RAM Theater Services, headed up by Shaun Boylan, placed an ad for a competent graphic designer with 15 or more years of experience on job finding sites and craigslist in areas around the country. People skills a bonus.
After losing work in I answered the ad thinking how great it was to find someone interested in a designer with experience. I did my research and background check to see if everything was legitimate. Nothing seemed out of place. There were publishers that were happy. He was willing to meet face to face. He was informative but not pushy. And finally, the amount of money promised was not at all out of line.
So after a couple meeting cancellations, his team came to Tampa to meet 5 local designers, myself included.in an all day seminar he shared with us his job offering, to all of us, of becoming a designer and publisher of a local coupon magazine specific to each of our neighborhoods. We were all about the same age. We were all financially looking for a job that we could make a decent living and we were all in either foreclosure of homes or in serious financial situations. To hit even harder we were all a little older than the typical company wants to employ.
He emphasized the Hollywood movie industry's participations as his defining point of distinction from other coupon magazines. We saw samples of other area produced magazines. I spoke with a couple of the publishers to get feedback. The financial aspect were in line. All seemed like a good opportunity to get back on my feet.
He explained that each publisher would cover specific categories that were proven in other markets to reap rewards for the businesses, the neighborhood consumer and the publisher. This was the first time in a while that I had come across a business that was based on everyone benefiting. It could have been.
My 25 years of experience were now going to come into play. I knew a lot of people in my neighborhood and they were willing to give me money in return for an ad design placed in a very nicely produced coupon magazine with the plus of the Hollywood Motion Picture industry touting new releases.in all it got businesses excited. My first 2 publications printed and delivered as planned. One was late but it was well received once it got into the community. My community.
The biggest issue - the Holiday issue was going to be great. All businesses are likely to advertise around the holidays. And they did. My book looked great. I sent in my money as outlined in the original agreement and I thought I was on my way.
But the holidays came and went and my book did not deliver. I screened calls from some angry businesses and in some cases friends. I repeated the delay information to them that Shaun had been spoon feeding to me... That they would be late but would be delivered.
He explained problems that made no sense and clients did not care about.
Once it became apparent that the magazine with expiration dates on the coupons were no longer valid, Shaun and I agreed, along with my clients, that the next publication would be delivered and the monies from the previous magazine would be used. I would changed the dates and resend my art files for the next publication. It did not come.
I emailed him, (since he was no longer was accepting my calls or responding to my emails as he had so punctually done before), that he had taken money from me and my community and had been given money specifically for postal delivery. I had 7 days left before the coupons once again expired. He had everyone's money and all I had to show for my effort was a bad reputation. He delivered the magazine with 4 days to redeem. Not the 60 days that everyone had paid for but they did not go to my mailing list. Businesses were now even more upset. I had been taken. I am more than disappointed in a promise made and not kept and that my clients now see me as that same type of person as Shaun.
I had been speaking with other publishers to find out I was not the only one. I do not know at this point just how many people have lost money and valuable reputations because of this man. I know that he has been sued by a previous printer and they continue to pursue him for monies owed.
I now know the money I paid RAM and its owner, Shaun Boylan, were held onto or spent for personal use. The $5290 I paid was designated for the printing of the magazines, postage to the USPS and delivery on the magazines to my neighborhood. It appears as RAM Marketing/RAM Theater Services has duped everyone involved.
Michael J. Boylan, aka Shaun, was arrested for forgery and counterfeiting on 6/7. He continues to recruit innocent people like myself, to publish magazines that are paid for in advance with certified checks or cashiers checks, yet they receive them very late, or not at all.
RAM Theater Services, it's owner Shaun Boylan, and his partner/employee John LeRe III, should be stopped from recruiting more people and prevented from scamming more people out of their hard earned money. My suggestion is to forget you ever considered working with the man, company or partners. No amount of money you are promised to earn is worth the years you spent building a reputation in your community.
0 comments