Duplicitous or fraudulent?
An observer familiar with TATF from a decade ago just returned from a visit to Costa Rica and reported that the former drying and storing facilities at the farms appear to be abandoned, the tarps blown off and disintegrated and the cut wood rotting. The sites of the farms where investor trees were located also appear abandoned and the trees stunted and not maintained. Where he had seen activity years ago none existed now. The original showcase farm is now blocked off with a cryptic sign marking it as a "sanctuary". He could find no signs of the owner nor of any employees. Years earlier he remembered seeing the same places bustling with activity.
Another tree-owner sent me (jstanton5@gmail.com) this today, (I think regular readers of this forum will know who "investor in Cincinnati" is):
"Thanks again for your willingness to serve as a clearinghouse for those TATF investors who want to stay connected. It is indeed a very sad commentary on the Brunner’s that this type of forum is the only way for investors to obtain information. My message to the Brunner’s has, and will continue to be: Remain open and honest with your investors and give us the facts, however difficult they are. I don’t hold Sherry or Steve responsible for the severe recession that adversely impacted the price of tropical hardwoods. Nor do I hold them accountable for the wet weather that has ostensibly prevented them from getting into the woods to conduct thinnings. However, I do hold them responsible for failing to communicate in a transparent manner with existing tree owners while continuing to represent to prospective investors that the TATF is a thriving, growing business. Let me elaborate.
"I am a Certified Financial Planner® and Chartered Financial Consultant® with my own fee-only financial planning practice. Recently, I was working with a high net-worth businessman who had sold his business to a public company and received millions in sale proceeds. He invested a portion of the sale proceeds in public related securities (stocks, bonds, etc.) but also made several investments in private partnerships. He is somewhat of an environmentalist and searched the internet for investment opportunities in timber that practiced sustainable forestry. Incredibly, he came across TAFF’s website, and inquired about an investment. Of course, Steve personally called him to tout the merits of investing in TATF. My client asked for references. He was given the name of an investor in Cincinnati, OH and called this gentlemen. He was told that he was very happy with his TATF investment and that he had received cash distributions from tree thinnings.
"Fortunately, the client mentioned to me his interest in investing in TATF. Of course, I gave him the “rest of the story”. When Steve called my client to “close the deal”, he informed him that he had talked to another TATF investor who had a different experience and that he would not be investing at this time.
"In my opinion, this type of behavior is duplicitous at best and fraudulent at its worst. I simply want Steve to “come clean” and give us the honest truth. I can be patient if I know that the current business difficulties are temporary. But, in the absence of any forthright communication, investors are led to assume the worst case scenario, which in my opinion is that Steve is running a Ponzi scheme."
