Last week, Tea Party Rep. Andrew Brenner and his wife published "Was Sandy Hook a Hoax Designed to Advance Gun Control Laws? through their alleged publishing company, BrennerBrief.
Tea Party Rep. Andrew Brenner and his wife both tweeted that BrennerBrief is a company with "nearly 60 paid writers" they own and operate in Ohio and they claim it is registered "under an LLC." But that is not true ... it is a lie. As per Ohio Secretary of State BrennerBrief is not registered under an LLC or anything else for that matter. BrennerBrief started in June 2012 as The Brenner Brief.
To verify the premise of this story: Rep. Brenner & his wife are running a company illegally in Ohio, I contacted two separate women at the Ohio Secretary of State. Both women confirm that BrennerBrief is not now, and never has been, registered to do business in Ohio and, according to the OH SoS office, "by law, Ohio Statute 1329, every business, no matter the size, must register with the Secretary of State in order to do business legally in Ohio." Therefore, "the company [BrennerBrief] is operating illegally in Ohio."
Since BrennerBrief is not registered to do business in Ohio, as far as Ohio is concerned BrennerBrief does not exist. Therefore, BrennerBrief is not a "private business" and not a "private LLC" and not a "private company" operating in Ohio.
There is proof that Rep. Brenner is actively involved with BrennerBrief as Rep. Brenner publishes articles through BrennerBrief. There are no legal documents for BrennerBrief, so there is absolutely no proof that Rep. Andrew Brenner is not actively involved with BrennerBrief.
Rep. Andrew Brenner is accountable to the public - he's a public servant. The media & his constituents have a right to know and Rep. Brenner must answer:
* Why Rep. Brenner never registered BrennerBrief with the Ohio Secretary of State as required by Ohio law?
* Does BrennerBrief have an Employer Identification Number (EIN)?
* Does Rep. Brenner get paid for submitting/published articles?
* If Rep. Brenner does get paid, does Rep. Brenner list that income on a Financial Disclosure Form?
* Does BrennerBrief pay Worker's Compensation for their "60 paid writers" as required by Ohio State Law?
After being told the Ohio Secretary of State confirms that BrennerBrief is not registered with any LLC, including but not limited to Mrs. Brenner's 2009 LLC,
* Why do Rep. Brenner & his wife continue to falsely claim BrennerBrief is registered through her "2009 LLC" (see below for their emails/tweets on that)?
As a reminder of Ohio Tea Party Rep. Andrew Brenner(R) published story last week he and/or his wife, Sara Maria Eichenberger Brenner used their 'company,'
BrennerBrief to publish a vile online story titled: "
Was Sandy Hook a Hoax Designed to Advance Gun Control Laws?" The story promoted a psychotic, paranoid, delusional conspiracy theory that mocked the murder of 5 year old & 6 year old children & teachers who were murdered as they tried desperately to protect the children ... it was a smack in the face to their loved ones.
Rep. Brenner is engaging in corrupt business activities so it is very important that the media & Rep. Brenner's constituents ask Rep. Brenner about this.
UPDATE:
8:52 AM PT:
Ohio Secretary of State just sent an email stating
XXXXX@ohiosecretaryofstate.gov
9:39 AM (2 hours ago)
"BrennerBrief is currently available in our files. Please be advised that this is just a preliminary search and we cannot guarantee that the name will still be available at the time you file paperwork to secure that
name."
XXXXXXX [I am withholding the name for now]
Project Specialist
Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted
180 E. Broad St., 16th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
Telephone: 614.644.7456"
[same update below]
hmmm .... "BrennerBrief is currently available.." Meaning, BrennerBrief is not registered to do business in Ohio at the time that email was sent. So, for around $25.00 anyone of us can own the name "BrennerBrief."
That same week, Rep. Andrew Brenner's & his wife used BrennerBrief to publish another bizarre story promoting selling public schools off to rich folks so taxdollars can be diverted to those rich folks. Their fearmongering con-job consisted of Rep. Brenner saying public schools are "socialist" so therefore, America should take its cue from communist USSR and sell of all public schools and "sell off the existing buildings, equipment and real estate to those in the private sector. The private sector includes our existing teachers, superintendents, management and everyday taxpayers."
Rep. Brenner is a real estate agent ... go figure.
Anyway, after those two nutjob stories came out on social networking sites, Rep. Brenner and his wife took to twitter to complain about DailyKos for running a story about their 'Sandy Hook Hoax' story (here). They blasted "#LiberalLiars" and said Rep. Brenner didn't have anything to do with 'BrennerBrief' because it was founded by it's Editor-In-Cheif, Sara Maria Brenner.
When a Twitterer told Rep. Brenner & Sara Maria that there is no proof Rep. Brenner has nothing to do with BrennerBrief because BrennerBrief is not listed as a company on Ohio Secretary of State web search, they freaked out.
Immediately, Rep. Brenner & Sara Maria accused the twitterer of "em>harassment" and threatened to file a "lawsuit" against the person and "contact the authorities." They called the person a "Commie Thug" for asking questions about their company. They mocked homosexuals with "rainbows" and "lollipop" nonsense. In short, they became desperate and did everything they could to shut down the facts from being exposed: Rep. Andrew Brenner & his wife are violating Ohio State Laws as BrennerBrief is not registered to do business in Ohio and Rep. Andrew Brenner and his wife know they are operating it illegally.
Rep. Brenner & his wife claim he is not involved with BrennerBrief. But, the fact of the matter is, there is no proof Rep. Brenner is not involved with BrennerBrief. There are no legal documents to prove Rep. Brenner is not involved with BrennerBrief. BrennerBrief is where he publishes the stuff he writes - that sure sounds like involvement to me.
I find it appalling when anyone willingly, knowingly and with forethought violate state statutes and it is especially appalling when a public servant in charge of writing laws willingly and with forethought does it.
Rep. Andrew Brenner must be held accountable for his actions. Rep. Brenner is wrong when he says people asking questions about this are "harassing" him. Rather, he is intentionally deflecting and trying to shutdown the query in the same manner other corrupt people do when they get caught. The taxpayers of Ohio have a right to know and deserve to know why Rep. Andrew Brenner and his wife decided to run a business illegally in Ohio.
Rep. Brenner's prior illegal business activities:
Rep. Andrew Brenner claims he owned several "small mortgage companies." Sara Marie Eichenberger Brenner has had five tax liens filed against a music lesson company, Prestige Music, she owned (here). Sara asked the Delaware Gazette not to run an article showing she had been slapped with her fourth tax lien (here).
The Columbus Dispatch report that on January 3, 2014 Rep. Andrew Brenner and his wife were sued by their former employee and settled the case for $20,000.00
State Rep. Andrew Brenner and his wife, Internet radio host Sara Marie Brenner, have agreed to pay $20,000 to settle a lawsuit with a former employee of the Brenners’ music-tutoring business [Prestige Music]. The Brenners will pay the former employee, Michelle Wright Parker, $11,000 as well as $9,000 in attorney’s fees.
Rep. Brenner's wife's previous companies (per Secretary of State):
1997:
The Academy of Piano (SoS file
here and
here)
Registrant: Sara Marie Eichenberger
Status: Closed
2009:
The Right Idea LLC (SoS file here and here)
Registrant: Sara Marie Eichenberger
Status: Active
Companies Rep. Brenner's operate but also are not in Secretary of State search
Engage Strategies, Brenner Life Insurance, Brenner Risk Management, The Brenner Brief, The Brenner Brief Radio Show, Politigal Network. Sarah Brenner Radio Show and BrennerBrief
Rep. Brenner & his wife were quick to say BrennerBrief was registered through "
an LLC" but two women at Ohio Secretary of State confirm the Brenner's claim is false.
Yesterday I first phoned "Dee" at the Ohio Secretary of State's office. Dee ran a search on Rep. Andrew Brenner BrennerBrief and she said
"There is no business name associated with The Right Idea LLC."
...
"The name BrennerBrief is available for use and is not associated with any entity or individual."
...
"In order to tie the Right Idea LLC with BrennerBrief, Form 534A must be filled out and in order to tie the two, the name of the LLC should be put in the place of the 'Registered Agent.' After that the Form must be approved by the Secretary of State. Once approved, the name BrennerBrief will show up in 'business search' on Ohio Secretary of State website."
...
"By law any company doing business in Ohio must be registered with the Ohio Secretary of State. BrennerBrief is no where in our [Ohio Secretary of State] website."
Later in the day I called the Secretary of State back to re-run the search. This time I got a woman named Kara who said
"Ohio Statute 1329 requires all businesses, no matter how small, must register with the Secretary of State before they can legally operate in Ohio."
...
"There is no business registered with the name BrennerBrief tied to any entity. The name BrennerBrief does not come up as a business legally operating in Ohio. If BrennerBrief is operating in Ohio, then the company [BrennerBrief] is operating illegally in Ohio."
...
"There is a tax penalty for failing to register with the Secretary of State and you should call the Ohio Department of Taxation to file a complaint against a company that is not registered with the State. The company might be operating without an Employer Identification Number (EIN). The company might also be in violation offailing to pay Worker's Compensation, Payroll Taxes, and other State & Federal Corporate Tax liabilities. You should call the Department of Taxation."
As I said, Rep. Brenner & his wife freaked out and threatened "libelous" lawsuits immediately after questions about BrennerBrief started. Tim Simms over at Peacock Panache
reports he has been threatened by Rep. Brenner's wife in her desperate attempt to shut him up.
The reality of the situation is this: Brenner threatens to sue virtually everyone she disagrees with. I've lost count of the number of people who have emailed me from her local Ohio town saying as much. Additionally, if you'll recall our reporting on the radio contest a while back, she issued threats to sue everyone there as well (including me and everyone involved in the contest that dared to question her).
~Tim Simms
* Ohio Secretary of State: (877) 767-6446
* Ohio Department of Taxation: (800) 757-6091
Emails showing both Rep. Brenner & his wife threatened lawsuits after the tweets below
Tweets showing Rep. Brenner & his wife freaked out over questions about BrennerBrief
(in the event they delete their tweets, I have screenshots of all of them)
Rep. Brenner's wife starts the LLC lie and immediately charges "libel"
Rep. Brenner's wife keeps tossing around "libelous"
Now they up the "libel" add "harassment" and oddly claim Rep Brenner doesn't have to answer to people asking questions about his company.
Rep. Brenner's wife say Rep Brenner nor her have to answer to anyone about her company:
Rep. Brenner & his wife state Rep. Brenner does not have to answer to taxpayers
Except it is not her "private business" since it is not registered to do business.
ummm ... yes ... there is an active LLC but BrennerBrief is not tied to that LLC.
hmm ... If Sara Marie is reading this, two woman at the Secretary of State do know how to search and they both say BrennerBrief is not registered at all, anywhere, in the State of Ohio.
Here is Rep. Brenner's wife flat out lying:
Rep. Brenner's wife mocking gays who asked questions about LLC & BrennerBrief
Emails showing Rep. Brenner & his wife freaked out over questions about BrennerBrief
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8:52 AM PT:
Ohio Secretary of State just sent an email stating
XXXXX@ohiosecretaryofstate.gov
9:39 AM (2 hours ago)
"BrennerBrief is currently available in our files. Please be advised that this is just a preliminary search and we cannot guarantee that the name will still be available at the time you file paperwork to secure that
name."
XXXXXXX [I am withholding the name for now]
Project Specialist
Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted
180 E. Broad St., 16th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
Telephone: 614.644.7456"