Before his adventures in self-portraiture ended his Congressional term, Anthony Weiner frequently denounced Goldline for their marketing claims. If he can still laugh, the last one's his.

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Goldline, which uses conservative stars like Glenn Beck to market investments in gold, has been charged in California with running a "bait-and-switch" operation, tricking would-be investors in gold bullion into buying overpriced coins instead. The company is fighting the charges, ABC News reports.

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If that allegation sounds familiar, says Stephanie Mencimer at Mother Jones, that's probably because that's what Anthony Weiner was screaming all along.

In May of last year, Weiner released a report highlighting many of the issues that ultimately ended up being part of the prosecutors' charges Tuesday. His outspoken criticism of the company sparked a very public feud with Beck, who refused to distance himself from Goldline, which had been one of his most loyal sponsors. Beck asked his listeners to send in doctored photos of Weiner showing the congressman with "his nose as a wiener." He said he welcomed any "Weiner facts" or photos of the congressman "in front of the wienermobile in front of his house, with his wiener dog, with his little wiener children." Beck set up a website called weinerfacts.com just to post all the photos. The day after Weiner resigned, Beck gloated about his nemesis' downfall in a lengthy on-air rant, saying, "We're going to have to do without, without one of the most unlikable figures in American political history. Remember, there is a guy who was capable of being completely unlikable. Even when he was arguing for healthcare, for 9/11 responders, he was unlikable…He could say anything, look and sound the exact same way. It didn’t matter if he was lying about Goldline or health care or his own wiener shots."

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Weiner didn't talk to Mother Jones, but an aide who helped look into Goldline did, and called the company a "scam."

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Yuri Beckelman, the former legislative director for Weiner who conducted the investigation of Goldline, told The Atlantic Wire that the indictment in California confirms their findings.

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"Goldline is a shell game," Beckelman said. "Under the cup you want is the promise of a seemingly safe investment during an uncertain economy, but Goldline's salesman make their money upselling customers to over-priced retail coins. The retail part is important, because if it was truly an investment and their salesman were 'investment advisors,' they would have a fiduciary responsibility for their victims."

"The Santa Monica City Attorney came to the same conclusion we did; Goldline is committing fraud. No partisan rhetoric necessary."

Here's a good pre-resignation rundown of Weiner v. Goldline from The Atlantic Wire. And for old time's sake, the former congressman v. Goldline CEO Scott Carter on CNN.



