Curves Owner Faces Felony Charges; Calls Curves Franchise "A Dying Concept."
(FranchisePick.Com) Curves for Women franchise owner Stacy Burnett dreamed of owning her own mini-chain of Curves franchises, becoming financially independent and helping women improve their health and their lives. Somewhere along the line, Burnett’s plan went terribly wrong.
According to New York’s Times Herald-Record, Stacy Burnett not only faces the financial difficulties of recovering from two failed Curves franchises, she is facing grand larceny charges for allegedly writing bad checks for rent:
Police say Burnett, 33, who owned the recently closed Hurley and Kingston Curves, has been arrested three times — once on Oct. 5 by the Ulster County sheriff for allegedly bouncing a $10,000 check, again on Feb. 25 for failure to appear in court, and most recently on April 24 by Ulster town police on a charge of fourth-degree grand larceny, a felony, accused of bouncing checks.
Town of Ulster police Chief Paul M. Watzka says the grand-larceny charge stems from “bad checks on payment of rent on the Kingston Curves.
“Now it’s coming to light that she may be involved in other transactions that may be illegal,” Watzka said.
Burnett says she is not guilty.
“I bear no responsibility for all the bad paper floating out there,” she said. “I intend to fight those charges vigorously.”
Burnett said she closed the clubs after realizing she was working 13 hours a day and making very little money.
“I loved the members,” she said. “It’s just that Curves is a dying concept, with all sorts of problems, and I couldn’t live like that, hoping for things to pick up.”
Hat tip to Sadderbutwiser for the article link.
WHAT DO YOU THINK? IS CURVES “A DYING CONCEPT”? SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.
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2 opinions for Curves Owner Faces Felony Charges; Calls Curves Franchise "A Dying Concept."
Jean Murray
May 19, 2008 at 5:43 pm
Sean: I do think Curves is a dying concept, for several reasons:
1. Hours. I thought about signing up, but I can only go in the early morning, and they aren’t open until 7 a.m. Too late for me.
2. Too Many. They have over-sold the franchises, and there are too many in each community.
3. Men. I liked the concept of going where there were no men, but lots of younger women want to go where there ARE men.
I have been watching the ANYTIME FITNESS franchise near us, and it seems to be growing. It has at least 2 of the things Curves doesn’t (hours and men).
Jean
Burned by Curves
Jun 23, 2008 at 5:33 pm
My wife and I have owned a curves franchise the early days. It was great at first and we ended up buying several more. Now the shit so to speak has hit the fan and we are starting a class action lawsuit for owners who have been ripped-off by the crook Heaven and his co-horts. The horror stories of what we have had to endure are overwhelming and the majority of owners feel the same way. If you are an owner who has been ripped-off please contact me by emailing confidentially unhappyfranchisee [at] gmail.com as any owner who would like to join the class action lawsuit against Curves International.
Ask for your message to be forwarded to “Curves Z” and I will email back.
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