FrankWhitingShastaCollegeVonira

Shasta, California - What started as online fantasy role-play in virtual worlds has turned into a real-life nightmare for one Shasta College teacher.

Frank Whiting, a computer instructor at Shasta College, finds himself at the heart of myriad allegations and investigations of civil and criminal wrongdoing ranging from tax fraud and theft to the felonious filing of false documents with two federal agencies with the intent to mislead investors. Even the Department of Homeland Security has been brought into the case. Compounding matters, one of Whiting's associates is a convicted felon for federal tax fraud and Whiting's business is being operated out of this man's office, from which his former business was shut down by the State of Oregon for making fraudulent claims regarding an application to handle large financial transactions.

And on a darker note, Shirley I___d, a grandmother in her 60s, alleges that in building and promoting Whiting's online business ventures he and his associates have stolen her life's savings and so terrorized her that she fears for her life.

So how did Frank Whiting, a respected college instructor, career military officer, former engineer with McDonnell Douglas who designed computers used on both the space shuttle and the international space station, and a lay minister, become embroiled in this situation? It began in 2004 when Whiting started participating in fantasy role-play in virtual worlds, a type of online game where people take on diverse personas, which can range from animals and mythical creatures like fairies and mermaids to cowboys, barbarian warriors, princesses and almost anything the mind can imagine.

Assuming the fantasy name Stungthumbz, Whiting created an online persona in which he was the dean of his own fantasy university. He recruited people to assist him as staff and instructors and began offering non-accredited classes in a number of virtual worlds. He also began forming a virtual fantasy family separate from his real-life family. This included a Las Vegas woman in her 40s who in the virtual worlds calls Whiting "dad." This relationship would later play a key role in the events that led to Whiting's current problems.

As is often the case with fantasy role-play Whiting began to blur the line between fantasy and reality. He even uses his fantasy avatar character for his picture on his Shasta College teacher's site, and in 2010 Whiting created what he purported to be a nonprofit educational organization.

Copyright Content per 'fair use laws' and other applicable regulations

[Attachment 1: Shasta College Official Page depicting Whiting's "Stungthumbz persona."]

[Attachment 2: Shasta College Official Page linking Whiting and the college to his online "educational facilities in virtual reality."]

[Attachment 3: Whiting's UoT Website Main Page Jan. 2nd, showing YowNow.com as an affiliate.]
[Attachment 4: Whiting's UoT Website Main Page Jan. 14th, with YowNow reference removed. Whiting kept up the attacks on the I____s, but removed the claim he would operate in YowNow.com from his main page after the I____s revealed to him findings of their investigation into Whiting and his associates.]

While it remains unclear if Whiting actually registered as a nonprofit, and the name he chose is already in use by other universities, Whiting did begin to negotiate business contracts while representing that he was "dean" of this "online nonprofit university." He also invested $10,000 of his wife Joan Whiting's inheritance in a company with which he was negotiating a contract. This firm, Vonira Technologies, Inc., a Delaware corporation headquartered in Oregon and housed in the office of a convicted tax felon and former used car salesman, is embroiled in a fierce stockholder battle built around accusations of theft, fraud, failure to perform fiduciary duties, federal felonies, and other civil and criminal activities.

[Attachment 5: Jeff Taylor Tax Fraud Felony and license denial for false filing]

Whiting and the woman who calls him "dad" in virtual worlds, Sheri Pate, 40, Las Vegas, along with the woman Pate calls her "mom" and who Whiting has made "vice dean" of UoT, Kathryn F. Stearns, a legal professional in Seattle, Washington, chose to back and actively assist the people against whom the allegations of criminal and civil violations have been levied. Led by Jim Shaer, a pizza cook in Portland, Oregon, Alex Vaughan, Brian Misner and others allegedly attempted to take over the company by simply changing access codes on the company's servers and Facebook pages and announcing that they owned and ran everything.

The short-lived coup collapsed when the actual owners of the property, R___ and Shirley I___d of ______, Oregon, regained control of their property after verifying their ownership with the server providers by submitting records of financial transactions, and with Facebook by proving ownership of their trademarks. Whiting's and his confederate's troubles only increased when they made a felonious trademark application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office attempting to register a trademark identical to that held by Shirley I___d. Jim Shaer made the spurious trademark application, in the process swearing under penalty of law to the United States government that he knew of no similar trademark in existence and that his actions were not intended to create confusion or to mislead. Sheri Pate apparently participated in the application and is listed as the e-mail contact.

[Attachment 6: Possible Felonious Yow Now Trademark Filing... digitally signed by Jim Shaer, E-mail contact Sheri P(ate) - Filing Date 10/25/2011]

[Attachment 7: Legal details of Jim Shaer's apparent violation of Federal Law]

[Attachment 6a: Shirley I___d's Authentic Yow Now Trademark Filing. Filing Date 12/13/2010]

The questionable trademark application (and all Vonira business since their removal by the I___ds) lists as their headquarters the Tigard, Oregon office of Jeff Taylor, a disgraced former mortgage broker who had his license revoked by the state of Oregon when it was discovered he had lied on an application in order to hide a federal felony conviction for tax fraud. Whiting and his associates have used this office for all their legal transactions and other business, and Jeff Taylor is listed on another transaction with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission which has come under review for possible fraud with intent to mislead investors, falsely listing Shirley A. I___d as Chairman of the Board of Directors, even though they know she has no association with them. The I___ds believe this is further proof of Whiting's intent to mislead investors and bolster false claims of ownership of their property.

[Attachment 16: United States Security and Exchange Commission Form D Stock Filing - Listing Shirley I___d as an officer - left in place through the present. Discovered by the I___ds' staff during their investigation]

[Attachment 9a: Screen Capture of January 12, 2012 Bloomberg BusinessWeek report based on a misleading Form D filing

(Attachment 9b). This is one of multiple reports in the press and media falsely stating that Vonira Technologies, Inc. (Frank Whiting and Jim Shaer's company) owns YowNow.com - the trademarked intellectual property of Shirley I___d.]

Beginning in September, 2011 and continuing through the present the I___ds maintain Whiting and his associates ran an aggressive campaign of abuse and terror intended to pressure them into surrendering their property to Whiting and others and also with deliberate intent to destroy their personal reputations and their ability to continue to conduct business as competitors. Using his UoT website Whiting not only attacked Vonira founder R___ I___d, but he also attacked the new company the I___ds had formed in an attempt to continue their project and salvage five years of work and about $100,000 of their money, including virtually all of Mrs. I___d's retirement money from 26 years with General Electric.

[Attachment 10: Frank Whiting uses his "university" website to attack the I___ds and their new company, posting as his alter-ego "Stungthumbz, University Dean"]
[Attachment 11: Vonira Facebook page showing focus placed in Frank Whiting of Shasta College to lend credibility to false Vonira claims and attacks. Nowhere are Whiting and his wife Joan Whiting listed as stock holders in Vonira, meaning both will benefit financially from acquisition of the I___ds' money and intellectual property.]

In these attacks Frank Whiting stated he was working for Vonira Technologies, Inc. and that Kathryn F. Stearns a.k.a. "Kitte" (her fantasy role-play name) was now the "vice dean" of his "university." The public UoT attacks continued under Stearns control from October 22, 2011 at least through Feb. 19, 2012. While attacking I___d and his new company, Whiting never revealed that both he and his wife Joan Whiting are shareholders in Vonira Technologies, Inc. and that he was in fact using his self-proclaimed nonprofit educational organization to attack a business competitor and to promote and enhance the Whitings' for-profit investments in Vonira Technologies, Inc.

[Attachment 12a: Part One Screen Capture of Frank Whiting's UoT Charter stating it is a nonprofit with an active Board (of directors).]
[Attachment 12b: Part Two Screen Capture of Frank Whiting's UoT Charter - it is WELL WORTH reading the last paragraph... "The UoT is expected to set an example... UoT members who find themselves subject to validated accusation, participants in an investigation, or subject to suspension by the Host Virtual World for TOS (Terms of Service) for intellectual property violations, either as plaintiff or defendant, will immediately resign from UoT until the issue is resolved..."]

[Attachment 13a: Part One Screen Capture of Frank Whiting's UoT "Mission," falsely stating it will be opening in YowNow.com, the property of Shirley I___d.]
[Attachment 13b: Part Two Screen Capture of Frank Whiting's UoT "Mission," referring to UoT as: ...an "upper division" educational institution...]

If in fact the UoT is registered as a nonprofit organization, Whiting's actions appear to violate federal tax law and compromise its nonprofit status. However, if Whiting did not actually register this as a nonprofit educational organization, as he has represented, he is not off the hook. In business negotiations and on his website he claims nonprofit status and on his website he also seeks "donations." This could open the door to allegations of fraud. Coupled with Whiting's involvement with the alleged fraudulent activities of Vonira Technologies, Inc., and his close professional association with a convicted felon for tax fraud, this may only add to his troubles.

Whiting and the others played upon confusion caused by the fact that R___ and Shirley I___d made no effort to assert ownership of Vonira Technologies, Inc. Their sole focus was upon maintaining and protecting Mrs. I___d's trademark name for a proposed virtual world the I___ds spent five years researching and designing, YowNow. This acronym stands for Your Other World…Now. Mrs. I___d holds trademarks on YowNow, and Your Other World. R___ I___d explained why he and his wife had no further interest in Vonira Technologies, Inc.

When the theft and conspiracy was uncovered, the I____s immediately acquired a $5,000 promissory note issued by Vonira Technologies, Inc., and as note holders issued a demand for recusal of further actions by Jim Shaer for alleged violation of his fiduciary duties, specifically placing their investment money at risk for his personal gain, pending the outcome of an outside investigation by the Oregon Attorney General's Office and the Oregon Secretary of State. The I____s maintain that all subsequent actions by Whiting, Shaer and "Vonira" are under this cloud and have no legal status. [The note is now 90 days in arrears and the I___ds have issued a demand for payment in full.]

"The breakup occurred when I uncovered a plot by Frank Whiting's associates Jim Shaer and Jon B. Hanley of La Grande, Oregon to divert most of a $1 million investment coming from the Middle East to their personal control and use," said Mr. I___d. "I took immediate steps to stop this by announcing I was bringing in outside management to handle investment money. It was at this point Shaer (who up until now had handled the company bank account), Whiting and their backers began to steal our property.

"I consulted an experienced CEO who advised me there was no point expending either my time or financial resources fighting for Vonira Technologies, Inc. He said such a fight was pointless. He told me they could never use Vonira because of my claim to ownership, nor could I ever use it because of their claims. Therefore, I should simply open a new company and move on without them, starting fresh and working from the ground up with new people to negate any monetary claims by them against my future profits from my new venture. I have done so and we are very close to opening our first virtual world, YowNow.com.

"This proved sound advice. During the same time period in which we have moved steadily toward opening, they have done nothing but fight over ownership of Vonira and attack me, my staff, my partners, my wife, and our new company. We own Vonira.com and the Vonira e-mail, so they can never use this in trade, just as my adviser told me. And yet they paid to trademark the unusable name Vonira, even as we paid the same amount to register our new name and proceed in business.

"The constant public attacks by Frank Whiting on me personally and on my new company, bolstered as they are by his professional association with Shasta College, have had a withering effect on my ability to enter into professional contracts and raise investment money," said Mr. I___d. "While I would like to simply put this behind me and move on, Whiting's actions have made this impossible. His attacks have been picked up and parroted by hate sites, many we believe run by pedophiles and their Internet suppliers desperately trying to stop the opening of my world and introduction of my innovative new technologies for identifying and prosecuting predators who target children. Whiting and his associates have reached out to some of these perverts, currying support and trying to distance themselves from my aggressive anti-pedophile stance... a public stance which has brought intense pressure upon myself and my family. My wife was searching our name on the Internet and found one pedophile-friendly site had posted a recent photograph of our daughter standing in front of our home, along with our full address and a call for someone to come sexually assault her. Frank Whiting's associates are now actively posting attacks on us at that same site.

"I can't defend myself against Frank Whiting, the online pedophile industry and Jim Shaer all at the same time. For this reason I chose to present to the public both sides of the issue, corroborated by extensive documentation discovered by myself and my staff during a three month long investigation," said Mr. I___d.

On his UoT website Whiting states his "university" is already affiliated with SecondLife.com, a fetish sex site linked in the national and international news media to pedophilia and offering bestiality, necrophelia, simulated gang rape, bondage, and more, with a heavy emphasis on the role-play sexual enslavement, rape and torture of women.

Not only have Whiting and Jim Shaer attacked R___ I___d and his wife Shirley I___d's new company, but there have been unceasing, vicious personal attacks on Mrs. I___d. Despite repeated requests that neither Whiting nor any of his associates contact Mrs. I___d personally, but instead deal only through her company communication channels, they have refused and have deluged her with harassing e-mails and telephone calls and in person - often using profanity - in which they constantly demand she give them her property. Mrs. I___d has stated repeatedly that she is in fear for her and her family's personal safety. She cites the escalating threatening tones of these communications directed at her and the repeated demands that she give them her property as grounds for this fear.

Whiting, Shaer, and their associates already have taken possession of money and real property belonging to Mrs. I___d which represents the bulk of her retirement income earned during 26 years with General Electric. Mrs. I___d, a grandmother in her 60s, states she has lost her entire savings and retirement because of the actions of Jim Shaer, Jon. B. Hanley and Frank Whiting and now works two physically demanding jobs while she and her husband struggle to continue their business and open YowNow. Following a reference from Frank Whiting to the I___ds suggesting they contract work with Sheri Pate, Pate received about $7,000 of Mrs. I___d's retirement money. Whiting, Pate, Shaer,and their associates Alex Vaughan, Andrew Meyer and Brian Misner have received tens of thousands of dollars from Mrs. I___d.

Whiting's associate, Brian Misner, an IT tech at Corle Building Systems, Inc. of Imler, Pennsylvania, took more than $8,000 directly from Mrs. I___d's bank account, using it to buy thousands of dollars of software, server space, and real property such as computer components, all now under the control and direction of Frank Whiting. Misner, an ex-Marine who uses the fantasy name MarineOne in virtual world role-play, ingratiated himself to the I___ds and gained access to Mrs. I___d's bank account by swearing on his Marine Corp oath that he would always be loyal to them and never betray them. Misner was working in a part-time CTO role with the I___ds, with the goal of leaving Corle Building Systems and joining Vonira full-time after the opening of the virtual world YowNow.

"When it was revealed that Brian Misner was actively involved in the plot against us, we asked him to return our property and my wife's money, which he knew came directly from her retirement savings," said Mr. I___d. "He refused, claiming that since Mrs. I___d had authorized him to use her account it was not stealing and he was entitled to keep everything."

The I___ds have repeatedly asked Misner to honor his oath of undying loyalty he swore to them on the honor of the Marine Corps and do the right thing. In response he stopped communicating directly with them, but continues to attack them online, once again invoking the Marine Corps and masking his identity behind the fantasy name MarineOne, even as he continues to use R___ I___d's real-name in his attacks. In documents uncovered by the I___ds' research staff, Whiting is now directing Misner and others in the continued development of the I___ds' virtual world project, using the property paid for by Mrs. I___d. In the last few weeks the I___ds made repeated pleas to Misner asking that he think of the reputation of the Marine Corps and return Mrs. I___d's property and retirement money without forcing her to go public about his actions, and his violation of the oath he swore to them on the United States Marine Corps. He never responded.

"I am a Vietnam Veteran," said Mrs. I___d. "I remember walking down an American street in my hospital uniform when a man walked up and spit on me and called me a baby killer. 'My God,' I told him. 'I'm a nurse.' I served my country and took care of a lot of injured Marines. Now I am in my 60s, flat broke and washing dishes and mopping floors in a deli to keep from being homeless. I paid my dues and I deserve better than to have my life savings stolen by a United States Marine."

But the I___ds are not the only victims of Whiting's and his associates' actions. In documents uncovered during a lengthy investigation it was revealed that within just weeks of trying to seize control Frank Whiting, Jim Shaer, Sheri Pate, Jon B. Hanley, Andrew Meyer, Azzam Harake and Brian Misner conspired not only to steal and build upon the I___ds' intellectual property and money (in these letters Whiting admits to his cohorts that I___d founded Vonira), but some of them also conspired to squeeze out many other people who had claims in the company and thus grow the value of their ownership. This is detailed in the Fraud Warning section of this web site, and was instigated by Jon B. Hanley.

Without R___ I___d's leadership Vonira Technologies, Inc. has been reduced to a single Facebook page (devoted solely to attacking R___ I___d) and two poorly made music videos on YouTube, also attacking I___d and claiming Frank Whiting and his associates are the true owners of the I___d family's property. They explain why the I___ds remain in possession of their trademarks, websites, e-mail system and intellectual property by making the bizarre claim the I___ds actually stole it from them. On Frank Whiting's UoT website he posts: "After a careful legal review of existing documentation we have confirmed that Vonira Technologies, Inc. Is the legal owner or has full legal rights in and to, all equipment, software, intellectual property, patents, trademarks, contracts, and names, relating to the virtual world, YowNow."

That this claim is repeated on Facebook and then a YouTube music video would be comical if not for the horrible negative impact it has had upon the I___ds, their partners and investors, and their ability to conduct business.

[Attachment 11: Vonira Facebook page]
[Attachment 10: Frank Whiting claims full ownership of the I___ds' real and intellectual property, posting as his alter-ego "Stungthumbz, Dean of University" on his website]
[Attachment 14a: Part One Screen Capture of bizarre Vonira Facebook attack on R___ I___d, signed by Jim Shaer]
[Attachment 14b: Part Two Screen Capture of bizarre Vonira Facebook attack on R___ I___d, signed by Jim Shaer]

BELOW: Hear the tone, character and voice of the man Frank Whiting made his partner. Remember: Shaer SIGNED the attacks he denies knowing about.

[Attachment 14c: When the I___ds asked Jim Shaer to remove his above signed attack on them, Shaer left this voice message on their answering machine, claiming it is "bullshit" and he has no idea who is attacking them. The I___ds both were present and listening while this message was left and will testify the recording is complete and accurate. This message has added to Mrs. I___d's concern for her and her family's physical safety.]

Curious about the phrase "...a careful legal review..." which Whiting and Shaer state proves their ownership, the Ifords sought to verify Whiting's and his associates' claims that they are represented by Bill D____, a Portland, Oregon attorney. Mr. D_____ responded in writing to an inquiry by the I___ds, stating that he had merely been hired to prepare some contracts, (which he had done working with R___ I___d). He stated he had stopped opening or reading communications from Whiting's associate Jim Shaer at Vonira, that his firm did not handle this type of case, and in any event he had closed his law office.

[Attachment 15: E-mail from Portland Attorney Bill D____ to Shirley I___d, stating he does not represent Frank Whiting, Jim Shaer or Vonira Technologies, Inc., as claimed.]

"Jim Shaer was a local pizza cook I befriended and helped out considerably," said Mr. I___d. "I created a website for him and remodeled his tiny restaurant, all for free. He told me he had never had a break in life, and I gave him a chance with my company and the title first of president and then, when I didn't want to stay public in the role, I made him titular CEO. He was to be a front man for me, and follow my directions. Instead, he organized a group of malcontents to try to divert investors' money away from the company, and take over our company and my wife's retirement money," said Mr. I___d.

"In his attempt to be a CEO he tried to hold a board meeting on his own," said I___d. "He sent out a meeting notice, but to the wrong people and with a non-existent day-date. Undeterred, after the meeting he contacted my wife and told her he and his cronies had decided they now owned all her property and she had to give it all to them at once. He even contacted our lawyer and told him to close out the account and 'send all of Mrs. I___d's retainer money to me, Jim Shaer.' It was as comical as it was infuriating. It is apparently based upon this that Frank Whiting claims on his website that he and his cohorts own our property."

The I___ds' investigation has continued to uncover more evidence of suspected criminal activity and has extended to Whiting and his associates' activities involving the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Department of Homeland Security. They have discovered evidence particularly disconcerting in its implications.

"As we learned more we began to see a disturbing pattern which we believe we have a legal duty to report to the Department of Homeland Security," explained Mr. I___d. "The existence of apparently fraudulent documents seeking to mislead or confuse investors, the participation of Jeff Taylor, convicted of federal tax fraud, the unsettled questions about the actual tax status of Frank Whiting's UoT, the participation of two people from the Middle East including Azzam Harake, who has claimed association with a $100 million valuation Middle Eastern Arab Emirates investment company, the apparent attempt to divert money coming from the Middle East to non-regulated private use, the close participation of Brian Misner, an ex-Marine who claims to have worked as a guard at US embassies in the Middle East, and most unsettling, Jim Shaer's verified collection of dozens of identities and Social Security numbers of American citizens raises very serious issues beyond our scope to resolve," said Mr. I___d.

Shortly before the I___ds uncovered a plot by Jim Shaer and Jon B. Hanley to divert to their own use investor money at Vonira Technologies, Inc., Jim Shaer asked everyone associated with the company to send him their personal information including their Social Security numbers. He did this with no prior consultation with the I___ds. While initially they believed his claim that this was needed for the business, a subsequent review showed nothing was established that would require Jim Shaer to have any legitimate use for these personal identities. This raised grave concerns among those who surrendered their information to Shaer, and Mr. I___d reports his suspicions were further aroused when his staff expressed fear their identities might be sent to the Middle East by Shaer, a native of Lebanon.

"It is hard for me to fathom all this," admitted Mr. I___d. "These are all people I trusted and who swore their allegiance to me. Many of them, like Jim Shaer, owed me many favors and I really brought them into my company only to help them out. Not only did they betray us and steal from us, but they have been horribly vicious in their attacks and they seem to genuinely believe they are entitled to everything my wife and I have worked for and built and paid for in the last five years of our lives, or in Shirley's case for nearly 30 years.

"But I think the participation of Frank Whiting is the most confusing to me. I guess a man like Jim Shaer who cooks pizzas for a living can be excused for trying to get his hands on big money when he sees the chance. But I genuinely cannot figure out Frank Whiting. He seems to have sacrificed everything of value in his life to participate in a scam. When I told him that his wife's inheritance was at risk and offered to give her double the value of her Vonira investment in my new company he flatly refused. I told him she would lose everything,"

"I asked him to search his heart and he would know this was my work, my creation, and my property. I asked him to think of his wife Joan and the risk to her and her inheritance. He just didn't care. I suppose you might argue that Frank Whiting was in so deep he couldn't get out or that he really thought he could pull this off. But I don't accept that. In my research into virtual worlds I have seen this happen too many times before. Frank Whiting may have submerged his personality into his fantasy virtual-world persona, going from a community college teacher in real life to 'dean of a university,' and in the end I think the fantasy could have become completely real to him. Frank Whiting may prefer the fantasy to reality, to the point he no longer makes responsible decisions, nor acts to protect his wife... the real one."