Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth
One example would suffice, because in my decades of practicing law, knowingly misrepresenting an item for sale with intent to deceive is as pure an example of FRAUD as there is.
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Ok, here you go. Keith told me I should switch to decaf. I tried that years ago, but I just didn't like it. Anyway his suggestion reminded me of what I'm about to tell you.
There is a convenience store by my house called Timewise (it's a chain store in South Texas). They serve a brand of coffee called Roasted Bean Coffee Company. I really like this particular coffee. A few weeks ago, I stopped in one morning as I do every weekday morning, and got a cup of coffee. While I was waiting in line I took a sip and something was different. When I got up to the register I asked the cashier about it. She said that they ran out of the Roasted Bean Coffee Company coffee and were using another brand (Folgers, I think) until they got theirs back in stock. But wait. All the signage said Roasted Bean Coffee Company. Even the coffed cup itself said Roasted Bean Coffee Company. They didn't indicate that the product was not what it was advertised to be, I had to ask.
So, in response to Keith's statement "
Representing something as an item that is one thing with the intention to deceive for financial gain is fraud and illegal - period." I have to ask, since Timewise represented Folgers coffee as Roasted Bean Coffee Company coffee for financial gain, is it fraud and illegal as he clearly states? Please tell me where I can report such illegal activity.
I realize we're talking coffee vs baseball cards, but the action and intent were the same - to replace a product with something else in attempt to mislead the buyer.
And as truly petty as that may sound (and no, it really didn't bother me), what's the real difference in that and what Larry did, other than the fact that Larry did it over and over? Both were misrepresented products for financial gain.