Chase Bank

How the first domino fell

I tend to post about Chase bank sometimes and have learned to find humor in tragedy.

But I have been asked so many times: “What happened?”

Unfortunately, that question does not yield a quick response whatsoever. So, let’s start with the first domino that fell. In November of 2018 I was running a pretty successful small business. Over the years I had issues with my both of my business partners(which I will share more about in later posts) but financially, 2018 was going to be my strongest year yet. My family, staff and I had worked 12-to-16-hour days during the Black Friday and end-of-year Holiday sales to fulfill everyone's order on time. I was so proud of everything we had accomplished and with all of the sales, I was able to hand out very nice Christmas bonuses in celebration of everyone's hard work. I had huge deals on the horizon, I was providing medical insurance for everyone, and we were in the middle of manufacturing a rather big upcoming order for FabFitFun, all while creating 2 new teeth whitening products to launch. Everything was falling into place, and years of my blood, sweat, and tears seemed to be coming to fruition in front of my very eyes. So, what happened?

Well, the internal issues with both of my business partners had been going on for some time. One was currently being bought out after a long legal battle(stay tuned), and the other was still a partner despite the fact that they were not actively doing anything for the company unless you count the trail of destruction they left behind everywhere they went. I had recently asked this person if I could buy them out. There were numerous reasons I wanted to end the partnership. This person did not work, they just pretended to work from home while bringing nothing to the company except for the issues they created. They were not liked by the staff, my family, our influencers, agents, PR managers, and most importantly: our manufactures. I was constantly putting out the fires they started. This person was drinking heavily, asking staff to watch their child, making staff uncomfortable, spending company money, all while receiving a salary they did not earn as they did not work or even attempt to put in any real effort. They were using their power within the company to control and manipulate staff, which was not only inappropriate but it did not represent what the company was supposed to stand for, or what I stand for. 

I am going to refer to this person as Shady as I do not want to use their name or refer to them as male or female. Shady was very upset that I wanted to buy them out. For the 2 years prior to this, I had extreme amounts of anxiety about actually telling them I did not want to be partners any longer. I knew their behavior as I had seen them retaliate against many people. Shady was manipulative, made up lies, bullied people, threaten people, and stalked their victims. I knew Shady would retaliate against me but had no idea how bad it would be. I was so tired of handing someone weekly checks and monthly draws, paying for their expensive medical insurance, paying their luxury car bill, and paying their credit card bills. On top of all that, they used Uber for personal travel to bars almost daily. Shady fought with almost everyone in the business and my employees wanted nothing to do with them. The exhaustion I had finally outweighed the fear.

One evening in November I was on the phone listening to Shady ramble all about personal relationship issues and problems they were experiencing, while having zero sympathy or interest in how hard my family and I were working for Black Friday and the upcoming Holiday sales; I blurted out, “I want to buy you out.” 

I just couldn't help it. To my dismay, even though I knew it was coming, they immediately became outraged. Shouting things like “Oh! Is that so?”, “We’ll see about that!”, and my favorite: “Who do you think you are?”

I calmly responded with: “The one who is running this company and working 7 days a week?” 

I had already pulled reports on what my sales were for the year, vs. theirs. That only infuriated them further. I had grossed over 7 figures in sales and they did not even clear what they took in a month for their salary, owner's draws and car notes. By this point, Shady was screaming at me. I was very calm and said I will get the company evaluated and offer an extremely fair buyout, as I was hoping we could end our working relationship professionally and remain friendly. I truly loved them. We had been very close while building the company and had been through many things together. You can love someone dearly and not want to be apart of a business with them.

I do not even think they even heard me. I told them if we could not have a calm conversation I would hang up, which is exactly what I ended up doing. There is no rational conversation with someone who behaves this way. Only threats, guilt-trips and then more threats, designed to wear you down and retract how you feel just to appease them. I had been dealing with this from them for a long time. Once I hung up the text-bombing began. They told me they needed time. They were going to travel out of the country in a few days. And they did. My family, staff and I worked 7 days a week fulfilling Holiday orders and running Smile Sciences, all while Shady traveled abroad.

The next part of the story will clarify the types of issues I was constantly dealing with. These types of issues happened all the time. From dropping cell phones in the ocean or constantly cracking the screen of their phone, to getting beat up outside bars and drunk calling me because they lost their company debit OR credit card. It was overwhelming to say the least, and I lived with anxiety over their behavior coming back to haunt the company I worked so hard to build. I loved this person but could not handle all the issues that came with the behavior. It was selfish behavior too. Everything was about them. It was a weight on me that was draining.

On November 27th at 8pm, I received a message from Shady while they were traveling in Thailand. They told me they were stuck in China. That their business credit card did not work (this was not a business trip) and they asked if I had shut it off. I had not, and despite the tension of our working relationship I would have never done something like that and risked the safety or well-being of someone I cared for. They had been trying to use it at an ATM to withdraw cash. They also told me their phone would not turn on and they had been stuck in an airport for hours, crying. They then said they were in Bangkok. They said they missed a flight and needed money. Their text messages did not make sense. I remember thinking they might be drunk or hung over as this was typical behavior. I ended up driving through a snow storm to a Western Union in my town to send them money. If this was a one-time occurrence, it never would have been an issue. It was never a one-time thing. It was constant. They were always dragging me into their drama or the aftermath of their poor decisions. Always needing me for something, and over the last few years of our working relationship it got worse, all while never contributing positive efforts to the company's finances. When I tried to set boundaries, they only behaved worse. I felt stuck in a vicious cycle and I wanted out. The person I knew at the beginning of our partnership was not the person I was dealing with now. They had changed so much and I felt like I was going to sink with them.

This was someone I cared deeply for. I did not want to fight with them or see them hurting. But their issues and problems became my issues and problems. I knew I needed to set boundaries and I knew they would not accept those boundaries. When they returned from traveling, I tried once again to place boundaries. I did not answer every call or text, because I was so busy working and focused on growing Smile Sciences.

December was weird. I was extremely busy and we had done our best 2 months ever. I was not communicating much with Shady, as I was trying to stay focused on work. I had no idea everything they were plotting behind my back. On December 18th They started asking weird questions. Things about me and the employees. I knew something was up but just thought they were trying to intimidate me as that was what they did to people all the time. Shady started emailing employees asking odd questions, something they only did when bullying or wanting our employees to feel threatened. They emailed the book keeper asking what bank we used and what the account number was. This was something they never cared to ask before.

On Christmas Eve The following email was sent by Shady to the employees and myself…

"Merry Christmas everyone!! Here's to a successful year ahead! 

Wishing you all the best this holiday season with your loved ones! 

Sincerely,

Shady"

I thought it was odd but thought maybe things going forward could be better. On December 26th I woke up early. 5AM was when I usually started my day. I had a beautiful Christmas and was very grateful. I had handed out bonuses to all the staff and was looking forward to the new year. I was scrolling through my emails when one from Chase bank caught my eye. It was an overdraft notice. IMPOSSIBLE. I had over 6 figures in that Smile Sciences bank account. That is when my heart sank. The tingling sensation that fled across my chest to my arms and was now spreading to my legs. My thoughts were racing. As I frantically logged into my bank account I yelled out for my husband. There it was, a zero balance.

HOW?! How was this person able to withdraw even penny the company had? They were not a signer on the account, as they never did the finances and never really cared as long as the money kept dumping. Of course, they pretended to care, but we all knew how little they contributed to the company. Especially the book keeper. 

It had to be a mistake. I called Chase. They confirmed the balance was zero and informed me I had 40 pending transactions that would not clear the account unless I made a deposit. It was unbelievable. I looked in the savings account and that had been wiped out too. There was no money for me to deposit. Christmas bonuses bounced, our medical insurance bounced, the car payments - including Shady’s, payroll, credit cards bills, EVERYTHING bounced. 

That morning I met with my book keeper and we went to my Chase bank branch. They confirmed that Shady went into a branch in another state around December 22nd and was added to the account. They then returned on Christmas Eve and withdrew every penny from the checking and savings. They gave me copies of Shady's signature and the cashier's checks that were already cashed. 

I know what you are thinking, because everyone has the same first thought: HOW?! How can someone be added without my permission? How can they be added without Chase calling me? Or without me present? That has haunted me for almost 5 years now. Chase notified me by mail that they had closed my account due to a partner dispute and they refused to comment on anything. 

This domino that fell set off a chain reaction. Financially devastating the company and my family. I had to take out personal loans and try to survive this. Chase did nothing to protect my money. Many wanted me to sue Chase but if you know how the courts work and the cost of lawyers you understand the impossibility of this. Especially if you already have financial hardship.

Thanks for reading…