For more information, visit the listing at bit.ly/2mgnmna. %%EOF mid plans has focused on a single organization, Glenn W. Turner Enter-prises, Inc., a holding company with 68 subsidiaries3 including the two most successful and most maligned pyramid schemes, DG and its sister company Koscot Interplanetary, Inc. Glenn W. Turner is now all but forgotten. [18] Clarke referred to the company as an "illegitimate" business. But that came later. [5][29], William Penn Patrick bought Mind Dynamics in 1970. The distributors could make thousands. Turner, 53, created a $300 million empire in the 1970s by selling distributorships in his Dare to be Great and Koscot International companies. . The good that I have done outweighs the bad. [13], The company was cited by the United States House of Representatives in a 1975 hearing[14] as an example of consumer fraud, again in 1977,[15] and in 1991, in a hearing by the House Committee on Small Business. Since his victims were usually the little people, the guys who are always getting it in the neck from the system anyway, it was a matter of hitting cripples. A technicality of the law is what got me. By the time he died in 2020, it took more than a year for a newspaper reporter to stumble across his Legacy.com obituary and make note of his death. Referring to Charles Ponzi, who earlier this century put together a huge investment swindle that still bears his name, Lotstein said, "I imagine there are still people that feel that Mr. Ponzi was doing good for the world. [7] (In 1972 he built a "$3.5 million white stone castle with a helicopter landing pad" on Bear Gulley Lake, also near Orlando. 0000006135 00000 n More than 88,000 people have invested about $44 million in various organizations operated by Turner, according to Federal Trade Commission figures cited by Attorney General Bob Corbins office in 1980. What Turner really sold was hope, which is the stock in trade of others beside pyramid sales pushers. But his empire collapsed after state and federal investigators accused him of operating pyramid schemes that bilked thousands of investors. Box 1. The Dream, a podcast about multi-level marketing, discussed Holiday Magic and William Penn Patrick. As Mr, Maxa notes, Americans have always had a weakness for successful rogues. they indicted me on aiding and abetting running a pyramid scheme. 2/10/75, p. 38) and Bestline . "And so can you," they would tell the crowd. JrsJk**j;{:[Z{&N. PHOENIX, ARIZ. Glenn W. Turner, a farmboy who built and lost a multimillion-dollar financial empire with his pyramid sales schemes, lost his freedom Thursday. United States Senate election in Florida, 1974, "Meet the con man who sold America on 'fake it till you make it', "Dare to be Great, Inc! The Rise and Fall of Glenn Turner and His Financial Pyramid, https://www.nytimes.com/1977/03/16/archives/the-rise-and-fall-of-glenn-turner-and-his-financial-pyramid.html. Two dwarfs would hop out and unroll a red carpet. It all carne tumbling down eventually. The Glenn Turner court was confronted with the pyramid sales scheme of Dare to Be Great, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Glenn W. Turner Enterprises, Inc. Ostensibly Dare sold through four "adven-tures" and one "plan" a motivation training course consisting of printed Eventually, the truth comes out. uOf2v]IM{7\~CPWb=sVX\IQ2ec )^y&wM9t>5YO! hb```e`` /`"\}!5|Z1O(s@Tu4t5UL- M-\\mm||=C#cbC"R32S 0000003839 00000 n 0000043655 00000 n In 1975, Turner pleaded guilty to a single charge of violating securities laws and was given probation. United States House of Representatives. He then started two multi-level marketing companies, Koscot Interplanetary, selling cosmetics, and Dare to Be Great, selling motivational and self-improvement courses.[30]. The $5,000 investment paid for motivational seminars and tapes, but the indictment said the real business of the pyramid operation was to induce more people to invest money to become salespeople who, in turn, were expected to recruit others. Dropping the creator of Dilbert is free speech at work, Ron DeSantis shows how not to run an education system, False Profits: Seeking Financial and Spiritual Deliverance in Multi-Level Marketing and Pyramid Schemes. Turner, 53, created a $300 million empire in the 1970s by selling distributorships in his Dare to be Great and Koscot International companies. [25] The Office of the State Attorney General in Maine, United States cites In re Holiday Magic, Inc., 84 F.T.C. A lot of books have been written about Mr. Turner and today weve put the final period in the final chapter of the saga of Glenn Turner, Lotstein said. By Rudy ???trated. The castle and boathouse have been vacant for several years, and the castle has been used only for tours by the public for charitable events. "They conspired to get Mr. Turner," said another woman. The company had been investigated by the Market Court of Sweden,[3] United States Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, and the State of California. 0000008424 00000 n Turner and Rechtor, who also received seven years, were convicted in July of 19 counts of conspiracy, fraud and promoting a pyramid scheme. Turner himself offers one cautionary tale. Investment of $5,000. House Committee on Small Business, 1991. endobj Under this type. 0000001036 00000 n 0 0000002742 00000 n Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. Today, the phrase is also a way to push back on the feelings of self-doubt we call impostor syndrome, or to put forward an advantageous personal or professional confidence we might not entirely feel. The sentencing of Dare to be Great supersalesman Glenn Turner, convicted of operating an illegal pyramid scam in Arizona, has been delayed for a week. A Maricopa County Superior Court jury convicted Turner and Rector Tuesday on charges that they promoted a pyramid scheme, similar to chain letters, with their motivational company Challenge. Warren., 497 F.2d 687., C.A.Wis. Participants could pay $2,000 to be a supervisor or $5,400 to be a director. Assistant U. S. Attorneys Daniel C. Silva, Mark W. Pletcher, Lisa Sanniti and Carl Brooker. Yes, Mencken would have loved it. The Last Podcast on the Left, a podcast covering topics like serial killers, conspiracy theories, and cults, discussed Holiday Magic on a 2023 episode about David Miscavige. 0000001769 00000 n 0000006496 00000 n Turner's long gone from the 0000002201 00000 n [7] As one news story put it: .mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 40px}.mw-parser-output .templatequote .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;padding-left:1.6em;margin-top:0}, Think about it: One person could sell 10 distributorships, and each of the 10 could sell 10 more, and so on. During the eight-week trial, however, two former top Turner aides testified that Challenge officials knew their operation was illegal. PHOENIX Glenn W. Turner, creator of the "Dare to Be Great" motivational plan, surrendered to Arizona authorities today to face 126 counts of fraud and other charges after waiving extradition. 0000000016 00000 n 0000004278 00000 n 0000006135 00000 n One report has him convicted of running a pyramid scheme in Arizona in 1985 and released after five years in prison. Prosecutors said Challenge officials misled investors by telling them they would not have to put up their own money. At the same time, the federal government became less likely to prosecute obvious malfeasance. <<7C981AD2C2A8B2110A00B0784D58FC7F>]/Prev 803466>> 0000003563 00000 n He was paroled in November but must be supervised by. 0000031782 00000 n [1] Distributors for Holiday Magic, who took the course, have considered it as a Holiday Magic Business expense. Senate. trailer 256 pp. 0000032500 00000 n [7] He told reporters as he was led away to jail: The good that I have done outweighs the bad. vlyiJ)pd*n\[PN>8Yl^1cyO"`CC\=bu3hB Attached to the side stands connected a lone, cylindrical tower that contains a stairwell on the inside. At the meeting Turner's proteges would run to the stage in their flashy suits and fancy shoes, with $100 or even $1,000 bills pinned to their lapels. Targets for citations in Chain Letter Evolution. He said neither man would be eligible for release from prison before serving at least two-thirds of the sentence. "Franchising in Hard Times: Hearing Before the Committee on Small Business, House of Representatives. He first pushed cosmetics and later a motivation course called Dare to Be Great. Although Turner did eventually get some cosmetics on the market, the pyramid idea was always at the heart of his operation, accounting for $75 million of its total $115 million in sales; and he started a second company, merchandising a howtobeasuccess course called Dare to Be Great on the same principle. 0000041306 00000 n . 0000023769 00000 n 84 F.T.C. ), it's too late to put the book down. But Turner seems to have genuinely convinced himself he was offering the little people a splendid opportunity. Glenn W. Turner is now all but forgotten. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. However, the focus of the company was more about selling distributorships than cosmetics. [28], CEO and President Roland R. Nocera pleaded guilty to securities fraud, in the case United States v. Nocera, et al. No. One bought a cosmetics distributorship for $4,500 and became entitled to sell distributorships to others, pocketing a fat commission. Marjoe knew, Clifford Irving knew, but Mr. Maxa, who doesn't seem to be just anybody's fool, honestly believes that Turner honestly believed that he was honest. It is here that Mr. Maxa shows unusual ability to compress tedious and protracted legal wrangles (one trial lasted nine months) into an absorbing account. "It is hard for me to believe . As he was led off to jail, he told reporters: The good that I have done outweighs the bad. 0000031782 00000 n To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. Koscot Interplanetary, Inc. was an Orlando, Florida based multi-level marketing cosmetic company selling mink oil-based cosmetics, owned by Glenn Wesley Turner (19342020). Koscot Interplanetary was a company from Orlando, Florida, selling mink oil-based cosmetics and was started by Glenn W. Turner in 1967. Glenn Turner's Winter Park castle currently is for sale for $1.8 million. 0000002742 00000 n There being no provision in either law or morality for fraud without intent, it's hard to figure out what that makes Glenn Turner. In SEC v. Glenn W. Turner Enterprises, Inc., 474 F.2d 476, 482 (9th Cir. 1973), participants in a pyramid sales scheme were found to be security holders, since they invested their funds in a common scheme dependent for success directly upon the collective sales efforts of the organization. In 1967 Turner borrowed $5,000 to start his Koscot Interplanetary Inc., a cosmetics firm in which distributors could sell other distributorships for commissions. ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) _ A three-story, 16-room castle owned by onetime motivational entrepreneur Glenn Turner is going on the auction block, with the Internal Revenue Service and other creditors splitting the proceeds. Turner was a former sewing machine salesman and son of a South Carolina sharecropper and an unwed mother, born with a cleft palate and a hair lip, who dropped out in the eighth grade, did a short stint in the U.S. Air Force before successfully finishing a school for those who had dropped out of high school. 0000003839 00000 n But this salesman extraordinaire in flashy suits was once all but omnipresent in American life. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. Indicted me on aiding and abetting running a pyramid scheme as an `` illegitimate '' Business [ ]. Be a director that Challenge officials knew their operation was illegal testified that Challenge officials knew their operation illegal... Paroled in November but must be supervised by podcast about multi-level marketing, discussed Holiday Magic and William Patrick. 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