Collectors show's check to Sedalia man bounces

Collectors who sold antiques when the Treasure Hunters Roadshow came through Sedalia last month might want to monitor their deposits after an accounting error caused some of the company’s checks to bounce.

Retired teacher Paul Cannon, who moved to Sedalia last March, expected to make $80 when he sold some military memorabilia at the Treasure Hunters Roadshow. Since the check he received failed to clear when he tried to deposit it, he is considering filing a complaint with the Attorney General’s office against the Illinois-based Jennico Inc.

“I think it has happened to other people all around town and there is a scam going on,” Cannon said.

Cannon, who describes himself as a former collector, said he balked at the company’s offer to purchase his 18th century bayonets, but he agreed to sell four 20th century bayonets for $20 each.

“Thank goodness they didn’t take my Muhammad Ali boxing gloves,” Cannon said. “They didn’t offer me enough, so I didn’t take the money for that.”

Jason DeLong, a manager with the company, said the problem was a simple accounting error that affected “less than 1 percent” of the purchases in Sedalia. He said the error was frustrating, but added that the company has taken steps to address the issue.

“We had a six-figure check from a refinery that we sell gold and silver to. The bank put that check on hold, which affected a small percentage of the checks we had written,” DeLong said. “It wasn’t one or two, but it was a very small percentage.”

DeLong said it would be difficult to determine the exact amount of bad checks passed out when the tour came through the area because it happened in more than one location, but he said the company is not dodging the issue or hiding from it.

DeLong said the company made calls to all the people affected, and it will pay any bank charges incurred by customers because of the checks. He invited anyone with any questions to call (217) 636-7900.

Five complaints have been filed against Jennico in the past 36 months with the Better Business Bureau. All of the complaints were addressed and resolved, according to a BBB reliability report. Jennico is not a BBB accredited business, but they received an A Rating from the BBB, which is the highest possible evaluation.

Reports of bad checks have followed the Roadshow across the country over the past year. The company claimed similar accounting errors were responsible for bad checks handed out last September in Michigan, in November in Minnesota and again in January when the company traveled to Tennessee.

“When it starts happening again, it is a little ridiculous,” DeLong said. “It was embarrassing, so we started looking at ways to address it.”

DeLong said the company has hired an outside accounting firm to prevent similar incidents in the future.

But Cannon said he never received a call from the company. When he called the number on the check he had received, he reached a fax machine.

He intends to file a consumer complaint with the Attorney General’s Office, alleging fraudulent business practices.

“If that’s what they are going to do, I would like to shut them down so they can’t do business in Missouri,” Cannon said.