Clinton supporter enables preying upon elderly

http://www.nysun.com/article/54982

New York Sun - May 22, 2007

Clinton Backer’s Firm Alleged to Aid Scammers By JOSH GERSTEIN Staff Reporter of the Sun

A Nebraska entrepreneur facing allegations that his firm does =

business with scam artists targeting the elderly, Vinod Gupta, has =

directed more than $3 million in the past decade to political =

campaigns and projects connected with President Clinton and Senator =

Clinton.

Mr. Gupta’s company, infoUSA, Inc., repeatedly rented marketing =

databases to unscrupulous individuals who used the lists to engage in =

fraud, according to the New York Times. A front-page article in the =

Sunday paper said the company promoted a list called “Suffering =

Seniors,” which featured ailing older people, and other lists of =

“Elderly Opportunity Seekers” and those deemed to be “gullible.”

Mr. Gupta, the chairman and CEO of infoUSA, has been one of the most =

generous benefactors to causes affiliated with the Clintons. He =

donated $2 million to a national millennium celebration organized by =

Mrs. Clinton’s White House office, according to a book published by =

her chief fund-raiser, Terence McAuliffe. Mr. Gupta also gave $1 =

million for the construction of Mr. Clinton’s presidential library in =

Little Rock, Ark.

In 2000, Mr. Gupta gave $100,000 to support Mrs. Clinton’s Senate bid =

and hosted a fund-raiser in his home that raised $100,000 more. “She =

was so good,” he said of Mrs. Clinton’s talk there, according to the =

Omaha World-Herald. “I think she is smarter than the president.”

Mr. Gupta and his wife, Laurel, were also the Clintons’ guests for a =

stay in the White House’s Lincoln Bedroom in 1999. The entrepreneur =

said the omnipresent Secret Service took the luster off the visit. =

“You kind of feel like you’re in jail,” he told the Omaha paper.

Mr. Gupta and his wife, Laurel, were also the Clintons’ guests for a =

stay in the White House’s Lincoln Bedroom in 1999. The entrepreneur =

said the omnipresent Secret Service took the luster off the visit. =

“You kind of feel like you’re in jail,” he told the Omaha paper.

The extent of Mr. Gupta’s involvement in Mrs. Clinton’s presidential =

bid is unclear. He gave $1,000 to the campaign in February, which is =

far short of the maximum $4,600 donation. A spokesman for Mrs. =

Clinton, Howard Wolfson, noted that Mr. Gupta was not among a list of =

large fund-raisers released by the campaign last month.

Mr. Gupta did not respond to requests for an interview for this =

article. However, he issued a statement yesterday taking issue with =

the Times report. “We regret that the Times has chosen to recycle as =

=91news’ this 3-year-old, closed inquiry by the Iowa authorities and =

has done so in such a misleading way,” Mr. Gupta said.

The statement said infoUSA has never marketed lists of “gullible” =

individuals. The firm also said it does not compile lists called =

“Elderly Opportunity Seekers” or “Suffering Seniors.”

An assistant attorney general in Iowa who investigated how the firm =

markets and distributes its data files disputed the company’s =

assertion that it cooperated completely with the probe. “It’s because =

they weren’t cooperative that we had to go to court,” the attorney, =

Steve St. Clair, told The New York Sun yesterday. He labeled the =

firm’s claim that the investigation is closed “self-serving and =

speculative on their part.” He also said the probe never cleared the =

company. “There was no point at which we communicated satisfaction =

that they’d done nothing wrong,” he said.

Mr. St. Clair said he never saw evidence that infoUSA circulated a =

list of “Suffering Seniors” but said it did offer lists such as “cash- =

hungry individuals.” “When you look at some of the phrases they did =

use, it’s hard to distinguish them,” he said.

An attorney at the University of California who studies privacy and =

marketing issues, Chris Hoofnagle, said an infoUSA subsidiary has =

promoted lists of consumers described as “mature” and “impulsive.” =

“=91Mature’ and =91impulsive’ are keywords for =91Come rob me, come swindle= =

me,” Mr. Hoofnagle said. He said other lists “reinforce racial and =

class-based stereotypes.”

“There’s almost no privacy rights with respect to these companies,” =

he said. “These list brokers are completely opaque.”

InfoUSA said it pre-screens offers directed to the elderly and =

stopped renting lists of seniors receptive to “sweepstakes and =

gaming” after Iowa launched its probe. However, the firm said there =

are “many legitimate reasons for direct marketing to senior citizens =

(or any other demographic group).” InfoUSA said such age-related =

lists help insurance companies, retirement communities, and AARP =

reach their target audiences.

The Times article about infoUSA did not mention Mr. Gupta or his =

political ties.

Just before leaving office in 2001, Mr. Clinton appointed the infoUSA =

founder to the board of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in =

Washington. The pair later traveled together in India, when Mr. =

Clinton made a trip there to survey earthquake damage. Mr. Gupta also =

treated the former president to a round of golf at the renowned Loch =

Lomond course in Scotland in 2001, according to local press accounts.

Mr. Clinton has visited infoUSA’s offices at least twice, according =

to press reports. In 2001, he was keynote speaker at a company- =

sponsored marketing seminar focused on “surviving privacy legislation.”

Mr. Gupta’s limited involvement in Mrs. Clinton’s latest campaign =

could relate to his company’s recent acquisition of a firm that is =

now CNN’s main pollster, Opinion Research Corporation. Conservative =

Web sites have cited Mr. Gupta’s ties to the Clintons in questioning =

the independence of the surveys.

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