Stealing from the terminally ILL

Today I got home from the Hospital to find that my checking account has been cleaned out, Lorie Graves has won. I hope she feels good knowing she has stressed the life of a broke, terminally ill person. 

I am terminally ILL with Pulmonary Fibrosis, and need a piece of medical equipment that I now don't have the money to purchase.  I Have zero money until the end of the month, and I will now have to have my social security disability check sent to me, and will be forced to cash it, and get cashiers checks to pay my bills, she has levied me for $6,000.  I still owe her more money at this point.

SO it has cost me dearly to have employees, Thank you Lorie Graves.
Please remember that I paid you extra, and I paid you insurance for several months.  My only crime was to pay you on the next pay period instead of on the spot.

The result?  At a time when I need the little money I had left after going broke trying to open a business? Lorie Graves got judgemen aganst me while I  was in the hospital.   Lorie seems to think I am rich.  I am the proud owner of a 10 year old car, and a 20 year old car that does not run, a house that needs painting, a dishwasher, a microwave, a water heater, and other generral maintenance.  AND, I had to turn to a church group to volunteer to build me a wheelchair ramp, and what does Lorie Graves do?  Levy me and take the last money I have in the world. At a time when I need it most.

Please Lorie, I beg you to do the right thing.  Return the money, and let me die in peace.

Lorie, I am honestly sorry you feel I harmed you by paying you extra when I was getting sick, and shutting down my business.  How were you harmed by my actions? You got more money than the time you worked, and I paid your insurance for several months after letting you go. I was trying to be fair to you, and you repay me by filing a complaint with the EDD.  You won by default because I was in the hospital when the hearing occurred.  PLEASE Lorie, remember that You got your check with the next payroll run like everyone else.  You did not have to wait for it, and I paid you in full plus some extra days.  Please tell me how that damaged you? The business was failing,and I was becoming quite ILL, what should I have done? I could no longer afford to pay your salary, which was the highest in the Gym.  You should have been standing up helping others to market, and setting a screaming example for marketing.  Instead you tell me there are times you can't work because you have to take care of your own Personal Training customers.  Which you never brought in to our gym. You hurt me deeply.

Lorie, It is only fitting that you cleaned out my checking account when I was again in the hospital. 

Since I Terminated Ms Graves employment five years ago, I have spent life in and out of the hospital having multiple week long or more stays in the hospital in an attempt to keep my lungs healthy. This has eaten all my money, and I struggle every month just to make my mortgage payment.  and now once again, I will be faced with not being able to pay my bills.

What I don't understand is that during the time after she filed her complaint, I tried to talk to her to work things out, and she refused to even take a phone call from me.  Why Lorie?  Please call me and lets talk...

Why are you doing this to me?  The last time you said "I have no answer".  Do you still feel good having taken money from me?  I am not telling a lie when I say I am terminally ILL, and I cannot walk more than 15 feet now without becoming so winded I have to sit down.  Great way to live, and have people like Lorie Graves steal money from me. Money that nobody gave me, I earned every penny I had.  I didn't get someone else's money through a bogus judgment, where you were not really hurt. 

Mystery shopping scam

I ran across this information after she started working for us. It Turns out she became the spokesperson for a scam - just further indication of her moral character. There were other things that "bugged" me about her work ethic. I had her helping with promotions, and she was putting stamps on envelopes. I know it is a little thing, but she would put them on upside down, sideways, at an angle. Anything but straight and upright like a normal person would...

Here is a picture of her as well:

A Katrina Success Story Lorie Graves Didn't Let A Catastrophic Hurricane Stop Her. Ventura, CA, May 2006) A year ago, before Katrina tore up my life and so many millions along the Gulf Coast, my life was set. In less than 24 hours my world was turned upside down. Overnight my home was washed away and the fitness center where I worked was reduced to a soggy pile of smelly rubbish. No home. No job. And, no money. Everyone talks about the catastrophic damage done in New Orleans. Let me tell you that Gulfport, Mississippi, wasn't spared either. That's were I lived and worked. Since the Gulfport gets its income from tourists visiting the many gambling spots dotting the this city by the Gulf of Mexico and since all the casinos were built on large barges a few feet off the beach, the entire industry was razed, scattered or completely washed away. The Chamber of Commerce estimates that Gulfport is over 2 years away from full recovery. When I looked around the next morning, everything was in shambles. Just finding food, a place to sleep and gasoline outweighed not having a job or any prospect for a job. I've had low points in my life. I guess we all have. But this was way beyond anything I could've imagined. My first inclination was to see if the City of Gulfport, Harrison County, the State of Mississippi, or FEMA would provide some help. They were all overwhelmed. Thousands, tens of thousands, were in the same predicament. Everyone needed help. I was just one more pleading face in a very long line of refugees. My options were terrible. The assistance staffs didn't arrive right away as we all know. And when they did, they wanted to put me in a temporary shelter with hundreds of other victims. Don't forget, everything I owned was on my back. No clothes. No toiletries. I'm a stinking mess living in my car. My Mom said I could come to California and stay with her in her double-wide. My money situation allowed me just enough for gas and sandwiches for the 2,100 mile journey. There was no money for motels. I'd have to sleep in the car for the next 3 days. On the drive to California, I'm going over my options. I have to find work. Then I remembered something. Just before Katrina hit, I had received training online from Mystery Shop Link to be a mystery shopper. You know, those jobs where they pay you to go to stores and report what you see? Well, Mom was in no position to support me. I still had bills to pay … credit card, cell phone, food, car payments, plus I had to contribute my share of the bills at Mom's. Hey! I'm supposedly a trained and certified Mystery Shop Link shopper. Let's see if this mystery shopping is for real. Now here's the exciting part. This mystery shopping is very much for real. Thank God I had gotten my Mystery Shop Link certification. I had very few other options other than waiting tables or flipping burgers. I began mystery shopping 7 days a week taking any and every assignment I could. It began to really pay-off. The companies that assign mystery shopping jobs are called Schedulers. I learned that one of the biggest problems Schedulers have to deal with is either finding a trained and certified shopper to do the assignments or having the shopper flake out and not do the job. Apparently Schedulers don't get paid until mystery shopping assignments are completed. The Schedulers learned quickly that they could depend on me. By not flaking out and by doing my assignments as instructed, Schedulers began sending me more and more jobs. Some of them paid hundreds of dollars. I even got a free 4 day cruise to Mexico. Within a couple of months I was making between $1,000 and $1,400 a week. My bills were now paid up-to-date. I had fully recovered from Katrina while most people were still in shelters and looking for work. I really 'feel' for them. When people think of mystery shopping, they either don't believe it's real or they don't take the work as a serious job. While mystery shopping isn't difficult, you need to focus on your work. After all, big executives are making huge financial decisions based on my reports. Fortunately, I had signed-up for my mystery shopping through Mystery Shop Link (800.359.8982 / www.MysteryShopLink.com). My hat goes off to them. They worked with me from the get-go and helped me along the way. Now my life is changing again. This time it's a good thing. I met a guy. It's serious. I'm moving to Modesto. The best part is that I can take my Mystery Shop Link work with me. All I do is tell Mystery Shop Link's Schedulers the Zip Codes in which I want to shop and they find jobs for me. I've now graduated to their Ambassador Level, the highest level available. If anyone wants to know why America is so GREAT … so FABULOUS, it's because of the opportunities we have. Here I was destitute one month and making great money the next. To be fair, mystery shopping is not for everyone. You need to be at least 18, have access to the Internet and have a credit card or a debit card or checking account. Most importantly, you must commit yourself to the work. Read over the assignment thoroughly. Follow the directions. File your reports online on time. Yes, you do get to pick when you want to work and what assignments you want to do. Nobody's going to force you to work or do assignments. It's all your call. So if financial commitments have you down or if you have time on your hands, you should call Mystery Shop Link. I am so-o-o happy I did. They literally allowed me to change my life. -30- For More Information: William Thompson 929 S. Bedford St., #202 Los Angeles, CA 90035 Tel: 800.326.5661 E-Mail: Bill@tvinc.net William Thompson President TV, Inc. Largo, FL 800-326-5661 800-343-8549

Wonder Woman?

Lorie Graves was working for us at 123 Fit in Ventura California. Lorie's job was to generate leads, as a sales and marketing person, Lorie Graves was supposed to be in charge of things like parties and setting up appointments then meeting members at the gym, set up tours, and close the sale.

BUT, as I said earlier, Lorie Graves had a different agenda. Lorie Graves would set up appointments from her lead boxes, and then "walk away". So here we have an employee that was not onsite except for meetings, and we had no way of tracking her activity.

Additionally, the percentage of people that showed up for her appointments was far lower than any other gym employee, and Lorie Graves made zero sales.

So, Lorie Graves was out in the world working half time and getting paid full time.
Lorie Graves was getting paid to generate leads, which she had the opportunity to convert to her own personal training clients. Of which Lorie never brought her clients into our facility.

Lorie Graves was a salaried employee, and the highest paid member of the staff. When we started doing parties on Saturday, she told me she could not do the work because she had to take care of her personal training clients. BUT, it was part of her job to do these parties, and up to her to schedule her week around these commitments.

So you tell me, was Lorie Graves a good employee? No, she was in it for the money, and as a result I got taken.

I am posting this so that in the future, people will know what type of employee/person Lorie Graves was. From my perspective she was the type of employee that felt entitled. I spent years saving up the money to open the gym, and I went without a paycheck for several years so my employees would get paid. Yet here we have a person that felt justified working part time for full time pay, and probably taking leads for her own personal gain that were paid for by me. Lorie Graves in my opinion is a person of low moral character!

Here is where it gets really good! When I let Lorie graves go, I paid her extra over and above what she worked, and I paid her health insurance for several months. I didn't have to do these things, but I felt it was the right thing to do.

How did Ms Graves repay me? By filing a complaing with the State. You see in California, when you let someone go, you are supposed to pay all monies owed right away. Where I came from, you got paid on the next paycheck. So I paid her within less 2 weeks after she was let go, paid her more than what she was owed, and paid health insurance for several months. After the several months had gone by, she files a complaint with the EDD. When whe were in front of the arbitrator, I looked her in the eye and asked why she was doing this? her response was "I have no answer".

She did it because the regulations said she could, and she felt entitled to my hard earned money, simply because I employed her. What an awful system we have. It tore me up when she did this. And during that time, I had gotten quite ill with a terminal illness called Pulmonary Fibrosis. so, if she wants to collect on the judgement, she can take the money from a dead person...

Conflict of interest?

Lorie Graves worked as a personal trainer, but never brought any of her clients into the gym. While where we were paying her to get leads for our gym, including personal training.

So here is what we had:

1) She was working outside the gym "on her own", generating leads (for which we paid her a salary).
2) Lorie Graves was working outside the gym, on the side as a personal trainer, and never brought any of her clients into our gym.

3) After the first couple of months, the activity became: She was only in the gym for staff meetings, and the staff thought the leads she was generating were a joke.

4) The appointments she was setting for people to come in were never showing up.

What a terrible situation I allowed to arise, and she took advantage of it completely.

Life at 123 Fit

Lorie Graves Was hired by 123 fit last year. Her job was to do marketing.

To her credit there was a flurry of activity when she started.
She worked on parties, placed lead boxes, and special events.

The one thing she did was quickly turn over the closing and lead followup to the coaches.
she refused to come in and close. - more stats later!