Most of us go through life probably never running into a thief beyond something pretty small. Someone may have taken something for your school locker as a kid or bumped your car and took-off. Most probably also haven’t needed a lawyer, other than for maybe a real estate transaction. Well, a few years ago I ran into real thieves. These were guys who stole money from their payroll tax clients to the tune of $4+ million. My Massachusetts based company, ProHCM, had merged with their company, Centro Group out of Miami, where those running the business were the thieves. As a result, both companies went bankrupt and I Iost 18 years of hard work. Though I was the largest stockholder. One may ask, why would you ever merge with a company where there was stolen money? Didn’t you do your due diligence? Well, thieves are good at being thieves. Madoff fooled an estimated 37,000 people in 136 countries including pension fund managers and other financial professionals of close to $65 billion. He even fooled the SEC for a while. Four victims committed suicide. It is sad. In this story there has been one suicide.
I am taking my case to social media through this website/blog because it is impossible to fight the big guys with money in courts unless you are prepared to spend a lot of money. I am suing them pro se (with no lawyer) for $17.2 million and have filed a criminal complaint in the State of MA against 9 of them. One of them had said, “Let’s just go to court and I will outspend them”. They know how to play the game. And my sense is that the rules in our judicial system favor this type of game playing. The lawyers make more money making a case longer regardless of the outcome. And the judges, well I hope I could find one who really cared versus just going through the motions. There is still hope as things are ongoing. In this blog I will continue to publish the stories as things unfold.
The U.S. legal system is inequitable. It provides the wealthy opportunities that those who can't afford lawyers don’t have. The money is used to make the bad guys look good and the good guys look bad. And the lawyers have a legal way to rob you anyway. At least that is what it feels like for me. This is a story not only about how I was robbed but also how I am in the process of getting robbed again, by the courts and opportunistic lawyers.
This whole event resulted in the first time I ever really had to deal with lawyers and courts. And what I can tell you is that I am having a hard time telling the difference between the thieves and the lawyers. They are like twins. Thus, the title of this blog, “Thieves and Lawyers”, can you tell the difference. That is what this story is about. It is about how I ran into some real dishonest people in a Florida merger and then ran into more dishonest people in the courtroom. If you were to hear the story as told by the lawyers in a courtroom it is a far cry from reality. If you spend money, you can “bend the truth” in case filings and in the courts in front of judges and juries. Who really believes OJ was not guilty? For the little guy, and I consider myself a little guy in this nightmare, I have found little hope in trusting our legal system to “do the right thing”. The bad guys have the money, and the lawyers love the billable hours. But I have the power of the pen. Or should I say the laptop and social media to tell the true story. And it is a good one.
Before I start, I will make the promise that the information in this blog is truthful. Not being truthful would simply be wrong, and I will draw some lines between Right/Wrong verses Legal/Illegal. There may be some people or companies referenced who may not know they were doing “the wrong thing” because they hired lawyers to distance themselves from what was really happening. That is a business maneuver that doesn’t give one a “pass” from being accountable or at least a good person. I will call them out. There are many who live by what is legal vs. illegal. That is much different than living based on what is right or wrong.
I will also welcome anyone I mention in this story to provide any evidence that I am wrong. I will publish it, provided it is evidence not opinion, or the same garbage the lawyer’s spew. I am going to name names. In the courtroom and in case filings there are names everywhere. And what people say in the courtroom and in court filings is often far from the truth. But it becomes public information and reputations are hurt, unless you fight back. I am fighting back. And this is my story of how a small businessman is standing up to the thieves and lawyers, who are trying to get away with theft and fraud.
I will add that this is an ongoing story. I will publish everything to date and add more as the story unfolds. So, stay tuned and subscribe to the website. You will get an email when a new chapter is published.
"Only a true thief feels like he owns someone else's property."
Money Heist
Taking on the lawyers of well-funded defendants is costly. Please help me get some legal help to get justice and protect the integrity of the investment community.
