MODESTO, Calif. — Several people are out thousands of dollars after a Modesto business suddenly closed its doors. They’re wondering when they will get paid.
Instead of selling consignor Hector Gonzalez's 100 shirts and 15 backpacks Friday, the Vintage Faire Mall suite that used to house shoe and clothing store City Starz was locked and empty.
"I went by the store, it was empty, but then I noticed it was closed," said Gonzalez, owner of the clothing resale brand Bape 209. "They suddenly just closed without saying anything, so it was, you know, kind of weird."
Gonzalez was one of several people who had agreements to supply the shoe store with products. The store was supposed to keep a cut of sales and give the rest back to suppliers.
"Right now they owe me $3,410 as of today," said Gonzalez. "They don't pick up phone calls or nothing. I've tried actually reaching out to them on different numbers and same thing, you know, nothing."
Gonzalez isn’t alone. Former employee Jose Leon Gomez says dozens of other people have come forward on social media claiming they are also owed money.
"Just one person is owed $100,000 at least. Which was a lot of money," said Leon Gomez. "And then there's a couple of other people that are like $30,000"
Leon Gomez now operates his own buy-sell-trade store, Lexi LLC.
"I knew everything was going to go downhill eventually and I didn't want to be part of something that was not positive," said Leon Gomez. "There's also like 20 other people that are owed, like $3,000, $5,000... It adds up, man."
ABC10 reached out to the Stanislaus County District Attorney's Office to see if they were aware of the claims. The District Attorney's Office has not responded. Some people say they plan to file a claim or lawsuit.
Reached by phone Friday, City Starz owner Gabriel Ramirez admitted that he does owe money, saying that a business partner failed to pay the Vintage Faire Mall rent, forcing a sudden closure only two weeks ago.
"I want to issue a formal apology to everyone affected with the consignment handling... I am the owner and should have been more aware of the consignment," said Ramirez. "All I can do is start from the bottom and work with everyone individually to initiate payouts once I have enough inventory and capital. I ask during this frustrating time, we stop the slandering and false statements so I may begin to accommodate these payouts."
In his view, Ramirez is now left to clean up the mess, sorting through who is still owed, all while looking for a new location. He says family friends have taken over his location in Fresno while he tries to handle the situation in Modesto.
"We just want to continue working hard and get everybody's trust back," said Ramirez. "I would hate to file bankruptcy for all of this... I would like to pay everybody back."
Consignors like Gonzalez are not optimistic.
"I feel like there should be justice and people should get paid for what they put into," said Gonzalez. "All I've been told is 'you're going to get paid, you're going to get paid.' But, I haven't seen any type of payout."
While Gonzalez and others wait for their money and justice, they hope the situation will serve as a warning.
"Do your research, talk to people," said Leon Gomez. "I hope you guys understand that there's not only bad people in this world. There's good people."
Watch more from ABC10: A Stanislaus County nonprofit is issuing a plea to the public
