CGC Files Lawsuit Against Employees 30 30

[solm4st3r]

My question is whether the police are involved since the CGC employee actually admitted to stealing books worth several thousand dollars?

Edited February 1 by solm4st3r

[s-man]

On 2/1/2024 at 1:32 PM, Transplant said:

2 employees. 1 grader and his wife (in ebay verification for cards) allegedly in scheme where they stole submitted books and subbed them for their own account and then sold them.  

Pretty sure this is a big no no in the CGC employee handbook, right next to thou shalt not steal lunches from the fridge.

[Axelrod]

On 2/1/2024 at 6:27 PM, bc said:

There have been pictures of stacks of books on multiple mobile shelving posted before.

-bc

Seems like a security issue.  Have they not heard of chain of custody?  How do they track who had hands on a missing book if they just get placed on open access shelves?

Yeah, yeah, probably brought up a million times before.  

[Corvonie]

On 2/1/2024 at 6:24 PM, bc said:

As far as the board loading slowly - noticed that the Facebook add at the bottom of the page template is often the cause of the delay. 

-bc

Interesting.  I have a different theory, but I’ll def try just using ad blocker on the site and see what happens.  Thanks for the tip!  I’ll never miss another Kramerica or Dale Roberts book again!

[Iconic1s]

At this point I think that the integrity of the entire CGC process is so compromised that they should allow everyone (especially FREE “members”) to submit one book of our choosing to be awarded the coveted 9.8 grade.  Shoot, seems like everyone else got what they wanted!

Are Terrazas’ books anywhere on “a list” for us to check?  What’s the point anymore?  Seriously!  The world’s most trusted third party grader hires thieves that steal customer’s property, slam books in whatever label, etc.  Now speculate about the integrity of the SS program if one dude can put whatever book with whatever label.

I think this is the literal tip of the iceberg!

P.S. forgot to mention that they then provide so little oversight that the thieves can do this.

 

Edited February 1 by Iconic1s

[Ryan.]

On 2/1/2024 at 5:45 PM, MAR1979 said:

Hiring as cheap as possible pads the bonus of many an Exec.   As with most things you get what you pay for...

I've made (admittedly joking) comments about this in the past but I've always been baffled at the low wages CGC pays it employee to grade and process our books.

[bc]

On 2/1/2024 at 6:32 PM, Iconic1s said:

At this point I think that the integrity of the entire CGC process is so compromised that they should allow everyone (especially FREE “members”) to submit one book of our choosing to be awarded the coveted 9.8 grade.  Shoot, seems like everyone else got what they wanted!

Are Terrazas’ books anywhere on “a list” for us to check?  What’s the point anymore?  Seriously!  The world’s most trusted third party grader hires thieves that steal customer’s property, slam books in whatever label, etc.  Now speculate about the integrity of the SS program if one dude can put whatever book with whatever label.

I think this is the literal tip of the iceberg!

 

Did this duo think of up this plan or did they just copy someone else?

-bc

[comix4fun]

On 2/1/2024 at 4:29 PM, BlowUpTheMoon said:

Can someone explain #22?

 

On 2/1/2024 at 4:57 PM, hyhhyss12 said:

They want to keep it under wraps.

Actually, that's not why that's there. 

When a plaintiff is seeking relief that includes the seizure of defendant's property as a part of the preliminary injunction and before final decision in the case the plaintiff has to demonstrate that they have not publicized the motion as it could be seen as an unfair use of the situation to damage the defendant(s) before the final disposition of the case. 

Basically, they are asking the court to impound and seize the books and any other materials in question to stop the ongoing damage to their brand and business and they have not sought to use the filing of this seizure and injunction request to damage the defendants on a preliminary request that comes before any final decisions are made by the court on the underlying complaint at law. 

That's also why they are willing to provide security as a part of the seizure request in case the underlying case results should the defendants prevail. 

Edited February 1 by comix4fun

[Heronext]

If CGC does not have this already, they should have a program where they buy a certain amount of graded books per year in the market, examine them, and release them back into the market.  Kind of like wildlife monitors who catch animals, tag them, and monitor their health from time to time.  Except with different books each time.

[MetaHuman]

On 2/1/2024 at 6:27 PM, Axelrod said:

Also, wtf is suing these people supposed to accomplish?  Are they not being criminally prosecuted?  

Does CGC think this move "protects" their good name?  'Cause I don't think it does....

Criminal prosecution is a deterrent to employees going rogue. Given this guy has admitted to a CGC investigator some of his shenanigans, I would hope CGC will get local law enforcement involved in the future. 

[Math Teacher]

On 2/1/2024 at 3:44 PM, BlowUpTheMoon said:

To date, Mr. Terrazas has admitted to stealing twenty-three customer-submitted comic books from CGC’s facilities. Id. ¶ 12. As part of his scheme, Mr. Terrazas would take these customer-submitted comic books from a shelf at CGC’s facilities, place them on his desk, and discard the books’ CGC-graded wrapping and barcodes. Id. Mr. Terrazas would then submit for grading each of the stolen comic books and then publicly advertise, consign, or sell the comic books on eBay or at trade shows. Id. In total, Mr. Terrazas received at least $26,895 in aggregate revenue from these fraudulent transactions

Unfortunately, Mr. Terrazas will not have to pay taxes on his ill-gotten gains, as the government has kicked the "anything above $600 is taxable" can down the road.

[Christophe9999]

I'm curious if this Hulk 181 is the one where they created a duplicate label but with a higher grade. Can having these defects still score a 9.6? This was in a batch of 5 books submitted on 9/8/2023. One of the books sold on ebay from these folks. Grader's note only says "very small crease left top of back cover".

[Math Teacher]

On 2/1/2024 at 3:49 PM, shadroch said:

Substitute the book with an 8.5 raw you bought for $10, and the equation changes. Since everyone knows no one would do this on $100 books, you could get away with it all day with just a heat gun.  I'm curious about what can happen to the seller who sells a swapped-out book.  Where does the crime occur? Is it in swapping the book?  Is it in owning a book that was swapped? Is it selling a swapped book?

I understand and respect the morality of the situation, and it is certainly unethical, but I don't understand the legality of it.

My guess is it would be considered fraud.

[bluehorseshoe]

On 2/1/2024 at 5:56 PM, Stefan_W said:

Maybe do some research before making a post like this. A total of 90 seconds with google led to me to find the actual case. If you look at the person who posted it all on Twitter he neglects to share when this case was brought forward - but FYI it was filed Jan 31 2024. That is yesterday. 

Based on your post I am not sure if you would know this, but those launching court proceedings do not typically make statements months before those proceedings are set in motion. After the proceedings are in the books, if I was running a corporate entity like CGC I would try to contact those impacted by these thefts next. A statement to curious customers would happen but it would not be at the very front end of this process. But that is just me. 

Yep, its absolutely just you.  Instead of using google like you are trying to figure out who Taylor Swift is dating, why don't you try using PACER, which is what we use to do actual research into these matters, and what I used to figure out how this matter actually made it to a federal court, and what is going to happen next, and then what is going to happen after that.  Google that, and if you need my credentials to log in, let me know. 

In the meantime, please understand that if this investigation has been going on since 2022, the only reason - and I mean the singular reason - that this is news is because someone found out about it and it could no longer be contained in-house and managed without legal recourse.  Ask yourself this:  Is a company with revenues of what, 70 million a year, really going to hire lawyers and file a lawsuit to chase down 27 grand from two people that probably don't have a pot to in or a window to throw it out of?  No, of course not.  The legal fees alone will be double that by the time you start discovery. Half of nothing is nothing Stefan W.

So you see, the reason CGC is doing this is because they no what comes next, and they want to be able to mitigate everything to be able to argue that fact when it comes time to deal with damages in the real case - the case they will have to defend - when the claims start piling up, which I have already commented on in this thread.  And finally, part of the reason the only thing you are running is a lap around the living room to the fridge and back, and not CGC or a paper route for that matter, is because you can't see the forest through the trees on this one. 

And that's okay, other folks are able to do just that. 

[comicwiz]

On 2/1/2024 at 4:17 PM, blazingbob said:

For me I've had issue with "Consultants" who come in and grade and also sell books.    

Especially the one who got caught red-handed selling WATA Atari games.

I bet you didn't know about The CGC Rule. I bet no one here knew about it. It's almost like this was invented for just such an occasion. 

[The Lions Den]

On 2/1/2024 at 6:58 PM, Christophe9999 said:

I'm curious if this Hulk 181 is the one where they created a duplicate label but with a higher grade. Can having these defects still score a 9.6? This was in a batch of 5 books submitted on 9/8/2023. One of the books sold on ebay from these folks. Grader's note only says "very small crease left top of back cover".

That tiny amount of wear could still be allowable in a 9.6...  

[Christophe9999]

On 2/1/2024 at 4:06 PM, The Lions Den said:

That tiny amount of wear could still be allowable in a 9.6...  

That's surprising to me. There's a significant color breaking tic and not sure what you call that long line. Plus the wear on the upper right top corner I feel like these combined and still getting a 9.6 questionable.

[Ryan.]

On 2/1/2024 at 7:01 PM, bluehorseshoe said:

 Instead of using google like you are trying to figure out who Taylor Swift is dating, why don't you try using PACER

I logged into PACER and found this:

[Bumble Kitty]

On 2/1/2024 at 1:17 PM, blazingbob said:

While I agree there are always going to be people inside and outside the business that will try to scam the system.  

Clearly there is a breakdown or lack of security follow ups on employees that sell books.  Now while they may have gotten permission to sell books it is obvious that what they are selling is not checked by the company.  I'm assuming that going forward that will not be the case because frankly these two employees are ruining CGC's business reputation on integrity.       

For me I've had issue with "Consultants" who come in and grade and also sell books.    

I think this "consultants" thing is just as big an issue, if not more so.  I have a bad feeling right now.

[Stefan_W]

On 2/1/2024 at 7:01 PM, bluehorseshoe said:

Yep, its absolutely just you.  Instead of using google like you are trying to figure out who Taylor Swift is dating, why don't you try using PACER, which is what we use to do actual research into these matters, and what I used to figure out how this matter actually made it to a federal court, and what is going to happen next, and then what is going to happen after that.  Google that, and if you need my credentials to log in, let me know. 

In the meantime, please understand that if this investigation has been going on since 2022, the only reason - and I mean the singular reason - that this is news is because someone found out about it and it could no longer be contained in-house and managed without legal recourse.  Ask yourself this:  Is a company with revenues of what, 70 million a year, really going to hire lawyers and file a lawsuit to chase down 27 grand from two people that probably don't have a pot to in or a window to throw it out of?  No, of course not.  The legal fees alone will be double that by the time you start discovery. Half of nothing is nothing Stefan W.

So you see, the reason CGC is doing this is because they no what comes next, and they want to be able to mitigate everything to be able to argue that fact when it comes time to deal with damages in the real case - the case they will have to defend - when the claims start piling up, which I have already commented on in this thread.  And finally, part of the reason the only thing you are running is a lap around the living room to the fridge and back, and not CGC or a paper route for that matter, is because you can't see the forest through the trees on this one. 

And that's okay, other folks are able to do just that. 

I will try to be more clear. If you want to make points about the details of the incidents themselves then knock yourself out. There is clearly a lot to unpack here. If you argue that CGC should have made a statements months ago (which was your specific point that I was refuting) then the logic does not follow. The case was filed yesterday, which you should know if you actually used the resources you say you have. If you continue to mix these two things together... well, Lets just say I truly hope your PACER account is not a professional one. 

For the sake of avoiding derailing this thread I will give you the last word. Say whatever you want and I will not respond to it.