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 Replies: 66 / Views: 24,735 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
937 Posts |
Two things one should remember
1. The Law enforcment estsablishment can and will pile charges on when ever they can. Things like RICO can be used when they are fishing as it allows them to look more closely at many more things.
2. A good defense lawyer is almost always better than the best DA.
You can bet the farm that this cost the defendants very close to everything.
Are the people wronged by these people satisfied? Most likely not. But the process of justice has been served and debts will be paid as the court stipulates. It looks like there was a pleza bargain of some kind, so yeah, it is like kissing your brother, but that is what it is. Justice has been served. Time to move on.
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Bedrock of the Community
 United States
12867 Posts |
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Time to move on. Thanks, Tryna. Good insight and good point. |
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New Member
United States
22 Posts |
I agree, it's time to move on, I just have a few things that I want to wrap up in my thoughts on this, as this whole ordeal affected friends, and to a small extent, myself (not in nearly the same way). It's a frustrating outcome. While I'm not sure that I ever truly believed that he had some network of people stealing for him, or that it was that sophisticated, it was well known locally that this was where stolen goods ended up. They argued against legislation at the local level (and some at the state level) that would have made the way that they did business harder. I have to believe that this was because even if they weren't actively engaged in the criminal act, they were profiting from the criminal acts, and the lax regulations of ebay. Bringing this around to the coin side, while I don't believe that SGS as a "product" was illegal, I have contended for quite some time that it was grossly unethical, and preying on the uneducated to turn a quick buck, instead of working to better a community. As it has been pointed out on this forum, SGS did a lot of damage to the coin collecting world. I guess I had hopes that this would be the end of that. And maybe it is. I hope it is. |
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Valued Member
United States
172 Posts |
Wow. I am a little surprised that they listed the HOME ADDRESS of the house he has to sell. Wow! A heck of a story, thanks for sharing. My lunchtime read was pretty spiffy!
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New Member
United States
22 Posts |
Update: House is no longer on the market. Business was sold. Business was renamed. Now, on the "front" this looks like a good thing. But, what the local news didn't point out, was that he sold it to his Wife's Brother in Law. Ed Kieper. Donna Bence, and Cindy Kieper are sisters. What does that mean? I'm not sure. The rebranding of the business, and the new "policies" seem like moves in the right direction. But, with family buying the business, I don't know how far out of the realm of control Larry will be. I've been looking long and hard on ebay, and I'm not seeing any of the "old" auctions up, so either they put the coins back up with new descriptions, or they haven't come back online. |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
3843 Posts |
Thanks for the update. I noticed while browsing online that there was a coin shop in Ontario located off of Lex-Springmill Road. How long has that been there? I remember when growing up that the Willard Coin Exchange was the only "real" coin shop in town.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12867 Posts |
Yes, thanks for the news. Did the house sell or was it just taken off the market?
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New Member
United States
25 Posts |
"Thanks for the update. I noticed while browsing online that there was a coin shop in Ontario located off of Lex-Springmill Road. How long has that been there? I remember when growing up that the Willard Coin Exchange was the only "real" coin shop in town."
That is Showcase Coins, they used to be located on 42 North of Mansfield. I was told by an employee of Willard Coin Exchange that the Man that runs Showcase used to work for Willard Coin Exchange. I do not believe he is associated with Abon but do not know for sure.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4421 Posts |
Failure to pay restitution can lead to incarceration. This rests on the diligence of the PO and consideration by the court. When faced with the likelihood of incarceration, many offenders will "beg, borrow or steal" the funds to satisfy restitution.
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New Member
United States
22 Posts |
Showcase Coins is run by Chris, who was a former employee of Williard Coin Exchange. He's a stand up guy. He was not "associated" with Abon, in terms of "He was in on the SGS stuff", but Williard Coin Exchange definitely knew what Larry was doing, and frequently did business with him. Chris, would bring product purchased to Abon, he would pick up product that Abon was selling to Willard.
Now, I don't say that to paint them in a negative light. I like Chris. I thought he was a good guy when I dealt with him while employed at Abon. But, the point needed clarification.
They had to know. They were in the building. If they didn't put 2+2 together and get 4, then I have less hope for them than the guy on one of the other forums, who had claimed that he had "figured it all out!" and had the puzzle pieces connected
(Here's a hint: He was wrong. In a Quixotic way)
The house was just removed from the market by Larry and Donna. Unless it "sold" in the same way that Abon "sold" and they are just living / renting, it is no longer for sale, and they are still there.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12867 Posts |
* ping *
Is this going to quietly go away?
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New Member
United States
22 Posts |
Sadly, around here it already has. Larry "sold" the business, and unless we hear that Larry has violated the conditions of his probation, we wont hear anything else. Mansfield is a funny place. Things happen. It looks bad, and they just... go away. It's a shame, but sadly I don't know if there is more to the story. Now, I can say that under the new business name they are back on ebay, but I don't see any graded coins. There are some raw coins, but nothing slabbed. http://stores.ebay.com/The-Market-Of-MansfieldAll of the people that I knew are gone, save for Ed. He and I never really saw "eye to eye" so to speak, so I doubt I'd have much of a warm reception if I walked through the door to check out the new place. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12867 Posts |
Thanks for the follow-up, thatguy. It was definitely an interesting, if very unfortunate, story.
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New Member
United States
22 Posts |
I keep waffling on actually coming out, and telling everything I know about the SGS operations. The problem is two fold really.
1.) I don't *think* that it was illegal. Was it a terrible business model? Yes. Was it awful? Yes. Do I wish I would have caught on to the problem faster than I did? Absolutely. If I were to say anything, I would want to make sure that I'm not setting myself up for doing time for something that I got away from the first chance I could.
2.) Telling my story would out me. I assure you, the Abon crony who was on here earlier has absolutely no idea who I am. If I came out and said what I know, how I know it, why I know it, there would be no more guesswork. Even written under an assumed name, Those who were associated with the business would know who spoke, and that would then open it up to a point where they would be able to sue me, claiming that It was libel, or defamation, or whatever. I have a life now. I don't necessarily want it upended by this, especially if it were just a cash grab.
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Rest in Peace
United States
2668 Posts |
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Asset forfeiture has been served. Time to move on. There, Tryna, FTFY. |
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Replies: 66 / Views: 24,735 |
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Posted 03/06/2015 04:50 am
