Matthew Lesko
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Matthew Lesko (born 1943) is an American author and late-night television personality who has authored reference books telling people about how to get "free" money from the United States Government. He is popularly known as "that question mark guy" for the Riddler-like suit that he wears in his television commercials, infomercials, interviews, and in everyday use.
Lesko lives in Kensington, Maryland with his second wife Wendy Schaetzel Lesko and their two sons, Max and Morgan. He grew up in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Lesko received his undergraduate degree from Marquette University in Milwaukee, then went to Vietnam as a navigator for the U.S. Navy. When Lesko returned he earned a master's degree in computer science from American University in Washington D.C. He claims to have researched government grants for over 25 years.[citation needed]
Lesko is known for his colorful suit decorated with question marks (a la the Batman villain, the Riddler). Lesko's appearances, hawking a chance at government grant money wearing the flamboyant outfit, have been described by one commentator as "a libertarian fashion designer's nightmare".
Lesko was named as number 99 in Bernard Goldberg's book, 100 People Who Are Screwing Up America.
Lesko was a regular subject in the early days of animutation.
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[edit] Criticism
Critics claim that Lesko is misleading in his advertisements. A 2004 report by the New York State Consumer Protection Board claimed that most of the grants mentioned in Lesko's books were actually public assistance programs that many people were not eligible for, and that Lesko misrepresented examples of people who had taken advantage of government programs.[1]
The New York Times criticized him for having implied a current association with the paper long after ending a 1992-94 NYT column.[2]
[edit] Books
Matthew Lesko's company, Information USA, published several reference books including:
- Information U.S.A. (1986, ISBN 0-14-046745-9)
- Getting Yours (1987, ISBN 0-14-046760-2)
- 1001 Free Goodies and Cheapies (1994, ISBN 1-878346-25-3)
- Free College Money, Term Papers, and Sex Ed (1994, ISBN 1-878346-24-5)
- Free Health Care, Free Medical Information and Free Prescription Drugs (1995, ISBN 1-878346-34-2)
- Gobs and Gobs of Free Stuff (1996, ISBN 1-878346-33-4)
- Free Legal Help (1996, ISBN 1-878346-35-0)
- Free Stuff for Busy Moms! (1999, ISBN 1-878346-49-0)
- Free College and Training Money For Women (2000, ISBN 1-878346-52-0)
- Free Money and Help for Women Entrepreneurs (2000, ISBN 1-878346-51-2)
- Free Money For Your Retirement (2000, ISBN 1-878346-60-1)
- Free Stuff for Women's Health, Fitness, and Nutrition (2000, ISBN 1-878346-50-4)
- Free Money To Change Your Life (2001, ISBN 1-878346-40-7)
- Free Money To Pay Your Bills (2003, ISBN 1-878346-65-2)
- Free Money To Get A Better Home (2004, ISBN 1-878346-67-9)
- Free Money To Quit Your Job (2004, ISBN 1-878346-68-7)
- Free Money for Entrepreneurs (2005, ISBN 1-878346-69-5)
- American Benefits for Seniors: Getting the Most Out of Your Retirement (2006, ISBN 1-878346-87-3)
All of his books contain information about how to get "free" money from the United States Government.
[edit] Parodies
On The Andy Dick Show; Andy Dick poked fun at Lesko when he created the character, Lyle Tillman, dressed in an exclamation point, and screamed out "Free!" to many things that indeed are not free. Daily Show coorespondant John Oliver also parodied Lesko on February 5th, 2007.
[edit] References
- ^ How misleading advertising is feeding a nationwide boom in government grant scams (PDF). New York State Consumer Protection Board (2004). Retrieved on 2006-04-30.
- ^ Fred, Joseph P.. "Free Money? Sure. Heard of Food Stamps?", New York Times, 2005-02-03. Retrieved on 2006-04-22. "In August 2006, Mr. Lesko modified his credentials on his Web site, lesko.com, which described him, as his books did, as a columnist for Good Housekeeping Magazine and The New York Times Syndicate. He wrote the magazine column in the 1980's and the column for the syndicate from 1992 to 1994. Both organizations recently told him that these did not justify his suggestion of a current association."
[edit] External links
- "Matthew Lesko - Matthew Lesko's Website
- "Agency calls TV money man's claims deceptive"
- "Secrets Revealed! How Misleading Advertising is Feeding a Nationwide Boom in Government Grant Scams,"New York State Consumer Protection Board 12/04
- Better Business Bureau of Washington, D.C. Report 3/1/02
- Matthew Lesko infomercial
- "Questions for Matthew Lesko, the Question Mark Man" - 9/29/05 Interview with Matthew Lesko
- "The Culler of Money" - 7/6/2005 Baltimore City Paper Interview and article
- "Free Money? Don't Think So" - Consumer Affairs report on Lesko
- Matthew Lesko on Tom Green Live
