A Very Special Thanksgiving

Most Thanksgivings, I have the usual to be thankful for… you know… Health, Family, Friends and Prosperity. But this Thanksgiving, is special. Very special…

You see, as some of you undoubtedly already know, I was the subject of an industry “hit piece” back in late September/early October. Despite the normal strategy of not talking publicly about a case in progress, I am going to speak out because you need to hear what I have to say…

It appears that a number of long term rivals in this industry have teamed up (I’m betting you all can guess who they might be) and convinced the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") to ‘make a case’ that my fifteen-year old truck permitting business was somehow engaged in ‘deceptive business practices.’ They did a hell of a job trying to push, pull and squeeze my legitimate business model-- one that has been around since the Twin Towers were still standing in New York City-- into a cookie-cutter mold and struggle to try and make it fit the definition of “scam” for the purpose of making a Federal case.

Ignoring the First Amendment-- and the rights of free speech and freedom to associate with others, the FTC would have you believe that you do not have an entrepreneurial right in America to offer services that your fellow citizens can do on their own without you… at either a lesser cost-- or no cost-- to them. They have essentially suggested to a Federal Judge that any model in which you offer to do something for someone that they could otherwise do themselves for free-- if they spend the time and effort researching how to do it-- is somehow illegitimate. In doing so, they attack capitalism, business, and the entrepreneurial spirit of America.

They attack the very concept that in America, you are free to prepare your own 1040 tax form or you can pay an accountant to do it for you in the hopes that they might know something you don’t. They attack the American notion that you have the right to paint your house yourself, or you can hire a painter to do it for you because you don’t feel like doing it yourself. And they attack the concept that you can buy a half gallon of milk on the way home at your local convenience store at a higher price, or you can make the trek to the grocery store and stand in long lines. But in America, you have the right to consult with others who have expertise. You have a right to choice. And you have the right to choose convenience.

Think for a moment how very dangerous this kind of over-the-top, anti-American thinking is to our industry and our country at large. How dare you offer third party logistics services when a shipper and carrier can get together themselves! And what gives you the right to make a business out of transporting other people’s property when they can just rent a truck and drive it themselves?

You see, a truck permitting company offers filing services that span the spectrum-- from doing things you could do yourself for free-- to putting together a network of 48 process agents for start-up businesses seeking to secure interstate operating authority and make a filing that is virtually impossible for authority applicants to do themselves or, at best, would take months for them to do on their own; that is, they can freely choose to contract with a third party and voila! They instantly have a turn key solution to their business licensing needs at their disposal.

Back in September, the FTC launched a surprise attack on me and my businesses while I was out of the country by filing an out-of-the-blue civil action against me and my for-profit companies. Not once did they ever talk to us about their "concerns." Hours later, they made misrepresentations that convinced a Federal judge, ex-parte with only them and the judge present, to issue a temporary restraining order, feigning an “emergency” condition existed. They convinced that judge to include in that TRO a freeze of all of my personal and business assets and to place my businesses in receivership as if we were some fraudulent fly-by-night company or an ISIS terror cell, instantly taking away control of the businesses, with a stroke of a pen, all without an opportunity to first be heard. This didn't happen in some authoritarian dictatorship, mind you. It happened right here, in the good old USA... or what's "left" of it.

Of course, in America… you are eventually entitled to a hearing. Although the FTC protested when my legal team asked that same judge for special permission for me to testify before him at that hearing, presumably because they didn't want the truth to come out, the judge overruled their objection and said he wanted to hear from me. And two weeks later, when that day came, that judge was visibly angered by the, ironically, deceptive tricks and tactics employed by the FTC. He apparently concluded he was 'had,' and that no such emergency ever actually existed as the FTC original purported to him. When asking the FTC how long they had been investigating this matter when they showed up in mid-September 2016 claiming this alleged emergency existed, he learned it was not a month, not two months, not three or six, but an entire year they spent tax-payer dollars on this case. He even asked them if they were trying to clog the courts with this case and concluded that there was no bona fide emergency after all when they eventually admitted to him they had been looking into this matter since September 2015. I'll leave it to you to recall, what I was talking about with you here on Linked In as of August and September of 2015 (you can view all of my posts by clicking here) and you can put the pieces of this puzzle together on your own...

After this hearing, the Judge determined that justice required that my businesses be turned back over to me immediately and all accounts should be instantly unfrozen; that this never should have happened in the first place. He indicated there was no good reason not to allow us to continue to operate.

And while there are issues that will be adjudicated through a trial, he essentially just required a reminder notice be sent to our clients, strengthened our existing disclaimers, and told us not to do things that, of course, we were not doing in the first place. The resulting preliminary injunction was nothing like what he first gave the government and the lack of a bonafide government case has now become very apparent.

I believe the FTC thought they could just take over the businesses and destroy them during receivership so that by the time the case came to trial a year later, there would be no fight left in us and they wouldn’t have to worry about actually meeting their burden of proof. They thought wrong.

Many of you have told me that since the FTC’s big loss in Federal court back in September, you have been very disturbed by the concerted effort on the part of the FTC to imply criminal activity through their pre-trial press release and blogs, using terms like “crooks” and “scam” and to try the case in the media before they ever step foot in the court room. Luckily, my colleagues in the industry are too smart to believe that as no criminal charges were filed. I share that belief that this is nothing more than an organized defamation campaign, engaged in with the hopes of impunity, one that hides under the theory that the government enjoys sovereign immunity.

I believe this whole case was sparked at the behest of-- and orchestrated by-- the usual culprits with the motives to engage in character assassination in retaliation for my having blown the whistle on them. I think you get the picture.

And while some in trucking and mainstream media have negligently or recklessly reported the story by simply regurgitating the FTC’s untrue claims and some have stretched the story to even falsely report that my businesses were shut down by the FTC, nothing could be further from the truth. We remain operational at the surprise of many of you in the industry whose attack has essentially failed. However, a number of you in trucking media have been honorable professionals, have done your diligence, and dug deeper to report the whole story despite the FTC’s attempts to conceal it from the public. And for that, I am thankful… as appearances often are --to use a pun: “deceiving”.

Here is one: https://trucker.com/business/lamb-companies-stand-ground-against-ftc-charges

And here is another: https://askthetrucker.com/the-overreach-of-regulatory-power-how-far-can-it-go/

And of course, this is not the first time the FTC has unjustly beaten up a small business to help a larger competitor:

https://causeofaction.org/learn-about-the-labmd-case/

You will recall that in 2013, I filed (and released publicly in 2014) an antitrust complaint with the FTC as a small business trade group president against certain players in the industry because I believed they engaged in collusion during the whole broker bond fiasco that resulted in the shut down of 9,800 small businesses. However, rather than investigate that matter, it appears the FTC allowed special interests to convinced them to zero in on me instead.

I can assure you that you have not heard the last about this story and I very much look forward to telling you the ending of the story myself.

So, today… I am very thankful. Thankful for a fair Federal judge who can see through the political nonsense and is not afraid to scold the FTC for their unethical behavior… and for my professional colleagues, friends and partners who have remained in place despite these allegations and the FTC’s bullying tactics.

And I am thankful that there is indeed justice in America when real deception, dishonor, and corruption rear their ugly heads. As usual, I have no problem exposing them publicly and taking them on through the courts. More to come...

Happy Thanksgiving and cheers to all of you and your families.

Regards,

JAMES