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| Stephen Lapaul Williams Steve Williams Fraud / Ponzi Scheme Dallas, Texas |
| 19th of Jul, 2012 by User566191 |
I am submitting this report in the hopes to accomplish 3 things. 1: hopefully to attract the attention of media or law enforcement that will investigate these criminals; 2: to inform and keep others from becoming victims of Stephen Williams; 3: To find other victims of Stephen Williams and his associates so that we can, as a group, get him off the streets.
Too many people give up trying to find justice. You go from law enforcement agency to the next, to state entities and the media, only in the end to be referred to the civil courts, which these criminals could care less about. The road to finding justice is a lonely one. Over time you begin to lose credibility and hope because the entities put in place to protect it's citizens are indifferent and do not investigate. It is next to impossible to have a white collar crime investigated. People give up. That's what these criminals count on and why they flourish.
The individuals related to my fraud are:
Stephen Lapaul Williams
Miroslaw (Mike) Lakomski
William Lawrence Groth IV
John V. (Jay) Savage
Dana Savage
Gary F. Adornato
Brian T. Bernardy
Darius Johnson
Justin B. Phillips
Alfred Alvarado
My statement is below. It's rather lengthy but detailed. If any of you have been victimized by Stephen Williams and his associates, post to this webpage. As a group, the judicial system cannot ignore us. As individuals, they could care less.
STATEMENT
My name is Billy R, and this letter is being submitted by myself, Shane Howard, Dr. Richard Benavides, and Cheri Reed in reference to a scam that has been perpetrated against us. We are hoping that someone in the media community can help us get this issue resolved.
This case was under investigation by the Dallas District Attorney's office for a little over a year. We originally submitted the formal complaint in November 2009. On October 13, 2010, Shane Howard requested status on our case from the prosecutor for the Specialized Crimes Division, Donna Strittmatter.
Donna advised that since the investigation is under "grand jury investigation", she cannot supply us with any information. She cited us Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 20.02, stating that "the proceedings of the Grand Jury shall be secret." Art. 20.02 (h) states that: "A subpoena or summons relating to a grand jury proceeding or investigation must be kept secret to the extent and for as long as necessary to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of a matter before grand jury." We can supply the emails involved.
We did not pursue questioning the Dallas DA any further. Until, in January 2011 we discovered critical information, that to us, shows that nothing had been done with our case, or it had been obstructed.
Let me begin with the timeline of all that occurred.
On February 4, 2009, myself and a personal friend, Carlos Garcia, were looking for a locale in the metroplex to open a business. He advised that he had an acquaintance, Alfred Alvarado, who owns Alvarado's Contracting, 785 Justin Road, Rockwall, TX, was working on a project at 3005 Routh St, Dallas, Tx. This project was an upscale nightclub in uptown. Carlos called Alvarado and advised we were on our way.
Upon our arrival, I met Alfred Alvarado and Stephen Williams. Stephen Williams is the registered agent for 6+1 Investments, LCC (brief info on 6+1 is below):
"Incorporated by Dana Savage, Darius L Johnsen, John Vincent Savage, Justin B Phillips, Lawrence Groth, Miroslaw Lakomski, Stephen Lapaul Williams, 6 1 Investments, LLC is located at 13330 Noel Rd Apt 426 Dallas, TX 75240. 6 1 Investments, LLC was incorporated on Wednesday, June 11, 2008 in the State of TX and is currently active. Tarah M Phillips represents 6 1 Investments, LLC as their registered agent." Note that Dana Savage is the one who brought in Cheri Reed in Industry Bar interests for $70,000, of which is explained in the paragraphs below.
Stephen Williams (Steve) provided me a business plan, explained the concept and gave me a tour of the facilities that were being renovated. He initially asked for a $100,000 investment, but when I advised that what I had to invest was my retirement pension, he advised me it would be better then to just go $50,000 if I decided to join as an investor. I told him I would take a week to think about it. The following week, on February 11, 2009, I met with Steve and provided him a cashier's check for $50,000. We signed an Initial Investment, Partnership and Operating Agreement which was witnessed and signed by my friend, Carlos Garcia, and Miroslaw Lakomski (Mike) , member of 6+1 Investments.
Less than a week later, I was approached by Steve, asking if I could provide the additional $50,000. I asked him if this would finish the project and he said yes, but it would be in the form of a promissory note. On February 18, 2009, I provided Steve an additional cashier's check for $50,000. And we executed the promissory note.
In March 2009, Steve Williams appeared worried. I asked him what was wrong. He advised that an investor had dropped out. I asked if the investor received his money back. He acknowledge yes. (Long after the group's breakup, I discovered that the "investor" who dropped out was Lawrence Groth, the CFO for our project (2ONE4). Around this time period in 2009, Steve asked if I could assist in reopening Industry Bar (a bar he owned, but was closed due to liquor license issues) with a loan of $6,000 to be paid back with interest (total $10,000) within two weeks. I provided him $6,000 cash the same day. (...yea, stupid, but if you have ever met Steve, he's a smooth talker.)
During the time period between February 18 and April 2009, I was experiencing more frustration as Steve never had a full crew working on renovations. In April 2009, all construction stopped, and Steve, Mike would not return our calls.
These individuals, Steve Williams and Mike Lakomski, were part owners of Industry Bar, 5427 Beltline Road, Addison, Texas, now called Hub Sports Bar and Grill. Knowing that they owned this bar, my friend, Carlos Garcia, and I decided to go and see if we could find these guys. But they were never there, or the bartenders would tell us they just left.
On one occasion approximately the 3rd week in April 2009, we went to Industry Bar, and were greeted by Mike Lakomski advising us he was going to introduce us to the person who was going to "fix everything". (We also learned that Alfred Alvarado, who was not only Steve's contractor, but also a partner in the project, had been arrested by the DEA in a drug sting on April 9, 2009 and was under US Marshall's hold. I had commented to Shane, "you think they used our money in this drug buy?) (update…Alfred Alvarado has since been released from prison and still maintains contact with his criminal friends via Facebook. Not sure if he’s living in California or still in Texas.) We were then introduced to Gary Adornato, who was supposed to be a former Wall Street executive, and had opened many other clubs in the United States. He gathered all the investors for this meeting, myself, Shane Howard, Dr. Richard Benavides, and Sandy Pofahl (Google Sandy's name for a nice little surprise).
The investments made to this project breakdown as such:
Billy R - $100,000, plus $6,000 loan to Steve Williams
Shane Howard - $150,000
Richard Benavides - $100,000
Sandy Pofahl - $50,000 (50% to our project, 50% to Industry Bar interests)
Cheri Reed - $70,000 (from a previous investment scam associated with Industry Bar, we would not meet Cheri until almost a year later. She had briefly been mentioned by Steve’s group at this time as being a real “bitch” and “crazy”. We had no idea she was filing a lawsuit against them)
This was the first time all shareholders had met. Gary Adornato advised that he was there to help getting the club going, but that he would have to be in charge and would go over details in another meeting. I brought up the fact that we needed to know what happened to our money. That Steve would not disclose receipts, or any type of documents as to what happened to the money. Gary Adornato admitted that we had the option of sueing or filing criminal charges against Steve Williams, Lawrence Groth and 6 + 1 Investments and that somebody PROBABLY would go to jail. That yes, there are holes in the records, but that that would NOT open the club for us. That he could do that for us. At that time, I decided to listen to Gary. Face it, I was scared of losing my $100,000 investment even though I was pissed at Steve. BTW, Steve, during this meeting, was working behind the bar at Industry Bar (that's where we had our meeting). He has absolutely NO shame. We were also advised by Gary that we would not be dealing with nor talking with Steve Williams or his friends, only with him. That the issue of “what happened to the money” would only impede opening the club.
Gary, supposedly, hired William Hidell (Kyle Hidell’s father) to draw up some blue prints for the renovations. Also, he brought in his friend, Peter Jesup, for design of the club. We had a few meetings but nothing was ever done with the building, and then, the issue of paying rent came up and the investors had to "pony up" the rent payment to the landlord (John Houston). It seemed like something out of a movie, in a rush gathering cash, meeting Gary and Peter Jesup in his convertible at the airport to give him the money. Even going to John Houston’s house and dropping the money in his mail box slot (Gary would meet me there). Just felt so freakin wrong. Honestly, I don’t even know if John Houston (probably Huston) is even his real name. I did make most, except one I believe, payments using bank checks, others gave cash the whole time.
Still nothing was done with the club. Gary had also restructured the investorship of the project. Besides having myself, Shane, Dr. Benavides, and Sandy Pofahl, he added two from the Industry Bar side of the house, Kyle Hidell, who at one time had a standing lawsuit against Steve because of investment issues with Steve and Industry Bar, and Dana Savage (he later removed her, and replaced her with Mike Lakomski). Neither of these two individuals had invested in the 2One4 project, but were placed within our group by Gary Adornato. As he put it, so they could recoup their monies also. From what I understgand, Mike Lakomski almost lost his house because he was coaxed by Lawrence Groth to put his house up as collateral on a loan, and then they defaulted on it. Mike was in jeopardy of losing his house. He was always at Industry Bar, even in the early morning. I thought he was just a hard worker, but it turned out he was sleeping there. It was mentioned to me his wife had kicked him out of the house because of the trouble he was in. Long, long after the partnership breakup, I also learned that she “hates” Steven Williams because of these types of activities he involved Mike Lakomski in.
On May 13, 2009, I received an email with an attachment on my phone from Sandy Pofahl. This email contained an Agreement that we had to sign in order for Gary Adornato to continue with the project. I read the Agreement and immediately called Shane (with whom I had become friends with). The Agreement stated that Gary Adornato would not be responsible, but would be in total charge of the project. That all decisions were to be made by him alone in regards to the project. The Investors would have no input. Paragraph 5 of the Agreement clearly showed to me what Gary Adornato’s agenda was in this whole matter. Paragraph 5 states, “Each investor signatory by this Agreement releases and discharges all entities and individuals associated with 2One4 project, along with their respective agents and principals, from any claim or cause of action, whether known or unknown by each, any or all of them, whether now existing or hereafter claimed to exist or to have existed on account of or related to 2One4, its plans, construction or the termination of its lease. This release specifically includes, but is not limited to, Gary Adornato, Stephen Williams, John V. Savage, Jr., any and all other investors and entities and the landlord, but excludes Lawrence Groth. Paragraph 6 states, “Each Investor will indemnify and hold harmless, Gary Adornato, Stephen Williams, John V. Savage, Jr., the landlord and any and all other investors and entities, along with their respective agents or principals, from any claim or cause of action initiated by any Investor in violation of this Agreement or any other party or otherwise from the failure of Bar Concepts or anyone associated with it to complete 2One4 project under the terminated lease.” Paragraph 9.2 states, “Lawrence Groth will be included in the parties released and indemnified under the provisions of paragraph 5 of this Agreement.” The Agreement also lists the investors for signature, Dr. Benavides, Shane Howard, Billy R, C. F. Sandy Pofahl (all original investors in 2One4) but also included Mike Lakomski and Kyle Hidell, neither of which invested ANY funds into the 2One4 project. And to add insult to injury, he was placing Steven Williams as the manager of our club. Stating that he needed Steve’s “talents” for this project.
Needless to say, Shane and I did not sign. Dr. Benavides and Sandy Pofahl did sign however. We waited a week to sign because the last paragraph in the Agreement stated that "If the Agreement is not signed by all of the parties named below and their respective contributions paid in full in the amount specified in Attachment A by 5:00 pm on May 13, 2009, this Agreement will be null and void and of no further force or effect." In essence, we signed a null and void agreement. Basically, Shane and I decided, let's see what this guy is up to. I received the email at approximately 1:00 pm on my cell phone. And it had to be signed by 5:00 pm that same day. Talk about pressure tactics.
One of my new “duties” was to find and negotiate a contract with a valet parking service. I was referred to Star Valet, Inc (Amir), 4237 Atherton Dr., Plano, TX. I was referred to them by Mike Lakomski, as he and Steve had done business with Amir before. I met with Amir on several occasions during this time period in discussing terms and conditions of a contract. (Note my last meeting with Amir further below..)
As time went on, we could see that Gary Adornato was only trying to drain the investors of their resources. Mike Lakomski was broke, but “somehow” he managed to pony up his part of the rent payment when it came due. Kyle Hidell advised he was broke and could no longer contribute, but remained as an “investor” with the project. At one point, Gary announced that the owners of Industry Bar (Steve Williams, Mike Lakomski, and others) had relinquished their rights to ownership and were no longer associated with Industry Bar. That did not come as a surprise to Shane and myself. We knew he was accomplishing everything he came in to do. Remove Steve Williams and company from the situation, have the investors sign an Agreement for legal and criminal protection for all of them, and make the investors go away. Later, after the partnership was dissolved, we learned, and I can’t remember who told us, that Steve had sold Industry Bar for $1.00. Guess who they sold it to. Kyle Hidell, William Hidell (Kyle’s father), and yes, Gary Adornato.
On one of our final meetings, on approximately the latter part of May 2009, Gary was not even attending the weekly meetings. Kyle Hidell appeared to have taken over. The issue of funds was brought up and we were advised by Kyle Hidell and Sandy Pofahl that we would have to do fundraising (bringing in more investors). At this point, Shane and myself could see what side of the fence they were sitting on. They wanted to bring in additional investors and dilute our investment at the same time. I advised that I would NOT bring in friends or family into this money pit. That I would not want them to lose their money also. Sandy Pofahl said, "well, that's the price of doing business; we can have walking around money and get this project restarted." Both Sandy and I went back and forth on the moral issue of bringing in other investors until he got angry and blew up. We were both separated and had to leave the restaurant we were having our meeting in.
We had one final meeting the first part of June 2009. It was Shane and myself on one side, and Dr Benavides (who I did not believe to be a part of their group) Kyle Hidell, Mike Lakomski, and Sandy Pofahl on the other. Kyle was still demanding that we go forward with the Agreement as it was. That was when I advised we would not go forward with Gary’s Agreement, and that the Agreement was null and void; that everybody retained their right to sue or pursue criminal charges against Steve Williams and company. That's when Kyle Hidell took it upon himself to dissolve the partnership. That was the end of the project. Later, we found that Gary Adornato was nothing more than a close personal friend of Alfred Alvarado (he even took temporary custody of his kids when Alfred Alvarado was arrested), and a long time friend of Steve Williams. During this time period, I was at a local bar and I happened to run into Amir (Star Valent, Inc.) He was providing valet service to that establishment and happened to be onsite. He asked me what happened to the club we were supposed to open and I explained all the circumstances. I made a mental note of his reaction. He shook his head and said, “Steve needs to stop doing that to people.” We talked further about my situation but he did not elaborate about his statement.
On approximately July l3, 2009, Shane and I acquired counsel with Broome Bobo, LLP, Attorneys at Law and filed a lawsuit. When we were advised by counsel that they had not received any response, I did some research on these individuals. Gary Adornato has summary judgments up the wazoo. We discovered that these individuals, especially Gary, had been sued many times before. They just don't respond and have summary judgments awarded against them. We dropped our lawsuit. We would be out thousands of more dollars with no restitution.
In November 2009, I filed a fraud complaint with the Dallas District Attorney's office. I spoke to an investigator, Andrew Masters. We did not have a formal meeting, as he was busy and was rushing to an appointment, so we had an informal meeting in the lobby as I explained everything to him. He provided me the forms to fill out, which I did, and in the following days presented him the documents that I had. I was the first to make contact with him, and Shane later. I had advised Shane that Masters didn't seem too interested, but hey, they must have a lot on their plate. He provided us with his business card.
At this time we found that Steve had opened up Arapaho Pub and Grill in Addison. I advised Shane that maybe we should go shake some trees and see if we can get our money back. We went to Arapaho Pub and Grill, but they were not there. The place was packed and we looked around. They had a dance floor and a separate large room with a lot of people smoking, drinking and playing cards (gambling). We asked to speak to the manager. When he approached us I asked if he could step outside, and that's when we told him why were there. I told him that we had enlisted the help of the Dallas DA and that they would be conducting an investigation, and that they would want to talk to Mike Lakomski. That we knew Mike was a good guy and we didn't want him to freak out and just wanted to give him a heads up (this was an attempt to get their attention. To us it seemed Mike is the only one who really has anythign to lose, which is, his family which loves him.) We gave the manager, James Brown, the card, and left. I told Shane that maybe they would at least give us a partial return on our monies in order to avoid being investigated. During one of my personal online investigations during this time period, I found where an individual, Cheri Reed, had a lawsuit against Steve and company. I called her attorney and shortly thereafter, Shane, myself and Cheri met for the first time. She was suing for $70,000 lost to Steve Williams on an investment for Industry Bar. We joined forces later on.
In January or February of 2010, we had not received any calls from Steve and company. I stopped by the DA's office and spoke with Andrew Masters. When he approached me, he looked angry. We sat in the DA's office reception area, and I'm glad the receptionist was there to hear it. He asked me what happened when Shane and I went to Arapaho Pub and Grill. I told him what happened, and that yes, we should not have done that, but we wanted to attempt at some type of recovery of our money. He asked me if I was with Shane the whole time. If I had ever left him alone. I told him no, Shane was with me at all times. He then told me that they (Steve Williams and company) had advised him that Shane had posed as a police office. I denied it and expressed that they're lying. He then, and I couldn't believe it, asked me if we would be willing to take a lie detector test if it came to that. I told him "any day". He advised they had not even started on our case and nothing would be done until this "issue" of Shane posing as a police officer was resolved. It made me angry to think, that they sat on our case for 3-4 months, but the minute the criminals made an accusation, they immediately jump on it. By they, I mean Andrew Masters. As I was leaving, I turned and told him we had found another victim (Cheri Reed), if he wanted her to come in and talk to him. He sternly told me "he doesn't want to hear about any other victims until this matter of Shane being accused of posing as a police officer was resolved", and he stormed out of the lobby.
On approximately May 2010, after Cheri Reed received her summary judgment against Steve Williams and company, Shane and I had a meeting with her at which time she provided all the legal documents of her case to be presented to the DA Prosecutor handling our case. We met with Donna Strittmatter for the first time. During that meeting, Donna advised that she would investigate it, and that the documentation provided by Cheri would save her months of investigative hours. Andrew Masters was in attendance also. I asked Andrew if the matter of the claim that Shane had posed as a police office was ever resolved. He advised that he went to Arapaho Pub and Grill to talk to Mike (which I took as the one who gave the false report) but that the club had been closed and was vacant. I believe that when Steve found out that we had gained knowledge of their new club (Arapaho Pub and Grill in Addison), they closed it because they knew Cheri Reed was on the verge of receiving/or had received a Summary Judgment against Steve Williams and Lawrence Groth and would take possession of the club and all it's contents.
In between May 2010 and approximately Nov-Dec 2010, we had some communication, mostly via email between Shane and Donna Strittmatter on different matters with our case. One being that Shane wanted to press charges against Mike Lakomski for filing a false police report. The response from Donna was jaw dropping to us. And it was that "if and when they decide to press charges, they will do it." That it was at THEIR discretion. It is our contention that the filing of a false police report to get someone in trouble is a crime, and has nothing to do with the fraud investigation. As of now nothing has been done. And even if it has, the Dallas DA is not telling us. Sometime in early 4th quarter 2010, I had also found that Steve Williams and company were being sued by Rockwall Capital, LLC for recovery of $50,000. They had filed suit on May 11, 2010.
All through the rest of 2010, we heard nothing from the DA other than Donna denying us status on our case. The first week of January 2011, I was researching these crooks on the internet again and found the following which has led me to believe that the DA had done nothing with our case, or that our case had been compromised.
One, I found on Facebook, Dana Savage, sister of John V. Savage had posted a comment on her Facebook that her identity had been stolen. That "thank god I have a friend who works in the DA's office. He said he'll take care of it for me." This is very unsettling, especially considering that early in the partnership with these crooks, Jay Savage had advised us that they had a "judge friend" who helped them expedite business matters, and that obtaining the liquor license would not be a problem. Shane even spoke with this “Judge” over the phone in Shane’s early dealings with these crooks in reference to “restructuring” his contract with Steve Williams. Below is the statement emailed to me by Shane in reference to this incident:
“I received a call from Steve. This call happened sometime in December (first part)...sorry cannot remember the exact date. Conversation was this....Steve called on my cell phone from his number....I answered and Steve said that when he and jay were trying to get approval for liquor license. Steve said TABC was concerned about my contract and questioned whether I was an owner of the operation or merely an investor. Steve said that the way TABC had interpreted the wording in my contract...it appeared to them that I was an owner of the operation and thusly was required to put me on the application for the liquor license. Steve said they did not want be to be liable for the liquor license and did not want my name on the application. He then asked me to talk to his friend which Steve said happened to be a judge and he would explain what they needed to move forward on the application process. Steve put this guy on the phone and he simply asked if I would tell him that I was not an owner simply an investor. I agreed...he said great and handed me back over to Steve and we ended conversation. At this point we were still in rush mode...as per Steve everything had to be done immediately so there were no delays in opening and getting liquor license. At this point I still felt and was under the assumption that these guys were good corporate club operators and owners...not crooks.”
I looked up Steve's Facebook and saw that he was promoting Krem Ultra Lounge and Twenty7 Sports Bar and Grill in Plano, Texas. I researched both those establishments and discovered the following. The websites lists the owner as being Craig Monroe, former Texas Rangers baseball player. He also played for the Tigers at one point in his career. I did a little research on Craig Monroe and discovered he had made $350,000 in 2004, but in the same year was arrested for petty theft, for trying to steal a $29.00 belt from a department store. I don't know any of the personal history on this individual, if he's an athlete who blew his money or what, but I feel he may be a front man for Steve's clubs. When I read up on Krem Ultra Lounge, I immediately called Shane and told him about it. This club had Steve's DNA all over it. Of note, the interior of Krem is the same design as our club was supposed to be for 2One4. Back-lite bar, tables, etc. He used the same designs originally intended for our club, to open Krem. At one time during a conversation with Steve, we were talking about the name for our club, 2ONE4 and he said he had thought of using a name like Krem, as in Krem de la Krem to name it. Also, the name Twenty7, Steve is real big into using these types of naming structures for his businesses. 6+1 Investments, 2One4 (our club), 9Seven2 (a former club he had in Addison), Four in One Concepts. But the biggest ones are, his blatant promotion of these two clubs on Facebook, soliciting Bottle Service Waitresses for interview for Krem and announcing New Year’s Specials for both locations. Also, the former manager for his Arapaho Pub & Grill in Addison, Texas is now the manager for Krem Ultra Lounge in Plano, Texas. I also discovered that the new owners of Hub Sports Bar and Grill in Addison (formerly Industry Bar) are Kyle Hidell, William Hidell (his father) and Gary Adornato. The entity or corporation name is Hub Club, 2820 Downing Drive, Plano Texas, which is Gary Adornato's residence.
Due to the information I had collected on Dana Savage’s Facebook account, and Stephen Williams’ activities, I called the Specialized Crimes Division of the Dallas DA on January 25, 2011, and advised that under the circumstances, we did not feel that it would be appropriate that they, the Dallas DA, investigate this matter, and that we would escalate to a higher authority. I requested a time that our documents could be returned to us. The next morning, on January 26, 2011, I received a voicemail from Charlotte (I believe), the receptionist, that my documents would be at her desk for pick up. Shane’s and Cheri’s would be also.
On approximately January 29, Shane, Cheri, and myself met with two individuals who were formerly associated with Stephen Williams. Lacey Goodman and Darius Johnson (Stephen Williams’ cousin). During this meeting Lacey addressed why she quit working for Stephen Williams. That at one point early when Shane Howard had just begun his dealings with Stephen, Lacey witnessed Stephen Williams and Mike Lakomski bringing in boxes and boxes of Agreements and Contracts of people that they had ripped off in the past. She said she wanted no part of that, and quit. But before doing so, had advised Shane (who she had just recently met since Shane was a new investor) that he could call her any time if he needed her help, which he did in late January 2011 for this meeting. She did not mention the reason for her quitting at that time. Darius Johnson advised us that Stephen had ripped off three people (one being his best friend and another relative, plus a third person) of more than $170,000 within the past 7 months, which was the reason for the split up between him and Stephen Williams. He said he had not spoken with Stephen for almost a year now. He also advised that all he knew was that Stephen was receiving some type of income, he didn’t know from where, but that he was making money. Also that Steve was opening a club in Oklahoma, and that he had investors to open a chain of clubs. A deal that could net Stephen Williams approximately $10 mil. I am not sure if this information he provided was from friends and/or family members, or who his sources were, or if it was first hand knowledge. He also informed us he personally saw instances where Steve was directing Mike Lakomski to “fudge” the books at Industry Bar, pulling money from our 2One4 project into Industry Bar. But that he was just working for Steve as Manager for Industry Bar at the time and did not say anything.
Luckily, I RECORDED THE ENTIRE CONVERSATION. I will provide this recording to the news media and prosecutors when requested. But NOT the Dallas DA. I don't trust them. I think a federal investigation would be more prudent in this case. Let's see what happens.
On approximately February 21, 2011, I contacted the Attorney General’s Office in Austin via email for assistance in this matter. They advised they had no jurisdiction over the Dallas District Attorney’s Office and could only intervene if requested by the Dallas DA’s Office. They advised that, per my initial email to them, that I should pursue the State Securities Board.
In approximately March 2011, I contacted the State Securities Board (Joseph Oman). I provided my documents and he reviewed them and pointed out some negative points in my contract (where the contract was structured, according to Mr. Oman, to appear that I would be receiving a percentage of nothing). I advised of the other investors, and when I mentioned Sandy Pofahl’s name, he advised he knew Sandy. That he had investigated Sandy before on an oil and gas scheme. This made me wonder if Sandy was even an investor to begin with. (Sandy Pofahl, we learned was the 80’s Ecstasy drug king in Dallas. A google on his name will bring up much information on him - http://www.dallasobserver.com/2000-10-19/news/the-agony-and-the-ecstasy/.) Mr. Oman stated that if the Dallas DA’s Office would not investigate that he had the authority to take the case from them and investigate it himself. So, things looked hopeful at that point. A couple of days later, Shane Howard submitted his documentation and Shane was surprised by Mr. Oman’s statement. Below is the statement made to Shane by Mr. Oman which Shane documented and sent to me in an email:
"...I have reviewed your files and have determined that the amount of loss is not large enough to pursue your case. Because it was a "CASH" transaction it would be difficult for me to develop a case...." (this was in reference to Shane’s $150,000 loss, amount not large enough?)
I received a letter from Mr. Oman stating that they would not be conducting an investigation due to “lack of evidence.” I called Mr. Oman and asked him to clarify “lack of evidence”. He advised that he contacted the District Attorney’s Office (ugh!!) and they reviewed the bank accounts that had been subpoenaed. And this is what he told me:
“they could see where they had deposited our money into a bank account, but that unfortunately, all the transactions were CASH WITHDRAWALS, and that it would be too difficult to even get a jury panel together. “
You have got to be kidding me!!! Not enough evidence, and there’s nearly half a million dollars gone? This encounter with Mr. Oman leads me to believe that the Dallas DA’s Office did not conduct a thorough investigation during the year they had our case. It appears all they did was subpoena bank records and stopped there. I just get an uneasy feeling as to why Mr. Oman stated that he could take the case from the Dallas DA’s Office and investigate it himself if the Dallas DA wouldn’t investigate, and him already having dealt with Sandy Pofahl in a previous investigation and with his drug trafficking past, comes back after having visited the Dallas DA’s Office and states “theres not enough evidence”, I believe would tend to raise eyebrows. I stated to Shane, is that all it takes to stop the Dallas DA and State Securities Board investigation cold, to simply put your victims money into a bank account, make cash withdraws, and the Dallas DA won’t even take a sniff at you?
On June 30, 2011, I was contacted by Katie Fairbank, Problem Solver with the Dallas Morning News in reference to an email I had sent her two weeks before. She asked me questions to see if my situation was connected with the John Wylie Price investigation and requested my documents. From then until August 15, 2011, nothing was done until Katie Fairbank relied to my email sent on this date (Aug 15) wanting to know why stories of lesser importance (rail road crossing repairs, bees in homes, etc) were being published, but ours was not. She basically told me she only has so many hours in the day, that she has to submit two resolutions per week and doesn’t have time. And that since our case has “passed” two other investigative bodies (I take it she means the Dallas DA and State Securities Board), that she has to decide which cases have a higher chance of being resolved. It’s extremely frustrating, as the two other investigate bodies are the Dallas DA’s Office and State Securities Board, which, for whatever reason, have done nothing. During this time, I had also learned that the following individuals (Stephen Williams, Miroslaw Lakomski, Lisa Worsham, Jonathan Weisman, Michael Jerome, Brian Bernardy) had created LMS Investment Group, Inc., 3203 Independence Pkwy, Ste 3211, Plano, Tx 75075. This location is directly across the street from Krem Ultralounge and Twenty7 Sports Bar and Grill. The LMS website is down but I was able to click on the “cache” link to download screens of the website even though it’s off line. I checked the Texas State Securities Board to see if LMS Investments was registered with them and it was not. 6+1 Investments (the entity under Stephen Wiliams’ control with took our money) also was not registered with the State Securities Board. So, it seems they’re still in operation under another investment group entity. I also leared that LMS Investment Group is tied in with Krem Ultralounge, Twenty7 Sports Bar, and the newly opened Metropolitan Night Club in Arlington, Tx (3008 Pioneer Pkwy, Arlington, Tx). I always figured that Krem and Twenty7 belonged to Steve, not Craig Monroe, as mentioned previously above. And it appears that the “string of clubs” Darius Johnson had mentioned he had heard about was not in Oklahoma, but in Arlington.
On August 16, 2011, I discovered that Stephen Williams and Miroslaw Lakomski had been arrested in Collin County for “Keeping a Gambling Place” in July 2010. Miroslaw Lakomski (case # 0068568710) had received probation and Stephen Williams (case # 0058568610) has a court appearance scheduled for August 25, 2011.
The charge of “Keeping a Gambling Place” is the least of these criminals activities. Even while being prosecuted for this crime, they are also currently involved in civil lawsuits from other individuals and companies they’ve taken money from. As I’ve stated before, they defraud people and businesses, get sued, have summary judgements issued against them, and they move on to other business ventures.
On January 4, 2012, while surfing the internet, I found that Steve Williams was the Chief Operating Officer and Mike Lakomski was the manager of yet another restraunt/club called Aquadora. I found that the developer of Aquadora was LIG Assets, Inc. I researched LIG Assets on Dallas County Records and it seems to be a legitimate business. While researching Dallas Colunty Records, I found that LIG Assets had a lien placed against it by a Tamara Joy, Joy Innovations, Denton, Tx for $10,655.00. It showed the claimant was employed by Steve Williams. It had Tamara Joy’s phone number, so I called her. She advised me about her dealings with Steve and the services and materials never paid for. We ended our conversation.
This is where it began to get weird. Less than 5 minutes after talking to Tamara Joy, I began receiving text messages from a cell phone in Oklahoma (918-574-5662). The text conversations went as follows:
918-574-5662: 214-616-1077 Jeff Love (current business partner with Steve Williams) and the following would be very important to call. Tena Trixler 214-534-4262.
918-574-5662: Text Jeff and Tena first, then they will call.
918-574-5662: Who I am is not I important but I know more about Mr. Williams than anyone. This number will be off tomorrow. God bless and God speed!
Me: Thank you. Hope Jeff is not in it with Steve. Will call. God bless you. Have been waiting for something like this for a long time.
918-574-5662: You’ll get info from time to time. From different sources ill ensure it!
Me: Thank you so much.
918-574-5662: Anytime. Stay on the path. Text Tena then Jeff. Jeff talks big…walks small but he’ll listen. Tena 200k+ in the hole.
Me: Thanks. On ur text you gave me Jeff’s #. Talked to him. Sounded interested. Did not get Tena’s # though.
918-574-5662: She’s pretty piussed! She has a Guy in her corner by the name of prez! He knows a lot of people…used to be Steves go to guy then something happened because they don’t speak much anymore.
Me: Can I have her #. Want her on our side. Plan is to gather everybody and go to FBI. Dallas DA won’t investigate him. Want to go to the media also.
918-574-5662: Tena Trixler 214-534-4262.
918-574-5662: My advice go straight to the media. The more attention he gets the larger the light…they cannot ignore you any longer.
I have not had contact with that number since.
I sent a text to Tena Trixler and she promptly returned my call. I briefly talked with her. She confirmed her money lost and that Steve no longer lived on Noel Road but on Greeneville somewhere. I asked her for the address but she said she didn't know it, that she had dropped him off there one time. I told her that I would keep in contact with her but she said I would be dealing with Jeff Love going forward.
I sent a text to Jeff Love. He also promptly returned my call. He advised that Steve and Mike had defrauded him of half a million dollars, had opened a website selling liquor and bottle service using Aquadora stock, and had taken any or all documents that tied them in with Aquadora (I don't know what type of documents, my first thoughts were financial documents. He said that he began to get suspicious when Steve and Mike requested access to Aquadora's books. Jeff did not release them. He said he was doing some things on his end that would stick.
I have since kept in contact with Jeff since January 2012 through text msgs. I advised him that Nancy Nichols at DMagazine was interested in our story, as she told me not to talk to another prospective magazine (craveDFW, Steven Doyle) about the story. In February I had a 2-hour meeting with Nancy and her editor. I provided them all the information and gave them some documents and it all seemed positive. The last thing before ending the meeting was Nancy's editor saying "we need to start here..." pointing to the Dallas DA's Office Nancy had written on a piece of paper.
I contacted Nancy again late April 2012 for a follow up. Her editor decided not to do the story. Nancy said she brought it up several times but the editorr decided not to go with it. Jeff has consistently through is text messages stated for Nancy to call him but they never did. He's stated he's in it with us (me, Cheri and Shane) in order to get Steve prosecuted.
In approximately May 2012, Cheri Reed and myself went to the FBI and filed a complaint. I received a call from an FBI agent shortly afterwards and he asked me some questions about my statement. I have not heard back from him or even know if they are looking into this.
As of the first quarter of 2012, Stephen Williams has opened yet another Bar, 18th Hole Bar in Plano, Texas using his LMS Investment Group entity. This guy just does not stop.
We believe we have enough evidence and testimony to substantiate fraud, organized crime, money laundering, against Steven Williams and his associates. With all these dynamics in place, it is hard to understand why the Dallas District Attorney’s Office or the State Securities Board were not aggressively pursuing investigation/prosecution of these individuals.
While the dollar amounts accounted for may not seem significant enough to warrant an investigation by legal or judicial entities, which is not right, we feel the overall scope of Steve Williams' criminal activity has been dismissed.
If he took almost half a million dollars from us, half a milliion dollars from Jeff Love, that STILL does not account for what he has done in the past or what damage he's caused other people with Krem Ultralounge, Twenty7 Sportsbar & Grill, Metropolitan Club, and LMS Investment Group, ALL of which were in full operation while under "grand jury investigation." The money defrauded out of us, the investors, and Jeff Love, is only the tip of his acitivites.
The questions that need to be posed to the Dallas District Attorney’s Office are, why were these individuals never brought in to interview? They certainly had the opportunity to talk with them when Mike Lakomski filed his false report to the DA's Office? And why was Mike never charged for that? Why did Mr. Oman, knowing the history of Sandy Pofahl, not conduct his own investigation? Was Craig Monroe a victim as Jeff Love was or an accomplice? Not sure since I found a business, Craig Monroe Group using Steves Noel Road address. It appears none of this was done, as these criminals have continued to operate business as usual without missing a beat.
The indifference displayed by the Dallas District Attorney’s Office, State Securities Board, Attorney General’s Office, and all entities we have dealt with has been devastating to us. They can see a crime has been committed, but they don’t want to deal with it. Be it because per them, the amounts are “too small”, or it would be “too difficult to prove”, or whatever reasons. I can bet, if it were Jerry Jones or Mark Cuban who had been defrauded of even $30,000, it would be front page news and the leading story on television broadcasts. But, unfortunately, we're just "ordinary citizens." But it appears the Dallas District Attorney’s Office did nothing with our case, otherwise, there would not be additional fraud victims and the mentioned clubs above in operation (which are now all closed).
Even Mr. Oman stated to me when I first met with him:
“The Dallas DA’s Office wouldn’t know a white collar crime if they were slapped in the face with it.”
He also stated:
“The Dallas DA’s Office does not conduct investigations.”
I’ll give sworn testimony to this if required. And INSIST on a lie detector test to prove it’s accuracy in this particular instance, and to validate the accuracy of this Statement in whole.
Also, given that it appears the criminals have ties within the Dallas criminal and judicial system makes this even more worrisome.
I personally have been very negatively impacted by all this. Within a period of months, I lost my job, my pension, my marriage, and now they're trying to take my dignity. My finances and credit have been ruined, and my car repossessed. I owe $52,000 in taxes to the IRS because of the pension monies I took out to start this business, and now barely survive on just $9 an hour. At one time before all this, I had a house with a pool, and now live in Oak Cliff sleeping on an air mattress eating either bologna sandwitches or eggs for dinner, all while Steve Williams continues with his crimes.
These criminals continued to flourish and victimize others while under the "watchful eye" of a Dallas District Attorney's Office investigation. And the shallow indifference displayed by the entities that are supposed to be in place to protect it’s citizens is even more demoralizing.
Surley, Steven Lapaul Williams cannot have committed the “perfect crime” to where the Dallas District Attorney’s Office nor the State Securities Board can prosecute him for his crimes. And yet, he continues unimpeded.
The doors have closed on us at every turn. And it makes US look bad. As Katie Fairbanks at the Dallas Morning News stated "that since our case has “passed” two other investigative bodies that she has to decide which cases have a higher chance of being resolved" shows that we're not believable. We know what we are stating is true and factual. We know Steve Williams is a criminal. We were there.
As victims of fraud instigated by Stephen Lapaul Williams, we hope to have him investigated and prosecuted; and prevent him from victimizing even more people. .
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