Business Opportunities Weblog

Red Bull Vending Fraud Sends Man to Prison

By on April 19, 2011 in Ideas

Photo by Bart van Damme

This site’s code of ethics reads:

I strive to only list quality businesses opportunities. I will not knowingly promote junk bizops, and will actively take a stand against them.

Since I’ve posted about Red Bull vending machines in the past, it’s only right that I post an update on a scheme by Creative Concepts of America:

The founder of a company that duped customers into thinking they could make hefty profits by buying Red Bull vending machines was sentenced on Monday to 17 1/2 years in federal prison.

Andrew Levinson’s company, Creative Concepts of America, raked in more than $22 million from approximately 920 people nationwide who bought vending machines for the energy drink. Customers were told they could expect to sell at least 20 cans a day, and they were given the names of vendors who were already making money off their machines.

But federal authorities say the vending machines were never that popular — sales were more like one or two cans a day — and the references were paid to lie.

The lesson from this: be honest and don’t sell a bizop as something that makes money if it doesn’t.

Photo by Bart van Damme.

crime vending

Business Opportunities Weblog editor and publisher Dane Carlson lives in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, just 15 miles from Yosemite National Park. He accidentally became a professional blogger in 2001. He has added 12,198 posts to the site.

Another Idea: How to Start a Vending Business

  • http://wahm.business-opportunities.biz Angela Shupe

    There is another lesson in there: lying out of greed will not take you far. The culprit may not get caught right away, but there is a good chance someone will figure out their scheme eventually. In this case, didn’t the man think that people would eventually notice he was lying? Once caught in that lie, it seems to me he would realize that legal action will eventually follow.

  • http://www.dog-crate-shop.com Donna White

    I agree Angela. It is seldom that the person trying to promote a scam remains unscathed. They eventually are caught and punished. You can’t expect 920 people to sit back and accept that they lost their money. The old adage, “What goes around comes around.”

  • http://n.a. Cindy Hawkins

    Integrity always brands you a winner in the end. Thanks, Dane for being forthcoming regarding this. Look, sometimes in life we WILL bump into someone who is ‘on the game’ (their OWN) and it’s all about them getting ahead, almost always at another person’s expense. That’s where networking, and coming from a place of honesty helps. His scam was uncovered, no doubt by some person along the way who ‘just didn’t like the sound of it’, or whatnot. I think a discussion about business ethics would be an interesting side bar to this story. We can all learn something about how NOT to conduct yourself in any enterprise!

  • jan M

    Actually I don’t t think anything would ever have happened to them if about 100 or so people who purchased these machined didn’t get together and all file complaints with the Florida attorney general (a lot of people who bought into this just kind of disappeared….I had no idea they sold over 900 of these “business opportunities!!!). Anyway, I am one of many who lost some money on this stupid scam. We have been keeping at this for about 5 years- we have all filed numerous affidavits, complaints etc to get these people behind bars!!! Yeah for us!!!!!

  • http://none dave

    This is rediculous.17 years for no crime done in reality. He just promised 20 dollars per day thats 100 a week any vending machine can
    Sell this. So wats the crime??none just stupid people suing like always. And ps 20 million dollars he made selling vending machine to 900 people,
    How much was he selling it for 10,000 each machine n the dumb people bought it.

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