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Matthew Lesko

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Matthew Lesko (born 1943) is an American author and late-night television personality who has made a living 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, and interviews.

Lesko lives in Kensington, Maryland with his 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 has claimed to be a columnist for The New York Times and to have researched government grants for over 25 years.

Lesko is best known for his wardrobe, specifically his colorful suit decorated with question marks. Lesko's appearances, hawking a chance at government grant money wearing the flamboyant outfit, has been described by one commentator as "a libertarian fashion designer's nightmare".

Lesko is named as number 99 in Bernard Goldberg's book, 100 People Who Are Screwing Up America.

Recently, Lesko has started appearing in commercials for Cartoon Network's Adult Swim, selling Dangerdoom in a style similar to his own informercials.

Criticism

Critics believe that Lesko deliberately misleads those who buy his book. Some of the grants that Lesko's books mention are actually public assistance programs that many people are not eligible for. The New York Times criticise him for making the false statement that he was a columnist for the newspaper. Some people called him a con artist with his get-rich-quick schemes. His latest commercial features him speaking in a hushed tone of voice, probably in response to online backlash against his usual 'screaming at his potential customers' technique. He claims in this commercial that he has a 'zero customer unsatisfaction rating, and he intends to keep it that way'. However there are countless forums of on the internet with people who have purchased his book, and find it to be a useless scam [see Ripoffreport.com], and is compared to the other fraudulent television personality, Miss Cleo. The book guarantees a refund for up to 90 days, but customers report on that website that the telephone number leads to a dead recording, e-mails are sent back to them, and nobody responds to requests for refunds, ignoring and avoiding the refund guarantee.

From Mike Fergeson's Geocities page: [1] "One of Lesko's marketing claims is 'The government grants $750 Billion in small business grants and free government grants each year. Let Matthew Lesko help you get your share.' Free is an interesting and ignorant choice of words, of course. This money is not free. Take a look at your paycheck stub and you will see who pays for these 'free' handouts. Lesko is merely facilitating the exchange of money from your pocket into the pockets of others, via the government.

"Lesko's website even offers a new, updated 770-plus page book for 2003. The book is pitched with the following statement: 'Billions of dollars are given out every year that you can use and Lesko's book will show you how to get it.' In other words, send in $30 and you learn how to pilfer the hard work of others. Apparently, our society has become so jaded to government waste, so conditioned to governmental theft that we not only reward someone who markets a way to get in on the looting, we celebrate him and marvel at his resourcefulness."

Books

Matthew Lesko's company, Information USA, publishes several reference books including:

  • Free Money to Change Your Life (ISBN 1878346407)
  • Free College and Training Money For Women
  • Free Stuff for Busy Moms! (ISBN 1878346490)
  • Gobs and Gobs of Free Stuff (ISBN 1878346334)
  • Free Money to Pay Your Bills
  • Getting Yours
  • Information USA.

All of his books contain information about how to get "free" money from the United States Government.

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