The president of Belkin has repudiated Michael Bayard, a Business Development Representative at Belkin. It has been alleged that the rep had used unethical measures to promote the company products.

"Belkin does not participate in, nor does it endorse, unethical practices like this," Mark Reynoso wrote in a letter that appears on Belkin's Web site.

Bayard allegedly posted an ad on the Mechanical Turk site and offered $0.65 per 5/5 review placed on Amazon of a Belkin product. The ad also mentioned that reviewer must use US English and proper grammar and give a 100% rating. It should be worded in such a manner as if the user owns and uses the product. Another stipulation was to down rate any negative reviews of the product on Amazon as being unhelpful.

It is still hazy as to Bayard ran the ad or was it someone else trying to bring down the reputation of both Belkin and Bayard.

Belkin stated that it has removed all postings from the Mechanical Turk system. The company is also ensuring that the reviews posted due to the ad are also removed.