Ed Note: Bold and Red below are for Editorial emphasis. I am very happy to print this grand rebuttal! It is also the best distributor termination story on file! Once in ten years I have been dead wrong - glad to do the retraction!
Rod,
I hope this message finds you in good spirits and doing well. My name is Jake Kevorkian. I am President, and one of the owners of Växa International.
I read on your website where you said "it is great when companies like this get hit", (you were referring to the Florida Attorney General complaint) . In addition, it said that in 1997 Växa "killed off" their distributors and went into retail sales. This is really an unfair, (partially) true statement. When you hear the entire story, (the truth), you will understand.
In July of 1996, I was the top money earner at Växa, earning over $30,000 per month. I had been with the company for 4 1/2 years and had worked very hard to build my business. At the time I was only 30 years old with a wife and a 4 year old baby girl, Morgan, and a new baby, Jake Jr. on the way. One afternoon while running some errands, my wife Nancy called in a panic and said that our commission check had a "stop payment" issued on it. I told her to relax, that there must be an explanation. After all, I had a good relationship with Dr. Gregory Young and the other owners, and there was NO reason for them to not pay us.
After many unsuccessful attempts to speak to the owners, I realized I had been taken. I realized that "Distributor Gogettum" had been screwed. I guess I was a victim of a combination of the "desperate", the "greedy", and the "alarmed" company. (See "Reasons For Termination" In the WatchDog Library) The ironic thing was that the very same month that Växa quit paying me, was the same month that they moved into their new 50,000 square foot office building. This was the most unbelievable office you have ever seen. In fact, it was commonly referred to as the "Taj Mahal", if that gives you any idea. Keep in mind, prior to deciding to stop paying me, and three other TOP producers, they had changed the commission structure three times. Each and every change took more money from us. It was unfortunate, because Växa has always had the best products in the industry, and we were helping people all over the country.
Anyway, at this point I hired a lawyer; and after $40,000 in attorney's fees, won my case. At this point, Vaxa International, INC. filed Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. They wanted a chance to reorganize and try to avoid paying me. It was at this time that I went to a very good friend of mine, William H. Harper and proposed a plan to use my judgment, and his cash to submit a plan to pay all the creditors and purchase the assets of the company. We then hired the best Bankruptcy Attorney we could find, presented our plan to the court, and were awarded the company. The previous owners were out!
Prior to us taking over is when previous Växa abandoned the distributors and opted to focus on retail. This is why I refereed to your comment as a (partially) true statement. Old Växa did try to "kill of" their distributors. However, when we finally took over, we reinstated ALL of the checks to distributors that had lost their income. We had people calling here crying and thanking us for giving them back something they thought they had lost forever. Keep in mind, we were not obligated by the purchase to do this. We did not owe them this. We did not purchase the corporation Växa, INC, only the assets. We are Direct Access Network, INC. d.b.a Växa International. We reinstated these distributors because it was the right thing to do.
For the past 4 years, we have paid all of those distributors. We even enhanced the compensation plan last year, going from 80% BV. to 100% BV. And even though we never really gained the momentum we once had, we WILL continue to pay our distributors, and I am confident that with the right "key" people in the field, Växa will be a giant in the industry. I believe Växa to be "the best kept secret" in the Networking arena. Basically, at this point Växa is comprised of a lot of product users and a lot of individuals in the Wellness industry selling our products. In other words, we are very product driven.
As far as the issue with the Attorney General of Florida, it has been handled. We were making some statements and claims on the site in reference to two products that were not compliant. We have hired an F.D.A. law firm to help us make the changes, we have paid a moderate fine, and it is behind us.
Rod, we are not in the business to hurt people. I appreciate your cause with the MLM Watchdog. However, I wanted you to know the truth about what has happened. I felt like if you knew the truth about who I was, and what we stood for, that you may not have made the comment you did on your website. Check our site out for yourself and tell me what you think. www.vaxa.com.
Finally, I applaud you for your work. I agree that there is a lot that goes on in this industry that should be exposed. Remember, as an owner of a legitimate MLM company, I have to compete with this garbage.
I would be happy to discuss any of this in more detail.
Keep up the great work!
Regards,
Jake Kevorkian,
President
Växa International
1-800-248-8292
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