Tropical American Tree Farms status report.
None of the TATF owners with whom I have been in contact (34) this year have been able to communicate with the company. Seven have tried within the past month, using email, telephone, and letter. None have received responses. This is a continuation of the situation reported during the past two years. Two have told me they emailed TATF posing as prospective buyers recently and both received full and descriptive responses offering sales of trees at 20% off, refective of the website offers. The deceptive website for TATF exists largely unchanged from years ago when most tree owners, believing in the false projections, bought their trees.
It is likely that this company has become a cash receiver only, not tree farming, not tree maintaining. Existing tree owners do not receive answers to their inquiries about their trees, are not permitted to visit their trees, and do not hold valid and enforcable contracts for their purchases. Their trees, if they ever existed, are growing on Mr. Brunner's land and are completely within his possession. He has both the trees and the money spent for them, and he apparently plans to keep both.
As for Steve Brunner, we do not know if he still lives in Costa Rica, whether he still owns the land investors' trees reportably inhabit, nor even if he still exists on this planet.
Being a self-proclaimed spiritual man, perhaps he believes a higher authority will ultimately judge him favorably.
belmontx
