A Closer Look at Inc Magazine’s Misleading Claims
Inc Magazine's article "Blind Ambition" serves as a poster child for the lack of ethics and professionalism in modern day journalism. Similar to Dan Rather's rush to publish the fraudulent and undocumented assertions against President Bush during the previous election, writer Edward O. Welles published numerous statements from a management team led by a convicted felon in order to discredit his quarry. His target in this article was Brett Kingstone, the then founder of FiberView who has since founded Super Vision, one of the Top 50 Fastest Growing Companies in the State of Florida, Top 500 Fastest Growing Technology Companies in America and Top 100 Companies for Working Families, which is traded on the NASDAQ stock exchange.
Pattern of Questionable Reporting
Edward O. Welles is a unique journalist. He has carved out a niche for himself writing articles on entrepreneurs and how to start a business while never having started a successful business himself. In a previous article, "Lost in Patagonia", Welles similarly leveled his literary hatchet at Yvon Chouinard, one of the clothing industry's greatest success stories and philanthropists, again based largely on the assertions of former employees who were terminated by the company. In both articles, Welles took liberty to opine on these false statements to weave together a story based on gross misrepresentations and lies. One of the many letters to the editor that were published in response to Welles article is listed below:
Reader Response Quoted
"I was appalled by your article on Patagonia ("Lost in Patagonia," August). What a hatchet job! Is the author, Edward O. Welles, another one of the ex-employees the article quoted so extensively? What's wrong with having high margins and good prices? I envy Patagonia for those. Especially if they allow it to have things like day care centers. My company was voted one of the best companies to work for in Washington State by Washington CEO magazine, but I'm sure my ex-employees get together once a month, put my picture on the wall, and throw darts at it. It depends on whom you talk to. And Welles just talked to people who flunked out of Patagonia."
- Mary Baechler
President, Racing Strollers Yakima, Washington
Profile of Steve Sedlmayr
Perhaps the most interesting of the cast of characters in Welles' article was his hero, Steve Sedlmayr, the man Welles credits as the original inventor of the technology allegedly stolen by Kingstone. Mr. Sedlmayr has had a storied career of assembling companies and a long list of investors and creditors that later tried to find out where their money went shortly thereafter. In ADTI, the one Sedlmayr venture chronicled by Welles, Mr. Sedlmayr's staff reported to Forbes Magazine that he claimed that his idea for both the new fiber optic product and patent came from a car accident "where his head was severed entirely from his body and sewn back on by an angel who infused him with divine creative fire." The Forbes article presents the FiberView/ADTI story in an entirely different light.
Evidence from Dr. William Glenn
Welles must have bought this version of Sedlmayr's story because he completely ignored Dr. William Glenn's assertion that Sedlmayr outright stole his invention, which he patented and legitimately licensed to Kingstone. Years prior to establishing ADTI, Sedlmayr visited Dr. Glenn's laboratory in Dania, Florida, viewed his invention, and took notes on the manufacturing processes and assembly methods to create the device, a thin panel fiber optic television display. Dr. William Glenn, one of our nation's leading inventors, was selected by BusinessWeek in its "Innovation in America" cover story as one of the "Top Ten Scientists in America."Â
Dr. Glenn’s Firsthand Account
In a sworn affidavit, Dr. Glenn testified that the judge's decision against Brett Kingstone and FiberView was "an unfortunate result of false testimony provided by ADTI's management to the court and the judge's inability to understand the technical aspects of either the technology or the case. Specifically, I testified at the hearing that what the plaintiff was purporting to be their trade secrets stolen by Mr. Kingstone were actually processes developed by my laboratory and information disclosed in my patent. I personally taught these processes to develop the fiber optic display screens to the founder of ADTI, Steve Sedlmayr, under the expectation of a licensing agreement while he visited my facility a few years prior to the founding of ADTI."
Concerns About ADTI Investors
Another group of individuals that Welles relied on heavily for his article was the investment team that operated and managed ADTI. One of the leaders of this team also served on the Board of Directors of CapRock Savings and Loan, which became the largest single savings and loan bankruptcy and fraud case undertaken by the U.S. Attorney's Office. More than $100 million was stolen from shareholders. In describing these men and their fellow co-conspirators' actions in the Dallas Morning News, U.S. Attorney Jennifer Bolen was quoted: "Everybody knew, everybody got paid, and nobody asked questions." Among the myriad of charges of which they were convicted were money laundering of $1.5 million used in illegal stock transactions, which included his investments in ADTI, in addition to tens of millions in fraudulent real estate transactions.
Inaccuracies in Reported Events
It is interesting to note that both the author, Ed Welles, and the Inc. management were warned in advance that the information that they were provided was false. Furthermore, the author's description of events that took place at the FiberView manufacturing facility should have seemed entirely impossible to anyone who would have visited it. Much of Welles' interview was conducted in the FiberView facility, and it should have been obvious to him that no one, not even the famous Sedlmayr, could have "shown a flashlight through a window in FiberView's building" to see "a host of parts and assemblies", since no such window existed in the manufacturing facility.
Evidence from Facility Witnesses
Affidavits from fellow tenants Donald Schaper and Rory McFarland stated, "The manufacturing facility is comprised entirely of concrete block construction with two solid and windowless steel bay doors. It would be impossible for someone from the outside to see inside the manufacturing area, both during the time that FiberView was a tenant and at the present."
Dean Russell Clarification
After the publication of this alleged "letter to the editor", Dean Randall K. Russell sent a letter to Mr. Kingstone to prove that he never sent a letter to the editor and would have never authorized the publication. Dr. Russell stated, "Needless to say, I am most disturbed about what has happened and offer my apologies."
Aftermath and Current Status
As of this date, Edward O. Welles is no longer employed by Inc. Magazine, and most of the management who approved his article have long since been fired or replaced when their publication was sold. Before leaving Inc./Gruner + Jahr Publishing, the old management had a few lawsuits to answer to themselves, one from a disgruntled publishing partner who felt she was cheated in her business dealings. Despite several written requests, the former Inc./Gruner & Jahr management refused to print a retraction or remove the article's posting from their website. They continued their refusals despite knowledge of the facts and the criminal convictions of the individuals that they championed. Mr. Sedlmayr's whereabouts are unknown but still desired by several investors in New York.Â
Brett Kingstone’s Continued Success and Contributions
 Brett Kingstone's company, Super Vision, continues to manufacture fiber optics and provide jobs and exports for Central Florida. His real estate company, Max King Realty, was selected by Governor Jeb Bush as one of "The Top 100 Privately Owned Companies in Florida." Max King Realty recently donated several 30-ton air conditioning systems to the Orange County School District and continues to support charitable organizations throughout Florida.
Support and Calls for Retraction
Verne Harnish, President of YEO, Young Entrepreneurs Organization, issued a statement supporting Brett Kingstone and lashing out at Inc.'s irresponsible reporting: "I believe that Mr. Welles's article in Inc. was highly biased and unfair." One wonders if the Inc. Magazine's new management, Mansueto Ventures LLC, will one day provide a retraction. Other journalists who have read the Inc. article on Brett Kingstone, and initially took it as gospel, at least later felt the moral obligation to print a retraction and years later after being confronted with the new evidence even Judge Lewis T Babcock was kind enough to send a letter.
Final Question and Affidavit
But perhaps the most damning evidence that this Inc Magazine writer Edward Wells had either deliberately written false statements or alternatively fell victim to a bunch of con-men, was recently provided in an affidavit from ADTI's Chief Executive Officer Mukesh Assomull, who after spending more than four years in prison found God and wrote this affidavit in order to clear his conscience. The question then remains, that why do so many publishers who present themselves as honest journalists continue to publish such false stories without so much as a retraction?
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