The Sweetwater County commissioner didn’t buy it for a second.
The email Island Richards received from Alexa Smith at Pilot Platforms on April 29 was inquiring about his business.
“We’ve been looking at businesses in Green River,” the email reads. “I noticed you've been in operation since 1869.”
The email’s subject line: Sweetwater County acquisition.
Sweetwater County indeed became a county in the Wyoming Territory in 1869.
The area was initially named Carter County on December 27, 1867, by the Dakota Legislature, two years before the Wyoming Territory was formally organized.
Under the Wyoming Territory, Carter County was named Sweetwater County in 1869, after the Sweetwater River.
Selling Sweetwater County?
Amused, the commissioner shared the email with his followers on social media.
“Should I sell Sweetwater County?” he asked.
Comments ranged from, “Wonder how much you could get for Sweetwater County?” to, “Wow you’re older than I thought!” to, “You floated the Green with John Wesley Powell in 1869?”
Sweetwater County commissioner Taylor Jones chimed in, “I have the same email. You're too late, I'm closing this afternoon.”
Jones told Cowboy State Daily that what he found most remarkable about the email is that it applauds him for being in business since 1869.
“I look pretty good for being in business since 1869,” he said, laughing. “I’ve aged well.”
Richards told Cowboy State Daily the email was pure humor.
He said he shared the email as “a joke based on spam.”
Richards owns three Kelly’s convenience centers in Rock Springs and said he receives spam emails all the time as a business owner.
This bogus email, though, was new. Never had he received an inquiry into the possible purchase of the entire county.
“That’s why I thought it was funny enough to share,” he said. “I’m sure they harvested information from the Secretary of State’s office.”
Scammers can easily retrieve data to craft phishing attempts, because Wyoming business records are public.
The Email Continues …
According to the email, Pilot Platforms handles the “full exit process – buyer sourcing, negotiations, and close” – and does so “in about half the time of traditional brokers.”
“Worth a quick conversation?” Alexa Smith asks before signing off.
The postscript below her name is like the cherry on top: “If this isn't relevant — just let me know and we won't reach out again.”
Bringing Together Sellers and Buyers
The website pilotplatform.info – where the email originated – redirects to tworld.com, short for Transworld Business Advisors. The company, purportedly from Fort Lauderdale, claims to employ business sale specialists that bring buyers and sellers together.
“As a group of vested business brokers, Transworld works with business owners and entrepreneurs to buy a business, sell a business or explore franchise development,” according to the website.
The business has a 2.6 of five-star rating on Trust Pilot, with just 5 reviews.
County Government Month
Richards this week wrapped up a monthlong video series titled, “What Does County Government Actually Do?” for County Government Month, which was April.
His series of 14 short videos explains how various government services impact communities. Videos focus on such aspects of county government as the sheriff, roads, land use planning, public health and more.
However, selling the entire county is not one of those services.
