Florida companies face SEC probe

[Phil(Hot Rod Chevy)]

Update: Grem USA - Just Strummin' Along
Investigative Reports
April 21 2006

Some things never change. Take, for example Grem USA (OTCBB: GRMU), the latest incarnation of a struggling public company that, in the past five years has been known as Premier Axium ASP, Core Solutions, Sunshine Ventures, Christine's Precious Petals and Global Business Markets. By any name, and in the pursuit of a succession of disparate ventures, the Company has been singularly unsuccessful. Ambitious plans to develop an outsourcing business, "smoothies" bars, real estate operations and some sort of floral venture, all failed miserably – except, of course, for the impact that overblown promises, vague press releases and promotional hype may have had on the volume and price of the Company's shares. See Premier Axium ASP, Inc. — 25 Million Reasons; Update: Core Solutions, Inc (f/k/a Premier Axium ASP Inc.) — Only The Name Has Changed; Update: Core Solutions, Inc — Where's The Sunshine?; Update: Global Business Markets - While Investors Gently Weep; and Update: Global Business Markets, Inc. - Baking Up A Storm.

During this time, the Company has had notable associations with several key individuals, including Christine Favara (who has been named in criminal and SEC complaints for her alleged role in stock fraud schemes involving shares of the Company); Stephen Carnes (who has been involved with another pair of over-hyped, non-performing companies, Signature Leisure and Renovo Holdings); and Edward Miers. Miers relationship with the Company has been particularly bumpy. In August 2002, the Company, then called Core Solutions, filed a Form 8-K stating that "[m]anagement has terminated consulting agreements and has discontinued transacting any and all business with Suburban Capital Corporation" and a number of individuals, including Miers. Despite this mandate, Miers later acquired control of the Company from Favara and assumed the position of CEO. See Christine Favara Charged By SEC; Three's Company; Valde Connections, Inc., Part I - Just Styling; Part II - The Time Machine; Part III - In Search of Spa-ing Partners; Fortis Enterprises, Inc. - California Dreamin'; and Update: Global Business Markets, Inc. - Baking Up A Storm.

Most recently, with Miers at the helm, the Company declared plans to manufacture and distribute electric guitars and amplifiers. So far, however, there has been no sweet music for public shareholders, who continue to await the arrival of Grem's first fret board. The Company has yet to produce its first marketable guitar – although it claims that the past three years have been devoted to "the acquisition of design talent, equipment, and a building where Grem could design, manufacture, and ship custom handmade and mass-produced electronic guitars, amplifiers, and accessories".

The Company has no full-time employees, although it does have offices. Grem says it has purchased and moved into a new facility in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. The Company bought the building in late 2005 from Taylor Ventures, LLC in exchange for 273 million restricted shares of Grem common stock. Taylor will receive additional shares if the stock already issued to that entity is not worth at least $300,000 when it becomes eligible for sale.

According to Grem's most recent financial statement, a Form 10-K Annual Report for the year ended December 31, 2005, the Company still has no revenues. Grem has five guitar designs on its drawing board, but nothing set to strum. So what has the Company been doing? It has been retaining consultants – 15 in recent months – and handing them shares of registered stock. What role do these various consultants play in a Company with no operations or revenues? Well, one of them, penny stock pro Stephen Carnes, entered into an oral agreement with the Company in September 2003 that was still in effect in December 2005.

Under that deal – which evidently is worth more than the paper it is not written on - Grem agreed to give Carnes free trading common stock, at the rate of $50,000 a month, in exchange for vague management and consulting services. As of December 31, 2005, the Company had handed Carnes 104 million share of free trading stock, registered on various Forms S-8.

Another 24.5 million shares of stock were registered on Form S-8 for an individual named Gregory M. Reszel, a musician and maker of musical instruments who purportedly has consulted with the Company since February 24, 2004.

The following list of shares issued by the Company and registered for immediate sale on Forms S-8 underscores the Company's generosity to its bevy of consultants:

On August 9, 2005, the Company issued a Form S-8 registering shares that were issued to the following consultants and employees:

Share Recipient Number of Shares

Dennis Nartker 8,000,000
Bernard Woods 30,000,000
Nathan Weides 5,000,000
Gregory Reszel 3,000,000
Steve Carnes 20,000,000
Evan Weybright 20,000,000
Catherine Konkle 5,000,000


A Form S-8 Registration Statement filed on November 18, 2005, registered shares which were issued to the following consultants/employees (including each of the individuals who received stock registered under the August 9, 2005 Form S-8:

Share Recipient Number of Shares

Gregory Reszel 9,000,000
Stephen Carnes 27,000,000
Evan Weybright 20,000,000
Catherine Konkle 31,000,000
Dennis Nartker 70,000,000
Nathan Weides 3,000,000
Joshua Harris 4,000,000
Bernard Woods 3,000,000
Samuel Crickard 4,000,000
Charles Crickard 4,000,000
Dwayne Bruick 5,000,000
Matthew Lettau 20,000,000


A Form S-8 filed on February 3, 2006, registered shares that were issued to the following consultants – including, once again, a list of familiar names:

Share Recipient Number of Shares Issued

Catherine Konkle 35,000,000
Gregory Reszel 20,000,000
Matthew Lettau 10,000,000
Joshua Harris 6,000,000
Dennis Nartker 70,000,000
Steven Carnes 300,000,000
James Taylor 30,000,000
Nathan Weides 6,000,000
David Peters 3,000,000

In addition to the shares given to this bevy of consultants, the Company issued 5,000,000 shares to an entity called Northern Hills, Inc. in October 2005 – again in consideration for "consulting services."

What services do these consultants provide? The Company offers modest information on that score. According to Grem's recent Form 10-K, Nartker, Woods and Weybright provide manufacturing and production services; Konkle provides "general business services," and Carnes assists with management and acquisitions. James Taylor appears to be associated with Taylor Ventures, the entity that sold Grem the building where it now houses its nascent operations.

With all of this high-priced talent, the Company has yet to manufacture or produce products or complete any meaningful acquisition to further its musical ambitions. Investors must be hoping that Grem will not strike the sort of discordant note that doomed its predecessors.


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