u/Bituulzman

My electric scooter of 2-3 years has 2 flat tires. Was going online to source parts to replace them and thought, maybe I should replace the battery too--it only holds a charge long enough to do a short round-trip ride these days. Well, the price of the parts easily rival the cost of a new electric scooter (and without the hassle of having to take it apart and actually repair it, which I once did with a early Segway scooter and the entire project was quite the ordeal).

Have others been in a similar situation? I don't love the idea of this scooter taking up room in a landfill, but does it really makes more fiscal sense to just get a new scooter?

One buyout firm quietly collected Pyrex, Corelle, Instant Pot, and Oneida. Farberware is a name on a 200-year lease. And the pans still worth buying.

Was just watching jeopardy tonight and there was this anti-Kroger ad at the end. Looked just like a political spot. Talking about how corrupt they are and the customer was no longer shopping there (the words “actual customer, not a paid actor” appeared at the bottom). I was so surprised, I missed the website as well as the name of whoever paid for the ad.
Did anyone else see it? Thoughts?

A Dublin company that was once Central Ohio's largest veteran-owned business has fired and sued its CEO and CFO, accusing them of diverting more than $15 million to separate businesses and personal expenses such as a Range Rover lease and Muirfield Village country club membership.

ViaQuest LLC, a care provider for people with developmental disabilities, fired founder Rich Johnson as CEO in late May, and CFO Michael Bell in April, according to the lawsuit filed Monday in the state of Delaware where the company is incorporated, accusing them of “a pattern of covert self-dealing, deception, and abuse of trust and authority." Bell is Johnson's son-in-law.

“This is an action arising from a clandestine scheme orchestrated by defendants Richard Johnson and Michael Bell to embezzle corporate assets, conceal material information from plaintiffs’ governing board of directors, and divert corporate funds, personnel services, and business resources to personally enrich themselves as well as entities owned and controlled by Johnson,” the complaint said.

Johnson has repaid $5 million so far related to expenses of a divested business, according to the complaint.

Besides the Dublin company itself, plaintiffs in the lawsuit include holding companies that are majority owned by Council Capital, a Nashville private equity firm, and its co-investors.

“Council Capital's allegations are false, and we categorically deny them,” Johnson said in a written statement to Columbus Business First after consulting with attorneys.

“We believe this lawsuit is part of a broader effort to create leverage in a business dispute rather than a reflection of the actual facts,” the statement said. “We welcome the opportunity to present the evidence in court, where we are confident the truth will prevail.”

Facts in the case are expected to be provided to law enforcement, according to a source with knowledge of the case who was not authorized to discuss the details.

Emily Stickley was named CEO of Dublin-based ViaQuest on Monday, according to a press release. With the company 19 years, she held several leadership roles, most recently as COO. Emily Wagner was named CFO.

ViaQuest provides behavioral health and specialized care to clients across Ohio and in the Indianapolis area, including in-home services and daytime respite care. It has about 4,000 employees.

The company through a spokesman declined comment beyond the complaint.

A message was sent via LinkedIn to Bell. The complaint has not yet been served, so no attorney information is on file.

Johnson, a U.S. Air Force Veteran, founded the company in 1999. The Ohio Department of Veterans Services named him to the state's Veterans Hall of Fame in 2024.

Bell joined his father-in-law's company in 2013, according to his LinkedIn profile, and was promoted to CFO in 2019.

Council Capital, a PE firm focused on healthcare, and co-investors acquired 70.6% of ViaQuest in 2021 toward expanding residential and community-based care, according to the complaint.

Johnson was paid $53.5 million and retained 29.4% equity.

ViaQuest's board including members of the private equity firm ordered an investigation this March. Outside accountants were examining finances for a planned split of the behavioral health and developmental disabilities services businesses when they discovered a large debt from a divested business line sold to Johnson.

In January 2025, Johnson purchased ViaQuest Hospice LLC, through a $10 million promissory note that is still owing, according to the complaint.

As sole owner and CEO of Hospice, Johnson was required to separate its finances when the deal closed, but ViaQuest kept paying Hospice expenses for a total of $12.9 million at Johnson and Bell's direction, the complaint said.

ViaQuest employees including Bell also spent substantial time doing duties for Hospice, it said, an expense not yet calculated.

Among other allegations detailed in the complaint:

• ViaQuest paid about $1.3 million in rent to a real estate company owned by Johnson, but there was no lease agreement.
• Johnson awarded a $9,000 job to an AI company he co-owned without disclosing his interest to the board, and Bell approved transfers of $239,000 marked as loans to that company. Bell and the accounting team helped with the startup's books on ViaQuest time.
• Johnson and Bell increased their compensation without board approval.
• Bell approved excess bonuses totaling $28,000 from January 2025 through April for his wife, Kayla Bell, Johnson's daughter and then chief growth officer for the psychiatric and behavioral division.
• Johnson used company funds to pay for $47,000 of his Range Rover lease, $16,000 Muirfield membership, $41,000 in Ohio State University football tickets, and $164,000 of personal credit card expenses.
• Bell authorized payments to an accounting firm totaling $183,000 for personal income tax preparation for himself, Johnson and relatives, and $29,000 for Hospice tax matters.

The day after he was fired and locks were changed at the Dublin headquarters, Johnson broke the door handle to enter his office and retrieve belongings.

“When confronted by a thorough investigation that revealed the scope of their wrongdoing, Johnson and Bell admitted that the majority of the misappropriated funds were owed back to ViaQuest,” the complaint said. “But instead of fully righting their wrongs, Johnson and Bell continued to misuse ViaQuest resources and interfere with ViaQuest’s operations.”

The complaint alleges fraud, civil theft and breach of contract among other counts, and seeks reimbursement and other damages in an amount to be determined in the court case.

Correction/Clarification
An earlier version of this story incorrectly said law enforcement had been notified, but the source clarified that the company plans to inform authorities.

College-aged daughter is considering MLS as a career (switching from computer engineering major). What would you suggest for her to get a good feel for what the job is like? Are there shadowing opportunities? How did you get interested in the field?

Was reading some packing tips from other moms preparing for Fargo and the consensus is that just about anything that isn’t nailed down will be stolen. The wrestlers are told not to let their gear bag leave their or their teammates’ sight.

This was really eye opening. There can be bad apples everywhere, but it’s disappointing given how prestigious this tournament is, that wrestling has a culture of discipline and a lot of athletes/coaches are openly religious, and that the US Marines are sponsors. It’s not as bad an issue at other big tournaments as at Fargo.