Janet Kay & Associates served with warrant; abandon offi

[angelahoy]

From Angela Hoy at WritersWeekly.com:

I received a phone call from Detective Brian Elkins of the San Angelo Police Department a few weeks ago and was thrilled to learn that a search warrant had been served at Janet Kay & Associates. The police department apparently carted away enough manuscripts to fill an entire jail cell.

Janet Kay and George Titsworth (her husband?), operated under numerous names, including:
Janet Kay and Associates / Janet Kay & Associates
authorswanted.com
JanGeo Ink Publishing Company
Helping Hand Literary Service
newwriterswanted.com

We were asked not to share this information until Detective Elkins released a statement concerning this case. Here it is:

~~~~~

Re: Janet Kay Investigation

Since September 2002 the San Angelo Police Department assisted by several
other law enforcement agencies has been investigating the company(s) known
as Helping Hands Literary Service, Janet Kay & Associates and JanGeo Ink.
The crime alleged is "Theft" by deception.

These company's were taking fees for contacts with publishers. The
investigation shows that although the fees were being taken personal
contact or contact only with publishers did not happen. Clients were led
to believe that they had a high chance of being published if money was
given for office expenses.

On January 30, 2004 a search warrant was served on the home and business
of Janet Kay and George Titsworth. All manuscripts and writings submitted
to this business were seized and placed in evidence. These manuscripts and
writings will remain in evidence until the conclusion of the investigation
and prosecution of all involved.

Soon after the search warrant was served I was advised that the business
was abandoned. At this time there is nothing/nobody left in what used to
be the office for Janet Kay and Associates. The phones and mail are going
unanswered.

Many of you have questions about plagiarism and your contracts. At this
point I have no information that leads me to believe that any of the
writings submitted were used in any illegal way. As for the contracts you
have signed the best I can inform you is to consult with a local attorney
in your area. Attorneys in this area advised that a contract is only as
good as both parties fulfill the letter of the contract.

If you have yet to file a complaint with the police department please
fill out the form Statement of Fact here:
http://www.sanangelopolice.org/statement.htm

If you have already filed a complaint with the police department
you may receive an e-mail from my office needing more
information. If this is the case you will also need to
go to the web link and complete the form. Many of you have registered
your name but we need complete information for the case file. In
addition, if you have any paperwork, documentation, correspondence with
any one or more of theses companies, please forward a copy to the San
Angelo Police Department attn; Det. Brian Elkins. Scanned or electronic
copies my be sent to brian.elkins@sanangelopolice.org.

This bulletin was put out to inform victims of this crime and to reduce
the amount of phone calls coming in to my office and the office of
criminal investigations. I know some of you may have specific questions
for me. If this is the case please call however be advised it may take me
some time to contact you back.

Det. Brian Elkins
San Angelo Police Department
401 E. Beauregard
San Angelo, TX. 76903
brian.elkins@sanangelopolice.org

~~~~

You can read numerous complaints about this firm at:
http://www.writersweekly.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1301
http://www.writersweekly.com/whispers_and_warnings/janetkay.html
http://www.writersweekly.com/whispers_and_warnings/helping.html
http://pub43.ezboard.com/fabsolutewritefrm11.showMessage?topicID=64.topic

[angelahoy]

Email rec'd by Angela from another Janet Kay and Associates victim:

Angela, I recently signed a contract with Janet Kay and Associates and I
can't believe that it's all a scam. I sent them $115.00 for 15 contacts
and a query letter which was to be wriiten by them. Since then, I've
received 6 so called contacts in november of 2003, and I sent those off
december 1, 2003 hoping to get published. I haven't heard anything from
the agency since then and haven't been able to contact them by phone. I
was real excited and hopeful when I got a contract my first time out. I
was proud of the 2 children's books I submitted to them, and they waisted
my time. Because I was so confident that I had a contract with Janet, I
didn't bother to send my books to anyone else. I am so angry that Janet
and her so called associates would take something that I worked very hard
on and turn it into a scam to get $115.00 or more if I would have given it
to them. Now, I'm not sure if the contract I signed is valid......

[markc]

I am new to these forums, but so glad that I found them. It was through the website Writers weekly that my wife and I found out that we had been scammed by Janet Kay & Assoc. My story is much the same as so many others, wasted time, worthless contract with a crook pretending to be a real literary agent, lost money, crushed hopes and dreams. I received an e-mail from Det Elkins last week and I completed the complaint info on the link he provided. I encourage others to complete the info Det. Elkins needs to prosecute Janet Kay (if that is even her real name) and her husband.

As for me, I press on. I am determined that my manuscript will be published soon! hang in there folks.
_________________
markc

[Angelstar]

I to have been a victim of her unethical behaviors. she promised me the world and this is my first agent i had ever gone through.

Now i dont know who to trust. i feel betrayed, used and even victimized by this woman. thus making me scared to go through any one or even publish my books again. Which is a life long dream to be an author.

How i found out she was a fraud was i had to send sample chapter ( me after being told she would do it) to the list of publishers they had sent she only sent me two lists one in the beginning of all this and the second one right after i talked to the detective which i didn't even waste my time with. any way i had not heard anything so i figured i was going to make some calls to check and see if they received the sample chapters.

One didn't say anything they said they received it and will get back to me. the second one Rand publishing i called well the lady there told me they don't know who Janet kay and associates is that i had sent in an unsolicited manuscript that could have had me blackballed already from getting ever published by a big publishing house. i told the lady well she is my agent she told me to contact you. i didn't know she didn't work with you. the lady told me that she never worked with Janet Kay at all.

I then apologized and then she told me she would not list my name as a blackball and that when i get a real agent that they go through then they would consider publishing my book.

I thanked her and hung up crying my eyes out. my heart fell to the ground and my dreams shattered.

Here for three weeks prior i am calling her long distance leaving message after message for her to return my call back and she never did.

If i would ever meet her i think i would belt her so hard she would go flying out her window.

So now i have still been writing and since i contacted the detective, i have now as of today finished two book manuscripts but have not found an agent.

grrrrrrrrrrrrr dishonest people make me so mad.
_________________
Author: September Fury........ http://www.1stbooks.com/bookview/11274........

[Murrday]

I do hope the detective nails them.

Don't let the rotters stop you. Each of you has put worthwhile effort into
your work, and your dreams of publication all merit another chance - as
many as it takes. Even Madeleine L'Engle submitted her now famous book
Wrinkle in Time over 2 dozen times. Keep going. You can do it. Your fellow
authors here are rooting for you.

Hold fast to your dreams, Murrday Fisher

[blbaker1822]

Thank you everyone for exposing Janet Kay and Assoc.!

I and my wife were on the verge of sending manuscripts to her. We were attracted by her supposed "Christian" ethics.

Thanks again.

[markc]

Like you and your wife, many of us were tricked be her suppossed "Christian" ethics. I am sure she will answer for that some day. Until then,, GO Detective Elkins!
_________________
markc

[DM Wolf]

Okay, so who can I go with?

Has anyone got news on ST LIterary Agency?

Now I don't know what to do. The Christian Ethics is exactly what I was attracted to, and I spent a lot of time on their 1-800 number talking to Mr. Titsworth before his supposed heart attack. Was that real? I'm pretty angry, and hurt. I'm a big man, and I AM about to cry; dear Lord, as though my life wasn't hard enough, already.

If anyone has news about ST LIterary Agency, I'm going to hold off on my contract with them until I hear something. Thank you.

[Kmartin]

Hi DM! Don't know if this is actually a bad thing, but I was in contact with ST, then known as Sydra. I found them on the internet. They were so anxious to get the rest of my manuscript that it was a little strange. They wouldn't go a way. I looked them up on the better business bureau, and it appears they have been attempting to reach them with no response as of yet. That made me nervous, so I didn't go through with them. After just coming out of the whole Janet Kay thing myself, I have no idea where to go from here!
Good luck, Karen

[DM Wolf]

Thank you, Karen. I appreciate your response.

I'm thinking I might do the P.O.D. thing through Booklocker. This is my first novel, so I'm not expecting to get a lot of money for it right off. And, I'll actually spend less money going this way. I haven't signed any contract with S.T., yet, so I think I'll err on the side of caution and work with Booklocker, especially since it's a one-time fee for membership.

Thank you again.

[DM Wolf]

There. Filed with San Angelo police. I have EVERY piece of documentation and correspondence ever sent back and forth, my receipts, everything. Time to try and send a message, if possible, to scam artists everywhere. I feel much better now.

[markc]

I filed my complaint with San Angelo also, and have all documentation as well. I am anxious to hear an update regarding the investigation. I am also leaning heavily towards POD with my first book, but haven't decided who to go with yet. Seems like when mr. titsworth was exposed a while back,all that happened was his wife, janet kay titsworth simply began to scam writers under a new company name. What a croc! I hope they pay dearly for what they have done to so many of us.
_________________
markc

[DM Wolf]

Mark, if you haven't already taken a look at Booklocker.com for POD, you might do that. They are pretty closely affiliated through Writers Weekly and, in this time when we're not certain where to go, they might just be the folks to go with. You can locate them through the writersweekly.com web site. It's a little expensive to get started but, I think, perhaps worth it.

No, I don't work for Writers Weekly OR Booklocker.com, :lol:

[Rita Mery]

[markc]

Yes, I have taken a look at booklocker.com and liked what I read. I am kinda in a delimma zone here, not sure what to do. I am checking into several options, and hope to make a decision soon. After the Janet Kay thing I, like many others, was a bit confused. I am however not going to let that keep me down. I may search for a new, REAL, literary agent and begin again, or decide on POD and go for it that way.
_________________
markc