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Mar 26, 2008 10:48 pm US/Pacific
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Call Kurtis: Tracked Down Gym Owner
After Nearly 2 Years, Kurtis Ming Finds Owner of Hilltop Gym
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) ―
Customers and former employees of Hilltop Gym say the owner who owes them money....has dodged them for close to two years. This week, they got to demand answers from him under oath.
Kurtis Ming who also spent close to two years trying to talk with the owner of Hilltop Gym finally got the chance to have a conversation.
Will Cering of Hilltop Gym doesn't have much to say about repaying the dozens of former customers and employees who claim he owes them money.
I'm in bankruptcy. So how am i going to do that?, Cering told Kurtis on a street in Downtown Sacramento.
For two years gym members say Cering managed to dodge them as they tried to get refunds for services they never got. Some claim Hilltop Gym double and triple charged their bank accounts.
Former Fitness Manager James Brown says Cering never paid him a dime, and owes him $9,000, but has dodged his calls and won't recognize his emails.
Brown told Kurtis, "Cering told me he meant to do that to me, and that's what hurt".
Hilltop Gym filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy last month, then shut down its locations in Elk Grove and Sacramento. Those who say he owes them, finally got to see Cering face to face In bankruptcy court, where former gym member Rosanne Johnson got to ask him under oath about the $700 she sued Hilltop Gym for, and won in small claims court.
Johnson said, "I asked where's my money, why haven't i gotten paid, why haven't you answered any phone calls?"
But in the federal court room where cameras weren't allowed, Cering claimed he didn't know who she was, and had few answers.
The same thing happened outside.
Kurtis questioning Cering on the street, "Why is the D.A.'s office investigation you?" Cering replied, "I have no idea, maybe because of your news stories".
During a 4-block walk, Cering told Kurtis Hilltop Gym failed because of a business partner who disappeared on him. Kurtis asked Cering if he double and triple charged people. He answered, "No, not to my knowledge. If I did, there $10,000 at the D.A.'s office to reimburse those people".
Cering claims he paid that $10,000 into a restitution account set up by the District Attorney to settle complaints. But he couldn't explain why people have complaints against him or the gym.
The Sacramento County District Attorney's Office has known about these complaints for two years. Some say if the D.A. moved quicker before the bankruptcy filing, they may have had a better chance of getting their money.
Carrying her baby, Rosanne Johnson said, "I'm frustrated because that's who is supposed to work for us. That's where our taxpayers dollars go. Hopefully we get paid".
Just within the past few weeks, a D.A. prosecutor told one of our viewers, the Hilltop Gym case is a high priority.
Those who say he owes them.... want Cering to spend time in jail.
A bankruptcy attorney tells CBS13, if the D.A. files charges against Cering, and he is convicted, he would still have to pay restitution to those he owes, despite the bankruptcy.
We called the D.A. for an update on its case today. They're still investigating.
Hilltop Gym has another bankruptcy hearing in April. If you think Hilltop Gym owes you money, file a complaint with the Sacramento D.A.'s office.
You also have until June to file a claim with the federal bankruptcy court.
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