The Place Where Ludington Talks
The Tainted History of the Ludington Meat Company
One year ago, media group Mlive broadcast the formation of the Ludington Meat Company, to be located at the old Staples building across from Meijer's. Friday, they introduced another article touting the freshly opened business and its innovations, once again introducing the Sanders brothers who founded the business.
Alec and Corey Sanders at their business venture
These articles and the articles of many other local/regional media tout the business and the fact that these brothers are direct descendants of the Custer meat franchise started by Joseph Sanders which bears his name to this day and has a processing and retail business in that small village eight miles to the east.
What isn't related in these accounts is that the business itself seems to be marinated in a deep scandal where the two proprietors are accused of some serious criminal and civil violations by the original family business in order to make their prime cut in the area. A civil lawsuit filed back in January of 2021 alleges that the two brothers unlawfully appropriated a large sum of money and family recipe trade secrets.
Mark Rossman of Rossman P.C. based in Troy, Michigan filed the lawsuit on behalf of the corporation called Jos. Sanders Inc. (aka Sanders Meats) against Alec and Corey Sanders alleging various conversions, extortions, embezzlements, slanders and artifices were perpetrated by the brothers against the family business. The suit asks for treble monetary damages to reimburse the company for the money allegedly taken and punitive damages for the malicious and intentional acts of the brothers.
Within the suit we find that the four officers of the board of Sanders Meats, all with the surname of Sanders, allege that Alec was a fellow board member who used his position to initially write out unauthorized checks to Corey (and vice versa) in the amount of $90,000 during the worst times of the pandemic. In August 2020's board meeting, these actions were caught and Corey was told his indiscretions would keep him from being a shareholder for these unapproved 'advances'.
Undaunted, the brothers once again reportedly appropriated an unauthorized $121,000 more that fall from the company. Coincidently that same month, the brothers started their own business the "Sanders Meat Company" envisioning a processing and retail facility at the LMC's current location. Before their formal resignations from the parent company, they allegedly stole the sole copies of jerky recipes along with other proprietary secrets and other sales data.
The lawsuit has ten counts:
1: Common Law Conversion
2: Statutory Conversion
3: Civil Conspiracy
4: Misappropriation of Trade Secrets
5-8: Trademark Infringement/Unfair Competiton Under the Lanham Act/Common Law
9: Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices
10: Breach of Fiduciary Duties
Only one count (2) has a specific amount of financial damages sought, which is $1,266,900. The facts laid out in the amended complaint seem rather compelling in showing that the Ludington Meat Company's genesis may be a by-product of some inappropriate, illegal, and unlawful behaviors by the brothers against their parent company.
Jos. Sanders Inc. (Sanders Meats) in Custer
Last month, Michigan subsidized the brother's business by sending them an additional $100,000 to obtain a thermo-former vacuum packaging machine; the parent company did not receive anything, not even justice for what allegedly happened to them. Please consider what seems to have happened here when making your meat purchases in Mason County and we will try to keep you informed as to the status of this lawsuit at the Ludington Torch as it progresses further in what will surely be a lengthy process and include any rebuttals from the defendants and their attorney.
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