About George Hartzman

George Hartzman began working as a Financial Advisor in 1993, taught CPA and attorney continuing education outlining the issues leading to 2007-9's economic upheaval before they occurred and has been an independent fiduciary since 2012.

A fiduciary relationship requires an advisor to act in a client’s best interest.

Objective; Leave others better off for my having existed

Hartzman Tax & Fiduciary
Jan 2007 - Present; Greensboro, North Carolina
    - Tax Preparation, Contrarian Financial Consulting, Investment, College & Estate Planning, Debt, Property & Business Consigliere Advisory, Healthcare, Home, Auto and Business Assurance Consulting
            - AFSP Record of Completion and Quickbooks Certified ProAdvisor (2020)
            - Authorized PTIN and IRS e-file provider
            - Federally Facilitated Marketplace (FFM) Certification
            - America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) Certification    
    - Investment and Qualified Retirement Plan Consulting
    - Developed low cost retirement plan adopted by the City of Greensboro, saving Greensboro 457 retirement plan participants $391,000 per year (2017)
    - Author of "Healthcare Audit," an analysis of Private, ACA and Medicare plans, aimed at determining how to identify cost-effective options and "Think, What to Do Now, Retirement Plan Fiduciary & Investor Guide" for CPA and Attorney Continuing Education Symposiums  
    - Greensboro Shepherd's Center Instructor; Senior Citizen guest lecturer and group interaction facilitator covering economics and local politics
    - Author of "Too Connected to Jail", documenting events which took place during the Great Financial Crisis of 2007-2009 within the political, regulatory, banking and investment advisory industries

A few thoughts

Were you to board a spaceship,

head out from earth at 99.999999 percent of light speed,

travel for six months and then head back home at the same speed,

your motion would slow your clock, relative to those that remain stationary on Earth,

so that you’d be one year older upon your return,

while everyone on Earth would have aged about 7,000 years.

Brian Greene

If the Milky Way galaxy
revolves around the center about once every 250 million years
how long is a day to whom?

The opposite of a fact is falsehood,

but the opposite of one profound truth may very well be another profound truth.

Niels Bohr

If something started everything,
and as of the last consensually agreed upon educated guess,
the known universe is about 13.7 billion years old,
and the Sun, about 4.6 billion years old,
is one of 200 to 400 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy,
among about 80 to 100 billion galaxies in the known universe
which appears to include about 10 billion trillion other planets
and there is only so much stuff, much of which ends up turning into other stuff,
how old are we?

Who are we?

We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star

lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe

in which there are far more galaxies than people.

Carl Sagan

If Earth is spinning at about 1,043 mph at the equator
revolving around the sun at about 66,660 mph
moving around the Milky Way Galaxy at about 489,600 mph
headed towards Andromeda at about 180,000 mph
while the Local Group of galaxies is pulled toward the Local Super Cluster at about 540,000 mph
how fast are we surfing through the cosmos?

We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star.

But we can understand the Universe.

That makes us something very special.

Stephen Hawking

If most believed Earth was the center of the universe
before Copernicus theorized otherwise in 1514
and most people didn’t know the Milky Way was made of stars
before Galileo theorized in 1609
and most didn’t know about dinosaurs before 1855
while most were unaware of other galaxies before 1923
and we found the first planet outside our solar system in 1992,
do we probably not know much more than we think we know?

There is a theory which states

that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here,

it will instantly disappear and be replaced

by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.

All the stars, planets and galaxies that can be seen today 

make up just 4 percent of the universe. 

The other 96 percent is made of stuff astronomers can't see, 

detect or even comprehend.

Space

There is another theory which states that this has already happened.

Douglas Adams (1952 - 2001),

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

If life on Earth were one day...,
land based plants showed up around 10 P.M., or about 450 million years ago,
or at about 90.1% of Earths’ age,
asteroids big enough to cause large losses of life has hit about every 3 minutes,
or about once every 9.48 million years,
insects showed up around 10:30 PM, Dinosaurs - 11 PM,
'Humans' since somewhere between 200,000 to 2,500,000 years, about .04% of the age of the planet, 
about 20 seconds before midnight
while ‘Modern’ humans go back about 10,000 years, or about 0.0001% of Earth’s age,
...and what started everything showed up,
would he/she/it be very happy with what we’ve done with the place?

When they discover the center of the universe,

a lot of people will be disappointed to discover they are not it.

Bernard Bailey

If about 50 million years after Earth formed about 4.55 billion years ago
an asteroid about the size of Mars crashed into Earth
leaving the moon, which is about a quarter the size of Earth,
led to different kinds of  non 'air' breathing life about 3.9 billion years ago
until something started excreting oxgen, like our current vegetation,
which killed off whatever couldn’t adapt,
and about 99% of the thirty billion or so different kinds of everything that has ever lived on Earth 
doesn't exist anymore and left no descendants,
what are the chances of modern humans lasting how long?

Nothing in the entire universe ever perishes…but things vary, and adopt a new form.

Though this thing may pass into that, and that into this,

yet the sums of things remains unchanged.

Ovid (43 BC - 17 AD), Metamorphoses

If most 'everything' is made of many atoms
which may have very possibly been around before this universe,
which may continue to exist after the current universe is gone,
when something living dies or when an inanimate object disintegrates,
do the atoms become part of everything else?

Every atom you possess

has almost certainly passed through several stars and been part of millions of organisms

on its way to becoming you.

Bill Bryson

If all the atoms in a human body are completely replaced with other atoms about every 9 years
and a child gets about half its DNA from each parent,
a quarter from each grandparent, an eighth from each great-grandparent and so on,
and the genetic code of everything alive and has ever lived is essentially the same only different, 
is everything on Earth relatively interconnected?

Is everything everything?

So when we say that 80% of the population can expect to be ancestors of all surviving individuals,

we are talking about their 22nd great-grandchildren…

[or] one four-millionth part.

Richard Dawkins

Professor of the Public Understanding, Oxford

If the genetic code of everything alive and has ever lived on Earth
is fundamentally the same but a little different,
did every living thing  basically come from the same beginning?

Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe

is that none of it has tried to contact us.

Bill Watterson

Calvin and Hobbes

If there is more unknown than known
like what started everything and why or if what started everything is still around,
and we don’t know for certain what happens before life or after death,
what is the purpose of cognitive existence?

The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden

to work it and take care of it.

Genesis 2:15

Should we be able to think and do what we want
as long as it doesn’t infringe on anyone else doing the same?

The end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started

and know the place for the first time.

T. S. Eliot

If Earth became uninhabitable,
and 'we' had a spaceship big enough for some people and enough supplies
that could go 250,000 miles per hour,
and it would take about 11,276 years without stopping or hitting anything to get to the nearest star, 
where the chances of there being a habitable planet may be at most one tenth of one percent, 
should we take better care of what we have?

Once off the cliff, there is still hope if you keep running.

By running ever faster you may not fall.

Wyle E. Coyote

Don’t tread on others unless they’re treading on you, be unloved,
criticize if it won’t help, lose your temper unless it would be bad to keep it,
be a very good bad example, lead without permission, do guilt,
offend many to benefit few or let ego override intelligence.

Don’t do anything you don’t want done to you, unless you need to.

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

Exodus 20:13

Don’t think you need want or want more than you need,
confuse compassion with justice, consciously over-compensate for unconscious doubt,
over-adore wanted acquisition, do what you don’t want to get what you don’t need,
underestimate irrationality, or think more of what could have than what may be.

Don’t believe everything you think, conclude what you want because you want to
or confuse effort with result.

Don’t afflict inanimate objects with conjured meaning.

Don’t want what you can’t get, let obsession with righteousness metastasize into hubris,
rationalize faults by blaming others, think you know what you don’t,
do what you don’t understand, over think or swim with the incontinent.

Don’t let small mistakes become big ones
by eliminating what’s not working and doing more of what is, sooner than later.

You shall not favor a poor man in his cause.

Exodus 23:3

Don’t think you know what you don’t, conclude what you want because you want to,
say you can if you cant, obfuscate or say you’re going to and don’t.

Don’t self fulfill prophesy.

You shall not raise a false report

Exodus 23:1

Don’t do to others what you don’t want done to you to get what you don’t need,
hide confusion with obliqueness, cut what can be untied, over-sacrifice need for want and vice versa,
catch falling knives, stereotypically generalize, resent, envy, slur, avenge,
ask a barber if you need a haircut, let what you own own you, lend need,
spend more than you make, build monuments, be selfish, unlovable or apathetic,
sacrifice future unhappiness for an unnecessarily pleasant present,
owe more than you can easily repay, succeed at failure or give up.

The true measure of a man

is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.

Samuel Johnson

Give your family a better chance to succeed than your forefathers gave your parents
and your parents gave you.

Make luck happen.

Create a higher likelihood of a better present by securing need and achieving want
in the shortest time with the least risk for as long as possible,
by thinking of what and when relative to what was
and what may happen after what could happen next.

Do the most good, in the best way, with as many people
for as long as you can.

To do righteousness and justice

is more acceptable to Yahweh than sacrifice.

Proverbs 21:3

If there’s less risk and higher return in using a plan that matches circumstances
than trying to force circumstances to fit a plan,
relax, accept and embrace uncertainty, focus, hypothesize, experiment,
observe, acknowledge mistakes, compare, question the status quo,
consider the counterintuitive, anticipate anticipation,
find strength in weakness, weakness in strength and advantage in disadvantage,
know what you own, consult wisdom, accept and learn from criticism,
look within for faults found in others, embrace differences, respect momentum,
be incremental, bypass irrelevancy, protect your flanks, calculate risk,
prepare for instability when stable, reduce to the least common denominator,
rise above and control emotion, weigh choice, adapt, practice with someone better,
commit, accept responsibility, maximize what works, minimize what doesn’t,
tear band aids off swiftly, pay yourself forward and play to win.

Do the right thing when no one’s looking,
leave others better off for having known you and the world a better place than you found it.

Forget what you give, value what you get,
return what you borrow, replace what you break and forgive quickly.

Hope everything happens the way it does
and leave unanswered questions.

Have as much fun as soon as possible
with the least amount of risk for as long as you can.

George Hartzman

Greensboro, North Carolina: American Rescue Plan submission; Design and build cars in Greensboro

Greensboro needs a new corporate headquarters.  Out of town headquarters are more likely to idle or shut down plants farther from home.  The best way to preserve locally created jobs is to have a major local company headquarters as an insurance policy to keep the best paying jobs over the long term.

Greensboro could create more than 10,000 jobs by designing and manufacturing a high quality, simply designed, inexpensive, fuel efficient, modifiable category killer automobile with easily interchangeable parts between different model years, like Jeep CJ’s, vintage VW Beetles, Toyota Camry's or Kia Souls, turning the global auto manufacturing industry business model upside-down and maximizing the potential future of our community.

The current auto industry's business model, infrastructure and baked in legacy costs could not adapt and compete with an end user oriented, relatively lower cost model vehicle located within easy reach of the rest of the world.

If taxpayer monies are involved, executive pay shouldn’t exceed 10-20 times the average hourly wage, creating good will by maximizing employee income as much as possible to create higher rates of city and county wide economic growth.

A business model fighting wealth inequality would create massive brand loyalty and sell more cars than any start up in history.

Employee compensation based on performance, productivity, quality and profitability could make Greensboro the center of the next era of the auto industry by simply paying employees as much as possible within the metrics of a profitable company, and less if profit falls.

A high quality, easily maintained vehicle should cost at least half as much over the auto's life compared to what's currently offered by manufacturers who rely on planned obsolescence and monopolistic business practices.  Essentially the entire global auto industry's profit margins are dependent on a non-consumer friendly model that can be attacked by an upcoming competitor.

If the global auto industry's revenues are dependent on a business model that can be attacked by an upcoming lower cost, higher quality American competitor from a non-union oriented state like North Carolina, with pre-owned equipment purchased at discounts as auto manufacturing contracts, we can create high paying employment within an industry losing similar jobs hamstrung by unsustainable legacy costs.

As we enter what very much looks like a global economic downturn after ten years of global central bank intervention, auto manufacturing equipment should be relatively inexpensively acquired in the near term future, as some auto makers succumb to the new realities of Tesla like business models.

A category killer like Apple's smartphone, Google's search engine or Amazon's business model could dramatically increase North Carolina's standard of living if those involved or with a stake can own shares of a company who's value could exponentially increase in the near to long term.

If North Carolinian taxpayers invest, they should own shares along with the public.  If any taxpayer monies are utilized to create jobs via a automobile company, then individual taxpayers should literally own shares of the company.  Citizens who've never owned equity in an entrepreneurial enterprise would have a better understanding of how to create wealth in our community, thereby teaching as many in our area how to "fish".  Millions in financial backing from municipalities and the state can be leveraged into billions in equity offerings to exponentially generate debt free capital funding opportunities and interested, willing and qualified consumers, easily repaying taxpayer funded capital investment as soon as practicable.

If Tesla Motors launched its initial public offering and raised $226 million, we can raise 10 times as much for an automotive company that could sell 100 times more, which would employ thousands with less automation involved to increase incomes, employment and economic growth in our state by changing the future of the global auto manufacturing industry.  North Carolina can create somewhere between $3 and $6 billion of direct investment into our state with this strategy, while not increasing outstanding debt.

The current auto industry's infrastructure and baked in union related legacy pension costs etc..., could not adapt and compete with an end user and employee focused start up producing lower cost, higher quality products.

An easily repairable/modifiable automobile produced by employees who have a stake in a high quality product should create an active aftermarket for enthusiasts, sparking small businesses set up to create alternative parts for trending modifications.

Lowering carrying costs means lower consumer payments for insurance and maintenance.  With easily acquired and inexpensively obtainable replacement parts over the auto's longer lifespan, car owners should fair well financially, increasing state wide discretionary income.  If parts were made to be easily replaced and widely available without prohibitively expensive specialized proprietary tools and diagnostic equipment, they should cost much less, which would dramatically lower warranty and long term carrying costs to consumers, building brand loyalty.

If a bumper gets scratched in an accident, a modern automobile's replacement is relatively very much more expensive than 30 years ago.  Modern replacement costs are most likely only available at a premium as consumers have become dependent on the industry's exclusivity of non-aftermarket parts and labor for profitability.

By designing and producing an easily up-gradable and/or modifiable automobile, which would create an active aftermarket for enthusiasts as imagination and enjoyment kick in on something that is relatively the same, but can be made different, catering to individual styles of diverse owners, we can create thousands of high paying domestic jobs.

Smartphone/tablet instead of installed, in-dash overpriced components;

Cars with easily replaceable smartphones and tablets for on board computers instead of expensive to replace installed systems could revolutionize the auto manufacturing industry by clearly saving consumers money over time.

By providing dealer level diagnostics with an app and a hard wire connection, owners can save money by knowing more about what a dealer would charge $100 for.  Instead of an engine light alerting the driver of an unknown or unknowable issue, purposefully designed to increase the profitability of captive dealer networks, creating a system that let's the driver instantly know what the actual problem is or may likely be, would save "fix it" costs by earlier identification and easily replaceable, lower cost parts.

Higher levels of diagnostics with easily replaceable, lower cost parts, saving owners money, should increase resell values relative to competitors.  A system that let's the driver instantly know what an actual problem is or may likely be, would save "fix it" costs by earlier identification and reclamation of issues.

The coming economic downturn should provide a once in a generation opportunity to create a large market share quickly, by producing relatively lower cost, reliable, longer lasting cars.





If parts were made to be easily replaced and widely available without specialized "mechanic only" tools, replacement parts would/could cost much less, which could dramatically lower insurance premiums and the long term carrying costs for consumers, not unlike the Kia/Hyndia models, which offer industry leading power train warranties.



Thousands of jobs can be created with a loyal 'populist' following.




If taxpayer monies are utilized to create jobs via a automobile company, then individual taxpayers should literally own shares of the company.

Residents of the municipalities receiving subsidized capital should/could receive equity stakes, increasing brand recognition, loyalty and market share.  Citizens who've never owned equity in an entrepreneurial enterprise would have a better understanding of how to create wealth in our community, thereby teaching as many in our area how to "fish" while providing thousands of new, good paying jobs.

 North Carolina could create somewhere between $3 and $6 billion of direct investment in the state with an employment centered strategy, while not increasing outstanding debt and carrying costs.



Employees could be paid on productivity and profitability and executive pay wouldn’t exceed 10-20 times the average hourly wage, with the idea being to maximize employee income as much as possible, to create higher rates of economic growth in our community, and not just enrich those at the top.

In other words, a business model that would fight income and wealth inequality that would blow away our current profits to the top execs model of capitalism, which has deteriorated the stability of our economy.

Employee pay should be based on performance, quality and profitability, which could make the Piedmont Triad the center of the next era of the auto industry, by paying employees as much as possible within the metrics of a profitable company.

The following is a culmination of more than 13 years of ongoing research that has provided a way to discover how to navigate what “is”, and offers a vehicle for others to find answers to questions they may or may not have thought of.

Insights have been accumulated while working as a financial advisor
and portfolio manager through The Asian Currency Crisis, Y2K, The Dot.com Bubble,
9/11, The Financial Crisis of 2008-9, and continue
as subsequent geopolitical, military, economic, fiscal and monetary events occur.

What you may think I'm thinking isn’t necessarily what I'm thinking.

George Hartzman

If most were to comprehend the “realities” of what may actually be,
as opposed to what most currently think is,
an entirely different set of counterintuitive circumstances could emerge.

Effectiveness through understanding could be exponential,
as long as most continue to not know what they could.

The quotes provide context to increase comprehension,
with the fewest words in the shortest time.

Format originally conceived
to conform to financial institution marketing compliance guidelines
to teach CPAs, attorneys and investors
economics, investment planning, philosophy and business ethics.

Writing style is kind of like poetry, only enigma cocooned in inquiry
surrounded by the random chaos of Socratic thought,
which is not supposed to be easy.

The end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started

and know the place for the first time.

T. S. Eliot

If the present embodies the past and future,
rational analysis maximizes present accomplishment, and chances of success are better
for those who more accurately prognosticate the farthest into the future,
the who and why to find first is you,
before the when and how to achieve what for the longest time with the least risk.

The questions are puzzle pieces designed to initiate debate,
encourage independent verification and promote self examination.

People are usually more convinced by reasons they discovered themselves

than by those found by others.

Blaise Pascal

If what others think is true may not be what you do,
interpretations should differ.

If former New York Fed Chairman and Goldman Sach's alumni Stephen Friedman knew about secret loans to Goldman in 2008 and 2009, how did he not buy GS with unknown information?

The Fed’s Secret Liquidity Lifelines to Goldman Sachs Group

If TREBIC’s Marlene Sanford registered as a lobbyist in 1999-2000, why didn’t she register after?

"Lobbyist Information...

Name: Marlene Sanford

Registered with these Principals...

Filings Term Status Firm Principal

1999-2000 Active Triad Real Estate & Building Industry Coalition Triad Real Estate & Building Industry Coalition

CLICKHERE

George Hartzman v Wells Fargo Linkfest so far, Ordered Oldest to Newest

SEC and FINRA Whistleblower Evidence

If Union Bank and Trust in Oxford, NC disclosed Federal Reserve loans Wells Fargo didn't, how did Wells Fargo not violate Sarbanes Oxley?

Rolling Stone's Matt Taibbi on George Hartzman's Whistleblower Filing

Rolling Stone's Matt Taibbi "Secret and Lies of the Bailout"

Wells Fargo's attorney Gregory C. Keating re; Wells Fargo Advisors LLC / Hartzman / 4-3750-13-010

Hartzman versus Wells Fargo Advisors, Part One, including some emails from Rolling Stone's Matt Taibbi

George v $WFC Part One, Scene Two; Hartzman emails to @MTaibbi on $JPM's #JamieDimon, with some Bloomberg's @bobivry

Wells Fargo v Hartzman DOL/OSHA Evidence, with some SARBOX info from Keating's "Retaliation and Whistleblowing"

On Whistleblower Protections and Wells Fargo's violation of George Hartzman's anonymity

Gregory Keating on Qualified Protected Activity Under SARBOX

I was wondering why Wells Fargo's attorney from Littler Mendelson didn't bring up "the right to confidentiality"

"Complaint to a Member of Congress"; ABA..., and Facebook conversations with then US Congressman Brad Miller

At a meeting with US Congressman Howard Coble on Monday, I told him I would be putting this up. BBT included

On SEC Chair Mary Jo White needing to recuse herself from Hartzman v Wells Fargo

I was wondering why Wells Fargo's attorney from Littler Mendelson didn't bring up "the right to confidentiality"

Wells Fargo v Hartzman DOL/OSHA Evidence, with some SARBOX info from Keating's "Retaliation and Whistleblowing"

The JP Morgan Jamie Dimon/Matt Taibbi Edition of why SEC Chair Mary Jo White needs to recuse herself from Hartzman v Wells Fargo

I believe Mrs. White has a stake in the outcome of Wells Fargo Advisors LLC / Hartzman / 4-3750-13-010

If I provided Rolling Stone's Matt Taibbi among others information concerning Mrs. White's former JP Morgan client Jamie Dimon about insider trading, and my OSHA/DOL filing, which the SEC can be involved in, and may already be involved in, includes information concerning JP Morgan's Jamie Dimon, which is material and relative to the veracity of my case, I believe Mrs. White should recuse herself from any involvement.

On the 2012 Greensboro & Guilford County Real Estate Tax Revaluation Assessment

Guilford's unemployment rate went from about 5.5% in 2004 to about 10% in 2012, and home prices dropped during 2011.

On Tuesday, March 5, 2013, The Greensboro News & Record reported “A record number of Guilford County property owners are appealing their 2012 tax revaluations at the state level… after being rejected by the Guilford County Board of Equalization and Review”, and “this year’s number is nearly five times that of the 2004 revaluation”

The City of Greensboro’s property taxes are based on Guilford County’s valuation.

This information can be verified by Tax Director Ben Chavis at 641-3379, or bchavis@co.guilford.nc.us.  The Rhino's Scott Yost, the News & Record's Amanda Lehmert, Joe Killian and Jeff Gauger failed to interview the expert who analyzed this information, and didn't investigate or report the following information to the public.

In May, 2012, Mecklenburg County moved to independently audit their 2011 real estate revaluation after numerous complaints of over-valuation. Among 52 neighborhoods with the fastest-rising values, 20 had major problems and 18 others had minor ones.

The audit found “neighborhood modifiers were often used…instead of using “influence code” adjustments such as shape, size, and topography with clearly expressed percentages for each adjustment… The use of neighborhood modifiers in this manner, results in a lack of transparency in land appraisal”, and “The mixing of influence code adjustments with neighborhood modifiers hinders an efficient review of neighborhood” and “this was a primary tool the Tax Office staff utilized to produce the values for the 2011 revaluation”, and “it is difficult to determine what individual factors were considered… Property owners cannot readily determine if nearby commercial properties also received the same base square foot rate or were adjusted for similar influences such as location or limited access."

Mecklenburg County's Tax Assessor resigned after the report revealed the department had not made on-site visits to actually see properties that were being valued.

Guilford County’s Tax Department declined to provide what data points and variable broad based assumptions (modifiers) and foreclosures were and were not included, as well as the software instructions for the 2012 revaluation.

The Greensboro News & Record’s Joe Killian 373-7000, or joe.killian@news-record.com, and the Rhino Times’ Scott Yost 273-0885, or scott@rhinotimes.net, also declined to investigate or report on the following, which correlates with the information above;

The North Carolina Department of Revenue’s “Sales Ratio” is an indicator used to access which NC counties are relatively over or under assessed for tax valuation purposes. Of the North Carolina counties that revalued in 2012, 5 had a Sales Ratio showing overvalued tax assessments as of January 1, 2011.

Those I spoke with who sell real estate valuation software, revealed some tax director’s interpretations of revaluation laws vary widely, and that all counties don’t incorporate the same information for assessments, meaning results may vary and can be massaged.

Guilford was the only North Carolina County in 2012 whose real estate values were supposed to fall by the state’s metric that didn’t, as 72% of the other counties fell more than the Sales Ratio indicated. Of the three counties that went higher, the other two were at the extreme opposites of the valuation metric.

Guilford County’s 2012-13 pre-real estate revaluation proposed budget including a 9.5 cent tax increase, but instead of falling about 3.72% or more as the 1/1/11 Sales Ratio and housing data from 2011 suggested, Guilford County’s values rose and tax rates decreased to the benefit of political incumbents.

In August 2012, Guilford County's Commissioners voted to give Guilford County employees a $250 bonus and 40 hours of extra paid time off.

In March 2012 before announcing her retirement, Guilford County Manager Brenda Jones Fox created a temporary bonus for county employees, only for those retiring with more than 30 years of service within a certain time period. When Fox announced her retirement, she stood to receive another $44,500, until the Rhino Times’ Scott Yost reported the story.

Mrs. Fox was not fired.

Please support Greensboro and Guilford County investigating the 2012 revaluation process and redo the next tax revaluation in 2016 instead of 2020, and encourage our local news industry to report these results.

GN&R Amanda Lehmert "Mayor takes on fire department challenge" after Robbie Perkins shoveled their candidate endorsing association taxpayer money

"Mayor Robbie Perkins...recently took the Greensboro Fire Department up on an offer to go through a grueling morning workout with their recruit class.

It started with 65 push ups and ended an hour later, with Perkins reaching for pain relievers.

Perkins says there is video. You’ll be the first to hear when Scoop tracks in down."

Amanda
.
.
On March 5, 2013, Abuzuaiter, Hoffmann, Johnson, Kee, Perkins and Vaughan voted to spend Greensboro's taxpayer money to fund the Fire Union's desire to have thier union dues deducted from city paychecks, and Robbie got positive press from Greensboro's paper of record, while failing to mention Robbie threw them some legislated love the month before, or that the Fire Association/Union/PAC makes political endorsements and works voting centers with volunteers on election day.

Who did the Fire Association endorse and work at the polls for in the last election?

George v $WFC Part One, Scene Two; Hartzman emails to @MTaibbi on $JPM's #JamieDimon, with some Bloomberg's @bobivry

From: George Hartzman... To: Matthew Taibbi, Rolling Stone Magazine

"Insider Trading

Hartzman versus Wells Fargo Advisors, Part One, including some emails from Rolling Stone's Matt Taibbi





I also believe "12 U.S.C.A. §5567 Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (CFPA), Section 1057 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010" is also applicable to portions of this case.

 

It appears "The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009" (ARRA) may also apply.

Wells Fargo's attorney re; Wells Fargo Advisors LLC / Hartzman / 4-3750-13-010

Perhaps an indication of the importance of a whistleblower filing can be found in the quality of the opponent;
.
.
Gregory Keating
Shareholder
Chair, Whistleblowing and Retaliation Practice Group
The nation’s largest labor and employment law firm; Littler Mendelson
Author of the nationally recognized, authoritative treatise,
Retaliation & Whistleblowing: A Guide for HR Professionals & Counsel

Hartzman’s U.S. Regulatory Filing Information

I believe the American public was and is being misled and harmed as a select few profited from material insider information illegally enabled and consented to by US taxpayer funded regulatory authorities, elected officials and political appointees.

I have worked as a financial advisor since 1993, and have taught financial ethics for CPAs and attorneys in North Carolina for the last 10 years.

I foresaw the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, as some of the following best un-audited client performance reports illustrate.  The solid black line on the performance report charts show how much more some clients made and\or lost compared to the dotted lines below which represent selected indices.

This is part of the story that should be a concern for U.S. citizens.

On 3/31/2009, I managed $35,595,572.83, including both fiduciary and non fiduciary accounts. I had more than 60 Asset Advisor accounts, where financial advisers are legally obligated to act in the best interest of clients.

Wells Fargo’s advisory accounts were/are governed by the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, which requires financial advisers to act solely in the best interest of their clients. By law, advisers must disclose any conflict of interest or potential conflict to their clients prior to and during a business engagement.

On 3/13/2007, I purchased shares of SDS in my personal account. SDS is a leveraged inverse Exchange Traded Fund (ETF), whose objective is to rise 2% for every 1% the S&P 500 falls. In the fourth quarter of 2008 I sold SDS in two blocks, realizing a total gain of about 51%.

“Shorting” means making an investment that increases in value when other “long” investments fall.

In July, 2007, I shorted Bear Stearns and closed the position with a 97% profit on 3/7/2008.

I shorted Pulte Homes, KB Homes and Lennar, and realized about a 65% gain.

During 2008, I executed short trades in Goldman Sachs, Capital One, MBIA, Merrill Lynch, Moody’s and State Street Corporation, as well as buying and selling ETF’s, shorting financial and real estate indices.

On August 22, 2011, Bloomberg News reported on “21,000 transactions” from 2008 and 2009, ...obtained under the Freedom of Information Act” by the late reporter Mark Pittman, including undisclosed Federal Reserve loans, after congressionally mandated legislation and rejected financial industry appeals by the U.S. Supreme Court.

I managed client accounts while unaware of the Fed’s secret loans as the companies I worked for as well as many others did not disclose material information, even though knowing insiders profited from equity and stock option transactions.

An SEC interpretation states: "Many financial institutions, such as thrifts and banks, are receiving financial assistance in connection with federally assisted acquisitions or restructurings...If these or any other types of federal financial assistance have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to have a material future effect upon, financial condition or results of operations, the [Management Discussion and Analysis] should provide disclosure of the nature, amounts, and effects of such assistance..." http://www.sec.gov/rules/interp/33-6835.htm

After the first half of 2009, my personal and client investment performance suffered as markets went relatively strait back up in defiance of fundamentals and common sense, partly in response to massive undisclosed liquidity provided by the Fed and the U.S. Treasury.

As I did not understand what was happening at the time, I took many accounts to cash.

Not reporting Federal Reserve material borrowings, collateral, credit lines, terms and interest rates is a violation of Sarbanes/Oxley laws, and not informing employees who managed advisory accounts was a violation of fiduciary duties within the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which I have taught in ethics courses for CPAs and others over the last 10 years, requires executive officers and directors to personally attest that SEC securities filings have been personally reviewed and financial statements fairly present, in all material respects, a company’s financial condition. Financial information in press releases or other public disclosures must not “contain an untrue statement” or omit a statement of material fact necessary to make statements not misleading.

I found that some banks which received Federal Reserve loans disclosed details in their securities filings, like Union Bank & Trust and Peoples Bank of North Carolina.

On March 27, 2008, Wachovia borrowed $3.5 billion from the Federal Reserve’s Term Auction Facility (TAF), which was not disclosed to the firm’s shareholders or reported within the company’s legally required securities filings.

The CEOs, CFOs and Boards of the largest banks certified their reports didn’t contain any material misstatements or omissions.

External auditors attested to the assessments.

KPMG was/is the auditor for both Wachovia and Wells Fargo.

Wachovia’s, Wells Fargo’s and many other firm's SEC securities filings did not account for the loans, total credit lines, interest rates, collateral pledged or amounts of loans outstanding while some banks did.

On July 9, 2008, Robert Steel became president and CEO of Wachovia after working for Goldman Sachs from 1976 to 2004 and the Under Secretary for Domestic Finance at the U.S. Treasury under former Goldman Sachs CEO Henry Paulson from October 10, 2006, until July 9, 2008.  Mr. Steel was “the principal adviser to the secretary on matters of domestic finance and led the department's activities regarding the U.S. financial system, fiscal policy and operations, governmental assets and liabilities, and related economic matters.” 

I believe my clients and Wachovia shareholders were misled and harmed as a select few profited from material insider information illegally enabled and consented to by US taxpayer funded regulatory authorities, elected officials and political appointees.

On July 22, 2008, Wachovia’s new CEO Robert Steel purchased 1,000,000 shares of Wachovia’s stock as the company’s Term Auction Facilities (TAF) borrowing reached $12.5 billion, which was not disclosed in securities filings.

If Mr. Steel was “the principal adviser…on matters of domestic finance and led the [U.S. Treasury] department's activities regarding the U.S. financial system, fiscal policy and operations” before becoming Wachovia’s CEO in July, 2008, how could he not have known and acted on undisclosed material information?

After not reporting Federal Reserve loans and purchasing Wachovia’s shares while in possession of undisclosed material inside information, the CEO wrote "I, Robert K. Steel, certify that: I have reviewed this Quarterly Report ...for the quarter ended September 30, 2008 of Wachovia ...this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report..."

Section 206 of the Investment Advisors Act of 1940 states "It shall be unlawful for any investment adviser, …to employ any device, scheme, or artifice to defraud any client or prospective client; to engage in any transaction, practice, or course of business which operates as a fraud or deceit upon any client or prospective client; or... to engage in any act, practice, or course of business which is fraudulent, deceptive, or manipulative."

Wachovia shareholders lost as insiders gained from material undisclosed information.

The Fed approved Wachovia’s merger with Wells Fargo on October 12, knowing of unreported Fed loans to both companies.

Robert Steel was at least aware of Federal Reserve loans since becoming Wachovia’s CEO on July 9, 2012, and likely multitudes of undisclosed loans to multiples of other firms. If Mr. Steel purchased more than $16 million of Wachovia shares on July 22, 2008, the five year statute of limitations for prosecution expires on July 22, 2013.

The Wall Street Journal reported "about $100 billion in wealth disappeared from the Carolinas alone when Wachovia collapsed."

I believe Wachovia, Wells Fargo, accounting firm KPMG, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the Federal Reserve amongst others, illegally misled Wachovia’s and other firm’s shareholders.

I believe I disseminated inaccurate advice to clients whose accounts were governed by the Investment Advisors Act of 1940, based on information audited by KPMG and withheld by Wachovia and Wells Fargo’s executive management.

I believe my clients and Wachovia shareholders lost money as a select few profited from material insider information, enabled and consented to by US taxpayer funded government regulatory authorities, political appointees and employees.

On December 31, 2009, less than a month after announcing Wells Fargo was to pay off TARP, and stating that “our capital ratios are growing organically …as Wells Fargo’s business model continues to generate capital internally as we historically have, Wells Fargo & Company’s (NYSE: WFC) board of directors approved a grant of retention performance shares for President and CEO John G. Stumpf and three other executive officers.”

After most of Wachovia’s shareholders were locked into losses on completion of the merger, On June 22, 2010, Steel was appointed Deputy Mayor for Economic Development by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Mr. Steel appears to have ended up far better off knowing what most didn’t. Mr. Steel owned 601,903 shares of Wells Fargo in 2010, which was worth more than $20 million
on October 26, 2012.

On Nov 28, 2011, Bloomberg published “Secret Fed Loans Gave Banks Undisclosed $13B,” which stated “The Federal Reserve and the big banks fought for more than two years to keep details of the largest bailout in U.S. history a secret. ...Bankers didn't mention that they took tens of billions of dollars in emergency loans at the same time they were assuring investors their firms were healthy.”

Bloomberg estimated the profits from the undisclosed Federal Reserve Loans was $878.2 million for Wells Fargo, and $149.4 million for Wachovia.

After reviewing the Bloomberg article, I reported the information through Wells Fargo’s internal anonymous/confidential ethics line in early December, 2011, with an external email address and phone number, after which I was contacted on multiple occasions by investigators on my company email and phone.

On January 4, 2012, an email in response to my ethics line complaint from a Senior Investigative Agent and Vice President from Wells Fargo Corporate Investigations said “Please confer with your manager if you feel the need, but our case is closed.”

Realizing my anonymity was compromised and my family’s safety at risk after the first internal ‘investigation’ was ‘closed’, I took the issues to my local manager, after which Wells Fargo's executive management enlisted an outside ‘independent’ investigator who promptly found no merit to my assertions.

Thinking I could mitigate personal risk by contacting regulatory authorities, I filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) DC Office of the Whistleblower amongst others which went nowhere. I then filed with the NC Secretary of State Securities Division, who investigated and referred files to Atlanta's SEC and FINRA offices.

And then nothing.

Regulatory authorities will not say whether a case exists or if a case is opened or closed, even though I contacted the government during and after interactions with Wells Fargo management, leaving myself and loved ones at risk of reprisal.

I was terminated by Wells Fargo on Monday, October 8, 2012 in direct retaliation for disseminating whistleblower information the U.S. government seems unwilling to act upon.

I believe Wachovia and Wells Fargo’s executive management misled taxpayers, shareholders and Congress concerning material information. In doing so, fiduciary duties to the firms financial advisers and their clients were violated while executive compensation was gamed at the expense of shareholders.

On January 4, 2013, I collaborated with Rolling Stone’s Matt Taibbi who published “Secrets and Lies of the Bailout”, which stated “The federal rescue of Wall Street…created a permanent bailout state…and the worst may be yet to come... Money wasn't the only thing the government gave Wall Street – it also conferred the right to hide the truth from the rest of us... There were lies told in the first moments of their inception, and others still being told...  The lies, in fact, were the most important mechanisms of the bailout... Wall Street used the funds to make the economy more dangerous... The broader and more pressing concern is the clear implication that by failing to act, federal regulators have tacitly approved the nondisclosure. ...The bailout has ...made lying on behalf of our biggest and most corrupt banks the official policy of the United States government." And “The stock purchases by America's top bankers raise serious questions of insider trading.”

On January 22, 2013, PBS's Frontline reported on the government's failure to prosecute the big banks for the 2008 financial meltdown, Lanny Breuer, Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, admitted to purposefully not pursuing illegality stating "If I bring a case against institution A, and as a result of bringing that case there's some huge economic effect... If it creates a ripple effect...it's a factor we need to know and understand," after choosing not to criminally indict HSBC executives for laundering drug money and enabling terrorist financing.

George Hartzman
Registered Investment Advisor
President and Chief Economist: Think Professional Education
Former Wells Fargo Advisors Vice President/Investments
& Fundamental Choice Portfolio Manager
Greensboro, North Carolina

First Memory

My first memory was watching my mom, wearing what must have been late 1960's outfit of tight polyester solid pants with a flowery looking colorful top, steaming mad and crossing our street to confront the parents of a kid up the street.  He "stole"? my toy.  It was a little motorcycle type thing that got revved up by inserting and then pulling out a long plastic rod with teeth.

From an interview with Wlles Fgrao CEO John Stumpf: Tuesday, June 10, 2008, after beginning to take undisclosed Fed loans on January 17, 2008

EDGAR Majority Ownership of - STUMPF JOHN G

"...we shared pretty openly with investors and with regulators
about the things that we would not do.

How to Manipulate a Financial Plan: Whistleblower Evidence from George Hartzman

"The overwhelming majority of Envision Plans do not include investment costs."

First Vice President, Product Manager, Financial Services Group Strategic Solutions

Hyatt at the Arch, Partners In Productivity Summit, Firm Initiative Breakout

Saint Louis, MO, in front of 25 to 40 Wells Fargo Financial Advisors

Friday, September 7, 2012

I have taught CPA and Attorney Financial Ethics in North Carolina
for the last 10 years.

I have chosen to speak out for my clients, company, students, family and country
instead of living out a fraud.

My employment at Wells Fargo Advisors was terminated
on Monday, October 8, 2012
in direct retaliation for disseminating whistleblower information.

This issue has gone from Wells Fargo's ethics hot line
through Wells Fargo's executive management and an independent investigator,
to the SEC,
to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) DC Office of the Whistleblower
to the NC Secretary of State, Securities Division
who investigated and referred this information to Atlanta's FINRA office,
which went back to DC and on to Kansas City's FINRA office,
the region where Wells Fargo Advisors home office is located.

September 24, 2012

From: Luginbill, Jennifer Cc: "Varvel, Bryan"

George: I have received this information you provided.

I will be ensure our assigned examiner also receives the information

to help with his investigation.

Thanks

Jennifer Anne Luginbill

Associate Director

Kansas City District Office

FINRA

120 W. 12th Street, Suite 800

Kansas Ciy, MO 64105

The following shows how financial plans can be manipulated
to sell clients and prospects on new investment ideas
or staying on a current course with a financial adviser.

George Hartzman
President and Chief Economist: Think Professional Education
Former Vice President/Investments
Fundamental Choice Portfolio Manager
Wells Fargo Advisors
Greensboro, North Carolina

This reproducible example involves Wells Fargo's Envision Plans.

Many well known firms do relatively the same thing, only different.



This “Internal Use Only” document states:

"If left at 0%, the Return Discount Rate will not be displayed
on any Envision report pages.

If you choose a Return Discount Rate >0%,
this assumption will be displayed on the Investment Plan Assumptions report page."

Meaning if the "Return Discount Rate", otherwise known as annual Investment Costs
are not included,
the information does not show up in the client presentation, even though other default assumptions do.



This is a comparison of two different Envision Plan’s offered by Wells Fargo Advisors.

"Harold Lynn" has $1,000,000 invested, with an annual investment cost of 2.5%.

Both plans have the same basic data inputs, except the second includes a 2.5% annual investment cost,
which the hypothetical client is currently paying.





These outcomes are repeatable,
meaning the entire study can be reproduced on any Wells Fargo Advisors computer
by others investigating independently.

Note the absence of the Investment Costs Harold is currently paying.

Without the investment costs included for Harold’s $1,000,000,
the Envision software generates a client compliance approved graph
indicating a high degree of wonderfulness if Harold continues to do business as usual.

Below is the same plan with the "Return Discount Rate" included on the assumptions page.

"Return Discount Rate" = Investment Cost

Again, Investment Costs are not shown on client presentations
unless the costs are entered, as seen here,
even though both presentations include everything else.





The problem with including what Harold is actually paying for his investments
is that he would need to begin with about $840,000 more to achieve similar results,
meaning the plan not including the 2.5% annual investment costs is misleading.

There are hundreds of thousands of Wells Fargo Envision Plans.

"The overwhelming majority of Envision Plans 

do not include investment costs."

First Vice President, Product Manager

Financial Services Group Strategic Solutions

FINRA Rule 2210

"(d) Content Standards, (1) General Standards

(A) All member communications must be based on principles of fair dealing and good faith,
must be fair and balanced, and must provide a sound basis for evaluating the facts
in regard to any particular...service.

No member may omit any material fact or qualification if the omission,
in light of the context of the material presented,
would cause the communications to be misleading.

(B) No member may make any false, exaggerated,
unwarranted, promissory or misleading statement or claim in any communication.

No member may publish, circulate or distribute any communication
that the member knows or has reason to know
contains any untrue statement of a material fact or is otherwise false or misleading.

(C) Information may be placed in a legend or footnote
only in the event that such placement would not inhibit an investor's understanding of the communication.

(D) Members must ensure that statements are clear and not misleading
within the context in which they are made,
and that they provide balanced treatment of risks and potential benefits.

...(E) Members must consider the nature of the audience
to which the communication will be directed
and must provide details and explanations appropriate to the audience.

(F) Communications may not predict or project performance,
...or make any exaggerated or unwarranted claim, opinion or forecast...

...(2) Comparisons

Any comparison in retail communications between investments or services
must disclose all material differences between them,
including (as applicable) investment objectives, costs and expenses..."

Information recieved by U.S. House Committee on Financial Services member, US Congressman Brad Miller, who also serves on the Congressional Financial Markets Caucus, on George Hartzman's Wells Fargo Whistleblower case