Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Jury Verdict: Samuel Braslau (Rand Chortkoff's Partner)


The criminal case involving Samuel Braslau, Rand Chortkoff's business partner, went to trial. Here is the jury's verdict:

Re:United States v. Defendant(s) SAMUEL BRASLAU
Case Number 2014R00229 and Court Docket Number 14-CR-00044

On November 14, 2014, a jury returned the following verdict(s) involving the defendant, SAMUEL BRASLAU: 

Number of
Charges
Description of Charge(s)Disposition
11Mail Fraud - Frauds and swindlesGuilty
5Fraud by wire, radio, or televisionGuilty
1Fraud/false statements generallyGuilty

The sentencing previously scheduled for defendant(s) SAMUEL BRASLAU on February 9, 2015, 01:30 PM at Hearing Location for Western Division Office 2, US Courthouse, 312 North Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012 has been rescheduled by the court. 

The sentencing hearing for defendant(s), SAMUEL BRASLAU, has been set for March 9, 2015, 01:30 PM at Hearing Location for Western Division Office 2, US Courthouse, 312 North Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012 before Judge R. Klausner. 



Sunday, November 2, 2014

CHORTKOFF ENTERS INTO PLEA AGREEMENT

I recently received this email from an anonymous source. Good news!!!  


hi

justice is coming - see attached for 18 page plea agreement signed last week in the criminal case. 

sentencing delayed until may 2015

the civil case still going

fyi - you can access federal court filings via Public Access to Court Electronic Records (pacer.gov) - free to register, you do not have to give a credit card, they mail you your login credentials and you can pay for documents downloaded per quarter.

USA vs. rand chortkoff criminal case: 2:14-CR-00044RGK
SEC vs. rand chortkoff civil case: 2:2014CV01290

you can also search cases by party name


If you would like a copy of any of the following,
send me an email:  betteandersonccpro@gmail.com

1. Original Indictment of Defendants
2. Chortkoff's plea agreement
3. Judgment & Commitment Order - Rawitt


Tuesday, July 15, 2014

How to Avoid Being the Victim of a Scam (From MoneyCrush)

Unfortunately, sometimes it’s relatively easy to fall for a scam — and even easier to feel stupid if it happens, which makes it harder to stop the scammers because people don’t want to come forward. I was the victim of one myself once, and although I didn’t lose much money it still wasn’t fun.
Scams are so prevalent that the FTC puts out scam alerts to inform consumers. How can you avoid being scammed? Well, most good scams have certain identifying features. Avoid them by keeping an eye out for them.

Here are 9 hallmarks of a scam.

1. The offer is unsolicited

This happens when you weren’t out seeking a certain service or product, but someone has gone out of their way to try to get you to say yes to whatever they’re offering. This might come in the form of letters, phone calls, emails, strangers at the door, and even friends passing along deals they’ve heard about.
Often these types of offers come in broken or rambling English from someone in a distant place, but sometimes they are slick and polished. Scammy offers are more likely to appear after a disaster or publicized good fortune, but they can happen at other times too.

2. The offer seems plausible and urgent

You have a need, and the (again, usually unsolicited) offer seems both plausible and urgent. “Maybe that guy really could fix my dented car door,” you think. “He looks like he knows what he’s doing. But he’s only available right. now. I better hurry up and decide…”
Or you might see an ad that reads something like this: “$20,000 in Unemployment Grants. Millions Available. Never Repay!” You’ve HEARD of grants, and you just can’t find a job. Maybe it would be worth checking out, you think. (Or maybe NOT!) Especially if the “awesome deal” requires you to fork out money/gifts, provide your credit card number, or sign documents you don’t understand.

3. The scam engages your emotions

When you first check into an offer that’s likely a scam, you’ll probably feel smart at first. That’s because you’ll believe you’re getting a good deal, avoiding something negative, or helping out a nice person.
In other words, scams appeal to a sense of greed (which no one wants to admit having), fear (which everyone wants to avoid), or care & concern for others (which causes us to feel good about ourselves.)

4. It tempts you enough to override good sense

Scams often seem like the perfect solution to a problem or the promise of something better. (Your house painted at a discount, right now, or your savings increased after just a few simple steps.) You’ll likely feel some doubt when you encounter a scam, but you overrule your doubt because you WANT it to be true. This tendency to convince ourselves otherwise makes the scammer’s job easier.

5. The scammer wants cash in advance (usually as much as possible of it)

Unless you’re talking about a tradesperson that you’ve chosen yourself after getting multiple unsolicited quotes and checking references, wanting cash in advance before doing work is a huge red flag.
So if someone requires cold hard cash from you, a cashier’s check, a money order, or access to your bank account. Run! Scammers are not stupid. They want money up front, because they have no intention of doing whatever it was they said they would do. They will also often offer to send YOU money, in exchange for you sending a portion of it back. (See cashier’s check fraud for info on one common scam.)

6. The person won’t take no for an answer

If your first instinct is to refuse an offer, the scammer will often come up with a better offer. And then a better one, and a better one, until you begin to think it’s worth a shot. It’s not. There’s a reason the “deal” sounds almost-unbelievable.

7. The scammer offers “proof” of various sorts, or a “guarantee”

While you certainly should be able to prove that real offers work, and there are plenty of legitimate guarantees, in the case of scam the proof and guarantee are used to push you away from your suspicions and into the buy. This is especially true in the case of big scams and swindles aimed at people with access to a lot of money.
Of course, in the case of a scam this proof is manufactured using accomplices or unsuspecting targets, and any guarantee is worthless.
For example, it would be easy for someone to SAY you’ll get $500 for passing along this post to five others (you won’t), and it would be equally easy to offer proof that you will actually receive the $500 by giving $500 to one person after they passed along the post and then giving YOU the name of that happy person to check with. But that sort of manufactured proof is worthless and no proof at all. (See Confessions of a Con Artist for the tactics one veteran scammer used.)
Another tactic is for the scammer to do a very small part of the job to your satisfaction as proof of their abilities, and then explain that the rest will “take longer” but that they need the money now for whatever plausible-sounding reason. (Which is what happened to me.)

8. You’re elderly, uninformed, or desperate

Yup, this tip is about you. Being vulnerable makes you ripe for scamming. And since no one wants to think of themselves as elderly, uninformed, or desperate, we’re ALL easy marks from time to time. Don’t believe that could describe you?
We’re all going to get old someday, if we aren’t already. No one knows everything about everything, which means there are at least some areas that we’re ALL uninformed in. And who hasn’t felt desperate at least once or twice in their life?
But admitting all that? That’s a different story. It’s what makes people an easy mark. So if you’re feeling vulnerable or pressured, watch out.

9. The offer sounds too good to be true, but you really want it to be true

You know the saying, if it sounds too good to be true it probably is? Change that to “if it sounds too good to be true, it IS” and you’ll likely avoid most scams. It’s the “probably” that trips many people up.

Still unsure?

If you think something may be a scam, you can check sites like snopes.com, the FBI, and with your local government or police. Don’t forget to have documents looked over by a reputable lawyer of your choosing, either.

REAL offers won’t disappear after a little fact-checking, so you have nothing to lose by taking the time to investigate with the authorities, and everything to gain. You can avoid most scams entirely by simply saying no to all unsolicited offers.

Sunday, April 20, 2014

BLUE HILL AVENUE NOW SHOWING FREE ONLINE

UPDATE:  BHA has been removed from the Internet for
licensing reasons.


The public now too can view the movie Blue Hill Avenue online
produced by scamsters and funded by fleeced investors - for free!
Here is the link:

http://viooz.co/movies/9922-blue-hill-avenue-2001.html


While the "producers" have enjoyed their ill-gotten gain from
the movie's proceeds, those of us who were deliberately deceived
and innocently bought into the lies and deception perpetrated by
the likes of Michael B. Erwin, J. Max Kirishima, Rand Chortkoff
(currently under indictment), and Chortkoff's minions, including
Steve Canino, etc., have been sadly left behind to struggle and
attempt to survive in the wake of destruction created by these
fraudsters and thugs.

There really are no words strong enough to describe the depth
of disdain for these individuals or the level of disgust that exists due to the financial disaster they are directly responsible for in so many lives. My wish is that they be forever taunted and tortured by the reality of their dirty deeds and evil doings.  May they NEVER have peace or enjoy rest either here on earth or in the hereafter.

Friday, March 21, 2014

CAHOOTS NOW SHOWING ON YOUTUBE

Interesting development regarding the movie Cahoots which is one
of the two movies I was scammed for investing in - it is now being
shown as a full-length feature on YouTube.  It was just posted ther
in February of 2014.  I left my comments regarding scamming of the
investors.  Please add your own comments if you feel so led.

Here is a link to Cahoots on YouTube:

http://youtu.be/BrAtKAVvd_Y

Sunday, March 16, 2014

MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION - MICHAEL B. ERWIN

I feel compelled to add some information regarding Michael B. Erwin.
Keep in mind that he fled from California and left the investors high and dry.
He quit communicating with the investors after he got what he wanted
out of them - their money.

The first piece of information is geographical.  That is, I would like to share
Michael B. Erwin's home address with the world.  After all, it is a showplace
financed, no doubt, largely by fleeced investors. So, it's only right to share
the location of this property with anyone and everyone who might be curious
just what my money has purchased as well as that of so many other fleece
investors.  Here is the address: 1581 Sterling Creek Road, Jacksonville,
OR  97530.

The second piece of information has to do with the sheltering of confiscated
investor money by Michael B. Erwin.  A trusted and reliable source has
divulged that ill-gotten gains are being kept in a trust in his wife,
Michelle M. Erwin's, name.

The third piece of information has to do with Michael B. Erwin's stealing
of investor profits from foreign film sales of Blue Hill Avenue through a
company called Imageworks.  Apparently, he took the entire amount of
$150,000 which had accumulated.  No mention of any formal relationship
with Imageworks was ever made known to the investors nor any knowledge
revealed of any profits realized through Imageworks.  There is another
company called Atmosphere that apparently was engaged in foreign sales
of the film Cahoots which I also invested in.  It is unknown if any profits were
made off of that film or what may have become of the money if there were sales.    

An additional bit of information from a reliable source involves Michael B. Erwin
claiming to now be working with Mark Ford in his movie production endeavors
and/or other questionable pursuits.  Whether this is factual or just another
fabrication by Michael B. Erwin is uncertain.  In any event, if you are contacted
by Erwin, he is likely to make this partnership claim.  Just a heads-up.  

Additional knowledge will be added from time to time regarding all people
and aspects of the movie fraud featured in this blog.  Stay tuned.

Thursday, February 27, 2014

PARTIAL JUSTICE WITH MOVIE SCAM INDICTMENTS



Recently, CBS News aired a segment on CBS This Morning featuring the subject of movie scams in which I was interviewed as a scammed investor.  Due in part to the in-depth investigation by their special investigative team, six indictments were handed down relative to fleecing investors out of their money through telemarketing operations attempting to sell interest in movies.
The individuals whom I had contact with in the past were Rand Chortkoff and Sam Braslau.  My quest has not been abandoned to see the other individuals indicted who were responsible for the theft of my investment money in Blue Hill Avenue and Cahoots -  namely, Mike Erwin and J. Max Kirishima. 

Update:  Please note that trial has been scheduled in Los Angeles in the case of SEC v. Rand Chortkoff and Sam Braslau, et al, on November 4, 2014 at 9:00 a.m. before Judge Klausner.  The location will be on the 8th floor of the Edward Roybal Federal Building, 255 E. Temple Street, Los Angeles, CA.

Here are some links to the CBS This Morning segment aired on 2/18/14 as well as independent articles relative to the indictments mentioned above: