In the 6 week period leading up to June of 1998, I had talked to the three owners of a dubious company called Hocus Pocus Engineering Inc., they enticed me into a business venture with them, saying the business was turning about 350,000 dollars a year in labor volume alone, and in fact it did no where NEAR that number.
I found this out later on, after I had payed in some 40,000 dollars to the company account. I had talked to a Tom Williams CPA about the company before turning over the money for a 25% stock ownership interest in the operation. Tom Williams said words to the effect of 'You won't have any troubles with them, they are all retired Navy with good service records' 'they are good honest men'... Etc.
Tom Williams CPA for the firm Hocus Pocus Engineering Inc. Did not disclose the fact he was owed some ten thousand dollars by the company. And in fact the company had a long history of bounced checks leading up to my investment, and started bouncing paychecks, among others just ten days after my investment.
The partners, Steve Szals, Kevin Hester, and maybe even the younger partner Tony Gonyon just took the corporation's money that I provided for company purposes of growth, inventory, expansion, building purchase, and diverted the funds to their own personal purposes, I am aware that Tom Williams CPA was paid back his ten thousand dollars of that 'loosing' venture from my investment.
When I had reviewed the books prior to my investment, everything was on computer, sure was, but the books appearing on the computer were a patently flase lie, they had nothing to do with the reality of the business.
It is my information that the three men involved were diverting corporate money to their personal gain, pocketing company income and consequently failing to pay taxes to the State of Florida or the US Government, IRS...
In fact they stole my money and then under threats and demeanor to include puncturing the tires on my car for three times, they pretty well tried to scare me off from actually doing anything about this.
I filed a lawsuit and got an attorney, but have been hobbled by lack of income due to severe arthritic pains, so had my attorney withdraw from the case due to lack of payment.
BUT in the meantime I had with his assistance managed to get a review of the company records, there discovering some two yars later, around May of that note dated November 14,1997 between lender Tom Williams CPA and the then two partners, Steve Szala and Kevin Hester, the note was for the amount of ten thousand dollars.
It is my position that the accountant wanted his money back on a loosing venture, and so failed to disclose the sloppy and inadequate business practices of the operation.
So I was about the perfect victim for this operation, I had huge respect for the US Navy, having lived just down the road from Annapolis Maryland, and having many CPA's in the family, as friends, and as friend's daughters, as well as having open and honest relations with my own CPA's over the years in business up north my self.
My lawsuit was dismissed basically for lack of money to pay to pursue it in court system.
Many attempts were made to collect the money damages, they essentially made silly offers of basically nothing down and nothing a month type things, and refused to even sign that into a note of any type, essentially just talk and no action, further lies.
Eugene
Orange Park, Florida
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