最新蜜桃影像

Pepe Montesinos immigrated from Oaxaca, Mexico, to Washington, D.C., in 1965, and 10 years later his American dream took root in Adams Morgan. For 40 years, his restaurant Mixtec was a neighborhood staple, serving traditional Mexican food as one of the District鈥檚 first taquerias.

In 2014, Mixtec died out due to rising rent. Epic Philly Steaks, Mixtec鈥檚 replacement, didn鈥檛 last long itself. The restaurant closed earlier this year. And now, the storefront at 1792 Columbia Rd. NW may see a franchise, NYC Bagel and Sandwich Shop 鈥斅爄f it doesn鈥檛 fall victim to a scam first.

鈥楿nhappy franchisee鈥�

Marketing veteran Sean Kelly spent 30 years in the industry with experience advertising on behalf of companies looking to franchise.

鈥淭here鈥檚 an overarching sense of 鈥榶ou always promote that franchises are good and you never criticize any franchise no matter how bad they are,鈥欌�� he said. 鈥淚 was always opposed to that.鈥�

As a marketer, Kelly aims to show 鈥減eople are legitimate competitors,鈥� he said, but when he came across NYC Bagel franchises, he noticed a trend that he 鈥渏ust could not believe.鈥澛�

They would open and then, months later, abruptly close. Soon thereafter, a lawsuit would be filed against the franchisors.听

He joined a 鈥�400 blog network鈥� monitoring franchising abuse and started to investigate NYC Bagel.

With his experience guiding his intuition, the NYC Bagel franchise and its variations over time, all the while curating the evidence.听

He was alarmed by the history and behavior of those behind the scam. As his investigation grew, Kelly said he started receiving information from scammed people 鈥� and threats from NYC Bagel.

鈥淚t was open season and there鈥檚 no sheriff in town,鈥� Kelly said of his findings.

His private investigation into the franchise has spanned well over seven years, with every peculiar detail leading him further down the rabbit hole.

When he started documenting the information online, Kelly said 鈥渕ore and more people started reaching out, and I didn鈥檛 know how widespread the scams were, how unethical the practices that were administered.鈥�

The Process

Kelly said the systematic fraud started off simple enough. Franchisees were lured with a franchise disclosure document that promised fast and growing profits regardless of credit score 鈥� all for the price of a refundable fee to finalize the agreement.

鈥淨ualified owner operators will need a minimum of $75,000 in available capital for each $120,000 to $208,500 location they wish to develop,鈥� .听

But, , in some cases the fee was as low as $19,000 if it meant sealing the deal.

In Bergen County, New Jersey, a showed franchisee Mohamed Elsaid paid his initial fee to NYC Bagel in installments. When he couldn鈥檛 make the whole sum, he wasn鈥檛 issued a refund despite the contract with NYC Bagel ensured a complete refund when a full fee couldn鈥檛 be paid.

In the next step, a franchisee would notice that the weekly earnings at the bagel shop aren鈥檛 as high as promised. And even when the earnings are low, a good portion went to paying the franchisor. The payments and the debts would start to pile up.

Another 2013 case, also from New Jersey, couple Gordon Cunningham and Christine Mason were victims of a 鈥渇raudulent and incomplete franchise disclosure document,鈥� which caused them to lose 鈥渁 substantial amount of money.鈥�

The couple were told 鈥渟tores were earning $10,000 to $15,000 per week in revenue.鈥�

The couple visited a store in Parsippany, New Jersey, to see if the earnings were true. That store was making $10,500 per week at best. The couple decided to franchise anyway with a fee of $27,500.

The couple did not earn more than $4,900 per week. By the time their franchise failed, they lost approximately $230,000 and were almost $150,000 in debt.

The New Jersey couple found out that Dennis Mason was in the middle of another franchise scam lawsuit when they accepted his offer. But, only after filing their own lawsuit did that information arise.

In the third step, NYC Bagel would suggest franchisee鈥檚 take out a loan from a small business administration to make debt collection easier.听

鈥淭o help protect franchisee鈥檚 investments, a cost-free third-party project funding assessment will be made available,鈥� as .

As the debt would start piling higher for the store owners and with a third-party in charge of collection, the franchisors would disappear.

The franchisee, stuck in this income-to-debt loop, would then be forced to close down shop.

Out of 58 stores monitored, Kelly reported or left the NYC Bagel brand and then closed.听

When a franchise failed, Kelly said, NYC Bagel then deflected blame to the franchisee.

When Kelly asked NYC Bagel about the closure of a particular store in Tracy, California, NYC Bagel told him the franchisee 鈥渨ent to pieces鈥� because her husband died, he said.听

鈥淚n fact, the husband died three years earlier,鈥� Kelly said.

It is not unusual for business entities to suggest third-party collectors while being the main creditor. However, this can lead to predatory behavior against the franchisee because collectors can enforce payments with lawsuits.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a government organization that records consumer data, their largest source of consumer complaints per month is debt collection.听

Additionally, the Federal Trades Commission states consumer harassment by debt collectors is illegal given the an act aimed at protecting consumers from abuse.

The fear of facing lawsuits, which are costly themselves, may keep franchisees reluctant to take legal action against NYC Bagel, their creditor.听

And that refundable fee that could help out a struggling franchisee? It鈥檚 not always paid back. Washington state鈥檚 Department of Financial Institutions led a into NYC Bagel franchising violations. It found seven out of 10 lawsuits resulted with refunded fees.

The scheme and its actors

Before it was NYC Bagel and Sandwich Shop, show founder and CEO Joseph V. Smith ran the company under the name . And before that, Smith ran it under NYC Bagel Caf茅 and Deli.

Smith鈥檚 right-hand and chief salesman is Dennis Kenneth Mason, who has used multiple fake names. A reported Mason to have used the alias Keith Samuels.听

Kelly reports Mason has used so far, including alternative spellings of his name and going by Anthony Stewart.

Both Smith and Mason have declared three known bankruptcies among them, which Kelly believes is a way to 鈥渇old over鈥� when it comes to paying back franchisees. The was filed in 2009 by Mason.

The bagel company has accrued multiple lawsuits in several states over the years. Smith, Mason and NYC Bagel and Sandwich Shop were issued a cease and desist in , banned from business in and , as well as having faced .

In Virginia, a found New York Bagel Enterprises, Inc., guilty of fraud. The state penalized the bagel company as an entity and each of its owners, individually, to pay $225,000 each 鈥� for a total of $675,000. The case also ordered all three parties to pay back the fees to their franchisees and to pay the court $20,899.33 for their investigation.

The case also 鈥減ermanently enjoined鈥� the bagel company and the assailants from registering or participating as a franchise in Virginia.

The year before, in Maryland, the bagel company was found to be selling franchises two years past their trade permit鈥檚 expiration. The case ordered Smith and Mason to stop all franchise trades unwarranted by Maryland law.

As for the , the legal findings cited Mason as a defendant in 鈥渁t least 10 commercial lawsuits,鈥� with seven cases resulting in franchisees being refunded their initial fees.听

The findings also showed franchise opportunities had been advertised on Craigslist with a franchising fee of $27,500. Additionally, findings showed Mason was franchising illegally without a license and that NYC Bagel had violated the state鈥檚 Franchise Investments Protection Act, a law set on protecting franchisee from financial abuse.听

There are that legally require franchise registration. Washington, Virginia and Maryland are three of them. The District of Columbia requires no registration.

A on Dennis Mason was conducted by 最新蜜桃影像 through , a public record search service. Mason is listed as the president of two business: Franchise Ventures, Inc. and Franchise Unlimited, Inc.

Although the service disclaimed little confidence in Mason鈥檚 criminal record search, there were multiple assaults, a felony and a forgery conviction listed. Whether the assaults were truly his is unknown and the felony charge predates NYC Bagel鈥檚 activities.

However, on Oct. 31, 2014, one Dennis Mason was convicted of forgery by a New Jersey Court. Between 2013 and 2015, show NYC Bagel faced multiple problems with the law in all New Jersey, New York and Maryland.

A background search was conducted for Joseph V. Smith as well. His name wasn鈥檛 found on the database, and TruthFinder has an

This investigation could not find Smith in multiple other databases either.

The third-wheeling oddity

Alongside Smith and Mason, a third player exists: the bagel supplier.

is the exclusive supplier of all NYC Bagels, and its owner is .听

When Kelly was asked if he had come across Fintz, he scoffed and said to look up Marc A. Zirogiannis 鈥斅燜intz鈥� original, legal name.

On TruthFinder, Zirogiannis had a verified name but no criminal record history at all. On another public records search platform, , he had no criminal record either. However, SpyFly did show an October 2016 bankruptcy discharge for Zirogiannis, possibly used to alleviate debt.听

SpyFly also showed seven Uniform Commercial Code filings, also known as a UCC-1, a method that allows creditors to notify other creditors about a debtor鈥檚 assets being used as collateral.

One way a UCC-1 can be used is issuing it as a security agreement between a lender and a small business. The lender uses the filing to place a lien on, for example, inventory or equipment of a small business.

In exchange, the entity that files a UCC-1 can ask the small business to take out a loan. If the business fails to pay back the loan they just took out, that party can鈥檛 claim what鈥檚 part of a UCC-1 file.

Zirogiannis filing a UCC-1 multiple times means he was often in a lending position with securities placed on special interests of those who owed him money.

Despite having a hard-to-trace record, Zirogiannis鈥� name did show in news archives.

On July 8, 2009, Zirogiannis was that involved a range of financial juggernauts like AFG Financial Group Inc., Wells Fargo and SunTrust mortgage among others.

Zirogiannis on Nov. 24, 2009, and was charged with grand larceny.听

Since Zirogiannis was a practicing attorney with a felony on his record, he was automatically disbarred. Kelly said Zirogiannis served time in the infamous Rikers Island prison system for his offence but no evidence could be found on where Zirogiannis served his sentence.

Zirogiannis is also an author of multiple books, with titles ranging from taekwondo help books and Nazi history to crime drama fiction.

Being an experienced author, Kelly said Zirogiannis may be behind aimed at discrediting investigations into the NYC Bagel scam. Kelly, admitting that 鈥渟ome of the stuff Zirogiannis wrote about me was pretty clever and funny,鈥� also pointed to a post titled 鈥�鈥�

He thought it was another 鈥減ublic relations tactic鈥� and paid it little mind initially. However, one day, Kelly said, he received an anonymous package shortly after discovering Zirogiannis鈥� identity.

Inside the package was a book titled 鈥�,鈥� authored by Zirogiannis.听

The book is a memoir detailing Zirogiannis鈥� time watching a bagel empire rise and crumble while he worked as a consultant for founder and then-owner Helmer Toro. Kelly suspects that neither Smith nor Mason are the masterminds of the franchise web, rather Zirogiannis is.

Zirogiannis is said to have spent jail time with Helmer Toro, who was and spent 50 weekends in jail. Toro was charged with grand larceny for pocketing more than $500,000 in employee taxes.听

The Rise and Fall of H&H Bagels鈥� profile, posted by Zirogiannis himself, describes Toro鈥檚 bagel baron history as a 鈥渇ulfillment of the American dream,鈥� with 鈥渄rama and decadence behind the scenes.鈥�

Zirogiannis also described the author the book, himself, as, 鈥渢he one man who lived through it all 鈥� its National Business Manager and right hand to the man at the top of the H&H Empire.鈥�

Smith, Mason and Zirogiannis did not reply to multiple media requests sent by 最新蜜桃影像.

Franchising and the American Dream

Like Pepe Montesinos, whose restaurant Mixtec operated for 40 years at the same address that may now see a NYC Bagel franchise, Amin Hilal is an immigrant too.

Hilal, a former Syrian refugee from Turkey who migrated with his Arab-American wife to Washington, D.C., said franchising would be a good start toward an American dream.

For Hilal, a franchise like the can come with financial promise 鈥� or ruin.听

, a platform aimed at connecting franchisors with prospective franchisees, on the healthy gains of the industry.听

Franchising is simple and sustainable.

On the other hand, pyramid schemes and credit rackets that target vulnerable groups are also rampant in the franchising world. The Federal Trades Commission recorded a total of made in 2018 alone, 20% of them targeting people aged 60 and above.

And, Sean Kelly said some of the scammed NYC Bagel franchisees depicted a pattern of two additional targeted groups: U.S. veterans and immigrants.

When asked how he would react to a similar scheme, Hilal said financial distress and 鈥渂eing cheated鈥� wouldn鈥檛 only 鈥渃reate a sense of disillusion,鈥� it would possibly create 鈥渁n imitated behavior.鈥�

鈥淚f cheating people is how the American dream is done, what does that teach immigrants like me? It would make me want to cheat them back, or cheat someone else,鈥� he said.

Adams Morgan鈥檚 unclear future

The permit for the NYC Bagel store in Adams Morgan, verified by DC鈥檚 Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs鈥� Permits Division, was issued to .

There is no clear evidence of the relationship between NYC Bagel and Spirits Investment Group other than a franchise deal.

鈥淐ases like these are easy to defend as long as it doesn鈥檛 reach the state鈥檚 attorney鈥檚 office,鈥� said criminal defense lawyer Christian Hatfield. 鈥淎nd if they do, hard evidence doesn鈥檛 always stick.鈥�

Based in New Mexico, Hatfield often takes cases that require representation in other states. He also added that 鈥減olitical connections鈥� are usually the 鈥渂ig indicator,鈥� saying 鈥渋t鈥檚 easier to get away with something if a politician has your back.鈥�

This investigation did not find ties between the people mentioned and political groups or figures.

As for the future of the Adams Morgan location, Kelly doubts it鈥檒l ever open. In his research, he said two stores in D.C. have been declared before and neither opened 鈥� one on U Street and the other said to be in Georgetown.

Adams Morgan resident Autumn Anthony said a New York style bagel shop would be highly unlikely to gain much attention in Adams Morgan anyway. Anthony pointed to local favorite Bethesda Bagels and So鈥檚 Your Mom.

鈥淪o鈥檚 Your Mom is a legit New York City deli, it鈥檚 not in the name but you鈥檒l see it when you鈥檙e there,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 doubt people would let it slide if a store opened up and claimed it was 鈥楴ew York style鈥� then turns out it isn鈥檛.鈥�

As for Hilal, his aspirations to run and own his business still remain. He already has an idea: a coffee shop with a stage where different people share stories on culture and identity.听

He would call it 鈥渉akawati,鈥� an Arabic word that translates to storyteller.