WMI sues former corporate staff. Ariix to blame?
In late 2010 Wealth Masters introduced a marketing system for its members called ‘WMI Marketing’.
WMI Marketing’s implementation was largely credited to then Vice President of Marketing at Wealth Masters, Michael Hamburger.
Hamburger left Wealth Masters for Avant in late October/early November 2011 and roughly a week later WMI went on the offensive sending out a ‘Corporate Staff’ list to any free article directory or press release site they could find.
Titled ‘FACT OR FICTION; WHAT DO THESE 27 HAVE IN COMMON?’, with the recent very public exodus of several key corporate management staff, Wealth Masters sought to introduce some of its lesser known corporate executives to the WMI memberbase.
Two particular names of interest on that list are Jesse Musick and Pat Berry.
Why?
Sometime between December 23rd and 29th 2010, Wealth Masters launched legal action against the pair of marketers and their company, ‘Office VP LLC’.
On their Corporate Staff page, WMI list Jesse Musick as a marketing partner and ‘co-creator of all the software systems that make Marketing Central run‘. Pat Berry is similarly credited as ‘one of the co-creators of WMI’s Map Your Life system in Marketing Central‘.
Despite Michael Hamburger being the public face of WMI Marketing during his time at Wealth Masters, following Hamburger’s departure Musick and Berry appear to have taken up that mantle.
Well, at least until Wealth Masters slapped them with a ‘Contract – Consumer/Commercial/Debt’ lawsuit in Texas’ Fort Bend County Court.
I had a look over at the Fort Bend Country Court website and couldn’t see any information on the case, so the particulars at this stage remain a mystery.
If Musick and Berry were only responsible for the day to day operations of WMI Marketing, one would think they were receiving money from Wealth Masters through their company Office VP rather than vice-versa.
Looking at the specific type of lawsuit filed by WMI, that being a contract dispute, perhaps the legal dispute revolves around the breaking of a contractual agreement between WMI and Office VP.
A strong indication this might very well be what has happened is the fact that Musick and Berry’s company Office VP, appears credited at the bottom of a replicated website apparently operated by Rick Billings as part of the greater LeaderElite network.
Rick Billings’ replicated page credits him as a ‘senior officer‘ for Ariix and features a capture video by Tim Sales.
At the time of publication, copyright of the LeaderElite replicated website is attributed to
© 2011 Office VP LLC and Leader Elite. All rights reserved.
A quick Google search reveals that there are currently at least 177 websites all pushing a similar replicated capture page as Rick Billing’s own Leader Elite page.
These pages all appear to feature the same Tim Sales capture video and whilst I don’t know if there’s any specific business relationship between Tim Sales and Office VP, the exclusivity of Leader Elite only being used to promote Ariix (Tim Sales is a master distributor of Ariix) would strongly indicate there is.
The signup page for LeaderElite confirms this exclusivity by listing the backoffice of Ariix as a non-optional monthly subscription service as part of the purchase of a Leader Elite capture page:
This would at the very least suggest OfficeVP are taking processing some of Ariix member’s payments for their official company backoffice.
Getting back to WMI, it’s no secret that after losing corporate management members Deanna Latson and Mary Dee last year to Ariix – there is absolutely no love between the two companies.
In an email exchange between Mary Dee (former Wealth Masters Chief Operating Officer) and WMI President and co-founder Karl Bessey shortly after Dee left WMI for Ariix, a furious Bessey warned Dee that Ariix was
destined to self destruct as you are all a bunch of liars and thugs. It (Ariix) will certainly fail…you cannot do business this way and survive.
Putting all this together, if I had to take a punt I’d say that Wealth Masters recent legal action against Office VP has something to do with the existing contract between Office VP and WMI.
I don’t know if there was an exclusivity clause in the contract agreement between Jesse Musick, Pat Berry and WMI, but I figure that these two, through their company Office VP, doing any work for Ariix would be more than enough to make WMI management fly into fits of rage.
Currently Musick and Berry both still appear listed as corporate staff over at Wealth Masters – I wonder how long that’ll last.
Update 4th January, 2012 – A few more pieces to the puzzle:
1. Back in November 2011, shortly after Hamburger left and after WMI published its corporate staff list (roughly a week later), Wealth Masters announced a partnership with
Jeff Lerner, creator of the newly launched TopTierIncome.com (TTI) marketing system.
This would indicate that WMI severed all ties with Office VP and booted out Musick and Berry sometime between Michael Hamburger leaving in late October and Lerner joining on November 14th.
This is confirmed by the following statement from WMI:
NOTE: Office V.P. is no longer an approved vendor and you will want to cancel any monthly charges immediately to prevent double billing.
Which was put out on December 28th, 2011 on the company website.
The exact date of termination of Office VP as an approved vendor of WMI however is not given, but would have to be sometime in November, prior to Lerner’s arrival with his own ‘Top Tier Income’ marketing system.
“Fact or Fiction?” lol. What may be fiction?.. The entire article? Or just some of it- like the bit about them ensuring the success of every WMI member and consultant. LOL. At least this way they can claim they haven’t ‘lied’…they’ve given the option it may be fiction.
Here is the Office VP website:
http://www.officevp.com/about.aspx
Jesse Musick is a founder. No mention of Pat Berry on the site as far as I could see, though he lists himself as ‘President’ of Office VP on his LinkedIn page (he used to be in Usana). Not much activity either, last blog entry was August 2010. Strangely it has some sort of ‘Affiliate Partner Program’ too, with a two tier income potential.
So this is yet another ‘problem’ for WMI. Offie VP have done something to peeve them off (jump ship perhaps?).
Dan and Becky Maes will probably nick off before PURE gets anywhere too.
This “happy family” seems to be very eager to sue each other?
Kip and Karl have referred to the members as “our family” and “the WMI family” less than a year ago. Now they’re acting more like their girlfriends have dumped them.
This is Pat Berry. I do work for Office VP and we provide Marketing platforms for a number of direct Sales companies, but we are only a vendor providing the marketing platform.
Neither myself of Jesse Musick where ever and employee of WMI.
@Pat
Didn’t you have any objections when WMI decided to (and still do) list you on their corporate staff page then as members of Wealth Masters’ ‘corporate team‘ then?
That listing is a strong implication that you work for WMI.
Any chance you can provide specifics of what the contract dispute was about?
Sorry for the typos I was on an IPad Apple Autocorrect.
This is Pat Berry. I do work for Office VP and we provide marketing platforms for a number of direct sales companies, but we are only a vendor providing the marketing platform. Neither myself or Jesse Musick were ever an employee of WMI.
Typos aside Pat, no objections to being listed as corporate staff by WMI?
Your punt is right Oz. A tiny bit more info listed here:
• Wealth Masters International, LTD a/k/a Wealth Masters International, LLC v. Office VP, LLC, Jesse Musick And Pat Berry, Contract – Consumer/Commercial/Debt
link:
http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/ranch/data/court-docket-dec/article_2b95911a-564a-5973-ba4a-dd92f093905f.html
Definition:
CONTRACT—CONSUMER/COMMERCIAL/DEBT: Cases involving a buyer of goods or services bringing a suit against the seller for failure either to deliver said goods or services or to honor a warranty as promised in an expressed or implied contract. Also, cases involving a seller of goods or services bringing a suit against a buyer for failure to pay for said goods or services as promised in an expressed or implied contract (debt collection). Examples include agreements, breach of contract, contracts, notes, sworn accounts, debts, and assignment of creditors.
link:http://www.courts.state.tx.us/tjc/pdf/forms/old/CCC-CV-Inst.pdf
WMI are getting desperate. Now they will even pay for your hotel.
http://wmitoday.com/articles/wmi-m2-savings/
Another name to add to the list:
David Robey – the new ‘Vice President of Operation for PURE’.
http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=151205
He is a WMI member from 2008 or so. Has his own ‘internet marketing firm called ‘Pivot Positive LLC’
http://pivotpositive.com/
David Robey has been with WMI since 2007. Still he claims that he started his business in 2008:
http://wealthmastersinternational.net/members/profile/557
The website of Pivot Positive does not mention WMI, Pure or any other MLM company or consept (as far as I can see). It is just general BS about MLM and positive thinking copied from other sources. It works as a parachute when the marketer jump from the plane as it makes it easier for him to join another MLM scam and still make people believe he has been a successful and serious marketer for a long time.
However, a WMI marketer is not allowed to mention WMI in any marketing material, so Robey is actually obedient to the strict WMI consultant policy.
The funny thing is that when you enter the page “Work With The Robeys” you are offered a link to his Carbon Copy Pro landing page. As this page is not active anymore, you are automatically forwarded to the landing page of his upline, which is Jay Kubassek. Here you can listen to Per Gunnar Hoem when he praises CCP. Strange when he already in August 2010 personally ensured me that CCP had nothing to do with WMI (while his own CCP landing page was still active).