Sent to DOR and the Owners:
I first encountered JTWW, Inc. in early 2018 when they were referred to me involving a matter where they were paying 40k per month on MCA loans that were destroying them and draining their revenue.
My contact was always Jeremy and I was told Wayne had emotional and mental issues that prevented him from dealing with people. I was told he rarely even went to the restaurants, and mostly at night when nobody was around, even though he lived just a few miles away.
I was hired with my POA in late February 2018 for $750 per week to help with the MCA loans, and I handled them quite well, shutting the daily ACH’s down and keeping the needed revenue while addressing the loans under the usury laws. I continued working to resolve the three (3) MCA loans and negotiating with the funders through the year. Jeremy never provided bank statements nor did he cooperate in any of the direction I gave him regarding the restaurants.
At some point during the spring I was asked to and did, loan JTWW, Inc. $10,000 with a promissory note, and per the usury laws, JTWW, Inc. agreed to pay $1,200 for use of the funds. The $10,000 was returned but the $1,200 was not and was never mentioned again by Jeremy.
Also, while working the MCA loans I was constantly and consistently asked to help with matters I was not being paid to address. Items like old leases and lawsuits from them, old restaurant sign bills not paid, and even old TV debts. I assisted with all of these matters at no additional charge!
In late October I was in Las Vegas working from an RV Park with a month paid through November 17th when I received an urgent call on October 30th from Jeremy that I was the only person that could help and that if I did not go to Spokane and take over the restaurants they would be closed in the next few weeks and all would be lost. I was told mismanagement and theft had drained the revenue and that bills could not be paid. With multiple restaurants owned and operated under my belt I could not refuse, and agreed!
I arrived at the restaurants on Friday, November 2nd, 2018!
Upon arrival it was clear the situation was far worse than I was told. There was not even a valid food service permit on the wall, which I immediately went and paid for $800 on Monday morning, the start of using my own funds. There was no management and many of the staff were taking alcohol and product as well as over pouring drinks and giving out discounts to get higher tips, none of which, cash tips, were being reported. Payroll was padded with multiple people not needed on shifts, with the apparent theory being throw bodies at the equation despite lacking the funds to pay for them.
Fast and furious I worked to resolve situation after situation as it presented itself. Staff had multiple old checks they had been unable to cash. I paid those checks with my own funds. Vendors were screaming for payment and would not deliver product unless cash so I again used my own funds to purchase product. Landlords demanded cashier’s checks! Shut off notices for electricity were at both locations and had to be paid! During November only two checks were used. One by myself for product at Smart Foodservice and one given to Wayne to be used at Smart Foodservice. That’s it! The rest of operating both restaurants in November was paid with cash either brought to me by Wayne, later by Jeremy, or from my own funds. Despite this use of cash, later it would be found in the statements that there were almost 70 overdraft charges on the accounts during the month of November that had little to nothing to do with the operations of the restaurants.
Despite most of the revenue coming from credit cards and being deposited into the accounts I was not given access to the accounts to monitor and constantly complained of discrepancies between what the POS system said were deposits and the cash brought to me to pay bills.
I slashed payroll with proper staffing, released staff who were outright stealing and abusing the lack of management and overall got the restaurants back on the right track revenue and costs wise. There was a state of the art ADT security system installed at both locations that was not being used and I immediately paid the bill and began using the security system and cameras to monitor operations daily.
I took non stop appropriate action as issues came to my attention!
By mid November, within two weeks I had cut most of the waste, theft, and cheating from within the restaurants but found that money was still being taken, checks still being written, and I was still not being given access to the bank accounts for proper accounting and reconciling of the situation.
It was at this time that I became aware that Wayne himself was taking funds needed to operate the restaurants and I immediately reported to Jeremy of my findings. I was aware of the rumors of Wayne and serious drug addiction and that he and his girlfriend were rarely seen except in pajamas and that staff and customers, even vendors and delivery drivers spoke of this drug addiction and the various encounters which promoted the rumors. Jeremy confirmed the rumors!
At this time, more of the truth became clear. I was made aware that meals taxes had not been paid for many months at both locations and that there was a revocation hearing with DOR scheduled for December 12th to shut Wasabi down. I also was made aware that withholding taxes had never been paid from Ginger since its purchase two years earlier and that both Wayne and Jeremy were taking funds from the accounts that were needed to pay the bills. I also became aware of discrepancies in the reporting data that potentially showed that the owners had under reported the revenue at Wasabi in January 2018 in a possible effort to avoid their tax responsibilities when filing their taxes.
At this time, around the 19th of November, I was given the debit cards, which I never used, and told no more money would be taken by either Wayne or Jeremy.
I then immediately began working with Rex at DOR regarding the revocation hearing. The position of DOR was that they had tried and tried to work with the owners to no avail. The owners had failed to follow through with every payment plan and nearly every check submitted bounced, and unless the amounts included in the Warrants were paid, Wasabi would be shut down.
I explained to Rex the situation I had walked into, with staff stealing and wasting and then finding out Wayne was an addict regarding opiates and that the funds were not available but that the restaurants had plenty of revenue and that with the proper actions taken, could get where they needed to be and catch up and stay current with all financial responsibilities.
Rex informed me that without a police report of the missing funds the hearing could not be postponed or delayed. I immediately went to Jeremy and explained the situation and that how Wayne’s addiction had destroyed the business and that to save the restaurants he needed to file a police report regarding the missing funds. Although Jeremy did file a police report, it was later revealed he very carefully left out the addiction issues and merely stated that the taxes had not been paid in recent months.
While waiting for the police report filed the 3rd of December I continued working with Rex regarding the revocation hearing and keeping the restaurant doors open, and informed Jeremy that with Wayne’s addiction and draining the money he needed to get Wayne into rehab and get his hands out of the til or the restaurants were doomed and DOR would close the doors. I also explained the trouble with this was that Wayne would merely come back and sue Jeremy and I saying he was not competent to make the decision to step out due to the same addiction issues that were the problem. I explained to Jeremy that the only way would be for both to agree to step out, with Jeremy maintaining watching the bank and nothing else, and Wayne being removed with the stolen funds as part of his buy out. Jeremy agreed Wayne had to go, he did not sign up for that he said, and wanted him out. I advised Jeremy that whatever they decided to do it was between them but needed to be done immediately as the DOR revocation hearing was fast approaching.
Apparently Jeremy had not gone to Wayne with any of the info of the situation, not even informing him of the police report filed!
It was at this time that Jeremy finally gave me access to the bank accounts, which, upon review for the month of November, showed massive possibly wire and bank fraud as well as the almost 70 overdraft fees among the accounts and showing that both Wayne and Jeremy were continuing to pay their living expenses, everything from ATM withdrawals to gas and shopping to phone service and Netflix, from the restaurant operating accounts, even while I was forced to use my own funds in November. When confronted, Wayne stated that he was smarter than me and that Business 101 stated you pay your self first and that he was entitled to everything he had taken. Jeremy stated that it was “Distribution”!
At my insistence, at this time Jeremy finally closed the Numerica Bank accounts and opened new accounts at Banner Bank to install protections from Wayne accessing funds, and asked me if he should “get a job?”. I explained that until all tax responsibilities and staff, product and operating costs were paid, not one penny should be taken for any other purpose! It was at this time that Jeremy called me and told me that Wayne may be a danger to me and I should take precautions, which I did. It was clear I had become the number one enemy of his addictions by cutting off his funds!
On Saturday morning, December 8th, there was a conference call with myself and Ed, my accountant I had flown in December 3rd, and Jeremy and Wayne, and at that time it became clear that the two owners were not working together to resolve the issues and had both been taking funds with reckless disregard and would be fighting over the blame and debts and nothing would be resolved. As I tried to explain the situation regarding the bank statements I now had possession of and the situation with DOR and the IRS and Washington State L & I seeing them, I was told by Wayne that I could not go to the authorities with the information as I would be considered a co-conspirator.
I had previously been told by Jeremy that I would receive 33% ownership for use of my own funds and for fixing the mess and saving the restaurants, but it was obvious this was never discussed with Wayne, and during the conference call, when presented the idea of him stepping out, he refused to step back or out, insisted on maintaining his 50% interest and staying involved, to the detriment of the situation and the restaurants.
I hung up the call while Jeremy and Wayne threw blame and insults at each other, and it was at this time that Ed and I realized we were going to lose the funds I had put into the situation and that Wayne’s addiction issues were not going to cooperate so the restaurants were doomed and we needed to start thinking defensively, and we were correct.
Radio silence followed the conference call, and although I tried to pressure Jeremy to address the situations and give me direction forward via texts, none was forthcoming.
Monday came, the 10th of December and still nothing. The funds needed, 25k, for the DOR deal I worked on and was to present were in the new Banner Bank accounts per Jeremy, although I was not given access to verify the information. With no idea what the two owners intended to do for the DOR revocation hearing in a few days I continued to stress to Jeremy via texts the urgency of the situation and of Wayne’s addiction closing the restaurants!
With no communication or direction it became clear the situation was ominous and it was at this point that Ed and I realized if the two of them could not come together to fix the situation, at this point they could only rejoin and blame the only person they now could after blaming anyone and everyone else previously, me, and they did!
On Tuesday morning, the 11th, still with radio silence and no communication, Wayne showed up at the Wasabi restaurant accusing me of being a drug addict, of stealing 80k, and of being a con man intending to steal his restaurants, and escorted Ed and I out of the building, stating that he was going to destroy me and I should leave the state or else. I made sure to explain that I had done nothing of the sort and that I had all the documentation, receipts and evidence of everything that was going on here before I arrived as well as everything since I had arrived and that they were giving me no choice except to go to the authorities in my defense.
Ed and I continued reconciling November…
On Wednesday, December 12th I left a voicemail for Rex explaining that I had tried my best to resolve the issues to no avail and that the owners had turned on me in desperation. Rex called me back and I explained in detail and stated that I would forward the reconciling of November in the next day or so and that despite their turning on me and knowing they were closing their doors by doing so, I would still be wiling to step in and help if Jeremy and Wayne agreed, so that taxes were paid, I would get my money back, and jobs and the restaurants would be saved.
Later that day, apparently after the DOR hearing, I began receiving texts from Wayne as follows: “Hey Mr. Conman got through DOR no problem. Rex called me a “good dude” and was laughing at you, especially when I showed him your rocking RV.” He also sent that he was going to get me and had an appointment with his FBI friend and “had my license plate”.
I will be following this email with another later today with the reconciling of November and the documentation and such once I finish taking pictures of the materials.
In my defense of the accusations made against me I will also be sending the materials and a similar report as this to the appropriate authorities, including the IRS, Washington State L & I, and the attorney General and local District Attorney in an effort to stand up for and with the truth to clear my name of wrongdoing.
On a side note: With ADT Pulse still on my phone, although I gave Wayne all keys and the code before I left Tuesday and the code was used Tuesday and Wednesday to arm and disarm the system, last night someone entered Ginger at 2:33 am and the alarm was cleared at 2:44 am.
Please do not hesitate to contact me with questions or concerns.
