Max? Knock it off.
You got a crap critique from a bunch of career scammers. No shame there; it could happen to anyone. But saying you got a good deal, that you weren't scammed, and that you're going to stick around to see what happens, is like dating a professed whore.
Yet there you are, insisting over and over again that even though she hangs out on the corner in fishnet hose and a leather microskirt, saying "Hey, handsome, wanna party?" to strange men, no one's actually seen her in the act of turning tricks, and therefore we can't say she's a hooker, and therefore her interest in you isn't purely monetary.
Give it up.
Robert Fletcher's been running his various fake agenting operations for years and years now. They never make sales. Right there, no matter what else is going on, you know they're not legit. An agent makes sales. An agent works for authors whose books sell. And that's just not happening.
The other thing Fletcher's agencies never do is go broke and shut down operations. Therefore, we know that they have to be making money. Yet they don't make any sales, which is the only legit way for agents to make money. Can you figure it out from there, or do I have to draw you little pictures and diagrams?
As for the rest of you guys here -- didn't any of you do debate, back when you were in school? Do you truly not know that "I demand that you prove this to my satisfaction" is a mug's game?
You've more than made your case to Max. He can accept it, and try to have a rational discussion, or he can continue to reject it and go off in high dudgeon. That's his choice. What he can't do is pretend that he still has any ground to stand on. Please stop acting like he does.