Wade Cook

Wade Bruce Cook (born October 9, 1949) is an American author and self-proclaimed financial guru. Cook claims to have started his success when he was a taxi driver in the 1970s. His first book, "Real Estate Money Machine", was originally self-published in 1981. An updated version was published in 1996.

Background

In the 1990s, Cook gained notoriety for paid radio programs which he used to market investment seminars. He was notable for his claim to be able to teach people to double their money every 2.5 to 4 months [http://web.archive.org/web/19970227201021/http://www.wadecook.com/] . The government forced him to recant that claim.

Cook is a proponent of "rolling stocks" (stocks that regularly vacillate between "predictable" highs and lows) and has been very vocal about stock splits being a good way to make money, claiming that many stocks rose post split (since the end of the 1990s bull market, Cook has not been as strong a proponent of this concept). One of his more famous phrases was "meter drop". Cook said that as a cab driver he learned that money was made every time the meter dropped, and that it was better to take many small fares rather than one big one. This translated to Cook's short-term investment strategy of buying and selling many stocks for smaller, quicker profits rather than buying and holding securities for an extended period in the hope that they will increase greatly.

In 2002, Cook's company, Wade Cook Financial Corporation (WCFC), filed for bankruptcy. The stock now trades on the pink sheets for around [http://www.pinksheets.com/quote/quote.jsp?symbol=WADCQ a penny a share] . Since the bankruptcy of WCFC, Cook has kept a considerably lower profile, using the internet as his primary means of marketing. He has continued writing books and launched a multi-level investment program.

Wade Cook is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and has been known to use references to religion in his writings and presentations.Fact|date=September 2008

At one time his net worth was estimated at $200 million dollars. ["Investment guru sentenced in fraud", Los Angeles Time, Business Section, page C3, August 4, 2007]

Financial and legal troubles

In 1987, Cook filed personal bankruptcy. Two companies he controlled, American Business Alliance and Monarch Funding Corporation, also went bankrupt that year. [http://www.fool.com/Features/1997/sp971006WadeCook97002.htm]

In 1989, Cook was charged with securities violations by the Arizona Corporation Commission. The following year, the Arizona Attorney General charged him with several criminal counts, including selling unregistered shares of a company he controlled [http://www.businessweek.com/1997/46/b3553124.htm]

In 1998, Cook won a settlement against self-help guru Anthony Robbins over his claim that Robbins had illegally used concepts (particularly the "meter drop") from Cook's book "Wall Street Money Machine" to create a financial seminar. Robbins agreed that he had read the book and met with Cook, but disputed the illegality of his use of the concepts. A jury in Tacoma, Washington sided with Cook and awarded damages in the amount of $655,900. [cite news | url=http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/1998/09/28/daily4.html | title=Jury hands Wade Cook copyright victory |publisher=Puget Sound Business Journal|date=October 1, 1998 | first= | last= | accessdate =2007-04-13]

In 2000, WCFC, a company which sold seminars on investing and offered subscriptions to a trading bulletin board service called the Wealth Information Network (W.I.N.), posted $1.7 million in trading losses [http://www.thestreet.com/stocks/truthserum/1043588.html] .

On October 5, 2000, Wade Cook Financial Corporation agreed to a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission and 14 state Attorneys General on charges that the corporation misrepresented earnings potential. WCFC claimed 20% monthly returns. As a result, WCFC was required to set up redress program for consumers who purchased its products and to alter its advertised earnings claims. [http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2000/10/wadecook.htm]

In 2002 the FTC brought new charges based on failure to comply with the previous order. [http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2002/02/wadecook.htm]

In 2002, WCFC was forced into Chapter 11 bankruptcy by a group of its creditors, including several employees and independent contractors, who claimed they had not been paid for several months. [http://www.wawb.uscourts.gov/view.htm?f=2&id=21]

In December, 2005, Wade Cook and his wife Laura were charged with several counts of income tax evasion. [http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/260710_cook24.html] Both pled not guilty. According to court documents, the Cooks operated a fraudulent charity, ostensibly to benefit the Mormon church, but instead bought show horses, his and her Cadillacs, a 40-acre estate, and the majority share of an oil rig which gave Cook the right to name it. He named it after himself. [http://www.fool.com/News/mft/2005/mft05120210.htm] The trial began on January 17, 2007. [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2002842399_webwade03.html]

On February 20, 2007, Cook was found guilty by a federal jury of seven charges for failing to pay taxes on $8.9 million that the government says he should have reported as personal income from 1998 to 2000. His sentencing was set for June 22, 2007. [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003581055_webcook20.html?syndication=rss] [http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=wadecook21m0&date=20070221&query=wade+cook] On May 16, 2007 Laura Cook, the wife of Wade Cook, plead guilty to obstructing federal tax laws. She faced up to three years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. [http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/315976_cook17.html]

On August 2, 2007, Wade was sentenced to 88 months in prison, his wife Laura Cook was sentenced to 18 months in prison. Wade was also ordered to pay back $3.75 million in owed back taxes. [http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/326180_cooksentence03.html?source=rss]

On September 4, 2008, Cook was taken into custody at the Federal Detention Center in SeaTac, Washington, where he will await transfer to a prison where he will serve his 88-month sentence. [http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/377861_cook05.html]

Books by Wade Cook

* "Real Estate Money Machine"
* "Stock Market Miracles"
* "Don't Set Goals: The Old Way"
* "Bear Market Baloney"
* "Business Buy the Bible"
* "Brilliant Deductions"
* "How to Pick Up Foreclosures"
* "Wall Street Money Machine (Vols. 1-5)"
* "Blueprints for Success"
* "Real Estate for Real People"
* "Cook's Book on Creative Real Estate"
* "101 Ways to Buy dildos no money down"
* "Wealth 101"
* "Y2K Gold Rush"
* "Safety 1st Investing"
* "Wade Cook's Power Quotes"
* "how to cure rectal itch"
* "Red Light, Green Light"
* "Two Bad Years and Up We Go!"
* "Wade Cook's Stock Picking Handbook"
* "Stock Market Money Machine"

References

External links

* Wade Cook's [http://www.libertynetwork.us current home page]
* The [http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2000/10/wadecook.htm Federal trade Commission's] synopsis of the 2000 settlement
* WCFC's [http://www.wawb.uscourts.gov/view.htm?f=2&id=21 bankruptcy filing]