Keith Castonguay and his Cash Gifting Wheel

Let me remind readers of what the state has to say about such gifting wheels.
http://www.maine.gov/ag/news/article.shtml?id=48277

Quote:

NASCAR PYRAMID HITS WALL

January 19, 2003

JANUARY 6, 2003

CONTACT:
LINDA CONTI, ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL
207-626-8800

A judge ruled Friday that Theodore McLeod, Jr., of Hermon violated the Maine Unfair Trade Practices Act by organizing a pyramid scheme with a car racing theme in the spring of 2001. In addition to awarding the State the costs of bringing the suit, Maine Superior Court Justice Kirk Studstrup ordered McLeod to file with the court a complete accounting of the funds McLeod received in connection with the pyramid scheme so that Studstrup may determine what amounts of restitution and disgorgement to order. Restitution focuses on making whole the victims of illegal activity, while disgorgement focuses on preventing the wrongdoer from profiting from his wrongdoing without a focus on individual victims.

The "NASCAR" or "Car Club" pyramid was organized as a "car racing team" with a driver, two crew chiefs, four pit crew members, and eight fans. The fans were at the lowest level and paid $5,000 each to the driver in order to participate. When the driver received the $40,000 total from the fans, the team split in two, and all participants advanced to the next level, with each of the crew chiefs poised to retire as drivers with $40,000 from newly recruited fans. When the stream of $5,000 fans dries up, the pyramid collapses and the last three recruited in to the clubs never recover their losses. Pyramid schemes are prohibited under Maine law.

The court found that McLeod was "active and prominent in the organization and promotion of the car clubs," and agreed with the Attorney General that the clubs were illegal pyramid schemes. The court also found that McLeod hosted recruiting gatherings at his garage and made promotional speeches falsely asserting that the clubs were not illegal pyramids, that an attorney had been retained to guarantee the legality, that members could get out any time they wished, and that he kept a fund to provide refunds to those who wished to leave.

While the State pursued the case as a civil matter, the court found that there was "more than a sufficient factual basis" to find "beyond a reasonable doubt" that McLeod violated the law prohibiting pyramid schemes.

Attorney General Steven Rowe said, "At long last, following a full and fair trial, we have a court definitively declaring these 'gifting clubs' to be illegal pyramids. The case proves what we have said all along ?€” a deal that seems too good to be true probably is."

Assistant Attorney General Linda Conti, who handled the case for the State, said that two more pyramid trials are scheduled later this month, and another is pending but not scheduled. "We believe that the courts will continue to find these schemes illegal and make the organizers pay for what they have done."

And of what the Department of Justice said regarding cash gifting:

Quote:

Gifting Clubs
Gifting clubs are illegal pyramid schemes where new club members typically give cash “gifts” to the highest ranking members. If you get more people to join, they promise you will rise to the highest level and receive a gift much larger than your original investment. But only a few people profit from this scheme and most people lose their investment.

Organizers keep creating new names for gifting clubs, such as “Friends Helping Friends,” “Women Empowering Women,” “Airplane,” and “Pit Stop,” but these clubs all work the same way and are all illegal. If someone asks you to join a gifting club, don’t fall for their high-pressure sales tactics or stories of great earnings.

Watch out for false claims like these:

Claim: This program is legal.
Fact: Gifting clubs are criminal enterprises. Organizers are guilty of a felony, and participants are guilty of a misdemeanor.

Claim: According to the IRS this is legitimate, because the law allows you to give someone up to $13,000 each year without a tax consequence.

Fact: Gifting clubs are not approved by the IRS.

Claim: The money paid to join is a gift.

Fact: A legitimate gift has no strings attached and is not an investment. Signing a statement that you expect nothing in return does not change the situation, and neither does calling the entry fee a “loan.”

Claim: This has been endorsed by the Attorney General.

Fact: The Attorney General does not endorse any business or investment plan.

Claim: Much of the money is donated to charity.

Fact: Even if the money is donated to charity, this does not make the program legitimate.

Claim: Prominent people are participating in this.

Fact: The people named probably are not participating.

Claim: This program isn’t a pyramid; it’s a circle with money flowing between the members.

Fact: Gifting clubs all meet the definition of an illegal pyramid scheme despite jargon that may be used to disguise the true nature of the program.

Claim: No laws are broken if your gift is in cash and not sent through the US mail service.

Fact: Organizers prefer receiving cash because it is difficult to trace, not because it makes their scheme legal.

Claim: Investing in this program helps create prosperity in the community.

Fact: No new wealth is created by gifting clubs. Money invested at the lower levels simply goes to the person at the highest level. The only way for participants to recover their money is to bring new people into the scheme. When the scheme shuts down, the last people to pay lose all of their money.