Lo and behold, I awoke from a nap this afternoon (it happens when you work overnites and then try and adjust on your days off) to an interesting piece over at the Kicksnacker Community at G+. This bit was originally posted over in the Pencil Dice Kickstarter comments section, and it is Whitman Gold:
Now, I've read that D20 Entertainment doesn't actually exist as a legal entity, which would leave Ken holding the bag without corporate cover. I wonder if that's why he's bee so quiet on his Kickstarters these days...
As an aside, I see Brave Halfling is in the State AG mix. Not a surprise, as John has handled Appendix N in about as poor a manner as is possible. Of course, John is more "business incompetent" whereas Ken is "scam artistry taken to new highs and lows."
It sounds about right - I believe that I'll eventually get my stuff from BHP (which decade, TBD)
ReplyDeleteYeah, I believe John had every intention to get his out, but between chaotic circumstances and business fumbling, he's struggled fulfilling all the orders. I have yet to get mine, but I know several that have.
ReplyDeleteWhile I don't know Ken's situation, just a little from what I've read here, it sounds like it's gonna come around on him.
Yeah, I feel bad for the guy. But that being said its been several years at this point. Why not just admit defeat and refund people? My guess is any resources from the kickstarter itself are long gone.
DeleteNot refunding is okay, too. Just say that you can't, chalk it up as a failure, and *account* for all the funds spent. That last bit is key, as an investor isn't going to see every investment pan out -- but they darn well deserve to see that all their money went toward the project. Failed businesses are not scams any more than investing in a stock that drops is a scam. They are depressingly common, in the way that not every kid who buys a guitar at 16 is going to be selling out arenas. And most never even take a stage.
DeleteKen's a scammer, and I suspect the court will clearly find that he will not be able to show that he spent his money on the project *and* did not make a good faith effort to complete the projects.
I got the Appendix N pdfs and, while I'd like the hard copies, it's all good. Life does happen. There's a huge diff between Ken & John.
DeleteI wasn't an appendix n kickstarter backer, but i did pay for a 'subscription' when they were available shortly after the kickstarter was funded. After several years of nothing I finally asked for my money back. A week or so later I received the retail versions of two of the four promised adventures and haven't heard anything since. This was probably 9 months ago.
ReplyDeleteJohn is a victim of horrifically terrible business practices...keeping addresses on notecards instead of computer, for one. But even three years late, product does trickle out (I assume as he gets money, the original funds being all spent, he ships out what he can) A terribly run KS but not to the level of fakery Ken mastered with his many scams.
ReplyDeleteThe goodwill burned by John Adams is staggering. His materials (particularly the great illustrated "game boxes" which I use to store my Judges Guild stuff) were well regarded, and then he screwed it all up as a business venture.
ReplyDeleteI actually found my old (Delving Deeper) copy of Ruins of Ramat looking for something else in my basement today. It's a thin little module, it's mind-boggling that delivering a new edition of that could take three years.
I just got a notification through Kickstarter from John that the first shipment of print products went out to me this weekend. I wonder if it has anything to do with my address being in NY?
ReplyDeleteIf so? The AG won't care. Someone else recently shipped everything and still got hammered. Once the legal system starts rolling, it is hard to stop.
ReplyDeleteOh It's rolling. This blog will hear more from me soon. I'm the artist and musician who created some of the CGI (all the beowulf flyby scenes) as well as the music for Ken's Spinward Kickstarter T.V. Pilot project. I've yet to be paid. I have to threaten legal action to even get a response from him, and when I do, its just more excuses. I will be taking legal action very soon if I don't get a response/full payment from him soon. I will ALSO be organizing a class action suit and petition against Ken Whitman. Anyone who has been legally wronged by him will be urged to sign it and set it into motion.
DeleteThis kind of dishonesty / clumsy business practices / pathetic attempt to rip people off will NOT go unpunised. You all will hear more from me soon. Lets hope its a positive story about how he paid me the money he owes me...however, that seems very unlikely at this point.
If he fails to respond and pay me, he deserved to face everything we can collectively throw at him legally. Im willing to SPEND money to see him pay for what he's done to so many people. Hell, there should be a kickstarter entitled, "Sue the pants off Ken Whitman - class action attourney fee fundraiser.". Whats funny about this, is Im sure it would raise quite a bit of money.
Oh, I was speaking more of the Brave Halfling matter. That Ken Whitman should be prosecuted? Based on the evidence out there that seems to be a foregone conclusion. Keep in mind though that even if prosecuted, even with a legal judgement, money will probably not appear. Getting a judgement against a person is the "easy" part. Forcing them to make good on a judgement is the hard part.
DeleteI wish you, in all seriousness, the best of luck though. Being victimized by scam artists is a thoroughly unpleasant experience.
Sorry to hear that Kevin. Ken maintains still that 'everyone' has been paid on all his projects and that he 'owes no one'. Even that's known not to be true. (I know of at least four people personally he hasn't paid).
DeleteYou know I used to take his lies/abuse personal. I thought he simply had no respect for me or thought my kindness/pateince was a mark of weakness. I see now however that it's just how he treats people universally. When the guy screws over people he relies on to complete a project you know there's a serious problem.
Bob: Thanks for your reply and concern. Little did Ken know before he ripped me off, that Ive studied law, half my family are lawyers. I do know for a fact as Ive seen it happen to scammers like Ken before: A good attourney with enough solid evidence (I have plenty, written agreements betwenn Ken and I, my original projects files of all the work i completed and delivered on time to him, his remarks of complete sastisfaction of my delivered work to him etc.) can push a court order on someone like Ken to LEGALLY be required to pay the amount he owes PLUS extra if damages to business can be proven (which I can prove.) Once a court order to collect the money is in place, aa payment plan portion or sometimes the full amount Ken makes in the future will be legally required to be paid. At that point, the ONLY way Ken can get out of not paying the owed amount is if he plans on not making money at all in any way ever again. If he is making money in any way, the court order will demand him to pay at least a portion of it to the total amount owed over time until it is paid in full.
ReplyDeleteAlso this immensely hurts his credit and ability to ever start anymore "businesses" or kickstarter scams ever again.
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DeleteDon't forget there are a lot of assets. I'm guessing at least 10k in camera equipment purchased with KS money, some vehicles, computer equipment.
DeleteYes, thats whats the court will seize if he throws his hands up and claims, "I got no money, all the lawyers in the world cant get money from someone who doesn't have any." These were his actual words to me when i had to threaten legal action. How so little Ken understands about how the law works. If a court order to pay an owed amount is put on someone who "doesnt have money" any superfluous, non essetial assets they possess will be siezed, sold and the money will be granted to the rightful persons requiring payment. So yes, this would include all his camera gear, computers, vehicles and anything else bought with the money that his backers eagerly pledged to his bullshit kickstarters. That day WILL come. Ill make sure of it.
DeleteJolly: Thank you for you reply and concern about the situation as well. I learned about your awesome comic work through the various posts related to Ken's botched kickstarters. You're a great artist! I was sad to see you also had an unfortunate experience dealing with him. I see your point in rising above the initial reaction to take Ken's crimes personally due to the fact that so many others have had the same experience with him. I was and still am very offended, hurt and pissed off by his exaggerations, broken promises and flat out lies I experienced in my own dealings with him. After seeing so many other people scammed and ripped of by this guy, it alleviates the personal outrage you feel in thinking he targeted you as the chimp he'd rip off, but instead of feeling better about the situation once i realized i wasnt in his pathetic rip off attepmt schemes alone, I became even more determined to legally take action against this scum bag one and for all, not only for my self, but on behalf of everyone else and especially for the pricipal of the matter: If we let one Ken Whitman trudge through groups of honest hard working artists and investors, make promises of grandeur, take their money, use their work, sign his name to legally binding agreements, not pay people he owes, then skip off and continue on his clumsy, destructive path of being dim witted scam artist, self deluded into going by the title of "producer," then all we are doing is inviting him to keep plaguing the professional industries upheld by good business in which we work. We are also inviting more Ken Whitmans into our industries to sabatoge them with his fuckery and top it off with ridiculous cringe worthy social media posts, memes and pictures of himself happily getting away with it. People like Ken take the enjoyment out of the entire profession we all are in for everyone. People like Ken spawn more people like Ken the longer they get away with it. People like Ken need to be exposed and procescuted for their actions...because people like Ken are who we call... criminals.
ReplyDeleteI've been there, Kevin. I know what you are going through. I went through 18 months of lies and excuses. The list of excuses and the tactics he used to avoid paying folks would be hilarious — if real people with real needs weren't involved.
ReplyDeleteThankfully there are at least two blogs devoted to documenting Ken's actions.
ReplyDeleteOne only has to google his name to realize he's trouble. That's something. But I agree people like this need to be kept at bay. I have no doubt he will pop again with another project/scheme. Most likely with someone else as a front person while he works in the shadows.
Im working on shining a legal spotlight on him so blindingly bright, there will be no shadows for him left to work in, nor any dingy corner of the internet he'll be able to survive in.
DeleteJust so you know, at least three people have told me Ken is in the process of moving this week to Atlanta Georgia. Now sure how that will affect your legal action - but probably something you need to know.
ReplyDeleteAt least two people (me and someone else) has alerted the KY Attorney General about Mr Whitman's business practices and have received letters stating that the KYAG have contacted Mt Whitman and expect a reply within 30 days.
DeleteInsert your own assumptions about why Mr Whitman may be moving.
Hi VargrOne. Did you submit a complaint via the Kentucky Attourney General website or did you call?
DeleteI submitted a complaint through the website and got the form letter....
DeleteAnd good luck sir. ;)
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DeleteThanks for letting me know, I've been informed of this as well. Ken has told me weeks ago he's obtained a "trucking" job as a "real job" to pay off his debts. That fucking trucking job better pay well.
DeleteHey Kevin- I'm curious about your rates for CG and motion graphics design. I'm not able to find direct contact information for you. Could I have a conversation with you about this sort of thing? Thanks in advance.
DeleteYou can contact me at softwoods@gmail.com
If you google "kevin adams productions" my contact info is the top result on google via google plus. Below that, you'll see links to my demo reel as well. In addition, if you google, "kevin adams graphics" or "kevin adams music" my work with links to my contact info is the top result. Im currently rebuilding my website, but have more than enough contact info online.
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DeleteAnd if you google "epic space theme" my music track "Nova" with over 120,000 plays on youtube and 15k on soundcloud is the first result - a track I gave Ken an extremely generous deal on for use in Spinward Traveller...unfortunately my generosity was overlooked.
DeleteJolly ... I would hope that the internet is now filled with so much negative that even if he found a front man ... I would hope that such a person would soon see that he is being setup and run for the hills.
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DeleteYeah Google is your friend and his worst enemy at this point.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to share with you my original, raw CGI scenes I created for Ken Whitman under a written contract for a specific amount that I have NOT been paid. The payment is now going on 4 months overdue.
ReplyDeleteScene 1 - Beowulf Over Blue Planet - darker - FINAL 2: https://vimeo.com/144302778
Scene 2 - Beowulf Into Green Planet - FINAL: https://vimeo.com/144297096
Scene 3 - Turret Fire: https://vimeo.com/144300396
As stated earlier in my posts on this blog, Ken has failed to respond or acknowledge my calls, emails and text messages regarding payment of the total amount owed. I have a written agreement specifically stating the exact amount agreed upon, along with proof of my (on time) delivery, bank statements/paypal, as well as Ken's remarks of complete satisfaction of said work which I have saved and photocopied for my legal case. I'm posting these animations here so you all can see specifically what Ken has not paid me for and is editing into his mess of a production he's calls Spinward Traveller, claiming is all has been paid for. Feel free to share this post wherever you feel appropriate. Legal action is in progress and I will post any updates on this situation as soon as they happen. I'd just like to say thank you for creating this blog to help expose cases like mine and many others involving Ken Witman's scamming. He WILL be stopped.
incredible work btw.
DeleteThank you very much Jolly. It means a lot coming from such a talented guy as yourself!
DeleteWow you weren't kidding - someone's been working hard to scrub their wikipedia entry.
ReplyDeleteHey Jolly, could you add me on google hangouts? I sent you an invitation.
DeleteHis name is Andrew Hackard. Twitter: @theredpenofdoom. Coincidentally a fellow board game / geek culture enthusiast along with Whitman...
Deletesure let me check my account.
ReplyDeletebtw - regarding the wikipedia scrubbing. Someone suggested the following; all proper links/citations. Don't see how he could refute any of it.
<>
acts:
DeleteKen Whitman is the creator of d20 Entertainment on Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/profile/d20e/created
Ken Whitman, under the d20 Entertainment name has 6 Kickstarter projects that are currently open and incomplete.
-- KoDT LAS: Estimated final completion date August 2015. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...es/description
-- Spinward Traveller: Estimated final completion date December 2014: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...ot/description
-- Castles and Crusades: Estimated final completion date August 2015: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...ot/description
-- Pencil Dice: Estimated final completion date March 2015: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...ce/description
-- RPG Pencil Dice: Estimated final completion date April 2015: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...ce/description
-- Deck Dice: Estimated final completion date August 2015: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...ty/description
Ken Whitman is also Ken Whitman Games on Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/profile/kenwhitman/created
Under Ken Whitman Games, there are 2 projects:
-- Knight's Quest: Estimated final completion date December 2013: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects.../posts/1171454
-------Note: One of the reward tiers appears to have a typo in it of December 2018.
-------Note 2: Update 25 from March 19, 2015 says that all product has shipped (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects.../posts/1171454), though comments are unclear if all product was received.
-- Dice O'Matic: Project suspended by Kickstarter on July 15, 2014: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...ic/description
Wow, after seeing all of this; I'm really glad I didn't send any money for Spinward Traveller when I saw the name 'Ken Whitman' on the kickstarter page. Sorry for everyone who did though; maybe Ken's spending the money on hair care products?
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