Jack O'Brien, host of The Daily Zeitgeist podcast, discusses an actor involved in a massive Ponzi scheme and MAGA supporters being conned by the Trump campaign.
The Trump campaign scammed supporters by pre-checking boxes on online donation forms, resulting in recurring weekly donations that depleted donors' bank accounts.
Working Americans who donated online to the Trump campaign were left financially drained due to recurring donations they unknowingly agreed to, causing significant financial burden.
The Trump campaign's scam strategically coincided with Trump's re-election announcement, aiming to maximize financial support and ensure a steady stream of funds for the upcoming election.
Deep dives
The Trump campaign scammed donors with pre-checked boxes and recurring weekly donations
The Trump campaign implemented a simple yet effective scam by pre-checking boxes on their online donation forms, authorizing recurring weekly donations from unsuspecting donors. This resulted in people's bank accounts being depleted as they unknowingly gave money to the campaign every week. The pre-checked boxes started with monthly donations and eventually escalated to weekly donations until November 3rd. In addition, there was a second box authorizing an extra one-time $100 donation on September 29th. The messages were designed with yellow backgrounds and text heavy boxes, making them difficult to read and increasing the chances of donors unknowingly agreeing to the recurring donations.
Everyday Americans were financially drained by the Trump campaign's recurring donations
The victims of the Trump campaign's scam were ordinary working Americans who donated online. These individuals, who couldn't afford regular recurring donations, were left financially drained as a result. By taking advantage of pre-checked boxes and the willingness of supporters to contribute, the campaign quickly depleted the bank accounts of unsuspecting donors. The financial burden fell upon people who believed they were making a one-time donation, but were unknowingly committing to recurring weekly contributions.
The scam coincided with Trump's campaign for re-election
The timing of the Trump campaign's scam is significant. It occurred when the campaign had to declare Trump's intention to run for re-election to avoid returning the donated funds. By implementing the pre-checked boxes and recurring weekly donations, the campaign aimed to maximize financial support and ensure a steady stream of funds for the upcoming election. With the auto-checked boxes and aggressive tactics, the Trump campaign swindled its own supporters, leveraging their donations for personal gain and the pursuit of political power.
Zachary promised investors high returns and safe investments
Zachary, in his company's 2015 report, pledged solid returns and safe investments, claiming that his company would license film rights to HBO, Netflix, and other platforms for more money than what he paid for the distribution rights. However, investigations revealed that there were no actual licensing deals with these companies, and much of the money was diverted for Zachary's personal benefit. Investors were promised returns as high as 40% within a year, but the company failed to fulfill over 160 payments to its investors, leaving them with losses amounting to about $227 million in principle alone.
Investors were scammed through forged documents and false promises
Zachary misled investors by providing forged documents, including a fake agreement between his company and HBO, and claimed to have partnerships with streaming services for foreign distribution rights. He used these false promises to convince investors to provide funding, with one investor giving over $742,000 for distribution rights to a film. The FBI confirmed that neither Zachary nor his company had any business relationship with HBO or Netflix. The scam exploited investors' lack of access to information and their trust in promises of high returns, leading to significant financial hardship for many victims.
What's poppin, con-gregation? Jack O'Brien joins the show to discuss an actor who hoodwinked millions from movie investors. Plus, MAGA supporters get conned by the Trump campaign. Stay schemin!
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