Archive for December 4th, 2006
Fraudulent publisher/agent sentenced to 65 months
by Doc on Dec.04, 2006, under General News
Martha Ivery, who was also known as Kelly O’Donnell and did business under several names as both a “high-powered” literary agent and vanity publishing houses (notably Press-TIGE Publishing and New Millenium Publishing), was sentenced to 65 months in prison and must pay restitution. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, who helped lead the investigation and formed “Writer Beware” to warn of questionable activity, have this release. Ivery, under several personas, would charge agents fees, then refer to her own publishing house, and charged more fees, and frequently failed to deliver. She also employed strongarm tactics, demanding money from clients and threatening to “blacklist” them. Apparently she had so many lies running that she lost track – she called one client some time after the client was told that she had died.