Hero Restoration, Anyone know the latest? 24 24

[universal soldier]

For the record, I never thought this current mess was his end game. If you saw his early work and our interactions on CPG forums, you would understand why I raised the questions about his behavior and not being upfront about what he was doing. While it sounds like he honed his skills over time, my gut feeling about him would have prevented me from sending him anything to restore, let alone press. I gave him the benefit of the doubt 14 years ago but yet here we are...

[shadroch]

On 2/19/2024 at 4:18 PM, bc said:

+1

Likely that he hasn't filed proper state and federal taxes given the mess of a business he runs 

-bc

You pay taxes on profit. Does it sound like he is making any profit?

[jimjum12]

On 2/20/2024 at 8:18 PM, shadroch said:

You pay taxes on profit. Does it sound like he is making any profit?

If the books sold were stolen, or contractually absorbed, as he saw it, then 100% of those proceeds was basically profit. It would depend on who and where you asked, I would imagine. There would be a little room for interpretation. GOD BLESS ...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

[shadroch]

On 2/20/2024 at 5:35 PM, onlyweaknesskryptonite said:

Even further. 

Statue of limitations,  even on grand theft.

Doesn't that clock start when the crime is discovered, not when it happens. There was a television show where a crook thought he avoided the SOL but the theft was on Friday and not discovered until Monday.  

[shadroch]

On 2/20/2024 at 6:23 PM, jimjum12 said:

If the books sold were stolen, or contractually absorbed, as he saw it, then 100% of those proceeds was basically profit. It would depend on who and where you asked, I would imagine. There would be a little room for interpretation. GOD BLESS ...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

No.  I'm pretty sure it doesn't work like that. You don't pay income taxes on individual sales, you pay them on your overall annual income.

[bc]

On 2/20/2024 at 8:18 PM, shadroch said:

You pay taxes on profit. Does it sound like he is making any profit?

Whether or not he's making a profit is irrelevant. It's the questionable accounting practices utilized if he was selling customer books to fund operational costs (and not accounting for the income) and failing to fulfil his contractual service obligations while retaining customer payments for said services that were likely booked as revenue years ago that may draw some questions.

-bc

[jimjum12]

On 2/20/2024 at 8:27 PM, shadroch said:

No.  I'm pretty sure it doesn't work like that. You don't pay income taxes on individual sales, you pay them on your overall annual income.

If your sale is 100% profit, then it would all be susceptible to tax, unless you have receipts from your prior purchase, which he wouldn't, then you're liable for the full enchilada. Now he may have other deductibles or financial failures that may mitigate his tax, but it's certainly not "free" money, despite how it may seem. The only way it would be tax free is if they were donated to him, which doesn't seem to be the case here. I wouldn't want to be him, once, as Johnny Paycheck said, "they slapped them handcuffs on me, and off to jail I went". GOD BLESS ... 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

Edited February 21 by jimjum12

[CAHokie]

On 2/19/2024 at 5:03 PM, KCOComics said:

What hasn't been said yet... remember when he had all those books stolen and filed an insurance claim to refund customers???  If I were the police or a private investigator, I would love to look closer at that situation. 

I mentioned that once maybe in the old thread but was subtle about it.  If I remember correctly an insurance claim was filed for books left in a car. (Why were they in the car again?) Didn’t one customer say a claim was made for his book when he had not even sent the book.

I’m sure the insurance company was immediately notified and the claim voided or refunded for that book, right? Failure to do that would be…lets say… not good.

[CAHokie]

On 2/20/2024 at 8:24 PM, shadroch said:

Doesn't that clock start when the crime is discovered, not when it happens. There was a television show where a crook thought he avoided the SOL but the theft was on Friday and not discovered until Monday.  

Short answer is that it depends I would think. What would make this case interesting on a six year statute of limitations would be to actually argue that the theft didn’t occur at the time the book was sent but later when shady stuff started and it was returned in pieces with no refund. 
 

(Opinion only of course, not legal advice of any kind) 

[paulailp]

Don’t think it will Do anything but this is the letter from the Oregon Consumer investigation branch. 
 

I am going to call her tomorrow and Articulate why it should be against Mike and not the LLC. A judgment against a bankrupt LLC isn’t worth the time.

 

 

Re: FF1177-24
HERO RESTORATION LLC*
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
CIVIL ENFORCEMENT DIVISION February 21, 2024
Thank you for sharing your concerns about the above-named business. I am the Consumer Complaint Specialist assigned to your matter. I am not an attorney, and I cannot give you legal advice. I do not decide who is right or wrong. I cannot order the business to pay you money or take action. Instead, I will work with you and the business to try to reach a mutually agreeable solution.
We sent a copy of your complaint to the business, and I will send you a copy of any response we receive. If the business does not answer within a reasonable time, I will send a second request. If the business has closed or filed bankruptcy, we may not be able to help.
After the business responds, I may ask you for more information. Before sending me documents, please black out personal information that you want to keep private—like a social security number or credit card number. Complaint files are public records.
Every year we help consumers recover millions of dollars through this voluntary program. Even if your concerns cannot be resolved, the information you share helps us identify patterns of unlawful business practices that harm consumers. We regularly investigate and prosecute violations of consumer protection laws on behalf of the State of Oregon. We also share information with other agencies and use what we learn to educate the public and help pass laws that better protect consumers.
If you have questions, please have your file number ready and call me at (503) xxx-xxxx or send an email with your file number in the subject line to xxx@doj.state.or.us.
O1
1162 Court Street NE, Salem, OR 97301-4096
Telephone: (503) 934-4400 Fax: (503) 378-5017 TTY: (800) 735-2900 www.doj.state.or.us
/s/ Kristi Markishtum Consumer Complaint Specialist

 

 

i Blocked out her contact information as I don’t believe she would want it on the internet. However if anyone needs her contact information please send me a message and I’ll send it to you.

 

 

[seanlinc]

On 2/17/2024 at 11:31 PM, Joke-Eye said:

Hi. @Sauce Dog said to post on here. Hope Mike sees this. here are my books listed, I just really would like these books back Mike  thank you, feel better. Hope you make a comeback.

Invoice #	HRC3323
# of items	11
Name	Alben G.

mic	The Amazing Spider-Man	45		1	Marvel	1967	100
Comic	The Amazing Spider-Man	316		1	Marvel	1989	300
Comic	The Amazing Spider-man	361		1	Marvel	1992	300
Comic	The Amazing Spider-Man	252		1	Marvel	1984	175
Comic	Marvel Team-Up	141		1	Marvel	1984	300
Comic	Marvel Super HeroesSecret War	1		1	Marvel	1984	80
Comic	The Uncanny X-Men	141		1	Marvel	1981	80
Comic	The Uncanny X-Men	142		1	Marvel	1981	50
Comic	Wolverine	8		1	Marvel	1989	150
Comic	Captain America Annual	8		1	Marvel	1985	75
Comic	What If?...	31		1	Marvel	1982	75

Wow this just looks like a normal clean and press job apparently now sold/lost/stolen/sitting in a box somewhere who knows. 

[Joke-Eye]

On 2/17/2024 at 11:31 PM, Joke-Eye said:

Hi. @Sauce Dog said to post on here. Hope Mike sees this. here are my books listed, I just really would like these books back Mike  thank you, feel better. Hope you make a comeback.

Invoice #	HRC3323
# of items	11
Name	Alben G.

mic	The Amazing Spider-Man	45		1	Marvel	1967	100
Comic	The Amazing Spider-Man	316		1	Marvel	1989	300
Comic	The Amazing Spider-man	361		1	Marvel	1992	300
Comic	The Amazing Spider-Man	252		1	Marvel	1984	175
Comic	Marvel Team-Up	141		1	Marvel	1984	300
Comic	Marvel Super HeroesSecret War	1		1	Marvel	1984	80
Comic	The Uncanny X-Men	141		1	Marvel	1981	80
Comic	The Uncanny X-Men	142		1	Marvel	1981	50
Comic	Wolverine	8		1	Marvel	1989	150
Comic	Captain America Annual	8		1	Marvel	1985	75
Comic	What If?...	31		1	Marvel	1982	75

Mike if you see this please let me know what I can do to help retrieve my books from you. PM me here or email me, you should have it on file if not I’ll send you whatever info you need, all the best. 

[justafan]

On 2/20/2024 at 5:15 PM, Mr. Zipper said:

The point of noting Flash as an "outlier" was because it's the only known item that turned into a problem dating back to the beginning of his practice. Other than that "outlier," his record was spotless for a decade. All the other problems are from the last few years. 

I'm not angry about anything, but I believe in fairly and accurately representing the situation. People making accusations that it has been a long con since the beginning are simply not accurate and there is no evidence to support it. Unless of course, you wish to count the Flash 1 situation as evidence of a long con, which I don't. It was likely messed up and damaged, and the way he handled it criminal, but not an intentional long con. 

Is it a distinction without a difference at this point? Probably. But I have never been a fan of revisionist history and even criminals deserve accurate reporting.

That we know of.  We only know of many of Mike's issues now coming to light with unfinished or even unstarted work due to this thread and the last locked thread.  Look at how many clients came out of the woodwork once these threads caught on with google's search optimization.  That Flash wasn't necessarily the only outlier.  There were several AF15's one of which reported to having been held for the last 4 years.  Who knows how many other books or clients Mike has wronged that have yet to find these boards.  Some clients may not be as internet savvy and others may have just forgotten or written them off.  I know I sometimes forget about single shipment pre-orders and CGC submissions that took over a year and only remember them due to my notes in my spreadsheet and google calendar to follow up on them.  And now they can't even reach him because his business is closed and he has no public contact info.

Here's a frame of reference. I only first heard about Hero Restoration on this board about 5 years ago just before the pandemic.  I remember hearing nothing but praise and how great of an operation they were.  They were referred by several boardies and talked about as rivaling Joey when it came to pressing/cleaning and Matt Nelson when it came to restoration.  Based on this feedback I had imagined them to be a top notch pressing and restoration company with several experienced pressers and restoration experts in paper conservation with years of experience on staff.  I researched this lightly when looking into restoration removal from a color touched AF15 I had and their name came up frequently.  I ended up not doing the removal or using their service (thankful) due to other factors.  However, when asked, I would list them as an option for pressing right under Joey and CGC (again, feeding into the reputation echo chamber).

Now this thread and the previous locked one comes up and I am completely confused as to whether it was talking about the same Hero Restoration that was highly recommended all those years ago.  Now after reading about his "learning" threads on CPG and on here back in 2009 and that he was primarily just a one man operation until the mid 20teens a picture begins to emerge.  It may not be that he was intentionally scamming anyone or setting out to pull a long con but early on and continuing until last year he was likely misrepresenting himself when advertising his services.  He was practicing with customer's books and learning on the fly.  He may have informed some early customers of using their books to practice but for any customers of his in the years following his posts in 2009 did he ever inform them that he had recently acquired these skills and that he may still be learning to do other types of restoration?  I doubt it.  And now we hear that he requested his early posts on CPG be deleted due to "investor" concerns about his amateur past?  Sure I get that it might make some customers uneasy but that is information a client should have when choosing an expert.  And restoration isn't a 1 year program to become an expert.  Some of the best restorers have been doing this for decades and went to school to get degrees in paper conservation and archiving.  In 6 months I became really good at pressing learning through trial an error many of the same processes that others have already mastered and been pressing casually for the last 3 years but in no way do I feel I am qualified to offer my services for hire nor would I feel comfortable recommending my services or those of anyone who has only been doing it for a short time and didn't have expertise in the exact comic paper types.  I don't know Mike personally like some on here might or as close as Sauce Dog does and some still vouch for him but it is hard to believe this is the same Mike. I wish we could hear from some of his former employees about the real Mike.  The following spoiler content is just my opinion of the conclusions I was able to draw from what I believe happened based on the information from these 2 threads and what I've heard in the past and should not be taken as a fact of what actually happened:

Spoiler

I believe Mike was scamming customers but not intentionally in the way some are accusing.  I believe he set out with the intent of running a legitimate restoration business but ended up running it like a Ponzi scheme.  He defrauded them through misrepresenting his abilities and capacity and using customer funds to pay for future work.  He likely believed or fully intended on acquiring the skills to be a great presser and restoration expert but wanted to get paid to learn and took on work (too much work) on too difficult of cases to keep up.  He may have even been good at certain types of restoration and pressing and perhaps those successful glowing reviews are what he promoted and those customers echoed, but at the same time he also had unsuccessful or incomplete jobs sitting waiting for work that would never get done.  I also wonder if some of the good work came from a "ghost restorer" who he pawned off some work in exchange for lessons or from some of the former employees he had but quit or had to let go for not being able to pay them.  It would almost seem like there were 2 different Mikes.  Again, I believe this compounded with a terrible business sense and practices led him to hire and expand in an attempt to gain capacity and take on more work leveraging the money he'd already received from prior unfinished work to pay for future capacity.  This was a train wreck waiting to happen. The only ones who might be able to provide any good insight into his skill and abilities and reasons why he left so many unfinished might be his former employees.  His unintentional scam likely turned into a more deliberate one once the Ponzi scheme began falling apart and he could no longer float his business.  Once the word began to get out earlier last year about books not being done or missed too many deadlines the impact to his business and money inflows began to dry up leaving nothing to pay for employees or the work yet to be performed.  The stress, the lies, the fear, probably all led to the development of personal issues, relationship issues, and likely health issues brought on by himself.  At that point his narcissism, stress, fear, anger, combined with possible health issues and poor judgement led him to start selling books to raise money.  Whether he intentionally or unintentionally sold customers books doesn't matter.  The fact that he played fast and loose with customer funds meant he had already committed fraud and used their money and damaged their books without any way to pay them back.  Selling those books intentionally is the last act of a desperate man and doesn't tarnish his name any more than he already has.  At the very least, he should have sent the proceeds to the clients who he accidentally sold books once they notified him with documentation. 

 

At this point I'm worried he is in such a downward spiral with his arrest, personal issues, and possible pending legal action, I fear for his personal well being but hope he gets the help he needs to recover and can try to seek redemption and repay those he wronged at some point in his life.

Mike, in case you read this, please know there is always a way back to redemption no matter how difficult.  Do not expect forgiveness or forgetfulness from others but focus on moving forward to be a better person and strive for restitution.

Edited February 21 by justafan
message to Mike

[Mr. Zipper]

On 2/21/2024 at 12:57 PM, justafan said:

It may not be that he was intentionally scamming anyone or setting out to pull a long con but early on and continuing until last year he was likely misrepresenting himself when advertising his services.  He was practicing with customer's books and learning on the fly.  

  Hide contents

I believe Mike was scamming customers but not intentionally in the way some are accusing.  I believe he set out with the intent of running a legitimate restoration business but ended up running it like a Ponzi scheme.  He defrauded them through misrepresenting his abilities and capacity and using customer funds to pay for future work.  He likely believed or fully intended on acquiring the skills to be a great presser and restoration expert but wanted to get paid to learn and took on work (too much work) on too difficult of cases to keep up.  He may have even been good at certain types of restoration and pressing and perhaps those successful glowing reviews are what he promoted and those customers echoed, but at the same time he also had unsuccessful or incomplete jobs sitting waiting for work that would never get done. 

 

At this point I'm worried he is in such a downward spiral with his arrest, personal issues, and possible pending legal action, I fear for his personal well being but hope he gets the help he needs to recover and can try to seek redemption and repay those he wronged at some point in his life.

Mike, in case you read this, please know there is always a way back to redemption no matter how difficult.  Do not expect forgiveness or forgetfulness from others but focus on moving forward to be a better person and strive for restitution.

I believe this is likely accurate and makes the most sense. As I wrote some time ago, he was in over his head, messed things up and hid it. Maybe hoping the day would come when he would be able to fix what he messed up. And clearly the fees for restoration were not put into "escrow." So, it may have been a defacto ponzi scheme, whether that was the intent or not.

I admit this situation has been troubling for me personally. I have never been "friends" with Mike, but chat board acquaintances for many years and I enjoyed the occasional chats. I sent him books for pressing and never had an issue. We were friends on Facebook, but it appears he unfriended me. When trouble first perked up last year, I thought there was no way he would do anything intentionally wrong. He simply made mistakes, had health problems, but he would work through it and right the ship. It's been heartbreaking to see how this has developed because I knew the human side of him to a small degree. To me, he wasn't just an avatar on a chat board.

In any case, I continue to hope that the victims get their books back. They are foremost in my thoughts. And I do hope that Mike is held accountable, but can bounce back and resume what was once a healthy, happy life.

 

[Sauce Dog]

On 2/21/2024 at 12:57 PM, justafan said:

Some clients may not be as internet savvy and others may have just forgotten or written them off.  I know I sometimes forget about single shipment pre-orders and CGC submissions that took over a year and only remember them due to my notes in my spreadsheet and google calendar to follow up on them. 

This is 100% the case and has been occurring with customers going back to the beginning of his operations. Unfortunately I cannot share details publicly at this time (by request of several contacts of mine, who are happy to keep this to ourselves so long as they see that Mike continues to return books to customers, and works with police regarding a recent new snafu). 

 

[Joke-Eye]

On 2/21/2024 at 12:27 PM, Joke-Eye said:

Mike if you see this please let me know what I can do to help retrieve my books from you. PM me here or email me, you should have it on file if not I’ll send you whatever info you need, all the best. 

Just gonna keep trying here, if anyone can let Mike know about this thread, I’m just trying to get my comics back please! That would be swell. Again Mike just let me know what information you need but it should be under invoice# HRC3323 any sort of update would be great even just acknowledging my message! Thank you! 

Edited February 22 by Joke-Eye

[M_Ndreu]

Hi, 

a friend of mine told me that this might be a place to get in touch with Hero Restoration/Mike DeChellis. I submitted 12 books (valued ~$12k-$14k) for pressing, cleaning and CGC submission back in Nov 2022 in the Vernon, NJ location and have been desperately trying to reach Mike with no luck. I heard that some people were having luck in the forums and I’m hoping to have some myself. Below please find my info:

Maliq Ndreu

maliqndreu@gmail.com

201-919-8882

invoice #1: HRC3324

Journey Into Mystery 112 

Tales of Suspense 58 

Avengers Annual 2

Invoice #2: HRC3325

Secret Wars 1-newsstand 

Secret Wars 8 

Marvel Team-Up 141 

Avengers 11 

Avengers 16

Avengers Annual 1 

Hulk 340

Tales of Suspense 59

Amazing Spider-Man 252-newsstand 

I purchased all of these over a decade ago in super high grade. Most I will never be able to find/afford in those grades. One of the books was given to me by my uncle before he passed away. At this point I’m just hoping to get the book back in the condition I dropped them off in and am willing to cover shipping and any other costs. I’m hoping to hear from Mike or anyone that can help in any way.

thanks 

 

Edited February 23 by M_Ndreu

[Nick Furious]

On 2/20/2024 at 7:10 PM, universal soldier said:

For the record, I never thought this current mess was his end game. If you saw his early work and our interactions on CPG forums, you would understand why I raised the questions about his behavior and not being upfront about what he was doing. While it sounds like he honed his skills over time, my gut feeling about him would have prevented me from sending him anything to restore, let alone press. I gave him the benefit of the doubt 14 years ago but yet here we are...

What I picked up on in that initial thread was a typical brass-balls Silicon Valley startup type personality.  Not criminal per se, but more of a fake-it-till-you-make-it mentality.  Always out ahead of their ski's with no worries about the consequences of crashing.  We applaud them when they last long enough to be an ongoing success.  But more often than not they just prove to be reckless with other people's money.     

[Buzzetta]

On 2/22/2024 at 12:42 PM, Joke-Eye said:

Just gonna keep trying here, if anyone can let Mike know about this thread, I’m just trying to get my comics back please! That would be swell. Again Mike just let me know what information you need but it should be under invoice# HRC3323 any sort of update would be great even just acknowledging my message! Thank you! 

He knows it.  He sees it.  He is ignoring it.  

[mikenyc]

It’s so upsetting to see person after person, who eventually find themselves here, posting to ask for their books back. As a collector, for better or worse, I know how attached you can become to books in your collection. 

No one should have a shred of empathy for him. This wide of a net doesn’t happen by accident. This is someone who knowingly accepted books and money from people that he must have known, at a minimum, would vastly exceed the time frame that was presented to complete the work, if ever. If you’re to believe he actually experienced a health episode, he was mismanaging his business well beforehand. There are lots of people who perpetrate scams that are uncovered when circumstances suddenly change. 
 

I’m interested to see how many people would have to reveal their abuse before those who are seemingly justifying horrible behavior acquiesce. 

Good luck to the victims.