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Elite Activity
Elite Activity is the name used for several pyramid schemes typically targeting Christian churches and their congregations. Elite Activity solicited cash gifts of $100 to start, required participants to sign up two other people, required each of those two to sign up two more, and promised payouts of between $800 and $48,000. Marketing materials emphasized that money paid into the scheme was a gift, using language likened to prosperity gospel teachings. Original iteration Harvey Joseph Dockstader, Jr. of Colorado City, Arizona, also known as "H.J." and "Doc," promoted the scheme at the Secret Place International Church in Humble, Texas. In 2006, Dockstader was sentenced to two years in state prison and a $10,000 fine after being convicted of promoting a pyramid scheme. Secret Place International's pastor testified against Dockstader in exchange for a reduced sentence. Dockstader appealed to the 14th Court of Appeals in Texas, which affirmed the decision and concluded that Elite A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pyramid Scheme
A pyramid scheme is a business model which, rather than earning money (or providing Return on investment, returns on investments) by sale of legitimate product (business), products to an end consumer, mainly earns money by recruiting new members with the promise of payments (or services). As the number of members multiplies, recruiting quickly becomes increasingly difficult until it is impossible, and therefore most of the newer recruits do not make a profit. As such, pyramid schemes are unsustainable. The unsustainable nature of pyramid schemes has led to most countries outlawing them as a form of fraud. Pyramid schemes have existed since at least the mid-to-late 19th century in different guises. Some multi-level marketing plans have been classified as pyramid schemes. Concept and basic models In a pyramid scheme, an organization compels individuals who wish to join to make a payment. In exchange, the organization promises its new members a share of the money taken from every ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prosperity Gospel
Prosperity theology (sometimes referred to as the prosperity gospel, the health and wealth gospel, the gospel of success, seed-faith gospel, Faith movement, or Word-Faith movement) is a belief among some Charismatic Christians that financial blessing and physical well-being are always the will of God for them, and that faith, positive scriptural confession, and giving to charitable and religious causes will increase one's material wealth. Material and especially financial success is seen as an evidence of divine grace or favor and blessings. Prosperity theology has been criticized by leaders from various Christian denominations, including within some Pentecostal and charismatic movements, who maintain that it is irresponsible, promotes idolatry, and is contrary to the Bible. Secular as well as Christian observers have also criticized some versions of the prosperity theology as exploitative of the poor. The practices of some preachers have attracted scandal and some have been ch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colorado City, Arizona
Colorado City is a town in Mohave County, Arizona, United States, and is located in a region known as the Arizona Strip. The population was 2,478 at the 2020 census. At least three Mormon fundamentalist sects are said to have been based there.Krakauer, Jon. ''Under the Banner of Heaven", 2003. New York: Random House, p.10 A majority of residents and many local officials belong to the most prominent of these sects, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, whose corporation also owned much of the land within and around the town until state intervention in the 2000s. History Colorado City, formerly known as "Short Creek" (or the Short Creek Community), was founded in 1913 by members of the Council of Friends, a breakaway group from the Salt Lake City–based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The Council of Friends membership desired a remote location where they could practice plural marriage, which had been publicly abandoned b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Humble, Texas
Humble ( ) is a city located in the Greater Houston, Houston metropolitan area. Humble became an Boomtown, oil boomtown in the early 20th century when oil was first discovered there in 1904. By 1905, the Humble oilfield was the largest producing oilfield in Texas. Humble was home of Humble Oil, the Humble Oil and Refining Company, a predecessor of Exxon. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city population was 16,795. History Contemporary settlement of the Humble area began in the early 19th century. Joseph Dunman is believed to be the first settler in 1828. A ferry was built nearby, across the San Jacinto River (Texas), San Jacinto River. The area of Humble became a center for commercial activity due to the region's large petroleum, oil industry. The city got its name from one of the original founders/settlers, Pleasant Smith Humble, who opened the first post office in his home and later served as justice of the peace. In 1883, a city directory reported that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Texas Courts Of Appeals
The Texas Courts of Appeals are part of the Texas judicial system. In Texas, all cases appealed from district and county courts, criminal and civil, go to one of the fifteen intermediate courts of appeals, with one exception: death penalty cases. The latter are taken directly to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the court of last resort for criminal matters in the State of Texas. The highest court for civil and juvenile matters is the Texas Supreme Court. The First through the Fourteenth Courts of Appeals have geographically-based jurisdiction. The Fifteenth Court of Appeals, established in 2023, has exclusive statewide jurisdiction for civil appeals involving state government institutions and their employees and officers; challenges to the constitutionality of a state statute; and, appeals from the Texas Business Court. The number of justices on the Supreme Court (SCOTX) and the Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) is set at nine each by the Texas Constitution, while then number ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mississippi Attorney General
The attorney general of Mississippi is a statewide elected office in the United States, U.S. state of Mississippi. The attorney general is a state constitutional officer, constitutional officer responsible for representing state agencies in legal matters, supplying other state officials and prosecutors with legal advice, and bringing lawsuits on behalf of the state. They serve a four-year term with no term limits. The office was created by 1817 Constitution of Mississippi as a legislatively-elected position with a one-year term. In 1832 the office was made popularly-elective and the term was extended. All attorneys general from 1878 to 2020 were Democratic Party (United States), Democrats. The incumbent attorney general, Republican Lynn Fitch, was sworn-in to office on January 9, 2020. History The 1817 Constitution of Mississippi provided for an attorney general to be elected by the Mississippi State Legislature for a one-year term. The legislature elected Mississippi's first ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city sits on the Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana), Pearl River and is located in the greater Jackson Prairie region of Mississippi. Along with Raymond, Mississippi, Raymond, Jackson is one of two county seats for Hinds County, Mississippi, Hinds County. The city had a population of 153,701 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, a decline of 11.42% from 173,514 since the 2010 United States census, 2010 census, representing the largest decline in population during the decade of any Major cities in the U.S., major U.S. city. The Jackson metropolitan area, Mississippi, Jackson metropolitan area is the largest metropolitan area located entirely in the state and the tenth-largest urban area in the Deep South, with 592,000 residents in 2020. The city is located in the Deep South halfway between Memphis, Tennessee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asunción
Asunción (, ) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay. The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of Asunción in the northwest separate the city from the Occidental Region of Paraguay and from Argentina in the south part of the city. The rest of the city is surrounded by the Central Department. Asunción is one of the oldest cities in South America and the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities#South America, longest continually inhabited area in the Río de la Plata Basin; for this reason it is known as "the Mother of Cities". From Asunción, Spanish colonization of the Americas, Spanish colonial expeditions departed to found other cities, including the second foundation of Buenos Aires, that of other important cities such as Villarrica, Paraguay, Villarrica, Corrientes, Santa Fe, Argentina, Santa Fe, Córdoba, Argentina, Córdoba, Santa Cruz de la Sie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paraguay
Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. It has a population of around 6.1 million, nearly 2.3 million of whom live in the Capital city, capital and largest city of Asunción, and its surrounding metro area. Spanish conquistadores arrived in 1524, and in 1537 established the city of Asunción, the first capital of the Governorate of the Río de la Plata. During the 17th century, Paraguay was the center of Reductions, Jesuit missions, where the native Guaraní people were converted to Christianity and introduced to European culture. After the Suppression of the Society of Jesus, expulsion of the Jesuits from Spanish territories in 1767, Paraguay increasingly became a peripheral colony. Following Independence of Paraguay, independence from Spain ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greater Boston
Greater Boston is the metropolitan region of New England encompassing the municipality of Boston, the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the most populous city in New England, and its surrounding areas, home to 4,941,632. The most stringent definition of the region, used by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, consists of most of the eastern third of mainland Massachusetts, excluding the Merrimack Valley and most of Southeastern Massachusetts, though most definitions (including the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Census definition) include much of these areas and portions of southern New Hampshire. While the city of Boston covers and has 675,647 residents as of the 2020 census, the urbanization has extended well into surrounding areas and the Combined Statistical Area (CSA in the rest of the document), which includes the Providence, Rhode Island, Manchester, New Hampshire, Cape Cod and Worcester, Massachusetts, Worcester areas, has a population of more than 8.4 million ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Better Business Bureau
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is an American private, 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization founded in 1912. BBB's self-described mission is to focus on advancing marketplace trust, consisting of 92 independently incorporated local BBB organizations in the United States and Canada, coordinated under the International Association of Better Business Bureaus (IABBB) in Arlington, Virginia. The Better Business Bureau is not affiliated with any governmental agency. Businesses that affiliate with BBB and adhere to its standards do so through industry self-regulation. To avoid bias, BBB's policy is to refrain from recommending or endorsing any specific business, product or service even though they still advocate for business interests. The BBB rating system uses an A+ through F letter-grade scale. The grades represent BBB's degree of confidence that the business is operating in good faith and will resolve customer concerns filed with BBB. BBB's ratings are explained on itRatings Overvie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southwest Georgia
Southwest Georgia is a fourteen-county region in the U.S. state of Georgia, bordering Alabama and Florida. Colloquially referred to as SOWEGA, the region is anchored by Albany—its most populous city and the region's sole metropolitan statistical area. As of the 2020 United States census, Southwest Georgia's population was 352,426. Geography Located in the Deep South, Southwest Georgia borders the U.S. states of Alabama and Florida to its west and south. According to the Georgia Department of Economic Development, Southwest Georgia consists of the following counties: Baker, Calhoun, Colquitt, Decatur, Dougherty, Early, Grady, Lee, Miller, Mitchell, Seminole, Terrell, Thomas, and Worth. The region is home to the Kolomoki Mounds and Seminole State Park. Demographics According to the 2020 U.S. census, the counties forming the region's population numbered 352,426. In a separate study by the American Community Survey, the counties forming the Southwest Georgia Reg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
