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This may be a textbook case in how not to leave your Hollywood job. It’s also a PR nightmare for PR man Bradley Frank still employed at Rogers & Cowan. 
But the problems occurred at Platform Public Relations, where the 31-year-old Frank worked for 5 1/2 years until he resigned on March 31st and started at R&C, where he represents Community‘s Alison Brie, Californication‘s Meagan Good and Old Spice Guy Isaiah Mustafa among others. Today, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office charged Frank with one count of grand theft, one count of receiving stolen property, and one count of computer access and fraud. Frank’s court appearance is set for 8:30 AM Thursday. The indictment followed an 11-week investigation by the Hollywood division of the LAPD spearheaded by Platform PR owner Siri Garber, who alleges that Frank left her company and deleted everything off Platform PR’s work computer involving his clients, copied the company server’s documents, and stole her entire data base. She also alleges other even more serious crimes not described in today’s charges. Recently, Garber phoned R&C co-chairman Paul Bloch to tell him what was happening and says “he seemed completely shocked.” One R&C publicist told me the company thought the allegations were just coming from a bitter ex-employer before today’s indictment.
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Grand theft for a contact sheet and client information????? Seems a little exagerated to me. Something any company with sensible IT infrastructure could prevent. Now if he stole the company car that’s another thing, but digital documents? Over reaching DA much?
Agreed. Seems really silly. Remind me not to work with Platform Public Relations…
71 clients, some of whom can report over 10 years with the company disagree with you.
Remind the person above to spell exaggerated if you talk about sensible.
Some people just get what they deserve, sucks to be him. Grand Theft sounds like more than just a contact sheet and client information. It also says other crimes that were not described in the charges. We shall see what other crimes he committed, until then…
Something tells me that won’t be a problem…
The law is the law. This person has broken the law several times. Running a small business in LA is hard enough without employees ripping their own bosses off. I am glad this woman is standing up for herself and would work with her firm in a heartbeat!
How about embezzling money and cashing checks made out to his previous company, is that over reaching?
Actually, that sounds more serious than the company car to me. A PR company trades in contacts and information – most of which would be stored on data drives. As I read this, the allegation is that an employee made off with the company’s work product, then burnt what was left. That’d be digital theft.
Preventable? Probably.
Prosecutable? Absolutely.
Looks like Bradley follows the news enough to post 1st, $65k bail means that this was probably more than the theft of a contact sheet though.. How soon will we know?
Yes, Yes, and, oh, Yes!. She handles, (exceptions included) mostly those hollywood types who only want a PR to give them access to Photo OPs and red carpet events. Shallow….
Theft is theft. People work for years establishing contacts, it’s their life’s blood. This guy should go to jail. He was vindictive -erasing a data base? What’s the point of that?
Trying to get something for nothing is BS- hope he rots in county
Deleting his own contacts so Siri couldn’t poach his clients? Most publicists keep their own contact lists and relationships.
If you know nothing, say nothing, he’s done alot and we’ll see how much as it comes out..
yeah yeah. people come and people go from companies. Deal with it.
If you know something, say something. If he’s done a lot, then tell us exactly how much.
Wow bitter ex-employer is an understatement. Sounds like he left and took his clients and files…whats the big deal? Remind me never to get in business with Siri……..or marry her….yikes
She’s single?
That guy was always a scum bag, i saw him in Sundance ignoring his clients and smoking pot the whole time. Wasn’t he the guy involved in the robbery of a marajuana dispensary too?
Oh, my god. Someone smoking pot in hollywood? Such a scandal.
No, but smoking it while you’re working and ignoring clients is pretty lame. He always seems to “rush off” and leave his clients hanging.
I know both of these people – Siri is a serious party girl and loves attention – breaking a cardinal rule in PR that the client gets the attention as opposed to the publicist. Have U seen her Facebook page? Always a drink in her hand. Bradley left because he wanted to go somewhere that does real PR. Anyone who leaves any company takes database lists, contact sheets, etc. Who hasn’t among us in Hollywood? Wasn’t that how Endeavor began: 4 guys and a bunch of boxes? Any client at Platform should seriously evaluate what kind of attention they are getting when the owner/publicist is spending her time partying and suing.
You obviously do not know Siri at all since she may have a glass in her hand on her Facebook page but she is not a drinker!!!! One drink, if that, and she is done. She is loyal, hardworking and close to her family.
Anonymous, you seem to be posting a lot response to depending Platform’s actions. If there’s something that you want to say you should come out with it. It’s rather passive aggressive.
Taking him to court is nonsense. There is a reason all those clients followed him and it wasn’t because Siri couldn’t find their number. Yet again Siri finds a way to generate publicity for herself.
Company databases and contact information are serious intellectual property. Destruction and/or theft of intellectual property are serious crimes. Anyone who thinks that messing with their company’s intellectual property is no big deal should think again. Read your employment agreement, as well as any NDAs or Confidentiality Agreements you may have signed. Just because they aren’t always enforced doesn’t mean that yours won’t be enforced.
So, what? You naysaying idiots never heard of Intellectual Property?
What century are you living in ?
More serious allegations not mentioned. Why would someone be indicted on the less serious? Lawyers please respond.
Time to let the lawyers do the talking.
I am outraged at him and the people who think this is no big deal. Our industry is intellectual property and business lists and documents are intellectual property. He was not an independent contractor where he may have been able to argue he owned these items. He’s busted big time.
That’s right. Let it play itself out.
If the terms of employment he signed while working there state it’s prohibited to remove company data, he’s definitely f*cked himself, and the company has a case.
Despite its big name, I believe taking something worth just $950 (and less in specific circumstances) can get you charged with “Grand Theft” in California (Cal. Penal Code 487). So, the bar is pretty low for the D.A. in this case. While stealing a copy of contact lists as well as key contracts is considered standard modus operandi for most departing representatives and executives in this day and age — it is likely forbidden under his employment agreement. And, while the company’s IT infrastructure should have included back-ups and other safeguards that would have made his destruction of digital files a hassle rather than a nightmare, the deletion of files after “fraudulent” access (if proven) does take things to another level (far outside the norm) from my perspective.
All that being said, it will certainly be interesting to see what “other more serious crimes” are alleged down the line.
HA! What a joke. Maybe you should worry more about your clients then old employees….
knowing Siri, and how hard she works and how dedicated she is to her clients and this business, i find it hard to believe her allegations are anything less than on the money. she is not only fair and generous with her clients, giving discounted rates when they were going through lean times, she fights for what is right. this guys a scumbag-and he deserves the microscope he is now under.
“She also alleges other even more serious crimes not described in today’s charges”
It really helps if you read all the sentences before commenting.
The L.A. DA’s office is obviously over-reaching. I think it’s been proven on more than one occasion that this office is star struck. It’s still not as bad as the corrupt Burbank PD which is just a puppet of NBC and other studios in town, always down to settle a personal score for a celebrity or studio honcho. It is nice to see the Burbank PD publicly embarrassed by the recent scandals, as it’s comprised of rogue, lawless bullies and is the reason why a lot of well heeled people have fled the ugly environs.
I look for the charges against this publicist to go away quietly.
Obviously the LA DA’s office should be worrying about gun-toting gang bangers instead of a guy who may have pilfered a contact list.
Good for you Siri. I’ve known Siri for years and she’s always been awesome to me and my clients. She works her butt off and fights for clients. Nobody knows the full story so let the law handle it now. I wouldn’t put a client with Brandley EVER.
Being that you don’t even know his name is “Bradley” not “Brandley”, I would wager that you don’t know anything about him. There’s a reason his clients followed him and ditched Platform, he was the only reason they were there in the first place.
Every publicist takes their client info and media lists with them when they leave. Did he sign these clients? Hello. Sounds like a bitter former employer to me.
Good for you, Siri! it is a giant investment and expense for a small company to groom an employee from nothing to something. But then to have that employee leave with clients and information to go to a bigger company is such a huge betrayal, although part of doing business in Hollywood. I’m glad she is standing up for what’s rightly hers.
I have known Siri for years, and she has always been an honest person who would never falsely accuse someone. Others have left her company without incident, so I am guessing that Brad did something seriously wrong.
Whether the allegations are true or not, this dude’s name just got dragged through the mud. Not gonna have much of a career in this industry after this.
Uh yeah….normally you can’t delete your work off company computers since they paid you for all that….that is why companies escort you out after terminations…so you don’t launch The Pink Slip Virus….. If I were to guess he went about pitching his former employers clients at a minimum….
anyone know whose repping life rights?
I hope this unfortunate incident does not stain the reputation of the entertainment PR biz.