Charity poker tournament scam Alfred Jack Walls Now with Reraisepokertour.com cliffs in OP - Page 141 - Poker News

raidalot · 05-24-2012, 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MidniteToker

Is it, really? He also promised money to a lot of tourney winners and that didn't materialize either, but somehow it isn't hard for anyone to see why. Doing the same to cancer patients seems pretty obvious. There were poker players who were still trusting him while waiting for their money, the same would apply to cancer patients.

Its obvious why a scammer might get people to part with their cash by offering prizes and then not deliver on those prizes. That analogy does not explain a scammers reason for promising money to cancer victims. If he didn't want to give money he simply could have not promised any in the first place.

Look, I am far from a UCARE/Jack supporter. I am just arguing for reasonable logic in the discussion.

Haylee_Smith · 05-24-2012, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by raidalot

One aspect which should be acknowledged is that Haylee provides the first real confirmation that UCARE was actually helping cancer sufferers (or at least had promised to do so). Its hard to see why Jack would promise them money if he had no intention of paying. i think he started the charity in hopes of helping cancer patients but I think he just ran the company into the ground in 2011 and all he wanted to do was play poker.. that's it. i have a weird feeling he may of created UCARE for a reason to play opoker all the time.. but again, i do not know this for sure..

I don't see anything wrong with paying employees out of donations/funds raised. Thats how all charities pay their people. It may not be illegal i guess but it just doesnt seem right.. i thought it may be illegal when all the donations collected over the weekend went to the employees when the field reps are out there telling generious donators their donations are going to cancer patients.. employees received donation paychecks for months not just a couple times.. but again, i am not sure if that is illegal just wrong..

I am not saying UCARE was not a scam but think we should keep the discussion realistic.

Haylee:
- do you know if UCARE had paid money to sufferers in the past? -As far as I know I think he was paying cancer patients before I started working there, which was early 2011. I never sent anyone checks myself or say that he did but he says he did. I think in the beginning of 2011 everything started falling apart on Jack's end (he kept this to himself) because a few months after I started, i began receiving phone calls from patients looking for their promised donations. an
- are you able to ask the accountant how much was raised/how much Jack took out/how much was given to patients etc? - No i dont speak to the Accountant anymore, Once i quit he worked for Jack (for free until Jack got out of the hole) for another month or so i heard and then quite because he never got paid and Jack moved to AL. I have had a few past employees call the Accountant looking for their W2's and the accountant told them not to call him anymore he has nothing to do with UCARE. Now, the Accountant only worked for Jack maybe the last 3 months of my employment, he was not there the whole time UCARE was in business.
- you say UCARE was bankrupt in September 2011 - were you aware that it carried on activities after that date? Once I found out that Jack was bankrupt i continued to work for Jack for another month because Jack and the Accountant promised they could get out of the hole in 3 weeks so Me and a couple others gave him 3 weeks to see what would happen, a few were let go because they could not afford them and the rest (including me) had to get a pay cut in order to try and revive UCARE. They continued to send Field Reps into the field to pay ucare employees backtracked paychecks and pay their bills. NO money was given to cancer patients.
- was it your impression that the charity was legit up to some time in 2011 when the money suddenly disappered (e.g. due to Jack's personal spending)? yes i really thought UCARE was a legit company, i was hired through a staffing agency so i really thought it was and UCARE is a 5013c charity. it did all seem legit to me and then seemed to go downhill.. I think that not enough donations were coming in and he didnt have anything saved and spent alot of the money on poker tournaments, bills, etc.. and thats why it went bankrupt.
- would you be able to get the accountant to post on here? He would be a critical link in moving this forward.

No i dont think he would post on here.. I havent talked to him in months and he is still pretty pissed off about the whole thing because he worked for jack for free for months because Jack promised him he would get his pay once they are back up and running. last i hear he wants nothing to do with UCARE and was afraid he would loose his CPA license.

Haylee_Smith · 05-24-2012, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doc T River

If he's committed criminal acts, bankruptcy won't save him.

Yes, what I think will get him is, I dont think he paid his taxes. every employee paid their taxes or had taxes deducted from their payc, but I dont think he paid his. I did his payroll at the end of my employement (maybe like 2 or 3 months) and he never paid sent a check to the IRS (i think thats who it would be) he never had the money, he could barely afford to pay his employees...

Charlotte FatMan · 05-24-2012, 11:44 AM

This is a sore subject in my area. I had several friends who played in UCARE tourneys in the Charlotte area and I know of two who never received their prizes.

One who did get a prize was told it would be "prime" tickets to the Bobcats and it ended up being second level seats!

I was out of town during one of the events or I wouldve been slated to play - saved $180.

raidalot · 05-24-2012, 12:29 PM

Thanks for the responses Haylee.

Bene Gesserit · 05-24-2012, 12:43 PM

Is this still going on? He must really be connected or this is all BS and agendas IDK which of course!

**Professionalpoker** · 05-24-2012, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bene Gesserit

Is this still going on? He must really be connected or this is all BS and agendas IDK which of course!

His tournament website is down and this was posted a while back.

Quote:

Originally Posted by WstevenM

Hey everyone, I've been reading this forum for quite some time, and can't thank everyone enough for keeping me out of the tournaments in Charlotte. Just got this email from Jack and figured I'd share it.

==============================

"The Richmond event was a success and we would like to thank everyone involved in making this 4 day event run smooth and without any concern or problem. UCARE would like to thank the continued support of our sponsors, as well as the Virginia State Police and the ABC board for helping us show after speaking to many of us involved, that charity poker and what we do and have done is not illegal. We would also like to thank Beth at St. Jude’s, who also works at the D.A.’s office, for allowing us to support their great cause and coming by to accept a check on Sunday, and the 3rd party auditors that helped handle the money and audit the event for us. Last, but not least, we would most importantly, like to thank the players for coming out and making the event great. We had over 300 players total for the 4 days, and without you, these events could not be made possible.

UCARE has been a licensed 501c3 charity since February 2009 and has helped hundreds of individuals with cancer by granting out over $300,000 since we began. Many of you know someone that has been affected by cancer, and some of you even know those that we have helped. We thank you for supporting us and allowing us to help them over the last 3 years. You, our players, are the reason our charity tournaments grew to the huge levels that they did.

With that said, I regret to inform each of you that due to financial hardship and the continued unmerited and unproven attacks by 2+2, we have decided to end our Charity Poker Tour. Since the 2+2 forum started with its biased and unfounded comments and childish attempts to hurt a charity that has done so much, attendance has dropped dramatically and we have lost numerous sponsors and pros that supported us. These sponsors and pros have spoken to us many times since this began, and though many of them know that we have always ran these tournaments legally and with the mission to help others, they have also been attacked by 2+2 for their support of us, and many of them have expressed their sincere regret in having to step away from the situation.

With the end of our Poker Tour we have spoken with the various free poker leagues that have supported us and made arrangements that they will handle all current unused wsop seat prizes for those that are still waiting to decide on where to play. However, with this transition, all seats will not be able to be used until after May. Please speak with your local league for more information. They will be sending out emails, as well, to all players that are awaiting seats.

Once again, we thank each of you for all you have done and hope that despite what has happened through the 2+2 forum and the ending of our charity poker tour, that you will continue to help local charities and individuals in your areas by playing in future charity events held by other organizations. Your support has meant so much to so many and poker has and always will be a great avenue for charity. God bless each of you."

==============================

Well done, everyone.

Of course Jack had told so many lies he can not possibly keep track of all of them so stories changed frequently. From his first post itt.

Quote:

United Cancer Alliance does everything it can to help those with cancer, my father is currently diagnosed with cancer as well, so I know the hardships firsthand that it causes, and we try to do everything we can to help those that need it. This company was built for all the right reasons, and I personally take offense to anyone calling it a scam, as I am sure the thousands of people we have helped would feel the same way.

OMFG get real · 05-25-2012, 01:40 PM

I'm so glad I checked back to see what has developed.... I haven't been tilted in months. Almost forgot how it feels.

WP, Jack the Ripper-Offer.

**Professionalpoker** · 05-25-2012, 01:56 PM

Jack also had two stories for unpaid workers at one of his remote offices. First it was a manager that embezzled the funds. There were never any police reports provided to back this. Second version was a payroll company that screwed up.

**sajeffe** · 06-09-2012, 02:50 PM

https://twitter.com/spann/status/211...202432/photo/1 Stay dry, Alfred.

tarheelbluez · 06-09-2012, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sajeffe

https://twitter.com/spann/status/211...202432/photo/1 Stay dry, Alfred.

LOL LOL

RollWave · 08-10-2012, 03:56 PM

As background, Mark Hackett is owner of NPTN, the gaming company that ran UCARE's Virginia events. He was super condescending to me in our 2 phone conversations in December 2011 and he also lied to me and claimed to have UCARE's 990's on record, but wouldn't produce them (I know he lied because UCARE hadn't filed 990s at the time, and he made them up on the spot in December. I know he wasn't mistaken and just referring to 501.3.c designation forms because I specifically asked this question and Mark claimed to know the difference between the two). Basically, NPTN's conclusion was something like, "if Jack broke the law call the police, otherwise I'm gonna continue working with him". And that was about the time I gave up on this thread, we had notified everyone, and if people like Mark wanted to continue getting scammed, let them.

Fast Forward - 2 weeks ago I got an email from Mark:

"...we have talked about UCARE and Jack Walls around 6 months ago. I just want to let you know that you were right, we got mislead here in Richmond VA and Jack took off with all the prize pool money and then supposedly closed the business..."

He offered to give me more details, but so far I haven't heard back from him (and now that its been 2 weeks, I expect I probably won't).

But, as a stroll down memory lane, I did write up this thread summary of events over the past 6 months.

1. December: On the aforementioned radio show we received a call in from a good friend and employee of Jack Walls (Ed something, i forget his last name) who wanted to defend him. But in doing so he actually admitted that Jack was guilty of gambling with UCARE funds. Specifically Jack Walls and his friend made a bet, and when Ed won, Jack used UCARE funds to buy the friend into the next UCARE tournament as a sponsored pro. Ed also admitted that his buddy Jack gave him a job at UCARE managing a team of Walmart panhandlers, and Jack agreed to artificially lower Ed's paycheck to ensure that Ed could continue to receive unemployment benefits concurrently. It was unclear to me as to whether this is technically unemployment fraud or just a legal loophole (since there's no way to prove that Ed was almost certainly receiving the rest of his paycheck in cash under the table). I never heard back from NC DOJ about it or whichever agency it was that I contacted.
2. December: NC Secretary of State confirmed that UCARE was not registered with them and therefore could not legally operate in NC. Their letter implied that no punishment would follow as long as UCARE came into compliance within 60 days.
3. February: Jack Walls claimed to donate proceeds from a January event to 2 charities. "Cindy's hope chest" confirmed receiving a check but didn't confirm the size. "The Sandbox" had never hard of UCARE and never received the stated donation.
4. February - IRS confirmed that no Form 990's were ever filed prior to December 2011 (after the 2+2 investigation). The versions provided to Bustout Poker were indeed fake.
5. Rachel Depompa of NBC12 Richmond prepared a consumer interest news story about the UCARE scam right before the Richmond event. Sadly, her editors passed and it never aired.
6. February - Virginia Charitable Gaming Board confirmed that UCARE was not authorized to operate in the state of Virginia. Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services began an investigation. Results were never provided but I assumed the Richmond event was allowed to proceed since UCARE was essentially operating through an intermediary, NPTN.
7. February - Jeff Griffith of Bustout claimed that he had second hand information that "involved actual fraud and theft that had gone on right under the nose of one of the largest companies in the world" though he refused to say more specifically what he learned, from who, or to provide the information to the authorities. He did apologize to the poker community though for his previous sponsorship of UCARE and for previously defending Jack. I suspect that his information is related to the panhandling that UCARE employees did outside of Walmarts around NC.
8. In March, after officially ending the renamed "Charity Poker Tour" Jack attempted to start a new charity, "All in 4 cancer" based out of his new home address in Orange Beach, Alabama. Facebook page was taken down within hours and to my knowledge no official paperwork with any state or federal authority was ever bothered to be filed for this new endeavor. I assume Jack was just testing the waters to see if he could start a new organization unnoticed.
9. March - Travis Kelly of "Chips for Charity" claims that he was out of pocket $3k from the Charlotte or Durham UCARE event during summer 2011 (I forget which) when Jack was unable to provide WSOP seats to all 3 winners. The event planning small business that put on that event was never paid their $4k fee. Both of these groups have since shutdown due to snowballing effects from these losses (they were both small side business / hobbies to begin with so losses of this size would be pretty devastating to a struggling small startup)
10. July - Mark Hackett of NPTN claims that Jack Walls walked away from the February Richmond event with the entire prize pool fund. (I assume the February-July delay in realizing he left with the money was that WSOP seats were awarded at the event, and it wasn't until July that the winners weren't able to claim the prizes)

**Professionalpoker** · 08-10-2012, 04:07 PM

Good bump. We can try to give this legs again in the press by going to the American Greed site and suggesting this as a story. http://www.cnbc.com/id/41235608/

In b4 kessler tells us again he got away with it.

clayraiken1 · 08-10-2012, 05:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Professionalpoker

Good bump. We can try to give this legs again in the press by going to the American Greed site and suggesting this as a story. http://www.cnbc.com/id/41235608/

In b4 kessler tells us again he got away with it.

would be amazing if this made american greed

LOL

tarheelbluez · 08-10-2012, 05:21 PM

July - Mark Hackett of NPTN claims that Jack Walls walked away from the February Richmond event with the entire prize pool fund. (I assume the February-July delay in realizing he left with the money was that WSOP seats were awarded at the event, and it wasn't until July that the winners weren't able to claim the prizes)

I'm floored but in some way I knew it would turn out like this. What a pos