Julie Watts

Consumer-Investigative Reporter, News Anchor, Host, Digital Journalist

Fool’s Gold

This demo begins with the local version of the investigation followed by the pieces re-edited for national broadcast on CBS News.

It began with a local complaint about a fraudulent gold buyer and expanded into a five-state undercover investigation that exposed a pattern of fraud and deceit within one of the nation’s largest gold buying operations.

THR & Associates was based in Illinois with employees and victims scattered across the country.  When travel wasn’t an option, we recruited affiliate station in several states to assist undercover. This required detailed coordination to ensure consistency throughout the investigation—meticulously cataloging, appraising, insuring and shipping $8000 worth of gold around the country.

When our focus turned from the gold shows to the company’s Illinois-based CEO, we were forced to abandon traditional methods of information and video gathering. Without the opportunity for an out-of-state stakeout, we relied heavily on public records and transcripts from ongoing divorce proceedings to gather the necessary evidence.

Whistle blowers and internal documents also played a significant role in this investigation. We utilized various industry chat rooms and online forums to cultivate relationships that eventually led us to the evidence we needed.

As a result, THR & Associates was forced to shut down, putting an end to the company’s predatory practices in as many as 160 different cities each week. The company’s CEO is now the subject of multiple state and federal investigations.

Featured Investigative Reports

Investigating Child Credit Freezes

After years of reporting on child ID theft and credit freezes, Julie set out to freeze her toddler’s credit. What she discovered led to a year-long series of editorial blogs that ultimately prompted a new state law and this series of KPIX consumer reports. [Continue/View Demo]

Investigating Car Seats Chemicals

It began as a NewsMom.com editorial and expanded into a KPIX-CBS investigation exposing false advertising, legal loopholes and outdated federal regulations that systematically expose millions of children to concerning car seat chemicals. [Continue/View Demo]

Supermarket Shocker

What began with a single complaint about an overcharge at the grocery store expanded into a nationwide investigation.

As a result of persistent undercover and computer assisted reporting, this series holds one of the nation’s largest grocery retailers accountable for disproportionately overcharging customers and violating a court order. [Continue/View Demo]

UN-Covered California

“UN-Covered California” began with a single complaint about doctors refusing to accept insurance policies purchased on the state’s ACA health insurance exchange. It evolved into in-depth continuing coverage spanning more than 30 reports over the course of a year.

The series exposed a widespread practice of bait & switch and revealed that state regulators weren’t investigating complaints or enforcing state law. Ultimately, this reporting prompted changes by insurers and forced action by state regulators and law makers. [Continue/View Demo]

“Filled” With Fear

When Chrysler owners told ConsumerWatch they were “filled with fear” every time they filled their tank, we began investigating a known fuel tank defect that caused the cars to stall on the road.

Public records revealed that the car maker assured NHTSA it would address the issue months earlier. Chrysler also told the regulator that it would pay to fix the potentially dangerous defect in each of the affected cars. However, we discovered that the car maker had not followed though. [Continue/View Demo]

Fool’s Gold

It began with a local complaint about a fraudulent gold buyer and expanded into a five-state undercover investigation that exposed a pattern of fraud and deceit within one of the nation’s largest gold buying operations.

As a result, THR & Associates was forced to shut down, putting an end to the company’s predatory practices in as many as 160 different cities each week. The company’s CEO is now the subject of multiple state and federal investigations. [Continue/View Demo]

Public Storage

In this three-part series, we investigated questionable insurance practices and security measures at the nation’s largest storage company.

Over the course of several months, this undercover investigation revealed that unlicensed Public Storage employees were illegally selling insurance to customers. We also compiled data that demonstrated the insurance company behind those policies was regularly denying valid claims. [Continue/View Demo]

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Featured ConsumerWatch Reports

California UN-Confidential

“Reporting this isn’t going to change anything.” That was the response we got from one of the largest state agencies in California when we first questioned why it was violating state privacy laws and putting millions at risk for identity theft.

When we first asked the agency’s PIO what it would take to remove the SSNs from its mailings, she laughed out loud and said “that’s not going to happen.” Three months (and several news reports) later, it did. [Continue/View Demo]

“TSA Cares” Making Changes Following ConsumerWatch Story

While you may be obligated to let TSA inspect your bags, TSA says it is not obligated to put your things back the way they found it.

After a viewer complained that their expensive instrument was repeatedly damaged when TSA failed to re-pack it properly, we started asking questions. We found TSA was not abiding by the instructions posted on its own website and convinced the agency to alter it’s official policy. [Continue/View Demo]

Is Xfinity Public Wi-Fi Hijacking Your Phone?

Most web surfers know that public Wi-Fi is much more vulnerable to hackers than your average private home network, but we discovered that Xfinity public Wi-Fi may automatically connect you to its unsecured public network without your knowledge, even at home.

We put the public Wi-Fi network to the test and demonstrated how easy it is to hack. We also revealed that once you log onto Xfinity public Wi-Fi, your device remains connected to the Xfinity network – even after a factory reset. [Continue/View Demo]

Highway Terror – Ford Catastrophic Cars

When we discovered that one of the nation’s largest automakers was refusing to buy back cars with potentially dangerous safety defects, we started asking questions.

The objective of this story was to educate drivers about their rights when dealers can’t diagnose or repair a problem. Ultimately, Ford agreed to buy back the car featured in our report. [Continue/View Demo]

ID Theft – Continuing Coverage

It’s not a matter of if, but when your identity will be compromised.

From interviewing convicted ID thieves who reveal tricks of the trade, to developing an unprecedented method of protecting your child from ID Theft, this composite includes four unique ID theft stories. [Continue/View Demo]

When Coverage Counts

Sandbags weren’t enough to save this seaside town from flooding. Businesses were shuttered, insurance claims were filed, and then the unexpected happened. ConsumerWatch uncovers why some policyholders were paid while others were not.

The research gathered for this series prompted The Harford (Part 1) to reverse all of its Capitola claim denials, and became the primary evidence in a class action lawsuit against Allied/Nationwide (Part 2). In addition, FEMA (Part 3) launched its own investigation into the pay-out practices of its contracted insurers. [Continue/View Demo]

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