© AgMedia Inc.
by BETTER FARMING STAFF
Ponzi schemes aren’t illegal in Canada but through recently obtained court documents Better Farming has learned of a police plan to charge Arlan Francis Galbraith and the company he ran, with fraud over $5,000 under section 380(1) (a) of the Criminal Code of Canada. Maximum sentence is 10 years in prison although full sentences are rarely served and maximums rarely imposed.
In an Information last June, Corporal Mona Alexandra Eichmann, a 23-year Royal Canadian Mounted Police member, told a justice of the peace that “…Galbraith and Pigeon King International Inc. defrauded many citizens of Canada and the United States by orchestrating a Ponzi scheme…”
An Information to Obtain a Search Warrant is a sworn statement by a police officer providing details of what they believe is an offence committed by a suspect. Neither the subject of the Information nor those mentioned in its contents are normally aware of its existence beforehand. They therefore have no prior opportunity to challenge the Information, or the warrant, if one is issued. Warrants can later be quashed if there are sufficient grounds.
Ponzis depend on money from new participants to pay earlier investors. While the good times rolled for PKI, public statements by police, government officials and even some financial institutions ranged from “no comment,” or “do your own research,” to outright endorsement of the scheme.
Galbraith knew what he was doing
In her Information however, Eichmann claims “Galbraith was fully aware that there was no end market for his birds.” She alleges he “also knew that in order for his scheme to continue he would need to make it appear that he was going to build a processing plant.” She estimates “that 40 per cent of the victims did not receive any funds whatsoever,”
Eichmann needed the warrant to search bankruptcy trustee BDO Dunwoody Limited’s Kitchener office, for a large quantity of documents and electronic media surrendered by Galbraith when he placed PKI in bankruptcy. None of Eichmann’s allegations or the statements of others cited in her Information have been proven. No one involved with PKI has been charged criminally nor found guilty of any wrong doing. There is no certainty that any charges will ever be filed. Police could also add more charges or names.
When the warrant application was filed about 100 investors had filed complaints. Police have since invited others to come forward. Many investors were Amish or Mennonites whose beliefs prevent them from participating in court proceedings.
Former employees have been talking too
The Information states that on Nov. 10, 2008 former PKI bookkeeper Joan Carter told police the end market for PKI birds “was purchasing breeding pairs and for farmers to purchase another flock of breeding stock once the 10-year contract was completed – a never ending cycle of selling breeding stock.” The Information also says Carter acknowledged that Galbraith’s public explanation about the purpose of the birds changed “even though nothing else changed.”
A few months before her statement to police, when PKI failed, Carter distributed an emotional letter to investors. “This was not ever a “scheme” (Ponzi, Pyramid or otherwise) and Arlan is not a crook,” Carter wrote. She described Galbraith as “a man of vision who had a very unique and brilliant plan that he was going along and executing brilliantly until the jealous fear mongers of the world decided to make him a target.”
Cooking the books?
Eichmann’s Information cites a Nov. 3, 2008 e-mail from PKI communication manager Shelley Mason, relating an allegation from former PKI employee Lindsay Mitchell, that Carter had “made up receipts during a GST audit.” The Information also says Mason reported that Mitchell claimed on her last day (June 17, 2008) Carter requested help removing “entries that she (Carter) put in to make it look like the company had lots of money.”
Eichmann’s Information says investor Richard Procee told her he handed Carter $65,000 two or three days prior to the PKI bankruptcy. According to the Information Procee alleges that Carter failed to mention that the business might fail.
According to the Information, in a statement to police June 20, 2008, former PKI salesman Ken Wagler described his earlier unsuccessful effort to convince Galbraith to reveal his markets and agree to a non-voting board of directors made up of larger investors. The Information says he told police that Galbraith refused to identify his end market.
Not really a lending institution
According to Eichmann’s Information, on Sept. 6, 2008, Wagler brought police details of a $262,500 loan at 12 per cent annual interest made to Galbraith by Jacob Hofer, of the Hutterian Brethren, Bow City, Alberta. The Information says police received confirmation from Hofer Dec. 22, 2008 and Hofer claims Galbraith disguised the loan agreement to look like a breeding contract to avoid the appearance of being a lending institution. The information says Galbraith told him the money was in part for Galbraith’s Benn Contracting which financed free pigeons for breeders under contract.
Eichmann’s Information cites former PKI salesman Keith VanDyk’s statement claiming he loaned Arlan Galbraith Financial $150,000 at18 per cent interest and VanDyk claimed Galbraith’s 18 per cent offer stopped following a letter from the Ontario Securities Commission. The Information says VanDyk told police the company had no meat birds and the only end market was new breeders.
According to Eichmann’s Information, Waterloo Regional Police interviewed Galbraith Feb. 15, 2005, the day after receiving a complaint through Phonebusters that “the suspect is preying on the Mennonites and Amish.” At that time, police say Galbraith wouldn’t give specifics but told them he was selling pigeons bought from farmers to purchasers around the world. Phonebusters (now known as the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre) is a joint RCMP, OPP, Competition Bureau of Canada, venture.
Follow the money; if you can
Eichmann’s Information says funds “started in Pigeon King International Inc. then flowed to Sacred Dove Ranch Inc. then transferred to Benn Contracting Inc. and eventually were moved back into Pigeon King International Inc.” Eichmann’s Information says “the timing was either the same day, or within a day,” and that all three entities were owned and controlled by Galbraith.
According to the Information, Eichmann claims PKI bankruptcy trustee Susan Taves told her that in 20 years she had never seen “a three corporation structure like this that moved money in a circular fashion” and that Taves said she can’t find $150,000 of PKI money.
According to the Information Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) provided investigators with a report showing two suspicious PKI transactions in Dec 2007. FINTRAC, which monitors financial institutions for signs of money laundering and terrorism, specified money laundering in their report.
Police officer a PKI investor
Eichmann’s Information says on Aug. 8, 2008, former PKI salesman Edward Breault told police that Mark Fraser, a breeder and police officer from the Listowel area, contacted Galbraith “and was forwarded a letter before it was mass released, that the business would be declaring bankruptcy.”
Eichmann’s Information reveals that Darryl Diefenbacher, PKI Chief Financial Officer between January 2007 and July 2007, provided a statement to police Aug. 15, 2008, which alleges that an OPP officer was a PKI breeder. Eichmann’s Information says Diefenbacher claims Galbraith told him that he wanted the OPP officer as a breeder regardless of how many pigeons he purchased.
The Information says Diefenbacher claims Galbraith purchased a flock of meat birds near Edmonton so that he could claim he had pigeons for squab. Nevertheless, according to the Information, Diefenbacher says Galbraith “admitted there was no end use for his business,” and Diefenbacher also claimed Galbraith fired him for saying the business was a pyramid.
On June 2, 2009, Kitchener justice of the peace Michael A. Cuthbertson denied Eichmann’s first application for a search warrant citing lack of detail and assorted errors. The application succeeded a few days later, with a different justice of the peace, after Eichmann submitted a taped interview with PKI bankruptcy trustee Taves, detailing dozens of file boxes, computers, other electronic media and two suitcases containing Galbraith’s personal documents.
In a telephone interview today, Waterloo Regional Police Sgt. Robert Zensner confirmed that two RCMP officers and two from WRP, remain assigned to the joint task force investigating PKI. The two RCMP officers however will be leaving temporarily to help with the Olympics.
Galbraith was recently declared personally bankrupt and is scheduled to appear in Kitchener for a meeting of creditors Wednesday. BF
© AgMedia Inc.
PKI summary
Someone wrote: "What's
Someone wrote:
"What's completely mystifying about it all, is that this disaster would never have happened, if any of these farmers had checked with his/her accountant and/or financial advisor, before leaping into bed with Galbraith."
That's not quite true. There were lawyers, accountants, financial advisories (just like the Madoff Ponzi) who said there was nothing wrong with PKI's operation. He genuinely fooled many bankers, some, like his own banker enjoyed the millions his scam was bringing into the bank and remained willfully blind. And what about the Waterloo Regional Police "well lawyered" and advised by well paid attorneys in the prosecutor's office with access all the way up to the Attorney General of this Province and the Federal Attorney General and all the lawyers in the news media. And now to avoid responsibility they are trying to dupe the public into believing, and I quote.... "Ponzi Schemes are legal in this country." That is not true!
Does no one remember the the Waterloo Regional Fraud Detective stating on national TV that they could find nothing criminal in the PKI operation and the CBC's new anchor stating "This is clearly legal in Canada????" And now, as usual in these pyramid/Ponzi schemes they rush to blame the victims in a country were illegal pyramid/Ponzi schemes run rampant.
Note: PKI will be on CBS 60 Minutes on Sunday evening..... this is a link to the preview.
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6191100n&tag=related;photovideo
dave CBNow
CrimeBustersNow
Reply Too Bitter to be Rational
Submitted by an online visitor on February 1, 2010 - 5:05am.
While you may have a point, I can't see, through all the vitriol and innuendo, what it is. I doubt anyone else can either.
======
It is said... "There is none so blind as they who will not see."
I am very bitter too, although not as parochial as you appear to be. But what I do, such as openly picketing across Canada against fraudsters that destroy families relationships and turn communities up-side down with the potential to destroy the entire nation (re: Albania during the late 90's) and even the world economy that we already have had a taste of, and not finished yet, I assure you.... under the circumstances, is more than rational.
Take a "cue" from the judge of the Ontario Superior Court 2006, nearly a year before I became aware of, and began pursuing Arlan Galbraith self proclaimed "Saviour of the Family Farm"....
[33].... he loudly and publicly questions their legality and warns fellow citizens against being caught up in their alleged web of deception.
Very prophetic. Would you not agree!
dave - CBNow
no wonder
no wonder farmers can't stand academics lecturing them cause when they challenge them and refuse to follow their advice these wanabe experts call them names like foolish,stupid,naive,and if you ever worked in a field your neck would be red too
Show Me
temper,temper,temper,someone hit an academics nerve, boy the truth hurts doesn't it
red-neck farmer paranoia
The challenge is still there - name one academic who has never marketed anything in his/her life so that I may contact him/her to see if it's true. If you can't, or won't, support your claims, get off the site.
Furthermore, the truth about academic responsibility, or any professional responsibility, is that any research completed, or work published, has to meet professional standards.
If you're going to take cheap shots, and about something about which you obviously know absolutely nothing, then be prepared for the consequences.
Hilarious
It is Hilarious how Super Dave comments on this Better Farming article and contradicts Better Farmings statement that Ponzis are legal. Even more comical Super Dave got arrested in Kelowna according to Market Place. By now old Dave and his cronies have lost all credibility if they ever had any. They are certainly well known to the police. One thing for sure they are good at propaganda and slander.
CrimrBustersNow - Rebuttal
Like most of the misrepresentation, false and misleading statements of scammers, you of course fail to mention that after my arrest when the RCMP found the CBC transmitter in my back pocket and realized they had been caught on camera, they called, dropping the charges.
But that "correction of injustice" you would not want to share with readers, would you anonymous poster; hoping instead your comments and withholding of the facts would discredit me and distract from the truth of the illegal Ponzi scheme that destroyed the lives of so many??? The very "hallmark" of the "scammer." - deceit in all its many forms. You deceive readers by withholding the truth. Steal their money withholding the truth and lying. But you will be seen for what you do, and what you are.
Now, if the they had a case why would RCMP do that, when police try anything, including false arrest, trumped up evidence even perjury to get me, which an example is self evident in that video??? And you also failed to point out that the $10,000,000 liable and slander suit fell by the way side when the judge ruled.... not liable and/or slander and you espouse, but rather "fair criticism" in his Judgment at Paragraph 38 posted on the CBC forum along with the video...
[32] ....Thornton, has at least raised a prima facie case that the applicants... are engaged in the "business" activity that violates both the Competition Act and the Criminal Code.
[38].... This court cannot, through a request for injunctive relief brought on totally unsatisfactory affidavit evidence, permit itself to become an unwitting accomplice in upholding against fair criticism a "business" that at least prima facie appears and may well be found at trial to constitute an illegal activity specifically sanctioned by provisions of the Competition Act and the Criminal Code.
At Paragraph 33 the Judge observed...
[33].... he loudly and publicly questions there legality and warns fellow citizens against being caught up in their alleged web of deception.
Don't seem to have a problem with a decent judge!!!
Now, readers, no one; no government or police authorities, no lawyer, not the Provincial or even the Federal Attorneys General or even Better Farming for that matter can produce a court decision stating that pyramid/Ponzi schemes are legal. And simply because Better Farming owns this website I don't think you will find, because of that fact, they would hold themselves above debate over the issue. You may even find they are simply reflecting the position of authorities.
I have the decision of the Ontario Superior Court Judge; excerpts above, proving these schemes are prima facie violations of the Criminal Code and the Federal Competition Act. But then again, criminal money-laundering racketeers and those wanting to violate such laws would not be interested in a decision of any court or they obviously would not be "ripping off victims" in the first place.
You are one callous individual, poster above, hiding behind anonymity. You care less about Justice, and feel no apparent empathy nor express sympathy for the victims of this scheme, most of them children, and express no feeling or concern for the two farmers reported on suicide watch, or the life of the farmer interviewed on CBC and that of his partner he was going to marry and the lives of his children severely affected by the promises touted by the Pigeon King;..... "Saviour of the Family Farm," and the likes of you, who either followed him into this or an obvious supporter of such schemes.
dave - CBNow
too bitter to be rational
While you may have a point, I can't see, through all the vitriol and innuendo, what it is. I doubt anyone else can either.
PONZI SCHEMES ARE ILLEGAL!!!
PUBLIC PONZIS-ILLEGAL.
Like any non-sanctioned government lottery, Ponzi schemes run by individuals are illegal in this country!
Ponzis
Submitted by an online visitor on January 31, 2010 - 1:03pm.
good thing ponzis are not illegal cause if they were there would be a lot of bankers, insurance executives and the jokers running those funds who would be locked up.
========
That statement and it's premise are false!!! (but some of those you mention, indeed, should be locked up). Pyramid/Ponzi scheme ARE illegal in this country; a clear common sense violation of s. 206 (1)(e) of the CCC. I personally received the Judgment in a precedent setting case in the Ontario Superior Court proving that simple fact, in a case that corrupt, or completely incompetent lawyers in the government and police claimed otherwise. To still be declaring Ponzi schemes, LEGAL in this country, is vicious propaganda and encouraging international racketeers to invade the economy of this nation.
We are currently exposing and battling a number of these schemes, that once again, cleverly masked, the authorities "enabling" them; many, many farmers are getting "burned" on. The perpetrator of one these scams, currently waitng sentencing (March 4 2010) on a related matter the prosecutor unable THIS time, to ignor THIS crime, asking for a 4 year prison sentence. That's the truth: That is reality.... This is Canada!
I would like to see produced, a sworn statement from any public official, police officer or lawyer-backed news media declaring Ponzi schemes legal accompanied by a legal explanation for their conclusions. It is propaganda.... lies ... B.S.!!! Ponzi schemes, the same as pyramid schemes are abhorrent and absolutely illegal in Canada, as anyone with a modicum of common sense - (horse sense; parochially speaking) and with their blinders removed (parochially speaking) can easily witness as a result of this terrible debacle that was "Pigeon King International," the touted "Saviour of the Family Farm:" A scheme that destroyed many North American farm families; two farmers reported on suicide watch. A scheme, which would have been exponentially far worse had I not personally intervened contacting farm families, bankers etc, all over North America; and posted the email on the internet accusing Arlan of just that. Even some of the brainwashed media, to contacted me, many asking me to explain the scheme, many skeptical, until I explained the scam to them.
This truth also attracted horrible reprisals, criminal liable, and many criminal individuals uttering a variety of threats.
I have no idea exactly from what level this false information with regard to the legality of Ponzi schemes emanates... but it is a lie... it's B.S.!!! (parochially speaking). No one in government will take responsibility for these false and damaging rumours, and no one in the media; no responsible lawyer, or anyone else I am so far aware of in this country, except myself, has had the intestinal fortitude to "climb that ladder" in an attempt to discover from just how "high" this B.S. nonsense originates....
But again... These pyramid/Ponzi schemes are illegal in Canada. That's my opinion and it was upheld in the Ontario Superior Court without legal counsel, against a prestigious 24 lawyer Mississauga law firm, and finally exposed on CBC Marketplace February 2009!!!... Many, many, farmers also defrauded in that scam, when it swept Canada, (and despite the Judge's ruling still operates) as many will recognize from this clip from CBC.
Click> http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/2009/easy_money/main.html
dave - CBNow
What is your point?
Do you have a point to make? - if so, in 50 words or less, what is it?
Analysis
A few years ago analysts preached to hog farmers that there were more hogs needed in the world(lots and lots more). Farmers should have told them to take their analysis and shove it but they bought into it hook,line and sinker. Mega barns and loops were the sexy thing to do and banks even fell for it all based on analysis. I would like to see some of these analysts set foot on the farms all over North America where these barns sit idle and see what the farmers think of market analysis and how well it failed the pork industry. I think the banks bought into the analysis more than the farmers because a lot of bankers have the same foolish mentality that the would be experts who justify their theories with market analysis have. There is an old saying," THOSE WHO CAN DO AND THOSE WHO CAN'T TEACH," which sure applies to Market Analysts.
Market Research
These academics who spout off about market research make me sick. Market Research did nothing to help the pork industry when China stopped importing.
Markets are not just sitting out there like a full moon for everyone to see. Markets are developed over time and once they are developed they must be maintained and that is the hard part.
Academics have never marketed anything in their life. They are a total joke in the day to day world of generating income. The real marketers get out there and pound on doors and don't waste time on research. Researchers are a make work project for a bunch of people who cannot function in the hard day to day world of closing deals.
Show me
Stop being a such complete red-neck and show me an academic, any academic, who has never marketed anything in his/her life. You can't.
Furthermore, the only people who badmouth market research are the same idiots who would go out "pounding on doors" trying to sell Christmas cards in Jewish, Muslim, or even Chinese, neighbourhoods, rather than "waste time on research" to see whether any of these groups might be even interested in the first place.
Hog Farmers
Regardless of why hog farmers have gone belly up they are broke and busted is busted so who cares why.
Ponzis
good thing ponzis are not illegal cause if they were there would be a lot of bankers,insurance executives and the jokers running those funds who would be locked up
Remember When?
Some older Americans may recall years ago when Tyson took what was just a USA cottage poultry industry and transformed it into a gigantic international monster industry. Many industries of significance started as little cottage industries like the big auto part maker Magna which was started by one man in his backyard garage.
Perhaps PKI had this in mind. I expect it could be done with pigeons as well as goats, rabbits, ducks and so forth. Mind you one may go bust in the attempt. There is no doubt many hog producers,cattle feedlots and even duck farms have gone under trying to get ahead.
I have noticed that most feed mills keep going even though they have a few sour accounts it seems they can make enough on the other accounts that are paid. I imagine guys like Stronach who started Magna may have been on the verge of going under a few times in his career but like others he made it through. Others fall by the wayside sad to say.
Barriers To Entry
To supply a global market with pigeon meat one would need a massive number of pigeons and a federally inspected processing plant. To set up in competition with PKI would require untold millions and in my mind that is a significant barrier to entry which would give PKI a dominat position in the world market place.
Competition
This thinking is absolutely flawed. History always repeats itself and if enough PKI followers continue to think that Arlan Gailbraith was some sort of saviour or visionary then we are doomed to have another financial catastophre. Anyone who believes the second time around deserves to lose their money.
backwards logic
You're making the classic mistake of presuming there's a market, any market, anywhere. NOBODY ever did even the most basic consumer analysis to see what kind of a market, if any, even exists, and, if so, where it might exist.
Without any sort of consumer analysis, you're making (along with every PKI investor) huge, and completely unjustified, assumptions about a whole lot of things like:
(1) Is there a demand?
(2) What sort of decision making process does the purchaser follow?
(3) Is this a growing market, or a declining market?
(4) Where is the demand located?
(5) What type and kind of consumers are the target market?
(6) Are the target consumers price sensitive?
(7) What is the price and availability of subsititute products?
(8) Who is meeting the present demand?
(9) What channels of distribution are being utilized?
For all anyone knows, the entire world demand for pigeon meat could be located in Thailand, could be more than well-met by local producers, could be far smaller in total birds per year consumed than what PKI had on the go in North America, and even this demand could be rapidly declining because consumer preferences may be switching to chicken and/or pork.
This means there's no way of knowing if the entire world demand might be met with a processing plant investment of a whole lot less than "untold millions" - meaning the biggest barrier to entry could easily be, and quite often is, the lack of a market.
If there really was any sort of expanding global market for pigeon meat, transportation and labour costs alone should dictate that production should be both closer to the market, and in jurisdictions with low labour costs, rather than in Canada with neither the consumer demand, nor favourable labour costs.
Why would anyone be daft enough to even consider supplying a global market from any sort of high-cost North-American production facility, especially when the product is nothing but a basic commodity item?
Those people who see Galbraith as being "visionary" are missing the point - the true visionaries are those who had the good business sense to completely avoid PKI
Confused
I'm confused. I thought pork production was a high tech business requiring a huge capital investment which seems like a major barrier to entry. Therefore, why is hog farming a total disaster affecting far more people than the pigeon business ever did. I read somewhere that a hog breeding company went broke and was losing something like a half million per week and owes creditors over 90 million. It is my understanding that goat meat globally is the largest volume meat consumed and yet few in this country have tried yet. I also heard that in places like France they eat huge numbers of pigeons,quail,guinea hens, ducks and so forth.
no confusion necessary
PKI investors made a classic mistake in believing a market was "out-there" somewhere. Nobody cares about how big the goat meat market is globally, and nobody cares about what people eat in France, the only thing that matters is what people eat here. The acid test of any sort of sensible market research is to ask yourself if you would eat what you are producing. If the answer is no, then ask yourself if anyone in your family, or anyone among your co-workers, or even anyone of your friends, would ever eat what you are producing. It appears not one PKI investor did any analysis of that sort, and that means they are, indeed, the greater fools.
The hog market is an entirely different story, and if there's any single cause of today's problems, analysts would point to the 96% reduction in Chinese pork imports in the past year. Secondary effects would include ethanol-induced higher feed prices, and, in Ontario, the effect of COOL legislation. There is a well-established, and dynamic, global market for hogs which is, at present, in a sort of perfect storm. It will recover, but pigeon meat never had a chance to get off the ground (no pun intended)and never would, simply because nobody ever did any sort of market research to see if there was any sort of a market. Just as importantly, nobody did any sort of research to see how price sensitive, and supply sensative, the market might be.
In short, the PKI adventure was a classic example of the folly of the "Produce it and they will buy it" school of thought so often followed by farmers.
investors ignored basic business sense
Pigeon King (PKI) investors completely ignored the basic business reality that even if a market for pigeon meat did exist, it was always going to be an extremely small market. I, for example, wouldn't knowingly eat pigeon meat, even if I was to be paid.
PKI investors also completely ignored the business reality that any small market can be easily and completely saturated, thereby driving the price of the product to zero.
PKI investors also completely ignored the basic business reality that since pigeon meat is not a high-tech business, and therefore, has few, if any, barriers to entry, the mere fact that nobody else had any desire to do what PKI was doing, should have been more than enough warning to avoid PKI like the plague.
Investing
All investors make costly mistakes sometimes. I know an investor who made lots and lots of mistakes and went broke 3 times. After that he made a fortune and hung on to it. His secret? He learned from all his mistakes and never ever blamed anyone for past mistakes. Successful investors always learn from their errors and take full responsibility when things go wrong because of their miss judgement. After all, every decision is a judgement call.
Too Generous
I heard pigeon king paid the breeders in the states and out west in full in advance for young pigeons before they were ever picked up. I also heard that he picked up the pigeons free of charge and did not charge for any trucking or handling. And to top it off he supplied all breeders with free shipping crates to ship the pigeons.
As a business person I think he should have made them wait for their money for 30,60 or even 90 days like many other suppliers to businesses have to wait for their money. And he definitely should have made them buy their own crates and charge a fee for handling and trucking when picking up pigeons all over North America.
Doing that would have made a big difference to the company. The guy was just too generous. No wonder these farmers made money. I can't think of any other company who treats their suppliers so well.
Ponzis
Aren't things like pension plans,social security,insurance and banks ponzis? They take in money from the public and then use that money to pay out the people involved so the people getting the payments are receiving some of their own money back and all these organizations need to recruit more members to pay in in order to survive. Banks take in more and more deposits at say 2 percent and then give out credit cards which lend that same money back to the same people at say 20 percent.
Sounds like a ponzi to me more so than breeding a bird to produce more birds that can be eaten.
Ponzi's versus pension plans
Pension plans are legislated to be actuarily sound - Ponzi schemes have no such requirement, and couldn't meet any test of actuarial soundness in any event.
In adddition, when it comes to banking, you completely misunderstand the concept of legislated fractional reserve ratios - a basic and fundamental component of any country's monetary policy.
There's simply no comparison.
Stock Markets
This investing in pigeons sounds just like the stock market. There are two groups of stock market investors. The first group is the Smart Money Group and the second group is the Copy Cat group.
The Smart Money Group bought in during the March Lows. The Copy Cat Group hesitated in March because they were afraid the market would go lower or stay down where it was. Of course as it always does the market went up in a few months and the Smart Money doubled their money.
The Copy Cat Group saw this and started to get into the market but they had to pay a lot more to get in and thus by their own mistake made it very hard for themselves to make any money. The Copy Cat group almost always gets burned and many times they get totally destroyed.
You see the same thing in auctions where the Smart Money only bids when hardly anyone else is bidding and the Copy Cat Group don't start bidding until they see everyone else bidding.
You also see this in the housing market. The Smart Money Group only buys in at distressed prices when most others are not in the market. The Copy Cat Group waits till the market is hot with people bidding up the price of homes and end up paying way to much.
Do not join the Copy Cat Group when investing in anything and do not invest money you cannot afford to lose. This is not a Communist Country. In this country there are always big winners and big losers.
Processing Plant
Galbraith's completion date for the plant was December 2011. This was perfect timing re the economy and gave him lots of time to get everything in place and ready. With yearly output of 1.5 million squab he needed more than a few pairs of breeders in production. He told everyone he needed 20 years to achieve his goals. The poor guy got blown apart after only 8 years. Not his fault there were people falling all over each other to get into the action before everything fell apart.
Risk
How can any farmer not know that all livestock production is full of risk. Like the big pig farm out west that signed contracts with a bunch of farmers to supply feed grain and then went under. The pigs ate all the feed so of course there is not money to pay the farmers who delivered the grain. I call that a big risk. Any business can go bust. How can it not be a risky investment when the livestock eats feed every day and is a perishable product affected by the global economy. If you want a sure thing stay away from farming and the stock market and the casinos.
What Is All The Fuss?
These sore losers remind me of the losers you hear grumbling when they leave a Casino and are loudly whining over all the money they just blew. Gambling is risky. Just because an investment is risky does not mean it is illegal or a fraud. Otherwise the Casinos would all be illegal and a fraud and so would the stock markets. Why do you think all those people jumped out of the windows during the big market crash years ago.
Jumping out of Windows
This was not supposed to be a risky investment. Did you not read all the promotional material from Pigeon King? Did you not study the countless flyers that came in the mail? Did you not listen to the sales pitch of Arlan himself and some of his staff? Did you not watch his videos. This was never proclaimed to be a risky investment. We were told of markets oversees for the birds. There were said to be buyers for all the production from his countless breeding flocks. WE SIGNED CONTRACTS THAT GUARANTEED A SET PRICE FOR OUR SALES back to PIGEON KING. Good people that handed over there money to Gailbraith did so thinking he would honor his written word as set out in the contracts. Those people are NOT losers. The only sore losers in this whole affair are the ones who keep blaming the media and ponzi busters for the failure of the high and mighty Pigeon KIng aka Arlan Gailbraith!
why bother
why would better farming bother to print the contents of court documents which are outdated by almost a year and were only used to obtain a search warrent are they so desperate for news and why do people who gambled on a risky business investment blame everyone but themselves for their greed it looks like they were looking for fast money and when their gamble turned bad they should only blame themselves
admit it
everyone now knows the real reason how pigeonkinginternational got shafted even though there are still a few too stubborn to admit it isn't it always the same with humans they never appreciate the important people around them until it is to late
Jersey bulls
Lots of people eat Jersey bulls. Pigeons are eaten too but there is a lot more meat on a jersey compared to a pigeon. I never heard of anyone eating gold.
Kitchener Meeting
I read that none of the 18 people at the meeting would speak to the media. That makes it clear to all that the public knows the media played a part in the end of pki like Ken Wagler said. When you sling mud the public will eventually see through it. It may take a long time but in the end the mud is like a boomerang and will come back at you. The people at the meeting and most others are fed up with media and do not want any part of them.
the incredible odds of being incredibly naive
That Galbraith's supporters on this thread outnumber his critics by about two-to-one, is simply incredible, and proves beyond a shadow of a doubt, that, to quote P T Barnum, - "there's a sucker born every minute". Even Barnum would marvel at how gullible today's farmers really are.
Processing Plant A Go
I have known Arlan for years and he always does what he says he is going to do. People who say otherwise are only the ones who do not know him. He would definitely have built and operated the plant and was already in discussions with the engineer regarding another plant in New York State.
Plans in New York state?
Discussions with engineers regarding processing plants is a little like closing the barn door after all the cattle have escaped. By your own admission he already had over 1000 breeders, do you not think that at this stage of his empire building plans should he not have had his processing plants already up and running? The gullability and stupidity of Arlan Gailbraith followers simply astounds me.
Creditors Meeting
According to the Kitchener Record only 18 creditors showed up at the meeting yesterday. The complainers must be disappointed. According to my calculations there must be about 900 other breeders who know the real story.
Real Story
Please share the real story with those of us who are not so enlightened.
Former Employees
Anyone with a brain would not put any stock in anything a disgruntled former employee who got fired would have to say. A fired employee has no credibility whatsoever, and will say anything. Media should not even quote them.
Golden Eggs
For any pigeon breeder to bad mouth the very person he is under contract with is like helping to Kill The Goose that is laying the Golden Eggs. These latecomers remind me of the prospectors who were late to rush to the gold fields to stake their claims and when they finally got there, they complained bitterly that the claims were already taken. POOH POOH
Long before the King went under I heard gossip and rummers that he was dead or missing or the office was closed or he was out of business. All were false. Any day I wanted to talk to him, all I had to do was phone him at his office. Pathetic that these latecomers bought into all that BS and turned on the man. The people who supported him while he built his business still support him but the damage has been done.
No faith in Arlan
There was never any faith in Arlan Gailbraith. He did however have some good honest reputable people working for him and these are the people we trusted. I did meet Arlan once before we signed a contract. I should have followed my instincts and not handed over our cheque to him. As far as your comparison to Gold prospecting is concerned, we all know that there is an end use for gold. Can you say that about your pigeon king pigeons?
Media Pandering
Strange how the media likes to pander to a few noisy critics when most of the pki breeders are silently happy with their experience breeding pigeons and wish they could still do it. I think all the breeders know deep down the business was good or they would not have been so eager to get involved. A few of the latecomers are simply sour grapes.
Latecomers?
It was money from the so called latecomers that gave you your money. There was no end market for these birds! There was never any real intention of a squab processing plant! It was just a plan of deception. Just think about it for one second. How much breeding stock did one man need. Why would anybody promote hundreds of thousands of breeding pairs perhaps even millions and not have a processing plant already up and running.Turning these pigeons into squab would be like trying to finish jersey bull calves in a feedlot. Would you go out and buy thousands and thousands of jersey bull calves and not have a processing plant ready and willing to start processing. I can't decide if some of the original breeders are arogant or just plain stupid.
Just Common Sense
Nothing cult like just reality. Pigeon King had over 1,000 farmers breeding pigeons and many with free breeding stock. Of this huge number only a small minority are finding fault. This should tell you that the majority are happy and made a lot of money doing something they believe in. It is time the minority took a hike.
Minority speaking up
If you were so happy with Arlan Gailbraith and PKI and if the majority realy made alot of money, perhaps you won't mind giving some of that money back to those less fortunate in this grand pigeon breeding scheme. Where do you think all the money came from?
no ponzi
Pigeon King had a long term plan with 300 acres in an unregulated township where he could construct his packing plant without restriction and cover his land with squab production barns. He had spent thousands on engineers and would have been in processing by the end of 2011 just when the world economy will be back on track.
He was building up his breeding flocks to supply breeders for the Cochrane squab barns and the huge plant. The drawings were on the walls of both his offices for all to see. With his federal inspection he could sell all over the world and with his huge volume could underprice anyone.
A noisy few just don't get it. It was made clear to all that the multipliers were producing breeding stock for the future. No wonder Mr. Galbraith is so heart broken, having his dreams shattered and losing everything.
Are you really that
Are you really that gullible? Do you know how many years it takes to build a processing plant from the ground up and get it fully inspected? If that was really his plan he should have started construction within a month or two of selling the first breeding pairs.
He suckered a lot of people, period. Some were lucky enough that the house of cards stayed standing long enough for them to get paid for their investment - a lot were not.
Processing plant.
If Mr. Gailbraith really did intend to build a processing plant as he has been professing, why did he focus entirely on developing the breeding flock side of his business? Myself and many others realze now that the processing plant was an after thought, one intended to add creditability to a business that otherwise seemed as though it had no end use for its product i.e. the pigeons. As for the completion date for this hypothetical processing plant of December 2011, I would suggest that this too was poorly thought out. With out great amounts of money rolling in from new producers and new investors to pay existing producers, it was inevible that Arlan Gailbraith would run out of money long before the shovels ever hit the ground to start building. An earlier contributer said it best when he called this whole company nothing more than a house of cards!!