Sparkle Pop vs Alliance Court Philings Contain Startling Allegations

AENT ALSO CONTENDS THAT SPARKLE POP DID NOT SPECIFY ANY CURRENT DAMAGES OR TRADE SECRETS THAT WERE BREACHED, AND THE SUIT LACKS MERIT ON THAT.

More explosively, Schimmel’s Statement include letter from parker dated May 16th at 3 pm stating that schimmel had Been let go from diamond.

I am Writing to Share Sub Difficul News with You Today.

As part of the saving of diamond to adopulum, The New Ownership Team has made to decisions about Which Employee Positions Will Be a Part of the New Company. Unfortunately, I have been notified that your position is not Among Those Being Carried Forward. As A Result, Your Employment with Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. Will Officially Terminate Effective May 17, 2025.

I am Sure This is Hard News to Receive, and I Know The Restructuring Process Has Been Difficult and Uncertain. PLEASE KNOW, THIS STAFFING DECISION IS NOT A REFECTION OF YOUR PERFORMANCE OR YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS. These decisions have been made to reflect the structure and needs of its plans for the new organization going forward.

This Directly Contradicts Weinhanker’s Statement that Parker Told Him Schimmel Had Resigned:

I Calleed Chuck Parker, The President of Diamond Comic On May 11, 2025 to inform Him That Mike Schimmel, The Head of Sales at Diamond Comic Was Resigning on May 16, 2025, Only One Day after the APA had closeed. Mr. Parker Subsequently Reported Me On May 19, 2025 that Mr. Schimmel had accepthed an employment offer with aent.

Parker Gives to similar accounts, Claiming That Weinhanker Told Him Schimmel was resigning on May 11th, and resigned on May 16th.

One of these things is not like the other.

AENT’S RESPONSE ALSO INCLUDES SUB DESCRIPTIONS OF SPARKLE POP’S BUSINESS PLANS AFTER THE PURCHASED DIAMOND:

Fleed As Sparkle Pop Refused to Honor Is Payment Compulcy.

Immedialy Upon The Court’s Approval of the Sale, Sparkle Pop Soough To Implement Severe Cost cuts Without Consideration of the Impact the Cuts Would have on The Business or Employee Morale. One Such Cost Cutting Measure was Sparkle Pop’s Refusal To pay vendors unless tose venors added to substantial discounts and extended payment terms. See declaration of mike schimmel (The “Schimmel Decl.”), ¶5. Joel Weinhanker, Manager of Sparkle Pop, Referred to This As “Playing Chickn With Idiots,” In Referring to ITS VENDORS. Id.

As a result, dcd’s reputation and salts plummeted as vendors Fold and Sought Alternative Partners. As Summarized in an Exit Interview of A Former Employee “Much of The Industry is Rejecting Diamond, and Too Many Businesses Have Made It Clear They Do Not Want To Continue Business With Diamond. Instead, they are moving to competitors …… [h]is impression was DC and Marvel Leaving Made It Look Easy, So Others Followed. ” Weinchanker Dec., Exhibit C, AT 4 (Under Seal).

Weinhanker’s Statement has His Own version of their plans, and Why the Seven Employees Leaving Is Damaging:

AT Ad Populum We Believe in Revitalizing Stuggling Companies Through an Infusion of Resources, Fresh Perspectives, and Synergy By and Between The Varyus Ad Populum Affiliates. It was always Our attempt to do the Same with Such A Storied Distribution Business as Diamond Comic, Who Had Been A Long-Time Customer of Several Ad Populum Affiliates. The Role Played By Seven of the Leading Employees in the Sales and Purchasing Department of A Distribution Business Cannot Be Overstated. Similarly, The Importance of Non-Disclosure of Confidential Information Amongst Competitions in a Market Segment is critical. Unless Alliance is required to immedialy destroy of all Confidential Information and the Refrain from Employing Any of the Seven Department Diamond Comic Employees Sparkle Pop Will Irreparable Suffer Irreparable and Severe Damage To ITS Business.

Schimmel’s Statement is the Real Barn Burner Here. I’ve embedded it Below But a sample:

1. 5. Immedialy Upon The Court’s Approval of the Sale, Sparkle Pop Soough To Implement Severe Cost cuts Without Consideration of the Impact the Cuts Would have on The Business or Employee Morale. Notating, Sparkle Pop Refused to pay certainock vein unless those vendors aggress to substantial discount and extended payment terms, Counter to section 2.3 (d) (“Assumed Liabilities”) of the Sparkle Pop Asset Purchase Agreement Which Provide Assume “Amounts Due With respect to Open Purchase Orders for Inventory Ordered After The Petition Date and Not delivered As Of The Clossing Date As Set Forth in a schedule to be provided to purchaser prior to the clossing date.” Joel Weinhanker, The Manager of Sparkle Pop, Referred to This As “Playing Chickn With Idiots” – Referring To ITS VENDORS.

1. 6. My Job Became Exponentially More Difficul As It was Impossible to Maintain Vendor Relationships When Vending Not Being Paid. Mr. Weinhanker Demanded That I Leverage My Relationships Withips With Vendors To Coerce Them into accepting His Payment Terrs. Doing So Would have ruined my reputation in the industry that i had spent 29 Years Building. MANY OF THE VERDORS REFUSED TO ACCEPTSE NEW TURS AND SOUCHT ALTERNATIVE PARTNERS.
   7. Sparkle Pop Also Sought To Substantially Cut ITS Payroll Expensses and Directorate The Vice President of Purchating and I Identify Employees for Termination Promptly Upon Closing of the Sale Transaction.
   8. On May 10, 2025, I prescribe Call from Mr. Weinshar. He Gave Me A 24-Hour ultimatum to “Get On Board” with His program and to use my Relationships Withips with Vendors To Coerce Them into issuing Costs Rebates and Extended Payments Terms, and that I identify Additional Sales Staff To Terminate Upon Closing of the Sale Transaction.
   9. He Also Stated That Baser I Had Not Idouted Enough Staff To Fire, Including Terminating Joe Lunday, Director of Ecommerce Sales, and The Executive Director of Purchating from The Purchasing Team, My Salary Wouled Be immedialy reduced by 25%. This contradicted Mr. Weinhanker’s promise that my salary wouled not be reduced.
   10. That Same Day, I Calleed Robert Gorin, The Debtors’ Chief Restructuring Officer. HE TOLED ME THAT I WAS UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO STAY WITH DCD AND THAT I COULD “DO WHATER [I] Want. ” He Also Asked That I Call Alex Haesler of Raymond James.
   11. I spoke to Mr. Haesler That Same Day, Who Explained That Scholause I was not an office or director of DCD, and was an “at Will” Employee, I was free to Speak to Any Potential Employer. I inquired Further if i could speak to companies who submitted bids for debtors’ Assets at the auction, using the example of universal, and I have reaffirmed that i was free to speed to an intersted parties.
   12. On May 11, 2025, I Again Spoke to Mr. Weinhanker and Told Him I Wouled Not Accept to Lower Salary. But i Did not resign.

Again, these are all allegations and He Said/He Said, But the “Playing Chickn With Idiots” Line Is Already Whizzing Around The Comics Chat-O-Sphere-Specially Among Publishers Who Have Not Been Paid Since May.

OGILVIE’S STATEMENT IS LESS VIVID, BUT IT DOES CONTAIN ONE FUN FACT. Part of Sparkle Pop’s Complaint Is That A Diamond Employee Who Later Went To Aent Sought To Undermine New Diamond’s Relationship With Ciezon, proposition to introduces His Amazon Rep to Alliance. This is not postible, Says A Defiant Ogilvie.

In Fact, There Would Be No Need for Any Dcd Employee to introduce aent to Amazon. Amazon has been an aent vendor for over 25 Years and Amazon is One of Aent’s Five Largest Vendors. Amazon was already a Customer of Aent When I Joined The Company, The Called Cd Listening Bar D/B/A Super D, In Or Arund 2001.

Take That!

A Lot of Documents in This Case Are Under Seal – Pressure Becouse they contain trade secrets. One of them is the transition services aggregate Between Sparkle Pop and Diamond. Another is The Diamond Employee Manual Which has sections on Confidential Information etc. And Also Under Seal, The “Diamond Six’s” Exit Interviews.

Ironically, Among the “Trade Secrets” That Weinshar About conflicts of interest. “

WHY IS THIS IONIC? Diamond’s Complete Vendor List, and The Home Addresses of Employees and Certain Compensation Information for them is already public in the Bankruptcy Filings, as are Piles and Piles of Financial Information, Lease Information, and Even of Emir Publisher Contracts. I know for a fact that intersted parties have already download the list is diamond vendors complete with names, addresses and emails.

If you got This far you are one of the 25 or so people in the comics industry who are not sick and trent of This Whole Diamond Bankruptcy Affair. Believe Me, I Am As Sick of Writing About It As You Are Of Reading It. But This is just the gift that Keeps Giving. Although We’ve rearcheted the Messy Lawsuits section of the program, there is yet more drama to be mined from All This. And Still So Many Questions.

AFTER READING ALL THIS MY MAIN QUESTION IS THIS: WHY IS SPARKLE POP/AD POPULUM/NEW DIAMOND SPENING ALL THIS TIME ON A PUNITUTIVE LAWSUIT OVER TRADE SECRETS IN A BUSINESS WHICH, GIVEN THE SUBSEQUENT ACTIONS, THE REALLY IT’s Clear to Any Observer That New Diamond’s Silence About Their Goals to Publishers, Comics Shops and Their Remaining Employees Is By Design. They may be silent about their core business, but when comes to lawsuits, they have a lot to say.