Kiss my ass

"The complaint, initially filed in August 2006 in Suffolk Superior Court,  alleges that Brockton attorney Alec G. Sohmer orchestrated a foreclosure rescue scheme targeted at financially distressed homeowners. 

The complaint also names Timeless Funding Inc., a Nevada company that Sohmer allegedly used in their fraudulent activities. 

The Attorney General’s case will continue in Suffolk Superior Court against Sohmer, as well as Andrew Palmer, the closing attorney who conducted the transactions; Shaun Ellis, an attorney who referred distressed homeowners to Sohmer in exchange for a fee; and Carteret Mortgage, a mortgage broker who arranged financing for many of the deals." 

Michael Webster, a franchisee attorney in Toronto, Ontario, who publishes a website on business opportunities and franchises, called "The BizOp News" 

You sound just like him! " God Bless America"... Franchisings' land of the fraud and the home of the blame.

Mr. Palmer, are you the poster boy for all of those attorney jokes? Looks like it to me.

Call me "Mom"
(if I were your mother, I be really embarassed and ashamed.)

I bet your mother would be proud

From Andrew Palmer's BlueMauMau.com blog: http://www.bluemaumau.org/kiss_my_ass#comment-53480

So help me understand. The "members of the New England Franchise Association" and the "graduates" of the Franchise Institute chimed in with their support for Palmer within 6 minutes of one another?

Really???

We, the members of the New England Franchise Association would also like to ring in on Andrew Palmer's behalf. Andrew has dedicated many years to the success of franchising in New England. He is highly regarded by us and by everyone who knows him. We know who the person is who is defaming Andrew and we have to tell you, you're wasting your time and money. Nothing you can do can besmirch Andrew's name and reputation. He has wit, style, good humor and class. All of these attributes the besmircher undoubtedly lacks.

http://www.nefranchise.org/members.asp

We are Andrew Palmer's very successful clients. We all received a package from some nutjob who lost a case to Andrew Palmer's law firm last year. This coward is now anonymously trashing Andrew Palmer with libelous and slanderous information.

Well, we love Andrew Palmer and want to thank him for all his hard work over the years helping us to become wealthy, but more importantly, helping us better enjoy our businesses and have more fulfilling lives.

We cannot recommend Andrew Palmer and his franchise development program highly enough. He's honest, dedicated, hard-working and fun. Your lies won't work. Andrew Palmer is the BEST!!!

http://www.franchisor7pillars.com/graduates.htm

Congratulations to Jim Coen, Steve Dubbin and the NEFA Board.

References to Andrew Palmer have, apparently, been removed from the New England Franchise Association website. A blow struck for the righteous? One has to wonder: was he removed, pressured to resign or did his conscience finally get the best of him? The answer: It does not matter.

Perhaps "Character" should have been one of Mr. Palmer's "Seven Pillars"?

Please be careful with whom you do business. Do your homework.

From The Boston Business Journal: http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/2007/11/05/story14.html

A Massachusetts lawyer and his New Hampshire-based client are being sued for allegedly setting up a sham corporation to extend a lucrative marketing agreement with a designer of indoor ski resorts.

In December 2003, Acer Snowmec Ltd. of Birmingham, England, which designs and engineers indoor ski resorts including Ski Dubai and the Mills Meadowlands Xanadu project in New Jersey, entered into a marketing and development agreement with M-O-H Inc., a New Hampshire company that franchises indoor family entertainment facilities. The agreement called for M-O-H to help distribute Acer Snowmec's patented technology in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

M-O-H had a deadline of nine months to secure contracts with third parties and properly register as a U.S. franchise with the Federal Trade Commission, according to a September filing in the Business Litigation Session of Suffolk Superior Court.

The deal carried a 12-month extension option if M-O-H hit certain benchmarks laid out in the contract. M-O-H claims it met those requirements -- by signing on a new customer -- a day before the contract was scheduled to expire. The company said the agreement was reached with DalStar Enterprises Inc. in Dallas.

However, Acer Snowmec claims M-O-H and its attorney, Andrew Palmer, a franchise lawyer in Norwell, failed to provide proof that it was proceeding with the proposed ski project in Texas. Acer Snowmec's court filings say that the company's managing director, Malcolm George Clulow, repeatedly e-mailed M-O-H officials and Palmer to document the project and its progress.

Palmer assured Clulow that he would send proof "when I have time," but never did, according to the suit.

Acer Snowmec claims it discovered a series of facts last year concerning the legitimacy of DalStar Enterprises. Among the discoveries: Palmer was a director of DalStar, a company he incorporated at 3 p.m. on Sept. 30, 2004, the day M-O-H's contract with Acer Snowmec was set to expire, according to court documents. In its legal filings, Acer Snowmec goes so far as to call DalStar "an entity completely dominated and controlled by Andrew Palmer, M-O-H Inc.'s attorney."

"It's an unusual case," said Acer's attorney, Victor Polk of Bingham McCutchen LLP in Boston. "How many cases do you allege that a sham corporation is set up to meet the terms of a contract? It's not an everyday allegation."

Palmer and M-O-H did not return calls for comment. In his legal answer filed at Suffolk Superior Court, Palmer denies all allegations that he created DalStar as a sham organization, that he was a director of DalStar, and that he engaged in unfair practices when dealing with Acer Snowmec.

Acer Snowmec hopes to terminate the contract and is seeking damages, according to documents.

Lisa van der Pool can be reached at lvanderpool@bizjournals.com.

The New England Franchise Association shares its acronym with others. Namely:

NEFA Near End Failure
NEFA New England Flying Disc Association
NEFA New England Foundation for the Arts (Boston, Massachusetts)
NEFA New European Fighter Aircraft
NEFA Non-Esterified Fatty Acids
NEFA Nonesterified Fatty Acids

And I'm certain its board does not hope it ever will be associated with:

NEFA North East Freeride Association (UK)

{Source: http://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com/NEFA}

Thank you Mr. Blue MauMau and I appreciate the support of the Blue MauMau community.

The New England Franchise Association (NEFA) is a group of hard working and dedicated people and companies that are commited to the success of franchising in New England.

As a group we have an unique perspective into franchising that is inclusive of zees, zors and vendors. Our membership includes attorneys that represent franchisors, ones that represent franchisees, brand specific franchisee associations, financing resources, franchisors, area developers, franchisees, and many other interested parties.

We are able to bring people together to share best practices and gain knowledge and insight into successful franchising.

I am proud to be the Executive Director of NEFA and serve this unique and diverse franchise community.

I look forward to share with Blue MauMau what we are up to.

Jim Coen

Executive Director

New England Franchise Association  (http://www.nefranchise.org)

Email: Jim@franchiseperfection.com
Blog: Lets Talk Franchising

http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=pressreleases&agId=Cago&prModName=cagopressrelease&prFile=2007_09_18_sohmer_settlement.xml

ATTORNEY GENERAL MARTHA COAKLEY REACHES SETTLEMENT WITH FIVE MORTGAGE LENDERS INVOLVED IN FORECLOSURE RESCUE TRANSACTIONS; EXPANDS CASE TO INCLUDE FOUR NEW DEFENDANTS
BOSTON – Attorney General Martha Coakley has filed a proposed settlement with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Boston with five mortgage lenders that funded loans which facilitated fraudulent foreclosure rescue transactions orchestrated by Brockton attorney Alec Sohmer. The Attorney General, together with the Chapter 7 trustee in Sohmer's bankruptcy case, have requested bankruptcy court approval of the settlement, which impacts 26 residential properties that are part of Sohmer's bankruptcy case. On Monday, the Attorney General filed a Motion to Amend the Complaint to add the closing attorney who conducted the transactions, another attorney who referred distressed homeowners to Sohmer in exchange for a fee, and a mortgage broker who arranged financing for many of the deals.

"These fraudulent foreclosure rescue transactions never would have occurred without the participation of mortgage lenders and closing attorneys that represented mortgage lenders," said Attorney General Martha Coakley. "This settlement is designed to return homeowners to their financial position before Sohmer arranged foreclosure rescue transactions that stripped their home equity and required payment of Sohmer's fees and high settlement costs."

Four professionals were named in Monday's Motion to Amend the Complaint, whose participation was essential to the continuation of Sohmer's scheme:

* Andrew Palmer, a Norwell attorney who closed all the transactions, drafted false Housing and Urban Development Settlement Statements depicting false information about the transactions, and collected attorneys fees and title/closing insurance commissions for each closing.
* Shaun Ellis, of Sagamore, is a Sandwich-based attorney who referred clients to Sohmer and accepted referral fees and/or other benefits from Sohmer for the referral of clients who ended up victimized by Sohmer transactions.
* Edward de la Flor, of Londonderry, New Hampshire, is the primary mortgage broker.
* Carteret Mortgage Corporation, based in Centerville, Virginia, with offices in Boston and Charlestown, is the mortgage broker/originator and de la Flor's employer. The corporation originated and brokered many of the loans involved in the Sohmer transactions. Both Carteret and de la Flor profited from the transactions by collecting closing points, commissions, yield spread premiums, sales bonuses and other fees.

Under the terms of the proposed lender settlement, filed late last week, the lenders will pay restitution to the homeowners victimized by Sohmer's fraudulent scheme by reducing the outstanding mortgage liens on the homeowner's properties. As a result of these transactions, 26 homeowners transferred title of their homes to Sohmer. Under the terms of the agreement, the original homeowners can reclaim their property by paying a reduced mortgage obligation instead of the inflated mortgage loan arranged by Sohmer. In total, across 26 properties, the settlement would provide approximately $1 million in reduced mortgage obligations.

The lenders agreeing to the settlement to date are: First Horizon Home Loans; Option One Mortgage Corp.; Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.; America Brokers Conduit; and Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC. Additional lenders may participate in advance of an October 15th hearing before the Bankruptcy Court.

Assistant Attorneys General Christopher Barry-Smith and Jacqueline Welch of Attorney General Martha Coakley's Consumer Protection Division are handling this matter with the assistance of Liam Lowney and Ashley Cinelli of the Victim Services Division, financial investigator Christine Murphy, and paralegal Yolanda Kruczkowski.