it is what it is.. lesson learned, i just wish i didn't waste 17 years of my life in there..
or rather, i wish i packed up and left at the first sign of shit being cooked up.. i'd have parted ways, and had my stuff, cars, belongings, etc
anyway... not much i can do now
some guy now took over the shop where L&R Performance used to be.. complete with stock, lifts, tool boxes, dyno, diagnostic tools worth tens of thousands of dollars..
heck, even customer parts sitting there.. all for rent money plus ~10k USD to take the whole lot.
i have nothing against the new owners.. they saw a great deal and jumped on it.
but yeah, the shop i built literally with blood sweat and tears now has someone elses name on it.. while i'm a fugitive
Unbelievable! What happened?! The UAE took everything from you? I thought Dubai was supposed to be the financial land of opportunity. Were you extradited and all assets seized? That’s horrible. So sorry.
Businesses in that part of the world traditionally must have a local partner that owns majority shares, even if only on papers.
mine had a salutation of "His Excellency Sheikh etc" and was a silent partner for the most part till he decided it's time to shift focus.... then despite being a sole signatory on the bank accounts, and the ONLY person involved in the day to day operations of the business, somehow a line of credit worth ~$800k USD taken out against the business, without my consent or knowledge, and the monthly payments broke my back after a tough year as it is..
few months later, i had spent all my savings and assets trying to keep things afloat, and pay salaries.. coupled with a some customers having their own financial set-backs, delaying payments, etc... i packed a bag and left the country on my lawyer's recommendation, as i have a better chance fighting now than i would behind bars.
he's untouchable, and i'm the bad guy in the eyes of all.. especially many customers were hurt in the process, but i didn't go down without a fight.
i lost absolutely everything i've ever owned, and lived alone in a country where nobody knows my name for 7 months..
lost 40lb (not a bad thing) till a friend sponsored to pay for the move of my wife and cats (we have 6, so it's not a simple deal) and now we're starting up from scratch
that's about it basically.... it's a cliche but don't take anything for granted.. that guy was a fantastic friend till his own priorities kicked in.
Thank you guys.. really..
i did set up a gofundme campaign that i eventually deleted.. i shared it on my facebook where i have ~90 friends (really! i only keep FB connections with friends/family and those i constantly keep in touch with) and i've received some support which i was really grateful for, till it started feeling that i was almost begging since i shared the campaign page in a very small group and it ran its course
i do have a photo of my "bedroom" that i had for a few weeks before getting a mattress from a neighbor (the ball on the pillow came with a rescue cat i took in to keep me company)
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1...?key=YXcwd3M0bnBJZDh4cXdrcDFMOXNGd0N5UVpwbjVB
i love you guys.. really!
i miss being properly active here, but i haven't even sat in a mustang in over a year
Thank you, Sir
i'm brushing up on PHP, SQL (in general) and other IT related stuff... stuff i've done 10+ years in the past and haven't touched in a while..
should pay the bills, till i figure out wtf my "true calling" is [emoji1]