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13 Oct 2006, SMH - Bon Levi is probably Australia’s most accomplished con man. He has been jailed in the United States for fraud, named in parliaments around Australia, been the subject of warnings from consumer watchdogs and been repeatedly investigated by police. But still his cons continue.
In the latest, he is trying to cash in on the rush to convert cars from petrol to gas by selling conversion “franchises” for $40,000-$50,000 with guaranteed returns of $1000-$2000 a week for five years. Sounds too good to be true? It is!
Levi was jailed for 37 months in the US in 1998 for running a scam involving selling delivery franchises for up to $US68,000 ($A110,000) each for potato chips and disposable cameras. Investors were promised incomes of $US2000 a week. The FBI estimated he conned more than $US2 million from US investors. Levi had fled to the US from Queensland in early 1998 after the collapse of the Gold Cameras franchise network, which involved investors paying $40,000 for “licences” to distribute imported disposable cameras under the brand name Midas to retail outlets. The collapse of the scheme allegedly left investors about $1 million out of pocket.
He was released from jail in the US and deported to Australia in July 2001 and began setting up the “Little Joe” franchise operation. For $40,000, investors were offered a guaranteed return of $2000 a week for five years selling “Little Joe” potato chips and cookies. He successfully sold more than 60 of the franchises to people around Australia, despite warnings by state consumer protection departments that it was a con. He was eventually taken to the Federal Court by the ACCC and in
February 2005 was found guilty of misleading and deceptive conduct and
was ordered to pay the ACCC’s court costs. After he failed to pay the
money the ACCC had him declared bankrupt late last month.
Levi normally sets up front companies and produces glossy brochures to lure investors. According to the WA Consumer Protection Commissioner, he is still running his national scams from the Gold Coast. He seems to be able to avoid criminal charges because the businesses he sets up simply “go broke” and investors lose their money. Their only recourse is to take civil action against the Levi companies, which have no assets anyway.
If you come across franchise opportunities that sound too good to be true, think again and investigate further.
Original Article: Why can't they stop this man?
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