In my recent post about things I didn’t like about Yokosuka Naval Base, a few of the comments showed a number of people really weren’t happy with the TV and Internet service offered to base residents by Americable Japan. I’ll make it clear now that I don’t have Americable. I live off base and I have JCOM for Internet and TV, so I can’t really judge their service. Most of the complaints are about the high prices for what some customers see as low quality service, and there’s even speculation that Americable is illegally broadcasting programming from US television stations. Here are some of the complaints:
i*heart*rice commented:
I’ve got a new complaint: AMERICABLE, or better known as RECORDED SHIT. Now they are, as far as we can tell, charging thirteen dollars more for the same shitty service, but now it includes a BOX! I really believe their tech guy is alone, flipping the channels all day just to see if any of the shitty rerecorded discs stopped due to being recorded on fifty times. If I am reading this wrong, and I probably am, we will have to pay more PER TELEVISION for less than we already get now, which is pretty much bad as it is. I don’t care about HD.
Salty Dog commented:
When I lived on base I felt the same way about the Americable Scam. They are illegally retransmitting recorded programs with the U.S. Government’s full knowledge. I can’t wait to see the lawsuit from the t.v. channels. How many people realize that AFN on-base is a MONO - repeat - MONO audio signal, not STEREO? I didn’t realize this until I moved off-base and got a satellite dish and purchased my own decoder. The satellite signal is clearer, free, and STEREO.
AG up on the Hill
here is some B.S. radiating about Americable’s internet packages too. I found out I was paying more for the same freakin’ internet speed. Of course I get the standard line from them about it.
I attempted to find an e-mail address for a public affairs or media contact, but unfortunately all I could find were DSN tech support number. I wanted to contact the company and tell them about the complaints I was seeing on the site and see if they had a response. They would have probably just ignored me, but it’s worth a shot to get both sides of the story, right? My searching for contact information yielded me something much more interesting than any e-mail address though.
Some of the things I found out about Americable, are that it’s actually a small family-owned business that only has 5,000 subscribers in the US. They have 8,000 subscribers internationally, which are all US military bases. (source) I’m not sure if the 5,000 domestic customers are US military bases as well, but I assume they’d stay where the money is good. The company has a total of 60 employees and only made $10 million in 2007 (source), which isn’t a lot in the business world. The current owner and CEO is Joan A. Hermanowsk, who also runs a volunteer organization called The Charles and Joan Hermanowski Family Foundation. Here’s the good part. Charles Hermanowski is her husband, and he used to co-own Americable before he fled to Australia in 1998, after defrauding cable networks and the US Military out of millions of dollars in laundered money. I found this story from the News-Star:
Cable company pleads guilty to trying to fraud Pentagon
MIAMI (AP) — A cable company pleaded guilty Thursday and agreed to pay $22 million in penalties for trying to defraud the Pentagon during military base closings and plotting to launder illegal profits from another fraud.Americable International Inc., a family-owned company based in Miami, and two subsidiaries admitted conspiring to overcharge the military for cable equipment as bases were shut down in the 1990s.
Americable prepared $8 million in fake invoices as part of a process set up by the Pentagon to lessen the financial impact of closings on the company, but no payments were ever made.In a separate scam, the company acknowledged undercounting its customer base by at least 23 percent when paying cable networks for programming. About $8 million in illegal savings from the underreporting to A&E, Discovery, ESPN, MTV and others wound up with the head of the company, Charles Hermanowski, prosecutors said. He was arrested in Australia and faces an extradition hearing in March. Two other company officials also face criminal charges. Americable paid $8 million as part of the plea. All but $50,000 of the balance for fines, restitution and forfeiture in escrow must be paid a month after sentencing, set for February.
Hermanowski’s wife, Joan, and children now run the company, which has sold all but one of its commercial cable ventures, said company attorney E.L. Hoffman. Since Hermanowski fled in 1998, his wife has given the government more than 500,000 documents, and the company has changed its management, policies and procedures to root out fraud, prosecutors said. Joan Hermanowski is not a target of the investigation.
Last year, Charles Hermanowski was sentenced to 9 years in prison and fined over $4 million dollars. Here’s a link to the Department of Justice press release, which has this funny bit about how Hermanowski eventually ended up back home in the US:
Hermanowski’s conviction was the result of a long-term investigation that started in March 1998. In July 2000, Hermanowski commenced steps that eventually resulted in him obtaining a Grenadian passport in the name of “John Stobierski,” who was a deceased former neighbor. In December 2000, Hermanowski fled the United States, traveling to Canada via Barbados, and later fleeing to New Zealand. When he fled, Hermanowski was subject to a grand jury subpoena for samples of his handwriting. Judge Seitz found that Hermanowski obstructed justice through his various efforts to obstruct and impede the investigation and prosecution.
On January 30, 2002, agents from the Australian Federal Police apprehended Hermanowski in Sydney, Australia, where Hermanowski had been trying to obtain a Canadian visa in the name of “John Stobierski.” After fighting extradition from Australia for over four years, Hermanowski was extradited back to the United States in late June 2006.
So after such a storied history of defrauding the US military with television scams, and ripping off American cable companies, one has to wonder how Americable was given a contract by the same government it had previously stolen from. If the complaints made here have any merit, then someone with some muscle needs to look into the current business practices of this company, to make sure they’re not falling back into their old habits and defrauding service members and the already cash-strapped US military bases overseas.
If anyone from Americable would like to comment on this, feel free to e-mail me at Jim@fewl.net.
Comments 27
Great investigative work here. I also have JCOM so I don’t know firsthand how bad Americable is. I haven’t heard anything good from them. Recorded TV? In 2008? I remember FEN back in ‘94 when my parents were here in Yokosuka. It’s a big improvement, but I wonder if there’s some alternative.
I really wanna know why crummy Anthony’s Pizza is the only pizza place on every single military base in the world (including England, Germany, Italy, Japan, Okinawa). What’s the deal with that? [insert Jerry Seinfeld voice]
Again, good job digging.
Posted 19 Apr 2008 at 8:09 pm ¶Get.
The.
Hell.
Out.
Yes Americable representative, please tell me how this fantastic recorded crap is worth my money. Please tell me how that satellite service that you record from is compensated for your theft. Please tell me I can see some new re-runs sometime soon.
Jim, you rock. Seriously. I’ll bake you some cookies or something.
Posted 19 Apr 2008 at 8:27 pm ¶I knew there was something fishy about them. Are we (the Military) so worried about saving money that we just give hire some Joe Shmoe from the Cornerstore to run our affairs? Something truly needs to be done about this. Thank you again Jim for your wonderful investegations!
Posted 20 Apr 2008 at 12:43 am ¶Great post, Jim. I don’t have TV/Internet at my place off base, but I think I’ll follow your lead and stick with the local Japanese company if I ever do get it.
Posted 20 Apr 2008 at 1:08 am ¶If you really get to watching Americable, especially channels like A & E or The History Channel, you’ll notice that often, a blank screen with writing will come up just after there is some pixelation or audio blanks that says “Poor Quality Signal.” I’m telling you, they record on nasty DVD-R disks that should have been trashed months ago from a satellite service. I’ve only ever had Dish Network in the states so I know what poor satellite service one gets during storms and rainy days. These disks they use are nothing more than recordings…substandard ones recorded a rainy area at best.
What’s really sickening about this Hermanowski family fraud hucksters is that they are STILL making money from THE GOVERNMENT and now are going to CHARGE HIGHER FEES for LOW QUALITY CRAP that they are probably having family members STEAL FROM SATELLITE PROVIDERS WITHOUT THEIR KNOWLEDGE. Not only did Hermanowski steal from the good ole US of A, but he cost the US millions in legal fees and extradition filings, not to mention all the effort and specialized legal talent that was needed to indict the man and get him back without international incident. Sure, lets give his family more money too, instead of giving it to a company that would actually give us something more than poorly recorded and repeatedly shown bullshit they pass off as television programming. With technology what it is today, there is no reason why we can’t have a lag less than two weeks and more turnover. I mean seriously, these shows are on over and over for a month or sometimes more!
I can’t believe that I have to now purchase a box, and with that box I get less channels than I get now, and it costs MORE to have it!!! Not only that, but I have to have a box for EVERY TV I OWN if I want cable on them! This is worse than the faster internet scam they pulled. I wonder how many families on this base know about the internet speed scam?
Posted 20 Apr 2008 at 4:15 am ¶Jim - It all boils down to this, like everything else in the government.
Who is the responsible “COTAR” (Contracting Officer) on the base (probably some pencil-head at FISC)? Is the COTAR aware of these allegations? Is CO CFAY aware about what’s going on? Is CNFJ aware? We need to pressure the base CO, who is too busy cow-towing to the Japanese Mayor so we can allow the Japanese to come to our b.s. open-base events, as they head out the gate illegally buying Anthony’s Pizza on their way to protest us. I would invite people to attend the Town Hall meeting on Apr. 30th (not sure on time/place) to air their issues directly to Capt DefCon.
Posted 20 Apr 2008 at 12:38 pm ¶Where is the Town Hall meeting, and is anyone here planning on going? A detailed report on the questions/answers afterward would be greatly appreciated.
Posted 20 Apr 2008 at 12:49 pm ¶I questined the service counter person, why I am getting charged more for channels I don’t want or care to watch. The congress channel and the filipino channel. I call everytime there is a blackout. Because if you don’t complain, they will still charge you for the days there are blackouts. AMERICABLE sucks.
The way it was broken down to me by other cable enthusists…. it’s all about supply, and demand. We need it, we’ll pay for it.
Posted 20 Apr 2008 at 2:03 pm ¶I understand that people on base use it because it’s the only thing available, but since we’re living in Japan, one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world, why couldn’t their TV and Internet services just be offered ON base?
Posted 20 Apr 2008 at 2:27 pm ¶An email I got from Americable today:
Posted 21 Apr 2008 at 3:18 pm ¶Nice little way of sneaking a survey in there.
Posted 21 Apr 2008 at 9:38 pm ¶First and foremost, I appologize for such a long post. Please read it though as it should give you a bit more insight as to what goes on not just in Yokosuka, but other bases as well.
I was in Yokosuka on the Kitty Hawk for 3 years a little over 3 years ago and I never once heard about Americable. All I can say is WOW, HOLY FUCK! And an internet speed scam? Can someone relate more on that?
And also, a little about me as well. I don’t get mad very often. I’m a really laid back individual. But when I hear of people getting deliberatly scammed by companies so they can make a buck on hard working Americans that pisses me off to no end.
Case in point:
Also another thing, I was on deployment in Iwakuni in 2006 (for some reason I keep on coming back to Japan…), and MCAS Iwakuni finally got high speed internet on base. Now, by high speed I mean slower than mollasses in the middle of winter, and by internet I mean 0 connectivity. The entire system is set up wirelessly, which is a huge plus, as long as you have a wireless modem or usb device, which I didn’t have. So I go to the MCX and buy all the required equipment ($100), and then go to the counter and apply for internet access. The bitch behind the counter (Japanese too) proceeds to ask me a couple of quetions, and then tells me that its $75 to sign up (sign up fee, processing fee), and that I’ll have to wait 7-10 days before I get my user name and password. I then ask her why do I have to wait 7-10 days for a user name and password after I just paid $175 for everything? Her coworker (and I assume manager, who by the way is a much bigger bitch than the other) then threatens to call my command and report me. I told her to go ahead, and gave her my unit information along with the CO’s direct line. I never heard anything from it.
So then I get my user name and pass, and I connect to the internet after some frustration (wireless strength is intermittent between 100% and 30%, I have to put my usb device outside the window to get 100%). I try to open google, and it takes I kid you not 15 minutes to open the search page. So I’m thinking that maybe there is something wrong with my system, so I open my download/upload monitor, and its at a steady .03 KB/S!
So instantly I get even more pissed. I get on the pohne to tech support and I get a guy that barely speaks english. This is to be expected, as this is a Japanese company, and I’m very understanding that I would be getting a guy that I probably won’t be able to communicate with. After cooly and calmly talking with the guy I find out that they are experiencing bandwidth issues and that it won’t be resolved for 6 months or more. And the icing on the cake? I can’t use Skype to talk with my wife who is staying with her mom in Yokohama. The reason? The company blocked every port except the ports that Internet Explorer uses. So I can’t even use iTunes to download songs.
So it breaks down like this:
$40 Monthly service charge
$35 Processing fee for initial setup
Seeing Marines throw their computers out the window? Priceless.
I’ll have to dig up my letter I wrote to what I like to call “The Big 3″ (Base CO, MCX O, Unit CO), and find their website. You guys have to read their site. Not only does it look like it was done in frontpage, but it also insults your intelligence by telling you that this is the fastest internet speeds MCAS Iwakuni has ever seen.
Posted 21 Apr 2008 at 10:21 pm ¶Not to get my post count up or anything, but refering to my above post, I’m am speculating that the Japanese company didn’t rent enough bandwidth from some Big Brother Japanese ISP so they had to do with that they could. Which is good in all, save for the fact that its 35 times SLOWER than dial up, and that I’m paying $40 a month for it to boot. And why weren’t they prepared for the shortage? Because the DOD got tired of hearing complaints to the tune “Were in one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world, why the fuck can’t we get High Speed internet?!?!?!”, so they opened up a contract and gave it to the lowest bidder like they always do, and this is the result.
Posted 21 Apr 2008 at 10:32 pm ¶
Posted 21 Apr 2008 at 11:09 pm ¶I miss my JCOM direct fiber connectivity. That shit was on fire. I am back stateside now and have to deal with crappy Time Warner cable.
Posted 22 Apr 2008 at 1:06 am ¶Jim - The Town Hall meeting in Yokosuka is at Benny Decker, 4/30 at 6 p.m. Maybe somebody will mention this scam to Capt DefCon. My impression is that Americable is a big can of worms, out of control, with no solution in sight. However, if enough people complain something has to be done about it. I’ll try to make it and post some blog minutes.
Posted 22 Apr 2008 at 11:16 am ¶If you people care that much about this particular issue, why don’t you email the Base CO directly? His email address is:
Daniel.Weed@fe.navy.mil
I have attempted to address the Americable issue myself and all I got was a canned response from the CMC. You might want to use an anonymizer like anonymouse.org before doing it because Big Brother is alive and well in Yoko Town.
Good luck and keep us posted …
Posted 22 Apr 2008 at 11:31 am ¶Hello, question here. I have a Japanese HD TV and live onbase, due to the NTCS thing I have to run the cable through a DVD player to change the channel. Am I screwed?
Posted 22 Apr 2008 at 4:27 pm ¶First off, I have to respond to this:
Well, when you’re the only pizza place with a delivery service in CNFJ, your service can be as crappy as you want and people will use it. Aren’t monopolies great!
In my days at Pearl Harbor, the base Pizza Hut wasn’t too bad, but even then the service was uneven at best.
Admittedly, I don’t have Americable in the pad, and I have no intentions of setting up my dish (I still would have to buy a $60-$70 mounting bracket, anyway) for crappy, overpriced service complete with retarded AFN commercials. I use FLET’s fiberoptic service (through DoCoMo) for internet service. Hard to believe I used to think cable was fast!
To quote Willy Wonka: You lose, Americraple! Good day!
Posted 22 Apr 2008 at 6:33 pm ¶Jim - According to the last “Seahawk,” the next Yokosuka Town Hall Meeting is scheduled at B.D. Theater, 4/30 at 6 p.m. I hope to make it and blog back the good, bad, and in-between. Normally Stars and Stripes sends a reporter to cover the event. Maybe somebody should ask the CO is he reads these blogs!
Posted 24 Apr 2008 at 12:44 am ¶Did anyone see the Q&A in the Sea Hawk?…
The first sentence of the answer “our upcoming rate increase” does this mean there is more to come? Seriously though, if they would invest in the equipment they need they wouldn’t have to hire “tech support”. The other thing about not having had a rate increase in 3 years I think is also crap! I never really pay attention to how much I dole out to them every month but I am almost positive that it has gradually been going up. Don’t even get me started on their “high speed internet”!
Posted 24 Apr 2008 at 5:09 pm ¶Excuse me guys, but I’m having a “blonde” moment. I can’t seem to figure out how to block the text like Brooke did in the previous blog. I don’t understand Jim’s directions for doing it. HELP!!!
Posted 25 Apr 2008 at 1:12 am ¶Just try <blockquote>putting your text here</blockquote>
Posted 25 Apr 2008 at 1:31 am ¶Dealt with Americable for three years and all I can say is… Shitty! But living on base that is all you have, sounds like a monopoly doesn’t it? Here is something to think about… Yakota AFB canned Americable awhile back, why? Because the service sucks and they are ripping the consumer off every month in the form of a bill. As you well know Jim I am back here stateside and couldn’t be happier with the service I have here, lets see, HD cable with twice the channels as those ass clowns at Americable, internet not the best, but 100% better than Americable and phone service with unlimited long distance all in one package and I am paying about $20.00 more a month than I did with Americable. All I got with them was shitty cable and cappy internet!
Posted 27 Apr 2008 at 7:07 pm ¶Yeup, everyone in the office who has Americable has a complaint either about how you have to pay check…checks…in the 21st century! (I haven’t used checks since I was a student!) This isn’t the only complaint they have–either its terrible service or they cannot get internet or cable from time to time.
Posted 22 May 2008 at 9:15 pm ¶Do you think if enough of us complained that the gov’t would do something about this? I honestly can not believe that they wouldn’t give a shit about all of being scammed, they should be held responsible some how. Aslo to what I don’t understand is that if you live in the barracks you don’t have to pay for cable yet for those of us who live in base housing do. If the Gov’t is knowing that this is a scam then I feel as shitty as the stations are we shouldn’t have to pay. Back in the states I was paying maybe 20-30$ more and I had better internet service and better stations.
Posted 01 Jun 2008 at 9:20 pm ¶You could always get Allied Telesis like we do at Yokota! They are super awesome in charging you for crap. We originally had Americable and would gladly accept them back in a heartbeat affter this BS.
Posted 25 Oct 2008 at 6:28 pm ¶Trackbacks & Pingbacks 1
[...] in Japan (or wherever), you’ll definitely want to hit up Fewl’s latest post, where Jim investigates exactly who owns the company and what they’ve been up to. For one, they’re not owned by the government. Second, they’re ripping you [...]
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