After reviewing one of these letters sent to a good friend of mine, I decided to search for them through both the BBB and more popular search engines to find absolutely nothing but this very informative site and a few interesting facts about the "company" that should be brought before a federal court and held accountable for their fraudulent claims.
The letter placed my friend's name at the top of a list of four winners. Said friend was the only one who had not claimed the prize - of $3,341, 006.00 - of the four (whose prize winnings varied). The names of those other "winners"?
NAME NO. 2 Gloria Pantalone, VA
NAME NO. 3 Ken Lloyd, OR
NAME NO. 4 John Lindsley, TX
Names look familiar? A quick search will show that almost all of these letters (if not all of them) show these three names as the recipients who have received their prize money.
The BBB gives a phone number for a company called Lapham, Vargas & Cornell. The number is (702) 000-0312. I personally have not attempted to contact this company due to long distance charges which will occur from doing so, and I intend to spend no money on these con-artists; also it doesn't look like a legitimate phone number to me.
Other names for the "company" include:
Bureau of Public Relations
L V A A P
Las Vegas Actionable Award Program
Las Vegas Nevada Actionable Award Program
LVAAP
Selective Award Citation Organization/America
The Greely Tribune had this to say about it:
"WARNING — The Better Business Bureau warns that residents in this area are receiving notice they won "more than $3 million!" in a sweepstakes. The hitch? You have to pay $20 in processing fees to receive the money. Of course, the money never comes. The certificates are being mailed by Lapham, Vargas & Cornell, a Las Vegas-based company that does business under a number of names, including Las Vegas Nevada Actionable Award Program and Selective Award Citation Organization / America. The company has an unsatisfactory rating from the Better Business Bureau because of one or more unanswered complaints. Don't fall for this scam."
I would like to bring attention to a wonderful little clause written on the letter.
The literature states, "LVAAP is a service offered to our customers that provides information on available sweepstakes that are open to the public for entry. Subscribers are solely responsible for investigating, viewing and complying with any and all rules, restrictions, requirements, or provisions set forth in all sweepstakes. The contents of our newsletters are accurate to the best of our knowledge, and LVAAP shall not be liable for errors, omissions, or inaccuracies. Liability for any mistake or typographical error is limited to a full refund of the purchase price of the publication. LVAAP has no affiliation with any particular sponsor of any sweepstakes or contest. No such association or affiliation should be inferred or implied."
If and when a class-action lawsuit is filed I would be delighted to help in any way that I can.
Nic
Richardson, Texas
U.S.A.
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