incredible discoveries: florida attorney general complaints 1

8/2/2019 Incredible Discoveries: Florida Attorney General Complaints 1

1/20

OS/20/2008 14:1g 8504101530 PAGE 01/

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

:BILLMCCOLLUMATTORNEY G:ENltRALS TATE OF FLORIDA

Office of Citizen ServicesTile CapitolTalbl:hnssee, Florida 32399-1050Tllll)phonc (8~O) 414-3990Fax (850) 410-1630

FAX COVER SHEET

Date:From: Office of Citizen ServicesFlorida Attorney General's OfficePhone: (866)966-7226 (toll-free in FL)(850)414~3990. .(850)410-1630ax:

To:Fax:Subject

Number of pages, including c o v e r : ' l . _ ONOTE: Please contact ' B e c J ; : " i at 414-3390/866-966-7226 (in FL) if you do notreceive aII pages of thefa t .


2/20

OS/20/2008 14:19 8504101530 PAGE 02/

IIraud Hotline MessageD


3/20

OS/20/2008 14:19 8504101530 PAGE OS/

O FFIC E O F T HE A TT ORNE Y GENERAL

ornec o r Ci ti z en Se rv i ce , ,"The C a pi to lTa.llahlluee, Florida 32399-1050 .".

CHARLIE CRIst\T TO llN EY GENERALS TATE O F F LORIDATel~pJ lone (850) 414-3990 iSunC i lm 994 - 3990F nx ( 85 0 ) 4 1 11 -1 6 30 , S u nCom ZIO-16M

Se pte m be r 2 0, 2 00 6M r . Fre d ErtlF .F . E rt l m , Inc.9 86 6 K app C ou rtP eo sta , Io wa 5 20 6 8Dear M r. Ertl:T ha nk y ou fo r b rin g in g , y o u r c om p la in t r eg a rd in g T ric orn P ic tu re s a /k Ia Imm e d ia te C api ta l G r ou pd /b /a I nc re d ib le D i sc o ve r ie s to th e a tte nti on o f F lo ri da Attorney G e ne ra l C ha rlie C ris t. O fte n it isonly through c or re sp on d en ce fr om c on ce rn ed a nd r es po ns ib le c iti ze ns that th is o ffi ce b e com e saware o f w i de sp re ad c on sum e r p ro b lem s .W e u se c om p la in ts s uc h a s y o ur s to d ev elo p in fo rm a ti on a bo ut p atte rn s o f b us in es s a cti vityw hich m ay ind icate the n ee d fo r form al in ve stig atio n o r ac tio n by o u r o ff ic e to p ro te ct th e b ro adpub li c i n te r e st . In c as es o f s ta tew id e s ig n if ic an ce , wh en s ub sta nti ve evidence i s a ccumu la tedindicat ing that a . firm i s s y stem a ti ca lly v io la ti ng F lo ri da law , we ma y i nv es tig a te a nd take act iono n b e ha lf o f th e c olle cti ve legal in te re sts o f the p eo ple o f th is sta te .W e a re fo rw ard in g y ou r c orr es po nd en ce to the A tto rn ey G e ne ra l's E co nom ic C rim e s ec tio n fo rr ev ie w . Wh at a cti on , if any, this office m ay take is u nknow n at this tim e. Ifw e ne ed fu rthe ri nfo rm a ti on w e w i ll c on ta ct you. However, p le as e b e awa re that th is o ffic e d oe s n ot m e di atei nd i vi d ua l c o ns ume r c omp la in ts .Flo rid a's D ep artm e nt o f A g ric ultu re a nd C on sum er S er vi ce s, D iv is io n o f C on sum er Se rv ic es( DACS )~ i s th e sta te c le ar in g ho us e fo r a ll c on sum er c om p la in ts a nd h as a v olu nta ry m e dia tio nprogram to a ss ist in div id ua l c on sum er s. T he mail ing a dd re ss is : 2 0 05 A pa la che e P ar kw ay ,Tallahasse e, Florid a 3 23 99 . The te le pho ne nu m be r is (8 50 ) 4 88 -2 22 1 o r to ll-fre e from w ithinFlorida (800) 4 35 -73 52 . W e are also e nclos in g a lis t of co nsu m er o rg aniz atio ns y ou may w is h tocon tact as y ou se ek to r es olv e y o ur i nd iv id u al c omp la in t. "F lo ri da 's D ec ep tiv e a nd U nfa ir T ra de P ra ctic es A ct d oe s pr ov id e i nd iv id ua ls with a p r iv a terem ed y to b ring an action fo r d am ag es , attorney 's fee s and court costs. If y ou need he lp find ing alaw y er, The Florid a B ar offe rs a L aw y er R efe rral Se rv ice w hich y ou m ay con tact toll-fre e at(800) 342 . . . .060. If y ou cann ot afford an attorne y, y ou may b e e lig ib le for low cost o r pro b onoassis tan ce thro ug h a lo cal le gal aid office . The Flo rid a B ar can ass is t y ou with t hi s p roce s s.


4/20

OS/20/2008 14:19 8504101530PAGE OS/

M r. Fre d E rtlP ag e Two

We app re ci ate your in te re st in he lping to control the spread of deceptive bu sine ss practice s. Ify ou wou ld like to keep current w ith news on Attorney G ene ral Cris t's e fforts to fight f ra u d p le as ev isit ou t' web si te and sub scrib e to the Attorney G ene ral's w eekly and m onthly electronicnewsletters: http://myfloridalegal .comINewsBrie.nsf7SubscriberSincere ly ,OFFICE OF C IT IZ EN SERV ICESFlo rid a A tto rn ey G en eralis O fficeDeS/acEnclosurecc: Office of the Attorney G ene ral

Fort Laude rdale Econom ic Crim e Section
http://myfloridalegal.cominewsbrie.nsf7subscriber/http://myfloridalegal.cominewsbrie.nsf7subscriber/


5/20

OS/20/2008 14:19 8504101530

D I E C A ST P RO MO T I O NS ,ell Cc. v f l_, .. .r I~.CL 1 i . u " C . . fWhen cOll\J )le te d . J 21 e as efa x to the F lo ri da Attorney Gen e ra l~ s O ffi ceMain office t&laphonA numbe~aswitehboard: 850-414-3300

FSXt BSO-410~1530SunCom p~= 210-1630

PAGE 010 9i 07 /2 eO G 1 8: 07 5635831307

To The Attention of ChA~lie C~iAt, P1Q~ida Aeto~ey Gen$r&l:Our company was one of pos sibly hundreds that hav e been victimiz edby a mar keting scam operating out of Pompano Beach, F lor id a.Formerly operating under the name T ricam Piceur88, they ar e locatedat 2001 West sample Road, pompano B~ach Flo~ida 33064. One of thephone numbers there is 954-970-9770. There have been many companiesoperating out of this looat.ion, such as "S.!te29hop". "HispanioDil'f!lctR,"NBtional S h o p p i n g Club," f t B u l " e : r a Shopping N l ! ! l t w o r k " and"Great Buy s Telev ision." All of the aforementioned are nO longer inop~ration, since part of their scam is to come up with differentnames for both the parent company and subsidiaries, as pressure isbrought to bear by companies such as ours, sWindled out of tens ofthousands of dollars for a marketing project that never waS.Today, the parent company calls itself Immediate Capital GroUp,d o i n g business a.e"I:r::u:~:r:'$d1.b18 D i e c o ~ e : r : t e l ' J . " Billing itself a s \'loneof the largeBt producers of direct response infomercials in theworld", these people bav$ n~V9r Bold aDythi~gon eBI8v!s1on.Moreover, leG and Incredible Discoveries have only been operationsof record for a couple of years. Here is a brief description of howour company and oompanies like ours were duped:The company has a team of telemar keter s contacting productmanufacturers by phone. They claim to have seen a partioular itemat a trade show, and say they think it would sell well ontelevision, Claiming to air their spote on all of the majornetworks as well as relevant cable channels (Animal Planet for petproducts, for example), they state that if the item is " appr ov ed ,~th~y will produce and ai~ a minimum of 300 commercials during" pr ime time" viewing (blacking out the hours from 11:00 pm to 7:00am). they also claimed to have the warehouse capacity to handle allof the shipping to the end user, and include this function in withtheir "marketing package. II !t is not until towards the end of theconversation that they ask for a "vendor fee" of, in our easel$29,200.00. They agree to accept partial "payment" in the form of$~O,OOO worth of merchandiee. which would be "sold" to them baaedupon wholes ale pricing I with the remaining cash balance payableprior to completion of the commercial. We sent a aample of ourproduct, as requested; and were happy to laa,;J;'n few daya J.ate:t:

PAGE 07/


6/20

OS/20/2008 14:19 8504101530

0 9/ B7 /2 08 6 1 9: 81 5635831307 D I E C A S T P R O M O T I O N S

that we had been ~approved. II A contract was then drawn up spellingout the terms of the marketing p~oject, and was signed by ar epr es entativ e of our company as well as a Tricorn princi~al. :hebulk merchandise was requested immediately thereafter, a~nce ~twould be featured on their ~8hopping webaiteP that allegedlygenerated sales ev en befor e the commercials aired. The companyexplained that when the merchandise ~an out~ they would simplyplace another bulk order at th e whol ea al e price, and split theprofit with us based upon the marked up retail price. We shippedthe merchandise as requested, and eagerly awaited the soript forour approval, as was stated in the agreement. What ~e r eoeiv ed backfrom them Was nothing anywhere near what we were led to believe. Wewere qtlit(:llsmayed when we were tersely informed by another T ricomrepresentative, that our pr od uct " didn' t do well on television, Itand that there would be no more ordars for merchandise. Bottomline: we were out $29,200. It was years later that we learned whatthis company was really in the business of doing:The first shipment of merchandise was disposed of in one of anumber of ways: The first way was to sell it at a kiosk at thelocal Festival Flea Market in P omp an o B ea ch . When a Miami vendord is cov ered that his own product was being sold there, the kiosk wasahut down. They then tried to get ~jobbe~su to buy the entire lot,sometimes on the very day they received th e shipment. If theythought they could get more money on E-Bay, the items were listed,sold and shipped by the warehouse staff, to buyers who bid on E-Bay. This is likely ,the main reaSOn that commercials never actuallyaired in the manner promised - there' was no me~ch8~dlseleft tosellon televjs1on, sinoe Tricorn already sold it at 100% profit. Asfor media tlme, this company purchased "pre-emptable" spots only,and on the local ~mom and pop" cable channels. More often than not,the spots were preempted and did not air. In other instances, theyaired only on "The Product Information Network" or the "TravelChanneln at 6 or 7 in the morning. The celebrity figure, CorbinBernsen, who this company claimed "hosted" the Great BuyaTel e"lrisio n S ho wc ase" did not. Insteadt he taped introductorysegments in a.dvance, which were spliced into the ""apot."Tricom isn't toe only c om pa ny o pe ra ti ng direct-response marketingscams out of South Florida. ~nother notable company was "ShopAmerica." ~hey operated in basically the same way, and they wereultimately shut down. Today, this company is finding creative waysto solicit partiCipation fees from product manufacturers. The feehas incl:'eased,however; to somewhere around $3'9,000, as thisappears to be a common d efault j ud gment. amount IIawarded" torncredible Discoveries by the civ il Cou~tB in Palm Beach County,Florida. We surmise that the manufacture~a lear ned that theBepeople were scam ar tis t~ only after signing a contract, and eleotedto have a judgment entered against them, rather than pay:t.:r.Jghe fee

PAGE 08/

pAGE 82


7/20

OS/20/2008 14:19 8504101530. , _ " . . . '_ PAGE 09/

55358313a7 D I E C A S T P R O M O T I O N S PAGE 03

and being ripped off. We don't blame them at all, and wish we couldhave been eo lucky. Unfortunatel y, we were not, and our personallosses are detailed below:A~ far as the details above, I am not sure if it is all-true but itsounds v ery similar to what happened to my company in 2001. We werecontacted as explained above. We sent product as outlined above. Inthe amount of $9625.00 Value. We put this on our own web site forcustomers to order. several cugtomers told UB they could not getthrough to even order the truckt one customer tbat got through waBtold he could not even order. Then, as seems to be scripted abovewe paid the balance of around total $29,200. We even sentadditional product at their request, which the invoice ~aa neverpaid, 6 units @27.50, $165.00 never paid. We also were left withover $15,000 worth of additional inventory that we had aeverlydiscount to move. We did receive a ghoddy videotape of acommercial, which we never got any confirmation about any airing.Upon continueB failure to make contact with the contact person incharge, we finally just gave up and took the loss. One emp loy ee ~a9later released from employment and this was 1 of a few othe~ thingsthat contr.ibuted to that. This was our first year in. business andcontributed to a difficult financial loss at the time as well asdepletion of employee moral for those involved. I have attached acor res pond ence r ecor d and letter sent to them. At the end, we justfinally gave up trying to contact as we never were contacted back~nor could w~ contact them...."rhey just disappeared. It Ls our opinionthat this company is a fraud and an a discredit to your State.Fl"ed F. Ertl, IIF.P. Ertl 111, INC .9866 .Kapp CourtP~osta, Iowa 52069It ~8 our sincere hope that yqu w ill inv estigate this . c ompany andult~mately prevent them from defrauding another manufacturer.Companies auch as this give your state a very bad reputation. Wewill ne~e~ forget our experience with them, and the damage it didto our company. Thank you. .

Contact Name and~it.le: .Fred FortI rIIPreaident/CBO .--(r;~_'~~~~.--------compa~y Name and Contact Information~D BA/ Ole-C as t P romot ions 563-583-3468F.F. Ertl III, INC. -


8/20

OS/20/2008 14:19 8504101530

5 6 3 5 8 3 1 3 E l 7 D I E C A S T P R O M O T I O N S

9866 Kapp Court

FlAG !;: 04

P~ostat Iowa 52068

PAGE 10/


9/20

OS/20/2008 14:19 8504101530 PAGE 11/

6 6 3 5 8 3 1 3 1 3 7 D I E C A S T P R O M O T I O N S PAGE: 05

National Shopping Club, Inc,INVOICE NUMBER 18160

Die Cast Promot ion sA ttn : A cc ou nts P ay a ble1 0 47 8 S t. Jo sephDr iV8D ub uqu e, 1 A 5 20 03

Project Contact: :Peg g yHave rland Execu tion Pate : 617/01Plumo: 1.319-583~063G Fax: 1-319-5R3-1307Tetrn~: 2/15; Net 30 tnvoicc Dllte: 6112/01Due D at e: 7mOl Buyer : J ohn Wh it t! !Late Pe~ : Finance Charg e of 1 .5% p er lDonth w ill N a ss e5 !1 1 !df n ot pllid b y d ue date.

The Natlo:llBl ShopplDg Club will Produce. Promote and Air :30; :60 & :90Second Direct Response Commercials Featuring your Mini Tractor Trailer.In s e rt ion FonnlPu r cha s e O r d e rExe c u te d by Fred F . Erte III fo r the Licensing Fee of$29~200.00Offset/ Credit against Purchase O rd er# CK6 05 02Due on or Before July 7, 2001 $ 9,625.0019.575~OQ

$29.,200.00

TOTAL AM OUNT DUE BY JULY 7, 20 01= $1 9 ,5 7S.0 02~COUht U P ro du ct &P ay m ent Of $1 9,1 83 .50 A re Re ce iv ed B y . Tn n e 2 2 , 2001C~ Fe de ral Em plo ye r Id en tific atio n N um b er 6 S-0 12 03 18 .~ rQ~ ...

PLEA SE REl\fiT PA YM E NT TO : .The Notlonnl Shopping Club A(:~unts Receivable Depa r tmen t1 225 B rnken Snond Parkw ay N.W Suite C Boef t RA to n , F 1 3 34 8 7Phone: (561)995-1001 Fax: (561)99$..7771


10/20

OS/20/2008 14:19 _?504101530PAGE 12/

5 6 3 5 8 3 1 3 E l 7 D I E C A S T P R O M O T I O N S PAGE Ell:.

300 times. $29,200 fee and they w ill purchase our ltam at w holesale plus 40% until you have m ade up your d ownfe8. Aft@rwhich they p ru ch as e a t whole sa le pl\ls 2 0% . Item w ill go th ro ugh 4 a pprov al procesS0S t ha t I neludessevera l qua lity checks . , s en t a sam ple o f tha D CP cab and C umm In s tra Ue r. A dv is ed I w ou ld s en d s am p le of DCPtr3i1er A SA ~. H e Is send lng rna a vendor packet to rev iew .


11/20

OS/20/2008 14:19,-". _ .. -. 8504101530 PAGE 13/%35831387 D I E C A S T P R O M O T I O N S PAGE 137

. 1 . J j ,J r . . ' . I j I, I I

~,. , . . .EGGY , , * ' " A ugust 23 , 2001 at 1 1 :04amJ ennlk !r ou t until M o nday. I lefl a m essa ge advIs ing that their order w as shipping to day via R oadw ay~... .PEGGY ~f"" Ju ly 30,2001 at 2 :1 4pmJ en nife r a dv is ed IN ! n um be r to c all to pla ce - o rd ars Is 8 71 -6 72 -7 46 7." '" P EGG y .. .." July 2 5, 2 06 "1 at 9:07amC alle d a nd left a m es sa ge fo r JennIfer. Need to add our logo to the websi te~* ' " P EG GY ,...~ Ju ly 1 1, 2001 at 1 0 :03am .S pok e w ith Jennife r, they have rec eived orders for 6of the C um m ins so far. I a dv ise d we wil l n ot h av e p ro du ct tothem until A ugust 23 or 24. A lso advised we w ill no t be s en din g a nyo ne to s up erv is e .th e c omm erc ia l s ho Ot. S h(!h e!! S Ch ed ule d fo r la te A ugu st e arly S ept. They w ill send us a copy fo r approva1.-*P EG GY "'''' JU ly 5 , 2001 at 9:29amC alle d J en nife r. T he y will s ho t th e commercials late August That Is w hen she wil l nee c J t he s amp le s to u se . T hec omm erc ia ls w ill ru n 0cII N ov. O ur ite m ts on their w eb aite currenUy under ear care . She Is adding I t to Co ll ec to r sC or ne r a nd G iflld ea s.- PEGGY "" '" June 28, 2001 at 9 : 1 6 amR 13celve(Jw ebs ite a pproval sheets. A dvis ed Jenn ifer to add the logo an d change age grade to a + . Jennifera dv is ed th at we a re to send th e se ll s hee ts 01 ' w ha te ve r w e w an t In se rte d, w ith th e p ro du ct. A I!;IOre ce iv ed a pp ro va lsheets fo r the mass ema il and comme rc ia ls ..- PEG G y ... . . J un e 2 6, 2001 at 9:18amCa ll ed J en ni fe r to check on webs it e, She advised that s he d id n't h urry w lth It because we a re rio t shipp ing unti lmid A tlgu st. I advised Since the bill Is dUe Ju ly 5 th, w e n&e da d to se e It o n the site prior to s ubm ittin g th e c he ck .She w ill m a ke ! lU re tha t itg ets d o ne in th e n ex t 1 -2 days,'II,", PEGGY ._ Juno 1 3, 2001 at 4 :1 4pm8teva has approved the chan ge to the Cum mins unit I spoke w ith Jennifer and ad vise d I w ould co mplete thevendor sheets and fax back b y F riday. I se nt the sam ple to Flsheye to ph oto graph. Jen nifer advis ed they w ouldInclude OUr logo If we w anted her to. W e w ill need to se nd It on d isk. S he co nfirm ed It Is a 4th q uarte r prom otiona nd th l3 y w o uld ba ru nn in g c omm erc ia ls in O cll N ov . H er e xpe rie nc e ha g be en that th is Is th e best tim e. le t h erknow if tha t ISno t agree. O ur un it w ill be one the ir w eb site in 3 -4 days after I gel her all of the Info. 'l1' PEGGY"""" Jun8 1 2. 2001 at 4 :1 1pmO ur item w as appro vad and a ccepted by N ational S hopping C lub. Th e program w as appro ved by Wan- Ho . In lla lpurchas e order received for 25 0 pie ces. They a re In the process of pu ttin g It o n th e In tlllrn et a nd Ih en th ey w ills ta rt th e c omm erc ia ls . W e a re g ettin g a pp ro va l 1 0 s Witch the item to the C um m ins S lgn ltu re 6 00 un it. P et ItI~ lly ,C um mins has not problem w ith the p~ rQ m. Celled and left m essage for Jenn ifer" " ' '' 'P EGGY i t " ' " June 5 , 2 001 a t 9 :44amSpoke w ith John, He loves the sam ple . H e has presented it to the firs t V.P. for rev iew . The sam ple w ill a lso gothrough a quality check and a check to see wha t c omp etitio n th er e is a nd a ve ra g(! ! s ell fo r s lm iUar I tems . Ifa ppro ve d, T he V .P . will contact m e an d give m e the firs t purc hase order. A con tl'3 .c t w ill a lso be sen t that we willn eed to s ign. F irs t purcha se order will' be fo r Internet an d w eb site purchase s. P ro mo m ateria l w ill take a ppro x 4 5days tb s et s o In itia l ~ ho wln g w ill be in 3m qu arter and b ig hit wi l l b e 4 th Q u ar te r. They w ill pay $38.5 0 per u nit until2 9,0 00 Is re coope d a nd then $33.00 p er u nIt fo r life of prO l1 1 otio n. T h ey w ill w an t a ra ta ll pa ck ed In a re sh ip pe r a ndIf w e san d m ateria l, they will In s er t I t.-- PEGGY -. May 31, 2001 at 3:28pm 'this 1 $a te le vis io n s ho pp lr lg n etw or k. They run from 6 am , to 1 2 a.m , on m ltlonal ne tw orks.. They seleel25( l l temsper ye ar th;::ltthey feature In a 30 , 60, and 90 se cond com m ercia l. C om m ercia ls run In at least 1 5 m arke ts and

l 1 l i . 1 _ W lit. ~.UI.I.SJ iIIiW Ji....A i


12/20

OS/20/2008 14:19 .B504~01530 PAGE 14/

09/m7/2806 10:07 5 6 3 5 a 3 1 3 1 2 1 7 D I E C A S T P R O M D T l O N S PAGE 1a8

J oh n Wh iteNational 'S h opp in g C lub1 22 5 B roken S ou nd P arkW llY N WSulteCBoca Raton. FL.,33487USA

(5 61 )9 95 -1 00 1 1 25( 80 0) 33 3 .- 20 08 c in dy(954 ')970-9710 Jenni f

ConUirrt Type RatallIndu.b'Y R&ta l l lMaUorderIntare$t DCP 1 :64TfT

AccntMngrOpe"

Commen~:P r ay Re s ult: ;Next$tIIlIp:

Last Contact:Last AtlIImpt:

.- PEGGY **It A pril 2 . 2 00 2 a t 1 :S4pmA dv is ed C in dy. ne ed ge hed ule by We,d n8 Sd ey n ext w ee k, S he c alled ba ck . I s hel.d d n a v e by M e n-T ue . ne xt w eekThey are bUying tim e n ow (Ve u e . r . t4! t,I-t~~ ,- PEGGY"" Mereh 20 . " 2 002 at 12 ; 52pmAdv i sed C ind y w e want to stay w i th eemmeneal s running m id -la te A pril- PEG(l,Y " February 1 9, 2002 at 1 1 :33amm M saga from C in dy CHin o th at sh e will be handling o ur ac co un t n ow . I ca lle d h er b ack an d la ft a m essage on hervo ice m all. She Is a t C orporate w hich Is Trlcom pictures. advised we should have a schedu le In 2-3 weaksu..PEGGY"" ' " Febr uar y 6 ,2 002 at 3 :01 pmJ en nife r o ut of o ff ic e un tll 2 - 1 9- 02..... p eG GY ~ January 2 . 2 002 at 1 0:34amCa ll ed Jenn if er to followup on medj~ meet ing....~PEGGy ..... Decembe r 4, 2001 at 9:34amcalled again and left message- PEGGY ri.N ov em ber 2 6, 2 001 at 1 1 :05amCa lle d to fo llow lJ p on comme rc ia l. Leftmessag9/0 re ru rn m y c all.f l o : ! A ' o ( , ~ (wkt". .. - P EGGy 1H- N ovem ber 1 9, 2 001 at 2 :5 4pmF ollo we d u p. L eft m es sa ge""to PEGGY ftffll- S epte m b@ r 28 , 2 00 1 a t 1 2 :3 9p mC omm erc ial w as ShD~ editing w ill take 3 Wi; t9kS. We w lll then receive a coP y to review and approve. Jennifer Is toget back 10 me on the am ount sold so far . * _ . . PEGGY _. Augus t 27,2001 at 1 0:1 2am ,C alle d J en nife r. R em in de r h er th at o ur p ro du ct Is p ro du ce d o ff9 ho ffl, SO if we ru n ou t In tM w arehou $8 , It w ill bea ppro x 6 ~7 w ee ks to re ord er. Advised that 85 s oo n a s th ey s ee pro du ct is ru nn in g OLlt. tl't$y n ee d to o rd er rig htrmay. She IS ~olng to oheck sa les thus far and le t m e kn ow .T m


13/20

OS/20/2008 1~:19 8504101530 PAGE 15/

09/B7/2806 10:87 5635831307 D I E C A S T P R O M O T I O N S

M ay 31 , 2 001

N ati on al Sho ppi ng C lu bJ oh n Wh ite1 22 5 B roken Sound Parkw ay NWSuite CBoca Raton , FL 33487

Thank y ou for y ou r in te re st in ou r I6 4 s ca le In te rn ation al Tra ctor-T rai le r, P er ou rd iscu ss ion , enclosed y ou w ill find a sam ple . 1 w as not ab le to send a sam ple of the D ie -cast Prom otions tra ile r, so I have includ ed a trai le r w e are sampling fo r C umm i ns . I hopeth at t hi s will w ork for y ou r in itia l rev iew of qua lity . I should have a sam ple of the Die-cas t Prom otions tra i le r in the ne xt 2 w eeks. I have includ ed a pictu re of the actua l un it w ea re s u bm i tt in g ,P le as e k ee p in m ind tha t this is not a product ion unit. U pg rad es are cu rrently b eing m ad eand fina l production is schedu led to b eg in in approxim ate ly 4 -5 w eeks. A few of thesechang es inclu de cab m irrors tha t w ill b e m ad e to snap into p lace, s tr ong e r mu d fle ps , e tc .Packaging for this mode l will be a r eta il w i nd ow box. They can b e p ur ch as ed with 8.m a il-o rd er s ty le b ox .a s well .The c ab will lift of f to s how th e i nte ri or a nd s le ep er d e ta il. T he re will be a r ele as e u nd erth e c ha ss is to rem ove the cab . Each uni t will include a . sm all i ns tr uc ti on s he et e xp la in in ghow to rem ove the cab .Afte r y ou r rev iew , y ou m ay reach m e at 56 3(31 9)583 -1 0 88~ fax 56 3(31 9)583 -9 480 , oremail [email protected]. Thank you again for your c on si de ra ti on . I lo okforward to hear ing from y ou soon .Since r e ly}

P eg g y H av er la ndDie-Cast Promotions


14/20

05/20/2008 14:19 85Q41o.1530 PAGE 15/

~9/~7/2~aG 10:87 5 6 3 5 8 3 1 3 E l 7 D I E CAST PROMOTIONS PAGE 1FJ

PClm>' l:IavctlnndDieCaall'romotions1 0 41 8 S t. J os eph D r.Dub \l qu c , lA 5 200356 3 - 583 ] 0 81 1ph 56 ~ - S83 -9 4 80 ! ax

To : Jennifer J NSC Fax: S61~995777tFrom: Peg g y I D ie -Coo t P romot io ns Oafs : Q8/08/2001R~: Orde r Placement pageg:CC;

X . Urgent: o ForRIMew x Please Comment oPIe(uReply o PIeaM R e c y 1 : : I f I. . . .

nistom er ca ll u s this room ing and ad vise tha t he tr ied s eve ra l o f thenum bers and was not ab le to ord er one oftb e Cumm ins tractor trai lers . We

y ou r p ho ne n umb er to c all a nd he w as to ld th at hi s o rd e r co uld no t b etaken. He was advised that an ord er cou ld only be taken b y a Larry W arm w ithFilm Prod uctions, a t 9 5+ 96 9-1 01 0.' H e calle d tha t num b er and Larry w as not in.So he ca lle d us back.Ple ase ad vise w hat w e should do. Can we take the ord e rs and send them to you?Let me know ASAP . Tha n ksP e g gy Hav e rla ndD i e- Ca st P romo ti on s

.. ... .. .. 'II .. .. ~ .. . . . . . . .. . . '" . .. .. . . . . .


15/20

OS/20/2008 14:19 8504101530

D I E C A S T P R O M O T I O N S PAGE 1 1S6358313e7

Ma y :3 1, 20 01

Peggy HaverlandDie Cast .P romot ions1 0 47 8 S ai nt J os ep h D ri veD ub nq \lo , IA 5 20 0jDear Peggy :P le as e r ev iew our v en d or r ela ti on 's pa ck ag e tllat i nc lu d es p er ti ne nt i nfo rma ti on o n t he s te ps n ec es sa ry tos uc ce ed i n P ir ec t~R es pons e s ale s.It is po ss ib le y ou r pr od uc t c ou ld b e on e of th os e th at w ill h av e: a pp ea l t o a n ati on al te le vi si on a ud ie nc e an dpro ve a v iab le o ne in w hich we would c on si de r i nv es ti ng _ T o 35$( lSS that po ss ib ili ty , w e lo ok fo rw ar d topr es en ti ng y ou r pr od uct to o ur r es ear ch d epar tm e nt fo r fu rthe r a naly si s in d ete rm in in g its v alu e to the N ati on alShopp ing C lu b p ro je ctAs w e di$CUss~ i f you t product i s d eemed v ia ble , itwill be pla ce d i n a ta rg ete d e m ail pr om o ti on . W I:!w illp ro du ce t hr ee te le vi si on c omme rc ia ls ( :. 30 , :6 0 and ; 9 0 s e cond spots) th at w ill a ir o n a c owhi na ti on o fb ro ad ea sta ffi li ate s ( ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX) i nd epe nd en ts ( PAX, WB , UPN a rid m o re ) as w elt as s ele ct cab le s tatio ns :fo ra m inim um 0 00 0 ai r ings , AII1.imc:w i l l b e pu rchase d in a m in im um o f 1 5 d es ig nated m a rk et a re BS in the U ,S.Should your product be a pp roved , t he Nat ional Shopp ing Club w ill plac e. an i ni ti al pu rchas e o rd er In ad van ce o fsales. That pu rchase ord er can b e applied to o ffset a portio n o f t he $2 9,2 00 .0 0 lice nsin g fee , W e wittim ln cd in te ly o ffe r y ou r pro du ct fo r s ale i n o ur W cb M a ll an d o the r s ho ppi ng s ite s o n the In te rn et, s uc h asYnhoo Shopping,N ati on nl Sho ppi ng C lu b's m ar ke tin g an d M l c B pro gram is u niqu e to the in dustry . How ?r f accepted:

'II We pay y ou 4 0% a bo ve y ou r w lto lc sa tc pric e u nti l y o u r ec ou p th e H ce ns {n g f ee .'" W e pay y ou 2 0% ab ove w h(Jle tla\t the.reafte r, for each and every purchase ord er

Why? To e s ta b li sh long -t erm r e la ti on shi ps W i th ou r p ar ti ci pa nt s regarding n ew pr od uct" the y m ay d ev elo p. It'ss im ply " go od business".t'm l ook ing f orward 1.0 s ubm ittin g y ou r s am ple to o ur r es ear ch te am . Iwill c all y o u to r e la y t he ir f ind ing s ill afew d ays . G oo d luck.Sincerely,e l L . . . r : L.u.L:&,I a 4 ; h i t cBuye r

THE M 1 1 . T 10M S HOP S W I T H u s'---- ~ 1~:25Broken Sound parkway N.W.,SUita C I Boca Raton. Florida :53487

1 ' @ t . 561.995.1001 I FClII.561.99S.717f I NottonCllShopplngCtub.cam -~~~~------.-J

PAGE 17/


16/20

OS/20/2008 14:19 8504101530

PAGE 12f3 004 . .0 & t t

Porch_.. OrderN 4 lt fO n Q I ~ ~1 :225 i I ! I r O I r . e ! ' I S O U nd ~ NWl. .~tl 'OCICCeor . M*n. F \. ~p5S'~100t

_11: Acc&InI$ P l V t b I e",donal SI1dppi I IQ CkiI1:t le. BrI I I fOn ~d I I ' I 1 r . I w ) I fNV, CBocI.It_n, t r L . . 334M5o.1..,H-fD01

. . . . . . _ 1 1 1 . . . . . . ."."..... IWoi ~ __ ........ _ ....... ~ ~ " _ .I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _ .. , , _ . .G I I I ,..... ~IIIIlIII ~.,.._..._.T H II: u c

PAGE 18/


17/20

05/20/2008 14:19 8504101530 PAGE 19/

5635831307 D I E C A S T P R O M O T I O N S PAGE 13

2 i i i i Z I I l i _ * _Fmm:S9nt:To:SUbJect:

C indy C lt ln o [ cl ndy@t ri comp ic tu res .com]M onday, April 06, 2002 3 :5 3 PMi im_mac@ffert I3.comRE: C omme rc ia l A gre eme nt

Hello -I have been trying to phone you all afternoon - ~an't $~~m to get through. The line isbusy busy - please give me cnll 1 would like to d1s~ss the project with you - ThanksC indy A. Citin~BOO -333- 2009 xa03~----Original Message--~--From: Jim Maclnern@y [[email protected]]Sent: Monday, April 08, 2002 12:46 PMTo~ Cindy CitinoSubject: Commercial AgreementImportance: HighDear Cindy,I believe you have been werking witb a Ma. Peggy aaverl~d f~om Q~~ CQMpanyin the pa~t .....I hav~ ~eviewed the status of our commercial agreement recently and itappearS that there bas been a great deal of delays on th e behalf of NationalShQPp1.ng CJ.ub to complete the;i,rP.;I.;t ."tof the agreement negotiated in July2001.. Die-Cast Promotions (F.F. Ertl Ill, Inc.) paid you in advance inJuly 2001 approx. $29 ,000.00 to orea~~ and purchase comm@rcialadv~rtisements fo~ a s pecific item that the National Shopping C lub h~dapecifically chosen. ASof today, April 8, 2002 we : have not rec Id. anycompen~ation fr .oroN ational Shopping C lub.l elm in need of your response as to t:heimmediate action you will be ttlkingto cor rect this ~ieuation. A complete listing/agenda is required.Should you have any questions please feel frae to contact me.Sincerely.J i m M a c I n e : r n e yD ir . o pe ~. /A dm in .D~,e-Cast: PromotionsBy: F.F_ E~tl lXI, lnc.:1 .0478 St. J os eph OriveDubuque, IA 52003pa: 563-593-0636

t':J:f\)... p~ ~~;t_ ~)..:t-.,{\c . . . . n J

1 = 5 \ " 1 1 1

1
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


18/20

OS/20/2008 14:19 8504101530

5635831387

J l ) . } - - ' MDstED BV:N.tional Shopping C~U~, Inc.122! a~Oke~ SaunQ P.r~way NWSuite Cboca ~a~oft, FL 33481USATo :D~Q Ca8t Ptamot~o~,

!L_ _ ,_

AccauntNo.

PAGE 20/21

D I E C A S T P R O M O T I O N S pf.\G E 14

Purchase OrderP~OrderNo.NS(;O:a.310;

0..1...,1/31/02hipm.rlt

N b.l$hoppi~g Cl~b2001 N. Sa~pl. ad, Su1te 101AT~~RTIOK= DAWN HoUGHPompMQO Daaeh, r L 33064

L~. !_ _ I ~ . _ _ _ . _t - O N - ~ - J:=-~~ ~ Y(.,O-",... ~ CU! '1M tNs TRACTO~Tp.AlLERSHtPPtNG

I-l-- ~ _ L _

__ TOTAL _ . l ~ . : _ ~ ~.-----._ - . . . . . . . . . . _ _ . _ , . . . . . - - - - - - - . . . . . . . . . _-.....


19/20

PAGE 03/04OS/23/2008 15:20 8504101530

Internet Mail Reply .. SentFrom:To:Subject:Date :

[email protected] l [email protected] response to your email.04/21/200509:02:37 A M

The Florid a A tto rney G enera l's O ffice is in rece ipt o f you r em aH regard ing you r conc erns w ith ~ _~m. A tto rn ey G ene ral C ris t a sk ed th at w e res po nd .A fte r rev iew ing you r em ail, w e regre t to in fo rm you that th is does not appear to be a m atter in w hich theA tto rney G enera l can ass is t you . C hapter 1 6, F lo rid a S ta tutes, w hich s ets fo rth the pow ers and d uties o fthe A tto rney G eneral, authorizes th is o ffic e to prov id e lega l opin ions and ad vice on ly a t the request o fp u blic o ff ic la ls o n q ue stio ns of l aw re la t ing to the ir ow n offic ia l d uties . B y law , the O ffic e o f th e A tto rn eyG ene ra l m ay n ot re pre se nt p riv ate c itiz en s in le ga l d is pu te s, no r g iv e the m le ga l a dv ic e a bo ut pa rtic ula rla w s o r s ta tu te s.It is s ug ge ste d th at yo u c ons id er c on su lting a p riv ate attorney to ensu re you r best in te rests are m et. Ap riv ate atto rne y c an g iv e yo u th e le gal g uid anc e th is o ffic e is p rec lu ded by la w fro m p ro vid in g to priv ateind iv id ua ls or bu sinesses. T he F lorid a B ar o ffe rs a L aw yer R eferral S erv ice w hich you m ay contactto ll- fr ee a t ( 80 0) 342-8060. T he a dd re ss is 6 51 E as t J effe rs on S tre et, T alla ha ss ee , F lorid a 3 23 99 ~2 30 0.The B ar's w ebs ite Is a t:http: / twww.flabar.orgThank you for contacting A tto rney G enera l C ris t's O ffic e. W e hope th is proves helpfu l.PL EASE DO NOT REPLY TO TH iS E -M AIl. TH IS ADDRESS IS FOR PROCESSING ONLY .T o c onta ct th is o ffic e ple as e v is it th e A tto rn ey G en era l's w eb site a t V fflW .m yflo rid ale ga l.c om a nd fill o utthe on-tine c ontact fo rm . A ga in , thank you for contacting the O ffic e of th e F lo rid a A tto rn ey G en er al.IN TERN ET CO M PL AINT RECEIVED BY THE ATIO RN EY GENERAL 'S O FF ICE O N 04 /08 /200501 :4 5:3 1 P ML in da R old an448 Sov er eig n C o ur tS t. L ou is , M O 6301 1( 63 6) 5 2 7- 68 00V;$orv ieww@aol .comN ame/F irm /C omp an y: ~S ub Je cVCa te go ry ; F als e o r O e ce ptiv e T ra de P ra ctic esS tr ee t Add re s s: 3850 N. P ow er lin e R oa dC ity : D ee rfie ld B ea chS ta te : F LZ ip Co de : 3 30 73Co un ty : S row ar dP ho ne : (9 5 4) 9 35 - 31 6 2Quest ions/Comments :W e entered Into a contrac t to m ake a 30 m inu te in fom erc ia l for our new safe ty produc t, (a co lo r back-upe arn ers s ys te m fo r a ll typ es o f v eh ic le s) a nd to a ir th is in fo m erc ia l na tion wid e w ith e xp os ureto rea ch a p ro m is ed 40 m illion v iew ers. W e also c ontrac ted to hav e a fu ll page adv ertisem ent in tw o"T arge te d In du stry" N atio na l m a gaz in es pro mo tin g o ur pro du ct.W e w ere lead to be lieve that w e w ou ld rece ived m any orders resu lting from the advertis ing and a iring ofthe in fom erc ia l. W ith these tw o avenu es, w e expected to rec eive m uch in terest, activ ity and ord ersresu lting from our Investm ent of tim e, travel and cash. O ur re tu rn on our $40,000 ...in ve stm en t h as b eenZERO . .T he in fom erc ia l a ired in a few loc ations d uring norm al comm erc ia l tim e period s. H ow ev er, 90% of thea ir ing took place betw een 3 :30 AM and 5 :30 AM . W e do not cons ider 3:30-5:30 A M to b e c omm erc ia llyaccepted tim e s lo ts . As a resu lt, w e had absolu te ly no sa les due to the fact tha t m os t people w ere as leep
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://http/twww.flabar.orghttp://http/twww.flabar.orgmailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


20/20

OS/23/2008 15:20 8504101530 PAGE 04/04

while the in fom erc ia l a ired . ~ led us to be lieve tha t they w ou ld a ir th is in fom erc ia l tota rge te d m ark ets a t tim e s lo ts w hic h h ad b ee n pre vio us ly c ho se n th ro ugh th eir m ark etin g re se arc hd epartm ent. IN fac t, the tim es w ere m ost like ly chosen ac cord ing to the leas t c os tly tim e s lo t. H ad w eknow n tha t they p lanned to a ir the in fom erc ia l a t 3 :3 0 A M , w e w ou ld never have s igned the c on trac t. W ew ere e xpe ctin g a v ie win g a ud ia nc e o f 4 0 m illo n pe ople a s o utlin ed in th eir litera tu re , b ut 3 9.8 m illio n w ereasleep.W e c om pla ln ed to th em re ga rd in g th is tim e s lo t, b ut th ey a ss ure d u s th at the m a rk etin g d epa rtm en t w asc o nfid e nt a bo u t th is .S in ce w e re ce iv ed a bs olu te ly n o ph on e c alls , o rd ers , e tc . w e b elie ve th at th e m ark etin g d epa rtm en t O nH ou se) w as w rong. The ir so lu tion w as fo r u s to pu t u p ano the r$ 20 ,0 00 to pu rc ha se m ore a ir tim e, a nd the n w ou ld n ot e ve n gu ara nte e th at it w ou ld a ir a t c om m erc ia llya cc epta ble tim es d urin g th e d ay. W e w ere n ev er in fo rm ed th at a ny a dd itio na l a irin g w ou ld b e n ec es sa ry,o r w e w ou ld never have agreed in the firs t p lace . W e w ere d efina te ly led to be lieve tha t th is one a iring,reach ing 4 0 m illion people w ou ld bring in o rd ers . W e even had to agree to speak w ith and back-u p the iro rde tak ing departm ent. .A lso , the 2 prin t adds w ere no t FULL P age , nor w ere they in "Targe ted Ind us try " m agaz ines . W e d o no tc ons id er "T he A m eric an G ard en er" to be a ta rge te d in du stry m aga lz e fo r a V eh ic le B ac k-u p c am e rasys tem.W e never d id reee lve proo f or a copy o f the second m agaz ine. so w e do no t know if they ever evenpu blils ed an th lnq . W hen as ask ed fo r a c opy o f the second pu blica tion , they to ld u s they d id no t have acopy and cou ld no t ge t u s one . W e fee l tha t th is in itse lf nega tes som e of the con trac tT he c on tra ct s ta ted th at a ll p ro du ctio n c os ts w ou ld b e a t th e s ole e xpe ns e o f < > - > m M : W O - : O , ~ f 6 l m < < . " " m l ~ . r . E ' J i m ~. " " ' . :< '1 1. - . Thec on tra ct a ls o s ta te d th at th e "p artic ip an t w ill n ot b e re sp on sib le fo r an y a dd itio n al mon ita ry e x pend itu re " .H ow ever tw o o f ou r ow ners flew d ow n to F lo rid a a t ou r expense and phys ica lly partic ipa ted in theInfom erc ia l. W e w ere no t pa id fo r thes e serv ices , no r re im bu rsed fo r ou r trave l, ho te l, tim e, e tc . W e. w o uld lik e re im b urs em e ntW e fee l tha t w e w ere pu rpose ly m is led in sev era l a reasand w ou ld no t w an t som e other u nsu specting com pany to be ripped o ff in the fu tu re .A ls o, w e w ere a ls o le d to b elie ve th at If w e d id n ot pa y th e th ird in sta llm en t e arlie r th an th e c on tra ce dtim e , tha t th e film in g w ou ld n ot ta ke p la ce a s s ch ed ule d. S in ce w e a lre ad y h ad a ll tra ve l a rra nge m en tm ad e, w e pa id early. W e fe lt in tim id ated to pay ear ly .W e had to re jec t the firs t c opy o f the In fom erc ia l becau se s om e parts w ere poorly d one . O ur VHS copyd id no t represen t ou r prod uc t properly and w e to ld them s o. They assu red u s tha t the B eta copy w asm uch be tte r, c lea re r, sha rper, e tc . W e d id no t be liv ed them and requ es ted a B eta copy. The B eta qu alitycopy w as no be tte r than the V HS copy , So w e m ad e them reshoo t som e of the d em onstra tions . A ga in ,W e w e re m is le d.W e a cte d In go od fa ith , f ly In g d ow n s ev era l tim es , pa rtic ipa tin g in th e pro du ctio n a t o ur c os t, a nd~ in every w ay tha t w e cou ld to m ake th is pro jec t success fu l. W e do no t be lieve tha t ~..' ... , 'fu lfilled the con trac t W e w ere led to be live tha t they w ou ld produce a pro fess iona l produc tand act in good fa ith to air th is In fom erc ia l a t a prim e tim e s lo t. Ins tead , a ll a long the w ay w ee nc ou nte re d u ntru e s ta te m en ts , fa ls e p ro m is es a nd s om e tim e s u np ro fe ss io na l b eh av io r. W e b elle ve th atif th e in fo m eric al h ad b ee n s ho wn a t a re as on ab le tim e s lo t, w e w ou ld h av e b ee n s uc ce ss fu l.Crea ted : MO r ll qu e De ra to rr es . . 04/21/200508:32:26 AML a ~ t E dite d: L a st Edited: K ym O swa ld -K or te .. 04/2112005 08:55: : :!5 AM

incredible discoveries: florida attorney general complaints 1

Documents