Jim Straw passed away on Dec. 3, 2012

[Dien Rice]

I just heard from Harvey Brody that Jim Straw passed away yesterday, Dec. 3, 2012.

This is very sad news. I always have had immense respect for Jim Straw, and he has helped me many times in the past when I needed good advice (in my business, but also in my personal life as well).

I was very much in his debt.

May God bless him for all the good work he has done, and help his family too, in their time of grief...

Dien

Dien,

Here is the obit from The Dalton Citizen: J. F. (Jim) Straw Obit

Originally Posted by ThePromotionalGuy.com

Dien,

Here is the obit from The Dalton Citizen: J. F. (Jim) Straw Obit

The obit said he was 67 years old. That can't be right, can it?
Maybe they transposed the numbers?

[Ankesh]

Thats pretty sad.

Jim was one of the first guys who got on board and helped me promote my Marketing Hotsheet newsletter 10 years back. I learnt a lot of things from him over the years.

1. Having the ugliest website in the world won't hinder your growth. But not being helpful to others will.

2. Repeating the message is not bad. In fact, every repetition will bring in 50% more sales.

3. Think beyond yourself. Help connect people.

I'll truly miss him. :'(

[MMacGillivray]

Sad news - one of the good influences on the internet.

Margaret

Readers might want to look at this, don't know if legitimate look at third paragraph under civil proceedings.

http://www.sec.gov/news/digest/1992/dig031792.pdf

[Dien Rice]

Originally Posted by axis99

Readers might want to look at this, don't know if legitimate look at third paragraph under civil proceedings.

http://www.sec.gov/news/digest/1992/dig031792.pdf

Of course, Jim Straw is not here any more to speak for himself...

I had a look into this, to the degree I can...

The main claim by the SEC against First American Bank Limited (FABL), which Jim Straw was part of at the time, seems to be the claim that information given to investors was false or misleading ("misrepresentations and omissions"). [1]

There is a journal called the Blue Sky Law Reporter, which comments on state securities law cases. They reported on this case. Unfortunately, I can only see snippets of their report (via Google Books).

The Blue Sky Law Reporter reported the following.

"Mr. Straw also answered the Security Bureau's allegations of fraud arguing that no investor has lost money and that he had pledged his own assets to guarantee his depositors' accounts." [2]

Another sentence says...

"Mr. Straw produced a document of trust placing all his assets, present and future, in trust for the benefit of depositors of FABL upon his death; upon the voluntary liquidation of the bank; or upon the governing body regulating the bank entering an order of insolvency against the bank." [2]

Another interesting passage from the Blue Sky Law Reporter is the following.

"In this particular instance, this Administrative Law Judge must agree with Mr. Straw. The analysis would be different if these savings accounts or certificates of deposit were valued in gold or a foreign currency whose value could fluctuate with the market, but here it is evident that these securities do not have a value beyond that of the money the depositor places in them and the steady accumulation of interest. The securities by their nature are not subject to resale at a quick profit due to some increase in value for reasons other than further deposits of the investor. To adhere to Mr. Long's test would be to sacrifice substance to form." [2]

Anyhow, this complicated comment (which I don't fully understand) suggests that this is may possibly not have been a cut-and-dried case, at least not in all its aspects.

Since there were no monetary damages awarded against him (as the damages were waived) [1][3], it probably made no sense to appeal, since that would have cost a lot of money in itself (even if he ended up winning).

It sounds like no investors lost any money, and maybe that's also partly why there seems to have been no effective penalty either, as far as I can see (except that they had to close down the bank).

I prefer to give the benefit of the doubt, and perhaps put it down to a venture that didn't quite go as planned.

Just some thoughts.

Best wishes,

Dien

[1] http://www.sec.gov/news/digest/1994/dig032494.pdf - see under "Civil Action Filed Against Harry Hone"

[2] http://books.google.com.au/books?id=...ed=0CC4Q6AEwAA

[3] http://www.legalmetric.com/cases/sec...92cv00056.html

Dien beat me to it.

Complex case. Thanks for your comments.

Sad Times… Losing wonderful People like Jim Straw who [Shared] so many {Awesome} Learning Experiences…

Always way to young though, no matter our age… But reasons for Everything in Life I guess…

Back Together with his Life partner will be wonderful I’m sure, Sad loss but Life has it’s Reasons whether we Like it, Believe in it or not…

My understanding is that Jim’s children are very involved in Jim’s business network…

So Hopefully as with other Legacies within the Business world…

Jim Staw’s will Continue-on in Many ways into the Future Also…

I’m sure we’ll be hearing More as the Family celebrates his life and Heals as best as possible during these Difficult times…

After the Healing process...

Hopefully! Jim Staw’s work, past and new material, Experiences will live on Continually into the very distant [Future] for Ever! …

So Glad! Jim got a Chance to Publish his very recent book…

A Must read… If some Haven’t already!

Jim Straw Introduces His Book Mustard Seeds Shovels and Mountains
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_hDLfyZbMo

Those who Dig through the SowPub archives will Find all kinds of interesting [jfstraw] related posts, threads and knowledge, especially in SowPubs earlier days...
http://www.sowpub.com/forum/archive/index.php?f-3.html

But a Wonderful post indeed…

Here's how to Get Rich ...

Here's how I did it ...
jfstraw
http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...-get-rich.html

[Rest in Peace] jfstraw

Thank you for All the Knowledge and Experiences you've Shared!

All the best,
Phil