Bates Victims Add Up To More Than Mere 'anecdotes'
One of the many ironic things about the court-ordered dismantling of Larry Bates' ill-gotten financial empire is that a frequent part of his legal defense was to dismiss as mere "anecdotes" the individual stories of victims created by the deceitful practices of his precious-metals firm, FAMC.
The painful truth of those little "stories" has added up to a cumulative judgment by precious-metals consumers around America that Bates and FAMC are "guilty" of not deserving to be in business at all. That's why Bates was in court in Memphis on Monday as his business and individual possessions entered into receivership.
And in time, those "anecdotes" also will come into play again as a court rules on the $80-million class-action suit brought against Bates and his company by many of the victims of their deceitful practices. Among other things, they materially shorted and delayed deliveries of lawfully ordered gold and silver, defrauding their customers out of a total of many hundreds of thousands of dollars.
To us, these aren't just "anecdotes" but the stories of real people who were exploited in an evil way. We have a heart for the many individuals whom Bates cheated out of millions of dollars over the years. We personally helped many of them understand how he was cheating them. We guided some of them toward the legal help which then became manifested in the class-action suit.
We are humbled that the Lord chose us to help deliver a form of earthly justice against this fraudulent man and company, who garnered so much of their business by masquerading under "Christian" principles.
Now, in the wake of Monday's court proceedings, we are hearing more "anecdotes" in the form of appreciations for the work we have done to inform and attempt to protect Bates' victims.
"Thanks for all your hard work!!!" read one testimonial that we have just received via e-mail. "You were 'anointed' for this. I luckily got my gold (assume it is gold) [from FAMC] and when I didn't get my silver order after years, they finally sent me a check with an increase as price had gone up. But I am [not sure] what I would have gotten had I actually gotten the silver."
The sad thing about these anecdotes is that even as his business was crumbling around him, Bates still managed to cull more victims. One man we just recently became aware of had actually waited over a year to obtain a check for an investment he had actually made. FAMC had the coins, however the man didn't get his $30,000 from Bates.
And now, sadly, it's looking like he probably never will. That's one more "anecdote" Bates can dismiss.
The painful truth of those little "stories" has added up to a cumulative judgment by precious-metals consumers around America that Bates and FAMC are "guilty" of not deserving to be in business at all. That's why Bates was in court in Memphis on Monday as his business and individual possessions entered into receivership.
And in time, those "anecdotes" also will come into play again as a court rules on the $80-million class-action suit brought against Bates and his company by many of the victims of their deceitful practices. Among other things, they materially shorted and delayed deliveries of lawfully ordered gold and silver, defrauding their customers out of a total of many hundreds of thousands of dollars.
To us, these aren't just "anecdotes" but the stories of real people who were exploited in an evil way. We have a heart for the many individuals whom Bates cheated out of millions of dollars over the years. We personally helped many of them understand how he was cheating them. We guided some of them toward the legal help which then became manifested in the class-action suit.
We are humbled that the Lord chose us to help deliver a form of earthly justice against this fraudulent man and company, who garnered so much of their business by masquerading under "Christian" principles.
Now, in the wake of Monday's court proceedings, we are hearing more "anecdotes" in the form of appreciations for the work we have done to inform and attempt to protect Bates' victims.
"Thanks for all your hard work!!!" read one testimonial that we have just received via e-mail. "You were 'anointed' for this. I luckily got my gold (assume it is gold) [from FAMC] and when I didn't get my silver order after years, they finally sent me a check with an increase as price had gone up. But I am [not sure] what I would have gotten had I actually gotten the silver."
The sad thing about these anecdotes is that even as his business was crumbling around him, Bates still managed to cull more victims. One man we just recently became aware of had actually waited over a year to obtain a check for an investment he had actually made. FAMC had the coins, however the man didn't get his $30,000 from Bates.
And now, sadly, it's looking like he probably never will. That's one more "anecdote" Bates can dismiss.
About the Author:
Learn more about precious metal investing. Stop by Anne Trimble's site where you can find out all about gold and silver and what it can do for you.
