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Senior Alerts
Seniors Should Look Cautiously at Website Promising
Millions for Retirement
Seniors now the target of one of America's
best known promoters
By Tucker Sutherland, editor
 Jan. 26, 2006 We probably would just ignore
Matthew Lesko, although he is a senior citizen, but now the super-sized
promoter is taking dead aim at fellow senior citizens with a new
by-subscription-only Website that is enticing older Americans with a
promise to reveal 10,000 retirement benefits worth $890 million dollars.
When we first received the news release about the
new site, I thought "Hey, this is really a neat service for seniors."
Then I took a look at the site and an alarm bell went off when I
realized the only way to view any of the information was to pay a
subscription fee.
The new site is named American Benefits for
Retirement and it offers financial opportunities "for the retirement of
a lifetime!" But, if you go to the site, you are not going to learn
anything without sending money to Lesko "site unseen."
The site lists "10,000 Government Retirement
Programs Uncle Sam Wont Tell You About," says the announcement news
release. And that is the message he has been selling for years in over a
hundred books.
He has used every means available to promote these
books and is probably best know for the infomercials that show him
bouncing around Washington in one bizarre outfit after another.
The Infomercial Review says, "One message board wit
described Matthew Lesko as 'a libertarian fashion designer's nightmare'
- and that has to be the most perfect description of the man and his
works. Sporting the wardrobe of the Riddler and the charm of Urkel, Matt
Lesko promises to reveal the secrets of how to snatch money from the
government.
"With his incessantly enthusiastic shouting,
horn-rimmed glasses, questionable wardrobe, and flailing body motions,
Lesko would seem to have few rivals who could match him for sheer
obnoxiousness. Yet, incredibly, this infomercial introduces a being
nearly as disturbing as Matt Lesko himself."
Read the rest of the story click.
Lesko has also brought his wild promotion to the
Web before with -
http://www.governmentgrant.com/ - that promotes and sells his books.
He also has these Web sites that do the same -
http://www.matthewlesko.com/,
http://www.matthew-lesko.com/,
http://www.thefishfinder.com/lesko/lesko.htm and probably a few we
did not find.
The new pay-before-you-see-it site aimed at senior
citizens is at
www.retirementbenefits4u.com.
Here is more of the promotion hype:
"This site can possibly soften the blow of the
impending 'Baby Boomer Retirement Crisis' by showing seniors how to gain
additional financial resources to supplement retirement savings.
American Benefits for Retirement shows grants, loans, services, gifts,
and professional expertise that are available to seniors.
"Benefits start at age 40 and are available to
those with incomes up to $150,000. Subscribers have access to updated
databases of all government retirement programs.
"The site has a free newsletter, staff to help
seniors fill out applications, and Lesko personally answers questions."
But if seniors want to see any of this they have to
pay Lesko a $14.95 monthly membership, plus a one time $29.95 initiation
fee. But, membership is billed monthly and cancelable at any time with
30 days notice. There are discounts available if you join for longer
periods of time.
 Wikepdiea.org, the free encyclopedia says about Lesko:
"Matthew Lesko (born
1943) is an
American author and late-night television personality who has made a
living telling people about how to get "free" money from the
United States Government. He is popularly known as "that
question mark guy" for the
Riddler-like suit that he wears in his
television commercials,
infomercials, and interviews.
"Lesko lives in
Kensington, Maryland with his wife Wendy Schaetzel Lesko and their
two sons, Max and Morgan. He grew up in
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Lesko received his undergraduate degree
from
Marquette University in Milwaukee, then went to Vietnam as a
navigator for the
U.S. Navy. When Lesko returned he earned a master's degree in
computer science from
American University in Washington D.C.. He has claimed to be a
columnist for
The New York Times and to have researched government grants for over
25 years.
"Lesko is best known for his wardrobe, specifically
his colorful suit decorated with question marks. Lesko's appearances,
hawking a chance at government grant money wearing the flamboyant
outfit, has been described by one commentator as "a libertarian fashion
designer's nightmare".
"Lesko is named as number 99 in
Bernard Goldberg's book,
100 People Who Are Screwing Up America.
"Critics believe that Lesko deliberately misleads
those who buy his book. Some of the grants that Lesko's books mention
are actually public assistance programs that many people are not
eligible for. The New York Times criticize him for making the false
statement that he was a columnist for the newspaper.
"Some people called him a
con artist with his
get-rich-quick schemes. He defends himself by pointing out that most
people do not know of these programs, or how to use them, and he is only
trying to help the disadvantaged get the money they need, money which
typically sits unused."
Read more on Wikepdiea.org by
clicking here.
Matthew Lesko has published over 100 books. He
claims he has had two New York Times best-sellers and two national best
sellers. His stage antics, as well as his sound consumer advice, has
earned him appearances on Larry King Live, Good Morning America, The
Oprah Winfrey Show, Jay Leno, Letterman and The Today Show. Lesko says
he is also a former syndicated consumer columnist for Good Housekeeping,
The New York Times Syndicate and The Chicago Tribune.
And people sometimes do take him seriously, like
the Harvard Business School, which ran an article, "Mr. Info: Take the
MoneyIt's Free!" in the April 26, 2004 issue of their Working Knowledge
series. Lesko had been invited to speak to the business school students.
Wendy Guild Swearingen wrote:
"There was no mistaking the enthusiasm Lesko has
for his product. So, what exactly is Matthew Lesko selling to his
bleary-eyed public? For starters, his enormous (as in 1,100 pages),
best-selling 2002 book, Free Money to Change Your Life. He has more than
fifty books, e-Books, and CDs to his credit, among them Free Legal Help,
Free Health Care, Free Stuff for Seniors, and Gobs and Gobs of Free
Stuff. Are we seeing a pattern here? But what Lesko is really selling is
a chance for his readers to improve their lives."
"Lesko has a unique writing process: plagiarism. It
turns out, he says, that in the government, nothing is copyrighted. He
simply cut and pasted text from government publications for his first
New York Times bestseller, and has been "writing" that way ever since.
His description might be a little breezy, however. The real value Lesko
adds is in his rigorous and tireless research efforts, as well as the
extremely logical and helpful organization of the material."
But all reporters are not that kind to Lesko. This
is part of a report from CBS6 in Albany, New York, that ran in December
15, 2004.
"Matthew Lesko: Selling a Scam?
"He dresses up in, well, interesting outfits and
jumps around promising you free money from Uncle Sam. But New York
State's consumer watchdog says watch out for author Matthew Lesko:
"
The CPB's report on Lesko says his book of
"government grants" are really entitlement programs like Medicaid,
Medicare and food stamps!
"Jon Sorensen/Consumer Protection Board says 'He's
misleading...exaggerating the truth of things...allowing others to rip
people off.'
Sorensen says Lesko sells lists of people who buy
his book to scam artists who call them promising "government grants"
over the phone. That's a scam
"
I don't know if his new senior Website is a scam,
but I sure think any senior citizen is putting their money at risk to
try it.
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