Overcharged at a Strip Club

[Cloudbringer]

Found this one today. Gotta wonder if it's the club putting excessive charged on things or individuals getting a wee bit out of control with their 'corporate' spending on the ol' charge card!

Source


by SAMUEL MAULL, Associated Press
Last updated Friday, October 21, 2005
Amex sues CEO over $241,000 topless bill
NEW YORK -- American Express is suing the CEO of a communications company for payment of $241,000 worth of disputed credit card charges at a Manhattan topless club.


American Express says in papers filed in state court that Savvis Inc. chief executive officer Robert A. McCormick was in the club Scores in October 2003 with at least three other men.

After McCormick got the $241,000 corporate credit card bill, Savvis called American Express and complained that some of the charges were fraudulent, the lawsuit says. The communications company said its chief disputed all but about $20,000, according to the lawsuit.

"We firmly believe that Mr. McCormick was the victim of fraud," said Deena Williamson, Savvis's deputy general counsel. She declined to comment further.

Lonnie Hanover, a Scores spokesman, said he had not talked to all of the employees involved with McCormick and could not say what the CEO purchased.

The lawsuit filed Wednesday against McCormick and Savvis is at least the third in the past two years involving contested credit card charges at Scores. One patron sued the club after he got a $28,000 bill and another disputed $129,000 in charges.

After a lawsuit last year, Hanover said that "high rollers" visiting Scores' "super elite Presidents' Club" spend thousands of dollars on single bottles of champagne and tip strippers as much as $10,000 for lap dances and for spending time with them.

The district attorney's office has said it is investigating alleged overcharging at Scores.

Hanover said that each time a patron spends $10,000, Scores calls the customer's credit card company to get the charges approved. Scores even fingerprints the customer and requires him to get on the telephone with a credit card representative, he said.

"We got authorization for all of the charges," Hanover said of McCormick's visit. "We followed proper procedures and documentation, and we were paid."

Court papers say American Express asked McCormick several times to provide in writing his basis for calling the charges fraudulent. McCormick failed to respond, and when he was billed again he once again objected to the charges, the lawsuit says.

American Express says McCormick finally responded in writing in September 2004, reiterating that some charges on the Scores bill were bogus, the lawsuit says.

Scores has been paid in full, American Express's court papers say, while neither Savvis nor McCormick has paid any of the charges. Failure to pay is a violation of the American Express corporate credit card agreement, court papers say.

An American Express spokeswoman, Judy Tenzer, said she had no comment.

[johnny]

Cloudy....how and why did you run into this link ? Hmmmm ? [img]graemlins/hehe.gif[/img]

[Zebodog]

Disputed all but $20,000?

I have a hard enough time justifying a $60 meal at Earls on my corporate card, never mind $20k at a strip club!

And just exactly, how the hell do you spend $20k at a strip club, and how can this possibly be classified as a suitable entertainment expense?

[Cloudbringer]

Johhny...hehe... I'll never tell.... well, ok, it was in my local paper and I went to the AP site it came from.. LOL

Zebodog, I thought the same thing! I just looked at the 'all but $20,000' and I couldn't believe it. That's a big part of my yearly income! I guess it's all relative, though!

I guess that's a 'very exclusive' club...or just very expensive drinks.
What I'd want to know, is does his company routinely allow strip clubs in their expenses?!

[ 10-24-2005, 10:18 AM: Message edited by: Cloudbringer ]

[Stratos]

A $10,000 tip for a lapdance? Damn, I'm almost tempted to put on a thong and do some lapdancing myself. Almost.

[Cloudbringer]

LOL! Stratos, whoo! hehe ...well, now I suppose I should ask you not to post the the video if you do, hehe...can't be making this an X rated thread!

*snicker* But if you want to post a 'tasteful' pic or two I wouldn't complain!

[ 10-25-2005, 11:20 AM: Message edited by: Cloudbringer ]

[Stratos]

Only if you give me $10,000.

[Cloudbringer]

Originally posted by Stratos: Only if you give me $10,000.

HA! That's robbery...I mean you were charging that much for the whole show and all we're getting is the pic? [img]graemlins/biglaugh.gif[/img] LOL [img]graemlins/hehe.gif[/img]

[Cerek]

It's time McCormick strips away the lies and bares all the facts to explain why he thinks these charges are over the top.

Seriously, though, entertaining VIPs at strip clubs IS an acceptable expense for many businesses. I saw a special about strip clubs (maybe on HBO) talking about these high-profile "exclusive" clubs that cater to big-time clients. Cheetah's is another chain of strip clubs famous for catering to high dollar clients - including many celebrities and sports stars.

Excessive charges are part of the packaged. Some of the employees interviewed admitted they often charged hundreds (and sometimes thousands) of dollars for a single bottle of champagne. In many cases, there was no set price. The girls just decided how much they thought an individual client would pay to impress his guest or the girl. So, yeah, it is not uncommon for corporate execs to run up a bill of $50,000 in a single night.

[johnny]

No ass is worth that kind of money, unless diamonds come out when she's takin a dump.