15 February 2010

Giving to one in need - on a more personal level

We are a very compassionate and giving people. You can see that by the outpouring of donations and relief awareness in many cases: Thailand in the days and weeks following the tsunami, and most recently, Haiti and its devastating earthquake. But how often do we raise awareness as aggressively when one of our own are in trouble. I do not intend to downplay the devastation of the earthquake, but such a destructive force cannot be predicted, let alone prevented. Allow me a moment to elaborate...

In the past few months, I have become fairly active on Twitter. During the course of my tweets (some humorous, some thought provoking, others simply random babbling), I have established quite a few acquaintances. One such person is whom this blog is pertaining to. Her name is Leigh. I've never met her in person, but we have exchanged a few thoughts, quotes, and casual conversation in the past 3 months. Until one day, I read one of her tweets and something seemed out of the ordinary. Perhaps it's a gift, or just the ability of knowing how to "read" people (which comes from my Marine Corps training), but she didn't sound like herself. After some open timeline tweets (and a few DM's), she finally opened up and told me a little of her plight.

However, there is no way to do her story justice unless I let her speak for herself. What is to follow is the email she sent me describing, in detail, what she is going through:

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I started working for Aranar Glass Tech, LLC and Jeffrey Hilton Diamond of 3474 South Ocean Boulevard # 10,  Palm Beach, FL 10/5/2005.  He invented Targon which was purchased by Smith-Klien Beecham, and from which he got a significant payouts.

In 2006 Jeff decided that he no longer had to pay payroll taxes, and while he withheld the funds out of my check he never sent the funds to the IRS. I eventually turned him in to the IRS as my attorney advised me that I could be held accountable as I did his books (among other things).

In May 2007, I was in a car accident while traveling back from a trade show I had to attend for work. I was rear ended by a semi. The following month I was in another accident - Someone drove into my car while I was stopped at a stop sign. I have been in several (all told 20 car accidents in 17 years) and have been deemed "handicapped" by the powers that be. The only reason I mention this is that when I tried to apply for Medicade and food stamps, I was told I was not eligible. Why? because I was on unemployment. To me I would rather help support someone who really WANTS to work rather than the bums who abuse the system. I have CFS, ME, RSD, Fibromyalgia, CTS, nerve damage in both legs and arms, and brain stem lesions - The later was diagnosed after I was in the May 2007 accident (needless to say my former employer did not even offer to pay the deductible from my insurance - I had only gone there because we needed to use my vehicle to haul materials for the show. He couldn't use his Lexus). I also have a lump in my breast that when Jeff found out about he canceled my health insurance. ( I don't let the diagnoses control me though. I even have started running and while I may never be first - every time I make it to the end is a victory for me. I will not allow what I can't do stop me from doing as much as I can do. Life is too important for that).


I did everything at the company from admin, to graphic and web design to sales to accounting, etc. The first check bounced the end of May 2009. All subsequent checks issues (14 in total) bounced - The last 6 were issued on one day as replacement checks and they all bounced due to him having closed the account - Something I was unaware of. I attempted to file a police report as last thing I heard writing bad checks was a felony. The officer who came to take my complaint told me that it was not a felony and refused to press charges. Gotta love the West Palm Beach Police Department. I called the State attorney's office - the woman I spoke to said that since I had waited to send the checks to the bank. ( I have a credit union that I have used since 1994 however they are located about 2 hours away - Because my account was in good standing, They did not charge me if someone bounced checks to me, so since I really couldn't afford to pay NSF fees ( I mailed them to my credit union as opposed to using a shared service center that was local and risk the fees - I was gotten once already on the fees) I mailed the checks from a friends business the following Monday after receiving them. The State atty'soffice said that because I did not mail them on Friday, I held the checks and that I knew they were bad. I was assured by Jeff that they were going to clear. I did not know that they were going to bounce. For 2 more months I continued to work for AGT - I was promised checks each week. I was also looking for a job at the same time. I also am owed 6 weeks vacation time as during the 4 years I was at AGT I was only allowed to go on vacation once. We closed the office, and had phones, etc transferred to my home - In doing so I canceled my home phone and DSL as the company had a contract and would have huge cancellation fees if we didn't relocate the lines. On 9/15 Bell South disconnected my phone and DSL for non-payment. I called to get the service re-instated in my name and they refused as the address was now associated with a 2500 dollar past due bill. I finally got through to a supervisor, and because I was listed as a contact on the bill, I was able to authorize a cancellation of the contract (11 months early on 09/25/09) and they released the lines. I was then able to get a phone at my home again - something I do not like to be without as I am alone, I have no family in the area and tend to fall sometimes.

I am on unemployment getting 1000 a month from that - I am short about 1400 a month each and every month. My savings has been depleted. I retained an attorney to go after the checks, but apparently from what I saw on line in the Palm Beach County Clerksrecords, Jeff is now going after me for attorneys fees, which means that I have lost my case. I have a Bachelors in Theatre Management, Masters in Law and my Doctorate is in Business Administration / Marketing. I also am certified as a Specialist in Emergency Management Planning and am Haz-Mat certified (The latter two certifications were part of my previous job. - He invented a spray on Storm Shutter and I needed the qualifications to talk about it).

I don't get how when people honestly want to work, we don't help them but if I sat around and had a dozen or so kids, they would give me money hand over fist. I really just need a job - I am not the type of person who wants to live on Welfare. I really hate this.

If you have questions, please ask - Thank you so much for trying to help - and I know that something will come around I have just never been out of work this long and never had to support a house before. The funds that I have lived off of was settlement money from my car accident that was supposed to be there in case I deteriorated and needed special accommodations - Quite honestly my neurologist is amazed I am still able to walk.

I just received my yearly statement from Social Security. Jeff Diamond, because he embezzled the money that I was deducted from my pay each and every week, and did not pay it to the government, they are showing that I had no income in 2008 or 2009. I have yet to receive a W2 for last year as well. He has not prepared them and from what I can tell has no interest in doing so as he believes I should write him a check for the tax amount despite the fact I have already paid my share.

Today I found out that Jeff is planning on having his attorney keep filing nuisance motions until I am completely bankrupt and he does not have to pay me the wages I earned. To me this speaks volumes about his lack of character and morals. I have nowhere else to turn as I am very close to losing my home and everything I spent my life working for.

I need help.

Kindest Regards,

Leigh



I have been posting the following about Jeff on the internet. If you want to include a picture of him you can find one at :

Scam Artist
Jeffrey H Diamond, president of Aranar
is a scam artist. He has a history of running up bills and not paying
them. He has held money from several employees - Forcing them to call
repeatedly and then lying about sending payment. I am a firm believer
in karma and would hate to have anything to do with him when karma
strikes because you are going to be burned in the process. Apparently
running scams runs in his family - his father Robert Diamond is also an
unethical business man. Friends parents were ripped off when he sold a
piece from Marilyn Monroe's estate as Sapphires and Diamonds. It turned
out to be paste and the ELDERLY couple that bought it had to sue as Bob
would only accept an appraisal from his "associate" as the truth when
this elderly couple had 3 showing it was fake. They should put him in a
cell next to Bernie Madoff.

AVOID THIS COMPANY & Jeffrey H Diamond at all costs! 

ARANAR GLASS TECH,
LLC is an unethical business run by a scumbag. Jeffrey Diamond of Palm
Beach, FL owes former employees in excess of $45000 in back wages and
legal fees. He owes the IRS a significant amount as well due to
embezzling funds paid by employees for payroll taxes. If you are
considering doing business with this man or any of his alleged
companies - he changes company names as the lawsuits and financial
obligations grow - DON'T! Check public records - You will see the scammer
this man truly is.
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As I mentioned at the beginning, we are a compassionate & giving people. We cannot control the weather conditions, nor can we stop the devastation certain weather conditions can bring. What we CAN control is our compassion to one another, our ability to help others in a time of need, and a better quality of life to other when they truly seek a hand UP and not a hand OUT. 

Some may ask why Leigh fell for this scam. Think about this: we all want to believe there is goodness to be found everywhere. As children, we are all naíve and innocent, but as we get older (and more mature), we get more jaded, and, in most cases, the naíveté fades. As we age, we become wiser... yet senior citizens are more commonly duped. If the wiser can be so easily conned, how much easier game are we?
 
All I ask is for all of us to pull together to help someone that would be VERY thankful and appreciative. Someone that I believe would also "pay it forward".

Voice out!

Sent from my iPhone

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