For years, actor William Devane took on the role of prominent television and film characters, including politicians, military leaders and corporate titans.
asserted
Devane → take → politicians
His commanding demeanor and steady voice drew viewers to the Knots Landing star.
asserted
demeanor → draw → star
It was also a perfect marketing tool for Rosland Capital, a precious metals asset management company, that hired Devane as its spokesman.
asserted
that → hire → spokesman
For nearly 15 years, Devane participated in various commercials touting Rosland Capital as a trustworthy company where investors could secure their savings by buying gold bullion, silver coins and other precious metals.
uncertain
investors → participate → bullion
‘Trust is earned,’ Devane says in one of the TV spots, explaining how the Rosland had an ‘A+ rating’ with the Better Business Bureau.
asserted
Rosland → earn → Bureau
‘I trust Rosland Capital.’
asserted
I → trust → Capital
Three months ago, those commercials suddenly stopped airing on Fox News and Newsmax.
asserted
commercials → stop → News
Rosland Capital abandoned its offices in Los Angeles and Henderson, Nevada, letting go of dozens of employees and hastily shuttered its doors.
asserted
Capital → abandon → doors
On July 2, the company that once claimed to have sold over $1 billion in precious metals to its customers, mostly retirees, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in California.
asserted
that → claim → California
Actor William Devane was featured in Rosland Capital commercials for almost 15 years
Devane (sixth from top right) is most known for his 10-year stint playing the character Greg Sumner on the hit primetime soap opera Knots Landing between 1983 and 1993
William Devane starred with actress Natalie Wood in the TV movie From Here to Eternity
Dozens of customers have since filed claims against the company, including elderly customers who claimed to have lost millions in retirement savings.
Devane has stayed silent, but his wife, Debbie Morrison, told the Daily Mail they were not aware of Rosland Capital’s business dealings.
‘It goes completely against his morals,’ Morrison said of her husband.
uncertain
Morrison → feature → husband
‘He absolutely did not know what was going on in the company.
asserted
what → know → company
‘It’s just terrible what has happened and we feel bad for everyone.
asserted
we → ’ → everyone
It was a shock to us, too, just like all the poor people this happened to.
asserted
this → happen → people
‘It’s awful what [Rosland] has done.
asserted
Rosland → ’ → what
He feels terrible for what has happened to everyone, but he had no idea and no way of knowing what was happening.’
asserted
what → feel → idea
According to documents filed in the bankruptcy proceedings, Devane was also owed money by the company.
uncertain
Devane → accord → company
His contract, which saw him receive quarterly payments of $50,000, was not due to expire until June 2028, according to the filings.
uncertain
him → see → filings
Morrison said other than showing up to locations to film the commercials, her husband had no direct dealings with the company.
asserted
husband → say → company
She said they had never visited the Rosland offices in California or Nevada.
asserted
they → say → California
The Daily Mail has reached out to attorneys for Rosland Capital and its CEO Marin Aleksov.
asserted
Mail → reach → Capital
Court documents detail how the billion-dollar company quickly tanked and is now under liquidation.
asserted
company → detail → liquidation
The company reported assets in the $1 to $10 million range against liabilities of $50 to $100 million.
asserted
company → report → million
According to court filings, the company also has a capital deficit at more than $60 million and allegedly claims to no longer have any inventory of gold bullion or coins, just limited cash.
uncertain
company → accord → bullion
Rosland grew its customer base for 20 years from aggressive celebrity advertisement on cable news networks, Google, Bing, YouTube and other platforms.
asserted
Rosland → grow → networks
Chase Carey (R), CEO of the Formula One Group and Rosland Capital CEO Marin Aleksov (L) hold medals during a celebration of the 1000th F1 Grand Prix Coin of the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix at the Shanghai International circuit in Shanghai, China on April 2019.
asserted
Carey → hold → April
Rosland Capital sold precious metal coins featuring limited-edition gold and silver commemorative circuit coins
A 2010 picture with Marin Aleksov with gold coins sold by his company
Actor William Devane with Donna Mills in a 1979 episode of Knots Landing
asserted
Capital → sell → Landing
According to the filings, the rise in precious metal prices earlier this year caused a surge in orders, and the company could not keep up with the prepaid orders.
uncertain
company → accord → orders
The company would also pay its brokers and sales representatives 15 to 35 percent commission, further squeezing the company's profits, according to records.
uncertain
company → pay → records
Fox News was listed on the company's bankruptcy petition as a creditor, with Rosland owing the network $1.9 million.
asserted
Rosland → list → million
The names of the other 19 unsecured creditors who were owed about $21.6 million, were redacted.
asserted
who → owe → million
Laurel Mooney Proaps, who lives in San Marcos, California, said she is still waiting for her coins, which she paid $101,000 for, to Rosland Capital.
asserted
she → live → Capital
She has since joined the company's bankruptcy case as a claimant, along with dozens of others.
asserted
She → join → others
Proaps said she saw the commercials featuring Devane while watching Fox News earlier this year.
asserted
she → say → News
She was instantly drawn to the idea of securing her finances by buying silver.
asserted
She → draw → silver
‘The salesperson convinced me that silver was going to “blow up” and that it was going up so much in value,’ Proaps, 65, told the Daily Mail.
asserted
Proaps → convince → Mail
‘Two salespeople were then very convincing and came off like they were so informative about the precious metals market.
asserted
they → come → market
One of them even told me that he had just gotten back from having lunch with the president of Charles Schwab the other day.’
asserted
he → tell → Schwab
Proaps said when she started to trust the two salespeople, she made two purchases of about $50,000 with the expectation she would be receiving her silver Canadian falcon coins by special delivery in the mail within 14 days.
asserted
she → say → days
‘I got to know them so well that we would have conversations about restaurants we went to,’ Proaps said.
asserted
Proaps → get → restaurants
‘But when the 14 days passed and there were still no coins, it was, “We can’t get the silver right now because it’s so hard to get right now and it’s a completely a supply-chain thing.”
asserted
it → pass → silver
…and 32 more, not listed.
The Aporia
