www.CostaRicaTicas.com

I think I can spot a con most times, The sad part is the war hero scam, I have had a very boring ordinary life, I was to young for Nam and when I was old enough I was a bad K*D they didn't want. I worked hard and a few years ago took over a charity sending mostly decent cigars and goodies to the sandbox, we sent 17,500 plus cigars an equal amount of sundries. I made a lot of Military friends and have great respect for most. Yeah it's still going four guy's on our cigar board took it over after I was to disabled to continue and it was the probably the proudest I have ever done in my ordinary life.

Sorry I brought it up because I couldn't get in the Military and feel as If I needed to so I tried my best to help how I could. So yes I get real pissed at fake heroes. Real Vets and actives know the lingo I always know I said something stupid because they laugh while we smoke explaining what they are saying LOL


I am better at spotting the con artists in real estate but don't have any stories worth repeating here.

Good topic.

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LOL I would Love to never hear the word game used again ever again! :)

Those of you with great detectors....were they turned off when you were around Boyd?

Boyd was the opposite of a bullshiter. He evoked confidence and friendship and sold himself subliminally.

anybody can detect the drunk who can help you make 70% annual return on your money, but a professional like Boyd is more difficult; however, many a people figured Boyd out a long time ago.

Now let's not give con men a bad name by lumping what we see in Costa Rica down here. These are C or D level cons at the best. Most have alcohol or substance abuse problems and couldn't cut it on the big stage of the con world. A lot of the "game" I see down here is too heavy with desperation. Like a tweeker looking for their next fix. I'll pretty much stick to my belief that if you get taken in Costa Rica you pretty much deserve it. Not all, but most people that fall for cons are either stupid, greedy or not keeping an eye on things that they should be paying attention to. That's why I'm never sympathetic at pity parties.

I would add naive to this description.


Greed is a con mans #1 tool.
"If it sounds too good to be true,..."
"One born every minute, and two to take him"
"If it looks like a duck, quacks, like a duck,..."
"When you make deals with thieves and scum, you find yourself dealing with thieves and scum"


One of the people that lost money with the "brothers" told me he was smuggling cash down to CR taped to his legs. They acted like drug runners and the result they got was appropriate.

While they were 'living the big life', I was putting in time building sweat equity painting, rebuilding, and cleaning rental properties in the USA. My properties are still with me and doing better than ever.

The USA provides so much opportunity that I never feel sorry for an able bodied person who is a broke dick.

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* These are the "Good Ole Days". Enjoy Them.

* RENT but, "Don't Buy a Home in Costa Rica" until you have lived here for THREE years.

Totally agree that greed is #1! I learned years ago that there is no easy money.

I tend to agree with you, as well as TW; all very good points - however, while it always takes 2 to tango, I hate the con man/women more - I think the "victim" is often greedy, and while I was going to say stupid, lets go with "unsophisticated" - still, just b/c you can cheat someone does not mean you should. Common sense says that if someone (Like the "Brothers") is promising out of sight returns, its either BS, a ponzi scheme, or a con - no middle ground - especially for the guys who stay in - I have no doubt some made good money in that deal and if they got out before the thing blew up, and came out OK.

I spent 35 years in sales and I met a lot of guys I would not trust as far as I could throw them - I never say never; you just don't know for certain <sales taught me that >, but I'd put my BS detector needle in the "pretty good" category.

I find many of the suspects talk way too much, or are drunks, and I can't stand either - in my life I've been approached, I always ask a lot of questions - a very good friend of one of my best friends had a deal whereby he promised/almost guaranteed 5% per month returns (that's 60% a year) - when i told him few mutual fund managers ever even approached that number and if he really could get those results, he could write his own ticket on Wall Street, he backed off - plus the guy was a deadbeat; if you are making all these fablous returns. why the hell don't you pay your bills

Oh, final comment on Boyd - while his former partners may think otherwise, Boyd never (to my knowledge) "cheated or conned" his guests or guys in the bar, or other patrons - he was apparantly not a model manager (and you want to ask him, "man, how the Phuck do you manage to screw up this gig..." and being your own best customer owning a bar is a receipe for disaster) but I would not term him a con man.

I notice "The Brothers" are getting a lot of play in this thread being labeled a con, a ponzi scheme, etc.

What no one has every been able to explain is how did they pay 3% interest a month of almost 20 years? It is generally agreed that it is so unusual for a ponzi scheme to last that long that it is basically impossible. If the Costa Rica authorities who let the operation continue for years until pushed by Canadian authorities to act had not done so how much longer could they have continued to operate?

And by the way don't cry to much for "the victims" many of those lost their investment but had taken out 2 or 3 times that over the years the Brothers operated. It only took 34 months of participation to get your original investment covered even if you took the monthly interest instead of rolling it over.

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Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

Madoff did his Ponzi scheme for over 14 years under the watchful eye of the SEC

Yeah, the sharp investors did just fine with the brothers. I could see having invested with them, but not the whole nest egg for God's sake! ID is absolutely right. Somehow they paid for some 20 years. That was always the plan with me but never made the jump. Buy in, get your original investment back out and then play with the house's money.

ahahahahahahaha........

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The difference between a Sea Story and a Fairy Tale is that a Fairy Tale starts out 'Once Upon a Time..' and a Sea Story starts out 'This is no Shit...'

(export version only, some restrictions may apply, some assembly required, not valid where the sun don't shine...

if you live in the states of Poverty, Darkness or anywhere outside of The Blessings of Civilization Trust, Inc...other rules may apply)

Very true, never underestimate the power of greed, the thought of "Easy Money"



A Ponzi scheme will go on as long as you have an endless supply of "suckers", Costa Rica had plenty, I remember one of my earlist trips, while sitting at the Park Hotel, the wispering going on about the brothers investments firm. Like it was some big secret. Then a friend of a friend asked me if I wanted to invest and get the 3% a month,( Translated in to 36% per year). I politely turned it down. How they make it last so long? I guess we'll never know. BTW just about all the people I know, knew, who had the "brothers investment" made their money back plus some.
Flaco in Ft.Lauderdale

While it certainly was not a secret it was somewhat of a "closed" operation. You had to have someone who had already invested bring you in to set up your account. Of course invested is not the term they used it was a loan. You gave them the money, initially a minimum of $5000 later raised to 10, and they gave you a check in the same amount to repay the "loan" along with an admonishment not to deposit the check until you notified them that you intended to do so.

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Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine