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 Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 10:44 am Subject: LAURA HESS OF HESS KENNEDY SCAM SUSPENDED BY FLORIDIA BAR |
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Bar acts to suspend Coral Springs attorney over alleged deceptive trade practices
By Diane C. Lade | South Florida Sun-Sentinel
10:36 PM EDT, July 22, 2008
The Florida Bar moved Tuesday to suspend a Coral Springs attorney, one day after the Office of the Florida Attorney General put her debt settlement and wealth management company into receivership, alleging deceptive trade practices that may have cost consumers millions.
State documents filed in Broward County Circuit Court claim that in 2006 and 2007 the law firm run by Laura Hess and an affiliated company managed by Edward Cherry paid $12 million to friends and relatives, and to businesses run by former employees or associates of Hess and Cherry.
In the meantime, the firm did not negotiate with clients' creditors or review credit records as promised, resulting in some consumers being sued for their debts or having to file bankruptcy, records showed.
Hess Kennedy Chartered LLC and The Consumer Law Center collected "exorbitant" upfront fees, usually up to 15 percent of the client's unsecured debt, according to the Florida Bar's Tuesday filing with the Florida Supreme Court.
The law center's phone was not working Tuesday, and Hess did not return an e-mail requesting comment. Kevin Tynan, the Tamarac attorney who represented Hess in Bar complaints filed against her earlier this year, did not return a call to his office.
Joseph Gentili, an assistant attorney general in the South Florida economic crimes bureau, said the state can't determine how much money has "gone through this company" and that there may be thousands of consumers nationwide who lost money. Cherry initially blocked the court-appointed receiver and law enforcement from entering the company's offices Monday, Gentili said, but later admitted them after the attorney general obtained a court order.
Receivership will protect the company's remaining assets, Gentili said, and control future payments. "Consumers probably still are sending money on a weekly or monthly basis," Gentili said.
According to the attorney general's filings, several entities set up by Cherry and former Hess accountant Eric Siversen received between $45,000 to $3.2 million from one of two Hess bank accounts. Although Hess said in an earlier deposition to the Florida Bar that the firm did not pay for referrals from credit counseling companies, the state investigation found $800,000 was paid to Coastal Credit Solutions and $7.5 million to The Credit Exchange Corp., based in California.
Consumers who have complaints should contact the Attorney General's Office at 866-966-7226 or 850-414-3990 from outside Florida.
Well it's a start. But I want to see some jail time.
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Tom321
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| Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 10:49 am Subject: reply |
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WOW!!!!!!!!!you better believe it.you have kept up with this tom.BRAVO my friend BRAVO.
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paulmergel
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| Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 10:50 am Subject: |
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Thanks for the info tom321. you da man.
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mobile0311
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| Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 10:54 am Subject: |
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WooHoo!!! There is some justice!
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alias1958
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| Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 11:00 am Subject: |
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What happens when a company goes into receivership?
A court takes control, assigns a management team, and runs the company until it is out of debt or is liquidated.
It seems this scam of theirs is over for now. Now is the time to ask for refunds if you want them.
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Tom321
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| Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 12:51 pm Subject: |
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Thanks Tom321 for the info! I did my happy dance! I called the phone number and I was referred to "myfloridalegal" website. I am not sure where to file my complaint. Can you help?
So do yall thing Laura Hess will go to jail? I would think so but I am surprised the news article doesn't say anything about it.
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straycat
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| Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 8:43 pm Subject: |
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The same should happen to James Lombardo!!!
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pemperandgartle
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| Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 9:48 pm Subject: |
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James sounds like a real bad guy! 
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Lady Luck
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| Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 7:34 am Subject: |
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straycat call the Florida & NJ AG, FTC and the BBB. File complaints there. Also since the court has taken over HK try calling them directly and explaining to them the situation. It can't hurt. Let me know what happens. I'm thinking about getting my $500 back now.
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Tom321
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| Posted: Sat Jul 26, 2008 1:55 pm Subject: |
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@Daily Businesws Review
| Quote: | The Florida attorney general’s office has won an emergency court order placing several debt settlement businesses operated by controversial Coral Springs attorney Laura Hess into receivership.
The Florida Bar also filed an emergency petition Tuesday asking the state Supreme Court to suspend Hess’ law license, said Bar counsel Kenneth Marvin in Tallahassee. The Bar said the action was needed because Hess “has caused and continues to cause great public harm.â€
The state claims $20 million was moved from bank accounts linked to Hess’ companies “to persons and/or entities who are neither lawyers nor creditors†of her clients from early 2006 to November 2007.
Among other things, the state claims business partner Edward Cherry paid his personal mortgage with business funds from consumers “reportedly earmarked for creditors.â€
Broward Circuit Judge Ronald Rothschild signed the receivership order Friday and appointed Plantation attorney Daniel Stermer of Lewis B. Freeman & Partners as the receiver. Stermer did not return calls for comment by deadline.
The order was granted without advance notice to Hess and her associates “because of the likelihood that they would dissipate the assets of the business if notified of this motion,†according to the order.
Victoria Heller, spokeswoman for Attorney General Bill McCollum, said the action was taken to “assist remaining customers†of the debt settlement company.
The receivership order put Stermer in charge of collecting “all receipts, revenues, deposits, receivables, notes and other funds generated by†Hess and her affiliated companies.
Hess and the companies were ordered to “immediately turn over to the receiver any monies belonging to or otherwise generated from consumers†or law firm clients.
He also was to take control of all assets including bank accounts used by Hess and her companies. The attorney general’s office listed the names of 24 companies linked to her.
The Bar petition claims Hess “has lied to The Florida Bar during its investigation, partnered with a nonlawyer in the practice of law and accepted millions of dollars in fees from clients whom she has subsequently neglected and failed to communicate with.â€
The attorney general’s office claimed Hess operates law firms that claim to do debt settlement work, while Cherry, who went to law school with Hess but is not licensed to practice law in Florida, operates the payment-processing company.
Hess, who operates the Hess Kennedy law firm, “putatively has a law partner named Edward Thomas Kennedy who is not admitted in Florida,†McCollum’s office claimed.
Hess and Cherry have told contrasting stories about the identity of Kennedy, but their “misrepresentations do not hide that Edward Cherry is Edward Thomas Kennedy,†the attorney general’s office said in a court filing.
Chase Bank sued Hess alleging civil fraud last March. In response, Hess said Kennedy “is not Edward Cherry†but is someone who “resides in Brussels,†Belgium.
Hess and her companies have been the target of investigations in Florida, North Carolina and West Virginia and have been the subject of hundreds of complaints from consumers claiming the firm charges high fees but fails to deliver debt settlement services.
The Florida Bar filed a 10-count, 119-page complaint against Hess March 13, charging her with running a “deceptive debt settlement scheme†and violating numerous Bar rules. Hess denied the allegations and planned to fight the charges, her attorney said at the time.
The trial on The Bar’s complaint was set for Aug. 18. Earlier this year, McCollum also filed suit against Hess Kennedy for allegedly shady or unethical business practices.
West Palm Beach attorney D. Culver “Skip†Smith, a Fox Rothschild partner who represents Hess in her Bar trial but not in McCollum’s initial suit, said today he spoke to Hess, she is on vacation this week, and she is aware of the new filings against her.
The twin actions came “as a surprise†to Hess, Smith said.
“She’s aware that a receiver has been appointed,†he said. “Laura Hess has no knowledge about the extent of what the attorney general has claimed as the basis of getting a receiver appointed.â€
Bud Newman can be reached at (561) 820-2075.
It looks like it's not over. Hess and Cherry are going to jail I think. |
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Tom321
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| Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2008 9:03 am Subject: |
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Thanks for the update, Tom!
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alias1958
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| Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2008 9:23 am Subject: TOM321 |
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hey Tom great work, I have been putting together a chart of connections between Ed Cherry, his father Eric Cherry, J Wade Mezey, Laura Hess, Jeff Campos, Tim McCallan od Americorp and Andris Puuke of Ameridebt. I think you were right on the money........this is a losely affiliated criminal network!
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spankthem
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| Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2008 1:29 pm Subject: |
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Is his father a scam artist also? Is he in on this?
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Tom321
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| Posted: Sat Aug 16, 2008 4:33 am Subject: Tom321 |
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Yes Tom Eric Cherry is Ed Cherrys father and bankroller of Hess Kennedy et al (there are I believe 28 other websites that HK was using as a diversionary ploy). Eric Cherry was the owner of IBill which was the processing company for most of the internet porn site industry.
Eric Cherry was a pioneer in the 1980's 1-900 business related to 1-900 sex and gambling lines. He then moved to Ibill in the 90's and then into the debt settlement industry. Obviously he is very wealthy.....there was an article in a horseracing periodical that said Eric Cherry had just purchased a $6.5 million dollar race horse.
If you are interested leave an email and we can correspond
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spankthem
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| Posted: Sat Aug 16, 2008 9:18 am Subject: |
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Spankthem, posting email addresses is not allowed, per TOS. If the two of you want to correspond, you could both sign up as members here, and then you would be able to pm each other. Plus you could earn points (money) for your posts!
Interesting info about Eric Cherry!
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alias1958
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| Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 8:22 am Subject: Fraud |
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spankthem it seems we have more work to do. HESS KENNEDY is back on the scene and trying to infect this site with commercials and propaganda. They have opened up more sites on the net spreading their debt settlement scam. I've already checked out about ten of them but there are so much more with different people at the helm.
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Tom321
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