Trump's Acting Attorney General Was Part of Miami-Based Invention Scam Company [View all]
Source: Miami New Times
Today President Donald Trump fired Attorney General Jeff Sessions and announced that his chief of staff, Matthew Whitaker, would become acting attorney general. Whitaker is a former U.S. attorney in Iowa, but he was also involved in a Miami-based invention-marketing company the Federal Trade Commission shut down last year after calling it a scam.
Whitaker not only sat on the board of World Patent Marketing but also sent a threatening email to a former customer who had complained after he spent thousands of dollars and did not receive the promised services. Court records obtained by New Times for a 2017 feature about the fraudulent company show that in one email to a disgruntled customer, Whitaker touted his background as a former federal attorney and declared that filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and "smearing" the company online could result in "serious civil and criminal consequences."
Scott Cooper, the CEO and founder of World Patent Marketing, donated $2,600 to Whitaker's 2014 Senate campaign — just $100 shy of the limit for an individual to donate to a candidate. Company records show the company paid him nearly $10,000.World Patent Marketing collected millions of dollars by promising starry-eyed inventors it would turn their inventions into best sellers. Company reps claimed invention ideas were reviewed by an illustrious board that included big names such as Whitaker, Republican Congressman Brian Mast, and time-travel scientist Ronald Mallett. (A Mast spokesman denied that the congressman was on the board and said he never accepted compensation, though he did take a campaign contribution he later returned.)
In reality, at least some of the board members simply took cash without meeting with inventors or reviewing any pitches. Some of the supposed innovations the company green-lit already existed, so patent applications were regularly denied. And despite the many supposed success stories listed on its website, virtually none of the firm's clients ever made money.
Read more: https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/trumps-acting-attorney-general-matthew-whitaker-was-part-of-world-patent-marketing-a-miami-based-invention-scam-company-10893091
= new reply since forum marked as read
