"Airtracks" Kickstarter fraud ----------------------------- (Background information: how "Kickstarter" works: http://www.kickstarter.com/help/faq/kickstarter%20basics) *On November 19, 2012, an online Kickstarter project was "successful" (meaning a minimum threshold was raised) so that the project "creator" Tom Baker would receive the money pledged. http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/baker/airtracks-inflatable-all-terrain-camera-slider/ *Tom raised over $30,000 from 163 "backers" worldwide who were promised they would receive the "Airtracks" product by March 2013, or other rewards in exchange for their pledges. Pledges ranged from $1 to $325 per backer. *As of June 2015, Tom has not delivered the products: he is 27 months late thus far. *As of June 2015, Tom has spent 22 months without attempting to give a single update to the Kickstarter backers, until finally he posts an update on June 5, 2015 claiming that "I haven’t once forgotten about you. I’ve been very concerned while trying to earn enough money to repay each of you, but I simply can’t." He asks Kickstarter backers to "forgive" his debt. (see http://pastebin.com/raw.php?i=ZNAPDpqe) -- *Since November 2012, backers of the Airtracks project have had questions, concerns, and comments. This has been communicated through an online message board because this is the only way Kickstarter allows for Backers and the project creator to all communicate together. (Tom provided a link to his Facebook profile at the start of the project, but removed that link a few months into his absence/hiding). All concerns were unanswered except for very short, uninformative replies by Tom in July and August 2013, when he has began communicating again after months of not responding at all. He last claimed he needed additional time to deliver, but now that over a year has passed, its clear Tom does not intend to deliver at all. Through research and contact with past customers and business associates, it has become clear Tom has a pattern of deception and unethical behavior. *Backers have paid Tom through credit cards, using Kickstarter as an internet "platform". Kickstarter does not give refunds and says all transactions are between backers and project creators, and backers have to figure everything out on their own: "Once a project is funded [Kickstarter] will not issue refunds, they said. While they will email absentee creators, and reserve the right to cancel ongoing projects that aren't legitimate, once a project is funded they won't take any legal action. They will, they say, assist prosecutors if backers get law enforcement involved. But ultimately, it is up to the backers to solve any legal issues." (from http://www.polygon.com/gaming/2012/6/27/3099051/backers-rights-what-kickstarter-funders-can-expect-when-they-pledge) Tom Baker's last known contact information: ------------------------------------------- 750 Cascade St, #212 Oregon City, Oregon 97045 (address per contact information listed in website domain registration for the 'Portland Booth' business: http://whois.domaintools.com/theportlandbooth.com) 518-698-9251 (per above domain registration, and also confirmed by phone contact with a victim from the camera strap business) 503-482-9440 (per contact information for 'Portland Booth' business: http://whois.domaintools.com/theportlandbooth.com) tom518b@gmail.com tom2898@gmail.com Business address he uses (a UPS Store?): 1327 SE Tacoma St, Ste 173, Portland, OR 97202 Timeline of the "Airtracks" Kickstarter Project: ------------------------------------------------- *October 17, 2012: Tom Baker creates the online Airtracks Kickstarter project: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/baker/airtracks-inflatable-all-terrain-camera-slider/ *November 5, 2012: Tom claims that since the overall pledge goal/minimum ($20,000) has already been met, he has communicated with a USA manufacturer to already began production of the products: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/baker/airtracks-inflatable-all-terrain-camera-slider/posts/342587 | http://imgur.com/j4zHeun *November 13, 2012: Tom claims manufacturing has started with all aspects of the products: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/baker/airtracks-inflatable-all-terrain-camera-slider/posts/348623 | http://imgur.com/b36OoPa *November 19, 2012: Kickstarter funding period ends, and Tom receives approximately $30,000 in Kickstarter pledges by 163 "backers" worldwide. Delivery of the Airtracks product is promised for March 2013. *January 28th, 2013 - Tom's first update since November. He claims there are no updates or information to share, and says manufacturing is on hold due to the Chinese New Year overseas (in contradiction to earlier statements that he was working with a local/domestic/American company): http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/baker/airtracks-inflatable-all-terrain-camera-slider/posts/394600 | http://imgur.com/wydZnSc *January 29th - Tom is pushing for additional (pre) sales through another website he set up (http://www.inflatabletracks.com): http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/baker/airtracks-inflatable-all-terrain-camera-slider/posts/394606 *March 17th (promised month of delivery) - Tom gives an "update" where he doesn't answer previous questions/concerns, but he claims everything is on schedule for delivery soon: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/baker/airtracks-inflatable-all-terrain-camera-slider/posts/430194 *April 20 - Tom blames the manufacturer for delays: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/baker/airtracks-inflatable-all-terrain-camera-slider/posts/459258 *July 9th - Tom's gives an "update": it is hastily written (with numerous typos), and shows a picture, but gives more vague excuses for the delay, and claims delivery will be in 90 days: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/baker/airtracks-inflatable-all-terrain-camera-slider/posts/534302 *July 13th - More pictures from Tom, without proof of when the photos were taken nor details on when/how the product will be delivered. Tom has not even sent a very customary Kickstarter "survey" to request the shipping addresses of the project backers: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/baker/airtracks-inflatable-all-terrain-camera-slider/posts/537729 *August 2nd - Tom claims production is on schedule, but in contradiction to his first ever Kickstarter update (Nov 5th, 2012: http://imgur.com/j4zHeun) where he talks about "our manufacturer here in the USA" he again talks about the "outsourced production team". http://imgur.com/BFkohvH *October 2013 - Tom has again disappeared without any updates for over two months. His claim in July that the product would be ready in "90 days" was untrue. *November 24, 2013 - Tom has still not yet responded in any way, but seems to be able to go online, as he has been updating his Facebook page. He apparently has recently gone skydiving and might be in a new romantic relationship: http://imgur.com/95pwYbF,BbJrcXW (per Facebook, the skydiving picture was posted October 27th, the screenshot was captured November 5th). A few days after his Facebook images were pointed out in the Kickstarter comments for the Airtracks project, Tom Baker's Facebook privacy settings were changed to not show any photos to the general public. Obviously, Tom Baker is still checking the Kickstarter project page, and sees the backers' comments asking for an update, yet chooses to not respond. *December 10, 2013 - Tom is now over two months late on his previous claim / stalling tactic of saying "Our new ETA for this project is 90 days. We hope to get it out in half that, but it really depends on the factory." (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/baker/airtracks-inflatable-all-terrain-camera-slider/posts/534302) *December 15, 2013 - Tom is actively deactivating his social media accounts and web properties. His Facebook account appears to have been taken down and moved: from here https://www.facebook.com/tom.baker.792 | http://imgur.com/95pwYbF,BbJrcXW to here: https://www.facebook.com/tom902 | http://imgur.com/p97zBlh,TTLHJzm,dlt6NMn. He deactivated his Twitter (https://twitter.com/_tom_baker), where he used to claim he was a serial entrepreneur, and that he shot for Toyota and Nike: http://imgur.com/zJqBlJ0. Last, the website he used for outside (non-Kickstarter) sales of the Airtracks product is also deactivated: http://www.inflatabletracks.com. *December 21, 2013 - Per contact and communication with Tom's past associates, it appears Tom is no longer on good terms with his past business associates and co-owners. Please see quotes below regarding the "Highkey Camera" and "The Portland Booth". *June 2014 - There have been no updates from Tom Baker for over 10 months, and no product delivered (now over one year from the promised delivery date). *December 2014 - Part 1 - There has still been no updates from Tom Baker to the Kickstarter backers. Tom has not attempted to communicate with us for over 1 year and 4 months, neither with details on the status of the project, nor intent to deliver or refund. *December 2014 - Part 2 - Numerous backers have filed complaints to legal and law enforcement entities. When confronted by the New York State Attorney General, Tom has new explanations about the status of the project (see: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/baker/airtracks-inflatable-all-terrain-camera-slider/comments?cursor=8574086#comment-8574085). In his response, Tom continues to be dishonest -- see here, https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/baker/airtracks-inflatable-all-terrain-camera-slider/comments?cursor=8601271#comment-8601270. *January 2015 - We discovered that Tom has reactivated his Facebook page for HighKey Camera, his business which "sells" camera straps online, but does not deliver. *January 2015 (continued) - With further research, we discover HighKey Camera is re-opening under new ownership. The implication is that Tom Baker sold the business (i.e. website and online properties, idea, vendor connections, etc). Yet, he has not attempted to contact/update the Kickstarter backers or make refunds. *June 2015 - Tom makes a private / "Backers Only" update. The content is mirrored here: http://pastebin.com/raw.php?i=ZNAPDpqe Tom's web presence ------------------ *Tom's personal/business webpage: http://tombakerphoto.com/ *Tom's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/tom.baker.792 (offline as of December 15th, 2013. Prior access: http://imgur.com/95pwYbF,BbJrcXW) *Tom's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/tom902 (Tom's possible new Facebook, accessed December 15th, 2013) | http://imgur.com/p97zBlh,TTLHJzm,dlt6NMn *Tom's old Twitter: "_tom_baker" see: http://imgur.com/zJqBlJ0. The account was set to "private" as of December 15th, 2013, and the username is now being used by a different person as of August 2015. *Tom's Instagram account: http://instagram.com/_tom_baker *Tom's LinkedIn profile: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/tom-baker/a/973/419 *Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Tom2898/ *Flickr account: http://www.flickr.com/people/tombakerphoto/ *Airtracks website: http://www.inflatabletracks.com (access attempted on December 15th, 2013 -- currently offline) *Shopify profile: http://experts.shopify.com/tombaker *Blog: http://tombakerphotography.wordpress.com *iStock: http://www.istockphoto.com/user_view.php?id=1059893 *99Designs: http://99designs.com/users/479219 *Dreamstime, http://www.dreamstime.com/tom2898_info "Highkey Camera" fraud (another of Tom's "businesses") ------------------------------------------------------ *Tom's camera strap business webpage (which was still accepting orders for many months during the same time period as the Kickstarter scam): http://highkeycamera.com/ *Article about Tom's ownership of this "business": http://design-milk.com/highkey-camera-straps/ *Website for Andie Jael, Tom's former business partner for this business: http://www.andiejael.com/ *Camera strap business' Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/highkeycamera *Oregon Secretary of State's information on this business (the "corporation" Tom formed is in "ADMINISTRATIVE DISSOLUTION" as of July 19, 2013): http://egov.sos.state.or.us/br/pkg_web_name_srch_inq.show_detl?p_be_rsn=1520221&p_srce=BR_INQ&p_print=FALSE *Many complaints: http://www.pissedconsumer.com/reviews-by-company/highkey-camera-strap.html *More complaints: http://www.bbb.org/oregon/business-reviews/internet-services/highkey-camera-in-portland-or-22687728 *More complaints, originally posted on Facebook, which Tom or someone has since deleted: http://imgur.com/sENwNbS,PcBvILe,zSplnx3 *YouTube account for this "business": https://www.youtube.com/user/HighKeyCamera *Twitter account for this "business": https://twitter.com/HighKeyCamera *Flickr account for this "business": http://www.flickr.com/photos/highkeycamera/ (previously, a past customer has commented on the majority of photos to try to warn others about the fact that orders are not being fulfilled, but those comments might have been censored now). *September 2013: Sometime in August 2013, as Kickstarter backers were increasing pressure on Tom, the Highkey Camera Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/highkeycamera, as listed above) was completely taken offline/deactivated. This, of course, seems most likely to be done by Tom himself to destroy/hide online evidence of his unscrupulous practices (as available in screenshots above), and to prevent coordination of Tom's victims from various "businesses". *December 2013: Per Andie Jael, the original co-owner of Highkey Camera with Tom: "In 2009, while I was in college, I cofounded HighKey Camera with Baker. However, we soon parted ways after it was clear that we had different ideas about how the business ought to be run. I handed over every stake and claim I had in the business and have not spoken to him since. (I have documentation of this close to my HighKey involvement). Since the dissolve of our business partnership, it appears that there has been a serious spiral in Baker's business ventures. I was unaware of the extent until this past september, when I found and read through the complaints and paste bin that was started earlier this year. I was appalled. I firmly believe that serious ethical and legal boundaries have been crossed by Baker and the authorities ought to be involved. If there is anything that I can do, please let me know......... A few months ago, I tried contacting some of the other backers of Baker's fraud kickstarter, but I got no replies. I would like it to be made clear that I too am a victim and have lost a good deal of money and had my name and reputation dragged through the dirt by Baker." *January 2015: It appears Tom Baker is starting this business back up now. The business' Facebook page is re-activated, and there is a December 14, 2014 post saying camera straps are available for sale: https://www.facebook.com/highkeycamera/posts/10152529733333807 / http://imgur.com/rz2xR7I *January 2015 (continued): Upon further research, we discover that this "business" is under new ownership and per the new owner, "Tom no longer has any legal ties to it". "Cup A Month" business ---------------------- *In July of 2013 we discovered that on Tom's Twitter profile, he claimed he was the owner of this new business. His reaction was to to quickly change the privacy settings on his Twitter account, but Google still had that somewhat saved: http://imgur.com/zJqBlJ0 *The Cup A Month blog originally mentioned Tom Baker as a co-owner, but has since been edited to remove his name: http://cupamonth.com/news/2013/6/15/from-humble-beginnings *The "Cup a Month" website is owned or associated with Tom, as shown by an alternate address by which it can be reached: http://tom-baker-es5c.squarespace.com/ *Cup A Month announced plans to have a Kickstarter project, which is very alarming to the "Airtracks" project backers as another scam: https://www.facebook.com/CupAMonth/posts/409000615880540, http://imgur.com/zCyaQLg *In July 2013, Matthew Morrison, another owner of "Cup A Month" helped "Airtracks" backers contact Tom. Matt claims Tom will no longer be part of "Cup A Month". Matt also said that Tom claimed the delays in the Kickstarter were due another company managing the Kickstarter project. This interaction between Matt and Tom finally leads Tom to give the July 9th update to the Kickstarter backers: http://imgur.com/nfeksNb Tom's photobooth business ------------------------- *One of Tom's other "businesses": http://portlandbooth.com/ *Tom's ownership of the webpage and contact information: http://whois.domaintools.com/theportlandbooth.com , http://imgur.com/BYqEnRp *More on Tom's ownership of this business: http://stephkirkland73.wordpress.com/2013/01/17/research-of-resolution-photography/ *Still more on Tom's ownership: http://www.manta.com/c/mxj1my8/the-portland-booth , http://www.manta.com/p/3cnlgrhc7oaexj_/tom-baker *Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/portlandphotobooth *Website for Nick Curteman, Tom's possible business partner for this business: http://resolutionphotos.com/ *UPDATE -- December 2013: Per "Josh" (Hochstettler), a "Partner/Investor" in the "The Portland Booth" (http://www.linkedin.com/in/joshhochstettler): "We've received your emails and voicemails addressed to Tom Baker. Tom was an original owner of The Portland Booth, but he is no longer associated with the company. Legally, his interest in the company ended over 11 months ago in January 2013. I'm sorry that your dealings with him in his other company are dis-satisfactory. I wish I could say you are the only unhappy customer that has come looking for him here. I wish you well, Josh" *UPDATE -- December 2013: Per Nick Curteman, the original co-founder of "The Portland Booth" with Tom: "I'm very aware of the Kickstarter debacle and have since shut off all communication with Tom. He is no longer part of any businesses I'm associated with. In the Summer when I saw him last I confronted him about it and was met with the same excuses he gave online."