Three of us were contractors for GolfNet, a.k.a. Golf Intelligence, a.k.a. 121SportsNet. Together we were a dream team of developers and built a web application capable of servicing the golf handicapping needs of numerous prestigious clients throughout the United States and Canada.
Early November of 2008 the company was paying its debt relatively on-time and without problem, until it was announced the company would be sold, not filing for bankruptcy, but rather sold.
During this time we as contractors were worried that we might not get paid but were assured by GolfNet's then CFO Pete Gideon and VP of Operations Erik Stromberg that we should rest assured we were at the top of the list and would be getting paid. Having been promised we would be paid we continued on working during due diligence until approximately one week before the company was sold. At the direction of the board members Steven (Steve) Burke of MN, David (Dave) Kloeber of MN, William (Bill) Kravit of WI and at this point then counsel for GolfNet, John Erhart of Fredrikson & Byron, P.A. in Minneapolis Minnesota, Pete and Erik continued to assure the contractors they would receive compensation for their services. Having been represented by counsel the Board Members Steve Burke, Dave Klober and Bill Kravit knew full well at this point they had no intention of paying us.
Months went by and still no check had or has been received by any of us. We all began to contact local attorneys, several of them, who all stated to us that there was no legal recourse in the matter because the company had closed, yet a new company uses the name for their financial gain from our work. So we are turning to here to voice our opinion and the facts about these people who ripped us off. We would ask that you approach these people with caution if considering a business venture with any of them. To date GolfNet still owes us collectively over $30,000.
These wealthy men people have put serious financial pressure on four families yet they walk away never having to owe anything although they themselves are wealthy enough to liquidate all the debt of GolfNet using their own assets without even affecting their own financial situation even the slightest. These wealthy men sold our hard work for financial gain and then refused to pay us.
We did not work for a contracting firm or a large company who could take the financial hit for GolfNet's lack of payment, we were independent contractors not represented by counsel and not in the position to secure intellectual property or personal agreements because the client would never agree with them. We wanted to work for what we thought was going to be a great company and would secure our future for years to come. Instead, these men took advantage of our talent and then sold it for their own personal and financial gain.