Anna in the comments:
Evangelical Christians are also losing their money to scams like Petters and Universal Brokerage FX (which was pitched on Christian radio -- Kiley's "Truth Seekers" radio program). Bachmann supports the policies that help nice Christians to scam other Christians out of millions of dollars. What's with that? Oh yeah, it's called the "free market". Sorry suckers!
The point is that Bachmann has done nothing (and does nothing) to protect her constituents from this abuse (she voted against the most recent consumer credit card fraud protection bill), even though she sits on the Financial Oversight Committee. She takes her marching orders from the same industry that caused the meltdown, and continues to advocate for no regulation and no consumer protection.
How long will the Evangelicals vote against their own financial interests? How stupid are they? This isn't Kansas.
Check out the lead story in Sunday's Strib, about the thousands of Christian investors (who believed what they heard on talk radio (the "Truth Seekers" show) about investing in these foreign exchange funds), people who now can't get their millions of dollars out of those funds. How will Michele help those people?
These are folks who can no longer afford to have children, let alone give their kids or grandkids a college education.
The Strib:
The lawsuit notes that Durand currently is managing director of Wealth Survival, a program that markets investment opportunities and services on the David Strom radio show (AM 1280 "The Patriot") on Saturdays. Durand and his partner in Wealth Survival, Chris Pettengill, said it has nothing to do with Cook or the allegations in the lawsuit.
Courthouse News Service:
MINNEAPOLIS (CN) - Two Minnesota men took the life savings from nine people in two families - including a retiree with metastatic prostate cancer and his pastor - by misrepresenting investments in currency trading and walking away with $5 million, according to a federal complaint.
Plaintiff Kenneth Hale says he heard defendant Gerald Durand speaking about investment opportunities on a radio show in early 2006. Hale says Durand invited him and a friend to discuss investments with him and others in his rural community in Northwestern Ohio.
Hale says Durand and defendant Trevor Cook persuaded the plaintiffs to invest in currency arbitrage, seeking profits from exchange rates.
Durand and Cook allegedly promised 12 percent returns in a year, "with the principal protected," and said investors could make redemptions "instantly" at any time. The nine plaintiffs say they handed over nearly $5 million.
In the spring of 2008 Durand and Cook became difficult to reach, the plaintiffs say. Eventually, they learned that Durand and Cook had parted ways. Durand claimed that Cook was solely responsible for the investments, and Cook dragged his feet and eventually became "unreachable," according to the complaint.
Durand continues to appear as a guest investment adviser on the David Strom Show on AM radio, appearing on air as recently as July 3, according to local media reports.
The plaintiffs seek damages for fraud, deceptive trade practices and contract violations. They are represented by John Harper III with Krass Monroe.
Cook lives in Burnsville, Minn., Durand in Lakeville. Here are the other defendants: Oxford Global Partners, Oxford Global Advisors, Oxford Private Client Group, UBFX Diversified, UBS Diversified, Universal Brokerage FX, UBS Diversified FX Advisors LLC, UBS Diversified FX Growth LP, UBS Diversified FX Management LLC, UBS Diversified Growth LLC, Universal Brokerage Services LLC, UBS REFCO IFX Millennium RJO PRG.
UPDATE: Something I missed and worth reading... The Oxford Companies.
Michele Bachmann is a member of the House Financial Services Committee and a frequent guest on cable business shows. Here is a photo from Bachmann's Congressional website showing her speaking alongside David Strom (right) and Phil Krinkie (left).
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