View The Facts As Out Lined In The Federal Complaint / Read The Reponce to WIPO to Tom's attempt to recover tompapania.com / CrossTv Commits Fraud and MAKES MONEY and GETS AWAY with it?

 

 

 

 

 

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
 ATLANTA DIVISION
, CIVIL ACTION FILE NO. 1:00-cv-0775-NTW

(defendant Tom Papania)

 

FIRST CLAIM FOR RELIEF   COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT AGAINST DEFENDANT

 

7.          Plaintiff realleges and incorporates by reference each and every allegation contained in Paragraphs I through 6 herein above, inclusive, as though fully set forth.

8. The copyright infringement of DEFENDANT alleged by the PLAINTIFF  concerns a Manuscript (herein after Manuscript) and Novel (herein after Novel) written and copyright 1986 by Plaintiff, who alleges that the Defendant received a copy of said manuscript and knowingly plagerized said Manuscript and used the story line, the creative expressions and writings of said Manuscript with fraudulent intent to profit at the expense of the Plaintiff in video and audio tapes and live speaking engagements for personal gain..


9.  In the year of 1986,  PLAINTIFF  began writing a Manuscript  in which the details of his life were used as its foundation.  In 1987, PLAINTIFF completed the Manuscript and a copyright was placed on all pages and copies sent to various publishers. Several titles were used for this Manuscript, FATHER FIGURE, The Book Of MAGIC, and House Of Cards.     In 1993, Plaintiff resumed his desire to publish and a copy of the Manuscript was sent to publishers and Christian Ministries, the DEFENDANT also was a reciepent of a copy.

 

10- In July of 1996 Plaintiff and his production publisher, Books International Of Norcross, Ga, chose two possible names in which to publish and plaintiff prepared an application for submital to the US Copyright Office. On this application, Plaintiff was asked for the Title Of This Works, Plaintiff wrote Father Figure, and, The Oath Of Alphonso, and, on the NEXT line, Plaintiff was asked, Previous or Alternative Title, Plaintiff wrote House Of Cards, The Curse Of Alphonso. When  the desicion was made on August 1, 1996 to publish the Novel as House Of Cards The Curse Of Alphonso, Plaintiff Highlighted the ALTERNATIVE title,  House Of Cards, The Curse Of Alphonso, initialed it, and sent it in.  At all relevant times, PLAINTIFF has been the exclusive owner of the MANUSCRIPT that would be used to produce the NOVEL,  the Registration is duly and legally, valid, subsisting and issued to PLAINTIFF as copyright Reg. No. TXU 761-051 (see exibit a  ) and a Library Of Congress Catologue number  97-93064  was assigned with the Novel ISBN being # 0-9657066-0 .


11. BOTH titles are alleged to be pertinent for it is the Manuscript medium in question as to the allegations against the Defendant’s copyright infringement; and the Novel which was the end result of the Manuscript that Plaintiff is seeking compensation for alleged copyright infringement. The  Plaintioff alleges the Manuscript was sent to Defendant. And so, the Novel, which is the result of the copyright Manuscript are enjoined with and through the Manuscript.

 

12.   On or about August, 1996 the Novel was published and Plaintiff began selling the Novel and earning income for his ministry . And in April of 1997, a second printing was accomplished and  while performing book signings prospective purchesers began informing Plantiff they had heard his story. Soon, rumor and innuendo greeted PLAINTIFF and confusion developed. Stories began to circulate that PLAINTIFF was using another person’s story. People would come up to PLAINTIFF and tell him they purchased a tape with his story.  PLAINTIFF at first dismissed the confusion as coincidence, but in the summer 1998 plaintiff was telling a specific story from the NOVEL when a minister stated he had purchased a tape with a similar story by a Tom Papania.

 

13.    When Plaintiff returned to Atlanta he recalled mailing a Tom Papania a copy of the Manuscript.  Plaintiff made attempts to locate or contact the defendant, but not until January/February of 1999 did Plaintiff become aware the defendant seemed to be actually using anecdotes and unique writings integral to PLAINTIFFs manuscript and the Novel while watching a TV broadcast of CBN, 700 club with Pat Robertson as host.


14. In Plaintiff’s attempt to assure this Honorable Court that the Plaintiff, filing Pro-Se, is not attempting to file an amended complaint that does not meet Rule 8, FRPC 1, and that Plaintiff is NOT trying his case in this amended complaint, Plaintiff is requesting that FRPC III Pleadings and Motions, Rule 9, Pleading Special Matters, be taken into consideration.  For Plaintiff is alleging extenuating Factors of Fraud and Prior Knowledge With Intent within their Copyright Infringement allegation and as separate complaint of the same:

          1)  “Rule 9, Pleading Special Matters:

When a party desires to raise an issue as to the legal existence of any party or the capacity of any party to sue or be sued or the authority of a party to sue or be sued in a representative capacity, the party desiring to raise the issue shall do so by specific negative averment, which shall include such supporting particulars as are peculiarly within the pleader's knowledge.”

and (b);

2) ”In all averments of fraud or mistake, the circumstances constituting fraud or mistake shall be stated with particularity. Malice, intent, knowledge, and other condition of the mind of a person may be averred generally”.


15. PLAINTIFF attempted to contact DEFENDANT through pat Robertson and CBN to no avail, and so Plaintiff posted a web page writing about the situation. Soon DEFENDANT contacted PLAINTIFF and admitted to Plaintiff that he had borrowed from the PLAINTIFF’s Manuscript, and said “your killing me” as concerned the writings plaintiff had posted of his allegations. PLAINTIFF requested that DEFENDANT cease his use of PLAINTIFF’s works and notified Defendant that PLAINTIFF’s works were copyright. DEFENDANT  informed PLAINTIFF that he did not mean to harm a brother, that he had hardley sold anything and had not used the material that much and agreed to halt the use of the copyright material, but he did not.

 

16. Upon further investigation, Plantiff discovered that defendant was firmly entrenched in the Christian market. And that contrary to the Defendants alleged admissions, that he had not made any money, and that his use had been minor, Plaintiff alleges that the Defendant used Plaintiffs copyright manuscript to assist in the building of his very past; identifying what he produced from the Plaintiff’s writings as his “true life story”.  And, in one of the first major sales of audio tapes containing Plaintiffs works, the name In Search Of A Father Figure closely resembled one of the the Plaintiffs selected names.


17. Further, Plaintiff alleges, that the Defendant is and has been using, for at least 7 years, the content, story line and lay out, and exact wording of Plaintiff’s manuscript in Testimonies in Churches, Ministry and Christian Retreats, audio and video tapes, and in and on Broadcasts where he alleges the Testimony is fact, true, and not made up, fiction nor fable, but his own life story. That in doing so, the Defendant engaged in a pattern of Fraud, Misrepresentaion and Deciet to garner financial reward, and in doing so, tainted the Plaintiffs works and his ability to sell the Novel, promote the Novel, and to associate in the very Christian Community Plaintiff has worked in and socialized in for those 7 years.


18. It is our allegation, that among the key elements of the story line and the writing of the Plantiff’s manuscript, which are claimed by short sentence rather than direct material in order not to submit an overwhelming complaint, and in order of progression in Plaintiff’s works that coincide in Plaintiffs Manuscript are:  

 

a) that his family were connected to Joe The Boss Masseria,

c) that he held up a "Mafia Joint" as a teen with two teen friends in which he used a revolver  with no bullets to take down 30 men and make them "strip' and take their respect

d) where he began to "work" for the MOB as a teen, earning the exact figure of 200.00 per week,

e) where men came to his house and he got the worse beating of his life for taking down Mafia Joints,

f) where the mob set him up to go to jail as a teen,

g) where after he had a meeting with Don Gambino, Mafia Chieftain,

h) where he became powerful and owned business and had wealth,

j) where he then came to Atlanta and started, took, and/or made wealth and business,
              k) where he then surveyed his "wealth" and felt an emptiness,

l) where he was going to kill himself and God made him stop,

m) where he then met with a minister,

m) where he CRIED the first time since a small boy ,

n) where he gave all he owned away and began to follow Christ.

o) where his mother was dying of cancer and he finaly, for the first time, came to terms with her


19. Plaintiff  alleges that the Defendant never did, lived, or experienced many of the stories, situations and/or circumstances that mnake up the balance of his tapes and testimonies, aand these allegations may ns proven by the very testimony of the Defendant in Federal trial and in records and other documents readily available. This credibility issue is key to to the issues of  Intentional Copyright Infringement and Fraud.  That the Defendant includes statements in his Tapes and testimony, among these are  being third in line in the Gambino Crime Family, that he was “made” [became a member of the mafia] at 17, and came to Atalanta as a Mafia Figure to take control of  a mans restaurants, yet public records attest to the fact that during a federal trial, when asked if he was member of the mafia, specifically a Gambino, he testified he had only “loose connections” and that he moved to Atlanta to change his life., and that public records and documents substantuating that he testified truthfuly when on trial are important to Plaintiff’s Complaint.

 

20. The Plaintiff would bring to this Honorable Court’s attention that the Federal Trial particulars, and others like it within this complaint, are not placed to by plaintiff to harm Defendant, rather Plaintiff is using what is public record by the choice of the Defendant. For any and all information as cocerns Defendant and his testimony in these particualr complaints  are part of Defendants very tapes, speakings, et al. And, as so, must be included by Plantiff to demonstrate an alleged agravated complaint that the defendant may have conducted himself in a fraudulent and deceitfull manner with intent to decieve both the public and the Plaintiff.

 

21. And, additionally, Plaintiff alleges that the plaintiff  could not have used any story, writing or anything what so ever that the defendant may have created as concerns this complaint because during the years 1986-87, when the Plaintiff was creating his manuscript,   the Defendant was on trial and in federal lockup, and Plaintiff allegs that he did not know, never heard of or saw the defendant and had yet to move to Atlanta until 1989.


22. Plaintiff  files this complaint simply to seek his constitutional rights to a fair and just hearing of his complaint, therefore, Plantiff offers that if simply a section or part of the original work has been copied, and substantial similarity can be shown, Plaintiff would have the right to seek redress so as to establish the facts of the total claim. And, to demonstrate our allegations that Intentional Copyright Infringement and Fraud are key to our initial complaint, and, hopefully without upsetting the patience of this Honorable Court, Plaintiff  provides the following alleged story line of both parties:

 

a) Plaintiff’s Manuscript Story Line: The Novel and Manuscript are about a young boy who grew up in a family connected to the New York Italian  Mafia, whose Great Grandmother and Grand father were married at 13 and 15 respectively, whose Grand Mother worked for Joe The Boss, whose father was killed in a Mafia "hit" when the main character was eight years of age, who had no love, who was beat up all the time, who wanted to be a mobster like his father, whose mother prayed for him regardless that he hated her, who spent the remainder of his youth seeking a father figure and a direction in his life, who began working for connected guys as a teen making 200 a week, whose youthful plight included enduring the abuse of a violent stepfather who once beat him so severaly he remained on the floor for 7 hours for robbing mob connected joints, who had brushes with the local Mafia in the Brooklyn and Queens, New York, neighborhoods in which he grew up, who is  locked up in Rikers Island in a mob set up, who has a  one on one meeting with Carlo Gambino as a teen for robbing mob connected operations, [who travels the country in turmoil seeking a fther figure] who commits an armed robbery of a connected joint as a teen with two teen friends with a gun with no bullets, with 30 members, who he made strip, and took the cash from the table and took their respect, and winds up at a church where he argues with God, and uses Charltom Heston role in Ben Hur as an ancedote, and decides to kill himself as he argues with God, and discovers himself in a church where a priest shows himself , and winds up praying with the priest, then crying for the first time since he was a child because he never would cry when he was beat because men of respect did not cry and he would not show weakness and years afterwards, hears about his mother dying of cancer, he had not spoken to her in years, has blamed her, and then at her death bed, he comes to terms with her and then she dies.


b) Defendants Story Line:  The tapes and live speaking are about a young boy who grew up in a family connected to the New York Italian Mafia, whose mother and father were married at 13 , whose  Mother was the daughter of Joe The Boss, whose grandfather was killed in a Mafia "hit",  who from his early years had no love, who was beat up all the time, who wanted to be a mobster like his grandfather, whose mother prayed for him regardless that he hated his family, who spent the remainder of his youth seeking a father figure and a direction in his life,  whose youthful plight included enduring the abuse of a father who once beat him severaly for for robbing a mob connected joint as a teen with two teen friends with a gun with no bullets, with 30 members, who he made strip, and took the cash from the table and took their respect, who began working for connected guys as a teen making 200 a week in NY neighborhoods in which he grew up, who is  locked up in Prison in a set up by mobsters as a seventeen year old, who has a  one on one meeting with Carlo Gambino [ who becomes third in line to Big pauly ] who uses Charltom Heston as an ancedote while deciding if he should kill himself as he argues with God, and winds up at a church where a preacher and he wind up praying , and then cries for the first time since he was a child because he never would cry when he was beat because he would not show weakness and years afterwards, hears about his mother dying of cancer, he had not spoken to her in years, has blamed her, and then at her death bed, he comes to terms, and she lives..


23.  In Maureen Polsby, MD. Vs St Martins Press, Inc, 1999 WL 225536 (S.D.N.Y)  page 2, section III , paragraph two (2),  states:.

In the absence of direct evidence of copying, a rarity in copyright cases, copying can be proven by showing "(a) that the defendants had access to the copyrighted work and (b) the substantial similarity of protectible material in the two works Williams 84 F.3d at 587 (internal quatat marks and citations omitted); accord Kregos v. Associated Press 3 F.3d. 656. 662 (24 Cir.1993).


24. The Plaintiff further offers this Honorable Court the following excerpts from Defendants Testimonies/Tapes, and  Plaintiffs Manuscript

a)Defendant: I saw a gun on the ground. It was an old gun. It was rusty. It had no bullets in it. And I picked it up and when I got together with my friends later on, I came up with this idea. There were these old Italian men that used to stay in this storefront. ... we could go in there with this gun and hold them up ...... there was about thirty or more men in there... I made them place the money on the table...I realized that there were only three of us and over thirty of them. ...So, I made each one of them take their pants off. I not only got their money, I got their respect, their dignity..."

 

b) Plaintiff: "Waving the .38 around so as to keep the fact of its impotency a secret, Joe [ three teens commit this act and make the men place their money on the table ] scooped all the cash from the table then ordered his 30 subjects to empty their pockets inside out, strip, and keep facing the walls . Gathering the clothing in a bag, along with guns and assorted paraphernalia, while mobsters and gamblers  ...    he had done it, taken their very respect..

 

25. The Plaintiff  alleges that these two paragraphs above demonstrate that in both these exerpts, these “works” are similar enough to warrant a closer look and a chance for the both Plantiff and Defendant to seek answers. For the confusing fact is that the statement that  the Defendant “found the gun” in his tapes and videos and the plaintiff’s character was “given an empty gun” in his manuscript does not hide the fact that they are simply similar. And, one must take into consideration that Plaintiff claims amny similarities and that he wrote his works 4 years before the Defendant ever produced any works. Plaintiff is aware that copyright protects against someone plagiarizing, not using ideas.

a) "It is hardly an inducement to [an author] to do the years of research and scholarship needed to produce an authoritative text if an untrained writer may paraphrase major portions and make a competing text out of it"; Donald v. Zack Meyer's T.V. Sales & Serv., 426 F.2d 1027, 1030 (5th Cir.Ct. App. 1970) and again, "A resemblance in details of setting incident, or characterization that falls short of close paraphrase may be enough to establish substantial similarity and infringement." Landsberg v. Scrabble Crossword Game Players,

Inc., 736 F.2d 485, 488 (9th Cir. Ct. App. 1984).


26.    Plaintiff’alleges that the Defendant has continued to use plagrerized works in and on numerous radio and tv broadcasts and “live testimonials” causing Plaintiff harm. Defendant admits that he has reached 2,000,000 people through the sale of  said video and audio tapes with varying titles including, but not limited to, The Pizza Connection, From The Mafia To The Ministry, In Search Of A Father Figure and The Tom Papania Story and in Live testomonies. (see exhibit b ).

 
27. Plaintiff alleges additionally that the Defendant  has specifically, with full knowlege, in an effort to make his story compelling in order to sell audio and video tapes and secure paid  speaking engagements where he Testifies as a Christian that his story is a true life experience, conducted himself in a pattern of fraud and theft by deception. And that the illegal use of  Plaintiffs copyright creative writings by Defendant was planned and premeditated towrds the Defendant profiting at the Plaintiff’s expense.  These allegations have reflected negatively on the PLAINTIFF. The Plaintiff and his family has been embroiled in controversy ever since they discovered that Defendant ha used Plaintiff’s Manuscript. Plaintiff has been unable to secure speaking engements and the sale of his Novel is now MOOT.

 

FIRST CLAIM FOR RELIEF
COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT AGAINST DEFENDANT

As and for a separate and distinct First Claim for Relief, PLAINTIFF complains of  DEFENDANT as follows:

 
28. In doing the acts complained of herein above, DEFENDANT acted despicably and with a willful and conscious disregard for Plaintiffs' rights. The emotional stress, loss of credibility, and the pain and suffering endured from being considered outcasts in the Christian Community for the last 4 of seven years was do in fact by the acts complained of herein above with full knowlege and intent. This conduct further subjected Plaintiff to cruel and unjust hardship from confusion caused in the marketplace, loss of credibility, loss of revenue from sales of The Novel, and loss of revenue from testimonial bookings. As a result, in order to make an example of DEFENDANT and punish him for the acts described herein above, punitive and exemplary damages should be awarded

 

WHEREFORE, PLAINTIFF pray for judgment against Defendant as follows:

 

1.   That Defendants, their agents, servants, employees and attorneys, and all those in active concert or participation with them, be permanently enjoined from making, using, selling, performing, offering to sell, and importing products whether audio tapes, video tapes or otherwise which directly, vicariously or contributory infringe the Plaintiffs valid and subsisting Copyright;

2. That the Court order the impoundment and disposal of any infringing articles made or sold by Defendants, their agents, servants, employees and attorneys, and all those in active concert or participation with them, in accordance with 17 U.S.C. §503;

3.         That Plaintiff be awarded damages and profits for Copyright infringement in accordance with 17 U. S. C. § 5 04, in an amount according to proof,

 

4. That Plaintiff be awarded treble damages for willful infringement of his copyright;

5. That Plaintiff be awarded prejudgment interest on any and all damages to the extent allowed by law-,

6. That Plaintiff SCARFONE be awarded his reasonable attorney's fees, costs and expenses of this action pursuant to 17 U.S.C. §505;

7.      That Plaintiff SCARFONE recover from Defendants such other and further relief as the Court may deem just and proper.

 


SECOND CLAIM FOR RELIEF
FALSE DESIGNATIONS OF ORIGIN AND
FALSE DESCRIPTIONS AND REPRESENTATIONS IN VIOLATION OF SECTION 43(A) OF THE LANHAM ACT AGAINST DEFENDANT

 

As and for a separate and distinct Second Claim for Relief, Plaintiff complain of defendant  as follows:

 

29,        Plaintiff realleges and incorporates by reference each and every allegation contained in the First Claim for Relief, as though fully set forth herein.

 

30.        Continuously since 1994, Plaintiff SCARFONE has supported a ministry which is organized to aid troubled youth and which relies on revenue from the sale of publications, including The Novel, web design and hosting to the Christian Community. PLAINTIFF also provided testimonials where PLAINTIFF used actual facts of his life story.

31.  Plaintiff 's testimonials derive a portion of their material from The Novel and Manuscript, and a portion form Plaintiff’s actual life story. This life story cannot be copyright and contain stories of the Plaintiffs troubled youth growing up as the son of a member of the Italian Mafia. Though the Novel and Manuscript provide exciting and sobering anecdotes and situations which represent expression unique to Plaintiffs writing skills, Plaintiff’s actual life story life goes beyond the creative expression as protected by the copyright act. .

 

32.          Plaintiff has distinguished his testimonials over those of others and developed valuable goodwill through the use of his life story as the primary source of material for his testimonials and such has contributed to his ability to provide services to the Christian Community. Through Plaintiffs promotions and advertisements, the public has come to identify the life story of  Plaintiff with his testimonials. Plaintiff has achieved commercial success that is attributable to the testimonials. The success of PLAINTIFF had occurred largely because his story was true and all facts were readily verified through other factual sources, which corroborate the accuracy of Plaintiff s testimonials.

 

33.        Defendant has allegedly purloined key events found in PLAINTIFFS life story, and has allegedly used this stolen expression to enhance and bolster his own testimonials which have been performed in interstate commerce on various nationwide radio and television broadcasts. These testimonials have garnered considerable financial success through the sale of audio and video tapes, and from appearance fees and support through donations and partners garnered.. 

 

34.          PLAINTIFF alleges, because of these allegations, DEFENDANT has caused confusion in the marketplace for testimonial services, as the buying public has often confused the testimonials of DEFENDANT with that of the PLAINTIFF and vice-versa, and, because the DEFENDANT has been able to continue unhampered, PLAINTIFF has lost his ability to secure testimonials.  Additionally, it is alleged that DEFENDANT has created a story or testimony that is untrue, and offers it as true, thereby causing further harm to the Plaintiff.

35.       PLAINTIFF alleges the buying public has often confused PLAINTIFF with being the personality represented at Testimonials and/or Speaking Engagements. That this alleged confusion carries the taint of fraud and deception onto Plaintiff. The Testimonials and Speaking Engagements of the Defendant embodies the same given by Plaintiff, yet Plaintiff has no connection to Defendant other than the above complaint of copyright infringement against the Defendant. The Plaintiff views this as alleged false designations of DEFENDANT as being the origin of the events lived by PLAINTIFF, and which contain alleged false or misleading descriptions of fact, or false or misleading representations of fact

36.       The confused perception of the public caused by the Defendants has considerably damaged the value of Plaintiff testimonials, and has eliminated the ability of the Plaintiff to seek, let alone book speaking or testimonial engagements, Plaintiff, which depended upon the success of testimonials for the success of  the sales of the Novel as sources of revenue to further its services to troubled youth, has been damaged by the elimination of  testimonial bookings.

 

37.       Defendant is not affiliated in any way with the Plaintiff. The testimonials performed, broadcast, or reduced to audio and video tapes by the Defendant constitute a false designation of origin - a knowing false description or representation - regarding products and services offered and sold by Defendants in commerce, which are likely to cause plaintiff injury and damage in violation of the Section 43(a) of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a).

 

WHEREFORE, Plaintiff pray for judgment against defendant  as follows:

1.That Defendants, their agents, servants, and employees be enjoined from further use or sale of The Tape or videos which contain purloined material from The Novel or from further use or sale of The Tape or videos which contain material purloined from the events of Plaintiff’s life and which Tape and videos cause confusion between PAPANIA'S testimonials and Plaintiff’s testimonials;

              2. That Defendants, their agents, servants, and employees be enjoined from further performance of testimonials, which contain material, purloined from PLAINTIFF Novel and Manuscript and life story, which cause confusion.
 

         3.  That the Court order the impoundment and disposal of any tapes, videos or other articles made or sold by Defendants, their agents, servants, employees and attorneys, and all those in active concert or participation with them, which embody events purloined from Plaintiffs life and Novel as provided by 15 U.S.C. § 1118;

4.         That Defendants be required, pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 1117 to account to Plaintiff s for all profits realized by them as a result of the aforesaid unfair competition,

5.         That Plaintiffs receive from Defendants all damages sustained as a result of the aforesaid unfair competition, as provided by 15 U.S.C. § 1117;

6.         That Plaintiff shall have and recover from Defendants treble damages sustained by them as provided by 15 U. S. C - § 1117;

7.         That Plaintiffs have and recover from Defendants the costs of this action, including reasonable attorneys fees as provided by 15 U. S. C. § 1117,

8.         That Plaintiffs be awarded prejudgment interest on any and all damages they receive to the extent allowed by law;

9.         That Plaintiff s recover from Defendants such other and further relief as the Court may deem just and proper.

 

 

THIRD CLAM FOR RELIEF

                     FRAUDULENT MISREPRESENTATION BY DEFENDANT

 

As and for a separate and distinct Third Claim for Relief, Plaintiff complain of DEFENDANT as follows:

 

38. PLAINTIFF realleges and incorporates by reference each and every allegation contained in the First and Second Claims For Relief, as though fully set forth herein.

 

39. PLAINTIFF alleges that DEFENDANT is and has committed fraud and misrepresentation in order to deny Plaintiff his rights and hide the alleged facts of his complaint in order to force the PLAINTIFF to cease and desist from his constitutional and lawful right to seek answer and redress and to deceive the public into purchasing his video and audio tapes and gain speaking/testimonials and further Alleges:

40. Through the sale and marketing of the original works by Defendant and the production of new versions of Defendant’s audio and video tapes and alterations of his testimonials, Defendant is fraudulently circumventing the allegations of Plaintiff to meet time lines, events, writings and stories of the Plaintiff manuscript and Novel in effort to demonstrate they are his. In one situation during a recent regional broadcast on Channel 11 in Atlanta that was taped, Plaintiff alleges that Defendant, when asked by a reporter how could Defendant say that the Plaintiff was wrong in his charges, Defendant told the reporter that he had begun his Testimonial in 1986, and that Plaintiff  “may have used my story”. The facts by Federal Court Documents place the Defendant in jail 1986-87, and Defendant did not yet begin his “testimonial”. Though this may seem minor, Plaintiff alleges that the Defendant told the reporter this in order to claim an earlier date that coincided with Plaintiffs Court Record of the Manuscripts dated origin. The Defendant is attempting to alter the view of public perception through fraudulent testimony thereby harming the Plaintiff .


41. Plaintiff alleges that further fraud and misrepresentation allegations against Defendant are magnified and increased by the Defendants web site titled tompapania.org. The defendant is utilizing this web site to further disseminate information that the Plaintiff alleges are untrue and offering audio and videotapes that contain copyright works of the Plaintiff.  And that this website is not a news and information site, nor does it contain critical commentary or parody. This website was set up to further what the Plaintiff alleges in this entire complaint, the Defendant’s direct profiting through fraudulent sales of materials containing the copyright material of the PLAINTIFF causing unwarranted harm to Plaintiff’s ministry and reputation. ( see exhibit b)

42.   Plaintiff alleges that Defendant’s web site, video and audio tapes and broadcasts contain vast deceitful elements unfairly skewing commercial information to the DEFENDANTS advantage. PLAINTIFF alleges that DEFENDANTS fraudulent testimony and his reference to it being wholly true and his story, yet containing the creative element of works and stories by the PLAINTIFF in order to earn monetary reward , intentionally distorted and distorts the truth and is/has misrepresented and concealed material facts to the DEFENDANTS advantage.  Plaintiff has suffered monetary damage from loss of revenue from sales of The Novel, testimonial bookings and loss of sales to Plaintiff’s hosting and design web operation that caters to the Christian Community.

 43. Therefore, PLAINTIFF alleges that the defendant is engaged in a pattern of fraud and misrepresentation for direct profit, and has engaged in an act, practice, activity and course of business involving or using a computer or computer network to scheme to defraud PLAINTIFF and the Public.

 

44.In doing the acts complained of herein above, DEFENDANT acted despicably and with a willful and conscious disregard for Plaintiffs' rights. Defendant’s conduct further subjected Plaintiff to cruel and unjust hardship from confusion caused in the marketplace, loss of credibility, loss of revenue from sales of The Novel, and loss of revenue from testimonial bookings and hosting and design. As a result, in order to make an example of DEFENDANT and punish them for the acts described herein above, punitive and exemplary damages should be awarded.

 

WHEREFORE, Plaintiffs SCARFONE and LIGHTHOUSE pray for judgment against Defendant PAPANIA as follows:

1.          That Plaintiffs be awarded their general damages according to proof,

2.    That Plaintiffs be awarded their incidental and consequential damages according to proof,

3.         That Plaintiffs be awarded punitive and exemplary damages according to proof,

4.         That Plaintiffs be awarded prejudgment interest on any and all damages to the extent allowed by law;

            5.        That Plaintiffs be awarded costs of suit incurred herein;

 

6.               That Plaintiffs recover from Defendant such other and further relief as the Court may deem just and proper.

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View The Facts As Out Lined In The Federal Complaint / Read The Reponce to WIPO to Tom's attempt to recover tompapania.com / CrossTv Commits Fraud and MAKES MONEY and GETS AWAY with it?