Featured Article
Con Artist Rips off Retired NFL Players and others….
By Reginald Grant, MSEd, Author, Education Consultant, former NFL/CFL 01/07/2016
Mark-Daniel-Maren is his name and after some delayed research I found out he is a lifelong criminal. I am an eternal optimist and firmly believe in the goodness of mankind. But, people like this guy, Mark-Daniel-Maren give me pause and even made me revisit how and with whom I will network with and do business with. After the fact I did some digging online and contacted some people I know in the law enforcement industry. It appears that Mark-Daniel-Maren has been ripping off people for decades, not just here in the United States but Canada, Mexico and all across the globe. He is’ supposedly residing somewhere in Mexico now, who knows for sure.
I was contacted via LinkedIn by this guy and I had a vague thought that I knew his name from somewhere. I just took his statements and conversations on their face value. I did not do my due diligence or I would never have communicated with this guy and I could have helped some of my fellow NFL alumni keep from being ripped off. He contacted me and stated that he was doing this big golf tournament in Mexico and that he needed to bring some retired NFL players and other athletes. He also stated the he would purchase one of my books (Success Stories Insights by African American Men) for the entire field of 136 golfers. I was suckered in by my desire to sell books. Boy was I wrong.
I had received emails from my network of NFL guys about the event and assumed that he was on the up and up. So, I also shared his information with my extensive network. Guys were excited to be involved with an event to raise funds for a charity and enjoy a trip to Mexico. He must have thought though the entire elaborate scheme, getting guys committed, using their information to sucker in the sponsors and charities. Then getting the retired professional athletes to send him the funds for their wives airfare and only God know what else he has done. Once everything was completed he told everyone that the event had to be pushed back and rescheduled this happened several times and then he disappeared.
Former NFL player and contributing author to my book Steven Holden reached out to me because so many guys had contacted him about this guy not returning the player's monies. The phone was off, the emails stopped being responded to and he had vanished. Unknown to me or my peers this was not a new pattern for Mr. Mark-Daniel-Maren. He had done this in Canada, and in 2011 was extradited from Canada to the US for writing fraudulent checks. He has it seems often masqueraded as a CLF and NFL agent, he is expert at ripping off players. He has staged fake combines and player try out events throughout North America and in Mexico, so he’s stealing the money and kids’ dreams too. What a scum bag. The list of things he has been accused of is very, very long, below are links to articles and websites’ about this guy.
Let me repeat myself, I am an eternal optimist and firmly believe in the goodness of mankind. I also understand the power of networking and relationship development in business, so I was forced to rethink some things. As an author and educational consultant my brand and visibility to potential new customers is important. I have thousands of connections and followers on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. All of the social media exposure and involvement is vital and a requirement in today’s business environment. I became uneasy and felt that I needed a better way to screen potential business relationships. I started researching and had a few conversations with some of my friends and associates across the country. Forbes Magazine had some great articles on social networks for the very affluent. Then I had an epiphany, why not start a private business network. I bounced the idea off some potential founding members and the idea took off. Today, a small group of us met in Los Angeles and “ The Business Circle™” was born. The Business Circle™ will be a private business network, where everyone is vetted and only gets’ into the circle by invitation only.
The players who were ripped off will probably NEVER get their funds back, but I firmly believe that someday Mark-Daniel-Maren will get his “come unpins.” So. “buyer beware” do not do business with Mark-Daniel-Maren. Official Launch of The Business Circle™in late January 2017.
By Reginald Grant, MSEd, Author, Education Consultant, former NFL/CFL
(reginaldgrant.com, afamilyofauthors.com, and grantlanguageacademy.com)
Websites and Stories on Mark-Daniel-Maren
Accusations Against Conquistador Bowl Organizer (Football-Austria)
FL Agent Mark Maren Arrested Based On Scheme To Defraud (Sports Agent Blog)
Football Players Want Answers After Scouting Camp Swindle (Huffington Post)
Rising Football Stars Swindled by Scouting Camp Planner (CBC)
Agent’s Canceled CFL Tryout Camp Costs Players Money and Opportunity (Hamilton Spectator)
N.S. Football Players Lose Money in Scouting Camp Scheme (Daily Courier-Observer)
U.S. Customs Officials Arrest CFL Agent Mark Maren (The Globe and Mail)
Dodgy Agent Cancels CFL Combine, Leaving Players and CFL on the Hook (Rider Fans)
CFL Agent Faces Fraud Charges in U.S. (The Star)
Mark Maren Awaiting Extradition on Fraud Charges (Twelve Men on the Field)
CFL Agent Facing U.S. Felony Charges (Winnipeg Free Press)
http://www.theconquistadorbowl.com
http://www.cisfootball.org/forums/showthread.php?11910-Conquistador-Bowl-and-Mark-Daniel-Maren
http://creationaura.com/mark-daniel-maren-is-back-in-toronto-to-con-again/
https://www.thestar.com/sports/football/2011/01/14/cfl_player_agent_faces_fraud_charges_in_us.html