American Liquor Alliance is a SCAM!

Abraham Lincoln was once quoted as saying, “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time.” This statement, in a nutshell, describes American Liquor Alliance, LLC, a company featured on the Go BIG Network and countless other investment-seeking websites. Please, take the time to read this message carefully – you’ll be glad you did. This message is intended as a public warning to anyone considering doing business with or investing in American Liquor Alliance, LLC (ALA), Keith A. Lawes (Keith Lawes) and/or Andrew H. Tasker (Andrew Tasker or Andy Tasker). The statements contained here are opinion and you are advised to draw your own conclusions after performing due diligence on the company and the opinions expressed here. This message pertains to both ALA and all sister companies operating at its 140 Fountain Parkway, Ste. 220, St. Petersburg, FL 33716 address and under the direction of Mr. Lawes: •     American Liquor Alliance, LLC (ALA) •     Rogue, LLC •     RSVP Wine and Spirits, LLC •     Global Wine and Spirits, LLC •     FullLiquor.com •     Global Financial Investments, LLC •     Stone Commerce, LLC •     Next Level Advantage, LLC •     Next Level Management Services Organization, LLC •     Next Level Staffing, LLC •     Next Level Strategies, LLC American Liquor Alliance, LLC (ALA) has repeatedly made false statements to employees and creditors regarding payment of monies due. The history of ALA’s officers, Mr. Lawes and Mr. Tasker, is highly questionable. The business is on the brink of bankruptcy but is continuing to hang on and make repeated promises they can’t deliver on. Payroll Employees were notified Thursday, October 23, 2008 that the paycheck they should be receiving the following day, Friday, October 24, 2008 was “unavailable”. Mr. Lawes and Mr. Tasker, in conjuction with Kerry Roberts, Vice President of Human Resources, proceeded to notify all employees that they would simply be receiving a paper check rather than their usual direct deposit. Not thinking anything of it, employees went on working diligently and productively. However, when the paper checks were printed and handed out, Ms. Roberts notified all employees to hold them and not cash them as the checks were no good and would bounce. This went on for another week when, finally, employees were told the true story: the company was broke and couldn’t pay them. A story was contrived that mentioned the poor economy, no investment activity and no cash flow. While the situation was dire and grim, Mr. Lawes and Mr. Tasker made it out to seem that there were investors “on the hook” that were just itching to write that million dollar check to breathe life back into the company; this turned out to be another false statement. Know that during this time, and more than likely still today, Mr. Lawes and Mr. Tasker continue to drive around in their brand new Hummer automobiles living in their million dollar homes while they have a starving workforce of past and present employees. Employees were continually lied to concerning when they would receive their money and this continues to go on even today (January 2009). For almost four months now, no one has been paid. The majority of the staff has chosen to leave, despite pleads and false promises from Mr. Lawes and Mr. Tasker asking them to stay and “stick it out”. A once thriving company of 40 has now been reduced to very few employees. Of the remaining employees, none appear to have received compensation for their time and efforts since October 2008. History of Not Paying Employees Mr. Tasker, prior to joining the ALA organization, founded Next Level (Next Level Advantage, Next Level Management Services Organization, Next Level Staffing, Next Level Strategies). Next Level was founded as a Human Resources outsourcing firm that primarily served clients in the northern Ohio market. Prior to opening Next Level, Mr. Tasker was President and CEO of The Business Office (TBO), another outsourcing firm for Human Resources and professional services. While running The Business Office, a very similar payroll situation occurred. Please see the below news article from the Akron Beacon Journal in Akron, OH. The full text article is available with a simple Google search. Mar. 17–Executives of a Beachwood staffing firm that abruptly folded earlier this year are trying to bring a new company to the market, even as some employees of the former company remain unpaid. TBO Co., a temporary staffing firm with offices in Bedford and Akron as well as in western Pennsylvania and New York, closed its doors in February after months of financial chaos, leaving many of its employees holding bounced checks. In January, Ken Weinberger, former vice president of marketing for TBO, formed Next Level Staffing LLC with Andrew Tasker, former CEO and a partner at TBO. Weinberger, who had no ownership interest in TBO, said he will be the sole proprietor of Next Level, and it is not yet known what Tasker’s role will be with the new venture. Neither man is collecting an income from the new company, they said. But the arrangement has outraged former employees and executives of TBO, who said they wonder how the company’s leadership can just walk away from such a mess and start over. The new company has no liability to TBO’s employees or its other creditors, Weinberger and Tasker said. Attorney Jeffrey T. Heintz, a managing partner with Brouse McDowell, said there are few legal barriers to closing one company and opening another, as long as the second company doesn’t use assets from the first without paying for them. Those assets can include everything from cash and client lists to office furniture and fixtures. Weinberger said Next Level is not a successor company to TBO and has no plans to acquire the failed company’s assets. He said the end of TBO was a disaster for everyone, including the executive team. Weinberger, who said he is out $13,000 to $15,000 in pay, said he and Tasker went into their own pockets to help some employees. Weinberger also said he hopes to hire laid-off TBO employees for Next Level. He said he will try to reimburse them for their lost pay. But, Tasker emphasized, any effort of that kind would be done by choice, not out of responsibility. ‘We will do whatever we can to help everybody, but it has to be in the context of what we have available,’ Tasker said. ‘Unfortunately, money doesn’t grow on trees.’ In a letter sent Feb. 4, Tasker informed employees that they were out of jobs, were not likely to be reimbursed for their bounced paychecks and would not be eligible for COBRA insurance coverage because the company’s premium payments had lapsed. In the letter, Tasker cited an unexpected financial shortfall as the cause of the company’s collapse. Following that correspondence, the offices were shuttered, and all company telephone numbers were disconnected. Then, rumors began to circulate that TBO executives had opened a new staffing firm. ‘I don’t understand why there are no protections against something like this happening,’ said Anna Miller, a temporary worker who has filed a small claims suit against TBO in Akron Municipal Court seeking about $400 in unpaid wages. ‘It’s not fair to us workers. Who wants to work and not get paid?’ Tasker said he is not aware of any plans to file for bankruptcy protection for TBO Co. He said the only thing he and other members of management could have done differently to prevent this outcome would have been to begin a second round of capitalization a few months earlier.

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