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Wednesday, April 20, 2016
Monday, January 25, 2016
No Justice - Stealing From the Vets, the Elderly, the Disabled, and Everyone Else
A true devil in disguise...
Millions of dollars gone, and never to be recovered. Taken
by a man currently serving a ten year sentence for fraud; with his wife serving
only a few months.
The big question is…
How come the victims never had a chance to share their side?
The truth is that we’ll never know the complete story
because a lot of the victims were elderly and did not want to share with their
kids that they were taken advantage of by a con-man. Since that time some of
the victims have passed away. Some don’t want to talk. Some do, but don’t know
who to turn to.
I’m going to share a little piece of the story, and also a
small part of “how” it happened. The parts that they didn’t want you to know
(for some reason).
I hope that there is justice!
Here are some articles to get you up to speed:
- http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/09/women_sentenced_to_four_months.html
- https://www.fbi.gov/portland/press-releases/2011/vacuum-cleaner-distributor-sentenced-to-130-months-in-ponzi-scheme
- http://www.oregonlive.com/tigard/index.ssf/2011/05/portland_jury_finds_tigard_man_guilty_of_all_charges_in_vacuum_fraud_case.html
- http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2011/05/portland_man_persuaded_140_peo.html
- https://www.fbi.gov/portland/press-releases/2009/pd090109.htm
There was one common question/comment that kept coming up,
and that was, how could someone be dumb enough to fall for this obvious scam?”
THAT NEEDS TO STOP…RIGHT NOW…
If one or two people fell for the scam…sure…maybe…
But we are talking about hundreds of people.
Like…
Individuals (young and old), businesses, churches,
organizations, banks, non-profits. If there was money, or the possibility of
money, then you were a target.
- There were people who lost their savings to this man.
- There were people who lost their homes to this man.
- There were people who lost their cars to this man.
- There were people who lost their businesses to this man.
Nobody was safe…
Banks lost money. There was one bank in particular that lost
millions to this man.
Let’s learn a bit about the man who was caught…
Johnny “Mickey” Brown (aka “the scammer”) was a nice guy; a
gentle giant. He was charismatic, charming, polite, and everyone who met him
instantaneously liked him.
He was a salesman by trade and by heart. His sales
weapon…Kirby vacuum cleaners.
Yes…he was a door-to-door Kirby vacuum salesman…I didn’t
even realize that they still had door-to-door salespeople as a profession.
Nevertheless he was, and he was a great one.
Mr. Brown set up a local store, was a pillar of the
community, and was a faithful church goer.
(Every one of Johnny Brown’s victims had known him for over
a year (some a lot longer than that))
He seemed, by all measures, honest and trustworthy.
In fact, all members of the church that Johnny belonged to
fell for his scam.
How could 200+ people all from the same church fall victim
to Johnny Brown?
He was a man of faith.
Not only that…
In 2001, Johnny Brown went beyond the call of duty during a
time of need, and helped organize a fundraiser by bringing in rapper MC Hammer
(who is a religious man, but also an unwilling victim to Brown’s scam).
Who wouldn’t believe this guy?
And when he came to his “friends” in a time of need to help
him grow his business…
They helped him.
Sure the idea sounded crazy and way out there, but they
trusted the man.
The scam…
“Borrow” people’s credit cards to use to pay for business
expenses; expand his business as a Kirby franchise owner. Everyone knows that
Kirby vacuums are ridiculously expensive.
Why give him your credit cards to use?
Because he would pay the minimum due every month, and then
also pay you a small amount every month on top of that for using the cards. It
was like renting a person’s credit card.
It was legit…he did as promised. People were getting the
cards paid on time, and earning a little money on the side.
He did this for a year.
He was mean, violent, and had a temper.
He carried a gun…always.
He did not like to be told no, and if you didn’t let him
into your house he would come in anyways. People were afraid of him, but never
reported him because they feared for their lives. People were afraid that he
would kill them.
He tried, but Johnny could not always keep up the illusion
of “Mr. Nice Guy”.
Brown’s downfall…
He crossed the wrong woman…
Becky Jarvis is a strong person who works hard for
everything that she has. As a mother, a wife, and business owner; Becky is a
light that others look up to. She is a hero to so many.
Becky and her husband have a computer business, and Johnny
used their company a lot. Johnny always paid his bills, and they developed a
good relationship.
Over the first year of doing business together, there were
some red flags that Becky and her husband noticed. Nothing bad, it was just
some of things that Mr. Brown did were outside of the box, but he had a good
reputation and always paid his bills.
Then one day everything changed…
Johnny Brown put in an order for thousands of dollars’ worth
of equipment and services.
Again a red flag popped up, but Johnny had all of the
answers on the huge change to his buying pattern. He had a solid business plan
for growth, was an established business in the community, and had a great reputation.
So they granted his request.
Then things turned for the worst…
The computer company never got paid. They went the
collection route.
Then the rumors of Johnny Brown started to circulate, and
people were concerned.
Becky confronted him. She wasn’t scared of him; she just
wanted the money that he owed. She actually ran into him a couple of times, and
the funny thing is that if Johnny would have paid her, she would have dropped
it.
He never would have gotten caught and sent to prison.
But he didn’t pay her…
In fact…
He pulled a gun on her, followed her, and had a car parked
outside of her home.
Johnny’s plan failed because Becky didn’t run…she fought
back.
Becky involved the police. Becky started talking to the other
victims of Johnny “Mickey” Brown. Becky rallied people together to stop this
monster.
And stop him they did.
Did Becky and her husband ever get all of the money owed to
them? No.
Did the victims that trusted him ever get their money back?
No.
Justice was partially served.
What Becky helped do was that she brought Johnny’s operation
to light and helped stop him from scamming anyone else.
Did it work?
Somewhat…
People still follow this guy and think that he is innocent.
People send him money. People support his wife’s business (that is still in
operation and doing well).
Brown stated in court that “you’ll never find the money”,
and he’s right. There are millions of dollars waiting for him when he gets out.
Johnny “Mickey” Brown is a smart person, and all this did
was slow him down for a bit.
There is so much more to this story. This was just a small
piece. If you want to share your story with us, we are willing to listen and
get it into the hands of the public. If you just want to talk, we can do that
too.
You are not alone!!!!
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