A Friendly Warning To The Poker Community

Dear Poker community,

It came to our attention this week that the publishing company I co own, Imagine Media, has been a victim of theft and fraud. A poker player purporting to be James Allen (at this point we can't confirm if "James Allen" is his real name or not) recently acquired an extremely large number of copies of my book, Don't Listen To Phil Hellmuth, through a fraudulent credit card. Imagine Media has been in cooperation with the proper authorities to bring justice to this situation, but at this time the person purporting to be James Allen has not been apprehended.

My reasons for notifying the poker community about this issue are two-fold. First off, it would only seem logical that this thief is not so infatuated with my book that he needed a massive number of copies for himself! We are operating under the assumption that the theft occurred because the person purporting to be James Allen has the intention of selling the books to a third party. If anyone in the poker community is being offered a deal to acquire copies of Don't Listen To Phil Hellmuth from someone that isn't from Imagine Media, please let me know at info@dustyschmidt.net. I would greatly appreciate any help I can get that will aid in the arrest of the person purporting to be James Allen.

Secondly, it is definitely possible that Imagine Media isn't the only poker company that this thief is targeting. I have no knowledge of his intentions, but it seems reasonable to think that this person will attempt to strike again. So for anyone out there who is involved in the business side of poker, I would encourage you to beware of this person and be on the lookout for anyone who might be trying to take advantage of you. Trust me, it is not a lot of fun to be in this position.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and I hope that it helps us or someone else as a result.

Regards,

Dusty Schmidt