2016 - a year of FMOTL fails in review

[daltontrumbno]

Yes, we're coming to the time of year when we reflect upon wins and losses past (well, all loses in their case).

I disagree. There has been a win. Perhaps not a win in the conventional sense but a win nonetheless: Peter of England.
Peter has won without a shadow of doubt. Peter has managed to pull off the perfect....well, the almost perfect con, and although the authorities are aware of the con, they have been willing to turn a blind eye to it. Almost all the people Peter has conned continue to believe that Peter is the good guy. They have lined his pockets with gold and they blame TPTB for the failure of WeRe cheques. Peter has made a tidy little sum for himself, thank you very much, and he has got away with it. You have to admire him for his audacity....all the little clues he provided.... such as "spit", "swallow" etc etc all of which were obviously displays of utter contempt for his marks, and at no time did they suspect that in reality he was taking the piss out of them. When you think about it the tale of WeRe bank is so ridiculous no one would believe it if you told them.
Just imagine, you are laying in bed one night and your other half turns to you and says: "Darling, today I met a man who lives in a campervan. The man in the campervan told me that if I write the right words in the right order on a sheet of paper and hand that piece of paper to him it will instantly create £150,000 which I can spend. I believed him. I have done it." What would your reaction be? But this is exactly what has happened. Grown men and women up and down the country have done just that. Not only in this country but in other countries as well. They have believed the man in the campervan can deliver that promise.
No matter what you think of PoE you cannot deny he has succeeded. He has come out of this somewhat richer and he will never get his collar felt. I take my hat off to him. He has won.

If all of PoE victims had been freeman and wannabe con artist freeloaders then I would have had nothing but admiration for the guy.
Unfortunately a small number of his marks were desperate and genuinely gulable, which makes praise difficult.

[SteveUK]

Peter has indeed played an absolute blinder, and deserves every penny he's "earned".

[rumpelstilzchen]

If all of PoE victims had been freeman and wannabe con artist freeloaders then I would have had nothing but admiration for the guy.
Unfortunately a small number of his marks were desperate and genuinely gulable, which makes praise difficult.

I do understand your point and I recognise what you are saying is true but I did towards the end of my post write:

No matter what you think of PoE you cannot deny he has succeeded.

Yes PoE is an arsehole, a no good con man who has fleeced lots of money from desperate and gullible people. I won't deny that. But he has won. That cannot be denied. The reason behind my post was not to praise the man but to point out that he has succeeded.

[notorial dissent]

Well, if you count having to flee the country, as I understand he has, a success, then I suppose it could be. I still question how much he may have actually made off of this little enterprise, since we know he is an inveterate liar, saying his figures were suspect would be the height of understatement.

[SteveUK]

Gentlemen , gentlemen . We may never agree (or know) the amount he took or if it's a genuine success (!!!!!1!!!). But I'm sure we can agree it's been a hilarious adventure.


I award MICHAEL Allen: Smith the fmotl 2016 trophy.


Merry Christmas...

[Jeffrey]

I got a right to travel guy in Minnesota being sentenced on the 29th. Because it's his 5th DUI the prosecutor is calling for the maximum sentence.

[TheNewSaint]

I look at Peter of England's success this way: WeRe Bank's lifespan was about 2 years. Two years of low-wage work adds up to about £30,000 total. I doubt Peter made £30,000 on WeRe Bank total, especially after expenses.

[Bones]

I think we all deserve a collective pat on the back.

Within days of WeRe Bank starting, as a result of quatloos members, both his personal Nationwide account and his Paypal account were intially frozen and then closed. This had a dramatic impact on his ability to scam people. He has to either take payments in cash via the post or through "meet and greet" sessions.

Through steps again taken by members it became harder and harder for Peter to arrange these sessions, he ended up meeting people in a Sainbury's car park.

Throughout the lifespan of WeReBank members from here have made sure that announcements (FCA etc) and news paper articles highlight the scam as much as possible.

Whilst some people may say that

Quatloos is focused on ridiculing anyone who dares to question the state,no matter what the merits are'.

or

100% spot on and that is why they don't like us-We challenge people who recover money owed to the state.

Quatloos have no compassion for the little man, the debtor or the borrower. Some of their attitudes and ideology would be more at home in North Korea.

I feel that we have saved a great number of people from scams such as WeRe Bank, White Rabbit etc and long may we continue. However, much he scammed out of people, if it was not for our collective efforts, it would have been a lot more.

[longdog]

I think we all deserve a collective pat on the back.

Within days of WeRe Bank starting, as as result of quatloos members, both his personal Nationwide account and his Paypal account were intially frozen and then closed. This had a dramatic impact on his ability to scam people. He has to either take payments in cash via the post or through "meet and greet" sessions.

Through steps again taken by members it became harder and harder for Peter to arrange these sessions, he ended up meeting people in a Sainbury's car park.

Throughout the lifespan of WeReBank members from here have made sure that announcements (FCA etc) and news paper articles highlight the scam as much as possible.

Whilst some people may say that

Quatloos is focused on ridiculing anyone who dares to question the state,no matter what the merits are'.

or

100% spot on and that is why they don't like us-We challenge people who recover money owed to the state.

Quatloos have no compassion for the little man, the debtor or the borrower. Some of their attitudes and ideology would be more at home in North Korea.

I feel that we have saved a great number of people from scams such as WeRe Bank, White Rabbit etc and long may we continue. However, much he scammed out of people, if it was not for our collective efforts, it would have been a lot more.

You forgot to mention the palmed fob fiasco with his 'payment cards'. I doubt he shifted many of them and wasn't it somebody on here who spotted it?

[Bones]

Exactly.. Someone (sorry can't remember who now) found the website for the company that made the app and doc.

[rumpelstilzchen]

I look at Peter of England's success this way: WeRe Bank's lifespan was about 2 years. Two years of low-wage work adds up to about £30,000 total. I doubt Peter made £30,000 on WeRe Bank total, especially after expenses.

But, whatever amount of money he did make, it is a great deal more than he would have made if he had not created the WeRe bank. Peter has made some money from his scam, maybe not a huge amount but he has made something. His success however, I would say, lies in the fact that he performed his scam in full view of the authorities and they did nothing. Peter was actively encouraging other people to break the law. Whether those people knew it was an offence or not is irrelevant, Peter was guilty. He was enrolling people to take part in his criminal enterprise. The authorities knew what he was doing and chose to do nothing about it. That is a success imo. If the argument is that it is not a success then I would argue if he had been closed down by the authorities that could not be described as a failure. Peter has got away with it. I am very surprised he has got away with it but he has.

[TheNewSaint]

His success however, I would say, lies in the fact that he performed his scam in full view of the authorities and they did nothing. Peter was actively encouraging other people to break the law. Whether those people knew it was an offence or not is irrelevant, Peter was guilty. He was enrolling people to take part in his criminal enterprise. The authorities knew what he was doing and chose to do nothing about it. That is a success imo.

Oh, I agree completely. It really is an outstanding scam, because it's difficult to pin anything on Peter. The ones who write the checks are the ones who face the consequences.

I just like to keep in mind what success in the FMOTL world really means. Peter is an itinerant bum with no fixed address, no access to financial services, and a discredited scheme that never produced much above minimum-wage levels. He's not much better off than Dean Kory, depending on his level of access to government assistance and people to mooch from.