Around March 2007, Royal Indian Raj issued a press release

(http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_pwwi/is_/ai_n18707363)

announcing the appointment of Former World Chairman and CEO of HSBC (Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation) and member of the House of Lords, Lord Michael Sandberg, CBE as Chairman of its Advisory Board of Directors.

Lord Sandberg was prominently listed on the Royal Indian Raj website, since that announcement almost two years ago, as Chairman of its Advisory Board of Directors . Recently, for many months there was the question whether Lord Sandberg really knew of his advisory position or whether he even gave permission?

On Saturday December 6, 2008 in the article below it was revealed that Royal Indian Raj had used the names of Vijay Amritraj, Jack Nicklaus and movie star Steven Seagal without their permissons. All references to these people were immediately deleted from the Royal Indian Raj's website.

However, two days later, at the start of the week on Monday December 8, 2008 the image of Lord Michael Sandberg and any and all reference to his position as Chairman of the Advisory Board of Directors was quietly without any announcement removed from the Royal Indian Raj's website.
WONDER WHY? WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE REASON?


By David Baines, Vancouver Sun
Published: Saturday, December 6, 2008

On Wednesday, I noted that Vancouver-based Royal Indian Raj International Corp., had enlisted the support of Indian tennis star Vijay Amritraj and U.S. golf legend Jack Nicklaus to promote the company's grandiose development plans in India.

However, in January 2007, Amritraj had become embarrassed by the company's lack of progress and formally severed relations, but the company continued to use his visage on promotional posters.

More recently, on Nov. 26, Nicklaus announced he had terminated his relationship with Royal Indian Raj because it "did not proceed with development of [its proposed golf course] within the deadlines required under our agreement."

However, the company did not remove his name and image from its website until Wednesday, when I inquired about the matter.

But never mind, the company had a new celebrity to tout -- action movie star Steven Seagal. According to the company's website, Seagal had become chairman of the company's "entertainment advisory board."

On Friday, however, Seagal's lawyer sent me an e-mail saying his client never had any agreement with Royal Indian Raj, never agreed to endorse the company, never agreed to serve on the company's advisory board, never agreed to serve in any capacity and never permitted the company to use his name or image.

Royal Indian Raj has since removed any reference to Seagal from its website, but under protest. Chairman Manoj Benjamin said the company's former vice-president of public affairs, Patrick Hinds, had arranged and documented the relationship with Seagal. "We are presently locating Mr. Hinds and the files, " he said.

[email protected]

http://www.vancouversun.com/columnists/Honeysuckle+sweet+investment/1040662/story.html

It was revealed, as highlighted, in the article dated December 3/2008 below that Royal Indian Raj was using Jack Nicklaus' name to attract investors and customers without Jack Nicklaus' permissionto use his name.

Royal Indian Raj's stars burn bright, fade quickly
David Baines, Vancouver Sun
Published: Wednesday, December 03, 2008

For several years, Vancouver-based Royal Indian Raj International Corp. has used celebrities to publicize its business and solicit investors.

In 2006, Indian tennis star Vijay Amritraj, who competed at Wimbledon for 17 straight years, signed on as Royal Indian Raj's "brand ambassador."

"It gives me great pleasure to be associated with an international brand that stands among the best in the world, " he gushed in a release.

His job was to promote the Royal Garden Resort & Villas, the first phase of a $3-billion "smart city" the company planned to build near Bangalore.

But this project, like every other project the company has touted since it was formed in 1999, seemed to constantly recede into the horizon.

In July 2007, after making several appearances on behalf of Royal Indian Raj, Amritraj disassociated himself from the company.

"I want to go on record as saying I have no connection with this group, " he told the Times of India.

"Since January [2007], I have communicated my decision several times, but [Royal Indian Raj officials] still continue to feature me on their website. I find it tough to face questions on the progress of the project from committed customers whom I meet at airports and restaurants. This has put me in a bad light."

Nine months later, when I dropped into the company's office in Gastown, Amritraj's visage was still being featured on promotional posters. Ravi Benjamin, son of chairman Manoj Benjamin, tried to persuade me it was not a promotional poster, which was laughable.

BY THAT TIME, HOWEVER, A NEW CELEBRITY HAD ARRIVED ON THE SCENE -- GOLF LEGEND JACK NICKLAUS. HE WAS TO DESIGN A "SIGNATURE" GOLF COURSE WHICH WOULD BE THE CENTREPIECE OF ROYAL GARDENS DEVELOPMENT.

"IT IS A GREAT PRIVILEGE TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH A PRESTIGIOUS COMPANY LIKE ROYAL INDIAN RAJ CORP, " NICKLAUS EFFUSED IN A RELEASE. "THEY HAVE ESTABLISHED THEMSELVES AS PIONEERS IN THE INDIAN REAL ESTATE SECTOR AND WE ARE EXCITED ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE PART OF THE COMPANY'S ENTRY INTO THE GOLF SECTOR."

NICKLAUS ATTENDED A GALA DINNER DESIGNED TO ENTICE MORE INVESTORS, AND POSED FOR NUMEROUS PROMOTIONAL PHOTOGRAPHS WITH MANOJ BENJAMIN. BUT AFTER SEVERAL MISSED DEADLINES, HIS ENTHUSIASM COOLED.

"RIRIC DID NOT PROCEED WITH DEVELOPMENT OF [THE GOLF COURSE] WITHIN THE DEADLINES REQUIRED UNDER OUR AGREEMENT, " NICKLAUS' EXECUTIVE VICE-PRESIDENT SAID IN A NOV. 26 RELEASE.
"WE BELIEVE THAT IT IS IN THE BEST INTEREST OF EACH PARTY, INCLUDING ROYAL INDIAN RAJ AND THEIR CURRENT AND FUTURE CUSTOMERS, THAT WE PUT AN END TO RUMORS WHICH HAVE CIRCULATED REGARDING THEIR PROJECT BY CONFIRMING THE TERMINATION OF OUR GOLF COURSE DESIGN AGREEMENT AND ENDORSEMENT OF THEIR PROPOSED GOLF COURSE."

WHEN I CHECKED THE COMPANY'S WEBSITE ON TUESDAY, THERE WAS NO MENTION OF THIS TERMINATION. NICKLAUS WAS STILL BEING FEATURED AS AN "ALLIANCE PARTNER" AND THE PHOTOS OF BENJAMIN FAWNING OVER HIM WERE STILL BEING PROMINENTLY DISPLAYED ON THE WEBSITE.

I CALLED KEN COREY, ROYAL INDIAN RAJ'S VICE-PRESIDENT OF MARKETING AND OPERATIONS, AND, LO AND BEHOLD, THE REFERENCES TO NICKLAUS WERE ELIMINATED FROM THE SITE WITHIN AN HOUR OR SO. (NOTHING LIKE THE PROSPECT OF A NEWSPAPER ARTICLE TO CONCENTRATE THE MIND.)

But this has not ended the parade of stars. A new celebrity has popped up on the company's website -- movie star Steven Seagal.

Seagal is being billed as "chairman of RIRIC's entertainment advisory board." What he brings to the party is not clear, aside from his martial arts expertise and a string of Hollywood action flicks.

On Nov. 19, I sent an e-mail to Seagal asking him to confirm that he is serving as an adviser and whether he is aware of the track record of the company and its principals.

His lawyer, Gary Kohn of Los Angeles, said he would look into my inquiry, but I have heard nothing further. Meanwhile, Seagal's face, with all its martial arts gravitas, remains on the company's website.

While Seagal's involvement may impress prospective investors, existing investors are becoming increasingly impatient. One investor has established a website called www.royalindiansham.com, and another has set up a complaint board for investors to air their grievances.

To Whom It May Concern:

May it hereby be noted that I have thoroughly reviewed the Web Site RoyalIndianSham and find it to be completely factual and an accurate portrayal of the history of the company Royal Indian Raj Corporation (RIRC) and its relationship with its Investors. If you have yet to review this Site yourself, I would encourage you to do so.

Please note that I am an Investor of $50, 000.00 (10, 000 Shares at $5.00 each) in RIRC, having made this investment over ten(10) years ago. At the time of investment, I was assured that RIRC was going to be taken "Public" within six(6) months of my initial investment and any and all Shares would then become liquid at that time; I was told that the Initial Public Offering (IPO) was going to be valued at $18.00 to $20.00, thereby providing what was portrayed to be a very exciting investment opportunity.

Over the past 10 years, I have made numerous attempts to communicate with RIRC's CEO Mr. Manoj Benjamin to express my concerns and to seek refund of my investment; with the exception of one extremely vitriolic response, Mr. Benjamin deigned to ignore my communiques. My primary contact was the former Director of Public Relations, Mr. Patrick Hinds, who had first presented the investment opportunity to me and a friend (who also became an Investor.). I would periodically ask Mr. Hinds for updates as to when I might see a return on my initial investment and the answer was always along the lines of "...it won't be long now..." I also received inquiries from RIRC asking if I would be interested in investing even more funds! Somewhere in the latter part of 2007, in an Investor Communique from the Chairman, Mr. Manoj Benjamin alluded to "...exciting news for our investors..." would be forthcoming towards the end of the year. True to form and just as before, nothing yet has come to fruition.

It is my opinion. based on the aforementioned personal experience, that Royal Indian Raj Corporation, Mr. Manoj Benjamin, and all of RIRC's Principals have perpetrated a huge scam on their Investors and continue that duplicity today. Consequently, I am very pleased to see that a couple of organized efforts have emerged as vehicles seeking to bring these charlatans to legal scrutiny and ultimate prosecution.

Sincerely,

M.E. Mallette

I have been thoroughly amazed at how well Royal Indian Raj and the Benjamins have been able to brainwash the investors and customers, including me, and redirect blame to the point of having a lot of investors and customers, including me, spewing their rhetoric – it’s a liquidity crisis, everything has slowed in India, its biappa’s fault. As of recent I have finally realized that this redirection of blame was more intended to distract us all from focusing on the real issue and the real issue is FRAUD! After closer examination it is clear the real issue is indeed FRAUD!

1. Why did the Royal Indian group and the Benjamin's FALSELY market and advertise a 18 hole Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course, approximately 200 acres, for the Royal Garden Villas project in Bangalore when they knew they could not and would not build a such a golf course? FRAUD?

2. Why did they FALSELY claim that they had the land of approximately 200 acres required for such a golf course under agreement when they did not? FRAUD?

3. Why did they FALSELY claim that they had the land required for the other amenities, like equestrian land, winery land, etc, when they did not? FRAUD?

4. Why did they FALSELY state in a newsletter that all deposits were being held in escrow when they are not? FRAUD?

5. Why did they tell everyone that the deposits would only be used for the project when they took the money from the deposits to buy land at a totally unrelated site to which we have absolutely no connection? FRAUD?

6. Why when customers have asked for refunds they are unable to get their monies back even after the waiting period? Nothing has been built yet so where has the money gone? FRAUD?

7. Why are they now not answering telephone calls from Customers now due their monies? FRAUD?

8. Why are they now not even answering emails from customer now due their monies? FRAUD?

9. Why are they not making any effort to communicate with the customers now due their monies? FRAUD?

10. Why did they ILLEGALLY sell real estate in jurisdictions in the USA and elsewhere where they have no real estate license or prospectus? FRAUD?

11. Why did they FALSELY claim they had more assets then they really did? FRAUD?

12. Why did they FALSELY claim that the company with which customers have the purchase agreements owns the 17 acres when really it is owned by a third party who has no legal obligation to us and could just walk away with the land if something goes wrong? FRAUD?

13. Why are they not willing to provide an accounting of the deposit monies? FRAUD?

14. Why are customers now filing for charges of fraud against the Royal Indian Raj group and the Benjamins? FRAUD?


And the list goes on. The more you verify the more you realize the real issue is FRAUD!

I was amused by the comments of DeepaM in the post below. DeepaM says, “Looks like a sign of the times.” What, FRAUD is a sign of the times? I wish to correct that. Stupidity is a sign of the times. With the allure of making an easy return I was stupid and ignored all the common sense signals. When I was given deep discounts, I ignored the old adage of “If it seems too good to be true it probably is.” I ignored the old adage “Buyer Beware” even though I was buying over the internet from a group that has a zero track record. I would guess that like all purchasers, I did not involve an advocate when that is the very first step you take in USA. I would guess that like all purchasers, I never had an independent advocate check the Land Titles or the contract prior to signing. Yes, I feel stupid. If anyone else feels the same, do not feel bad you are not alone. Yes, stupidity is a sign of the times and it is being proven daily in India by buyers running for easy returns that are too good to be true. Which they learn eventually are exactly that, “too good to be true”, as someone walks off with their money. Mind you I did not know then that Benjamin was once charged with fraud but I do now. They say tigers never change their stripes.

I got a great chuckle from Ranjeet’s comments in the post below – Legal Verification Completed. Ranjeet proudly comments how he/she visited the site, touched the soil and visited the advocate of Royal Indian Raj. My dear Ranjeet when buying real estate you do not take advice from the seller’s advocate, you take advice from your own independent advocate. If you had taken the time to retain a great independent advocate, your advocate would have advised you that you are signing a purchase agreement with “Company A” and the land is owned by an independent “Person B” who has no obligation to you and can walk away with the land if anything goes wrong and like magic….poof…your money disappears into thin air. Your advocate would have advised you to only sign an agreement if “Company A” owns the land and where you have a legal tie and right to the land. Their advocate probably said that the land was fully owned and clear title but failed to advise that it was not owned by the company on the purchase agreement. That is why you need a great independent advocate to advise you. Don’t worry, I made the same mistake and I only learned from an advocate after the fact. My advocate told me that this is typical to a scam where the land is used to lure in money from buyers and when the money is gone the selling company is shut down and the land owner walks away with the land. We know that the money is gone from RGVillas because customers that are due their monies are unable to get their money and nor are their calls or emails being answered. So what do you think is going to happen next…..magic…..and poof our money has disappeared into thin air? So how do we recover our money? Well, you can do like other investors and customers, including me, are doing and move to file charges of fraud against the Benjamins for any fraudulent actions and fraudulent representations and freeze their assets and recover the funds from those assets. There is a group at [email protected] that is helping investors and customers organize unified legal action and criminal charges.

I respectfully didn’t really pay much heed to DeepaM’s and Ranjeet’s comments as that is exactly the same rhetoric Royal Indian Raj staff gave me, almost word for word. If not Royal Indian Raj staff, then definitely the comments were influenced by staff in a half-hearted attempt to counter the growing wave of charges and legal actions mounting against Royal Indian Raj and the Benjamins. But the secret is out now and Royal Indian Raj and the Benjamins have no way of hiding it any longer.

I am starting to realize that this Zack fellow is not the monstrous former disgruntled employee that Royal Indian Raj and the Benjamins have painted him to be. Whenever someone reveals some lie or questionable actions by Royal Indian Raj and the Benjamins, the Benjamins start ranting that it is a dastardly trick by this monstrous Zack fellow. According to Royal Indian Raj and the Benjamins he is like the Devil, he is everywhere. When the newspapers revealed that Benjamin was once charged with FRAUD, Royal Indian Raj and the Benjamins ranted it was a dastardly trick by the monstrous Zack. I’m sorry; it was Benjamin that was charged with FRAUD so how could that be a trick by Zack. When the newspapers revealed that Benjamin was a former BANKRUPT with many unpaid creditors, Royal Indian Raj and Benjamins ranted it was a dastardly trick by the monstrous Zack. I’m sorry; it was Benjamin who FAILED IN HIS BUSINESSES and had to declare BANKRUPTCY so how could that be a trick by Zack. When the newspapers revealed that Benjamin continued after his BANKRUPTCY to leave A TRAIL OF FAILED BUSINESSES & UNPAID CREDITORS, Royal Indian Raj and the Benjamins ranted it was a dastardly trick by the monstrous Zack. I’m sorry; it was Benjamin who left A TRAIL OF FAILED BUSINESSES & UNPAID CREDITORS so how could that be a trick by Zack. I’m sure this monstrous Zack fellow is going to become engrained in mythology and stories are going to be told to children in order to ensure they behave – “If you don’t behave Zack will get you”.

SORRY, I’m not buying it any longer. As every day goes by, I am more and more appreciating this Bill Zack fellow for what he truly is….a “whistleblower”. He warned us long ago of the false statements, false claims and questionable actions of Royal Indian Raj and the Benjamins and as every day goes by he is being proven right over and over again.

He warned us that Royal Indian Raj falsely exaggerated its land holdings and now we have learned that Royal Indian Raj owns only 17 acres and if that.

He warned us that there was no land for a 18 hole Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course on the Royal Garden Villas project and now we see Jack Nicklaus has pulled his endorsement from the Royal Garden Villas website (www.rgvillas.com) .

He warned us of the business practices of Royal Indian Raj and the Benjamins and now we have learned that firsthand with customers/investors not receiving monies due with no answers or communications.

He warned us, when Royal Indian Raj signed an agreement with Choice Hotels to construct 15000 rooms, that Royal Indian Raj had built nothing to date eluding that building anything with Choice was unlikely and now we have learned that Choice ended its association with Royal Indian Raj. And shortly after that, CPG (Singapore Public Works), the international constructor company that was flaunted as an Alliance Partner, also ended its association. Both company’s logos were removed from Royal Indian’s website.

I revisited Zack’s website - www.royalindiansham.com and I found it very well documented. In fact, I rustled through all the past communications or documents I had and I found many of those exact quotes that were on the website. I researched through past newspapers online and found many of those exact statements by Benjamin as quoted on the website. I challenged myself to try and find something, anything, on Zack’s website that was untrue and I failed. To the best of my efforts, I could not find anything that was untrue.

I found many newspaper articles on Royal Indian Raj that were much more damaging than anything Zack had ever said or warned. But yet Zack is being sued by Royal Indian Raj and not the newspapers. I guess it is easier to bully one single person than try to bully newspapers that are reporting fact. On the other hand, I really think he is being sued just to further support his image to us as the MONSTROUS ZACK who cannot be trusted. Afterall, he was an insider who would know alot of the transgressions of Royal Indian Raj and the Benjamins. Lawsuits take years and by that time they will probably settle quietly by paying Zack and none of us will ever know. My lawyer friend says that is the exact tact companies take in order to discredit the claims of whistleblowers and minimize the negative affect and damage.

I now appreciate Zack more and more as the “WHISTLEBLOWER” who warned us all long ago.