Transcript
VIA Email to:
[email protected] August 29, 2014
Mr. Alberto Pimentel
Storbeck/Pimentel & Associates, Inc.
1111 Corporate Center Drive, Suite 106 RE: Please reject Ricky Polston as the next
Monterey Park, CA 91754 President of Florida State University
Dear Mr. Pimentel:
This is an addendum to my letter yesterday August 28, 2014, and for my affiliation with FSU.
In 2002 I was part of a litigation settlement agreement that resulted in a $250,000 cash payment
to the Florida State University College of Law. A copy of the $250,000 check #5132 from ACE
Cash Express, Inc. to FSU College of Law dated December 19, 2002 is enclosed. The Florida
Department of Banking and Finance also received $250,000 from the $500.000 total settlement.
Enclosed is a 14 page Settlement Agreement in DBF Case No. 9177-F-9/02, between the
Department of Banking and Finance, the Attorney General, and Ace Cash Express, Inc.
My name appears on page one as part of the first case:
Eugene R. Clement and Neil Gillespie and State of Florida, Office of the Attorney
General, Department of Legal Affairs vs. ACE Cash Express, Inc., Alternative Financial,
Inc., JS of the Treasure Cast, Inc., Raymond C. Hemmig, Donald H. Neustadt, Kay D.
Zilliox, Ronald J. Schmitt, and unknown entities and individuals, Consolidated Case No.
99-09730, in the Circuit Court for the Thirteenth J udicial District of Florida (the
“Clement” case);
Ace Cash Express, Inc. is a payday loan company. “Payday loans” are delayed deposit check
cashing schemes that result in usurious rates of interest for consumers. I got involved with
payday lenders while trying to self-fund my vocational rehabilitation, after the Florida Dept. of
Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) determined that I was too disabled to benefit from services.
In December 1999 I was referred to a Tampa law firm, Alpert, Barker, Rodems, Ferrentino &
Cook, P.A. (the “Alpert firm”) for usurious payday loans I could no longer pay. The Alpert firm
brought a case against ACE in my name, and I later intervened in the Amscot case on a promise
of assistance with DVR. After the Alpert firm closed, Barker, Rodems & Cook represented me.
And I successfully settled two of the payday loan claims myself without litigation.
Neil Gillespie v. ACE Cash Express, Inc., case no. 8:00-CV-723-T-23B, in United States
District Court, Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division. (consolidated with Clement)
Eugene R. Clement v. AMSCOT Corporation, case no. 99-2795-CIV-T-26C, United
States District Court, Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division. (intervened)
Details of the foregoing are set forth in Plaintiff’s First Amended Complaint, 05-CA-7205,
Hillsborough County Florida, Gillespie v. Barker, Rodems & Cook, PA et al., posted on Scribd,
http://www.documento.com/doc/55956605/Plaintiffs-First-Amended-Complaint
Mr. Alberto Pimentel August 29, 2014
Storbeck/Pimentel & Associates, Inc. Page - 2
On May 10, 2010 I wrote Dean Weidner, the Alumni Centennial Professor for the USF College
of Law, and unsuccessfully requested his assistance and a referral. (copy enclosed).
Dean Weidner replied by letter May 26, 2010. (copy enclosed).
Dear Mr. Gillespie:
Thank you for your letter of May 10, 2010. I am sorry to hear that your experiences with
the legal system have been so frustrating. You are right in your statement that law
schools rarely represent clients. I would like to make a referral, but no one comes to
mind.
I am also sorry that the Florida Bar's Lawyer Referral Service has not produced a
satisfactory result. Perhaps the best thing is to consult a trusted lawyer in your
community who might recommend a lawyer who specializes in the area.
I wish you the best of luck.
In 2007 I contacted to no avail Assistant U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg, who in 2002 was a
Florida Assistant Attorney General involved in the Settlement Agreement that resulted in a
$250,000 cash payment to FSU Law. My correspondence with AUSA Handberg is enclosed.
Robert Craig Waters, author of J udicial Immunity vs. Due Process: When Should A J udge Be
Subject to Suit? Cato Journal, Vol.7, No.2 (Fall 1987), may still be employed with the Florida
Supreme Court as Executive Assistance to the Chief J ustice. (LexisNexis, enclosed).
Craig Waters is the public information officer and communications counsel for the Florida
Supreme Court. (Wikipedia, enclosed).
Documents in Petition No. 12-7747 are on Scribd, and on CD-ROM upon request.
http://www.documento.com/collections/3796666/Petition-No-12-7747-SCOTUS
A second petition was filed Oct-23-2013 for my HECM reverse mortgage foreclosure, 13-7280.
http://www.documento.com/collections/4304980/SCOTUS-Petition-No-13-7280
I have a blog, http://nosueorg.blogspot.com/ and a legacy website, http://www.nosue.org/
Please contact me by email if you have further questions. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Neil J . Gillespie
8092 SW 115th Loop Telephone: 352-854-7807
Ocala, Florida 34481 Email:
[email protected] Enclosures
A
ACE Cash Express, Inc.
1231 Greenway Drive #600
Irving, Texas 75038
A"C·E
(972) 550-5000
AIoIf",.."iC<\JIr'",'Ue
INVOICE
COMMENT GROSS DEDUCTION AMOUNT PAID
NUMBER DATE
12123/02 12123/02 Settlement
•
250,000.00 250.000.00
PAYMENT ADVICE
WELLS FARGO BANK
A
CHECK
ACE Cash Express, Inc. NUMBER 005132
1231 Greenway Drive #600
Irving, Texas 75038
A·C· E
(972) 550-5000
AMf'CA'S GuN UJlfUJe
DATE AMOUNT
12/19/02 $**.... · ~ 5 0 . 0 0 0 . 0 0
PAY Two Hundred Fifty Thousand 00/1 00 dollars··**....·******·***********·..··*****·***********··*********'*******....*••****..*******'**'*
TO THE ORDER OF
Flordia State University College of Law
425 West Jefferson Street
Tallahassee, FL 32306 ..
.
liP
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II· 00 5 Ii :I 211· I: ~ ~ ~ 0 ~ ?a ?0 I: .. ? 5 b 300 118 11
8
FLORIDA STATE I
UNIVERSITY The COLLEGE of LAW
DonaLd J. ~ n e r
Dean d ALumni CentenniaL Profeddor
May 26,2010
Mr. Neil J. Gillespie
8092 SW 115th Loop
Ocala, FL 34481
Dear Mr. Gillespie:
Thank you for your letter of May 10, 2010. I am sorry to hear that your
experiences with the legal system have been so frustrating. You are right in your
statement that law schools rarely represent clients. I would like to make a
referral, but no one comes to mind.
I am also sorry that the Florida Bar's Lawyer Referral Service has not
produced a satisfactory result. Perhaps the best thing is to consult a trusted
lawyer in your community who might recommend a lawyer who specializes in the
area.
I wish you the best of luck.
Sincerely,
DJW/cm
425 West Jefferson St, Florida State University, P.O. Box 3061601, Tallahassee, FL 32306-1601
Telephone 850.644.3071, Fax 850.644.5487 •
[email protected]
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"PADDOCK BRANCH POST OFFICE"
OCALA, Florida
344749998
1143840606 -0093
10/02/2007 (352)861-8188 03:28:24 PM
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Label #:
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Customer Copy
STATE OF FLORIDA
DEPARTMENT OF BANKING AND FINANCE
AND
OFFICE OF THE AnORNEY GENERAL
IN RE:
ACE CASH EXPRESS, INC. d/b/a
ACE AMERICA'S CASH EXPRESS, DBF CASE NO.: 9177-F-9/02
----------------
I
SETILEMENT AGREEMENT
The Florida Department of Banking and Finance, Division of Securities and Finance
("DBF"), the Office of the Attorney General (UAttorney General") and ACE Cash Express, Inc.
d/b/a ACE America's Cash Express ("Respondent" or "ACE") agree as follows:
1. JURISDICTION. OBF is charged \vith the administration of Chapter 516, 560,
and 687, Florida and the Attorney General is charged \vith the administration of
Chapters 501, 559, 687, 895" and 896, Florida Statutes. This agreement applies to Florida
transactions only.
2. BACKGROUND.
Attorney General
a. The Attorney General moved to intervene as plaintiff in two civil cases
that were pending against contending that ACE had violated Chapters· 501,
516, 559, 687, 895, and 896, Florida Statutes, in connection with deferred
.
deposit check cashing services.provided by ACE in Florida prior to ApriL.2000.
Those cases are: Eugene aJld Neil Gille.. \pie alld .. ofFlorida,
Office qfthe Atlorlley Gellert,l, Depllrtnlent ofLegal Affairs liS. ACE Cash
Express. IIIC., Allerilative FinclJlcia/, IIIC•• ofthe Treas11re Il1e., Raymond
c. Henln1ig, DOllold H. Neusll1dl. Kll)' I). Zilliox, J. Schmitt, and unknowl1
FINAL
entities Gnd individuals, No. 99 09730, in the Circuit Court for
the Thirteenth Judicial District of Florida (the "Clement" case); and Betls v. Ace
Cash 927 So.2d 294 (Fla. 5
th
DCA 2002), (the "Betts" case). DBF was
not a named party in either case.
b. ACE and the other defendants disagreed with the claims made by the
Plaintiffs and the Attorney General in each of those cases.
c. The Attorney General's Inotion to intervene in the Betts case was denied.
d. In the Clement case, the individual Plaintiffs' clailns were dismissed with
prejudice, leaving the Attorney General as the sole Plaintiff. The Attorney
General's RICO claims were dislnissed with prejudice and are subject ofa
pending appeal before the Second District Coul1 of AppeaJ ofFlorida styled ..')tate
ofFlorida, Qffice ofthe AI/oriley General v. Zilliox, Case No. 2002-2340
(consolidated with Case No. 2002-3] 13). All of the claims asserted by the
Attorney General in' the Clement case are to be settled pursuant to this
Agreement, with the Attorney General voluntarily dismissing their claims.
e. ACE 'and the individual defendants have denied and continue to deny that
they engaged in any wrongdoing., and this Agreement shall not constitute any
adlnission of any wrongdoing or liability on the part of ACE or any of the
individual defendants.
f. The, Attorney General and ACE wish to avoid the time and expense·
involved, in further litigation.
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Department of Banking and Finance
g. Goleta National Bank, a national bank located in Goleta, California
("Goleta"), has offered loans to residents of Florida since April 2000. ACE has
provided agency ·services to Goleta related to those loans in Florida. On October
25 and 28, 2002. ACE and Goleta entered into separate consent orders with the
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency of the United States ("OCC"), pursuant
to which Goleta agreed, among other things, to generally cease the origination,
renewal and rollover of its loans in Florida and ACE agreed, among other things,
to generally cease providing services to Goleta related to the origination, renewal
and rollover of such Goleta loans, both by no later than December 31, 2002.
Goleta, ACE and the OC..c agreed that the loans provided by Goleta and serviced
by ACE were made pursuant to 12 U.S.C. §85 and that the interest rate charged
by Goleta was permissible under the laws of the United States for national banks
located in the State of California. DBF was not a party to the agreement between
Goleta, ACE, and the OCC..
h. ACE also offers a bill paying service through which it offers to accept or
receive voluntary utility payments from its Florida customers and, for a fee,
electronically transmit the payment to the utility. The DBF has informed ACE
that to offer this service, ACE should be licensed as a Funds Transmitter under
Part II, Chapter 560, Florida Statutes. ACE disagrees with the position taken by
the DBF, but, to avoid the expense and uncertainty of litigation. ACE agreed to
file, and has pending with OBF. an application to act as a Funds Transmitter
FINAL J
..,
under Part II.. Chapter 560, Florida Statutes. The DBF will issue that license, as
well as the license authorizing ACE to act as a Deferred Presentment Provider
under Part IV, Chapter 560, Florida Statutes, on or before the effective date ofthis
Agreement. Ace agrees that future transactions involving the transmission of
funds will be governed by the provisions of Part II, Chapter 560, Florida Statutes,
and ACE will comply with those provisions in all future transactions.
i. ACE is licensed with DBF as a Check Casher under Part III, Chapter 560,
Florida Statutes.
Pu roose and Intent
J. The parties wish to resolve and to release any clailns that were asserted, or
could have been asserted, or could be asserted, because of or arising from the
investigation, litigation, pr regulatory review· conducted by the DBV or the
Attorney General.
k. The DBF agrees that ACE has fully cooperated with it in this matter.
I. It is the intent of the parties that this agreement be implemented promptly,
and without injury or inconvenience to ACE customers.
m. It is. the intent of the parties that OBF issue or renew any authorization or
license necessary for ACE to to offer services in Florida, including
deferred presentment transactions.. check cashing, bill paying
9
debit card
transactions, money wire transfers and other products that are authorized
under Florida law.
n. It 'is the intent of the parties that this agreement be implemented without
causing competitive disadvantage to ACE..
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3. CONSIDERATION.· ACE, the DSF, and the Attorney General agree as follows:
8. ACE will cease providing agent services to Goleta in connection with the
origination,:'-enewal, or rollover of any Goleta loans in the State of Florida by
December 31, 2002. ACE may, howevef, continue to provide services to Goleta
related to the servicing and collection of Goleta loans originated, renewed, or
rolled overin the State of Florida before January 1, subject to paragraph
3(g) below.
b. ACE has applied fOf.. and DBF agrees to issue upon the issuance of the
final order contelnplated by this agreelnent, a license with an effective date of
December 30, 2002, authorizing ACE to act as a Deferred Presentment Provider
under Part IV, Chapter Florida Statutes. ACE agr,ees not to enter into any
deferred presentment trapsactions in Florida unless such deferred presentment
transactions are completed in accordance with Part IV-, Chapter 560, Florida
Statutes. DBF agrees that ACE may act as a Deferred Presentment Provider under
Part IV, Chapter 560.. Florida Statutes, and as a Funds Transmitter under Part II,
Chapter 560, Florida Statutes, between December 30, 2002 and the issuance of
the final' order, provided that all such funds transmission .and .deferred presentment
transactions engaged in during this tilne period are otherwise completed in
accordance with Part II, Chapter 560, Florida Statutes, and Part IV, Chapter 560,
Florida Statutes. OBF agrees that this is consistent with the public interest and
will not constitute a violation of this Agreement or any applicable law, including
but not limited t0
9
501 .. 516,559,560,687,895 and 896, Florida
Statutes, or an Rules related to those statutes.
FINAL 5
c. ACE represents and warrants that it has obtained the consent of Goleta so
that no Goleta loans entered into before 'the effective date of this Agreement will
be extendect (except for the custolners' five-day extension options that are part of
the terms ofoutstanding loans) or converted, without full payment by the Goleta
loan customers, to any other type of transaction. Where applicable., ACE agrees
that it will not otler deferred presentlnent services to a Goleta loan customer
unless that customer's Goleta loan is or cancelled in accordance with
paragraph 3(g)-below. DBF agrees that the continued services provided under
the Goleta loan prograln authorized by this and by paragraph 3(a)
above are consistent with the public interest and will not constitute a violation of
this Agreement or any applicable including but not lilnited to, Chapters 501,
516.. 559, 560, 687, 8951lnd 896, Florida Statutes., or any Rules related to those
statutes.
d. DBF agrees to issue to ACE licenses pursuant to Part II, Chapter 560,
Florida Statutes, and Part IV, Chapter 560, Florida Statutes, with an effective date
of December 30, 2002 upon the issuance of the final order contemplated in this
Agreement. ACE and the DSF agree that, until the issuance of the final
contemplated in this. agreement.. ACE will continue to offer its bill paying service
in order to avoid injury to those customers who rely on that service. DBF and the
Attorney General agree that continuing to offer that service is consistent with the
public interest and will not constitute a violation of this Agreement or any
applicable law, including but not limited to, Chapters 501 .. 516, 559, 560, 687,
895, and 896.. Florida Statutes, or any Rules related to those statutes.
FINAL 6
e. DBF acknowledges that no additional in.formation is needed from ACE for
it to issue the Ijcenses contemplated by this Agreement..
f: ACe agrees to pay a total of $500,000 in settlement and for issuance by
DBF of authorizations, licenses, or other approvals necessary for ACE to continue
in business in Florida, and for the releases in paragraphs 7 and 8 below. Of the
$500.000 total settlelnent, ACE has agreed to pay $250,000 to the DBF
Regulatory Trust Fund in full satisfaction of all attorney's fees, costs, and other
expenses incurred by the DBF in connection with this matter and, ACE has agreed
to deliver to the Attorney General, a contribution of$250,000 to the Florida State
University College of Law in full satisfaction of all· attorney's fees, costs and
other expenses incurred by the Attorney General in connection with this matter.
These amounts will be p ~ by check, and will be delivered to the DBF or the
Attorney General upon entry of the Final Order as provided for herein.
g. ACE represents and warrants that it has obtained the consent of Goleta so
that loans that are delinquent as of October I, 2002. and remain unpaid as of the
effective date of this agreement, from customers who engaged in Goleta loan
transactions commenced or originated before October I, 2002 in Florida
(collectively" the "Goleta Loan Custonlers") need not be repaid,. and the debt
owed to Goleta from Goleta Loan Customers will be cancelled.
h. If Goleta, either directly or through ACE, its agent,. .has notified a credit-
reporting agency ofa Goleta Loan Customer's delinquent debt to Goleta, then
ACE represents and warrants that it has obtained the consent of Goleta for ACE to
notify the credit agency that the delinquent amount has been cancelled. .
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I. In addition to the amount specified in paragraph 3(f) above, ACE will pay
up to $15,000 for an independent audit of the loan cancellations provided in
paragraph above, the credit reporting notifications provided in paragraph 3
(h) above, and verification of compliance with the transition from the Goleta loan
product to the state licensed product contemplated in paragraph 3(b) and 3(c)
above. DBF will select the independent auditor, after consultation with ACE.
The independent auditor selected will be required to report to the DBF within 90
days of the selection.
j. The entry ofa Final Order by OBF in the form of the Attachment to this
agreement.
k. Within 10 days after the entry of the final order contemplated herein, the
Attorney General will with prejudice its lawsuit, Eugene R. Clement alld
Neil Gillespie and State ofFlorida. qffice ofthe Attorney General, Department of
Legal Affairs vs. ACE Cash Express, IIlC., Altemative Financial, Inc., JS ofthe .
Treasure Coast, blc.,.Raymond C. Hemmig, DOllald H. Neustadt, Kay D. Zil/iox,
RonaldJ. Schmitt, alld unknown emilies and Consolidated Case No.
9909730, in the Circuit Court for the Thirteenth Judicial District of Florida, as to
all defendants.
1. Within 10 days after the entry of the final order contemplated in 30)
above, the Attorney General will dismiss with prejudice its appeal ofany orders in
the Clement case..litigation. including State ofFlorida, Office ofthe Attorney
General v. Zi//iox, Case No. 2002-2240 and Slale ofFlorida, Office ofthe
Attomey Gener,,1 1'. AItematil;e FiflCI/lc:i"t, /flC., Case No. 2002-3113.
FINAL 8
4. CONSENT. Without adlnitting or denying any wrongdoing, Respondent
consents to the issuance by the DBF ofa Final Order, in substantially the form of the attached
Final Order, which the terms of this Agreelnent.
5. FINAL ORDER. The Final Order incorporating this Agreelnent is issued
pursuant to Subsection 120.57(4),. Florida Statutes, and upon its issuance shall be a final
administrative order.
6. WAIVERS. Respondent knowingly and voluntarily waives:
a. its right to an adlninistrative hearing provided for by Chapter 120, Florida
Statutes,. to contest the specific agreements included in this Agreement;
b. any requirelnent that the Final Order incorporating this Agreenlent contain
separately stated Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law or Notice of Rights;
c. its right to the isslJance ofa Recommended Order by an administrative law
judge froln the Division of Adlninistrative Hearings or froln the DBF;
d. any and all rights to object to or challenge in any judicial proceeding,
including but not limited to, an appeal pursuant to Section 120.68.. Florida
Statutes, any aspect, provision or requirement concerning the content, issuance,
procedure or timeliness of the Final Order incorporating this Agreement; and
e. any causes of action in law or in equity, which Respondent may have
arising out of the specific matters addressed in this agreement. DBF for itself and
the DBF.Released Parties, this release and waiver by Respondent without
in any way acknowledging or admitting that any such calise of action does or may
exist, and DBF, for and the DBF Released Parties, expressly denies that any
such right or cause of action does in .fact exist.
FINAL 9
7. ATIORNEY GENERAL The Attorney Genera]9 for himselfand
his predecessors. successors and assigns, hereby waives, releases and forever discharges ACE, its
predecessors, successors, aniliates, subsidiaries and parent corporations, shareholders, directors,
officers, attorneys, employees, agents.. franchisees and assigns, and Goleta, and its predecessors,
successors, affiliates, subsidiaries and parent corporations, shareholders, directors, officers,
attorneys, employees, agents, franchisees and assigns (collecti,vely, the "ACE Released Parties"),
from any and all claims, demands.. causes of action.. suits, debts, dues.. duties, sums of money,
accounts, fees, penalties, damages, judglnents'l 'Iiabi-tities and obligations, both contingent and
fixed, known and unknown.. foreseen and unforeseen. anticipated and unanticipated, expected
and unexpected, related to or arising out of Goleta's or ACE's operations in Florida prior to the
effective date of this agreement. This release includes.. but is not limited to, any claims related to
any loans renewed, or rolled over.bY Goleta in Florida and any services provided by ACE
or its franchisees related thereto.. any clainls related to any violation of Chapters 501,516,559,
560,687, 772, 895 and 896, Florida any clailns related to check cashing services
provided prior to the effective date of Part IV, Chapter 560, Florida and any claims
related to any licensing requirements for the services provided by ACE to its customers in
Florida prior to the effective date of this agreement. Without limiting the generality of the
foregoing, this release also includes all claims asserted or that could have been or could be
asserted against the parties named as defendants or that could have been named as defendants in
ElIgel1e R Clen1ell1 alld Neil Gi//eSlJie clIld (!f Flori,la, ofthe Att()rlley Gel/era!, .
Departn1£!11t ofLegal A.ffairs liS. Ex/Jress. IIIC., A/JerI/alive Financial, [IIC., ,)5' a/the
rreaS!,re (;oast. IIIC., Raynl011d !-!enlnlig, [Jollald H. Neustadt. Kay [J. Zilliox, ROl1ald J.
GIld l1111a,OlVII entities and iJ,divi,hlllls, No. 99 09730. ACE, for itself
FINAL 10
and on behalf of the ACE Released Parties, accepts this release and waiver by the Attorney
General without in any way acknowledging or adlnitting that any such cause of action does or
may exist, and ACE, for and on behalf of the ACE Released Parties, expressly denies that
any such right or cause of action does in fact exist. Respondent hereby releases and
forever discharges the Attorney General and his respective employees.. agents, and
representatives (collectively, the lL Attorney'General Released Parties") from any causes of action'
in law or in equity, which Respondent may have arising out of the specific matters in
this agreement. The Attorney General, for themselves and the Attorney General Released
Parties, accept this release and waiver by Respondent without in any way acknowledging' or
admitting that any such cause of action does or may exist, the Attorney General, for himself and
the Attorney General Released Parties, expressly deny that any such right or cause of action does
in fact exist.
8. DEPARTMENT OF BANKING AND FINANCE RELEASE. The DBF, for
itself and its predecessors, successors and assigns, hereby waives, releases and forever
discharges ACE and its predecessors, successors, subsidiaries and parent corporations,
shareholders, directors, officers, attorneys, elnployees, agents, franchisees andass-igns, and·
Goleta, and its predecessors.. successors, affiliates, subsidiaries and parent corporations,
shareholders, directors, officers, attorneys.. employees, agents, franchisees and assigns
(collectively, the "ACE Released Parties"), froln any and all claims, demands, causes ofaction,
suits, debts, dues, duties, sums of money, accounts, fees, penalties, damages.. judgments,
liabilities and obligations, both contingent and fixed, known and unknown, foreseen and
unforeseen, anticipated and un.anticipated, expected and related to or arising out of
the conduct of ACE and/or Goleta in connection with the offering of deferred presentment
FINAL 11
services or loans in \vhere such conduct occurred prior to the effective date of this
Agreement.. This release includes.. but is not liJnited to, any claims related to any.loans made,
renewed, or rolled over by poleta in 'Florida and any services provided by ACE or its franchisees
related thereto, any claims related to any violation of Chapters 501, 516, 559, 560,687, 772, 895
and 896, Florida LS'tatllles.. any claims related to check cashing selVices provided prior to the
effective date of Part IV, Chapter 560, F/orid(J .."Illlllles, and any claims related to any licensing
requirements for the services provided by ACE to its custolners in Florida prior to the effective
date of this Agreelnent. ACE, for itself and on behalf of the ACE Released Parties, accept this
release and waiver by the Attorney General and the DBF without in any way acknowledging or
adtnitting that any such cause of action does or may and ACE
9
for itself and on behalf of
the ACE Released Parties, expressly denies that any such right or cause of action does in fact
exist.
9. EXCLUSION. This release does not include any claiIns under Chapter 560,
Florida Statutes, against franchisees of ACE related to deferred presentment transactions
engaged in after the effective date of Part IV.. Chapter 560" Florida Statutes, unless such
transactions were under the Goleta loan program.
10. ATTORNEYS' FEES. Each party to this Agreement shalJ be solely
for its separate costs and attorneys' fees incurred in the prosecution, defense or negotiation in
this matter up to entry of the Final Order incorporating this Agreelnent and the dismissals by the
Attorney General provided for in 3 (k) and 3 (I) above.
11. EFFECTIVE DATE. The effective date of this agreement is December 2002.
12. FAILURE TO COMPLY. Nothing in this Agreelnent limits Respondent's right
to contest any finding or determination made by DBF or the Attorney General concerning
FINAL 12
Respondent's alleged failure to comply with any of the terms and provisions ofthis Agreement
or of the Final Order incorporating this Agreement.
WHEREFORE. in of the foregoing. DBF. the Attorney General. and ACE
execute this Agreement on the dates indicated below.
DEPARTMENT OF BANKING AND FINANCE
By: Date:
D N SAXON
Division Director
OFFICE 0t)TR
By:
Date:
RICHARD DORAN. Attorney General
ACE CASH EXPRESS, INC., d/b/a •
ACE AMERICA'S CASH EXPRESS
By: Date:
ERIC C. NORRINGTON
Vice President
STATE OF FLORIDA
COUNTY OF _
BEFORE ME, the undersigned authority. personally appeared
as of ACE CASH EXPRESS. TNC.. d/b/a ACE AMERICA'S CASH
EXPRESS, who is personally known to me or who has produced
______--'- as identification. and who. after being duly sworn. states that he
has read and understands the contents of this Agreement and voluntarily executed the same on
behalfof ACE CASH EXPRESS. INC.. d/b/a ACE AMERICA'S CASH EXPRESS.
FINAL 13
Respondent's alleged failure to comp1y any of the tenns arid provisions ofthis Agreement
or of the Final Order incorporating this Agreement.
WHEREFORE. in considiration of the foregoing, DBF, the Attome}" General, and ACE
1.
execute this Agreement on the dates indicated below.
DEPARTMENT OF BANKING AND FINANCE
By: Date:
DON SAXON
Division Director
Date:
OFFICE OF
By:
RICHARD DORAN, Attorney General
ACE CASH EXPRESS, INC., d/b/a
ACE A RICA'S CASH EXPRESS·
By: Date:
STATE OF FLORlDA
COUNTY OF
----
BEFORE ME\ the -undersigned authority, personally appeared _
as of ACE CASH EXPRESS, INC., dIo/a ACE AMERICA"S CASH
EXPRESS, who is personally known to me or \vho has produced
___________ as identification, and who, after being duly sworn, states that he
has read and understands th-e contents ofthis Agreement and voluntarily executed the same on
behalf of ACE CASH EXPRE-SS. INC., d/b/a ACE AMERICA'8 CASH EXPRESS.
FINAL 13
SWORN AND SUBSCRI.BED before me this __ day of , 2002.
NOTARY PUBLIC
State of Florida
Print Nalne:
My COlnlnission No.:
My C0111111ission Expires:
(SEAL)
FINAL 14
A
ACE Cash Express, Inc.
1231 Greenway Drive #600
Irving, Texas 75038
A"C·E
(972) 550-5000
AIoIf",.."iC<\JIr'",'Ue
INVOICE
COMMENT GROSS DEDUCTION AMOUNT PAID
NUMBER DATE
12123/02 12123/02 Settlement
•
250,000.00 250.000.00
PAYMENT ADVICE
WELLS FARGO BANK
A
CHECK
ACE Cash Express, Inc. NUMBER 005132
1231 Greenway Drive #600
Irving, Texas 75038
A·C· E
(972) 550-5000
AMf'CA'S GuN UJlfUJe
DATE AMOUNT
12/19/02 $**.... · ~ 5 0 . 0 0 0 . 0 0
PAY Two Hundred Fifty Thousand 00/1 00 dollars··**....·******·***********·..··*****·***********··*********'*******....*••****..*******'**'*
TO THE ORDER OF
Flordia State University College of Law
425 West Jefferson Street
Tallahassee, FL 32306 ..
.
liP
liP
II· 00 5 Ii :I 211· I: ~ ~ ~ 0 ~ ?a ?0 I: .. ? 5 b 300 118 11
8
Craig Waters
Craig Waters briefs worldwide media, December
2000,
in Bush v. Gore
Spokesman for the
Florida Supreme Court
In office
June 1, 1996 – Present
Preceded by None
Succeeded by None
Personal details
Born 1956
Pensacola
Political
party
No Party Affiliation
Profession Lawyer
Religion SBNR
Website LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com
/pub/craig-waters/4b/aa5/38b)
FromWikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Craig Waters (born 1956) has been the public information
officer and communications counsel for the Florida Supreme
Court in Tallahassee since June 1, 1996. He is best known as
the public spokesman for the Court during the 2000
presidential election controversy, when he frequently
appeared on worldwide newscasts announcing its decisions.
These cases are known to history as George W. Bush v. Albert
Gore, Jr. or Bush v. Gore.
1 Portrayal in film
2 Election 2000 in reality and in film
3 Writings and scholarship
4 Work in court and media relations
5 Earlier legal work
6 Speeches and educational lectures
7 Other activities
8 Education
9 Early life
10 External links
Waters is portrayed in the HBO Movie Recount by the actor
Alex Staggs (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1475425
/resume?ref_=nm_ov_res). The film, which had a broadcast
premiere of May 25, 2008, chronicled the events in Florida
during the presidential election lawsuits and appeals.
Staggs reenacts two scenes in which Waters announced the result of Florida Supreme Court decisions to a global
television audience. The actual announcements had been unprecedented and were carried live by major
television networks in the United States and around the globe.
The first decision occurred on November 21, 2000 (http://www.youtube.com
/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=XfmeTKuPvqE#t=17), when Waters announced a court ruling extending
the vote-counting deadline previously set by Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris. The second was on
December 8, 2000 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-jQyBpUiz0), when Waters announced a decision
requiring a statewide recount of ballots. The United States Supreme Court overruled this last decision on
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Waters
December 12, 2000, in an opinion that effectively handed the presidency to George W. Bush.
Waters later told a Tallahassee newspaper (http://tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080525/LIVING
/805250311/1016/LIVING02) reporter: "My role as Court spokesman back then is something great to have in
your past, once it proves to be a success. But I can tell you that the success was by no means guaranteed at the
time. I came to work every day for more than a month in the fall of 2000 knowing there were a thousand ways
to fail and millions of people watching."
The film hinted at, but did not explore, Waters' identity as a gay man who suddenly was thrust onto a world
stage from the obscurity of his post in Florida's small-town capital. His sexuality was the subject of open
speculation in the fall of 2000. But no mainstream media published any reports despite the fact that his sexuality
was widely known among the Tallahassee capital press corps.
Not shown in the movie was Waters' reliance on prescribed benzodiazepine medication to endure the stress and
intense worldwide media pressure put on him by the 2000 presidential election cases. Among the stressors were
growing concerns about his security as it became apparent from an outpouring of emails that some people
believed he personally was making decisions affecting the American presidency.
One incident, told in books and in Recount, arose from his announcement of the statewide vote recount on the
evening of December 8, 2000. With a restless crowd outside the Florida Supreme Court building, police asked if
they could put a bullet-proof vest on Waters before he walked out onto the courthouse steps. He declined to
wear it because his coat would not fit on top and the vest would have been obvious to a worldwide audience.
"What flashed to mind," Waters said, "were the photographs of Hillary Clinton looking very vulnerable as she
wore a bullet proof vest passing through airports. That was not an image I wanted to project from the
courthouse."
With pressure mounting, it was during the Bush v. Gore cases that his use of the anti-anxiety prescription drug
alprazolam became daily and continued for years afterward. His anxiolytic dependence only abated after his
successful treatment at the Florida Recovery Center (FRC) in Gainesville, Florida, a part of the UF Health
network.
"I did not see myself as an addict," Waters said. "And I never did, until the day in treatment when I saw I would
die during withdrawal without medical help."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Waters
Waters talks with
reporters before oral
arguments, December
7, 2000
Photo of actor Alex
Staggs taken during
filming on location for
HBO movie Recount,
November 3, 2007, on
the front steps of the
Florida Supreme Court
Building in Tallahassee,
Florida.
The actual Florida
Supreme Court listens
to December 7, 2000,
arguments
HBO reenacts the
December 7 argument
during filming
November 4, 2007
A prolific writer and scholar, Waters' works include "Waters' Dictionary of Florida Law" published by
London-based Butterworths, a three-volume treatise "AIDS and Florida Law" also published by
Butterworths,and several dozen scholarly articles on various subjects generally related to civil rights, AIDS and
disability law, court emergency preparedness,and the use of technology to improve court and media relations.
He is coauthor of the only comprehensive scholarly article (http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/pub_info
/documents/juris.pdf) on Florida Supreme Court protocol and jurisdiction.
In the fall of 2008, Waters published a detailed article in the Journal of Appellate Practice & Process on the
groundbreaking techniques he used to coordinate media relations at the Florida Supreme Court during the 2000
election cases. The article is titled "Technological Transparency: Appellate Court & Media Relations after Bush
v. Gore." (http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/pub_info/documents/2008_Bush_Gore_Article.pdf) It chronicled
the emerging use both of public spokespersons and high-technology methods of communication increasingly
employed by courts worldwide in the 21st Century.
In 1997, Waters spearheaded a project (http://www.brechner.org/reports
/1998/rpt9802.htm#THE%20BACK%20PAGE) that put all Florida Supreme Court arguments on live television,
cable, satellite, and web broadcasts. He also was responsible for a pioneering effort started in 1994 to place all
documents in high profile court cases on the Web for instant public access, which has been widely praised
(http://www.rcfp.org/news/mag/25-1/edit-prefposi.html) in the media. The media also credited
(http://www.mediainstitute.org/ONLINE/FAM2002/Press_A.html) Waters' work in 2000 with putting pressure
on federal courts to provide the public greater technological access to their own proceedings.
Prior to attending law school, Waters was a reporter for the Gannett Company in the Tallahassee capital press
corps, covering state government and the state Supreme Court he eventually would work for. His experience as
a statehouse journalist greatly influenced his approach to court and media relations. Prior to Waters becoming
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Waters
Waters has worked at the Florida Supreme Court
since 1987.
the court public information officer in 1996, the Florida
Supreme Court routinely avoided contact with media and
was widely seen as uncooperative with the press.
Waters brought an end to that approach, first by putting
large amounts of public information on the Florida Supreme
Court website he maintained. In September 1997 in
cooperation with Florida State University, Waters launched
the first comprehensive program to broadcast all court
arguments live on television, via satellite, on cable systems,
and in webcasts. That program, now called "Gavel to Gavel"
(http://www.wfsu.org/gavel2gavel/index.php) remains in
place today and has been widely imitated throughout the
world.
Before becoming the Florida Supreme Court's first public
information officer in 1996, Waters served for nine years as a staff attorney. He worked in this capacity for
nearly three years with Florida's first woman Justice, Rosemary Barkett from West Palm Beach. The remaining
time was spent advising Justice Gerald Kogan from Miami until, upon becoming Chief Justice in 1996, Kogan
moved Waters permanently into court administration and his current job.
Before law school, Waters worked for four years as a reporter with the Florida Gannett newspapers, from 1979
to 1983. He won a number of awards. These included recognition for work exposing racist campaign practices in
the 1980 Pensacola city elections, for articles dealing with the then-novel concept of chronic spouse abuse
syndrome as a defense to criminal charges, and for a series of articles at the height of the 1980s Reagan arms
build-up about Florida's profound failures in emergency preparedness.
These last articles presaged Waters' later work in emergency preparedness with the Florida State Courts system
following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the disastrous Florida hurricane seasons of 2004 and
2005.
Waters has given many speeches on issues he has explored in his professional life, including one on web
accessibility for persons with disabilities (http://www.ctc10.org/MS/MS6/page.php?p=973) at the 10th
international Court Technology Conference organized in 2007 by the National Center for State Courts. He is
coauthor of a professional paper describing how state and federal disability laws will require rethinking current
practices in creating and maintaining court websites (http://www.ncsconline.org/WC/Publications/Trends
/2008/TecManDisabilityTrends2008.pdf).
He previously spoke on the technology of disasters (http://riz0ep.rmxpres.com/riz0ep/viewer/?peid=d873e663-
b597-426d-9517-2f8b4b6476e0), dealing with court emergency preparedness following the September 11, 2001,
terrorists attacks and the extensive hurricane seasons of 2004 and 2005. Since 2000, Waters has given dozens of
speeches nationwide on the media relations techniques he pioneered in the 1990s and how they were especially
useful during the Bush v. Gore presidential election appeals, when he employed cutting edge technology to give
people real-time access to documents and broadcasts on a worldwide basis.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Waters
Election 2000. Satellite trucks parked near the
Florida Supreme Court during the 2000
Presidential election dispute. The Florida State
Capitol is in the background.
Built in 1770, University Hall on
Brown University's campus. Waters is
a 1979 graduate.
In early 2014, he spoke at Stetson University College of Law in
St. Petersburg, Florida, as part of its Institute for the
Advancement of Legal Communications. At that time, he met
with faculty and students to survey the growing role of
high-tech communications in informing the public about the
role of courts and lawyers in our society. He drew heavily on
his experiences with Bush v. Gore and examined how the
communications challenges of that earlier constitutional crisis
might have played out using the technology available in 2014.
He is founding president of the Florida Court Public
Information Officers, Inc. (http://www.fcpio.org/), a federally
recognized tax exempt organization. He is heavily involved in
activities of the Florida Bar, including serving on the editorial board of the Florida Bar Journal and the Florida
Bar News. He also serves on the Florida Bar Media & Communications Law Committee and has chaired and
hosted many of its ongoing programs of outreach to media. These include the annual Florida Bar Reporters
Workshop held each fall at the Florida Supreme Court Building. A native of Pensacola, Florida, he has been a
member in good standing of the Florida Bar since 1987.
Waters attended Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island as an undergraduate, receiving his degree with
honors in 1979. Previously, he took classes at Pensacola State College, then known as Pensacola Junior College.
He received his Juris Doctor with honors from the University of Florida College of Law (now the Levin College
of Law) in 1986. In law school, he served as a management editor of the Florida Law Review and was a
teaching assistant to various professors.
Before law school, he worked for four years as a journalist with the
Gannett newspapers in Pensacola and Tallahassee. Half of his time as a
reporter was spent covering the court beat in Pensacola, where his
interest in attending law school first developed.
Before college, Waters attended public schools in Pensacola, graduating
from J. M. Tate High School. At an early age, Waters was placed on an
advanced educational track because of high test scores in the Escambia
County, Florida, school system. He remained on this track until
graduation from high school.
Waters grew up in Pensacola, Florida and spent considerable time with
an extended family primarily living in Southwestern Alabama. He is a direct descendant of the Weavers of
Weaverville, North Carolina, through his maternal grandfather Joseph Barnett Weaver. The latter came to live
near Evergreen, Alabama to find a warmer climate because he suffered from asthma—a condition Waters
inherited.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Waters
Waters was born and reared in
Pensacola.
His father's family settled in what now is Conecuh County, Alabama, after the Creek War in the early 1800s,
according to the Waters' family tradition. The Waters' family homestead was near the old Federal Road way
station at Burnt Corn, Alabama, a place that figured prominently in the American settlement of the area
following the Louisiana Purchase as Washington, D.C. built better connections with New Orleans.
He spent large parts of his formative years with grandparents who lived
in homes rooted in the pioneer past—heated solely with fireplaces,
lacking indoor plumbing, and located on self-contained family farms
meant to provide food through planting and husbandry. The Waters'
homestead itself, which Waters visited often, had been built before the
American Civil War. Waters' retained a fractional interest in the
homestead until the 1990s, when it was sold to settle his grandmother's
estate.
Both of his parents left these farms to find work in Pensacola following
World War II. Nonetheless, the family's rural background remained a
strong part of Waters' life after his father moved the family to a small
rural farm in the community of Beulah, northwest of Pensacola on the
Alabama border. Waters helped his father care for the 30-acre farm during his high school years and for a time
after his father's death in 1974, until he and his mother could sell the livestock and farming equipment.
The Beulah farm remained in his mother's hands until she died in 2006. Due to tax and land-use concerns,
Waters and his sister sold the acreage in early 2007. It was developed into a subdivision echoing his mother's
maiden name, Weaver's Run (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Weavers-Run-Subdivision/130185443802140),
through an agreement with the buyer.
Florida Court Public Information Officers, Inc. (http://www.fcpio.org/)
Florida Supreme Court Press Information (http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/pub_info/press.shtml)
Craig Waters' LinkedIn Page (http://www.linkedin.com/pub/craig-waters/4b/aa5/38b/)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Craig_Waters&oldid=619555314"
Categories: Brown University alumni 1956 births Living people University of Florida alumni
People from Tallahassee, Florida People from Pensacola, Florida Florida lawyers
Pensacola State College alumni
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Robert Craig Waters
Exec. Asst. to the Chf. Jus.
Fla. Supr. Ct.
Tallahassee, Florida
(Leon Co.)
Profile Visibility
#314 in weekly profile views out of 2,788 lawyers in Tallahassee, Florida
#151,582 in weekly profile views out of 1,515,052 total lawyers Overall
Experience & Credentials
University Brown University, A.B.
Law School University of Florida, J.D.
Admitted 1987
ISLN 902934649
Source: Martindale-Hubbell
http://www.martindale.com/print.aspx
Neil Gillespie
From: "Neil Gillespie"
To: "Alberto Pimentel"
Cc: "Neil Gillespie"
Sent: Friday, August 29, 2014 9:08 PM
Attach: Settlement Agreement DBF Case No. 9177-F-9-02.pdf; $250,000 check to Florida State University
College of Law.pdf; Alberto Pimentel, addendum letter Aug-29-2014.pdf; AUSA Roger B. Handberg
letter composite.pdf; Craig Waters - Wikipedia.pdf; Robert Craig Waters-LexisNexis.pdf
Subject: Addendum letter Aug-29-2014, and for my affiliation with FSU
Page 1of 1
9/3/2014
Mr. Alberto Pimentel
Storbeck/Pimentel & Associates, Inc.
1111 Corporate Center Drive, Suite 106
Monterey Park, CA 91754
Dear Mr. Pimentel:
Please find attached an addendum to my letter yesterday August 28, 2014, and for my affiliation with
FSU, sent by email only. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Neil J . Gillespie
8092 SW 115th Loop
Ocala, Florida 34481
Neil Gillespie
From: "Neil Gillespie"
To: "Neil Gillespie"
Sent: Friday, August 29, 2014 9:12 PM
Attach: ATT00031.txt
Subject: Read: Addendum letter Aug-29-2014, and for my affiliation with FSU
Page 1of 1
9/3/2014
This is a receipt for the mail you sent to
"Alberto Pimentel" at 8/29/2014 9:08 PM
This receipt verifies that the message has been displayed on the recipient's computer at 8/29/2014 9:12
PM