Posted in: Comics, Current News | Tagged: Ad Populum, AENT, diamond

Conflicting Statements Over Diamond, AENT And Ad Populum Lawsuits

Conflicting statements made on oath over Diamond, AENT and Ad Populum lawsuits

Published Fri, 20 Jun 2025 10:57:04 -0500

In a series of statements introduced into the Alliance Entertainment/AENT and Ad Populum/Sparkle Pop lawsuits over the Diamond Comic Distributors Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, much has come down to AENT hiring a number of people from Diamond Comic Distribution. Especially Mike Schimmel, former Vice President of Sales at Diamond, who has been there for twenty-one years, and at Capital City Distribution for over three years before that. Mike is now Senior Vice President of Sales at Alliance Entertainment (AENT) as of a few weeks ago.

In the legal case against AENT from Sparkle Pop, they state, "On May 16, 2025, one day after the APA closed, Mike Schimmel, the head of sales at Diamond Comic, abruptly resigned. On or about May 23, 2025, six other key employees in the sales and purchasing departments of Diamond Comic gave one week's notice of their intent to resign from the company, including the Manager of Sales, Director of Ecommerce Sales, Business Development Manager, the second in command in the purchasing department, a purchasing manager, and an assistant manager in the merchandise team. The simultaneous resignation indicated that the resignations were coordinated."

There are also two declarations made under penalty of perjury, from Ad Populum CEO and owner Joel Weishanker and Diamond President Chuck Parker, who has been at Diamond for forty years. These two declarations, in part, include the statements below. It should be noted that we do not have access to a court filing that includes the employee exit interviews, which are still under seal.

Joel Weishanker: "I called 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 closed. Mr. Parker subsequently informed me on May 19, 2025 that Mr. Schimmel had accepted an employment offer with AENT. Mr. Parker subsequently also told me that, on May 27, six other Diamond Comic employees, three each in the sales and purchasing departments at Diamond Comic, gave notice of their intent to resign from the company at the end of the week, to join Mike Schimmel at AENT."

Chuck Parker: "Joel Weishanker, the CEO of Ad Populum and sole manager of Sparkle Pop called me on May 11, 2025 to let me know that Mike Schimmel, the head of sales at Diamond Comic, was resigning and Mr Schimmel did so on May 16, 2025, only one day after the APA with Sparkle Pop had closed. Mr. Schimmel subsequently informed me on May 18, 2025 that he had accepted an employment offer with AENT. I subsequently informed Mr. Weishanker of that fact on or about May 19, 2025. I later informed Mr. Weishanker that, on May 27, 2025, six other Diamond Comic employees, three each in the sales and purchasing departments at Diamond Comic, gave notice of their intent to resign from the company at the end of the week, to join Mike Schimmel at AENT."

In response, Mike Schimmel made his own statement, also made under penalty of perjury; "On May 11, 2025, I again spoke to Mr. Weinshanker and told him I would not accept a lower salary. But I did not resign. On Friday May 16, 2025, Fran Callahan, the head of Human Resources, sent an email to me on behalf of Charles Parker, terminating my employment with DCD, effective May 17, 2025. Specifically, it stated in part, that "[a]s part of the sale of Diamond to Ad Populum, the new ownership team has made its 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 reflection 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."

Schimmel's statement continues, "That day I was one of dozens of employees terminated as part of a mass-layoff. These mass terminations must have substantially reduced Sparkle Pop's payroll expenses. The allegations in the Complaint and supporting declarations that I "abruptly resigned" are patently false. I was terminated after refusing to accept a 25% pay cut and refusing to use my relationships with vendors to force them to accept Mr. Weishanker's terms. After I was fired, I called Bruce Ogilvie, Executive Chairman of AENT, and explained that I had been terminated from DCD and the situation surrounding my termination."

The court documents included a copy of that e-mail, as forwarded to him by Fran Callahan who is, and remains, Executive Director of Human Resources at Diamond, where she has been for over thirty-eight years.

The legal case between all involved parties continues. You can use these Diamond, AENT, and Ad Populum tags to keep up with the latest on Bleeding Cool. Here's a timeline if you want to catch up…