02x91 - Festival Drug Business and Step-Father Car Fiasco

[bunniefuu]

The investment that went south.

Where did you put that money, sir?

It was a friend of a friend,
his name was Scott.

Scott what?

I, I can't remember his last name.

My friend introduced me to Scott.

What's your friend's name?

His name is John.

[Announcer]
This is Judy Justice.

[Announcer] Jennifer Anderton
is suing her former friend,

James Sorensen, for personal training,
and a fraudulent investment.

[Kevin]
Court come to order. All rise.

Have a seat, please.

Case 2125,
Anderton versus Sorensen.

- Thank you.
- You're welcome.

Ms. Anderton,
your case against the defendant

is two-fold: first,
you claim a loan to him

in the amount of $10,000.

And while he doesn't deny
that you gave him $10,000,

it is his defense that this
was not a loan, but an investment

in a project that went south.

It went south
because somebody conned him,

and thus, you were conned as well.

Somebody took off with the money.

The second part of your lawsuit
is that Mr. Sorensen is a trainer

of some sort, a personal trainer,

fitness trainer, and you retained him

to put you on some sort
of a regimen of both diet and exercise.

And you paid him in advance.

He wasn't forthcoming
with all of the training sessions

he was supposed to give you,
became unavailable,

you want a refund of some of that money.

So, the first thing I'm going to deal with
in your lawsuit

is the $10,000 exchange of money.

If I find that that,
in fact, was a loan,

or was fraudulently entered into

as a result of being duped
and being a dope,

then I'm going to give you back the money.

Then I don't have to get to the training,

because that's the limit
of my jurisdiction.

- Do you understand?
- I understand.

OK, great.
How did you meet him?

Um, I met him on a dating site, actually.

- When?
- [Jennifer] Early June 2021.

Did you date?

We befriended each other,
and after our first meeting,

that is when I had, I had just
come off of a ventilator of 10 days.

I was a nurse, contracted Covid.

He actually came to my home and said,

"I could really help you
get back to where you were."

I needed rehab.

OK. So, after the first meeting,
you were not dating?

- No.
- Is that right, sir?

- That's correct.
- And that was in June of 2021?

- Yes.
- When did you, Mr. Sorensen,

tell Ms. Anderton
about this investment opportunity?

Uh, it was about a month into, uh...

- So, four weeks later?
- Right.

Four weeks later,
you became close enough

to discuss with her
a business opportunity.

- Yes.
- And did you discuss

this business opportunity with her
in her home or over the phone?

In her home.

So I want you to tell me

your version of exactly
what you told her.

So I had a friend, uh, come to me, and...

You had a friend whose name is...?

Uh, his name's Scott.

Scott, what?

[James] I, I can't remember
his last name.

[Judge Judy]
I don't believe you.

- OK.
- If it's true...

- Mm-hmm?
- If it's true,

then it didn't happen.

If it's true that you can't remember
his last name,

it's because he doesn't exist.

Well, he does exist.

Oh, sir, you didn't
give all that money to somebody

whose last name you don't know.

- I want you to understand that.
- OK.

Then you're looking at me and saying
I must have "stupid"

written on my forehead.

You don't look like a stupid man.

- Absolutely not.
- Yeah, you look like

you could be a, a cunning man,

but you don't look like a stupid man.

So, if Scott doesn't have a last name,

he didn't exist.

I want you to tell me that's in my brain.

In my brain is, if you can't come up
with a first and last name

of somebody that you gave
thousands of dollars to,

- he didn't exist.
- OK. In your mind.

Keep going.

I'm not gonna keep going
and dig any holes,

I'm just telling you
what, what the facts are.

No, those aren't facts, sir.

That's a fantasy.

You know, you're not mentally challenged
in any way, are you?

- No.
- I want to tell you,

if I told my 9-year-old grandchild...

- Mm-hmm.
- ...who asked me for $100

because she wanted to invest it
with a friend,

I would say, "What's the friend's name?"
"I don't know."

I'd say, "I'm not giving you $100

to invest with somebody whose name
you don't know!"

Because I'm absolutely positive
that if you said that to her,

she would've said,
"Well, what's this person's name?"

I want you to tell me now, Mr. Sorensen,

what was the investment?

It was for, it was for happy pills.

- It was for what?
- Happy pills.

- Don't look at me.
- Happy?

- Did you say "happy pills"?
- [James] Yes.

OK. Tell me about it.
Tell me what you told her.

"You want to invest in happy pills?"
And what did she say to you?

Did she say, "I'm a nurse, you know,
so I'm an educated person.

What's wrong with you?"
OK. Keep going.

Keep going.
"I want to invest in happy pills."

- Right.
- Your friend, your friend, "Scott"...

[James] Yeah, it was a friend
of a friend. his name was Scott. OK?

And he introduced me to him,
and said that, hey, he, he...

Scott introduced you to somebody else?

No, my friend introduced me to Scott.

I didn't know his last name, but we knew
that he was in the industry...

Your... OK.
So your friend introduced you to Scott?

- Yes.
- What's your friend's name?

- His name is John. [chuckles]
- [laughing]

- [all chuckling]
- I promise.

Where does he live?

He lives in Salt Lake.

What's his telephone number?

I have no idea
what his telephone number is.

Just a second.
Get out your phone, and tell me

what your friend's telephone number is.

Everybody has
their friend's number in their phone.

I don't know what his telephone number is.

Then, do you see why
I don't believe you, sir?

- It's not... [scoffs]
- Do you understand

why I'm having a problem
with your story?

- [James] It's OK.
- Do you understand?

So, a friend, whose number
you don't have in your phone,

wanted to introduce you to somebody

whose name you don't know,

to invest in happy pills.

And this is what you told her?

- [sighs]
- No, I'm asking a question.

Is this what you told her?
"I have a friend..."

- Yes, this is what I told him...
- "John...

- "I have a friend, John...
- [James] Mm-hmm.

"who knows a guy, Scott,

who has this company

that's gonna make happy pills."

I just want to know if that's what
you're trying to tell me

that you told this woman?

- I am.
- [laughing]

[audience laughing]

It's OK.

I don't know why she would make up
that story that my parents gave me...

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no...

She's not making up the story.

You're making up the story.

- OK.
- And if I'm wrong about this,

I actually don't feel badly, sir,

because, then you're the dope
that got duped.

- [laughter]
- [Announcer] And later today...

You devalued her car while you had it.

Yeah, okay.

You used the car for two
and a half years, that was running.

It stopped running
because the engine was blown.

Yes.

And then you stopped
making the payments on it.

- Yes.
- Yeah!

[laughter]

[Announcer] Jennifer Anderton
claims her former friend, James Sorensen,

owes her for a fake $10,000 investment.

OK. Keep going.

Do you know what happy pills are?

- I assume that they make you happy.
- [James] Right.

- [laughter]
- Yeah, they are. It's Molly.

I assume that they make you happy.

- Yeah.
- Right?

And so he went around to festivals,
and he sold Molly there.

- He sold what?
- Molly. Molly, Molly.

[audience murmuring]

- Mollies?
- [Sarah] MDMA.

- It's an ill*gal drug.
- Oh.

OK. So you told her you wanted her
to make an investment

with you, with a big return
on your money...

We talked about this for, um, a long time.

- Who did?
- Me and...

You can't have talked about it
for a long time.

- You only knew her four weeks.
- [chuckles] OK.

You only knew her four weeks.

Tell me about this $10,000.

Did you take it out of a savings account?

- Do you have that from the bank?
- Yeah.

I'd like to take a look at it.

You want to tell me, Ms. Anderton,
the circumstances

surrounding you
transferring $10,000 to him?

Um, he approached me

saying that he needed
a hard money loan for his business.

He had an e-commerce business
with supplements.

Um, his father and mother
had given him the loans in the past,

for the past five years,
and they've gotten a good return.

It was a for-sure deal, he goes around,

and they, this is
their festival project time.

- They make a lot of money doing this.
- What does he do?

- For supplements.
- So he sells supplements?

- Yes.
- And it was his business?

- Mm-hmm.
- Did, not "uh-huh."

- Yes.
- Yes.

Did he ever mention a guy Scott to you?

- No.
- It was his business?

- Yes.
- And he said

that his parents
had helped him out in the past?

Had invested with him in the past?

So, now I understand
a little bit better,

I see the withdrawal for $10,000.

So tell me why he needed
a "hard money loan"?

To buy the product to take to these,
uh, festivals

-and, um...
- Sell them.

- Sell them. Yeah, so...
- OK.

So, he needed it for product.

And when did he tell you
that he was gonna return this money?

Within a week or two.
That it was a week or two of festivals,

this was the busy season,
he does this every year,

and this is a for-sure return.

And if I did this much amount of money,

five thousand, this is how much
I'd get back.

If I did 10,000, it would be
a $15,000 return for me.

And I'm, like, wow, I could pay off
my student loans,

I could, yes, do a lot with that.

OK. So to synthesize
what you've told me,

he told you that this was an investment
in his company...

- A loan.
- A loan.

Excuse me. A loan for his company,
for product, so that he could go out

sell them for the next several weeks,

- Correct.
- and you would get a return

of 15 percent on your money...

- Fifty percent. So, at ten...
- Fifty?

- Mm-hmm.
- Five-zero?

- Mm-hmm.
- Sounds too good to be true.

- Yeah.
- It was nothing to do with the company.

The Venmo transfer of $2,000
was to him in June?

[Jennifer]
June 16th of '21.

And a withdrawal of $8,000.

- Same day.
- OK.

Now, where did you put that money, sir?

- I gave it to Scott.
- OK.

- [laughter]
- OK.

I want to tell you, Mr. Sorensen...

You have parents who gave you money?

- They have in the past.
- Just a second.

Not as, not as she was saying.

So you had parents
that gave you money?

They did not ever give me money
for my business, ever.

What did they give you money for?

[scoffs]
Christmas?

They never, they never
financed for me for anything in my life.

- Nothing.
- Then you lied...

I don't know why she would make up
that story that my parents gave me...

No, no, no, no, no.
She's not making up the story.

- You're making up the story.
- OK.

And if I'm wrong about this,

I actually don't feel badly, sir,

because then you're the dope
that got duped.

- Oh, absolutely...
- Then, just a second,

then, if you gave money

to John, to Scott,
then you're the dope that got duped,

because they were your friends.

That's, that's all I have to tell you.

- I understand.
- That's all. Judgment for the plaintiff

in the amount of $10,000.
We're finished, thank you.

[Kevin]
This court is adjourned.

I think it was, uh... I think it was fair.

I think that was a fair judgment.

We both understood
what we were getting into.

No. Not until after, like,
three or four months,

and I think he brought that up
in fear of me going to the police.

Time to part ways and definitely
learning curves on both, both ends.

Don't do silly things, it was definitely
a learning curve.

I'm glad that, uh, you know, things,
you know, happened the way they did.

Something I'll never do again.

I'd be a little more careful
with your money and your investments,

and don't trust everybody.

I'm so, I'm too trusting.

I just find it very funny
that his entire business plan,

venture, business venture,
was selling ill*gal drugs at festivals.

- [chuckles]
- That was the only plan.

That was the whole venture.

-There is no...
- Is that, that's really what he said.

Whether it was Scott, whether it was John,

- whether it was...
- But that was the business plan,

that's... happy pills.
Thank you, by the way,

for explaining what that was to me.

I didn't understand at first, either.

But when he said...
he said, "Molly at festivals,"

I'm pretty sure that's ill*gal.

- I'm pretty sure that's not a business.
- Right.

- So, I'm glad she got her money back.
- Me too.

Me too. It was a ridiculous...

There was a couple dopes
getting duped in that situation.

You're absolutely right.

Case 2107.
Breland versus Shinaul.

All parties, please step forward.

[Announcer]
Cashannah and Michael Breland

are suing Cashannah's stepdad,
Harry Shinaul,

for car repairs and damaged credit.

Ms. Breland, this is your stepfather?

- Yes.
- That's your dad.

- Yes.
- This is your claim:

he needed a car because his car,
which was an old Cadillac,

was going in for repair.

Your dad had bought you a car
in 2018.

- Yes.
- And when he bought you this car in 2018,

it was a 2013 car

that you kept '18, '19, and '20?

The vehicle, no. I had the vehicle
from 2018 to July 2019.

So, just for one year?

Yeah, July in 2019 was when
I made the agreement to, um,

give the vehicle to... him.

OK.
You made the agreement

to give it to your stepfather

with a proviso because
you were buying a new car, another car...

- Yes.
- according to you,

that he would take over the payments
on the car, because there was a loan...

- Yeah.
- ...on the car...

...that you were paying off,
and that your father...

- ...was a signatory on.
- Yes.

And you have children,
and I don't know why this car

was no good for you anymore,

but you said you got another car
because of your children.

Yes, I got another vehicle
because I had an additional son,

and it just wasn't enough room
for three kids.

What kind of car is it?

It was a GMC Terrain.

It's an SUV five-passenger,

but, um, I felt like I needed
a little bit more room,

so I ended up getting a seven-passenger.

- That way, I could have the third row.
- OK.

So, according to you, the arrangement
was he would take over the payments

on the car, and the car would be
turned over to him

soon as the title was, soon as he finished
making the payments on the car.

- Yes.
- Was that your agreement

- with him?
- Yes, that was our agreement.

And he did make payments
on the car in 2019,


and according to you,

he stopped making payments
in 2022.

What month in 2022?

January 2022 was the last payment
I received.

As a result of which,
both of your credits were at risk.

He dropped the car off
at some relative's house,

because the engine was blown,

he had to tow it
to some relative's house,

and stopped making the payments.

Yes, that is correct.

Your stepfather says,
well, that really wasn't the agreement.

My Cadillac wasn't working,
it was in the shop

in 2019, and the agreement was,
while the car was in the shop,

I would use your car
and pay you $225 a month

for it, but as soon as my car
was out of the shop,

you would take the car back.

That's what you say, sir?

[Harry] Yes. Yeah, I would it back
until my car got fixed,

and the only reason it took so long
to get fixed 'cause of the pandemic,

- you know? And...
- Why?

People couldn't go into their garage
to fix a car?

Uh, yes, they probably could,

but at that time,
I really didn't have the money

- to go and pay for it, so I...
- Well, that's...

well, that's your problem.

- I understand that, but...
- Well, that's your problem.

So, the car was fixed,
but you didn't have the money

to go and pick up the car?

No, it wasn't fixed.

- Oh.
- [Harry] So, I, I didn't have them fix it

until I be able to get the money
to go have it fixed.

Did you explain that to her, sir,
when she gave you the car?

No. See, my agreement
thought I was gonna keep the car

till my car gets fixed,
and I would make the monthly payments.

That's what I had... thought.

I understand that, but what... [chuckles]

I understand that...

- [Harry] OK.
- ...Mr. Shinaul.

- Yes.
- But taking your story,

if my stepfather said to me,

"Listen, I'll take your car,

I have a car that's in the shop,

I'll use it and pay for it
while the car's being fixed,"

- That's not what...
- In my view,

that would be, well,
maybe it would take you two weeks,

maybe it would take you a month.

Maybe it would take you two months.

But it wouldn't take you three years.

[Harry]
Your Honor, what I'm saying,

my car wasn't in the shop,
my car was broke down,

and I told her, uh, I thought
we had an agreement that

me make the payments on that car

till I get ready to get my car...

- You told me that already.
- [Harry] car fixed.

But I didn't put it in the shop
till I was able to put it in the shop

to get fixed.

You devalued her car while you had it.

- Yeah, OK. I...
- You devalued the car.

You got a car that was running.

You used the car for two and a half years,
that was running.

It stopped running
because the engine was blown.

- Yes.
- So, it was dead stopped.

You had to have it towed
to somebody's house.

Yes.

And then you stopped
making the payments on it.

- Yes.
- Yeah.

Yeah. I hear what you're saying.

Right.

I think she had a lemon because...

She didn't have a lemon,
you drove it for two years.

Yes, but I just had got
the oil changed in that car

a month before the engine blew.

- And you drove it for two years.
- Yes.

Well, then it wasn't a lemon.

[Announcer]
Cashannah and Michael Breland

claim Cashannah's stepdad Harry Shinaul

owes for car repairs and damaged credit.

Now, you know,
you have to act not only responsibly,

but it would seem to me, morally.

This is your stepdaughter.

You've known her for a long time.

- Yes.
- She went out,

based upon her agreement with you,

she went out and bought another car.

- Yes.
- Does the other car have a loan?

- Yes.
- Well, now she's stuck with two loans.

And one of them has a car
that you blew the engine on.

I made sure the maintenance
was up on that car.

I think she had a lemon because...

She didn't have a lemon,
you drove it for two years.

Yes, but I kept, I just had got
the oil changed in that car

a month before the engine blew.

I don't know what, why the engine blew.

How many years did you have the car?

- Two years.
- And you drove it for two years.

- Yes.
- Well, then, it wasn't a lemon.

OK.

How much was left
on the loan of the car?

There is still $3,752.63

owed left on the vehicle.

OK, and where is the car now?

It is parked, um, at a relative's house.

Your problem is, the car is in your name.

So you have to sell the car,

subject to this lien.

You have to be able
to get something for the car.

- Do you understand?
- Yes.

What's the value of that car?

Based on 80,000 miles,
it didn't say in the papers,

but around seven to 9,000.

And what if it's in very poor condition?

- I have to look into it.
- Take a look and see.

- Because this car so far is not running.
- Yeah.

And it hasn't been running

for almost, now, a year.

Yes, that's correct.

So, at best, you can sell it for scrap.

So, you have to get the car,
and you can scrap it,

'cause nobody's gonna buy it
when they can't drive it.

So Kelley Blue Book
will not provide an estimate

for poor-conditioned vehicles
that are not running

or in poor condition.

But for a fair condition, they say
between five and 6,000.

- Well, this is non-running.
- I know.

- And been not running for a year.
- I can't get an estimate

for a non-running vehicle
from Kelley Blue Book.

So now, now I know
what the parameters are.

You want to tell me about the,
where this agreement took place

with your stepfather?

The agreement took place,
um, at the car lot.

'Cause I was in the middle
of getting a new vehicle,

so we were at the car lot.

So, that was in 2019.

July 3, 2019.

So, you went with him to get the new car?

- [Cashannah] Yes.
- Oh, good.

So tell me about the conversation.

[Cashannah] So I asked him, I was, like,

"Hey, do you think that..." Because,
in order for me to get this new vehicle,

they said that I had a,
a debt-to-income ratio thing,

because I couldn't get a new vehicle

with owing money on the other vehicle.

So, I said, "Hey, how does this sound?

You're down a vehicle
because the engine blew

on your pri, uh, prior vehicle.

How about I give you this car,

you finish making the payments on it,

and then I get my new vehicle."

But in order for me to get my new vehicle,
I needed a co-signer.

So I said, "How about this?

How about you co-sign
on this new vehicle for me..."

Yes, my stepfather.
"You co-sign on this new vehicle for me,

"I'll make the payments, like I always do,

and, uh, you just take over the payments
on my GMC Terrain."

He said, "OK, yeah, we can do that,
because I need another vehicle."

So, he is the co-signatory
on your new car?

That, at the time,
that was the vehicle that I had.

I now have a different vehicle.

You mean, in 2019
you had yet another car?

Yes. But I made sure that I paid it off,

and there was no effect to him,
by any means.

- OK...
- Because I knew that,

you know, it wasn't just in my name,
it was in his name, also,

so I didn't want to,
I didn't want to do that to him,

so I made sure that not only
did I pay the vehicle off,

but I got the transmission repaired,
and then I sold it.

So, what does your father
have to do with this case?

So, my father was affected because,
with the payments being late...

The car was in my name, also.

Oh, so it was in joint names,
you and your daughter?

Well, they were supposed to put it
as me the co-signer,

- but they put me as the...
- The primary?

- Exactly.
- [Cashannah] Yes.

OK. All right. Have you been
making the payments since January?

I was making payments on it
from February to September.

And then what happened?

[Cashannah] I couldn't afford
to make the payments anymore.

I'm a single mom of four, four kids.

So, what happened?

So, it's behind now.

Since... September?

Yeah, it's behind since...

September, October, November.

- So it's behind three months?
- Yes.

Have they notified you
that they want to repossess it?

No. They haven't repoed,
they've given us options

to try to "save" our credit after they...

OK, I'd like to see
what those options are.

Did they send it to you in writing?

- Did they send you a letter?
- No, it was verbal, on the phone,

when they called,
and we were discussing other options

that they may offer to...

OK. So, what was the best option
that they offered you?

The best option that they offered
was basically to come up with

about $396 to pay
to get the car now caught up,

because it was four months behind.

The car note's 225 each month.

- So, I wouldn't have got...
- So, they didn't offer you

a whole payout?
They just offered you...

- To catch up.
- To catch up?

- Yes.
- Right.

But still, what's due and owing
on the car is $3,752?

- Yes.
- OK.

And when your stepfather agreed to that,
did he say anything to you

with regard to his Cadillac
going in for service,

and he was gonna just use it
until his Cadillac got...

- No, Your Honor, that is incorrect.
- OK.

You remember going with your stepdaughter,

when she was purchasing a new car
in 2019?

Yes, I do.

- Did you co-sign that car for her?
- Yes.

- So, so far, what she says is accurate?
- Yes.

And at that time,
did you take her old car?

- Yes.
- Mm-hmm.

I have no idea
what you can get for this car.

And you know how you relied on him
to be a good guy,

- and to do what he was supposed to do?
- [Cashannah] Yeah.

I'm awarding you $3,752.
That's for you to pay off the bank.

And then, I don't think
you can find a buyer for this car,

you may have to scrap it.

- Right?
- Yes.

It's possible that's there's no point
in fixing it.

You're not going to invest
thousands of dollars in fixing it

when it probably is, at best,
worth $5,000.

And if it's gonna cost you $3,000
to try to get it up and running,

- it doesn't pay.
- Eleven thousand.

It doesn't pay.
So, I'm gonna rely on you

to do the right thing.
It sounds as if you, you do that,

that, while I'm awarding you 3,752,

whatever money you get for the car,

goes to him.
Do you understand?

If you scrap it for $70, he gets it.

I don't see that it's worth much more.

I certainly wouldn't invest in a car
that's been sitting dead for a year

with a blown engine.

Judgment for the plaintiff
in the amount of $3,752.

We're finished.

[Kevin]
This court is adjourned.

I think it was pretty fair.

I think it was very fair.

In my agreement, though, I pay for the car
until I get my car fixed.

I tried multiple times to reach out
to him, and I couldn't get a hold of him,

so it's really sad that I had to,
that it had to come to this.

She had to do what she had to do,
that's all I can say.

I've learned that you can't help anyone,

can't help, not even family.

Time to move on,
go on about my business.

I'm a nice person, so I guess you just,
sometimes can't be nice to everyone.

You know what's so disappointing?

She seems like a very lovely
young lady.

-Yeah.
- Her father seems like a nice man.

He had actually helped her purchase,
the father, the first car,

and I think, co-signed a loan for her

or bought her the car in 2018,
that she then turned over to him.

But he's been her stepfather
for a long time,

how could you be so irresponsible?

And you know she's a single parent
of four children,

who relies a lot on her credit.

- Credit and a car.
- And a car.

- And she's maintained her credit.
- Yes.

Except for the fact that her stepfather
sort of...

- Yeah.
- ...ruined it for her a little.

- He really didn't have a defense.
- No.

I don't think he had a defense.

I don't think that you borrow
somebody's car

until your car is fixed three years later.

- [chuckles]
- I don't think that that's a defense.

[Announcer]
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