Chantilly, VA
Quoted from Kerry_Richard:Man I still get wood looking at the ZA cabs & Backglasses.
I think you may have a different kind of wood now from all the agony John has put people through and that wood is splinters. Ouch. 
(Topic ID: 92436)
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What's bizarre is John taught me "if it shoots good in foamcore, it'll shoot great in metal & plastic!" And we used that to build AMH - it was foamcore for the first 6 months as we worked out modes (see attached)
From what I saw, John never did this step. If you're going to bother building something full size, whack a ball around! Instead he makes a static foamcore mockup then jumps right to whitewood.
DSC07376.JPGQuoted from benheck:What's bizarre is John taught me "if it shoots good in foamcore, it'll shoot great in metal & plastic!" And we used that to build AMH - it was foamcore for the first 6 months as we worked out modes (see attached)
From what I saw, John never did this step. If you're going to bother building something full size, whack a ball around! Instead he makes a static foamcore mockup then jumps right to whitewood.DSC07376.JPG
Looks like some things made it to AMH
Quoted from benheck:What's bizarre is John taught me "if it shoots good in foamcore, it'll shoot great in metal & plastic!" And we used that to build AMH - it was foamcore for the first 6 months as we worked out modes (see attached)
From what I saw, John never did this step. If you're going to bother building something full size, whack a ball around! Instead he makes a static foamcore mockup then jumps right to whitewood.DSC07376.JPG
Now I'm pissed, I want my crawl space ramp!
#FinishAMH
Quoted from Aurich:I really hope you're joking.
That NDA isn't worth wiping your ass with.
As for all the photos ... I get why people are mad at John, believe me. But see all that shit? He was working the whole time. In a totally half assed, never-gonna-finish way of course. But it wasn't fraud. It was just giving money to a crazy artist with no grip on project management. Yes, he lied. He's a bad person. Etc etc. But you're just not gonna send him to jail for any of this. In my not a lawyer, just a person thinking through the logic capacity of course.
I have zero clue how a lawsuit would go, but I guess we'll find out!
I agree that he is a BCCI (Big Crook, Con-man and Idiot, yeah, I got that from the banking scandal from the early '90's) and I hope Karma is a bitch to him. Never underestimate how someone desperate who is backed into a corner can react. Especially one who is armed with a Lawyer.
As someone noted, he is still lurking here. Maybe for the love of pinball, maybe for something else.....
London
Quoted from Fulltilt:I'm the idiot who sent him $9500 in good faith.... I guess in the long run it was a just that....
I'm the idiot who sent him $20k. In hindsight, when he asked for signed agreements (NDA and purchase) I should have walked away. I've never had to do that with other pinball purchases/pre-orders, including with P3, Nemo, Hobbit, Predator (!), MMR, heck even Wayne back in the day with MMR and Crocodile Hunter (I didn't put money down for those two, either).
The only good aspect of signing stuff is that it proves breach of contract on Mr Ploppy's part, so he'll hopefully be hoisted by his own petard.
Finally, I have to say that this experience nearly killed my love of pinball, but I've now regained it by a purchase of a lovely mint, refurbed RFM that I received on Thursday. It works perfectly, and is such a fun pin. The humour in it has really helped me at this time! For example, Bill Clinton says 'Hillary you've got to see this' during the White House mode stuff. Funny how things have come round again presidentially speaking...
Quoted from greatwichjohn:Wonder what Jpop is doing now. Waiting for all his trial dates. He probably still has a following of fans not in on his new pins. You would think he would sell what ever is left on Ebay for art, etc. Quickly to free up some more cash for his legal battles ahead, or to continue taking a salary.
wonder if he still 'owns' the machine over at pbulbs
There is a strong possibility for jail time. IMHO He had intent to make nothing from the beginning and when the facts come out we will all see that. He just wanted to sell the whole whole package to someone and have them build it. That's not what he told me to get my money. He said he would make them HIMSELF. He even offered to come to my house to complete the machine! IMHO He never intended to build these himself and the truth will come out . IMHO , three months in jail would be a big deal to john Popadiuk . I relish that thought... 
And let's not forget the beauty of Illinois bankruptcy law 
soooo much better for us and worse for him than say...Arkansas or California.
Please stop victim blaming. Please stop john Popadiuk mollycoddling. We get that some of you are, for some reason (maybe CYA?) , not interested in John Popadiuk being punished. Please respect the victims that want him to be punished severely for stealing from our families.
Let there be a clear message - if you take money for a pinball project and don't deliver We will try to put you in jail.
Quoted from Hitch9:Ok, I probably don't have the right to say disparaging things about the U.S.
In fact I love being neighbors to the US, my son has married a gal from L.A. And lives in Phoenix, so consider my comments as coming from a "brother in law"- not really in the family but close enough.
Something is terribly wrong with the US judicial system, if someone can rob another's wallet and end up in jail, and all the lawyers, or lawyer wannabes on Pinside, keep saying..nope can't touch John, he's free to go. Maybe I'm too naive.
(Running outside now, to get the garden hose, to douse the flames, that are surely coming)
Hey our government robs us blind every day, they promote bad behavior and are slowly destroying us from within. Why would they care about something like this.
Quoted from zr11990:Hey our government robs us blind every day, they promote bad behavior and are slowly destroying us from within. Why would they care about something like this.
The exception doesn't prove the rule. Every day we use plenty of services that the government provides, from public utilities to interstates, roads and bridges, running water, sewerage, libraries, community centers, fire departments, etc. If you're out at sea and something happens, the Coast Guard will rescue you, etc. Not all parts of government are corrupt and useless.
Quoted from rommy:There is a strong possibility for jail time. He had intent to make nothing from the beginning and when the facts come out we will all see that. He just wanted to sell the whole whole package to someone and have them build it. That's not what he told me to get my money. He said he would make them HIMSELF. He even offered to come to my house to complete the machine! Turns out - that was all a lie. See that? It's called intent. He never intended to build these himself and the truth will come out . Using a lie to coerce people out of their money is a crime here in the U.S. . If he is convicted of that he will be sentenced and do some jail time. IMHO , three months in jail would be a big deal to john Popadiuk . I relish that thought...
And let's not forget the beauty of Illinois bankruptcy law soooo much better for us and worse for him than say...Arkansas or California.
Please stop victim blaming. Please stop john Popadiuk mollycoddling. We get that some of you are, for some reason (maybe CYA?) , not interested in John Popadiuk being punished. Please respect the victims that want him to be punished severely for stealing from our families.
Let there be a clear message - if you take money for a pinball project and don't deliver We will try to put you in jail.
If you're serious about this, and given the experience with Kevin/Skit-B, I suspect it would not happen without doing a lot of the legwork to compile evidence of criminal intent and then handing that over to law enforcement and the DA, i.e. they're not going to dig for you.
In the case of Kevin, there are several public statements he made about the license. It's clear as day he lied about it and you'd think that would make it a clear case of fraud, but the FBI and local law enforcement decided not to pursue it. I compiled some here:
Good luck if you do pursue it but I only see a civil suit having a good shot at this point.
Quoted from rommy:There is a strong possibility for jail time. He had intent to make nothing from the beginning and when the facts come out we will all see that. He just wanted to sell the whole whole package to someone and have them build it. That's not what he told me to get my money. He said he would make them HIMSELF. He even offered to come to my house to complete the machine! Turns out - that was all a lie. See that? It's called intent. He never intended to build these himself and the truth will come out . Using a lie to coerce people out of their money is a crime here in the U.S. . If he is convicted of that he will be sentenced and do some jail time. IMHO , three months in jail would be a big deal to john Popadiuk . I relish that thought...
And let's not forget the beauty of Illinois bankruptcy law soooo much better for us and worse for him than say...Arkansas or California.
Please stop victim blaming. Please stop john Popadiuk mollycoddling. We get that some of you are, for some reason (maybe CYA?) , not interested in John Popadiuk being punished. Please respect the victims that want him to be punished severely for stealing from our families.
Let there be a clear message - if you take money for a pinball project and don't deliver We will try to put you in jail.
You have proof? I mean, you yourself just said that he would make them, HIMSELF, and would come to your house to help assemble. He wont be going to jail, regardless of what people may think..
Quoted from RobT:This is so completely wrong on so many levels I don't even know where to begin.
I seriously can't even believe what I just read.
Please elaborate, RobT.
Quoted from bounoun:Come on, how much this sucks this is very naive to think. Is was a startup from the start. Did he have production line ? A team of engineers ? Office ? Everything was paid for by the preorder money.
Ha, I saw preorder and read "predator".
Quoted from benheck:What's bizarre is John taught me "if it shoots good in foamcore, it'll shoot great in metal & plastic!" And we used that to build AMH - it was foamcore for the first 6 months as we worked out modes (see attached)
From what I saw, John never did this step. If you're going to bother building something full size, whack a ball around! Instead he makes a static foamcore mockup then jumps right to whitewood.DSC07376.JPG
Abolutely right. I saw foamcore of all 3 Jpop machines. All were for looks and mech placement only - aeshetics. I don't think any were used for shooting angles and flow. Maybe the paper ramps we saw at the end of MG were for flow testing - but I think it was more for clearance and support mechanism testing than it was for ball path testing.
Quoted from PinballHelp:The exception doesn't prove the rule. Every day we use plenty of services that the government provides, from public utilities to interstates, roads and bridges, running water, sewerage, libraries, community centers, fire departments, etc. If you're out at sea and something happens, the Coast Guard will rescue you, etc. Not all parts of government are corrupt and useless.
You are very correct, however there is still time.
Quoted from rommy:There is a strong possibility for jail time. He had intent to make nothing from the beginning and when the facts come out we will all see that. He just wanted to sell the whole whole package to someone and have them build it. That's not what he told me to get my money. He said he would make them HIMSELF. He even offered to come to my house to complete the machine! Turns out - that was all a lie. See that? It's called intent. He never intended to build these himself and the truth will come out . Using a lie to coerce people out of their money is a crime here in the U.S. . If he is convicted of that he will be sentenced and do some jail time. IMHO , three months in jail would be a big deal to john Popadiuk . I relish that thought...
And let's not forget the beauty of Illinois bankruptcy law soooo much better for us and worse for him than say...Arkansas or California.
Please stop victim blaming. Please stop john Popadiuk mollycoddling. We get that some of you are, for some reason (maybe CYA?) , not interested in John Popadiuk being punished. Please respect the victims that want him to be punished severely for stealing from our families.
Let there be a clear message - if you take money for a pinball project and don't deliver We will try to put you in jail.
I wish we could put Jpop in jail, but I'm thinking this will be difficult. He bought more space like an idiot to assemble the games at the new facility. I think this is what keeps him out of jail. It also proves he is an absolute moron.
Quoted from Pdxmonkey:The contracts do offer refunds which John has not honored.
I don't see anyway Zidware can avoid bankruptcy voluntary or involuntary in the next month.
Thanks for the work you put in NW show wouldn't have been possible without your help.
That seals it then. If there are contractual refunds, its done and bankruptcy will be soon.
Once a refund is requested, is there a time deadline or terms that are in the docs that could be used in court?
Quoted from dgarrett:Please elaborate, RobT.
I'll elaborate by telling you that the post you quoted has 23 thumbs up.
Quoted from dgarrett:That seals it then. If there are contractual refunds, its done and bankruptcy will be soon.
Once a refund is requested, is there a time deadline or terms that are in the docs that could be used in court?
From my contract:
Cancellation
The Purchaser may terminate or otherwise cancel their order at any time, prior to actual shipment or transfer possession of the finished BHZA pinball machine to the Purchaser, with an incurred penalty of 25% of their accrued deposits at the time of cancellation if no other buyer can be found to purchase e the cancelled game within sixty (60) days of such a cancellation by the Purchaser. In the event that a new buyer is found within this time period, then all accrued deposits submitted by the Purchaser at the time of cancellation will be refunded in full. No interest shall be pain on any returned deposits. These same cancellation terms shall apply if the Company terminates this Purchase Agreement with the Purchaser under any of the relevant clauses herein.
So contractually, JPop owes you 75% of your money for not delivering a game? Can he be held to that?
Quoted from frolic:From my contract:
Cancellation
The Purchaser may terminate or otherwise cancel their order at any time, prior to actual shipment or transfer possession of the finished BHZA pinball machine to the Purchaser, with an incurred penalty of 25% of their accrued deposits at the time of cancellation if no other buyer can be found to purchase e the cancelled game within sixty (60) days of such a cancellation by the Purchaser. In the event that a new buyer is found within this time period, then all accrued deposits submitted by the Purchaser at the time of cancellation will be refunded in full. No interest shall be pain on any returned deposits. These same cancellation terms shall apply if the Company terminates this Purchase Agreement with the Purchaser under any of the relevant clauses herein.
So, perhaps a dumb question, but:
Have you formally cancelled your order? That might sound foolish, but if you haven't, jpop might be able to claim they are still trying to find a way to deliver your machine... And therefor not in breach.
I think I'd send a certified letter to him formally canceling and requesting the refund per the terms of the contract.
You may have already done all that....
I would think anyone taking this to court should formerly request a refund, to help their case that no refund was given.
Quoted from PinballHelp:The exception doesn't prove the rule. Every day we use plenty of services that the government provides, from public utilities to interstates, roads and bridges, running water, sewerage, libraries, community centers, fire departments, etc. If you're out at sea and something happens, the Coast Guard will rescue you, etc. Not all parts of government are corrupt and useless.
We pay dearly for utilities which are private companies. We pay out the ass for water. My water bill is $200-$300 a month if I water my lawn. Roads and bridges are supposedly paid for by gas taxes and automobile taxes but now they want to charge you by the mile because they are pissing away the other cash they take. Fire and police are paid for by taxes. Community centers? Forget about it in middle class areas. If you are rescued by the Coast Guard you will get a bill. These things effect our pocketbook but do not directly affect the health of the country which is being killed from within. Our government is to busy pissing away our tax money on deadbeats, illegals, corporate welfare, and welfare to people who manipulate the system to worry about the country and the people in it who actually work to pay their salary. Fire 99% of those fuckers and start over again. But then again people are more concerned with Caitlin Jenner than the downfall of our country.
Quoted from zr11990:But then again people are more concerned with Caitlin Jenner than the downfall of our country.
Agree with Aurich, but isn't this quote so true.
The whole post applies to pretty much every country in the world.
rd.
Quoted from Aurich:There's a reason there is a no politics rule here. Let's stick with being mad at John.
Or super pi$$ed at John.
Let's focus on all the dumb things John has done from the time his dad drank too much JD and you know what with his mom.
Quoted from boo32:You don't need to request the refund. The contracts have dates of delivery for the machines which have long since passed. That is sufficient for a breach of contract action.
I still think you need to request a refund
Sana'a
Quoted from boo32:You don't need to request the refund. The contracts have dates of delivery for the machines which have long since passed. That is sufficient for a breach of contract action.
You got that right!!
// Error: Image 416295 not found //Quoted from vid1900:It is.
A coffee at Starbucks is $1.79, and 50 cent refills !!!
Price varies wildly. Illinois Tollway Oasis locations charge more. Airports even more. At DFW recently I bought a "Tall"(small) for 2.29. Then there are the various types of coffees that double& triple in price.
Quoted from frolic:I would think anyone taking this to court should formerly request a refund, to help their case that no refund was given.
That would very obviously be the first step. Send a certified letter, return receipt, demanding your refund or you will take legal action. Set a deadline of no more than 30 days for acknowledgement of the demand and include your contact information, and 60 days per the contract for receipt. More than likely he won't respond within 30 days and you can start the legal ball rolling.
Even if you plan to join the existing class action, this isn't a bad move to make and will just cost you a few dollars.
Quoted from ledge:wonder if he still 'owns' the machine over at pbulbs
There is no machine "over at pbulbs". Please use another way to reference the machine that went to the show.
I can't believe(actually I can) he spent the time making what appears to be a very nice looking schedule, knowing full well he was never going to follow it.
Quoted from Honch:I can't believe(actually I can) he spent the time making what appears to be a very nice looking schedule, knowing full well he was never going to follow it.
That schedule helped sell me. How can someone who can make a schedule like that not know what the hell they were doing?
He never updated that schedule. We begged and pleaded for years for an updated one.
Quoted from frolic:That schedule helped sell me.
Not to sound glib, but I can believe it. The presentation and announcement of the game was very professional.
Quoted from Honch:I can't believe(actually I can) he spent the time making what appears to be a very nice looking schedule, knowing full well he was never going to follow it.
I don't think that we can prove that he was "knowing full well he was never going to follow it". Proving intent is super hard. Unless he sits there in a deposition and outright says he knew he wouldn't deliver, he is probably good for the intent portion and keeping out of jail. I personally do not think there was any ill intent on his part even today. I've had some discussions with John recently and while he knows he is in trouble, he is still trying to move forward. I think as of today he still intends to release magic girl in some shape or form.
Quoted from swinks:a few pages back people wondered if he would turn up to a show in the future. If this is him, it looks like he is up to date to pinside and what everyone thinks.
notice the last seen date - today
Maybe, maybe not.
I have a gazillion passwords to remember, so I never bother logging off.
Quoted from MrBally:Who or what is Caitlyn Jenner?
Something that should have stayed locked in the closet.
Quoted from markmon:I don't think that we can prove that he was "knowing full well he was never going to follow it". Proving intent is super hard. Unless he sits there in a deposition and outright says he knew he wouldn't deliver, he is probably good for the intent portion and keeping out of jail. I personally do not think there was any ill intent on his part even today. I've had some discussions with John recently and while he knows he is in trouble, he is still trying to move forward. I think as of today he still intends to release magic girl in some shape or form.
Simply amazing. When Bill told him it was a no-go, he was probably shocked.
Quoted from MrBally:Who or what is Caitlyn Jenner?
I don't know... you tell me.....
Quoted from swinks:a few pages back people wondered if he would turn up to a show in the future. If this is him, it looks like he is up to date to pinside and what everyone thinks.
HEY JOHN.... what I'm think'in!
Quoted from markmon:I don't think that we can prove that he was "knowing full well he was never going to follow it". Proving intent is super hard. Unless he sits there in a deposition and outright says he knew he wouldn't deliver, he is probably good for the intent portion and keeping out of jail. I personally do not think there was any ill intent on his part even today. I've had some discussions with John recently and while he knows he is in trouble, he is still trying to move forward. I think as of today he still intends to release magic girl in some shape or form.
And what funds does he have available to get it made?
Quoted from markmon:I don't think that we can prove that he was "knowing full well he was never going to follow it". Proving intent is super hard. Unless he sits there in a deposition and outright says he knew he wouldn't deliver, he is probably good for the intent portion and keeping out of jail. I personally do not think there was any ill intent on his part even today. I've had some discussions with John recently and while he knows he is in trouble, he is still trying to move forward. I think as of today he still intends to release magic girl in some shape or form.
He gave himself a salary, how much is unknown. Plus it appears he took other draws out to fund other activities not related to the making of the machines he sold. Embezzlement isn't as difficult to prove as fraud and still carries jail time.
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