Update: Last month, we told you about an order that Boobies Rock! charity scammer Adam Shryock pay $5,89 million as a result of his fraudulent shenanigans. See our previous coverage below.
Shryock also served a brief stint behind bars related to the Boobies Rock! scheme, which involved donations supposedly earmarked for the fight against breast cancer that wound up fattening his wallet.
Now, however, Shryock has been charged in a new rip-off — this one involving approximately $1 million in sales of mattresses that were supposed to go to refugees.
According to the 17th Judicial District DA's office, Shryock's compatriot in his latest monetary crime was Genevieve Cruz, 57, the donation coordinator for a Denver organization called Ecumenical Refugee and Immigration Services Inc.
As noted by 7News, a Serta plant gave Ecumenical Refugee and Immigration Services a slew of mattresses that had been returned under the company's warranty program.
But instead of actually giving the mattresses to those who needed them, Cruz and Shryock are accused of selling most of them for profit out of storage unit in Adams County or across the state line.
How did the plot unravel? An arrest affidavit obtained by the station notes that the manager at a mattress store in Hayes, Kansas, was annoyed to discover that "as is" Serta mattresses were being sold for 60 percent off from a truck parked near the store.
The tags on the mattresses showed that they'd been made in Aurora — and the manager also found online ads pimping sales from the storage facility.
Estimated profits from the operation: $1 million.
The affidavit quotes Cruz as denying that she knew anything about the illicit mattress sales, and she was similarly ignorant about Shryock's Boobies Rock! background until his arrest in January. But despite these claims, she was dumped by the charity and arrested for alleged complicity the next month.
As for Shryock, cops looking into the mattress matter had no problem finding him, since he was in jail at the time. He said Cruz had suggested the sales idea to him, not the other way around, and because he didn't "know the laws in Colorado about charities and donations," he had no clue they were doing anything wrong.
If you'd like to toss in a "Yeah, sure" about now, we wouldn't blame you.
Shryock has now been charged with theft of $1 million or more, conspiracy to commit theft of $1 million or more and charitable fraud. Cruz, for her part, is facing one count of theft of $1 million or more and charitable fraud.
Cruz's next Adams County Court appearance is May 18, while Shryock is scheduled to visit on May 27. In the meantime, he's free on a $50,000 bond, and we feel absolutely confident he won't come up with any more charity scams between now and then.
Well, pretty confident.
Here's a look at a recent Shryock booking photo, followed by a 7News piece about the new accusations. Continue for our previous coverage.
Original post, 8:50 a.m. March 20: Back in 2013, the Colorado Attorney General's Office declared Boobies Rock!, a purported breast-cancer charity in which hotties solicited customers at bars and clubs, to be nothing more than a scam.
Its main beneficiary? Adam Shryock, the outfit's founder, who allegedly lived large on the proceeds.
Rather than moving on after the bad PR, however, Shryock started a new charity using pretty much the same model — and wound up being sent to jail earlier this year as a result.
He's still there, according to the AG's office — and now he owes a pretty penny. A judge has ordered him to nearly $6 million in relation to the scheme.
In our original report, websites such as BoobiesRockStore.org had already vanished, but a few remnants of the company remain, including a blog declaring that "Boobies Rock! is a creative blend of music, sports, fashion and pop culture. Established in September of 2010, Boobies Rock! has quickly grown to become one of the leading advocates for the awareness of breast cancer across the U.S. Our mission is simple; to create awareness through fun, fashionable and humorous clothing and accessories. Keep checking back for fun news, pictures, and more!!"
Also lingering is a Twitter account — and although the links to the "Boobies Rock!" Facebook page are dead, some pitches linger, including this one:
Hiring For Sales Reps! $4,500-$6,000 per month, message us for details!
— BOOBIES ROCK! (@boobies_rock) June 28, 2012Shryock and his employees instructed promotion models to approach potential customers and represent that they were "taking donations" rather than selling merchandise. The models were further instructed to refer to BR as a "charitable company" and to only disclose that BR was a for-profit entity if asked.
Shryock told models to tell customers that a percentage of the BR's net proceeds would go to charity. Some models report that they were told to say anywhere from 40 percent to 80-90 percent of BR revenue went to charity, others were told to be vague about the amount of money going to charity.
Some people apparently were so convinced that Boobies Rock! was a charity that they offered cash donations rather than buying items. These gifts were gladly accepted and combined with other funds, the lawsuit maintains. Likewise, managers at assorted bars invaded by Boobies Rock! crews were allegedly told that employees were "taking contributions for breast cancer-related causes."
How much was collected?
Between June 2011 and December 2012, the main Boobies Rock! account at Wells Fargo showed deposits of $1,074,323.26, with a little more than half that amount made in cash, the lawsuit says.
As for Shryock, he used the Boobies Rock! account for what the lawsuit describes as "personal expenditures" — such as $18,500 withdrawn in order to purchase a BMW. He's also said to have dipped into this greenback pool to pay his bar tab and subscribe to an online dating service.
In addition, Boobies Rock! was accused of invoking the names of actual breast cancer charities to make it seem more legitimate. An example can be found in the most recent item on the "Boobies Rock!" blog, dated October 2011. The item declares: "We are extremely excited to announce that we have just sent a $25,000 donation to the Young Survival Coalition!!" However, the lawsuit contends that this donation was actually made to settle a lawsuit from Young Survival Coalition, which hadn't given "Boobies Rock!" permission to use its name or trademark in solicitation materials.
This lawsuit wasn't the first to target Shryock or affiliated companies, including The Se7ven Group and Say No 2 Cancer, both of which are named in the Colorado AG's complaint. Take this August 2011 post on the Ripoff Report website:
I am a previous employee of the company Boobies Rock! and although I've defended the company in the past, I quit my position in May when I realized that none of the donations had been made to the various non-profits that Mr. Adam Shryock had pledged to donate to, as promised. I was a promotional hiring manager in San Francisco and likely reached out to you point of contact that he works with, as I was sent to travel to hundreds of cities for NFL and college football games. After I left the company Mr. Shryock continued to use my e-mail account as if I were still working for him. I advise doing a background check on this person and his company. Adam Shryock is currently in a lawsuit with Keep A Breast for using their slogan "I Love Boobies" previous to using Boobies Rock! (which he only changed the logo after several threats from Keep A Breast at taking him to court).Shryock was able to keep "Boobies Rock!" functioning despite trips to court — but the operation, The Se7ven Group and Say No 2 Cancer were put on hold via the temporary restraining order.
The TRO was still in effect in January 2014, when Shryock was sentenced to fourteen days in jail for ignoring it. A few months earlier, in August 2013, mere weeks after the AG's office had lowered the boom on Boobies Rock!, Shryock had allegedly created a new "charity" dubbed I Heart This Bar, in which models sold merchandise at college football tailgate events. The proceeds supposedly went to a "scholarship fund," but the AG's office dubbed it yet another moneymaking gambit for Shryock.
The more things changed, the more they stayed the same. In January of this year, Shryock was back in court, accused of hiring models to sell merch at bars and tailgating gatherings that supposedly benefited either Cancer Care or Stupid Cancer, both legit charities, despite the aforementioned restraining order.
Moreover, the groups hadn't authorized him to fundraise on their behalf, and a Stupid Cancer rep testified that the organization received no money from Shryock's efforts.
For his part, Shryock insisted that he was only a "consultant" in the enterprise. But a judge didn't buy it and sentenced him to six months in stir for contempt of court.
The latest? This week, Denver District Court Judge Shelley Gilman ordered Shryock to give back $1.89 million in gross receipts and pay $4 million in civil penalties for his activities — a combined bill of nearly $6 million.
Judge Gilman also issued an injunction intended to prevent Shryock from having anything to do with charity fundraising ever again.
In a statement, Attorney General Cynthia Coffman, who inherited the case from her predecessor, John Suthers, took pride in the decision, writing, "When it comes to protecting Coloradans and successful case outcomes, it doesn’t get any better than this. Shryock is now guilty of being a repeat charity-fraud offender who harmed legitimate charitable organizations, the public, and his employees through his tawdry and illegal tactics. It is fitting that Mr. Shryock will read about his fate while doing time for his crimes.”
Look below to see the court order against Boobies Rock! and the original complaint from the AG's office.
Send your story tips to the author, Michael Roberts.
