Gregory D. Evans / LIGATT - False claims about clients, questionable spending

In a recent article titled Fair use, plagiarism and the World.s No. 1 Hacker book, Ben Rothke goes into more detail regarding his discovery of heavily plagiarized content of Evans' latest book. In the new article, Rothke points out that Evans' latest book uses the logos and proudly declares that LIGATT Security International is the "official cyber security provider" for the Phillps Arena, Atlanta Hawks basketball team, and Atlanta Thrashers hockey team. The firm also noted this in an October 2009 press release, that was then picked up as a news story by the Atlanta Business Chronicle and Sports Business Journal.

Note that Rothke reached out directly to Tracy White, Chief Sales Officer and Senior VP of Sales and Marketing for Atlanta Spirit LLC, the parent company of the Atlanta Thrashers (someone who would have to sign off on such an official agreement).

Mr. White told Ben that they are aware that Evans has made these statements, but they are simply not accurate. White was adamant that LIGATT doesn't provide, nor have they ever provided services for the Hawks, Thrashers or Philips Arena.

In short, LIGATT and Evans have been lying that they provided security for the Philips Arena or any team that plays there. This calls into question the excessive expenditures of LIGATT related to the Philips Arena. Was this Evans purchasing high dollar court-side seats to "live the life", or something else?

According to Profit & Loss YTD Comparison from the "LIGATT - Office of CFO", LIGATT spent over $71,000 on the Philips Arena. Without better public records, it is impossible to say what this expenditure was. Since we know they did not provide security services to the arena, we at least know this wasn't money spent supporting a contract. So.. courtside seats?

Ordinary Income/Expense		Oct - Dec 09	Jan - Dec 09
Philips Arena			$23,755.90	$71,137.79

One reader points out these screenshots that certainly lend credence to that theory: http://twitpic.com/1xh9jw/full & http://twitpic.com/1xh901/full. A message, presumably from an investor, quotes a Craigslist post showing bkess@ligatt.com does have a private suite at the arena and attempts to sell the seats for some events.

Update (6/19/10): Two days after posting this, as part of a response to accusations of plagiarism, Evans posted an image of a contract between LIGATT Security International, LLC. and Arena Sports Marketing, LLC that read:

a contract between LIGATT Security International, LLC. and Arena Sports Marketing, LLC ("ASM"), a Georgia limited liability company [..] as agent to license and sell certain sponsorship benefits on behalf of the Atlanta Hawks, LP ("AHLP"), the holder of the franchise of the Atlanta Hawks ("Hawks" or "Team"), a professional basketball team in the National Basketball Association ("NBA"); Atlanta Hockey Club, LLC ("AHC"), the holder of the franchise of the Atlanta Thrashers ("Thrashers" or "Team"), a professional hockey team in the National Hockey League ("NHL"); and Arena Operations, LLC ("AO"), the operator of the sports, concert and entertainment facility located at One Philips Drive, Atlanta, Georgia 30303 and commonly known as Philips Arena ("Arena"). In consideration of mutual promises contained herein and the mutual benefits to be derived therefrom, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties agrees as follows:

This is clever on Evans' part, but further proves the point of this article. LIGATT has an agreement with a company that handles marketing and sponsorship for the teams LIGATT advertises being the sole security provider for. The contract specifically states the agreement is between LIGATT and ASM, not any of the teams or Philips Arena. Further, the contract is cut off so as to not include what agreement is in place between LIGATT and ASM. While we are not lawyers, the last line of the contract above is not the same language we have seen in our own security service agreement contracts where work is performed for an agreed upon rate. This contract reads more like a statement of intention or partnership, without specific services or payment being rendered. We encourage Evans and LIGATT to publish the rest of this agreement, sanitized only as needed to protect sensitive details, to clear up the question at hand.

Update (6/20/10): According to a trusted source, LIGATT made an agreement to provide "cyber security services" to one team associated with the Philips Arena. The agreement required LIGATT pay to be a sponsor, and they never paid anything. What LIGATT did pay for, was a suite at the arena. LIGATT's relationship with the arena is that of a fan, not a service provider. LIGATT did not have any agreement or provide any service to the Arena itself, or two of the associated teams. LIGATT's only connection to them is that of a paying customer, which explains the line item spending above. Looking at the total amount of money involved with LIGATT, $71,137.79 in a single year seems irresponsible at best, criminal at worst.




From: Ben Rothke
To: White, Tracy; Penningroth, Ailey
Sent: Sun Jun 13 10:14:13 2010
Subject: Is LIGATT Security in fact the official cyber security provider of the Atlanta Hawks?

Greetings,

I wrote a book review of *How To Become The Worlds No. 1 Hacker* -
https://365.rsaconference.com/blogs/securityreading/2010/06/10/how-to-become-the-worlds-no-1-hacker. 
The book is nearly a complete work of plagiarism.

In the book, the author states that LIGATT is the official cyber security
provider of the Atlanta Hawks. I attached an excerpt of the book which
highlights that.

Note that the also says he is the official cyber security provider of
Phillips Arena and the Atlanta Thrashers.

Can you tell me if that claim is correct?

Thanks,

Ben

On Sun, Jun 13, 2010 at 10:39 AM, White, Tracy <
Tracy.White@atlantaspirit.com> wrote:

That claim is not accurate. We are aware that he has made these statements
but they are not accurate.


From: Ben Rothke
To: White, Tracy
Cc: Penningroth, Ailey; Wilkinson, Scott
Sent: Sun Jun 13 11:02:52 2010
Subject: Re: Is LIGATT Security in fact the official cyber security provider of the Atlanta Hawks?

Tracy,

Thanks for the quick reply.

I assume since his claim is not true for the Hawks, it is equally false
about the Phillips Arena and the Atlanta Thrashers.

Thanks again for the clarification.

Ben

From: White, Tracy 
Date: Sun, Jun 13, 2010 at 11:32 AM
Subject: Re: Is LIGATT Security in fact the official cyber security provider of the Atlanta Hawks?
To: Ben Rothke
Cc: "Penningroth, Ailey", "Wilkinson, Scott" 

Ben - yes, you're correct....Ligatt doesn't provide (nor have they ever
provided) services for the Hawks, Thrashers or Philips Arena.



main page ATTRITION feedback