GEORGE “JO JO” MARENGO - The WORLD ART FOUNDATION (WAF) – WORLD ART EXPO 2009

[Brajanne]

I received this mail from the Facebook Art Group "Fantastic Art", written by Christian De Boeck and and want to share this information.

Our advice to artists is to have nothing to do with Marengo and the World Art Foundation (WAF) and World Art Expo 2009. After having his membership of this group deleted he has joined again in order to spam the group with his sales pitch for the foundation and expo. He has now been permanently banned from this group. Anyone wishing further information as to why is welcome to contact us.

What pretender Marengo has done is phish all the artists from my and other friends and their friends lists on Facebook, MySpace and elsewhere in order to send them the same standard laughable sales letter. He then, when he hasn’t even looked at your art, sends you the same insultingly stupid message: ”George Marengo wrote at 10:34pm Heiz [sic (actually, my friends name is HEINZ)], your work is amazing. I am happy to invite you to join the World Art Foundation“, when he clearly hasn’t bothered to look at your work or even spell your name correctly. (But you call this “professional”.) The bottom line is that his awards would be vanity awards with no standing in the serious art world. His magazines are also vanity publications filled with fluff pieces, i.e., thinly veiled advertorials for the party that the article is about. I would be embarrassed to be associated with such a project and no reputable established artist will be associated with it, and neither should you.”

Read the “fine print” in World Art Expo “Exhibition Rules” http://www.worldartfoundation.org/ExhibitRules.html, for example:
“1 – Accomplished artists with a limited budget but wish to exhibit. You may exhibit at the World Art Expo by sending ONE PIECE of artwork. You will receive all the proceeds (100%) if your art is sold during the expo. Unsold art, however, will be donated to the world Art Foundation’s Museum Fund*. (See more information at the bottom of this page.)”

So what incentive has Marengo got to sell your work when you have already paid an exorbitant fee (minimum $2,500 non-members $1,500 members if you commit this December) to exhibit and he gets to keep your work if it isn’t sold. This is simply criminal and scandalous.

BTW. The Hyatt Regency Irvine has been approached by several friends of mine to make enquires about the World Art Expo, which brought to light the fact that the hotel knows nothing about this event and hasn’t been booked for it. The first WORLD ART EXPO was supposed to take place this year. It didn’t…wonder why!?

And have you read this shit which, besides his bad taste, ignorance and stupidity about art and artists, reveals all the other money making scams he has in mind: http://www.worldartfoundation.org/Contest.html

To date not a single artist I now and am friends with has signed up for membership of the WAF or the WORLD ART EXPO – and if they have they will now most certainly have second thoughts.

Octavian Florescu wrote: “I checked out his website http://www.worldartfoundation.org/ and so far I found everything as being very professional, including the selection of artists. I would be happy to see more websites at this level of professionalism.”

Christian De Boeck wrote: "The website might look “professional”, so do millions of others and thousands promoting scams of one kind or another. And what “selection of artists” are you talking about? When you click on the links nothing comes up. The WAF has no members. So why don’t you show us all the way and become the first to join!?"

The facts: when I first clicked on the links to artists nothing came up, so Marengo must have got his web designer out of bed to quickly update the site with some artist’s pages under Artists, Surrealists, Masters. None of my artist friends are members of the WAF and will not be attending the WORLD ART EXPO 2009, should it take place, which we very much doubt. It’s all a thinly veiled scam to make money out naïve, up-and coming artists. Also, just by the way, none of my friends consider themselves “surrealists”, which goes to show just how much Marengo knows about art.

I had a look at Florescu’s website http://www.florescugallery.com/ and see why he might have a problem getting his work shown by a legitimate gallery. His work is the worst kind of amateur kitsch no respectable gallery would be interested in. This is the kind of shit any other artist will become associated with that is so naïve as to sign up for Marengo’s expo should or should it not eventually take place, once he has your money in his bank account.

[Madalena Lobao_Tello]

Brajanne
Thank you so much!

[karin teresa mccaslin-fain]

Please send this to Noura Debouche with Art Sell since she added him as a friend. I told her he was a person that spams she is ignoring my warnings. So send her this letter. Karin Teresa Fain Art Theory and Inspiration Network

[Brajanne]

Karin, Noura wrote me a message to tell she deleted him as a friend.

For everybody who is interested: I also opened this discussion in:


http://madalenalobaotellosnetwork2.ning.com

http://creativecrossing.ning.com

http://artgalleryonline.ning.com

http://indianartnews.ning.com

http://noidaandgreater.ning.com

[MARIA ONYEGBULE]

Thank you for the info, although I have not recieved any kind of contact/communication from this person, it is good to be aware of such scams and people who prey on artist's.

Many thanks,

Maria

[Brajanne]

Thomas Ciganko, Director of the City of Brea Art Gallery who is on the cities Cultural Arts Commission, has now placed a warning against Marengo and his World Art Foundation scam on the gallery's website: http://web.mac.com/breagallery/Site/Artist_Alert.html
"Artist Alert : The City of Brea Art Gallery is NOT associated with the World Art Expo or its organizers."

Marengo claims to have the entire art community of Brea and California behind him and backing his foundation and expo, but the hard fact is that no one in the serious art world in the city of Brea has ever heard of Marengo or his WAF and that he has no backing or even an endorsement from his own cities official art institutions.

[Brajanne]

The City of Brea Art Gallery presents quality exhibitions throughout the year and the facility’s 6,000 square foot exhibition space is home to artwork from around the world. The Gallery is not associated with the world art expo or its organizers.

Artist Alert : The City of Brea Art Gallery is NOT associated with the World Art Expo or its organizers.

http://web.mac.com/breagallery/Site/Artist_Alert.html

[Brajanne]

Con-artist and fraudster Marengo and his so-called “WORLD ART FOUNDATION” (WAF) deceitfully claim to be a legitimate registered “NO-PROFIT” arts organisation. However, the fact is that this a blatant LIE and fraudulent misrepresentation. The WAF is NOT a registered non-profit arts organisation. To establish this fact for yourselves GO TO: http://www.irs.gov/app/pub-78/. The WAF is not and will never become a registered non-profit organisation with the Internal Revenue Service, as it is a purely FOR-PROFIT scam that would never pass scrutiny by the Internal Revenue Service, who we will be sure to have investigate them.

[Brajanne]

The latest and so far most pathetic of Marengo’s attempts at intimidation and threats comes from one of his side kicks named “Andoni Zarganis”, who posted a message here claiming to be an “investigative reporter” and contributor to numerous magazines, including Marengo’s Umbrella Publishing’s junkmail magazines. In these posts she threatens to sue all of those who have exposed Marengo for the con-artist and fraud he is, and further claims to have signed a contract with a publisher for a book on “Defamation on Facebook”. Besides which we have received numerous messages from our friends complaining about Zarganis’ spamming them via Facebook in an attempt to get us and our friends to back off from exposing the Marengo scam.

[Brajanne]

If you are a member of facebook & your are interested in the latest news on this topic please join or read the facebook groups:

Art Scams on internet be warned: http://www.facebook.com/inbox/?ref=mb#/group.php?gid=50797513402&am...

I publicly state I do NOT support the WORLD ART FOUNDATION-WORLD ART EXPO: http://www.facebook.com/inbox/?ref=mb#/group.php?gid=140979350356&a...

[Brajanne]

Scott rose
New York, New York
U.S.A.
Submitted: 3/14/2009 9:42:40 AM
Modified: 3/14/2009 4:46:04 PM

Serial Scammer JoJo Marengo starts World Art Institute [Foundation]
http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/304/RipOff0304069.htm

Publisher JoJo Marengo, a serial scammer, has now started something called the World Art Institute [Foundation].

Involved with him in it are Monique Marengo and Antoine Marengo.

After I involved writer's advocate Angela Hoy of Writer's Weekly in an attempt to collect the $750 of contractual obligations JoJo Marengo has not yet paid me, I heard from other victims of JoJo Marengo in California.

One was an advertiser in one of his magazines, from whom he had taken money without ever running an ad.

That person told me he was suing JoJo Marengo, and that when the papers server arrived at JoJo Marengo's office, they found a commercial property landlord telling him and showing him that JoJo Marengo had fled the premises, leaving them in a total mess, the night before the lease was to run out.

That victim of JoJo Marengo however found a new address for him and the papers were served there.

I have communications from other victims of JoJo Marengo.

Again, names of people involved in the serial scamming include JoJo Marengo, Monique Marengo and Antoine Marengo. They have now started The World Art Institute, [Foundation].

Do not trust these serial scammers with a penny of your money. Do not waste one second of your professional time on them. They will cheat you, steal from you, and lie.

[paul torres]

Dear Brajanne,
Thank you so much for the heads up, I was wondering about the massive emails that I've been getting from them, and asking for money all the time, I am dissapointed , the truth always comes to the surface, like they say reputation is more important than gold..God bless

Paul

[Brajanne]

Hello Paul,

Thanks for sharing your experience!