Jon and Pete Najarian: Financial Charlatans, Indicator Hustlers, and Ponzi Promoters?
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Honesty
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Quality
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Cost
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Support
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Verified Trades
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User Experience
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Summary
Jon and Pete Najarian are longtime talking heads on CNBC. But does being on CNBC and pontificating in macho overtones make you a successful investor? Apparently not. Neither Jon or Pete could provide TradingSchools.Org with a verifiable track record of ever investing successfully. Their line of defense appears to be “since we are on TV, then we must be real.”
However, in spite of having no track record, they expect that starry-eyed television viewers should gleefully send them $16,000 per year for their magical trading products and services.
Additionally, Pete and Jon Najarian are more than happy to endorse your investment product or service for a handsome promotional endorsement fee. Just recently, one of the companies they promoted was shuttered by the United States Secret Service and the US Attorney in Arizona for running a massive Ponzi scheme where hundreds of elderly investors lost multiple millions of dollars.
Both of these characters appear to be no better, and perhaps worse than CNBC alumni — Jim Cramer. Another sloppy financial charlatan that we recently exposed.
Pros
Loud mouthed salesmanship at its finest.
Top tier carnival barkers
World-class marketing
Cons
No verifiable trading performance
Company is filled with financial rejects, barred brokers, and others of dubious reputation
The Najarian’s recently, and wholeheartedly promoted a massive Ponzi scheme in Phoenix Arizona
Thanks for reading today’s review of Market Rebellion. But before we talk about Market Rebellion, I want to take a moment to talk about CNBC.
All of us watch CNBC, its the go-to channel for news regarding the stock market. Nearly 24 hours each day, you will find a colorful character hawking some sort of financial information.
Its sort of like a swap meet, where talking heads and financial hucksters put their spin on what happened during the trading day.
If you have been around long enough, then you know that the near-constant stream of jibber-jabber is basically useless information. It is Monday morning quarterbacking at its finest.
Probably the most famous, and most well known talking head on CNBC is Jim Cramer. The CNBC platform lends tremendous credibility to whoever is on the television. And most consumers think to themselves, “If he is on TV, so then he must be credible.”
However, after writing financial reviews for the past 7 years, I have learned that there is zero correlation between successful investing and listening to these colorful characters’ recommendations on financial television. In short, the shows and the books that these financial charlatans constantly peddle are just regurgitated financial nonsense.
A good example would be Jim Cramer. TradingSchools.Org wrote a review about Jim Cramer back in May 2019, and what we discovered was plain stupid. Most people have never put Jim Cramer under a microscope and really dug into his past. Be we did.
What we found was not encouraging. Example: Jim Cramer claimed he went to Harvard and Harvard Law School. This turned out to be bunk. He has never been registered as a lawyer with any State Bar, nor has anyone ever actually seen his supposed law school diploma. I emailed Jim and couldn’t get a straight answer.
Additionally, he claimed he was a stockbroker at Goldman Sachs and “made a bunch of people money.” He claimed he was a former hedge fund manager and a “world-class trader.” However, TradingSchools.Org performed an extremely thorough search on Jim Cramer and it turns out he never was a stockbroker at Goldman Sachs, has never been registered with FINRA, and the existence of his supposed ‘hedge fund’ appears to be nothing more than a story he conjured from thin air.
However, we were able to confirm only two things about Jim Cramer:
- He was once homeless and lived in his car.
- Held a job as an ice-cream salesman.
Everything else appears to be a mirage.
Before I jump into the Market Rebellion review, I wanted the audience to know that my research concerning the colorful characters of CNBC is likely more thorough and critical than any other researcher (at least that I know).
You can read the Jim Cramer review here. In short, the dude is a horrible trader. And his track record is absolutely horrendous.
With this in mind, let’s jump into the Market Rebellion review.
What is Market Rebellion?
Market Rebellion is the official website of John and Pete Najarian. Yes, those guys. They are on CNBC nearly every single day. Usually wearing really gaudy jewelry, mostly large silver rings on their stumpy fingers that resemble something you would buy from a Tijuana street vendor.
John and Pete are basically twins. Neither has any hair on the top of their heads. But they make up for it by growing long ponytails and dying their goatees into something that resembles a skunk.
They are always jawboning. Always puffing their chests out, acting really tough and putting on the alpha male image. My wife comments that they look stupid. And that they dress like buffoons. I tend to agree.
They exude the macho male persona. The looks are intimidating. The impression they are trying to convey is “I own the stock market” and “My gorilla (ish) appearance says all you need to know.”
But really. Does wearing cheap jewelry and having a really bad haircut and wearing stupid looking clothes and hats make you a successful investor?
This is what I really wanted to know. And so I went into the review, in particular — the investigation process — with an attitude of I am going to keep an open mind. But I am going to strip this down to the studs. And find what lays beneath the solid jawline, stupid rings, and fast talk.
What is Market Rebellion Selling?
According to the Market Rebellion website, the company is selling the following products and services…
1) Pete Najarian’s Cash Flow Portfolio
Pete Najarian wants you to become rich! Just like him. As he describes in his service, he will teach you his secret investment formula that specializes in generating cash flow.
Do you want to be a “Pit Boss,” as the promotional material screams onto the loud web page? No problem. Simply log into the website and an educational counselor named Bill Johnson will give you tips and recommendations that he learned by studying Pete Najarian.
The cost of this trading recommendation service is ‘only’ $3,500 per year.
2) Unusual Option Activity
According to Pete and Jon, they have developed a secret trading algorithm called the “Heat Seeker” trading indicator.
The promotional material promises something truly fantastic. And very exclusive. In fact, if you sign up for this service, you will be part of the exclusive community of super traders that supposedly profit handsomely by simply buying and selling as the “Heat Seeker” trading indicator predicts.
Once again, an educational counselor with no active or valid FINRA registration will help you make your investment decisions.
The cost of the Unusual Option Activity is ‘only’ $5,000 per year.
3) Smart Money Advantage
Do you want to know what the ‘smart money’ is doing? According to the sales promotion, Pete and Jon Najarian know exactly what smart people are doing. And now, you can easily take advantage of their secret information to profit handsomely.
The cost of the Smart Money Advantage is ‘only’ $1,000 per year.
The service is fielded by “lead financial analyst” Ryan Mastro. According to Finra.Org, Ryan had three years of experience as a stockbroker before letting his license lapse.
4)TNT Options and TNT Options Pro
Do you like to talk to people? If so, then the TNT Options program might be the product for you. For only $500 per year, you will be able to talk to a real investment educational counselor on Tuesday mornings, in a group call.
Do you want more than just a conversation? Then sign up for the TNT Options Pro educational program which includes a weekly conversation and five to eight potential trading recommendations each week.
The cost of TNT Options Pro is only $1,500 per year. And it’s guaranteed to explode your trading profits!
5) Time Bandit and Time Bandit Pro
Would you like to know the most powerful options trading strategy known to all mankind? No problem.
According to the sales promotion, this secretive options trading strategy is called an Iron Condor. And you can learn this secret method by spending $500 per year.
Perhaps you would like to take the Iron Condor options trading strategy to the next level. No problem. For only another $2,000 per year, you will be given 2-4 trading ideas emailed directly to your inbox.
6) Phoenix Portfolio
Would you like to build a portfolio of stocks that are guaranteed to “rise from the ashes?”
Yes, this product actually guarantees that your portfolio will actually “rise from the ashes” by purchasing puts against your stocks.
The cost of this “Insurance Education” is only $1,400 per year.
However, they fail to mention that there is no free lunch in investing. Sure, you can buy “Insurance” in options puts against a portfolio of stocks. But they fail to mention the cost of this “Insurance.”
Hint: the cost of puts, over the long haul will strip away any gains that a stock enjoys over an extended period of time.
In total, the cost of all of these products and services combined is $14,000 per year.
7) One on One Coaching
Perhaps you would like some extra hand holding. Maybe you just want someone to talk too.
No problem. For only $900 you will receive 3-hours to talk about all of your problems and ask any questions that you like.
But this is not ‘personal time’ with Peter or Jon Najarian. That is another product altogether.
8) Personal Coaching with Pete and Jon Najarian
Maybe you want the real deal. You want the masters of trading. You want to drink from their fountain of testosterone, you want to bask in the splendor of their machismo? No problem.
If you really want a taste of Pete and Jon, then you need to spend $10,000 to be grouped together and boarded onto a private yacht.
For $10k, you get two days of straight dope education and this includes breakfast and dinner. Ask anything you like.
You will be able to rub elbows, suck their balls, admire the gaudy jewelry, and cruise around a private yacht.
9) Private Promotional Services
Do you have a really cool investment idea? Do you want Jon and Pete to promote it? Do you want your product and service to be exposed to millions of their daily followers?
No problem. For only $100k, they will pimp your product and give it the credibility you need to raise millions of dollars!
How effective are Jon and Pete Najarian at promoting the products and services of third parties? Can their blessing really help you raise millions of dollars?
Apparently, the answer is yes.
Zima Digitial Assets
In 2017, John Caruso got released from prison. John Caruso comes from a family of criminals and con artists dating back to the 1990s.
His recent conviction, which netted him three years in prison, was for extortion. Apparently, he had a knack for finding and intimidating wealthy older men and convincing them into paying large sums of money — else he would cut off their balls.
Sounds crazy right? Well, that is exactly what he did.
John Caruso also had a good friend named Zach Salter. And Zach Salter was also a serial loser that spent nearly all his life executing petty scams in the Phoenix Arizona area.
In 2018, Zach and John got together and hatched a new plan. They would reinvent themselves as money managers that specialized in “high-frequency cryptocurrency trading.” They quickly put together a website and began advertising on Instagram and social media.
The initial money that came into the scam was used to rent a Bentley and a Lamborghini. Of which, they created more videos and offered the cars as social proof.
Next, they rented two mansions in the Scottsdale Arizona area and created yet more videos that acted as social proof.
And finally, to really put a cherry on top…they contacted Jon and Pete Najarian and formed a partnership where Jon and Pete would heavily promote their product and service.
Did Jon and Pete Najarian do any due diligence on either of these bozo’s? Apparently not.
Mid 2019, TradingSchools.Org began to receive a steady stream of warnings from readers in the Scottsdale Arizona area that “the Najarians were carousing with two local conmen.”
Readers reported that they were partying at a local mansion and driving around in rented sports cars. All the while, film crews were shooting promotional videos…for something.
TradingSchools.Org, using an alias, contacted Salter and Caruso directly and got the sales pitch. And the pitch was simple…”the Najarians are backing our product, promoting our product, and our good friends.”
And, “You can trust us. Because the Najarians trust us.”
They were offering investment returns of 25% per month. And plainly stated, “the Najarians are big investors.”
Well, if the Najarians are big investors, and the Najarians are shooting videos promoting this “investment manager” then it must be legit right?
The following are snippets of various promotional videos that the Najarians created on behalf of Salter and Caruso…which were used for promotional purposes.
Zima Digital Assets: It was all a scam
According to the US Attorney in Arizona, several months after the Najarian promotion, investors began to report that they could not get their money out.
In fact, according to the US Attorney, over 100 investors were bilked of “at least $7.5 million” that was spent on casinos in Las Vegas, private jets, cars for family and friends, rented mansions, promotional advertising, and of course — unlimited shrimp cocktail.
Both Salter and Caruso were arrested in February 2020.
You can read the criminal complaint here.
Once again, you have to ask yourself…what sort of due diligence did the Najarians perform before they flew to Arizona and began heavily promoting Zima Digital Assets?
How much did the Najarians receive from Salter and Caruso for their massive promotional efforts?
Contacting Market Rebellion
Of course, TradingSchools.Org was certainly curious if the Najarians had any public comment on their promotional efforts. Thus far, we have not been able to get any comment whatsoever.
However, we were able to speak with John Kwilos of Market Rebellion, and he was willing to only answer any questions relating to the products and services of Jon and Pete Najarian.
The big question that TradingSchools.Org wanted an answer…does either Pete and Jon Najarian have any sort of verifiable track record of performance?
Amongst their ocean of promotional products and services, and magical trading indicators, could they provide a track record of how their services have performed?
The answer from Market Rebellion was entirely predictable. John Kwilos explained, “for compliance purposes, we can provide no track record of any of our products or services.”
However, John Kwilos did offer the saddest and most pathetic response imaginable…he said, “If you want to know the track record, then you should watch CNBC.”
And, he quipped “Do you think that CNBC would have the Najarians on TV if they were not the real deal?”
You really have to wonder about these characters. Even have to wonder about John Kwilos. According to Finra.Org, John Kwilos worked in the securities industry for less than a year, yet in that short period of time, he managed to get himself barred by Finra for refusing to cooperate in a fraud investigation.
As crazy as this all reads, I recommend that you do your own due diligence. The following link confirms this.
Wrapping things up
Jon and Pete Najarian are just the latest characters on CNBC that I have exposed.
Truthfully, their behavior does not really surprise me. I have dealt with all manner of carnival barkers and conmen over the past several years. Jon and Pete appear to be just like the rest.
The thing that irritates me the most is CNBC. They simply don’t give a shit if any of these characters are real. They are only interested in finding colorful talking heads that draw eyeballs.
The more eyeballs, the more advertising revenue from TV advertisers.
Another thing that irritates me is the consumers. Just because a person is on TV, this does not mean they are real. Or worthy of selling products and services.
Thanks for reading. And a big thanks to Larry of Los Angeles California that supplied TradingSchools.Org with substantial amount of documentation regarding Zima and the Najarians co-promotional efforts.
And thanks to the TradingSchools.Org advertisers that help to keep the review moving through the pipeline. You know who you are. Thank you.
I just want to point out that I’ve heard Jim Cramer say he’s not a lawyer on television. Many people (especially politicians) go to law school and fail the bar exam (Hilary Clinton, Bobby Kennedy, Pete Wilson, Michelle Obama). Just because you go to law school doesn’t mean you’re a lawyer. I don’t know Jim Cramer, but maybe he failed the bar exam or didn’t even take it at all.
I don’t find much of this true at all. No trading school will make you money if you do not use the education properly. I tried options school and they do not go in-depth on any topic as MR does. The training service gives you access to the trainers twice each week to ask questions. Each service is tailored to the type of investor you are long term, short term, capital preservation, etc.. Each service gives you access to ask questions. Option ideas are provided and an in-depth analysis of the reasons why they were selected is explained. Yes, of course, you are allowed to questions in a live session. I wouldn’t give five stars simply based on price, but four? yep.
No trading school will make you money period. Trading is BS. I am a Wall Street pro and I know how all of these trading schools and programs operate. They are all scams catering to desperate people.
I’ve been thinking about trying out the service until I read your site. My question is how did they come up with the “heat-seeker” algorithm? How does it work and can other traders generate their own?
You are a complete idiot for even asking about this scam. Wake up dummy. There is no algorithm. They are frauds and liars!!
Sadly, I subscribed to the Pete and Jon show–completed their educational curriculum, talked to their counselors, subscribed to Unusual Options etc etc. Only had losses…I was a fool. Thanks for your work in exposing and documenting fraudsters.
I’m truly amazed about all your reviews and find them very valuable, of course the most the rare ‘pearls’ you describe and review too.
But the CNBC stories you talk about is really amazing to read.
Thx for your great work.
Cheers
eric
I wish you could convince the feds to investigate these con artist. Could you imagine the embarrassment to CNBC if they exposed Cramer as a complete scam.
really this article has helped me learn more about market and investments. I was looking forward to investing in Bitcoins