Jeff Berwick promises to send me every last scrap of information on the $10M Galt's Gulch Chile scam. Help me hold him accountable.
I just had an interesting chat with Jeff Berwick ( @dollarvigilante ) this afternoon.
As you may know, Jeff was the leader of the Galt's Gulch Chile project to develop a tract of land in Chile and sell lots primarily to libertarians.
$10M Disaster
The project ended in disaster with dozens of libertarian families out more than $10 million. But Jeff shirked the blame for it, claiming that he too was a victim of partner Ken Johnson, a move I criticized him for.
Ken Johnson, in turn, places the blame on Berwick.
After noticing a reference I made in episode 5 of the Steem Smart Podcast, Jeff contacted me, upset that I think he's a scammer.
My Offer
I don't think Jeff is an honest person but I offered to re-examine my opinion if he sent me every last scrap of information he has on the Galt's Gulch Chile fiasco. In return, I'm going to interview all of the parties involved, as many as will speak to me, and present everything I learn in a long-form journalistic piece.
Jeff expects me to learn that my current belief that he is a con man is incorrect. In 1 month or less, we'll find out whether he held up his end of the bargain or not.
Scammers Shouldn't Prosper
I need your help holding him accountable to the September 25th deadline. Scammers shouldn't prosper in the libertarian community. We've got a $10 million dollar ripoff happening in our midst and we still don't know the full story. One hand blames the other and the truth is lost in the middle.
This is Jeff's chance to tell it, and clear his name.
Frankly, I'm looking forward to this. And I hope you are, too.
UPDATE: Jeff has committed, in the comments below, to an even more aggressive deadline of Sep 8. Ken Johnson has committed to a deadline of Sep 30.
Check out my comments in this post, it might have your interest: https://steemit.com/crypto/@dollarvigilante/to-buy-or-sell-bitcoin-cash-that-is-the-question
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
I had high hopes for GGC. When it went south, it felt like Laissez Faire City all over again...another confirmation to the world, of the shadiness of the expat/freedom community. Great...
There are a number of good people who got burned by GGC, who are now stuck 'behind the lines' and still haven't seen a dime of value returned.
Hope you can shed some light on this!
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
You mean the guy who is now saying the world is going to collapse according to signs he's seen on his favorite occult calendars wasn't a straight shooter? Shocking. The guy is a total joke and clearly full of s**t.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Me too. We'll see if Jeff keeps his promise or not. Ken Johnson is volunteering all of his documents, has done so repeatedly for months, so I'm not sure why Jeff hasn't done his part already.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
But has Ken delivered?
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Not yet. Neither Jeff nor Ken have delivered yet. We'll see which one goes first.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
It looks like neither of them will.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
This is fucking awesome - thank you for showing the STEEMIT community what kind of person our collective STEEM has been flowing to! People should be fucking enraged!
https://steemit.com/steemit/@proglobyte/the-scamarchists-have-taken-over-usd100-000-of-your-steem-gone-in-a-week-a-response-to-berwick-vs-vays
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Good to get it into the blockchain.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
No need to "hold me accountable" George, I'm more than happy to do it. I'll send it to you in the next 1-2 weeks (super busy).
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
For the record, I've never "shirked the blame", I take full blame for being so stupid to allow KJ to have the ability to take control because I was too trustworthy. But I'm happy you will try to give this a full, objective look (even though you appear to be quite one-sided about your beliefs about me right now)... I have no doubt that once you know the entire story you will see that I had nothing but the noblest intentions and got massively sideswiped. If anyone cares to look further, the buyers of GGC have their own site where they post info and you'll note that they blame KJ for virtually everything and that I am on their side and have been helping ever since. http://ggcrecovery.com/
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Also for the record, I wasn't upset that you thought I was a scammer... I was surprised you thought I was, as I thought there was enough information out there now showing that I am not. But, again, I'm happy to provide you with as much info and evidence as I can to show that is the case.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
"as much info and evidence as I can"? You promised everything. And anything less than that will signal not just a lack of integrity but the breaking of our agreement.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Exactly, you claimed that you were a victim, too, and it was never really your project. Anyway, this is pointless. Just keep your promise and let the truth come out. Ken has been offering for months to give me all his documents.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
If Ken has been offering the documents for months, why hasn't he sent them yet?
I almost bought a plot in GGC, but I pulled out of the deal after speaking to Ken Johnson. I asked him what would happen to the project if the subdivision was not approved. He explained to me that the project could remain afloat by screwing the adjoining landowner over water rights. At that point, I realized that KJ would just as likely screw me over too.
I know Jeff Berwick's heart was always in the right place, and I accept that he too has been screwed. But if I was the promoter of a scheme that had lost a lot of people's money, I would be doing everything I could to reimburse people from my own funds.
Good luck in your attempts to resolve this, George.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Because I decided not to step into this morass until Jeff promised to send me every last scrap of information he has on GGC and the passport stuff.
I don't want to tell just one side of the story. That would be pointless. I want to put everyone's stories together, document the crap out of it and find the holes in it so the responsibility for this can be laid at the proper feet by an uninvolved third party.
That's the only way to step beyond the he-said she-said business and take the conversation to a higher level where hopefully we can prevent this kind of bullshit from happening again.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
I believe in you Jeff. Keep fighting the good fight. This guy is just trying to make a buck or two on Steemit by trashing you.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
I'll be watching this. I heard the accusations, but since I cannot know or prove anything either way, I just went with "presume innocent till proven guilty" principle.
Can steemit blockchain be used for conflict resolution like this? This is a very interesting case. It will be even more interesting if KJ also represents his side of the story.
Don't forget everything posted here is public forever, written in blockchain.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Yup. No matter how it plays out, it's all gonna be on record right here.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
"One would think that a site which relies on conspiracy theories to generate viewership would be very open to a critic posting a rebuttal in the comment section. I found out this was not the case at a pretty popular site. "
https://steemit.com/conspiracy/@bitcoinmeister/debunking-shemitah-silliness-and-the-irony-behind-so-called-free-speech-conspiracy-sites-censoring-critics
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
There are three sides to every story: Your side, my side, and the truth.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Luckily, I don't have a side in this. I watched GGC fall apart from afar. But I know people who were hurt by it.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
This could really help tie things up about the controversey. I had heard Ken was up to no good. Either way, as a business person who has failed, I am always willing to wait for hard evidence of fraud before I assume projects that fail are a scam.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
There's no shame in failing at a business. The best of us do it, learn from it, and grow... but that's not the sort of failure George is referring to. He's talking about the kind where your business robs $10m from people that trusted you and then you just go on your merry way without fixing any of the damage. Saying "it was my fault for trusting some other guy" is not taking responsibility. That's passing the buck and avoiding responsibility.
If one of my business partners conned me out of control of Fort Galt and screwed people over, I would deal with the perpetrator by whatever means necessary and I wouldn't spend a dime on myself until all of the victims were reimbursed and my good name was secured. There was a time, years ago, when I expected that kind of upstanding leadership from Jeff but now, three years later, I find myself here in Chile, working to restore the Galt name that was left in shambles because of his colossal clusterfuckery.
On the bright side, nobody died so the damage is still fixable. If he wanted to, Jeff could still make things right and regain my respect... but then there would still be all the passport scam stuff too but I wasn't involved with that so I won't pretend to have anything too useful to say about it. One step at a time, right?
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Sounds like you've got something of a personal story to tell in this situation. I look forward to reading it
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Dude!!! Take a chill pill. Give Jeff a break. He made a mistake. Don't throw the baby out with the bath water. Jeff has done way more good than harm over the past 10 years. Basically, he got screwed over by his new business partner down in Chile. Everybody makes mistakes man... cut him some slack. If you're looking for the money... go find his con-man ex-partner.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Everyone knows where his former partner is. He's still at GGC. If I had been robbed by him, I would have fucked him up myself. Since I abide by the nonaggression axiom, I can't claim any defensive justification for such action though so I've just been focusing on my own business instead. I offered to contract as an agent of the victims but they declined and preferred to let the culprits off the hook, as it were. I'll say this for Jeff and Ken, they're very lucky that every single one of the victims are such gentle souls. Their peaceful approach has been beyond impressive, teetering on foolish even. After all, people get offed every day over much much less.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
This comment perfectly illustrates the problem I have with the so-called non-aggression principle. You want to frame "fucking him up" as some sort of "defensive action". You've offered to contract as an agent of the victims? Do you mean you've offered to "fuck him up" on their behalf? How is this a reflection of any sort of principled non-aggression?
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Rightfully recovering stolen property from an unrepentant thief is perfectly justified according to the NAP but it has to be done by the victims or their agents. I'm neither so I can't justly take any such action... If I ever violated people like they did and refused to pay restitution, I would rightly expect a a swift and savage response. Once you establish yourself as a predator, you have to start worrying about good men that actually stand up to protect themselves, their families, and their communities from the likes of you.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
I understand the position you're taking. I just disagree. I think using violence to resolve disputes over money is unacceptable. Your stated desire to "fuck up" this person if you found some angle to justify it by the "non-aggression principle" is not something that should be encouraged and nurtured. Your apparent romanticization of "a savage response" is indicative of the sort of mentality that we really need to evolve past.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
@bacchist Violence isn't the goal. It's an unfortunately necessary means to the end of restitution.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
@full-measure Of course I agree that a peaceful resolution should always be attempted first... and it was - two years ago. It has failed. When the theif is willing to defend his loot, the reclamation process often calls for "escalation."
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
I don't agree. Well, it's vague what specifically you mean, but non-aggression shouldn't mean that you escalate.
Recover the stolen property, sure. But that's probably not what you mean by a savage response.
It's unfortunate that statist legal systems are more or less non-accessible and not cost-effective for ordinary people who want to sort out ordinary crimes.
In the future, and really what we're building here on Steemit and in the blockchain world, reputation will be increasingly important and ostracism will be increasingly effective. In a p2p world stealing money is social and financial suicide.
Right now there isn't a great solution for stuff like this. But I think you'd make the world worse and not better to start physically attacking people who steal (especially because it's energy you could have spent towards the real solution and the real way forward).
Given the exponential growth pattern of this stuff, Ken Johnson will probably live long enough for his crime to catch up with him.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
What principle do you suggest instead of NAP? Total pacifism, you don't have the right to take any defensive action, no matter if others initiate violence against your life, liberty, property?
How would you react if someone stole your money, or used fraud or conned you?
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Tribalism FTW. Exactly what I was talking about today in the @steemsmart episode with @stellabelle and @shneakysquirrel. "Yeah, he helped screw a bunch of people over and refused to take responsibility for his actions... but I LIKE him."
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Uhm I get the impression that Mr Berwick wants this investigation to happen. "Take a chill pill" is not what you say to people who have money invested and want answers.
Actually that's what the Clintons say. Not a good comparison for you, huh?
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
This post has been linked to from another place on Steem.
Learn more about linkback bot v0.3
Upvote if you want the bot to continue posting linkbacks for your posts. Flag if otherwise. Built by @ontofractal
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
To me this looks like a witch hunt despite whomever is guilty. Especially when it's a blog run trial and jury. Can't say a government run trial would be much better though.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Where did you see anything about a trial or jury? What precise words lead you to this errant conclusion that this is a witch hunt, which is "a campaign directed against a person or group holding unorthodox or unpopular views."
There is no campaign. There is 1 post.
Jeff is in the crosshairs because of his actions, not his views.
Further, Jeff and I have voluntarily entered into an agreement, with zero coercion present, that involves only the two of us. Jeff seems to be eager to participate in this agreement.
Are you saying you know better than Jeff what's good for Jeff? Are you saying he's not capable of exercising good judgment when entering into voluntary agreements?
I'm really confused here about what you're trying to say.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
What's worse this guy ended up writing lessons on how to improve your life and become a "steemillionare". And he even got paid for that one!
Guess the "haters" and "butthurts" aren't going away anytime soon Jeff...
God's Gonna Cut You Down
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
I've always trusted Jeff, even after hearing about the big "scam". I could be completely wrong, and I am looking forward to your expose since I never looked into it, but at the same time, just using my poker radar after having followed him for years, I feel he is not the scamming type.
I also don't think he'd be a public personality if he did in fact coordinate the scam. Why wouldn't he just run off into the sunset with the money, or hide in shame if he lost it? He knows it's going to come up, so it would take some upper-echelon level of scamming to keep his lie going. Again, Jeff isn't the type to do that. I've never met him, but I'd bet money that he's completely innocent.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
I don't think anyone is accusing him of planning it ahead of time or intentionally designing the scam himself. Ken Johnson played more of the active role while Jeff just slithered off into the corner and let it all happen, even though his name was on it as a co-founder. When I met him in person, I told him that I was moving to Chile to join GGC and rather than admitting his failure and warning me away, he encouraged me to proceed as if all was well. It's that kind of stuff that we're talking about here, not masterminding of any sort. Just gross negligence, irresponsibility, and cowardice that made Ken Johnson's crimes possible.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Go get'm @georgedonnelly :)
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Will do. :)
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
As long as the rewards these new authors get are powered up and taken as profit over the next two years I'm not too concerned with it's impact on the platform, outlaw heroes are the mythic ethos of the freelands.
The truth will out and those deceived by lies will be the most impacted.
But that is their prerogative, if misfortune.
Mr. Berwick will prove his mettle in time.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
hi.. @georgedonnelly
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
I haven't heard of the GGC before, but I like the concept. While we are waiting on a verdict, why not take the time to appreciate that our only hope for survival is small-independent communities in areas at least two hours from major cities.
In my opinion, if you spend more time/energy trying to "bring Berwick to justice", while you still live in a big city or don't have garden--well, that's not time well spent. Something as simple as planting an apple tree today will be worth more to you in the future than getting to the bottom of a transaction you weren't even a party to.
As much as I like the concept, I would like to think I would be extra cautious before handing over thousands of dollars to ANYONE. There used to be a concept of, "buyer beware." I see the same sort of monkey see monkey do behavior in crypto currencies. Many people blindly race into them with very little understanding of the risks--they just don't want to miss out.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Jeff Berwick is idolized here on steemit... I've tried commenting multiple times to ask him (and others) about alleged fraud from a completely rational and polite approach and nobody wants to discuss it. They just keep commenting praises, upvoting and resteeming his BS posts. Anyone know what's up with that?
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
nobody likes to admit they were duped...by anyone......they also don't like to admit they were misinformed about pretty much any subject.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
@georgedonnelly, I am interested in hearing more about what you find as you put on your "reporter hat" and dig into the weeds.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit
Oh, I can't wait. But nothing will happen until/unless Jeff keeps his promise to release everything, which is not "what he can" or "here's a little something" but literally EVERYTHING.
We'll see if he releases the info on his passport operations as well.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit