Mendham Man Not at Fault in Work-From-Home Scheme, Lawyer Says

A suit filed by the state against Mendham’s David Brookman and his work-from-home company was “misguided” and only settled because of mounting legal pressure, according to the defendant’s attorney.

Brookman, who was ordered to pay $130,000 in restitution and fines earlier this month after the Attorney General said his work-from-home company bilked some 13,000 customers in an envelope-stuffing scheme, and his company, Capital Enterprises, never did anything illegal, said lawyer Jason LeBoeuf in an email to Patch. 

“It is regrettable that the plaintiff chose to exploit this settlement in order to bolster their tenuous position,” LeBoeuf said. “However, regardless of any commentary by the Plaintiff or its agent, the offered remarks regarding the business model employed by Capital Enterprises and Mr. David Brookman are an unfair characterization of each.”

Capital Enterprises was one of just a few firms in the industry that promoted its products “honestly and accurately,” LeBoeuf said. The attorney then said the onus fell on the end consumer.

“To say the product was ineffective is to deny the fact that the vast majority of purchasers either never implemented it, or did so improperly, which was among the greatest issues faced throughout the company’s existence,” LeBoeuf said. “Capital Enterprises, from the day of its inception, was honest, forthright, supportive and communicative with its customers.”

Only 45 of Brookman’s 13,000 customers ever made more than $100 in the scheme, the Attorney General said.

The single-largest payout to one customer was just $520 over a 10-month period, according to the Attorney General.

Brookman bilked consumers by charging registration fees for users to sign up for the work-at-home program, the Attorney General said. Once signed up, the terms and conditions changed, the Attorney General said, and often included a requirement to make further payments.

“David Brookman felt obligated to alleviate the need for further legal entanglements and entered into this settlement with the Plaintiff,” LeBoeuf said.

Eric T. Kanefsky, Director of the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, however, had another view of the matter.

"The Consent Judgment that closed this matter includes factual admissions made by David Brookman, and signed by him as the sole owner of Capital Enterprises," Kanefsky said in a statement to Patch. "He admitted that he and Capital Enterprises advertised earnings of "$5,000 or more weekly," but that the most any consumer ever made from his work-at-home programs was $520 over a 10-month period. He also admitted that only approximately 45 out of 13,000 consumers ever earned more than $100 from his envelope stuffing program.

"Consumers can judge the merits of Mr. Brookman's claims based on those admissions," Kanefsky said.