In this case we have several people that have reported being scammed by this accused con artist. We would like to give people as much information as we have gathered and let them do their own due diligence. These are several different complaints about Brad Hogan whom formally worked with Costa Vista Land Developers.
Story 1
The following is a synopsis of the telephone conference held Thursday, November 11, 2010 at 7pm CST. with Shane Messer.
Shane Messer has a law degree and sits on the board of Lawyers without Borders in Costa Rica. He was referred to me by another attorney, Marion Williams. Ms. Williams was trying to secure funding for a project on the isle of Tobago through Brad Hogan and Global Trade and International Investment Services, S.A. When the funding did not occur she began to reach out to her sources for more information on Brad Hogan.
Shane’s comments regarding Brad Hogan are below:
He has personally known Brad for 3 years. Shane is one of the original people he tried to “sell” land to via Costa Vista Land, which was operating in 2007. Every single person in this scam lost between $5,000 and $100,000. He has two clients that have lost $144,000 with Brad. One lives in Tennessee and the other in Washington DC.
Brad Hogan worked with partners Carlos Zuniga and John Dorsey on the Costa Vista Land project.
The scam worked like this: Brad had an office just east of Guadalupe (San Jose). He would bring in clients, take them to see fake properties, show them offices, hire girls for them, and take them to fancy restaurants and bars. Brad is a “soft closer” which means he creates such a strong illusion of trust that people naturally don’t want to think twice about investing money because no one could create such an elaborate story such as Brad. He is also a very believable person.
Brad’s promises are usually simple: “We know the land and the history and we can make you money. If you want to do it, fine. If not, that’s okay too. I’m here for the long-haul.” Once clients wire the money, Brad maintains short-term relationships and then settles into a state of “the market messed us up, but we are still in this for the long-haul.”
In reality, Brad has never made a single person a single penny from what he could gather. They have found a lot of developers and people who speak against Brad, but ZERO who can vouch for a single thing he says. After Brad’s scam of Costa Vista Land came to light, his partners split up, sued each other, and subsequently Brad formed “Costa Del Mar” which was housed on the top floor of Mall San Pedro.
That scam came to light last year, and now Brad is currently (as far as he knows) working from his home near Burger King, across from Mall San Pedro. He closed the Mall San Pedro office.
Other items of note:
Brad is a known purchaser and user of cocaine, prostitutes, and fast expensive cars.
Brad Hogan has many false identifications thereby allowing him to operate under several names.
The attorney that Brad used in working the Costa Vista Land scam is Vivian Consejos. Her office is in Escazu next to the mall.
Brad currently has two contracts out on his life; one for $5,000 the other for $7,500. He has a long-time bodyguard named “Milton” with him at all times. Milton is an ex-Columbian paramilitary soldier.
The only recourse clients have is a civil law suit, which would be fruitless because Brad Hogan does not have any assets in his own name, or a criminal law suit to see if you can put him in jail. Although it is not certain you would get to trial. You would have to amass enough information for the District Attorney to agree to try the case. Costa Rica does not have a legal system like the U.S. Shane Messer’s attorney is Karen Zamora. Her number is 506-386-7714. He has worked with her for several years. Her email address is [email protected]. If your clients wish to hire a Costa Rican attorney they can contact her for documentation.
Shane Messer owns a house in Costa Rica. If any clients would like to go to Costa Rica to pursue recourse against Brad Hogan, they could utilize his home for free.
I have contacted the U.S. Embassy in regards to recourse against Global Trade or Brad Hogan. Their advice was to hire a Costa Rican attorney and pursue the matter through the court system. Although our clients take the risk of “throwing good money after bad”, this was their only suggestion. Please feel free to contact me regarding any item listed that may need clarification.
Story 2
Brad Hogan tried scamming us back in Spring of 2009. He came across as a very dishonest, shady guy. He was hiding something. We were met by his body guard, which gave us a bad first impression. Those who require body guards often have muchos “enemigos”.
Ironically, he was recommended by a major law firm of which we will NOT mention. I assume Hogan pitched the firm with a fee-sharing program… or promised to send all referrals back to the law firm for closings. But what closings?
Even worse, while waiting in his conference room, we over heard a frightening conversation through his paper-thin walls about “someone finding out….” Wow, my colleague and I sat there in bewilderment. But we let Hogan (is that even his real name?) have his pitch regardless. The guy is a sociopath – he sat there believing his own fictitious stories – a crock pot full of lies.
My colleague and I sat there listening to his unwavering rhetoric about “my guy in Saudi Arabia” and “my guy in London”…. and the access he had to vast amounts of capital when no other bank in Costa Rica was lending a dime. We could smell the pile of dog crap a mile away. Yet, when asked, he could not produce a POF letter or any reference. Wait, he did a week later but that reference never received a dime from Hogan. Bizarre. Likely a future victim of Hogan.
After we received a worthless, non-binding commitment letter, we were of course asked for the $8,000 ADVANCE FEE for due diligence expenses. Our reply? We tested him and he failed miserably. We said – “we’ll pay you 2x that amount at closing if you do, in fact, have this Saudi money source” with a bank full of gold bullion and fields of endless oil supply. Hogan’s reply? No thanks, need the cash NOW – its our policy. Of course it is. So we kindly passed on his most generous offer. We knew he was up to no good.
We’re sorry to learn that others got burned by this con man. I hope the authorities catch him before someone else does in his sleep.
Story 3
Brad tells potential buyers about how they can double even triple their investment in buying land thru his companies. They have never put thru a deal, keep making promises to folks and then once they get your money, your out of luck. He is very believable and friendly to gain your confidence, but don’t trust him, every thing he says is a lie. We made the trip a yr ago to look at buying property. Once I got more interested in him and his company I did some more research. I read his bio on his website, its full of lies. Claims to be a family man, not true. Fact is that he doesn’t or can’t see his kids, is wanted in the U. S. for back child support, (heard he owes over $75k.) Been married/divorced several times. They keep closing their offices and moving to new locations. Very much a bait and switch group. Brad will “wine and dine “you, amaze you with great stories, try and set you up with Costa Rican women, and promise you the world. Be very aware this man, he is a PROFESSIONAL CON ARTIST!!
Has multiple companies he owns or belongs to that are shell companies…Costa Del Mar is one of them…due your homework and stay away from Mr. Hogan.
