Navy SEAL Charity Fraud Graham Ware's Latest Scam (Updated 12/21/13)

UPDATED 12/21/13: 

(Not) Consulting with Deloitte.  After I revealed that Graham Ware photo-shopped himself onto a stock photo to falsely convey the illusion that he has a team, he pulled the image off his website and replaced it with another photo labeled "Consulting in Hong Kong with SAP and Deloitte". Ware doesn't appear in the photo nor does his company logo appear on the slide. Fortunately, I know some senior executives at Deloitte, two of whom work international financial crimes. I'm sure they'll be thrilled to know that Ware has now dragged Deloitte's name into his latest scam.

(Not) Google SEO Certified.  After I pointed out in my original post below that Ware falsely claimed Google Partner status, he invented or copied a fake Google SEO Professional certification badge and added that to his website. This is a well-known scam since Google does not and has never offered such a certification.

(No) Members who are Google Engage certified. Ware's other change since my original post's exposure of his fakery is that he now claims that Optzona LLC has members who are Google Engage certified. There are two flaws in this latest false claim.

1. Ware's LLC has no members according to his paperwork filed with the State of Arizona.

Document # 04466032 Articles of Incorporation for Optzona LLC

2. Google has changed the name of this certification for agencies from Google Engaged to Google Partners. One of the many requirements to achieve this certification is to first be certified in Google Adwords. Further, since Google Partners is a company certification, Google investigates each company for business health ("at least $10,000 in total Adwords spend over the last 90 calendar days") and to ensure that it maintains good client relations. This is what an official Google Partner badge looks like: 

The only legitimate change that has happened with Optzona LLC is that Ware finally spent the $50 needed to file his LLC. Pretty much everything else on that site is fake. 

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UPDATED 11/24/13 with more evidence of Ware's misconduct.

In addition to my original findings below this update, I just discovered that Ware used photo-editing software to create the impression that he's part of a legitimate company.

Here's a screenshot taken from the OptZona web page which features a smiling Graham Ware (circled in red):

I ran a search in Google Images and found the original which, not surprisingly, doesn't feature Ware at all. It's a stock photo used by this company, among others.

 He pulled the same stunt with his conference photo. Here's is the one on his website which features an OptZona slide, and just below it is a stock photo that you can buy a license to use, like Kreativ Tours probably did.

This is simply more evidence that consumers in the State of Arizona and elsewhere in the U.S. need to beware of Graham Ware. I'm happy to say that his former @OptZona Twitter account is gone replaced with a new one that says "LLC pending" and has very few followers. 

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(November 18, 2013) Graham Ware, a Scottsdale, AZ native who was outed (here and here) for running a fake Navy SEAL charity website has moved on to the Search Engine Optimization game. His new scam is complete with a fake Google Certification logo, a fake Arizona LLC, and operates out of a UPS mail drop.

The above screen capture shows all three red flags.

Lower part of OptZona.com website

GOOGLE ANALYTICS CERTIFIED (NOT)

I checked with Google Analytics Professional Services and Google Analytics Partner Services. Neither one lists Optzona LLC as a certified organization. This isn't surprising when you read the requirements for a company to become a GACP (Google Analytics Certified Partner). For one thing, "you have to be legally incorporated to do business in your locality." So Ware obviously cut and pasted a fake Google Analytics logo to add credibility to his non-existent company.

OPTZONA's LLC STATUS (NOT)

The State of Arizona maintains a Division of Corporations website where anyone can run a business entity search. If you plug "Optzona" into the search window, you'll see two hits. One is a name reservation for Optzona LLC filed by Graham Ware on July 18, 2013 which expired on 11/16/13 (File Number: N-1860916-0). The other is a Pending File Inquiry (File Number: L-1884805-8) filed on 11/8/13 and returned to Ware on 11/12/13 for what appears to be a potential name conflict. As of today, 11/18/13, Optzona LLC does not legally exist. 

OPTZONA's BUSINESS ADDRESS

The contact address on Optzona's web page is 15279 N. Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale, AZ which turns out to be a UPS mail drop.

Slide used in a Optzona promotional video on YouTube

Ware's YouTube channel features a 20 minute slide presentation with Ware providing voice-over. In it he describes OptZona LLC as a Search Engine Optimization company that was founded in 2012 and that has grown to become "one of the major industry leaders in their field" (minute 0:54-1:03). Notice the reference in the above slide to "grossly misleading & unethical businesses". Unbelievably, Ware is pitching viewers to avoid unethical companies just like OptZona; companies which aren't legally incorporated, who invent their own history, and who advertise certifications that they never qualified for.

INVESTORS BE WARNED

OptZona's Twitter account made this disturbing announcement about two weeks ago:

If this tweet is accurate, Ware intends to expand his fraudulent enterprise with other peoples money. I encourage anyone reading this article to report Ware to the Arizona Attorney General's office. Between his un-registered Navy SEAL charity scam and this fake SEO company, the guy is a malicious serial con artist.

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Book Review: "Powerful Peace: A Navy SEAL's Lessons on Peace from a Lifetime at War

When I began to read an advance copy of J. Robert DuBois's book "Powerful Peace: A Navy SEAL's Lessons on Peace from a Lifetime at War" I was immediately reminded of Miyamoto Musashi's "The Book of Five Rings".

• Both are written by elite warriors at the end of their respective military careers. 
• Both demonstrate a deep respect for the spiritual as well as the martial.
• Both encourage the reader to pursue in practice the concepts that they've put down in writing. Musashi's most frequent phrase is "You should investigate this thoroughly". DuBois gives the reader assignments to do after each section.
• Both divide their books into natural elements or components (Musashi: Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, Void; DuBois: Body, Mind, Heart, Soul, Hope).
• Both understand and encourage a wide perspective rather than a narrow focus. DuBois wrote about the importance of Commonality, Self Interest, and "thinking broadly"; all of which contribute to DuBois's specialty - the use of Smart Power. Musashi had rules for his students, some of which included:

1. Touch upon all of the arts.
2. Know the Ways of all occupations.
3. Know the advantages and disadvantages of everything.
4. Develop a discerning eye in all matters.
5. Pay attention to even small things.

Rob DuBois has written an exceptional book about peace-keeping; a book that could only have been written by a member of an elite special operations unit. In his chapter called "Harm" he talks about the cost of war to children and his feelings about two beautiful Iraqi girls who were wounded by a car bomb near a school:

God, how I long to suit up and rejoin the mission! I want to pay back, to the monsters that did this, everything they deserve—with interest. If you came to this table for a Kumbaya solution, you’ll be disappointed. I don’t denounce violence; I embrace it. I keep violence as close as my hands and my heart. Because I do, I am more often spared from having to use it. My heart doesn’t ache for these children. It explodes. Forcing out burning tears, my heart explodes like the car bomb that tore them and their playmates apart.
Yet despite a boiling rage, I remind myself—we must not abandon balance. We have to respond, not react. In the next chapter, we’ll look more at the Why Not of lashing out, but for now let me say, to be more effective we have to learn to engage among and across relationships, households, and societies—most especially into concentrations where the hatred is most firmly rooted. Destroying alone leads to more destroying. This is the terrible paradox. It’s almost impossible to imagine breaking the cycle of harm when you feel so hurt and hateful, but there is no other hope for these girls and millions like them.

DuBois's book, a relatively short 154 pages, is packed with wisdom derived from personal experiences in battle and in training with his peers in the SpecOps community world-wide. It underscores the many options available to us to resolve conflict before we engage with bullets and bombs. This is a critical book that both doves and hawks need to read, discuss and implement in their daily lives.

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