. But he IS an attorney, after all, more savvy than average I would hope.

DG and GH have been doing business together since the early 1990's at least...LOTS AND LOTS of business, including telemarketing. Take a look at this corporation wiki for the two of them.
http://www.corporationwiki.com/California/Van-Nuys/family-products-llc/46338998.aspx

It shows the interconnection of all their companies. You can click on each one and it will show a different chart. Here is a screenshot of the chart for Family Products that also shows the companies the FTC went after along with Beck...Paul, Alexander, Family Products, Mentoring of America. It's a little hard to read, but Beck and Paul are at the top and you can find the rest.

Speaking of Mentoring of America, they got in trouble in Utah, but just got lightly slapped. There was the belief that their contributions to the Attorney General's campaign helped.

In fact, the company has been under three separate investigations that resulted in administrative citations and one enforcement action by the Utah Attorney General’s Office, between 2004 and 2007. Not for drugs, however, but for allegations the company fraudulently promised unrealistic guarantees to customers, sold them programs they couldn’t use and otherwise conducted deceptive trade practices. These investigations were brought by the Utah Division of Consumer Protection. The last time Mentoring of America was behind the 8-ball for alleged shady business practices, during winter 2007-08—five months before Beckstead took his life—MOA stood to potentially lose its license and have to eat $113,500 in fines and statutory penalties from the Division of Consumer Protection. In March 2008, however, the charges were dismissed, and MOA dodged a bullet and paid no fines.

MOA has managed to rack up quite a legal bill, having to defend itself against consumer complaints nearly every year since it opened its doors in 2002. Owned by Doug Gravink and Gary Hewitt, the company must be making some dough to pay those attorney bills. According to former employees, MOA, through the sale of programs teaching customers how to turn a profit from home tax-lien sales, made up to $1.2 million per week. And that’s only from MOA’s Utah County location and doesn’t include numbers for the company’s operations in Nevada and California.

And while this multimillion-dollar operation might not have been paying a lot in fines, the company was investing in political goodwill. In fact, on Jan. 16, 2008, almost a month after it received its most recent charges from the state, MOA contributed $20,000 to Attorney General Mark Shurtleff’s 2008 re-election campaign. Three months after the charges were dropped by the Utah Division of Consumer Protection, Shurtleff would bank another $10,000 from the company, according to MOA’s PAC report.

http://www.cityweekly.net/utah/called-into-question/Content?oid=2137457

Just to end on a lighter note, Hewitt applied for a patent for, among other things, a disposable kitty litter box! I guess they both learned how to cover their poop pretty well until 2008 when the FTC started digging it up.
http://patents.justia.com/patent/20040244708
http://patents.justia.com/inventor/gary-hewitt

Thanks Lilibet! Awesome research!
I read the full article http://www.cityweekly.net/utah/called-into-question/Content?oid=2137457
and I'm floored by it. Open drug use, telemarketers high while taking down customer info (ccs, etc.) Overdoses at work where police & EMTs rushed employees of Mentoring of America to local area hospitals. Crazy & sad.
Nothing positive or inspiring.

The large number of companies that Gravink & Hewitt had links to seem to me to be like feeders for the major telemarketing firms both Gravink & Hewitt operated. It kind of reminds me of Bernie Madoff who used other money managers with their own clients as feeders for his hedge fund.