Greg Dickinson's personal web site

This is the most frequently-updated portion of the site. Right now this page is here to detail my misadventures in getting trained/certified in Cisco hardware. More specifically, this page details my experiences with a technical training company in the Birmingham, AL (US) area, Aspreon Technologies.

I've archived my timeline here. Right now this page is mainly used for updates on the on-going litigation against Aspreon.

06/02/2003 - UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE

Major developments. Thanks to the help of local attorney Steven Halsey, a class action lawsuit was filed in Shelby County court on Friday, 5/30/03. It alleges Economic and Academic Fraud, and is filed against Aspreon Technologies, Inc.; Aspreon Technology Services, L.L.C.; RIV-RAD, Inc.; LABVERIFIED, Inc.; Aspreon's founder, Richard A. Miller; and, key officers, Jeffery S. Miller and Demetrius Hubbard. Honestly, I've never heard of Riv-Rad and LabVerified, but... ;-)

Here's a link to the story on the Birmingham Business Journal's website. This link might be invalid later, so here's the link to the front page of the Birmingham site. I'm very tired, and don't have a scanner, so I can't put the whole press release on the site.

I've also heard from several people that have e-mailed me regarding Aspreon. To everyone that has written and passed along information regarding the treatment from Aspreon, I thank you. I'm also sorry you didn't hear about this sooner. But I've kept at least one person from going to Aspreon for "training."

I've also had a tad more fun - I e-mailed the Public Relations department at the web hosting company that Aspreon uses, and asked them to take down their site. We'll see what happens.

I've also upgraded my lycos hosting to the basic level to get rid of the annoying banner ads. You're welcome. :-)

More information to be posted as it becomes available.

6/7/2003 - The class-action hearing against Aspreon was yesterday morning at 9:00 am. I was unable to attend, but another former Aspreon student, Ryan Tilly, was able to attend and gives the following report:

Title: And the word of the day is...bankruptcy

That's right, kids...bankruptcy.

Sorry, I thought I would take the needless suspense out of everything. Don't feel too bad about missing the so-called hearing. Allow me to summarize the events in the order I remember them occurring.

~8:30--> I arrive, walk through metal detectors, and head to courtroom. Only a handful of people is present, and not one on behalf of Aspreon. I choose a front-row seat in hopes of interpreting the whispers coming from five different prosecution lawyers, including Steve Halsey.

~9:00--> The courtroom is now filled with plaintiffs; four or five have no choice but to stand. I recognize only one other from Huntsville--Adam Skipper . The only Birmingham face I recognize is that of a Brandon Reed, as he was my 'tour guide' when I first visited the Birmingham location in January. Even though I could not identify anyone else, I was told that there were other Birmingham instructors among us. Still, there is no present party on Aspreon's behalf, nor has the honorable Judge Crowson entered the room.

~9:10--> An additional suit walks into the courtroom and begins conversing with the other five, only this one has 'Bad Guy' written all over himself.

~9:15--> Judge Crowson walks into the courtroom and takes his seat. Only the apparent defense lawyer remains standing at this time. The judge has each attorney state his place. The prosecution, at this time, occupies both the defense and prosecution tables, due to their large sum of documents and materials.

~9:20--> Judge Crowson asks that a table be made available to the (now obvious) defense lawyer, who still appears to lack a present client. Three prosecution lawyers, not including Steve Halsey, move to the jurors' box to accommodate the defense.

~9:25--> Now that everyone is repositioned, the hearing begins; somewhat. Judge Crowson looks at the case on paper and allows the prosecution to speak. The prosecution makes its opening statement by explaining the general nature of the case at hand and what exactly it seeks. The defense attorney begins by stating that he does not represent anyone other than Demetrius Hubbard. The defense continues by stating that his client, Demetrius Hubbard, was not officially served because, according to his client, the subpoena was merely left on his doorstep. The prosecution then states that the server did try to hand Demetrius Hubbard the subpoena but that Demetrius purposely rejected, resulting in the subpoena falling on his doorstep.

~9:30--> The judge asks if the server is present. The prosecution takes a quick look around the room out of desperation. The prosecution replies "No, your honor." The defense attorney abruptly states that his client, Demetrius Hubbard, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy at approximately 8:30 a.m. this morning
(June 6). The room falls silent and I feel absolutely sickened.

~9:35--> Judge Crowson asks where Demetrius Hubbard currently is. The defense lawyer explains that his client is in the next courtroom over, since their weren't any available seats. The judge requests that Demetrius be called upon, so the defense lawyer leaves the room to do so.

~9:45--> The defense attorney returns with Demetrius Hubbard. They both sit and the hearing continues. The judge reviews all incorporations of Aspreon (Riv-Rad, Labverified, Aspreon Technical Services, and Aspreon Solutions) and inquires of Demetrius' title and relationship with them. Demetrius simply explains that he is President of Aspreon and that he is in no way involved with one (I can't remember which) of the incorporations. The defense attorney adds that Demetrius is a 49% shareholder of one portion of Aspreon, while Ric Miller is a 51% shareholder of that portion. The other portion is the complete opposite (Ric: 49%, Demetrius:51%).

~9:50--> The judge recognizes that two Millers (Ric and Jeffrey) are named in the papers in his hands. The defense attorney states that he does not represent either Miller. Demetrius Hubbard explains that Jeffrey Miller is not an integral part of the company and that he has no executive-level title. The prosecution states that Jeffrey Miller is very much a triable party within this case. The prosecution then requests to submit a document to evidence showing that Jeffrey Miller, regardless of title within Aspreon, remains an integral part. Judge Crowson permits and
Steve Halsey walks to the evidence table to tag the document.

~9:55--> The judge asks if Ric Miller has been served. The prosecution explains that they have been unable to locate Ric Miller. Judge Crowson asks Demetrius Hubbard if he knows where Ric Miller currently is. Demetrius answers "Yes." He then states that Ric Miller is in Atlanta, GA. The judge
admits that the hearing cannot continue without the presence of at least Ric Miller. The defense attorney states, again, that he does not represent Ric Miller, but he can advise his client to speak with Ric Miller about such matters. Demetrius agrees to speak with Ric. The judge motions for a recess in which everyone (on their side of the courtroom) is to agree on a date to reschedule. They all leave the room and head to the judge's chambers to discuss the matter.

~10:15--> Everyone is now seated and the so-called hearing continues. Demetrius was successful in reaching Ric Miller. The defense attorney is now representing Ric Miller as well. Judge Crowson states that there is now a ten-day TRO period for Ric Miller and that he cannot extend it passed June 23. The judge then decrees that the hearing will continue on June 17 @ 1:00 p.m. He continues by explaining that, until that time, the personal funds of both Richard Miller and Demetrius Hubbard are frozen, save for necessary living expenses, attorney fees, etc.

~10:20--> Adjourned.
Before leaving the courtroom, I was approached by a reporter (columnist is my guess). She asked me about my personal experiences with Aspreon and what my situation was. I tried to tell her all kinds of stuff, but she had to interview other people as well. I did give her my name and number, as she did the same for me.

Afterwards, I walked into the hallway, where students were being interviewed by NBC, I believe. NBC was even able to catch the slimy defense lawyer before he slithered away, but they didn't get much out of him. I talked with Amy Green only for a few moments. She seemed very nice and assured me that she was doing everything in her power to aid the students. Steve Halsey and his staff were way too busy for me to even get a word in.

Earlier in the courtroom, I was able to talk with a lawyer on behalf of Colonial Properties. He informed me that Aspreon owed them over a quarter of a million dollars. Wowserz!

I'va also heard just today from a student that signed up for classes just 6 short weeks ago. Amazing - they are in the middle of banruptcy, facing lawsuits from all directions, and still they continue to sign up students. That kind of activity is nothing short of fraud.

As always, feel free to contact me.

5/16/2003, 5:00 am - I really have to get a life :-) This is the eve of the hearing at the Shelby County, Alabama, courthouse. There's also been some rather interesting developments lately - more on that in a moment.

I finally got access to a scanner :-) and I've scanned in the bankruptcy filing that Aspreon filed 22 minutes before their court date, as well as Steve Halsey's press release that went to the local media. In case you wanted to see them, I also have Aspreon's response to my Better Business Bureau complaint, as well as my State Attorney General's office complaint. And, in case youre interested, here's a picture of the family just weeks before child #2 was born :-)

Now the developments. Demetrius Hubbard is now at 205 Flava. Don't know his position. But it's nice to see that at least *someone* got a better job out of all this :-/

And, evidently, it's all *our* fault that the company went under, at least according to Scott Harwell, Aspreon's attorney. The whole statment about "disgruntled students" causing the financial problem to "mushroom" is getting to me. But maybe it's because I'm writing this stuff too early - "not a morning person" doesn't even begin to describe me :-) At least they're going to "allow" us to get a judgement against the company. How nice :-/.

As always, feel free to contact me. I should be at the hearing on the 17th.

5/18/2003 - The initial hearing was yesterday. It was nice to finally meet some of the people taht I've been swapping e-mails with. If you were wondering, I was the rather large fellow in the yellow shirt that was standing by the door during the hearing. :-)

At the hearing yesterday, Aspreon agreed to keep the injunction in place barring Aspreon, Ric Miller, or Demetruis Hubbard from selling any personal assets without petitioning the court first. They also agreed to drop their petition for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and provide an accurate accounting of all business and personal assets, I imagine so that they can be liquidated and the funds distributed amongst the students. They have 14 days to provide the list of assets, and Mr. Halsey says that the actual suit should be filed about a week after that. Remember: this is what was supposed to happen on 6/6, but Aspreon chose not to show up.

There is a contact in the State of Alabama Dept. of Post-Secondary Education that is familiar with the goings-on with Aspreon. Her name is Amy Green, and she can be reached at (334) 834-6699, if you have any questions or input on that front.