Folks , I don't know where to begin with this unscrupulous character.
One thing I know for sure is that he is the 'real' Alan D Collins. However,
finding his 'funny' companies such as Hilo is as mysterious as
deciphering that D in his middlename. But I was relentless,and I launched
into my excavations into this 'Alice In Wonderland' peanut broker/dealer.
And here is what I dug up from my little consumer investigation.
First thing I did is contact SGL INTERNATIONAL LLC P.O.Box 20124,
Atlanta, GA 30358-2124 at 404-252-6887. I spoke with a gentleman by the
name of Curt Johnston.. Now if you follow this link :
http://www1.surfsouth.com/~apnut/page8.html
titled BROKERS & DEALERS, scroll down a little and to your right you shall
see Mr Curt Johnston, his title Traffic/Logistics. Just above Mr Johnston
is our real mcCoy, the demented Sir Alan D. Collins. Note his title : Vice
President. Ping! uh-huh!
Anyways,I introduced myself to Mr Johnston as a prominent investor in
the peanut business, who has to make a decision very soon and that I was
scouting the market and that before I throw all my DOUGH on 'funny',
companies I think I should get to know a little about the company's
background and he knows that was very understandable. He said ,
" they've been in the business for while blah blah ". The usual, so I
interrupted him and ask him if he knows a competitor name Hilo whose
president I noticed was their former VP. He replied quickly that, " Mr Alan
D Collins was indeed their former vice president." " Mr Collins did not leave
their company in good terms." I asked him then if he would recommend Mr
Collins company. His answer, " Mr Collins has a reputation of being an
unscrupulous businessman and that he does not take good care of his
customer. " He add, " Mr Collins can be very convincing and has a way of
talking his way out ". In short he means he doesn't recommend him and that
they can offer me a better service. Curt also mentioned that Mr Collins left
their company 4 years ago and started his own brokerage. I asked Curt if
SGL (their company) or Hilo (Collins' company or brokerage I should say),
for comparison purposes, are fortune 500/ multi-million companies ,because
I am the VP of a multi-million international company? His answer was, " well
all of us are small companies and privately owned but he wouldn't disclose
any more information . So to me, his answer means 'WERE SIMPLY PETTY
TRADERS' trying to make a living in very competitive and risky business.
That was the end of my phone conversion with Mr Johnston. I thanked him
and moved on to my next phone call. This time it was Stephanie from
www.peanutsusa.com. Not an e-mail but a phone conversion. I called
703-838-9500 and asked for Cindy Stickles. She wasn't available so Stephanie
was there to help me. I asked her what their company oes and that I was an
inquiring peanut investor. She explains that they have registered peanut
brokers and dealers and what they do for them is explain on their mission
statement, which is on their website:
( http://www.peanutsusa.com/services/mission.html).
Fair enough.
I then ask her if they are affiliated with a comapny name Hilo whose
President is Alan D Collins. She checked their database and her answer
was , no sorry he is NOT LISTED. I asked, how about SGL INTERNATIONAL
LLC ? She looked, and her answer this time is : they're LISTED with us .
In conclusion, she stated that if a peanut company is not listed in their
database, and they in the US market, then they should NOT be taken taken
seriously.There is also the American Peanut Shellers Association who also
register genuine, NOT the 'funny', peanut brokers and dealers. They too do
not have Mr Collins' company listed. Keep in mind, all along that Mr Collins
told us his company is US based yet none of the Better Business Bureaus
know about his existence. So, we know atleast that his company website is
not www.peanutsusa.com. Viz:
..................................................................
DETAILS ON WWW.PEANUTSUSA.COM (courtesy of networksolutions)
**Public Record***
Registrant: National Peanut Council, Inc. (PEANUTSUSA-DOM
1500 King St., Suite 301 Alexandria, VA 22314 US
Domain Name: PEANUTSUSA.COM
Administrative Contact, Billing Contact:
Stickles, Cindy (CS12114 [log in to unmask] National Peanut Council, Inc.
1500 King St., Suite 301 Alexandria , VA 22314 703-838-9500 (FAX) 703-838-9508
Technical Contact: Administrator, DNS Technical (KB336 [log in to unmask]
Epoch Networks 555 Anton Boulevard Costa Mesa, CA 92626
714 327-2000 (FAX) 714 327-2187 Record last updated on 12-Sep-2000.
Record expires on 13-Sep-2002. Record created on 12-Sep-1996.
Database last updated on 30-Nov-2000 06:19:31 EST. Domain servers
in listed order:
AUTH1.NS.ENI.NET 205.214.45.6
AUTH2.NS.ENI.NET 155.229.2.181
AUTH3.NS.ENI.NET 155.229.126.67
..........................................................................
I found out that the reason some these brokers don't have a website is
not because they can't afford it.The reason is they are so full of 'peanuts'
and it won't be in their best interest for consumers to know about ther
unscrupulous behavior. It appears to me that anyone can really pursue
these peanut brokerage licence just as you would go about getting a real
estate licence. Have little bit of cash , say $50,000 - $100,000, a business
licence, dudge Uncle Sam(IRS), go to a third world country as they called
it, juice their government and play hardball. Question is how long are
willing to play this game. Now Mr Collins look like he was caught with
his pants down. Am afraid if he doesn't take his chill pills, he may suffer
from a heart attack or dementia praecox and may not even last long
enough to pursue any litigation.
In my head, all these bits and pieces are now making a lot of sense. When
I read this crook's e-mail addressed to Ebrima Ceesay, I felt what is the big
fuss ,running around and ranting like a chicken with it's head cut. If there
is no element of truth in Ebrima's story, why would any president of a
genuine company reacts in such an infantile manner. It's very obvious that
he is out to stop any whistle-blower before his little investment shinks into
the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. No wonder his former employer didn't
speak well of him. Any ingenious businessman, especially a president of
a corporation , will first consult with his legal team and top executives before
publicly waging a lost battle with a renown journalist like Ebrima Ceesay.
You go boy!
These litigated tactics does nothing but add more guilt to accusations made
before him. What Ebrima is doing is what any noble Gambian would do if
they smell a RAT, and for some us who do not have the ability to see shi*
when they smell it ought rally behind Ebrima. One thing that also doesn't
add up is a timeline discrepancy. According to Mr Collins, he had been
investing in the Gambia with Hilo since 1993, yet when I asked his former
employer, they said said he left the company in very bad terms 4 years ago,
which would have been 1996. Lots of inconsistencies and variations is what
I've been able to pile up from this 'bag of peanuts' character.
Did , I also mention that I talked to his secretary here in the US. That's right,
I forgot. Her name is Wil Helmina, which she eloquently spelt and carefully
noted on my Bic. Anyway here's how the our conversion lays out. I introduced
my self, this time as Hector Nunez. I told her I am a mexican peanut investor
scouting for a major trade deal and needed to inquire about their company.
She said," they are a small privately owned company based in Alpharetta, GA, USA.
COLLINS BROKERAGE COMPANY, LLC . Our President is Alan D Collins
and he is out of the office. " I asked where he might be and she replied," he
is actually out of the country and will be back in couple of weeks". I asked,
what exactly they will do if I was interested. She replied , " well Alan
buys & sells highest bidders and gurantees profit to his clients but I would
have to e-mail Alan who would be in a better position to explain it to me .
His e-mail address : [log in to unmask] was here confirmed by his secretary. .
I was expecting his e-mail to end with @hilo.com or @hilonuts.com , something
to embellish that presidential status he seemed to be affiliated himself with,
you know . So I thought this guy is really hiding behind a firewall.
When I asked her how big they were , you know fortune 500 or something.
She replied," we a very small company. We have only one location worldwide
and that is our Georgia location. I then asked her how many people work for the
company. Her reply? It's only the 4 of us, uh-huh. Then she sighed, " Ok honey ,
I got to go now. E-mail Alan and he will be able to assist you further." I wanted
to say who are you calling 'honey', but I understood it is a southern hospitality.
Man! What a mess! These are the people our government are trusting with our
taxpayers money. These people/companies are ghosts for crying out loud sake.
The question that is still clouting my reasoning is what exactly is this Alan D Collins
DOING for our poor susceptible farmers, and Gambia as a whole. Maybe he can
explain it in layman's term and not in 'peanut's term'. And how irresponsible can
any government with supposedly educated decision-makers, all that KNOWLEDGE,
all that COLLEGE , to allow a petty peanut broker from the South swindle such
amount of money. Either Mr Collins is incredibly stupid or incredibly smart to
think that we , patriotic Gambians, will be intimadated for simply inquiring what
is in our national interest. No amount of intimidation and inducement(checkbook)
will prevent us from fighting against injustice, because injustice anywhere is a
threat to justice everywhere.
.................................
'THE MAN BEHIND THE MASK'
COLLINS BROKERAGE COMPANY, LLC
4640 Valais Court
Tel: (770) 753-2980
Suite 200
Fax: (770) 753-2985
Alpharetta, GA 30022
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Company Tax ID is 582-250-242
Alan D. Collins, President
......................................
By FOX 5's Randy Travis (o-:)!.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L
Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask]
if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
