Mr. Clark's allegations are an attempt to destroy the name of our organization which has been dormant for several years because of the stagnant economy. Our attempt at assisting pregnancy centers was in response to being asked to deviate from our core goal of international humanitarian projects of which we would gladly furnish to those interested, with the economic downturn in 2008. We had unfortunate dealings with three such pregnancy centers.
Hands Across the Sea originated as a project of Rotary International and was taken to the next level as a tax exempt organization to provides medical supplies, equipment, training, and support for projects of the national Guard International Bureau State Partnership Program, in which we have participated in close to a hundred different projects, mainly in Eastern Europe, Central and South American and the last of which was the earthquake in Haiti, which was the largest and most successful undertaking. In Haiti we were the first non-profit to begin aid shipment of medicine, food and water via airplane into an air strip in Penon, Haiti, long before any government aid arrived. We shipped an Ambulance full of medical supplies and a semi-tractor trailer donated by Old Dominion Freight which we shipped by barge from Florida and in total were responsible for more about 15 deliveries during the first month following the quake.
The disputes with the three pregnancy centers out of the nine centers we aided, evolved out of a misunderstanding wherein the centers wanted ultrasound systems which normally sell for upward of $25,000, for $5000. The only systems available for that money were older systems which we would have normally sent via military transport to third world countries free of charge had the economy been better. As the technology had evolved from 2D systems to 3D and 4D systems, $5000 would only deliver these older machines which we disclosed early on when inquiries were made. We did refund the money paid from one center because their request for a refund was an immediate request. The other two requests came after a long period of time (one was a year after the purchase), which our board agreed was an unwarranted request. One of the unit being disputer was sold with more than the usual "full-disclosure" regarding the aged equipment in that several features available on newer machines did not work and in fact were not even available for add-on upgrading. That particular system was only good for imaging purposes and was not compatible with any software package. The service Center had recently gone through the imaging part of the system and certified the image capabilities as being in good working order. After paying the shipping fees of $500, there was no way we were about to provide a refund because we provided the full disclosure in advance.
Our charity, Project Ultrasound, raises money to help purchase ultrasound equipment for crisis pregnancy centers across the USA. We were approached a couple years ago by Ed Mattsen, managing director of Hands Across the Sea. Ed expressed a personal interest in what we do and wanted to assist us in matching quality ultrasound equipment for crisis pregnancy centers that were in need. Ed informed us that he worked with medical equipment suppliers and had a lot of access to used/refurbished and even new equipment that could be purchased at very affordable prices. Ed made if very clear that his family was directly affected by abortion and he wanted to make a difference in this area.
Ed began a campaign whereby he would contact a large mailing list of crisis pregnancy centers, that he obtained personally, to let them know he could sell them affordable ultrasound equipment. He solicited centers that had no equipment and centers that had old equipment but might be interested in newer equipment. What we did not know at the time was that in those email solicitations, which were essentially sales pitches, Ed was discussing our company and our grants and incorrectly implying that centers were virtually guaranteed grant funding from us, if they decided to purchase a machine from him. What Ed would then do would be to match a center up with a machine that he would sell to them at the exact amount of our grant, $4,000. The sales pitch would be that the center had to do virtually nothing but submit some paperwork and they were looking at getting a nice used machine. The problem with this is that we were never affiliated with Ed Mattsen or his organizations in any way, we never made any commitment to approving grants based on Ed's referrals of pregnancy centers, and we certainly would never force a pregnancy center to purchase a machine from Ed, if we were to approve their grant. Because of Ed's dishonest and misleading approach, we started getting questions from cpc's that he contacted, and they were asking us if they got a grant from us if they had to purchase a machine from Ed. It was at this time that the misrepresentation he was making about us and our relationship to him was uncovered. We spoke directly to Ed about this misrepresentation and told him to cease providing false information immediately.
We know of two crisis pregnancy centers who purchased ultrasound equipment from Ed, and both felt deceived and duped at the end of the transaction. Ed sold equipment to both of these centers without providing detailed specifications on the equipment (year, make, model, functionality). It is of course the responsibility of the buyers in these cases to due their due diligence about the products they are purchasing, but Ed is fully aware that many times the individuals at non profit crisis pregnancy centers are not well versed on the particulars of ultrasound technology and are simply desperate to get an affordable machine to begin offering free ultrasound services to their clients, and help support life. In both cases when the product arrived it was discovered that it did not perform up to the needs of the centers who purchased them. In one case the machine was literally unusable based upon the requirements of that center's medical license within the state in which they operate. We believe Ed falls well short of being above reproach as a director of a non-profit and as a salesman of medical equipment because of the initial misrepresentations he has made to non-profits and their ability to get funding for the machines he is selling, and then in the disclosure he makes about the product he is selling.
We are confident in saying that as it relates to crisis pregnancy centers in need of ultrasound equipment, Ed Mattsen and Hands Across the Sea, Center Points Consultants, and any other organization he introduces himself under, should be avoided.
Stephen Clark
President
Project Ultrasound Inc.
Review from Guidestar