DO NOT BUY anything from AV123

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geekinthehood

Audioholic Intern
What I find interesting, is that MLS is really not that unique. I call it "selling a dream". You see it alot especially some of the flim flam evangelists (they can even get away without paying taxes). People want to believe in their fellow man and these scam artists take advantage of it. Telling a lie to them is like taking a leak. I wonder if the new Pschy diagnostic book coming I believe in 2012 will have a diagnosis for it. They have one for everything else.
Agreed. I used to work for one of those people.

As far as the diagnosis, I think sociopath fits.
 
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BWG707

Audioholic
Please allow me to offer insight into your question rather than Sean for reasons I've already enumerated. Also, realize that all the raffle money and denied refunds as well as other shenanigans like store credit are but a fraction (I would say well under 25%) of the monies he got from business partners that he's not paid.

No one will ever know exactly where all the money went. Record keeping was sloppy or non existent and he didn't just keep the monies for himself nor did everyone know, even those closest to him, what it was being spent on. However, based on numerous discussions I've had, and Sean is not part of this, with people he's dealt with both professionally or when he thought they'd never, ever say anything, I can offer you this as a partial explanation of what was going on. Bear with me.

The monetary compensation he gave to himself and to his step-daughter was generous. In this case, generous means large. Very large and disproportionate to the amount of money coming in. When that was insufficient, the Graham Company came to the rescue by striking a deal with a distributor of electronics that Mark would bundle with AV451 products. The profit margin on these electronics was pretty large with most of the profits going to him, Suzy, and only a pittance to those who sold them.

Mark spent excessively on GTG's, prizes, the renting of that hotel space in Colorado to feature his producs, and ancillary entertainment costs. They never generated the sort of sales that would justify their expense but lots of people said he was a great guy. Bad businessman though.

Mark would travel overseas for extended periods of time. We're talking weeks and months here. That costs money. He was also free with his money there. Not only did he entertain others, he entertained himself. To draw an analogy, he was the Tiger Woods of the audio industry. Monies were spent in China on relaxation places. A place where a businessman could go for a massage and more like a happy ending. There were tons of those and while not unusual to Chinese culture, they do cost money especially if you need to relieve your stress frequently during the day and you're staying there for weeks at a time.

There were numerous trips to Russia. The Khabarovsk area if you will. There's a woman there. Call her a girlfriend, a mistress or whatever. You'll see him refer to it coyly upon occasion as a certain little red-head. Mark would refer to that part of the world as his other home and indeed it was. Mistresses cost money. The younger the mistress, the more they cost, and this one was younger than he by a good amount of years. To Khabarovsk, he sent at least two vehicles. He sent a dog. He bought furnishings and other things. He paid the rent. She ran up bills, and what good mistress that's offering up goodies to her sugar daddy doesn't? Those somehow made their way to a secret mail account that only he thought he knew about but he would pay the bills. I think that's changed now. He also paid for her to fly here and in a GTG that was written about in AffordableAudio, there was mention of a Russian woman who accompanied him. Note, that he has shown her picture to others as well as bragging about her. The one question I can't answer is whether the cuffs and collar matched.

That's not the only woman though. There was a fitness instructor in Colorado who also conferred her own special personalized exercise program. As you can see, Shifty's not some Hollywood hunk and when you're not, you've got to find other ways to catch fish. That's enough for now.

Mark also liked to live well. The home he's living in now costs considerably more than his previous one and homes need to be paid for and furnished. He drove very nice cars - Benz & Porche & others. Those need to be paid for, insured, and maintained. He also has a thing for expensive watches and pens and enjoyed going to good restaurants. Whoever was home wasn't whipping up franks and beans or making fried chicken for dinner.

He has had his grand-daughter living with him for a number of years and dotes on her. Nothing wrong with a grandfather loving his grand-daughter but spending money that isn't there is not the way to show love, IMO. AFAIK, he funds her college education.

There were also extended trips to Colombia where he and his wife went on business - together as well as apart. Those cost money.

Hopefully this will suffice to answer your question.
So did his wife sit idly by while this was going on and even still today?
 
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Chu Gai

Audioholic Samurai
Yes dear, our relationship is strictly platonic. I am trying to learn Russian so I can help the orphanage.
If you're not careful, you get one of those Russki diseases - Rotchacockoff.
 
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The Ninja

Audioholic Intern
The answer to that is probably the most complex of any question that could be asked so well done Seth :)

In short, AV123 wrote up a settlement agreement along with their attorney. I agreed. To date, that agreement (which is now 5 months old) has not been fulfilled.

I'll start... What exactly are you suing over / for?
 
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The Ninja

Audioholic Intern
Good advice as well - thank you.

My intention is not to air dirty secrets but more to let people know if some of the rumors/accusation/whatever as listed in this thread are true or not.

That said, I do have a professional obligation and don't want to play in the gutter with the other smelly kids so I will take your words and heed them.

Thanks for the sanity check. Not much left of that here.

BTW - Everyone knows me as Sean Parque however my name is actually Sean Ries. Sarah and I both changed our last names when we got married to honor her grandmother's deceased husband. He was a good man - much better than either of our fathers :(

Sean

I will offer some public advice, Sean. It may not be what everyone wants to hear because of an interest to want to know the behind the scenes stuff especially from one so close to the situation for a number of years.

Mzielgler offered good advice. You are not merely Sean Parque. You are the Skiing Ninja and you are a business. The two are not separable but are intimately intertwined. As a business, you look to operate at a high ethical and professional standard. You will reap rewards and you will take your lumps. You'll even be knocked down. However, if you start airing secrets and behind the scenes stories, there is a strong tendency for that to be perceived as playing in the gutter with Mark. As hard as it may be to refrain from that adrenaline rush you'll get from telling all, I urge you not to do so. Mark is a crafty person. A snake yes. A dishonest person, yes. A lot of things, yes. He plays in the gutter but he's always wearing gloves when he's in public so he doesn't get dirty. You're looking to take your gloves off. As honest and forthright as you can be, you'll still get dirty and so will your business. You're not the only one who has been screwed by him. You know that and so do all of us. There are customers that you will deal with who may be predisposed to either AV451, MLS, or the products they've bought from him. As a businessman, there is no reason to alienate them. Do what you do, do it well, do it honestly, and focus on the present and future. Take a page from those that have been screwed and are keeping matters out of the public eye. Now, what you say in private is somewhat of a different story. Publicly though, you need to rise above the scum that you will encounter. Why telegraph what you know to him and his few remaining friends and allow them to spin things to their advantage?

Me on the other hand, I'm not in the audio business. At times I get evangelical and interject emotion and righteous indignation into this topic. I like playing in the mud. I'm from the east coast and I like east coast basketball. It's tough, it can get dirty at times, and I like sending a message. That's why I both hate and admire Bill Laimbeer or when Kevin McHale sent Kurt Rambis to the floor. So, let pricks like me and others get into the dirty stuff. Not because it's an ego stroke but because I don't have to lose what you and other do. I operate publicly and also behind the scenes with several people - yes it's a public admission that there's a conspiracy although I see it as a group of concerned citizens. Reporters if you will in the vein of Upton Sinclair.
 
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Chu Gai

Audioholic Samurai
Of course not , don't be silly. I was also asking "even still today"? She must know about it now, I would think. Unles he has her sequestered.
I have no idea if she knows about it. She'd have to be an avid follower of a couple of forums and there's been enough disinformation spread about myself and others. At some point in the near future things will begin to get interesting and I think this will be one of those areas that evolves into a major subplot.
 
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