Elway helps criminals steal money from the elderly.

[Rain Man]

Front page of the Denver Post this morning. Apparently Elway was the front man for a Ponzi scheme where he and others lured elderly retirees to a hotel and then beat them savagely and stole their life savings. This is all true except for the savage beatings, but you know Elway wanted to do it. You just know it.

Okay, in reality it's not a huge criminal link to him yet, but once law enforcement starts a deeper probe you know it's just a matter of time before the NFL takes back those ill-gotten Super Bowl trophies.

And the best interview they could find was a woman who borrowed money on her credit cards to invest? Even aside from trusting Elway, that is a seriously non-bright woman.

http://www.denverpost.com/ci_13811773


Elway was paid to speak by firm now probed by SEC
The Centennial company is accused of helping raise millions in a Ponzi-like scheme. The former QB spoke at investment seminars.
By Aldo Svaldi
The Denver Post
Posted: 11/18/2009 01:00:00 AM MST
Updated: 11/18/2009 05:59:05 AM MST

A Centennial firm that federal authorities accuse of helping raise $30 million in a Ponzi-like scheme hired former Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway to attract investors to its seminars.

The two-time Super Bowl champion spoke at conferences in Denver and Colorado Springs hosted by Speed of Wealth LLC, which had its assets frozen Monday by a federal court.

"It did lend credibility to being an investor with them," said Dee Holl of Highlands Ranch.

Holl, 60, said she invested $200,000 through Speed of Wealth, including her entire life savings and $50,000 she borrowed on her credit cards. She said she was attracted to promises of helping the environment and promoting green technologies.

Speed of Wealth was founded by Wayde and Donna McKelvy, who are co-defendants in a Securities and Exchange Commission complaint filed Monday in Denver. The McKelvys found investors for Mantria, a Pennsylvania company run by Troy Wragg and Amanda Knorr, who also are named in the SEC complaint. The McKelvys were paid a 12.5 percent commission and other fees.

Mantria claimed to be involved in a variety of "green" investments, including real estate developments in rural Tennessee and biochar, a charcoal made from organic waste.

Authorities allege funds from recent investors were used to pay off earlier investors and that claims of returns of 17 percent to 75 percent and higher were not supportable by Mantria's actual business operations. The SEC also says Mantria never sold any biochar and has only one test project underway.

Elway, 49, did not promote specific investments, endorse the company or invest personally in Mantria or Speed of Wealth, said Jeff Sperbeck, his business manager and agent.

Elway "aware" of probe

Sperbeck said he brought to Elway's attention the opportunity for the paid speaking engagements to discuss teamwork and football.

"He is aware of the SEC investigation," said Sperbeck. "We have no ongoing relationship (with the companies)."

In a 50-minute discussion that included a question-and-answer period on Sept. 26 at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Elway talked about football, his parents and family, and his successes and failures in business.

One of the last questions posed to Elway was about fear. After initially calling fear our biggest enemy, Elway said people should appreciate that they are fearful for a reason.

"When you make an investment and you get a knot, that knot is telling you something," Elway said. "Understand where that fear is coming from."

Look for the red flags

Jim Pasztor, an associate professor at the College for Financial Planning, said Speed of Wealth's website shows several red flags that investors should watch out for.

They include promises of "easy" returns that were far beyond anything else offered in the market — in short, "too good to be true."

One of the allegations the SEC is making is that defendants lacked a securities license but were selling securities, despite claims otherwise.

Wayde McKelvy sent out an e-mail to clients denying the government accusations.

Angry club members?

"I am not going to defend myself in this email, I will save that for court but it is imperative that you understand that these are false accusations and we are confident we will prevail in the end," he wrote.

He linked the SEC action to a few angry club members from an earlier investment club that invested "in real estate related opportunities just before the crash and of course, the entire messy economy is my fault."

Elway, in addition to his football fame, is known for his two steakhouses, and he once owned a chain of car dealerships. He wasn't the only one whose celebrity status was borrowed to establish credibility.

Mantria on its website promoted an award it received from the Clinton Global Initiative, making it appear as a personal endorsement from former President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Global challenges

The initiative recognizes people and groups making a difference in combating climate change and other pressing challenges facing the world.

"The two Mantria executives went through our normal due-diligence process, and we found nothing of concern," said Matt McKenna, a spokesman for the former president. "We were surprised and disappointed to learn that their work may in fact be fraudulent."

Earlier this year, clients of Agile Group, a Boulder firm, lost money that had been placed with Bernie Madoff. The victims of that infamous Ponzi scheme included KOA talk show host Mike Rosen. Agile was a sponsor on Rosen's show.

[Rain Man]

I know it's only been posted for 2 minutes, but I'm bumping this since it was down to the third spot on the front page.

[GoChiefs]

We can always rely on Rain Man to update us on the criminal activities of the diabolical Elway family.

[loochy]

Report:

John Elway Assists Ozark Police Officer in Tazing 10 Year Old Girl

[bane_58]

Sounds like a "gimmick" play to me!
Only bottom feeders do that shit!

[Rooster]

Originally Posted by loochy

Report:

John Elway Assists Ozark Police Officer in Tazing 10 Year Old Girl

That SOB...

[GoChiefs]

A possible motive?

John Elway is bankrupt!

[cdcox]

Car salesman, furniture salesman, ponzi scheme leader, salary cap cheating insider. No pattern here at all.

[loochy]

Originally Posted by Rooster

That SOB...

John Elway is bad people.

[Brock]

Not surprising, he's always been a toothy con man.

[CoMoChief]

Originally Posted by cdcox

Car salesman, furniture salesman, ponzi scheme leader, salary cap cheating insider. No pattern here at all.

no shit

[gblowfish]

Maybe he'll get Bam Morris as a cell mate....

[scorpio]

Was one of the old people Marty Schottenheimer?

[blaise]

Darrent Williams was all set to expose this in 2008.

[Bwana]

Tisk tisk horse face.