INDIANAPOLIS — Shane Franklin arrived at a Gold's Gym in Indianapolis with baggage from his previous two stops.
Franklin has been accused of bilking business partners and gym members in Reno, NV, and San Diego, where he operated clubs under the Powerhouse Gym brand.
Franklin faced allegations of forgery and money mismanagement in Reno. In December, the Reno Police Department decided not to file charges against Franklin after an eight-month investigation.
Franklin also was accused of taking money for memberships to Reno gyms that never opened. That investigation, which is being handled by the Nevada attorney general's office, is still open, but Franklin is not under active investigation.
In San Diego, Franklin also was accused of taking money for memberships for a Powerhouse Gym that did not open. Details were unclear about where the money collected for the San Diego club and the club in the Reno suburb of Sparks, NV, went and whether it was returned.
Franklin, now the general manager of the Gold's in Indianapolis, admits he has made mistakes as a club operator.
“Did I do some things wrong that I probably shouldn't have done? Yeah,” Franklin said in an exclusive interview with Club Industry. “You kind of have to stand up and say, ‘I did it.’ I'm not proud of what I did. I'm not happy with what I did. It was just the circumstances that happened.”
Franklin began working at Gold's on Dec. 15. He was hired by American Club Systems, Columbus, GA, which serves as a consulting company and handles the billing and management operations for the Gold's.
“The guy does a good job,” says Von Hardin, national director for American Club Systems. “He is a very knowledgeable individual. He does what he's supposed to do. Whatever he's supposed to have done [in the past], we've not seen anything like that.”
Franklin, who says he will hire an attorney in San Diego in anticipation of civil litigation there, says he's trying to move on with his career.
“With everything that happened in Reno and California and stuff like that, I'm really just trying to look at maybe not owning anymore, just really managing like I know how to do,” Franklin says.
Read more about Franklin's story at www.clubindustry.com.