Petra Alluis set up a website called JudgmentRecoveryInstitute.net (jrial.net) to teach people the judgment recovery and collection business. Depending on what level you purchase, it may include individual coaching. The scam is not the school, but an offer Petra makes later to her students by email or during a telephone coaching session.
Here is the scam. During the course of her training she mentions that she has been investing with a guy named Michael who owns Capitol Management Investment Group (CMIG), who happens to be her neighbor. CMIG buys large bundles of defaulted credit card debt from banks, usually at two to three pennies on the dollar of debt owed the bank. CMIG buys these portfolios, usually running into the millions-of-dollars of face value.
Before purchasing, CMIG has presold the investment bundle to another investment group who actually do the collecting. This is presented as a quick 60-day or 100-day investment that can return as much as 100% on the investment.
The story continues that Michael, her neighbor who owns CMIG, has allowed Petra to invest with him as a favor to a friend. However, Petra can only afford to invest a small amount & Michael is telling her it's too much trouble to deal with her few thousand dollars. However, if she can come up with a larger sum, say $75,000 to $100,000, he will save a spot for her in future deals... As a favor to a neighbor and friend.
Petra then takes away the opportunity from the student by saying nothing is available now, but I'll let you know if something comes up. "Would you be interested in joining me if I pool the money and we can all participate?" A few months later you receive an email from Petra which states that Michael (CMIG) said he has an opportunity for her if she can invest $75,000. The email continues that she has already gotten commitments for most of the money and just needs X amount to close out the pooled investment.
Now, I'm a smart guy, savvy in the way of investments. I have my own investment group, having raised millions for my own real estate transactions. The only reason I was taking her judgment recovery course was to collect on almost $250,000 in unlawful detainers from my own properties. The reason I'm mentioning this is to point out how slick and clever her scam is. I actually turned down offers to participate numerous times, over a six month period, before I took the hook.
Here's the kicker. CMIG and Michael do not exist. The entire investment pool is a scam. I'm in the process of filing a fraud complaint with Santa Monica Police Dept.
Other students have surfaced from Washington, Oregon, Maryland and Texas who have also been scammed for amounts ranging from $8,000 to $15,000. If you're reading this and have also gotten caught in Petra's nasty web, make sure to file a fraud report with your local police department. Speak with a the detective in charge of fraud.insist the report be taken (written) and entered into the national data base. Contact your state attorney general's office and file a complaint there as well.
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