Identity Theft Protection
Life Secur IncFind BBB Accredited Businesses in Identity Theft Protection.
Information and Alerts
Alert Details
This business has 2 alerts.
Pattern of Complaints
BBB has received a pattern of complaints from customers stating that by purchasing a magazine subscription they were automatically enrolled in a 30-day free trial for identity theft protection. At the end of the 30-day free trial, they were charged for a identity theft protection subscription.
Customers had no recollection that this was the case at the time of purchasing the magazine subscription as there was no information ahead of purchase.
The following are the magazine subscription businesses:
Arco Media Inc.
Gulf Coast Reader Inc.
Your Best Option Inc.
In September 2019, BBB submitted a written request to the company encouraging it to address the pattern of complaints.
Government Action
The following describes a pending government action that has been formally brought by a government agency but has not yet been resolved. We are providing a summary of the government's allegations, which have not yet been proven.
Minnesota: On October 20, 2020, the U.S. Attorney's Office in the district of Minnesota ( United States District Court of Minnesota 118 S Mill St, Fergus Falls, MN 56537)has investigated the business practices of Mr. Russell Jason Rahm, also known as "Rusty Rahm," Mr.Terry Christensen, John Michael Blalock, Lloyd Joseph Loftis, Mr. Anthony Moulder and Rhonda Moulder for alleged violations of deceptive and unfair business practices and failure to obtain home solicitation permit. (Case No. 20-cr-00232)
Minnesota alleges the above knowingly conspire with each other, and others known and unknown to the grand jury, to devise a scheme to defraud and to obtain money by materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises, in connection with the conduct of telemarketing that victimized ten or more persons over the age of 55, and for the purpose of executing such scheme and artifice, caused the sending, delivering, and receipt of various matters and things by United States Postal Service and private and commercial interstate carrier.
The purpose of the conspiracy was to carry out a telemarketing fraud scheme involving magazine subscription sales. The conspiracy involved a nationwide network of telemarketing companies involved in fraudulent magazine sales. These companies used sales scripts to defraud victim-consumers, many of whom were elderly and otherwise vulnerable, across the United States. The fraudulent sales scripts were designed to induce consumers, through a series of lies and misrepresentations, into unwittingly signing up for expensive magazine subscriptions.
Over the past twenty years, the defendants devised and carried out a telemarketing scheme to defraud victim-consumers located across the United States, many of whom were elderly and vulnerable. They accomplished their fraud scheme by calling -consumers who had one or more existing magazine subscriptions and offering to "renew" the existing magazine subscriptions, often at a reduced cost. In reality, the defendants were not calling to renew or reduce the price of the existing subscriptions. Instead, the defendants tricked customers into signing up for entirely new magazine subscriptions, which they did not want and often could afford. The defendants and their companies also bought and sold lists of consumers who had active and ongoing magazine subscriptions for use in carrying out the scheme. As a result, many consumers were victimized by multiple magazine companies. Some were fraudulently billed by as many as ten companies at a time and received more than $1,000 in monthly magazine subscription charges. In all, the defendants stole more than Three Hundred Million ($300,000,000.00) from more than 150,000 consumers.
COUNT Mail Fraud
At times relevant to this Indictment:
Mr. Russell Rahm was the owner and Chief Executive Officer of several Kansas-based companies involved in fraudulent magazine sales, including:
Subscription Ink Co. located in Shawnee, Kansas
Millennium Marketing. located in Shawnee, Kansas
Mr. Rahm and his companies provided an array of services to companies involved in fraudulent magazine telemarketing sales. Among other things, Mr. Rahm and his companies provided sales leads and handled order management, filling, and collections for companies involved in fraudulent magazine sales in exchange for a percentage of the revenue received from victim-consumers.
Mr. Terry Christensen and Mr. Michael Jon Oelrich operated telemarketing call centers in Fort Lauderdale and Cape Coral, Florida, on behalf of Mr. Rahm. Mr. Christensen and Oelrich's call centers were involved in fraudulent, magazine sales to customers throughout the United States. Mr. Christensen and Mr. Oelrich ran these call centers under a variety of company names, including:
MO Management LLC,
Preferred Media Source Inc.,
Preferred Media Solutions,
American Readers Service,
Atlantic Media Source,
North American Direct Service, Inc.,
North America's Readers' Choice.
Mr. Christensen and Mr. Oelrich ran the call centers at the direction of Mr. Rahm and with his companies provided sales leads to the call centers, processed the orders, and handled customer billing and collections on behalf of the call centers. Mr. Rahm paid a percentage of the sales revenue to Mr. Oelrich in exchange for his operation of the call centers where Ms. Jannice Laur and Petra Laboy worked as managers of the Fort Lauderdale and Cape Coral call centers.
Mr. David Moulder was the owner and Chief Executive Officer of several Minnesota-based companies, including
PS Online, Minnesota-based
Viking Magazine, Minnesota-based
Total Customer Service,
Direct Clearing,
that provided an array of services to companies involved in fraudulent magazine sales. PS Online provided customer relationship management software used by companies involved in fraudulent magazine sales. Total Customer Service handled collections on behalf of companies involved in fraudulent magazine sales. Mr. David Moulder also provided sales leads to a fraudulent magazine sales company run by his brother, Mr. Anthony Moulder.
Mr. Anthony Moulder owned and operated several Florida-based companies involved in fraudulent magazine sales, including:
Gulf Coast Readers Inc.,
ARCO Med.ia Inc.,
KMK Magazines Inc.,
Leisure Time Resources Inc.
These companies operated telemarketing call centers in Cape Coral, Florida. Mr. Anthony Moulder previously owned a Minnesota-based company involved in fraudulent magazine sales called
Midwest Readers.
Ms. Rhonda Moulder was the manager of Gulf Coast Readers Inc. and ARCO Med.ia Inc. In or about March 2O14, Gulf Coast Readers Inc. and Mr. Anthony Moulder and Ms. Rhonda Moulder entered into an Assurance of Voluntary Compliance with the Florida Attorney General's Office.
As part of the agreement, Gulf Coast Readers Inc. and Mr. Anthony Moulder and Ms. Rhonda Moulder agreed to cease and desist certain practices, including "making any misrepresentations, or false or deceptive statements, in any communications with consumers." The companies also agreed to "revise any and all scripts used for inbound and outbound calls to provide consumers with Clear and Conspicuous disclosures as to the material terms of any magazine subscription or other product purchased by the consumer, including but not limited to:
the name of the magazines
ordered, length of the subscription,
number of payments, amount of each payment,
payment schedule (i.e. monthly, quarterly or annually),
method of payment
cancellation policy,
ensure that each sales representative is provided with and substantially follows such script(s)."
They also agreed to "cease and desist from placing any unauthorized charges on consumers' credit or debit cards or bank accounting."
Approximately two months later, on June l, 2014, Mr. Anthony Moulder incorporated another company, ARCO Media Inc., for use in conducting fraudulent magazine sales.
Ms. Barbara Moulder, Mr. Luis ORI"ANDO Mendizabal, and Mr. Jeffrey Smoliak were telemarketers who conducted fraudulent magazine sales for ARCO Media Inc. and Gulf Coast Readers Inc. Mr. Mendizabal and Mr. Smoliak worked at the call center in Cape Coral, Florida. Ms. Barbara Moulder worked from her home in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Mr. John Blalock was the nominal owner and manager of Leisure Time Resources Inc., a Florida-based company involved in fraudulent magazine sales. Leisure Time Resources Inc. operated a call center in Cape Coral, Florida. Mr. LLOYI Loftis worked as a manager for Mr. Anthony Moulder is companies, including ARCO Media Inc. and Leisure Time Resources Inc. Mr. Bryany Critten, Ms. Natesha Marson, and Mr. Thomas Athanasios Kiritsis were managers and telemarketers who conducted fraudulent magazine sales at Leisure Time Resources' call center in Cape Coral, Florida.
The defendants and other members of the conspiracy worked together to carry out the fraudulent magazine sales. The defendants held a number of different roles in the conspiracy and it was not uncommon for a member of the conspiracy to hold more than one role. The roles in the conspiracy included:
Leaders: Defendants Russell Rahm and David Moulder owned companies that provided an array of services to companies involved in fraudulent magazine sales. Among other things, Mr. Rahm and Mr. David Moulder provided customer relationship management ('CRM') software programs that tracked orders, sales, and other customer information for companies involved in the fraudulent magazine sales. Mr. Rahm and Mr. David Moulder provided lead lists of consumers who had ongoing and active magazine subscriptions to companies involved in fraudulent magazine sales.
Mr. Rahm and Mr. David Moulder, through their companies, loaded sales leads onto automated voice dialers that were used by the telemarketing call centers to call consumers across the country. Mr. Rahm and Mr. David Moulder knew that the companies using the leads would attempt to defraud consumers on the lead lists by contacting them and pretending to be calling from the consumers' existing magazine company about an existing subscription. Mr. Rahm and Mr. David Moulder and their companies sent out confirmation letters, invoices, bills, and collections letters to consumers who had been defrauded by fraudulent magazine sales companies.
Company Owners: Defendants Mr. Anthony Moulder, and "Company Owners") owned companies involved in fraudulent magazine sales. The Company Owners operated telemarketing call centers at which telemarketers used fraudulent sales scripts to trick victim consumers into unwittingly signing up for expensive magazine subscriptions.
Call Center Managers: Defendants Mr. Terry Christensen, Ms. Rhonda Moulder, Mr. Lloyd Joseph Loftis and the "Call Center Managers" managed call centers involved in fraudulent magazine sales. The Call Center Managers trained telemarketers to use the fraudulent sales scripts to defraud victim-consumers and supervised the call centers on a day-to-day basis. Many Call Center Managers also conducted fraudulent magazine sales.
Telemarketers: The "Telemarketers" were telemarketers at the call centers. The Telemarketers called victim-consumers around the United States using fraudulent sales scripts and, through a series of knowing and deliberate lies and as statements, tricked the consumers into unwittingly signing up for expensive new magazine subscriptions.
Lead Brokers were in the business of buying and selling lead lists to fraudulent magazine sales companies. The Lead Brokers provided lead lists of consumers who had active and ongoing magazine subscriptions through other companies. The Lead Brokers provided these lead lists to the Company Owners knowing that they would use them to carry out the fraud scheme.
The Company Owners operated telemarketing call centers throughout the United States, including in Minnesota, Florida, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Arizona, Arkansas, Texas, and Colorado.
As part of the scheme, Company Owners purchased lead lists from the Lead Brokers. The lead lists contained consumers who had active and ongoing magazine subscriptions through other companies. These lists were referred to as "paid-during-service" or "PDS" leads. Some of the lead lists identified the magazines to which the individuals were currently subscribed and the credit card number or other payment information used to pay for the subscription.
Telemarketers used the information on lead lists to fraudulently pose as the consumers' existing magazine provider, calling about an existing subscription, rather than attempting to sign consumers up for an entirely new magazine subscription.
The Lead Brokers specifically marketed PDS lead lists to companies involved in the fraudulent magazine sales scheme. The Lead Brokers knew that many of the consumers on this list were elderly and susceptible to fraudulent and deceptive sales tactics. They also knew that PDS lists were particularly valuable to companies engaged in fraudulent magazine sales because the companies posed as the victim consumers' existing magazine company to trick them into signing up for new subscriptions. Accordingly, PDS lead lists commanded a significant premium and sold for as much as $10 or $15 per name.
The Company Owners provided PDS lead lists to the Call Center Managers and Telemarketers. At the direction of the Company Owners and Call Center Managers, the Telemarketers called the names on the PDS lead lists using fraudulent sales scripts. The scripts directed the Telemarketers to claim-falsely that they were calling from the consumers' existing magazine subscription company and about an existing magazine subscription. The Telemarketers claimed again falsely-to be calling with an offer to renew the consumer's existing magazine subscription, often at a reduced cost. In reality, the companies had no existing relationship with most of the consumers and the Telemarketers were not calling about an existing magazine subscription. Instead they were calling to defraud them by tricking them into unwittingly signing up for entirely new magazine subscriptions. Some companies would also call lists of their own consumers and, using a similarly fraudulent script, trick them into signing up for additional magazine subscriptions.
The Company Owners, Call Center Managers, Telemarketers, and Lead Brokers all knew that many of the consumers on these lists were elderly and susceptible to fraudulent and deceptive sales tactics. Nevertheless, the defendants called people on these lists and tricked them into signing up for expensive magazine subscription packages.
The Company Owners also bought and sold lists of their own consumers to one another. As with the PDS lead lists purchased from the Lead Brokers, the Company Owners directed the Telemarketers to use this information to fraudulently pose as the consumers' existing magazine company and falsely claim to be calling with an offer to renew or reduce the price of an existing magazine subscription. As a result, many consumers were victimized again and again by multiple magazine companies. Some consumers were fraudulently billed by ten or more magazine companies at a time and received more than $1,000 in magazine subscription charges in a month.
The Company Owners took steps to cover up their fraud. The Company Owners and Call Center Managers directed the Telemarketers to record only a final portion of the call, during which the Telemarketers "verified" that the consumers were purchasing a new magazine subscription package. The Company Owners and Call Center Managers instructed the Telemarketers not to record the earlier portion of the call, during which they falsely represented that they were calling to lower the payments on an existing magazine subscription. The Company Owners later used these deceptive recordings when consumers attempted to challenge the charges and reported the fraud to the Better Business Bureau ('BBB"), state Attorney General offices, and other regulatory agencies.
The Company Owners often operated cell centers under multiple company names to disguise the scope of their fraud scheme. The Company Owners sought to spread out the number of consumer complaints among multiple companies to reduce the likelihood that any single company would come under investigation by the BBB or a state Attorney General's office.
Some Company Owners hid the identity and location of their companies by registering the companies with multiple out-of-state secretaries of state offices and using virtual offices in different states as the companies' mailing address. The Company Owners did this to confuse consumers and make it difficult for them to identify the company that was fraudulently billing them. During the course of their scheme, the co-conspirators defrauded more than 150,000 victims across the United States. In all, they received more than Nine Hundred Million ($900,000,000.00) from the victims of the scheme.
From at least in or about 2000 through in or about 2020, in the State and District of Minnesota, and elsewhere, the defendants, Mr. Anthony Eugene Moulder, Ms. Rhonda Jean Moulder, Barbara Ann Moulder, Lloyd Joseph Loftis and others in connection with the conduct of telemarketing that victimized ten or more persons over the age of 55, did knowingly devise and participate in a scheme and artifice to defraud and to obtain money by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises, and by concealment of material facts.
Count Wire Fraud
From at least in or about 2000 through in or about 2020, in the State and District of Minnesota, and elsewhere the above and others in connection with the conduct of telemarketing that victimized ten or more persons over the age of 55, did knowingly devise and participate in a scheme and artifice to defraud and to obtain money by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises, and by concealment of material facts. On or about the dates listed in the State and District of Minnesota and elsewhere, the parties knowingly caused to be transmitted by means of a wire communication in interstate commerce, certain writings, signs, signals, and sounds.
If convicted of any of Counts the defendant shall forfeit:
any property, real or personal, which constitutes or is derived from proceeds traceable to the Indictment. And or any real or personal property used or intended to be used to commit, facilitate, or promote the commission of the mail and wire fraud schemes
The property subject to forfeiture includes, but is not limited to:
$100,452.50 seized from Regions Bank account in the name of ARCO Media Inc.;
$105,943.21 seized from Regions Bank, account in the name of ARCO Media Inc.;
$9,980.83 seized from Wells Fargo, account in the name of Magazine Direct;
$38,676.99 seized from Merrick Bank, merchant account in the name of Angels LLC;
$89,353.88 seized from Merrick Bank, account in the name of Central Subscription Service, Ltd.;
$40,313.40 seized from Midwest One Bank, in the name of West Side Readerz Inc.;
$49,200.70 seized from TCF National Bank, account in the name of Central Subscription Service Ltd.;
$843,579.77 seized from TCF National Bank, in the name of Subscriber Service Center;
$30,722.30 seized from Associated Bank, in the name of Midwest Publishers Home Office Inc. DBA Bee Marketing;
$50,821.04 seized from Associated Bank, account in the name of Midwest Publishers Home Office Inc.;
$2,360.96 seized from US Bank, account in the name of Brian J Williams DBA Tropical Readers;
$457.25 seized from Associated Bank, account, in the name of Readers Club Home Office Inc.;
$402.71 seized from US Bank, account, in the name of Readers Club of America;
$280.80 seized from TCF National Bank, in the name of Tropical Readers;
Cashier's check in the amount of $48,000 dated 12/28/18 and made payable to Monica S. Hanssen;
Cashier's check in the amount of $50,000 dated 12/31/18 and made payable to Monica S. Hanssen;
Cashier's check in the amount of $100,000 dated 02/20/20 and made payable to Monica S. Hanssen;
Cashier s check in the amount of S100,000 dated 02/20/20 and made payable to Monica Hanssen;
$280.80 seized from TCF National Bank account in the name of Tropical Readers;
$402.71 seized from US Bank in the name of Readers Club of America;
$1,100 in U.S. Currency seized from Monica Sharma-Hanssen on February 19,2020;
$10,976 in U.S. Currency seized on February 21, 2020, from three safes at 10406 Shawnee Mission Parkway, Shawnee, Kansas, in the amounts of $10,355, 9111, and 9510, respectively;
Brietling Watch, Super Avenger model 413370, serial number 252453;
Miscellaneous jewelry seized from 46 Park Ave. N., Asheville, North Carolina on February 19,2O2O;
$12,380 in U.S. Currency seized from a safe at 4G Park Ave. N., Asheville, North Carolina on February 19,2020;
The real property located at:
2 Maclynn Road, Excelsior, Minnesota;
5416 51st Avenue N., Crystal, Minnesota;
RRl Box 1L95 C, Thayer, Missouri;
910 w. cape Estates Cir., Cape Coral, Florida;
916 w. cape Estates cir., cape Coral, Florida;
1.022 SE 46th Street, lB, Cape Coral, Florida;
17962 Judicial Road, Lakeville, Minnesota;
10406 Shawnee Mission Parkway, Shawnee, Kansas;
258 Belle Vista Court, Lake Ozark, Missouri; and
10505 S. Highland Lane, Olathe, Kansas.
If any of the above-described property is unavailable for forfeiture, the United States intends to seek the forfeiture of substitute property as provided for in as incorporated.
As of today's, date this matter is still pending. For more information you may visit United States Attorney's Office, District of Minnesota by phone at (612) 664-5600 or on-line https://www.justice.gov/usao-mn. This info is found at the bottom of the press release and can change.
Important Information
Additional Info
Anthony Moulder, President of Life Secur, Inc is listed with the following companies:
President - Gulf Coast Reader, Inc.
President - Arco Media, Inc.
President - Your Best Option Inc.
A separate BBB Business Profile for these businesses are available at:
https://www.bbb.org/us/fl/cape-coral/profile/subscription-agents/gulf-coast-readers-inc-0653-90028904
https://www.bbb.org/us/fl/cape-coral/profile/magazine-sales/arco-media-inc-0653-90221452
https://www.bbb.org/us/fl/cape-coral/profile/telephones/your-best-option-inc-0653-90092834
BBB Business Profiles may not be reproduced for sales or promotional purposes.
BBB Business Profiles are provided solely to assist you in exercising your own best judgment. BBB asks third parties who publish complaints, reviews and/or responses on this website to affirm that the information provided is accurate. However, BBB does not verify the accuracy of information provided by third parties, and does not guarantee the accuracy of any information in Business Profiles.
When considering complaint information, please take into account the company's size and volume of transactions, and understand that the nature of complaints and a firm's responses to them are often more important than the number of complaints.
BBB Business Profiles generally cover a three-year reporting period. BBB Business Profiles are subject to change at any time. If you choose to do business with this business, please let the business know that you contacted BBB for a BBB Business Profile.
As a matter of policy, BBB does not endorse any product, service or business. Businesses are under no obligation to seek BBB accreditation, and some businesses are not accredited because they have not sought BBB accreditation. BBB charges a fee for BBB Accreditation. This fee supports BBB's efforts to fulfill its mission of advancing marketplace trust.