The Real Faces of Elder Abuse

Saturday, August 22, 2015

SENIORS SHOULD BE CAREFUL IN INVESTING IN PRECIOUS METALS AND COINS

SENIORS SHOULD BE CAREFUL IN INVESTING IN
PRECIOUS METALS/COINS

Mark and Carol Fairall

The Real Faces of Elder Abuse

AUGUST 2015

Many elderly are receiving phone calls from dealers in precious metals (gold, silver, and platinum). Also late night TV has info commercials saying now is the time to buy gold and silver coins since the market is low. The rule of thumb is that your investment portfolio should be less than 10% for gold and silver and that you should hold on the precious metal investment a minimum of three years.

Several factors must be considered when you buy precious metals which are: where to buy, what to buy, and how to store. It is best to buy coins from the US Mint because TV sold coins have huge market-ups. If you are worried the US dollar's buying power is about to disappear buy 1/10 of an ounce coins because one ounce coins are harder to sell and buy things with in the future. Remember coins are heavy and an easy target for crooks so you need a home safe or use a bank safe deposit box for the storage.

We have taught classes on coin collecting since I am a Numismatist. I emphasize in coin collecting classes that it is a HOBBY and dreams of make a killing financially are rare. The more you learn the better. We enjoy the historic focus of coin collecting which helps you understand what was happening when the coin was made.

NOTE: If the salesman needs you to make an immediate decision and send the money.... IT IS A SCAM!

CHINA IS FLOODING THE USA WITH FAKE COINS: It is estimated that 40% of the raw coins for sale are fakes from China. The feds discovered a $5.4 million scam where counterfeit coins were turned into the U.S. Mint in the mutilated coin program. The coins had aluminum and silicon which is not in American coins. What tipped off the feds was more half dollars were turned in than minted. This was done by Guang Han Trading of New Brunswick. The US Mint loses money on this buy-back program and the program should be eliminated.

The best way to buy a real coin is to know who you are buying it from or if the coin is graded. The best grading companies are NGC or PCGS. It costs around $30 to grade a coin and well worth the price.

The best way to spot a fake coin is: weight, color, and sound when you drop it. The coins that are faked the most are gold coins: $2.5 Eagle and the one ounce Eagle. It is a great scam to spend $50 for a fake coin and sell it for $1,250.

NOTE: When in doubt ....walk away from the deal!

ANOTHER SENIOR SCAM AND POOR JUSTICE - $80 MILLION FRAUD – COIN SALES ON THE PHONE - THAN TRIED TO KILL THE JUDGE: Joseph Romano stole $80 million from 3,000 investors (mostly elderly) by selling worthless coins using high pressure on the phone. Joseph Romano received only a 15 year prison sentence for the fraud. This is not justice for destroying the lives of so many people.

NOTE: The rest of the story. Joseph Romano just got a life sentence in jail for trying to kill the judge and prosecutor. While in jail when his coin fraud case was pending Joseph Romano tried to hire a hit-man killer. These are really dangerous crooks!!!

Joseph Romano

PERFECT EXAMPLE OF A COIN SCAM - THE NEW STAR TREK COIN: Small foreign mints make collectors coins and sells them for usually many times over the real value.

The new Star Trek coins are for sale from the Perth Mint for Tuvalu. The Perth Mint is in Australia and Tuvalu is a small Polynesian island. This is how small countries raise money.

NOTE: If you want one of these overpriced Star Trek Coins look at what they sell for on eBay. The same coin sells on eBay for $120.00 not $220.00. The coin is worth about $40.00 in silver coin value. That is a 550% markup! Bad investment but cool coin!

New Star Trek Coin - Perth Mint - 2015

ANOTHER GOLD COIN SCAM OF THE ELDERLY - $18 MILLION: Larry Bates, former Tennessee lawmaker, scammed over $18 million from Christians and elderly. Many never received the coins. The fraud ran from 2002 to 2013. Larry Bates and his two sons, Charles and Robert Bates, ran First American Monetary Consultants. They have been charged with mail and wire fraud. They each face up to 20 years in prison.

NOTE: Buy or sell your gold or coins with a reputable coin dealer.

Larry Bates

DO NOT MAIL COINS TO BE SOLD - COULD BE A SCAM: One important subject is a warning about NOT SELLING coins by mailing them somewhere.

A recent FBI case this summer was about a $260,000 theft from the elderly by coin dealer Chrysanthos Nicholas (TCW Trading and North Fork Six Fare Coin Consultants) located in Minnesota. This crook had seniors mail him coins for sale and they received nothing.

Sadly, Mr. Nicholas only received a jail sentence of 27 months. His excuse was he was going through a divorce and hard times. What about the pain and suffering he caused all his coin scam elderly victims? Mr. Nicholas thought it was easier to scam the elderly.....he was right.

NOTE: Prevention is better than Prosecution in fighting Elder Abuse and Elder Fraud!

BEST DEAL AT THE US MINT - SILVER PROOF SET: Once a year the US Mint produces the 14 coin SILVER PROOF SET. It is a great value for just over the $50 price and goes up in value every year. This is a great gift for yourself or a loved one. This is a great investment for your child to buy this set every year because the coins double in value very quickly.

NOTE: In our opinion that it is the best deal at the Mint!

2015 Silver Proof Set

COIN COLLECTING RESEARCH SUGGESTIONS - GOOD NEWS: About 10 million (about 3%) Americans collect coins. Coin collecting is much more popular throughout the world (about 25%). The fun thing about coin collecting is that it is like holding a piece of history in your hands made from all over the world. Check your pocket change because that is where you will find the treasured valuable coins worth a lot of money.

We suggest the following reference materials:

COIN COLLECTING FOR DUMMIES: Good basic coin collecting book of the hobby.

WORLD COINS: The coins of many countries are very beautiful and very progressive. The future of coins is that many coins in the world are now made out of plastic which is cheaper and last longer. They are much lighter too.

COINS Magazine: This magazine shows current trends of coins and best buys.

NUMISMATIST Magazine: This magazine has in depth articles of the history of certain coins and tokens. (This is my favorite.)

OFFICIAL RED BOOK–UNITED STATE COINS: Don't forget to buy this book first! Keep these books because they become collector's items that sell for more money.

NOTE: Carol and I volunteered taught coin collecting for many years at many adult learning centers to warn the seniors not to be scammed when they buy or sell their coins. We had a lot of fun grading the senior student's coins to determine the value.

SPECIAL NOTE: I had to laugh at a coin telemarketer telling me he had a PF 96 coin for sale and that PF 100 was that best. Those were lies. The top of the coin grading is PF 70 and MS 70. Proof State (PF) are coins made for collectors because they are stamped several times for clarity. Mint State (MS) are regular circulation coins used by everyone to transact business. Just a little of knowledge helped me to determine the guy on the telephone was a stupid crook.

EXTRA SPECIAL NOTE: We have been informed that our COIN COLLECTING WARNING report is being printed in several national magazines and newspapers.

First Book the Buy - RED BOOK

NEW COIN COLLECTING BOOKS FOR CHURCHES AND SENIOR CENTERS LIBRARIES: Thank you to the ten churches and senior centers that are adding our suggested coin information books and magazines to their libraries.

NOTE: Knowledge is the key to stopping elder fraud!

COIN COLLECTING WARNING: Coin collecting is called the “Hobby of Kings.” Rulers and Kings started the hobby by giving coins to people as a thanks or as a special event memorial token. Julius Caesar's nephew, Emperor Augustus, started giving coin gifts in 44 BC. Pope Boniface VIII in 1294 AD, Louis XIV in 1661 AD, and Emperor Maximilian in1861 AD gave rare coins as gifts.

However, remember that coin collecting is also the “Devil’s Playground.” Many seniors are receiving phone calls from dealers in precious metals and rare coins (gold, silver, and platinum). Also late night TV has info-commercials saying now is the time to buy gold and silver coins because the market is low. Do not fall for high pressure and false promises of huge riches. The biggest danger areas for rare coin scams are from the computer and phone. The rule of thumb is that your investment portfolio should be less than 10% for gold and silver and that you should hold on the precious metal investment a minimum of three years.

Several factors must be considered when you buy precious metals and rare coins are: where to buy, what to buy, and how to store. The best and safest place to buy rare metal coins is the United States Mint. TV sold coins have huge market-ups. Many specialty mints exist all over the world. They advertise investment coins being sold for small countries looking to make a profit. These specialty coins usually have at least a 500% markup of the spot value of the rare metal used in making the coin. Coins and precious metals are heavy and are an easy target for crooks. You need a home safe or use a bank safe deposit box for the storage.

Recently several Texas companies bilked $13 million from coin investors promising huge returns. A former Tennessee lawmaker and his sons have been indicted for using their investment radio show to steal $18 million in their coin selling scam. In New York a “high pressure” telemarketer was just sentence to jail for an $80 million coin fraud. The best advice to avoid being scammed is to know what you are investing in and to deal with reputable firms.

The 10 tips to avoid being scammed in investing in rare coins are:

1. Do not rush to buy and use common sense.

2. Do a background check on the coin seller.
3. Do not believe "Buy-Back" promises.
4. Get a second opinion.
5. Make sure the coin is graded by a reputable coin grading house.
6. Shop the competition and compare prices and coins.
7. Take immediate possession of the purchased coin.
8. Be careful who you give your credit card number to.
9. Don't cave in to "High Pressure."
10. Don't believe questionable misleading reports of huge riches.

Coin collecting is a HOBBY and dreams of make a killing financially are rare. Be careful but have fun because it is a wonderful hobby where you can hunt for special coins, learn about history, and possibly find that valuable coin in your pocket change.

Enjoy Coin Collecting

Thursday, July 23, 2015

NO REAL JUSTICE FOR ELDERLY IN ARIZONA

POSTED ON THE WHITE

HOUSE CONFERENCE

ON AGING WEBSITE

internet site: http://whitehouseconferenceonaging.gov/blog/post/toward-greater-justice-for-our-nation-s-elders.aspx

Mark Fairall

THE REAL FACES OF ELDER ABUSE

7/1/2015 11:01:13 AM

Nice words by the Elder Justice Forum but in the real world elder abuse and fraud are increasing at an alarming rate. The new estimate by True Link Financial study just released new information that raises the old estimate of elder financial abuse from $2.9 billion to $36.5 billion. The government really has no idea what the real statistics for elder abuse are.

We witnessed in Arizona a senior living facility abuse and defraud 66 people in Arizona. The senior living facility was run by a convicted Medicare Fraud Felon that made his living scamming the government and elderly.

Some of the elder abuse crimes were:

1. withholding essential services (blocking the delivery of medications/failing to repair of air condition units),

2. damaging apartments and suing the former senior residents for the damages,

3. impersonating a doctor to get confidential medical records,

4. Charging extra fees for service dogs, dead residents, and unused parking spaces,

5. misdating leases and altering contracts,

6. slander and rumor spreading,

7. blocking seniors from activities,

8. threats and abusive notices on the senior's apartment door,

9. serving sub-quality food, failing to maintain a clean pool, and failing to remove cockroaches and toxic mold from the senior apartment house, and

10. misuse of the legal system with baseless lawsuits.

All our and other residents’ complaints to the police, attorney general, and HUD went unanswered and were closed without any real investigation. So far 38 of those 66 elder abuse cases have died without any justice, including my 93-year old aunt.

My wife, Carol, received no justice when the apartment management refused two written Reasonable Accommodation Requests by a Disabled Person to allow the continued delivery of her anti-liver rejection medication. The senior apartment house refused to remove the toxic mold from our apartment and refused to give us a mold free apartment. Our Senator John McCain told us to hire a lawyer and could not even help on the illegal $450 fee charged for a licensed service dog.

The police told us they did not have the manpower or interest to worry about elder abuse crimes. We had to hire a retired policeman and private investigator to take the abused seniors statements before they died. All this was written up in THE SUN GROVE RESORT VILLAGE ELDER ABUSE STORY that went to the United States Senate-Special Committee on Aging. They all did nothing.

We speak and write about the elder abuse problem because we do not want others to suffer the way we did. We had that senior living apartment manager put back in jail for parole violations. We got a 43-year prison sentence for the Ponzi Scam felon that created this elder abuse scam that destroyed 23 senior living facilities.

That is the real world and not this typical politician and bureaucrat "Spin" to keep their jobs.

Sun Grove Resort Village - Peoria, Arizona

Former SGRV Manager: Scott Green

Imposter Nurse (was cited): Claudia Marquez

Ponzi Scheme Mastermind - James Koneig

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

ARIZONA REGISTRAR OF CONTRACTORS (ROC) ALLOWS A CONTRACTOR TO SCAM THE ELDERLY

THE REGISTRAR OF CONTRACTORS (ROC) IS MAKING

PUBLIC RELATIONS NEWS BY GOING AFTER UNLICENSED CONTRACTORS.

ROC BUDGET

Unlicensed Contractors do not pay the annual dues to the ROC but they do pay a fines if caught. The ROC has a vested interest in going after unlicensed contractors for the fines because it is desperate for operating money. The ROC’s $12 million budget is stagnate with Arizona’s stagnate economy. The ROC just closed four state offices in a budget reduction move but that hinders Arizona consumers in rural communities for the filing poor workmanship contractor complaints.

The ROC has over 40,000 licensed contractors in Arizona. The ROC handles yearly nearly 4,000 complaints against licensed contractors and nearly 2,000 complaints against unlicensed contractors. The ROC received a negative audit from the Arizona Auditor in 2013 that it was failing to protect homeowners because of poor record keeping, failing to discipline contractors due weak investigations, and the washing of the Contractor Recovery Fund Trust to the state’s general fund. The ROC is in a state of reorganization since it just has had the former director, William Mundell, replaced with former ROC inspector Jeff Fleetham.

ROBERT FREUND

The ROC totally dropped the ball on our complaint concerning Robert Freund - owner of Palmers Kitchen Bath & Beyond (PKBB) and Palmers Plumbing Services (PPS). The reason for the ROC decline of our complaints was that we failed to allow the contractor to attend the ROC inspection of our house and failed to allow the contractor the opportunity to fix the over 60 poor workmanship problems. Those were all lies and the ROC inspector closed our complaints in one month without a complete investigation. Governor Ducey said he has no authority over the ROC decisions. We have investigated many other poor workmanship complaints we received from bad contractor victim homeowners and it is clear to us that the ROC’s performance is not improving.

GOVERNOR DUCEY IS UNABLE TO FIX ROC MISTAKES.

COURT VERDICT
PKBB V. FAIRALL

We have lost over $100,000 in repairing the problems and the drop of the house value. We did win the 17 months lawsuit that the contractor filed against us when Robert Freund failed to appear at the recent Pretrial Hearing. The contractor had tried to collect the unpaid $3,800 of the $13,700 already paid for substandard work. But our 400+ pages of evidence were over whelming that it was not owed. However, we lost $1,800 in our hard costs to defend ourselves from this baseless lawsuit. We did win and receive $65 for repayment of our cost to respond to the lawsuit. This is really not justice because went spent hundreds of hours fighting the frivolous lawsuit ourselves but we were not compensated for our time by Arizona law. .

Our bad contractor is still using false advertising and failing to obtain required building permits. The scam continues with poor workmanship by Robert Freund duping the elderly homeowners. The ROC is allowing bad dues paying licensed contractors to continue to operate because that agency is totally run by contractor dues/fines and “does not bite the hand that feeds it.” The Arizona homeowners need to be aware that state law favors contractor’s rights over homeowner’s rights. It is only a misdemeanor in Arizona to operate without a valid contractor’s license while in the majority of states it is a felony. Without strict laws and stringent law enforcement the Arizona homeowners will experience the continued increase of contractor crimes.

PORA HAS NOT REFEREED PKBB FOR YEARS
DUE TO EXCESSIVE POOR WORKMANSHIP COMPLAINTS.

PKBB HAS NOT OBTAINED REQUIRED
BUILDING PERMITS FOR YEARS.

ROBERT FREUND'S POOR ROC RECORD

NEWSPAPER COVERAGE OF PROBLEM

GOVERNOR DUCEY'S EMAIL RESPONSE
DATED 05/28/2015

Thursday, June 25, 2015

ARIZONA IGNORES A BAD AND DANGEROUS CONTRACTOR - ROBERT FREUND

ARIZONA IGNORES A BAD AND

DANGEROUS CONTRACTOR

PALMER'S KITCHEN BATH & BEYOND LLC

By:

Mark and Carol Fairall

June 25, 2015

EMERGENCY LETTER TO GOVERNOR DUCEY
FOR ACTION TODAY

From: Mark and Carol Fairall via Office of the Arizona Governor [mailto:noreply@az.gov]

Sent: Thursday, May 28, 2015 9:14 AM
To: Engage
Subject: Assistance - Senior Issues

CONTACT THE GOVERNOR WEB FORM SUBMISSION

Below is the information submitted online from the Governor's contact form
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reason for Contacting the Governor: I require assistance
Subject: Senior Issues
Topic: STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS ENDS TODAY ON ELDER CRIME

Name: Mr. Mark and Carol Fairall

I urged to reopen ROC complaints #2014-250 against Palmers Plumbing and #2014-251 against Palmers Kitchen Bath & Beyond. The two year Statute of limitations ends today 05/28/2015 for ROC complaint #2014-450 – Failed v. Palmers Plumbing Services.

This is supported by the fact that the bad contractor, Robert Freund, failed to show up at the Pretrial on his lawsuit he filed on 05/27/2015. The judge was angry about the 17 months of delays and the rude no-show. Judge Williams threw the lawsuit out as a Default and awarded me my lawsuit costs. Injunctions against Harassment were granted on 05/08/2015 to protect my wife and me from more property damage elder abuse by Robert Freund and Derrick King. This judgment award to pay us our lawsuit costs decision by the judge will make news because of our hard efforts to defend ourselves from a frivolous lawsuit while the contractor played the court and legal system. Our lawsuit award will be between $1,800 and $15,000.

This is supported by Robert Freund's internet gloating to the BBB and Ripoff.com where he lies by stating:

1. That he finished on time on the project.
2. That he and his Qualified party inspected the job.
3. That my dispute was only to avoid paying money owed him
4. No damages to the Fairall house existed.
5. The ROC complaint was closed because it was invalid.
6. No threats and property damages were done.
7. That he only operated one month without a Qualified Party.
8. That Fairall's complaints are "pure fantasy."
9. That he excels in customer service.
10. That he has heard nothing about the Fairall complaint from the AG, ROC, and
Governor Office since 2014.

See the Robert Freund's false answers that he filed with the BBB and RIPOFF.COM. See the FTC complaint filed for Freund's false advertising. See the BBB No Rating and Alert given to Palmers Plumbing. See our answer to the Ripoff.com Facebook and call to action to call the Governor.

I urged the ROC to reopen complaints #2014-250 and #2014-251 because they were closed for the wrong reasons because we did give Robert Freund the opportunity to repair the poor workmanship but it was refused and answered with criminal activities requiring police reports. This is documented in the ROC's file of my 08/07/2013 emails with Freund. I did call on 08/08/2013 and asked the ROC to do an emergency inspection because we were stuck in a hotel after the contractor had our insurance company stop paying for it and the contractor refused to fix the problems. I was told by the ROC to document with time/dated pictures with a third party the poor workmanship and to make the house livable. The reason was because the ROC could not do an inspection for three months. We have complied with the law and instructions but the ROC wrongfully dismissed our complaints without a real investigation while waiving normal ROC procedures (contractor to attend the house inspection and require the contractor to provide a written response) by the one month on the ROC job inspector, Stephen Lawton.

Please immediately stop this bad contractor from his: false advertising, threatening seniors, misusing the legal system, and scamming the elderly with bad workmanship. Please contact Robert Freund and stop his lies on the internet and his gloating that he has scammed everyone including the state.

Submitted on Thursday, May. 28, 2015 9:14 am

Confirmation number: 28096

Date:

Thursday, May 28, 2015 4:56 PM

From:

Engage <engage@az.gov>

To:

Mark and Carol Fairall <azmfairall@cox.net>

Subject:

RE: Assistance - Senior Issues

Mr. Fairall,

The Governor's Office is in receipt of your email communications.

We regret reading of your complaint filed with the Arizona Registrar of Contractors and can appreciate your disappointment in the outcome and your pursuit of this matter.

We understand you wish to reopen your complaint. Upon investigation, the Arizona Registrar of Contractors (ROC) investigators found that in the four months between the termination of the contract and filing an ROC complaint, a second contractor was hired to complete the project that the initial contractor began. In accordance with Arizona Revised Statutes, the ROC declined issuance of a citation against the contractor as noted by the declination letter (attached) and the timeline below. Specifically, Arizona Revised Statutes 32-1155(C)(1) and (2) prohibit the ROC from issuing a citation when, “1. The contractor is not provided an opportunity to inspect the work within fifteen days after receiving a written notice from the registrar” and “2. The contractor’s work has been subject to neglect, modification or abnormal use.” (Emphasis added)

While you may find the agency’s decision unfortunate, the Governor has no legal authority to reconsider or overturn this decision. The Registrar’s determination does not preclude the ability to seek relief in a civil court of competent jurisdiction. We suggest you seek legal counsel for assistance with this process. You may wish to contact the Arizona Foundation for Legal Services and Education as free or reduced cost legal services may be available. As a courtesy, we have included contact information for the Foundation below:

Arizona Foundation for Legal Services & Education

4201 N. 24th Street, Suite 210

Phoenix, Arizona 85016-6288

Phone: 602-340-7366

Toll Free: 1-866-637-5341

We regret we are unable to offer any further suggestions or assistance.

Sincerely,

DOUGLAS A. DUCEY

GOVERNOR

STATE OF ARIZONA

/s/

Governor's Office

Constituent Services

www.azgovernor.gov

THE ARIZONA GOVERNOR DOES NOT HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO CORRECT ROC MISTAKES.

COURT JUDGMENT - PLAINTIFF LOST BY DEFAULT BECAUSE HE FAILED TO APPEAR IN COURT

TO DATE 06/25/2015, ROBERT FREUND HAS NOT PAID

THE COURT ORDERED JUDGMENT OF $65.00.

BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU GRADES

PALMER'S PLUMBING SERVICES HAS NO QUALIFIED PARTY
(LICENSED PLUMBER) AND USES SUBCONTRACTORS TO DO BUSINESS.

GRADE PRIOR TO BBB MEMBERSHIP
MAY 2015

A+ GRADE AFTER JOINING BBB ON
06/03/2015

MAY 2015 COMPLAINT TO BBB FOR PKBB'S FALSE ADVERTISING

BBB'S REFUSAL TO INVESTIGATE PKBB'S
FALSE ADVERTISING

PKBB'S FALSE ADVERTISING - PORA HAS NOT REFERRED THIS COMPANY
FOR YEARS DUE TO EXCESSIVE POOR WORKMANSHIP COMPLAINTS.

We held up all 12 of the THE GRAND SEASONS magazines in court on 06/15/2015 stating this PKBB false advertising scam continues. This magazine has 70,000 copies distributed every month. PORA has not referred PKBB for years due to excessive poor workmanship complaints but PKBB misrepresents that fact. The pictures are from the June 2015 GRAND SEASONS MAGAZINE. The magazine publisher, Pat Goodson, tells us she does not care about truth but only the $1,500 she receives every month from PKBB's false advertising.

NOTE: Faith McLoone, in the Arizona Attorney General's Office, is waiting for your complaints about this false advertising scam at (602) 542-7732. Unless the citizens speak up the Arizona Officials will fail properly protect the public.

THE COURT RULED ON 06/15/2015 THAT THE INJUNCTIONS AGAINST HARASSMENT STAY IN PLACE A SECOND YEAR IN ORDER TO PROTECT US.

On 06/15/2015, the Justice of the Peace Court ruled against Robert Freund (pictured), owner of PKBB, request to quash the protection order. The Court kept the granted order of protection for a second year because of continued harassment and as an abundance of caution for our safety.

On 06/15/2015, the Justice of the Peace Court ruled against Derrick King (pictured), employee of PKBB, request to quash the protection order. The Court kept the granted order of protection for a second year because of continued harassment and as an abundance of caution for our safety.