Adaptive Marketing, Shopping Essentials Ventrue, Memberworks, Connections Membership Fraud-Pre-acquired account marketing Stamford, Connecticut

Membership Fraud-Pre-acquired account marketing

In 2005 and in 2007, Gary Johnson's firm operating under a variety of names, listed below, obtained either my bank account information or my credit card information and began an unauthorized monthly debit from my bank account. How he obtained this information is unknown to me. The various company representatives I talked with insist that I voluntarily signed up for his companies membership benefits. I did no such thing--nor would I ever consider signing up for any monthly membership benefits organization.

This matter appears as membership fraud, pre-acquired account marketing.

There is an abundance of information regarding this matter on the web, especially Gary Johnson's varfious companies, Shopping Essentials, Adaptive Marketing, Ventrue, Memberworks, Connections.

Contacting the company by their various phone numbers and going up the ladder of authorization has lead to a complete refund. The refund was not obtained on the first level of authorization, but was provided on the second level of authorization, the supervisor level. The refund was not initially offered, but after repeated discussion with mention of the various legal organizations involved in this type fraud, the supervisor agreed to the full refund.

The best approach towards stopping Gary Johnson's activity is by contacting your various representatives, the Attorney General of your State, who may or may not take action, the Better Bureau Administration, The Federal Trade Commision, since one of his companies answering services is in Canada, and posting web information such as this.

Various Company Names
Shopping Essentials, Adaptive Marketing, Ventrue, Memberworks, Connections

Information from Stock Market Registration Data & Reports
Officers, Board of Directors, Attorney General of MN, AL

age as of 2005

Gary A. Johnson--48
Adaptive Marketing
President, CEO
680 Washington Boulevard
Stamford, CT 06901

James Duffy--49
Adaptive Marketing
CFO, Executive VP
680 Washington Boulevard
Stamford, CT 06901

Vincent DiBenedetto--46
Adaptive Marketing
Executive VP
680 Washington Boulevard
Stamford, CT 06901

William Olson--45
Adaptive Marketing
Executive Vice President
680 Washington Boulevard
Stamford, CT 06901

Membership Services
P.O. Box 5152
Des Plaines, IL 60017-5152

David Schachne--42
Executive Vice President
680 Washington Boulevard
Stamford, CT 06901

Alec L. Ellison
Broadview International, LLC
520 Madison Avenue
10th Floor

Scott Flanders
Chairman and CEO
Columbia House Company
1221 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020

Robert Kamerschen
Retired, Chairman and CEO
ADVO, Inc
680 Washington Boulevard
Stamford, CT 06901

Edward M. Stern, President & CEO
CHI Energy
1155 Rene Levesque Boulevard W., Suite 1715
Montreal, Quebec H3B 3Z7

Marc S. Tesler
Technology Crossover Ventures, LP
528 Ramona Street
Palo Alto, California 94301 William Olsen
680 Washington Boulevard
Stamford, CT 06901

Pascal J. Brun, President
CHI Canada Inc.
1155 Rene Levesque Boulevard W., Suite 1715
Montreal, Quebec H3B 3Z7

Edward M. Stern, President & CEO
One Tech Drive
Suite 220
Andover, MA 01810

Senior Manager of Client Sales Support
Connections
P. O. Box 24128
Omaha, NE 68124-0128

Adaptive Marketing
9500 West Dodge Road
Omaha, NE 68114

Mike Hatch
Attorney General
State Capitol, Ste. 102,
St. Paul, MN 55155

Troy King
Attorney General
State House, 11 S. Union St. Montgomery, AL 36130

60 Minutes
CBS News
524 W. 57th St.
New York, NY, 10019

Ms. Rhonda Lee Barber
Consumer Specialist
State of Alabama Office of the Attorney General
Alabama State House
11 South Union Street
Montgomery, AL 36130

Thomas
Huntsville, Alabama
U.S.A.