October 23, 2015

Earlier today, L.I.F.E. helped to file a civil lawsuit with the State of Minnesota against LoziLu and it’s thieving owner.  L.I.F.E. has not received one single penny from LoziLu since they changed ownership following the summer of 2014.  The L.I.F.E. organization was created to help keep the incredible fighting spirit of Eric McLean alive, by helping others live. We are a 100% volunteer driven, with no overhead costs, all to ensure we can help other cancer patients across the country as much as possible.  Now that all ties have officially been cut with the LoziLu organization, we are aimed at continuing to fulfill that mission.

In March 2012, we were proud to announce that LoziLu had chosen L.I.F.E. as its official charity, which would greatly benefit many cancer patients around the country.  By August 2014, L.I.F.E. had received a total of $77,516.86 in generous donations from LoziLu, which was used to help over 60 cancer patients, and help kickstart a promising cancer research trial at the McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research.  The patients were ever so grateful, it was wonderful to bring a sense of joy and hope to that many faces.  All of that, however, was before new ownership.  Following the summer of 2014, LoziLu was purchased by a man named Brad Peters, and the partnership had come to an end, or so we thought.  Brad promptly contacted us to let us know that he shared our vision, and that he would like to continue donating 5% of it’s revenue towards L.I.F.E.  We were absolutely thrilled.

By early summer 2015, however, we began to receive reports from women across the country that had paid their registration fees, only to show up on race day to find an empty field.  No cancellation notices had been sent out, no refunds had been given.  In fact, our own family was packed up and ready to attend the Milwaukee Event on June 27th.  We texted him the evening of June 26th to let him know we were looking forward to meeting him.  He wrote back that it had been moved to September 5th due to many of their obstacles being lost in a storm.  There was no cancellation notice on the LoziLu website, no notifications, nothing.  Had it not been for that text message, we too would have arrived to find an empty field – and refunds have still not been issued to this day.

Bewildered, we contacted Brad to discuss these problems, and work out a timeline for when we might see cancer patient funds start to arrive.  He assured us that L.I.F.E. would have it’s first check by the end of July.  It was at that same time that news articles began to surface that Brad Peters wasn’t Brad Peters at all.  His real name, in fact, was Frederick Bradley Kellogg, a man with a previous conviction of felony fraud that resulted in 20 years probation.  We have discovered that Kellogg has been sued individually, in Minnesota and federally, over 40 times, resulting in over 30 unpaid judgements against him that totaled in excess of $2.5 million.  We again contacted him with these allegations, which he confirmed, and told us he had been trying to get “a fresh new start”, and a “second chance at life”.  We wanted to believe him, we really did.  But then the July payment deadline expired, he pushed it out further to August, and then again beyond that.  Combined with the other evidence we were presented, we were left with one conclusion: If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck.

On August 3, 2015, L.I.F.E. issued Mr. Kellogg a cease and decist letter to immediately remove the L.I.F.E. name from the LoziLu website, and forward the promised 5% of its revenue so that it may be used to towards the cause for which it was intended; helping cancer patients.  No response was given to the letter 

In September, the Star Tribune in Minneapolis contacted L.I.F.E. to run an article titled “Mud-race organizer runs trail of debt – Charity waits for funds as history of theft surfaces.”.  Shortly after the article was published, the Minnesota Attorney General’s office contacted L.I.F.E. to help win a strong case against Mr. Kellogg, that was officially filed this morning.  Click here to read the official civil lawsuit – State of Minnesota, by its Attorney General, Lori Swanson, Plaintiff vs. Fresh New Taste, LLC, d/b/a LoziLu Women’s Mud Run, and Frederick Kellogg, a/k/a Bradley Peters, individually, Defendants

Our beloved Eric would be rolling in his grave right now if he knew that someone was using his tragic story to swindle funds intended to help cancer patients to stuff their own pockets.  If Mr. Kellogg had any inkling as the sheer quantity of pain and suffering he went through, perhaps he may have thought twice before taking advantage of him.  He picked on the wrong family.  L.I.F.E. wants to apologize to anyone out there also affected by this unfortunate turn of events, and has been working closely with the Minnesota Attorney General’s office to seek justice in this case.  We would also like to especially thank the Minnesota Attorney General’s office for all of their effort and support in bringing justice to this case.  It is our intention that the women that already participated in events this year will still see a portion of their registration fees go towards cancer patients, and those that were cancelled will see their registration fees refunded in full.

Thank you for your continued support.
-The Leukemia Ironman Fundraiser for Eric

Some other articles surrounding this story:

• Star Tribune – Minnesota attorney general sues mud run organizer
• Fox 29 – Canceled LoziLu Mud Run, Operator’s Track Record
• Obstacle Racing Media – Is The New Lozilu An All Out Scam?
• Grand Rapids Herald Review – Man enters not guilty plea in alleged swindle of $300,000 worth of wild rice
• Runner’s World – Minnesota Attorney General’s Office Brings Complaint Against Mud Run Series