BALTIMORE/CHARLOTTESVILLE (BBN) — The rise and fall of Baltimore-based EMI Media, INC. d/b/a SmartCEO – the 15-year-old event and business magazine – is a glaring example of the contrast between the downward mobility of white flight suburbs and the resurgence of urban economies in the United States.
[AT&T Randall Stephenson and National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) CEO Derrick Johnson speaks to Capitol Intelligence/BBN using CI Glass on the Black American economic renaissance following an interview of AT&T Stephenson by Carlyle co-Founder David Rubenstein at the Economic Club of Washington, DC on March 20, 2019 in Washington, DC.]
The contrast of the fortunes of urban economies to those of the suburbs can be seen in the rise and fall of SmartCEO and its founder, former suburban Bel Air, Maryland resident Craig Burris. In less than a year, the 50-plus year-old Burris saw his fortunes rise to USD 40m before crashing down by personal and corporate bankruptcy and facing the real risk of imprisonment for fraud, embezzlement, and larceny.
However, the rising fortunes of our urban centers has bred a level of hostility, fear, and prejudice in the once affluent suburbs not seen since the Boston school busing desegregation protests of the 1970s.
The most shocking images from Charlottesville was not the violence between neo-Nazis and the radical left, but the previous night’s torchlight procession of a handful of well-dressed suburban millennial males — filmed and reported by Elle Reeve of Vice News — chanting: “You will not replace us. Jews will not replace us. Blood and soil. Whose streets? Our streets! White lives matter.”
[Pro-Confederate Labor Day protest filmed by Capitol Intelligence/BBN using CI Glass over the removal of Robert E. Lee statue at Emancipation Park in Charlottesville, Virginia. September 4, 2017]
Knowing the business and the high-quality level of SmartCEO events, the stake seemed reasonable for company with annual sales of almost USD 5m and a forecasted 2016 EBITDA of USD 700,000. Because of the barrier of entry for launching event businesses, high-quality event organizers are generally valued by media bankers at a conservative 10X cash flow of positive sales.
SmartCEO publishes a magazine around their events such as SmartCEO Washington DC Future 50 awards for the best CEOs of companies in the USD 5m to USD 250m. Or events like the Brava awards for the most dynamic women leaders in the cities of Baltimore, Washington DC, Philadelphia, and recent SmartCEO expansions to Boston, Charlotte, and NYC and Long Island. Work was already underway to launch SmartCEO Milan in Europe’s foremost up-and-coming financial center.
One SmartCEO cover that caught my eye and interest was a May 2005 cover with AOL co-Founder and owner of DC NBA’s Wizards and NHL’s Capitals, Ted Leonsis.
I met Ted Leonsis the first time at The Economic Club of Washington, DC event where American Express CEO Kenneth Chenault was interviewed by The Carlyle Group co-Founder and co-CEO David Rubenstein. One of the topics raised by Chenault was AMEX’s recent purchase of Revolution Money, the electronics payments system, from Ted Leonsis’ Revolution Growth private equity fund co-founded with AOL partner Steve Case.
[Revolution and AOL co-founder and Monumental Sports CEO Ted Leonsis speaks to Capitol Intelligence/BBN using CI Glass at National Press Club in Washington, DC. Dec. 5, 2014. ]
Another notable SmartCEO Magazine issue was its May 2013 SmartCEO Magazine New York cover of Hip-Hop music label Def Jam Records founder Russell Simmons titled “Fully Integrated.” The success and style of Russell Simmons fits perfectly with Capitol Intelligence Group – Turning Swords into Equity(®) domestic financial newswire — Black Business News (BBN) — mission of economic empowerment and facilitating access to capital for dynamic minority, women-and-veteran owned businesses.
During an interview at his home in Sykesville, Maryland, SmartCEO co-founder and long-time editor David Callahan said he built up the nascent magazine by doing cover interviews with then emerging business leaders such as Ted Leonsis, Under Armour (NYSE:AA) founder Kevin Plank, and then hip-hop industry superstar Russell Simmons.
Callahan said he initially acquired a 10% stake in SmartCEO at 1x sales from Craig Burris. Following a dispute over strategy with Burris, Callaghan said he reached an agreement in 2011 to sell back his stake to Craig Burris for USD 200,000 or 0.5x sales over a five-year period and is still owed USD 40,000.
The first sign the founder and majority owner of SmartCEO Craig Burris was truly a DumbCEO, clueless of the real value of his media business, was at the inaugural SmartCEO Brava award event for women business leaders held in Boston on October 18, 2016 and headlined no less by Massachusetts Republican Governor Charlie Baker.
Notwithstanding having the US governor responsible for the biggest corporate win — the poaching of General Electric — SmartCEO ended up having the only minority awardee, a dynamic Chinese-American, complain about the lack of inclusion at the inaugural award dinner.
[Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker speaks to Capitol Intelligence/BBN using CI Glass at inaugural Smart CEO Brava Awards: Honoring top female CEOs at Boston Park Plaza Hotel. October 19, 2016]
SmartCEO award winners are chosen on a peer-to-peer system, where fellow CEOs and legal and financial advisers nominate who they believe merit recognition. However, as with the Boston Brava awards, the nomination process breaks down — as it does in corporate America — when there is no diversity in the nominating committee.
My discussions of SmartCEO carrying out its past tradition of fairly recognizing the achievements of the most out-performing segment in America today –African-American female business leaders — was met with enthusiasm by both Black women business leaders and noted Fortune 100 leaders like The Coca-Cola Company Executive Chairman Muthar Kent.
Burris’ ability to never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity came to the head at SmartCEO investor pitch meeting Chicago with one of America’s most renowned private investors and entrepreneurs. Utilizing Capitol Intelligence Group’s intellectual property and resources, we were compelled to prep and educate SmartCEO’s Burris about the value and merits of the company he supposedly founded 15-years before.
[SmartCEO Media Founder and CEO Craig Burris speaks to Capitol Intelligence/BBN using CI Glass at SmartCEO’s Baltimore/Washington Skyline Awards. Bethesda, Maryland. May 4, 2015]
However, the discovery that SmartCEO Burris was less than a Smart CEO became apparent when attempts to carry-out buy-side due diligence were either stymied or deflected by Burris. Burris would refer us to his corporate attorney Andrew L. Jiranek of Towson, Maryland-based Jiranek & Partners but emails and phone calls remained unanswered by the seemingly illusive counselor.
The refusal or hesitation by the sell-side to allow due diligence is a major red flag for potential fraud in any securities offering, whether in the United States or Africa. After an independent investigation into the initial share offering, we discovered the law firm listed as SmartCEO corporate counsel and the drafter for the offering document, Jiranek, Goldman & Minton PC, was dissolved in 2003.
Guided by the best corporate governance practices principles in Sorbanes-Oxley and Dodd-Frank, I convened an extraordinary general shareholders meeting on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day January 16, 2017 to address glaring irregularities in the securities offering; SmartCEO status as a going concern; and evidence of racial bias by Craig Burris in dealings with advisers and consultants who happen to be African-American.Guided by the best corporate governance practices principles in Sorbanes-Oxley and Dodd-Frank, I convened an extraordinary general shareholders meeting on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day January 16, 2017 to address glaring irregularities in the securities offering; SmartCEO status as a going concern; and evidence of racial bias by Craig Burris in dealings with advisers and consultants who happen to be African-American.
My fellow SmartCEO shareholders include Alexandria, Va-based R. Gore Bolton of the crowdfund, Shark Tank wannabe Piranha Tank; Charlie Wolf, Chairman and CEO of Rockville, Md-based Payroll Networks; Patrick Chalmers, CEO of Towson, MD-based Comfort Care Medical; Earl Furfine, CEO of Rockville, MD-based 5 AM Solutions; Gary Pudles, President and CEO of Willow Grove, PA-based Answernet; Matthew Oros, freelance writer based in Strongville, Ohio; and Michael Waddell, CEO of Reston, VA-based INTERGRITYOne Partners.
Despite SmartCEO having posted a significant unexplained loss against a previous projection of a respectable 2016 profit, the vehemence and hostility to the EGM call by fellow shareholders was shocking both for crude and threatening language but also for the lack of concern regarding allegations of bigotry and racist bias by a company owner and CEO.
The hostility of fellow shareholders left no other option but to file an official complaint with Maryland Securities Commissioner, Melanie Senter Lubin, of the Maryland Attorney’s General Office, and subsequently,with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission.
[Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh and Tunisian Member of Parliament and highest elected official of Bizerte, Hon. Ali Belakhoua filmed by Capitol Intelligence/BBN using CI Glass on Sister City partnership during Congressional Black Caucus Foundation ALC in Washington, DC. September 20, 2017]
While SmartCEO Burris’ sent out emails of record revenue growth in the first part of 2017, SmartCEO shareholders only discovered that SmartCEO went out of business and shut down operations from news reports in the Baltimore Sun and the Baltimore Business Journal on April 12, 2017.
Burris even held a March 30, 2017 shareholder and board of directors conference call declaring everything was A-okay at SmartCEO.
The very next day, Craig Burris phoned or emailed SmartCEO’s 15 or so full-time employees to inform them not to cash their April salary checks as they would bounce for insufficient funds, a SmartCEO source said.
A shareholders’ EGM conference was convened on April 18, 2017 by Gary A. Pudles — a fellow shareholder claiming to be an attorney admitted to the Maryland Bar. Pudles told shareholders that he was running the insolvency auction process because Burris was so broke that he did not have the “money to pay an attorney.”
[SmartCEO EGM audio recording on April 19, 2017 with SmartCEO Craig Burris, Gary Pudles, Piranha Tank Gore Bolton and Matthew Oros]
[Disclosure: Capitol Intelligence Group -Turning Swords into Equity and Answernet of Gary Pudles are currently are currently in civil litigation regarding the audio tape of the April 19, 2017 in Montgomery County Court in Norristown,, PA. The public record on this First Amendment jury trial can be viewed below:
https://courtsapp.montcopa.org/psi/v/detail/Case/201102333
Gary A. Pudles, without any substantiation, alleges to be an instructor of Entrepreneurship at the Wharton School of Business and the winner of E&Y Entrepreneur of Year.
Wharton School of Business Dean Geoffrey Garrett declined to comment whether or not Pudles has any connection to Wharton while an E&Y official said they never heard of Pudles.
Due to the urgency of the matter at hand, we decided to hand deliver Capitol Intel’s formal offer for SmartCEO to the Towson, MD law offices of Burris’ erstwhile attorney Drew Jiranek while accompanied by Tunisian Member of Parliament and the highest elected official of the ancient and strategic port city of Bizerte, the Hon. Ali Belakhoua.
[Capitol Intelligence Group, Inc – Turning Swords into Equity using CI Glass films the delivery of the takeover offer for all assets of SmartCEO to the law offices of Drew Jiranek At Jiranek & Company in Towson, Maryland on April 24, 2017 with Tunisian Member of Parliament Ali Belakhoua of Bizerte, Tunisia.]
The Tunisian MP Belakhoua was in Washington, DC as a parliamentary observer to the IMF World Bank Spring meetings in Washington, DC; was officially recognized at the Greater Washington DC Urban League Gala Dinner headlined by The Carlyle Group Co-Founder and Co-CEO David Rubenstein; and is working with Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh to forge a Sister City Partnership between Baltimore and Bizerte.
Notwithstanding meeting Rubenstein, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and several Congressmen including US Civil Rights icon Congressman John Lewis of Georgia, the Princeton educated Drew Jiranek sends a racist email comparing the distinguished Member of Parliament of a country that has been formally recognized as a major non-NATO ally of the United States by President Barack Obama with a video showing a scene from Eddie Murphy’s Coming to America with a caricature of despotic and corrupt African King Jaffe Joffer (James Earl Jones) of Zamunda:
Andrew Jiranek May 12 (1ago) to peter, Craig, Neil While I strongly disagree with your barging into this office, unannounced, with the announced Government Official from Tunisia, and posting that video on YouTube, it reminded me of this video that is posted on YouTube.
Andrew L. Jiranek
(admitted to practice in MD, DC and VA)
Principal & Managing Attorney
Jiranek & Company, P.A.
16 Willow Avenue
Baltimore, MD [sic] 21286
(410)769-9070 (wk)
(410)825-2583 (fax)
(410)808-0486 (cell)
Email: ajiranek@jiranekcompany.com
Skype Name: andrewjiranek
Jiranek, rather than apologizing for the racist and offensive email, justifies his comment by replying:
Peter:
Here is another video captured with google glass to add to your publications, website and twitter handles:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2glOppqBRg
But, with regard to your published story on Twitter, why would you call Zamunda King Jaffe Joffer (character from Eddie Murphy’s movie “Coming to America”) “corrupt?” Because he is African? Because he is not white? That seems stereotypical and racist to me? Are you a racist?
Drew Jiranek
Mr. Jiranek’s highly offensive and bigoted mail — which has been forwarded to the Tunisian Ambassador the United States Faysal Gouia and Greater Washington DC Urban League President and CEO George H. Lambert, Jr. — is unfortunately symptomatic of a new form of racism found in what urban and rural Americans are beginning to define as Caucasia, the formerly well-to-do white flight suburbs.
Burris’ Chapter 7 attorney, a bow-tied Wilbur W. Bolton of Bolton & Kearney of Aberdeen, Maryland, cheerfully and loudly announced that he “only represents nice people” such as Craig Burris to a room full of mainly African-Americans who were attending a 341(a) Creditors meeting to file Chapter 7 in US Bankruptcy Court.
After 15-years of operation, SmartCEO Craig Burris decided on April 12 to close shop in the middle of the night while owing creditors, employees and service providers over USD 1m and sneak off to his luxury wharf-side condo located next door to SmartCEO’s office at 2700 Light House Point in Baltimore. According to Baltimore City court documents. McLean, Virginia-based Bernhadt Wealth Management found themselves scammed out of USD 13,000 in event sponsorship by SmartCEO’s Burris.
Another victim of SmartCEO was Capitol Heights, Maryland-based woman owned Gray Graphics who Burris stiffed for some USD 40,000 and put the Prince George’s County printing business in financial hardship, Gray Graphics Vice President of Operations, Abrahem Helal, said.
[Gray Graphics Vice President of Operations Abrahem Helal speaks to Capitol Intelligence/BBN using CI Glass regarding SmartCEO fraudulent bankruptcy in Capitol Heights, Prince George’s County, Maryland. June 15, 2018]
SmartCEO published magazines around their events such as SmartCEO Washington DC Future 50 awards for the best CEOs of companies in the USD 5m to USD 250m or events like the Brava awards for the most dynamic women leaders in the cities of Baltimore, Washington DC, Philadelphia and recent SmartCEO expansions to Boston, Charlotte and NYC and Long Island. Work was already underway to launch SmartCEO Milan in Europe’s foremost up-and-coming financial center.
SmartCEO shareholders such as myself only discovered that SmartCEO went out of business and shut down operations from news reports in Baltimore Business Journal and Charlotte Business Journal on April 12, 2017. Burris told shareholders and board of directors that everything was “honky-dory” at SmartCEO on a March 30, 2017 shareholder conference call.
The very next day, Craig Burris phoned or emailed SmartCEO’s 15 or so full-time employees to inform them not to cash their April salary checks as they would bounce for insufficient funds, former SmartCEO employee Lauren Faby said. He also stiffed the landlord out of USD 33,000 when he slipped out on April 12, the lawyer representing the property, Kevin J. Pascale, said.
As Baltimore Sun and BBJ readers found out about SmartCEO undeclared bankruptcy, they were informed of the “alleged” relaunch of SmartCEO magazine in a August 29 “exclusive” in the Baltimore Business Journal quoting the purported new owner, James McDonald in partnership with Craig Burris. McDonald was behind the failed Region’s Business business magazine for which McDonald claimed to have received “a significant investment” from Philadelphia philanthropist Raymond Perelman.
[Conde Nast unit American City Business Journal (ACBJ) Baltimore Business Journal Publisher Rhonda Pringle filmed by Capitol Intelligence/BBN using CI Glass (google glass) to discuss SmartCEO bankruptcy at BBJ offices in Baltimore on August 8, 2017.]
Melissa Sawyer, who headed SmartCEO Charlotte, said she can guarantee that SmartCEO under James McDonald and Craig Burris will never relaunch in Charlotte after Craig Burris pocketed money for upcoming events from such notables as Brandy Milazzo, co-founder of Milazzo Schaffer Webb in Charlotte. Ms. Sawyer said that SmartCEO owed her USD 24,000 and that she had rescinded a offer by McDonald for partial payment.
Ms. Sawyer also said McDonald told her that he was working on behalf of Richard Connor, the owner of Dallas, Texas-based Fort Worth Business event and magazine group. Connor, who was accused of embezzling USD 500,000 while CEO of Maine Today Media in 2012 by the newspaper group’s new publisher, Lisa DeSisto. Richard Connor declined to comment after numerous emails while SmartCEO Craig Burris claimed he “has never heard of Connor” at the last company’s AGM.
However, SmartCEO current corporate headquarters are the exact same as that of Fort Worth Business: 101 Summit Ave, Suite 803 Fort Worth, TX 76102.
Former CEO Report employee Joni Margotta informed Capitol Intelligence that Fort Worth Business Press owner Richard Connor, like Craig Burris,j ust walked out of the company’s lease at 101 Summit Ave in Fort Worth, Texas during the middle of the night. The real estate lease management and their attorney substantially confirmed Ms. Margotta’s allegations.
On January 11, 2018, Craig Burris filed Chapter 7 personal bankruptcy at the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District Maryland in Baltimore claiming to owe between USD 500,000 to USD 1m in debts, of which almost all incurred by EMI Media Inc, d/b/a SmartCEO.
Craig Burris, who claimed he could not afford an attorney to liquidate EMI Media, Inc. d/b/a SmartCEO into Chapter 7, is now able to afford the services of Maryland’s top white collar criminal lawyer, Jonathan Biran, of Annapolis, Maryland Rifkin, Weiner and Livingston LLC in lawsuit objecting to Craig Burris’ attempts to wipe out more than through personal bankruptcy. Burris terminated Biran and was representing himself pro se until March 28, 2019 for a trial set for August 20-22, 2018 in US Bankruptcy Court in Baltimore, Maryland.
Just ahead of Contempt of Court hearing on March 28, 2019, Burris hired Michelle Hayes, an associate of Baltimore, Maryland’s Niles, Barton & Wilmer, whose managing parner, Craig Roswell, received a Smartlawyer award from the now defunct SmartCEO magazine.
Biran worked as the right hand to current US Department of Justice Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein when Rosenstein served as the US Attorney for Maryland. ,
Rosenstein — who oversaw Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller‘s investigation into Russian collusion by President Donald J. Trump — hails, coincidentally, from Lower Moreland Township, Pennsylvania, coincidentally the same part of suburban Pennsylvania of SmartCEO/CEO Report’s James McDonald and Gary A. Pudles.
Just prior to Craig Burris Chapter 7 filing in January 2018, Fort Worth Business Richard Connor and VBM James McDonald rebranded SmartCEO as CEO Report and are holding events in Baltimore, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington DC using SmartCEO distribution and contact lists.
In an interview with Capitol Intelligence, former SmartCEO editor and now CEO of Ellen Ratners’ Talk Media News, said the SmartCEO/VBM LLC/Fort Worth was a “scam” that sold awards to gullible business owners and executives in Baltimore, Philadelphia, Washington DC, and New York.
Pennsylvania State Senator Larry Farnese (D-Philadelphia) told Capitol Intelligence in an interview that the Pennslyvania General Assembly pass his proposed anti-Strategic lawsuit against public participation (Anti-Slapp) bill to protect press freedom and Commonweath’s citizens First Amendment rights.
Farnese said that the AntiSlapp bill bill has overhwelming bipartisan support but that the Pennsylvania State Chamber of Commerce PA Chamber is blocking the bill from a final House vote after the PA State Senate passed the anti-Slapp bill by an overhelming 42 to 8 vote.
Farnese said he was motivated to bring tough new anti-Slapp legislatiion, including a Slappback proviso, after disreptuble real estate developers filed harasssing and economically crippling lawsuits bankrupted the Old City Civic Association (OCCA), the longest running formal neighborhood groups in Philapdelphia.
Farnese said he is optmistic that the new Pennsyvania anti-Legislation will be pass this year and that such a move could help convince Amazon, Inc (NYSE: AMZ) founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos to pick Philadelphia as the location for Amazon’s Second Headquarters (Amazon HQ2).
[Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos filmed by Capitol Intelligence/BBN using CI Glass ahead of US CEO Summit with Indian PM Narendra Modi ahead of Oval Office meeting President Donald Trump. The Willard Hotel in Washington DC. June 24, 2017]
According to Amazon’s pitch document, the new Amazon headquarters would create 93,000 direct and indirect jobs; a capital investment of USD 3.1 bn; and an estimated 233,000 annual hotel nights by Amazon employees.
By PK Semler in Washington, DC and Baltimore, Maryland. Edited edited by Ariana Woodson. For more information please call 202-549-3399 or email: pks@capitolintelgroup.com
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