from the Trib-

"Chicago Sports Webio employees sue David Hernandez
By Ameet Sachdev

Tribune staff reporter

3:43 PM CDT, August 11, 2009

The financier of a defunct Internet radio station launched by Chicago radio personality Mike North has been hit with lawsuits since he was charged with running a Ponzi scheme to fund the station and his other businesses.

North and several former employees of Chicago Sports Webio filed a complaint last week in Cook County court against David Hernandez of Downers Grove for failure to pay wages and writing bad checks.

The suit said that Chet Coppock, for example, was promised a $100,000 annual salary but was only paid about $18,000 when the station shut down in June. Court documents also show that North was offered a compensation package that included an annual salary of $250,000 and 30 percent ownership in Webio. But his attorney Lucas Fuksa said North never received shares in the company. North's wife, Bebe, who was Webio's chief operating officer, had a $100,000 salary.

Hernandez has pleaded not guilty to running a $12 million Ponzi scheme. He fled the Chicago area after being charged last month and was taken into custody at a hotel in Downstate Normal after he apparently tried to kill himself. Hernandez remains in custody at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago and could not be immediately reached for comment.

Hernandez also was sued by two of his investors last month in a Chicago federal court. North and his wife were also named as defendants in that suit. North declined to comment on both suits.

asachdev@tribune.com"
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Seems to me this acknowledgement of his salary and his ownership interest condemns Mike more than it helps his case--at least in the court of public opinion. I never profess to know how the legalities of all this will work out in the court system.

I'm really having a hard time fathoming the stupidity of even Mike North in thinking his $250K salary, plus BeBe's, not to mention all the other guys with their doubled and tripled salaries, were going to be paid by what this operation could POSSIBLY bring in, even in their most optimistic estimates of ad sales. The stupidity is just mind-boggling--unless, of course, as I've suspected all along, Mike had an inkling of this source of MILLIONS that Hernandez had access to, namely the investors' money.

It just got weirder.

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"It's not exactly a rocket surgery." D.J.

Outstanding stuff for an arrogant prick to turn down 800k and then get this. North thought his 30% was going to make him really rich, no wonder he chose to ignore the fact that Hernandez had been in jail.
These former employees should be suing him, he still has some money and was a partner. They will never get a penny from Hernandez, whatever he has will go to the "investors" first. Webio was a scam, and it was financed by illegally gotten money. They have no chance to ever collect a thing.

Deal with this Chico

you hit the nail on the head, north PROBABLY knew about the jail stint, but saw $$$$ and said fuck it, me and bee will take the $350k and if the company fails so be it. do i think north knew the money was from a ponzi scheme, no. but the idiot should have known the business plan was a horrible one or at least hired someone to look into the numbers

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Frank Coztansa wrote:
Please die in a fire.