Bank of America Ripping off Black Calif. Churches in Free Kiosk Scheme
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http://www.bankofamerica.com/foundation/index.cfm?template=contact_us
09:51 PM PST on Friday, November 20, 2009
By PAUL LAROCCO
The Press-Enterprise
Quoting scripture and offering a no-risk way to boost revenue,
representatives of Television Broadcasting Online won the trust of Inland
churches.
African-American congregations in Moreno Valley, Riverside, Perris, San
Bernardino and Murrieta signed leases for the company's signature equipment:
a "free" touch-screen kiosk, encased in a lectern-sized wood cabinet, that
flashed advertising and announcements and printed coupons.
Then they learned the system was little more than an outdated computer and
printer in a box. And it was anything but free.
Within months, checks promised by Television Broadcasting Online to cover
the cost of the kiosks -- which were being leased from other companies --
would stop coming. Then the churches would find themselves fighting off
aggressive leasing companies demanding as much as $50,000, the state
attorney general alleged Friday.
Many churches, including the A.K. Quinn AME Church in Moreno Valley, were
sued and learned that unauthorized attempts had been made to withdraw
payments from their accounts.
"If it's too good to be true, it's no good," said the Rev. Ronald Woods, of
the Moreno Valley church.
Standing nearby Friday at a news conference at a Los Angeles church was
California Attorney General Jerry Brown, who said he has opened an
investigation of TBO and its subsidiary Urban Interfaith Network, both of
Maryland, that could lead to civil action.
At least 30 Southern California churches and dozens more across 10 states
were victims, Brown said.
Last month, TBO's two leaders, Michael Morris, 29, and Willie Perkins Jr.,
54, both of Maryland, were charged in Michigan with racketeering, conspiracy
and fraud. It wasn't clear whether they are in custody.
Brown said a couple known as Tonya and Wayne Wilson sold kiosks in Southern
California. The attorney general's office had no further information about
the Wilsons, and wasn't sure those are their real names.
"What we have here is a typical rip-off," Brown said as he stood next to one
of the wooden kiosks in Bryant Temple AME Church.
PROMISES MADE
Flanked by pastors from around the region, Brown laid out how the alleged
scam was typically carried out.
Company representatives, often presenting themselves as religious believers,
would sell the kiosks as an interactive way to advertise local businesses to
church members, who also could read church announcements and print coupons.
A wireless Internet connection would constantly feed the machine new
material.
TBO promised that the kiosks wouldn't cost the churches a penny. TBO would
send checks to cover the cost to lease the kiosks. Those checks would come
from advertising revenue, TBO said. Eventually the churches were supposed to
make money.
"The promise was that as more churches became involved and they attracted
more sponsors, we would see more revenue," said the Rev. Clyde Oden Jr.,
pastor of Bryant Temple AME. "But there was never money from advertisers."
Eric Jones, an attorney who has represented several of the churches sued for
lease payments, called it a Ponzi scheme.
Brown said that once checks stopped coming from TBO, leasing companies would
attempt to collect.
By then, the kiosks often had become little more than furniture. They never
generated new content -- and for Woods' church, they never worked at all.
One on display Friday showed an error message on a blue screen the entire
time it was plugged in.
SUITS, COUNTERSUITS
Wisconsin-based United Leasing Associates of America sued A.K. Quinn AME for
the $46,000 cost of the church's two kiosks. The church obtained a pro bono
lawyer, countersued and eventually settled.
But others didn't fare as well. Allen Chapel AME in Riverside and Ecclesia
Christian Fellowship and New Hope Missionary Baptist Church in San
Bernardino continue to incur legal fees as they fight lawsuits from another
leasing company, Banc of America Leasing and Capital LLC.
Other churches, many of them cash-strapped and dependent on donations, paid
$20,000 or more before realizing they might have legal recourse.
New Hope trustee Richard Nevins said his congregation was lured into the
deal by a promoter with ministry ties.
"That's the worst part of the violation. These were not total strangers.
These were friends in the ministry," he said. "Everyone is angry. We're all
disappointed."
The church has countersued Banc of America Leasing and Capital for at least
$80,000 for its two lease agreements.
KIOSK COMPANIES' ROLE
Brown said his investigation will review the relationship between TBO and
the leasing companies seeking payment for the kiosks.
An attorney representing United Leasing Associates in suits against churches
in other states said the company has no relationship with TBO and no
knowledge of what it did.
Regardless, churches such as Woods' are left with mostly non-functional
kiosks as a constant reminder of a deal that cost them greatly.
Woods said he has learned a lesson about reading the fine print in
contracts.
"The big letters give and the small letters take away," he said.
Staff writer Leslie Parrilla contributed to this report.
Reach Paul LaRocco at 951-368-9468 or plar...@PE.com