A Factual Review of JOHN CURTIS: EXPOSED, Part 1

© By Ed Wallace / Publisher at UtahStandardNews.com / October 14, 2014 / 11:00 pm

‘Click’on the bold blue type to access each link

The following is in reference to an article posted at UtahStandardNews.com on October 13, 2017:

Report: JOHN CURTIS EXPOSED: A Trail of Sexual Harassment, Incompetence, and Broken Contracts

Part 2: A factual summary of JOHN CURTIS: EXPOSED – Incompetence, Lies & Spin

Preamble

Acting on a tip that came in Aug 25, 2017, I began to uncover indications that Mr. Curtis has a history of habitual incompetence, sexual & gender harassment, greed, broken contracts and illegal behavior.

Even more disconcerting is that a letter containing some of the same information that opened up this  investigation was given to a member of the Deseret News editorial board. To date, nothing has happened. A major subject in this investigation was also interviewed by KSL reporter Ladd Egan and a cameraman for 1½ hours. During that interview, much of the raw information stated in this article was given to them. KSL never aired the story. Neither Deseret News or Egan answered my request for a comment.

Introduction

Curtis sent his primary promotional flyer to most, if not all in the third congressional district, by U.S. Mail, with three carefully selected bullet points. In it, he claims that he:

–  “Built a multi-million dollar company that employs hundreds right here in Utah.”

–  “Cut spending and shrank government as mayor of Provo, leading to a 94% approval rating.”

– “Years of experience conducting firearms and shooting range training for the U.S. Military, police departments and the NRA”

“Most courts take the view that when a person runs for public office, he puts his character in issue so far as it relates to his fitness and qualifications for office. Accordingly, the politician’s prior conduct and actions are fair game for comment. Campaign ads are famous for spinning the truth and such ‘spinning’ of the facts typically walks a fine line to being false.” – Saper Law

A special report from FactCheck.org states: “Candidates have a legal right to lie to voters just about as much as they want. There is no federal truth-in-advertising law that applies to political ads, and the very few states that have tried such legislation have had little or no success.”

A Factual Summary & Review of Broken Contracts, Illegal Behavior,  

Harassment, Discrimination and Lies

John Curtis signed the “Stock and Real Estate Sale” contract with Scott Roberts on September 16, 1997.  The contract went into effect on October 1, 1997. From then until late December, 1998, Curtis was trained by Roberts and on January 1, 1999, Curtis assumed his position as Chief Operating Officer (COO) and VP over Sales and Marketing. Curtis agreed to pay a total cash amount of $850,000 in exchange for Roberts’ ATI stock and a 1/3 ownership interest in Action Commercial Park in Provo. A number of written and verbal agreements were made between Roberts, Curtis, Kyle Bateman (Curtis’ cousin and ATI CEO), and Addison Sovine (Bateman’s ATI partner) regarding this transaction. However, according to Roberts, Bateman and Curtis breached or modified many of those written and verbal agreements. As a result, Roberts ended up collecting only $619,108.34 over a 20-month period (a somewhat-forced discount of $230,891.66) as Roberts tried to accommodate Curtis.

After the deal was inked, Roberts was told of a covert plan by Bateman and Curtis to wrongfully divert $106,750 of Roberts’ 1998 profit sharing savings plan funds to Curtis’ wages. That was a very serious breach by Bateman and Curtis of two written agreements, as well as being against State and Federal law. Roberts learned that Bateman, with Curtis’ knowledge, was hiding about five large deposits (totaling about $1.5 million) from sales that Roberts had made in 1998. This would deny Roberts, as an owner, the ability to realize any of the profits from those funds because they would not be counted in the company profit sharing funds and owner profits calculation for 1998 . That issue was never fully remedied as Curtis accepted the funds.

That incident was referred to extensively in a lawsuit that Curtis filed against Roberts in 2015, while he is Mayor of Provo. Curtis sued Roberts for payment of a $60,000 note that he had ‘loaned’ Roberts after ATI reduced Roberts’ sales commissions by approximately  $60k to $90k in 2006. The commissions were wrongfully used by ATI as a way to fund ATI’s financial shortfalls on the Montgomery County, PA fiasco, that should have made ATI well over a million in profits. Curtis won the lawsuit, but when Judge Samuel D. McVey fully understood what that case was about, he wrote in his opinion: “I’m surprised that there was no criminal investigation …. Based on the plethora, on that large volume of rancid fish in the company [Action Target Inc.].”

The reason that there was no criminal investigation or lawsuit is because Roberts was following the admonition of his church’s leaders to not sue people, in addition to a principle of his faith to ‘turn the other cheek.” That adherence to his faith, along with the Statute of limitations, were the only reasons that Curtis and Bateman had no action taken against them.

“I’m surprised that there was no criminal investigation …. Based on the plethora, on that large volume of rancid fish in the company [Action Target Inc.].”

Soon after Robert’s’ departure, his executive assistant, Gayle Adams, was often degraded by both Curtis and Bateman, subjected to sexual harassment and gender discrimination, and threatened with having her pay reduced. Adams was then constructively fired and offered $10,000 if she would sign a non-disclosure confidentiality agreement and go away quietly. She refused.

Instead, Adams filed a claim of Sexual Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation with the UALD (Utah Antidiscrimination and Labor Division) and started legal action against ATI. Adams stated in her claim:

I have subjected to sexual harassment, general harassment, denied opportunities for commissions, disciplined, and constructively discharged. From June in 1993 through January 21. 1999, I was harassed, belittled, disparaged and ridiculed. I have been subjected to this harassment from Kyle Bateman since 1993, and from John Curtis since 1998. Inappropriate comments were made, including but not limited to the following: “females are a dime-a-dozen” and “we can get $8-dollar-an-hour gals all over the valley.” My direct supervisor (Roberts) was asked when he resigned if he was going to “take his concubine with him“ …. On January 21, 1999, Mr. Curtis held a meeting with me for approximately six hours, presented me with an “Employee Disciplinary Report” for vague and nonspecific reasons, subjected me to a 30 day probationary period, and told me to take two weeks off. As a result of the unwarranted discipline and continued harassment, I was forced to resign on January, 21, 1999.”

A letter from Evan Schmutz, attorney for Gayle Adams and Linzee Francom, is particularly revealing about the broad-based hostile, abusive, humiliating and unlawful/discriminatory environment that was created throughout all ranks at ATI by Bateman and Curtis. That letter gets into more specifics about the relationship between Adams and Curtis. It also establishes the abusive culture that  existed prior to Curtis buying and paying over $600,000 to join. That environment was originally created by Bateman and included unwanted sexual innuendos, the intentional infliction of emotional distress, slander, and pervasive discrimination that was condoned, if not encouraged, as a practice throughout the corporate organization. Curtis did nothing to stop this environment and claimed in his USN interview that he was not aware of any of it, and that nothing like that happened on his watch.

As COO and VP over Sales and Marketing at ATI, and a stockholder, Curtis was intimately involved in, and knew of every detail and aspect of company operations, including being responsible for the implementation of procedures and policies put forth by the CEO and the Board of Directors, period.

The legal letter from Schmutz on behalf of  Adams and Linzee Francom was dated March 2, 1999. In a recorded interview with USN, Curtis stated “Sure, I remember Gayle. Gayle was there when I first came.” When asked if  he had  knowledge of any sexual harassment [gender discrimination] claims, Curtis replied “No. And it sounds to me like you’ve got a whole bunch of bad information.”

However, this letter from Adam’s attorney shows Curtis’ claim to be a lie and goes into great detail concerning his treatment of Adams. It also exposes the extreme environment that women were subjected to.

To enlarge for a clear image, Click on image, then click again.

UALD validated Adam’s claims and ruled in favor of Adams. She decided to settle with ATI  and, as part of her settlement, was required to enter into a confidential settlement agreement as to what went on with her and Curtis. This “hush money” practice by Curtis and  Bateman as executives at ATI became a standard procedure when dealing with covering up their abusive and illegal practices.

About a year later, Curtis also wrongfully fired Rita Duprat, who was also forced to enter a confidential settlement agreement with Curtis and ATI. Duprat stated that she was wrongfully terminated by Curtis under a cloud of intimidation and false information and that her experience with Curtis is one of the worst unpleasant experiences of her life.

When Edward S. Seguine, Jr. (financial manager at ATI from 1993 through 1997) heard about how Curtis and Bateman had wrongfully terminated Gayle Adams, he produced his October 22, 1999 letter to help her validate her case concerning her claims about the  toxic and illegal atmosphere that existed when Curtis bought his executive position, including federal violations of the  Davis-Bacon wage rates when required by government contract.

Sequine stated: “Female applicants for shop and installer jobs were not considered. One wheelchair-bound applicant was turned away because he could not go upstairs to interview. After employees learned about this practice [violation of Davis-Bacon] and requested appropriate compensation, amounts over and above their base pay were deducted from their normal profit share allotment annually.”  This remedy ignored made a mockery of federal statute.

Sequine also reported: “Complaints by female workers regarding the inappropriateness of workplace conversations and decor were not seriously investigated or rectified despite the existence of an employee handbook and policy regarding actual discrimination in the workplace. Line management was instructed not to “fire” individuals, but rather to make their work as unpleasant or unrewarding (limited hours or reduced pay) so that the employee would quit and the company could avoid paying unemployment taxes.”

Roberts stated “These are the first cases of sexual harassment and abuse in ATI history that I know of.”

Much of what happened at ATI is not available to the public, but the testimony by Kyrsten Oler, given during Robert’s’ lawsuit against ATI, is. In a deposition taken on April 16, 2014, Oler, Director of Human Resources at ATI from 2009 to 2014, testified that the statements provided by Seguine are true. Her testimony is particularly revealing as to how Curtis and Bateman treated people, especially women, within the management workings of ATI. This sworn testimony by Oler cited 18-19 individuals who had relevant claims of  Sexual Discrimination, Retaliation, Harassment, and Religious Discrimination, Racial Discrimination, Gender or Sexual Discrimination, Age Discrimination, and unlawful and discriminatory employment practices, that were filed with NLRB, UALD and/or EEOC. Most of these former ATI employees settled out of court and entered into confidential settlement agreements with ATI. Oler’s testimony speaks for itself regarding the behavior and hostile culture created and sustained at ATI by Curtis and Bateman.

In a recorded interview between USN publisher Ed Wallace and John Curtis on Oct 10, 2017, Curtis denied any knowledge of any sexual harassment lawsuits, wage claims and breaches of contract at Action Target while he was at ATI. He also denied any participation in any of the claims and lawsuits after he became Mayor. Curtis also stated that he was not aware of any of the problems ATI had that took place after spring of 2009.

Curtis stated that he started winding down as COO in  2009 and left ATI in 2010 to become Mayor of Provo and was not involved in the day-to-day operations at ATI since spring of 2009. However the sworn testimony by Oler in 2014 reveals that Curtis was still deeply involved in executive meetings and the workings at ATI as an owner when she stated the following, “Initially what happened to me, I spoke with Tom Wright [President of ATI] and John Curtis [Owner and apparently still acting COO]. John Curtis is an owner of Action Target” (pg 18). Curtis was referred to as an owner several times (see also page 97 where Oler says “owner[s] and executives” caused this culture of sexual harassment and discrimination.)

Oler also stated in her disposition that Mrs. Denny Taylor [former ATI Assistant CFO] contacted Curtis regarding the toxic culture problems at ATI when she stated that, “I had been having discussions with Denny Taylor about it [the toxic culture at ATI regarding the treatment of women] and Denny called John Curtis” (pg 19).

So, the President of ATI and Curtis are the people Oler identifies as working with on these high level problems. Curtis working with the President of ATI on ATI problems is as top executive level as it gets and so if that were the case, it appears that Curtis was still actively involved as an owner  and acting as COO with ATI and lying in the USN interview about that fact. When asked directly about the Oler deposition, Curtis stated “I think most of that would be after I had left.”

Roberts collaborated Oler’s testimony when he stated about Curtis’ claims: “From what I know, John Curtis was still deeply involved, maybe not with a lot of time, but at an executive level and in Board meetings because I saw him at some of those meetings well into 2011. The only people that were ever allowed to attend those meetings where top level executive management and invited shareholders. Those meetings were very private and included the discussion of sensitive subjects that were not available to the public.”

Oler could not remember everyone’s name but her memory was clear about the instances where Curtis and/or Bateman treated people, especially women, within the management workings of ATI.

The following is a summary of Kyrsten Oler’s sworn testimony:

Oler stated that a male employee had to deal with Racial Discrimination. pg 1

Sexual or Gender Discrimination and Harassment claims included Liz Norman (approx. 2009 – present,) pg 16-17, and Catherine Lemaire, pg 16-17.  To resolve those problems, Oler stated that she worked with Tom Wright, ATI President, and Curtis, former VP and still an owner at ATI. Oler also testifies that Denny Taylor (ATI Assistant CFO with ATI, approx. 2009 – 2013) called Curtis directly about this problem, pg 19. On page 34, Oler also identifies another woman as leaving the company under very unhappy conditions.

Oler testified that Scott Roberts (with ATI 2004 – 2011) “said he felt that he had been discriminated against based on his age. I do recall that happening.” pg 56

Tara Johnson (ATI NW Sales Manager with ATI approx. 2007 – 2010) recently sued ATI for wrongful termination based upon Sexual Discrimination, Retaliation, Harassment, and Religious Discrimination – pg 81. Oler went on to state that (pg 94), “I do think there is some merit to her gender discrimination claim.” That case was settled. In short, Johnson alleged that her opportunities within the company were limited by management’s view of women’s roles, which were shaped by their own religion. Johnson reported that she was discriminated against even after her termination, when her male successor was offered the nearly $500,000 in commissions that she had earned.

Sarah Snow (ATI Project Manager with ATI approx. 2006 – 2008 when Curtis was COO) was terminated by ATI and filed a Sexual Discrimination, Harassment, Retaliation and Gender Claim (pg 81) with either the EEOC  or UALD or both, and that ATI settled with Snow for $60,000 that came with a confidentiality agreement. – pgs 82/84.

Oler testified that three or four ATI employees in the ATI Electronic Department filed claims with NLRB (National Labor Relations Board) and that these are now settled – pg 83.

Oler testified that Kevin Adams (ATI Employee with ATI approx. 2009 – 2010), a former welder, also filed claims  – pg 83.

Oler testified that when Clay Smith (ATI Military Sales Manager with ATI with ATI 1999 – 2014) was terminated from ATI that, “Clay Smith threatened a lawsuit.” that included Age Discrimination. ATI settled out of court with  Smith under a confidentiality agreement. Pg 85-87

Oler testified that two ATI employees (ATI Engineers) over forty years of age were terminated by ATI, but stated that she could not recall their names or if any action was taken. – pg 91

Oler stated that Kjrsten Oler terminated her employment with ATI because of, … “a culture in the owners and upper management that frustrated me with their opinions regarding women.” – pg 97

Oler stated that several key executives were terminated in late 2013 and early 2014 for reasons not known to her because it was done at the ATI Board level. These terminations included Mr. Tom Wright, President of ATI, Mr. Randy Graham, Executive VP of ATI, the Director of Marketing [name not given], and Mr. Adam White, Director of International Sales.  Oler goes on to state that some of those terminations included severance packages and therefore, may have come with confidential settlement agreements as well. Pgs 58, 89 & 90

Roberts knows of other ATI employees who went through similar experiences.

Most of them were wrongfully terminated or forced out by Curtis and/or Bateman under a cloud of intimidation and false information. Curtis and/or Bateman also withheld the payment of funds due to those that ATI wanted to discourage so that they would quit or be constructively terminated. Many stated that Curtis used “bait and switch” tactics regarding their commission structure so ATI did not have to pay them as agreed.

Derik White was an Independent Builder & Factory Installer for ATI since the mid 1990’s. White said that Curtis and his executive team “stiffed” him on many jobs and invoices when they became due at the end of the job. When he realized that he was over $400,000 in the red with ATI, he  decided to start Fusion Targets, Inc., which is now one of ATI’s main competitors. ATI sued Fusion for copyright infringement and lost. It turned out that ATI was actually copying White’s inventions in several ways and “stiffing” him again by trying to enforce a falsely-constructed Patent which they falsely claimed had been invented by only Bateman.

Jim Parks, Former ATI Technical Design Manager, Project Dept. Manager & Project Manager. Jim Parks (with ATI 1993 – 2007) was the ATI Factory Installation Manager for a number of years and has stated that he was wrongfully forced out of ATI by Curtis and Bateman.

Bill Bachler, Former ATI Military, Government and GSA-FAR Specialist. (with ATI approx. 1993 – 2001). Bachler has stated that Curtis used [illegal] “bait and switch” tactics regarding his military commission structure with ATI so ATI did not have to pay him as agreed until the last change actually effectually removed his commissions and overrides from military sales and then they fired him. He felt that they led him down this path of lies and deception simply to have more revenue for ATI and placed Bachler as a wage worker for much, much less than his former commissions, who they could fire once they got his signature under duress and gave him false promises, and stopped paying him what he was getting. Bachler believes that he was forced out of ATI because of his age, as well as other reasons, and that he was forced into settling with ATI so they could terminate him. At the time of his departure, Bachler was owed a substantial amount of commissions well into seven figures. Bachler confirmed that he is under a confidentiality and settlement agreement with AIT regarding the matter.

Ken Martin, Former ATI Military Sales Specialist  (with or contracted with ATI approx.1999 – 2015) was very successful  in Military Sales and Contracts at ATI. Martin called Roberts in August 2014 and asked that he provide him with the name and address of an attorney so he could possibly bring legal charges against ATI regarding age discrimination and breach of contract regarding his compensation agreements with ATI.

Dan Flynn, Former ATI Customer Service Manager (with ATI approx. 2005 – 2006) was a very successful ATI Customer Service Manager that had a commission override agreement with ATI that if he reached a certain level of service contracts and/or related work, he would be given a large bonus. Curtis unilaterally, and without written permission, withheld about $60,000 in payments based upon that agreement. When Flynn pushed him, Curtis then wrongfully terminated Flynn and [illegally] withheld his pay. Flynn found other employment immediately and didn’t bother with a claim

Denny Taylor,  Former ATI Assistant CFO (with ATI approx. 2009 – 2013) saw and experienced first hand how Curtis and ATI manipulated payments of contractual sales commissions and agreements based upon who the owners liked or were related too. They also withheld the payment of funds due to those that ATI wanted to discourage so that they would quit or be constructively terminated. This practice by ATI executives appeared to be arbitrary, calculated and capricious.

Lane Ashby, ATI Salesperson, Lane (with ATI approx. 1999 – 2016) was a very successful salesperson. He alleged that he was fired under duress and was still owed a lot in sales commissions. He called Roberts’ former attorney to see if he would represent him in his wrongful termination for age discrimination and to help him get his unpaid commissions.

Scott Roberts returned to ATI in 2004 and in 2009 working Federal Sales for ATI, and claimed that he was wrongfully terminated in 2011. ATI had given Roberts’ federal commissions to struggling salespersons in other territories to help them stay positive with ATI. According to Roberts, in May of 2011, without discussion, ATI fired Roberts, locked his office, and sent him on his way. When Roberts was terminated, he was owed approximately $300,000 in unpaid federal sales commissions. ATI offered to pay Roberts $15,000 for his troubles if he would sign a confidential settlement agreement. Roberts refused. Instead, he found an attorney who took his case on contingency. In 2015, after a four-year battle with ATI, and when ATI’s attempt at summary judgment failed to extinguish Roberts’ nine claims against ATI and was denied by the Utah District Court judge, ATI settled out of court to Roberts’ satisfaction.

Several months after Roberts termination, in early February, 2012, Curtis invited Roberts to his Mayor’s office in Provo to discuss Roberts’ termination from ATI. According to Roberts, Curtis was condescending and degrading to Roberts at this meeting as Curtis acted like he was still Roberts’ superior at ATI.  Roberts reminded Curtis that the employee-employer relationship no longer existed. Roberts also reminded Curtis of all the corruption and deception Curtis has participated in during his ongoing ownership and management involvement with ATI, even while being Mayor. Curtis became incensed and irritated about Roberts wanting to talk about the truth instead of make-believe and so Roberts quietly left the meeting. From this meeting, and other things said to Roberts in early 2011 by Curtis when Curtis was at some of his executive visits at the ATI offices, Roberts believes that Curtis’ (and Bateman’s) attitudes may have had a major hand in Roberts’ termination.

There are also 13 case numbers for tax liens against ATI and one settled wrongful termination lawsuit filed in Provo Justice Court.

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The ownership, executive involvement and timeline issue, is crucial in attempting to

understand Curtis’ involvement, or lack of, at ATI from spring of 2009 forward.

As stated earlier, Roberts collaborated Oler’s testimony when he stated about Curtis’ claims: “From what I know, John Curtis was still deeply involved, maybe not with a lot of time, but at an executive level and in Board meetings because I saw him at some of those meetings well into 2011. The only people that were ever allowed to attend those meetings were top level executive management and invited shareholders. Those meetings were very private and included the discussion of sensitive subjects that were not available to the public.”

In his USN interview, Curtis was asked a number of question concerning his involvement with ATI before and after he became Provo Mayor in 2010. Curtis stated that “ I had sold my small ownership and actually stopped working day-to-day at Action Target some months before I started as Mayor…. it was a slow phase out, but I can tell you… by the time the campaign had heated up, with the primaries, in the spring of 2009, I was doing no day-to-day [at ATI.]…it had ended by the time I was Mayor.” Curtis then stated that he had still attended ATI board meetings ‘From time to time.”

However, in addition to Oler’s testimony, and Roberts affirmation of it, according to attendees, Curtis kept going on the yearly vacations or cruises for the very exclusive ATI executive/owners and top sales producers, along with their spouses, through 2011 and maybe beyond.

And, his recent video ad shows him standing in front of the ATI building and sign, so even in 2017, he is still claiming a connection and roots in ATI. As of 10/15/2017, Curtis is still listed as the 2nd most important person at ATI at Wikipedia, along with a link highlighting his name.

It was somewhat “street” knowledge to those employed at ATI that when Dubin Clark took over ATI in 2008, they were said to have purchased about 50% of the ATI stock owned by the then current stockholders, who had to enter into a confidentiality agreement about their arrangement with Dubin Clark. The other approximately 50% was placed back into stock in the new CT Company of ATI to be sold or redeemed at a later date when Dubin Clark sells ATI. Information has not been forthcoming about this other than what little has been obtained from confidential sources that the stockholders had not received the follow up payment(s) as of yet (10/14/2017) and one went on to say that they cannot seem to get information as to what is going on with the deal from Dubin Clark, only that ATI has not performed well enough to trigger the final payments.

Dubin Clark has been trying to sell ATI for many years and is still listed on the Dubin Clark site.

Addition information not included in the original article:

“The Golden Goose”

The following is a compilation of statements and information obtained from

former Action Target executives, employees, and court documents.

In the USN interview, Curtis was asked about his knowledge of  ATI’s “The Golden Goose”.

Question: “The reason I’m asking these things is because people have told me that you continued your involvement in 2010 [at ATI] and really started winding down in 2011, and there was a plan, a procedure in place that was referred to as “The Golden Goose”… do you know anything about that?”

Answer: “No… nothing about it.”

The top executives at ATI are said to behind the ‘Golden Goose’ scheme that started in 2008-9.  On August 3, 2010, a rejection letter was sent to ATI from DaNell D. Jukule, the Contracting Officer for the U.S. Army’s TACOM Life Cycle Management Command (“TACOM”). In the letter, Jukule openly mocked ATI’s performance and history with the following statement: “The above listed deficiencies, in and of themselves warrant your proposal’s exclusion from the competition. In addition, an initial evaluation of other factors indicates that your past performance information and your proposed sustainment strategy would be rated unfavorably as well, making it unlikely that your company would be awarded a contract as a result of this solicitation even if the technical deficiencies are not present.”

“The Golden Goose” is mentioned in a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court, Case 2:13-cv-01080-RJS against ATI on December 6, 2013  by Andrew Talley (at ATI from April 2011 to January 2013) and the United States of America, ex rel., for violation of the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. § 3729, et seq. and the anti-retaliation provisions of the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. § 3730(h).

In his complaint, Talley stated: “Action Target, Inc. touts itself as “a leading global supplier of superior shooting range products … dedicated to providing the best ongoing service and support in the industry” and is “far ahead when it comes to innovation.” But these representations are false. In reality, to win business, Action Target intentionally misrepresents its experience and ability to deliver even the most basic targeting equipment.”

Talley continued: The Golden Goose “generated enormous wealth and success for the company. It is company lore at Action Target that it became a lucrative company by first winning contracts, and only thereafter developing products on-the-fly, as needed, often after delivery and installation. Through a strategy that Action Target considered its “Golden Goose,” Action Target would develop a product to 60-70% maturity, push it to market, and thereafter fix on a warranty basis only those deficiencies that were noticed and reported.”

Action Target’s strategy is to first get a contract, then scramble to develop and ship a product to get payment, and only later fix obvious defects on a warranty basis or avoid the problem altogether by blaming others for its equipment failures. Internally, Action Target proudly considers this the “Golden Goose” that has generated enormous wealth and success for the company. Of course, the heart of this goose is a rotten commitment to deception, and the hope that such deception can later be remedied or concealed.

Regardless of Action Target’s prior success with this strategy, when it employed the Golden Goose to win a multi-million dollar contract to provide sophisticated targeting equipment to the U.S. Army, the unavoidable result was a violation of the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. § 3729, et seq.. To win the contract, Action Target falsely certified it had such off-the-shelf equipment that complied with TACOM requirements.” – end of Talley’s quote.

Bidding on the contract mentioned in Talley’s lawsuit began about June 7, 2010. According to Curtis, he was gone by that time. According to others, he was still there. It is reasonable to assume that the mechanics and procedures put in place (The Golden Goose) to bid on government contracts were still in place when bidding for that contract started. Bidding on a large government contract is a slow and long process that usually takes four to five years to finish. ATI was awarded the contract around August 30, 2011, just under fifteen months from start to finish. This time frame would be literally impossible unless there were an well-oiled machine in place along with a seasoned management team.

While this case never made it to trail (Talley settled and took his ‘hush money’), the allegations were strong enough to prompt ATI to settle to Talley’s satisfaction and the case was dismissed on 6/8/2016 without prejudice to the United States of America. Any involvement by the executives at ATI is still open to actionable criminal prosecution by the U.S Government.

Because of the information obtained in Andrew Talley’s lawsuit against ATI, Tom Wright (ATI President), Mr. Randy Graham, (ATI Vice President), and Bateman (ATI Board Member and IT Specialist) were forced out from their positions and Wright (the non stockholder) was fired, all over this failure and  system of fraud, false representation and bidding for business with the government without having a real or completed product to sell. Although Curtis attempted to leave ATI on several occasions by running for public office multiple times, and doing other outside work from ATI, Curtis had conveniently phased himself out by the time of this lawsuit (Dec 2013). However, if he was still an owner and executive at ATI, while serving as Mayor of Provo in June, 2010, when the bidding started, Curtis could have been most likely heavily involved in the bidding process that initiated Talley’s lawsuit. If that is true, and according to Oler’s sworn statement and Roberts’ recollections it is, then John Curtis, while serving in government as Mayor of Provo,  was also part of a scheme to defraud the U.S. government out of millions of dollars.

Curtis could clear this up by simply presenting some dated written or visible evidence of his self-removal from ATI, other than his word. USN has requested a copy of a resignation letter, a stock transfer, or any other evidence that can substantiate his claims. To date, there has been no response. As soon as there is, if there is, we will publish it. Hopefully, John Curtis will step up and prove that he really is the honorable and trustworthy man that he claims to be,  and Utah deserves to be represented by in Washington, D.C. Why would he not want to prove that? There can only be one reason if he doesn’t.

Relevant Links:

Report: JOHN CURTIS EXPOSED: A Trail of Sexual Harassment, Incompetence, and Broken Contracts

John Curtis’ Congressional primary promotional flyer

Transfer of ATI ownership from Roberts to Curtis: written and verbal agreements

The Montgomery County, PA fiasco, that should have made ATI well over a million in profits

That incident was referred to extensively in a lawsuit that Curtis filed against Roberts

That adherence to his faith, along with the Statute of limitations

ATI offered $10,000 to Gayle Adams

Gayle Adams filed a claim to UALD against ATI

A letter from Evan Schmutz, Gayle Adams attorney, to ATI

John Curtis’ recorded interview with USN

John Curtis’ recorded interview transcript

Edward S. Seguine’s October 22, 1999 letter to help Gayle Adams validate her case against ATI

Link to Davis-Bacon and Related Acts

In a deposition … Kyrsten Oler… testified…

This sworn testimony by Oler cited 18-19 individuals who had relevant claims

Curtis stated that he was not aware of any of the problems ATI had that took place after spring of 2009.

Tara Johnson… recently sued ATI

Roberts knows of other ATI employees who went through similar experiences

ATI sued Fusion for copyright infringement and lost

When Roberts was terminated, he was owed approximately $300k in unpaid federal sales commissions

He [Roberts] found an attorney who took his case on contingency.

When ATI’s attempt at summary judgment failed to extinguish Roberts’ nine claims…

13 case numbers for tax liens against ATI and one settled wrongful termination lawsuit filed in Provo…

Curtis’ recent video ad shows him standing in front of the ATI building and sign

ATI… is still listed on the Dubin Clark site.

A rejection letter, to ATI on Aug 3, from DaNell D. Jukule

U.S. Army’s TACOM Life Cycle Management Command (“TACOM”)

U.S. District Court, Case 2:13-cv-01080-RJS

False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. § 3729

False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. § 3730(h)

Strong enough to prompt ATI to settle to Talley’s satisfaction

The Talley case was dismissed on 6/8/2016

Definition of  lore

Definition of  Chief Operating Officer (COO) and VP over Sales and Marketing

Definition of Sexual Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation

Definition of Racial Discrimination

Definition of Gender or Sexual Discrimination

Definition of Religious Discrimination

Definition of Age Discrimination

Definition of unlawful and discriminatory employment practices

Definition of Retaliation,

Links to NLRB, UALD and/or EEOC

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