Justice for veterans after FOX6 investigation: $41K judgment issued against man behind bogus fundraiser
WAUKESHA -- Another FOX6 investigation gets results! Three years after we exposed a bogus fundraiser for injured veterans, the state is wrapping up its case against the man behind the operation. But that may not be the end of this story.
When it comes to double crossing military veterans, it's hard to top Brian Michaud.
"This is one of the most alarming cases we've seen," Lisa Schiller with the Wisconsin Better Business Bureau said.
In 2011, Michaud sold ads for a coupon book full of buy one, get one free offers from local businesses.
Coupon books Michaud produced to raise funds for military vets in 2012.
Proceeds were supposed to help injured Wisconsin veterans.
"That's why we have what we have -- our veterans," a local business owner,
"We all love our veterans," Schiller said.
But Schiller says local veterans got the shaft.
"The money went right into Brian Michaud's pocket and not a dime went to veterans," Schiller said.
Schiller called the FOX6 investigators.
As it turned out, Michaud didn't just stiff injured Wisconsin vets, he lied to investigators and misled business owners.
He even took three vacations that were donated as prizes and gave them away to his friends.
Michaud, in 2012, offers excuses as to why veterans organizations didn't receive money from his coupon book.
FOX6's Bryan Polcyn: "Why don't you tell me who Nikki ****** is."
Michaud: "My girlfriend."
Polcyn: "How is she related to John ******?"
Michaud: "He is her cousin. And no more comments are going to happen until I talk to my attorney."
Polcyn: "How did John and his friends all end up winning vacations that were supposed to raise money for injured veterans?"
After the BBB and FOX6 news exposed Michaud's bogus fundraiser, the Wisconsin Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Michaud and his mother, Andrea, who was officially named as the company president.
Three years later, that case is still dragging its way through court in Waukesha County.
"And it appears there are more than a few loose ends, so to speak," Judge Kathryn Foster said.
In August, Andrea Michaud got special permission to appear in court by telephone from her home in Northern Wisconsin.
Judge: "Is your son Brian there with you?"
Andrea Michaud: "No he is not."
Judge: "Do you know where he is?"
Andrea Michaud: "He's in the house with my husband right now because he says he wasn't allowed to appear in court."
Brian Michaud waited until the day of the hearing to request a telephone appearance. And when the judge denied his last minute request, he faxed her a letter calling her honor "inhumane...inconsiderate...and incredibly destructive."
Judge Foster listens to Michaud's mother explain to the court why he is not able to speak on his own behalf.
"As far as your son's case is concerned, he is still in default," Judge Foster said.
In September, the court granted a default judgment against Brian Michaud for committing more than 10,000 violations of state consumer protection laws -- one for each of the 10,000 books he sold.
The punishment? Fines and forfeitures of more than $40,000.
"Brian Michaud basically broke all of our standards of trust," Schiller said.
Michaud wrote a letter to Judge Foster in Waukesha County Court calling her "inconsiderate and inhumane."
But that may not be the end of the story.
Just last year, the FOX6 investigators found ads online for a mobile marketing business in Wausau seeking a minimum investment of $50,000.
The phone number listed on the ad is the same one Michaud used in his letter to the judge in August.
And when FOX6 News called that number earlier this month, Michaud answered.
"It's disappointing and makes me sad actually because it tells me that perhaps he didn't learn his lesson," Schiller said.
It's unclear if those ads violate a 2012 state order against Michaud to cease and desist selling securities in Wisconsin. But if it does, a spokesman for the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions says it could be a felony.
Three years ago, Brian Michaud was still in denial.
Michaud posts a possible explanation for the recent decisions that have brought him to Judge Foster's court.
But a few weeks ago, he posted a picture on Facebook that reads...
"Everything happens for a reason. Sometimes the reason is you're stupid and make bad decisions."
Above the photo, he wrote... "This is the motto of my life."
Perhaps the lesson is finally sinking in.
Brian Michaud no longer lives in the Milwaukee area. He is currently in Appleton.
FOX6 News was able to reach him by telephone twice for comment on these latest developments.
Brian Michaud has a long history of convictions to include burglary, forgery and resisting arrest.
Both times he promised to call back, but he never did.
The Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions will neither confirm nor deny whether it has an open investigation into the online ads FOX6 News found connected to Brian Michaud from 2014.
However, when FOX6 requested open records related to the case, the department denied the request, citing a state statute that covers pending investigations.