Did Harry Reid accept bribes from telemarketing scammer Jeremy Johnson in 2010?

[Dan Druff]

There's actually a compelling case that this occurred -- or at least that the Utah Attorney General facilitated this and accepted bribes in order to get a third-party to talk Reid into making the investigation against Johnson go away.

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home3/5...orney.html.csp

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013...massive-bribe/

From the second article:

I have a “source” that says that Harry Reid takes bribes all the time. In fact, if you want anything done out of his office, you must come with a suitcase of cash just to get an audience. That’s how he’s gotten so rich on a senator’s salary. He stashes his money in an offshore bank account. And, as a sidebar for Salt Lake church execs, he hasn’t tithed on that bribe money.

Senator Harry Reid’s office has declined to comment.

Here is my original post about Jeremy Johnson, and his connected to online payment processor Chad Elie, who we had on our radio show in November.

http://pokerfraudalert.com/forum/sho...lated-offenses

[Rockasilly]

Jeremy Johnson and buddies are using youtube to tell their story regarding the FTC case and posted this video yesterday...

[Dan Druff]

Jeremy Johnson and buddies are using youtube to tell their story regarding the FTC case and posted this video yesterday...

This video is hilarious.

I like how it's narrated by a cartoon character who looks and sounds like a teenager.

But seriously, Jeremy Johnson looks really guilty here. Notice that the video focused on alleged witness tampering by the government, but does not answer to the meat of the charges against iWorks.

Here is a 2012 article about the accusations against Johnson:

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/money/5...tment.html.csp

Johnson was hastily charged in June with a single count of wire fraud for his operation of I Works, which the government contends sold largely bogus products over the Internet for a minimal fee then charged consumers' credit or debit cards monthly fees without their permission.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued Johnson and others in December 2010 for allegedly defrauding consumers.

Filings in the civil lawsuit say consumers who gave credit or debit card numbers for what was supposed to be a minimal handling charge, usually $1.99, also were often charged monthly fees of $59.95 and sometimes a one-time fee of $189.

From 2006 to 2010, Johnson's companies took in more than $350 million from sales and returned about $75 million to customers who complained, keeping more than $275 million, according to allegations in court records. Johnson received more than $48 million in salary and other distributions since 2006, the FTC said.

It's very hard for the government to falsify such charges, because this fraud obviously occurred against millions of people.

If Johnson was really not guilty of bait-and-switch credit card billing tactics, it would have been very easy for his lawyers to disprove.

The video makes no attempt to disprove these claims.

This is actually a very common billing scam -- blatantly overcharge a massive number of customers. refund the money to those that complain, and keep the rest. You will always make out with huge profits, due to customer apathy, confusion, or fear of confrontation. A certain percentage will never complain. You can make even more money by making it somewhat difficult for those complaining to reach your company or get the refunds.

This was definitely a big time scam, and the fact that this video obsesses over stupid witness tampering issues rather than the actual charges against him is pretty much proof of guilt.

[haleylh]

When I commented on my pokerfuse piece on this in response to a comment which published the link to that vid, I actually didn't realize there was actually some purported secret taping in there, as it was buried after several minutes of that cartoon crap. No loss, to be sure.

The allegations and evidence against Johnson go far, far beyond what he's actually been charged with, and the charges and iWorks practice they refer to with the code phrase "negative options" are more accurately described as forced upsells, where additional billings are placed against customers' CCs without permission and/or under duress. Even though I've become aware of separate instances of questionable conduct within the SDNY DOJ, Johnson's overall behavior was so far beyond the pale I just don't have a lot of pity for him.

I recommend the saltydroid blog for anyone who wants to understand the greater depths of the Johnson/iWorks/Utah cesspool, and I've also corresponded with a lawyer whose client lost her house because of iWorks shenanigans. Several different blog posts there offer their own taped calls and other evidence. The upshot: These are not good people.

It also appears that since Johnson was at last unable to buy his way out of the FTC investigation, he's now embarked on a "reign or ruin" campaign in which he's going to tear down as many of his crooked political bedfellows as he can. That's actually a very similar psychological mindset to Chad Elie, who has been described to me by another researcher into this stuff as a protege of Johnson; the relationship between those two was far closer than Elie has admitted.

This video is hilarious.

I like how it's narrated by a cartoon character who looks and sounds like a teenager.

But seriously, Jeremy Johnson looks really guilty here. Notice that the video focused on alleged witness tampering by the government, but does not answer to the meat of the charges against iWorks.

Here is a 2012 article about the accusations against Johnson:

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/money/5...tment.html.csp

Johnson was hastily charged in June with a single count of wire fraud for his operation of I Works, which the government contends sold largely bogus products over the Internet for a minimal fee then charged consumers' credit or debit cards monthly fees without their permission.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued Johnson and others in December 2010 for allegedly defrauding consumers.

Filings in the civil lawsuit say consumers who gave credit or debit card numbers for what was supposed to be a minimal handling charge, usually $1.99, also were often charged monthly fees of $59.95 and sometimes a one-time fee of $189.

From 2006 to 2010, Johnson's companies took in more than $350 million from sales and returned about $75 million to customers who complained, keeping more than $275 million, according to allegations in court records. Johnson received more than $48 million in salary and other distributions since 2006, the FTC said.

It's very hard for the government to falsify such charges, because this fraud obviously occurred against millions of people.

If Johnson was really not guilty of bait-and-switch credit card billing tactics, it would have been very easy for his lawyers to disprove.

The video makes no attempt to disprove these claims.

This is actually a very common billing scam -- blatantly overcharge a massive number of customers. refund the money to those that complain, and keep the rest. You will always make out with huge profits, due to customer apathy, confusion, or fear of confrontation. A certain percentage will never complain. You can make even more money by making it somewhat difficult for those complaining to reach your company or get the refunds.

This was definitely a big time scam, and the fact that this video obsesses over stupid witness tampering issues rather than the actual charges against him is pretty much proof of guilt.

[Rockasilly]

I like how many fake comments defending Jeremy are posted. So many comments from people with 0 Youtube Account activity from horrible made up names.

The few legitimate defenders I notice on that channel are people that lost their meal ticket. I noticed one of his staunch defenders is a realtor and another is an insurance agent.. I am sure they arent pleased missing those commissions they were making working for Jeremy. Some of the other defenders seem to be in similar boiler room business operations and seem to idolize Jeremy Johnson.

[Dan Druff]

I like how many fake comments defending Jeremy are posted. So many comments from people with 0 Youtube Account activity from horrible made up names.

The few legitimate defenders I notice on that channel are people that lost their meal ticket. I noticed one of his staunch defenders is a realtor and another is an insurance agent.. I am sure they arent pleased missing those commissions they were making working for Jeremy. Some of the other defenders seem to be in similar boiler room business operations and seem to idolize Jeremy Johnson.

Good catch.

I didn't even read the comments, but I just did now, and you're totally correct.

All of the pro-Jeremy comments are from YouTube accounts with first and last "real" names (and of course no other YouTube history), and all of the anti-Jeremy comments are from much more traditional-looking YouTube names.

In general, most YouTube users are named something like "steaklover1" or "surferguy73", and not "Mike Jones" or "Andy McDonald". Someone didn't realize it when they made the various fake accounts to defend Jeremy.

Awful.

[Dan Druff]

When I commented on my pokerfuse piece on this in response to a comment which published the link to that vid, I actually didn't realize there was actually some purported secret taping in there, as it was buried after several minutes of that cartoon crap. No loss, to be sure.

The allegations and evidence against Johnson go far, far beyond what he's actually been charged with, and the charges and iWorks practice they refer to with the code phrase "negative options" are more accurately described as forced upsells, where additional billings are placed against customers' CCs without permission and/or under duress. Even though I've become aware of separate instances of questionable conduct within the SDNY DOJ, Johnson's overall behavior was so far beyond the pale I just don't have a lot of pity for him.

I recommend the saltydroid blog for anyone who wants to understand the greater depths of the Johnson/iWorks/Utah cesspool, and I've also corresponded with a lawyer whose client lost her house because of iWorks shenanigans. Several different blog posts there offer their own taped calls and other evidence. The upshot: These are not good people.

It also appears that since Johnson was at last unable to buy his way out of the FTC investigation, he's now embarked on a "reign or ruin" campaign in which he's going to tear down as many of his crooked political bedfellows as he can. That's actually a very similar psychological mindset to Chad Elie, who has been described to me by another researcher into this stuff as a protege of Johnson; the relationship between those two was far closer than Elie has admitted.

The phone call with the internal investigator at the FTC was clearly doctored. It even had a ridiculous dial tone at the end (to indicate she "hung up"), edited in so poorly that even an '80s sitcom would be embarrassed.

That conversation did not flow at all, and it sounds like parts might have even been taken out of context.

[haleylh]

When I commented on my pokerfuse piece on this in response to a comment which published the link to that vid, I actually didn't realize there was actually some purported secret taping in there, as it was buried after several minutes of that cartoon crap. No loss, to be sure.

The allegations and evidence against Johnson go far, far beyond what he's actually been charged with, and the charges and iWorks practice they refer to with the code phrase "negative options" are more accurately described as forced upsells, where additional billings are placed against customers' CCs without permission and/or under duress. Even though I've become aware of separate instances of questionable conduct within the SDNY DOJ, Johnson's overall behavior was so far beyond the pale I just don't have a lot of pity for him.

I recommend the saltydroid blog for anyone who wants to understand the greater depths of the Johnson/iWorks/Utah cesspool, and I've also corresponded with a lawyer whose client lost her house because of iWorks shenanigans. Several different blog posts there offer their own taped calls and other evidence. The upshot: These are not good people.

It also appears that since Johnson was at last unable to buy his way out of the FTC investigation, he's now embarked on a "reign or ruin" campaign in which he's going to tear down as many of his crooked political bedfellows as he can. That's actually a very similar psychological mindset to Chad Elie, who has been described to me by another researcher into this stuff as a protege of Johnson; the relationship between those two was far closer than Elie has admitted.

The phone call with the internal investigator at the FTC was clearly doctored. It even had a ridiculous dial tone at the end (to indicate she "hung up"), edited in so poorly that even an '80s sitcom would be embarrassed.

That conversation did not flow at all, and it sounds like parts might have even been taken out of context.

I do have a separate e-mail from Johnson to Collot Guerard where he accuses her of taping a phone call between the two (shortly after his arrest), and he demands a copy of the supposed tape. That's a 180-degree difference from what his supporters allege in that video, just sayin'.

[SpewArtist]

Haley's most recent article:

Jeremy Johnson Alleges $1 Million Harry Reid Bribe on Full Tilt’s Behalf
Secret recording alleges online poker legislation was influenced by more than just lobbying.

http://pokerfuse.com/features/in-dep...-behalf-31-01/

[Dan Druff]

Here is a secretly recorded audiotape of a meeting between Johnson and Utah Attorney General John Swallow:



Go to the 38 minute mark for the poker stuff.

Johnson claimed he met in 2010 with John Pappas of the PPA, Ray Bitar, and Harry Reid?

But is Johnson lying?

Here is a pic provided by Chad Elie, featuring Pappas, Reid, and Johnson:



This appears to have been the same day as this photo:



Haley Hintze theorizes that this took place in the summer of 2010, at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas.

Most interesting, Johnson claims that Bitar instructed him to deposit a million dollars into a weird account, and then suddenly Reid introduced his poker bill to the Senate.

Johnson is super shady, but I think I believe him.

[Dan Druff]

John Pappas, of course, freaked out and overreacted, much like our recently-discovered PFA scammer Jasep.

I think that's because, like Jasep, Pappas is probably guilty of this.

Pappas made the following statement on Pocketfives:

The notion that I had a private meeting with Jeremy Johnson and Senator Reid is a complete falsehood. In fact, I have only met Mr. Johnson in-person once and briefly, when he attended a fundraiser with almost 100 people that our organization hosted for Senator Reid at the World Series of Poker.

It is disgraceful that the PPA's name has been inserted in this supposed 'news story' by an editorial writer [Haley Hintze] who has a history of being critical of our organization.

So he's attacking the messenger rather than the accusation. Bad sign.

Here is Reid's predictable response:

The allegations of bribery by Mr. Johnson, a man with a background of fraud, deception, and corruption, are absurd and utterly false. Bribery is a crime for which Senator Reid has personally put people behind bars. Senator Reid will not have his integrity questioned by a man of Mr. Johnson's low record and character, and his outrageous allegations will not go unanswered. Clearly, a desperate man is making things up.

Here are the two articles by Haley on the matter:

http://www.flushdraw.net/news/jeremy...poker-trouble/

http://www.4flush.com/gaming-legisla...brouhaha/11937

[Pooh]

You need to forward this to conservative radio. Mark Levin would cum all over himself if he had this info regarding Reid.

[haleylh]

The SL Trib has another piece on it. Deponent sayeth... whatever. Let the truth come out, all of it.

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/politic...orney.html.csp

[Rockasilly]

Jeremy Johnson now facing 86 additional charges!

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/money/5...allow.html.csp

[fatman548]

Jeremy Johnson now facing 86 additional charges!

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/money/5...allow.html.csp

Court appointed Attorney? Sucks to be broke after living the "high life".