Advertiser Alleges Audit Bureau Part of Circulation Fraud

Software developer Teletype has filed a suit against the Audit Bureau of Circulation alleging the organization turned a blind eye to Laptop magazine's inflation of its circulation. The suit, filed last week according to Newsday, names Laptop publisher Bedford Communications, Bedford executives Edward Brown and John Jay Annis, defunct distributor Inflight Newspapers and former Inflight executive Remy Lehner. In the suit, Bedford is accused of paying Inflight "to accept delivery of tens of thousands of copies of Laptop magazine each month in return for paperwork showing that Inflight had 'accepted' the copies for distribution" but were never delivered.

ABC's role in the alleged scheme is explained in the suit by claiming ABC "would direct publishers how to paper over the check-swaps with falsified paperwork that ABC would accept so as to permit the undistributed magazines to be included as paid circulation." ABC, of course, denies any wrong doing saying , in a statement, "ABC concluded its last audit of Laptop magazine in 2002 and has since terminated the publication's membership in ABC. Moreover, ABC has no relationship with InFlight Newspapers and Magazines, Bedford Communications, or any of their principals." Funny how that statement doesn't actually deny any wrong doing.