PRESS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SUBJECT: INTERNATIONAL FRAUD ALERT RE: NORTH CARIBBEAN RESEARCH for the Dominican Republic, Canada, USA, England, Germany, Holland, France, Philippines, Puerto Rico and possibly elsewhere where they have deceived investors out of millions of dollars over the last two and half decades! Their Last Investor Committed Suicide After Losing Almost A Million Dollars to Their Scam!
“The Dream Thieves”
Ø Investor Loses All & Commits Suicide
Ø Families and Lives of Friends & Employees Devastated After Being Left in the Wake of Lies, Deception and Outright Theft and Debt
Ø Local Dominican Businesses Left Owed Massive Debts
Ø Employees Left Owed Ten’s of Thousands of Dollars
Ø NOT ONE SINGLE INVESTOR HAS REALIZED ONE DIME OF RETURN IN OVER TWO AND A HALF DECADES
Ø They are Rumored to Currently be in LaBelle Florida Actively Trying to Raise MORE Money for Their Scam
Who Hasn’t Dreamed of Finding Lost Shipwreck Treasures from Spanish Galleons and Becoming Rich Beyond Their Wildest Dreams?
That is what North Caribbean Research (NCR) & The Berry Boys, Led by Their Father Richard Berry as the Ringleader, Have Been Selling for Over Twenty Five Years But Instead They Have Left in Their Wake a Suicide by Their Last Investor, Devastated Lives and Families and Massive Debts!
Using the lure of treasure and the promise of adventure NCR reels in its investors and employees from every walk of life, from a Prince to average everyday people like most of us.
For over two and a half decades they have taken millions of dollars to fund their hedonistic lifestyle of drinking and whoring while conning hotel owners, apartment owners, grocery store owners, employees and others in a poor, developing country and anyone else that will listen to their lies.
NCR’s Last Investor:
Mark Fleckenstein’s last day as an investor with NCR, and shortly before his suicide, started with the report from his personal friend, which he had sent down to keep an eye on things for him. I am quoting here:
“Nine days out of ten we don’t work is because Chris [Christopher Berry, son of the President of NCR, Richard (Rick) Berry] is hung over from drinking and having two to four prostitutes in his room every night. I tried to reason with him one day and just let us go out and work anyway and he could just sleep it off but Chris just snarled and said; ‘Is your last name Berry? NO? Then shut up, you don’t make any decisions here, only the Berry’s do!’” That was the last straw for Mark's friend as far as Chris was concerned he told Mark.
He then told Mark, “I don’t understand why Chris gets paid twice as much as everyone else and does a tenth of the work!” Mark then said; “I thought Chris got paid the same as everyone else?” Then Mark's friend said; “He does, but two or three times a week he goes to his dad and says; “Dad, I need 5,000 pesos ($150USD) for this or 10,000 pesos ($280USD) for that and every single time Rick gives it to him and Rick says it comes out of his pay so it is not a big deal!” Then Mark says; “It ALL comes out of my pocket!”
Then Mark says to his friend; “What is Rick doing all this time?” and his friend replies; “Every night he is in his room and he drinks an entire bottle of rum and most times when we come back in we have to wake him up.”
All this time, Chris is setting at the end of the bar at the Yacht Club with his prostitutes, dressed all in black with his trade-mark sleeveless shirt, sunglasses at night, covered in tattoos and multiple piercings from head to toe and getting drunk.
Mark then says, “Then that means I am paying $35,000 per month for maybe three days work for about three hours each of those days. That is about $4,000 per hour for their work just digging a hole here and there…hit or miss with no real plan and never even finishing a hole and the rest of the time they are just partying their butts off on my money! They have been doing this for almost a year now on my money!”
Chris motions to Mark's friend to come down and join him but he gets disgusted and leaves and then Chris motions to Mark to come down and join them. Mark grimaces and turns to me and says, “I’m tired of supporting Chris and his drunken and whoring activity and no work getting done because Chris is hung over and Rick is probably drunk and sleeping it off too. I am done with the Berry’s”
Mark walked out of the bar without even acknowledging Chris and left the next day and cut off the funding to NCR. Shortly thereafter, Mark commits suicide after losing almost a million dollars to the Berry Boys!
Mark Fleckenstein – 1955-2010 NCR’s Last Investor – Who is Next?
They then sell all the equipment, several boats and everything else Mark bought for the company to continue funding their lifestyle while reeling in the next unsuspecting “Mark” leaving all their employees in the lurch with no notice and owing them 10’s of thousands of dollars in back pay.
NCR has taken money from people from average walks of life from Canada, Germany, the USA, France, Puerto Rico, the Philippines and elsewhere at anywhere from $5,000 up to a million here and there from anyone that will listen to their rehearsed stories of treasure and adventures and when an investor falls to the wayside after discovering the deception Chris says; “We here at NCR call that investor fallout!” he then squats down and imitates someone making a noisy bowel movement while laughing that maniacal sounding laugh of his!
They have also left massive debts with local Dominican businesses. One apartment owner they owe over $25,000 (900,000 Pesos) for Chris’s apartment and others several thousand dollars, and hundreds to grocery stores, restaurants and ten’s of thousands of dollars to former employees.
They even feel free to steal personal possessions from former associates and employees including an expensive Sony HD camera, to pawn or sell whenever they feel like it instead of trying to return any of the investment or having any respect for other’s property or rights. If your last name is not Berry you don’t have any rights. They are like a pack of Gypsies…if you are not one of them, they can lie, cheat and steal from you and justify it in their minds as looking out for their own and screw everyone else no matter how much money one has given them or how long they have been loyal to them…even if is for over 21 years!
They claim to look for treasure but the treasure is really your money as an investor and your labors for them as an employee.
“The Barry’s will not only leave you in the desert without water… they will also steal your compass!” Jack L. Rea, former friend and loyal associate for over 21 years.
By Jack L. Rea, former photographer for NCR for over 21 years.
809.912.8280 TheMuseumGuy@yahoo.com (All Photos by Jack L. Rea)
Jack has hundreds of photos of NCR and over 20 hours of video, some in HD, taken over the last 21+ years as documentary evidence.
Re: FRAUD ALERT! North Caribbean Research by Jack L Rea
Dude,
You admit to helping them do this over 21 years, doesn't that
put alot of this on you also? And another thing, the proper
name for these ladies you describe is "Working Girls" not prostitutes.
Show alittle class!
Re: FRAUD ALERT! North Caribbean Research by Jack L Rea
Originally Posted by diver420
Dude,
You admit to helping them do this over 21 years, doesn't that
put alot of this on you also? And another thing, the proper
name for these ladies you describe is "Working Girls" not prostitutes.
Show alittle class!
Re: FRAUD ALERT! North Caribbean Research by Jack L Rea
The Caribbean is no easy place, the combination of alcohol and transient people make it a hard place to gain respect and do the right thing. I cannot comment on the Berry boys I do wish you luck Jack, there seemed to be a good thing going with the video and surveying it is a pity as it gives "academics" ammunition. Good luck and safe passage
Re: FRAUD ALERT! North Caribbean Research by Jack L Rea
I wouldn't waste time on a screenplay if I were you. You'd be better off making a documentary. As a movie, nobody is going to watch it. And as a screenplay, there is a 98% chance that nobody is going to buy it.
So, documentary. If that hapless loser who made "Loot" can make some money off of one, so can you. Just make sure you have some evidence to back up your story. Pictures. Interviews. Video if it exists. Whatever you got.
And definately try to interview Mark Fleckenstein's friends and family. I'm sure you could scrounge up enough to make something good.
Just my two bits.
Oh, by the way, you can't copyright a title. Placing the copyright symbol on there is meaningless.
Re: FRAUD ALERT! North Caribbean Research by Jack L Rea
I figure I'd better add my comments to this thread. It should be stated in advance that Jack has indeed been with NCR off and on in one capacity or another for over 20 years, and I spent one year with them, so weigh the comments as you see fit.
Jack and I didn't exactly see eye to eye on many things, but we were mostly cordial with one or two exceptions. I think he's got some video evidence that clearly supports that there was indeed good work going on down there. There is no doubt that we found shipwrecks...which is what we set out to do, and what Mark put his money in for. Did we find a huge treasure? Nope. Did we party (more so when the weather was bad)? You can count on it! Did we work every single hour of daylight when the weather was good, uh, no. I personally had a nice respectable girlfriend while I was down there...I'll leave the rest of that alone.
I've never worked on a perfect treasure hunting expedition where every penny of an investors money is spent being on the water, but I can show you logs with hours and hours of mag and sonar data, hours of video of us diving and digging, hell they are posted right here on TNET under Jack's name. I know there were some debts left unpaid down there, but I didn't leave any of them personally and I wasn't privvy to all of the accounting to know the figures. I did leave being owed a fairly significant amount of salary, and did have to sell some personal belongings to pay some of my bills (and to eat) before we finally got out. Mark left us rather abruptly and unexpectedly, try being stranded in a developing 3rd world country with no pay...you won't like it. That being said, I stayed there on my own accord for three months after Mark left the project. I knew we didn't have an investor, I knew my pay wasn't coming unless we found another one soon. I stayed as long as I could, and then when we did get some money, I wisely bought a plane ticket and got myself home.
I don't blame you for feeling the way you do on some counts, but the project was not a scam while I was there. There is always room for improvement, some people work harder than others , and some projects fail. We failed to find treasure before our investor lost interest and moved on. He moved on to SeaFarer Inc, who treated him infinitely worse than NCR did, he had troubles at home, and somewhere along the way he gave up. Dragging Mark's memory through the mud, or blaming NCR for his demise is pointless and demeaning. Mark was a close personal frined of mine, and some things that happened in the DR did weigh heavily on his mind, but so did the way SeaFarer treated him, along with his home life a whole host of other issues.
I'm not mad at you or the Berry's, I gave it all I had to give, and it didn't work out. That's the nature of this business. If I thought they were scamming my close personal friend of many years, do you think I would have stayed with them for a year? Do you think I would have let it continue when you know full well I could have given Mark the word and he would have pulled the plug. There were things there that I didn't like also, but it was my best chance at success at the time so I took it. The only regret I have is that I couldn't locate the main deposit of the 1639 Spanish vessel in time. That would have changed everything, and I hope I someday get the chance to go finish what I started.
I wish you the best Jack, and I know you have way more experience with NCR than I do. Sorry I changed from my original response, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized how little time you spent around us while we were working our butts off. Where is the documentary video of Chris and I very nearly loosing our lives when the 15 foot rogue wave threw us into the reefs. How much of that underwater footage you take credit for did you actually shoot? You never once got in the water with us, and I only recall one time when you were even on a boat with us. It's easy to point fingers from the couch....but walk a mile in our shoes diving on those reefs (I realize you never saw them in person) but Scott, Chris, and I saw them nearly every day for months...I've still got scars to prove it. I know your upset, and possibly with good reason...but putting your life on the line for less money than your average bartender makes is hardly a scam. You seem to target Chris (and admittedly he lived the more lavish lifestyle) but it should be known everyone that every second of those videos you published under your name, was in fact shot by him.
I don't wish you any ill will, but if I had ever thought the Berry's were scamming my good friend Mark, I would have put a swift and abrupt stop to it. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Wesmar SHD700SS Side Scan Sonar,U/W Mac 1 Turbo Aquasound by American Electronics,Fisher 1280x,Aquasound UW md,Aqua pulse AQ1B
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All Types Of Treasure Hunting
Re: FRAUD ALERT! North Caribbean Research by Jack L Rea
Jack,
Its best to cut your loss and go on to something better.With the world economy the way it is its hard enough to get investors to part with their money for a legal shipwreck venture.A screenplay or documentary will just discourage future investors into not investing with new treasure companies.There are scammers everywhere,you just have to know how to avoid them.Look out for the red flags.If you worked for this company for 20 years and never got paid then i guess you have something to gripe about.I am also a pro photographer/videographer and have been in this biz for well over 40 years.I dont do any jobs unless i see half the money up front in cash and all my expenses are paid for in advance.And no one gets the master tapes or images until i see my money.Otherwise i just walk away.My time is money.
If you want to recover your losses make a documentary,do it in a positive way for a legal shipwreck venture for future investors.Or just take the scammers to court,it could cost you even more time and money to expose them all.Then you have the DR government,im sure they arent too happy that theres nothing to show for all the permits your employers got to work the wrecks.Im sure the government got their money for them and whatever bribes it took to get them.
Some Of My Credits:
EVERYONE RIDES, Syndicated special/ home video,Cameraman/Videographer for "we will be right back fillers"
HAWAIIAN TROPIC BEAUTY PAGEANTS, Daytona 96, Syndicated specials,HBO Co-Producer, Cameraman/Videographer.
GOLDEN AGE GAMES,Production,Co Producer,Cameraman/Videographer Video and Special Effects Editor.
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE,Pilot For Starship,Producer,Cameraman/Videographer..
MAGAZINES I HAVE WORKED WITH:
Skateboarding,Skate,Thrasher,Surfer,Surf,Windsurfe r,Surfing,Easy Rider,Rolling stone,Lockheed Martin.Sea Treks.
JOURNALISM:
Washington Post,Honolulu Star,Honolulu Advertiser,Sun Bums,Jam,Springfield Journal Virginia.
BAND PROMO WORK:
Led Zepplin,Cheech N Chong,Rainbow,Blue Oyster Cult,Pat Travers,Judas Priest,Sly and the Family Stone,America,Leon Redbone,Monarch,Wrong,Stranger,Grand Funk,The Who,Stray Cats.
Millions of dollars of Spanish treasure await those who would dare brave the eye of the hurricane.
Re: FRAUD ALERT! North Caribbean Research by Jack L Rea
Jack & Jason, what happened to all the artifacts you found? I saw you post some of them here on Tnet. There was that large bell and I also saw you post pictures of a mortar. Those things are worth money. Were there other valuable artifacts that you found?
Re: FRAUD ALERT! North Caribbean Research by Jack L Rea
Thank you to everyone that has replied so far. Let me respond in order:
Diver 420: Yes, that is why I said I am trying to do something to recover the money investors lost and employees that were never paid in the past.
There are so many names for working girls, it would have taken up the whole post to get them all in, and many, would have been deleted by the censors!
lurediver: Yes over 21 years. I was the photographer and Webmaster. Was the photographer and Webmaster for say Enron just as guilty as the President of Enron? I was never privileged to how much money anyone put in or what the budget or even the agreements were. I just took photos and put them on the Website with the text provided to me. This last time when I came down, just 3 or 4 months before it ended after almost a year of the last investor, I befriended the investor and found out all about the deal and budget and was completely blown away and then he pulled the plug and left. I was NOT surprised.
OldGold1974: Thank you and it was pretty cool to have that kind of content to edit and post. I had good reason to get up each day, but unfortunately, I only had new content about once or twice a month. Thank you for wishing me well too!
allen_idaho: Documentary it is then! That does make more sense.
ScubaFinder: Man oh man did you ever change your tone!... you are part of the main reason I posted this now I am out here adrift. Oh well, nothing new in this business! You have to watch out for yourself man so no hard feelings. As I explained to you when I first came down, I can no longer dive because I have ruptured my left eardrum multiple times and can't clear anymore. The Doc said if I keep doing that, I will be completely deaf in that ear instead of only 50% deaf as I am now. What? Huh?
I guess you never actually watched any of the videos, they not only give Chris credit, "All videos by Christopher Berry" but have a photo of him on the credits as "Cinematographer", (he didn't like "videos shot by"). My name is on there as producer and for copyrights only. The only few that don't are the raw footage ones that just have the copyright info.
I guess only the last straw that broke the camel's back is guilty? All the others had nothing to do with it? I talked to him the day before and he told me to call him again Sunday, the day he died and I did and his wife answered, I was devastated as well as her, and I know how he felt about it and I am sticking with it!
Chris had the most lavish lifestyle? What an understatement! His apartment in Monte Cristi was more than yours, mine, Scott's combined and he had one there with you as well! I would say at least 1/3 to 1/2 of the total budget went just for Chris and his ex-wifes and babies spread all over the island along with his "lavish lifestyle"! You should back me up here at least like you were before I posted this!
Thank you for your personal message about this post though, I wish you would... uh...
FISHEYE: Yup, documentary, I concur. Rick is a very convincing fellow and there was a time I would have followed him to hell and back, and I guess I did. He owes me for 21 years and I will never see it I am positive. Maybe I should make a comedy about it all! Or, like Hunter S. Thompson, "Fear & Loathing with NCR"!
Wanna help me do a documentary? I have hundreds of photos and 20 hours of video, some in HD? It would be like watching a train wreck, people wouldn't be able to look away!
Salvor 6: Luckily, they are all at the conservation lab under the direction of the government. There are about 14,000 of them of which 50% belong to NCR valued at over $1Mil which I guess they will sell them and live the High-Life some more instead of giving a dime of it to any past investors or employees, especially me now that I said anything about them that wasn't pre-approved by them!
inletsurf: They are doing just find and have a million in assets but I nearly am dude! I am stuck in a Third World country on the border of Haiti living in a cinder block house with no screens, rarely has electricity and running water and with no ticket home, no food and Rick has not sent me a dime, not one dime to help in over 6 months! He hasn't even called to see if I am alive since way before XMAS until I sent him an email the other day saying I was going to post something like this... then he just started making his promises again and saying how bad he has it so I will feel sorry for him instead of for me! He has two sons that could get jobs, his wife, himself because they are in the States! It is illegal for me to take employment here. Chris stole my HD camera and I have had many opportunities I could have made money with that for hotels, real estate, tours etc. plus the earthquake in Haiti, I could of been first with HD video from there and a former TV station I worked for offered me $1,000 per day plus per diem... but no camera! They left me here to die in the desert with no water and stole my compass after 21 years of loyalty!
re: personal message: I will consider your offer to post my message above to your website and get back to you. I looked at it and it does look very interesting indeed! http://www.oceantreasures.org/rubriq...e,1070548.html
re: other personal message: Thank you! I know who was right and who was wrong... I was there!
I hear they are looking for more divers and a new photographer/Webmaster... I could forward your resume to them if you want!
Re: FRAUD ALERT! North Caribbean Research by Jack L Rea
Mark told me it was my camera and laptop and for me to keep the receipts, which I still have, in case I needed them for service etc. He was upset Chris took my camera and said he sure didn't buy it for him! He was helping me with my museum project and said he would get me another one and bring it down when he came down the next week or two...but...
Rick didn't say it was over or I was officially unemployed, he told me he was going to the States and he had meetings with three different investors and would be back in a couple of weeks. How could you possibly know what he told me?
Since he told me, before I came down, he had "two years of money" I let my house and everything go, so I had no motive to go back for a couple of weeks. Then it started dragging out and he left me with less than a month's money and not enough for a plane ticket... so I was misled and then it was too late and then nothing from him. Rick wouldn't respond or even ask how I was doing... how would anyone feel?
If Rick won't respond to someone that has been loyal for over 21 years, then the truth needs to come out to protect others. Yes, I told him he needed to take responsibility and help me out or I would tell everyone the truth about him and his company and how they treat people and investors. Mark's wife asked me specifically about all the titles she had for boats in her hand and I told them they had sold them all and left with the money. She was very upset and wanted to know how they could sell the boats without the titles?
He owes you $9,000 and has some of your personal stuff and hasn't sent it to you... you are not bothered? Rick owes you for 3 months maybe, he owes me for decades.
He sold everything Mark bought and didn't send any of it to him? That is not weird to you?
I know what I know from 21 years and you only know of one example from one year... I know of at least 10 others that have invested and they all ended up the same way... I see a trend developing and you see only one example. It has only gotten worse and worse and worse over the years and I personally think it needs to stop.
Re: FRAUD ALERT! North Caribbean Research by Jack L Rea
Originally Posted by Salvor6
Yeah, it never fails to amaze me how these things can have such different interpretations.
When you have no knowledge of any of it, except this forum, all you can do is read and try to gauge accuracy based on the posts as presented.
What a shame this kind of dispute is so often involved with treasure wrecks.
Hopefully this thread won't go the way of so many others on 'DeleteNet'.
Re: FRAUD ALERT! North Caribbean Research by Jack L Rea
[mod]DELETED – Forum Rules Violation - You may not... Post PM's (TreasureNet personal messages), email messages, or any other form of correspondence from other people that were intended or assumed to be solely for you.  (Wreckdiver1715)[/mod]
Re: FRAUD ALERT! North Caribbean Research by Jack L Rea
Posting a private message you receive on the forum is just plain wrong in my opinion.
Jason, I've talked with you back and forth numerous times over the years and I'm a firm believer that you've always been a straight shooter. Best of luck to you Jason - you deserve it bro
Re: FRAUD ALERT! North Caribbean Research by Jack L Rea
Let's see who we are really dealing with here...
How many of you saw the post: “Nice Bronze Bell Found”? posted by ScubaFinder on…http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.p...,264270.0.html
I saw that the night he posted it and immediately called Rick and asked him what in the world was Jason was doing, we didn’t find that bell, it is the one in the newspaper article Francis has sent us a short time earlier. I told him the way it was worded it sounded like we found it diving and not how it really happened and that I knew that Jason and the boys had simply tracked down the Italian guy, which had bought the bell from the young fisherman that had found it 30 years earlier, and they had only gone to his house and took photos of it and them holding it up! I had seen the photos and heard the story when they got back… and then this post!
I told him I was writing a scathing post to rebuke Jason for it and Rick told me, “Jason has a hot investor and this is just what he needs to push him over the edge and commit… a really good find… and don’t you dare post anything about it!” I was flabbergasted and knew this was really the beginning of the end.
Jason said we didn’t agree on a couple of things, and this was the main thing. Would any of you agree with this type of misleading of potential investors?
How many of you thought NCR really found it the way Jason worded it and went on about it? I doubt that is the way TNET works is that you just go where an artifact is and take a picture of it and then you end up with it on the Banner. It just made me sick.
I am posting the photo of the newspaper article for you all to see below and let you make up your own minds about “true colors”.
The article is from Saturday, September 2nd, 1978 in the Listin Diario and reads: A young fisherman (20 years) by the name of Antonio-Chery-Mitchell found the bronze bell in 1978!
The bronze bell says, MARIA ANNO DE 1616 it says in fourth paragraph down. I asked both Francis and Borrell about this date and they both said that the bell had not been cleaned yet and there was a lot of debate about what some of the numbers actually were at the time and then the Italian bought it and they never saw it again so they actually never did know what the date was and they and the newspaper had simply adlibbed a possible date.
I could say more about some other examples but some innocent people will be hit with the shrapnel and that is not fair to them. I leave this for you to decide how you feel about it… and, I rest my case.
Re: FRAUD ALERT! North Caribbean Research by Jack L Rea
This mud slinging is starting to make me feel sick to the pit of my stomach, and without coming down on one side or the other, I would like to see Jack delete the entire thread.
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Originally Posted by diver420
It should be stated in advance that Jack has indeed been with NCR off and on in one capacity or another for over 20 years, and I spent one year with them, so weigh the comments as you see fit.
