That's the situation I'm in right now. There's a lot I could tell you about Andy Snowie and R&A Media... why I lent the company a large sum of money and what became of the money and how my trust was broken. But when it comes right down to it... I can't.

Suffice it to say that Andrew Snowie has declared bankruptcy and this is not his first bankruptcy.

Andy Snowie created a page on his website "as a public service" to warn others not to do business with his former marketing guy, Blaine Wilkerson.

This page is a public service to those who might have considered investing in Andrew Snowie or R&A Media.

Bankruptcies and bankruptcy petitions are a matter of public record. For a fee, you can search the bankruptcy database of Andy Snowie's country here:

I will close with a few quotes from the many messages from Andy Snowie providing assurances that my money was well-protected. Of course there was a signed contract as well, specifying a 6% interest rate.

"Hell, I'd sell the farm if ever this project failed... I will personally guarantee that you will not lose any money." * * * * * "The original puzzle, the checkerboard-cube was built in 1981, now almost a quarter of a century later and after many market tests and praise by family and friends, it was time to really get them to market. My decision to leave Air Canada was not just because of your loan. It was because I knew these would sell in stores. I just needed the Capital to do it and you came through as a shining knight. And I will never forget this. All the protections for you have been drafted in both my Company documents and in my Will. I also have the word from my son, J____, that you will be taken care of. This to me of itself is the greatest promise." * * * * * "I am a Scot. No other person on this planet is more worthy of his word than a Scot. You have no doubt heard of the Masons. The first lodge is in Melrose, Scotland. That is where I was born. My father was a mason of the first order of the first lodge. Although I have never been called, I share the belief structure - a handshake is a handshake - a contract is a contract. It surpasses all vows of marriage and all written contracts. It is the word of a Mason." * * * * * "We Scots are a rare people indeed! If my company fails, and even if I fail and end up in bankruptcy, I will still pay you back. The word of a Scotsman! And you can take that to the bank! I will never fail you and that is a promise."

The assurances dwindled after Andy Snowie became aware that his marketing guy, Blaine Wilkerson, had been deceiving him and there were not actually 100,000 standing orders for his puzzles. His puzzles are being sold in modest quantities in Europe and Australia. In response to my occasional inquiries about repayment of the loan, Andy would reply that the money he was making was being reinvested in the company and I would get paid eventually.

He also wrote once to ask if I would lend him more money.

I have heard nothing from Andy in a year or so.

I learned of Andrew Snowie's bankruptcy last October through official paperwork from the bankruptcy trustee.

Andrew Snowie is a clever, hard-working, persistent puzzle designer. Andy Snowie keeps his word, most of the time. He is very conscientious about filling puzzle orders. Every year, he even sends packages to hospitals so his puzzles can be given to sick children at Christmastime. He sent me a free handmade pocket-size puzzle when I first contacted him in a quest for wooden cubes. He seems to have a kind and generous heart.

It is a great mystery to me why he broke his word to me, without a word of apology, when I had trusted him enough to lend a huge amount of money to someone I had never met. Until I received the bankruptcy papers from the trustee, I believed Andy Snowie would keep his word. I figured even if business was slower than he had anticipated, he'd take on another job, or two, or three, or borrow from extended family, or do whatever it might take to repay his debt to the one person who helped him out at a critical time when no one else would.