Screenshotgate – The Update

So, it’s been a couple of weeks now since I reported on the screenshots that were used in a website selling Frontline Lay.  The dust seems to have settled somewhat, and I guess now is the time to finally wrap this up and see where it leaves us.  I propose to give a quick summary of the evidence as laid out in the first article followed by the defence.  At the end of it, you are free to make up your own mind.

So, let us start at the beginning with a recap of the evidence against Mr Turner and Frontline Lay.  Firstly, and most damingly, in my opinion, was the screenshot that showed a Betfair P&L page that had been clearly doctored – this has not been disputed by Ross.  There was also the Frontline Lay blog written by Ross that had shots of doctored P&L screenshots and there were copies of the Frontline Lay PDF floating around, also with doctored screenshots.  A small mountain of evidence was forming.

I didn’t speak to Ross himself as, although initially willing to have a chat, I subsequently heard it was probably best I didn’t call him.  I did, however, talk with a close associate of his (we’ll call him ‘Z’) and was given Ross’ side of the argument.

The defence of the above evidence is simple; that Ross is no computer genius and, as such, would have been unable to perpetrate such a crime.  ‘Z’ pointed out that the screenshots were perhaps a little too doctored and this was done so as to ensure people questioned them.  I have to agree on this point, the shots were ridiculous, perhaps too ridiculous?

I conceded the screenshot may be too obvious as to be a genuine attempt at fraud, so I asked about the blog and the ebook.  The answer was no different.  The defence was, and is, that Ross does not have sufficient technical ‘nounce’ to doctor these things.  The obvious next question was who would bother going to all this trouble?  Well, Ross had asked someone he knew to produce the Frontline Lay website, blog and PDF which was agreed to.  The third party did not hold up his part of the deal and subsequently received no payment.  ‘Z’ states that it is this that has led to ‘Screenshotgate’, nothing more than a disgruntled ex-employee.  I was assured that Ross was a stand up guy, and to be fair, there was a lot of people who jumped to his defence when the original article was published.

My next concern was the fact that hours after being published here on HR.ie and comments being made regarding the blog, both websites were pulled from the net.  In my opinion, that seemed a little strange as I’d have thought someone bearing a grudge would have kept them up for all to see.  The answer was the same, that ‘Mr Grudge‘ wanted it to look as suspicious as possible.

I should point out here that ‘Z’ states that as far as Ross was concerned, the website no longer existed and a new one had been put in place.  ‘Z’ also stated that the PDF would have been easy to manipulate after being sold, and that the only ‘crime’ Ross commited was being naive.

After some considerable discussion, it was agreed that Ross would be asked to allow me access to the Frontline Lay forum so I could see things for myself.  I was duly granted access some 24 hours later.  Upon entering the forum, my first thought (perhaps egotistically) was to look for the comments relating to HR.ie and the Frontline Lay article.  I found one, only one.  Now, this really struck me as strange.  All this palava and only one comment regarding HR.ie, and that was from Ross himself telling his forum that they were in the process of resolving the issue with the only reply lambasting me for allowing some of the comments.

To be totally honest, I have not spent much time in the Frontline Lay forum since, but of the posts I read, all were positive about Ross and Frontline Lay.

So, there we have it folks.  That’s pretty much both sides of the story.  On one side there is a mountain of evidence suggesting some very underhand tactics aimed at boosting sales and duping unsuspecting punters, on the other side the defence argues that this was nothing more than an attempt to smear the name of Ross Turner by a disgruntled ex-employee, I’ll leave it to you the Jury to decide.