AIRLEAF VICTIMS UPDATE JUNE 14, 2008
Dear Airleaf Victims and Friends,
This will be a short but important update. Last Saturday, Indiana was hit by some of the most horrific storms in its history. One of the towns ravaged by the flooding was Martinsville. More specifically, the Airleaf building was totally flooded out. Every remaining book stored there was destroyed as well as all other files including disks and other items you may have sent there. The building itself was under at least four to five feet of water throughout the facility.
The Airleaf flood will bring many new questions to light. Did Carl Lau have flood insurance? If he did, will he be reimbursed for all of the tens of thousands of books that were there? If he didn't, will this force him into greater financial stress pushing him into bankruptcy? We don't have the answers to those questions, but I hope to find them out as the weeks progress.
A number of our victims were fortunate to recover their property over the past six months thanks to Bob Denton, now owner of Mountain Valley Publishing Company. I asked Bob if he would be willing to help our authors get back their books and materials stored in the building, and he was extremely responsive. I have received dozens of letters from you, our victims, about Bob's helpfulness and courteousness in helping you with this task without charging any money for his own time—only for the cost of postage.
Although I was not very nice about Bob in my early updates because of Airleaf and his connection there until nearly the end, I do believe that he truly feels very bad for all of the authors who were fraudulently taken by Airleaf and has tried to make up for that. I have heard very positive feedback from some of our victims who republished with Bob concerning his timeliness, excellent customer service, and professionalism in getting a job done and their books into print.
But most importantly, we owe Bob thanks because he worked tirelessly in filling those requests from numerous victims who asked for his help in retrieving materials back from Airleaf. He tried to get to everyone who came to him, and he did get many of you back your valuable belongings. For the others who were not as fortunate, whatever was at Airleaf is now gone.
As you all know by now, I'm the first to pull a punch where it needs to be pulled. If someone is taking advantage of our authors like I reported about Brien Jones of Jones Harvest was last week, I will do everything to expose it to you.
And talking about Jones Harvest, in this week's Writer's Beware, my predatory publishing guru, Victoria Strauss, followed up on my Jones Harvest expose from last week in her own column and added some additional information that you may like to read. Here is the link to Victoria's column.
Link:
Writer Beware Blogs!
Thank you, Victoria, for working endlessly to expose the predatory leeches in our midst. You and Anne Crispin make this a safer world for unsuspecting authors.
I'd like to also mention that Fideli Publishing Company, owned by Robin Surface and staffed by ex-Airleaf employees (who left there due to the fraudulence), was also destroyed in the flood. Robin and her staff have worked diligently with some Airleaf victims to put their books into print and to return books that were left at Airleaf. They are now trying to put life back together for the company. We wish Fideli good luck in getting restarted.
On a positive note, our authors' co-op is moving along nicely. If you have signed up to be part of this new, exciting venture, you will be hearing from me this week as we finalize our plans to get started. If you did not notify me yet and would like to be part of our group, Authors New Start, there is still time. Just email me at Bonkaye@aol.com. We have nearly 50 people which was my start-up goal. The group will be limited to 100 members.
That's the news for this week.
With love and hope,
Bonnie
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Airleaf Victims Update June 7, 2008
Airleaf Victims Update June 7, 2008
Dear Airleaf Victims and Friends,
Our numbers have now reached over 450 members. Welcome to the new members of our group.
We had a positive response to our Authors New Start Co-op group this week. So far, in our first week, we have 28 people ready to go. I will give this one more week in hopes of getting our targeted 50 members, but we can always add new members when people want to join who are part of our group.
Once again, the cost to join will be $50.00 for the first year, and $25.00 a year after that. For that money, you will get one book of your choice on the front page of the website and then a full page about you and your book or other books. If you need to make changes to the site such as adding books, there will be a minimal charge. In addition, members have to commit to buy five (5) books per year from other authors who are members of the co-op. These books can be used for gifts or for your own reading enjoyment.
Any additional money that comes in beyond the cost of the website design and web hosting will be used for advertising the website on Google and other search engines as well as sending out press releases to appropriate news sources.
If you have sent me your confirmation, you'll receive information from me in the next few days. If you still want to join this exciting new undertaking, drop me a note at Bonkaye@aol.com.
Déjà vu, Airleaf vu, Jones Harvest Publishing too!
Part of moving forward is learning from the mistakes of the past and not allowing ourselves to become victims again. It is with great sadness that I have to warn our members about another predatory publishing scam that has re-incarnated itself and replaced the fraudulence of Airleaf Publishing.
In the past six months, I personally have received nine different horror stories about Jones Harvest Publishing primarily from senior citizens who invested thousands of dollars into an Airleaf-type dream and in all but one case, after they invested and lost thousands of dollars at Airleaf. These people were sold promises—just like at Airleaf. Here is a typical sales pitch (from one of the numerous Jones Harvest websites listed below) that one author sent me from the package she paid $5,000.00 for over a year ago:
(I am substituting the book title and author name to protect the innocent)
Bright Tomorrow should make you a celebrity!
Dear Joan C.,
Has your publisher or publicist ever even read Bright Tomorrow? Or are you and your book known by an account or book number?
There are hundreds of vanity publishing, publicity and literary agencies across the nation—some charging ten to twenty thousand dollars—and all of them waiting for the thousands of authors that write new manuscripts every year.
These companies will publish or just print overpriced books, and attempt to provide royalty-paying publishing deals, or write press releases and promotions to try to get a review written…all of this is done by email (SPAM), of course, if that.
Author Celebrity Associates is different. We make promises and keep them. WE WILL READ YOUR BOOK. We will find out what makes it special and how best to present it. If you choose, we will publish or republish your book at no extra charge.
We want Bright Tomorrow to make you a celebrity. You deserve it. We also want to make this very easy for you. All we need from you is your book or manuscript—whatever way is most convenient. With that, we make the following commitments to you:
• WE WILL READ YOUR BOOK IMMEDIATELY
• We will publish or republish your book in 60 days or less. (Optional, but no charge)
• We will pay you 100% of the profits from the book sales until you have earned back our fee.
• We will feature a picture of you on the home page of www.Authorcelebrity.com
• When a reader clicks on your name or picture, they will see your book(s) and information.
• We will place your book for sale on 10 websites including amazon.com
• We will call every newspaper, magazine, and radio station in your hometown and report.
• We will guarantee one television appearance and provide you with a DVD version.
• We will guarantee 3 separate AM or FM interviews in major metropolitan markets.
• We will guarantee a fourth interview on nationally syndicated AM/FM radio show.
• We will submit your book to a film producer for review and recommendations.
We will not be attempting to make these things happen. Each of these commitments is guaranteed. We won't stop there either; our plan is to do much, much more. We will also continue to publicize and sell your book as long as you let us, (or until you get a better offer) at no extra charge.
We will not be satisfied until we place Bright Tomorrow in bookstores everywhere and (name) is a celebrity. This program has a one-time fee of $7500. There are no further charges of any kind.
Sincerely,
Brien Jones, President
P.S. In your case, the price is $5,000. That is my way of apologizing for the past misfortunes AND showing you what we can accomplish at cost. Please keep this offer confidential. All but a very few authors must pay full price.
Wow—this is AIRLEAF all over again. The authors who have become Jones Harvest victims all have the same story about broken promises including time delays, failure to see galleys, numerous errors in the proofs, virtually no sales, lack of coordination of promises, and disrespect by some of the staff. When the first set of victims came to me in November, I told them to request their money back as I did all of the future ones who wrote to me. Some of these new victims had their money returned after they wrote Jones Harvest a letter threatening to report the company to the FBI and Attorney General. However, there are other victims whom I have recently learned about who have not had their money returned. And I can bet that there are other victims who don't know to come to me for help. Interestingly, most of these victims who contacted me are 70 years or older and vulnerable.
When Brien Jones started his own business in January of 2007, he made claims that he was going to be different than Airleaf. He left Airleaf because of the broken promises that were made to authors. As he stated in a letter to me dated January 30, 2007, "Carl and I had different opinions on how to use Airleaf's resources. I did my best to keep authors from being dissatisfied with our services. In your case I failed and I apologize."
I should have known there was a problem from that letter because I never worked with Brien Jones or even knew who he was. I only learned about him after he left and sent me an introductory letter like many others received. I took the bait because at that point, I knew something was wrong at Airleaf since my money wasn't coming through.
In my early conversations with Brien, he was clear that he had one goal and one goal only—selling books to bookstores. He was totally against the Hollywood trips, the book fairs, and other Airleaf plots because that's not how to sell books. He sounded legit to me, and not knowing differently except from Airleaf making some snide comments about his leaving, I had no reason to doubt him.
As the months went on and I was really disgusted with Airleaf, Brien offered to print my book for free in the summer of 2007 if I would be on his website. I was not opposed to that at all since I had reached the end of my rope with Airleaf. But as I became more involved with the Airleaf Victims group I started in August 2007,(which incidentally was NOT a plot with Brien as Airleaf kept suggesting) and started to read complaint after complaint about Brien Jones, I started to wonder why so many people were holding him responsible for their losses. People were looking for vengeance against him more than Carl Lau. I tried explaining that Brien had nothing to do with the money—that was Carl Lau. But people were adamant—Jones was guilty. They didn't accuse him of keeping the money, but rather of taking their money for packages that were never delivered.
I wrote those authors back saying that we need to target Carl Lau since he was the owner of Airleaf and ultimately the one responsible for not delivering what was paid for and keeping our money to enhance his lifestyle. He had visions of grandeur of becoming a famous Hollywood figure in the movies. His ego allowed him to be taken by the likes of Al Smith and Litestone Entertainment, a crooked "production" company that collaborated to make a number of you believe that your books were being turned into films by highlighting them on their now defunct website. Lau opened up his "Allen Agency" in California to sign movie contracts with authors. The whole thing is beyond bizarre and actually a story worthy of a real Hollywood movie.
I confronted Brien on the complaints coming in, but his answer was always the same. He claimed he sold services—he had no idea the services weren't being delivered. When he learned about it, he left. I would also call him on the complaints about misleading people, but the answer was the same. He was just as salesman. Somehow, Executive Vice President seems like more than a salesman to me. But Brien kept stating he was reforming from whatever sins he participated in while at Airleaf, and people should give him a chance. He even published some of the authors' books for free to show good faith.
But moving forward, I started to see that Brien was doing things in the same way that Airleaf did. I guess Brien realized that just publishing books and selling them wasn't going to make him money. First it was sending media blitzes for $450.00. Then it was going on book tours for $750.00. And of course, he was now going to take your book to Hollywood and pitch it to the movie directors.
If you look on the Jones Harvest website, you will see a whole bunch of other websites that he sponsors including: Author Celebrity Associates, Starred Review, AuthorSoldier (New!), Perfect Heart Publishing, Great Concept Books, Bookwheat, Bargain Book Basement, and Chosen Few. Each concept lures people in through a different door, but all roads end up at the same place.
Also, at the bottom of the shopping list is My Author Profile. According to the website, you can have yourself featured on there for $499.00. Yikes! You can have your own website designed and hosted for less than $100.00 and not have to share it with a bunch of others who will only be viewed by Jones Harvest authors and potential Jones Harvest authors.
Another note of interest: Part of the hook is promising reviews to customers. In a standard letter, it stated:
Also enclosed is a review we've received after sending it to a professional reviewer. We are our reviewers to be honest and to offer a clear perspective of what other readers could expect. As such, we really can't do anything about what it says, that's kind of the nature of the reviews. The reviewers are professionals so they are generally quite respectful and view your work as having an audience, even if it's not every audience.
People pay Jones Harvest to get their books reviewed. I read the review. It was signed by Tim, Brien's former phone receptionist and college nephew. His title under his name was "Media Researcher and Educator, T&R Reviews." The T&R stands for Tim and Rosa, Tim's wife. That's really a credible "professional" source to pay money for, isn't it? Next it will be the scary pumpkin head on his logo or possibly the wilted hay stalk writing the reviews.
Jones Harvest has gone from the original promise of only selling books to bookstores to:
National Blitz - $1850
We will feature your book on the HOME PAGE on our websites, www.jonesharvest.com and www.bookwheat.com, usually the same day you start! That means that any reader or bookstore owner that sees those websites sees your cover.
We will also read your book and write a comprehensive review. This review will then be featured on our unique website www.starredreview.com. We will also submit the review to 20 websites.
We will then write a custom, full-color, one-page promotion for your book. We will send it to you for your approval. You can make whatever corrections you want, at no additional charge. We will then mail it to 1000 bookstores in any markets you choose with an invitation to buy your books and/ or set up book signings. We will follow-up on all responses by telephone or whatever is necessary to place your book or generate a book-signing.
We will also write an AP style press release about your book and submit it to 100 newspapers and magazines. Before we mail it, we will send it to you for approval--again you can make changes at no additional charge.
Most importantly we also assign a telemarketer to you not only to answer responses but to also make outbound calls to newspapers, magazines, media and bookstores in the markets of your choice.
And now he's progressed to a super, duper, deluxe package of the secret price of $5,000.00 reduced from $7,500.00 so you can be a guest on vanity radio with Ian Moore and Stu Taylor, Brien's friends that almost no one listens to. But please keep that information "confidential" because only a few lucky people are getting that special price and we wouldn't want to let the word out!
Bottom line—there's a saying: Hit me once, shame on you. Hit me twice, shame on me.
So far, I haven't seen any of the Jones Harvest customers on television as some have been promised. And I certainly don't see any celebrities in the making. I have to wonder how I ended up on the Jones Harvest Celebrity Authors MySpace account with all of my books since I'm not a Jones Harvest Celebrity. Oh well, maybe Brien will update his site.
My bottom line is that predatory publishing must be stopped at every level. It's doubly insulting that the man who scammed at Airleaf is still pulling the same scam at his own company. It's time to put a stop to the illegal taking of authors' money. If you think you are a victim of Jones Harvest, please contact me and I will be there to guide you into your new membership group!
With love and hope,
Bonnie Kaye
Dear Airleaf Victims and Friends,
Our numbers have now reached over 450 members. Welcome to the new members of our group.
We had a positive response to our Authors New Start Co-op group this week. So far, in our first week, we have 28 people ready to go. I will give this one more week in hopes of getting our targeted 50 members, but we can always add new members when people want to join who are part of our group.
Once again, the cost to join will be $50.00 for the first year, and $25.00 a year after that. For that money, you will get one book of your choice on the front page of the website and then a full page about you and your book or other books. If you need to make changes to the site such as adding books, there will be a minimal charge. In addition, members have to commit to buy five (5) books per year from other authors who are members of the co-op. These books can be used for gifts or for your own reading enjoyment.
Any additional money that comes in beyond the cost of the website design and web hosting will be used for advertising the website on Google and other search engines as well as sending out press releases to appropriate news sources.
If you have sent me your confirmation, you'll receive information from me in the next few days. If you still want to join this exciting new undertaking, drop me a note at Bonkaye@aol.com.
Déjà vu, Airleaf vu, Jones Harvest Publishing too!
Part of moving forward is learning from the mistakes of the past and not allowing ourselves to become victims again. It is with great sadness that I have to warn our members about another predatory publishing scam that has re-incarnated itself and replaced the fraudulence of Airleaf Publishing.
In the past six months, I personally have received nine different horror stories about Jones Harvest Publishing primarily from senior citizens who invested thousands of dollars into an Airleaf-type dream and in all but one case, after they invested and lost thousands of dollars at Airleaf. These people were sold promises—just like at Airleaf. Here is a typical sales pitch (from one of the numerous Jones Harvest websites listed below) that one author sent me from the package she paid $5,000.00 for over a year ago:
(I am substituting the book title and author name to protect the innocent)
Bright Tomorrow should make you a celebrity!
Dear Joan C.,
Has your publisher or publicist ever even read Bright Tomorrow? Or are you and your book known by an account or book number?
There are hundreds of vanity publishing, publicity and literary agencies across the nation—some charging ten to twenty thousand dollars—and all of them waiting for the thousands of authors that write new manuscripts every year.
These companies will publish or just print overpriced books, and attempt to provide royalty-paying publishing deals, or write press releases and promotions to try to get a review written…all of this is done by email (SPAM), of course, if that.
Author Celebrity Associates is different. We make promises and keep them. WE WILL READ YOUR BOOK. We will find out what makes it special and how best to present it. If you choose, we will publish or republish your book at no extra charge.
We want Bright Tomorrow to make you a celebrity. You deserve it. We also want to make this very easy for you. All we need from you is your book or manuscript—whatever way is most convenient. With that, we make the following commitments to you:
• WE WILL READ YOUR BOOK IMMEDIATELY
• We will publish or republish your book in 60 days or less. (Optional, but no charge)
• We will pay you 100% of the profits from the book sales until you have earned back our fee.
• We will feature a picture of you on the home page of www.Authorcelebrity.com
• When a reader clicks on your name or picture, they will see your book(s) and information.
• We will place your book for sale on 10 websites including amazon.com
• We will call every newspaper, magazine, and radio station in your hometown and report.
• We will guarantee one television appearance and provide you with a DVD version.
• We will guarantee 3 separate AM or FM interviews in major metropolitan markets.
• We will guarantee a fourth interview on nationally syndicated AM/FM radio show.
• We will submit your book to a film producer for review and recommendations.
We will not be attempting to make these things happen. Each of these commitments is guaranteed. We won't stop there either; our plan is to do much, much more. We will also continue to publicize and sell your book as long as you let us, (or until you get a better offer) at no extra charge.
We will not be satisfied until we place Bright Tomorrow in bookstores everywhere and (name) is a celebrity. This program has a one-time fee of $7500. There are no further charges of any kind.
Sincerely,
Brien Jones, President
P.S. In your case, the price is $5,000. That is my way of apologizing for the past misfortunes AND showing you what we can accomplish at cost. Please keep this offer confidential. All but a very few authors must pay full price.
Wow—this is AIRLEAF all over again. The authors who have become Jones Harvest victims all have the same story about broken promises including time delays, failure to see galleys, numerous errors in the proofs, virtually no sales, lack of coordination of promises, and disrespect by some of the staff. When the first set of victims came to me in November, I told them to request their money back as I did all of the future ones who wrote to me. Some of these new victims had their money returned after they wrote Jones Harvest a letter threatening to report the company to the FBI and Attorney General. However, there are other victims whom I have recently learned about who have not had their money returned. And I can bet that there are other victims who don't know to come to me for help. Interestingly, most of these victims who contacted me are 70 years or older and vulnerable.
When Brien Jones started his own business in January of 2007, he made claims that he was going to be different than Airleaf. He left Airleaf because of the broken promises that were made to authors. As he stated in a letter to me dated January 30, 2007, "Carl and I had different opinions on how to use Airleaf's resources. I did my best to keep authors from being dissatisfied with our services. In your case I failed and I apologize."
I should have known there was a problem from that letter because I never worked with Brien Jones or even knew who he was. I only learned about him after he left and sent me an introductory letter like many others received. I took the bait because at that point, I knew something was wrong at Airleaf since my money wasn't coming through.
In my early conversations with Brien, he was clear that he had one goal and one goal only—selling books to bookstores. He was totally against the Hollywood trips, the book fairs, and other Airleaf plots because that's not how to sell books. He sounded legit to me, and not knowing differently except from Airleaf making some snide comments about his leaving, I had no reason to doubt him.
As the months went on and I was really disgusted with Airleaf, Brien offered to print my book for free in the summer of 2007 if I would be on his website. I was not opposed to that at all since I had reached the end of my rope with Airleaf. But as I became more involved with the Airleaf Victims group I started in August 2007,(which incidentally was NOT a plot with Brien as Airleaf kept suggesting) and started to read complaint after complaint about Brien Jones, I started to wonder why so many people were holding him responsible for their losses. People were looking for vengeance against him more than Carl Lau. I tried explaining that Brien had nothing to do with the money—that was Carl Lau. But people were adamant—Jones was guilty. They didn't accuse him of keeping the money, but rather of taking their money for packages that were never delivered.
I wrote those authors back saying that we need to target Carl Lau since he was the owner of Airleaf and ultimately the one responsible for not delivering what was paid for and keeping our money to enhance his lifestyle. He had visions of grandeur of becoming a famous Hollywood figure in the movies. His ego allowed him to be taken by the likes of Al Smith and Litestone Entertainment, a crooked "production" company that collaborated to make a number of you believe that your books were being turned into films by highlighting them on their now defunct website. Lau opened up his "Allen Agency" in California to sign movie contracts with authors. The whole thing is beyond bizarre and actually a story worthy of a real Hollywood movie.
I confronted Brien on the complaints coming in, but his answer was always the same. He claimed he sold services—he had no idea the services weren't being delivered. When he learned about it, he left. I would also call him on the complaints about misleading people, but the answer was the same. He was just as salesman. Somehow, Executive Vice President seems like more than a salesman to me. But Brien kept stating he was reforming from whatever sins he participated in while at Airleaf, and people should give him a chance. He even published some of the authors' books for free to show good faith.
But moving forward, I started to see that Brien was doing things in the same way that Airleaf did. I guess Brien realized that just publishing books and selling them wasn't going to make him money. First it was sending media blitzes for $450.00. Then it was going on book tours for $750.00. And of course, he was now going to take your book to Hollywood and pitch it to the movie directors.
If you look on the Jones Harvest website, you will see a whole bunch of other websites that he sponsors including: Author Celebrity Associates, Starred Review, AuthorSoldier (New!), Perfect Heart Publishing, Great Concept Books, Bookwheat, Bargain Book Basement, and Chosen Few. Each concept lures people in through a different door, but all roads end up at the same place.
Also, at the bottom of the shopping list is My Author Profile. According to the website, you can have yourself featured on there for $499.00. Yikes! You can have your own website designed and hosted for less than $100.00 and not have to share it with a bunch of others who will only be viewed by Jones Harvest authors and potential Jones Harvest authors.
Another note of interest: Part of the hook is promising reviews to customers. In a standard letter, it stated:
Also enclosed is a review we've received after sending it to a professional reviewer. We are our reviewers to be honest and to offer a clear perspective of what other readers could expect. As such, we really can't do anything about what it says, that's kind of the nature of the reviews. The reviewers are professionals so they are generally quite respectful and view your work as having an audience, even if it's not every audience.
People pay Jones Harvest to get their books reviewed. I read the review. It was signed by Tim, Brien's former phone receptionist and college nephew. His title under his name was "Media Researcher and Educator, T&R Reviews." The T&R stands for Tim and Rosa, Tim's wife. That's really a credible "professional" source to pay money for, isn't it? Next it will be the scary pumpkin head on his logo or possibly the wilted hay stalk writing the reviews.
Jones Harvest has gone from the original promise of only selling books to bookstores to:
National Blitz - $1850
We will feature your book on the HOME PAGE on our websites, www.jonesharvest.com and www.bookwheat.com, usually the same day you start! That means that any reader or bookstore owner that sees those websites sees your cover.
We will also read your book and write a comprehensive review. This review will then be featured on our unique website www.starredreview.com. We will also submit the review to 20 websites.
We will then write a custom, full-color, one-page promotion for your book. We will send it to you for your approval. You can make whatever corrections you want, at no additional charge. We will then mail it to 1000 bookstores in any markets you choose with an invitation to buy your books and/ or set up book signings. We will follow-up on all responses by telephone or whatever is necessary to place your book or generate a book-signing.
We will also write an AP style press release about your book and submit it to 100 newspapers and magazines. Before we mail it, we will send it to you for approval--again you can make changes at no additional charge.
Most importantly we also assign a telemarketer to you not only to answer responses but to also make outbound calls to newspapers, magazines, media and bookstores in the markets of your choice.
And now he's progressed to a super, duper, deluxe package of the secret price of $5,000.00 reduced from $7,500.00 so you can be a guest on vanity radio with Ian Moore and Stu Taylor, Brien's friends that almost no one listens to. But please keep that information "confidential" because only a few lucky people are getting that special price and we wouldn't want to let the word out!
Bottom line—there's a saying: Hit me once, shame on you. Hit me twice, shame on me.
So far, I haven't seen any of the Jones Harvest customers on television as some have been promised. And I certainly don't see any celebrities in the making. I have to wonder how I ended up on the Jones Harvest Celebrity Authors MySpace account with all of my books since I'm not a Jones Harvest Celebrity. Oh well, maybe Brien will update his site.
My bottom line is that predatory publishing must be stopped at every level. It's doubly insulting that the man who scammed at Airleaf is still pulling the same scam at his own company. It's time to put a stop to the illegal taking of authors' money. If you think you are a victim of Jones Harvest, please contact me and I will be there to guide you into your new membership group!
With love and hope,
Bonnie Kaye
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Airleaf Victims Update May 10, 2008
AIRLEAF VICTIMS UPDATE MAY 10, 2008
Dear Airleaf Friends and Victims,
This is an important week of victory for all of us. It's not the kind of victory that we were hoping for yet—meaning getting back our money or getting recognition by the media that we as a group made this happen—but it is acknowledgement of our plight by the same government agency that I hold responsible for putting us in this position to start with.
By now, you've gotten my message that on Thursday, May 8, the Attorney General of Indiana, Steve Carter, gave this public announcement:
Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter has filed a lawsuit against book publisher and promoter Airleaf, LLC for taking money without providing the promised services in return. The lawsuit is seeking consumer restitution for at least 120 customers.
"More than 120 people are named in the lawsuit, including many from Indiana who lost thousands of dollars,” said Carter. “In fact, hundreds more may have lost money. They paid for services. Airleaf did not deliver, and now, those consumers deserve refunds.”
The lawsuit, filed in the Morgan Circuit Court, alleges Airleaf, formerly known as Bookman Marketing, LLC, and its owner, Carl Lau, violated Indiana’s Deceptive Consumer Sales Act. It states that the company advertised that it would provide book publishing, royalty reimbursement and promotional services to consumers in exchange for payment. The promotional services included in-person participation at book fairs, presentations to Hollywood movie producers, and newspaper, radio and television advertisements.
The lawsuit alleges that Airleaf accepted payment but failed to honor all, or part, of the Client Service Agreements and other agreements, dating back to at least January 2006. It also states than Lau used Airleaf assets and consumer payments to cover expenses unrelated to the business, and that Lau continued to solicit business and accept payments months after he indicated that Airleaf was insolvent
In addition to consumer restitution, the attorney general’s office is seeking civil penalties of up to $5,500 per violation, as well as investigative costs.
So here's what it really means.
1.We have won a victory in the sense that a suit has been filed against Airleaf.
2.Chances are, Airleaf will claim bankruptcy as well as its owner, Carl Lau.
3.It's hard to tell if assets will be uncovered that can be seized to use to reimburse us at this particular time.
4.At least this will stop Carl Lau from ever doing business again.
5.Most importantly at this time, it should be able to push this case to the next level, the federal level, where criminal charges can be brought against the criminals which hopefully will translate into jail time.
6.This case will have government officials more carefully monitoring other companies who are already repeating the Airleaf fraudulence or who plan to.
It's not the end of battle by a long shot. In fact, it's just the beginning. And this will be a long battle. Carl Lau is counting on our anger to pass, our memories to fade, and for our frustration to make us give up. WE CAN'T. We must remain vigilant in our efforts to see this man and other fraudsters punished accordingly. So, hang in there with me fellow victims. Let's not give up one inch or one ounce. I know this is a lengthy battle ahead of us, but we will stick together until we win.
One question that people have asked me is if they are one of the 120 people that the state of Indiana have sued for. I spoke with my hero, Tom Irons, who handled our case in the AG's office, and he explained that the AG's office can only go back for a two year period to file suit. That means the cases they filed had to be from 2006 –2008.
In Tom's words:
My office does not have any statutory authority to include anyone who dealt with/contracted with Airleaf/Bookman before May 2006. That is why many consumers that filed a consumer complaint with my office were not included in the lawsuit and why those similarly situated and who have not filed a complaint with us should not now do so.
However, each victim has an individual right to hire a private attorney to sue under any contract/agreement up to six years old. Of course the time and money to pursue individual suits in this particular situation does not appear at this point to be justified. I’ll let you know when the lawsuit has been posted on our website--I expect that to happen next week.
Our reality is that Airleaf may not have money per se to pay us back; however, if the federal criminal charges are pressed, Carl Lau may want to negotiate some sort of financial settlement with us. Maybe that's why he's selling our books back to us in order to raise money. (That's my jaded sense of humor—sorry!)
The government will be responsible for finding out what assets Carl Lau has or what assets he has hidden. Only then will we know for sure what money is available to be given back. After the case is posted on the AG website, I'll let you know by email so you can check and see if your name is posted.
Here are some of my personal thoughts on this issue.
I am overly grateful to Tom Irons who took over the job of Terry Tolliver in this case. It was through his persistence that this case was taken seriously and the suit was filed. He did the work on our behalf. He also was the best and most receptive government official I have ever spoken with in my entire life. He was always available to listen to my concerns and complaints; he was never evasive or rude. He's the kind of man that we hope to get in government but rarely find. Even though Steve Carter's name is mentioned in all of the articles concerning this case, he was not the one who helped us. If anything, I hold him responsible for us losing our money. Why? Because after his office issued an AVC order in May of 2007, it was his office's responsibility to watch out for us and to protect us. His office should have been closely monitoring Airleaf after that warning issued.
In one of my January updates, I posted this about the AG's office:
An AVC or Assurance of Voluntary Compliance was issued to Airleaf. An AVC, according to the website of Steve Carter, AG of Indiana is:
An agreement reached between the State and one or more respondents stipulating the conditions under which the respondent(s) will conduct business in the future. An AVC may require the defendant(s) to pay consumer restitution and investigative costs to the attorney general’s office. The document is filed with the court but is not an admission of guilt or liability for any legal offense. The State has a legal right to go back to court if information becomes available that the defendant is not abiding by the terms of the AVC.
This happened to Airleaf on May 25, 2007. Two authors appealed to the AG’s office to help them, and they won. I’ve read through the document, and according to the decision, I cut and pasted some of the major points:
The terms of this Assurance apply to and are binding upon the Respondent, its employees, agents, representatives, successors, and assigns.
The Respondent acknowledges the jurisdiction of the Consumer Protection Division of the Office of the Attorney General to investigate matters hereinafter described, pursuant to the authority of the Indiana Code.
The Respondent, in soliciting and/or contracting with consumers, agrees to refrain from representing, either orally or in writing, the subject of a consumer transaction has sponsorship, approval, performance, characteristics, accessories, uses, or benefits it does not have, which the Respondent knows or reasonably should know it does not have.
The Respondent, in soliciting and/or contracting with consumers, agrees to refrain from representing, either orally or in writing, the Respondent has a sponsorship, approval, or affiliation in a consumer transaction it does not have, and which the Respondent knows or reasonably should know it does not have.
The Respondent, in soliciting and/or contracting with consumers, agrees to refrain from representing, either orally or in writing, the Respondent is able to deliver or complete the subject of the consumer transaction within a stated, or reasonable, period of time, when the Respondent knows or should reasonably know it could not.
The Respondent, in soliciting and/or contracting with consumers, agrees to refrain from representing, either orally or in writing, a consumer will be able to purchase an item as advertised by the Respondent, if the Respondent does not intend to sell it.
The Respondent shall fully cooperate with the Office of the Attorney General in the resolution of any future written complaints the Consumer Protection Division receives. This shall include, but is not limited to, the Respondent promptly resolving any additional valid consumer complaints brought to the Respondent's attention by the Office of the Attorney General, either prior to, or after the filing of, this Assurance with the Court.
Upon execution of this Assurance, the Respondent shall pay costs in the amount of One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) to the Office of the Attorney General. The Respondent shall fully cooperate with the Office of the Attorney General in the resolution of any future written complaints the Consumer Protection Division receives. This shall include, but is not limited to, the Respondent promptly resolving any additional valid consumer complaints brought to the Respondent's attention by the Office of the Attorney General, either prior to, or after the filing of, this Assurance with the Court.
This is to remind you that the AG's office warned Airleaf back in May of 2007 that this warning would include any additional valid consumer complaints. By October, we had over 100 consumer complaints into that office, but nothing was done to stop Airleaf from operating. They should have been watched carefully from the moment that MY complaint was filed as the first one in this group back in August.
And so, our victory is bitter/sweet. Bitter because if the AG's office had been doing their job, chances are some of us would have had our money back. Sweet because at least we are being recognized as a force to deal with, thanks again to Tom Irons.
We have to also thank Detective Jeff Buskirk who believed in our case. He was willing to compile all of the information to help out the legal authorities.
I'll keep you updated on events as they transpire.
Another thought—I think it's amazing that news reporters are reporting this story but not the story about the Airleaf Victims who forced Airleaf to close its doors and pushed the AG's office into the suit by sending massive complaints. I have sent information to every press source which is doing this. I'll keep you posted on that as well.
BOOK ANNOUNCEMENTS
Each week I am happy to promote your books in this update. If you have new books being published, feel free to share them with the group.
“I Know How A Butterfly Feels” by Ann Palmer - Who doesn't fanaticize about reuniting with their unrequited teenage love? It may be that it becomes more of a desire or secret yearning as we age. When we review our passing years we ask ourselves - "what if..." Few of us are granted that opportunity to try to recapture our past first love. Ann Palmer found him and shares that experience with you. How many men spend years longing to get behind the wheel of an RV and take just off for months of travel across most of the western United States? How many women wonder what it would be like to hop in a motor home and travel the U.S.A. alone? Ann did it and shares her ups and down experiences with you. What realizations can come out of physical as well as an emotional journey within? Read "I Know How A Butterfly Feels," and see for yourself. Do you live in a Cocoon?
“I have spent many years researching world religions and pre-Christian cultures. Had my ego not needed bolstering perhaps my choice would have been archeology or anthropology. All this led me to teaching, leading seminars and creating audio tapes. Thank you for sharing your time with me.” Ann Palmer 1314 Tunnel Rd – Asheville, NC 28805 – (828) 298 3560 –Visit: AnnPalmer.net AnnInAsheivlle@aol.com
By Cary Black
Zen and the Art of Cooking Beer-Can Chicken is the definitive cookbook written about preparing beer-can chicken. The book was written with recipes designed to go with simple beer-cans or with any of the new beer-can style cookers that have emerged in the market.
Featuring recipes for rubs, marinades, brining, and injecting, this book covers the gamut of cooking beer-can poultry. It was written with humor and simplicity and with hilarious illustrations done by he author’s father. Additionally, the book features chapters on cooking beer-can turkeys, some awesome accompaniment dishes and some interesting desserts.
The beer-can style of cooking is fast becoming America’s choice for preparing poultry. As the bird cooks, the fats drain away, while the inside of the bird is continuously infused with moisture. The result is a nutritious, tasty, and moist chicken meal.
See Cary's beautiful website at http://www.redowlpublications.com/ for more information.
That's it for this week. Hang in there…better days are ahead!
With love and hope,
Bonnie
Dear Airleaf Friends and Victims,
This is an important week of victory for all of us. It's not the kind of victory that we were hoping for yet—meaning getting back our money or getting recognition by the media that we as a group made this happen—but it is acknowledgement of our plight by the same government agency that I hold responsible for putting us in this position to start with.
By now, you've gotten my message that on Thursday, May 8, the Attorney General of Indiana, Steve Carter, gave this public announcement:
Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter has filed a lawsuit against book publisher and promoter Airleaf, LLC for taking money without providing the promised services in return. The lawsuit is seeking consumer restitution for at least 120 customers.
"More than 120 people are named in the lawsuit, including many from Indiana who lost thousands of dollars,” said Carter. “In fact, hundreds more may have lost money. They paid for services. Airleaf did not deliver, and now, those consumers deserve refunds.”
The lawsuit, filed in the Morgan Circuit Court, alleges Airleaf, formerly known as Bookman Marketing, LLC, and its owner, Carl Lau, violated Indiana’s Deceptive Consumer Sales Act. It states that the company advertised that it would provide book publishing, royalty reimbursement and promotional services to consumers in exchange for payment. The promotional services included in-person participation at book fairs, presentations to Hollywood movie producers, and newspaper, radio and television advertisements.
The lawsuit alleges that Airleaf accepted payment but failed to honor all, or part, of the Client Service Agreements and other agreements, dating back to at least January 2006. It also states than Lau used Airleaf assets and consumer payments to cover expenses unrelated to the business, and that Lau continued to solicit business and accept payments months after he indicated that Airleaf was insolvent
In addition to consumer restitution, the attorney general’s office is seeking civil penalties of up to $5,500 per violation, as well as investigative costs.
So here's what it really means.
1.We have won a victory in the sense that a suit has been filed against Airleaf.
2.Chances are, Airleaf will claim bankruptcy as well as its owner, Carl Lau.
3.It's hard to tell if assets will be uncovered that can be seized to use to reimburse us at this particular time.
4.At least this will stop Carl Lau from ever doing business again.
5.Most importantly at this time, it should be able to push this case to the next level, the federal level, where criminal charges can be brought against the criminals which hopefully will translate into jail time.
6.This case will have government officials more carefully monitoring other companies who are already repeating the Airleaf fraudulence or who plan to.
It's not the end of battle by a long shot. In fact, it's just the beginning. And this will be a long battle. Carl Lau is counting on our anger to pass, our memories to fade, and for our frustration to make us give up. WE CAN'T. We must remain vigilant in our efforts to see this man and other fraudsters punished accordingly. So, hang in there with me fellow victims. Let's not give up one inch or one ounce. I know this is a lengthy battle ahead of us, but we will stick together until we win.
One question that people have asked me is if they are one of the 120 people that the state of Indiana have sued for. I spoke with my hero, Tom Irons, who handled our case in the AG's office, and he explained that the AG's office can only go back for a two year period to file suit. That means the cases they filed had to be from 2006 –2008.
In Tom's words:
My office does not have any statutory authority to include anyone who dealt with/contracted with Airleaf/Bookman before May 2006. That is why many consumers that filed a consumer complaint with my office were not included in the lawsuit and why those similarly situated and who have not filed a complaint with us should not now do so.
However, each victim has an individual right to hire a private attorney to sue under any contract/agreement up to six years old. Of course the time and money to pursue individual suits in this particular situation does not appear at this point to be justified. I’ll let you know when the lawsuit has been posted on our website--I expect that to happen next week.
Our reality is that Airleaf may not have money per se to pay us back; however, if the federal criminal charges are pressed, Carl Lau may want to negotiate some sort of financial settlement with us. Maybe that's why he's selling our books back to us in order to raise money. (That's my jaded sense of humor—sorry!)
The government will be responsible for finding out what assets Carl Lau has or what assets he has hidden. Only then will we know for sure what money is available to be given back. After the case is posted on the AG website, I'll let you know by email so you can check and see if your name is posted.
Here are some of my personal thoughts on this issue.
I am overly grateful to Tom Irons who took over the job of Terry Tolliver in this case. It was through his persistence that this case was taken seriously and the suit was filed. He did the work on our behalf. He also was the best and most receptive government official I have ever spoken with in my entire life. He was always available to listen to my concerns and complaints; he was never evasive or rude. He's the kind of man that we hope to get in government but rarely find. Even though Steve Carter's name is mentioned in all of the articles concerning this case, he was not the one who helped us. If anything, I hold him responsible for us losing our money. Why? Because after his office issued an AVC order in May of 2007, it was his office's responsibility to watch out for us and to protect us. His office should have been closely monitoring Airleaf after that warning issued.
In one of my January updates, I posted this about the AG's office:
An AVC or Assurance of Voluntary Compliance was issued to Airleaf. An AVC, according to the website of Steve Carter, AG of Indiana is:
An agreement reached between the State and one or more respondents stipulating the conditions under which the respondent(s) will conduct business in the future. An AVC may require the defendant(s) to pay consumer restitution and investigative costs to the attorney general’s office. The document is filed with the court but is not an admission of guilt or liability for any legal offense. The State has a legal right to go back to court if information becomes available that the defendant is not abiding by the terms of the AVC.
This happened to Airleaf on May 25, 2007. Two authors appealed to the AG’s office to help them, and they won. I’ve read through the document, and according to the decision, I cut and pasted some of the major points:
The terms of this Assurance apply to and are binding upon the Respondent, its employees, agents, representatives, successors, and assigns.
The Respondent acknowledges the jurisdiction of the Consumer Protection Division of the Office of the Attorney General to investigate matters hereinafter described, pursuant to the authority of the Indiana Code.
The Respondent, in soliciting and/or contracting with consumers, agrees to refrain from representing, either orally or in writing, the subject of a consumer transaction has sponsorship, approval, performance, characteristics, accessories, uses, or benefits it does not have, which the Respondent knows or reasonably should know it does not have.
The Respondent, in soliciting and/or contracting with consumers, agrees to refrain from representing, either orally or in writing, the Respondent has a sponsorship, approval, or affiliation in a consumer transaction it does not have, and which the Respondent knows or reasonably should know it does not have.
The Respondent, in soliciting and/or contracting with consumers, agrees to refrain from representing, either orally or in writing, the Respondent is able to deliver or complete the subject of the consumer transaction within a stated, or reasonable, period of time, when the Respondent knows or should reasonably know it could not.
The Respondent, in soliciting and/or contracting with consumers, agrees to refrain from representing, either orally or in writing, a consumer will be able to purchase an item as advertised by the Respondent, if the Respondent does not intend to sell it.
The Respondent shall fully cooperate with the Office of the Attorney General in the resolution of any future written complaints the Consumer Protection Division receives. This shall include, but is not limited to, the Respondent promptly resolving any additional valid consumer complaints brought to the Respondent's attention by the Office of the Attorney General, either prior to, or after the filing of, this Assurance with the Court.
Upon execution of this Assurance, the Respondent shall pay costs in the amount of One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) to the Office of the Attorney General. The Respondent shall fully cooperate with the Office of the Attorney General in the resolution of any future written complaints the Consumer Protection Division receives. This shall include, but is not limited to, the Respondent promptly resolving any additional valid consumer complaints brought to the Respondent's attention by the Office of the Attorney General, either prior to, or after the filing of, this Assurance with the Court.
This is to remind you that the AG's office warned Airleaf back in May of 2007 that this warning would include any additional valid consumer complaints. By October, we had over 100 consumer complaints into that office, but nothing was done to stop Airleaf from operating. They should have been watched carefully from the moment that MY complaint was filed as the first one in this group back in August.
And so, our victory is bitter/sweet. Bitter because if the AG's office had been doing their job, chances are some of us would have had our money back. Sweet because at least we are being recognized as a force to deal with, thanks again to Tom Irons.
We have to also thank Detective Jeff Buskirk who believed in our case. He was willing to compile all of the information to help out the legal authorities.
I'll keep you updated on events as they transpire.
Another thought—I think it's amazing that news reporters are reporting this story but not the story about the Airleaf Victims who forced Airleaf to close its doors and pushed the AG's office into the suit by sending massive complaints. I have sent information to every press source which is doing this. I'll keep you posted on that as well.
BOOK ANNOUNCEMENTS
Each week I am happy to promote your books in this update. If you have new books being published, feel free to share them with the group.
“I Know How A Butterfly Feels” by Ann Palmer - Who doesn't fanaticize about reuniting with their unrequited teenage love? It may be that it becomes more of a desire or secret yearning as we age. When we review our passing years we ask ourselves - "what if..." Few of us are granted that opportunity to try to recapture our past first love. Ann Palmer found him and shares that experience with you. How many men spend years longing to get behind the wheel of an RV and take just off for months of travel across most of the western United States? How many women wonder what it would be like to hop in a motor home and travel the U.S.A. alone? Ann did it and shares her ups and down experiences with you. What realizations can come out of physical as well as an emotional journey within? Read "I Know How A Butterfly Feels," and see for yourself. Do you live in a Cocoon?
“I have spent many years researching world religions and pre-Christian cultures. Had my ego not needed bolstering perhaps my choice would have been archeology or anthropology. All this led me to teaching, leading seminars and creating audio tapes. Thank you for sharing your time with me.” Ann Palmer 1314 Tunnel Rd – Asheville, NC 28805 – (828) 298 3560 –Visit: AnnPalmer.net AnnInAsheivlle@aol.com
By Cary Black
Zen and the Art of Cooking Beer-Can Chicken is the definitive cookbook written about preparing beer-can chicken. The book was written with recipes designed to go with simple beer-cans or with any of the new beer-can style cookers that have emerged in the market.
Featuring recipes for rubs, marinades, brining, and injecting, this book covers the gamut of cooking beer-can poultry. It was written with humor and simplicity and with hilarious illustrations done by he author’s father. Additionally, the book features chapters on cooking beer-can turkeys, some awesome accompaniment dishes and some interesting desserts.
The beer-can style of cooking is fast becoming America’s choice for preparing poultry. As the bird cooks, the fats drain away, while the inside of the bird is continuously infused with moisture. The result is a nutritious, tasty, and moist chicken meal.
See Cary's beautiful website at http://www.redowlpublications.com/ for more information.
That's it for this week. Hang in there…better days are ahead!
With love and hope,
Bonnie
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