Warning: MGM International Mortgage Corporation

I have checked out several of these sites with complaints about MGM and Mr. Habib and what I have discovered on both the positive and negative side it seems to be the same handful of people.  There doesn't seem to be any validity to the complaints.

They don't FUND in their name, but in the NAME of their confidential FUNDING SOURCES!!  DUHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!  They are legit and we have closed over 11 deals with them ($93M+ in volume!!)

Hey Recordings,

We are all just trying to get deals funded and their marketing looks too good to be true.  And with the mostly negative remarks about Saj Habib how can we risk our client's money?  Do you have APN #s for any of the closing or something that proves you are not just Mr. Habib creating another username and putting a positive post amongst all the bad press?

A Cold Call, a Blog, and a $20 Million Lawsuit

By JESS MCCUAN, INC.COM Posted: 2008-12-17 00:21:57 Filed Under: Small Business, Online Business

A North Carolina entrepreneur blogs a warning to her industry -- and gets sued for her troubles.

In January, Leslie Richard got a call from a man from Vision Media Television. The Boca Raton, Florida, TV production company wanted to know if Richard would agree to be interviewed for a documentary on eco-fashion. According to Richard, the caller implied that the film might air on PBS or possibly on CNN.

"I was nervous, but I was totally, like, Yeah -- I'll do it," says Richard. A TV appearance promised to be a huge PR boost for her two-year-old Asheville, North Carolina, company, The Oko Box, which sells clothing made of organic cotton, hemp, and bamboo.

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As talks progressed, however, Richard, 31, grew increasingly skeptical about the documentary. She says another Vision Media employee told her that Oko Box would be charged $22,900 to cover some production expenses, plus $3,000 for travel costs. Feeling "creeped out," Richard called the Better Business Bureau and posted a message about her experience on her company's blog. "Look alive small eco business owners," she wrote, " 'cause there is a new scam targeting us. [U]sing television lingo, an entire team of people, a website, video footage, and [a] whole bag of lies to cover their scheme."

As cathartic as this blog post may have been, it put Richard's business at risk. Anything posted on a CEO's blog -- including reader comments -- can be construed as carrying the weight of a company's endorsement, says Marc Zwillinger, an attorney in the Washington, D.C., office of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal. "Blogging is a cheap and scalable way to talk to interested people," adds Seth Godin, an avid blogger and the author of 10 books on marketing. "But understand that while you advocate for your company, you are also walking a tightrope from a legal and business point of view."

Initially, Richard says, her blog elicited responses from more than 50 business owners who said they had dealt with Vision Media and shared her concerns. One person sent Richard a statement found on PBS's website from 2004 that said the network was "not associated with and does not endorse" a list of companies that included Vision Media. When the production company threatened to sue Richard if she didn't take down her blog, she wrote: "Um, yeah VMT your scam is being posted & has already been reported, and your imaginary lawyers can't do anything about it."

In July, Vision Media made good on its threat and filed a lawsuit in Florida against Richard and her company, asserting that the comments on Oko Box's blog (which Richard reposted in a members-only chat room maintained by a group for social entrepreneurs) had directly resulted in $5 million in lost business. The suit also asked the court to award Vision Media $15 million in punitive damages.

Mark Miller, an executive producer at Vision Media, denies that his company claimed to work with PBS. He also says Vision Media has a good rating with the Better Business Bureau, contrary to a post published in the comments section of Richard's website. "We've lost a lot of business as a result of her blog," Miller says.

After the initial shock wore off, Richard found a lawyer in Florida who was willing to work with her pro bono. At presstime in late September, Richard was close to a settlement with Vision Media, and she said she was prepared to take down the blog posts.

Richard says the nine-month standoff could have been avoided if Vision Media had just said, "We're a video company that does advertorials; you can use it however you want, and this is how much it costs." Miller asserts that his company does, as a policy, mention fees in the first phone call and that Richard misunderstood the pitch. "Our presentation is crystal clear," he says. (PBS declined to elaborate on its statement concerning Vision Media.)

As CEO blogs proliferate, so will the legal issues. "My sense is that she could have written her warning post in a more careful way," Godin says. "I want to push CEOs to be authentic on their blogs and to be selfless in trying to help readers. But they also have to understand that their words will be out there and widely seen. So they owe it to their stakeholders to act responsibly."

A Cold Call, a Blog, and a $20 Million Lawsuit

By JESS MCCUAN, INC.COM Posted: 2008-12-17 00:21:57 

A North Carolina entrepreneur blogs a warning to her industry -- and gets sued for her troubles.

In January, Leslie Richard got a call from a man from Vision Media Television. The Boca Raton, Florida, TV production company wanted to know if Richard would agree to be interviewed for a documentary on eco-fashion. According to Richard, the caller implied that the film might air on PBS or possibly on CNN.

"I was nervous, but I was totally, like, Yeah -- I'll do it," says Richard. A TV appearance promised to be a huge PR boost for her two-year-old Asheville, North Carolina, company, The Oko Box, which sells clothing made of organic cotton, hemp, and bamboo.

As talks progressed, however, Richard, 31, grew increasingly skeptical about the documentary. She says another Vision Media employee told her that Oko Box would be charged $22,900 to cover some production expenses, plus $3,000 for travel costs. Feeling "creeped out," Richard called the Better Business Bureau and posted a message about her experience on her company's blog. "Look alive small eco business owners," she wrote, " 'cause there is a new scam targeting us. [U]sing television lingo, an entire team of people, a website, video footage, and [a] whole bag of lies to cover their scheme."

As cathartic as this blog post may have been, it put Richard's business at risk. Anything posted on a CEO's blog -- including reader comments -- can be construed as carrying the weight of a company's endorsement, says Marc Zwillinger, an attorney in the Washington, D.C., office of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal. "Blogging is a cheap and scalable way to talk to interested people," adds Seth Godin, an avid blogger and the author of 10 books on marketing. "But understand that while you advocate for your company, you are also walking a tightrope from a legal and business point of view."

Initially, Richard says, her blog elicited responses from more than 50 business owners who said they had dealt with Vision Media and shared her concerns. One person sent Richard a statement found on PBS's website from 2004 that said the network was "not associated with and does not endorse" a list of companies that included Vision Media. When the production company threatened to sue Richard if she didn't take down her blog, she wrote: "Um, yeah VMT your scam is being posted & has already been reported, and your imaginary lawyers can't do anything about it."

In July, Vision Media made good on its threat and filed a lawsuit in Florida against Richard and her company, asserting that the comments on Oko Box's blog (which Richard reposted in a members-only chat room maintained by a group for social entrepreneurs) had directly resulted in $5 million in lost business. The suit also asked the court to award Vision Media $15 million in punitive damages.

Mark Miller, an executive producer at Vision Media, denies that his company claimed to work with PBS. He also says Vision Media has a good rating with the Better Business Bureau, contrary to a post published in the comments section of Richard's website. "We've lost a lot of business as a result of her blog," Miller says.

After the initial shock wore off, Richard found a lawyer in Florida who was willing to work with her pro bono. At presstime in late September, Richard was close to a settlement with Vision Media, and she said she was prepared to take down the blog posts.

Richard says the nine-month standoff could have been avoided if Vision Media had just said, "We're a video company that does advertorials; you can use it however you want, and this is how much it costs." Miller asserts that his company does, as a policy, mention fees in the first phone call and that Richard misunderstood the pitch. "Our presentation is crystal clear," he says. (PBS declined to elaborate on its statement concerning Vision Media.)

As CEO blogs proliferate, so will the legal issues. "My sense is that she could have written her warning post in a more careful way," Godin says. "I want to push CEOs to be authentic on their blogs and to be selfless in trying to help readers. But they also have to understand that their words will be out there and widely seen. So they owe it to their stakeholders to act responsibly."

So has anyone successfully sued SAJ for scaming them or defrauding them?

I have a project in norhtern baja california mexico. I am looking for funding to continue the project.  It is a masterplan community eith sea of cortez beach frontage.  I need 7 million dollars of the current 14 million dollar appraisals.  If you have athe capability do do this loan please contact me.  We will need refrences on deals you have done before.  Westwindresort@msn.com

I've been doing a bit of research into Saj Habib and MGM International Mortgage, and it seems like most of this negative press he gets is from one or two sources and then a bunch of posters who like to jump on board the negative train.  I hear a lot of ranting from people online, but the Better Business Bureau of Florida gives the company an A- rating. Here's the link if you're interested...  http://www.seflorida.bbb.org/businessreport.aspx?companyid=92005314

B. Terry

Who is "I", or in other words, who are you?

Nobody that comes to the defense of this company identifies themselves, why is that?

My name and company are associated with my words because I have nothing to fear from these crooks.

Please take your money and run from them. All they want is your money. I will post more as I am a victim of thier greed.

Aaron-

How exactly were you a victim. Can you share the details?

I heard the same thing from Saj when questioning the negative comments on the internet, that it was on or two competitors trying to put him out of business.  Well, I learned the hard way.  On Friday, I found a bank owned property worth 800K but they were taking 330K.  I needed to get Proof of funds asap so that I was able to get the contract.  I spoke to Saj and he told me to expedite my application and my $495.  I wired the money, faxed the ap, and spoke to him on Saturday via phone and email (documentation...yippee) that he received the money and the ap and that I ahould hear soon.  On Monday, I received an email that the funding for the "secondary market" had imploded but that he (Saj) was going to look for alternative funding.

He means to tell me that he took my money on Saturday and all of a sudden on Monday found out that his funding had imploded.  Furthermore, he told me (this is a great one) that I was not owed my Due Diligence fee back because the Due Diligence Process was unable to be completed due to the fact that the funding had imploded?????????????   Great news is...I have absolutely everything documented.  He sent me the most silly and damaging email which leads me to believe that while he has scammed many of us, he's not very smart.

Deborah Smith

$50,000 email me yes I HEARD OF THAT JOB  Kalakini@gmail.com

These guys are still at it.

Stole our $495 + $1000 is "Super Rush" expedite fees.

Came back with a BS response stating that the requested 80% requested LTV loan was coming in at 113%. Since this is now a red flagged loan, they will only lend 50% LTV.

So they make up their value and then propose a figure they know you won't take.

I'm not sitting back. Was represnted by a broker in CO - Rodney - he posts all over the place too. especially on this since.

Claiming 80% 3-10 days closing. Well it's been 45 days and theu just come back with this response now.

MGM International is scamming people out of money.

I'm not sitting back. Will go after them aggressively as clearly whether they are operating in some loop-hole, their sole intent is to defraud people of their hard earned money.

Stay away - as far as you can be.

Everyone questioning their gut instinct that if this is a scam or not. Please be reaslistic if it sounds too good to be true then it most likely is a scam. I met this guy personally it he gave me the creeps. His facade of polite and kindness is to cover the deceitful and conniving plans he has to con your hard earned money. And those "positive" posts Give me a break! they are obviously his company doing that. I would provide my name and number, But I don't want to be sued. Just look at the crappy quality of the website, It just screams scam. There are so many scams out there people and this is one of them!

If the poster in #42 is tracking this blog, can you contact me.  I was taken by the same people.

sgoodman1138[at]gmail.

Thanks

Does anyone know a daryl t.