Lawsuits filed against area blueberry company

A blueberry-plant company owner who has offered seminars in Wisconsin has a history of lawsuits against him and unpaid debts, according to court records.

[mike laughlin electric]

I guess you can add me to the growing list of people that Hare Stuart from the American Blueberry company has taken advantage of.Last april Hare hired our company to do the electrical work on his Houlton Wisc.business. It is going on a year now, and I try to stay in contact with him to get paid the $9,719 we are out. It is the same thing every time. "I have every intention on paying you, but times were not as good as expected." Maybe some one can contact me and tell me what to do here. Thank you, Mike at mlaughlinelectricco.com

[bert]

Well Mike, I will have to tell you, "times are not as good as expected" is an understatement. I work with Hare every day, and you are not the only person/company that is owed money. Have you looked at the news lately? Things are tough out there. Now if Hare really didn't want to pay you, he could very easily file Chapter 11 or 13. But he hasn't, and isn't going to. The Houlton facility was a disaster financially due to so many unpredictable factors, he has made some great moves forward to build on the success of the small fruits market, but it's very tough to keep everything flowing from a cash flow standpoint. Anyway, I am sure you will get your money from him. You know, I'm just curious, why is it that when a small businessman gets behind in his bills, he's a"scammer". But when someone like Circuit City or Linens and things goes bankrupt and owes hundres of thousands if not millions of dollars to suppliers that will never get paid, it's called an "unfortunate loss". I think that double standard is pretty lame.

[Farmbelle]

Bert? What world are you living in? Hare Stuart is a lying thief who builds his business on the ponzi scheme and then cries "oh poor me". Men like him and Madoff lack the essential integrity to be truthful and honest. If he keeps saying "oh poor me" he starts to believe it! He wants you to believe he is the victim.
Hare Stuart owes me 17,000 dollars plus from 2005. Do you see a pattern? He could rebuild his reputation however he chooses to take the scamming route. I hope he sleeps well.

[Bert]

Well, I can understand that you are disgruntled. Farmer Dads was a failure, which was the direct result of the collapse of Lyndale Garden Center, Do you remember them? They closed their doors owing Hare over $350,000, and leaving him with a load of perennial contracts he could not possibly fulfill. Hare was not the only one left hanging. Lyndale owed over 2 million to various Mom & Pop vendors, many who lost everything. Personally, I have witnessed Hare struggle along trying to keep himself afloat, working long hours, and attempting to make enough money to get back what he lost. I'll admit, he is not without fault, but... who isn't? It is a terrible thing that some folks didn't get what they thought they would out of their investment. So, didn't you recieve the letter that was sent to all of the growers last summer, offering to convert over to blueberries? I know you did, because "I" wrote it and mailed it, and have the Farmer Dads growers list in my database, which I just checked. Anyway, if you would like to still convert please e-mail me and we can try to work something out. In closing,I would just like to say that Hare was investigated by 3 or 4 different law enforcement agencies, who all determined that Farmer Dads wasn't a "ponzi scheme", but an unfortunate set of circumstances wherein Hare lost more money than all of his growers combined.

[Farmbelle]

Farmer Dads was a failure LONG BEFORE the direct result of the collapse of Lyndale Garden Center.
Wake up and smell the coffee! The man you are dealing with has ALWAYS been a scammer with "frontmen" such as yourself to make him look good.
I suggest you look carefully into your address list and make certain Hare knows of the people he has missed. I am one and will notify my email list to see if they too have not received any mail.
You state it is a terrible thing that some folks didn't get what they thought they would out of their investment? I did not "get" my investment back! I am only asking for the integrity of the company to pay me back money I invested, I do not want for any profit. You are implying people got money....I know of no people who recieved money from Hare.
Quit defending this man and start asking him hard questions. When is he going to pay back his growers in MN? When he moves again to a different state? Quit the "ol poor Hare" stories, it is time for him to realize the world does not revolve around him.....
Sincerely,
Jean Hammer
19420 Cleary Road
Anoka, MN 55303

[Joel]

I am a grower for Farmer Dads. I din't get paid a dime. I bought the flowers, grew them, weeded them, watered them, then watched Hare steal them out of my field and never paid me a dime! I never got "the letter" stating a possibility to convert to blueberries. What am I supposed to do buy blueberries from him now and expect payment after he takes them? Explain to me where Hare is the victim and I am the mean person? He owes me over $12,000 plus interest he said he would pay. Where is that money?

[randy]

Hare owes me $15,000 plus interest and profit from 2005. I'd gladly try some blueberries to help him pay off his debt. Contact me at: [e-mail] .

bert wrote:

Well Mike, I will have to tell you, "times are not as good as expected" is an understatement. I work with Hare every day, and you are not the only person/company that is owed money. Have you looked at the news lately? Things are tough out there. Now if Hare really didn't want to pay you, he could very easily file Chapter 11 or 13. But he hasn't, and isn't going to. The Houlton facility was a disaster financially due to so many unpredictable factors, he has made some great moves forward to build on the success of the small fruits market, but it's very tough to keep everything flowing from a cash flow standpoint. Anyway, I am sure you will get your money from him. You know, I'm just curious, why is it that when a small businessman gets behind in his bills, he's a"scammer". But when someone like Circuit City or Linens and things goes bankrupt and owes hundres of thousands if not millions of dollars to suppliers that will never get paid, it's called an "unfortunate loss". I think that double standard is pretty lame.

[randy]

I have the same as experience as the other minnesotans in this column. Hare owes us 15k plus interest and profit from 2005.

I'll take some blueberries in payment.

contact me at <[e-mail]>

[Farmbelle]

It appears to me that perhaps the FBI should get involved in this "nation-wide" money laundering scheme soon. What do you others think? A few key newspapers articles might bring more of the "investors" to light and show just how large and wide this Ponzi scheme has gone. So tell me what exactly is the difference between Circut City and Linens and things and Hare? Hare Stuart and Bert went after the small time market vs the large time market. Oh poor me is our story not theirs!
Bert, ask Hare what a chapter 7 bankruptcy case means? Oh yeah, what about Hare's son? Perhaps you don't know all the story...just what Hare is telling you....hmmmm. I LOVE GOOGLE!

[Farmbelle]

Under the FBI language of fraud, I think we all fall under what is commonly called an "Advanced fee scheme". Take a moment to look at the FBI website for your local jurisdiction and let me know what you think?

[unpaid grower WI]

Just keep listening to Hare's excuses and join the list of people he has taken in. We lost thousands, and understand that he has been doing this for over 20 years.

[To Farmbelle]

What about Hare's son?

[Jane]

To Farmbelle wrote:

What about Hare's son?

You tell me what you know?

[To Farmbelle]

Jane wrote:

<quoted text>
You tell me what you know?

I know he has nothing to do with his father business ventures.

[Ann Nonomus]

funny, Now all you whiners are posting anonymous? What's the matter? Did your attorney explain to you what "Libel" means? Or maybe your scared that all of your blathering will be exposed as just a bunch of malcontents who complain about everything. You made an investment, it didn't pan out. Suck it up already, and quit wasting bandwidth. BTW, My stock in GE, has lost about 7/8 of it's value, maybe I should start slandering Jack Welch?

[Jane]

Libel is a term used commonly in law when the spoken word is UNTRUE!
I gave money under contract (not a stock purchase) for plants which were then stolen from me with absolutely no payments ever.
How does that and all the other people this happened to compare to stocK? You still have stock; it is just worth less. It has been worth more, you still have it. Apples to oranges.
My whining is to prevent this from occuring again and it seems to have hit a sore point.

[Ann Nonomus]

Nah, I just stumbled on this conversation while looking for some plants, and found it to be pretty damn stupid. I deal with stupid whiney bitches like you everyday, and really I'm sick of it. Useless turds like you sucking up internet bandwidth because you feel wronged by something. Interesting, you say something about the FBI and Ponzi schemes and fraud. Obviously you are not an attorney or you'd be in court with this guy.Maybe you should go back to lawschool.com and read the definitions of the actions you are slandering this guy with, I bet he could sue your ass off. I know I would...

[Jane]

Stumble upon GOOGLE and put in the words American Blueberry Company. There are so many "useless turds" out there. Look at how many court cases he has had? Unpaid debts? Buyer Beware!

[Tommy G]

Jane, I did try to look up american blueberry on google like you suggest, but i don't see nothing other than the same article thats posted here. So whats the deal? is there something im missing? i wanna buy some bb plants from these guys, but know you got me scared to. is this stuff really true?

[Jane]

google and then keep looking, there is an article by the "leader telegram" that is eye opening. I had a very bad experience. I don't wish that on anyone.