Wine Pop + Paul Kimmage Fund – Lesli Cohen's response to Aaron Brown's assertions

Yesterday Aaron Timmer Brown (aka Tim Brown) made a number of claims in his response to my post – Aaron Timmer Brown – the fraudster involved in Wine.Pop.

Below is the reply from Lesli Cohen, Brown's former business partner in Cyclismas:

'I don’t even know where to begin with this.

1. As a journalist, you don’t have to reveal your sources to Aaron. He’s a sputtering bloviate and cites specious facts in support of his delusions.

2. You can be sure that if Aaron is involved in a venture, he is pulling strings behind the scenes. He never takes on a minor role in anything, ever. 

3. The money was stolen, it was proved in a court of law that he unlawfully took possession of it (the definition of stealing), and if, as he claims, the funds aren’t missing, then where are they and why has he refused to return them in spite of promises to the contrary on his ridiculous KimmageFundRefund.com blog? https://kimmagefundrefund.wordpress.com/2013/12/31/refunds-to-commence-january-2014-refund-request-extension/ There were two separate litigations in Massachusetts. One was my lawsuit against Aaron to dissolve the Cyclismas partnership and seek the reimbursement of embezzled company monies, and the second was the class action lawsuit for the return of the Kimmage Fund. Aaron’s claims that Bill violated Wisconsin judicial ethics is a lie. Further, Aaron’s claim that the Cyclismas business was not an established business is rubbish. We had a website, salaried employees, a weekly Internet television show, a PayPal account, and as Cyclismas, had conducted monetary business transactions with several leading companies in the cycling industry. That is considered a legitimate business pretty much anywhere in the world. The primary reason the lawsuit was filed in Massachusetts is because that is the state in which I reside. When Aaron retained a Massachusetts lawyer to represent him and then filed countersuits against me, he acknowledged and accepted this fact as a legitimate legal action.

4. Aaron didn’t withdraw from the case; his attorney realized her client was not going to pay her, and that his fabrications and failures to provide truthful information to the discovery process made it impossible for her to represent him. She repeatedly requested of the court to be removed as his counsel, only to have the court refuse as this would allow Aaron to slip away from the process and hide in Spain out of the court’s reach. And this business about my request to provide the names and addresses of the donors is a complete lie. I didn’t request that information as I already had it as I was the curator of the donation process for the Kimmage Fund. Aaron was NOT the custodian of this campaign. He had very little to do with it except for illegally taking the money donated and using it for his own purposes. Further, I never said I didn’t want responsibility for maintaining that information. I already *had* that responsibility. It boggles my mind that Aaron can continue to make up such blatant lies like this and repeat them with a straight face. It reminds me of Donald Trump, another great sociopath and compulsive liar. Honestly. This paragraph has me shaking my head in dismay and outrage: "Based upon the well-known activities of the plaintiff in the case, there was no guarantee of that information remaining safe, nor court censure for any violations. This lawsuit filed was nothing more than a smokescreen to engage in defamatory activity of supposed illegal conduct."

5. The basis for the campaign to raise funds for Paul Kimmage’s defense was so that he would have money available to defend himself, no matter when. There wasn’t an endpoint to when or how he could use the money we raised. It’s true that we paid the initial legal bills, but Aaron stole the remaining money before the UCI dropped their suit against Kimmage. There was no way for Aaron to know whether or not Paul would need money in the future. Aaron’s assertion that it’s my fault that he took the money because I didn’t agree with what should be done with the remainder of the fund is fucking ridiculous.

6. Blah blah blah.

7. I did not harass any of the wineries for two years. Just ask them. Two years ago I didn’t even know Aaron was involved in the wine business in Catalunya. 

8. "Additional steps." Idle threats. What a windbag.'

Wine Pop + Paul Kimmage Fund – Bill Hue's response to Aaron Brown's (aka Tim Brown) assertions

Aaron Timmer Brown in Spain

Yesterday Aaron Timmer Brown made a number of claims in his response to my post – Aaron Timmer Brown – the fraudster involved in Wine.Pop.

Below is the reply from William 'Bill' Hue, an elected judge in Wisconsin and who represented the Kimmage donors in the Massachusetts court case.  

"The litigation in Massachusetts was a business dissolution action, not a “class action lawsuit”. An elected judge in Wisconsin, part of the smear campaign, injected himself into the proceedings, by attempting to attach a “class action", which in itself is a violation of the Wisconsin Judicial Code of Ethics for involving himself in a lawsuit while a presiding judge. The other peculiarity of the civil filing is the “business” was not an established business, but under Massachusetts law, anyone can say anything is a business and dissolve a “relationship”. This was the primary reason why the lawsuit was filed in that jurisdiction, as opposed to Canada or Spain, my two nations of residence, as neither would have accepted the filing."

I moved to intervene in the existing Massachusetts lawsuit on behalf of myself and others who donated to the  Kimmage Defense Fund because possession and control of said Fund was actually being litigated at that time in that Court by the two principals. Lesli quickly and cooperatively agreed to our intervention and to Class certification joining with the Class in its motions. The Court subsequently allowed intervention over Aaron's objection. I asked the Court to certify the donors as a Class. I obtained actual and legal acquiescence from Paul Kimmage himself to do so. I complied with Class notification requirements. I obtained certification from the Court over Aaron's objection. Appeal time has run over those procedural issues.

We then litigated the case on its merits. I sued Brown on behalf of the Class for possession and control of the funds, compensatory damages for breach of fiduciary duties and for costs and interest on behalf of the Class.The Class of donors prevailed on our claims over Aaron's objection and then by both default on the merits and also as a sanction for the inappropriate way he chose to abandon his positions and his wrongful violation of specific Orders of the Court requiring him to account for the Funds. Aaron lost on the merits.

Aaron lost on procedure, lost on the merits and lost on the issue of sanctions.

The Class of donors obtained Findings Conclusions and Judgment that Brown had the funds,unlawfully took them, unlawfully held them and breached his fiduciary duties to the donors. The Judgment against him is for for the estimated remaining funds, interest, costs and continuing interest until they are returned.

Again, the Class of donors won on the merits and Brown lost, badly. The appeal time on all issues in the case has run. 

To sum up, Brown lost on procedure. He lost on the merits. He lost as much as he could possibly lose. He failed to appeal. The Class of donors has Judgment against him for well over U.S. $100,000. Whatever justification he has for losing. he must concede that he had an opportunity to persuade a neutral court with jurisdiction of his defenses. The Court concluded that his defenses were without merit. The Court additionally sanctioned him for knowing violating Court Orders. He failed miserably and completely. The legal matter and any arguments Brown once had are over and closed. Each and every argument has been decided against him by a neutral court of law having jurisdiction consisting of at least 3 separate presiding judges.

I deny engaging in a smear campaign against Aaron Brown except to communicate with nearly 1000 donors through social media to convey the results and conclusion of our litigation. A Court of competent jurisdiction has found he has taken our money unlawfully and owes us for what he has taken and wrongfully holds. His specious arguments and justifications will not stand. I intend to do whatever I can to bring him to justice.

Finally, his misunderstanding of and misstatements on the subject of the Wisconsin Supreme Court Rules pertaining to judicial ethics is astounding in its absurdity. That certainly is consistent with his other failed legal positions and contentions.

Thank you.

Bill Hue'

Aaron Timmer Brown – the fraudster involved in Wine.Pop

Aaron Timmer Brown (aka Tim Brown) in his bike correspondent days

as a partner in Cyclismas

(above and below)

Episode 7 Highlights

 Aaron Timmer Brown now in Catalonia as Tim Brown –

wine expert and figure behind the Wine.Pop app
+ founder of Catalunya Wine
twitter – @CatalunyaWine; facebook: @CatalunyaWine 

The jovial and enthusiastic Sinisa Curavic

 – the public face of Wine.Pop
Sinisa was very shocked to discover Aaron Brown's past yesterday

Aaron Timmer Brown, the man who trousered the Paul Kimmage Fund * is now a figure behind the recently launched app – Wine.Pop. For someone who was frequently on camera during his biking correspondent days, Aaron Timmer Brown is now curiously camera shy. I searched the promotional videos for Wine.Pop in vain for a glimpse of Aaron – or Tim Brown as he now calls himself. 

In 2014 Tim Brown or Timmer Brown set up Catalunya Wine – the 'Aaron' had conveniently gone AWOL.....too easily found on Google, especially if you add Timmer?

a) The Paul Kimmage Fund
Of course Aaron Timmer Brown has good reason to shorten his name to Tim Brown and to be reticent – almost reclusive. He has a Massachusetts Superior Court judgment against him for wrongfully appropriating the Paul Kimmage Fund. On 27th February 2015 he was ordered to pay a total of $84,925.22 including costs.  Since then, at a rate of 12% interest, this judgement has increased to a total sum of a little over $100,000 and will continue to increase at a rate of $27.92 a day.

The Paul Kimmage Fund was set up in 2012 and some 30,000 people donated around $92,000. Of this some $65,000 is unaccounted for and this led to the court case in Massachusetts and the judgment against Aaron Timmer Brown. 

Kimmage hit for damages, while Timmer Brown enjoys good life in Catalonia
On 27th May 2016 Paul Kimmage was fined 12,000 Swiss Francs plus costs by a Swiss Court, who found that he had libelled Hein Verbruggen, who was the only one of the original claimants in the libel case to continue the action. Shane Stokes reported in The Irish Times that Kimmage had been 'Left vulnerable after a legal fund to support him was stolen'. 

b) Maintenance (child support/alimony) to Jennifer Brown in Nova Scotia, Canada 

Covering letter 28.6.2011 from Nova Scotia Department of Justice
on support payments owed by Aaron Brown

 Maintenance Enforcement Program of Nova Scotia
Department of Justice

Recipient: Brown, Jennifer, 
Payer: Brown, Aaron

 

As of 22nd June 2011 maintenance payments due from Aaron Brown to Jennifer Brown totaled $77,031.01. Brown is due to pay $1700 a month. During the period 17.6.2009 and 22.6.2011 he paid a grand total of $248, so the debt rose from $38,178.01 to $77,031. It is not known what the current level of debt on these maintenance payments now is.

c) Video – Grapes of Catalunya

Four wineries – La Cooperativa Agrícola de Garriguella, Saó del Coster, Terra Remota and Bodegas Torre del Veguer –  paid a monthly retainer to Brown to be featured on a video (Grapes of Catalunya) that was due to appear in January 2016. The video has not appeared, although a few clips can be found on the net including this introduction to the project on Vimeo. The associated website disappeared and it can now be bought for $12.99. 

I trust the four wineries involved thought a few video clips was money well spent.....    

 

d) Wine.Pop

Wine.Pop home page 

 Tim Brown, marketing director – Wine.Pop tel: 34 667 155 803

Wine.Pop Facebook group of Ambassadors, who

seek to persuade wineries/producers to sign up to Wine.Pop

for a promised 10% on all sales 

The Wine.Pop app is the latest wine venture to involve Tim Brown (aka Aaron Timmer Brown) where he is marketing director. This app started life as ArteBacchus developed by Tomas Volts.

 ArteBacchus has transformed into WinePop... (26th September 2016)

Wine.Pop has signed up a number of Ambassadors to persuade producers/wineries to sign up to the Wine.Pop app. In return they are promised 

10% on all sales, for the sign up and for all the bookings coming through the booking system, which is due to be released in November. Ambassadors' 10% fee is fixed and they will be receiving this fee for as long as the winery continues to be a member of Wine.Pop. Ambassadors are able to offer producers a discount for the first year as long as the sign up fee doesn't go below 110€. 

Payments are made through Fact Advertising & Consulting, AG Neugutstrasse 52, CH-8600 Dübendoff/Zurich.   

Yesterday I contacted several of the Ambassadors outlining Mr Brown's history in respect to the Paul Kimmage Fund and the non-payment of Maintenance. They were shocked as clearly Brown has been careful to hide his past from them – hence the disappearing 'Aaron' and 'Timmer'.    

I am told that Wine.Pop is a 'serious project and that Tim has nothing to do with the day to day running, and certainly not with the finances. He is only doing marketing.' However, given Brown's past history Wine.Pop will surely be crippled, while Aaron Trimmer Brown is in any way involved.
 

Questions to Aaron Timmer Brown:   
Yesterday I sent a series of questions (see separate post) to Brown. This was his response – sent 5.11.16 4.31 pm: 

'Dear Jim Budd,

 Thank you for your email. I will say your email contains inaccurate and false information.

I won’t be able to give you a proper response by your deadline, but will review this in detail on Monday.

Sincerely,

Tim Brown'

 
I look forward to receiving his more detailed response, which I will post on this blog.

I expect that I will be posting further on Aaron Timmer Brown and Wine.Pop and trust that Mr Brown's many friends and admirers will appreciate being informed of his latest ventures.      

* I should declare that I was a small contributor to the fund but was not involved in the class action. Clearly I contributed to assist Paul Kimmage's legal defence and not to line the sticky pockets of Mr Aaron Timmer Brown.