Attorney General Kamala D. Harris Files Suit for $800,000 in Computer Kiosk Fraud Against African American Churches

The Attorney  General's lawsuit, filed today in Los Angeles Superior  Court, names  Television Broadcasting Online, Ltd., Urban Interfaith  Network, Willie  Perkins, Michael Morris, Wayne Wilson, Tanya Wilson,  Balboa Capital  Corp., and United Leasing Associates of America, Ltd.  It  charges them  with violations of the state's unfair competition and  false advertising  laws, and seeks restitution, civil penalties and an  injunction to  prevent any further illegal activities.

"This was a cruel  and hypocritical scheme," said Attorney General  Harris. "The  perpetrators preyed on institutions of faith. Let this be a  lesson to  others who may look to defraud our community organizations:  you will be  caught and you will be held accountable."

The Attorney  General's complaint states that defendants Television  Broadcasting  Online, Ltd., Urban Interfaith Network, Willie Perkins, and  Michael  Morris "engaged in a nationwide scam" in which they persuaded  "195  African American churches in 15 different states to enter into   expensive and onerous leases for shoddy computer equipment housed in   wooden cabinets."  They promised the churches the kiosks would be free,   advertisers would make the lease payments and the churches would be   under no financial obligation.

By 2006, the scam reached  California, where 33 African American  churches were persuaded to enter  into leases for the kiosks. Twenty-four  of the churches are located in  Los Angeles County, five in Riverside  County and four in San Bernardino  County.

Defendants Wayne and Tanya Wilson -- on behalf of  Television  Broadcasting Online, Ltd., Urban Interfaith Network, Willie  Perkins and  Michael Morris -- pitched themselves to the California  churches,  according to the Attorney General's complaint, as  representing "a  business/religious entity, national in scope, with  strong ties to both  the African American community and enlightened  corporate sponsors" that  wanted to help this religious community. They  said the computer kiosks  would connect the churches and their  parishioners to "national  advertisers, government, businesses and even  generate some revenue for  themselves."

When the churches  failed to pay the monthly lease payments, Balboa  and United filed  collection suits, seeking full payment plus interest,  attorneys' fees  and costs.

According to the Attorney General's complaint,  the leasing  companies, Balboa and United, are liable because the other  defendants  were acting as their agents and because, even after the  leasing  companies learned of the misrepresentations, they failed to  alert  churches to the scam and vigorously continued to enforce the  terms of  the leases.

Wayne and Tanya Wilson live in  Rancho Cucamonga. Balboa Capital  Corp. is based in Irvine. United  Leasing is based in Brookfield,  Wisconsin. Urban Interfaith Network,  Inc. and Television Broadcasting  Online, Ltd. are based in Oxon Hill,  Maryland. Perkins and Morris were  convicted in Michigan of  racketeering, conspiracy, and false pretenses  in connection with the  scam. Morris is serving 5 to 20 years, and  Perkins is serving 4 to 20  years.

A copy of the complaint can be found here: http://ag.ca.gov/cms_attachments/press/pdfs/n2042_complaint.pdf.