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May 24, 2005
So That's What Happened
Posted by Brad Abare | Filed under: Business
Back in 1998, when we were just getting started in Chicago, there was a company (also located in the Chicago area) who called in from a direct mail piece we had sent out. The company was just getting started and needed some branding and identity work. I remember talking to the owner (Rodney Dixon of Lacrad International) on the phone, hearing his million dollar ideas, and getting pretty excited at the potential of working together. He sounded like any other entrepreneur—bold, brash and a little brilliant. This worked great because we needed business. We got to work on some ideas right away and helped him with a logo and started working on a Web site.
We didn't get too far along because it was taking him a while to pay his bill. Then he stopped returning phone calls. Then our mail got returned. Then the phone number was disconnected. We got burned.
Sounds like a few other people caught up to him, including the government. I first read about this in Fast Company last month, and then found several linking stories, including this one from the AP:
Rodney Dixon pleaded guilty last October to five counts of mail and wire fraud and one count of money laundering. He admitted inflating Lacrad International Inc.'s net worth to defraud six equipment-leasing companies of more than $11.4 million and a Texas bank of $2.25 million for the purchase of a corporate jet. The money laundering charge resulted from Dixon's purchase of a $47,500 Jaguar automobile. Dixon, 40, faces up to 6 1/2 years in prison at sentencing, set for Feb. 11, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Barry Elden. An FBI investigation found that the offices were fictitious and Lacrad's revenues never exceeded $100,000.
I couldn't find anything more recent to see if he actually is in jail.
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