American Entertainment Distributors ripoff taken for a ride Hollywood Florida

Hello:

I'm in shock. I put a downpayment of $17,500 to AED. I don't know where to start...

If you get any results from your calls, please post them. I'll join you.

Thanks,
Tom

I read in another report that the FTC has a temporary injunction against AED and is attempting to make it permanent. If this happens, the funds will go into receivership. My question is - how do we find out who the receiver would be and get in line for a refund. (or portion thereof).

When I talked to the Florida consumer division they told me that the temporary reciever was Attorney General Wald (I think they said Wald). I don't know how to reach them, but I'm sure you can go through the Florida Attorney General website.

Here's the scoop...the FTC has filed a temporary injuction against AED and several employees including James Macarthur and Mauricio Paz. They have frozen all assets including any machines and their bank accounts.

For those of you that sent them money and never received your machine (like myself), you should call Linda Mulhall, Mr. Wald's paralegal, at (305)358-5900. She will be able to e-mail you the full 34 page legal injuction of FTC vs. AED.

It sounds like they will reimburse the scammed people before any creditors, so that is the best news I've gotten so far, but that doesn't guarantee that there is enough frozen funds to do that for everyone affected. Let's hope these boyz enjoy some time behind bars this time!

Scot,

Thanks for the phone numbers and contacts! I have called everyone that I have found on this site. I also wired money to AED on 7/21 and still have not received a machine! Now the company is shut down! I am upset beyond words! I don't know what else to do. If you find out anything else, please post, so we can have some sort of action! Thanks again!!

Talked to the person in charge of our case at the FTC (actually her assistant). Seems that both her and the receivership attorney have the canned "If you are calling about AED..." So they are getting a lot of calls.

The guy at the FTC told me point blank that there was little to no hope of seeing any money back. He said it was their practice to immediately dispurse the money to the salespeople. He said the money left over would be spread across to all the debtors (and we would be listed as debtors)

Two questions:

Where did you get your information that we would be reimbursed first? (As someone that gave money and received nothing)

Does anyone know how much assets were frozen?

PS> I also found out that the hearing to change this injunction from temporary to permanent was supposed to be today in Miami Federal Court. It was moved to Wed of next week.

I am looking at a copy of the case against AED, the principals and others involved in the scam. It is case # 04-22431 filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Following is the complete list of defendants: American Entertainment Distributors Inc., Automated Entertainment Dispensers Inc., Automated Entertainment Machines Inc., United Technical Support Inc., United Cybercom Corporation, Russell G. MacArthur, Anthony Rocco Andreoni, James R. MacArthur, Mauricio A. Paz, and MIRIAM SMOLYANSKY aka MASHA TANGO.

Like ourselves, some of you may have talked to the husband of Miriam Smolyansky. Pete Smolyansky's name was given to us as a distributor with a successful operation at a high rise in Miami. As recently as last week,when this thing started to unravel, my husband unwittingly called Pete and asked him if he Knew what was going on with operations at AED. Pete said that he had driven there and that "crime scene tape" was on the doors. He lamented with my husband claiming that he had ordered 2 more machines that had not been delivered. I wonder how many other references were bogus and in on the scam.

I would recommend that anyone who spoke with Pete Smolyansky notify the FTC, the Postal Inspector, the Florida State Attorney General, State of Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Mr Smolyansky should be named as a defendant as well.

Getting back to the court case. I spoke with the attorneys office that will be handling the receivorship. First, her name is Linda Mulhall, legal assistant for Gerald B. Wald. She can be reached at 305-358-5900. This temporary(perhaps later today if the case isn't postponed- permanent) restraining order freezes the assets of the corporation and all named defendants. I did verify that there are SOME assets. To what extent, I have no idea as Ms. Mulhall couldn't disclose the information even if she had knowledge. Second, this restraining order was issued ex parte, meaning that the defendants were NOT given prior notice. Additionally, I was told that neither the defendants nor the corporations filed for bankruptcy. They probably would have if they had known that a restraining order was being issued. Since the court has established a recievor, claimants like ourselves get first dibs on any assets, then creditors can make a claim. So we are first in line for the assets.

The restraining order says the following with regards to the restrictions placed on the defendants: "are restrained from transferring, liquidating,converting, emcumbering, pledging,loaning, selling, concealing, dissapating, disburing, assigning, spending, withdrawing, granting a lien or security interest in, or otherwise disposing of any funds, real or personal property, accounts, contracts or consumer lists,shares of stock or other assets, or any assets therein..." Furthermore, they can't open safe deposit boxes, incur charges or cash advances on credit cards, obtain personal loans, incur liens on their property or their spouses property.

All financial institutions with which the defendants hold accounts are prohibited from giving the defendants access to either accounts or safe deposit boxes. Additionally( within 5 days), by now, all financial institutions dealing with this bunch, have turned over a complete account history to federal authorities.

The filing goes on to stipulate that the defendants have 5 business days to provide the commission with detailed reporting of all foreign assets and repatriate these assets.

I would implore everyone who was scammed by the "so called references", like Pete Smolyansky, to report them to any and all law enforcement agencies including but not limited to 1) Postal Inspectors Office Fraud Complaint Unit: 800-372-8347
2) FBI North Miami Beach Office: 305-944-9101
3) Florida Trade Commission: 202-326-2047 Ms.Debbie Matties(assigned to AED case)

Lastly, I would advise everyone to write or send an email to their United States Senators and Congresspeople advising them of what has happened. This business had been advertising as recently as a couple of weeks ago on TV stations in our viewing area. The FTC has obviously been investigating this for sometime. Wouldn't it have been nice to have that knowlegde. We did our due diligence before we invested and we couldn't find a scintilla of evidence that this was a scam.

I have already filed a report taken for a ride and ripped off in New Jersey. I have also filed reports with every other organization I could find.

To further the conversation about the people previously mentioned and their involvement. Masha Tango alias Ms Smolyansky took us to see a machine in a Whole Foods Store touting herself as their Marketing Director (should have gotten the hell out when the machine wasn't working). Peter Smolyansky was also a machine owner I spoke to who supposedly owned a machine in the Whole Foods Store.

Let's get these lying bastards...All of them.

I have been researching the entire Miami scam ring for around 10 months now. I have a research team that collects and databases every name of every employee and also every company they are associated with for RICO suits our law firm is engaged in for other clients.

After reviewing some of the names for our database today, I found Mauricio Paz listed under Nationwide Cyber Systems as Vice President of Sales.

Nationwide Cyber Systems, another of the approximately 200 such corporations involved in a large Miami scam ring, shut its door and changed its name to Transnet Wireless. A link is available concerning the owner of Nationwide at his new company of Transnet Wireless caught on video by an investigative news reporter in Miami and you can see the news video at www.kioskscams.com The owner's name of that corporation is Paul Pemberton.

You can read posts concerning these companies and others under the following names on ripoffreport: Debit Corporation of America, Teleking, Pantheon aka EzLink aka Internet Business Machines, Ameri P.O.S., Cash Link, Tel2net, Nationwide Cyber Systems and others. You will see names you recognize as the players work at many of these corporations and constantly move from one to the other.

In the title of my last response, there should have been a period or semicolon after Nationwide Cyber Systems. Though the other companies in the title are extremely important regarding the scam ring in Miami, I only found Mauricio Paz additionally at Nationwide, not the other companies that are listed. However, Alan Mogavero is a different story. I found him at several.

I just wanted to clarify that.