Jehu Hand Obtains Judgment against VitaminSpice and Ed Bukstel for Defamation Arising Out of April 25, 2012 Press Release; Securities Lawsuit Against Hand Dismissed

DANA POINT, Calif., Aug. 29, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Securities lawyer Jehu Hand announced that after trial held in Orange County California Superior Court, he has obtained a judgment in case no. 30-2012-00567141 against VitaminSpice (VTMS.PK) and its Chief Executive Officer Ed Bukstel. The Complaint alleged that defendants VitaminSpice and Ed Bukstel libeled Jehu Hand in the press release issued by them on April 25, 2012. That widely-disseminated press release alleged that motions filed in the Federal Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania included documents that allegedly demonstrated that Jehu Hand and others perpetrated forgeries. The Complaint further alleges that these and other statements in VitaminSpice's press release were untrue and defamatory and, furthermore, that the statements regarding purported forgeries were expressly contrary to the findings of the Bankruptcy Court.

No evidence was presented by the defendants at trial to support any allegation of forgery nor to support their contention that the defendants made the defamatory statements with good faith belief in their truthfulness. The Court found that the Complaint was supported by the evidence and awarded the full amount sought of $74,000 against each of VitaminSpice and Ed Bukstel.

This judgment follows the dismissal of VitaminSpice and Bukstel's Third Party Complaint against Mr. Hand which was pending in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Advanced Multilevel Concept, Inc. v VitaminSpice, et al.,  Case No. 11-CV-3718. That case was dismissed with prejudice.

Mr. Hand stated, "I am pleased to have finally vindicated myself against the baseless defamation by Mr. Bukstel and VitaminSpice. I believe that the defamation and the Third Party Complaint, which was bereft of any factual support, were merely retaliation for myself and others providing information to the Securities and Exchange Commission, detailing a 'pump and dump' in VitaminSpice's stock engaged in by the company. This information resulted in enforcement action against VitaminSpice as set forth in SEC Release 34-68948."

SOURCE Jehu Hand