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Thursday, May 30, 2013

TRAVERSE CITY ANNUITIES SALESMAN/INSURANCE AGENT WILLIAM LOWDER GETS FIVE YEARS; SCAM TARGETED ELDERLY

John Agar of the Grand Rapids News reports on Lowder sentence; annuity scammer feels "guilt and shame"

300 lb. future cellmate smacks lips and says "Fresh fish!"



GRAND RAPIDS, MI – A Traverse City-area man who stole nearly $1.6 million from clients, many of them elderly, was sentenced Wednesday, May 29, to five years in federal prison for wire fraud.
William Edward Lowder, 57, of Williamsburg, cheated clients while he operated Lowder Insurance and Ash Brokerage.

U.S. District Judge Robert Holmes Bell emphasized the long duration of the crime and Lowder’s failure to repay any of his victims. Bell ordered Lowder to pay restitution of $1,567,908, and to perform 300 hours of community service after his prison term ends.

Bell also ordered Lowder to serve a 36-month concurrent sentence for filing a false tax return in 2008.
Lowder was a licensed insurance agent and annuities producer, the government said.

In 2001, he began to defraud elderly clients by convinced them to liquidate existing annuity investments and provide the funds to him to re-invest. Instead, he put the money in his own bank account.

He provided clients with false bank statements.

Instead of reinvesting the proceeds, Lowder deposited the money into his own bank account. Lowder provided clients with false bank statements.

The scheme ended in 2009.

“This case is especially troubling given that Mr. Lowder stole significant amounts of money from elderly clients who, like most citizens, rely upon their limited investments to provide for their financial security,” U.S. Attorney Patrict Miles said.

“The victims of Lowder’s scheme worked hard for their retirement and he stole their hard earned savings,” said Erick Martinez, special agent in charge, IRS Criminal Investigation.

The FBI, Grand Traverse County Sheriff’s Department, and IRS were assisted by the state Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation.

William Edward Lowder, 58, used the money to support his family, business and other interests, records showed.

“Mr. Lowder betrayed the trust of his clients and is remorseful for it,” Sean Tilton, the assistant federal public defender, wrote in a sentencing memorandum.

“Mr. Lowder feels daily guilt and shame for committing this offense and for the consequences his actions have had on his victims. He shoulders an immense sense of guilt in thinking about what his clients’ lives and his life would be like if he had not committed this offense.”

Tilton said his client has “suffered severe personal consequences.”

His wife of 22 years left. Family members will not talk to him. He lost his business. His home is gone after it fell into foreclosure.

“Mr. Lowder is now an outcast in his community," Tilton wrote.

He has debts of $315,000, which does not include restitution that will be ordered in the case.

Lowder had pleaded guilty to wire fraud, a potential 20-year felony. He operated Lowder Insurance and Ash Brokerage. He sold life, health and disability insurance and annuity investments.

The government said he convinced elderly clients to liquidate investments and buy new annuities through him.
He put that money into his own bank account, and prepared false account statements that convinced clients their money was invested.

In a letter to U.S. District Judge Robert Holmes Bell, Lowder wrote: “The guilt and the shame that I have carried over the last few years has been overwhelming, and I know in my heart I feel a deep sorrow for the victims and their families.”

Lowder has no previous criminal record.

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

OH, THAT’S SOOO THONG: A JUGGER-NAUGHT IN SEATTLE

Wearing a bikini while playing a friendly game of football with your friends is exciting and challenging. But tackle your best friend wearing a thong, and watch everyone go wild!

Or maybe not. 

One man's story of his experience with bikinis, football and David Lee Hunter.














[NOTE: At his request, the real name of the man we’re calling “Steve” and other identifying details, including his hometown, are being kept confidential.]







When David Hunter offered to transfer his ownership of a new World Bikini League Football team, the Montana Rush, to "Steve", he concealed one significant detail. 

He didn’t own the team.

But that didn’t stop Hunter from reaping thousands of dollars from Steve, including a Seattle waterfront hotel stay and airline tickets to Hawaii.

Steve spoke exclusively to Miss Fortune and agreed to share his experience with the Charlevoix native, who’s on the run from a Traverse City fraud charge.

BACKGROUND: The World Bikini Football League

The World Bikini Football League was established on November 24, 2008 in Snohomish, Washington. Founded by a Snohomish native, the TWBFL featured women playing football in bikinis. From November 2008 through August 2009, the founders offered and sold investments in the form of membership units in TWBFL to approximately fifteen investors, raising approximately $228,500. At the time of their investment, all investors were Washington residents.

Those initial investors had the opportunity to purchase either a “league” ownership, which required an investment of $25,000, or a “team” ownership, which required an investment of $10,000. Although the TWBFL’s business model was based mainly on revenue generated by online subscriptions to view the games (filmed, then rebroadcast on the company’s website), additional potential revenue sources, per the founders, included “spinoff opportunities” such as endorsements, clothing, and novelty items.

On Friday March 13, 2009, the league held games and a photo shoot at the Starfire Sports & Entertainment Complex in Tukwila, Washington. A large video production company was brought in to capture every play and document everything from hair and makeup to gridiron action.

The teams include; Seattle Emeralds, Portland Tsunami, Cheyenne Tetons, Calgary Glaciers, Montana Rush, Vancouver Yellow Jackets, Spokane Dragonfly, Denver Snowbirds, Boise Wildfire and the Las Vegas Temptation.

THE SCAM

Steve’s friend, who’d been Hunter’s neighbor in Kapaa, Hawaii, introduced him to Hunter. Steve told Miss Fortune that he’d spoken with Hunter a few times by phone before finally meeting him in Tukwila the night of the TWBFL video shoot in March 2009.

Steve tells Miss Fortune that David Lee Hunter “offered to transfer his ownership of one of his ‘teams’ in exchange for me taking care of some of his operating expenses. The paperwork I signed seemed legitimate and I even reviewed the TWBFL's partner contract.”

 


Left: David Lee Hunter, slippery in Seattle
Steve maintained that as part of their ownership transfer agreement, Hunter had him “buy team uniforms, for which I paid Victoria's Secret directly and had them shipped to an address in Seattle, Washington.” Hunter and Steve attended the first "shoot" of TWBFL in Tukwila, WA -- a half a dozen or more games were played and videotaped, an overnight shoot that stretched from Friday night into the early hours of the Saturday morning.

Although Steve had planned to head back home after the shoot, Hunter invited him to “hang out at his pad in Seattle and spend a night on the town with himself, his former wife, and her friend.”

On the drive from Tukwila to Seattle, Steve stated that Hunter claimed that “he'd left the keys to the [Seattle] condo in Hawaii and was having trouble getting a hold of the superintendent of the building.”

Steve told Miss Fortune that he parked his car near Seattle’s Pike Place Fish Market and the group spent Saturday afternoon touring the waterfront on foot. Steve explained that at dusk Hunter said “he'd still not heard from the super and suggested getting a room at the Waterfront Marriott.” 


Steve said that Hunter claimed that although “the room wouldn’t cost anything because he had all kinds of ‘frequent flyer’ credits that he'd use to pay the hotel bill, he convinced me to ‘hold’ the room on my debit card. We partied in Seattle and had a good time on Saturday night.”

After lunch on Sunday, Steve said that Hunter told him “he'd incurred some additional expenses and asked if I would sign an amendment to our agreement to compensate him for these ‘out-of-pocket’ expenses.”


“As with the apparel [uniforms] from Victoria Secret, Hunter conned me into paying for three one-way plane tickets for himself, his former wife, and her friend to return to Hawaii. It raised a red flag, but I was betting on a nice payout from my team ownership so I went ahead with the ticket purchase. The tickets were for the following Monday. When I left Seattle that Sunday evening, I failed to close the hotel bill because I trusted that Hunter would pay with his ‘frequent flyer’ credits. Hunter gave me the impression that he'd reached the Seattle condo’s superintendent so they'd be staying at the condo after one night at the Marriott Waterfront.”

Steve admits it “was my mistake for not closing out my credit card bill when I left Seattle. I trusted him [Hunter] to take care of the hotel bill with his ‘credits’. I found out a couple weeks later when the bill came that he'd stayed in the room an additional three nights and charged the entire stay to my credit card. He claimed it was a clerical error on the Marriott’s part, and that he'd reimburse me for the $888.68 ASAP. He never did.”

Steve admits that he was disarmed by Hunter’s flattery and promises of easy profits and dismissed the signs he now sees clearly in the rear-view mirror of experience.

After returning to Hawaii, Hunter strung Steve along for several months, even visiting his hometown to “assure me that everything was on-track with the TWBFL payments.”

Finally, Steve realized that Hunter had “scammed” him, and he started “a long chain for angry emails to him and got a lot of ‘I'm sorry’ email replies from him but was never reimbursed.”

Steve finally contacted a TWBFL founder at the Snohomish headquarters, who told him that he was aware Hunter had scammed others with a similar ploy.

In an email, the founder told Steve, "Sorry to hear about your dealings with Dave.  You are not the first to have surfaced on this issue.  It seems Dave was selling interests in our league without our knowledge and without any actual ownership or authorization for a while.  Let us know if we can help out."

In October 2009 as a last resort, Steve hired an attorney who sent David Hunter a demand letter and rescission of their "agreement". Although Hunter signed for the certified letter, he never responded to the demand for repayment.

Steve says David Hunter still owes him thousands of dollars.

In addition, the friend who’d introduced Steve to Hunter also paid him money for the Bikini League “investment”. Although his loss was not as significant as his own, Steve estimates that he and his friend collectively lost about $5,000 to David Hunter.

HEY, CAN I USE YOUR NAME AS A REFERENCE?


By October 2009, Steve had decided to chalk up his loss as a learning experience and moved on until he heard from a Vancouver, Washington man in March 2013.

David Lee Hunter, the man who Steve claims cheated him out of thousands of dollars, sold him a bikini-clad version of the Brooklyn Bridge, and conned him into paying for three tickets to paradise, was now using him as a business reference with a new "potential partner".

You read that right.

In order to establish credibility with the Vancouver man, Hunter claimed that Steve was an active business partner who’d invested with him. In addition, Hunter claimed that Steve’s friend came from established “family money”, and implied he invested money from his “trust” fund.

The Vancouver man wisely opted not to invest with David Lee Hunter.

CODA: THE END OF THE WORLD BIKINI LEAGUE

On October 13, 2011, in an ironic twist to the story, the State of Washington's Securities Division entered into a Consent Order with the founders of The World Bikini Football League, LLC. 

The Securities Division had previously alleged that the founders had offered and sold investments, in the form of membership units in TWBSL, to approximately fifteen Washington investors, raising approximately $228,500. The state further alleged that the founders offered unregistered securities, acted as unregistered broker-dealers or securities salespersons, and violated the anti-fraud provisions of the Securities Act of Washington. Both men neither admitted nor denied the allegations, but agreed to cease and desist from violating the Securities Act and agreed to pay a fine of $1,500 and investigative costs of $1,500. 

The $25,000 in penalties is a fraction of what the real investors lost when they invested in the sports league to feature women playing various sports in provocative bikinis.

The League's co-founders projected that their league would generate at least $3 million a month by December 2009, according to the Washington Department of Financial Institutions Securities Division.

The league's plan was to make money by placing online videos of the women and charging subscribers a fee to watch them. In 2009, the league reported 16 games with 88 flag-footballers in bikinis. But according to the Washington Department of Financial Institutions, the league was never registered to sell securities in the state of Washington.

The co-founders raised $225,000 from investors by selling ownership units in the league and teams for as much as $30,000 per stake, the state said. Additionally, the league did not disclose to investors that one of its founders filed for bankruptcy protection in 2001 and 2005.



It looks like David Lee Hunter may have had the last laugh...but looks aren't the only things that can deceive, right Dave?

 

BOOHER BANKING BOOYAH! Traverse City Area State Sen. Darwin Booher Pops Political Cherry...AGAIN!



"What kind of man do you take me for?"

"We've already established that. Now we're haggling over the price."






As I imagined the conversation between State Senator Darwin Booher and a lobbyist from the Michigan Bankers Association, your girl Miss Fortune suspected it may have mirrored the infamous dialogue variously attributed to Sir Winston Churchill and Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw.

Booher was a banker for 41 years before he entered the world of politics, working as a sales manager at Citizens Bank and as vice-president of Bank One. Booher was first elected to the Michigan House in 2004 to represent residents of Osceola, Mecosta and Wexford counties. He was elected to the 35th District Senate seat, which includes  Leelanau, Benzie, Kalkaska, Manistee, Missaukee, Roscommon, Lake and Clare counties, in 2010.

It shouldn't surprise you that Booher recently introduced a bill that would reduce Michigan’s post-foreclosure redemption period from 6 months to 2 months. 

But it would surprise even the most jaded politico to find out just how little Lansing's latest rent boy received for selling out his constituents.

Steve Dibert, mortgage fraud investigator, has the complete story on his most excellent MFI-Miami blog:

http://www.mfi-miami.com/2013/05/you-can-make-a-michigan-senator-your-boy-toy-for-as-little-as-16000/

Sunday, May 26, 2013

NEWS FLASH! MICHAEL REESE CLAIM HE WAS "FEATURED IN THE WALL STREET JOURNAL" DEBUNKED! HERE'S THE REST OF THE STORY...

Michael Reese is at it again--inflating his credentials and misleading the masses!


Our favorite Traverse City area money guy, self-proclaimed 'America's Retirement Expert' Michael Reese has doggone gone and done it...again!

Yes, our boy puffed himself up like a financial Fugu fish with this addition to the "Latest News" feed on his website. Reese claims he was recently "featured in the Wall Street Journal" in recognition of his latest best-selling book. Featured--in an article, maybe?

But Miss Fortune is spoiling the fun--read it for yourself! 

Retirement Planner Michael Reese Featured in the Wall Street Journal

Michael Reese, retirement planning and investment expert, was recently featured in the Wall Street Journal in recognition of his latest best-selling book.

Traverse City, MI – May 24, 2013Michael Reese, CFP®, founder of Centennial Wealth Advisory, was recently featured in the Wall Street Journal with other leading financial authors from around the world. The piece that ran in the Monday, May 13, 2013 edition of the Wall Street Journal recognizes some of the financial industry’s latest best-selling authors.

Michael was recognized for his best-selling book, The Success Secret: The World’s Leading Experts Reveal Their Secrets For Success in Business and in Life. The book, co-written with Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup For the Soul) features inspiration and motivation to move forward – as well as the proven action steps that attract abundance and bring fulfillment.

Read more about the book at http://www.celebritypresspublishing.com/publications/the-success-secret.php

Michael Reese’s focus is on helping retirees enjoy financial security in any economy by guaranteeing their retirement income for life and protecting them against the detrimental effects of inflation, taxation, and rising healthcare expenses. If you are looking for true retirement security, Michael Reese should be your first and only stop. Michael is an industry thought leader, and has trained more than 1,000 financial advisors throughout the country on his planning techniques and has been quoted extensively in the media. Michael was also recently an expert guest on The Consumer’s Advocate television show. The show was recently featured on NBC, CBS, ABC and FOX network affiliates around the country.

http://www.cen-wealth.com/news/retirement-planner-michael-reese-featured-in-the-wall-street-journal.php


Wow, that's impressive...and completely misleading, even for a press release so fulsome it reads like it was written by Sidney Falco, the press agent played brilliantly by Tony Curtis in the film "Sweet Smell of Success". 

This smells like something, and it ain't teen spirit!

Here's the official Dow Jones & Company e-tear sheet--of the "feature"--an ad, really--that ran in the May 13th edition of the Wall Street Journal on Page C7. 





It's a little blurry in the photo above, but you can check out the original PDF at this link:
Michael Reese Wall Street Journal Ad May 13 2013 

And while the ad--excuse me, "feature"--is ostensibly about a stable of "best-selling authors", they'll be kicking down their collective stall doors when they see how they're being used as shills for their "branding company".

The National Academy of Best-Selling Authors, is a sweet little sideline hustle run by Dicks & Nanton, the "celebrity branding agency" used by--you guessed it--all of these authors!

And if you Google any one of these "top-selling authors", you'll likely find the same press release that Reese is using.

The next time Michael Reese has a "free seminar", watch him closely to see if he sells you the steak...or just the brand sizzle.



Friday, May 24, 2013

BLOGGER THREATENED WITH DEFAMATION SUIT!! EXCLUSIVE!! ONLY FROM MISS FORTUNE

"My finances and career is none of your business, you think you are so smart but I have not lied to once.  It will all come out in the end...................."

That's not dialogue from the awesome show "Justified".

It's part of the true story of a blogger threatened... with a defamation suit!



You'll laugh. 

You'll cry.   

You'll feel like you've been left alone in a room filling with some sort of gas that makes your brain feel all wibbly-wobbly.

You'll plotz from so much fun!

Let's get started.

DEFAMATION SUIT: WITH MATCHING TROUSERS?

It is true that your girl Miss Fortune received a letter via email purportedly from a lawyer in South Africa on behalf of  
BLOV LLC, its directors and employees, including Shay Hutchison.

Here's the letter Miss Fortune received from the Shayster's shyster (I've redacted my real name):


The controversy started when Miss Fortune questioned the legitimacy of a proposed "major music festival" David Lee Hunter boasted about on his Facebook page in April. You can read the story and see all the pictures at this link:


http://www.glisteningquiveringunderbelly.blogspot.com/2013/05/liable-for-slander-confederacy-of.html

You'll notice how the letter above does not mention David Lee Hunter, only BLOV and Hutchison.

Hunter did send me a "demand letter", where he "herby" demanded me to remove all content pertaining to him:

 
Hmmm? Wonder if that's Dave's real signature? Let's compare it with a signature that appeared on a "contract" Hunter signed for a "deal" he made a couple years ago:


You be the judge. By the way, that deal? It was proven to be bogus! 

(My lawyer has advised me not to use that pesky "s" word anymore.)

And what does Dave have to say for himself? Well, we don't know, but this comment he sent to the blog might provide some insight into the psyche of this psycho:

I don't see you posting any other demand letters? I wonder why that is? Cat got your tongue? You lost your house and live as a grown woman with your father. You are a joke that has no money to defend what is coming your way. Once you are brought to justice, I can re-turn myself in and have due process. I feel bad for your father who's home you use as base camp for cyber crime.

LIBEL-PROOF PLAINTIFF: RABBLE WITHOUT A CAUSE
 
You have to have character in order to sue someone for a reputation injury, in order to sue for defamation of character. If you have an incredibly poor reputation, you’re not going to have much of a defamation claim. In the legal profession, there’s a doctrine called the "libel-proof plaintiff". 

A libel-proof plaintiff is a person whose general reputation is already so bad as to be impossible to defame further.

So is it possible that David Lee Hunter is a "potential business partner" of Hutchison and Greg Stevens? Anything is possible.

But ask yourself this question: who's zoomin' who?


Bart: Hey guys, just so you don't hear any wild rumors, I'm being indicted for fraud in Australia.

Homer: Pfft. That's no reason to block the TV.



Wednesday, May 22, 2013

"LIABLE" FOR SLANDER?: A CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES AND THE STORY OF A "MAJOR MUSIC FESTIVAL" (SHOW US THE CONTRACTS, DAVE!)




Since many of you had read the earlier South Africa music festival posts and wondered what the hell all the knicker twisting was about, your girl Miss Fortune has decided to go back to the beginning

It all started on a dark and stormy night...not really

According to pictures posted to El Davo The Hunted's Facebook page on April 11, 2013, three men above appear to be having a conversation.

Got it? Good, let's move on.

The man on the left is Greg Stevens, reportedly from South Africa. And the guy in the middle, posing pensively for the camera, is a known "business associate" of Hunter's who previously worked as a model agent and drink slinger.

Hunter maintains on various Facebook postings that the man on the right rocking the old-school style Adidas track suit is entertainer Ray J.

You be the judge, Judy. I'm more of a Kanye girl myself.


The "Real" Ray J


Again, Hunter maintains the man on the left in the photo above is Ray J.

In the picture above, dated April 14th, although Hunter looks like a peculiar stranger who just ambled up to a family picnic looking to schnoor a lunch, he says he's with "Ray J" again.

Hunter states on his Facebook page that Ray J is "one of our new business partners. We just launched a new project with him, JoJo, Nicki Minaj, Chris Brown and some others."

A Facebook friend gushes admiringly, and says, "Wow....Awesome! Good for you!"

A few minutes later, Hunter responds, and tells his friend, "Thank you. We are putting together a major music festival in Capetown (sic) South Africa. It will take place during the first week of December this year. We are putting together the line up as we speak."

Hunter's friend continues to gush, and asks that he "hook an old friend up" with tickets and VIP treatment.



As Hunter continues his conversation with his friend, prattling on about "chartering and (sic) entire plane to take most of the tallent (sic) and crew, so if you get to LA you could ride along."

Clearly, Hunter's never seen "The Buddy Holly Story", the staggeringly great movie Gary Busey made before he went completely and totally apeshit crazy. 
 

The "tallent" never flies together, and especially with the crew!

And Hunter's friend apparently never watched Busey as Buddy either, and she says "let's do it."

Hunter wraps up the conversation with more South African dreaming, telling his friend that "Capetown (sic) is epic. My partners family owns like 60% of the site located on white sandy beaches."

Even if his friend does make it to South Africa, David Hunter won't be there--he doesn't have a valid United States passport. Hunter's most recent request for renewal was denied because he's behind in his child support payments.

Shortly after those posts appeared, Miss Fortune began receiving a series of emails from someone calling himself 
"J. R.". Miss Fortune assumed the emails came from David Lee Hunter, and a selection of the email conversation is reproduced below.  
 
From: Cell Block Inc <cellblockinc@gmail.com>
To: tcmissfortune@yahoo.com
Sent: Wednesday, April 24, 2013 8:50 PM
Subject: David Hunter
Hello who ever you are,

I just read your blog while doing due dillegence [sic] for a music festival. What can you tell me? We met the owner of the land in South Africa personally through Hunter. So you believe the man we met is in on a scam with Hunter?

J.R.
  
In his email, J. R. first raises the possibility that the "music festival" may be a scam.

Miss Fortune's response to this first email follows:

From: Miss Fortune <tcmissfortune@yahoo.com>
To: Cell Block Inc <cellblockinc@gmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, April 25, 2013 7:39 AM
Subject: Re: David Hunter


Thank you for getting in touch. If you could let me know where you met Hunter--(US, South Africa?), exactly where in South Africa the land is, and anything else you'd like to share--it would be helpful.

Because I write under an assumed name, I protect my sources the same way.

So I need to make sure I'm actually communicating with a potential Hunter business partner and not David Hunter himself.

I will be happy to let you know more of what I know.

Regards,
Miss Fortune

So far, so good. For the sake of not boring her readers to tears, Miss Fortune has skipped some of the back and forth (most of which was already posted and available on the blog) and jumped ahead to a couple of the more unusual emails received from "J. R." 

Now, he's saying he represents some of the artists who are scheduled to perform in "Capetown", the same misspelling Hunter used in his Facebook posts.

Miss Fortune is starting to think her hunch was right--J. R. may be David Lee Hunter. 
From: Cell Block Inc <cellblockinc@gmail.com>
To: Miss Fortune <tcmissfortune@yahoo.com>
Sent: Thursday, April 25, 2013 3:09 PM
Subject: Re: David Hunter

Hello Ms. Fortune,

I met him through a mutual business colleague. I represent some of the artists who are scheduled to perform in Capetown. I have gone back and read through your blogs about Hunter. My interests are to protect my artists but I am not prepared to release my name just yet. You wrote in one of your articles that Hunter was captured on April 11th when in fact he was in our office all day on the 11th. We were in meetings prior to that and after so where did you get this information from? If you could clear that up for me, I will do better then giving you my name I will also give you my number so we can talk.

Thanks,

J.R.

Here's yet another email from J. R.--you'll notice now he's claiming to represent Ray J. 

And the credulity-stretching claims come fast and furious--had to get that Vin Diesel reference in thereAgain, J. R. questions whether the "music festival" is a scam.

Did you know David Hunter helped "J. R." fund a reality show?
  
From: Cell Block Inc <cellblockinc@gmail.com>
To: Miss Fortune <tcmissfortune@yahoo.com>
Sent: Thursday, April 25, 2013 6:20 PM
Subject: Re: David Hunter

Hello Miss Fortune,

I actually represent Ray J. There is no tour. Just one weekend which Hunter brokered. We are not involved with Hunter past that. We are now in direct contact with the owner of the festival in SA not Hunter. Hunter helped fund a reality show for us and in return we put together about 50% of the main talent for the event. We were actually suppose to meet with Hunter today to pay him a significant amount of money for his services. We put him off until tomorrow because this came up. Greg the festival owner from South Africa is from one of the richest families in Africa. I doubt he will be scaming [sic] us. Hunter is due to make 7 figures tomorrow unless you can provide me some proof that Greg is in on some scam with Hunter. Please let me know anything because our legal team finds Greg to highly check out.


Thanks,
J.R.


Here's the first email sent to Miss Fortune by Shay Hutchison, a Charlevoix native and self-described "potential business partner" of David Hunter. Miss Fortune is reproducing the email in its entirety, since it was sent directly to her.

From: SH <[REDACTED] @bluelabelgaming.com>
To: @yahoo.com; tcmissfortune@yahoo.com
Cc:
[REDACTED] @blov.co.uk
Sent: Wednesday, May 15, 2013 11:17 AM
Subject: Fwd: draft- what do you think


It has come to my attention that you are the woman who has been publicly slandering a potential business partner of mine David Hunter.  I wanted to introduce myself, my name is Shay Hutchison and I have known David for years as I am from Charlevoix as well.  I am in no position to comment on any of the allegations against David except for the one's that directly involve me and that I was a witness too.

First off, I was with David Hunter on April 11, he was in fact not arrested I suggest an apology and a complete retraction of what was stated- I would look at getting new sources as well.  I have looked into your background (I worked for the largest publisher in SA, Independent Newspapers, Cape Times and Johannesburg Star) and surely with your background they would have told you that you need to confirm your sources stories- you can not publish something that is false, right in the middle of a business deal, that has in fact delayed the negotiations of the deal. 

Secondly, I am the local connection to the Cape Town music fest, and I was in the room while Dave and Ray J were negotiating terms.  And yes, 7 figures were mentioned.  From what I understand civil ligation is being discussed.  And Greg Stevens is in fact my business partner and from one of the richest families in Africa (google the last name Oppenheimer- and no Greg's last name is not Oppenheimer but he is an heir I am not going to explain it to you as I do not have too)

Our company has debated about whether to get involved in this back and forth, and came to the conclusion that you have become a major liability to our company. The problem is not that Dave was arrested for the ALLEGED rental scam (which potential partners would have found by googling him with the Record Eagle article etc) but it is small minded people like yourself getting involved in other peoples business.  When I was in school I was taught that in the United States you are innocent until proven guilty in the court of law, it may be too late for you to understand however it might do you well to remember that.

As stated I have no comment nor ever will on the other accusations, however, you have lost all credibility by posting things falsely about the above matters. My advice would be a full retraction and apology on your blog- otherwise we will move this to the proper venue. If you would like to look into to me to see whether this is legitimate or not you may friend request me on Facebook, as mentioned my name is Shay Hutchison. It is abundantly clear that you have falsely made claims that our proposed music festival is a hoax, and the management of the artists have seen your blog. You will be held accountable for any damage your blog has caused to the event in Cape Town. Your blog has made false claims that has increased our attorney fees substantially with our current project. Any further postings that has any connection to our company will be met by the full extent of our legal team. Any past postings that are not removed will be met with the same result. Our lawyers here and Stateside will be monitoring your blog today to see if in fact you follow our request to remove content plus cease and desist. 

The company Hutchison refers to in the email--Blue Label Gaming--is run out of Greg Stevens' apartment

Riddle me this--if there are no genuine legal agreements or contracts between Hutchison and Hunter, then Hutchison may not have the proper legal "standing" required to file an action. And if there are agreements, why not share them with Miss Fortune?


Here's the follow-up email, with the overt threat helpfully highlighted: 

From: SH <[REDACTED] @bluelabelgaming.com> 
From: Shay Hutchison <shay@bluelabelgaming.com>
To: missfortune@yahoo.com
Sent: Wednesday, May 15, 2013 3:06 PM
Subject: To Confirm


I am not kidding of course it was a draft I needed to CEO to approve it and as you see below I have not my signature to COO I recently got promoted.  We are not messing around- we know where your sources are from and we coming after them as Well.  So far I know about Washington, New Jersey, Hawaii, Toronto Canada, Essexville among others.  My lawyers are tracing the IP's,  This will then implicate the people giving you the information.  This is not a joke.



So to recap, Hutchison is telling me to stop saying bad things about his dear friend and "potential business partner", David Lee Hunter.  It begs the question, dear readers--if Hunter is indeed the aggrieved party, why not undertake his own legal action?

Ever since I published my first story about David Lee Hunter on December 26, 2012, I have heard from people all over the world with contracts, investment proposals, emails, pictures, text messages and voice mails backing up the stories I've published.

Hunter recently emailed me his own rambling, disjointed "demand letter", insinuating that he will continue to harass and cyberstalk me unless I stop posting stories about his exploits. 




Miss Fortune invites David Lee Hunter, Shay Hutchison and anyone else directly involved in this "major music festival" to instruct their respective "attorney's" to contact her on their behalf.

In the meantime, here are a few of the questions I posed this afternoon in an email to Shay Hutchison. I will let you know if I receive any answers.

-When did David Hunter pitch this proposed festival to you?

-How much money have you and your partner already paid David Hunter?

-Who paid for the airline tickets, hotels, car rentals?

-Is there a United States entertainment attorney representing your interests with David Hunter?

-Where exactly in Cape Town is the location of the festival?

-Can a representative of the venue independently confirm that it is booked for a date in December 2013?

-What role does Matthew Theodore play in this project?

-Have you and/or Greg Stevens signed non-disclosure agreements with Hunter?

-Which artists have been formally signed to appear?

-Are there attorneys/managers for those acts willing to provide independent verification on their purported commitment to appear?

-Which charter air service will be providing round-trip transportation from Los Angeles to Cape Town?

-Has a reservation been made, with a deposit paid, to a charter service?

-What is the URL for the festival, and when will the social media promotion/marketing begin?