Gina Burgess shared Chris Wallace's photo — withChris Wallace.
23 hrs
SPECIAL, PROFOUND AND HEART-FELT THANKS!!! I am feeling particularly blessed and upbeat right now and it’s all because of each of you! From the bottom of my heart, thanks to everyone who shared the “SCAM ALERT” post yesterday---over 100 direct shares and an immeasurable amount of sharing from sharing. I am especially appreciative of my facebook friends who used special apps that I didn’t even know existed to share by smart phone. People ask me all the time why I do what I do here on facebook. And my answer is always the same. Because I care! And really, how can you not absolutely love and adore a community who is looking out for each other.
There are several individuals whom I would really love to give public thanks to, but most of them would prefer to stay anonymous, including but not limited to:
*The attorney who questioned the supposed “tax sale” that allegedly took place without proper notice by publication. (Public records…..Oops!)
*The municipal employee who confirmed that the alleged property in question was still owned by the County (as most abandoned property is). (Public records….Oops!)
*The law enforcement officer-turned-law-student who suggested that the individual running this scam was not only engaging in a criminal matter (maybe even more than one criminal offense) but proposed that with so much information online about this particular character that local media (JG, WOWO, etc) as well as the individuals who propagated the story might also find themselves facing criminal charges for assisting a criminal. (I.C. 35-55.1-2-5 (a))
There is one person, however, that I think I can thank publically and that is Chris Wallace. I had asked for his help yesterday in trying to get ahead of that particular news store. We (and others) were concerned about well-meaning people getting hurt in the process. Chris was simply amazing as he spent a significant portion of yesterday trying to get local media to either retract stories that they had run and/or run a story alerting the public to this scheme. While it saddens me that his request for help fell on deaf ears, I can’t begin to express my deeply felt appreciation for his efforts. Please read his post about his behind-the-scenes media adventure:https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1123081241077335&set=a.414716825247117.107237.100001264081514&type=3&theater
While it certainly is disturbing to know that certain media outlets were willing to run with such a harmful story (think about it, these media outlets were purposefully and publically promoting a fraud) and interesting to know that an illegal act purposefully and intentionally propagated by others could constitute an illegal act on their part, the thing I feel the most is an immense sense of gratefulness.
I am grateful that enough members of our community got involved, pulled together and without any local media assistance got the word out to an unknown number of people. (Best estimates are about 50,000+!!! And that’s pretty exciting. 100 direct shares x 338 average number of facebook friends the average individual = 33,800 + my facebook family [(3,724 friends + 94 subscriber) x estimated exposure rate of 7= 26,626] + ?? smart phone app shares)
Also, I’d like to say something else on this post. The JG columnist who ran the original story. He’s a nice guy. I don’t know him personally, but I’ve had dealings with him in the past. I can’t imagine him being a willing participant in something like this. And I’m willing to believe the same of the other news reporter(s) who propogated this story. At the end of the day, these folks are employees dependent upon a paycheck. So please be kind to them. And also be kind to the local news agencies and news reporters that did not warn the public of this scheme. There’s a reason they were fearful of notifying the public to beware. This whole incident illustrates why the blogophere is important and why citizen activists, citizen reporters, and citizen watchdogs are sooooo important. It also illustrates the importance of caring----so remember, be kind to each other.
Chris Wallace
May 5 at 5:04pmFort Wayne, IN
I am absolutely embarrassed to live in the city of ‪#‎fortwayne‬.
I cannot believe that the media in this town is so ignorant that they do ZERO research on the stories that they print and/or put on the air.
WOWO News/Talk 1190 AM & 107.5 FM is running a story promoting a known CROOK. A man who does nothing but commit ‪#‎fraud‬ for his money.
The The Journal Gazette ran a story on the same man this morning also without a single search for information about the individual.
The person in question is a man named Benjamin A. Byerline. You can read about him here: Byerline Enterprises if you have not already. In addition you can find additional information atkwalis.com/byerline as the page is being developed.
His recent scam is a lie about providing a place for the homeless to put up tents and reside without being harassed by law enforcement. He is using this situation to create bogus GoFundMe accounts and take donations. Donations that will do nothing more than fuel his drug use and future scams.
In my investigating, not a single person who is covering his lie in the media took a second to even run his name on Facebook or even Google. Either one of which would have returned a history that is not just criminal, but also despicable...beyond words.
I have spent my day contacting media and tracking stuff on Facebook to help make people aware. However, the response from media has been that of not caring or giving a damn that they are promoting a blatant criminal (I have attached a picture for you to decide for yourself...you can find the same information via mycase.in.gov). However, don't let that be the whole story. He has accusations far worse than anything he has been convicted of. Things I don't even want to discuss here.
It is a sad day that I am losing faith in media and journalism. I look at local organizations that I thought I could trust to do their job in informing the people of the community. However, I have found multiple examples of either laziness or complete lack of caring or even incompetence. I just don't even know what to say...I am losing faith in people. May the blood be on their hands when someone has everything taken from them by this man.
In a day and age that hard work and integrity is going by the wayside and being a criminal and crook gets you ahead and gets you on the radio and in the news as a POSITIVE asset to the community it is hard to continue to care myself. While when he scammed me out of my money over a year ago I contacted WANE-TV NewsChannel 15 WISE NBC33 21AliveWFFT Local and not a single one cared to even pick up the story to warn the public about this monster. Since then he has stolen THOUSANDS of dollars from more people than I can count. We, the team that work on the above sites, have uncovered numerous scams and have worked directly with the individuals he was taking advantage of to assist them in distancing them from him and saving them the long term damage he can cause. Bogus non-profits, a bogus restaurant, a bogus lawn service and other home improvement scams. The man is evil and deserves what comes to him.
I will see him again next month in court, if he shows, and I will eventually get what is owed to me...now around $1974 dollars...but I will NEVER stop making people aware of who he is and what he does...NEVER...
There are too many bad people out there to have those that have a voice just let it all go and allow this problem to continue.
Maybe it is time to call in and cancel some subscriptions and turn off the radio. If you can't trust those with a voice who can you trust in this world?
If you care...share this and spread the word. If you are in the media and actually want to make a difference in the community and protect those that look up to you and rely on your integrity and expertise to direct them on the issues then feel free to contact me. If you don't care...let karma be your guide in the future and beyond.
All I ask is that you do your due diligence and make people aware.
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Comments
Jennifer Hertenstein Thank you everyone for the necessary attention and dedication to bringing the whole story to light!
Like223 hrs
Chris Wallace I am just looking out for the people... May nobody ever be harmed by this evil man again...
Like322 hrs
Chris Wallace Two things. I would like the individuals that think that there could be criminal charges against Byerline brought to contact me if they could. I am extremely interested in this as I believe this is what he deserves.

Second...I also want to say that as far as reach. The simple website that I tossed together on the fly showed roughly 2900 hits in about 8 hours...that tells me people are seeing it. I hope it can get more people to it and I may take that model and expand it into a fraud reporting site...if it can benefit these situations I have no problem putting the time into managing it...

The power of the internet and social media is so important for the people to have a voice. So often con artists like Byerline prey on people that just are not informed. We need to put forth an effort to change that. I hope I can find the time to continue with that effort in the future.
Like422 hrs
Dean Robinson I had never heard of Benjamin A. Byerline until Gina Burgess and Jeffery Wayne Landistalked on Facebook about the guy possibly being a con man. AFTER THAT I see WOWO and The Journal Gazette talking about the dude buying a plot of land for Fort Wayne's homeless. NO criticism.
Like320 hrs
Gina Burgess Dean – I appreciate your comment, but I never talked to Jeffrey Wayne Landis about this matter. I do see on his page that about 9 pm tonight (5/6/2016), he shared the Journal Gazette’s story involving Benjamin Byerline. The Journal Gazette originally posted their story online on May 4th before 11 pm. And how do we know this? Because on May 4th at 11 pm (23:00:55 EST),OOYUZ.com, a News Search & Analytics company, shared the JG’s story on their blog. Just to be fair to WANE-TV and the Journal Gazette (WOWO posted their story later summarizing the JG), here’s a timeline of events:

May 3, 2016 @ 7:50 pm: Ginger Woods shares Byerline’s public post on WANE-TV’s facebook and tags me. (I get a facebook notification email @ 8:03 pm) According to the image she posted, Byerline had already been promoting his project for four hours.
https://www.facebook.com/wane15/posts/10153558132261430...

May 3, 2016 @ 10:42 pm: Chris Wallace attempts to alert everyone of the alleged fraud being attempted by Benjamin Byerline.https://www.facebook.com/wane15/posts/10153558132261430...

May 4, 2016 @ 6:46 pm: I post a public service announcement alerting my facebook friends to the possible scheme.https://www.facebook.com/GinaMBurgess/posts/10209205795246787

May 4, 2016 @ 11:00:55 pm (23:00:55 EDT):OOYUZ.com, a News Search & Analytics company, shared the Journal Gazette story.http://www.ooyuz.com/geturl?aid=11499497 In a strange twist straight out of a science fiction novel about time travel, the link to the May 4th Journal Gazette story leads the same story dated May 5th (Published May 5th @ 1:02 am???) on the Journal Gazette’s website. However is THAT possible??

May 5 @ 11:14 am: Facebook friend tags me in a post on the Journal Gazette’s facebook page, alerting me to the Byerline story. Source: Email containing facebook notification link:https://www.facebook.com/journ.../posts/10153757518799022...

May 5 @ 11:57 am: Facebook friend shares the Journal Gazette’s Byerline story on her wall and then tags me, alerting me of the story. Source: Email containing facebook notification link:https://www.facebook.com/jenni.../posts/10154244055759880...

May 5 @ 5:04 pm: Chris Wallace spends a significant amount of time the trying to get those who ran the story to retract it and those who didn’t run the original story. He shared a report of what he did on his facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/chris.../posts/1123096307742495...

I share all of this because this truly was a community effort and I want to be fair to everyone. smile emoticon
Like15 hrsEdited
Gina Burgess Douglas B Pritchett and James A Jim McCoy Jr. -- I'm tagging you guys because I thought you might get a chuckle out of the above response to Dean Robinson's comment. Especially the below blog entry and corresponding link, as reference above:

May 4, 2...See More
Like14 hrs
Dean Robinson Gina Burgess wants to find something wrong in my writing SO BADLY she can almost taste it. Gina Burgess talked about Byerline on Facebook. Jeff Landis talked about Byerline on Facebook. I did not say Gina and Jeff talked to each other on Facebook. Gina and Jeff talked about Byerline on Facebook. Sigh. Try again, Burgess.
Like16 hrs
Jeffery Wayne Landis All i did is shared the story and he asked to be a guest. and I'm also inviting chris on it too.
Like16 hrs
Dean Robinson I consider that "talking about" something on Facebook. No need to be humble,Jeffery Wayne Landis. You hipped me up. Brag a little bit.
Like6 hrs
Dean Robinson The changing date on The Journal Gazette story is not really a mystery. If you EVER look at news stories on the web, you should often see a story's original publication date and an UPDATE date. It is NOT a "strange twist straight out of a science fiction novel about time travel as Gina Burgess suggests.
Like6 hrs
Gina Burgess Dean Robinson -- My bad...I misunderstood your post referencing Jeff and I. In regard to the "time travel" reference. The JG only listed a published by date and time. They offered no "updated" and time like some of the other media outlets do. But at least the JG is ahead of WOWO, who in some instances only provides dates and no times. Btw, my apologies if you felt I was looking for something wrong. I wasn't. I was just being fair to everyone and I wanted to present an accurate timeline.
Like2 hrs
Jeffery Wayne Landis He wants to be on my show.
Like320 hrs
Jennifer Hertenstein I'd love to hear his explanations and plan to help the homeless without the existing programs
Like319 hrs
Gina Burgess Jennifer Hertenstein --I'd like to hear his explanation for how we was going to let the homeless camp on land that he doesn't actually own? Or how he "bought" this land at a non-existing Sheriff's sale? Or how he expected to close the deal with outstanding judgments due others? Or how he had the money for the alleged purchase of the land ($208) and the alleged land variances ($150), but not for the outstanding judgments? Lots of questions to be answered by him....
Like29 hrs
Dean Robinson Jeffery Wayne Landis, I would absolutely LOVE to guest host with you when you grill Byerline. You probably should not tell him I'll be there.
Like26 hrs
Gina Burgess Dean Robinson -- Hey if you guys do that, could you post on youtube so it can be shared? I'd be interested in seeing his responses.
Like12 hrs
Mike Ruiz Chris Wallace is the man. He's been on this scumbag for over a year
Like319 hrs