ADAM HUDSON RE-SURFACES

A conman's five-step fleecing formula.

UPDATE: May 17, 2007. Adam Hudson's lawyer sent a threatening letter saying we must remove all articles about him by 5pm on May 10. Or else.

Well, I was with my Mum in Queensland so I missed the deadline. Not that I would have abided by it anyway, of course.

The lawyer says our articles have caused Adam Hudson "loss and damage". Considering that Hudson has made a lot of money out of the losses of investors, this means that, thanks to our articles, some investors have not suffered losses.

Now, that's what I call job satisfaction.

Thanks for letting us know that our articles are helping investors to avoid you, Mr Hudson.


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Opinion by Neil Jenman

A wealth spruiker who repeatedly fleeces naïve investors, then shuts-up-shop and takes off, has resurfaced.

His name is Adam John Hudson. He was born in 1974. And, despite his relative youth, he has become a brazen, skilled and very experienced conman.

A one-time business partner of another notorious spruiker, Henry Kaye (who is now facing criminal charges), investors, business people, indeed anyone with a wallet or a purse, should not come within 500 metres of Adam Hudson. No, make that five kilometres.

He has a devastatingly deadly five-step fleecing formula.

First, like many con artists, Adam Hudson comes across as charming and personable. His on-stage performance is perfectly polished. He talks about his past mistakes and business failures. His soon-to-be-victims are convinced that only an honest man could be so forthright. That's their first mistake.

Second, Adam Hudson will present what he calls a proven or unique business opportunity. Each time he's involved in a business he re-packages the same old snake-oil in a new bottle. It's ever so convincing. He loves to talk about guarantees, free offers, limited opportunities – you know the drill. Anything and everything to make his soon-to-be-victims feel they are perfectly safe with this man. If they do, that's their second mistake.

The third phase of the Hudson fleecing formula is, of course, to take money from the pockets of the poor souls who trust him and place it in his pocket.

Stage four is the excuses Hudson gives when the business venture (or whatever wonderfully presented scheme) does not match his promises. Investors will be told to accept responsibility for their decisions. Stop blaming others. If things are going wrong, look in the mirror. Don't look at the spruiker. No, don't look at Hudson the conman.

The fifth and final step is for Adam Hudson to shut down his scheme, wish his victims all the best, tell them how good it was to meet them. And then disappear for a while.

Seriously, this guy is the spruiking equivalent of a bank robber. Pull off a few big jobs and then take a holiday on the proceeds. It's sickening.

Adam Hudson's most recent venture, which collapsed last year, was touted by him as "a brand new wealth education system". Translated, of course, it really meant "a brand new rip-off system to make Adam Hudson more wealthy." His company, Wealth Essentials, became his seventh (or eighth or ninth, it's hard to keep count of them all) business failure.

But, remember, "failure" for Adam Hudson is more likely to mean failure for those who trust him than for Hudson himself. The one who gets the money is the one who gets away. And Hudson is very good at getting money.

So, where is he now?

According to ASIC records, Adam John Hudson became a director of a company called Australian Small Scale Offerings Board Limited (ASSOB) on March 27, 2007.

However, back in November 2006, Adam Hudson was described as the CEO of ASSOB. The big boss, huh?

And what does this company do?

Raises money of course.

What else would someone like Adam Hudson be doing?


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