Team Capital: Scam or Money Maker?

January 30, 2003 8:13 PM

Is this legal?Supposedly they want you to loan money so they can do charitable fundraising for schools, not keep a cent, give all the profits to schools but still give you a minimum of 15% per annum return on your loan? They provide a legitimate volunteer community reference,Jim Hester, in the Calgary (Canada) Community (1,2). Yet he's no where to be found on the contact pages. He's mentioned in Better Business Bureau entry which surprisingly lists the company as a "FOR PROFIT" organization. It all just seems so strange. Does this trick investors into feeling they are investing for charity? Why does the website call themselves "Team Capital" while they advertise the volunteer efforts of "Team Education"? Why don't they list any of the schools they have helped or the projects they were involved with? Is this legitimate or a scam?
posted by abez (7 comments total)

Any business, legitimate or not, that can't take a day to make an attractive site, isn't worth reading about. I'm surprised you stayed on the site long enough to read about what they do. Really, did you take a look at that gradient logo block thing?
posted by druzba at 8:34 PM on January 30, 2003

If they had a way to pay 15% interest, especially in this economy, they would be the largest lender on the planet. Who would bother with anyone else?
posted by badzen at 8:38 PM on January 30, 2003

Let's just say I'm not going to send them any of my money anytime soon.

A Google search turned up *no* references to Team Capital, which suggests at a minimum that they haven't been around very long.

Searching on the names listed on the Contact page showed that Seann Poli is also involved with a company called Stirling Bond, specializing in "wealth accumulation strategies." The only Google references I found to Stirling Bond were paid advertisements.

Their sample contract (PDF file) reads like a venture capital agreement, only structured as a loan instead of an equity stake. With no mention of what the funds will actually be used for.

Caveat investor
posted by kewms at 9:02 PM on January 30, 2003

Anytime you are guaranteed a certain return % and it is not either an FDIC backed CD or a Treasury Bond or Bill, that should set off flashing klaxons and whelping sirens.

Even the best, most well managed mutual funds do not guarantee a certain return, or any return at all for that matter.

Situations like this are almost always Ponzi schemes.
posted by Ynoxas at 5:37 AM on January 31, 2003

Anybody want to buy a bridge?
posted by caddis at 6:20 AM on January 31, 2003

I recently received an e-mail from the widow of Mobutu Sese Seko. She says: "I HAVE DEPOSITED THE SUM OF EIHGTEEN MLLION UNITED STATE DOLLARS (US$18,000,000,00.) WITH A SECURITY COMPANY , FOR SAFEKEEPING. THE FUNDS ARE SECURITY CODED TO PREVENT THEM FROM KNOWING THE CONTENT. WHAT I WANT YOU TO DO IS TO INDICATE YOUR INTEREST THAT YOU WILL ASSIST US BY RECEIVING THE MONEY ON OUR BEHALF.ACKNOWLEDGE THIS MESSAGE, SO THAT I CAN INTRODUCE YOU TO MY SON (KENNEDY) WHO HAS THE OUT MODALITIES FOR THE CLAIM OF THE SAID FUNDS. I WANT YOU TO ASSIST IN INVESTING THIS MONEY." Is this legitimate? I mean, that's a lot of money! I'll bet Kennedy would offer me a goodly share of the out modalities for my participation. Should I help with the investment?
posted by languagehat at 8:35 AM on January 31, 2003

Ynoxas, thanks for the example.
Kewms, thanks for the research.
Badzen, thanks for the "common sense" rule.
Druzba, That gradient is scary, I agree.

I was hoping mefites could help me convince people I know of the potential risk of this scheme. Sometimes it amazes me what some people want to believe.
posted by abez at 7:54 PM on January 31, 2003