Mags R Us - AM Press Ass. Convinced my son to join Magazine company that goes on road Door-To-Door selling magazines all over the U.S. NOTICE: Mothers with teenaged kids please read this Rip-off Report! Miami Florida

Reading all this garbage from ex-agents, current agents (the indoctrinated) and current management (the ones who've hurt the most people) is nothing short of hilarious on one hand, and rage inspiring on the other. These "crews" are not all the same, that is true, and I'm actually aware there are a few out there that don't treat their agents like total crap. But this isn't one of them, Brent may have been the better of the triad that was Chris Cordingley, Kevin Bennett, and Mr. Williams himself, but he is without a doubt a stereotypical manager. 

Meaning, he is known to have raped several girls, by direct definition and the more passive "rape by implied threat" flavor. I personally saw him abuse people physically, but this was rare, and again I have to stress again, Brent was without a doubt the best of the three. And before I get on with explaining what really happens on these crews, in Brent's defense, let me just that is nothing more than a product of the environment that shaped him. The managers were abused as agents (though the abuse was far less pronounced), and following the basic escalation model, the victims become passive participants, then active participants, and eventually the facilitators. This is the case here, Brent however, still possesses a heart, and was a much kinder and more fair manager than the other two. 

Chris Cordingley and Kevin Bennett on the other hand were known to have an enforcement squad, consisting of several elder, yet violent agents of whom tasks ranging from and average "attitude adjustment" all the way to the literal "dragging someone out of their hotel room in the middle of the night to be beaten and never seen again." The latter, in all honesty, was rare but happened more than once, just like the equally infrequent but always entertaining "cannonball lynching"; a situation wherein an agent who was disliked by anyone in upper management (from the carhandlers to the actual managers) was extracted (or defenestrated in one particular instance that comes to mind) from a vehicle within the caravan once a suitably uninhabited stretch of road had been found, and then "swarmed" by all the agents present. I witnessed three of these in three years on the road,, and each one was worse than the last.

Some of the agents posting in this thread, who are so quick to tell how great the road was, were involved in some of these beatings, or worse. Mr. Shell at one point bragged around the crew about a "new boy" he slung face first into a branch spike on a tree (nearly removing one of the boys eyes) in the middle of a beating he and several others were dishing out, just because the young man had acquired a joint while on territory. He was also quick to point out in bravado, that he would have happily "fucking killed that new bitch" had it not been for the introduction of some locals who came the young man's aid baring firearms. 

I personally spend time in jail, looking at time in prison, for being an unwilling participant (court documents, namely the discovery verify my claim of innocence) in two agents viciously beating, and stabbing another "new boy" for no reason other than that he was weak, and a little slow. After we were all released from jail (due to the defendants unwillingness to testify) the managers got nervous about me, because I was so vocal about how screwed up the situation was, and they tried to talk other agents into killing me. This prompted me to reach out to my family regardless of the fear they instill in you in relation to "unsupervised contact" with "jonses", which is a generalized term for anyone not indoctrinated to the ways of the crew. 

These crews function like cults, and they are dangerous to your children. They are dangerous because not all of the children that enter into them are like I was at 18, that being naive, friendly, longing for a sense of family, and willing to work for a room to sleep in. Some of them are violent felons, gang members (they aren't "ex-gang members" on the road), or time bombs waiting for the realization that you can very literally get away with murder when you move states every two weeks. It's these monsters that are dangerous to your kids. 

Which reminds me, the young lady above who inferred your son was a child molester... I personally watched Kevin Bennett set a 22 yr old low up with a 14 year old he'd hired and call the cops on him afterwards. You don't have to pressure a young, intoxicated male too hard to have sex with a girl that's rubbing all over him. What that guy did to Kevin I have no idea, what he got was a sex offenders stamp on his license and left behind. 

The last 4 months I was on the road, waiting for my mother to set things up with the local DA here in Houston to make sure there was a enough pressure on Chris and Kevin to actually send me home, I was packing at least 2 knives and a fistpack on me at all times, I slept with my luggage prefolded and zipped, right next to my bed, and I went out of my way to make sure I slept close to the door, as well as being the last person awake. You don't know terror till you've lived like that, thinking the people around you might finally do to you what you've seen them do to others. It's that same fear that keeps so many kids from leaving, from telling anyone what is happening, well, it's a combination of fear and rejection/repression. 

These crews are dangerous, it is consistently amazing that they are not higher up on the authorities "awareness list" given the damage they do... That's only to the kids people care about. Do you have any idea how many children from broken and/or abusive homes go on the road and no one ever looks for them? Ask a Nevada or New Mexico Sheriff how many bodies of men and women ages 16-26 are found on/around the interstate highways that are never identified every 5 years. And that's only the kids that are discarded of "on the move". There was a spur that disappeared at one point, left with 8 kids in a suburban, came back with 3. The official story handed to us that the other had "folded", the three that came back were shuffled off to other crews within hours of the emergency meeting called on their return, and we weren't allowed to talk to them. 

John Brison later informed me that the guys had admitted to killing 2 of the other agents "in self defense" to Chris and Kevin. Was it just a canvas from a junior manager trying to sound cool? John was 32 years old and from a violent little town in PA, he didn't lie too often... 

i was also hired in this way in 1990 and traveled with lonnie till 1995 i moved up the ranks to jr manager. by this time i had become a jr. manager. many of the things mentioned here are very real and very true. i think it is very important that no one has pointed out anything positive about the road. i know there is nothing positive about limited contact with your children but the lessons and experiances your son learned he will carry with him the rest of his life. i think the above comment of feeling invincable is right on key. i do think that was the most fun i ever had in my life. as with many of the agents hired my home life wasn't that great. this makes the decision to leave so easy. i was 19 years old when i left and soon the crew became my family and my home family became distant relatives. my mother was just as worried but i did call her and noone ever tried to listen in on my calls. i was a bit of a hot head then that might be why i dont know. the managers of these crews are the ones in control and there is a hiarchy in place.     

the things your son got to see and experiance will change him but no more than say doing a tour in iraq or afganistan. i made many friends there and even married my now ex wife ann marie that i still talk to today.many young people leave home for many different reasons but when they come home they are never the same. i worked with and came up through the ranks with all of those managers mentioned above and was treated as a son by lonnie and yvonne. i helped many agents get started and helped them when things were not going so good for them. as you can see it was the managers doing most of the manipulating. the positive thing i agree is that your son is home now and eventually he might miss some of those people but i wouldn't count on a return trip.i think the positive way to look at the situation would be your son left a boy and returned a man. the military does the same kind of brainwashing. alot of the rules they have about calling, dating,drugs,ect were in place to protect the crew from unnesasary drama. it was a great experiance and i left with a sence of knowing that no matter what happens i can and will always take care of myself and enjoy doing it.i did have to part ways due to being seperated from my wife to start my own crew. i had been married for about a year at that time and only seen my wife once a month. when i was sent to sit on a hiring add and start my crew i was told i would not see my wife for another 4 months. i had some issues with that and quit. i have only one regret and that was getting married because i thnk she would have stayed.i had a great run for 5 years while i was young and have incredable stories to pass on to my children and eventualy grandkids. to all the mothers and concerned parents out there everyone comes home eventualy or they do make it. with todays media capabilities the door to door magazine agents are becoming a dying breed. i hear nothing but negativity when it comes to mag agents and im not saying not for good reasons but its important for all of you ex mag agents to remember the good times as well as the bad cause if you were any good youll have a lifetime of fun memories.  and that get a bunch is something all of us roadrunners say its a way to say sell a bunch. alot of people are salty but i never could be and im a better man for it

Hi my name is jeff shell.. I am a ex road runner and would like to say that the company was not bad.. I was a high ball and I enjoyed the time I had there.. My mom was also scared when I left but I left for a reason.. If my life would have been better I might not have had the courage to travel with brent.. I might not have left if my family life was good.. hint hint.. anyway I also left in the middle of the night scared and wanting to go home but I was not scared of brent I was scared to tell him I wanted to fold because that man was like a dad or older brother to me.. He made sure I had everything i needed and in return I made sure I sold magizenes.. He has never treated me badley and taught me alot of the life skills i have today.. which is something i am thankful for any kid that took the mag crew serios was always good with people.. if you were a low ball well thats why you didn't like brent and he was probally happy when you left.. the mag crew is a sober place I never did one drug the whole time i was on the road.. They do brain wash you but it is a brain wash to make you positive and think positive and the reasoning behind only calling home like once a year is because most people think negitive and negitivity was not aloud on the crew.. I did see some messed up stuff but in life that stuff happens sometimes.. I really liked brent and am trying to get ahold of him to catch up on old days.. he is very hard to get a hold of.. anyway the negitive things said about him and the crew or sells is all nonsence and from people who have no clue what being a high ball on a mag crew is all about.. I myself am doing great but i would have loved to beable to stick it out and have my own crew one day because that was a life noone can understand unless lived.. and i'm not talking about low ball experience i'm talking about actually being positive and having fun.. p.s your son is fine if he wanted to come home he would have i mean he gets dropped off everyday all day ny himself knocks on 100's of doors with people that could help him anytime.. the choice is his..thanks

I am also an ex agent of Brent William's crew. I was the crew high ball when I left. I had to flea for my life from a hotel room in Boise Idaho. Brent and about 7 girls ( I don't remember how many they were beating the S#$T outta me because Brent tried to force me into a 3some with him and Bree and I refused so he called all the other girls in and had them beat me up.
 
I ran outta the room and had a stranger call the police and came back to the hotel with the cops for my things. I believe Brent paid off the cops because they refused to take me to the hospital but kept asking me if he was pimping us out, which he wasn't, but he used me to have sex with some of the new guys or guys who rarely wrote quota, basically to motivate them to sell more.

When they tell you they travel in a white van with a wooden bumper, thats bs. They never travel in a white van for that reason so you won't find the right car. Most of the time the person driving the car or van or jeep is also knocking doors. When asked what hotel they are staying at they will almost always tell you Holiday Inn, which again is a lie, they never stay at the Holiday Inn that's why they tell you that. They normally stay in places like Days Inn, Super 8, Quality Inn and places of this type. If they had a really bad day or week they will have to stay in crack hotels.

Brent has sex with whatever girl(s) he wants regaurdless of whether his girlfriend and mother of at least 2 children (boys) knows or is around or not. The girls just let him out of fear and some because they are stupid and think it makes them someone special to get to have sex with the manager. I stood up to him and it almost costed me my life.

Brent and Cheryl and their children (last I heard they had 2 boys prolly around 3 and 5yrs old) live in Bethlehem, PA.

Janet and Matt are no longer on the road. Matt is not the same person he used to be. He has turned into a druggy, you name it, he does it.

Jena, if you are reading this, you are crazy for going back on the road. Maybe you're just still blinded as to what is really going on there.

Anyone who reads this prolly knows who I am and I don't care. I was scared to speak out before because of fear of retaliation, but now that I am safe and protected I am free to say what I want in hopes of saving another young person the heartaches I went through.

This is a questions for Stuckman:
Would your initials or the initials you went by back in the magcrew days be N.W.?
IF so, I remember you, and have wondered whatever happened to you. Glad to see (if this is you) you made it out of that crazy time in one piece.

To the thread in general: I have just found this site, and am amazed at the amount of info. I will read through all of these, and add what I can to help out with info.

I was an ex employee of this company . i worked for the from 1984-1989. I would agree with most of the ex-employees in the fact that the company was against drug use. There also was not a lot if any sex during the work week. Basically if you were a good agent and sold a lot of magazines it was a good time. Unfortunatly those who did not sell well im sure had a completely different expiriance. there was'nt a lot a physical torture. But there was mental torture if you did not make your quota. Generally the people that lasted more than a year had a good time on the road. Looking back on the time I spent as a whole I think learned a lot of good lessons by being on the road that I carried on through out my life. I also believe the agents (including myself ) were used to make the company money and were not really rewarded much for their efforts.They were also exposed to bad situations . I reciently had contact with Lonnie and Yvonne as well as others from their company and hold no ill will against them. I see my time on the road and the lessons I learned as an invaluble tool ,that I have used ever since . If you have question I may be able to answer feel free to email me. (((Redacted))). If you are Franchette I think I might be your trainer.

CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.

I also used to work for lonnie, it was in the late 80's for about 4 years. I loved it.I was a power agent and made pretty good money. When I heard about your missing son,my heart dropped because by knocking on doors it could get a little dangerous. I want to assure you there is absolutly no drugs aloud.They do not frown on calling family they just dont like it during the week cause they like you to stay positive and sometimes when you talk to family, they dont really know the ins and outs of the buisness and tend to be negative and that brings you down which affects your work.You do work very very hard but you also get to have fun,especially when you take care of your buisness first. I dont understand how come he has not called you, if he quit befor the 2 weeks the bad thing is you are left where you quit. The only brainwashing that was there when I worked for him is to keep positive, the sky is the limit. You get to see your family usually every year once they make it around the country again. There is not huge sex parties or anything, actually they kinda frown on sex if your a new person cause your there for buisness and if you do find yourself in a relationship its usually with a fellow agent.There is absolutly no abuse or any kind of punishments.I have also hired people from grocery stores and places like that, alot of them stayed some of them quit, but it wasnt out of the norm to do that.If your son is still in the buisness I want to assure you he is fine, if somehow he left it and went on his own I will say a little prayer that he comes home.It was not a scam when I worked there, we did tell people we were earning points to win things and people did send their orders to my house just to help me win but they didnt want the mags and if my mom was alive she would tell ya how many she received, she was not very happy. I hope to god you here from your son.

I am ex-employee of that company, although it went by a different name a few years ago, but with a little research I found they are one in the same. I worked for people under Lonnie Divine, specifically Nathan Combs, Kevin Blake and Tammy Cordingly. It's extremely hard to leave, mainly because they often keep the majority of the agents at such a low pay rate that you never make enough to save. And even if you did save, it would all get spent come Sunday anyhow. People are very unreceptive to kids who come to the door spilling some story about being brainwashed, so finding a phone is next to impossible really. We had no trouble calling home, but we were not able to "go back and visit family" like we had been promised, because once you left that state, the chances of you being allowed back to that state at all were slim and none, and definitely not to the area you were from. I also believe that my things were examined when I was not there. Several photos mysteriously disapeared, and so did some clothing etc. I suppose it could have been coincidental, but I believe it was intentional. They tend to keep a very close eye on their agents so it's very difficult to plan to leave without some kind of explosive argument.There were no drugs used openly on our crew, if that's some kind of comfort (to anyone), although I suppose someone could have been doing it in secret... there was underage drinking though, but it wasn't all the time, and it certainly wasn't done in vehicles. I have looked for others that are ex-mag agents but finding them is next to impossible as they prefer everyone use only first names... making it harder to identify people later without a last name. It's also easier to influence someone who is alone.. strength in numbers .. so to speak. The owner of the crew I was on, Lonnie Divine, has his hand in several businesses, all of which are crooked, so if there's anything I can do please feel free to ask. I would also have anyone you know that is involved with magazine crews check their credit after they leave the road, I believe I have a huge hospital bill that was unavoidable, that they pegged me with. I was under the impression that they paid it, when in all actuality I believe it is still unpaid. The gift that keeps on giving...good luck.
Steph

I am ex-employee of that company, although it went by a different name a few years ago, but with a little research I found they are one in the same. I worked for people under Lonnie Divine, specifically Nathan Combs, Kevin Blake and Tammy Cordingly. It's extremely hard to leave, mainly because they often keep the majority of the agents at such a low pay rate that you never make enough to save. And even if you did save, it would all get spent come Sunday anyhow. People are very unreceptive to kids who come to the door spilling some story about being brainwashed, so finding a phone is next to impossible really. We had no trouble calling home, but we were not able to "go back and visit family" like we had been promised, because once you left that state, the chances of you being allowed back to that state at all were slim and none, and definitely not to the area you were from. I also believe that my things were examined when I was not there. Several photos mysteriously disapeared, and so did some clothing etc. I suppose it could have been coincidental, but I believe it was intentional. They tend to keep a very close eye on their agents so it's very difficult to plan to leave without some kind of explosive argument.There were no drugs used openly on our crew, if that's some kind of comfort (to anyone), although I suppose someone could have been doing it in secret... there was underage drinking though, but it wasn't all the time, and it certainly wasn't done in vehicles. I have looked for others that are ex-mag agents but finding them is next to impossible as they prefer everyone use only first names... making it harder to identify people later without a last name. It's also easier to influence someone who is alone.. strength in numbers .. so to speak. The owner of the crew I was on, Lonnie Divine, has his hand in several businesses, all of which are crooked, so if there's anything I can do please feel free to ask. I would also have anyone you know that is involved with magazine crews check their credit after they leave the road, I believe I have a huge hospital bill that was unavoidable, that they pegged me with. I was under the impression that they paid it, when in all actuality I believe it is still unpaid. The gift that keeps on giving...good luck.
Steph

I am ex-employee of that company, although it went by a different name a few years ago, but with a little research I found they are one in the same. I worked for people under Lonnie Divine, specifically Nathan Combs, Kevin Blake and Tammy Cordingly. It's extremely hard to leave, mainly because they often keep the majority of the agents at such a low pay rate that you never make enough to save. And even if you did save, it would all get spent come Sunday anyhow. People are very unreceptive to kids who come to the door spilling some story about being brainwashed, so finding a phone is next to impossible really. We had no trouble calling home, but we were not able to "go back and visit family" like we had been promised, because once you left that state, the chances of you being allowed back to that state at all were slim and none, and definitely not to the area you were from. I also believe that my things were examined when I was not there. Several photos mysteriously disapeared, and so did some clothing etc. I suppose it could have been coincidental, but I believe it was intentional. They tend to keep a very close eye on their agents so it's very difficult to plan to leave without some kind of explosive argument.There were no drugs used openly on our crew, if that's some kind of comfort (to anyone), although I suppose someone could have been doing it in secret... there was underage drinking though, but it wasn't all the time, and it certainly wasn't done in vehicles. I have looked for others that are ex-mag agents but finding them is next to impossible as they prefer everyone use only first names... making it harder to identify people later without a last name. It's also easier to influence someone who is alone.. strength in numbers .. so to speak. The owner of the crew I was on, Lonnie Divine, has his hand in several businesses, all of which are crooked, so if there's anything I can do please feel free to ask. I would also have anyone you know that is involved with magazine crews check their credit after they leave the road, I believe I have a huge hospital bill that was unavoidable, that they pegged me with. I was under the impression that they paid it, when in all actuality I believe it is still unpaid. The gift that keeps on giving...good luck.
Steph

I am ex-employee of that company, although it went by a different name a few years ago, but with a little research I found they are one in the same. I worked for people under Lonnie Divine, specifically Nathan Combs, Kevin Blake and Tammy Cordingly. It's extremely hard to leave, mainly because they often keep the majority of the agents at such a low pay rate that you never make enough to save. And even if you did save, it would all get spent come Sunday anyhow. People are very unreceptive to kids who come to the door spilling some story about being brainwashed, so finding a phone is next to impossible really. We had no trouble calling home, but we were not able to "go back and visit family" like we had been promised, because once you left that state, the chances of you being allowed back to that state at all were slim and none, and definitely not to the area you were from. I also believe that my things were examined when I was not there. Several photos mysteriously disapeared, and so did some clothing etc. I suppose it could have been coincidental, but I believe it was intentional. They tend to keep a very close eye on their agents so it's very difficult to plan to leave without some kind of explosive argument.There were no drugs used openly on our crew, if that's some kind of comfort (to anyone), although I suppose someone could have been doing it in secret... there was underage drinking though, but it wasn't all the time, and it certainly wasn't done in vehicles. I have looked for others that are ex-mag agents but finding them is next to impossible as they prefer everyone use only first names... making it harder to identify people later without a last name. It's also easier to influence someone who is alone.. strength in numbers .. so to speak. The owner of the crew I was on, Lonnie Divine, has his hand in several businesses, all of which are crooked, so if there's anything I can do please feel free to ask. I would also have anyone you know that is involved with magazine crews check their credit after they leave the road, I believe I have a huge hospital bill that was unavoidable, that they pegged me with. I was under the impression that they paid it, when in all actuality I believe it is still unpaid. The gift that keeps on giving...good luck.
Steph

hello penny, my name is rich. i am a former peddler with a different company. i do not know your son, but i do have a little insight being with the company for 5 years. picture a pyramid. me at the top, my company name xyxy, i hire your son, train him and teach him to grow produce and hire, get him started with his own crew his own company name and it goes on. so there are really only a few big companies that have really spread their seed. it is really crazy. now with your son, the first thing i would do is hire a private investigator to do a all points bulletin, to see if he is in jail somewhere. the owner of the company i worked for lives up the road in boca raton.
richard

ummm....wow. this is completely stupid. i was on the road for a lil bit over a year. the road was an experience ill never forget. but...anybody that actually has a good head on there shoulders should have noticed that the road is a bunch of b.s, and yes i said that. when you join with this crew yes you do travel, yes you make money everyday, and yes you have a possibility at making manager so that hopefully you can then possibly become a manager. in the time that i was there i had 3 juniour manager, one of them who then later became a manager. these guys/girls were very good people who i always felt bad for. then of course you have the manager who i will keep his name private, but man was this guy an act. he would seriously sit down every morning and feed us this garbage about becoming managers and becoming millionares and how people who punch a clock are stupid, and just a punch of stupid stuff that i always secreatly laughed about in my head. in the time that i was there i found out this guy had been a manager for about 12 years. when i heard this i left. i had the mentality to think to myself "its it really gonna take me that long to make it".

this guy finds kids, puts them in this imaginary world where they think the're balling or something, and profits from these kids who dont "punch a clock" but yet work from 9 a.m till 9p.m. also working for this company does take your freedom from you. its more like going back to slavery days. in the year i was there i had a bedtime every single night, i couldnt go out unless i had someone with me, i couldnt drink when i wanted to, i had to have sex when i was told (and giving a time limit), i couldnt wear what i wanted, and the list goes on. i am a person that is going to be 22. maybe im still young but am i not my own man.

the only ones i feel bad for are all the cool people i had to travel with. there just stuck in this world being "canvased" and they dont know any better because they have this high and holy "business oppurtunity" in front of them. so i know alot of agents come here and read this, hell obviously ex-agents come and read this so if anybody is feeling salty in any type of way because of the words that i have written...come down to jersey and knock on my door....even tho my pockets are huge now im not a big order. i will not help this man profit on his canvas. and like i said if you feeling salty knock on my door...i just hope u make it out my hood when you do...by the way i live on the corner of Summer Ave and Taylor St in Newark NJ. please come holla....im out.

Like I had said before, if it werent for the people who were actually scamming people, I would still be there..... Its good to hear that Matt took out his own crew... hopefully people learned a lesson and changed the way they write their business, because it is a good business to be part of, in my opinion. Just so everyone knows, I am almost a nurse now, so I am making something of myself. For future agents who knock on my door, I am a BIG ORDER.... so dont judge a book by its cover....

first things first.....you people are so negative.....ive been on the road for almost 5 years now....ive seen people go out as managers (matt s) i watched my trainer (kenny) become a junior....and my jm ( janet) is not a scammer...even if she still is here or not...who knows...me kenny and ber pretty much run stuff now.....brent hops in every now and again throws up a bonus and leaves...things are very different.....for the better....you people have so much garbage in your heads....this is a business not a half way house or a traveling welfare....you get what you put in to it....and if being a folded agent is what you got....then you will never make anything of yourself

I worked for Lonnie Divine when his company when it was called union circulation. I was a power agent did killer business and made nothing and left with nothing to show but a fairly cheesy diamond ring and ten dollars in my pocket. That ten dollars had to last me from Manitowic WI, to Alabama. Even in the early 90's , that wasnt much to last someone for 3 days. This was after working for the company for 3 years. I was allowed pretty much no social life and depression finally drove me to the desperate act of quitting.

its hard to leave people that you live with 7 days a week 24 hours a day and know that you will probably never see them again. I don't care what anyone says, its a business that makes money from the suffering of others. I find a certain amount of consolation fromt he fact that Lonnie and others actually did some jail time. I am sorry for what happened with your son and hope that he, like myself, learned a valuable life lesson.

First of all I would like to make a couple of corrections to the postings above. Roberta Cheshire is not the owner and never has been the owner of the company. She is no longer even associated with them. Lonnie Divine and his wife Yvonne Ruel Divine are the owners. They along with Lonnie's daughter, Deanna, has all just recently spent time in prison on federal tax charges. Lonnie was either just released or will soon be released.

The only number I know of that is still associated with the business is 866-272-8466. But it is never answered and has a message saying the voice mail has not yet been set up.

Besiedes the company names listed above here are several others that are owned/operated by the Divine's or their employees:

Youth of America
Babies Addicted to Drugs
World Wide Connect
America Fulfillment Center
Aids Prevention Institute
Heartline
Divine World Wide Ministries

These are just a few among many names the organization went by in the 7 years I worked for them.

Penny, I am happy to hear your son is home, but beware he will still have issues to deal with as a result of his time spent with them.

When I left, I tried to get a car loan only to find out that any medical bill I had from the previous 7 years was on my credit report. According to the company and Lonnie, when you go to the doctor on the road, they cover 100% of the charges...In reality when the bill comes in the mail, they throw it in the garbage.

Plus, if your son was ever ticketed, he will have a failure to appear warrant. Lonnie does not take his employees to any court date they are suppose to attend due to soliciting without a permit. Lonnie or his managers would have told your son that it was all taken care of, but in reality he will be wanted on a warrant. They convince you that they have an amazing lawyer that fights any and all soliciting without permit tickets and/or arrests and has the charges dropped.

In reality Lonnie does have a great lawyer, who I have personally met, but his job is to defend Lonnie and Yvonne on all of their crimial tax charges.

Heather....I am glad you enjoyed your time on the road and made some money, but you got out at the right time. You spoke of junior managers scamming people and ripping them off. In reality, that is the only way they have to survive on the road. As a junior manager they are responsible for their own expenses such as hotel, gas and any and all returned checks, such as NSF checks. They get charged for 100% of the returned check including p&h and the mail in amount, but only make 50-75% of the collected balance.

For example, junior manager(JM) writes a oneliner order for 24.95 the collect on this order would be $10. I will be generous and say he makes 75%, or $7.50. The p&h would be 2.50 and the mail in would be 12.45. (These were the typical prices when I was on the road. Probably much higher now...I will go into that later) The 24.95 check does not clear so he is charged 24.95 by the company for an order on which he pocketed 7.50. So in reality, for him to write this order it costs him 17.45 out of his pocket.

This problem of scamming customers is only going to get worse. Due to the fact that Lonnie and Yvonne were found guilty on federal charges they are no longer allowed by the clearing houses to clear their own orders. They are now cleared through another company...Palmetto I believe. It costs the company approximately 14 dollars to clear each order. Due to that fact the company does not clear their orders until the customer complains that they have not yet received their order. Only then is it sent to the clearing house. So, therefore, customers are not getting their magazines and learning slowly, but surely not to order from door to door agents, especailly with those prices and the lower probability of receiving the order. Customers don't realize they won't receive the order, and many don't complain because they just chalk it up to a lesson learned, but the less possible orders out there the jm's are more likely to scam because they are put into the position of scam or don't survive.

I know you speak highly of Brent Williams. I will agree, he is a nice guy. He was only an agent when I was on the road and became a manager after I had been on the road a couple of years. I know the company philosophy of not even speaking of drugs, or to speak of any negative. But I also know for a fact that what the managers say to their agents and do when the agents are not around are two totally different things. Certain managers for that company including Brent, Chris C., Cody A., and Kevin have been know to be drunk and under the influence of multiple drugs on more than one occassion. They have all day to do whatever they want when the agents are gone. They all also have huge gambling habits which they learned from none other than Lonnie Divine.

I still keep in touch with a couple people I was friends with on the road. We all agree that it was great to get to see all the places we did and do some of the things we were able to do, but we also agree that we got out at the right time, before things went totally downhill. I was gone before Lonnie and Yvonne were arrested but I was with them when their house and offices were raided in July of 1997 and they moved to the Bahamas.

I had a great time...got to see the entire country, take a cruise to the Bahamas, gamble with the high rollers in Vegas and met some great people along the way. But I am happy to be away from that scene...too much bad happening way to fast in that environment.It was time to grow up and have a real life...not one being sheltered from what was really happening and being kept in the dark.

If anyone would like more info or to discuss any situation regarding this please feel free to email me.

I am Heather, the daughter of Chris, the lady who wrote the rebuttal before me. I am home now, in Zanesville, and I have read alot of the stories on here. There are MANY different crews going door to door out there.

I just want to clear up the fact that Brent Williams crew did not use drugs, we werent even aloud to talk about them. It is true about working 6 days a week and sometimes until 1 am in the morning, but that was our choice, many a time did I go out after hours and knock on doors, sometimes for just one more sale to meet my quota.

But no, we were not paid as low as 5 dollars a day. I was a very good sales person, and I made $80-$100 a day. The other young adults I worked with were very good people, excluding a certain few. The kids that are still working on the crew do not have access to the internet, so they would not know that they are being used. We were not promised prizes or a savings bond, but a chance to be a millionaire, (A Mag Manager).

I also believed in the fact that I would be successful until I started noticing things. For example, there are Junior Managers in the crew, they had been there for about 6-8 years. I figured, hey, these guys are gonna be millionaires, and they are doing the same thing I do.

To let you know, if you havent read any other of my rebuttals, I NEVER scammed anyone. Anyway, these Junior managers were just like us, I even shared a bed with the girl junior, I considered her a vey good friend, we went shopping together,(we both generally made more money than most of the other girls), I told her everything. Everyone looked up to her because she was a very good salesperson, she had the record for the week until I broke it. She was also like me in the fact that she always helped other people when they werent doing good.

A lot of people told me I was the next Janet. I found out later, through other people on the crew that she was a scammer. that was one of the things that made me leave. Another girl who was dating the boy Junoir manager was another "Highball" we were always competing. She was very mean to the other people on the crew, but she was good at sales, so I thought she was allright.

I found out later that she scams ALOT of people. After I found out that Ber scammed people too,I was really mad. I loved traveling and selling magazines it was the most fun I've evre had. If it wasnt for the people who scammed, I can honestly say I would still be on the road. And Penny, I was one of the people who helped your son, ALOT. I helped alot of the people on the crew, sometimes handing them orders that I had worked for.

Im sorry to say this, but your son was fired from the crew for sexually assulting a 15 year old girl, and after he was released from jail for it, he tried to call her the SAME night from his room. Brent found out when he got a printout from the frontdesk of the phone calls and fired him. Its a good thing, because he's home, but I just wanted you to know that before you judge me.

First of all, I'd like to say to Penny, I I am so very happy for you and your son! I am Chris, the mother who contacted you re: my daughter, Heather. She is on the same crew your son was on. Unfortunately, she is still ot there.

Parents, please, if you warn your children about all the other bad things in life such as drinking, drugs, unprotected sex, and talking to strangers, then you MUST warn them of this too.

This is a very dangerous business, not only for the customers that are being ripped off for their money and identities, but for our children.
My daughter was taken in the middle of the night while sleeping over with a friend. She went willingly at the time. But she has been brain washed by these people.

My daughter just turned 18 in Sept. of 2005, she left in Oct. a month later. Heather is beautiful, bright, intelligent, and a very loving and caring person. She had just graduated from the high school LPN nursing program and was waiting to sit for her boards to become licensed. She was very close to her brother , sister, and myself (mother). Her nursing instructor, her friends, and her entire family were so very proud and sure she would be one of the best nurses from her class.

Heather has been gone now for almost a year. I have spoken to her maybe 4 times. I did not hear from her from Feb. 2006 til just a few nights ago. I recieved a call from a police officer in Montana, due to the fact that I had filed a missing persons report, and he was responding. He had just arrested her for selling mags w/o a permit. This is not her first arrest. She was also arrested in Wisconsin for the same.

I asked to speak with her and she reluctantly came to the phone. This was a person with Heather's voice but not her personality! My heart is breaking because I don't know this person. I feel as if the girl I love and raised has vanished from the earth. I am very afraid she is on drugs and drinking. She was very snotty and acted as though I were bothering her. My sweet little girl would never have treated me this way!

Heather is 5' 10", she had blonde hair (sometimes changes the color) blue eyes, and dimples in both cheeks. I can't say how much she weighs because she stopped to see her aunt in Fla. and I was told she had lost a lot. She has a beautiful face with a nice complexion and pretty teeth when she smiles. If anyone has seen her, please contact me at (((ROR REDACTED E-MAIL ADDRESS AND PHONE NUMBER FOR SECURITY PURPOSES)))

I pray to God to please bring my child back to me safe and unharmed. I hope everyone reading this who has a child never has to suffer the heartbreak and loss I feel. Thank you all for reading my letter.

CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.

First, let me say its wonderful news that your son has come home. In my zeal to respond-I see I called you by the name Tammy. My apologies. This business so indoctrinates the youth it exploits-that many former magcrew members defend this industry even after escaping the clutches of the folks who use them. Google the owners name...or simply search the web r.e. this very old method of stealing across the Americas, and you will note the vastly negative info on this phenomenom. Mr.Devine is no exception-in fact he and his family have been letting young people support them in high fashion for many,many years. They would not know an honest days work if it hit them in the face. I don't need to tell you, Penny...but to other readers-never let these young folks into your home-the mgrs have dangerous kids on the crews. Not all are bad...not by a longshot, but don't take a chance that the young person at your door is someone of serious questionable background. Afterall, L.Devine and the other mgrs in this business have arrest records all over the U.S.,and they have no qualms about hiring others like themselves. Instead...always ask for a permit-and let the authorities know ASAP that they are in the area. We hope to hear that your son is doing ok-let us know.Getabunch.

I recently contacted Penny with info on finding her son. Good news everyone he is already home. Hopefully she will inform us on how it happened. Warn your friends and families not to fall victim.

Ma'am, you have a real reason to be frightened for your son. I worked for a door-to-door sales company for over five years. The best thing that happened to me was the day I finally left.

The idea of travelling all around the country for free sounds great to any young adult. Let me tell you its not free. You bust your butt 6 days a week, rain or shine. You may or may not get off for holidays such as Christmas and Thanksgiving.

It really depends on how much richer the sales agents make the company owners. You work very long hours sometimes even to midnight. Imagine knocking on a complete strangers door at midnight trying to sell your product so that you may receive the little kibbles and bits they give you as "pay".

Most of the pay is very minimal. $5-$20 bucks a day, and that is if you are working for a good boss. I have run into magazine salesmen that are practically starving. They give them PB &J sandwiches for dinner and a pop. Do you think you could live on that?

Luckily the company I worked for was not that bad, or a "renegade" crew is what we called them. Most of the "crews" are infiltrated with drugs, mostly crack cocaine, marijuana, and methamphetamine.

I was sexually harassed by my coworkers and bosses. I even told the company owner about a manager who was harassing me. He replied with " managements got to get some too", could you beleive that? Luckily you have a son in there not a daughter.

Not to scare you, but he is very much trapped where he is. You can file a missing persons report for him. Call the feds if you have to, but get him home. It is very likely that he is very much broke, in need of a good meal, and quite possibly strung out on some sort of drug.

These people are very good at getting straight laced kids on drugs. I have seen it. It is very sad. Thinking about it now upsets me. I lost so many people to drugs when I was working for them.

When I was getting ready to make my big escape, someone told the owner. Now mind you I got married to someone on the crew and also had a child on the road with me, he went to 5 different kindergartens while I was traveling.

The owner yelled at me for wanting to leave. He made all types of promises to try to keep me there. He saw I still wanted to go, so he started to cut my pay. From $250 a week to $100.( I was in the office not on doors) and my husband got about $5 a day and $40 bucks on the weekend.( as a salesman)

So, I started to rip him off. He took me off door-to-door and put me in the office as a cash manager so that he could keep and eye on me. I stared stealing from him cuz he cut my pay down so little it was looking to be impossible for me to leave.

I am not a bad person I just needed out bad. He even went as far as putting my room right next to his at the hotels so he could hear my converstations, and again to keep an eye on me.

The night I finally left he actually stood outside my room till about 2 am. The second he got in his truck and left, so did me and my family. It took me almost 6 months to get out of there.

The reason why I am writing this is that I am aware of the hiring process you observed. I know they don't want phone calls except on Sundays but even then they leave you so broke you can't buy a calling card. Your son is trapped. He may or may not know it. You need to get him out.

Good Luck and God Bless YOU

I have looked in on this site periodically to see if you have heard from your son, or successfully engineered his safe return. My heart goes out to you...and literally countless other parents who lose their young adults to this very dangerous and unrewarding business. By now, he has been fully indoctrinated and does his mgrs bidding without hesitation. As his tenure grows...he and others learn to write business for no other reason than to avoid the mgrs wrath at days end...and hope they will tomorrow...a cycle that repeats until finally he will have had enough and he WILL come home. Its a matter of time right now. Keep the faith and keep us posted-OK? God Bless. Getabunch.

Mike,
The company is owned by Lonnie R. Divine (also Lonnie Raymond Devine), and Brent's last name is Williams. You can look Lonnie up on Google, and you or the mom can call Earlene Williams of Parent Watch at 212.666.3538 if you need additional help. Thanks and I wish you luck.

Tammy unfortunatly Stephen is 100% right. There is a few things keeping your son from calling you or just coming home. The biggest problem he is facing is the constant bombardment of brainwashing from his managers, car handlers and fellow brainwashed peers. As much as you dont want to hear this he is drinking doing drugs and having alot of unprotected sex. That is the harsh reality of day to day life on the road traveling from hotel to hotel city to city saturating it and scamming entire communities.

Then when its "worked" or "hot" meaning people are getting pissed and the "heat" is on and cops are locking up their salespeople, which is very common. By now he considers his peers as his "new" family. Young people that do this job are rebels and are defiant. They love the freedom they get from this job. It makes them feel invincible in a way that is hard to explain unless youve been there which I was for a very regretable 10 years so im speaking from first hand knowledge of the in's and out's of the magazine business like few people you will come accross. Im going to email you in a couple days with hopefully some info that may help.
I wish you only the best of luck in getting you son back were he belongs.
Thanks,
A friend

as you know per above information.. my son is still on the road and is not safely secured at home. i am now very worried i may never see or her form my son ever again. if you scum are reading this note i will not stop till my son is secure i my arms and out of yours! he deserves more than what you are doing to him. let him go.. not one 3 minute phone call is goingt o make me rest till i have my son. you so as hurt as of one hair on his head, god have mercy on your souls i will seek justice no matter what the cercumstance or cost. let him go, let him call.. if he is happy let him tell me, do not cooerce him. if he wants to come home let him you have no right to keep him against will, or blackmale him.


richard, ilove you mommy is going to get you home. XOX

Penny, first, let me tell you that your concerns are well founded. This company, under the direction of its parent owners, have committed many instances of violence and theft against the young people they exploit. The next time you hear from your son, implore him to just walk away-literally-away from the territory his car handler has dropped him... there is nothing in his hotel room worth returning for. The only possesions he is allowed to have are some clothes-easily replaced when he is safe again. If he is fearful of his coworkers, and probably is... encourage him to call the police. Stay on the phone with him if possible until they arrive. The magcrew scum will not go anywhere near a police officer. Do not ask him questions that he cannot answer with a yes or no, because he no doubt is being monitored. Keep it short, tell him you will get him home and to call from a location while on territory where he can talk freely. You must also consider that many kids embrace this itinerate lifestyle after their initial indoctrination-an enthusiasm that ultimately wears off over time as they come to realize the only people profiting from the hours of work they do are the lowlifes sitting on their fata$$es in the hotel rooms. He will not be paid monies owed him after his departure and he will be burdened with a 1099 tax status liability. Let your son know in no uncertain terms... when he is done with this lifestyle, he CAN walk away-thousands have before him. More and more is being done to reform this terrible business-tell everyone you know your story, and perhaps help another unsuspecting youngster. Good luck. Getabunch.

Penny, first, let me tell you that your concerns are well founded. This company, under the direction of its parent owners, have committed many instances of violence and theft against the young people they exploit. The next time you hear from your son, implore him to just walk away-literally-away from the territory his car handler has dropped him... there is nothing in his hotel room worth returning for. The only possesions he is allowed to have are some clothes-easily replaced when he is safe again. If he is fearful of his coworkers, and probably is... encourage him to call the police. Stay on the phone with him if possible until they arrive. The magcrew scum will not go anywhere near a police officer. Do not ask him questions that he cannot answer with a yes or no, because he no doubt is being monitored. Keep it short, tell him you will get him home and to call from a location while on territory where he can talk freely. You must also consider that many kids embrace this itinerate lifestyle after their initial indoctrination-an enthusiasm that ultimately wears off over time as they come to realize the only people profiting from the hours of work they do are the lowlifes sitting on their fata$$es in the hotel rooms. He will not be paid monies owed him after his departure and he will be burdened with a 1099 tax status liability. Let your son know in no uncertain terms... when he is done with this lifestyle, he CAN walk away-thousands have before him. More and more is being done to reform this terrible business-tell everyone you know your story, and perhaps help another unsuspecting youngster. Good luck. Getabunch.

Penny, first, let me tell you that your concerns are well founded. This company, under the direction of its parent owners, have committed many instances of violence and theft against the young people they exploit. The next time you hear from your son, implore him to just walk away-literally-away from the territory his car handler has dropped him... there is nothing in his hotel room worth returning for. The only possesions he is allowed to have are some clothes-easily replaced when he is safe again. If he is fearful of his coworkers, and probably is... encourage him to call the police. Stay on the phone with him if possible until they arrive. The magcrew scum will not go anywhere near a police officer. Do not ask him questions that he cannot answer with a yes or no, because he no doubt is being monitored. Keep it short, tell him you will get him home and to call from a location while on territory where he can talk freely. You must also consider that many kids embrace this itinerate lifestyle after their initial indoctrination-an enthusiasm that ultimately wears off over time as they come to realize the only people profiting from the hours of work they do are the lowlifes sitting on their fata$$es in the hotel rooms. He will not be paid monies owed him after his departure and he will be burdened with a 1099 tax status liability. Let your son know in no uncertain terms... when he is done with this lifestyle, he CAN walk away-thousands have before him. More and more is being done to reform this terrible business-tell everyone you know your story, and perhaps help another unsuspecting youngster. Good luck. Getabunch.

Penny, first, let me tell you that your concerns are well founded. This company, under the direction of its parent owners, have committed many instances of violence and theft against the young people they exploit. The next time you hear from your son, implore him to just walk away-literally-away from the territory his car handler has dropped him... there is nothing in his hotel room worth returning for. The only possesions he is allowed to have are some clothes-easily replaced when he is safe again. If he is fearful of his coworkers, and probably is... encourage him to call the police. Stay on the phone with him if possible until they arrive. The magcrew scum will not go anywhere near a police officer. Do not ask him questions that he cannot answer with a yes or no, because he no doubt is being monitored. Keep it short, tell him you will get him home and to call from a location while on territory where he can talk freely. You must also consider that many kids embrace this itinerate lifestyle after their initial indoctrination-an enthusiasm that ultimately wears off over time as they come to realize the only people profiting from the hours of work they do are the lowlifes sitting on their fata$$es in the hotel rooms. He will not be paid monies owed him after his departure and he will be burdened with a 1099 tax status liability. Let your son know in no uncertain terms... when he is done with this lifestyle, he CAN walk away-thousands have before him. More and more is being done to reform this terrible business-tell everyone you know your story, and perhaps help another unsuspecting youngster. Good luck. Getabunch.

This company not only rips you off, or takes your loved one's, but in fact steals your identity! This company goes around collecting information from customers(YOU'RE MONEY YOU GIVE THEM IS A BONUS!!) with intentions of identity theft, that's what they do and is what they are all about.. getting as much personal information as possible ! Don't become a victim! Yes, what you hear is correct. This is the reason why money is gone from your bank acct. and you do not recieve what you payed for. They go by false names, have false license plates, false credencials, False advertisements with false prices, and false addresses. They are con-artists, who go around making P.O. boxes everywhere, so that unsuspecting customers(victims)will think that they are a local business, with local children from local schools!

Please be aware of who you give your information to! And Elderly beware "you are prime targets of theft!"

As you may already know my son is still missing. (june 1st 2006), i have yet to hear from him or know his whereabouts.

If you or any other mother/ family member is having the same problem with a lost or missing loved one linked to this event or company here are a few #'s / names that the company is run under and where...

-People associated with Am Press/Mags......
>Roberta Cheshire age 69 (owner) miami, Fla
>Robert G Spruiell age 60 glendale, AZ.
>Flo Roos (owner) WPB, Fla
>Renee Rylan WPB, Fla


-Adresses/ other businesses associated with Am Press...
>Premium USA, LTD P.O. box 19059 WPB, Fla 33416(own Am Press)
>Am Press Ass. LLC 1470 NW 10th Ave. ste H1/2 WPB, fla. 33172
>Mags R Us 15820 N. 5th Ave. #6 Pheonix, Az. 85053
>Integrity Sales 15820 N.5th Ave. #6 Pheonix,Az. 85053
>Press On LTD.
>Magazine Network
>Services Unlimited Plus P.O.box 12613 Glendale, Az. 85318
>Integrity Sales P.O. box 10025 Glendale, Az. 85318

-Phone Numbers linked to ass.'s
>(305)599-2670
>(305)629-8604
>(866)776-7828
>(866)667-4346
>(800)536-4704
>(877)249-9075
>(602)978-4704
>(602)978-4700
>(602)439-7353
>(888)293-5840

Has been reported to
BBB of Southeast FL,
2924 N. Australian Ave.
West Palm Beach, Fl 33407
(561)842-1918