Along the Gulf Coast in all the little beach towns there are hundreds upon hundreds of pseudo big box stores that sell all kinds of beachwear and beach items to the general public. Are they needed? Sure. Are there about 30-40 times too many for what is necessary? Yes. The thing is though, there are purportedly three different companies that run these stores. The truth is there is only one shell company that runs them all. A shell company that uses these companies to launder money. There is so much product in each of these stores and only a fraction of it is ever sold because there are far too many of them for the number of consumers. They don't care though and keep building more and more because they are money laundering machines. So, you might be asking, why do I care? Well, because one of the founders of it is a very famous manager of talent that all of you know. That manager has one very big client and one lesser known client all of you know who are very very close to the manager. Both of those clients launder their money through this front. As this became more known, more celebrities wanted in on it which necessitated building more and more of these stores to the point there is almost no room to put them in the towns any longer so now they are building them "in anticipation of people moving there." So, yeah, they are building them where no one even lives. Porn companies wanted in on it so the manager brought them in on it, especially because he is an investor in at least two dozen porn companies which his two most famous clients know nothing about. Apparently things have become a little dicey over the past few months because some drug money has moved their way in and they would like to take over the nearly thousand stores but don't want to pay a fair rate and are making threats against the manager and the talent.
Benny Medina for the manager (J-Lo). He's got some shade in his past.
ReplyDeletelaundering money only works if the money is obtained illegally. If actors want to pay a lower tax rate, that's called tax shelter not laundering, so I don't get this post.
ReplyDeleteScooter Braun?? Wouldn’t put it pass him.
ReplyDeleteIll buy Bennie because JLo lives down here and has businesses but hes managed other big names if its him Entern. Plus Im not on the gulf coast but all these stores on the east coast arent run by a big business, mostly owned by surfers and ex-surfers or a place like Ron Jons.
ReplyDeleteIsnt this also the mattress shop scam?
ReplyDeleteSo many businesses just exist for laundering money, it's crazy.
ReplyDeleteAlvin island is one of the businesses obviously if you're from here
DeleteAs long as a business deals mostly in cash without receipts like the beach stores they are tremendous fronts.
ReplyDeleteI'm having a Breaking Bad flashback.
ReplyDeleteWhen I lived in Mexico my bf used to comment on every bodega that went up that they were for 'washing money' and I used to laugh at his paranoia but I now realize he was right all along. I will apologize to him today, it has become more and more apparent and not just by this blind.
ReplyDeleteWhat's the deal with Family Video anyway?
ReplyDeleteIve never seen one car parked ina mattress shop parking lot, sorta like whenever I went to the mall and saw a the empty Radio Shack stores.
ReplyDeleteScooter seems to fit better if you consider Ariana Grande lesser than Biebs, he has a few businesses going on that are non-entertainment.
Any guesses on the stores?
ReplyDeleteI think maybe Alvins Alley? Crazy huge beach store we have here in St Augustine. Always have been suspicious of that place.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.alvinsisland.com/souvenir-store-locations/
I'm guessing this has something to do with all that money celebrities are making yachting. They need to wash that cash somehow, and if they do it through their manager it won't look suspicious.
ReplyDelete@Lonely — My middle schooler was just telling me to look at ALL the mattress stores around & that they’re obviously laundering money. I was very, VERY surprised at the logic & knowledge of money laundering scams. Was this the plot of a YouTube conspiracy video or something a tv show or something??
ReplyDeleteWhat about Beall's for one of the stores? They have like 70 stores in Florida, mostly on the western side.
ReplyDeleteoh and on the mattress store topic, we have tons of them here, too and they all advertize heavily on every platform.
ReplyDeleteAnd no, I never see anyone in them. This is a very small town I live in.
Bealls is packed, all the time. The other places, not so much, yet they stay in business year after year. I see so many businesses fold here, its crazy.
ReplyDeleteHere in Britain we also have untrustworthy looking high street premises everywhere whose sole existence is to launder money for tax dodgers, terrorists, drugs and people smugglers.
ReplyDeleteWe call them 'banks'.
Also, on a slight tangent.
I'm not sure what their status is wherever most of you live in the States (and I know that the laws regarding them have been relaxed recently) but here in the UK gambling is spreading like a cancer.
Betting apps especially are everywhere and seemingly available to anyone, even small town bookies have them now.
They also sponsor so many of the big premier league football clubs that its getting embarrassing, but no one seems to care about the obvious conflict of interest between the worlds richest sporting league and gambling organisations.
And its not as if they are [does air quotes] "reputable" big UK bookies like William Hill, Ladbrokes or Coral either....those fuckers are crooked enough, but they are mostly unknown foreign organisations from parts of the globe not particularly famous for financial probity like Malaysia, China and the Persian Gulf.
I cannot believe that the proliferation of all this money grubbing is not a cover for unimaginably massive money laundering on an incredible scale. In fact I wouldn't be surprised igf its the illegal financial flow that is the only keeping the global economy ticking over.
Sorry for the rant.
Look at Florida and Texas
ReplyDeletehttps://www.everythingbutwater.com/company/stores
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteAlvins island, undoubtedly
DeleteYeah Britain is notoriously corrupt, it's not respect the law, it's respect your betters.
ReplyDeleteGuess most countries are crooked if you study them enough.
I was wondering WHICH Gulf beach towns Enty was talking about. Mainly because I LOVE the Gulf Shores. I can personally attest to it NOT being Clearwater, Reddington Shores, Panama City Beach. Simply because they don't have a lot of big box stores. real estate costs would be huge!
ReplyDeleteThat makes me long for a beach trip!!
@J, I think that one is more boutique than box store with beachwear and beach items.
ReplyDeleteNo idea, Brayson, just googled swimwear chain Texas and this popped up.
ReplyDeleteI suspect there are a shit!oad of money-laundering storefronts all over the place.
It could be stores with multiple different names, even local sounding ones. Like how the funeral home business is.
ReplyDeletesuspect the chain is marco destin / alvin's island / tropical wave
ReplyDeletepresident is eli tabib, also owner of israeli premier league club beitar jerusalem fc
if you look at the alvin's island about page it notes that 140k products are available across its 35 stores
ReplyDeletehttps://www.alvinsisland.com/aboutus/
Alvin’s Island and Surf Style and outlet malls are everywhere on the Gulf Coast. There are a ton of little boutiques and shops practically on top of each other too. And do we really need a Dollar General store on every single corner? These places may make some money during the tourist season but I’ve always wondered how they stay open year round. I thought it might be something like this.
ReplyDeleteIt must be White Collar Tuesday ;)
ReplyDeleteHow is porn even a business anymore with all the amateurs giving it for free?
ReplyDelete@LonelyBastard--thank you!! I have always wondered how these mattress stores stay in business and genuinely never knew (I live a sheltered life, what can I say?)
ReplyDeleteMakes sense now. Thanks for helping to open my eyes.
Bars and restaurants are exceedingly popular too. Ever notice a little restaurant that never has any customers but never goes out of business? That's not all catering and deliveries.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDelete@ LA Native
Bealls has over 500 locations in the US, although they're operated by separate companies that "aren't affiliated". It could be a good guess.
Talking about FL retail shops makes me miss Burdine's and J Byron's.
That said, (L&L) Wings Beachwear would be my guess. Corp office is in NY. Had to laugh at the address, though..because OF COURSE it's 666 Broadway!
Fascinating article on the industry and laundering speculation.
https://www.postandcourier.com/business/beachwear-industry-faces-pressure-but-remains-part-of-the-myrtle/article_a47feb2c-5dfe-11e8-b502-bb6b4be025a7.html
So I guess we've gone from hiding money under our mattresses to laundering money through them. Oh how times have changed.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, with all these mattress companies popping up lately, I don't know how the box stores could even justify having so many open still. I've bought mattresses twice in my life and both times I was the only person in the store. It's actually really off-putting.
My guess is Alvin’s island but there are always plenty of people in them when we go.
ReplyDeleteThe last place I bought a mattress was busted for running a drug dealing operation. Very small town,and next to the DMV. Police around all the time. You got a big discount for paying cash. And never any customers.
ReplyDeleteI always assumed that was why mattresses were so effing expensive--I mean we are talking about springs and batting in a box--jack up the price because the business owners know they'd only sell their product to a person two to three times in a lifetime, but I gotta say my eyes have been opened here.
ReplyDeleteBeall's was founded in 1915 and still run by descendants of the founders . Its kind of an american institution in retail, I really cant see it being this
ReplyDeleteSunsations has around 40 locations from NJ to FL. Started by some Israeli brothers who emigrated here about 25 years ago. They have now branched out into commercial real estate holdings. Virginia gets around 45 million tourists a year. The Virginia Beach oceanfront strip is only 3 miles long but they have at least 10 stores within that distance packed to the rafters with inventory. There are many movers and shakers in the rap and R&B world that are from this area and still own homes here.
ReplyDeleteMost cigar shops are laundering money too. They buy a box of cheap cigars, and sell them for 10 - 50 times markup. The evidence literally goes up in smoke. In Chicago, Detroit, and Cleveland, the connected guys all have ownership in Cigar stores.
ReplyDeleteI can see buying close out towels for $0.25, selling them for $5, and just reporting cash income with no paper trail.
At least they are providing some kind of jobs to the community. Whatever taxes they are avoiding would just go to Government Union Pensions.
Thanks Mischi for making the second comment and the best comment.
ReplyDeleteEnty doesn't seem to understand what money laundering actually is.
Around here it's used car lots, tons of them, that never sell a car and all seem to hail from different countries.
In Germany, it's nail salons and burger shops now filling up every vacant piece of commercial real estate. Never any customers at the Vietnamese salons, few at the burger joints, but the laundered money pile out of Russians trying to avoid sanctions must be enormous.
See, one has to identify what illegal funds are being laundered. Stars can't launder tax money there. You can't hide money through laundering either, it is all right on the surface. If one has dark money, earned illegally, then a money laundering joint with a cash business is the way to bring that money into the light.
@Lonely Bastard
Prepare for more financial corruption once the separation from the EU goes through. The only thing preventing the UK from being the financial cesspool of the USA was their adherence to EU regulations. Gosh, I wonder what Brexit went through?
I'll guess Surf Style for the store. They're all over the gulf coast and they sponsor Hangout Music Fest, which, now that I think about it, could very well be a money laundering front, too. But it's fun as hell.
ReplyDelete@Plot.
ReplyDeleteOh you don't actually think that the EU was a fount of decency, honesty and integrity, do you?
Please tell me you are joking.
Nothing would have changed on that score after Brexit anyway. Especially now that the May bitch and her Tory quislings are surrendering to the completely unaccountable Brussels bureaucrazis, the EUSSR will still continue to arse ream us into beggary for the foreseeable future, 'pretend' Brexit or not.
Is that what I did? No.
ReplyDeleteThe EU has regulations, for instance, that protect the retirement accounts of people who have contributed for decades. The UK financial industry has already made plays to open up those accounts, even without the owners knowledge after signing a release to "watch their account", to play Wild West Investing for their own profit.
I think people would want regulations pensions and retirements. But silly me, being pure British is more important. Curse those Euros!
Madam Housecat has one hell of a point and I wonder how the hell all these Dollar Generals have the money to keep popping up their shitty stores everywhere, and even out in the middle of nowhere. I'm way up in the north eastern part of the country so if it is Dollar General those bastards really are everywhere. What a triple slap in the face for us consumers, the mom and pop stores that were about quality and service cant afford to stay open anymore and the drug dealers who have too much money replace those stores and fill them with cheap inferior products where the drug addicts they created can only afford crap. If you all dont think the inversion into a satanic hell society hasn't already begun you are all blind.
ReplyDeleteI have no idea about the people but would absolutely also guess Alvin's Alley and Surf Style. It seems like there is one more that is very similar that I can't think of. They are filled to the brim with cheaply made imported "souvenirs."
ReplyDelete@plot.
ReplyDeleteIt's not a case of being saved by our Euro masters they are every bit as corrupt and obscene as our home grown type. But euro regulations are designed for one thing and one thing only, the enrichment of the EU and all its dependant minions.
And they are in very close cahoots with the rest of the world's global crime families, sorry , governments, who run everything in the West and a lot of the rest of the planet too.
It's all about one thing. Your cash. They want it. And by Christ they will have it one way or the other. To hell with trifling annoyances like democracy or will of the people.
During the Brexit campaign the Remain side derided as 'delusional' & 'fantasy' such things as an EU army, for example. And in the past two or three weeks we have had both President Macron of France and the wretched Merkel woman in Germany both call for ....well, the establishment of an EU army. Not so fucking delusional now, is it? And if that wasn't enough to put the tin fucking hat on it, up pops no less than the French finance minister to call for , of all fucking things, the establishment of a - quote- " European Empire".
I had to check to see what fucking century I was in when I saw that one.
So may be our nation will be fucked after Brexit, maybe not, but one thing for sure, I'll do my damndest to see that it's one of our own fuckwits doing the fucking up and not some far off megalomaniac cunt who would not give a shit if we slid into the Atlantic.
Still, why should you care?
There are even many of those here in Jacksonville Beach, Fl, i mean come on, jax beach is not that big of a beach destination, it is often very dirty thanks to the west side clientele that have pretty much taken it over, and since Freebirds changed ownership I never venture that way. But those "beach gift stores" are EVERYWHERE even along the Atlantic coast.
ReplyDeleteYeah, aren't they talking about a Franco-German controlled EU empire? Wonder how long before it became just a German controlled empire. Can't blame Britain for wanting to stay the f*ck out of that.
ReplyDeleteHey, I live on the Gulf Coast near Clearwater, FL. I think Enty is talking about Surf Style. There are freaking every where. There has to be at least 5 on Clearwater Beach alone. More down near John's Pass. People are in there, but not enough to justify having multiple stores on one Beach. My friends and I were just talking about it. I'd be interested to know down in Sarasota County if they are building one where there is still no one living.
ReplyDeleteIn the UK they tend to favor nail bars, tanning shops, carpet shops, in my neck of the woods. We also have hairdressers where you rarely see anyone having their hair done, weird....
ReplyDeleteLonely Bastard , I am in America and I feel the same way ! When my people escaped from Europe in the 1800's after enslaving Romans and then letting us be their peasants ,never again ! EU is EVIL and so is the NAU ,they wanted us to be a part of No FN way ,fight it to my last breath ! I love my President Trump he tells Europe FUCK YOU ! lOOK HOW PEOPLE SAID THE UN WANTED AN ARMY TO TAKE OVER AND GUESS WHAT ,THEY HAVE ONE ! UN CAN FUCK OFF TOO!TIN HAT MY ASS !
ReplyDeleteBravo! @Lonely Bastard - I totally agree! However did we (Britain) manage before we joined The EU? (eyeroll)
ReplyDelete@Brayson87 Might be Beach Mart, they're everywhere here on the gulf beaches.
ReplyDeleteThe most shocking thing here is learning that there are more than two dozen porn companies. Doesn't Vivid put out like 80% of all content?
ReplyDeleteRemember, Mariah Carey stated it was Bennie Medina who recommended the Russian to her as a manager.....
ReplyDeleteI went into a Dollar General for the first time in my life few months back. I was stunned! Filth, crap, nothing organized, manual front doors barely worked. Barely any stock. I was just in shock. And, it's been there for yearrrs. How can a store be a retail store when there's no freeking stock, or it's beat up, etc.
ReplyDeleteI assumed all the mattress stores was because of the bedbug epidemic.
ReplyDeleteThe interesting thing is that all of the stores mentioned don't have a presence on my end of the Gulf Coast, I had to look them up on the internet. Maybe they haven't gotten that far around the edges, but in our little beach town on the Gulf, there isn't anything even close to a big box store. Galveston is loaded down with shops, but for the most part they are not big chains. (Other than Home Depot and Walmart, but they are everywhere, not just the Gulf Coast.)
ReplyDelete@ Sandy - yes, RonJon’s has been a big, money laundering outfit for years. IIRC, the original RonJon used to sell weed, but now it’s owned by local attorneys. I knew someone who once worked in their accounting office and she said that 90% of the time the department’s phones were on voice mail because it was their policy to pay all bills at or after 90 days. They just did not like letting go of that cash.
ReplyDelete@ Amelia - the stores aren’t big box like the size of say, Wal-Mart or even Best Buy, but they are those large souvenir shops, some in strip malls, that sell the crappy puka necklaces, horrible ‘gator souvenirs, and shot glasses with a mishappen Florida sloppily painted on. All made in China, of course.
The mattress store as money laundering op makes more and more sense. There is one particular chain near me that keeps opening up a "New Location!" (they have a ton of radio ads), and who'd have thunk we'd need that many mattresses around here?
ReplyDeleteI stopped in at this chain a few years ago when shopping for a new mattress and it was a nice, large-ish store with one guy shuffling papers behind the counter and a bimbette (sorry, no other word for her) whose marketing technique was to squeal, after we would lie down on a mattress, "Don't you love it? DON'T YOU LOVE IT???" Each time. Yes, we actually bought one from them.
@Lonely
ReplyDelete"they are every bit as corrupt and obscene as our home grown type"
They may or may not be, but the EU financial regulations are more stringent. Do you really think the French are going to let their financial investment houses pillage the pensions of their workers???? OMFG! NEVER. But that is exactly what is poised to happen in the UK the minute Brexit is achieved.
"hey are in very close cahoots with the rest of the world's global crime families"
So what. How does that effect YOU? I assure you, you will be feeling the lack of EU regulations, not just the financial regulations, either. Environmental Standards (thank Germany for those), Food Safety, Fishing regulations, oh and don't expect to sell your lamb and beef in Europe anymore btw because they won't meet grade after your producers rejoice at being FREEEE from Euro qualifications, oh it's gonna be just GREAT for you Brits! Wanna use those US fertilizers, additives and weed killers now? Go ahead and see who will buy your produce and grains. Maybe Indonesia.
"why should you care?"
Because I hate to see you become chumps to your monied class all for the extremely temporary psychological benefit of saying We are British, Huzzah!
"'ll do my damndest to see that it's one of our own fuckwits doing the fucking up and not some far off megalomaniac cunt who would not give a shit if we slid into the Atlantic."
Oh my. Drama drama drama. And they say it's Americans who can't handle their emotions.
Ari Emanuel. He's Trump's agent - and Trump is the money laundering kingpin.
ReplyDeleteLonely Bastard _ I care about your plight. Unlike Plot thee extremely jaded.
ReplyDeleteHaha Plot thinks the EUSSR is good for the economy and welfare...
ReplyDeleteI think that confirms that it's probably the best idea ever.
@Lonely Bastard
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed your comments. gotta understand that plop, er, plot, thinks government operates just like a civics textbook, but only if her faction is in charge. (in the states its the dems). pushback results in smug condescension. haven't decided if plop is a paid agent of the overclass or a pussy-hatted housewife. Not that there's anything wrong with that! (sorry for the americanski joke. put that in there to divert plop's inevitable suspicion that i am a russian agent. It's true, so plot, if you are reading this, don't bother.
The last thing Sarasota needs is another beach boutique.
ReplyDeleteadditional reading. horry county is the county that houses myrtle beach. thanks to the poster above who posted the original link to the stores. Sure there's hundreds of them, but no one seems to buy anything. How do they stay in business?
ReplyDeletethe stores are fronts for massive money laundering, of course.
South Carolina has the weakest money store overwatch of any state in the union. What a racket. "gulf" might have been a misdirection by Enty.
http://www.wmbfnews.com/story/30386778/legal-money-laundering-in-south-carolina/
The entire report won an emmy. Notice the senator at the end was asked for assistance and did nothing.
He faced a 6 person primary later that year that allowed him to go back to the Senate, I wonder who funded those other candidates that allowed the vote to be split?
So many questions.
oops, that was the year after summary.
ReplyDeletehere's the original report.
http://www.wmbfnews.com/story/29046749/south-carolina-businesses-used-to-launder-billions-to-drug-cartels-terrorists
Oh the mattress store thing again? You know, the local mall here has all these custom shops for printing t-shirts and knick knacks. But I never see anyone in them. There's no way they can all stay in business the way they do. Who does that in person anymore anyway? You can order that stuff online.
ReplyDeleteAlso, there are way way too many shoe stores there as well. It's like wall to wall shoe stores. It's insane. There's no way they are all doing well.
Thanks DC Throwback for passing along those articles.
ReplyDeleteSC might be the most corrupt state in the USA, quietly, without a single ripple. There is much to love about SC but not it's politics or economic fraud, no sir.