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<DIV><STRONG><FONT size=3>Wow!</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT size=3></FONT></STRONG> </DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT size=3>in 1984 I sent off for a book about "the Houks".
There are very few "Houk" persons related to me (I think 29), and the only
"Houk" in this book who is related to me is Don Houk, now of Tokyo,
Japan.</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT size=3></FONT></STRONG> </DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT size=3>And yes, the book was printed by Beatrice
Bayley. I think she may have used phone books to come up with these
names. :-)</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT size=3></FONT></STRONG> </DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT size=3>Cecil</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT size=3></FONT></STRONG> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3>Cecil Houk, ET1 USN Ret.<BR>PO Box 530833<BR>San Diego CA
92153<BR>FAX 619-428-6434<BR><A
href="mailto:cchouk@cox.net">mailto:cchouk@cox.net</A><BR>ANDERSON - BLAKELY -
FORD - HOUK - KIMSEY - MOE - RULAFORD - SIMPSON<BR>Searchable GEDCOM: <A
href="http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/~cchouk">http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/~cchouk</A><BR>My
web page MENU: <A
href="http://members.cox.net/~cchouk/">http://members.cox.net/~cchouk/</A><BR></FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=LinLouVan@aol.com
href="mailto:LinLouVan@aol.com">LinLouVan@aol.com</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=or-roots@sosinet.sos.state.or.us
href="mailto:or-roots@sosinet.sos.state.or.us">or-roots@sosinet.sos.state.or.us</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Monday, November 28, 2005 2:09
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [or-roots] Re:Lawsuit Against
Morphcorp for Fake Family Hist...</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><FONT id=role_document face=Arial color=#000000 size=2>
<DIV>
<DIV>Again ! ! !</DIV>
<DIV>Anybody remember Beatrice Bayley, then, Halberts, then "Your Name"
Researchers?</DIV>
<DIV>This scam has been around as long as we have been doing genealogy. Each
time they</DIV>
<DIV>are found out, they move and change names and/or someone else takes over.
Isn't it sad</DIV>
<DIV>that there are opportunists out there and enough gullible people to
support them - for a </DIV>
<DIV>while?</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Linda VanOrden</DIV>
<DIV>Junction City, OR</DIV>
<DIV><A href="mailto:LinLouVan@aol.com">LinLouVan@aol.com</A> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>In a message dated 11/28/05 10:29:52 A.M. Pacific Standard Time,
whizinc@comcast.net writes:</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid"><FONT
style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" face=Arial color=#000000 size=2>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>My Dad received this. I don't remember
which genealogical society LCGS is. I considered buying one of these
books.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Ronda Howard</FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message -----
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A
title=mailto:sanders922@msn.com href="mailto:sanders922@msn.com">Alice
Sanders</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>To:</B> <A title=mailto:sanders922@msn.com
href="mailto:sanders922@msn.com">sanders922@msn.com</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Monday, November 28, 2005 8:10 AM</DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> LCGS FYI Lawsuit Against Morphcorp for Fake Family
Histories</DIV></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><SPAN
class=406535714-28112005><STRONG>Bill Mahoney sends the following to
share. An FYI warning was sent out earlier about these fake
histories. It is nice to know </STRONG></SPAN></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><SPAN
class=406535714-28112005><STRONG>something may be done about the people
running this company. Let's wish Arapahoe County much success in
this.</STRONG></SPAN></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><SPAN
class=406535714-28112005></SPAN></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV class=Section1>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">THE FOLLOWING
IS FROM THE </SPAN></FONT></B><B><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">DENVER</SPAN></FONT></B><B><FONT
face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">
POST</SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">25 Nov 2005</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face=Arial size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">State Sues
Genealogy Company</SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">The suit claims 150,000 people
nationwide were swindled out of $49.95 each when they bought a book with
fake family histories from Morphcorp of Denver.</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">By Manny Gonzales
</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Denver</SPAN></FONT><FONT
face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"> Post
Staff Writer </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">For $49.95, people who bought
genealogical "yearbooks" from a Denver-based company got the same family
coat of arms, the same family recipes and even the same family jokes,
according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday. </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">And it was a lucrative scam that
swindled 150,000 people nationwide who bought into fake family histories,
according to the civil suit filed by Colorado Attorney General John Suthers.
</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">The suit, filed in Arapahoe
County District Court against Maxwell MacMaster and his company, Morph corp
LLC, seeks to cease the operation and penalize him up to $2,000 per book
sold, which could amount to $300 million. </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">"This is a guy who has been
exploiting a natural human emotion, a curiosity about our family history .
and he made a lot of money doing it," Suthers said. "People got a standard
book that really reflects no individual genealogical research. The books
come with a family (crest), but if your surname is Jones it would be the
same (crest) used if your last name was Smith." </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">MacMaster, who has residences
listed in </SPAN></FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Denver</SPAN></FONT><FONT
face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"> and
</SPAN></FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Kailua</SPAN></FONT><FONT
face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">,
</SPAN></FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Hawaii</SPAN></FONT><FONT
face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">, was
contacted about the suit but said he had not read the specific allegations
and declined to comment. His lawyer could not be reached for comment.
</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Aurora</SPAN></FONT><FONT
face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">
resident Lynette Dahl is one of 21 alleged victims in </SPAN></FONT><FONT
face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Colorado</SPAN></FONT><FONT
face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">. Dahl
said her family purchased a yearbook a couple of years ago in hopes of
learning more about where she came from, but what she got was "generic."
</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">"They make it sound like you're
going to get all this great information, but you get it and it's generic,
fill-in-the-blanks stuff," Dahl, 42, said. "The book had a coat of arms for
my family, supposedly. But when I opened it, immediately I could tell this
was some kind of cruel joke." </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Dahl said that after numerous
attempts to reach the company and after filing complaints of unfair business
practices, she finally was refunded her money from Morphcorp.
</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">According to the suit, MacMaster
advertised in magazines and sent out mailings offering a yearbook detailing
"2,000 years" of family history. </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">The suit claims MacMaster and
his then-wife made various false and misleading statements in direct-mail
advertising claiming that they shared the same last name of the consumer
targeted by the flier. The suit also alleges that Morphcorp engaged in
improper pricing practices. </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">The company mailed out 250,000
fliers a month, the suit claims, and targeted mostly people over the age of
60. </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">The books sold contained much of
the same information, including "family jokes and recipes," and family
pictures appear in each yearbook regardless of the surname of the consumer,
the suit claims. There were some variations, Suthers said. For a German
surname, the books contained the same German family recipes and jokes.
</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Because jokes were the same in
many of the yearbooks, some Jewish customers were offended when their
families were referenced as being Catholic, the suit claims.
</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">It's the second time MacMaster
has gotten into hot water for an alleged genealogy scam. In 1996 he signed
an assurance as president of a company called Mountain Pacific News Service
to cease operations. Suthers hopes to prove MacMaster violated the
agreement, which would be another violation of the Colorado Consumer
Protection Act. </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">The attorney general has been
investigating the company for about a year, since complaints were submitted
to the Better Business Bureau. </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">"As these complaints roll in,
it's almost comical how this guy would try to fool people," Suthers said.
"Anyone with any sophistication almost immediately would identify the
yearbook as boilerplate." </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Staff writer Manny Gonzales can
be reached at 303-820-1537 or mgonzales@denverpost.com.
</SPAN></FONT></P></DIV></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV>
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