The Rhythm Brands TJ Hawkins Stole from a charity, scam artist, fraudelent individual and company Los Angeles, California
TJ Hawkins (otherwise known as Timothy Ray Hawkins Jr.), the CEO of The Rhythm Brands is without a doubt a scam artist who has not only scammed me personally, but cheated and stole from a literacy charity I run called Reading, Writing, Its Exciting!
After I and my charity caught him in the act of stealing from us, we researched who he really was. Obviously, we wish we had done it much sooner, because most likely well never recoup the money he stole from us. But the hope is that by posting here, others will not be harmed by his actions.
First, Mr. Hawkins claimed that The Rhythm Brands is a registered company in New York. We called and checked and it is not recognized at all It was, however, a company registered in California, but was suspended in 2006. Weve learned that when a corporation is suspended, that means they cannot legally operate in any way, shape, or form. Here is the link showing that his company was suspended: http://kepler.sos.ca.gov/cbs.aspx.
So how does he do his scamming? Well, he is the smoothest of smooth operators. He comes off as the most genuine, caring and intelligent person youll ever meet. He sets up many meetings with you and talks for days about all the ways hell help you and/or your charity, and it draws you in. I now believe he targets small charities like ours, who are desperate for help. You so want to believe and are grateful for the things hes promising to do, but in the end, its all a pack of lies.
So how did he cheat our charity specifically? We had an event in which he was going to get our marketing materials for it. He was supposed to deliver them to me before the event so I could see how many of our materials there were (and to know what we were paying for). He made an excuse for why he couldnt get it to us, but that he would deliver it straight to the event. Which he did. He told me (and texted me) that he was delivering 500 flyers, 500 pieces of letterhead, 500
envelopes and 100 business cards that he had printed, which went into gift bags (except for the cards).
Since there were 150 gift bags at the event, I naturally wanted to know where the extra 350 flyers and 350 pieces of letterhead were. He said they must have been thrown away by the people who owned the venue, because the venue couldnt locate them. We learned later this was a blatant lie.
I explained that the charity needed an invoice, and I later received one from his company that only showed the description of the materials printed (flyers, letterhead, envelopes, cards) and the total cost. It didnt say how much of each material was printed, or how much each material cost.
I then emailed that the charity needed an invoice showing exactly how many materials were printed and for how much. I received a response from a staff member Id never heard of (Julie Nguyen) that this could not be provided because their company worked with so many printer groups, and unless
it was requested on a per diem basis, an individual breakdown for amount and cost of each could not be done But heres where Mr. Hawkins scam crumbled. He didnt cover his tracks. The printer he used contacted me because they had some extra business cards and they wanted me to come pay for them. I then asked them if they had an invoice for the original printing they did for us (with an actual breakdown), since Mr. Hawkins company didnt provide one. They said, Sure. And they sent it to me. And it showed that only 100 flyers and 100 pieces of letterhead (not 500 of each) were printed. And it showed that Mr. Hawkins VASTLY overcharged for this deceit. I asked the printer if they were one of The Rhythm Brands printer groups, and he said they had never met Mr. Hawkins before, or ever dealt with his company, and that Mr. Hawkins paid in cash. They also shared with me the emails between them and Mr. Hawkins company showing that only 100 of the flyers and letterhead were requested. So basically, Mr. Hawkins blatantly lied to us in order to overcharge the charity several hundred dollars.
And heres how Mr. Hawkins scammed me personally, and this is the way he will mainly try to scam others. After all the meetings with you in which he details all the wonderful things he will do, he then charges an upfront fee to do it all (a reputable company would disclose this fee in the very first meeting). Afterwards, Mr. Hawkins then does some small things to make you feel he and the company are legit, but as time as goes by, the main things he promised (that you really want done) dont get done. And even though he said they wouldnt charge anymore unless these things were done, SUDDENLY things change with his company,and they will now need more money upfront to do all these things promised. At that point, I never gave him this extra money and received a letter from his company that my account could no longer remain active because of it. I had a feeling I had been scammed then, and it was a few days later when I learned that he stole from the charity as well (as I described above).
Heres another specific example of how he scams. Hell tellyou his company will do something that has a fee, and that they need you to pay the fee. With me, I was told they would make a company name I wanted turned into a C Corp for $400. I paid him this in November 2011 and he told me and texted me it was a done deal, and that all I had to do to make it official was also file a DBA. Which I did. I recently (April 2011) called the Secretary of State's office in Sacramento, CA to see if I really did have a C Corp. They told me no, and they said if anyone had filed anything on my behalf at any time it would be in their files.
Once all this came to light, I contacted Mr. Hawkins describing the charity printing invoice discrepancy. A few days later, I received a letter that The Rhythm Brands was terminating their services with me and that I owed them $9,446.19 and if I made any public complaints about Mr. Hawkins or the company, there would be further financial repercussions. Ive learned this tactic at attempted intimidation is right out of the scam artist playbook.
One thing that I cant prove yet, but Im hoping with help from others that I will, is proving that his staff is either made-up names, or people he has just recently met and will eventually go away when they realize they wont be paid for his services. In the 8 months that I knew him, he always had a reason why I couldnt meet any of this staff. I finally met one, at our March charity event, and she told me shed only known Mr. Hawkins for a week, and that he was mentoring her. Very suspicious.
In any regard, I urge all of you reading this to spread the word that TJ Hawkins (otherwise known as Timothy Ray Hawkins) is a scam artist and that his company The Rhythm Brands was suspended in 2006, and is therefore not an actual company. His companys website is just a homepage with a New Site Coming Soon notice on it since Ive known him (since 7/2011). Hopefully, if the word is spread, no one will ever be harmed by him again.
6 Updates & Rebuttals
Jameson
USANot a rebuttal
#7Consumer Comment
Thu, May 07, 2015
Dear Kearney, I to have fallen prey to the charms and lofty promises of this individual. I dont not feel comortable discussing more on so public of a forum. Feel free to email me and I will provide you with further information regarding his location. My email address is jamesjameson0129@gmail.com. As another individual stated, so far TJ's scams have been small peanuts, however it doesnt mean that it was not important or valuable to the individuals that were scammed. Looking forward to hearing from you.
Kearney
New York ,New York,
USA
TJ Hawkins - Rhythm Brands\RBG
#7Consumer Comment
Mon, May 04, 2015
You are absolutely right, TJ Hawkins is a scam artirts. If he offers you any kind of deal just say no. Any kind of positive comment about Hawkins is written by him. If you pay attention to the responses on "his" favor are all written by the same person, they have the same writing pattern, meaning it was probably him writing all of that nonsense. TJ Hawkins or TJ Scala, Lascala, Nathalie Scala or anything similar avoid at all costs. If anyone has his personal address please contact me, I was able to find several locations but I haven't been able to find his home address yet. I need my lawyers to finally mail him court papers to the right address. TJ if you are reading this, you should've known better. TJ save yourself the time and don't write a "I have worked with TJ and his an excellent, bla, bla, bla..." save it. Suggestion to TJ, get a new career, this one may end sooner than you think.
Stephen
California,United States of America
Follow up to previous post
#7Author of original report
Sun, November 25, 2012
Well, after this post, I heard from T.J. Hawkins again. So first of all, T.J., since you read these -- stop calling me. I have no desire to ever speak to you again. And since you claim that you don't mind me taking you to court, the only information I want from you is an ACTUAL address so we can have a sheriff serve you. And it's come to my attention that you have a new office address. So you'll email me that address unless you don't really want me to take you to court, and won't that speak volumes.
Second, if you truly believe that my claims that you purposefully and deceitfully overcharged my charity are slander, then you take me to court for it. I would welcome that as well, because I really want a forum where I can bring my evidence, and witnesses, to expose what you did.
For everyone else reading this, I believe 100% that what T.J. Hawkins did was wrong. And regardless of whether the charity ever sees the money he cheated us from again, it's just as important to me to make sure others don't get harmed like we did... I wish someone had warned me before I unfortunately dealt with him.
But if you're someone who is wondering whether to work with T.J. Hawkins, I encourage you to not just take my word that he's unethical. Do your own research and homework. And then decide for yourself. Just please don't just let him charm you with his words. That's his M.O., sounding so genuine and caring... Instead, let your research provide your answers.
And finally, for you again, T.J., If you really want me to stop educating people to your misdeeds, then you need to 1) Return what you wrongfully overcharged the charity, 2) show true remorse for what you did, and 3) if you continue in your line of business, do so with complete transparency and morality, because I and others will be watching.
Stephen
California,United States of America
The facts
#7Author of original report
Sun, November 25, 2012
You'll notice that this rebuttal was written by an anonymous person, whereas I, Stephen, put my name to it and included actual facts. This website exists to inform others who may make decisions about who to work with. I believe without a doubt that TJ Hawkins purposefully overcharged our charity. We have evidence to that effect. But I'm not asking anyone to just take my word for it when making your own decisions on whether to work with him or not. Do your research on him. Use this link to the California Secretary of State's website and look up his company, The Rhythm Brands: http://kepler.sos.ca.gov/cbs.aspx. It clearly shows his corporation was suspended in 2006. That means he's been operating illegally since then. And ever since I shined a light on that, TJ Hawkins abandoned using that company's name and just started using another name: RBG USA. Is this someone you really want to trust with your business? That's for you to decide.
As for Julie Nguyen, who sent us the incomplete invoice that started our investigation, I would love to actually talk or communicate with her. But unfortunately, she never provided a direct phone number to discuss this issue. I don't believe Julie knows what actually transpired. I want to talk to her and give her a detailed account of what actually happened. And I'm not convinced that she's an actual employee of The Rhythm Brands. Since none of TJ's so-called employees ever give phone numbers where they can be reached, it's hard not to be suspicious about if they exist or what their involvement actually is. And all emails sent are run through TJ and impersonal accounts supposedly given to these people. Again, suspicious.
If Julie Ngyuen ever reads this, please contact me through the charity and let's have a conversation.
As for the author of this anonymous post, why wouldn't you put your name on it? TJ Hawkins personally charged me $2400 (despite telling others that he worked pro bono) and didn't deliver on on his promises. All he does is talk... And if you have questions about that, you're more than welcome to contact me as well to have a conversation. I'll not only tell you what I know, but I'll put you in touch with other people who have been aggrieved by TJ Hawkins, and then you can decide for yourself if he's someone you want to do business with... Or is it just that this anonymous poster was actually TJ himself?
To recap, we feel we have indisputable evidence that TJ Hawkins purposefully overcharged our charity. If TJ believes he hasn't, then he should provide us an actual address where he can be reached, so that we can finally have this resolved in court.
Anonymous
USAWorking with TJ and the company
#7Consumer Comment
Wed, September 12, 2012
To all this may concern:
Stephen Kogon, has written something that is first and foremost very misleading from the obvious truth. As my company is familiar with Stephen Kogon, the author, as we will also say a Writer (in Los Angeles).
This information is very wrong as we have viewed the contract signed by Stephen Kogon.
As a client of TJ's, we are not here to favor anyone, but we have decided to continue our work with TJ due to how smart he is and legitimate work The Rhythm Brands has done for us over the years.
But we would like to say, Mr. Kogon if you are going to slander anyone please look at the help that TJ provided to help your company. Obviously, anybody reading can see that you are angry. You should know that he came to us to invest in your charity, your TV pilot, and children books, scripts, etc.
We are annoyed at this complaint.
TJ Hawkins is a good man, solid business associate, and most of all respectful. For future business associates, TJ does run a real company. Julie Nguyen is a real person and we recommend that you let him show you what the company is capable of doing.
We will continue to work with him.
Stephen
California,United States of America
Following up on my previous report
#7Author of original report
Thu, May 03, 2012
When Mr. TJ Hawkins learned of my post on Ripoff Report, he called and left me a voice mail. He's very intelligent so he carefully didn't use any words that could be construed as a threat, but I still took it as one. Amazing, I'm just trying to run a charity to help kids in need and I have to deal with this.