| Update on Asset Protection Scam On July 31st of this year, I issued a Red-Alert newsletter letting advisors know that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a complaint against and raided the offices of one of the most prominent asset protection “gurus,” Bill Reed.
Because it is my duty to keep advisors informed as to the status of groundbreaking news in the asset protection community, I wanted to send this follow up to let you know the status of what’s going on with Mr. Reed and his company the Asset Protection Group (APG). In my last newsletter, I told you how the FTC filed a complaint against the APG and Mr. Reed for selling what the FTC basically termed a multi-level marketing (MLM) plan. An MLM is a sales platform where the main people making money are the people selling the platform to other advisors not the advisors who are supposed to be selling the platform to the general public. It’s incredible, but this shows the power of asset protection and the greed of all of us. Mr. Reed charged advisors of all kinds (CPAs, attorneys, insurance agents, etc.) $9,800 to be certified to sell his asset protection plans. Mr. Reed sold this platform to 1,930 advisors around the country and 1,809 of those advisor did not sell enough of the plans to even make back their $9,800 investment. To my amazement, Mr. Reed is still pedaling his programs to unsuspecting advisors who are not knowledgeable when it comes to asset protection. A Class Action Lawsuit has been filed You ever hear the saying “you reap what you sow?” That’s now what’s happening to Mr. Reed. I’m proud to say that CWPP™ advisor and attorney in UT, Randall Edwards, has taken it upon himself to file a class action lawsuit against Mr. Reed and his affiliated companies. The lawsuit has been filed on behalf of the advisors who were sold the asset protection sales platform for $9,800. I STRONGLY RECOMMEND that you read the complaint and the attachments. You can read the complaint by clicking here and the attachments by clicking here. Why are they suing Mr. Reed? Because these duped advisors were sold a system that is not saleable and, in fact, that many advisors in the asset protection community think flat out doesn’t work to protect assets (not to mention that many believe the plans may be illegal). That’s what a classic MLM plan is. It’s a plan where the people at the top of the pyramid selling the plans (Mr. Reed) make all the money and the people buying into the plan can’t even make their money back when trying to sell the plans to the general public. Why am I making such a big deal out of this? It’s simple; we can all learn several things from the Bill Reed disaster. 1) Stay away from working with Bill Reed and the APG. 2) Asset protection is a very powerful subject matter (that’s why I cover it in both the CWPP™ and CAPP™ courses). Asset protection is a terrific door opener when talking with high income/net worth clients and for that reason you should learn the subject matter (not to mention that you can help your clients when you learn the topic). 3) Do your due diligence before working with a firm or advisor. Mr. Reed was an attorney who lost his law license. One of his partners, as stated in the complaint, is a convicted felon. If the people buying into the Bill Reed system would have known this, they surely would not have moved forward to work with him. 4) Greed is sometimes a bad thing. It’s unbelievable to me that an advisor would pay $9,800 for an asset protection sale’s system. These same advisors could have learned proper asset protection for $1,300 by taking my CWPP course and could use the C.A.L.M. asset protection sale’s platform for $250 a year (and provided quality solutions to their clients). Roccy DeFrancesco, JD, CWPP™, CAPP™, MMB™ Founder, The Wealth Preservation Institute Co-Founder, The Asset Protection Society 3260 S. Lakeshore Dr. St. Joseph, MI 49085 269-216-9978 313-887-0532 (fax) http://https://assetprotectionsociety.org/ Are you a CWPP™, CAPP™ or MMB™? To learn more about the CWPP™, CAPP™, or MMB™ certification courses and how to take your consulting to the “next level” go to www.thewpi.org. Author of The Doctor’s Wealth Preservation Guide and The Home Equity Management Guidebook. Circular 230 disclaimer: To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the IRS, we inform you that any U.S. federal tax advice contained in this communication (including any attachments) is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed herein. |
