Mon. Aug 02, 2004
Atlas Line, Star Logistics, and Missing Charity Money
If you’re one of those people who insists you have a right to every sordid and unconfirmed detail of a story if someone elects to tell you only a portion of it, please stop reading. Right now. The following will only disappoint you. This time around, I intend to only state known agreed facts, followed by some rhetorical questions.
You may then draw whatever conclusion you wish, and fill in the blanks for yourself.
Here’s the original story of Atlas Line, Operation Give, and 30 Grand Missing, and here’s today’s updates from Chief Wiggles (with a detailed and damning timeline), and Dean Esmay. I want to emphasize I am in no way affiliated with either party in this matter, I was a third party voluntarily trying to “arbitrate” some resolution. Now, the facts as I have heard them from both sides, or personally witnessed.
There was a dispute over the state of deposit funds for shipping containers, but it has been confirmed to me that Operation Give’s check was deposited in the account of Atlas Line by June 21, at the latest (the Chief has since posted a copy of the cancelled check, deposited June 18). What happened to the money then is unclear, unprovable, disputed, and therefore not a fact I can state. However, there was a clear dispute, and I visited the offices of Atlas Line on the afternoon of July 14 to try and clear it up. At their offices I met with Brian Blish, who told me in no uncertain terms that the check had been cut, and would be FedEx’ed overnight to the vendor in Kuwait. Furthermore, he said a copy of the FedEx receipt and check had already allegedly been faxed to the vendor in Kuwait. I was not the only person who heard this pledge, as it was repeated to others on the phone that day. Thus “assured” the problem would be fixed within 24 hours, I told everyone the issue was resolved, Call Off Da Dawgs.
I was wrong. The dogs should have never been called off. The check was never FedEx’ed.
I found this out 16 days later, in a call from Chief Wiggles last Thursday night. The next morning (last Friday) I got on the phone to the person I’d met with, Brian Bliss, to see what he had to say. He claims that the check was indeed cut that day I visited, but their new part-time accountant did not know the urgency of the matter, and placed the check in regular mail. To Kuwait. Today, 19 days later, no one seems to know where that check is, and due to the method it was sent, there is no way to track it.
Rhetorical Question #1: If you’d spent the day being assailed by phone calls, e-mails, and media inquiries, would you not make certain the urgency of the check’s delivery was clear to your new employee, so that your promises were properly executed, and your misery would come to a quick end?
Rhetorical Question #2: If you were an accountant sending a check for $20,000 to the other side of the world, would you simply slap a stamp on it and send it with a prayer, or would you spend a few bucks more to make sure that check was traceable from either end? (My wife, an accountant, has already given me a thunderous response to this one)
Last Friday, I was told more than once by Brian that the check is “obviously” in Kuwait. I pointed out to him it wasn’t obvious to me at all, nor could he prove it. Supposedly Atlas Line was asked to put a stop payment on the missing check that could not be traced, and cut a new one. I was told by Brian they simply would not do that, as they’d cut a check and sent it, so they felt they’d fulfilled their end of the deal. In so many words, I was told they were “washing our hands” of the matter.
From this conversation, it seemed clear to me they’d made a business decision to do no more, and ride out whatever bad publicity they get from this. When I said as much, I was told that their position (the one he claimed he would offer to anyone who called) was that Atlas Line is owned and operated by Chris Ludwig, and person I was talking to, Brian Blish, and his boss, Alicia Ludwig, work for Star Logistics International Inc. An entirely separate business. That just happens to be located in the very same offices. And is owned by someone with the same last name. They therefore claim no liability for the … inaction … by Atlas Line. Chris Ludwig, from what I’ve been told, is still somewhere in Europe, and cannot be found by anyone. For over 19 days.
I explained to him that regardless of any name game they wanted to play, the public perception is that the people at the address of Atlas Line, and who answer the phone of Atlas Line, are Atlas Line. And I didn’t think of it at that moment, or I would have asked him this directly:
Rhetorical Question #3: If you claim on July 30 that you don’t work for Atlas Line, why would you hand out this business card on July 14?
I told Brian that I was contacting him again because the people at Operation Give felt like they’d run out of options. They turned to me as a last resort before going public and looking at legal options (so you know they had to be desperate). So I made it clear to Brian I was probably the last person he would get to talk to calmly about resolving this that wasn’t a lawyer, a member of the media, or an angry contributor to Operation Give. I reminded him of how quickly it got ugly last time, how I was probably one of the few reasonable voices he heard on that ugly day, and pointed out the commotion died down not long after I left and spread the word the issue was resolved. Based on the fact he’d given me his word it was resolved.
I asked him if he could imagine how that makes me look today. Got a lot of silence in response to that.
I pointed out to him that if you do a Google search for Atlas Line, the #1 return is my site (as of today) ... and that my little site is the least of his worries if the negative publicity starts up again. And then I told him, “the saddest thing is that you can make all of this go away today for $50.” Pay to stop payment on the check, pay to FedEx a new check to Operation Give or to Kuwait. Done deal, at a cost of about 1/1000 of the amount of the lawsuit and bad publicity likely headed their way.
He seemed to consider that, and said he would take it to his boss in that manner. I asked if he would call me back Friday, even if it was simply to say “no deal,” and he promised he would.
I never heard another word from him.
Rhetorical Question #4: If your company was facing an ocean of bad publicity, and the potential cost of fending off a lawsuit, wouldn’t spending fifty bucks to make the problem go away seem like the deal of a lifetime? Can you think of one logical reason why you wouldn’t take that deal?
And that’s where I have to stop. Those are the facts as I know them, and some rhetorical questions. There’s $30,000 that’s been hard for anyone to lay their hands on since June 21, and currently is untraceable, while Operation Give has had to spend additional thousands of dollars to store the things they can’t ship. And the only people willing to respond at the address Atlas Line occupies say they don’t work for Atlas Line (despite what the business card says), and have washed their hands of the matter.
I obviously came into this story midway as a third party, so I can’t personally verify everything that came before July 14 (see the Chief’s timeline for that). But, in the past 19 days I’ve personally had someone who handed me an Atlas Line business card with their name on it make me two very basic and simple promises; one mailing, and one phone call. Neither one happened as promised. So that’s been my personal experience with Atlas Line, and those who’ve presented themselves as its representatives. They made me two simple promises, both of them inexpensive solutions to fill the ugly hole in which they found themselves, and both of those promises went unfulfilled. They’re still in that hole, and in my opinion, haven’t figured out they’re just digging deeper.
For the rest of the story, you can fill in the blanks, draw your own conclusions, and act accordingly.
Later: An update from August 5: The Check’s In, and It Bounces!
Published 09:48AM, Mon, Aug 02 2004
Category: Atlanta Iraq
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Peanut Gallery
You think Neil Boortz would like to hear about these people? Or perhaps Clark Howard?
J.
Mark, you’re almost evil … but in a good way.
And, Jerry, I’ve already sent one e-mail to Neal with the links to the Chief’s timeline, but it can’t hurt for others to add more.
I’ve also e-mailed The Freight Club, a freight trade organization that claims to enforce some code of ethics on their members, and when you poke around the site, not only do you find that Atlas Line is a member, Chris Ludwig is on the Freight Club’s Board of Directors. They’ve also been pointed to the detailed timeline.
Over at the Chief’s blog in the comments, some of the people who’ve called Atlas Line say they are now claiming … again … that they’ve sent the check, and done everything Operation Give has asked.
Of course, in my book, their “word” is worse than worthless, it’s proven to be a counter-indicator: when they claim they’ve done something, that means they haven’t.
That’s been my personal experience, anyway.
Clark Howard really goes to town on these scam transportation companies.
See here:
http://clarkhoward.com/library/tips/moving.html
Also, Atlas is a member of the American Moving and Storage Association. They have a claim and arbitration process:
Claim:
http://www.moving.org/before/solving.html#claim
Arbitration:
http://www.moving.org/before/solving.html
HTH
Oh, not the same company. Sorry for the mis-post.
Clark Howard is a good suggestion, but you’re correct, the Atlas World Group, Inc. ... i.e. the big orange Atlas moving vans you see all the time … is not the same company as Atlas Line (warning: may crash your browser and/or hurt your eyes).
Stop trying to talk to these crooks as if they were decent, honorable business people and call an attorney specializing in fraud. Call the state AG. Call the US Department of Commerce—Atlas requires permission to ship overseas. There must be some good lawyers who read these blogs—please volunteer to guide the Chief and his friends!
Atlas World Group (the moving company) might have some incentive to try to help solve this—or at least help with the storage and shipping problems that are the result of this mess, if only to make clear they are not the bad guys. Contact their corporate offices.
This has all the signs of a company on the verge of bankruptcy. That 30G was probably given to somebody else they stiffed earlier to shut them up. I’m afraid Operation Give may end up on a long of creditors. They should file a lien immediately.
I will offer four-to-one odds that you won’t see a red cent of that thirty large unless you send over a hairy-knuckle squad to promise all sorts of unspeakably illegal reciprocity, starting with kidnapping and leading to torture.
Remember: Governments are by, of, and for thieves; and the police are there to protect crooks from you, not the other way around.
Their website is so 1995!
I emailed WSB-TV’s newsline, and encourage others to do the same.
You know, Chief Wiggles is the first blogger to be mentioned in a Presidential speech:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/02/20040205-1.html
Best wishes for a speedy, favorable outcome.
I am getting to thinking that Operation Give and the Chief, and Plunge and the others have waited too long. Time to file a complaint with the Atlanta PD, and also contactthe georgia Atty General, and let the attack dogs loose on the Ludwigs and others who work for them. Nothing less it seems will do, cuz, these Atlas Lines folks are trying to brazen this out, hoping Operation Give will get tired of their stonewalling and just go away.
its obvious they took the money and ran..
better to leave the charity work for the salvation army..
Start the legal attack asap. LTL & longhaul freight companies tend to run on a relatively slim profit margin. If you don’t get started before the bankruptcy filing you will be waiting for years, trust me. I’m one of the thousands of claims against Consolidated Freightways which ceased operations/filed bankruptcy on Labor day of 2002. The court proceedings in regards to repaying their debts starts August 18th of this year, just to give you an idea of the timeline you may face if these people abandon ship.
I’ve had to review literally thousands of court cases in Australia as part of my work. IANAL.
From all indications, Atlas is about to go belly-up, and if you want to get more than 1c in the dollar, you need to take legal action now.
In particular, get enough to ‘pierce the corporate veil’ and go after the people behind it, not the corporation, which by now may well have no assets.
I’m not hopeful that you’ll get anything back, I’m afraid. If you can get criminal charges pressed, and the assets frozen, you might. You may be able to get an injunction preventing Atlas from disposing of any assets too, and quite cheaply. IANAL as I said, and you need one, not tomorrow, but NOW.
In addition to actions toward getting the money, Operation Give needs to go ahead and start the drive for new funding. It is probable that this money is gone, or will take a long time to resolve.
Speaking as someone who’s been ripped off by a wide variety of record labels, it seems pretty obvious to me that the money’s long gone and they’re just playing games now until they declare bankruptcy. At which point you get to stand in line in court with who knows how many other people and hope to get a wee fraction of the money back. I seriously doubt that these people care about bad publicity. The only satisfaction you can get when dealing with this type is that of the crowbar/baseball bat variety. Not that I’m advocating that, nor have I ever or would I ever go that route myself.
Ben,
Don’t think I haven’t thought of that approach…it’s a good thing I live so far away!
I want to get a big shout out and thanks to Photodude for ALL of the help he has given us. It has been invaluable!
Thanks Dude!
Plunge
http://chiefwiggles.com
I have linked to your page and Chief Wiggles as well. And posted on the current problems. I know advice is like #$%holes, everyone has one and it usually stinks, but the law enforcement types at a number of levels should be brought in now! The same goes for lawyers. Or Atlas’s tent is going to fold up and blow away during the night, before anything can be done to get the money or goods back from these low lifes. Good luck.
Only at The Daily Whim will you see punk rockers and members of the military discuss the best methodolgy to resolve a problem; lawyers or crowbars, or maybe the earlier suggestion of a tip to the IRS? My comment cup runneth over.
But the bottom line, getting Operation Give’s money back, is still unfulfilled. And I feel somewhat personally responsible because last time, I was the guy running around saying this was resolved, and to call off the dogs.
Well, as I learned in my youth from the great American philosopher Gomer Pyle, “fooled me once, shame on you. Fooled me twice, shame on me.” This time the burden of proof is on Atlas Line, even though some reported that yesterday afternoon they were claiming … once again … “the check is in the mail.”
Many have said here and elsewhere to give up on the public pressure, stop being naive, and just sue them before they file for bankruptcy. Um, why can’t you do both? I’ve been to their office. The public pressure has a real impact. How much of their time yesterday do you think was eaten up by talking to people on the phone about this? How many man hours are they willing to waste on this?
Until the check is in Operation Give’s bank (and has cleared whatever holds they place on a check of that size), I hope all possible avenues will be pursued. No calling off the dogs, this time. Playing possum only works once.
1. If you have not already done so, file suit.
NOW.
Under the circumstances, you are not over-reacting, and there is a class of person who does not take a matter seriously, until a court is involved. I have seen this many times.
2. Atlas Line has had several chances to do the right thing. Maybe they did send the check, and are balking out of pride. But that’s not your problem. Make lots of noise (just as you are), make sure to pursue all avenues, do NOT accept anything but results. If at some time in the future, they actually find the money and get everything squared away, they still owe you a big-time public apology and some sort of compensation for their negligence (I am being nice and not presuming criminal intent).
3. In my experience, anyone stupid enough to send a valuable by regular mail, is stupid enough to try to justify it. In the company I work for, corporations send us securities, and I have seen half-million-dollar bonds get misplaced because someone simply stuck it in an envelope, and mailed (regular mail, no trace) without even a attention-to name on the envelope.
Just wanted to add one more voice saying that Operation Give should file legal action ASAP. It’s really the only course of action to take at this point, especially if Atlas is on the verge of bankrupcy. As a high-profile organization, Operation Give may have a good chance of getting its money back.
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It’s pretty clear whats happened here, the actions these individuals have taken appear to be in conflict with their words. Talking to them and writing them isnt going to accomplish anything, clearly the negative publicity doesnt worry these folks.
The strategy should be to go after the actual individuals, as we are seeing organizations come and go. I predict we see a bankruptcy filing by Atlas in the very near future which will effectively let the people walk away with the money (which may well already be spent, or perhaps ‘spent’). However, people engaged in such activities tend to have other problems with their personal bookkeeping. I highly suggest trying to find a friendly IRS auditor via the blogoshpere. Hiring a private investigator to dig into these people is also a fine idea which I would be happy to donate to should someone care to take up the cause. A few hundred bucks to possibly win back 30 grand for the kids seems reasonable. Above all, give up on trying to ‘convince’ these people they are wrong. They know whats going on, the money is not coming back for the asking.