For the last two weeks full page ads for the Nick Vertucci “Fortunes in Flipping” real estate seminar have been running in the Toronto edition of 24 Hours and also at least once in the Toronto Sun (September 24 page 47).
(Oct. 3, 2016 update: Nick Vertucci will also be flipping Calgary – see http://nickflipscalgary.com/ – the dates are October 13, 14 and 15, 2016. There is no longer a “24Hours” paper in Calgary, so it will be interesting to see what media promote and profit from these events. There are usually radio ads that also promote these events. Look out Calgary! Update Oct. 10, 2016 The Calgary Sun has been running full page ads for a week. The Sun is owned by Postmedia, the publisher of 24 Hours Toronto.)
(Update: Nick Vertucci is flipping Edmonton November 4 and 5, 2016. The domain “canadaflipsnick.com” now comes to this site!)
Your can find the ads in the online edition of 24 Hours – see http://eedition.toronto.24hrs.ca/epaper/viewer.aspx – Sept. 12-26, 2016
It is not know yet who will be the presenter in Toronto. (registration for the program is on this web site: http://nickflipstoronto.com/ )
There will be presentations in Mississauga (Mississauga Grand Banquet and Event Centre on September 28), Toronto ( Marriott Toronto Bloor Yorkville Hotel on September 29), Markham ( Hilton Toronto Markham Suites Conference Centre on Sept. 30), Scarborough ( Delta Hotel Toronto East on October 1), and in Oakville (Hilton Garden Inn Toronto Oakville on October 2.) Will the management of these hotels provide the warning set out by the Competition Bureau? (see link below)
(detail from the ad)
These are pretty much straight out of the playbook for “Trump University” style seminars. The free “VIP TECH Packages” are very cheap products – the watch (if it is like what is usually handed out) is almost certainly not a “GPS” watch. The USB drive contains the audio of a couple of talks by Mr. Vertucci. It is not disclosed where the $20 gift card can be spent.
(detail from the ad)
In December 2015 this group came to Vancouver B.C. The presenter for Nick Vertucci’s program then was Gus Fernandez of Seattle – who had been a presenter for the Trump Institute: (Note: Gus Fernandez has now removed the image below from on his web site: http://www.finances4today.com/ (UPDATE: the Trump Institute image below is on this page: http://www.finances4today.com/about-gus/ ))
The text on the Fernandez site used to say:
“Gus has years of front line experience starting, growing and protecting the entrepreneur’s entry into real estate and small business. He has served as a Senior Instructor for the Trump Institute and Robert Kiyoaski’s Rich Dad Poor Dad ‘Launch Your Business’ series. Beyond his entrepreneurial expertise, he is sought after as a ‘curriculum architect’ for emerging companies. He has also served HQ management stints with Exxon, Alcoa and AT&T.”
Examples of the recent 24 Hours ads are below.
Here is the Toronto Sun Ad: (Page 47, Sept. 24, 2016)
Reporter Sam Cooper of the The Vancouver Sun and Province did a story in July 2016 on these seminars – see
or
“http://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/free-real-estate-flipping-seminar-streams-people-into-50000-course” (here is the archived story: https://web.archive.org/web/20160710172445/http://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/free-real-estate-flipping-seminar-streams-people-into-50000-course )
The presenter in Vancouver was Michael Syme (photo). At the seminar he would not give the reporter his full name. From the article:
…However, The Sun found archived photos of the online auctioneer that matched photos of the Vertucci pitchman in Richmond. A 2009 online profile for Michael J. Syme of Idaho, Utah and Hawaii, says he “is a popular online auctions expert, educator … (who) started selling on the Internet nearly seven years ago after losing his job. Mr. Syme for years has made his living selling with online auctions, where he has made over $12,000 a month … he now shares his ‘auction success secrets’ with tens of thousands of people around the world.”
Bankruptcy records for Michael J. Syme of Utah show that in 2003 he owed debts to a long list of creditors including the U.S. International Revenue Service and Utah Division of Consumer Protection.
This true objective of course is not just to get folks to go to the free hotel event. It is not to just get registrants for the offered 3 day program. The sting, like the other seminar presenters in this game, is enrollment in a very expense ongoing program that may be of no or little value.
Marco Kozlowski - way too good to be true 