Peter Beagle was forced out of his home, but media is spreading the fraud story. Readers support him to #TakeBackTheUnicorn.

Peter Beagle recently lost his apartment as a result of abuse by his ex manager, Connor Cochran.

“I just found out that due to some influence his last agent had over his lease that Peter S. Beagle lost his home and is now in substandard housing…”

Cochran watched this happen while enriching himself with movie shows that pay Peter nothing. Where does Last Unicorn sale money go?  It pays Cochran’s lawyers to attack Peter, deny his rights and delay justice.  Meanwhile Peter is forced to have a fundraiser sale.

In the latest money grab for Cochran’s scam operation, The Last Unicorn movie played in one Florida theater on 3/27/16.  Fans were misled to ask if Peter would appear, without knowing about his lawsuit against those profiting from the show.  But the wrongdoing can’t be suppressed.  Media watchdogs have picked up the story and are carrying it where it needs to go – to the awareness of every fan.

From VICE: “The Sad, Strange Legal Battles of ‘Last Unicorn’ Author Peter S. Beagle”. The Onion A.V. Club: The Last Unicorn author locks legal horns with his manager”.

You can help. Share these articles on social media and add hashtags #LastUnicorn and #TakeBackTheUnicorn. (Share sources: Facebook, Twitter 1, Twitter 2). Also thank the journalist and ask for more coverage of the wider story about cheating against Peter’s fans.

The elder abuse revealed by Peter’s lawsuit shows that fame and devotion is no guarantee of safety. Mickey Rooney and Harper Lee had similar stories about them.

Readers call “bullshit” on Cochran.

After Peter was abused, Cochran’s countersuit doubled down with a heinous attack at Peter’s girlfriend.  He pretends she’s a gold-digger in their 17 year relationship.  It’s a strategic smokescreen and punishment to emotionally defeat Peter, cut him off from support, and keep him under Cochran’s thumb. In Cochran’s bully mind, he’s yanking the choke chain on a disobedient dog. It’s the pattern the caused Peter’s lawsuit:

41 Defendant Cochran deliberately defamed Beagle, not just to the public or to business associates, but specifically to his children and to his close personal friends. He refused to stop including Beagle’s children and friends on his emails to Beagle, despite repeated requests to do so. On one such email, dated June 23, Cochran claimed that he didn’t “have any reason to make stuff up”, but this is clearly not true. As long as Beagle could be portrayed as an ill, incompetent, and alcoholic old man to his family and friends, Beagle would lack their support at a time when he was in critical need.

With all of the evidence of Cochran’s wrongdoing, nobody on any of the links has fallen for claims against the girlfriend. He’s struck out after years of lying and manipulation. Peter’s fight is winning. Here’s what readers really think.

girlfriend

These readers nail it.
slimy

This one nails it, too.

“The other side of the story is very deceptive and all sourced from the manager. It’s known that the children were not part of the movie tour. Peter Beagle’s internet presence and facebook and twitter pages are owned by his manager, and there’s been a high amount of deletion of comments. Meanwhile all of the other complaints and lawsuits against the manager outweigh the excuses by a huge amount. It really is a story with a right side and a wrong side.

Copying a top post to the VICE piece on social media –

Beagle’s lawsuit was reinforced by another lawsuit at the same time by the Last Unicorn Movie Tour investors. His manager stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from them too, and he refused to tell them where it went. LA Superior Court case BC605386.

This story has a clear villain and a clear victim. Nobody has a bad word to say about Peter Beagle. His manager Connor Cochran has a decades long reputation for scams and fraud. Just google it.

Cochran claims Beagle is crazy, like many other targets he called crazy to get away with cheating them. But Beagle’s lawsuit gives medical exhibits that he’s in excellent health for his age. Cochran also is targeting Beagle’s life partner with legal attacks that claim she’s a gold digger. She’s been with Beagle for 17 years since before there was any gold. It’s an absurdly flimsy hit tactic/smokescreen. You can read the entire lawsuit at Beagle’s support site. http://supportpeterbeagle.com/wordpress2/

Please update this in a while because Cochran sure isn’t going to avoid paying huge damages. It takes a lot of attention for the audience who have been following all the shifting stories and lying about his scamming, but just read the piles of horror stories to get informed.”

Nice hashtag here – it deserves to be shared.

hashtag

Please share a fundraiser for Peter Beagle, and oppose false sale of his work to fight him.

Would you buy the work of a creator you love, if it funds an abuser’s fight to grab his rights – to financially crush him into submission, steal his creative time, make him lose sleep, punish people he loves, and delay aid and solutions?

How would you feel if your goodwill was misused that way without your knowledge- because the seller hid the creator’s objections?

This is happening with sales of Peter Beagle’s work at Conlan Press. It enriches owner Connor Cochran while he battles Peter in court, and Peter is living as “close to the bone” as possible.

Here’s a good way to get books without guilt, and help him eat and live.  “All proceeds go directly to Peter. There is no middleman.”  Please share: 

A Fundraiser for Peter and A Lot of Damn Fine Reading as Well!

Consumer rights abuse is only part of the problem with Conlan Press.  There’s something very wrong with the misuse of goodwill. Well-intentioned fans are paying without being informed about Peter’s lawsuit against Cochran for Elder Abuse and Fraud.  Their money funds Cochran’s vexatious attack back at Peter.

Cochran’s appeals for money won’t mention any lawsuit – in his “Raven” newsletter, his web store, his ebooks at Amazon.com, and his exploitation of the Last Unicorn movie rights and licensing.  DON’T BUY ANY OF IT! He’s doing “sleazy money and intellectual property grabs using Peter as bait without Peter’s permission or benefit.”

He’s milking Peter’s name like there’s no tomorrow – because there isn’t one for his business while Peter’s lawsuit moves forward.

Cochran wormed his way into Peter’s life by selling snake-oil about a better deal. He pushed out previous exploiters to take their place.  But this fundraiser isn’t like his “crisis for poor Peter!” tearjerkers he did to exploit goodwill. It’s not promoting another false savior. It’s simply dealing with the results of Cochran’s scamming, that hit so many others who need relief too.

Didn’t get your book, just excuses?

So, you’re one of countless deceived fans who paid Conlan Press without knowing about Peter’s lawsuit or Cochran’s 11 years of withholding goods.  Please notice his new strategy to delay timely delivery, put off complaints, and sweep scamming under the rug.  (And to hide violation of the FTC’s 30-day rule.)  He recently enlisted a Crisis Manager to make the excuses look good.

Read about Cochran’s PR manipulation in our extra-super-detailed post.

DON’T LET HIM GET AWAY WITH IT.  Silence makes more harm.

If your money was taken deceptively, or if you got nothing – demand refunds now. Take NO excuses. Keep pressure going. Don’t hold hope after years of lies. Don’t let your money fund attacks at Peter instead of what you paid for.

No refund? File a Credit Charge Dispute.

(Non-lawyer tips to use at your own judgement. Read more at Credit.com.)

Never pay cash to a shady seller. A card brings important protection.

If ONE refund request to the company isn’t honored, find the transaction in your statement and ask the bank for a charge dispute. It can be done online in a minute, or call them.  They’re rarely fought.  Watch time limits (often 120 days.)  The bank takes the money back and credits your account, then reviews if the decision is final.

If you got no item, the refund is yours.  If something did arrive, you may mail it back (ideally, postage due) and keep the tracking number.  If the bank follows up to ask for proof, share the tracking number and the refund is yours.

If the company delivered something different than you paid for, delivered more than 30 days late, didn’t answer your request, refused to accept a return, or there was any problem with return address, tell them and the refund is yours.

Banks make money from providing this service – they’re strongly on the side of consumers. Also, they review accounts that receive many disputes.  Too many and the account may be cancelled.

We’ve seen cheated victims of Conlan Press go empty-handed without knowing about this protection.  Knowledge is Power – use it today.

Conlan Press gets Crisis Manager instead of delivering goods promised now. Fake “pre sales” are continuing since 2005. Meet the new Human Shield for fraud.

Conlan Press is crashing and burning with multiple lawsuits for over $50 million and a fraud scandal.  That includes 11 YEARS of fake “pre sales” for TWO HEARTS.  Most recently, the lying delivery promises were for October… then November… then February… “Spring 2016″… and then all dates were removed from the sale page:

conlanpress.com

(- Conlan Press).  See bottom for more outrageously slimy excuses for why this isn’t happening.

The lies have been so consistent and intentional that they need special tracking to list them all.  We started in 2014. (Another site has a Lie List too). The public is fed up:ten

Complaints keep piling up about Kubo art prints, Last Unicorn Blu-ray movies, “Better Beagle Bundles”, THE LAST UNICORN expanded graphic novel, and THE LAST UNICORN worldwide screening tour edition. From 2/17/2016:

(Facebook post by G.N.) I consider myself to be a rather intelligent and cautious man when it comes to scammers and those who choose to take advantage of others for the sake of a dollar… the reason I am posting this… is to draw attention to Connor Cochran of Conlan Press and expose him to the world as the crook that he truly is. I also wish to express my deepest sympathy to Peter S Beagle and his family who have all been taken advantage of by such a disgusting and self-serving lowlife. I may never see my $120.00 again or ever receive my merchandise, but I refuse to stand by and let the legacy and beauty that is “The Last Unicorn” be tarnished and desecrated in such a manner…

Here’s what owner Connor Cochran delivers, instead of what you paid for.

Mr. Reece Mack has publicly announced getting the Crisis Manager role for the “Last Unicorn Movie” page on Facebook.  Months afterwards, that is.  On LinkedIn, he says it happened in September 2015. (Was it timed in advance of Peter’s lawsuit?)

social

A deleted comment by Mia S.: “So… By happy place do you mean deleting all mentions of bad business on the part of the publishing company?” 

 

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Mr. Mack’s LinkedIn profile publicly presents his Crisis Management role. It shows a talented, wholesome-looking guy, making sympathy about a good person damaged by association with Connor Cochran. (Below, read a professional’s advice to get distance.)

linkedin

Connor Cochran gave this role to Mr. Mack while he’s in school near Vancouver for a PR degree.  Using a student has benefits for a manipulator. They may be passionate and exploitable – until they’re burnt out and disposed. (See how Cochran exploited a cancer patient until they collapsed.)  

Why would Cochran want a Vancouver connection? It’s a center for animation industry with lots of international investment and tax breaks. And don’t forget refuge from legal jurisdiction. In 2015, he fled California after calls for investigation, and moved to Bellingham WA, 15 minutes from Canada’s border.  He was chasing $125 million from Chinese movie investors – until they saw Peter Beagle’s lawsuit.

September 2015 was an interesting date to engage Mr. Mack’s service.  Cochran had already done a few months of calculated deception about Peter’s health. (See the doctor’s report about good health in Peter’s lawsuit).  That was to spread distraction, because Peter refused to shield Cochran’s fraud any longer.

So Cochran reeled in a crisis manager.  We sympathize for Mr. Mack about being strategically put in the line of fire. It sucks to be a Human Shield – and if it comes down to it, a scapegoat like many before him.

We’ve been respecting Mr. Mack’s prudent silence about this, until he belatedly announced and named himself on Facebook, to soothe customer anger about fake “pre sales” and delivery lies by Cochran.

It’s a shitty job, but nobody has to do it.  Let Cochran face justice with no more delay.

Mr. Mack, it’s time to stop excusing fraud and be honest to all – including yourself.

Years of consistent complaints aren’t “negative rumours.”

rumor2

It’s not a rumor that Connor Cochran has been sued many times for scamming.

  • Penguin Group (usa) Inc. couldn’t get Cochran to pay his $3,000 bill until they sued. We received a report that they won with damages: San Mateo Superior Court, case #CLJ511166 (2012) – A writ of execution was issued in the amount of $6001.28. The judgment was finally satisfied in early 2015. 
  • Baker & Taylor Incorporated sued for $6,000 of DVD’s after Cochran broke their contract, and pretended to have other terms that didn’t exist.
  • Sydney Clemens had $25,000 stolen when Cochran promised to publish her, broke the contract, forced her to sue, and gamed the system to run up her bills.
  • The Last Unicorn Tour investors are suing him for misappropriating hundreds of thousands of dollars.
  • New grounds to sue keep coming, because Cochran treats contracts like disposable wrapping paper on presents to himself.

Mr. Mack, what this site exposed in 2014 wasn’t rumor. It was prediction long before Peter’s lawsuit gave so much more evidence. See a letter we put out to your predecessor, Chris Rickert, and wonder if she saw it coming.

chris

Mr. Mack, please read advice about Cochran from one publishing professional to another one, who was disgraced for supporting him:

Dude, I don’t know how far back you go with Cochran, but some friendly advice having known and worked with someone just like Cochran… don’t go to bat for him. I’m a casual observer, I know maybe a smattering of the details, and everything I see is red flags.

Seriously. What’s more likely: he’s the innocent victim of a decade of bad luck and poor project management, along with a duplicitous client and an internet-wide smear campaign lasting ten years, masterminded by angry fans and a former employee using a bunch of sock puppet accounts to sully the name of somebody trying to preserve a beloved author’s career… or the more realistic version?

Honestly, just take a step back from all this. Do it for your own good. I worked for a small publisher in my area for a couple of months, and he fed me a line of bullshit just like Cochran’s about a few projects we were doing… Seriously, just get distance and don’t look back.

Mr. Mack, please don’t underestimate how much worse it will get with the sad thing you’re carrying on.  Think about whether a disgraceful fraud scandal belongs on your resume. Get on the right side with the victims, and support consumer rights and Peter Beagle.  We wish you the best in getting distance from Cochran’s damage.

For anyone else, if you don’t feel like you’re being scammed by Cochran’s PR manipulation – YOU ALREADY ARE.

Even more outrageously slimy excuses with one Human Shield after another.

“The Raven, January 8, 2016 – This is a free email newsletter from Conlan Press regarding Peter S. Beagle’s work” (A slimy way to exploit Peter more without permission.)

“EXTENDED PRE-ORDER DISCOUNTS ON NEW LAST UNICORN BOOKS (Linda Robertson’s loss is your gain)”

Last October Linda Robertson, our freelance book designer, was in a car accident while taking her father on a much-delayed vacation. Linda and her dad came out of it all right, thank goodness, but the same could not be said for the car, which was totaled. So Linda asked us to share this note with all of you:

“Hi everyone. I’m Linda, the book designer working on the tour edition of The Last Unicorn and the exciting Two Hearts hardback. I’m thrilled to be working on both of these books and I hope you’ll love the finished volumes.

“If you’ve ever worked in publishing you’ll know that delays are almost a given. After 40 years in publishing I could tell you stories that would make your eyes cross and head spin. At my end a recent auto accident has taken up a lot of time. Though none of my family was hurt, I am left dealing with insurance companies and an attempt to find a replacement car.

“So please don’t think the books are on the back burner and that you’ll never see them…

DOWNSIDE OF THE ACCIDENT: We wanted The Last Unicorn Worldwide Screening Tour hardcover and the illustrated Two Hearts hardcover to be out by now, but obviously that’s not happening. This delay also pushed back our schedule on the new expanded Regular and Deluxe hardcover editions of The Last Unicorn graphic novel.

UPSIDE OF THE ACCIDENT: (a) Linda’s loss is your gain, assuming you’d like to save money. Our pre-order discount on these titles was supposed to end in October, but because of the accident we are extending it until the books go to press. In addition, (b) the additional time made it possible to add a section to the tour hardcover commemorating Lula Coe, the amazing Idaho girl whose terminal cancer prompted us to bring a screening…

See again the victim report of how Connor Cochran exploited another cancer patient.

And a car accident last October is his amazing BS excuse now after 11 years of fraud. That’s how gullible he thinks you are when he uses others to promote himself.

Getting a crisis manager can keep the excuses coming.  It can’t fix the ownership of the company.  For real solution, see CALL FOR INVESTIGATION in the sidebar.

A summary of defense against Peter Beagle’s fraud lawsuit.

When Beagle’s lawsuit went public, Connor Cochran grandly declared that his “rebuttal” would tell the “true” story.  Besides a few financially tied associates, his followers are having increasingly confused and cold responses.  A typical comment: “This makes my head hurt.Some are sending support here. WELCOME.

His “rebuttal” is now filed. It’s as slimy and deceptive as you could possibly expect. There was never any doubt what the approach would be.  It’s wasting everyone’s time and money with his trademark overly-verbose blowhard style, and “I’m not a poopyhead, you’re a poopyhead!” strategy.

This kind of vexatious litigation is used to outspend small victims.  Against Peter Beagle, it’s insult to injury- since he dominated Peter with a tiny allowance like a child, and refused to give accounting for all the money made by exploiting his work.

Cochran’s defense includes a slimy reverse attack about “undue influence” on Peter. In short, he’s attacking Peter’s life partner of 17 years as punishment. 

The timing is incredible: the defense was written and filed while he was simultaneously hit with an entirely new lawsuit for THE SAME PATTERN OF FRAUD.  Let’s see him blame this on “undue influence!”

A sober reading of the evidence can easily blow away the smoke – leaving just the cold truth that he’s in deep trouble.

…the evidence they’ve included so far totally contradicts Cochran’s statements regarding Peter’s mental health and state of well-being, and supports the fact that the psychologist was fed information about the alcoholism from an outside source that didn’t appear to be true… if Beagle’s team can prove even half of it, this won’t end well for Conlan Press. – link

It takes a strong stomach to read 100 pages of loathsome attacks at Peter Beagle.  It’s on the court website, but a helpful reader sent a comment that boils it down.

Read the docs. The answer and crossclaim basically says,

Connor Cochran is a saint who deserves all the credit for Beagle’s career.

His controlling Beagle’s life, apartment and doctors was totally altruistic, not securing a golden goose.

Cochran’s evicting people for landlord profit and meddling in breakup of Beagle’s family over inheritance was altruistic. Nothing to do with the trail of destruction that follows him.

Beagle’s forgetting a few fan names is because he’s lost his mind.  Not because an elder was tired from being hustled around to hundreds of movie shows for Cochran’s profit.

He didn’t give much effort to write an introduction to some comic strips and that’s “bizarre” behavior for a “college-educated” man (which Cochran isn’t.)

Beagle’s life partner of 15 years is a crazy, dirty whore who has been scheming against the saintly Cochran to get all the money. (It really does call her a crazy dirty whore, in slightly more legal terms. Vile. It targets “undue influence” of gold digging, however she was there long before there was money to dispute. It chillingly resembles punishing Beagle for leaving him.)

Beagle’s lawyer is evil because, uh, her dad wasn’t what Cochran considers a very well known writer, and he worked at a not so great literary agency for a few years in the 60’s.

Cochran really has more evidence than this dump of gossip and insinuation, but he won’t show it because, uh, it’s too harmful to show.

This guy is a predator who needs to be stopped. In case you want this for an update, just FYI what to expect.

We’re committed to Consumer Rights and ending abuse. We welcome reconciliation between previous supporters of Connor Cochran and the victims who, for far too long, have suffered manipulation, gaslighting and exploitation. Enough is enough.

Please look at all these lawsuits hitting him, and question any emotion he may have put into you. Please keep care for Peter, and let Cochran face justice without helping him to delay it any longer.

Last Unicorn Tour investors sue Connor Cochran for fraud, sending a one-two punch after Peter Beagle’s lawsuit.

Here’s the latest complaints for millions in damages: 

  • Conversion
  • breach of agreement
  • breach of fiduciary duties
  • unjust enrichment
  • fraud

And that’s just for this month! Kidding… this has really been a long time coming.

Are the lawsuits ever going to stop?  Let’s hope not. After 10 years of abusing fans for greed, it’s time to put this predator down for the count.

Details of the lawsuit by The Last Unicorn Tour investors:

  • Connor Cochran used a shell corporation as a personal piggy bank.  The funds were supposed to be scrupulously managed only for narrow purposes, but he helped himself to hundreds of thousands in his care.
  • He kept no records of how the funds were used, and refused to give accounting.  He drained them entirely until he can’t pay them back.
  • He’s still exploiting the Last Unicorn movie (and Peter’s name and work) for his own enrichment, while everyone goes empty-handed.

They’re suing Cochran for return of a $300,000 investment, interest and compensation to recover it; punitive damages for fraud; and all costs of trial.

Connor Cochran scammed people without limits, to fund a greedy fantasy of bootstrapping himself up to the Hollywood level. No scam was too big or too small.  He’d screw a fan buying a christmas present, a grandfatherly hero of fairy tale lovers, or movie investors all the same.

It was a power trip behind a front of supposed noble intentions. He loved taking credit for Peter Beagle’s work. But this newest lawsuit is evidence that he’s never even had the financial responsibility to run a popsicle stand, let alone properly manage a career.

Peter Beagle is left blameless. All of the wrongdoing has a single source.

Are you still on a wait list for Conlan Press goods? Send refund requests now, but expect things are up in smoke.  Take heart in victories of principle.

Fairness for fans is our goal.  You deserve to love and support beautiful art without predators.  Sympathy goes to everyone who didn’t know about this ugliness, and every small fan who endured years of harm without power to stop it.

PDF: Last Unicorn Tour investors sue Cochran

Sandbox Complaint for Damages_Page_01 Sandbox Complaint for Damages_Page_02 Continue reading

Fans manipulated by Connor Cochran: he’s calling them to oppose this fraud expose – but they’re supporting it instead.

WELCOME, new readers and previous victims who are just learning the extent of fraud and abuse by Connor Cochran and Conlan Press. We’re on your side.

Cochran is very fearful of this expose, and about engaging the evidence it documents.  His “rebuttals” were forced down from the Conlan Press website because they were too deceptive to keep in public view.  He has made many claims about having this site shut down.  As you can see, he lied every time.

Denial hasn’t worked.  Public spin has confirmed dishonesty.  Peter Beagle has abandoned him as a shield and brought much wider publicity about the fraud.  

Now Cochran is desperately manipulating customers personally.  He’s sticking to private phone calls, and avoiding written documents.  It helps him to stay evasive, dodge facts and misuse emotional ploys. 

Here’s what the manipulation looks like – and how it’s backfiring.  This expose is convincing his targets, and winning their support for truth and fairness.

“Hi,

I was directed to this website by Connor Cochran of Conlan Press, who suggested that I look at it. This was a phone call from him back in November 2015, and I was asked to make a rebuttal to comments against him and his company.

Here’s my story:

I had attended a Last Unicorn event and had enjoyed it very much. I followed the tour on Facebook for updates, and I became aware of Conlan Press. I fancied a piece of art on that site, and decided to buy it–this was mid-Oct 2015. I paid for the item and shipping cost, immediately debited from my bank account.

I became worried that the package had been lost by the post office in November. The standard delivery time is two weeks in the United States. I was also planning to relocate, so I contacted Conlan Press via email. I received no response. Near the end of November, I remembered the order and contacted Conlan Press again, explaining that this was my second message and to contact me via phone or email.  I believe it was that night I got a phone call.

He introduced himself as Connor and was a very polite, friendly man. I remembered him from the event. He’s very, very talkative. I had expected a customer service rep or volunteer to call and was surprised to learn that he alone was running the show. This was his reason for running behind in shipment. (Why continue to accept money for items when you are that far behind? Or why not get help selling them?)

He explained that author Peter Beagle had been giving him some trouble due to a decline in his mental stability. He also told me that an online stalker had been spreading lies about him and had asked me to rebut any negative comments. He suggested that I check out FansAgainstFraud.com. He also insisted that I would receive my order within the week.

Honestly, when I hung up, I had felt really guilty for bothering him about a silly print while he, Peter, and his family were going through hell.  I decided to check out “Fans Against Fraud” to defend Connor against the rants of an online stalker. But then I actually read this website, which I found wasn’t just endless ranting from one entity, but a collection of reviews from customers who had a similar experience to myself. And why would I rebut anything when I had yet to receive my item?

Of course, it wasn’t until December that I received it. During which, I had learned, Peter was pressing charges against his business manager….

I wouldn’t order anything from that store again. It isn’t exactly Amazon.com :P”

The customer read more evidence, commented on a post, and sent followup:

“At the event, folks were giving Connor the “side eye” because he was holding up the line to meet Peter with his non-stop rambling. I remember thinking “This guy doesn’t talk *to* people, or talk *with* people, he talks *at* them with endless monologues.” But, at the time, I didn’t think him a con, but, rather, a bit crazy and dominating (Peter hardly got a word in).

Connor exhibited that same behavior when I spoke to him over the phone. He wants to talk forever and it’s hard to hang up with him. It’s difficult to recall everything he said to me, but I did comment on your website about the “make Peter a rich man” bit, because it struck me, even when I was believing his story, I had a major pause when he said that, because 1) It’s tacky to bring up an artist’s financial goals to fans of their art, and 2) The numbers of years he said the film, musical, etc would take puts Peter too far into his senior years.

I have a special loathing for cons who prey on the elderly. Not to mention bully and manipulate them, and to try to isolate them from friends and family. Nothing lower, so you bet I’ll keep an eye on the site.

Connor tried to scam me.  Kudos on the site–very thorough and well documented.”

SUPPORT PETER BEAGLE at the official site for his legal fight.  Complain to the California Attorney General and the Washington Attorney General. Report suspicious financial activity to the IRS.  Report Federal Mail Fraud to the US Post.  Document abuse at Ripoff Report, and send your story to fansagainstfraud@gmail.com.

‘Last Unicorn’ author slaps Connor Cochran and Conlan Press with $52 million lawsuit for Elder Abuse and Fraud. Go Peter!

“This was a long time coming” – first comment from public.

For a year, this site has spoken against resistance to expose a history of abuse by Connor Cochran and Conlan Press. It caused consternation among many fans who didn’t want to believe their eyes. Some would Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil about ten years of scam victim complaints. “We need more evidence!”

It was just as Cochran planned. Smart people set their judgement aside out of love for Peter Beagle. Peter was manipulated as a shield, while they were misled by a fog of excuses, deceptive charm, movie tour hype, and oily PR.

Cochran’s properties grew behind the false front.  From small publishing scams, he rose to seducing investors for millions with a sham corporation (Avicenna).  There were no limits to his calculated greed, or what he would do to hide it. It is sociopathic abuse (details below- “Gaslighting The Victims.”)

But independent victim reports kept coming, despite denial.  This site holds documents in confidence that could make you cry.  You can tell how important they are by how hard he tries to bury the expose.

Countless customers are complaining across the internet, with reports of being cheated and misled by a con artist.  Former employees won’t put Conlan Press on their resume, with abuse exposed by Cochran’s own blundering. (Whistleblowing by Michael Bolger was unknown until Cochran attacked him and exposed it himself.)

Now comes hard evidence of elder abuse for gain. Until now, it was only hinted by Cochran’s shady behavior, but we predicted this.

Peter Beagle has no communication with us. His report is independent. It ties many threads together, bringing major publicity that the fraud has needed for a long time.

We delivered the first sustained expose. Now respected news sources, world class authors, true fans, and Peter Beagle are spreading the call for fairness against fraud.

Putting FRAUD in headlines is a major victory. Abuse can’t stand against consumer rights and fairness. The tide is turning and the expose is relentless. Remember our promise a year ago:

Despite Connor Cochran’s cockiness about courts… if you see this site live, he doesn’t have a thing to do about it. If he can’t get this site taken down, take it as a firm clue that Connor Cochran is lying. This site reveals the truth of the scandal he caused. We won’t be silent until fairness is won. We PROMISE.

Cochran broke his promises for 10 years. We deliver ours. The story is way bigger now and it won’t go away. The emperor’s clothes are gone. Cochran’s false front is “in tatters”, because Peter won’t be a shield any more.

Read Peter’s lawsuit in full.

All 48 pages are worth reading. Don’t skip it. It hits hard with a compelling story, clear timeline and convincing support. It’s sad and shameful to see the cheating Cochran did, but opens a better future for Peter and his work.

Beagle is earning love and support from true fans and the top of his profession. His story is spreading through prominent fellow authors like Neil Gaiman, Wendy Pini, and Charles De Lint. Their professional inside experience validates the story.

Hundreds of shares show that there’s nothing “frivolous” about this. Across a worldwide audience, Cochran is consistently being called out as a villain, abuser and fraud. One of countless scam victims confronts him:

What better evidence would I need to be convinced that you’re a crook than to have been personally cheated by you myself?

Peter’s report corroborates 1o years of previous complaints. Could there be any more powerful support? It independently confirms fraud.

Our expose was accurate against disbelief. So please pay careful attention to what we share from this point on.

We know worse than what’s been told so far. We’ve seen hurt beyond any you could suspect by hearing the Conlan Press excuses. Anyone who clings to Cochran’s sinking ship is in for a terrible trip. If you still keep a shred of sympathy, don’t – back away.

Get on the right side – believe the victims. 

A small core of misled followers are still unsure about Cochran.  But even cult brainwashing victims can come to their senses. Others should know better and are shamefully complicit. If you hear anyone dispute Beagle, look for how they benefit.

There’s no conclusion except shame to see Cochran break up Beagle’s family. Beagle’s kids went months without seeing him face to face, and didn’t accompany him on the movie tour where abuse happened. They degrade themselves by associating with Cochran now. This is common in tabloid stories. When Hollywood money is involved, children aren’t above betraying elders.

Damage is deepened by others who couldn’t possibly be witness to abuse, but still help Cochran blow smoke with fluff quotes of inconsistent time and place.

Questionable ties and silence make an issue itself, involving sources like BoingBoing editor Cory Doctorow and the File 770 Sci Fi fan blog. These SFWA associates should know better than to deal with Cochran in his sordid partnership with disgraced ex-SFWA lawyer Charlie Petit.  Then there’s the abuse-enabling blogger who gets severe criticism from his own readers for violating ethics others won’t – by dishonestly “reporting” Cochran’s PR without question, until it continually fails and has to be “updated” with reversals. (Exhibit ‘A’ for what journalists don’t do).

All of that is harming the victims.

Some of these followers are troubled by cognitive dissonance.  They’re desperate for a villain besides Cochran to blame. That’s another fake distraction. Cochran’s first defense was spuriously attacking Peter for “undue influence” – with none to name, because he has to concoct excuses now.

For everyone else who was shocked to learn the truth, remember that even Peter was conned while dependent. Don’t beat yourself up for trusting him before.

This expose has consistently maintained that Connor Cochran is the center of the scandal.  His wrongdoing is separate from Peter Beagle.  Any questions about Peter “looking the other way” are answered with his lawsuit. He had everything to lose by risking his career for fairness.  That’s a sacrifice for principle.  Go Peter!

Support Peter Beagle now.

Direct support isn’t the only thing fans can do.  If you want to buy Peter’s work, buy from publishers he isn’t suing (like Tachyon) or buy used.

DO NOT BUY ANY EBOOKS or unauthorized goods.

DON’T buy t-shirts, prints, or any other goods benefiting Connor Cochran at Amazon or Conlan Press… if you even expect they’ll be produced when you pay. The sales will fund lawyers who fight Peter. Cochran will be desperate to fund the court fight he caused. Even if you don’t care who profits, you take the huge risk of going empty-handed when he loses a $52 million lawsuit and goes bankrupt.

NOW more than ever, demand refunds for undelivered goods. 

Take no excuses. Keep pressure going even if ignored. Don’t relent or hold out hope after years of fake promises. Hold Cochran accountable to help yourself and Peter. Keep funding to it’s promised purpose and away from Peter’s opponents. Conlan Press has consistently refused refunds, while mountains of the money pays for self-serving litigation – until they’re put under fire of public outrage.

crazy

Cochran’s abuse isn’t stopping – it’s worse.

Until Beagle’s lawsuit, the cheating was all about greed. Now it’s desperation while Cochran struggles to fund court costs. Recent business dishonesty:

  • An ebook sale to supposedly benefit Peter Beagle in his “upcoming move” launched on December 3 – the day after Cochran was served with Peter’s lawsuit.  That reason was later deleted from the Conlan Press webstore. The “Last Unicorn” Facebook page owned by Cochran kept spreading the sale.
  • An unauthorized “Peter S. Beagle Fans” paid campaign appeared on a newly created Facebook page.  The timing is especially manipulative. On December 21, 2015, the desperate cash ploy advertised a shirt sale of a few short days. Among thousands of unaware “likes”, comments report not receiving previous shirts, and suspicion that the artist of the shirt isn’t aware of the sale. The artist confirmed that the art was taken without permission and requested removal.
  • ‘Two Hearts’ (falsely “pre-sold” since 2005) was last promised for publication in October, then November 2015.  The Conlan Press webstore now announces Spring 2016, with no explanation for the latest broken promises.

This exploits Peter’s name and work, to finance a fight against Peter“The irony is as obvious as it is nauseating” – (personal friend of Peter).

Cochran is obsessively exploiting Peter’s voice and putting words in his mouth:

  • He’s using other’s names to excuses elder abuse, as if a 77-year-old should tour like a young rock star:  “Peter liked to stay at people’s house on tour whenever he could for all the same reasons that Neil Gaiman’s wife, Amanda Palmer, liked to do it.”

Gaslighting the victims

Cochran’s manipulation shows calculated GASLIGHTING to spread doubt.

gas·light (verb):
  1. To manipulate someone by psychological means into questioning their own sanity.  “In the first episode, Karen Valentine is being gaslighted by her husband.”

Misinformation was spread against Peter well in advance of his lawsuit, to prime the public to receive Cochran’s side.  The lawsuit documents Cochran’s manipulation of Peter’s own doctors, to fake evidence of health problems and “alcoholism”. That’s a cold sociopath at work. We previously reported the same tactics used against Cochran’s former employees.

Memory problems? What problems? The lawsuit gives evidence that Peter is in fine health, while claims of “forgetting key people and events” are spurious.  Case in point – Peter’s rememberance of Christopher Lee in mid-2015.

There are other victims not revealed yet.  If you hear Connor Cochran attack the character of anyone – it’s reasonable to assume that they have reports of abuse he’s afraid you’ll hear.

The manipulation is utterly professionally calculated, with decades of practice (he was once a TV news correspondent). If you hear charm and seduction from Cochran, be aware that this site holds documents of extreme verbal abuse he has done to bully and silence some victims. They aren’t ready to share yet. Help them.

Keep asking questions and sharing news – and expect business collapse.

Cochran played Peter’s agent, personal life manager and publisher all at once – with breathtaking conflict of interest.  

“Publisher” is a term for companies that produce goods.  But for 10 years Conlan Press was just a signature factory with other publisher’s goods and one golden goose.  Meanwhile, Cochran’s real business was in court, suing to take other’s work and silence victims.  It made a house of cards.  Without Peter and his fans, this won’t last.

  • “Well, obviously they need to keep taking orders so they can refund the old orders. Nothing pyramid about this.” – link

As more and more disgrace comes out, Cochran is desperately using every song and dance he can to spin the story.  Across his network, he’s doing a frenzy of hour-long phone calls to lather people up with oily PR.  In his tales of deceptive charm, he only had noble goals without gain for himself.  He was Peter’s angel, beset by coincidence after coincidence, and a vast conspiracy of evil, crazy enemies.

It’s loaded with manipulative guilt about how he tried to “make Peter a wealthy man“, while bashing Peter for abandoning his “chance”.

That’s a hollow ploy, and here’s why.

There wasn’t going to be a new Last Unicorn movie that involved Connor Cochran. He was chasing $125 million from Chinese investors and Hollywood players – as if they would seal a deal with Avicenna Development, a sham corporation suspended for tax delinquency, partnered with disgraced ex-lawyer Charlie Petit.  They knew. Movie producers aren’t easy prey like small, powerless fans.

He puts on a big show, but knows his future is grim.  As soon as this expose came out advising victims to report to authorities, Cochran ditched his California business location and fled the state.  

Now, why does the focus of a fraud scandal and $52 million lawsuit move to Bellingham WA, 15 miles from the Canadian border?  Watch this point.

Latest Conlan Press excuse: 300,000 sales – but No Money In The Bank! Scam victim: “no one will be getting their refunds.”

In the history of scamming by owner Connor Cochran, Better Business Bureau complaints show customers waiting TEN YEARS for undelivered goods.  (2014: “This project is now nine years overdue”. Corroborating complaints across the internet make an inescapable conclusion: the lowest estimate starts around $100,000 in scam sales.

That’s tens of thousands paid for audiobooks, and hundreds of documented “Extra Deluxe” Last Unicorn books sold and never delivered to victims.  That’s only TWO among other titles, leaving much more unknown.  How much higher do victim losses go?  Take a guess when “The Last Unicorn did 2.5 million video sales” in 10 years and the “novel has sold 6.5 million copies.”

One scam victim has been documenting her ordeal with being deceived, concluding: “No one will be getting their refunds.” She is still getting the runaround after seven months (and counting). After persistently pleading for help, she’s left empty handed with nothing but sadness at being cheated.  Her ordeal began in April 2015:

IMG_28711-577x1024

NO MONEY IN THE BANK?!!

A legitimate company would have no problem paying back a small sale of mere art prints to one person.  But not Conlan Press and it’s owner. No Money In The Bank is the official statement and Connor Cochran’s excuse (swear on his mother!)

Meanwhile, he boasts of spending $5 million to plump up his Golden Goose movie, soliciting $15 million from investors, licensing deals, “over 60,000” ticket sales for a movie tour, and “over 300,000” merch sales on his Last Unicorn Tour website.

conlanpress

Your eyes are not deceiving you: Connor Cochran is simultaneously bragging of hundreds of thousands of sales and million dollar budgets for himself… and not a dime to repair hurt to a pleading, empty-handed buyer.

“But when the taxman comes to the door, Lord, the house looks like a rummage sale…”

It’s a policy of denial.  Let’s summarize this victim’s 7 month experience of the Conlan Press Attrition Process to block victims from refunds:

  • April: Victim pays for art prints. Conlan Press makes vague promises to deceive her about delivery in “approximately 4-6 weeks.” She orders a DVD too.
  • Delivery dates come and go with empty hands, and no communication.
  • Victim is forced to chase Cochran to beg for help, but gets ignored.
  • Victim persists.  Cochran stonewalls her pleas for written answers, stringing her along with vague, unwritten phone calls and no solution.
  • Victim persists. Further pleas are ignored.  She is forced to chase answers from a Conlan Press front person. (History shows that blaming the employee comes later.)
  • Finally, she’s told that since she patiently waited through vague delivery dates, it’s too late to get a direct credit (oh, really?)  But… the check’s in the mail.
  • Surprise, the check isn’t in the mail.
  • Forced to plead again, she gets a vague promise of a check in 4-6 weeks (again).
  • November: More pleas. Still no check.  History shows that Connor Cochran is more than willing to string victims along indefinitely.

The Conlan Press Attrition Process: watch with disgust as another victim’s refund claim persists through three house moves and EIGHT YEARS OF LYING by Connor Cochran… all that effort to deny their refund, instead of doing one drawing to get their book delivered.

This is clear – he doesn’t care who gets hurt, to reap profits for himself at any cost.

After a decade of stringing customers along, here’s more of Cochran’s excuses in a list longer than you can count:

  • Relocating to Washington in 2015 while fleeing scrutiny in California.
  • Beagle’s decline in health, which conveniently refreshes an oldie –
  • Cochran is still hiding behind Beagle’s mother’s death in 2006. The moldy “mom” excuse extended to 2014 and beyond. It was on the conlanpress.com “updates” page, forced down in 2015 by rising public outrage.

During all the excuses for all these years, Cochran was spending at least tens if not hundreds-of-thousands of dollars on lawyers (who cost hundreds an hour). He was diverting payments for goods (on top of fan donations) into legal manoeuvres to capture The Last Unicorn movie for his properties.

It was far from the only extravagant legal spending.  In 2012 he sent more attacks at his victim, Sydney Gurewitz Clemens, an elderly children’s teacher.  She paid him $25,000 to publish her book, but got nothing.  After breaching the contract, Cochran refused to return what he took, forced her to sue for help (PDF), and piled on abuse and heartache by dragging her through vicious court fighting.  At your expense.

Now he claims there’s no money.  Demand documented accounting for how your payments were really spent.  You’ll get non-answers like the above customers did.

When you wonder where the money went, remember: Peter Beagle doesn’t own Conlan Press.  All of the cheating feeds back to Connor Cochran.

Beyond consequences for scamming, Cochran has one thing to capitalize on by stringing everyone along.  When Beagle’s time runs out… it’s all in the bag.  And with such shamelessly venal behavior, death just makes a new excuse for non-delivery.

Complain to the California Attorney General and the Washington Attorney General. Report suspect financial activity to the IRS.  Report Federal Mail Fraud to the US Post. Document abuse at Ripoff Report, and send your story to fansagainstfraud@gmail.com.

Connor Cochran strikes again, vexatiously targets another victim.

wrongperson
i.e – Connor Cochran utilizing the legal system for harassment

Vexatious litigation is legal action which is brought, regardless of its merits, solely to harass or subdue an adversary. It may take the form of a primary frivolous lawsuit or may be the repetitive, burdensome, and unwarranted filing of meritless motions in a matter which is otherwise a meritorious cause of action.

 
noun: duress
d(y)o͝oˈres/
du·ress
  1. threats, violence, constraints, or other action brought to bear on someone to do something against their will or better judgment.
    “confessions extracted under duress
    synonyms: coercion, compulsion, force, pressure, intimidation, constraint; More

    threats;
    informalarm-twisting
    “their false confessions were extracted under duress”
    • Law
      constraint illegally exercised to force someone to perform an act.
    • archaic
      forcible restraint or imprisonment.
Origin
Middle English (in the sense ‘harshness, severity, cruel treatment’): via Old French from Latin duritia, from durus ‘hard.’

Lessons to learn from guilty denial of fraud by Conlan Press – Part Four.

The secrets are out about the mess Connor Cochran made by defrauding Peter Beagle fans.  So far, pressure forced him to make a public refund promise, and retract attacks he made against whistleblower employee Michael Bolger to distract attention. But he plays victim about the harm he did.  Here’s what you’re really hearing when you hear denial about it.

10) Shady partners show “birds of a feather”.

Associating with crooks may happen unintentionally.  But honest people don’t do it knowingly. It’s indefensible with the evidence on the table.

Bleeding Cool’s report about this story added new disreputable association with artists of the Last Unicorn comic.

Ray Dillon and Renae De Liz are also still accused themselves of non-delivery and delay of projects from the Peter Pan graphic novel Kickstarter, to the Womanthology Kickstarter, as well as repeated stories of commissioned work that was extremely delayed or never fulfilled.

Cochran’s sordid partnership with ex-lawyer Charles Petit, whose license was taken away, has a few more background details.  Petit represented writer Harlan Ellison, and helped cause Ellison’s reputation for “litigious rampages” against everyone – like suing AOL because a piece of Ellison’s writing was posted to a newsgroup.  Petit represented Ellison to sue publisher Fantagraphics in their 30-year feud that was called an “adolescent pissing contest.”  And Petit had a role with The SF Writer’s Association that’s very embarrassing in hindsight: he served their Literary Fraud Committee – before he lost his license for doing fraud.

Petit was the chosen partner for a routine of bullying and scrubbing stories of anyone who complains about being scammed.  As a reader said: “if only Con-nor put as much effort into making customers happy as into arguing and suing…”

11) The biggest disappointment of all.

Message received from an ex associate of Connor Cochran:

Glad to see someone is finally calling Connor out in public for his scams… it’s worth noting that even though Conlan Press has been around since 2005 it  has yet to publish a single thing. All they are is a Peter Beagle signature factory that sells other people’s stuff. The only correction I would make is that I don’t believe Peter is as innocent in this fraud as he would like us to believe. I bought into that fairy tale at first because that’s the story you want to believe. The sad truth is that he’s allowed himself to be put in these situation and is silently complicit, as long as he gets his $3K a month in rent and living expenses I honestly don’t think he cares who gets burned.

Oh.

If true, that crosses a line from injustice for duped victims, to something worse.

If true, it’s very sad to hear this about a creative hero.  Beagle is surrounded by fans and handlers shielding him from reality – while a con man uses him for a shield.  It’s like finding out a benevolent community organization has a bad secret.  (Actually it’s a company with a website full of them.)

But can you blame an old writer, with bad business experiences that would tire anyone?  Beagle just wanted to write- and let the ends justify the means.

Every saint is human, with human faults.  Passivity isn’t the worst fault in the world.  Failure to act, when alerted about scamming, can be charitably called sad.  It was sad that Beagle stayed passive when whistleblower Mike Bolger quit Conlan Press and tried to alert him – with nothing to gain except doing the right thing.  The right thing was stopped, and Bolger was trashed for it.

The burden of blame falls on Connor Cochran – and other knowing supporters who can read the story now. They deny, push back, and want to kill it again.

noevilLOGO

 

Cochran treats fairy tale believers as easy targets.  You can hear him chortling about taking candy from babies.  He fluffs them up to believe anything about their hero.  Dirty business happens behind the front of nice old Peter.  If smoke and mirrors fail, a sob story about Peter is Cochran’s nuclear bomb against complaints.  After all, if a complainer doesn’t buy it- many others can turn on them.

Peter’s poorness and bills, dead mom, house troubles, hard work, “cramped hand” from writing… whatever it takes to make an excuse, Cochran will say it.  He plays a violin and sings Peter’s name. He strews it around like sweet sawdust on a puddle of puke.  “Peter wants…” You can hear the heartstrings while the cash register rings.

“Why can’t Beagle speak for himself? Why is it continually, ‘Peter says this,’ ‘Peter likes this’? The guy is a con artist.

If you see a statement about business from Peter Beagle, it’s dictated by Connor Cochran and puppeteers. Beagle doesn’t manage his Twitter account or his career. If you tried to get in touch, it would happen through a handler making a false front.

“I reached out to everyone associated with Peter Beagle and Cochran including the Twitter account claiming to be the “official” Twitter account of Peter S. Beagle; surprise, it isn’t. It was just another layer between the fans and Mr. Beagle set up by Cochran.” – victim

In response to this story, Beagle supposedly dismisses all intricate details, with an empty little statement posted by his Twitter account manager.  Supposedly, you should trust a second-hand denial that says “you can count on it.”  Ignore countless corroborating complaints.

Some eat it up like they want to be treated like suckers, and don’t care if it happens to others.  Meanwhile, other trusting people are left in the dark, who haven’t even realized there’s a story at all.

At risk are uninformed fans, liable to get cheated against their will.  Hopefully they won’t learn the hard way.  People of conscience need to tell everyone at risk.

12) Future innocent victims deserve truth.

When an unrepentantly lying businessman gets away with cheating – the ends do not justify the means.

For deniers, it’s your money to burn if Cochran steals it.  There’s no use for “wake up, sheeple!” messages.  It’s enough to point out what’s actually happening to victims, and leave a warning for others who haven’t yet been harmed.

This site is here for good to record it.  In a few years – when your Last Unicorn audiobooks are STILL never delivered – remember, you were warned.

It’s encouraging that pressure from this site forced a public refund offer. That wouldn’t have happened without it. But it wasn’t initiated honestly. Buyers should not be rudely surprised when delivery dates pass for goods that were never produced, and then they must beg and plead for refunds instead of finding them in their mailbox.  Victims deserved to be sought and told the truth, instead of having it squeezed out of the cheater’s fists.  You’ll see how hard Cochran rages against truth in the push back to the story.

Keep watching for new reports.

Reported:

reader