Showing posts with label Anglen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Anglen. Show all posts

Sunday, August 31, 2014

AG FILES "CIVIL" SUIT AGAINST CONSIGNMENT VAMPIRE

For more details, see the blog posts listed at the bottom of this page.


FYI

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Anglen, Robert  
Date: Sun, Sep 28, 2014 at 9:40 AM
Subject: Story on camelback consign
To: Glenn Michaels 


Story is in today's paper. Your blog is mentioned prominently in the story. Thanks for all of your help. Here is a link:

http://www.azcentral.com/story/money/business/consumer/call-12-for-action/2014/09/28/missing-painting-returned-owner/16373445/

 AG HORNE FILES CIVIL SUIT AGAINST 
CAMELBACK CONSIGN & DESIGN & MICHAEL S. BURNS 
NOT CRIMINAL CHARGES

My Consignment Vampire complaint went to the AG on 10/27/13. Ten months later, the AG finally acted. But only after many, many more were defrauded, the Arizona Republic published three significant articles, and Channels 12, 5, and  15 covered various aspects of the story on at least five separate occasions. Oh, and about six months after the BBB finally got around to giving Camelback Consign & Design its lowest possible rating: F. Frankly, the AG has proven himself to be  more of
gentleman than I would be in his position. I mean, after all, the AG filed a civil lawsuit against a demonstrably uncivil vampire.


Just about as soon as I asserted that that AG and Burns must certainly care for each other... based on the seemingly interminable delay in filing any action at all against the Consignment Vampire, the Office of the AG, on behalf of the state of Arizona and its good citizens, opts to file suit. A civil suit. What is a civil suit? For one thing, it's certainly not a criminal charge. 

Here's the good news! For shamelessly retaining what most likely will amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars of valued antiques, art, furniture and accessories a great many consignors, the AG intends to put Burns out of business for good! Hurrah.

 Note to AG (1): The Consignment Vampire was locked out his "business" around the end of May by his landlord. That was three months ago. How hard can putting Burns out of biz be?

 Note to AG (2): Just what penalties does your office plan to pursue against Justin Burns, the son of Michael S. Burns, and - as you know - his employee during much of the period that consignors' items were vanishing, and as of the first quarter of 2013, a member/manager of Camelback Consign & Design LLC?  

 Note to AG (3): Same question as #2, above, regarding Vera Manuz, sales associate since 2010. Multiple victims have asserted to me that Vera signed checks in Mike's name or listened to their wails of woe regarding bounced checks or lied on Mike's behalf in instances that they themselves were able to verify. She was almost always nearby when I dealt with the Consignment Vampire. It's hard to believe that she wasn't actively enabling his fraudulent activities.

Note to Self (1): According the Arizona Republic's recent article on the suit:
"The suit carries no criminal penalties and seeks to prohibit Burns from doing business again in Arizona. It asks that he return money and property to customers he is accused of defrauding and pay a $10,000 fine for each violation of the state's Consumer Fraud Act."

 Note to self (2): Find out if the AG could press criminal charges against the Consignment Vampire even after filing a civil suit.  

Note to self (3): File a public information request with the Office of the Attorney General to determine if investigators (ever) looked for the many missing items that consignors claim were retained by the Consignment Vampire and not paid for. 

Also, find out if items were found. And, find out if items located were returned to their rightful owners.

Note to self (4): Scratch #3. If the AG's suit seeks to force the Consignment Vampire to return money and property taken by fraudulent means, then presumably, the AG can't take that action unilaterally.

Anyway, according to the article by Robert Anglen in the Arizona Republic,
"To prove criminal fraud, authorities must show that business owners deceived customers or encouraged their employees to lie."
Well, come on. Given the reportage to date. Given the known facts. Given that one or more former Consignment Vampire employees just might be willing to testify that they were" encouraged" to lie... how hard a case to make could that be?

 What happens if Burns is "officially" put out of business by the AG? Will that really stop him from finding someone - say a son - to serve as a front for him in an Arizona-based business? Would it prevent him from taking his obviously successful business plan to another state and setting up there?

 Assuming that the AG wins its suit against Michael S. Burns, what reason do those harmed and all those lacking significant legal knowledge have to believe that the office of the AG will effectively enforce the judgment? Given the secrecy maintained by the AG's Office over the last few years, how would they even know if it were being enforced... until their respective lucky numbers were drawn from the AG's lotto?

 Hell's bells, I wonder the AG's staff ever managed to get its hands on the files that Burns reportedly turned over to "representatives" of his former landlord, William Roach. It will surely be a nice challenge to determine who lost what and ensure that the right items are returned to the proper claimants without having reference to those files. 

 Personal experience suggests that the Consignment Vampire was far better at making promises than remembering to keep them. 

P.S.

 Turns out that Attorney General Horne will be out of a job shortly. (He lost his primary race to a Republican opponent.) So on top of everything else, I'm wondering if the next AG - whoever that turns out to be - will have any interest in taking a fresh look at a (c)old case for which Mr. Horne - the former AG - was primarily responsible? 

Frankly, I sure hope so. Fingers and toesies crossed!

I don't know if the truth will set you free. But fuss loud enough with a big 'nough bunch a friends and I swear folks 'll do near anything to get you to shut up. Fast as they can. 

URGENTLY SOUGHT: ITEMS STOLEN OR NOT PAID FOR #3 (10/05/14) 
URGENTLY SOUGHT: ITEMS STOLEN OR NOT PAID FOR #2 (10/05/14)
COURTNEY'S INCREDIBLE CONSIGNMENT VAMPIRE STORY  (10/3/14)
ANONYMOUS COWARD DENOUNCES CONSIGNMENT VAMPIRE (10/01/14)
MIKE BURNS & REGINA EMERY EVICTED FROM CONDO
VERA MANUZ Denies Aiding &  Abetting  Mike Burns
JUST IN CASE: FRESH SUITS FOR BURNS (8/31/14) 
AG FILES "CIVIL" SUIT AGAINST CONSIGNMENT VAMPIRE (8/31/14)
CONSIGNMENT VAMPIRE UPDATE UPDATED (8/31/14)
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CONSIGNMENT VAMPIRE UPDATE UPDATED

For more details, see the blog posts listed at the bottom of this page.

FYI

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Anglen, Robert  
Date: Sun, Sep 28, 2014 at 9:40 AM
Subject: Story on camelback consign
To: Glenn Michaels 


Story is in today's paper. Your blog is mentioned prominently in the story. Thanks for all of your help. Here is a link:

http://www.azcentral.com/story/money/business/consumer/call-12-for-action/2014/09/28/missing-painting-returned-owner/16373445/

THE REST OF THE STORY 
Sorta Maybe

Please help yourself to a salt tablet. 

The Story:

In a recent post - 



we learned from a police report that a Mr. Norman Woodmansee was a participant, with Mike Burns, in a deal to purchase a group of paintings from ElJuana Hermansen.

ElJuana, it seems, turned over eight paintings to Burns that he had verbally estimated to have a value of $350,000. The thrilling story of the disappearance of those paintings and their later recovery with the aid of Call 12 for Action, among others, has been reported with great verve by Robert Anglen. Anglen is a reporter for the Arizona Republic and a Call 12 for Action associate. His articles on this topic can be found here: http://www.azcentral.com/search/camelback%20consign/.

The Rest of the Story, Sorta

Such a deal! Man, Michael Burns could paint - in words - a picture of profits so enticing that even a savvy businessman and a successful "art picker" couldn't resist.

 That, at least, is the upshot. 

 According to that savvy businessman, Mr. Norman Woodmansee, Burns spun a tale of 20 or more valuable paintings that could return a quick profit  many times the $100,000 that he needed in order to pay ElJuana Hermansen for them. 

 Woodmansee, with whom I spoke at length on August 31st, 2014, by phone, ultimately invested $7500 in the deal that would have returned his investment, with interest, plus 15% of the profits on the sale of the Hermansen paintings. The remaining 85% of the profits were to go to Burns and the other investor, art picker, Mr. Joe Michaels. 

 Still entranced by the visions Burns conjured, just a day after he had forked over $7500, Woodmansee gave Burns another $3000 toward the purchase of a Tiffany lamp that Mike Burns said would generate a hefty profit.

 Mr. Woodmansee's investment with Burns was protected by a contract signed by all three men. (See The ElJuana Compact, below.) Still, as a cautious businessman, he wanted additional protection. Mr. Woodmansee told me that he had insisted that Mike hand over one of of ElJuana's paintings to him, personally, as a guarantee against his investment. Joe Michaels, he said, received four other paintings for the same reason.

Reporter Robert Anglen has described the fiasco that followed in several articles in the Arizona Republic, referenced above.

As the pressure generated by negative publicity grew, Burns was forced to retrieve the paintings he had delivered to Messrs Woodmansee and Michaels so he could produce them for 12 for Action, acting on behalf of ElJuana Hermansen.

Initially, Woodmansee had planned to return his painting to Hermansen himself. He wanted no part of the potential criminal liability associated with retention of the artwork. Any financial considerations he might have had became moot. Woodmansee is both a businessman and a father.

 After reading one of Anglen's articles, he quickly decided that Burns needed to assume that responsibility. Woodmansee says the article he read prompted him to call Burns and insist that he return the paintings as soon as possible. He contacted Joe Michaels and Michaels agreed.

 Thus was Burns able to return those paintings to ElJuana. 

Ultimately, said Mr. Woodmansee, he successfully recovered $4300 of his investment. Additional compensation came in the form of tangible goods. "We went in one day after he (Burns) closed his doors for good and grabbed maybe 15 items."

Woodmansee says that he and Michaels obtained "a few decorative bowls, a few paintings, a fireplace shield, a stained glass pic with a peacock, a block of glass with an image engraved in it and a few other things that collectively aren't worth much."  

Mr. Woodmansee mentioned that two of the eight Hermansen paintings referenced in the Anglen articles ended up in the possession of a woman named "Tiffany."

According the story in the Arizona Republic:
(Link: http://www.azcentral.com/story/money/business/consumer/call%2012%20for%20action/2014/05/31/store-closes-fraud-paintings-call12/9826955/)

 Mr. Woodmansee says that Burns described Tiffany as a recently divorced and very attractive woman of means. Apparently, she showed an interest in buying the paintings. Burns, it seems, then turned them over to Tiffany, possibly without receiving so much as a deposit. Woodmansee believes - based on conversations with Burns - that she lacked the funds to complete the purchase and was unable to obtain the needed sum from her (ex?) husband.
As an aside: Burns told me more than once that had delivered several of my more valuable items to various interested parties who had yet to pay for them... and who apparently never returned them, either. One such individual, he described as the owner of a 14,000 square foot home on - if memory serves - either Mummy or Camelback Mountain.  
Mr. Woodmansee noted that while he had yet to contact the Attorney General regarding his outstanding claim against Burns per their contractual agreement, he intended to do so. He says that he has a 20 minute recording of Mike Burns insisting that they (the three investors) had "in fact purchased all of the paintings he asserted we had after I suggested that he'd received them on consignment."

 Many thanks to Mr. Norman Woodmansee for helping to throw additional light on the nature of Mr. Burns's dealings.

THE "ELJUANA" COMPACT

 The following document is the contract entered into by Joe Michaels, Michael Burns and Norman Woodmansee for the purpose of financing the purchase and anticipated resale of heirloom paintings belonging to ElJuana Hermansen. 
Mr. Woodmansee kindly offered to share the document with me. 





(NOT, I WOULD GUESS) 

 THE END 

Date: August 31, 2014 
Revised: September 2, 2014 based on additional 
information provided by Mr. Norman Woodmansee.

I don't know if the truth will set you free. But fuss loud enough with a big 'nough bunch a friends and I swear folks 'll do near anything to get you to shut up. Fast as they can. 

URGENTLY SOUGHT: ITEMS STOLEN OR NOT PAID FOR #3 (10/05/14) 
URGENTLY SOUGHT: ITEMS STOLEN OR NOT PAID FOR #2 (10/05/14)
COURTNEY'S INCREDIBLE CONSIGNMENT VAMPIRE STORY  (10/3/14)
ANONYMOUS COWARD DENOUNCES CONSIGNMENT VAMPIRE (10/01/14)
MIKE BURNS & REGINA EMERY EVICTED FROM CONDO
VERA MANUZ Denies Aiding &  Abetting  Mike Burns
JUST IN CASE: FRESH SUITS FOR BURNS (8/31/14) 
AG FILES "CIVIL" SUIT AGAINST CONSIGNMENT VAMPIRE (8/31/14)
CONSIGNMENT VAMPIRE UPDATE UPDATED (8/31/14)

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Sunday, June 8, 2014

AZ REPUBLIC HELPS SAVE 1 CONSIGNOR'S PRECIOUS ART!

For more details, see the blog posts listed at the bottom of this page.


FYI

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Anglen, Robert  
Date: Sun, Sep 28, 2014 at 9:40 AM
Subject: Story on camelback consign
To: Glenn Michaels 


Story is in today's paper. Your blog is mentioned prominently in the story. Thanks for all of your help. Here is a link:

http://www.azcentral.com/story/money/business/consumer/call-12-for-action/2014/09/28/missing-painting-returned-owner/16373445/


BLOGGER EATS CROW, 
THEN CROWS A LITTLE, HIMSELF!









Just last weekend I opined that the Arizona's Republic's June 1, 2014 article (pages E1 & E5) exposing the nefarious doings of Camelback Consign & Design's owner, Mike Burns, had appeared  "far too late to protect the unwary souls who might have been alerted had that story appeared months earlier. Too late, I say, because Camelback Consign & Design had closed at least a week or two before this story ran." 

I was wrong. Thanks to that story, one ElJuana Hermansen, the owner of eight paintings given to Michael Burns for resale purposes - paintings that subsequently disappeared - has recovered at least six of the missing paintings. The story of their recovery is both prosaic and miraculous. It can be found online by clicking the following quote (link) or by turning to page E1 and E5 of the June 8, 2014 Arizona Republic.

"The return of the 20th-century American oil painting, "Silence," by Flavio E. Cabral, was the culmination of efforts by a number of people who helped unravel the mystery of the missing artwork last week, including the art dealer, the owner of the auction house and the buyer of the painting, who willingly gave it back when he realized it had been stolen."
Elsewhere in the story, Mr. Anglen reports that Burns has been served a subpoena by the Attorney General's office. I suppose I can now acknowledge that I was contacted by an entirely different branch of the AG's office than the one that so badly flubbed the dub as reported in my post: AZ's AG: A Chronology of Neglect. The special agent reached me on April 24th. I have since referred a number of other victims of Camelback Consign & Scam to the same special agent. 


Apologies to Mr. Anglen and the Arizona Republic. Kudos, instead. But ONLY as regards this one instance. 

One also reads the following in the article: 
 "Bill Roach, co-owner of the property (where Burns did business - yours truly)... said Burns has left dozens of customers in the lurch."

That is exactly what I've been blogging about for months and months... 

 to no avail. (See the preceding post:  AZ Rep Breaks Consignment Fraud Story... a little too late.) Had the Republic, other reputable news outlets, the BBB or even the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce researched the issues behind this travesty, many, many more people might have been spared the loss of valued items, not to mention the very considerable financial and emotional distress associated with it. Quite frankly, I still think the AG's office might have acted faster, too, however grateful I may be that it has chosen to act at all. 

 And - pray tell - whose taxpayer dollars will fund the police work, the AG's investigation, court trials, etc., that will result from allowing this parasitic beast to feast on the lifeblood of the unsuspecting for so very long?  

For example, the following was posted to my blog on March 31, 2014 at 2:00 PM: 
 I, too, have been victimized by Mike Burns quite recently and the whole debacle has been traumatizing. 
In October of 2013, I consigned highly valuable family antiques and collectibles with Mike Burns, owner of Camelback Consign and Design, and have painfully regretted the decision. Like others, he was the nicest guy when it came to removing the items from my recently passed grandmother's apartment and my house, as I was going through a divorce at that time.
  He promised not to sell one piece until we'd sat down and gone over each line item and agreed upon the pricing. Well, I could never get him to commit to sitting down with me to discuss the value(s) of the items. He always had an excuse, lie, or story about why we could not move forward. 
  The beginning of 2014, I borrowed money for a plane ticket, hired more movers, rented a moving truck and paid Mike Burns a visit at his shop. Immediately after entering, I saw a lot of my stuff with prices displayed as well as "sold" signs. I couldn't believe it! I was horrified. I was able to recover some items, however, the majority is still missing (and we're talking hundreds of thousands of dollars as well as the sentimental value). I called the police who did respond, however, did absolutely nothing except tell me to hire a lawyer.
Last I checked, theft is unlawful, why is this crook getting away with this? And repeatedly??? Mike Burns proceeded to tell me the rest of my property was offsite at another storage location or at Brinks...some kind of highly secure storage venue. I offered to take my movers and truck to the offsite storage location yet he refused to tell me the address. Instead he promised his movers were bringing my stuff and that he's pick up my silver at Brinks as well as the 17th century dining room chairs he sold to a "friend".
 I went to his store and waited all day and all night for five consecutive days. I was literally begging him for my stuff, tears pouring down my face, sitting in his shop at 1:00am. I finally realized that I was powerless -- he did not care of my circumstance or that I came all the way back to claim what is rightfully mine because he is a predator and crook. There never were movers allegedly bringing the rest of my property...Mike Burns was prepared to sit it out with me until I would just go away, which I finally did. I had no choice at the time. I had to get back to Alabama and begin a new life, find a job, etc. 
 I did hire an attorney is AZ to write a menacing letter to Mike Burns demanding the immediate return of my property and included a manifest of missing items. Mr. Burns did not respond. 
 After losing my grandmother (I was her caregiver) and my husband, I moved back to Alabama (my home state) and continually called and emailed Mike Burns. Not only was he at many times unresponsive but he knew he had me over a barrel, as he'd also volunteered to have his "professional movers" move my furniture I was taking with me back to Alabama. Six weeks later I was still sleeping on a blow-up mattress with not one piece of furniture in my new rental house. I finally got in touch with one of his "professional movers" who after paying him $7k delivered roughly 60% of my furniture. Yes, this gets confusing. So, now Mike Burns has in possession my antiques and collectibles as well as the furniture and items (I) NEVER agreed to consign. 

As it happens, certain items belonging to Courtney, the lady who wrote that post - delicate, antique porcelain birds - were waiting to be unpacked at the very point I was removing my remaining items from the premises of Camelback Consign & Scam. They have yet to be returned or paid for, according to Courtney. 

I also recall Burns telling me about the very valuable paintings he expected to receive and quickly sell at some point. (I simply can't recall the date. I believe he said that expected to be able to pay me off from his commission on the sale.)


God knows I tried.


ON THE LIGHTER SIDE:
"When he arrived in the late afternoon, Burns came with five paintings and contended that he was working with the FBI."





































A Little Speculation Goes a Long Way!

HEY! Wow, if Mike was working with the FBI, what you think the chances are that, Justin, his son, was working with the NSA or CIA? No wonder they got away with so much for so long. They were probably trained agents gone rogue or something. 

That might also explain why they didn't have any hard assets in their own names. They kept the loot and their assets socked away in secret bank accounts or forgotten underground fallout shelters from the 1950s that only agents would know about. 

On the other hand, maybe they worked for S.M.E.R.S.H.!  Wowie. Stay tuned to this blog for further updates to this astonishing story.

DON'T KID YOURSELF. 
Mike Burns wasn't born yesterday. He wasn't born on the Fourth of July, either. NOPE. Mike Burns was born on 9/11 in 1952. He was destined. 
I don't know if the truth will set you free. But fuss loud enough with a big 'nough bunch a friends and I swear folks 'll do near anything to get you to shut up. Fast as they can. 

URGENTLY SOUGHT: ITEMS STOLEN OR NOT PAID FOR #3 (10/05/14) 
URGENTLY SOUGHT: ITEMS STOLEN OR NOT PAID FOR #2 (10/05/14)
COURTNEY'S INCREDIBLE CONSIGNMENT VAMPIRE STORY  (10/3/14)
ANONYMOUS COWARD DENOUNCES CONSIGNMENT VAMPIRE (10/01/14)
MIKE BURNS & REGINA EMERY EVICTED FROM CONDO
VERA MANUZ Denies Aiding &  Abetting  Mike Burns
JUST IN CASE: FRESH SUITS FOR BURNS (8/31/14) 
AG FILES "CIVIL" SUIT AGAINST CONSIGNMENT VAMPIRE (8/31/14)
CONSIGNMENT VAMPIRE UPDATE UPDATED (8/31/14)

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