Hi Guys!

I just wanted to drop in and say that I would not be building cabinets and printing and applying decals for a project that's not fully licensed!

Anyone that knows me knows I won't even consider touching unlicensed projects!

Speculation can now rest.

Pre-owners can certainly look forward to receiving their PREDATORS.

Thank you.

PREDATORs.

Is that better?

Paul Maletich
President - VirtuaPin Cabinets, Inc.
http://virtuapin.net

LOL.

It's currently in production, along with PREDATORs!

The cabinet guy is in the same boat as everyone else!

To: "Greg Wells", "Mr. X.", or whatever pseudonym you'd like,

I didn't replied to your anonymous email, as I had yet to see or hear any hard facts. As of this morning, I have fully read Martin's expose and followed along with this topic. I simply cannot fathom the license being a lie, even to this day. How can someone so blatantly jeopardize 4 hobby-related businesses without any regard for their futures?!

Nonetheless, I have spoken with various individuals today, and Kevin still contends he has/had a license to produce these machines. I would now like to speak personally with a Fox representative regarding the matter. I would not be doing my own due diligence if I fail to follow up in light of all the recent developments.

As I understand it, it's not an easy task to contact them, so I ask ...

Please put me in touch with Fox, so I can get some firsthand answers to the questions I need answered. I have a lot invested in this project, and I will be exploring my own recourse in this matter.

You have my email, if you want to continue to be anonymous.

Thank you.

I talked with Kevin through the 'approval' process, and everything he said was very credible. Right down to submitting the new art, after changes, for approval.

I'm obviously not the only one that's been duped here. I stated I would not work on an unlicensed product, and I stand by that. I was 100% convinced this thing was licensed.

I sure did, and for that, I sincerely apologize. I was given every reason to believe it was fully licensed, as was every pre-owner and other vendor.

Kevin even let me stick my neck out there, just to get it cut off knowingly. For that, he will never be forgiven.

I'm just as pissed as every here, as I have a lot to lose over this fiasco, too.

I'm not sure why the 'cabinet guy' keeps coming up. The 'cabinet guy' is a company, VirtuaPin Cabinets, Inc, not some dude building cabinets in his garage. We were contracted to do a job, that's it.

Since 2013, we've started and stopped production on these cabinets 5 or 6 times, hired and trained staff FOR the job, moved into a larger facility to better handle the job, and purchased equipment and materials to finish the job. THOUSANDS of dollars were pissed away and bridges burned with suppliers for a job that never actually took place.

We will be more than happy to complete the job whenever Skit-B is ready. Until then, we've been burned just like everyone else on this project.

Thank you.

If they didn't have the license in order, then they wouldn't be ready.

Just to be clear, of course money changed hands, it was business.

Ice, being a CPA, you probably know very well how costly it is to move a business (twice, in this case, to share space the second time with his commitment falling short after the fact), staff and train, insure them, pay them, etc. It was dragged out over such a long period of time (2.5 years?). How many times did he announce we're going into production? Each time we ramped up, got ready, and then just shut it down.

In the end, no pile of money, burnt bridges, awkward conversations, and, off course, this thread.

I have not heard from Kevin in months. Not since he lied to me right up until the very end, by telling me they were still being built, just not by him, and I still had the cabinet job.

Look, I was lied to, just like the hundreds of "preowners" and other vendors. The only mistake here is, we all bought into it. After being strung along for over two years and starting and stopping production multiple times, it became a losing venture for us.

I came into this thing in 2012. By that time, he had a damn good story established, and no one doubted his licensing. I wanted nothing more than for people to get their machines in a VirtuaPin quality cabinet, and I, personally, worked very hard to try to make that happen.

Assume all you want, theorize all you want, we lost big on this ordeal.

Conveying what one believes to be true is not a lie.

If you knew anything about, well, anything, you'd know I approached Gary, Roger (who took it to WMS legal), and various other IP holders, and they all support what we do. We're preserving pinball history through software simulation, and have done so for over 15 years now, as a community.

What really should be clarified is your involvement in a very similar site, hosting illegal hacks and recreations of games that are NOT on the okay list, like Metallica, for example, or any SAM system games, for that matter.

You were not only an admin at said site, you still help with development of said site, do you not?

Amazing to me is the gall you have slinging accusations at me, when what we do has been okayed, and you're the one whose ethics are questionable, at best.

You can stop the smear campaign now. Anyone paying attention can see you do nothing but follow my posts, denouncing at every available opportunity. It's clearly a personal vendetta. Nothing more, nothing less.

Thank you.

And I believed Skit B had the license. We'll all have a turn being mistaken. Such is life.

And for that, I've apologized. I feel horrible about it.

I hope you can understand that I was duped, like the rest of you. I had five years of really hard work establishing my company jeopardized by his deceit. I'm on the same side as you on this.

I've even offered my assistance to the investigation. That's all I really can do.

I am more than happy to discuss. After the accusations, name calling, and slanderous statements, I've been quite put off about providing any insight.

When I got involved, it wasn't a scam. At least, I didn't think it was. That was 2012, and I offered to build his cabs, because the one he had looked like SH*T. By that time, he had been to dozens of shows with it, so I assumed he had been vetted by show organizers, etc.

After getting involved, I realized the project would probably never happen, because he just didn't have everything setup to completely build them, so I introduced him to people in the industry that could help him accomplish his goals. To be totally forthcoming, he NEVER would have made them without my involvement, at least in my opinion.

We took a deposit on cabinets. That part's true. It's not even close to the amount I've seen people post here, though. We were contracted to do a job, and Kevin defaulted on our agreement. He did drop a deposit, and that deposit was lost as soon as he defaulted. He did receive a number of cabinets and many, MANY hours of our services in the R&D and prototyping stages, so I'm not sitting on a pile of money, as I've read in some posts here. It wasn't $200K or some ridiculous figure. It was in line with the job.

Once the licensing concerns came up, I drilled him for more info. He would tell stories about how Fox was approving the artwork on the playfield, what needed updating, which sound clips and video could be used, etc. I was 100% convinced he was legit, or I never would have gotten involved in the first place!

After hiring staff and setting up for production the 3 or 4 times he announced they would begin, I was losing my ASS. That's when it all fell apart. He lied to me right up until the end, when he claimed they're still going to be built, just not by him, and we'd still be building the cabinets.

I have fully cooperated with PayPal and other entities in an attempt to get people their money back. I certainly don't deserve to be in the same category as Kevin. I've worked hard for everything I have, and it's done a lot of damage to my reputation, sadly. I'm an honest guy who got involved with the wrong company.

Feel free to call me if you have any questions (248) 252-6871. I have absolutely nothing to hide. The name-calling and false accusations here have left me quite bitter. If I hadn't been wrongly accused of the things I've been accused of here, I would be happy to be more forthcoming with my experience. I'm even willing to testify on the buyers' behalf if there's ever a criminal trial.

I never took a dime from you or any of the "pre-owners". I worked hard to try to ensure everyone would get what they paid for. I definitely feel I deserve better treatment around here, as we have a lot to offer the community.

Kevin is the bad guy here, and I feel I've been persecuted simply because I'm not afraid to be a member of this community, and he's in hiding.

The whole situation sucks.

By your logic, there's more than a half dozen companies that are no longer legit. Marco, Pinball Life, Spooky, Back Alley, Pinball Refinery, and VirtuaPin, just to name a few, have all sold products and services to Kevin for his Predator project. They're all great companies and great guys who don't deserve the accusations. We were all trying to support boutique pinball, as pinball is our passion. None of us deserve to have our names dragged through the mud.

I really wish things had turned out differently. I was doing the job for next to nothing in the end just to help Kevin meet his BOM on $4750 per unit. There wasn't much there to work with. In the end, it's definitely COSTING me.

You are mistaken that we were the only company involved with products containing IP. You may want to do your research, especially before slandering anyone further.

I told you I'd be forthcoming, so I will correct you ...

We DID print and apply the decals. As soon as the licensing issues came to light, we destroyed all printed materials and deleted all art files from our system. It's not something I'm proud of.

We didn't design them, though.

This post has a bit of a backstory.

It came at a time when we were FINALLY ready to start producing cabinets. Kevin was showing a growing concern for the project, as people were getting restless. I contacted him and asked if he'd like me to post some pics and show people progress. He asked me to hold off until some licensing issues were addressed. Of course, I asked him again about the license, and he declared everything was fine.

After another week or two, I asked him again, and he said something along the lines of, 'Go for it, everything is good with the license.'

So, I did, and I don't think there's a single regret in my six years in business larger than posting that. He threw me right under the bus. I suspect he knew full well what he was doing, but he was hoping to somehow salvage the project. Maybe his hope was to do it under the radar. I don't know. Only Kevin can answer that question for us.

I have to say, unfortunately, I trusted Kevin. We traveled a lot of road together introducing him to people and going to Expo. He shared his dad's story and many personal stories with me. I believed in the guy. I really did.

Needless to say, I'm tired of 'taking the rap' for him here.

I was unable to reply to this yesterday, but here's my thought ...

If you're a show organizer, and you put images of, in this case, Predator pinball on your programs and USE IT AS A DRAW to your show, you damn well better vet it. I know of at least two shows that paid for freight to get it to their shows and paid Kevin's expenses. Sounds more legit when you think of it like that, doesn't it? That's how I saw it.

That's a damn good question.

I have tried running the numbers in my head, and I can't imagine he spent it all. I do know of other purchases that made me shake my head, especially when there was at least one guy who worked for Skit-B that quit his job and burned numerous professional bridges to be a part of the project on 'promises'.

I can say the artists who did Predator and EOD were paid in full, and I told Kevin it was a mistake. They should only get paid as machines shipped, but to no avail.

You forgot a ridiculously over-sized trailer to haul his new motorcycle, four wheelers, other ATVs he bought for himself and the kids, including all new riding suits for the kids. It was posted on his Facebook back when he bought all that shit. Another headshaker, as the aforementioned 'free employee' was telling me he was losing his HOUSE, because he made the choice to quit his profession for Skit-B. He shit himself when I showed him all that stuff Kevin bought.

I was told $24K, so with closing costs and other fees, that's about right.

He was a contractor who burned his referral bridge. Ouch!

I believe it was you who said Kevin must be one hell of a story teller? It's true. It's damn true.

Hi Scott!

The statement was "VirtuaPin used to seem "legit" to me too until I found out you went ahead and took money for a project you didn't know was above board or not."

Nothing to do with endorsements, only that we took money for the project. We certainly weren't the only ones to do that.

I realize it was a mistake, but that is indeed the power of hindsight. I regret it every day. I'm going to be a MUCH tougher sell in the future on projects like these.

Um ... I think I've been more than forthcoming, and I have also accepted the responsibility for believing Kevin. No 'sloughing' here.

That being said, if you're going to USE A PROJECT AS A DRAW TO YOUR SHOW, you should at least make sure it's legit. No blame at all on show organizers. Trying to express how it only serves to lend credibility to his story.

Is there any wonder why I don't post?

Kevin picked up the cabs, and that's the last I've seen them.

I didn't take ANYONE's money, guys. Kevin did. Please stop with the FALSE accusations.

Thank you.

As far as I can see, there is no right answer here. No matter what I say or do, someone is going to twist it, turn it, and embellish it, or call me a liar to make me look like I'VE done something wrong. I didn't.

I took a job, and the contracting company defaulted. Skit B owes you guys money. Go after them. I will absolutely help if this goes to court, and since this isn't the place for a deposition, I'll just apologize, again, for not realizing Kevin was a liar and try to recover from the damage to my reputation this whole situation has done.

I will be there for you guys (pre-owners, not trolls). Just keep me informed, Hilton.

Thank you.

I've been absolutely honest. I just feel there's a line to be drawn on just what's appropriate/inappropriate on a pinball forum, and asking for a company's specific financials is over the line, in my opinion.

I had a nice chat with Hilton yesterday. Very enlightening. The proper people will know everything in due time.

Thank you.

I didn't 'disappear' anywhere. I'm currently working on behalf of the 'pre-owners' to get them their money back, and it doesn't require posting to do so.

One thing I'd like to add ...

The 'fancy new CNC machine' I have here retails, new, for less than 4% of our annual revenue.

I didn't need Kevin to BUY it for me. The job facilitated the need for one. I've read a lot of bullshit figures here. Who pulled $60K out of their rear, anyway?

Nope.

Not sure where you got that figure, but it's incorrect.

See why I don't post on this topic? All it does is feed more conspiracy theories.

I'm trying to help, and I'll continue to do so without posting.

Thank you.

I'm struggling to see how posting incorrect information is helpful to anyone.