Neo "The One"

On 4/1/2024 at 4:21 PM, Steviehuv66 said:

Just to clarify the above post.  I’m friends with the original poster of the thread from the spring of 2023.  DeChellis returned my FF 5 but stole my 2k.  I filed my complaint with the Oregon DOJ.  Nothing happened for months but I was recently contacted by them (not the local police) and they informed me that they are taking a closer look at the case due to the combined high dollar loss in this crime.  Many of us have filed with the Oregon DOJ.  Of course there is no guarantee that anything positive will happen but we have to try.

Thanks for the clarification. So nothing from the police?  I’m disappointed if that is the case. 

Cracking up.  Ok - seriously though.  I went back to the "Original" thread about this mess and contacted the person who started it.  The good news is that according to him (though his buddy - please don't kill me on this one) people have gone to the police, and it is firmly on their radar.  He's saying even if you got back your books (in whatever condition) if you lost money STILL GO TO THE POLICE!  For those with 'trust issues' Here's a snippet (didn't include who posted it because it was a DM)  

On 3/29/2024 at 5:22 PM, ZappedMoose9995 said:

"Your books are in great hands!!!" 

Sticky hands. 

On 3/29/2024 at 1:26 PM, KCOComics said:

And look,  if everything is on the up and up,  I'll admit I'm wrong and openly apologize to Flake and his business associates who share the same email. 

I honestly just want victims made hole and Mike to face consequences. Sadly,  both of those might be far fetched. 

 

Comic book related topics I've admitted to being wrong on: 

1)  Hero Restoration has a great reputation, I would use them with confidence. 

2) Guys,  Dylan is just a kid. He'll grow out of this and prove to be a valuable member of our community. 

3) Circa 2011ish $1600 for a JIM83??? Its too common! Once the movie hype dies down the price will plummet!! 

4) Everyone settle down, I'm sure Mike is facing hard times and will be back on his feet and doing the right thing in no time! 

5) High School me...  Spawn 1 will be the next AF15! I'm going to buy 10 copies and start counting the money!! 

 

I'm sure there are dozens of others. So hopefully Flake proves me wrong. 

Just to say - I don't blame anyone (but Mike) for defending Mike in the begining.  The BS seemed palusable, even likely at the time; Heart condition, Covid etc.  And he was a nice, likeable guy (I think?) back in the day.  I was fooled just like everyone else.  ("Won't be fooled again..." Who is that?)  BTW I'm digging the list.  I still have 10 copies of Spawn 1!  LMAO

On 3/29/2024 at 1:31 PM, wombat said:

Any update from the new people who hopped on recently and said Mike has communicated with them and is sending them back their books?

I've heard nothing for over 1 year now.  Last email was from Jaclyn Kearney

I'm sure a lot of people are aware but for the heck of it: 

and 

On 3/29/2024 at 12:57 PM, universal soldier said:

^ This ^

FWIW, I have no skin in this game but it certainly has my radar up.

Squirel Cover - that is a new one to me, but I like it.

On 3/29/2024 at 12:46 PM, mattn792 said:

I’d like to know what exactly they’re afraid of.  Mike sure comes across as unhinged, but as far as I know, he has no documented history of physically attacking or threatening harm to anyone simply asking for their property back.  And as for getting said property back, there’s documented stories in here of victims disclosing their full history of dealing with Mike and subsequently getting their books back.

Again, this secret squirrel cover just feels like a long con playing out.

My understanding was that Mike was making death threats at one time, threatening to put people 'at the back of the line' for books, and not taking kindly to notifications from Lawyers.  I'm not here to defend Flake or Cantina, but I can see their point.  Especially when this thread was started, people were actually getting their books back.  And again, correct me if I'm wrong. Thanks!

On 3/29/2024 at 10:59 AM, shadroch said:

The problem, at least for me, is that one person showed up here with one ID and gave an email. Then another person showed up, didn't say they had anything to do with the first person, and gave the same email. Later, when confronted, they claimed to be associates. I've no idea what is true or not, but the way they came to this thread seemed shady, at least to me.   I've been wrong before, and will be wrong again, and this may be one of those occasions, but something doesn't feel right here.

Yeah for good or bad, my understanding is they were "Afraid" of Mike and his associates.  I think they were still hoping to get back the book and or books and didn't want to p i s s him off.  Every email I got from them said, "I created this email because Mike knows my email address!" or smilar.  Eventually I directly asked them why do they care if he has their email?  So basicaly they didn't want him knowing - whatever.  I'd say if anyone has there doubts, DM them and hear what they have to say.    Here's a snippet:

On 3/29/2024 at 9:41 AM, Chip Cataldo said:

Tom Foolery that takes away from the subject of the thread topic is a staple of this entire forum.

OMG.  I've said this before.  This board in some small way gives me joy. 

Sooo.  Another thought comes to mind.  Anyone else want to try being a central point of contact on this?  I know Sauce Dog had a list going at one time, but that has expired.  I know individuals have been advised to "Not get involved or give advice" and that is fine, I respect that.  This whole thing is becoming a little draining for me. I'm definitely on this board too often.  Is there an individual or group on this thread that the majority feels is trustworthy can be the central poilnt of contact?  If there is too much suspicision around Flake / Catalina anyone else is welcome to step forward.  From what I've heard from others, we have some traction from Kristi and the Oregon DOJ.  I know others may disagree, but from what I see she seems to be our best contact at this time.  Anyone speaking with her directly?  Would she be interested in a comprehensive list (as of today) as to what was stolen (money for work not completed), never returned (books and value), or returned in worse condition than sent (again name of book, condition, appx value).  I don't know if one list exists, but I think it would be a great idea to start one.  

On 3/29/2024 at 8:59 AM, Sigur Ros said:

Why wait 'til he posts?

LMAO - But seriously I'm just worried that all the 'tom foolery' just takes the focus off of HR / Mike D and getting some kind of justice.  I think they are (and certainly I am) trying to do something constructive to get this guy or his company to answer for what happened.  That being said, certainly proceed with caution when teaming up with others.  But IMO individually our claims (everyone that got burned) are small, but together they are significant.  

On 3/29/2024 at 5:11 AM, KCOComics said:

 

How many of your business associates have access to some or all of your email addresses? 

How many of your "business associates" use your account to make online forum IDs? 

I've layed off Flake, but there are enough red flags that everyone should be excersizing extreme caution.  

There has been 0 transparency. Just odd Business associates who apparently also love comics enough to send them in for restoration work.... I don't have a single coworker or business associate that cares at all about comics.... it seems so strange to me that two guys sharing the same email would have sent different comics to Hero. 

Maybe their business is comics???? But they haven't said that.... they haven't said anything. They haven't told us what books they sent in? What services they requested? How many books? Have the books been sold? They haven't explained their legal strategy, named their lawyers or even talked like real people... 

Every other victim has talked in a very natural way. Two haven't. Two with the same email address. 

And look,  maybe he is real. And I have great empathy for anyone who was victimized by Mike. But let's not shame the community for questioning questionable behavior. 

Yeah. I can’t dispute this. So let me ask the board this. Has anyone been in direct contact with Flake or Cantina and asked for money or anything else out of the ordinary?  Have they said something along the lines of “trust me, we’ll fix this whole thing?”  If yes now is the time to mention something. And as always do your own research and don’t expect one person or group to fix this mess for you. 

On 3/28/2024 at 9:33 PM, comeaux said:

I have a few different emails:

 

1. One for work

2. One for financial business 

3. One for friend’s & family 

4. One for legal 

 

My favorite is Vintage Dranzer at vintagebomics@gmail.com 

 

 

Me too:

1) Work

2) Formal / Professional

3) Casual / Friends

But I am suspicious! 

One stop shopping: 

On 3/28/2024 at 9:27 AM, Dr. Balls said:

I'm just going to second this.

I 2nd your .gif

On 3/27/2024 at 4:36 PM, mattn792 said:

Or you should actually research what I’m referencing.  Your choice.

Hey Mattn - just posting this response here.  Thanks for the DM chat.  I think everyone is concerned with who is legit and who is not or has an "ulterior motive".  And to those reading this, yeah its not good to let one person or even a small group of people to take over and be the 'savior' for everyone.  Don't expect any silver bullets here.  If someone is asking for money be cautious.  Even if it is not the person everyone is pointing too.  I mean, you could find a bad lawyer milking you too.  Just do your research and don't get burned again. 

On 3/27/2024 at 4:47 PM, Sigur Ros said:

Could you explain it like we're 12 ?

You guys kill me.

On 3/27/2024 at 6:14 PM, shadroch said:

I love my timeshare. Best hundred dollars I've ever spent.

LMAO

On 3/27/2024 at 4:15 PM, mattn792 said:

This Flake arrangement comes off like those timeshare purchase scams operating out of Mexico.

Are you telling me that I should NOT have signed up for a time-share?  Sorry I could not resist that one.  

On 3/27/2024 at 3:09 PM, shadroch said:

I've no dog in this fight, but something smells wrong. I hope Mike's real victims are careful and don't fall victim to another scam.  I don't want to fight over this.

I'm just reminding everyone to do their due diligence and act as if mike is listening, because I'm confident he is. 

*SIGH* So how about some ground rules?!  1) Don't send anyone money 2) Hire your own lawyer (if you are so inclined and it makes financial sense) 3) If anyone wants to "collab" make sure you do your due diligence and check EVERYONE involved out (lawyers, other members, etc). 4) Stop the in-fighting (unless you have proof someone is doing something nefarious)  5) Keep in mind that there are still victims out there who don't know the extent of this issue. (Still emailing a business that no longer exists) 6) Document everything you have.  7) File a claim SOMEWHERE (official) POLICE / LAWYER / DOJ.  I went to the DOJ, as did others https://www.doj.state.or.us/ some people have reported hearing back from Kristi very recently which I think is good news.

  I don't care if Mike or his cronies are listening he already sold my book, since he declared bankruptcy again and there's proof the books he had from customers have been sold (or at least listed for sale), the guy can do nothing too me.  

On 3/27/2024 at 2:57 PM, mattn792 said:

So Flake’s this my final (not my final) post because we’re moving ahead with legal action was just a bunch of fluff?

Yeah I don't know.  This board is addicting!   Flake @Randy - why don't you weigh in?

On 3/27/2024 at 2:50 PM, Lazyboy said:

So it's totally legitimate and not at all suspicious to give out three different email addresses?

On 3/27/2024 at 2:52 PM, revat said:

Understandably, most people don't think that even with a civil/criminal win in court, they may not see anything resembling reimbursement or compensation, and probably not even their books back.  I agree with all of this.

HOWEVER, the argument for getting involved and documenting (legally/law enforcement/communications) your situation with authorities, are the following (even if each individual complaint only adds a little bit) :

1.  It may result in harsher penalties to the criminal/defendant in any eventual legal proceedings.

2.  It will make it harder to declare bankruptcy should anyone try it.  And make you more likely to be notified of bankruptcy should it be filed.

3.  It will make it more likely that law enforcement action will take the complaints more seriously and more quickly.  And more likely that law enforcement will notify you should action be taken.

4.  While I agree that cash compensation is VERY unlikely, the possibility that some books (or records of the sale of those books) are found either at a property, shop, home, family home, storage facility, vehicle, office, or friends house of the suspect are certainly not zero.  The guy has somewhat recently been both giving some books back and trying to (inappropriately) sell others, so it would stand to reason he still has some more of them.  Especially when drugs are involved, organizational skills and memory can be lacking.  Additionally, there is the chance that some of the books could be found in the course of other local criminal investigations (for example if someone pawned a valuable item or if someone traded an item for other illicit wares), so local PD knowing about the books might have some value.

5.  There can be some closure and catharsis with laying out your entire case on paper and just giving to the authorities, so you don't have to think about it any more.  You know you've been the victim of a crime, you know you've done what you can, and you can move on.  And any other positive results that may come back to you are a bonus.

6.  You also don't know what other assets someone has, or who might bail them out, or what assets someone might gain in the future.  Get it down on paper officially filed with someone to give yourself the best chance at it.

 

With that being said, it should be pretty easy to find out if a lawyer you're considering dealing with is a real lawyer.  If that is a concern of some folks here.  If they are a real lawyer, I can't imagine any lawyer would risk their livelihood and license over a case like this. 

So yeah - just to add to #2.  Mike D has already filed bankruptcy twice.  I think (don't quote me) once in 2012 and again in 2020 (still pending).