Fox News personality Glenn Beck is nothing if not controversial.
He raised eyebrows last July when he said that President Obama "has a deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture." In 2005, he said he was "so sick of" families who lost loved ones on September 11 "because they're always complaining."
Now, the conservative firebrand's penchant for stirring the pot seems to be rubbing off on one of his sponsors.
Two California district attorneys have announced that they are investigating Goldline International, which makes hundreds of million dollars a year by selling gold coins during conservative broadcasts, including Beck's.
"There are two main types of complaints we're seeing," Adam Radinsky, an attorney with the Santa Monica City Attorney's Office, told ABC News on Monday.
"One is that customers say that they were lied to and misled in entering into their purchases of gold coins. And the other group is saying that they received something different from what they had ordered."
Radinsky's office, along with the Los Angeles County District Attorney, is looking into over 100 consumer complaints about Goldline and Superior Gold Group, both based in Santa Monica.
Congressional investigation?
At least one congressman is raising concerns as well.
Rep. Anthony Weiner, of New York, told ABC that Goldline is tricking consumers into buying so-called "collectible coins," which aren't worth as much as pure gold. "Once they get people on the phone, they basically steer them into these so-called collectible coins and that's where the rip off becomes really profound," Weiner said.
And indeed, ABC found several consumers who say they were basically coerced into buying coins that turned out to be worth much less than what they paid for them. Joe Kismartin, a 63-year-old Detroit resident, told the network that he thought the gold would be a good investment.
"I told the gentleman I don't want coins," Kismartin told ABC. "He said I got the deal here, the special deal, I got Swiss coins. He more or less talked me into buying the coins."
Unfortunately, those coins -- for which Kismartin paid $5,000 -- turned out to be worth a mere $2,900.
Playing to the audience
Goldline's main selling point -- that gold is a beacon of security in an otherwise unpredictable economy -- dovetails nicely with Beck's broadcasts, which hew to an anti-government, even conspiratorial tone. Last August, addressing claims that the health care bill contained provisions for medication-rationing "death panels," Beck said, "I believe it to be true."
The company is not shy about its affiliation with leading conservative figures. Its website quotes Beck as calling it "a top-notch organization," and boasts that "Mark Levin, Fred Thompson, and Laura Ingraham" -- three other conservative talk show hosts - "trust and use Goldline for their gold."
Beck, for his part, said the allegations were part of a plan by the government to "nudge the gold industry out of business. They can't have people buying gold," Beck said on his radio program on Wednesday. "They need to own all the gold. They're going to nudge us. Mark my words."
Consumers with complaints about Goldline can contact the Santa Monica City Attorney's office.
