First, came the demise of the company under questionable circumstances. Then, its founder Drew Morrison quickly slipped into a “Whereabouts Unknown” status with no explanation to what happened to the money. Drew Morrison’s Shareholders/investors can now only wonder: what’s next?
Season of the Investor
Ironically, in the wake of CityGuru’s demise and founder Drew Morrison’s fading from sight, Hollywood has debuted movies and TV series spotlighting all too common theme of financial scandal and fraud wrought by the New Millienium. Movies such as “JOY”; “The Big Short” and ABC’s miniseries “Madoff” all involve themes of deliberate misrepresentation leading to financial fraud. In a twisted way, it seems as if it this has become the “Season of the Investor”; those who suffered the financial ruin telling their side of the story.
We are confident all will resonate with any investor, but for CityGuru investors/shareholders we feel ABC’s “Madoff” may prove to be particularly disturbing for them. The burning theme of the TV series gives new meaning to the Investor Mantra of: “Trust, but Verify”. Richard Drefuss’ portrayal of Bernie Madoff is particularly poignant when his character explains how the trust of investors is really all it takes to wrangle more and more money out of them…and the very tool to use to side-step any of their questions later.
But it was Drefuss’ delivery of other Madoff euphemisms that are sure to be just as disturbing to CityGuru investors such as:
- Madoff’s emphasis upon “loyalty” (albeit one-way)…and the importance of family and friendship (the very ones who paid the highest price for his actions)
- Madoff’s casual dismissal of complaining investors as being merely disgruntled investors or jealous rivals, and as such, their questions should be ignored.
- Once the scandal was exposed, Madoff merely shrugged his own responsibility off as nothing more than “a businessman who got in over his head”. His smug smirk at the press cameras says it all.
“Madoff” (above)- Richard Dreyfuss, portraying Ponzie Scheme Master Bernie Madoff, gives a shocking glimpse at how far a scam artist can go operating off the trust, alone, of his investors.
So, What Happens Next?
Happy endings can be written into Hollywood scripts leaving the Accountable eventually being held accountable for their actions. But in this Season of the Investor, there seems to be no happy ending to the story of the CityGuru Shareholders/Investors. In fact, they may be left with the end of this story exclaiming: “Is that how it ends?”
Whatever promises had been made to them in an attempt to distract them from the growing number of questions, CityGuru, Inc. abruptly–and without notice–ceased operations in the July-August, 2015 period followed with both company and its founder going dark.
This coincided with a flurry of controversial issues that were surfacing at the same time; all implicating both company and its founder, Drew Morrison. A Washington court awarded a $1.3 million judgment against Drew Morrison for complaints of fraud, misrepresentation and conversion, which raised only more questions from CityGuru shareholders and other investors. A news story appeared soon afterwards on Seattle’s KOMO TV News featuring local charities and benefits claiming rip-off by Drew Morrison in the name of CityGuru. More questions. The Washington State Department of Financial Institutions began its investigation of possible security fraud. More questions.
And then, after a brief period of “whereabouts unknown” Drew Morrison came out of hiding to grant an interview to KOMO TV in what was probably intended as his swan song. But in a hazy cloud of ambiquity and double-speak the song went terribly bad for Drew Morrison–only raising more questions from investors holding empty promises.
“The Big Short”-At the heart of every Investment Fraud is Misrepresentation of the Truth.
Shutting down all CityGuru media and communication with investors, Drew Morrison quickly slipped back into his previous status of “Whereabouts Unknown”.
For a normally adoration-hungry Drew Morrison this seems rather a radical tactic, leaving investors only with speculations to his whereabouts, his explanations and his intent. Some have speculated this is probably a natural “cease and desist” action to avoide further radar detection. And more questions.
But as speculation would have it, a “Whereabouts Unknown” status can serve another self-defense tactic:
- If process servers can’t find you, they can’t serve court summons on you. If they try; one can always throw a wrench of technicality into the legal machinery by claiming improper due process. This could provide valuable stall time in the event other investors decide to take legal action.
- It’s perfect for avoiding the collections efforts of those investors who have taken legal action and now hold judgments against you.
- It may provide that last-ditch argument (albeit a lame one) that you didn’t receive the mail from a meddling government or tax agency trying to contact you (probably with more questions).
It now seems likely that Drew Morrison may have chosen to remain in the shadows as a “wait and see” action to determine what will result from the ongoing Washington State’s investigation. Defense is better when you know what the Offense is doing.
So, what is the likely outcome of the state’s ongoing investigation? That’s difficult to predict considering it is an assumption that something WILL happen next.
The State of Washington’s investigation and case will depend largely upon the full cooperation of all Drew Morrison/CityGuru investors/shareholders. Many of Drew Morrison’s investors were small, non-accredited investors. Many had invested their savings and retirement funds, with little left over for legal costs. One reporter noted a certain sense of “shame” among some of the investors; perhaps a certain guilt at having trusted their family fortunes to Morrison. In particular, these investors are hesitant to talk openly.
“JOY”-Investment Fraud is not limited to Investors only; small businesses are taken with the same promises as well.
Anonymous comments to this blog have often provided surprises to us we cannot verify; name aliases and hiding in Arizona from pursuers, and the such. But, the reader can read this for herself. But, these comments do open the field of possibilities; that we may never know for sure, and in time people will forget.
And when they do forget we are reminded of what one investor shared with us from his last conversation with Drew Morrison. Sharing his personal philosophy, Morrison is reported to have stated: “People believe in me. I am young. I still have my whole life in front of me.”
In Morrison talk that can be interpreted as: we are likely to hear more from Drew Morrison in the future.
SCORE: Drew Morrison-1……Investors-0
NEXT: Was Drew Morrison smart enough to mastermind the fund-raising of almost a million dollars—or did he have help? Next, we will explore who the key CityGuru players were and what part they may have played in the strategy and handling of investor funds.
Liked what you read? Hate what you read? Please leave a comment below. All feedback is welcomed.
Amiable chap that Drew. But another Madoff? Here is how I stack them up next to each other.
Madoff took tens of millions – Drew took only a million. 1 Point for Madoff.
Madoff took from retirees and people’s life saving – Ditto for Drew. Tie
Madoff confined his scheme to business deals – Drew took money from charities and people dying from illness. 2 Points for Drew
Madoff went to jail – Drew is not in jail (at least not yet.) 1 Point for Drew
Madoff is smart and cunning – Drew is bold and far from smart. 1 Point for Madoff
Madoff blamed his “investors for the failure- Drew blames the investors for his failure. Tie
Madoff did not go into hiding – Drew is hiding. 1 Point for Drew
Madoff expressed some regrets – Drew has no regrets. 1 Point for Drew
Madoff paid some investors – Drew has not paid any non-family investors. 2 Points for Drew
Madoff had some legitimate business knowledge and was successful before going to the dark side – Drew has never been a success and has not legitimate business knowledge yet convinced people he knew something. 2 Points for Drew.
Madoff lived an otherwise normal life – Drew begs, pleads, manipulates and uses other people to house and support him. 1 Point for Drew.
But for the huge intelligence gap, and one bad decision after another in dealing with his creditors, Drew could have been the next Madoff. For once in his life Drew has honestly succeeded with a score of 11-2 beating out Madoff. It certainly helped Drew’s score by preying upon charities. I guess Madoff had a limit as to how low he would go. I am pretty sure Drew has not found a bottom.
If I have missed something be sure and add your comments. That includes you Drew. Come out of the shadows and quit hiding. You promised the investors we would be repaid. So what is the story now?
Dear Soaked,
According to your score card, Drew out ranked Madoff even though Madoff was clearly the more sophisticated of the two. This seems to suggest that Drew Morrison could have taught Bernie Madoff a thing or two—but the Feds got to Madoff first!
Soaked, you forgot to add another score point to your Morrison-Madoff scorecard.
Madoff sold millions in non-existant stock. Because he embarrassed High-level names, it earned him a new wardrobe colored all Orange. Morrison sold thousands in non-existant stock, but preyed on the savings and retirement funds of small savers whom no one knows. This may allow Morrison to continue sporting his spiffy wardrobe his investors bought him. 2 Points for Drew Morrison!
I have read a lot of comments about Drew and I am sickened at the shabby way Drew is presented. Drew loves the community and his friends. People gave Drew money for different charities because they like to give, that is what gives them pleasure. How can Drew have wrongfully taken money when it was handed to him? Only a dark soul would view Drew taking money from a charity as something bad. As Drew said, things happen. Maybe Drew said he was going to give the money to charities or use investor funds for a business, and he used the money to support himself. Drew has to live and eat like the rest of us. I know Drew and he would not take money from a charity or investor unless he thought he deserved the money more than the charity or investor. We need to quit complaining about the money taken by Drew from investors and charities. His family supports Drew and everything he has done. I understand Drew’s Dad, Leland Morrison, is a private school administrator or superintendent somewhere outside of Washington. If his Dad and Mom are okay with what Drew has done with charity money and investor money, it’s okay with me. Leland Morrison raised a fine son and he should be proud of what Drew has done and become.
Dear Keeping the Faith:
You seem to know a few things that we don’t. You stated that Leland Morrison was Drew’s father–and also a school administrator. To check it out we did a Google search and while we did not find a Leland Morrison in Seattle, Washington we did find a Leland E. Morrison and wife, Sandra, who are affiliated with the Davenport, Iowa school district. Are these the parents of Drew Morrison you’re speaking of?
You also stated they may be “Okay with Drew’s handling of Charity and investors’ money”–did they know about what happened to the money? If they do know, can you tell us if they may have been among the many “advisors” that Drew claimed guided him in his CityGuru business ventures?
Since Drew Morrison has gone underground there are many questions left unanswered for investors and the Seattle Charities. If you do know something we don’t, you may have information that could help a lot of people. Please contact us at cityguruinvestor@Yahoo.com. Let’s talk.
Yes, I think his parents live in Iowa and I think Leland and Sandra are his dad and mother. Drew told me that they have moved over the years, but exactly when and where I am not sure. Drew was in contact with them. I am unsure exactly what they know or how they may have helped or advised Drew. My guess is they have seen and read the news stories about Drew and if they are staying quiet its because they are not concerned with what Drew has done with investor money or charities. He had at least one other sister involved with Path Investments and I am pretty sure she has no concerns about what Drew has done with Path Investments or any of his other ventures.
Drew is not a bad man. His family supports and encourages him. How bad can it be?
Thank you for the information. We realize you obviously have a lot of faith in Drew Morrison for whatever reason, but hopefully you can understand that for the number of people who have no idea where Drew Morrison is–much less what happened to their money–they do not agree with you. Not one of them have yet to see a penny of their money–and you can rest assured they totally disagree with you that they were simply “giving” or “loaning” him their life savings! Do you know if Drew’s family were also investors? Surely, he wouldn’t have left them out in the cold, too? Do you know if they received their share of the investors’ money? For that matter, do you know of any Drew Morrison investor who received any of their money?
Faith–you got to be freakin kidding me! Drew Morrison “is not a bad man”? What is he, then–STUPID? You obviously did not invest your savings with him! And if his family supports and encourages him as you say they do then all I can say is that Drew must have shared some of the Pie with them!!! Hey, Faith….try staying off the drugs, will ya?
Dear keeping the faith- you obviously don’t know Drew very well. I’m also guessing you’re probably a woman, because Drew is really good at minipulating and buying the trust of women. Drew’s relationship with his adoptive parents has been a strained one for years. I can tell you first hand that he has no issue with buying your trust to use you at a later time. If you think you know him then, congratulations, you just became one of his future victims. If you consider him a good friend, congratulations, you just volunteered yourself and your family and close friends to be his next victims. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
I am not sure what my sex has to do with Drew. Yes, I am a woman. So far Drew has been nothing but helpful to me. I wanted to do some modeling, though Drew has been out of contact for a lot of months. I was not getting any interest from anyone about modeling. Drew told me he could help me become a model. I was thankful that Drew was willing to take a chance on my modeling career. Getting into modeling is expensive and I had to advance to money to Drew to help me with my career. It has been well over a year ago, almost two, that I advanced money to Drew to help me become a model. According to Drew, becoming a model takes time and may take more money, so I am keeping my faith. I hope to be in on the ground floor of Drew’s next business success and maybe one of the models they use for advertisements. Drew has promised me that I will make back 100 times what I advanced to him for my modeling career. I also believe I will become very well off when Cityguru returns. Be sour all you want, I advanced money to Drew for my modeling career (and a small loan to Drew) and I expect to make back everything.
We certainly wish you the best in your aspiring modeling career. But, any money you gave Drew to help get you there you can now kiss it goodbye. If Drew Morrison’s own wardrobe is any indication–you were actually helping HIM start his own modeling career! We are sure he thanks you for that (he did thank you, didn’t he?)
So, CityGuru will return will it? Does that mean almost a million dollars of investor funds will return with it? Drew Morrison will have to come out of cover for that to happen, don’t you think?
Please keep us informed on the progress of your wealth and modeling career…it would be nice to see Drew Morrison deliver a promise.
To Keeping the Faith, a word to the wise from someone who has been where you are right now with Drew. Count your money gone and forget thinking Drew will do anything for you. As long as I did not ask too many questions about my investment and gave Drew emotional and financial support, he was my best friend. I too thought I could be a model, and Drew played this routine on me. I had a reality check and I am not model material. He also was going to get me in “on the ground floor” and make me rich with Cityguru. Too easy, too fast and pure fiction. Look at what he did to charities for battered women, animals and cancer victims. If Drew is willing to cheat charities why in the world do you think he would not cheat, use and abuse you? Grow up girl and move on. No man is worth this much financial and emotional damage. Good luck!
Faith,
Been There Done That has made a very good point and her message is worth re-reading. We all simply have to face the fact that the scorecard remains: DREW MORRISON-1 point; INVESTORS (and other PROMISEES) -0 points. Throwing more trust at him in hopes that he will honor any and all promises is the same as throwing good money after bad.
He is using the name Andrew Bora and doing something called SuitClub
He’s using an alias now? Anyone out there fool-hardy enough to invest with him?
Drew has yet another great idea and investment. Cityguru will probably come back, but later. For now, Drew has the Suit Club and you will see the same excitement and flair as Cityguru. Exclusive events, great fashions and only the best people to be seen with. Teddy Lim will be glad to introduce you to Drew and you will learn from Ted that Drew is a great guy. Drew’s friends know about the allegations of conversion, unpaid judgments and taking money from charities. They would not put their names and reputations out in the community associating with Drew unless they have some inside knowledge that explains everything. Pay attention everyone, Suit Club is bigger and better than Cityguru.
We see from Teddy Lim’s comments that Drew Morrison/Suit Club is going to REVOLUTIONIZE fashion as we know it. Drew claimed that Path Investments Group was going to “make millions in two years”. When investors were left wondering where did Drew Morrison and their money go, Drew then announced that On The Go Technologies was going “put Microsoft out of business”.
Investors grew dizzy from the speed at which he took them and their money over into CityGuru where Drew Morrison promised “the most elite event club in Seattle”. Investors are now stunned to learned that he took them, their money–and several Seattle Charities for a ride as well, leaving them without explanation or their money.
Good for Teddy Lim that he has that much faith in Drew Morrison and the Suit Club. Hopefully, he has put his money where his mouth is by investing very large; very substantial funds into Drew Morrison’s latest pipe dream.
Good for Teddy Lim that he is such a brave, brave investor.
Should we just go ahead and add the Suit Club to Drew’s long list of startups that didn’t make it? Pay attention Keeping the Faith- You too will soon be cursing Drew’s name, and it won’t be from his bedroom any longer. Might be a good time to read up on your fables. A good read for you might be The Scorpion and the Frog. Enjoy Drew’s frivolous lifestyle with money that has been stolen from investors scammed by Drew. Every meal that he pays for, just remember, he stole that money. Or is deceit different than stealing? I’m so confused about the grayness that marks Drew’s moral compass. Anyone who goes by a different name is super honest and forthcoming. I mean, he is using an alias for his name on the Suit Club’s biz page. Why would someone who’s so honest and legit use a different name?
While the large majority of people who seemed to know Drew have had a negative experience with him, I’m one of what sounds like a few who came out unscathed by him. I did a few jobs for Drew and CityGuru while the company was at its peak and never had a negative experience with Drew. I was also very lucky (so it seems) to have had 100% of my invoices paid in full and on-time by Drew.
With that being said, I still did my due diligence and did a quick Google search on Drew Morrison, even before I did a few quick jobs for him. The search results were already littered with negative press from his previous investment fraud scandal in Arizona, but no bad press in the Seattle area yet. Since my jobs with him were quick and small, I took a chance working with him and like I said, was always paid for the work I did. I ceased working with him once rumors of fraud in Seattle surfaced again.
My point though is this: how many investors bothered to do a Google search or any kind of reference check on Drew before handling them life savings or large sums of money? Seattle investors in particular could have done a quick online search and seen that he was implicated in previous scandals. This should have been a big hint to not invest with him from the start.
Just an observation…
Dear Short Time Acquaintance,
Your Comments ring out the message and intent of this entire website: DO YOUR DUE DILIGENCE before parting with your money or investing it!
Of the 6 years history we have collected on Drew Morrison, there are no known investors/charities known to ever have seen their money again; and only two known people who were paid for their services rendered. You are one, and the other was paid under dubious conditions. A higher power must be looking over you!
You make an excellent point that Due Diligence can be as simple as a Google Search. A search on “Drew Morrison/Seattle/CityGuru” will quickly reveal enough information to anyone who is contemplating the risk of doing business with Drew Morrison. We also highly recommend another website, The RipOff Report. Insert “Drew Morrison” or “CityGuru” for additional detail on his business style.
Fortunately, we also have available KOMO 4 News own website which seems to be keeping eyes on Drew Morrison and is often the first to break any news on his latest escapade.
Thank you for your comments and congratulations on escaping the fate of so many who have done business with him.