When business owner Leslie Richard of eco-clothing store The Oko Box was first contacted by Vision Media Television, the offer of an interview for a documentary about eco fashion they were producing sounded like a great opportunity. VMT’s producer told Leslie that the documentary would air on CNN and PBS and that it would be seen by 84 million viewers worldwide.
Of course, there was a catch: the company demanded $22,900 in production fees and $3,000 airfare to do the program. Leslie told The Mountain Xpress, “I was shocked. I didn’t know what to say. My store doesn’t have that kind of money.”
It wasn’t long before some searching on the internet revealed VMT’s questionable history, with several reports of scams on consumer-report websites like the Ripoff Report. Leslie wrote about what happened on The Oko Box Blog, including several email exchanges with VMT in which they try to rationalize the charges and react indignantly when Leslie tells them she has reported them to the Better Business Bureau. One reads, “You need to call me before spreading wrong information about our company in any way. Vision Media Television’s Legal Department will follow up with you promptly if you do not.”
Unfortunately, when Leslie didn’t remove the blog postings – in the hope that she could help other small businesses that might be similarly targeted – VMT’s legal department did just that. Leslie has been served with a $20 million dollar lawsuit – an amount that a small business like The Oko Box could never pay.
The federal lawsuit, filed in the Southern U.S. District of Florida on July 17th, accuses Leslie of defamation, libel and “tortious interference with business relationship.” Leslie, who lives in Asheville, North Carolina, is trying to figure out how to deal with the lawsuit, hoping she’ll be able to get it transferred to her state and find a lawyer to represent her pro-bono. She has answered the summons and written a motion herself to try to get the lawsuit dismissed or transferred.
The Mountain Xpress has more information about VMT’s false claims, reports of them scamming others and the details of the lawsuit. The New York Times also wrote a piece about VMT on August 15th, “Company Pitches a Television Production, and Nonprofit Groups Are Wary”.
Talk about jerkass haters. We wish Leslie much luck in this – we know that VMT’s claims will be thrown out. They’re ridiculous. Surely, a U.S. court will be able to recognize a scam for what it is. Hopefully, the press that this story has picked up will help ensure that other business owners avoid being scammed out of their own hard-earned money.
Link [The Oko Box] + [Mountain Xpress] + [The New York Times]
Photo credit: Tooth and Jaw
