Gainesville, GA, May 26--More than 120 complaints against a Gainesville-based Internet business are enough to put its two operators on trial for racketeering, said a Hall County Magistrate, according to the Gainesville Times.
Judge Elizabeth Reisman ordered a Superior Court trial for Cornelius "Neal" Martin Jr., 51, and his son Cornelius "Cole" Martin III, 25.
A conviction of racketeering could bring five to 20 years in prison.
The owners of Beaver Floor were arrested earlier this month and released from the Hall County Detention Center on $100,000 and $50,000 bonds. The Georgia Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs made the accusation.
Monty Mohr, director of criminal investigation for the agency, testified during Tuesday's hearing that the Martins took money from 123 customers and failed to fill orders or shipped inferior materials.
Lenny Franco, attorney for the Martins, denied the charge.
After the hearing, Neal Martin said his business, which has sold $50 million in flooring since 1997, has been shut down even though it has satisfied about 15,000 customers.
But testimony indicated that the company relocated to Gainesville from New York after authorities there ordered the Martins to refund about $700,000 to their customers. Martin said he already has paid $400,000.
"The news is the one percent we didn't satisfy," said Neal Martin, whose business operates from his home on Sidney Drive and a warehouse on Calvary Church Road.
Earlier, Mohr said Georgia complaints began to accumulate in January 2003.
Mohr cited three examples where customers paid $10,000, $3,900 and $11,455 and did not receive their orders.
Mohr told Cassandra Schansman, Georgia assistant attorney general, that there currently is a total of $471,380 in Georgia complaints.
Schansman told Reisman that the Martins were taking money from the Georgia customers and using it to pay the New York claims.
Franco denied that his clients were attempting to do anything criminal. They were "borrowing from Peter to pay Paul," he said. And Franco asked Reisman to dismiss the racketeering charge, because his clients only "let their business rely on future sales to supply previous customers."
And Franco said the Martins had hired an Atlanta CPA a year ago to pay their New York creditors and had been working on other problems with Georgia officials.
"I'm not sure who initiated it," Mohr said.
