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Gym Leasing Ponzi Scheme Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch has accused Cameron J. Lewis of operating a pyramid scheme by using money from newly enlisted schools - not grants or donations - to make token reimbursements to schools that signed up early to buy or lease fitness equipment. Many of the schools were left unable to pay off bank loans or satisfy leasing terms. 600 schools in 20 states reportedly bought $77.5 million worth of weight machines, treadmills and other equipment with much of it Cameron set up a foundation with the promise that private donations or government grants would cover the cost of the equipment or Chris Essman, treasurer for Bexley City Schools in Ohio says the school district has received $70,000 in reimbursements. It still owes over $140,000 in lease payments on the equipment. An investigation by The Associated Press reveals Lewis has had a string of failed businesses, a history of personal bankruptcy and used his nonprofit foundation to give himself a $317,358 salary. According to AP, Lewis makes for an unlikely philanthropist; he claims to have poured $1.6 million of his own money into the foundation. But when filing for bankruptcy in 1996, he listed $6,840 in assets, including a six-year-old Isuzi truck and an electric guitar, with nearly $20,000 in liabilities. Tax returns for the National School Fitness Foundation reportedly show Lewis was collecting a $317,358 salary, but he claims that salary covered the foundation's first two years. He said his present Francine Giani, director of Utah's Consumer Protection Division, is Utah schools have filed no complaints, ``which makes our job a little more tasking,'' she added. Lewis, meanwhile, told the Associated Press he was committed to improving the lives of overweight school kids by providing exercise machines and a training regimen. ``The sad thing is that many kids are obese and the likelihood they can get past that in adolescence is slim to none. It's a sad, sad fact,'' he told AP. ``Here we've got a program that really works.'' On the Net: National School Fitness Foundation: http://www.nsff.net |
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