"Peter Jackson Bilked by Rick Berry of Michigan Toy Soldier" Topic

The "partner stole my money" is interesting because the Michigan Toy Company was incorporated as a Retail Business in 2001 with 60K common shares. Since 2004, Richard Berry has been the President, Jacqueline Berry the VP and Dave Youngquist the Secretary.

I note that Berry has a second business "Old Northwest Trading" which he incorporated with Kenneth Osen as a Toy Manufacturer in 2003 with 60K common shares. Since 2004, Richard Berry has been the President, Kenneth Osen the VP, Dave Youngquist the Treasurer and Douglas Dearth the Secretary.

Note: The above information is Public not Proprietary.

Regards, the Gorb

Wow again. A repeat offender. I hope someone buys his store at a bargain price, renames it, hires back the good workers, and continues the service. Mr Berry, I am afraid, is done for. A real black mark for any future venture he undertakes.

Be aware of your credit card! Even the little college student waitress at Chili's might be copying your info and using it. Happened to a friend here a few weeks ago. Don't use credit cards online when at work. And so on.

I use Paypal when buying online to better protect against fraud and any dispute of non-shipped goods.

Berry should be made to give his business (or his share in it) to Peter Jackson (who's obviously interested in toy soldiers) and Jackson should keep on the best workers and get his money back that way…

That means people get to buy toy soldiers from a useful company, Jackson gets some money back (to give to Amex, maybe) and an interesting company to employ someone to run.

John T

I purchased from them at conventions. I had hoped to see them again this year to pick up some additional items. This is a shock.

"Once a thief always a thief" is true like "I am an addict" is always true. But a thief (a sort of addict as well) doesn't have to ACT on his impulses. S/he can repent, and do it every day for the rest of his/her life.

As long as Rick Berry doesn't screw me over I'll take that as good enough evidence that he's repented and is continuing to repent.

Or would YOU (collective) want the rest of the world to treat you as fixed in place for the rest of your life? If you change your behavior, hoping for an eventual change in demeanor, wouldn't you want the rest of the world to take you as you ARE not as you were?…

…Jackson gets some money back (to give to Amex, maybe) …

That's not how it works: Jackson isn't out any money. He reports the discrepency to his CC company, and THEY eat the loss and go after prosecution and recovery of the loss to themselves. That's why this is years old….

Correction:

The Detroit News said he had a similar conviction in 1993, not in 2003 as I had originally posted.

I have corrected the original post and apologize for the mistake.

Regards, the Gorb

According to the Detroit News, Rick Berry was convicted of a similar crime in 2003:

Strange how the news reports disagree – this article says the credit card thefts occurred in 2008 and 2009.

Wow,

And I thought I was getting ripped off by their sometimes illogical and exorbitant shipping…..

DM

I believe this is correct as it is the way courts and laws view it.
"DUI has been made a criminal offense not because if one drives a car while under the influence one intends to to injure another or his property, "
But DUI is an intentional act to do harm. Death, injuries, and property damage is a likely outcome.

I have no sympathy for the man. Perhaps that is wrong of me, but stealing was his choice and he will have to live with the consequences of that.

I do sympathize with his family, his employees and customers. He really should have thought of them before he did something so asinine. That they will also have to pay in some way for his recklessness is the real shame of all of this.

Anyone that looks for an excuse to justify their bad acts is just kidding themselves.

Average Joe – To quote the great philosopher Captain Terrill:

"Doin' right ain't got no end."

To me the amount is not the major issue here.

It is the breach of trust. We gamers trust our FLGS to hold our credit card details and not abuse them.

In this case Berry has breached that trust.

It is not a victimless crime. Stealing via credit cards does add to the costs honest retailers pay to accept cards and adds to the APR/fees consumers pay.

He has only repaid because he got caught. And he seemingly has a previous conviction similar to this one. To me, that indicates Berry has not learnt his lesson.

I am not sure people are justifying his actions are they?

Just saying they can understand why he did it.

Catellan: the act is intentional, but not necassarily to do harm. In many states the DUI level used to be .1 or maybe even higher (I am not a criminal lawyer). Now I think it is .08 in every state. Thus, for years a person who blew .08 some states was not a criminal. Today, he would be. The act is the same.

I'm in no way trying to minimize DUI. I'm merely trying to point out that person convicted of DUI may not necessarily be "evil." Foolish, reckless, dangerous, and thoughtless to be sure.

Theft on the other hand is wrong in and of itself. That is why a comparison of this conduct to DUI is inapt.

He is, Angelbarracks. He provided the excuse that his business was failing due to the economy and he had been ripped off by a business partner.

Neither is an excuse for stealing from someone else.

Never gonna buy from him, again.

6dbf167,You made many good points.
I agree that DUI is not "evil". Theft may not be evil either. The intent is clear.

D@MN I just recommended this place to a good friend. I had to apologize today.

People like this is what make the rich paranoid of the lesser classes. I hope the business can survive with someone honest owning it, they fill a niche no one else does that I know of.

Some advice to would be crooks. Dont do this, hit em with the postage like most ebay crooks do. Myself not included thank you; $3 USD or free shipping ;)

Seriou8sly its very sad in such a small close knit hobby world.

People like this is what make the rich paranoid of the lesser classes.

Really? REALLY??

Read that sentence again and tell me you can see what is wrong with it.

lesser classes? Well thats how they see it, its not my opinion but thats how the rich see it. My point was things like this dont help matters. If you found something else I am too brain dead to realize it.

Besides we are forced into a class system by capitalist economics, nothing personal as it may have come across.

Actually, seeing that is his second time at bat, my feelings have changed. I had some feeling for anyone who is seeing their lifes work fall apart. But twice?
Everyone deserves a second bite of the apple. But repeating what he did a second time, is enough to get him some time in the slammer. And justly so.

However, I do find it amusing how many self rightous people post here. As if they never did anything wrong. Something
about casting the first stone.

Ever not pay the VAT?
Ever pay cash for something to avoid the tax?
Ever work off the books?
Ever trade something and not pay tax. Yes, trading is the same as selling under US law.
Ever cheat on you taxes?
Ever under report income.
Ever leave early from work, take supplies home or misuse an expense account? Or just goof off when you should be working.

Before you castigate someone else, take a long hard look in the mirror.

Nevinsrip,

I have taken a long hard look in the mirror. I have little else to do these years and I'll say this –

Rick Berry is a thief, plain and simple. There is no justification for it and despite any ad hominem tu quoque asides, he deserves what his actions have brought him.

It would have been the card company that was ripped off, not the card owner.

"lesser classes? Well thats how they see it, its not my opinion but thats how the rich see it. My point was things like this dont help matters. If you found something else I am too brain dead to realize it."

He might have meant that you used 'is' instead of 'are'. Don't worry, I often do that when I'm typing quickly.

I would think that the rich have far more to fear from people like Bernie Madoff or Scott Rothstein than from the "lesser classes". I really doubt that Bill Gates or August Busch sit up at night, worried that they may get ripped off for 198,000 dollars by one of the troglodytes.

The only time the rich think about the "lesser classes" is when they've made a mess of things and need our tax dollars to bail them out.

And capitalist economics is not what forces us into a class system. After all, most of the super rich in the United States were not so forty years ago. No, entrenched snobbery and a lack of social graces are what allows one to refer to others as "lesser classes".

Average Joe,

Yes, Berry is a thief. No arguement from me, as I clearly stated. He deserves whatever time in jail he gets, especially since he is a repeat offender.

And you are free to throw whatever stones you wish to.
I am just amazed at the "holier than thou" attitude of some of the posts here.

One would wonder why you have nothing better to do than stare in the mirrior, however.

Glad you found somethink to cumplane about other than the topic. I have no idea why my off hand comment is you soez bent. Thats all it was an offhand comment.

BTW Joe I loved your painting articles in White Dwarf, lol.

As far as throwing stones, I never ripped $170,000 off sumebuddy. I'm sure most people that stole paperclicks haven't either. This isnt ethics its a big heist.

Bill, if you wanna DH me over this please do, I have a lot of work to get done this weekend along with the other lesser class people.

Jackson was admitted to Wellington Hospital late on Wednesday night with stomach pains and underwent emergency surgery on a perforated ulcer, commonly associated with stress.

I'm fairly sure that a fraud card transaction of a few hundred K which has already been refunded isn't what gave him stress.

I've been near small movie productions and that was a bit tense. He made *LORD OF THE RINGS*. That should have piled enough stress in one place that we ought to be surprised the effects have only traveled forwards in time and not backwards as well…

Just out of curiosity, is credit card fraud of celebrity gamers grounds for dawghausing?

The story is now a lead item in New Zealand's national news site, Stuff:

link

It also covers Sir Peter's (unconnected) ulcer problem.

However, I do find it amusing how many self rightous people post here. As if they never did anything wrong. Something about casting the first stone.

Um, so you're judging people about being too judgmental?

It would have been the card company that was ripped off, not the card owner.

It is only the card compnay, since Jackson found (and apparently) reported the fraud. Had he not, then he would have been the one who was ripped off…

I am just amazed at the "holier than thou" attitude of some of the posts here.

The law's the law. Sure I've broke some in my time, but not in any orders of magnitude what is being discussed here. Also, I think the attitude is a knee-jerk reaction (at least on my part) to all of the "He always seemed like a fine Chap, I'd even let him my sister!" type posts

Quite a shock. I've never purchased anything from MTCo, but I had always assumed them to be a respected player. Now I know better.

Stuff like this is one of the reasons my wife and I established a separate debit account for online purchases, with a controlled amount of funds in the account. (You can't steal what ain't there.) And I have an e-mail alert flag on our only credit card for purchases above a set amount. It helps us keep an eye on our own spending AND is a precaution against fraud. (We had a checkbook stolen once, which has made us cautious.)

Sorry, but no matter what state the man's business was in, theft was not the answer. The answer was to seek out aid from banks, friends or family, or accept that life is tough and business is tougher, and sometimes you have to accept failure and move on to the next thing.

Its really important to have a special card for online purchases. Paypal is the safest route but not everyone takes it. I have two cards that never have alot of money on them to steal.

I have always had good service with MTS. I will still order from them. I was planning an order soon, but will wait to see what happens to the business first. The owner must face his punishment for his crime, unfortunatley others were hurt by his actions and each must deal with it in thier own ways. I hope others involved in MTS can restore thier customers trust and continue thier business.

If he serves time, he probably won't pay the rest of the restitution. Once you have served your time, the court has nothing over you, so you are free to tell them to go jump. Better if he gets probation with a suspended sentence to ensure he pays his restitution.

And yes, if my grandmother were Amex and this had happened to her, i would want her to get her money back, rather than the fleeting satisfaction of the perp being jailed, which our tax dollars go to support, and never seeing the money again.

However, I do find it amusing how many self rightous people post here. As if they never did anything wrong. Something about casting the first stone.

Um, so you're judging people about being too judgmental?

Hmmmm Mr. Editor Being amused (my word) is not the same as judging. But then again, perhaps I am easily amused.

Elsewise why be a supporting member of TMP?

"As if they never did anything wrong."

Stealing $189,000 and stealing a couple of CDs from a local store are not quite the same thing.

Shocked. The people at Michigan toy are great people. I would of never believe this could happen.

"Bilked" is a nice mild, restrained term for a $189k rip-off… makes it sound almost quaint.

The sort of activity practiced by Ne'er-do-wells and Mountebanks.

"American newspaper The Daily Tribune reported that the owner Richard Berry, who is based in Royal Oak in Michigan, could be jailed for up to 18 months when sentenced on February 7. He had a similar conviction for credit fraud in 1993."
How many times did he NOT get caught?

This story should really create a tremendous boon for their business. I don't see how they can survive this. I'm glad that I never ordered anything from them. Of course, they'd have a really hard time getting $189,000 out of my account! Geez…what amount of available credit does Peter have on that card of his?

It has been my observation that most crimes are inherently stupid. And the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over again and expecting different results. The man got bagged in `93 for this kind of thing, so he's obviously not been successful with it.

I do some Internet sales, mainly our original esoteric texts, Heathen / Pagan monographs and Rune books. I'm grateful to my customers. Believe me – in these economic times, the extra bucks from the book sales have helped us get through. Everyone who buys gets and deserves a great big Thank You! I'm sure that any of you who sell feel the same way. That being the case, I can't see how anyone could justify doing wrong to the people who are doing him good.

The real insanity is if the guy got caught once, why does he think he could get away with it again?

Whatever this fellow did or did not do, he has put himself in a jackpot with both eyes wide open. Rarely does a crime this big affect only one person. The real shame is that there are other victims, innocent victims: family, friends, exmployees. All because of one dumb idea put into action….

Let us not make the folly of one man cause us to cast a gimlet eye on others who sell us our soldiers and gear. You can be certain that the overwhelming majority are quite grateful to you – doubly so in tough economic times – and would never do you wrong.

If he serves time, he probably won't pay the rest of the restitution. Once you have served your time, the court has nothing over you, so you are free to tell them to go jump. Better if he gets probation with a suspended sentence to ensure he pays his restitution.

Not exactly true in some states. Some states such as AZ allow victims of crime to obtain criminal restitution liens. These are different than suing someone civilly in court. Nor can bankruptcy discharge them. The liens are immediately perfectable and can be used to force the sale of any asset house, car, ownership interest in a toy soldier retail business, etc etc to cover the restitution owed. The man has harmed not only his intended victim but family members and employees who depended on his assets and income stream.

Depending on the jurisdiction and appropriate statute a judge can sentence you to a term in custody and impose fine or order restitution as well. This is often the case in a plea bargain arrangement where restitution is part of the agreement.

Rdfraf, is correct. You can be sentenced and still ordered to pay resititution. Double whammy.