Identity Theft Alive and Well! Levander and Rita McLean of Garland Texas Convicted

There are times when I read of people who have been convicted and I wonder how good people got caught up in a crime and ended up with unfortunate consequences.  Often, as an ethics speaker, I have said that – Every Choice Has A Consequence.  That is a true statement.  And at times it is true that otherwise good people make bad choices and find out the hard way about the consequences that follow.  But in this case – well read for yourself.

According to the US Attorney’s office: Levander Carlton McLean, 66, and his wife, Rita Murphy McLean, 45, of Garland, Texas, were convicted by a federal jury following a three-day trial on conspiracy to unlawfully use identification documents.  They each face a maximum statutory sentence of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and restitution. They are scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Kinkeade on December 3, 2008.

The government presented evidence at trial that in July 2001, Levander and Rita Murphy McLean were able to convince their nephew, a Texas Department of Public Safety driver’s license technician, to make them a fraudulent Texas driver’s license and a fraudulent Texas identification card in the names of two innocent people living in North Carolina and South Carolina. The McLeans used these identification documents, as well as a fraudulent Michigan driver’s license that Rita McLean obtained in the name of an innocent Texas resident, to open several fraudulent bank accounts in Dallas, Michigan, and North Carolina.

Now I have to ask here…wonder what the nephew thought when dear old Aunt and Uncle were asking for the fake ID’s?  In order for a fraud to happen three things must be present: (1) need; (2) opportunity and (3) rationalization.  In this case the Nephew provided the opportunity.  Had the Nephew just said now – which is the logical answer, this couple could not have carried out this fraud. 

From 2002 through 2004, the McLeans deposited more than $200,000 in proceeds from more than 130 false federal income tax returns, which had been filed in the names of real taxpayers using stolen W-2s, into these fraudulent accounts. 

While bluntly put this is just dumb fraud pure and simple, there are many other circumstances where good people make bad choices and find out the hard way about consequences.  In this case, I would wager that they both will serve some time in federal prison.  Meanwhile, while I have no idea about the nephew…I would suspect that at a minimum he’s lost his job and perhaps is subject of an investigation for conspiracy.

For information about ethics and choices presentations, visit my web site and remember – Every Choice Does Have A Consequence.

Hannah Montana Tickets and A Heart Warming Positive Ethics Story!

No doubt most people have heard of the terrible incident where a Dallas area mother made up a story for her child in order to win prized Hannah Montana tickets. The story entitled “My Daddy Died This Year In Iraq.” Of course, the story was later found to be false and the tickets were withdrawn.

Showbiz tonight (part of CNN) has reported a truly touching story – in fact a polar opposite story compared to the which made headlines across the country. Here (as reported) a five year old girl – Jada Carlson – donated her Hannah Montana tickets to another for a truly selfless reason.

According to the report, Jada received expensive Hannah Montana tickets for Christmas from her mom Faith. While Jada was excited about going to the show, there was a story about one of Jada’s school mates – Gabby. It was reported that Gabby had been in and out of the hospital and people in her community have held fund raisers for her family to help with doctor bills.

Jada felt that Gabby needed one more thing to help her with the difficult time she was facing. So, in an act of selfless love, Jada gave Gabby her tickets so that “Gabby would know that Jada really did care!”

According to Jada’s mother – the only thing she asked of Gabby was that sometime in the future 30 years from now, she would remember and “pay it forward.”

Watching that video story was heart warming. To see the video click here: http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/showbiz/2008/01/10/anderson.sbt.montana.miracle.cnn

Kudos to a child who saw past the personal value of self-gratification and enjoyed the greater value of “giving!”  As a teen ethics speaker and founder of the Choices Foundation, you bet that this story will be used to contrast the difference between the consequences that come from right acts.

Every choice has a consequence.  I speak about the “Truth about Consequences.”  http://www.chuckgallagher.com    In the first example the consequences for lying were humiliation and loss of the tickets.  In this example the benefits for right actions have been incredible publicity and benefits that are yet to come.

What do you think?  Feel free to comment!

Hannah Montana – No Tickets For False Essay – Ethics Speaker Chuck Gallagher Comments

The Problem:

As reported, a six year old girl in Garland, TX had, what was thought to be a winning entry in a Hannah Montana essay contest. The essay started with the words, “My daddy died this year in Iraq.”

Problem was…that statement was false. The essay was a lie and created to win the contest.

According to the Dallas Morning News the child’s mother stated, ” “We wrote whatever we could to win,” she said. “It said to write an essay. It never said it had to be true. I never said it was true. … It was just an essay. We wrote whatever we could to win.”

Now isn’t that a skewed perspective. Lie in an essay to win and then think that such an action is alright!

The Outcome:

The prize was withdrawn according to Club Libby Lu’s chief executive officer, Mary Drolet. For more information about the withdrawn prize the following was contained in the Dallas Morning News article written by Tawnell D. Hobbs:

Asked why the prize was withdrawn, spokeswoman Robyn Caulfield referred to a prepared statement from Ms. Drolet. The statement said the company had wanted to take ample time to gather facts and make an “appropriate decision” on whether to award the concert tickets and other prizes to the family. It said the company had learned the essay was false after awarding the grand prize.

“We value honesty and integrity, and in order to uphold those values, we have made the decision we have made,” Ms. Caulfield said, referencing Ms. Drolet’s statement.

The company will award the concert trip to another girl, according to Ms. Drolet’s statement. The name of the new winner is being withheld to maintain the family’s privacy, the statement said.

The Lesson(s):

Every choice has a consequence. This is a statement that is made in most every presentation I give. http://www.chuckgallagher.com

Whether it is to a business organization, an association, or a group of teens or college students, ethical behavior has one common thread – you cannot escape the consequences of the choices you make.

Certainly in this case the consequences fell into several areas:

1. One the little girl was taught a lesson from her mom – Winning at all costs will not yield a positive result if the win comes from a dishonest foundation.
2. Mom has shown her ethical foundation based on the comments she made and considering the publicity she has received, she is the recipient of consequences as well.
3. The example shown by Club Libby Lu as set a standard and example for young girls “tweens” as they are called. I respect Ms. Drolet for taking the stand for ethical behavior and allowing the consequence for unethical behavior to take place.

Perhaps this simple chapter might make a life long impression on the life of a little six year old and be a message for others to take head from.

Every choice has a consequence and doing “whatever we could to win” will not always yield positive results.

Your comments are welcome. Do you agree with the position taken by Club Libby Lu?

Hannah Montana and An Ethics Meltdown – Anything For Success? Ethics Speaker Chuck Gallagher Comments!

A sad story out of Garland, Texas (not far from my home in Southlake, TX). A story of Iraq, a little girl, compassion and all for Hannah Montana tickets.

The little girl was six years old who won Hannah Montana tickets to a sold out concert for the touching essay she wrote. What a special reward for a girl who touched the hearts of those who read.

The essay was a fake – the story told a lie! All done to influence the judges and win the tickets. Ethical choices gone bad and at six years old (and get this) with the knowledge (and likely help) of her mother.

The Associated Press story featured on CNN is shown below: http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Music/12/29/fake.essay.ap/index.html

Here’s what took place:

• Club Libby Lu, a store that sells clothes, accessories and games intended for young girls based out of Chicago, sponsored a contest which included airfare for four to a sold-out Hannah Montana concert on January 9th in Albany, NY.
• The little girl who won had an essay whose first line began with: “My daddy died this year in Iraq.”
• The story wasn’t true!
• Priscilla Ceballos, the little girls mother, told an interviewer with KDFW (a Dallas, TX TV station), “We did whatever we could to win.”

Mary Drolet, the CEO for Club Libby Lu stated, “We regret that the original intent of the contest, which was to make a little girl’s holiday extra special, has not been realized in the way we anticipated.” The company is considering taking away the girls tickets.

What should the outcome be?

I seriously doubt that a six year old girl could come up with a deception that contrived on her own. She had to have had help and her mother has as much admitted her part in the overall deception.

If the little girl were allowed to keep the prize, including the tickets, it would send a clear message that unethical behavior (regardless of who made the decision) is alright. It’s not alright!

If the little girl had the tickets revoked, while she would likely be hurt, it would demonstrate at a very young age, something that I state to groups all over the country, that every choice has a consequence. Reality is, by your choices you determine the consequences you receive – negative consequences (loss of the tickets) or positive results (enjoyment of the prize).

Either way, her mother, through national attention, has been exposed as a liar and a person who was willing, as she put it, to do “whatever we could do to win.” The likely outcome for their family will play out in many ways for time to come.

What do you think the outcome should be? Your comments are welcome.

Do you think that children and teens are taught ethics or is ethical behavior instinctive? Again, your comments are welcome.

For now, Motivational and Ethics Speaker, Chuck Gallagher signing off.