As a CNBC addict I get more info than I need on their series, American Greed, which depicts conmen like Bernard Madoff who perpetrate Ponzi schemes to screw friends, family and the God-fearing public. The episode currently running is about a guy named Lou Pearlman who "founded" the Backstreet Boys and N'Sync and bilked investors out of $500M - he's serving 25 years with Bubba (not my term but one of the victims) somewhere in the Federal prison system but his friends and believers are left holding an empty bag.
Following this theme of multiple cockroaches, I'll share a search I did early on about Fake Oswego, which when searched, gets a response from Google of "did you mean Lake Oswego? and then I searched those responses and found the high energy blog of Cate Garrison who along with many other Portland area residents were scammed by a local fraud named Wesley Rhodes - her blog is Life After Rhodes and it's hugely informative and passionate about fellow victims and bringing another fatman, Mr Rhodes, to justice. Cate is a legitimate writer and her blogs offer humor and erudition.
I contacted Ms Garrison because I had a few questions about the case as I had been introduced to Rhodes when he was a struggling life insurance salesman and he wanted to network with the firm I worked at to further his business opportunities. Although we never consummated any deals of note, I did remember Rhodes smiling as he advised me that he was a registered investment advisor - I didn't know what the hell that was, had no money anyway but somehow his reference to this entitlement stuck in my brain.
It was probably nearly 20 years later as I sat in traffic on Barbur Blvd hoping to make the left turn light at Terwilliger before it turned red and those a-holes from up the Hill had jammed the intersection when I heard an advertisement on the local business radio channel for Rhodes Econometrics. I listened - good radio voice (Wes had a face for radio also) and seemingly provocative information on how to beat the market. I thought Wes must have made it big - surprise, surprise.
Little did I know Wes had made it big - on the backs of others. You see Wes must have been a wannabe - he wanted to have cool cars - he reportedly wrote a check one day to Ron Tonkin Gran Turismo for $550,000 to buy 2 Ferraris for himself and I'll assume wife #3 - he also owned about 30 other muscle cars - Wes must been into muscles cause when I met with him he told me he'd been an intercollegiate athlete @ PSU. As I read Ms Garrison's blog, Wes made off with about $24M from his friends and followers here in Stumptown - now he's going to serve 10 years less a little time for presumed good behavior in Sheridan - good luck Wes - hope you get the diet and exercise you'll need so you can make restitution when you are released - surely, that's now your #1 goal.
So is the moral to the story beware of greed - our own and others? or beware of false idols - trust but verify? - your call.
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Hey, Doug. Kudos on the blogging. And thanks for mentioning our F.F. Wes Rhodes. It's good to get his name out there by all means possible.
ReplyDeleteHave you also checked out that Lake Oswego luminary Charles Seaman? Rhodes and Seaman were pretty close (Oswego Luxury). Seaman was arrested not too long ago basically for taking people's cars and not paying them (I don't remember the exact details off hand, but you can do a search for his name in my blog). Birds of a feather! Or cockroaches of a carapace, to keep your metaphor.