Unthinkit, Jay Antonic, Jason Antonic liar, cheater, scam artist, thief Denver North Carolina

ALL OF THE CLAIMS MADE BY THIS CLAIMANT ARE LIES AND MISREPRESENTATION. I HAVE A STRONG AND STEADY STREAM OF BUSINESSES WHO HAVE BEEN POSITIVELY IMPACTED BY MY EFFORTS AND THAT OF MY COMPANY.  I CAN PROVIDE THESE REFERENCES READILY.  SHOULD THIS REPORT ABOVE ADVERSELY AFFECT ANY PAST, PRESENT, OR PROSPECTIVE BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP WITH ANY CLIENT OR BUSINESS, I WILL CONSIDER THOSE AS DAMAGES AND WILL SEEK IMMEDIATE LEGAL RECOVERY OF THE SAME.

1. I have never done business with an LSKay in my entire life.  I know nobody by that name or initials, nor have I EVER transacted business with anyone by or near that name in my entire career.

2. This defamatory lie does not mention ANY company, ANY name, ANY supposed injured party, give ANY contact information, or provide ANY documentation of ANY proof of ANY actual interaction between these parties.

3. I have only been involved with ONE business transaction that is SIMILAR to that described, but NOT as described in this false complaint.  That business is Sweet Things Inc.  Trading as Cool Beans & Sweet Things.  The owner is Susan Knittel, better known as Sue Knittel and the following is an ACCURATE AND CORROBORATED documentation of THAT interaction.

In which case, I AND MY COMPANY  were systematically defrauded, stolen from, lied to, misrepresented, and slandered.  In this case, although I AND MY COMPANY were defrauded of time, money, resources, and more... the business, by the efforts of I AND MY COMPANY was effectively brought out of foreclosure, was revamped, and became profitable. The business persists today and has not failed, as it has put into effect many of MY recommendations for growth outlined in a detailed business development plan designed correct many problems caused by Susan Knittel. 

Additionally, for the services I rendered to the company I was "offered" and given, by way of written agreement, 40 percent equity in said company.  In exchange for this equity I was given the role of a managing partner to oversee its operations.  The express goal of this equity was that it would be realized when the business was liquidated.  I was given roughly 4000 dollars to expend on behalf of the business for general improvements, marketing, and advertising- which WAS expended, accounted for, and proved effective.  

The business was given a full makeover, new profit centers were brought in, relaunched, and rebranded.  I received no renumeration of any kind for my involvement in the business, in fact I invested my own monies and time at a SUBSTANTIAL LOSS while, after being deceived the business continued to trade, and does so to this day.  The business, when I was approached for help, had been evicted from its commercial lease, overlocked, all utilities were unpaid, trade was paltry, the premises were derelict, and the sanitation was infested.  The owner was also facing personal mortgage foreclosure, had no heat, no trash service, and needed car repairs.  The business was not failing.  It was already devastated.  The Landlord was 2 hours from obtaining a WRIT of Posession and was prepared to re-lease the property immediately.

In my role as a managing partner, I dscovered that Susan Knittel had failed to disclose many issues affecting the business.  This business happened to be in food service, yet it was infested with mice, urine, rotten food product, and was generally filthy. Machinery was filthy.  The coffee machines had festering milk in it that nearly induced vomiting when smelling.  Product being made was done so in unsanitary conditions.  Conditions which, Susan Knittel refused to correct.  Sue Knittel, instead of maintaining a clean and proper workplace that could be well represented in the market, instead spent her time reading in a chair, viewing violent pornographic sites on the internet, and chatting with men online.  I began to realize that she had played on my sympathies to use me to bail her out of her own maelstrom.

I sent in a documented series of secret shoppers who surveyed the conditions, service, and performance of the business. All of which remarked the same conditions, marked by apathy, poor service, and low food quality.

As I attempted to audit the business internally, I discovered that the Susan Knittel partner, had been systematically defrauding the other partners by hiding cashflow, not declaring expenditures, and although she had been charging every customer sales tax, in fact sales tax had never been paid to the state of North Carolina.  Every customer was being defrauded with every transaction.  It was my role and purpose to review these financials.  I gave Susan Knittel one week to prepare her paperwork in the manner that any retail company does with its Store Managers for the purpose of reconciliation.  When I asked the Susan Knittel for the 1st quarter receivables and bank statements to present to a public accountant, I was physically attacked, body-slammed, screamed at, threatened, spat on, sworn at and shoved against a counter and ordered to leave.  I have a witness who was in full view of this interaction.

I protested leaving the establishment not as one contracted or hired marketing, but as a managing equity partner (so I believed).  My recommendation after all of the above gross misconduct, failure to perform, misuse of company funds, and failure to pay sales taxes, was that the Susan Knittel should not continue in her operation of the business as she was the reason for its failure.  I thereupon threatened her with termination and she disclosed that the company belonged entirely to her, that she had no intention of ever complying with the agreed operational plan, and would refuse the eventual sale of the business (a contingency in our agreement)

I refused to leave and she threatened to call the police. I removed myself peacefully and contacted the police myself and the other minority equity partner to report the incident.  This was the last personal contact I had with the Susan Knittel. My property: several expensive antiques (valued over $2500) bookshelves ($450.00), and hundreds of my own personal books consigned to the business that were never returned.  In fact, the Susan Knittel laid claim to these and seized them from me.  This constitutes theft.  I have photographic evidence of them being in her posession.  I offered a goodwill exchange of mutual assets which was refused and/or ignored.

The point-of-sale system was in my possession, having yet to be instituted into the store.  The delays of such were that Susan refused to give a full accounting for the wholesale prices of all of her products so that financial projections, budgets, Open-to-Buy dollars, Purchase orders, etc could be made.  The system was installed prepared, and configured to the extent I was permitted by reason of data.  I retained the system after the night she attacked me when I asked for this information.  This was only after she laid claim to all of my expensive property.  The computer ($450.00 value) was to be exchanged for my property when we parted ways.  She refused this exchange so it was never made.  After one year, I donated the computer.  I still have the software program. It has no customer data.

I did not TAKE any financial records from the business. I was GIVEN sales receipts and invoices for a limited date range DIRECTLY by Susan Knittel. I attempted to return after one year, although no formal demand was ever made for them.  Response was not given in the time provided in my contact attempts and the records were destroyed.  A collation of parts of this financial data was retained and given to my attorney, so that it could be provided to the State's Revenue service as proof of the tax fraud being committed- should the need arise. I will not be implicated in any wrong doing having been associated with this business and will cooperate to the fullest extent that the Law would ask of me. The information was given to me initially while acting my (now mythical) role of managing partner.

The company was divided where the Susan Knittel had 45%, I had 40%, and an equity investor (her brother) retained 15%.  I contacted the investor to report the incident when I was attacked and recommend termination (not loss of equity) for the Susan Knittel. She lied to her brother and convinced him of the opposite. He refused my request out of nepotism.

Although equity was promised by Susan or Sue by way of an agreement, and I was misled to operate under that understanding for many months, equity was never granted. I never received common stock, the company was never reorganized, her new dba was not registered, I was never made an officer. I was never given access to cashflow, banking.  I was never given full disclosure of business expenditures. I was refused disclosure when I asked for it. Again, I labored for free for many months under the impression of equity.  I have a full and honest accounting of every dime spent on behalf of the business that was given to me by Susan Knittel's brother to so do. 

I built a website for the business but it was prevented from launch because of Susan's active non-compliance in providing me with material information such as products, pricing, verbiage etc.  I took photographs, secured the domain and hosting for a year, built the web pages. I still have these web pages in an archive as proof of my work.  They have let their domain sweetthingscoffee.com lapse which shows that they have no real intention of maintaining an active web presence.  Another lie.  They have never asked for these files at any time either in writing, verbally, or otherwise.

Significant marketing WAS most certainly done in the way of posters, fliers, e-mail, direct mail, signage, decor, refinishing, fixtures, paint, supplies, product, event promotion, and the HUNDREDS of hours I spent actively promoting the business.  Again, all lies.  And I have the source files, and photographs to prove it.

This not only constituted breach of contract, but it was discovered later that the FALSE EQUITY AGREEMENT was simply a shield used to protect her assets in a divorce case. Her divorce having been finalized, she revealed that she was only using and manipulating me and my company.

The contingency of equity underlying our entire working relationship was fraudulent.
I was defrauded by this business.  I later found out, after I had ceased doing business with this company, that they were slandering me to clients of mine.  I was approached by my good clients and they expressed deep concern over the lies and slander. This severely jeopardized that relationship. I positioned someone in the facility to patronize it for several days to witness this first hand and it was documented.  I began legal action with my attorney to bring both civil and criminal charges against the majority for defamation, breach of contract, punitive damages against my company, fraud, theft, assault, and to turn all the evidence that I had to the state to document the tax fraud.

I attempted to go to the house of the Susan Knittel to discuss the business issues and deliver a business letter and found that her dwelling place was full of refuse, trash, feces, and was thoroughly infested with rodents. Knocking on the door, I looked through the front porch window and I gagged at the filth... she was living in months and months worth of trash, dog feces, clutter, mouse/rat urine and feces, and more.  My lips actually burned from the urine stench at the door.  This is where she was baking goods and then bringing them to the store to sell. This further illustrated the incompentence of Sue Knittel to properly and effectively maintain a hygenic premises showing a complete lack of personal cleanliness and skill

Sue presented herself as a victim, a woman who had a car accident and played on our sympathies.  We even brought her to church and encouraged her in the Bible.  We fed her, bought her clothing and shoes, cleaned for her, served her, drove her places, ran personal errands.  I gave up nearly every weekend with my family to help support her store by bringing music, art, and more to the business.  I promoted the business tirelessly in the community, door-to-door, business-to-business, in the schools, everywhere. We even paid for a spa day for her.

We LOVED HER.  We SERVED HER.  We HELPED HER.

She USED us to convince her brother to re-invest in her business.  After she had already fraudulently ran up unapproved charges on his credit card, having upped the limit on it without his consent - theft.  She pretended to desire a Christian Life and to need help.  We gave everything we possibly could to this woman and as soon as she started profitting again in the business, she turned on us.  We cleaned her restrooms.  It took 5 people two full days to clean the kitchen. As we tried to throw away items like ice cream cones that were caked in mouse urine, we found her digging through the trash to put them back in the store.  She disclosed to us as well that she had a background illegally trafficking in the sale of federally protected animal parts (raptor feathers et al), also we found out that she was not a "victim" in her accident but that she was intoxicated while driving and professed to us a drinking problem.  Many times we had to remind her to shower.

We had to constantly keep on her to keep her workspace and all kitchen surfaces clean from filth.  When her baked cookies had a highly unpleasant smell (like wet dog) she refused to recall it from sale.  I had to mitigate a steady stream of online complaints relative to the cleanliess of the operation.

I was faced with two options: 1) fight for the equity I was "given", or 2) cut my losses and walk away. Before so doing, as a Christian act of mercy, I had my attorney draft a stern cease and desist letter to both partners or legal action would begin on all fronts.  The letter also clearly presented that the offered equity agreement was a sham and held no weight or bearing.  By "returning" what I was never "given" the relationship between the parties ceased to exist.  The business was saved, profited, and grew to the extent the Susan Knittel adhered to my business plan.  That growth was limited only by her non-compliance - much the way that Gordon Ramsey deals with stubborn restaurateurs in his show on the BBC.

All of this took place well over a YEAR ago. And only now is this complaint being lodged?  So why now?  Tenants are pulling out of the commercial property leaving only 2 retail clients.  Her foot traffic is down, sales are likely down as a result, and she is looking for someone to blame now that the business is once again in trouble at her hand.  The fact remains.  While we could influence the business, it prospered.  When we were not able to, it waned. 

Sue's brother had a choice.  To make a good business decision, or remain loyal to his sister who has no ability to run a profitable business.  He chose the latter.  It is very unfortunate that he has to bear the repercussions of his own investment in his sister.

If only he and I had been given true ownership at the time, we could have had a LEGAL majority and could have removed her from a managerial position, installing someone more capable. Or, at worst, forced her compliance for the sake of the investment.

The very simple solution would have been for Susan to apologize for attacking me, ask for forgiveness for defrauding me, and ask me to continue to help her.  That did not occur.  

Ironically, I have wanted to post my complaint against her here for some time, but out of mercy I did not because I truly only wanted her success, and wanted no part in hurting her business in any way. This is why, since she chose to take from me what she had given to me, I turned the other cheek and walked away instead of bringing a very aggressive lawsuit.  I left my valuable property behind, and recinded any claim I had to ownership.  She could not thereby, take from me what I never had.

I was very deceived, very hurt, and VERY emotionally wounded over her abuse of my good will, love, patient involvement, business acumen, and marketing.  It was my mistake that I trusted her that she had done the paperwork she agreed to. 

It is unfortunate as well that her self-deception has forced my response.

I have ZERO criminal background. Zip. Only minor traffic citations. To any potential client or employer, I will be happy to provide that history. 

At least I am glad to make my position public for all in the community to see when they Google Sweet Things or Cool Beans or Denver NC Coffee Shop, or Susan Knittel, or Sue Knittel of Denver NC and Lincolnton NC.  There is so much more that I could say, and so many people that would be happy to say it on my behalf. 

In fact, I would still accept her apology today if it were sincere and would actively work to help restore her and her business once again in the eyes of the community.

Even after all of this, I would forgive her.

The real problem that Susan has, is that her business is not doing well once again and she is struggling to meet her obligations.  No amount of deception or ranting will fix the problem that she has - herself. 

Loren, I'm still here if you need me.