Monday, December 05, 2005
FIRST ANNUAL FRICKIN' 'TARD OF THE YEAR AWARD
Hello, and welcome to the First Annual Frickin' 'Tard of the Year Awards! I have to admit, the decision wasn't easy. There are so many frickin' 'tards out there, but only one of them can be the recipient of this dubious honor.
I obviously had to set some criteria for the award, and decided that the most important would be that the frickin' 'tard's actions must have negatively affected other people's lives, and it must involve a scam of some type. That leaves out most of the people who are frickin' 'tards in the Darwinian sense of the term.
This year our nominees (along with a short synopsis of their lunacy) are, in no particular order:
James David Phillip Victor Norman (better known as Jim Norman, operating also as The Espavo Foundation), Toronto.
Jim Norman, who calls himself variously "Canada's Premier Jazz Drummer" and "Canada's Premier Percussionist" has been running a scam for about four years, in which he promises an astronomical return in exchange for a two-week loan, supposedly to help him release his nonexistent $156 million. So far, no one has gotten any money except Jim Norman. When anyone questions why they haven't received their money, he uses extremely vulgar language toward them, and tells them incredibly stupid things like "you cannot handle abundance". He is undoubtedly one of the biggest frickin' 'tards I have ever encountered.
Gene "TogaDude" Chapman (recently and amusingly re-nicknamed "The Human Hibachi" by a Quatloosian), Texas
The world's only living multiple death-faster made for amusing banter again this year, when he decided to teach the IRS a lesson by attempting to set himself on fire while driving an RV with a leaky propane tank. He then (not surpisingly) spent about 42 days in the nut house, and another 30 days in jail. Most recently, he has started a "business" instructing others how to establish their own "home church" to avoid paying taxes. He has gotten a lot of press on this blog as a result of his neverending (and usually hilarious) antics.
Paul Andrew Mitchell (aka PAM, real name Mitch Modeleski), California.
The author of "The Federal Zone" (which claims that no one has to pay taxes unless they are residing in specific federal territories) hasn't done anything new this year, but his legal battle against AOL and everyone with a computer continues, at least in his own mind. He has become even further entrenched in his various conspiracy theories, from federal judges being imposters to 9/11 conspiracy crap. This blog's namesake is always a serious contender for any Frickin' 'Tard award.
David Merrill Van Pelt (who swears his name is just David Merrill), Colorado
This one was the "private banker" who triggered the Montana Freeman standoff against the FBI. He was once arrested for proffering bogus Montana Freeman checks. On the more amusing side, he also claims to have the cure for SARS, and once sued Jesus Christ on behalf of his motor scooter. He is known to some as SFBFKADVP (which is the acronym for "Shit For Brains Formerly Known As David Van Pelt"). He seems to think that he is an expert on something called "advanced-resonance inductive plasma physics". However, when you google that term, the only entries that appear are his, certainly suggesting that it's something he just made up.
Shaini "DOO" Goodwin (aka "Dove of Oneness"), Washington State
This NESARA guru claims to be in continuous contact with high government officials from around the world, including but not limited to intelligence sources. The only problem is, she's not. Instead, she's a grossly overweight woman living in a relative's broken-down trailer, and has no such contacts. NESARA (or at least, her version of NESARA) isn't even real. She claims it is a secret law passed by Clinton which will wipe out all debt and leave us all wealthy beyond out wildest dreams; but, as luck would have it, the Supreme Court entered a gag order which forbids everyone (except, quite conveniently, Dove) from discussing NESARA, under threat of death. This scam arose from the old Omega farm claims scam. Oh, and did I mention the flying saucers and space men who are going to help bring NESARA to the public? Um, yeah. Needless to say, this one is a frickin' 'tard extraordinaire.
Larken "MulletBoy" Rose, Pennsylvania
Larken is a medical transcriber who believes that the average American doesn't have taxable income, because he reads section 861 of the Internal Revenue Code (which applies to Americans working overseas) and ignores Section 61, which applies to you and me. He accordingly stopped filing and paying taxes (both state and federal), then took out an ad in several newspapers which said "Please Prosecute Me". Well, the Department of Justice - being public servants, after all - had no choice but to grant his request. They prosecuted him, and he dropped his bizarro 861 theory like a hot potato, opting instead for a Cheek defense (stating that he did not willfully disobey the law since he had a sincere belief he was right). He was convicted in very short order - about the time it takes me to eat lunch - and was sentenced to 15 months in a federal penitentiary after mitigating his sentence by both preparing his back tax returns and making a substantial payment on his delinquent taxes. The worst part of this, however, is that his wife Tessa was convicted in a separate trial (the money was all in her name - what a guy!), and they have a young daughter. Her sentence is yet to be determined at this writing, but it is conceivable that their daughter will be effectively orphaned for some period of time while Larken and Tessa serve their sentences. So I just don't like this frickin' 'tard, period.
Robert Clarkson (aka The Great One), South Carolina
This physically humongous disbarred lawyer (who never admits he was disbarred, but claims he was suspended for refusal to pay Bar dues due to disagreement with Bar policy) has done more damage than one could imagine by setting up fake trusts (and thus setting his customers up for a very big financial fall when the IRS gets wind of it). Plus, he was disbarred for stealing a woman's welfare check to force her to settle a case, and filing a lien against his own clients for money they didn't owe. It goes without saying that he's not only a frickin' 'tard, but a piece of shit. There is a federal injunction pending against him, the outcome of which is undetermined at this writing.
Chris Hansen, Family Guardian website.
Chris Hansen believes that he is domiciled in Heaven, and therefore the United States government has no jurisdiction over him. During a recent deposition, he gave the attorney questioning him some rather curious answers. For example, in response to the question, "Where do you live?" Hansen replied "In my body, I don't have an address". In response to the question "Where do you spend most of your time?" he answered, "In my body". Hilariously, the attorney then asked, "Where does your body spent most of its time?" Hansen's obviously a frickin' 'tard if he thinks those kinds of answers will protect him against an injunction for giving painfully bad tax advice.
Irwin "Schiffty" Schiff
Irwin Schiff is older than dirt, and his own attorney admitted in civil court filings that Irwin has been formally diagnosed as delusional. He also got sent to prison this year, for the third time on charges of tax evasion. He has written a number of self-published books about how no one has to pay taxes, one of which was actually banned by the government because it was deemed to be commercial speech and therefore not protected by the First Amendment. He represented himself at his latest trial, and turned the courtroom into a three-ring circus. His followers have since made numerous threats against the judge who presided over the trial, as well as the jurors who rendered the verdict. These frickin' 'tards have thus kept the Men In Black very busy trying to protect regular folks who were just doing their civic duty. The fact remains, however, that no one would be getting threatened if it weren't for Irwin Schiff.
Anthony Martelli, aka Anthony Sarivola, aka Anthony Steele, aka "Tony Limo"
This dirty cop / ex-Mafia enforcer for the Colombo Crime Family has been running a scam in which he pretends to secure high-ticket loans, gets a very large commitment fee up front, and then accuses people of fraud so he can keep their money. One company which sued him had given him a staggering 145K. He even had a big stamp made so he can more easily mark their files "File Closed Due To Fraud". Anthony is foul and vulgar, but amusing in that he's obviously pretty damn stupid since he keeps getting caught. He is a former guest of the GreyBar Hotel, having spent years in federal prison for running another financial scam. He was convicted of running yet another financial scam while he was behind bars. At one point in time, his bond was revoked because he had threatened his own sister with bodily harm if she didn't post his bond. He was previously in the Witness Protection Program, and Edward McDonald, attorney-in-charge of the Organized Crime Strike Force for the Eastern District of New York, has called Sarivola/Martelli "a nut job" with regard to his testimony regarding the matter for which he was placed in witness protection. This frickin' 'tard has no shame whatsoever, and regularly goes onto the internet pretending to be satisfied customers. Although his current loan company filed for Chapter 11 (in which he stated that he has earned a cool mil over the last three years), his scams aren't over. He has started several new businesses since we started to expose him on Quatloos - one a "church", and the other a company to provide funding for movie projects.
Those are the nominees, ladies and gentlemen. And now, the moment you've all been waiting for...
The winner of this year's "Frickin' 'Tard of the Year Award" is (envelope please) ....
JIM NORMAN!
Let's talk a little bit more about Jim Norman. I swear, I'm not making this up even though it's so bizarre that you will undoubtedly think otherwise. However, let me start out by telling you that the name of his alleged organization, "Espavo", means "thank you for taking your power". Well, some people say power is money, and if so, the Espavo Foundation is aptly named because this guy has taken a lot of people's money.
First, some background.
Jim Norman claims to have $156 million in a foreign bank account which was frozen by the US government following 9/11, under authority of The Patriot Act. However, the Patriot Act doesn't give the United States the power to freeze a foreign bank account; and that's not even getting into the not-insignificant fact that the United States has no jurisdiction over any foreign bank account. You can read all about the banking provisions of the USA Patriot Act for yourself at www.occ.treas.gov/BSA/BSARegs.htm
He claims to have an account with the World Bank, although the World Bank only deals with countries and not individuals. Two separate representatives of the World Bank have stated that they don't know who he is, that the account form he showed prospective investors is a fraud, and that his claims with regard to the World Bank are a fraud. Yes, they actually used the word "fraud" in writing. Is it even a possibility that he's telling the truth about the World Bank? See for yourself that's it's not possible, by reading the World Bank website at www.worldbank.org
He claims the International Monetary Fund is also involved with his "portfolio", even though the IMF has specifically denied even knowing who he is, denied sending the documents in question, and furthermore they also only deal with countries. You can read all about the International Monetary Fund - and understand why he cannot possibly be telling the truth - on their website, www.imf.org
He claims the International Court of Justice at The Hague (which he calls the World Court) has made decisions in his case, even though they have no jurisdiction to hear anything involving him (again, since he's not a country) and there is no record or even a hint that they have any earthly idea who this guy is. The truth is that the International Court of Justice is the judicial organ of the United Nations, only deals with member countries of the United Nations; and every single case they have ever heard, and every pending case, is listed clearly on their website at www.icj-cij.org
In other words, this makes no sense whatsoever to anyone who bothers to check out his fantastical claims. Those who don't check him out are always going to lose their money. How much money are we talking, you may ask? It's well over a million dollars; some estimate it to be as much as $4 million.
He always has an excuse for why he doesn't pay - and bear in mind that this has been going on for four years even though his investors were each supposed to each be paid within a few weeks - although the excuses are akin to "the dog ate my homework".
This is how the scam works.
Jim Norman has "facilitators" who solicit people to invest in his so-called "project". The reason given these poor gullible folks as to why he needs the money has to do with fines, fees, and other facially false payments that allegedly must be made to release his nonexistent funds. They are given a promissory note, obviously not written by an attorney, which states that they are to be paid the principal sum plus an astounding 760% interest in a period of approximately two weeks. In other words, for each 10K invested, the investor is supposed to receive $76,000 in two weeks. Yeah, I know, anybody with even a lick of common sense should have known this was nothing but a scam. All the money changes hands by wire transfer. And once the money has been paid ... well, the old saying "a fool and his money are soon parted" takes on a whole new meaning.
Some people have given him $5,000. Others have given him as much as $450,000. The sums are staggering.
So, why do people "invest" in the Jim Norman Project? Simple greed and gross gullibility. He convinces these people that he has contacts in international finance, that he has the ability to operate as a country, and that the paltry interest sums one usually sees do not apply in his world. Shockingly, they believe him. What surprises me is the number of people who still believe him, despite the fact that his claims have been thoroughly debunked.
For example, he presented a document which he stated was from the United States Department of the Treasury. This document states that he is to be paid the sum of $3 million from an individual who allegedly defamed him and tried to steal his nonexistent portfolio.
Stop the boat. The US Department of the Treasury has no authority to award damages to him, and no jurisdiction to hear cases of defamation. The document is, in fact, a forgery, as has been confirmed by multiple sources within the Department of the Treasury. Of course, it wasn't necessary to ask if it was a forgery, since it was a really bad forgery.
Frank Abergnale Jr, he's not. Here, see for yourself at www.imgplus.net/pict.php?id=bbfdbe8054 (sorry it's not embedded, but blogger seems to be glitching).
Then there were the Spanish documents, variously from la Caixa Bank (an institution which is regularly named in such scams) and even the Spanish counterpart to the Internal Revenue Service.
According to the Spanish tax document (which is written in Spanish, so his investors just took his word for what it said) he is requesting a tax deduction due to maternity. It also says that he is the proud mother of two sons, both named after him. Now, I don't keep up with all the latest scientific advances, but the last time I checked, it is a biological impossibility for a man to be pregnant.
I told you, this stuff is unbelievable. Many of his "investors" refuse to believe it's a scam even though the evidence has been presented to them repeatedly. Many if not most will not go to law enforcement. Why? A review of the investor list shows that many of the investors are scammers themselves.
I have to admit, it doesn't break my heart when a scammer gets scammed, especially in a scam this blatant.
Not all of his investors are scammers, though. Some of them are elderly. One elderly investor wrote to him, saying that she has no money but that she trusts him to pay off the principal plus interest. She doesn't understand that he is a scammer, much less that her money is gone forever. Now, that pisses me off.
In the meantime, he has sent photos to his "investors" of all the things he has bought with their money. These poor deluded souls think he has those things because he has $156 million in the bank. A few of them are coming to their senses and realizing that he bought these things with their money. Others still believe every word this guy says.
Jim Norman rarely speaks for himself, preferring instead to implicate various females in the United States to do his dirty work for him. He threatened to sue me, as did one of those females. I laughed my ass off about that, I have to admit. When he realized that wasn't going to work, he had another one of his pathetic minions tell me that I was going to be "FIRED!" from Quatloos. That was even more hilarious, since I'm just a volunteer there and exposing people like him is what we do.
I figure that, at this rate in his bizarro game of reverse threats, he will eventually buy me something really nice in an attempt to intimidate me. LOL
Jim Norman does occasionally communicate for himself. When he does, it's like reading the output of a random word generator. He makes threats, he tries to intimidate people, he calls people names, he makes it clear that the people who loaned him money aren't as good as him, and he just generally terrorizes his investors and anyone else who dares to question His Good Self.
Just to give you an idea of his idiocy, here's a private message he had one of his "Team" members send to me:
CARM was also in direct relations with the perpetrator as stated on the Treasury Document, I state unequivocally in the world I work in, we don't need forgery charges refuted in chat rooms INSTIGATED BY PEOPLE WE HAVE FIRED, this is preposterous, TRITE, and not a place to have my International dealing subjected to.....PERIOD. I have LAWYERS AND LAW FIRMS FOR THAT. I have been on the net since its conception, "Jim Norman & Grafite" SEARCH WITH PARENTHESES, seen all kinds of forums that attract the sick that hide behind handles and false credentials, AND HOP FROM ROOM TO ROOM SPEWEING OPINIONS AS FACT, consummate GARBAGE. You think the FBI, CIA, ECOWAS, IMF, WBG, RCMP, ENTERTAIN THESE FORUMS AS A BASE FOR THEIR INVOLVEMENT? MUCH LESS IN MY CASE WHERE I AM IN DIRECT CONTACT WITH THESE ORGANIZATIONS, ALL THROUGH LAW FIRMS, FORENSIC ACCOUNTANTING AND COLLEAGUES BECAUSE I CHOOSE TO, ALL PROFESSIONAL IN EXECUTION, MUCH LESS ABOUT MATTERS THAT A CERMELLA KYDD HAS NO IDEA OF AND ARE IN A TOTAL LEAGUE ABOVE AND BEYOND "INTERNET FORUMS". I AM NOT A NEOPHYTE AT ANY OF THIS NET STUFF AND HAVE MORE THAN ONE PRESENCE HERE, ARCHIVAL, MERCHANT CREDIT STATUS AT TIMES AS WELL; ONE DOES NOT GET MERCHANT STATUS ON LINE CASUALLY. WHAT IS ALL THIS FORGERY CRAP, WHAT CEO NEEDS TO GO TO SOME CHAT ROOM AND SEND PROOF?!?!?!?!?! NOT TO MENTION READ DEATH THREATS TO STAFF????? Ego is one thing but ID is totally out of whack here. THE GAME STOPS, CHARGES AS STATED BY KASSIE ARE BUILDING AGAINST CARMELA KYDD AND HER COLLEAGUE HAS FACED CHARGES AND LOST TO THE TUNE OF 3 MILLION. HE LIED BUT NEVER THREATENED, SHE HAS THREATENED, DO YOU THINK IN TIME SHE AND THOSE THAT ARE HER COHORTS IN WHAT IS A "CRIME" WILL GET OFF ANY EASIER? You think you are dealing with some subservient to your forum that needs to banter here? I have lawyers that are versed with Internet law; I have been here for DECADES. Not ONE person from the room has had the COURAGE to contact the email address that Kassie posted for dialogue with my Company and the fact that I would stoop to this level to facilitate myopic children with delusions of grandeur waste my staffs time. That a room facilitator con posture in some all knowing stance DEMANDING PROOF FOR HER FORUM IS DELLUSIONAL, I SUBPENA EVIDENCE AND GET IT WHEN I NEED IT, AND THE FORUM MAY SOON FACE WHATEVE LEGALITYS IT TAKES IF IT IS PROVEN THAT IT AIDS AND ABETS THREATS TO MY STAFF OR I. And wallowing in the rooms, facilitating garbage like "THE IMF AND WBG WILL LIE FOR HIS FOUNDATION TO PROTECT HIM...HE HAS VISITED THE VATICAN, HE IS A DANGEROUSE MAN" ?!?!?!....Listen, go edit comic books for a living, this forum is a DUMB UNPRODUCTIVE pastime. Go into the Health Industry and specialize in COLONICS, this is more productive at flushing out the truth, than the garbage you ALLOW, take responsibility for fueling in your...... FORUM????
Now, why would anyone contact this ass clown at his hotmail address, when we already know what we need to know about him? Quatloosians wouldn't, because it's a waste of our time. We expose scams. We don't get into pissing contests with scammers unless it's necessary for our purposes (or unless they show up in our forums). Besides, we already know that he harasses the hell out of people once he has their email address, and that he regularly traces IPs specifically for harassment purposes. Yeah, I know, I could mask my IP. However, he sent this message to me via the Quatloos internal messaging system, so why do I need to send him an email at all? The one and only reason he wanted people to email him is so that he could figure out which ones of his victims were blowing the whistle on him.
As for the comment about him being dangerous .... I never said that he is dangerous, so that might be a Freudian slip on his part. The fact is, I don't know that he's dangerous, but I don't know that he's not dangerous, either. The above message alone, however, speaks volumes about the extent of his anger management problem.
The lawsuit threats are especially amusing, though. Jim Norman couldn't subpoena his own ass. When I got this, I suggested that he stop talking about suing, and actually do it. I pointed out that there's a fax number for legal issues, which goes directly to Quatloos attorneys, at the top of each forum page. Not surprisingly, he hasn't sued either me or Quatloos; nor will he reveal the names of his alleged attorneys despite repeated requests for that information.
It is absolutely hilarious that he brought up the crap about how we said the IMF and World Bank will lie for him. We never said that. He said that when we pointed out that both organizations had specifically stated in writing that they had no dealings with him and had never even heard of him. We also didn't say anything about him visiting the Pope. That was his lie, to make himself look important to the investors, and we just made fun of it. Of course, considering the wild tales he has told to back up his scam and explain why he hasn't paid anyone, it should come as no surprise to anyone that he has told so many lies that he can't keep them all straight.
Carmela Kydd, incidentally, is a victim of this scam who was for a short period of time a member of the "Team", but was "fired" for some reason which apparently makes sense only to Jim Norman. She doesn't like him any more than he likes her, incidentally. She discovered Quatloos and spilled the beans about this idiot. When she did that, he lost what little bit of mind he started out with. At one point, one of his minions accused me of being Carmela Kydd. Why, you may ask? Well, because "ElfNinosMom" begins with the letter "E", and Carmela's husband's name also starts with the letter "E". Yeah, that's really good detective work on their part *eyes rolling*. I guess their conclusion makes sense in the BizarroWorld in which these frickin' 'tards reside.
As in the above diatribe, they also keep making weird comments about people making threats against him and the "Team". I have no idea what he's talking about. I certainly have never threatened anyone, nor am I aware of anyone else threatening them with bodily harm. However, it goes without saying that if you're stealing people's money, you're going to majorly piss them off. So I guess it's possible, but if so, those threats aren't coming from Quatloosians. We don't want to see them hurt, we want to see them rot in federal prison. Big difference.
"Kassie" is a "Team" member who came onto Quatloos to lie about the scam on his behalf, and distribute his threats to me. He "fired" her just a couple of days ago, again for reasons which apparently make sense only to Jim Norman; and also accused her of stealing. Apparently everyone steals .... except Jim Norman, naturally. LOL.
Of course, for all anyone really knows, that's just another scam and she really wasn't fired. It never ends with these people. There are scams on top of scams. There are cross-scams. There are people scamming Jim Norman in order to get his victims to give their money to other scammers. Even the victims scam other victims. It's just unbelievable.
At any rate, I'm still laughing uproariously about that bizarre private message from Jim Norman. I even printed it and passed it around at a party I hosted over Thanksgiving weekend, and my guests nearly split a gut laughing at this frickin' 'tard. It's now attractively framed and given a place of honor on my office's "Wall Of Shame".
A few people have asked for their original investment to be returned, which they were repeatedly told in "conference calls" they could do at any time. He has refused to return their money, always accusing them of malfeasance and claiming they instead owe him some astronomical sum (always in the millions) for reasons understandable only to him. To my knowledge, not even one single person has received a cent back from Jim Norman. I am, however, aware of a number of people who have requested a refund, and have been harassed and threatened. Here's a little peek into the way he responds to such requests:
FOLKS SORRY TO SULLY YOUR THANKSGIVING, BUT THIS JERK CALLED ME AT 10 AM MONGERING FOR MONEY, IN FULL KNOWLEDGE THAT HE EMAILED A COLLEAGE WITH THE CONTENT BELOW.
THIS IS THE NARCISISTIC GREED YOU HAVE SEEN HAPPEN WITH MY MONEY. THIS GUY HAS NO IDEA WHO HE MESSED WITH.
HE WILL BE CONTACTED AND BILLED LIKE THEOTHER MONGERING CRETINS SOME OF YOU BROUGHT TO ME, WE JNOW WHO BROUGHT HIM IN AND THEY ARE ALREADY IN THE DOG HOUSE AND ONE HAS BEEN CHARGED BY YOUR TREASURY DEPARTMEBT FOR 3 MNILLION….( some of you have seen the documentation). I AM WAITING TO SEE THE COMMENT FROM MY PERSON AT THE IMF IN REGARDS HIS EMAIL ADDRESS AND STATEMENT.
This ass had the GALL to call me after knowing that I had read his comments????????
Then of course the ass named Jim Norman had the gall to bother people on Thanksiving in order to whine about how one of his victims had the "gall" to ask for his own money to be returned. What a crybaby.
Of course the guy knew "who he messed with". He had messed with the creep who had stolen his money, by playing Master of the Painfully Obvious in saying that an alleged email from the IMF was a fraud (after he made a call to Geneva, from which the email allegedly originated, and heard this for himself). Jim Norman, however, doesn't seem to understand that the money he borrowed is not his money. The money belongs to the people who loaned it to him. So Jim Norman can bill the "mongering cretin" for a quadrillion dollars, and it's meaningless except for the humor factor. I am hoping, however, that he will forge yet another document from the US Department of the Treasury. There's nothing like a charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States to get these scammers sent to prison where they belong. Two such forgeries would seal his fate.
Another common ploy he utilizes to silence his victim detractors is to falsely accuse them of committing an illegal act. See, he regularly accuses them of usury ( i.e., charging an illegal interest rate). For some reason he doesn't understand that, since he as the borrower set the rate, usury laws don't apply. Nevertheless, the ploy works on at least some of the victims. Afraid of being sued or charged with a crime, and brainwashed by this idiot into believing that he is a world-class financial expert, they simply resign themselves to their fate rather than contacting the authorities to make a fraud complaint against him, or contacting an attorney to file suit.
Sometimes he will get angry and tell a victim that he is giving them back only their principal, and not the interest rate he promised .... but, he's not going to send them anything until "after [his] business is concluded". Well, since there is no account and no money, his "business" will never be concluded. Duh.
The interesting question is, what makes anyone think this guy has $156 million in the first place? He certainly didn't earn it, nor did he inherit it. He is a frustrated jazz drummer who has two self-released CDs. His music is New Age crap, basically. He didn't make that kind of money from his music, that's for sure. He didn't even make enough money from his music to invest it and make anything even approaching that kind of money. In fact, it's altogether possible that he lost money on those CDs, since he financed them himself.
I can't be sure, but it's a distinct possibility that - at least in the beginning - Jim Norman was himself the victim of a scam. See, this entire situation stinks of a Nigerian advance-fee scam, also known as a 419 scam. Most of the readers of this blog have probably received at least one piece of this kind of spam. There's always a sob story about how somebody (usually in Africa) died and left zillions behind, and a relative or Barrister is trying to find someone in the US with whom to share the fortune. It's pretty funny stuff, but a lot of people fall for it. I suspect this not only because he's obviously not very intelligent, but also because he has all kinds of people - for example, a so-called "Justice Minister" apparently from Cote d'Ivoire, one of the scam capitals of the world - who he claims are helping him with this money. He's sending a lot of it overseas, to a business in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. That's typical of Nigerian scams.
Is it even possible that anyone is such a complete frickin' 'tard that they not only fall for a Nigerian scam, but continue to fall for it over a period of years? The answer to that question is yes. I haven't seen it on this scale, but it is indeed possible.
So either Jim Norman has come up with this scam on his own, or he's being scammed himself because he's stupid enough to believe that someone in Africa placed $156 million on deposit for him. Then it becomes more akin to the Spanish Prisoner scam, in which to release the funds, he must come up with large amounts of cash over and over again.
Either way - whether he came up with it on his own or has been scammed himself, or some combination of the two - there is no doubt whatsoever that Jim Norman stands head and shoulders above the competition for the "Frickin' 'Tard of the Year" award.
1 comments:
Time's up. Name the tard. LOL
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