Help Aron Fight To Right This Wrong

Dear Friends and Fans of Aron Eisenberg,

 On Wednesday, September 18, I received a text message from Aron that contained a screenshot of a PayPal invoice that he had sent to Jerry Silber requesting payment of $1,012.  The invoice was to cover the amounts of two bounced checks issued to Aron by JERRY SILBER and the NSF fees Aron’s bank charged him. Aron had been attempting to collect this money since appearing at NE Trek Con Oct 26-28, 2018.  Silber refused to establish a payment plan, which Aron would have been willing to accept.  All those Silber refused to pay would have accepted a payment plan. However, when Silber refused to respond to emails, text messages, phone calls to discuss the numerous bounced checks and other payment issues, I stepped in as pro-bono legal counsel to involve the courts for collection relief.  I sued on behalf of my better-half, John Hertzler, and we won a judgment in less than 10 minutes.  John had a certified check in less than a week.  Silber and his wife hired an attorney.  Clearly, there was money…just not to pay his [Silber’s] obligations to Aron and the others… 

 I am establishing this gofundme fundraiser along with John G “JG” Hertzler and Dan Deevy (with Aron’s wife Malissa’s permission) for the express purpose of making whole all those actors, writers, artists, vendors and volunteers who worked on the 2018 NE Trek Con. As Aron himself mentioned only a day before we lost him…” Its not the money that motivates me to pursue this, it’s the principle.”  In my many exchanges with Aron regarding collection of payment from Silber, it was very clear to me that Aron’s reason for pursuing this matter was NOT about the money, rather, it was the principle of it.  Silber’s refusal to explain or otherwise communicate with Aron, Garrett Wang, Robert O’Reilly, Nicole DeBoer, Chase Masterson, author Christopher Abbott, author Michael Jan Friedman, Trek liaison and volunteer Alison Platt, and author, television writer, and screenwriter Marc Zicree regarding why their checks bounced, or why they weren’t paid at all angered Aron particularly.  This utter and complete disregard of personal responsibility on Silber’s behalf was unacceptable to me as well.  I made a personal commitment to pursue Silber relentlessly to ensure he was not permitted to escape his financial responsibilities to the Trek family actors and guests he defrauded.  Silber somehow found the funds to retain legal counsel, and I worked with this attorney from March until June.  The attorney was as unscrupulous and evasive as the Silbers.  He became hostile and refused to arrange an out of court settlement as initially agreed.  He told me to “do what you must”, which meant pursue the Silbers in court.  This meant filing in Small Claims Court which, by New York law, required the actors and others to appear in person…perhaps multiple times.  The expense of traveling from California, Nevada, and even from outside the US would be more costly than the amount Silber owes, and these costs are not recoverable in Small Claims Court.  This, in my opinion, was Silber’s attorney’s strategy from the beginning, regardless of his claim that he felt the matter could be resolved without involving the courts.  To force settlement in Small Claims and hope that the debts would not be pursued, rather, taken as losses.  Another option would be to enjoin the claims and pursue in civil court.  Silber would then, most likely, file for bankruptcy protection and the actors would be, yet again,  unable to receive payment.  SO, this is my reasoning for this fundraiser.  I wanted to raise funds that will be used to pay Aron (now Malissa), Garrett Wang, Robert O’Reilly, Nicole DeBoer, Chase Masterson, author Christopher Abbott, author Michael Jan Friedman, Trek liaison and volunteer Alison Platt, and author, television writer, and screenwriter Marc Zicree…as a matter of principle, NOT to let Jerry Silber “off the hook”.  Jerry Silber will not honor his obligations; he’s hired an unethical and unscrupulous lawyer to ensure that Silber is given a “legal” way out of paying his debt.  Should this fundraiser succeed, everyone will be made whole, and Jerry Silber will be permanently exiled from the Star Trek community.  Silber will be pursued relentlessly by TRUE Trek fans to ensure his shameful behavior is NEVER forgotten. 

 JG Hertzler adds, “Along with Aron, we all trusted his word because we simply trusted that he was, indeed, a man of his word only to find he was not.  Perhaps many of us have experienced disreputable con organizers in the past, but this was more egregious since there was no attempt at all on Silber’s part to honor his promise, or even offer an apology for his horrendous failure to meet his responsibilities to members of his own Star Trek family.”  That utter disregard, lack of any apology and his shut down of communication further prove his disregard and disrespect for all the actors who helped make his NE TREK CON such a success. 

 The ONLY actor that successfully received certified funds to replace his fraudulent check was John Hertzler.  This payment was received only because we live in NY state, close enough to Albany, and could easily sue in Small Claims Court.  To my knowledge, no others have been recompensed and none have received any explanation or apology from Silber.  With the exception of one or two, these friends don’t live in NEW YORK STATE and therefore it is near impossible for them to appear, as required by NY law, in small claims court to pursue their claims, which is their only legal recourse.  That is the reason we are starting this Go Fund Me page in Aron’s name…asking our own to make good on the promises made to Aron and fellow artists who were defrauded and betrayed by Silber. 

 JOHN, DAN DEEVY, AND I THANK EVERYONE IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR GENEROSITY AND LOVE. 

 [THIS FUNDRAISER IS ENDORSED BY ARON’S WIFE:   I discussed this fundraiser with Aron’s wife before creating it.  I told Malissa “I would never presume to establish this GoFundMe without your blessing and permission.”  Here is a portion of Malissa’s reply… “…Aron told me that his fight for restitution had become more about the principal of it, rather than the money…so, my reason for going ahead with the GoFundMe is based on that same principal.  It is most unfortunate that I must turn to the good people who have already been so generous during this heartbreaking time in order to help those who found themselves in this predicament involving Jerry Silber.”]