The medical examiner later ruled her death a homicide, noting that she died as a result of "multiple blunt and sharp force injury."īeach Hamburg had been expected in court, along with Hamburg, on the morning of her death, but never made it to her 9:30 a.m. She also suffered numerous stab wounds to her face, chest, and hands. According to the HBO docuseries, Beach Hamburg's body was covered with outdoor furniture cushions when it was found. On the morning of March 3, 2010, Beach Hamburg was found dead in the front yard of her home by her sister, Conway Beach, and Ali. Prior to her death, she'd been engaged in a legal battle over child support with her ex Jeffrey Hamburg, who's also the father of Madison and his younger sister Ali. The 48-year-old mother of two lived on Middle Beach Road in Madison, Connecticut. "Gifts" were made only in the form of cash or a bank check.Madison Hamburg on "Murder on Middle Beach." They were also told to be careful who they spoke to about the tables and to use non-government-regulated mail services (think: FedEX or UPS) instead of U.S. The women were told not to hold meetings in public places and never to wire money, per The Courant. They're told that they're someone who "refuses to color inside someone else's lines." There were several Do's and Don't's.Īll of which seem very sketchy. The poem encourages members to think of themselves as assertive, independent, and strong. There's also a poem titled, "Imagine a Women" included in the handbook.
"Our intention is to benefit women, period," the handbook states. A 34-page handbook of guidelines was given to "Table Sisters" in one gifting table, per The Hartford Courant. These meetings often took place inside a woman's home and each woman was treated as a new recruit. The two claimed to have exchanged $5 million (!!) within their group alone. "The women claim more than 70 people made it to the 'dessert' level and that more than 20 of those women made it to the top more than six times, according to emails outlined in the indictment," NBC Connecticutreported. (So if you wanted to earn more money, you just recruit another gifting table!) Jill Platt and the co-leader of her gifting table, Donna Bello, went through several table rounds. Some people cycled through multiple rounds of the gifting table.Īt the dessert level, you can earn $40,000 each time. The rest of the participants moved up a level-and then began recruiting more new women to add to the table. The two participants in the entree position would then split the gifting table and move up to the dessert level. "When eight new participants joined a Gifting Table, each having made a $5,000 'gift' to the person occupying the Dessert position at the top of the pyramid, the Dessert left the Gifting Table and kept the $40,000 paid by the eight new participants," per the the DOJ. The person at the top (the dessert level) would collect all of the new member's gifts. Older members would move up the hierarchy as new members were recruited. If you were a newbie, you'd join at the appetizer level and were required to bring in a "gift" of $5,000. But how exactly did the scheme work?įor starters, you had to be invited to the gifting table.Īnd once you were, you'd enter into a four-level pyramid with tiers named "Appetizers," "Soups and Salads," "Entrees," and "Dessert," per the DOJ. Before her death, Barbara was a gifting table leader, meaning she could have collected millions from other women in her community-and making her a potential target. And that would lead to Platt's arrest, eventual wire fraud and false tax return charges, and a federal prison sentence of 54 months with three years of supervised release, per the U.S. If you've already watched the first episode, then you know that at the end of it, Barbara Hamburg's son, Madison Hamburg, the director of the docuseries, learns about his mother's involvement in an illegal pyramid scheme, known as "gifting tables."Īs explained by Madison's father, Jeffrey Hamburg, during a phone call with Madison, it was Jill Platt, Madison's aunt who got Barbara involved in the tables. But Murder on Middle Beach, HBO's latest docuseries, has enough twists and turns to give you whiplash. With every true crime series, you expect the unexpected.
This article contains spoilers for Murder On Middle Beach.
#MURDER ON MIDDLE BEACH SERIES#
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