You’ve Got Money 2: Dan Kavanaugh Enterprises

In the middle of your isolation, do you shoot sorrow in your veins?

Take a look at yourself Alexander, living like a no-man’s-lander.

–  The Angels, Alexander

Dan The Entrepreneur  

“I didn’t just do the web site,” he said. “I created all of the traffic to the site. Joe did very little. He just answered the phone. I built the entire business.”

“I actually transferred it (the money) to myself with Mike’s knowledge,” he said. “None of that money went to me. That money went to vendors, welders and manufacturers.”

“The company didn’t succeed after Joseph”.

The Interview

“I spent hours on the phone with Dan when he had asked me to help him “write his book about what happened to the family.” I specifically asked him if he was in Hawaii on February 4, 2010 and he told me he was not. I asked him if he was the one who initiated the $2,000 PayPal transaction from Joey’s account on February 6, 2010 and he told me yes, it was him.”

– Rick Baker, April 2014

LE has verified that Dan was in Hawaii, so we can reason that this statement in it’s totality is a one big lie.

We’ve seen the payments Joseph made to Dan in the months prior to the disappearance. Let’s take a look at the first money Dan received afterwards, dated February 18.

Did you catch it? In all the emails it was always as Earth Inspired Products (josephmcstay69@hotmail.com). This email has “Dan Kavanaugh” as the recipient. This could only mean one of two things, Dan was already on the account as a issuer of funds or Dan went in as administrative user “Joseph McStay” and created the account for himself. Either way Dan essentially cut a check to himself. He’s given a slew of various reasons at different intervals, notably at the interview posted above. But in all accounts he’s claimed it was Mike and Susan who initiated the funds.

So why does it have his fingerprints all over it?

Dan had claimed “emails were piling up from clients” and that is what got his suspicion something was wrong. He also claimed the money went to “vendors, welders and manufacturers” and was approved by Michael and Susan. This may have been true in the later weeks but did this apply on February 18th? Was Chase telling Michael and Susan the same thing?  Was this approved even before the search warrants were obtained and executed? Did the family really approve this particular transaction and did they really know of all the others? Was it to pay back payments for the website host that cost $1000 per month?

It is really hard for me to accept the family would give the green light on this $3000 check before knowing where Joseph and his family was, even if Dan claimed money was owed to him. It was deposited in his account on the 18th. Did Mike release it or did Dan cut it to himself? To my earlier point, it is Dan K’s name on the recipient of the email being sent. Like he set it up through his account attached to Joseph’s so he would know once it dropped.

The whole thing stinks like a steaming dead pig.

This transaction has caused a lot of contention.

Tuesday, February 9. It’s for $2000. Notice that it says “Your money is now available in your PayPal account”. As typical with Paypal, as it states on all the transaction notices we’ve seen, takes 3-5 business days  to process. This was most likely done by Joseph on the 4th (Thursday, Friday, Monday, Tuesday) and not Dan as many have attributed it to.

Other transactions include:

• 2/18 $2000 transferred to Dan K (this was initiated on 2/15)
• 2/24 Request initiated for $2000
• 3/9 $2900 transferred to DK
•  3/11 $3000 transferred to DK

And the final payment of $3,445 to:

Dan Kavanaugh Enterprises? 

There is a lot to gleam from all of this. Let’s look at Dan’s claim that the money went to vendors, welders and manufacturers. Wouldn’t Joseph (and the family) want a paper trail as to who and what the money was going to? Does Dan have any proof this money went towards fees? Wouldn’t it be better that these bills be paid for directly from the account to the services and suppliers???? It seems to me Dan K Enterprises was let loose to do as he pleased.

Almost to the day that Chase Merritt was alerting family members that Joseph was missing and cashing checks, Dan seemed to be doing the exact same thing. And they both tried to get into the Quickbooks. One says Joseph was his best friend, the other claims he is his business partner.

It’s peculiar is all.

Chase Merritt Abroad

The following came to me by someone who knew Chase Merritt. I know there has been a lot disputed about whether Chase Merritt went to Saudi Arabia or not to install the fountain. I can assure you, he did. This is a document of the Saudi fountain install. Chase went, did his work and returned. No mystery.

Subject: PO for Earth Inspired

Dear Susan,

Again and again we have settled COMPLETE payment INCLUSIVE of the installation supervison (US $4000)
Please refer to the attached Pro-forma invoice from EIP and the PO that we raised in conformity with it
I sent you 2 days ago the proof of payments made to you for the total value of the PO which is US $61,542.25

Trust this is very clear.
In return we hereby strongly claim that Mr. Chase needs to immediately arrive in Riyadh to supervise the assembly and installation of the waterfalls.
I will need to ask our Logistic department book him on the earliest flight as time is extremely critical and the handover is only 4 days away.

Please make sure Mr. Chase sends us his passport copy with the Saudi visa stamped on it.

Regards,

A**** *******
Procurement Manager

Rahage Trading Est.
P O Box 16869 Riyadh 11474
Riyadh Saudi Arabia
Tel.+966 1 477****
Fax.+966 1 476****
Mob.+966 50559****
E Mail: *****@**********.com

Thu, June 17, 2010 11:40:25 PM [ No Subject ]

From: chase merritt <idesign4u1@yahoo.com>

To: ***blake**@*****.com

Susan, I am trying to get the business at hand out of the way. I do not want joey to have anything negative to come back to. as you know, I have allready taken care of christina martini. And I am in saudi right now trying to take care of these people. when I retyurn, I am planning on trying to take care of all other loose ends. but do me a favor and do not make any commitments on my behalf. you and dan havev successfully screwed up this business beyond repair despite my pleas and then tried to turn the blame on me. so as far as I am concerned, I have no commitment to you. if that sounds harsh, well I suppose it is, but you put me in a position that was at best, uncomfortable, and at worse, unforgivable. I am trying to do what is right by joey, but I have limited resources, thanks to yours and dans inaction as far as sales and business management. if there are any fires that I can sucessfully put out, please let me know and I will try and accomidate, but do not commit for me. I will let you know if whatever you need is possible.

best regards chase

just hi

From: chase merritt <idesign4u1@yahoo.com>

To: *****jarvis@juno.com

just wanted to say I miss you and can’t wait to get home. enough culture for a while. unbelievable. I actually wish you guys could experience this first hand. when they say no middle class in a country, they mean it. here, you are either poor or rich, or a foreigner. well gotta go. love ya chase

Sat, June 19, 2010 8:39:16 AM

just hi  From: chase merritt <idesign4u1@yahoo.com>

To: cathy jarvis <*****jarvis@juno.com> end of the day, got the second feature pretty much done. met a couple taleban today. nice people, unbelievably giving and polite.

love YA CHASE

Sat, June 26, 2010 2:46:21 PM

susan, I understand that you are telling people that I am wanted for fraud by the the FBI for taking peoples money and not giving them waterfalls. you and I know that that is not true. I was in saudi arabia and not able to get in touch with my client for a while, but telling them that I was wanted is slander.. so I hope for your sake that you will stop talking to people about me. saudi arabias falls are installed. but they still need the sponge, remote controls, and something else. all of which were at your friends shop. call me or reply please, and let me know you got this. I do not want to have any more problems with you and dan, but if you continue to push me into a corner, I will take legal action.

So the Saudi’s paid $4000 for Chase to go out and install the fountain. Seemingly he did but with some parts missing.

According to the owner, he sent Susan Blake quite a bit of money: “I sent you 2 days ago the proof of payments made to you for the total value of the PO which is US $61,542.25″.

Does he mean he actually sent to Susan Blake or the Susan Blake representing EIP? What I mean is, did he make that payment to the company before the disappearance or to Susan Blake afterwards? Because we know by this time the accounts were frozen. So he sent proof that he paid for it….when? Also the supposed price was upwards of $80k, so there is about a $18k difference.

I’m sure there is a logical explanation, but it all sounds hinky.

Joseph McStay owns an Internet-based business that sells indoor water fountains. His San Diego-based business partner is continuing to keep the site afloat, but no new orders are being accepted.

August 2010

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-mcstay-family-disappearance-remains-mystery-2010aug04-story.html

The following is a complaint filed to the Better Business Bureau for EIP Fountains. It is no longer there as the new owner Patrick Maloy has since resolved all complaints.

“02/18/2011: I ordered the wall fountain with a custom logo on 12/21/10 and was then sent an invoice on 1-7-11 and received a phone call at the same time from Dan Kavanaugh requesting 75% down and tried to pay with AmEx and was told a check was needed and I needed to overnight it to keep production on schedule. I sent a check in the amount of $4294.08 on 1-10-11 via FedEx. The drawings for the logo were requested on 12/21/10 and were still not received at the time of sending the check but were promised within a day or two. I left several messages about the design drawings I needed to approve so the order could proceed and then on 2-10-11 I e-mailed asking about the status of these drawings. No response to any calls or e-mails once the check was cashed. On 2-13-11 I sent an e-mail and left a voice mail for Dan to send the drawings and confirm the order is moving forward by the close of business on 2-14-11. I also stated in writing that if I do not hear from him by the end of the day I will consider this order canceled and he should refund the down payment in full via check or a credit card. No response. I just need my down payment back as I have had to order this same item from another company (who had another customer with this same problem in Oct in NY who paid EIP and never received her product) in order to meet my delivery date for my customer.”

This is awfully disturbing,  but notably so is what’s bolded. This didn’t happen a couple months after the family disappeared but almost a full year later. Dan personally called the client to request a check of 75% “to keep production on schedule”. The site wasn’t accepting credit cards and I’m guessing it’s probably harder to file a charge back on a check. This person was requesting a custom logo as well and they submitted drawings for what they wanted. How would EIP – or Dan K – be able to furnish this customized fountain since Chase Merritt was long gone at this point? Obviously DK Enterprises was not intending to follow through. Just took the money and split.

The above quote is only one of many about Dan and EIP that have been posted over the years but they have since been removed. This is the only one I could locate. I’m sure there are super-sleuthers out there who could find the others. Of some of the complaints and other accounts, people who contacted the company regarding their product said they talked to a man who said his name was “Vince”. As in Daniel Vincent? Why the name change? Like Charles, to Chas, to Chase.

In April/May 2010 an ad was posted for the sale of EIP. It was reported back to the family and the ad was promptly removed. Ten days before this a lawsuit was filed against Joseph’s brother Michael McStay for loan default from Heritage Financial. I know the lawsuit may have been bogus but the timing of someone trying to sell EIP is curious.

In June 2011, 17 months after the family disappeared, Dan Kavanaugh sold Eip.com to buyers in San Diego, conveniently where Dan himself also lived. Matthew Schneider and Joaquin (Quinatzin) Quintero. He claimed he made very little money on it because there was a lot of debt (if you consider debt to be taking clients money without providing product). Matthew Schneider is part of the same guys who got busted for smuggling Marijuana across the U.S.

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Matt-Schneider-Pacific-Beach-Pot-Ring-Kyle-Gillen-Chris-San-Diego–210495371.html

Here is Quintero being arrested a year prior for growing and distribution of Marijuana.

http://www.pe.com/articles/marijuana-661632-murrieta-growing.html

But prior to all of this, they had this new fountain business, Water Feature Supply along with EIP.com. They had an employee named Patrick Maloy whom Schneider and Quintero sold WFS.com to. The price was $1500. Maloy was under the understanding that EIP.com came along with it as was well because it was one package, because EIP.com directed traffic to WFS.com. Maloy took them to court in May 2012. He won the case.

http://www.adrforum.com/domaindecisions/1434296.htm

What especially stood out for me is Complaint 7

“Respondent is defrauding Complainant’s current customers by taking online orders and receiving payment for those orders without actually shipping any products to the customers, which disrupts Complainant’s business.”

Sounds familiar.

What is appalling is that EIP was essentially obtained for a measly $1,500.

Here is their business filing with the state.  https://businesssearch.sos.ca.gov/Document/RetrievePDF

The address was minutes away from the warehouse where they were growing their Pot.

Schneider and Quintero are now running a Baja Winery tours business.  https://www.corporationwiki.com/p/2kvnzq/quinatzin-quintero

Quintero’s other “business” is ….wait for it…..a law firm. Out of an apartment. But okay.

Rhymes With Duct

http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/landscaping-water-feature-supply-water-feature-supply-patrick-m-879758

Water Feature Supply Patrick Maloy Water Feature Supply takes your money and never sends your products! San Diego, California

“I made a purchase with this company, they took my money and never delivered my product.  After a little research it turns out this company has a long and shady history.  This company used to be Earth Inspired Products and after the original owner disappeared?!?! His partner used the company to rip people off for a while then sold it to some new a$$hole named Patrick Maloy.  Who is apparently keeping the tradition alive by continuing to rip people off.  Shady shady people dont buy from this website!”

Bad company

5/8/12

“http://www.waterfeaturesupply.com/ is full of BS. We call them to ask their bussiness address 1 yr ago, they have none. We ask them the size of a listed fountain on their website, they don’t know. I call them this past week asking the size of the same fountain on their site, Patrick said he don’t know will check on it when he get back to the office  eventhough it’s during office hour. No phone call return from this guy. They don’t know anything or where they work, accept you can make order, payment and wait until your product show up, if it ever show up.”

11/12/12

 

#2 REBUTTAL Owner of company

Water Feature Supply

AUTHOR: Water Feature Supply – (United States of America)

SUBMITTED: Wednesday, May 09, 2012

Water Feature Supply is a fully legitimate business and has never engaged in any incredulous business practices. This fact is well known in the interior water fountain industry and is highlighted by the many legitimate business relationships with the leading manufactures such as BluWorld, Adagio Water Features, Umpqua Fountain Designs, Pure as Water, and Nayer Kazemi Water Art. The record will show that Water Feature Supply has never failed to deliver or participated in any unethical business practice.
Furthermore Water Feature Supply is a completely independent business, with no standing ties, to Earth Inspired Products, which if researched, was sold illegally in July 0f 2011 by Dan Kavanaugh to two individuals in San Diego. I find it highly unethical to publish anonymous accusations that have no legitimate foundations. I stand by the fact that Water Feature Supply has not and will not engage in any inappropriate business activities. If you are the person responsible for posting this complaint, please provide proof of your claim, such as, a receipt of the sale, the date of the transaction, your name, the item purchased, and any communications you allegedly had with WFS.

As late as November 2011, Dan was still using Joseph’s email account:

http://www.statsinfinity.com/domain/Gpe8xRDuWTEMLZ4t1SbqXQ.._info.html

Why was he still using this account? It makes zero sense.

By June 2012 Michael McStay got the EIP domain back and the old address directed users to Mcstayfamily.org

 Conclusion

At some level Dan was a co-owner of EIP. However, that’s a truth only in the mind of Dan Kavanaugh. Because he wasn’t an owner of the company. Not by 50/50, not by any percentage. When Joseph registered EIP with The Better Business Bureau, he listed himself as owner, his father Patrick McStay as co-owner and Dan as manager. Dan admits in his CNN interview that Joseph and him had a “Gentleman’s Agreement”. But this doesn’t coincide with what Joseph told others that he was paying him off or the one payment with “Payoff” in the subject line in January 2010. In the business world, this might not be viewed as a completion of a buyout but rather as E–x-t-o-r-t-i-o-n. Also, a Gentleman’s Agreement is not a legally binding contract. Unless Dan could produce some actual contract, even without Joseph here to dispute or confirm it, on paper and in records Joseph McStay is, or was, the sole owner of EIP as well as EIP.com. Whether he had a legal right or not to sell EIP (the domain) remains for a court to determine, but we have found no documentation he had any ownership of the domain. He had no right to sell it without Michael’s and Susan’s involvement, let alone at all. Even with their involvement, they had no legal authority to meddle either, no matter their best intentions. This was a very shifty transaction and really should be fully vetted on a federal level. Especially considering the amount of monies (in the several thousands) collected from unsuspecting clients as well as from the accounts. Some claim that Dan pilfered Joseph’s account of upwards to $26,000 through March 2010. I think what he got was closer to $12000. Regardless, there was obviously no accounting being done and with Dan saying he got the approval, it’s his word against theirs. If he did swindle some money out, he likely will not see charges.

Dan can tell everyone he is some Grand Wizard and was doing everything he could to save the company, but I call bullshit. We have Joseph’s phone records, we know who he called. I would like to see Dan’s PHONE RECORDS so we can see if there was a record of clients, vendors, welders and manufacturers, that he was calling and paying for the months of February – March 2010.

As they say, put your money where your mouth is.

C.