JASON CROW

Jason Crow spent his career protecting frackers, payday loan scammers, telemarketing extortionists, and well-connected executives who stole from their employees' pension funds. Then he tried to cover it all up.





Now he's pretending he’s on your side.





A native of Madison Wisconsin, Jason Crow’s resume reads like low-brow romance for DNC recruiters: He studied pre-law at the U. Wisconsin, joined the army, went to law school and then joined a law firm. Unfortunately, instead of spending his career to protecting vulnerable populations, Crow has sided against the poor, the marginalized, the defrauded and the environment again and again.





Holland & Hart, the firm where Jason is a partner, has earned a reputation for protecting clients like the notorious Ponzi schemer Val Southwick and serial polluter and safety regulation violator Anadarko Petroleum -- a company responsible for killing numerous Coloradans in explosions in or around CD-6, the district Crow says he wants to represent.





While Crow says he wants to represent CD-6. he has made his home in a wealthy, 95% white enclave in East Denver. Moreover, while frequently claiming to be a “non-politician,” Crow has been donating to political campaigns, sitting on political advisory boards, and speaking at political conventions for over a decade.





Crow has focused his career on internal investigations (commonly used to keep embarrassing matters secret while preventing law enforcement from getting involved) and has worked hard to keep most of his work secret; Holland & Hart scrubbed his bio shortly before he declared he was running for congress. However, searching public records for what he has been unable to hide reveals that Crow has protected a cynical and disturbing list of clients in his time as a lawyer to those who use their wealth and privilege to defraud and abuse others:





Payday Loan Scammer Western Sky Financial: Founded in 2009 to target members of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe with predatory loans illegal under federal law, Western Sky Financial offered loans with interest rates ranging from 116% to 391%. For example, a $5,000 loan from WSF was expected to be paid with 84 monthly payments of $486.58. That's $40,872. On a $5,000 loan. Which is really screwed up, but apparently OK with Jason Crow. The Attorneys General of several states brought suit against WSF but Crow and his team stepped up to defend these predatory lenders. Shockingly, Crow’s team made sure that nobody affiliated with Western Sky ever spent a day in prison and limited the penalties to a little over half a million dollars (while lining Crow’s pockets handsomely). Additionally their parent company, CashCall, which continues most of Western Sky’s abusive practices continues to operate.

Polluter and Dirty Dealer Slawson Exploration: a Kansas based fracking company with a history of flouting environmental regulations and accusations of corrupt dealing. In 2011 Jason Crow represented Slawson in a case where they were killing migratory birds by exposing them to untreated fracking waste. The case got Donald Trump so excited that he specifically cited it on the campaign trail. Crow claims to help “clients on regulatory compliance matters;” too often, that’s lawyer speak for “get around environmental protections and avoid consequences when they get caught” -- this seems to be one of those times.

Extortionist and Fraudster Michael Patterson: to quote the Colorado Attorney General’s office: “Patterson and several family members called consumers who were already receiving magazines and misrepresented themselves as being affiliated with the magazine publishers. They allegedly told subscribers that monthly payments could be reduced and tricked consumers into offering credit-card numbers. Victims were charged as much as $1,200 each under fraudulently procured subscription contracts and aggressive collection techniques.” This case was so egregious that even Crow’s dealing wasn’t of getting his client off with the types of slaps on the wrist he usually secures: Crow’s client was forced to pay over six million dollars in penalties and restitution.

Embezzler and Pension Fund Swindler Mark Bishop: Mark Bishop was charged with 27 counts of embezzlement for stealing tens of thousands of dollars from his employees’ pensions funds. After a long and costly trial, Crow got Bishop off with a guilty plea and six months in a halfway house. Way to stand up for the little guy Jason Crow! Or rather, the guy stealing from the little guy’s pension fund . . .





If Crow has spent his career and made his fortune fighting to protect fraudsters, scammers, polluters, and crooks, we feel pretty confident he’ll keep it up if he’s elected to the US congress.





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Other citations (they have a habit of disappearing from the internet):

https://casetext.com/case/united-states-v-bishop-38

http://docplayer.net/19267634-Granted-robert-l-mcgahey-jr-district-court-judge.html

https://coag.gov/sites/default/files/contentuploads/ago/press-releases/2014/01/01-22-14/012214westerskyorderreconsentjudgmentapproved.pdf

https://consumerist.com/2016/09/02/online-payday-lender-cant-hide-behind-western-skys-tribal-affiliation/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAaBlO5SjWQ

https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/loans/western-sky-payday-loans/

https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/05/19/western-sky-loans-are-no-more-but-we-can-all-learn.aspx

https://www.consumeraffairs.com/finance/westernsky-com.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9mhlRp8DzI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9mhlRp8DzI&feature=youtu.be

http://www.western-sky-loans.com/disclaimer.html

http://www.denverpost.com/2013/02/28/perp-in-denver-magazine-scam-ordered-to-pay-6-million-in-penalties/

https://www.stopfraudcolorado.gov/our-cases/consumer-fraud/magazine-sales-telemarketing-makatura-and-affiliates

http://legalnewsline.com/stories/510514779-newsinator-colorado-ag-announces-6-million-judgment-against-magazine-telemarketing-company

https://www.stopfraudcolorado.gov/sites/default/files/cases/H.%20Aragon%20Consent%20Judgment%20Order.pdf

http://www.factcheck.org/2016/06/trumps-hot-air-on-wind-energy/

http://bismarcktribune.com/news/state-and-regional/mbi-oil-and-gas-named-in-oklahoma-pipeline-transaction-lawsuit/article_4ee29824-92d8-5a74-aa09-1597bb736822.html

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/08/don-young-ethics-alaska-republican-227512

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/epa-dings-north-dakota-fracking-firm-with-21m-fine/article/2608743

http://lib.law.virginia.edu/Garrett/plea_agreements/pdf/SlawsonExploration.pdf

https://www.hollandhart.com/files/33919_Lawyer-Issue-Holland-Hart.pdf

http://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/qind/

http://tracer.sos.colorado.gov/PublicSite/SearchPages/ContributionSearch.aspx

https://www.law360.com/articles/360863/holland-hart-others-to-face-suit-over-13m-tic-investment

http://www.lawfirmstats.com/firms/Holland-Hart/all-offices/compensation.php

http://statisticalatlas.com/block/Colorado/Denver-County/004107-1-108/Overview