Cuppy’s Coffee, Elite Manufacturing Franchise Complaint on Rip-off Report
February 16, 2008 by Sean Kelly
Filed under CUPPY'S COFFEE
(FranchisePick.com) Just when it seemed like complaints of unreturned Cuppy’s Coffee franchise fees were a thing of the past, this allegation surfaces on Rip-off Report allegedly from Rolando in Bueno Park, CA.
Cuppy’s Coffee Franchise Complaint on Rip-Off Report
ELITE MANUFACTURING, CUPPY’S COFFEE AND MORE FRANCHISE BUILDER’S CONTRACT SCAM FORT WALTON BEACH Florida ELITE MANUFACTURING
Phone: 850-243-7021
548 MARY ESTHER CUTOFF #334
FORT WALTON BEACH, Florida, 32548
Submitted: 2/8/2008 8:16:43 AMRolando BUENA PARK, California
We verbally enter a franchise agreement with Cuppy’s Coffee and More base in Florida to build a store in California by there builder who reside at the same address, Elite Manufacturing, LLC. The catch was, Elite will pay the franchise fee of $25,000 if we put the down payment of $37,900 to build the store, the following day, which we did. Cuppy’s Coffee and More never send a UFOC franchise agreement which is a clear violation of the FTC. The franchise was cancelled because we can’t find a lender to finance building the store.
When I asked for our down payment from Elite MFG representative, in which the contract clearly states, that down payment will be return to purchaser if we can’t get finance. Now there representative find a loophole in there own contract and said that it did not say that we will return the down payment in full. That there VP of operation made a mistake by not putting the down payment in an escrow, so they can return the down payment in full. He is blaming there Vice President of operations. READ ON
WHAT DO YOU THINK? ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH CUPPY’S COFFEE OR ELITE MANUFACTURING? LEAVE A COMMENT.
Photo licensed under Creative Commons. Photo credit:
Charles, when Theresa answered your questions re: escrow/refunds issues she went to Morg/Ben & received approval for what you asked and wanted. Again she never received your $! All money was taken to the accounting department without opening envelope or it was wired straight into the bank acct. Either way Theresa never personally saw your $ nor did she now what Morg did with it after it was in his bank account. Morg did tell several that he would put the 4 in escrow but wheather he did or not no one knew but him and Frankie (accounting Director). So Theresa did not lie to you! As far as she knew your $ went into escrow. Refunds are handled thru legal department which was Danny Jones. Regarding refunds… Morg & now Dale are the only 2 people that have the say-so to pay someone or not to pay someone. So what you really need to do is join other zees in a class action suit. Good luck to you.
yep… Danny Jones has really lied to lots of folks. I’ll be naming him in my lawsuit too.
To Guest, Sept. 12:
Again, thank you for your information. However, I don’t see it as you explained and neither will the law judge hearing the case. Theresa St. Clair had a fiduciary responsibility to act and respond in the manner in which she promissed. She did not. All correspondence and money (check marked “escrow”) was addressed to Theresa St. Clair by me. As the Vise President of Elite and representative to me, she had the full responsibility to act properly with funds. Theresa St. Clair also signed the contract. This makes HER responsible for handling the escrowed funds. Morg did not sign the contract, Theresa did. I have copy of signed contract. If I was doing business directly with Morg I could understand your point. But, as Theresa St. Clair was the legal representative of Elite to customers, she has the executive responsibility to act on what she stated to customers. If as you say, her words and actions went to Morg for handling, then this is fraud. It could even possibly be contrued as “bait and switch”. One rep telling a customer one thing then doing another because another executive is actually doing the handling of the matters involved. Therefore, Theresa can’t say she did not lie or deceive customers. If she were NOT personally handling deposits, she needed to make that known to the depositors.
I understand your loyality to Theresa. I better understand the needs of the depositors who are owed their deposits back. I thank you for your information. And, I hope you see my/our point about Elite and Theresa. We were lied to, defrauded and robbed by all concerned at Elite and Cuppy’s. Bless you for your info.
Charles:
Check out Theresa’s comments on UnhappyFranchisee.com where she threatens to sue the blog because of a comment she didn’t like:
http://www.unhappyfranchisee.com/2008/09/cuppys-coffee-attorney-rudy-harper-assistant-desiree-resign/#comment-1638
So many employees are, all of a sudden, trying to walk the moral high ground and act as if they weren’t making their car payments with franchise depositer’s money.
Charles… Obviously you’ve never owned a business. Usually the owners have managers and the managers/employees perform their job discription. In the “Owners” office behind closed doors in about every business across this country you can bet you behind that those owners are doing things that the employees know nothing about. When money comes into the company it goes straight to the owners not the employees.
All of you… get a life!
Charles… it seems that all you zees are forgetting who owned the businesses. That would be Robert Morgan then and Dale Nabors now. Those are the ONLY 2 people that had control of you money. If they said the Frankie Marquis not to write a check to so-n-so, she didn’t. You want to know were your money went you should check out Morg and Dale’s check books. NO ONE ELSE! HELL NEITHER OF THEM PAID THEIR EMPLOYEES HARDLY ANYTHING.
Charles.. quit whining! It’s your own fault that you did not do your due diligence. Do what you need to do, get an attorney and move forward. good luck..
Charles, you must be tripping. Do you really think that Morg or Dale would let ANY employee get their hands on a check or wire that would usually be for $40k or more? Heck No. No one saw the $ except accounting dept, Morg and Dale. All of the employees past and present can testify to that. So focus on those 2 if you expect to get anything back.
Charles, you must be tripping. Do you really think that Morg or Dale would let ANY employee get their hands on a check or wire that would usually be for $40k or more?
jp, EL, cj, Guest:
How much was your commission check for getting Charles to send his money in? $3500? $7000 if he had opened?
Which ploy did you use? The franchise fee is going to go up next week? Or, Elite will pay your franchise fee if you wire it to us by Friday?
You better brush up on your “We were just following orders” defense, which isn’t a defense if you’re knowingly perpetrating a fraud.
Didn’t work too well for Calley or Eichmann, either.
It’s your own fault that you did not do your due diligence. ie it’s your fault you couldn’t tell we were crooks is not a compelling argument, either.
JD writes: Usually the owners have managers and the managers/employees perform their job discription. In the “Owners” office behind closed doors in about every business across this country you can bet you behind that those owners are doing things that the employees know nothing about.
You’re talking about a corporate Vice President. Are you saying she wasn’t a real VP with executive access, just a flunky they let use “VP” to make her feel important? Was she a corporate executive or not?
She can’t have it both ways.
Sean…Morg thew titles around like it was candy. Wake up dude. How many times do you have to hear that no one saw the money but Morg, Dale & Frankie?
JD: so, to be clear, you’re saying Theresa St.Clair was just a flunky with a fake VP title… no real executive responsibility?
That’s why she’s not a VP at San Gelato?
Be explicit with the dude.
The dude abides.
comment to and about sean’s remarks on:
Sep 14, 2008 at 2:38 am and Sep 14, 2008 at 3:16 am
It’s good to see you have the intellectual capacity to understand my remarks to Guest. Your remarks to jp, EL, cj, Guest and JD are more than their vitiated minds can construe.Their cognizance of corporate command, law and morality is mendaciously apprehensible. They have been schooled in the art of dissimulation. They think and speak what they have been taught. Your reply to them, Sean, was a veracious reply. Your reply in the above two replys were, “right on”. Thk you.
To those you who say, “get a life, get on with your life, stop crying, and that I don’t know business or have never owned a business”, are torpid. Sean, we have unearthed the underlings of social maggots.
Cuppy’s new website shows Navarre, FL as “OPEN”. They have been closed since end of August and the owner (VP of Marketing of Medina) is filing bankruptcy. Morg/Dale hasn’t helped one of their own employees who was a zee… what makes anyone think Dale will help them get their store open?!
Just curious if anyone knows the status of everything? This is my first posting. I am one of the people that have been scammed by these people. I am a 100% disabled veteran and I had an insurance annuity that I cashed in to pay for the down payment. I was told that I was in the top 5% of the people they have worked with as far as being able to qualify for a loan. I gave them my down payment of $37,500 and about a week later, I was told I did not qualify and was sent to a specialist and if I paid them $2,000 they could get me financed. After about a month, they could not get me financed either. I requested my refund and was told that they did not have my money, but they would pay me back monthly. I even signed a contract because I felt like this might be the only way of getting my money back. That isn’t happening either. Not sure where to go at this point. If anyone can advise, I would certainly appreciate it. My annuity was set up to pay me monthly. Since it is gone, I cannot pay my bills.
David!
I am so sorry!
Please report this “crime” to the local authorities and to your State Attorney General and to the FBI, and to the Federal Trade Association who are supposed to be regulating franchising in the interests of franchise buyers. Also complain to the SBA in order to protect other veterans, who are now the targets of franchisors.
your are not alone their are dozens of of us VICTIMS wondering when are we going to see our money. The big question is are we going to see any of it$$$. Mr.Dale and his family are living their good life with our money. Everyone out there contact you local news we need to find answers. we just want answers..
Nothing personal toward Joshua, Angela, David, Christy and other recent commenters, but after a year and a half of writing about this, warning people, donating my time writing dozens of posts, my sympathy toward the Java Jo’z and Cuppy’s Coffee depositers is wearing a bit thin.
Sheep are for shearing, my friends, and you all have provided Morg & Dale with enough wool to stay nice and warm all winter long.
There are hundreds of people who naively handed over tens of thousands of dollars to these guys. Instead of speaking out publicly and warning others, they willingly accepted a gag order and a weak deal to get part of their money back over a ridiculously long time frame. They got a few measly payments and then (surprise surprise) the payments stopped.
By making a few measly payments, they established an intent to pay - a defense against a fraud claim.
I’ve been writing on Cuppy’s Coffee for going on two years and can tell you this: The blog postings were the only thing that ever spurred these guys to action. If only half of you had stepped forward to publicly tell your story, the media, law enforcement and regulators could not ignore it in this election year. Imagine the outcry. Even if you had held off to go public until the first day after your first payment was missed… but you remained silent except for anonymous comments. You kept holding out in the hopes that they’d throw you a few of your own crumbs.
There’s a Cuppy’s Coffee page on Unhappy Franchisee designed to provide a focal point… to include an overwhelming number of interviews from those who had been duped by Cuppy’s Coffee. It could be the focal point for an email campaign to law enforcement and the media… proof that yours is not an isolated business dispute but a pattern of fraud.
Dozens of Cuppy’s Coffee franchisees and franchise depositers were sent an invitation to fill out this interview questionaire (http://www.franchisepick.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/ufintquestions.doc) and email it to unhappyfranchisee[at]gmail.com for posting.
Do you know how many of you Cuppy’s Coffee depositers have had the guts to publicly tell their stories? Five.
Five of you have stepped forward to speak out, to expose this fraud, to stand up for yourselves and also to warn others. Five of you weren’t afraid to use your 1st amendment rights. Five thought it worthwhile to warn others from suffering the same fate. The rest have chosen to bleat softly to themselves.
There’s a name for that: The Silence of the Lambs
Sean - I received your email with the interview questions last week or so. I fully intend to respond and have it one-half completed, making sure that I am double-checking my facts as they happened to us.
I fully intend to put my dog back in the fight, just having some trouble finding time since we both work full-time.
Look for mine coming soon. As I said, there is no reason to be silent any longer - They have NO MONEY and those of us who signed the “silence agreement” agreeing to not post or speak of our experience in exchange for that “piddly” little check every three months - that was ALWAYS late - have no need to be silent now. I have come to grips finally that our hard-earned money ended up with crooks who lived larged but will eventually be punished. I still smirk knowing Snowden went from that beautiful $2.5M home to a prison cell, hope he thought it was worth it.
I fully intend to put my dog back in the fight, just having some trouble finding time since we both work full-time.
Good for you, Carol.
You have been through the ringer and have had a first row seat for this entire tragicomedy… since Scoble and Java Jo’z.
You have also seen how they can keep this thing going by simply selling the “assets” and not the liabilities and start a whole new era of devastation.
Believe me, there are a lot of con artists and cloud merchants watching how this story plays out. If they are allowed to pull this off with impunity, the franchise scam gold rush will be on. If people make enough noise and bang their pots and pans, itmight give some of them pause.
Well Folks, I need to get some help here.I have been fighting with these infamous crooks for about 2 years since Java Joz to get back my 45,000.I got a lawyer who specializes in frachise/Contract Law but I cannot afford to keep paying him.They are spending our money on expensive lawyers in Orange County where I live.So far have have been successful in their quest to keep the Judge from hearing the truth of their operation and tactics.
I had converted over to Planet Popolicious from Java Joz because I was promised by Hugh Darley that it would be open in two months.The drive thru coffee kiosk was not working put here in calif and this is why the conversion.I was never told by Lili Tran who I thought was my friend the real story behind the name change to Cuppy’s from Java Joz and the “Medina Enterprrise” even though I have many concrete email conversation from her with the promises and her ignoring my question of the WHY name change back in April 2006 if my memory is correct.
I know there is indeed JUSTICE but it will take all of us pulling our resources, our tenacity and our prayers to get this Justice.I may or may not ever see my money but just as important they need to be held accountable for being unaccountable to so many hard working people.
Please everyone keep the FAITH and lets not give up.I have another court date and since Robert Morgan skipped out of Fort Walton Beach I cannot find him to serve the summons.I need to find the Corporation for Cuppys in calif or wherever to serve the summons there.Any info out there to help me do this?I would reallly appreciate it.
Cuppy’s was in Florida. It moved to Alabama. The current address is on their website. If Cuppy’s is no longer authorized to conduct business, you would likely serve the successors-in-interest.
Michael Webster likely has the addresses you need, and you should contact him.
I will get the interview questions answered asap. I have been having problems with my computer. I have to work today, but I am off tomorrow. I am going to put in calls to every government agency that will listen. You are right. On the advice of an attorney, I signed a contract to get my money back in payments. Being 100% disabled and after cashing in my insurance annuity for the down payment, I didn’t feel like I had much of a choice. I had no idea what was going on with so many people. I guess I am at fault. I never thought to check anything out on the computer. If I had, I never would have fallen for their BS. When I called Cuppy’s and went down to Fort Walton Beach, they really made you believe everything was great, right down to showing off their AAFD award. I am willing to do everything I can, to help everyone get what belongs to us, from these parasites. Just let me know.
I’ve been away. I was just able to read up on your posts. Sean, never got that doc with the questions but I will have it done by the end of the week.
Do you need a lawyer to file a judgement or can anyone do it?
Morg Morgan taking Cuppy’s back & Brian Hayes…
will be doing build outs again. What the heck… they’re glutten for punishment. Also hear that Amy Hiller is so far up Morgs ass while he is in AL because she sees him being in charge again very soon. She goes whichever way the wind is blowing. It’s terrible when someone doesn’t know how to stand on their own two feet. Payroll has still not been paid. Not only for the FL ex employees final paycheck but the dumba$$es that moved to AL with Dale haven’t been paid for a month and a half. Unless you want to count the bad check Dale gave them that bounced. Does Dale think if Morg takes the company back that he can wash his hands clean of the cluster you know what? I don’t think so because Dale talked zees into sending in more $ & he still did not put that $ towards the zees projects. Fraud, fraud, fraud! Also, Morg is not in the clear either! The lawsuits are piling up against the company, Dale & Morg. You can run but you can’t hide!
You illustrate why normal people can not understand the mind of a Cuppy’s franchisee.
1. Nothing to do with glutton for punishment, it has to do with gluttons for the benjamins.
2. From what you say, Ms. Hiller is being proactive and making sure she gets her share of the benjamins. That’s more common sense than the Cuppy’s franchisees have demonstrated.
3. Cuppy’s franchisees and ex-employees don’t know how to stand on their own 2 feet; they whine and moan in the hope that a new Daddy will step in now that Morg is gone. Frankly, Ms. Hiller sounds positively like a model of independence compared to you guys.
4. Dale won’t be able to wash his hands of this because Morg and Hayes will blame everything on Nabors’ brief tenure. Of course that is not true, but the luvvv of a Cuppy’s franchisee for Morgan knows no logic.
5. Nabors’ take is a pittance compared to Morgan’s. As always with you sheep, Morgan is at best an afterthought. And I have no doubt that if Morg were back in charge and took you out for a nice dinner and a walk along the beach, you would sell your first-born and give Morg the money.
You never thought it was fraud when Morgan took your money, cause Morg could read you like a book.
Don’t worry… Daddy will be home soon. Have your piggy bank full.
…the luvvv of a Cuppy’s franchisee for Morgan knows no logic.
Dale won’t be able to wash his hands of this because Morg and Hayes will blame everything on Nabors’ brief tenure.
…if Morg were back in charge and took you out for a nice dinner and a walk along the beach, you would sell your first-born and give Morg the money.
Down in the Fort Walton Beach/Destin area (aka the Redneck Riviera) and uptown in upscale Muscle Shoals, Alabammy, they got a phrase for peoples who write that fancy and with all them insites and such:
Not from around here. Or even damn Yankee.
Billy, don’t you know that down yonder in Cuppyland, telling the truth in such a manner is considered bad form if not downright vulgar?
What’s the harm if Morg (and a couple hundred new depositers) engineers an economic bailout… if it means free daycare and a resurgence of the once-great industrial center of Angola, IN?
Here in Canton Mass, being a “damn Yankee” is a point of pride.
I have a certain admiration for Morgan. Up here, we had to get Bangladeshi zees; the natives were too savvy.
If Morg is still hiding from the process server, tell him to come on up and he can stay with Udo Schlentrich. Good skiing and all the donuts he can eat.
The process servers are pretty adept in FL, from all the practice they get. Suntanned, too. Many of them use stealth Jetskis to serve Morg on his boat.
When serving the elusive Richard Quick, Esq., some have resorted to underwater sea sleds and mini-subs rented from the Cousteau Society, and, after RQ’s sonar was upgraded, highly trained porpoises.
Re: Dale Nabors invitation to this Friday’s conference call - HERE YOU GO………… THE BIG ANNOUNCEMENT THAT ROBERT MORGAN & BRIAN HAYES ARE BACK & BETTER THAN EVER!!! HIDE YOUR PETS & CHILDREN; EMPTY YOUR BANK ACCOUNTS & HIDE WHAT’S LEFT OF YOUR MONEY; KISS YOUR INVESTMENTS TOTALLY GOODBYE. FOR THOSE FOOLS THAT WANT TO BELIEVE MORG, BRIAN OR DALE WILL FINALLY DO THE RIGHT THING, I WOULDN’T SEND IN ANY MONEY UNTIL YOUR PROJECT IS 100% COMPLETE & YOU HAVE SIGNED DOCUMENTATION THAT SHOWS EVERY VENDOR/GC HAS BEEN PAID SO SOMEONE CAN’T PUT A LIEN ON YOUR STORE LATER. AND BY ALL MEANS THIS TIME… PLAY IT SAFE! I DON’T CARE HOW MUCH EITHER OF THEM TRY TO CONVIENCE YOU THAT IT WAS ALL SOMEONE ELSES FAULT THAT YOU LOST YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY.
I spent all day yesterday on the phone. I called the FBI, IRS, FTC, Attorney General in AL and FL, just to name a few. They all are very interested in the situation. Anyone who is owed money, should call them all.
Does anyone know how to get on the conference call today?
Pay $88,000 toward an overpriced buildout, light a candle for Morg and say “Believe and Succeed” three times while tapping your ruby slippers and they’ll send you the code for the “Con Call.”
Can you guess what’s going to happen next? Will Dale kiss the ring? Will Morg make Dale & Brian kiss and make up? Will the franchisees be given new dates for their buildouts and the promise of a new, authentic Coach handbag at their grand opening?
Will they announce the new fall coffee promotions? Bail-out Blend? SB Tea? Lawsuit Latte?
With a federal investigation and lawsuits on the way, the one who holds the files and can claim attorney-client privilege holds the good cards.
Morg knows how to play the hand. Dale would fold faster than the French army.
Sean, regarding your last comment.
YOU ARE PRICELESS! RIGHT ON!!
No bloggers allowed on the conference call. Did you check with the Angola newspaper amyo@kpcnews.net
and see if they are covering the story?
The Angola LoveShack is back, baby!
Three new Cuppy’s Coffee interviews posted. The Herbers, Mirandas, Suarez & Schneider each entrusted Cuppy’s Coffee/Elite Manufacturing with significant sums of money. Each were promised repayment. Each received a token payment or two before the payments stopped and their calls were no longer taken or returned:
CUPPY’S COFFEE: Interview with Franchisee Mike Herber
CUPPY’S COFFEE: Interview with Franchise Owner Joshua Miranda
CUPPY’S COFFEE: Interview with Franchisee Daniel Suarez & Jaime Schneider
Read their stories. Share a comment. Spread the word.
Read how Cuppy’s Coffee / Elite Manufacturing have taken and spent tens of thousands of dollars from the retirement savings of a disabled Vietnam Veteran and former police officer, David Morgan:
CUPPY’S COFFEE: An Interview With Franchisee David Morgan
I remember back when Dale first came on as a consultant & mentioned he use to work for the Dwyer Group in Texas several years back. Some of the higher up managers at Medina were concerned about this new consultant coming on board & investigated/called Dwyer Group. Their comment was that they did remember Dale but that he NEVER AMOUNTED TO MUCH & WAS LET GO. That should have been a RED FLAG for Morg at the time. But I guess not. Dale has proven to be an absolute weasel & coward! He tells people such bull (this includes zees, s-employees, current employees, media) that I believe he truly believes his on crap! WHAT A JOKE THIS SO-CALLED MAN HAS PROVEN TO BE. I truly feel sorry for his family. WHEN A PERSON CAN NOT STAND UP AND ADMIT THAT THEY HAVE BITEN OFF MORE THAN THEY CAN CHEW & JUST LAY IT OUT FOR EVERYONE SO THEY CAN MAKE OTHER ARRANGEMENTS… PLUS THIS SAME PERSON CONTINUE TO TELL PEOPLE LIES SO THEY WILL SEND IN MORE MONEY… ALL I CAN SAY IS THIS PERSON IS THE BIGGEST COWARD I HAVE EVER KNOWN!!!! Even if Dale did this now, he has waited tooooooooooo long and most zees are bankrupt because of his delays and deceit. Again… What a coward!!!
guest:
Name calling and personal attacks aren’t helping to educate people about what’s going on with Cuppy’s Coffee, how this scheme works, etc. Additionally, you put yourself at legal risk by simply venting and name calling. All you are communicating is that somebody is mad at him. Can you be factual and specific about what is going on? Why is this fraud? What did these guys tell the banks or SBA to get funds disbursed, etc.?
Additionally, my understanding is that he was the head of telemarketing at the Dwyer Group. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but I can say that I’d rather have been bad at that job (Good morning, Mrs. Smith, this is Sean from Mr. Rooter. Do you have a couple of minutes to discuss your septic system?)
Sean… how do you like this one? oohhhhhhhhh… I got one! If you take Dale Nabors brain out & put it on the edge of a razor blade, it would look like a pea rolling down a 4 lane highway.
Does Mommy know you’re on the Internet?
From what you say, Nabors has been quite successful at getting money out of you and your fellow sheep.
Someone is the pea-brain, but it doesn’t sound like that someone is Dale Nabors.
Latest Update…. The sky has fallen on Dale Nabor’s Dream Team in AL. Dale has finally gotten up enough nerve to meet with the employees that followed him up to Muscle Shoals, AL and told them he can NOT get the money to pay them. But he wanted to know who would continue to work for him for FREE. Has he lost his mind totally? He also told them if they would not stay and work free he did not want them to blog him. WTF????!!!!! He’s an arrogant sh it!! So… now there are NO employees at Cuppy’s/Elite/Medina! Dale is still trying to sell Elite contracts to Brian Hayes. But remember franchisees… Brian Hayes/SBT or whatever name they go by these days is overcharging you for buildout and equipment. Your best bet is to take whatever loss you have now and sue Morg/Dale/Medina/Fransynergy and try to recoup your deposit moneys. Cuppy’s is dead! Even if a franchisee let SBT continue to build them out, I would NOT call it Cuppy’s. Cuppy’s has an awful name and I don’t evenn think God himself can raise that dead franchise. Franchisee please listen up… you need to join together to get justice. There are more people out here willing to help you get that justice than you may think. Good luck to you zees and to the employees that followed Dale to AL and had work for 2 months without pay. I wish you all well.
Guest & screwed franchisees…. you keep talking about Dale Nabor and yes he deserves to face criminal charges but don’t forget Robert “Morg” Morgan. Most of those bank disbursments happened under Morg’s watch. Morg was the main person pushing the banks to disburse before they were suppose to. They both need and hopefully will face criminal & fraud charges.
Morg Morgan’s friend and ex-partner at Slender Lady has died:
http://www.unhappyfranchisee.com/2008/12/slender-lady-founder-bruce-sharpe-has-died/