On this past season of The Bachelorette, one Hometown Date stole the show. It was the Hometown of Jef Holm, where he took Emily to his family’s “Holm”stead Ranch. But the date also got us wondering and Googling about Jef’s family and their apparent wealth. We also went on a mission (Mormon pun unintended) to investigate Jef’s company People Water to see if the company was legit or a bit shady. We have yet to make a real determination on People Water — so far, they seem to be an above-board and pretty darn awesome company — but Jef has always seemed a bit too good to be true so this new info on Jef’s Dad may shine a new light on the story. And I do want to say that even if Jef’s family wealth is a bit shady I don’t in anyway hold him responsible for the decisions of his father.
We now know a bit about his father, Monte Holm, 52. Of course he owns a kick-ass ranch in St. George Utah and is very active in the Mormon church. He serves as a high councilor and missionary in the LDS church and is currently in Columbia, South Carolina (as we learned when he couldn’t appear on the Hometown Date).
But here is where it gets interesting and where the squeaky clean shoe in the Holm family fortune finally drops…..
He is Executive vice chairman of the very infamous and very shady World Financial Group!
Looks like Monte started in the construction industry, but quickly moved to the shady and conveniently ambiguous “financial services industry,” working for the controversial company. The company has been the subject of a lot of scrutiny SEC charges of fraud and misrepresentation, litigation and has even been accused of being a pyramid scheme!Incidentally it’s important to note Monte’s involvement in the company has been major and long-lasting. It’s also important to note he worked for WFG predecessor WMA beginning way back in 1991. According to CNN in May of 2000 they said this about the company:
“WMA peddles costly and complex packages of insurance and mutual funds much the way Amway sells soap. But how WMA runs its pyramid-style sales structure (Humphrey prefers to call it “the magic of compound recruiting”) is drawing scrutiny from regulators and generating claims of fraud from investors. ”
They go on to describe how Monte became part of the team in 1991:
“(Hubert Humphrey) left in 1991 to set up World Marketing Alliance. Joining him from what he now calls “the practice company” were top agent-recruiters like Thawley and Monte Holm, a former construction worker in Las Vegas.”
So Monte was no small part of the infamous WMA, he was one of the founders and top agents.
Bloomberg reports in an in depth story on the WFG/WMA financial fraud:
“Long before Aegon bought it, World Marketing and its brokerage arm, WMA Securities Inc., had run afoul of regulators. The two firms were accused of “widespread breaches” of NASD rules governing advertising, as well as accusations that some of its salesmen engaged in “dishonest and unethical practices,” according to records kept by Finra.”
About World Financial Group
Wikipedia describes the company:
“World Financial Group (WFG) is a financial services marketing organization based in Johns Creek, Georgia that markets investment, insurance, and various other financial products through a network of associates in the United States and Canada. Although WFG is publicly referred to as a Network Marketing company (also known as Multi-level Marketing (MLM)), the company has released several illustrations…However, page 61 of their Business Format System clearly shows a diagram of a pyramid.”
Complaints about World Financial Group
Apparently, judging by the numerous complaints, the company recruits members and requires them to pay a fee in order to be employed — a tell-tale sign of a pyramid scheme. In pyramid schemes, profits are made from recruitment fees rather than providing a product of real value.
See what people are saying about World Financial Group on sites like RipoffReport.com and Scam.com.
Here is one of my favorite comments from Scam.com:
“First of all, WFG — a multi-level marketing company — calls people randomly supposedly from Careerbuilder or perhaps Craigslist. They say they are paying positions and offer an invitation to their “job fair”.
The “job” they offer is not a job, but as a position as an independent contractor. You have to sign a 1099 form. Using your credit card, pay for a background check which breaks two laws. You never get to see this background check. Which goes against FRCA (Fair Credit Reporting Act) and state level law.
Guess what, the background check takes 1 day. They say that they only care about whether you have to commit only federal securities crime on your background check. Which means if you are a felon, you can work for WFG. Tell me would you like to share an office space with a possible rapist, thief, etc.
All that saying, wouldn’t you like a job where you can get benefits, vacation time, etc? Real jobs pay for your classes, conferences, etc.
All I can say is stay away from these people.”
Monte Holm’s World Financial Group bio
The description of Monte Holm’s wealth on the WFG website is shrouded in rhetoric and obscurity, which makes these accusations even more noteworthy. I’m showing this excerpt for illustration purposes because the language or lack there of is so important. If you notice, nowhere in this blurb do we hear what they ACTUALLY sell. But the other noteworthy situation is that despite the in depth history of Monte’s career in the financial services industry the bio never mentions WMA, a company he helped start. In fact the bio skips from the 80s to 2003 suggesting Holm was deeply immersed in financial services during that time but not mentioning where — this would never fly in a job interview. Here is a long excerpt describing Monte’s accumulation of wealth, according to the World Financial Group’s website:
“Little money, almost losing his home and the struggle to find work in the construction industry marked the early years for Holm and his wife, Lisa. But when he discovered the financial services industry while he was in college, he began helping families build financial futures, and that’s when his own family’s fortunes turned around.
Little more than 25 years later, Holm finds himself as one of the top leaders of World Financial Group, a financial services marketing organization with independent associates throughout the United States and Canada, with an eye on other international markets. He is more than willing to share his experience and strategies for building a successful business, as well as his passion for helping families become financially independent and realize their dreams. …
Holm remained committed to building his business, and it wasn’t long before he saw the rewards of his hard work. In his first year in the financial services industry, he made a little more than $7,000. But in his second year, he made $100,000 – and the business only grew from there. In the early 1980s, he went from making no money to being a millionaire and then a few years later was a multimillionaire.”
Beginning in the late 1970s, and continuing for more than two decades, Holm built a successful financial services business and managed a team of sales associates located throughout the United States and Canada. In July 2003, World Financial Group recognized Holm’s leadership and experience by naming him chairman of the Financial Division, one of the company’s two newly formed sales divisions. Under his guidance, the Financial Division realized record-breaking growth in all measurable areas. In early 2005, he was asked to assume the position of president of World Financial Group, Inc.”
Notice how nowhere in this rhetoric is there any hint about what financial services the company offers. It also shows that Holm was a very active part of “services” around the country, not just Utah. Holm held a very high-level position as chairman of the Financial Division and he is now on the Board of Directors.
Federal regulatory issues and lawsuits with World Financial Group
Wikipedia details some concerns about the companies practices:
“WFG’s stated mission goal is to “serve the financial needs of individuals and families typically overlooked by the financial services industry”.It is yet unclear how successfully the company has managed to distance itself from its more controversial US based predecessor WMA, associated with fraud, misrepresentation and false statements, and the subject of class action lawsuits, and National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) disciplinary action.”
Some particularly noteworthy actions against WGS, via Wikipedia and Bloomberg news:
- In April 2007, WGS was fined $50,000 for failing to supervise its representatives in the State of Utah, who were misrepresenting their credentials and services rendered during free lunch seminars targeting seniors.
- In May 2010, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a federal case against two former brokers of WGS, accusing them of having raised approximately $14,800,000 through the offer and sale of promissory notes as part of an illegal Ponzi scheme in the States of Ohio and Florida starting while the two were employed by WGS and using their customer contacts there.
- In November 2010, the SEC ordered WGS to pay, among other things, a civil monetary penalty in the amount of $200,000 for the fraudulent selling of unsuitable securities in the State of California, which were funded using home equity, derived from the refinance of the customers’ homes into subprime mortgages.
Here is a video of Monte Holm speaking at a 2008 WFG Gala and sounding a tad bit like an evangelist/insurance salesman….dare I even say….snake oil salesman?
If you listen to his speech it is clear he is very actively involved in the global actions of the company and has been for some time. Thus it seems logical that Monte has somehow either participated in the shady shenanigans detailed above or at least knew about them.
It appears that the Holm fortune may have been made in a super shady way and that certainly is disappointing to us as we have been Jef’s biggest fans all season. We all know at this point about how vast and pervasive the fraud in the financial securities market has been. The fraud has real victims, both the investors who lose their life-savings and the taxpayers that have been signed on to pay for the trillions in securities fraud perpetrated by these sort of financial giants. So as much as I love super cool Jef Holm, this sort of questionable behavior that hurts millions of people a year, if true, is really not cool. This is in stark contrast to the squeaky clean image the wealthy Mormon family portrays.
10 Comments
Christine Lo you are a certified idiot! It’s true I read it on the Internet! Do ur homework next time not just pull garbage online and smear somebody’s character! What have you accomplished miss nobody?
wow! you should probably sit down and breathe. I’m just a girl w/ a big curiosity for finding the truth. Believe you me I wanted to discover that Monte Holm was a solid dude that made his money in a super legit way. I didnt go into this wanting to slam Monte. In fact I even debated whether to publish it or not. But I do really hate people who take advantage of others esp in the financial world. So I just published the facts. Dont hate the messenger. Direct your anger at the SEC and CNN.
C LO,
I’d suggest gathering your information for stories from your own first hand accounts.
And first hand interviews done by you.
The internet is filled with lots of information and not much fact.
We all know Cnn tells 100% neutral accounts of news.
As It makes for interesting stories by over shadowing dark sinister motives.
Th fact is many of the top financial companys have been brought up on sec charges, and fines.
That’s to be expected in any business. No matter what the industry.
As far as his missing bio years. If you can’t find it on the internet. Does not mean it is a plot to keep people from the truth. There are private people that until there son was on television, were hardly known of by name.
Unfortunately everyone loves a scandal. And the dogs of journalism wait for our greatest to fall.
Nothing against you in any way.
I understand what stories sell and grab attention.
My own experience with World Financial Group has been a good one as a client.
I read some of the internet goosip about the company.
But as with movie critisisms I don’t give much value to opinions of people I don’t know. And reserve the judgement after my first hand experience.
The Financial Industry is a highly regulated one. your remark about its “situation” can be taken that the SEC has problems as well.
Why wouldn”t they. At the end of the day your dealing with people.
World Financial Group has none of their own products. The partners they have are giants as well. I don’t believe they would align themselves with a company that is not on the level.
I think the biggest service they do is educate people on money and how it works. Most people including myself have never learned it, or had the people to explain it.
Since they are independent, I found that after shopping around with banks and other firms(sometihing that very few people take the time to do, probably because the bachelor is on
That they had the best products for me.
The banks are a business and they want you to have the product that makes them the biggest returns for their shareholders. as with any corporation.
Their products and why they never say what they are??
They have an un traditional model of delivery of financial products.
They arent here to sell me on one specific product of their massive collection of good products.
They need to know what fits an individual persons needs and give options of the best solutions for that individuals needs and goals.
At most banking or investment firms. One size fits all. Nothing against banks or other firms. But your grocer wants u to shop at his store, same with your computer dealer.
Its business at a basic level.
My point is simply that first hand knowledge and the creation of a story by your account is what journalism lacks.
It’s so easy to cut and paste and regurgitate someones opinion and conclusion. After all isn’t that what most kids our taught in school. Where history and storys are one persons conclusion and account..
I could read all day about what riding a bike feels like and looks like from pictures. But I can’t know first hand until I find out.
Not the greatest example, one that makes sense to me.
Thank you for your time in reading my thoughts and personal experience on the matter. But both sides need to be explored from neutrality.(in a perfect world).
XM,
Whoever wrote this article is a naive idiot. You have no idea how the financial services industry works.
and if Monte is so above board why does he make no mention of his time at WMA? A very important part of his bio thats just missing….1980-2003 is missing,,,,why?
While I appreciate your response I highly disagree. The information I printed is from reliable sources Bloomberg News, CNN, Wikipedia (which is highly annotated). Monte’s involvement in the company is definitely questionable as he has been there since day 1 w/ the very controversial Hubert Humphrey.
Personally I take issue w/ companies that prey on people using these sort of multi-level marketing schemes selling very questionable securities. Monte has been in the news quite a bit as you know and that does make him fair game for criticism. He was being criticized in the media long before his son was ever a celebrity.
No
Ridiculous article, I am appalled and sickened by what you have written here. I’ m guessing because of freedom of speech it covers you penning ugly lies, rumors and twisting truths to make an article salacious enough to be interesting to read.
This will be long so stay with me.
Truth: I know the holm family and they are truly amazing, hardworking, giving, honest, people. They give and serve constantly.
Truth: they love and support their children and their endevors. When Jef approached them to go on the Bachelorette they were not supportive in the beginning because of the unwantd attention to their family. the reason they would not appear on the Bachelorette is because they are currently serving a mission in Columbia, south Carolina (not in North Carolina) (lie) when accepting an assignment like this to be in charge of a mission they agree they cant leave the area, it is a big responsibility. mind you it is a volunteer situation, they do it on their own dime for three year.
Truth they did not want to open up their lives to anyone, they are private hard working people who should stay out of the public eye because of people like you who judge by untruths and make up false information to suit your needs for again a salacious article. Jef choose to be in the show. his parents did not… They are not free game. It was their choice to stay quiet and private! theynare just quietly living their lives and serving others.! Leave them alone..
Truth: they do not live on their Ranch but a home that they have had for 16 years, they built and have raised their children in.
Truth: WFG is not a pyramid. It is commission based, not paid from joining fees… BTW they get a securities and insurance license at their own expense. It is a highly regulated industry!
I am a client and couldn’t be happier! I know some of the company Leadership and they are men and women of integrity. They help people get out of debt, sell great financial products and help families and individuals make good and wise money decisions.
Also as with any successful company some people choose not to follow the rules. You cannot judge the CEO and or leaders of good companies or corporations because of the bad choices of of a few rogue employees. Those secret service guys who broke the rules dont reflect poorly on our president. If you read the fine print of the articles you gleaned some of your information from, you would read that those individuals who did chose to do the wrong things were terminated, sanctioned and fined!, Mr Holm and his company, WFG are wonderful examples of people helping people and the American Dream.
He is one of the most honest people I know. They deserve an apology from you for the out right lies you have told here, as well as the hit on his integrity. Where is your integrity? Just because you call yourself a journalist, does that give the right to lie? When all is said and done all you really have is how you have treated others, and your integrity.
But I did take your comments about him not living on the ranch and not being on camera due to mission to heart and changed that part because I believe you on those points.
Believe me we were really hoping the Holm money was totally legit. We LOVE Jef. He seems very solid and upstanding. I was shocked when I came across this info and disappointed and as much as Id like to say that there a good chance Monte was no part of the shady actions by WFG or WMA, after seeing how extensive and how long his time w/ the company has been it is very difficult to think he wasnt well-aware of all the alleged fraud behavior.
as far as WFG being above board….the tsunami of complaints online suggests something is not right as does the long history of SEC charges. I did not make any allegations that were not published from reliable sources. Your complaints should be directed to Bloomberg and CNN not me. as far as the industry being regulated??? You know how that “regulation” of financial services has been going right? Its a joke…just like Madoff was regulated.