Hats off to Ken Parsons

The world would be a better place if there were more Ken Parsons’. Yesterday, Ken Parsons stated, “As a law-enforcement professional, I am insulted that these counterfeiters think they can run their illegal businesses with impunity in plain sight.” Bravo.

Parsons is a detective on the diminutive Monroe (Ohio) police force. What he referred to was a bust at a large flea market, concerning those who sell trademark-counterfeited goods.

Forget about the nature of the crime. One could easily argue that it’s not the most dire plight afflicting mankind or that huge corporations are the only victims. That isn’t the point.

Focus on what Parsons said and then turn on your television, radio or internet connection. There are tens of thousands of scams operating brazenly in plain sight. Unless, of course, you’re among the many who believe a few FDA-exempt pills will cure your arthritis, shed fifty pounds or increase the dimensions of certain organs. Or, an expensive DVD will cut you in on the secrets of making millions in real estate, investing or ebay.

What aids and abets the scam artists is one unspoken thought. If this wasn’t legit, they couldn’t be advertising it out in the open.

I was a naïve businessman in his 20s when a friend of mine was taken by a crook operating from Florida, probably out of his back bedroom. He came to me because he thought I knew how business operated.

I discerned that the guy kept the amount of the sting under the cost of people around the country going after him. I contacted him and he laughed. I said if he didn’t make good, the only avenue left to me was to report him to the authorities. He laughed again and wished me luck. He was smart enough to keep his size under the radar and he knew it. More than one could say of me.

He may be out of the reach of civil remedies, I thought, but he wasn’t from the FTC, FBI, U.S. Postal Service, Attorney General and other defenders of the creed. Not to mention the media that carried his ads to an unsuspecting public. What a boob (me).

I amassed the evidence and contacted the appropriate authorities. With remarkable indifference, they deflected me to “the process.” I filled out and filed the forms. Nothing. I followed up. If I was able to get a response, it was that when they received enough complaints, they looked into it.

I said they didn’t understand, I had incontrovertible proof of fraud. They said they understood and had my forms. If action was warranted, they would take it. If proof of overt fraud didn’t warrant their action, what did? And where was their pride? This guy and his ilk openly traded under their noses.

So, I went to the media that ran his advertising. He paid his bills, which was all they cared about. Welcome to the real world.

And that is the real world. They can run their scams on national media, as long as they don’t reach critical mass or screw over the wrong person.

Or, they run into the rare Ken Parsons.