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Alert---The Hansons are Soliciting Broker Business by Mass
E-Mail To: info@empireleasing.com; dan@e-capitallease.com; droberts@diversifedlenders.com; jim@amtechleasing.com; igreif@1stfinancialleasing.com; jjohnson@commlease.com; kclune@clune.net; info@civiclease.com; martin@cfi-financial.com; mike@cbc-group.com; gerickson@crnleasing.com; tpelatt@cap-dev.com; bsgfin@msn.com; debbie@bfec.com; birchequipment@aol.com; bbk@bbkfinancial.com; bthistle@banknorth.com; acsi@acsitx.com; johns@bridgepoint.com; avon@avonlease.com; stommel@micron.net; efiglioli@arcfin.com; info@amerilease.com; suttonfunding@yahoo.com; jhamilton@alpineleasing.com; cindyw@goodnet.com; darreng@alliancecap.com; alex@rt66.com; info@acleasing.com; rich@bpfcpa.com; info@21stcenturyleasing.com Cc: edlo99@aol.com; dbg@sierratel.com; kgoodman@dimensionfunding.com; trozzini@cypress-financial.com; info@comfunding.com; info@coastfinancial.com; mike@clearviewfinancial.com; gsaulter@chaseindustries.com; daycraiga@cs.com; info@capitalpartnersinc.com; info@cleasing.com; dana@bel-lease.com; ginnyyoung@bravacapital.com; bob@gcs1.com; kkrebs@benficialcapital.com; jallard@bvcl.com; llachance@bankers-capital.com; belt@feist.com; prwarren@bigfoot.com; mark@amaweb.com; lisa@artrentandlease.com; info@ampent.com; ricandersen@sierracities.com; ailco@ailco.com; michael@alliancefinancing.com; fairbridge@mindspring.com; dmonty@afsofca.com; actionbiz@aol.com; ely.tim@accentleasing.com; independentlease@aol.com Subject: New leasing company in San Diego!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry to bother
you, but I need your help and I think I might be able to help you too:) We are a new leasing company in Carlsbad, California and
have over 27 years of experience in the business. The president
of our company is Bill Hanson and we are specializing in the tough
to do deals! We have funded Fair Isaac's as low as 450 and this included
companies that are start-up's! All the transactions have to be 100% collateralized! Example, if a truck driver wants a new $25,000
trailer. He must have $25,000 in collateral (Title vehicles, property,
industrial equipment, etc..) The rate factors that include your points
are as follows 36 months-.053 Funding
takes less than a week! 42 months-.048 Their challenged or lack of credit does get a high rate BUT
it doesn't stop them from getting their equipment and generating cash! We
also have private investors that will fund the bigger and more unique
transactions. We just funded a 2.3 million dollar charter airplane.
Please e-mail, fax, or call me today.
Call 1-888-350-0701 Fax
1-760-804-8849 Wishing you happiness in 2003 :) ----- Leasing News makes no opinion on Alerts, but brings them
to the attention of readers at the request of readers. Bill Hanson is the former vice-president of Commercial Money
Center. This is the address for the series of stories, and more can
be found be doing a search in the archive section: http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/CMC_stories.htm If you are not familiar with the story, here is a re-cap,
from some of the past issues regarding CMC: Commercial Money Center, Escondido, California—Las Vegas,
Nevada 7/19/2002 Inside attorney: “Sad fact is that it looks like they're (The CMC crew) are
going to get away with it which I find most disappointing. I'm sure you're
aware that they have BK'd all of the various companies and are
currently protected by the automatic stay from the court.” Several, in fact, are back in business, including Wayne Pirtle,
“Dr.” Ron Fisher leasing to chiropractors (perhaps with his friend Stan
Daniels and son , formerly of SDI ), and both Bill and Ty Hansen have
Conrad and Associates (Bill, is in fact, Orange County Regional Chairman
for the United Associations of Equipment Leasing). Commercial Money Center Telephone Numbers As Leasing News reported, we were not able to reach anyone
at the CMC corporate office in Las Vegas, Nevada; however, an “anonymous”
reader sent us this: CMC HAS MOVED INTO A LAW OFFICE DOWNTOWN LV 702-382-1714,
MOST BUSINESS IS CONDUCTED THRU EZ AUTO 702-207-4444, TRY CONRAD ASSOCIATES
SAN DIEGO (888) 350- 0701 billh@cnaleasing.com
tyhanson@cnaleasing.com ( “anonymous” means it came via our website “contact “ that
if the person does not give their name, we have no idea who it is from.
editor ) Here is the official address: Commercial Money Center 101 Convention Center Drive, Suite 1225 Las Vegas, Nevada 702-894-9400 Capital Markets Corporation has the same address and telephone number. Commercial Servicing Corporation is also located at this address ( sorry, telephone number
not known ). ---- Leasing News understands that Conrad Associates is not legally
connected with CMC, but there is a relationship as evidenced by this
e-mail from Ty Hanson, son of CMC vice-president and officer Bill Hanson: “I am amazed at all the pot shots, half truths, and assumptions
that are being made at Commercial Money Center. “I don't mind assumptions
or allegations by people, but if you are going to go out on a limb with YOUR
beliefs (NOT FACTS) than at least have the backbone and sign your name.
I was an employee at Commercial Money Center and by no means does that give
me a right to defend or attack the company! “There are maybe three people at Commercial Money Center
that know for sure if their business ethics were flawless. Just like
a personal relationship if you don't know what went on behind closed
doors, then you shouldn't stand in judgment. But, after reading our
processing manager's comments, who wasn't any higher on the corporate
ladder than myself, I figured WHY NOT! I am going to address two allegations. “First, that Ron Fisher was sued for malpractice and doesn't
hold a medical license in Florida. “Two, that Commercial
Money Center is being sued for over 6 million dollars by insurance companies for fraudulent deals.
Ron had a chiropractic practice in Florida with several doctors on
staff. ONE of the doctors was sued for malpractice, which caused the whole
practice to be in the suit. Ron was later dropped out of the suit! The only
reason he doesn't have a medical license in Florida is because he stopped practicing
and moved to California and started a leasing company. “Two, Commercial Money Center is being sued by one of our
surety companies for over six million dollars. But does anybody talk
about the 600 MILLION dollar lawsuit that Commercial Money Center has
against the surety company? I don't know for sure what went on with
the surety companies, Commercial Money Center, or the investors. But,
I do have more facts that most of your readers. “One, Commercial
money Center DID refund over 1.4 million dollars in advance rentals. “Two, Ron made sure all the employees at Commercial Money
Center were paid before he closed the Escondido office. “Three, Ron is in
the process of filing a class action lawsuit for the employees against
the surety companies that refused to honor their bond! “Four, Ron has won
an injunction against a former disgruntled business partner who enjoyed
sending lies and falsehoods to newspapers, banks, lessees, etc.... about
Commercial Money Center without signing his name! “In closing, I don't
know if Commercial Money Center is flawless, but I like to go with patterns and consistencies. Is it an insurance
company that refused to pay when the claims were made on these tough to
do deals, or Ron Fisher, a man that sent over a million dollars in advance
rentals to insurance companies so deals could be funded. “When these deals did not fund, he paid everybody back with
HIS own company bankroll.HMMMMMMMMM Insurance companies that fight and
don't pay claims or Ron Fisher, a man that steps up to the plate and
does the right thing! Until Commercial Money Center's 600 million dollar
lawsuit is settled, I am standing by Ron Fisher. And by the way, unlike
most of your Monday quarterback readers who love to put in their 2 cents.............I
WILL SIGN THIS LETTER! !” Ty Hanson A man with a backbone tyh@cnaleasing.com Commercial Money Center Exposed --- “Ask Joe Bonanno’s Question: “ Are they a member of NAELB?” Joseph Bonanno, Esq.,CLP, is the legal counsel for the National Association of Equipment Leasing Brokers. It is his intention
that if a “funder” is not a member of NAELB, a member should not
do business with them. He states this because the association then has
no recourse in “negotiating” matters. The other day, Leasing News stated he should get a medal.
He responded: “Thank you for your kind words of suggestion that I should
receive a ‘medal.’ “However, realize that the entire process involving CMC was
an NAELB matter. “Neither myself nor the NAELB takes any delight in what occurred
with CMC and apparently you are finding out about even more issues that can potentially
make the overall situation even more unfortunate.” The actual announcement of the expulsion of Commercial Money
Center came from its president, Mike Meacher, on November 19, 2001. “Dear NAELB members: “ The Board of Directors has unanimously voted to expel Commercial
Money Center ( 221 WestCrest Street, #200, Escondido, California ) for
membership in the National Association of Equipment Lease Brokers based
on the filings of a complaint by a member for ethical violations. The action was taken in accordance with the
NAELB ethics procedures. As
always, the NAELB advised that members conduct business with other members
so that the ethics program can benefit our members. “ Sincerely Mike Meacher NAELB President In writing the story, Leasing News asked Mr. Bonanno for
a comment. He stated at the time President Meacher’s statement was sufficient.
We asked him “off the record,” why did NAELB expel Bill Hanson, particularly
since he was a big support of the association, major financial contributor,
a major sponsor, and was very well liked in the leasing business. He said, “ If a company can’t return an advance rental, no
matter what the circumstances are, including an expulsion form NAELB,
then something more is wrong than just this one incident. We have other
complaints, but I can tell you, not returning the advance rental, this is a red flag. They
don’t have the money. Something is really wrong here. We need to notify
our members not to do business with this company.” The Leasing Industry should have listened. It is more than
Commercial Money Center is out of business. There appears to be fraud involved;
many lawsuits, a Federal Bureau of Investigation inquiries, the advance
rentals that were to be returned, may be an illusion, Leasing News knows
many vendors have not been paid, lessee money not returned, unwarranted
liens filed, and there is more. It appears the situation is going to
become even worse for all those involved. American Motorist Insurance Company (Safeco) on March 26,
filed a $6,265,715 against all officers and Capital Markets Corporation
and Commercial Money Center regarding deposits and payments on their
bond. This is perhaps the first of many. Part of this suit includes leases for Kiosks, reportedly
never delivered, never existed, and the vendor who was to build these
allegedly was only paid fifty percent, so he reportedly never completed
nor delivered the Kiosks, but the partnership with some officers of
Capital Markets Corporation testified in leasing contacts they were
“accepted” and payments were being made on the lease. Money for the
payments allegedly came from CMC. One of the signers of this transaction, has gone to the Federal
Bureau of Investigation in Florida, it is reported, to “tell all” with
the hopes of a reduced sentence, very similar to the Enron Auditor plea . Dun and Bradstreet states the company started in 1998. The
chief officer is Wayne Pritle. Amwest Surety Insurance Company, San Clemente, California,
is listed as a secured party on many UCC’s. Leasing News spoke with
them and they told us Commercial Money Center closed their doors “...for
a lot of problems, and we can’t go into them at this time.” We were
told they were able to negotiate insurance for transactions, but due
to all the investigations, did not want to discuss this further. Other officers of this company are Mark Fisher, Tom Matthews,
Brian McMichael, Bill Hanson, Sterling Pirtle, and Ronald A. Fisher. D&B states that “Capital Markets was started in 1997”
and operated as a holding company ( Commercial Money Center.). The Nevada Charter
shows officers as Wayne Pirtle and Ronald A. Fisher. “On January 16, 2001, Dun & Bradstreet records show that
Ronald A. Fisher is listed as an officer in Ronald A. Fisher, DUNS #92-675-9457,
which filed a voluntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy on May 10,1996. Ronald Fisher is also listed as an
officer of Care-Med Centers, Inc. Pompano Beach, Fl. Duns #18-296-5591,
which was reported to have discontinued operations in 1991 leaving unpaid
debts. A highly reliable source informs Leasing News that Fisher
was a Chiropractor, who lost his license due to Medicare and other “malfeasance.”
Leasing News could not find an active license in Florida or California
for Ronald Fisher, although it is know he prefers to be called Dr. Ronald Fisher. On January 18, 2001, Dun & Bradstreet records show “...Sterling
Pirtle is listed as an officer in North Bay Mortgage, Ltd., Englewood,
CO. DUNS #80-475-6427, which filed a voluntary Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
on February 13,1995. On January 18, 2001, Dun & Bradstreet “records show that
Mark Fisher is listed as an officer in CMC Lease In., Escondido, CA,
DUNS #17-409-7709, which was also laced on higher-risk status. On January 12, 2001, Andrew J. Alderete, the CPA for both
Capital Markets Corporation and Commercial Money Center, indicated that
he prepares an audited, combined financial statement for those two companies....on
January 12,2001, a check with the New Mexico Public Accountancy Board
revealed Andrew J. Alderete is being investigated for “audit competency” specific details regarding the investigation
were not available. Dun & Bradstreet states Commercial Money Center, Inc.
(subsidiary of Capital Markets Corporation, Las Vegas, Nevada” started
1997. According to the many Uniform Commercial Credit filings, the assigned are Midam
Bank, Toledo, Ohio, Privident Bank, Cleveland, Ohio, Huntington National Bank,
Cleveland, Ohio, Second National Bank of Warren, Solon, Ohio. No major
banks seem to have been involved. The relationship of the banks is being
investigated. The officers of both corporations are the same. Ronald Fisher
is not the president. states: “Welcome to Commercial Money Center Inc. Whether you are
a broker, vendor, business professional (attorney, accountant, or other
professional), business owner or manager with tough credit issues and
looking for equipment leasing solutions...the Commercial Money Center
is the place to be.” Their website proclaims: “We are full service leasing company specializing in doing
the tough credit transaction...discharged bankruptcies, paid tax liens/judgments
and slow pays within policy are components of our leasing products.
We have expanded our scope to include a limited tax lien and judgment
payoff sale & leaseback product that could have many useful applications
for businesses working earnestly to solve their credit issues. “We ask that you take a moment and sign-on with us to learn
more about the Commercial Money Center and the benefits of our leasing
programs for your business and for your client's business. “Application Only Lease “This product is designed for quickly processing transactions
$75,000 and under that have certain credit barriers that are acceptable
to the Commercial Money Center, Inc. Personal credit reports and guarantees
are required for all shareholders/principals of each lessee. Co-signers
who are not owners and not involved with the lessee business will not
be considered in our credit decision. Spouses are required to co-sign
in the following states: Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California,
Washington, Idaho, Nevada, and Wisconsin. “The Commercial Money Center Inc. utilize the following scoring
elements in our credit decision process:* Fair Isaac Score as low as 500 Revolving Availability Current Account Status Real Estate Ownership Time in Business - minimum 12 calendar months Average bank balance equal to 2 times lease payment over
the last 6 months Gross sales & Net Income Dun & Bradstreet Score Bankruptcies are deducted Tax Liens are deducted (See our Tax-lien payoff product) Civil Judgments are deducted Package Requirements: Transactions equal to $10,000 to $75,000 Lease Application completed with gross and net income Last 6 months of bank statements Equipment description, Cost, Vendor name & Address &
Phone & Contact Letter of explanation for any account shown as currently
past due on credit reports Sale-Lease backs must have letter of explanation indicating
use of proceeds Commercial Money Center hired Dennis Doyon, formerly of Colonial
Pacific Leasing, to solicit business. Doyon previously worked for
Total Funding, a dot.com super broker looking to have brokers submit vendor business
and direct business through their internet connection. Leading the fray was Bill Hanson, who learned the leasing
business while working for Ron Wagner, who went out on his own . Hanson
is now self-employed as a leasing broker, as reported earlier by Leasing News. January 10, 2002, Bill Hanson, Vice-President and Director
of Marketing states the company will return all “Advance Rentals.” There
are stipulations. In the “Meet the Leasing News Maker,” he states: “Is CMC currently not funding transactions and effectively
out of business until surety issues are resolved? “ [Bill Hanson ANSWERS] “Out of business is a strong word, we are far from out of
business we are still accepting applications and intend on processing
them and funding them We are returning everyone's advance rentals “ >> INTERVIEW [SUBMITTED QUESTION] “ So you are still accepting applications? “ [Bill Hanson ANSWERS] “YES, please support us and we will support the brokers.” “ Everyone talks about CMC being the last resort, what does
the credit look like and roughly what would be the rate “ [Bill Hanson ANSWERS] “500 fair isaac..closed BK....several NSF's..... released
tax liens and judgments.........we have a rate factor ...like renting
an apartment .03630 for 64 months… we only have 64 months...we are trying
to get our shorter leases back “ “It takes 5 to 6 weeks because we sell the transactions off
in pools of 5 to 10 million and this is after all documents are correct
“ : “What about all the vendors who have delivered equipment
6 months ago? “ [Bill Hanson ANSWERS] “Good question, we have not given up on being able to fund
these transactions and we feel most vendors will be paid We are refunding
the lessees advance rentals, but still trying to move forward and fund
them as soon as possible” ] “Approximately how many advance rentals will you be returning?
“ [Bill Hanson ANSWERS] “All of them “ [SUBMITTED QUESTION] “Will you fax copy of lessee letter to broker? “ [Bill Hanson ANSWERS] “We are working on a letter for the broker and the vendor!
We want to keep everybody working together! That's what America's all
about “ “Since I was late.............is there even a "realistic"
time frame for the deals that have been in the funding process for several
months? “ [Bill Hanson ANSWERS] “To fund? 30-60 days...to get their money back? 2 to 10 days
“ >> INTERVIEW [SUBMITTED QUESTION] “: Do you have any suggestions as to where to place some
of these deals? “ [Bill Hanson ANSWERS] “Contact me and I will be more than happy in trying to help...1-800-856-0907
“ >> INTERVIEW “What are the odds of you being able to straighten everything
out??? “ [Bill Hanson ANSWERS] “Excellent “ --- Commercial Money Center---It Gets Worse $19.2 Million Fraudulent
Leases? out of $250 Million Portfolio or is it higher,
as others are now coming forth? Here are reader’s comments to Leasing News: Please do not use my name. Other employees may guess who
I might be as I was involved in ( upper management). I do know that
the fraudulent leases were bonded by ACE (under Illinois Union Insurance
Co.), RLI and American Motorists as these were the last 3 companies
who wrote bonds for CMC. I am concerned in looking for employment that the onus of
working for CMC will be working against me. How do I tell a prospective
employer that I was not guilty of any wrong doing? I fully expect that all of the sureties will file suits if
they have not yet done so. Knowing what I do about D&B's public
records database, I'm not surprised that they are not all showing up
as yet (D&B Public Records can be slow). If you have access
to Lexis/Nexis, you might get a better list of complaints. Accusearch through Data Filing Service/UCC Direct
might give you more information but can be costly. I'm sure you know
all of that, but I thought I'd throw it in. Because special purpose
companies were often formed for bulk sales, a UCC search might not return
accurate data. Any San Clemente addresses showing would most likely
be the offices of Anthony and Morgan Surety and Insurance Services,
the broker who sold the bonds to CMC. The actual bonding process was a simple one, the bonds themselves
are something of a web. In certain cases, bonds were 'wrapped' when
one company purchased the bond from the original seller. Any changes
to the bonds were at the request of either the issuer of the bond or
the bank to whom the leases were sold. The cause for any changes were
due to various reasons including simple mergers and, in certain cases,
declining ratings on existing bonds. To my knowledge the list of bonding
companies includes: Royal Indemnity Amwest Surety Frontier Insurance Co. RLI Insurance Co. Safeco ACE America Insurance (ACE wrapped the Frontier, Royal and
other bonds) American Motorists Insurance Illinois Union Insurance Co. (A wholly owned subsidiary of
ACE) Kemper (these bonds were purchased in the mid summer of last
year but were returned as Kemper's bond rating dropped after 9/11/01
due to the fact that they had insured parts of the World Trade Center. This is noteworthy as this event is THE ONLY impact that
9/11 had on CMC although they continued to publicize that event as having
caused severe damage to CMC. That has always made me a little sick,
quite frankly, but I had no control over this. It did bother me ******** tried to use such a tragedy to their advantage. Kemper
is not responsible for any CMC leases) Chubb Group of Insurance Companies, in the final days, was
negotiating with CMC to wrap the entire portfolio with new bonds and
relieve the obligation of the original sureties. Once this was done,
the entire portfolio was to be refinanced by Citibank and Chase Manhattan
as a joint venture apart from any routine purchases. Once the lawsuits
started coming down, however, all parties pulled out. There may have been a few other smaller bonding companies,
but the names escape me. Most of those bonds were later wrapped though.
The list above is an accurate list of the big players though. I am sure Safeco and their subsidiaries are especially aggravated
as they were promised but never received relief on the bonds written
on leases for Shandoro Ventures, a gigantic CMC disaster along with
Kapco and Med-Quik. ACE, of course, will be the biggest suit as they hold the
most bonds. ACE is not without blame, however, they did not investigate
what they were bonding and were unfortunately duped as a result. I would like to help out, but it is not the legality that
I am fearful of, but the fact that I worked for such a company. Please withhold
my name. ------------- I noticed that you mentioned "no major banks seem to
be involved" in the CMC story. This is not correct: Citibank is in for
$50 Million and Netbank is in for more than that amount. By the way, the Citibank deals were sold under a special
purpose company formed solely to sell leases to Citibank. This was agreed
upon by both entities as a matter of risk management. The name of that
company was CMC Lease Funding 2000-220 L.P. You may quote me. I have been sitting on some information
since the middle of last summer involving what I believed to be wrongdoing
by the executive management of CMC. I was not, however, 100% certain
that wrong had been committed until you reported today (Friday) that
one of the signers on the bogus deals had come forward. I was the Processing
Manager for CMC. This story is going to get much bigger, I can assure you.
Much, if not all, of the information you have been given regarding the
collapse has been either inaccurate or misrepresented with the exception
of information you reported today ( Friday’s Leasing News. ) Dean Ambrosini dean11681@cox.net (It takes a lot of courage to write what you have. You are
being considerate of your industry, plus trying to up-hold business ethics.
I think once the lawsuit is noticed, other may follow, and defaults in payment
will reveal what was “real” and what was not. Leasing News will
also print information without attribution when we can confirm it, or
know or learn about the source. It has more credence when signed,
like Dean Ambrosini. editor) --------- The actual figures on the fraudulent leases I am concerned
with total $19.22 million (confirmed figure) and were sold to various
banks using bogus companies for lessees. CMC's entire portfolio was
in excess of $250 million in receivable accounts, most of which were
misrepresented through falsified records to the respective investors (banks) and sureties.
To my knowledge, that entire portfolio is now considered
in default by the investors and sureties. Your Ponzi reference is, in fact, correct. CMC was using
their own funds to cover up the default in the portfolio. I was aware
of this, as were others at my level, and we were told that it was necessary
to do this in order to continue to be considered credit-worthy for future
bond purchases. The actual leader
in the lawsuits, however, was not Safeco but ACE American Insurance
Company, which wrote bonds for CMC. ACE, having 'wrapped' or purchased
bonds from other sureties in addition to having written their own, was
the insurer of the bulk of CMC's portfolio (I recall this figure to
be approximately $140 million). It is my understanding
that ACE filed a motion seeking relief from their obligation to CMC
in Federal Court this past summer (late June 2001) and filed a subsequent
lawsuit shortly thereafter having lost that round. I believe that all
of the sureties have filed similar suits. < |