Steeldragons.net Steel Dragons AFV / Richard Tripp and ongoing theft

[Reef12]

Re: Steeldragons.net Steel Dragons AFV / Richard Tripp and ongoing theft .

Wow he was a busy dude there, that is a lot of stuff.

Jeff

 

[armorpax]

Re: Steeldragons.net Steel Dragons AFV / Richard Tripp and ongoing theft .

Hi All,

I cannot thank Mike and Steve enough for their efforts. Stuck the other side of the pond I doubt we would have ever been able to put together so much proof or track down the relevant companies and agencies they have been in touch with.

All of us have now spent many hours trawling through invoices and pictures supplied along with our own files and records to establish the full extent of this issue.

The fact that the copying goes back as far as it did, and whilst most of us were still supplying genuine parts, was a real eye opener.

Every now and again someone comes along and tries to take everything for themselves with no thought or care for the damage it does to others. None of them last. We on the other hand have all stood the test of time and I am sure this will ultimately be the case again.

Regards

Dave

 

[Hammer Six]

Re: Steeldragons.net Steel Dragons AFV / Richard Tripp and ongoing theft .

His eBay feedback profile is looking pretty bad :

eBay Feedback Profile for tripper689
__________________
Panzerwerk.com


One of my malware programs dropped a bomb on the website...warning that malware had been attached. I guess that's one way to get back at him but I wouldn't do it to that set of stats.

 

[hansalbin]

Re: Steeldragons.net Steel Dragons AFV / Richard Tripp and ongoing theft .

Has ebay gotten involved???

 

[panzerwerk]

Re: Steeldragons.net Steel Dragons AFV / Richard Tripp and ongoing theft .

Again Chuck , not gonna discuss legal actions publicly , we are working on many solutions to many problems right now , sometimes its better to do things a certain way .

 

[hansalbin]

Re: Steeldragons.net Steel Dragons AFV / Richard Tripp and ongoing theft .

OK No more questions from me.

 

[Dougmo]

If this were a US industry, there would be a fine and jail time... period.
It takes the wind out of your sails to see this, and sadly, it takes the initiative away for other creative craftsmen to potentially creating items for our benefit.

 

[toyrific]

Hi Guys

Just received a e-mail from a customer that thought he had ordered a Jagdpanther from me in 2011.

First e-mail 06/13/13
Hi Mike,

I ordered a Jagdpanther in April 2011 and paid with paypal.
Please tell me when the delivery takes place.

Thank you very much
XXXXX XXXXX

My reply

Hi XXXXX

I don't sell the Jagdpanther tank only accessories. I think you have the wrong company. If you did order some parts from me please send me a copy of your order as I have no reference to a order from you.

It might be Steel Dragons you ordered the Jagdpanther from.

Regards
Mike


Second e-mail 6/13/13

Hi Mike,

yes sorry, it was Steel Dragon. Is there still this company?


My reply

Hi XXXXX

Yes Steel Dragons are still there, but Richard Tripp the owner has been ripping off a lot of people. Me included. You should read the link below to find out what is going on. You need to file a complaint with Paypal and the other law enforcement agencies mentioned in the link below.

Regards
Mike

Links to all Steel Dragon topics added to last e-mail.

Mike

 

[panzerwerk]

I have managed to have his Paypal suspended for investigation , I just hope they keep it shut off , I have also been trying to get as much information on Mr Tripp as i can for legal reasons , "know thy enemy" , he has left a substantial internet foot print and I have been able to trace his employment record , I do regular searches as new information can come up at any time , and low and behold last weekend a new bit of info came to light which shows me who this man is .

I stumbled on an article he was interviewed for :

Auditioning for the Playhouse | www.palmbeachdailynews.com

Home
> News

Posted: 12:05 a.m. Sunday, July 21, 2013

Auditioning for the Playhouse
The National Arts Institute has made public its proposal to re-open the island’s landmark theater but the fledgling group has disclosed little about its background.

10 31 2 78

Related
View Larger
Auditioning for the Playhouse photo
Chris Salata
National Arts Institute staff and supporters attend a March Town Council meeting after announcing they have signed a letter of intent to lease the Royal Poinciana Playhouse. From left: Karen Poindexter, executive producer; Renee Morrison, Palm Beach resident and arts trustee; Kenneth Ohrstrom, Palm Beach resident, chairman and lead donor, and Pamela Stark Thomas, executive director.
Director Stark Thomas has been fundraiser, in trouble with law
Poindexter’s theater history has hits, misses

By Jan Sjostrom

Daily News Arts Editor

When Sterling Palm Beach revealed in March that it was negotiating with the National Arts Institute on a lease that could reopen the Royal Poinciana Playhouse, many heaved a sigh of relief, even though few knew anything about the group.

For years, the fate of the 878-seat landmarked theater, which has been dark since 2004, has been a contested issue. Sterling, the developer that controls the Royal Poinciana Plaza, has been under pressure from the public and Town Council to reopen the Playhouse.

The developer and others have argued that it’s not economically viable. Mark Schwartz, whose producing credits include Menopause: The Musical, Divorce Party: The Musical and the Broadway show My One and Only, was consulted a few years ago by a group that was considering re-opening the Playhouse. He regards the theater as a white elephant – too big to be profitable as a regional theater or an off-Broadway touring house and too small for touring Broadway shows, a niche already adequately filled by the Kravis Center, he said.

Proponents of the Playhouse’s revival say that a 1979 property use agreement between the town and the plaza owners requires the owners to ensure that the theater remains operational.

Sterling and the National Arts Institute are discussing a 22-year lease with a 20-year option. The National Arts Institute has been building its case for a $30 million fundraising campaign to renovate and build out the theater.

But what is the National Arts Institute and who are its founders?

The board consists of founding chairman Kenneth Ohrstrom and trustee Renee Morrison of Palm Beach, Executive Director Pamela Stark Thomas, and Producing Artistic Director Karen Poindexter. Until recently, Elaine Blake also served on the board. She resigned to attend to family matters, she said.

The group has disclosed little about itself during its public statements at Town Council meetings, and its website is short on specifics.

Ohrstrom heads a family-owned investment firm. Morrison is the wife of art collector Carlos Morrison. According to state records, her philanthropic interests include Save a Pet Florida and combating underage slavery and prostitution. Ohrstrom and Morrison did not respond to requests for interviews.

Stark Thomas and Poindexter, the group’s spokeswomen, said they were busy negotiating the Playhouse lease. In a July 11 email to the Palm Beach Daily News, they expanded on their backgrounds. But they declined to be interviewed about their qualifications to run the Playhouse until after July 26. “NAI finds no room, no necessity, nor any desire to invest efforts and resources on negative attempts to belittle or demean when such are better used in doing good,” they said.

Sterling Palm Beach declined to discuss its reasons for considering the group a qualified tenant for the Playhouse or whether it has researched the National Arts Institute’s background.

Town Council President David Rosow mediated the discussions that led to Sterling Palm Beach and the National Arts Institute signing a letter of intent in March. When asked whether he investigated the National Arts Institute’s background, Rosow said, “I did not do any research into any of them. Furthermore, I don’t think that’s my job. It’s up to the landlord to determine whether the people they’re negotiating with have credibility.”

The National Arts Institute’s website says the nonprofit group’s purpose is to create career-based programs for youth in film and the performing arts.

The group started life in October 2008 as the G-Star Arts and Education Foundation. The incorporation documents filed with the state list G-Star school founder Greg Hauptner, Anthony Marino, Stark Thomas, Poindexter and Ohrstrom as trustees. The foundation’s primary mission was to raise money for the The G-Star School of the Arts for Film, Animation and Performing Arts in Palm Springs, the school’s former board members said.

“I remember when Stark Thomas came on,” former G-Star school board member Al Mathers said. “There was a lot of hope she would raise a lot of money.”

From 2009 to 2011, federal tax documents show the foundation raised nearly $625,000 but gave the school only $100,000. Stark Thomas and Poindexter were paid a total of nearly $211,000, more than one-third of the amount the foundation raised. Administrative and fundraising expenses accounted for about 31 percent of the operating budget in 2009, 35 percent in 2010 and 55 percent in 2011, the last year for which tax documents were available.

According to tax filings, the foundation’s board had just five members during that period: Stark Thomas, Poindexter, Morrison, Ohrstrom and Hauptner, who was replaced by Blake in 2011. Poindexter and Stark Thomas also served on the G-Star school’s board.

Paying nonprofit board members as staff is “generally not done” and would be “a red flag,” said Sandra Miniutti, a spokeswoman at Charity Navigator, the country’s largest independent charity evaluator. Spending too much on fundraising and administration is another red flag. Of the 6,500 nonprofit organizations Charity Navigator rates, “the vast majority spend 75 percent of their annual expenditures on programs,” she said.

Stark Thomas said that in addition to raising money, she assisted the school in other ways, such as attracting clients to the sound stage and negotiating free painting and air conditioning services. Poindexter said her work for G-Star included proposing film, festival and theater projects, and arranging for Welcome Back, Kotter star Ron Palillo to teach there.

The foundation changed its name to National Arts Institute in 2011. The group ended 2011 with nearly $103,000 in cash and investments.

The name change came about when the foundation “decided to expand its charitable focus,” Poindexter said. As the National Arts Institute, the group “continued support to G-Star School until Mr. Hauptner formed a new foundation,” she said. Hauptner filed documents with the state creating a new support group, the G-Star School Foundation, in April 2012.

Former G-Star school board member Richard Tripp said he was aware of a few modest donations to the foundation, but he isn’t sure how much money was raised, what was donated to the school or how the money was used.

Another board member said an $86,000 grant from the foundation in 2009 financed the school’s movie It’s a Dog Gone Tale: Destiny’s Stand. The film, in which Gertrude Maxwell played an animal-loving philanthropist, was never released.

Blake, who was the G-Star school board chairwoman at the time, said she doesn’t recall how much money the foundation gave the school because the information Hauptner shared often was fragmentary. “Mr. Hauptner directed everything,” she said. “That was the biggest problem the board had.”

Five of the G-Star school’s six board board members resigned between 2009 and 2010, according to reports filed with the state Division of Corporations. Four said they left because of other obligations and one said he resigned when his daughter graduated from the school.

For his part, Hauptner accused Stark Thomas and Poindexter of taking over the foundation without his knowledge.

In a December 2011 Palm Springs police report, Hauptner said they removed him from the board and changed the name of the foundation without informing him or holding a board meeting. He accused Stark Thomas of diverting the school’s and his personal mail to Stark Thomas’ post office box in Palm Beach. He also said Poindexter attempted to withdraw $65,000 from the foundation’s bank account using an improper letter that said he had been removed as the board’s treasurer and they controlled the funds. Stark Thomas and Ohrstrom filed papers with the state in July 2011 removing Hauptner from the board and changing the foundation’s name to National Arts Institute.

In January 2012, Hauptner told the police that he was negotiating a settlement with Stark Thomas and Poindexter. Later that month, Hauptner left a phone message saying the dispute had been resolved. Hauptner declined to comment on the dispute.

Former G-Star school board member Analisa Whiting said other board members were trying to oust Hauptner.

CONT

 

[panzerwerk]

“They would call you up and try to get you to take their side,” she said. “They’d say ‘We need your help to get Greg out.’ ”

Whiting said when she showed up at board meetings, Blake told her to leave.

“There was something they didn’t want me there for,” she said. Blake said she doesn’t recall ever asking anyone to leave a meeting.

Since becoming the National Arts Institute, the group’s activities have included organizing holiday toy drives and delivering a thank-you lunch to Oxbridge Academy’s staff. According to the website, the group conducted “artistic outreach” at the KidSanctuary Campus in West Palm Beach. But Place of Hope, which provides KidSanctuary’s programming, knows nothing about it. “I’m not able to find a record of them doing anything with us,” Executive Director Charles Bender said.

Poindexter said the NAI has provided “opportunities for high school students to gain real world experience in writing, producing and acting in TV and radio commercials.” The G-Star school was involved in such work, but the Palm Beach County Film & Television Commission has no record of the National Arts Institute being engaged in similar projects, film commissioner Chuck Elderd said.

No additional information was forthcoming from the National Arts Institute.
- See more at: Auditioning for the Playhouse | www.palmbeachdailynews.com[/quote]
Now the fun part , Tripp was on the board of directors and he was a member of :

G-STAR PARENT TEACHER STUDENT ORGANIZATION INC another non profit linked to the G-Star school , his title was principal .

the other interesting thing is the comment :

Since becoming the National Arts Institute, the group’s activities have included organizing holiday toy drives and delivering a thank-you lunch to Oxbridge Academy’s staff.

Mr Tripp after G-Star went on to become Dean of Student Life at Oxbridge academy !

there is some weird things going on , I actually called the reporter who interviewed Mr Tripp and told me he was bound by a non discloser agreement , there was more about this , but I do not want to comment about it until the state does an investigation .
My whole point in this is ,in but a few clicks of a mouse and a couple name searches can find a string of LLC's and what seem like failed Businesses , and now shady non profits that say much about the character of a Man .

 

[panzerwerk]

Much is going on with his website right now , he has disabled links to the parts pages , but they can still be accessed through old links , meaning they are still there , he is in violation of the Digital Millennium act and his web host will be removing all my pictures from his website soon , both Armorpax and East Coast armories will be filling removal claims for their pictures as well , Karma is a bitch ... and this is not over yet , I am expecting a call tomorrow from a Florida official , cant say more .

 

[pzrwest]

Glad to see something is finally being done in this matter

 

[toyrific]

You did it Steve, Paypal shut down, Ebay shut down and now his web site is gone. Congrats and Thanks

Mike

 

[panzerwerk]

Yup , we all have been working hard to achieve some action , because his massive violations , the hosting service decided it was best to shut the whole thing down , now I just hope when/if he decides to make a new site , he will do it legally and show some ethics .
I also think with other possible investigations going on not related to our little hobby , Mr Tripp may be very busy , I talked to a lot of folks through all this ,and everything he is involved in in some way seems to be under someones microscope right now ,at least that was the impression I got from them .
Although I do not feel vindicated , I am satisfied for the moment , but will my keep eyes open as always . Thanks to Mike ,John and David for all your guys help with this .

 

[SgtUSMC]

That is some REALLY GREAT news to hear. Now lets hope he goes to jail and has to pay out a lot of money to the people he screwed over!!!!!!

 

[The_Dutchman]

Congratulations to all involved, that is a BIG achievement!
Although jailtime is an option, I think the best way to stop these thughs is by hurting their wallet every way you can and sue them for lost revenue. Besides, jailtime is something YOU still pay for... through your taxes.

 

[panzerwerk]

For anyone who is still owed monies by Mr Tripp , please PM me for his current information , including his latest non steel dragons work contact info.

 

[panzerwerk]

for those who feel the need to keep up with Mr Tripps latest doings , he has been updating this site regularly :

Home-Page

 

[Sixty Driver]

Beware of the link, there is some sort of malware that tried to install itself on my computer when I clicked on one of the topics on that site.

 

[panzerwerk]

Im running the latest anti malware , i got nothing ???