Manitoba Hells Angels target businesses by posting 1-star reviews

When the president of the Manitoba Nomads, a chapter of the outlaw motorcycle gang the Hells Angels, heard his members had been turned away from a hotel for wearing their trademarklogos, he called on them to boycott the business.

They obeyedDale Kelland in droves.

On March 27, supporterstook to social media to express their displeasure with the Marion Hotel. Whenthe small Winnipeg business removed itsFacebook page, the bikers and their friends turned their attention to the Marion Street Eatery, the restaurant inthe hotel.

Within 24 hours hundreds of people, most of them from outside Canada, posted one-star reviews on the restaurant's Facebook page, reducing its4.5-star reputation to three stars overnight.

"It's not necessarily new that somebody is boycotting a business by giving them low-star reviews, but a group that is recognized by police for its various criminal exploits, alleged and otherwise, doing so I think is sort of interesting,"said ChristopherSchneider, a Brandon University associateprofessor of sociology who has written aboutpolicing and social media.

Schneider hadnever heard of the Hells Angels banding together to attack businesses with bad reviews, but he wasn't entirely surprised thatKellandwas able to mobilize support so quickly.

"They're a group that has connections worldwide," he said.

Neither the Marion Street Eaterynor the Marion Hotel would comment, but this is what theyposted ontheir Facebook page before taking it down:"Due to an unsubstantiated negative attack in the last 24 hours, we will be taking down our Facebook page today for the unforeseeable future. Thank you to all our amazing customers for your likes, reviews and support. Positivity has run our business and will continue to do so. #positivityrules"

More than a week later, calls for a boycott of the restaurant were renewed, but this timeonTripAdvisor. The travel site told CBCNews on Mondaythat they removed the reviews in question from the Marion Street Eatery's listing.

"We refer to this type of fraud as vandalism, which we define as attempts to post fake, negative reviews," Tara Lieberman, a spokesperson for TripAdvisor, wrote in an email. "We fight fraud aggressively and have sophisticated systems and teams in place to detect fraudsters, as well as strong penaltiesin place to deter them."

A criminal organization

The Hells Angels are an outlaw motorcycle gangwith chapters all over the world. Under Manitoba law, they are a criminal organization.

Like many other police services in this country, the Ontario Provincial Police have a group of officers dedicated to investigating their activities."Outlaw motorcycle gangs continue to be involved in numerous illicit activities. And that includes trafficking, importation, exportation, and distribution of illicit drugs."saidDet. Staff Sgt. AnthonyRenton, operations manager of theOPP Biker Enforcement Unit.

Renton said the Hells Angelsarereferred to asone-per-centers,meaning they are among the one per cent of motorcycle riders who are notlaw-abiding citizens.

"They're known for their regular use of violence, and they've been known to be involved in homicide investigations, intimidation investigations to support their activities," said Renton.

"I'd ask that people minimize their contact with gang members and report any outlaw motorcycle gang activity to their police jurisdiction. So if they feel there's anything that's criminal or causing them a safety concern, to report that," he said.

Before attacking the hotel and eatery, Kelland and his supporters targetedthe Headingley Sport Shop Ltd./ Indian Motorcycle Winnipeg.

The shop wassupposed to be thestarting point for theSadie Grimm motorcycleride in June. The event is organized by the ManitobaWomen'sMotorcycle Council to raise money to buy a statue of Grimm, an early 20th century motorcycle rider. In a social media post about the event, organizers said gang colours were not welcome, and that set Kelland off.

Hundreds of people flocked to the store'sFacebook page to give one-star reviews, but were later asked to change their rating to fivestars after itwithdrewfrom the ride. Theydid.

Kellandis a full-patch Hells Angel the highest rank in the gang and is widely believed to be thepresident of one of twoManitoba chaptersof the gang. He is better known as Dale Donovan.

In 2009 he was sentenced to eight years in prison for his role in a drug trafficking operationand for trying to recruit gang members into a criminal organization.

CBCNews reached out to Kelland and the Hells AngelsMotorcycle Club. The messages were not returned, but Kelland later removed the posts calling on supporters to boycott businesses that discriminate against bikers.

"I think it's a way of being intimidating without breaking the law. It's a different way to get the result they want,"said Toronto journalist and authorPeter Edwards."You know they can do this and there's no consequence whatsoever to them."

Edwards, who has written 10 books on organized crime,was not surprised that none of the businesses had wanted to talk.

"There was a court case out here where a lot of their souvenirs ... were confiscated and they sued to get them back. And the police's argument, which didn't work, was that their brand is so strong that it's almost like a weapon, it's intimidating," said Edwards. "If someone shows up at a business wearing a Hells Angels vest, that's almost like a threat. So it shows the power of their brand."

Dr. MicheleYbarra, CEO and research director of the California-based Centerfor Innovative Public Health Research, said, "I wouldn't call it bullying in the sort of traditional sense of the term but certainly this group banded together and sounds like they acted towards these restaurants with the intention of doing harm to their reputation."

Ybarra has publishedextensively about online harassment and other types of internet victimization. "I think that that unfortunately the internet sort of gives people thepotential for a wider voice," said Ybarra.

Schneiderof Brandon Universitysaid while it's perfectly legal topost a negative review online, it can harma business."You want to hit people where it hurts, and where it hurts is in the pocketbook."

The OPP'sRentonsaid while boycotting a business online may not be a crime, the reviews themselves can be.

"If they feel there are actions within those reviews that are criminal in nature, you know, whether they feel they are threatened or intimidated they can always contact the police."

Renton said affected businesses might also consider civil suits to recover anylosses they suffer.

Winnipeg social media expert Susie Parkersaid a string of bad reviews doesn't have to affect a businessin the long term.

"There are other people that can jump to your defence. So taking down that page should really be a last resort. And even then you can disable reviews on a Facebook page."

Parker said it's important businesses have a crisis plan, so they know what to do when something like this happens.

"That's something any business should be concerned about in terms of the sheer volume of what you can do when that kind of negativity is coming at you."

Manitoba Hells Angels target businesses by posting 1-star reviews

6 years ago

Duration 3:06

The Hell's Angels are targeting a couple of Manitoba businesses. But the outlaw motorcycle gang isn't using violence or threats. They're posting one star reviews on-line.