p2pnet - rss feed: RIAA tax returns online: read ‘em and weep
p2pnet news view Freedom | P2P:- A fascinating pair of documents has surfaced, thanks to consumer advocate and author Gloria Wolk.
“For your viewing pleasure, and because I think these deserve scrutiny, I have made the RIAA’s tax returns for the periods ended March 31, 2005, and 2006, available online,” says Ray Beckerman on Recording Industry vs The People.
“Any experts in exempt organizations tax issues out there?” - he asks, linking to RIAA tax return period ending March 31, 2005 and RAAA tax return period ending March 31, 2006.
(p2pnet also has copies here 2004 and here 2005, just in case.)
Wolk, “dug them up while researching a book she’s working on about the trials and tribulations of pro se litigants,” says Beckerman.
“If you’re a pro se litigant, and would like to talk to Gloria, email her here (ggwolk @ Viatical-Expert dot net).”
I’m not up to analyzing the documents, each of which is 20 pages long, but I’m pretty sure they’ll be interesting to p2pnet readers versed in the intricacies of corporate and non-profit tax returns.
And to others 
Income of the RIAA
Pro se means ‘for self’ and the term applies to anyone who’s representing himself or herself without a lawyer in a court case.
“My interest began when I was pro se in a legal malpractice suit I filed in federal court in California,” Wolk, herself the victim of fraud by a lawyer, told p2pnet, going on »»»
From my research I began to identify a number of other pro se litigants who were not lawyers and who had serious issues, ones that could be life-changing.
To better understand the task before them I must research the areas of law in which they are litigating (ie, copyright, foreclosure, special education; etc). Copyright is important to me because I am an author and I also have an independent publishing company (Bialkin Books, named for my maternal grandmother).
But I knew little about copyright law in terms of litigation and little about the recording industry lawsuits, until I began comparing the pro se cases with the ones litigated by attorneys.
After speaking with one of the pro se defendants I became interested in the income of RIAA, and how much they spent on litigation, and how much they pulled in (primarily from defaults, I assume).
I am a member of Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE), which provides tip sheets on how to understand the financials of nonprofits, and this motivated me to get the tax returns.
Once I gave them a quick look, I knew they could be useful to Ray Beckerman and, through him, to lawyers who are learning how to deal with these lawsuits. (Taking from my scarce time, but I am a consummate consumer advocate, and was sickened by some of the targets of these lawsuits.)
I do know considerably more than the average person about law, having read many legal pleadings, and that makes it easier and quicker for me to find and read documents.
In preparing my case I had to spend twice the time it would take a new member of the bar because I had no one who could play “devil’s advocate.” I had to gather and read similar motions and opposition, to prepare myself for how the defense team would battle.
Like the pro se defendants in RIAA lawsuits (and most others that I will be using for the book), my opponents were a team of sophisticated attorneys who had many years of specialized experience, and legal assistants, secretaries, clerks, go-fers, not to mention file drawers filed with templates for motions and opposition to motions.
I do not intend to offer legal advice in the book. I will point to resources that offer advice, and it is plentiful. What I am looking for and want tooffer is “the view from the trenches.”
It will be experiential. For example, one woman told me to warn other pro se litigants: “This will take over your life. Be prepared to surrender everything else you do.”
I do not plan to have an attorney co-author, but will ask a few attorney who I respect (and they are few) to review it before it goes to print. I doubt there are attorneys who will be willing to sign on to a chapter of examples of “Lawyers Lie.”
I like Ray Beckerman. He is one of the rare few who has ethics, values, and is caring. While his website may be good PR for him and his
achievements, he is sharing a wealth of information that, I am sure, educates the novice who first comes into this area of litigation. In doing that, he is spreading his knowledge and improving the representation of many defendants he never will meet.As for my background, you can get an idea about how I have kept busy until recently from my website http://www.Viatical-Expert.net .
That’s what made it ironic to find myself the victim of fraud by a lawyer: I have helped prevent many people from being defrauded. I can trace upwards of $2 million that I saved from going out of the savings of vulnerable people and into off-shore accounts of con artists.
Definitely stay tuned.
Jon Newton - p2pnet
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August 16th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
1.2 million in govt fees and contracts that sticks out
August 18th, 2008 at 7:07 pm
Although the RIAA and IFPI represent - and are funded by - the same group of multinational record companies, they’ve always insisted that they’re independent organizations.
One interesting fact is that the RIAA transfers money directly to the IFPI (listed at $2.3 million in 2005’s tax return)
Which would suggest that these two organizations, the RIAA and IFPI, are in reality, one and the same.
August 18th, 2008 at 7:12 pm
In the Jammie Thomas trial, the RIAA insisted that they did not make money from suing P2P users. These tax forms obviously prove otherwise.