Shareholders, Staff and Former Staff 2024

Dear Shareholders, Staff, and Former Staff,

I want to begin by sincerely apologizing to each and every one of you for the hurt, confusion, and emotional turmoil I have caused by repeatedly lying and misusing money that I was entrusted with. My actions were wrong, and I alone take full ownership as no one else took part, nor was aware of what I was doing. Again, no one in the company or outside the company knew what had transpired. If the past tells me anything, I alone the crimes.

I want to make it perfectly clear that Elizabeth Lay was not negligent in any way. She had no idea what had transpired, and had no way of knowing what I was doing. I realize her decisions were for the best, and she right. I had asked Liz to “protect” C-Hear once she took the lead. She and I had no idea that I had been the person that was doing wrong. I also told her; I would never ask you to lie or commit a crime on my behalf. I never have nor would I.

Liz was met with resistance from the beginning by the other leaders, limiting her ability to make any significant changes that needed to be made. She was working hard to bring C-Hear to revenue only to basically have the presentation of the technology be in an updated mode making it difficult to make the presentations she had prepared. She traveled to meet with me and others almost weekly for almost two years. I can honestly say, she worked harder than the others while she was leading the company. Why I say this? I want everyone to know she is a woman of integrity. I also know, she was blindsided to learn of the things I had done. To be truthful, I was too, I was only beginning to put the pieces together.

I am aware that there are many innuendos and questions left unanswered due to the calls and inquiries I had received.

I want to address these matters directly:

1. I have been incarcerated on multiple occasions.

2. I have committed financial crimes.

3. I have lied.

4. I have been hospitalized for psychiatric issues.

5. I live with dissociative identity disorder.

6. I have hurt myself on many occasions.

7. I have difficulty with what is real and what is not real. Reality is hard for me, and I often question if things really happened or if I did something similar to what I've seen on the news or show.

I experience nightmares, blackouts, and have no memory of certain events. I tend to make up something to avoid appearing uninformed, but I realize that this makes me appear foolish once discovered I had lied. My personal life has also been complex, including long-term relationships with both women and men. I am a survivor of childhood sexual trauma, which lasted from just before my 5th birthday throughout my entire childhood and into adulthood. I suspect my imagination had become well equipped with all kinds of survival techniques that society would deem as wrong or inappropriate.

I have made many bad decisions that have led to chaos, hurt feelings, mistrust, and a failure as leader. 

C-Hear's Beginnings and Challenges

When C-Hear began, it stemmed from an idea of adding audio to an image. I discussed it with Butch for over a month before approaching Jesse, who then went to Taha, and finally to Simon. As I lacked the knowledge to run a business, I asked my dad to be CEO and Chairman of the Board. The product in mind was a simple concept that people wanted, but achieving it was a complex process that could never be fully accomplished under me. As time passed, my perspective on the endeavor differed from part of the team. I would be focused on digital accessibility and digital equity, while the team wanted a data container to do so much more. But we were a team and I will yield to the majority and those who seemed to know what the market wanted.

I recognize the impact my behavior has had or may have had many of you. To the staff and former staff, I am deeply sorry for creating a toxic work environment that undoubtedly affected your well-being, your work, and possibly that of your family at home. You deserved a leader who was honest, transparent, and capable of fostering a healthy and supportive workplace. To the shareholders, I apologize for the confusion, uncertainty, and any financial losses that my actions have caused. You placed your trust in me and the company, and I let you down, I am sorry.

From the beginning, I asked never to be CEO, yet I found myself in that position for much too long. As the leader, I thought I was truthful, but I oscillated between truth and lies, which only created a chaotic and unstable environment that hindered our progress. My leadership style was far too passive, and I failed to provide the necessary guidance and direction to steer the company towards success.

The tech team continued building without a clear vision. Instead of prioritizing the completion of a user-friendly app for all people that could have generated revenue sooner, I let the development process drag on indefinitely. C-Hear kept creating a unique product, as it turned out, it was ideal for other coders or tech experts, not for the general use by everyone. This was way off the original target market. I now realize that I should have been more assertive in my decision-making and pushed for a more focused approach to bring our product to market.

Looking back, there are countless moments where I wish I had acted differently. I am now, one hundred percent aware of my failures, these failures are mine to bear, and I deeply regret the impact they have had on C-Hear and all involved.

I hope that this message provides some clarity and helps to address the questions that have been left unanswered. Please know that I am deeply remorseful for my actions and the impact they have had on all of you.

With sincerity,

Adena Harmon