(Updated: 2009-03-04)
This article is in some instances a summary of, and in some instances an elaboration on, information available elsewhere on this site. It is woven somewhat as a story based on what I know, and also contains some opinions and beliefs. These aren't to be mistaken for wild, unsubstantiated fabrications, but instead should be seen as an attempt to fill in the blanks where there is a shortage of existing documented narrative.
The information made available on webscammers.net is not the imaginings of one or two or even a handful of people. It is collected from dozens of sources, both online and in the real world, with unrelated people in different countries, from different social standings and in different circumstances, which all come together to say, almost unanimously, that Ryan is not who he says he is, hasn't done the things he says he has done, and most likely isn't doing the things he says he is doing.
Who am I?
Ryan asks why, if webscammers.net is "legitimate", the creator does not show himself or herself for everyone to see. It is not at all unusual to use "privacy protection" for a domain. One good reason is to stop junk mail addressed to your home or business from dodgy registrars that try to trick you into switching to their service. Ryan uses it for his domains. So do millions (I'm guessing) of other domain owners. It doesn't stop anyone from contacting me, only from finding out a few personal details.
Why don't I want Ryan to know who I am? A death threat was addressed to the author of rfinfo.wordpress.com, he has sent threats to me and I know of at least one other person who has been threatened with physical violence. Telling Ryan who I am is therefore clearly not in my best interests. I am not hiding from the law. I have been in recent contact with Australian and Canadian police agencies. They tell me that this website is not their concern and don't appear to be making investigations. If anyone, including police agencies, wishes to contact me they can send an email to info@webscammers.net
I am not someone previously known to Ryan, though Ryan appears to hold (as at March 2009) the strong belief that I am a particular person known to him. I have been in contact with people he knows, but we are, in fact, entirely separate people. Not to be confused with separate names (sock puppets) appearing in blog comments or forum posts created by a single person, as Ryan has done in the past and been caught out for.
Who is Ryan?
In February 2009, Ryan stated in an email to webscammers.net, with copies posted at two of his blogs (whiteorchidblog.wordpress.com and intentions21.wordpress.com), that "MY NAME IS RYAN FLYNN ROTH, just so you understand." Contacts who lived and worked with Ryan in the UK seem to know him only as "Ryan Flynn", which is the name that appears in the public records for the businesses he registered and is the name he plastered all over the internet and documents until recently. It appears that he first used the name before he left Australia and went to New Zealand around July 2008 and has been using the name in the US, I suppose, ever since he arrived.
Ryan sent an email to webscammers.net (2009-03-03) explaining where the "Roth" and "Flynn" surnames come from (based on different names of his parents / grandparents), but gave no satisfactory explanation as to a change in his legal name to Roth. So far as I can tell, his name is still actually Ryan Flynn.
Dr Flynn
Ryan was enrolled at a university in Southampton (believed to be Southampton Solent University) - for four years: two years in law and two years in psychology, according to the bio he wrote himself - though never graduated, and he is not, by any means, a doctor. There are numerous examples where Ryan has tried to pass himself off as a doctor, including when he introduced himself to his partner and her family in Sydney, and a few cases documented elsewhere on this site (see: Dr Ryan Flynn under Accounts and Identities). Ryan now vehemently denies ever saying he was a doctor or using a certain Gmail account with "dr" in the name, even accusing someone else of using that email address.
SSF Cambodia
Ryan kicked up a massive stink about a submission made to webscammers.net stating that he was not asked to be an advisor or director to an organisation called the Sao Sary Foundation, or SSF Cambodia.
Ryan may well have been an advisor on a project, but I've finally been in contact with Vichetr, director of SSF Cambodia, and the story of his experience with Ryan is appalling. Promises, promises... not only promises without delivery, but actions taken on the basis of those promises caused confrontation with poor families.
And not only did Ryan not live up to his promises, he later clamoured for recognition as though he had, abusing me for questioning his deservedness along the way.
Ryan's Relentless Questioning
It seems like a good idea not to be drawn by every thing than Ryan wants to shout about on any given day, since it is invariably a distraction from the main information: Ryan has run organisations in the past with the same (or similar) ideas, which of course evolve over time, and at various points he picks up shop and moves - changes the company name, creates a new website - and pretends that the old one didn't exist. He tried to pretend that he wasn't involved with Our Planet at all (the non-disclosure agreement he was putting out insisted that his name be kept secret), and now he is using a false name, "Ryan Roth", "Ryan F. Roth" or "Ryan Flynn Roth".
Ryan continues to demand "proof" or "evidence", and says that there is none. "Proof or evidence of what?" one might ask. The proof and the evidence is the information about these past ventures which Ryan is trying to escape from. His arguments with bloggers. His spam advertising on travel network sites.The fact that he's roaming around in Los Angeles under a false name...
I draw your attention to a common pattern in Ryan's arguments and "questions", and that is the listing out of numbered points (be they questions, statements, accusations or otherwise), often quite terse and unsupported by related material, and often also quite demanding. Be aware that this is a disinfo/psychological tactic that you should generally avoid being drawn into responding to. You can probably find examples yourself where he asks questions that have already been answered, stating (or claiming) that not answering the question (again) is proof that the other party is hiding something, or admits something in particular; assertions that have elsewhere been demonstrated to be false; assertions that contradict other assertions (such as at one moment saying there is no evidence of taking money from people, and at another moment saying that people are buying shares in his eco-resort 10 or 20 at a time and that he has entire islands at his disposal); answering questions that haven't apparently been asked; avoiding answering questions that have been asked; and other similar behaviour.
The breaking down to numbered points is a control mechanism that is reasonably powerful on its own, and the use of false, misleading, contradictory and inflammatory statements serves mainly to not only agitate the other party, but actually to discredit the other party by their mere mention, let alone any untamed response they may subsequently make. Even knowing this I still fell into the trap. Be warned - it is effective. If you find yourself falling in the trap, stop writing immediately and have a think about what buttons Ryan has pressed to elicit your response. You can always send your reposnse later if you need to. You should, however, consider that your response, whether you are correct, incorrect, right, wrong, or whatever, will probably bethought of, by the casual observer, to be some irritating, petty argument, and create a negative impression of you.
Having said that, perhaps as a "casual observer" of an argument someone else had been drawn into, go back to reconsider your initial feeling towards both parties and work out for yourself whether your feeling was driven more by some sense of irritation than the validity of the points made by one side or the other. When Ryan has an intense argument with someone and later refers to their view as nothing but "opinion", it is clear that the result of the argument wasn't so important as the fact that there was an argument, and that anything the other party may have written is sour grapes. The other great trick here is that Ryan's view is also "opinion" (or unsubstantiated assertion); it is merely by Ryan calling the other "opinion" first that he gains the upper hand.
"A man you will hate"
Some people are afraid of Ryan. Some people want to kick his arse. Some people think he should be thrown in jail, or worse. A very small number of people seem to be unsure, and practically no-one, in my experience, has good things to say. Not even Ryan. Here is something he wrote in 2007:
Hello Everyone,
I was told some time ago, people will love me, or hate me..... I think the odds are around 99-1 the one being love and the rest being hate.
The work I do is very controversial and I even have a few bloggers who target their aggression at me, for thier own reasons.
1. I started rescuing children years ago, from brothels.
2. I'm building a school on an Island, Ima buying, to use as a rehabilitation and education center.
3. I'm building a travel company to finance all humanitarian projects I do, pointing out the flaws in the operational structure of charities.
4. I am actively trying to change the Burmese government back to it's LEGAL government.
5. I'm working on a project to give free energy to everyone, ont he premise that everyone should have this all of thier lives.
So varying from a christain cult, to various bad people in Asia and lots in between.
I am not the most liked person, but I'm not here to make friends.... on this world... I'm here to make a change, to be the best man I can be and correct the errors made in the past, if I can.
Well, that's me......
http://whiteorchid.wordpress.com/
It's nice to meet you.
Ryan
Last edited by ryanwhiteorchid; 07-19-2007 at 02:12 PM.Source: A man you will hate - youngentrepreneur.com (2007-07-19)
So, Ryan introduced himself as "A man you will hate". If there has been any hate campaign, and I don't believe there has been, it is one that Ryan started himself, actively maintains himself, and accuses others of being a part of.
I don't know the terminology for it, but presenting yourself as undesirable is absolutely a psychological ploy to gain sympathy. Just as President-elect Barrack Obama announced that he is going to do things that the American people aren't going to like (and one can only wonder what they might be), it is a means of conditioning the target audience.
A man of action
I've been told by people who have met Ryan that, in person, his action-figure stories of rescuing girls from brothels and running businesses and humanitarian organisations are captivating, and people can hardly look away. Yes, child trafficking and prostitution are real, these things are atrocious, and yes, something should be done.Tell the biggest lie first, the suggestion was made, and if people believe that, then they are likely to believe the other lies you tell, especially if they fit in with the story of the first lie. That is the way a con works. Once a person has invested their belief (and reputation) in something, it is harder to admit that maybe they have made a mistake.
What you can do?
Ryan questions why, on this website, I encourage anyone who may have been victimised by his activities to contact the police. Ryan suggests that this is an "obvious" thing to do, and that my saying anything about it is a crime against him. The reason I encourage people is that, whilst it might be an "obvious" thing to do, it is well known that people tend not to admit to having been fooled as it is embarrassing for them, as well as other reasons, including the time and effort and hassle to do so, and even that the person might be afraid of retaliation and further victimisation. Contacts tell of people coming to them looking for Ryan, or looking for help, and I'm inclined to believe they are out there.
Reports to authorities are typically confidential, but almost essential to demonstrating a pattern of behaviour that would likely not be acted upon for a single incidence.
If you feel you have been victimised or scammed, or otherwise have relevant information, contact your local police station. If you are outside Australia, contact Sydney Central Police Station’s fraud unit, 192 Day Street, Sydney, NSW, Australia 2000, telephone +61(2)9265-6499.
If you are thinking about becoming involved in Ryan's projects, do your research and ask yourself very seriously how an unregistered organisation without any oversight can be trusted. Ryan says you can trust him better than any charity to do the right thing, to use the money better, to be more effective, free from all the rules and regulations that charities suffer from.
If you are thinking about working as one of his "Global Nomads", work out for yourself how much money you will actually need to travel for a year living out of a suitcase, and every other thing you would need to consider for a trip on that scale including visas, insurance, medical checks, etc. Be aware that transport costs, whilst not insignificant, are often not the major costs involved in travelling, and you will be working every week without pay and without any guarantee of businesses giving you anything free.
If you are thinking about investing in the eco-sphere resorts, treat it the same as you would any other property or business investment. Ask your financial advisor what they think about the risk and rates of return, taxation considerations and so on. Make sure you get a contract before you hand over any money, and, especially if you are thinking about buying a whole sphere, check the plans and the manufacturer, as well as the proposed site for the resort. Please note that the ABN (Australian Business Number) listed on the PayMate.com pages for buying into the resort - "ABN 06581602" - is false. Our Planet UK Limited is registered in the UK, not in Australia. You should also note that the UK Register of Companies has twice given notice that Ryan's previous company, Living Legends Limited, which he has apparently abandoned, will be struck off the register and dissolved.
What you should not do
You should not threaten or intimidate Ryan's family. Ryan says someone is making unpleasant phone calls to his grandmother. If that is true claim by Ryan, and you are the one doing it, stop it. It is not appropriate, and Ryan is threatening me with violence and court or police action in relation to this.
The Administrator
webscammers.net
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