Remember the hotly pitched infomercial product Wealth Without Risk with Saen Higgins? Well since the recent FTC actions and shutdowns of related operations it looks like SaenHiggins.com which was promoting the tax lien scheme is either gone or offline.
You can see a picture of the old Wealth Without Risk site here.
A recent commenter posted the following observation:
“I noticed that Saen Higgins is shown as business partners with Tony Martinez of http://www.ustaxlienassociation.com do you know if Tony Martinez US Tax Lien Association an extension of the John Beck Free and Clear infomercial systems challenged by the FTC? It appears that Saen Higgins and Tony Martinez US Tax Lien Association is also located in Sacramento California which also happens to be the location of Gary Hewitt and Doug Gravink of Family Products Wealth Without Risk and Wealth System LLC US Tax Lien Association 3301 C Street Suite 200A Sacramento, California 95816 United States (800) 882-0467”
Sure enough, while the old website for SaenHiggins.com is blank, he’s popped up on the United States Tax Lien Association website.
I’m beginning to think Higgins is a one trick pony and his schtick is selling tax lien courses, coaching and/or training.
The United States Tax Lien Association website raises a number of red flags for me. First off, they don’t even list where they are physically located on their contact us page. – Source
Using the tip from the commenter I took a look in California for the company. The California Secretary of State has no listing for a company called United States Tax Lien Association. There is a listing for a US Tax Lient Association, LLC which is actually a Nevada company.
A linkedin page does list the address of the company as 3301 C Street, Suite 200A, Sacramento, CA 95816 and interestingly mixes the old Wealth Without Risk pitch and the new U.S. Tax Lien Association name.
Interestingly, the U.S. Tax Association website says they were established in 1995 while their Linkedin page says 1998.
But the company, US Tax Lien Association was not registered in California till 2009 and in Nevada where they originally incorporated, they filed in 2009. – Source
The domain name ustaxlienassociation.com wasn’t even registered till October 27, 2010 and the administrative contact is listed as Richard Putnam (rich@taxlienteam.com) at 3301 C Street Suite 201A, Sacramento, California 95816.
While Tony Martinez and Saen Higgins claim to be co-founders of the United States Tax Lien Association, (source) according to Nevada state records they are not the owners of the company. The company is owned by Optimum Achievement, Inc and Infinite Influence, LLC. – Source
Infinite Influence, LLC is owned by Heidi Jackson and was formed in 2007. – Source
Optimum Achievement is a bit more of a mystery. While the US Tax Lien Association claims the managing member, Optimum Achievement, is located in Minden, Nevada, the state of Nevada has no listing of a company by that name that is authorized to do business.
So let’s look at a larger picture here.
It appears the company name is really most likely Association for Optimum Achievement, according to public records the registered agent is Saen Higgins and is located at 3301 C STREET, SUITE 200A, SACRAMENTO CA 95816. And coincidently it is the Association for Optimum Achievement that actually owns the domain name for ustaxlienassociation.com.
Other companies and people named in the connected matrix include Michael Hawes, Qrp & Associates, and S&M Real Properties.
The address used by some of these companies at 3301 C Street, Suite 200A, Sacramento, California 95816 is used by a number of non-related companies. In that case, it may be a mail drop and not the physical address the U.S. Tax Lien Association operates from.
Bottom Line
I’m suspicious and skeptical with so many things and claims not adding up. It’s additionally odd that if the company is actually operating in California, they are not using the correct name of the company. It is registered as US Tax Lien Association and not United States Tax Lien Association.
But one more ironic point, the United States Tax Lien Association seems to have “borrowed” the site terms used by none other than Wealth Without Risk. – Source
And guess what company is not registered to conduct business in California, yep, that’s right, Wealth Without Risk. And one more interesting little connection, a company called AOA, Inc. is listed as using the same telephone number, 916-290-9316, and address as the United States Tax Lien Association. But According to California public records there is no company registered to do business in the state as AOA, Inc.
I urge you to follow my two guides to evaluate your choice of any company.
- The Ultimate Consumer Guide to Checking Out a Debt Relief Company Before You Sign On the Line
- How to Check Out a Business or Company to Avoid Getting Scammed or Ripped Off
You can look at the related articles section of this post to see what has been written about them in the past. The comments on any relevant post may be enlightening as well.
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I sure am glad I did a search on this “U.S. Tax Lien Association” before falling victim. The pitch was like Crack ! LOL I almost fell for it as I’m 60 years old, been disabled since 1996 and my wife took everything when she divorced me after being bed-ridden for 10 years. Been scraping by on SSDI ever since and really am looking for a way I can increase my wealth before I’m too old. Another thing, ever since I gave them my email for their free lectures, I have been inundated with phone calls from somebody saying I’m a Prime Suspect in a case filed by the IRS and I must call him ASAP. I looked up the number and it’s some guy in PA. & the number is flagged as a Tax Scam. I wonder if the two are related? Seems coincidental.
I would like to ask, is it really possible to buy a house or land through a Tax Lien or Sale?
Also, these land deals of $500 down & $125 mo ? They seem to be a scam, offering worthless land that can’t be used for anything except grazing goats.
I don’t have much money but, I’m tired of renting. Landlords always seem to think they can get away with things because they view me as weak & too poor to fight them in court. I always end up just moving. Last time was black flakes of lead in my drinking water & instead of replacing the old lead pipes, they evicted me! Any help you can offer would be much appreciated.
I really wish I had seen this before. Paid a lot of money to them and they are promising a refund but nothing to date. Wow. Not sure what to do now-AG, FTC? Suggestions.
Follow the advice in this article. https://getoutofdebt.org//20126/how-to-try-to-get-a-refund-from-a-debt-relief-company
Great. I was approached online today by Tony Martinez and I fell for his spiel. Should have known better. I was doing too many things at once. I only gave them $31. Should I be worried about them having my personal information?
The odds are you are good but you might want to engage some proactive credit monitoring to make sure there are no surprises.
Steve, thank you for all the good work you do. I need to keep better tabs on it. You have connected the US Tax Lien Association right back to the Family Products bunch.
Like the total dumb shit that he is, Saen Higgins actually listed his HOME ADDRESS as the location for process of service. How do I know? I used to work for that slimey con-man. I could call him a con-artist, but there it no “art” to his “con”. He is absolutely the WORST scum of a human being I have ever had the misfortune of being acquainted with. FYI – He and his latest partner in crime Steve Clemments (slightly LESS crooked) are down in Australia and Singapore selling their bullshit. They ran out of victims in the USA and Canada and now have to fly 18 hours away to do their evil deeds. Why Higgins isn’t in prison is beyond me. He certainly belong there. As for AOA – that is the company Higgins owned when I worked for him in San Diego. He sure moves around a lot – Oh by the way – he totally cheated on his wife. Not that she didn’t deserve it for marrying him in the first place.
Interesting. I did find this video of Higgins in Australia.
http://youtu.be/Mts_aXgYPlo