Who is Karen Simmons?
Karen Simmons is a wedding photographer in Atlanta, GA. She does business using (at least) these web sites:
- www.ksimmons.com
- www.karenandco.com
- www.clairedancyphotography.com (no longer active once she got caught.)
She used to do business as KS Associates but apparently doesn't do so any more.
Please note that the Karen Lynn Simmons this page is referencing is not the Karen L. Simmons associated with Autism Today. You can view a photo of the Karen I'm warning you away from here (that image is taken from Karen's web site, but the person that created the image has given me permission to use it here.)
Why is this worth a web site?
Because Karen has amazing social skills. She can explain away anything -- as an example she told me that she's a convicted felon for check fraud in Texas before we signed our partnership agreement, and it didn't phase me. (A bit of research has shown that her statement wasn't entirely accurate -- see the link for details.)
If there's no public document (like this one), then potential victims will be convinced that anything bad that they know about was simply bad luck, or was the result of something malicious done to her.
It's also apparent that other people have been taken by her. So far I've only got the results on one search, performed in one county, but that yielded the following records:
- Fulton County judgment in case # 2006CV111742 #1 #2 (client lawsuit)
- Fulton County judgment in case # 2001CV41513 #1 #2 (client lawsuit)
- Fulton County judgment in case # 2005CV98579 #1 (client lawsuit)
- A Lien by The Knot (Fulton County Lien Book 696, page 615, accessible from here.)
Brides are still falling for her, and apparently her suppliers (like The Knot, a place photographers advertise to reach brides) are as well.
Red Flags
If you're considering entering into a business relationship with Karen, you'll be doing yourself a favor if you'll read through the following:
- The story of my time with Karen, listed here.
- Kiki's story (still ongoing), available on her blog. I hope she'll write a summary here once things are a bit more resolved.
- Documentation of Karen's legal encounters with previous clients and suppliers (on this page -- one section up.)
- Documentation of Karen's bad check passing. Now, I'm not saying that passing bad checks makes her evil (most people have bounced a check or two, especially back before online banking and debit cards), but how many people have been prosecuted for writing bad checks three times? How many have had their probation for bad check writing extended?
- BBB listings for Karen Simmons with 9 complaints in the last 36 months.
- Other people's stories. I'd like to post some here but won't without permission. If you're a member the largest wedding photographer site you can read many people's stories that include not being paid for a wedding shoot that was featured in an Atlanta magazine, stories of tearful brides confronting the photographers that referred them to Karen, a story of equipment theft, stories of image theft, stories of broken friendships and misplaced trust, and so on.
- A former client of Karen's has informed me that she's been featured in an Atlanta TV station's "On Your Side" twice (my client was the second of these). I'm currently trying to get video and/or transcripts from the news station in question.
- If you feel like digging, search through old alt-wedding newsgroup posts. I believe she got run out of those newsgroups after past clients showed up to tell their stories.
If you want to go ahead and do business with Karen after reading this then feel free. But you've been warned.
About this site
My name is Derek Zeanah, and I used to be in business with Karen Simmons. I lost quite a bit in my encounter with Karen, but I kept quiet about it because I agreed to do so when we ended our business relationship. (I've reread the settlement agreement since posting this site and it turns out there's no mention of a confidentiality clause. I remember discussing it though, so either it was verbal or it got dropped somewhere in the negotiations.)
I registered this site a few years ago when I saw comments on bridal forums from brides looking for their images/albums who couldn't get in touch with Karen. Generally it would start with one post, then many more, then the thread would be deleted (I'm assuming because Karen would complain to the moderators). I created this site to archive a few of those (now-deleted) discussions, offer contact information for Karen that was current, and set up a bulletin board for brides to contact each other and coordinate.
When I'd given the site a chance to do do its job, I let it go dark again. I didn't speak out with my own experience because I still felt bound by our separation agreement, even though Karen never fulfilled her end of the agreement.
That feeling of obligation changed last week, when I "came out" as a former business partner of Karen's on a wedding forum I frequent. This was part of a thread talking about a fake persona ('Claire Dancy') that Karen had created. In response a number of folks let me know that Karen had been lying about our relationship for years.
It also pointed out that someone else is losing money in a business relationship with Karen, though her losses appear worse ($6,000 in loans, $10,000 buy-in, and a bank account that should have a net balance of $15,000 that's apparently empty). You can read her story here, by the way. In speaking with Karen's most recent victim it became clear that if a site like this had appeared in a Google search on Karen, the business partnership likely would have been avoided.
So, I'm speaking out. I'm putting this site up as a billboard to tell people thinking about going into business with Karen to think twice!