How Marine Corps Veteran Jon Binzer Lost $1.5M, His Freedom & His Voice in Just 3 Years

Marine Corps Veteran Jon Binzer lost $1.5M after investing in JDog Junk Removal and JDog Carpet Cleaning franchises.  He and his wife Brittney and his friend are being sued by Cadence Bank for $300,000.  Their bankruptcies detail liabilities of more than $1.2M.  So why, oh why, does Jon Binzer continue to recommend JDog franchises as a profitable investment for Veterans & military families?* by Sean Kelly, founder, Franchise Truth for Veterans



(UnhappyFranchisee.Com)  Marine Corps Veteran Jon Binzer grew up in a family with a proud military tradition.

Jon’s grandfather, Robert D. Binzer, was a pilot in the Army Air Corp. in  WWII.

He flew C-47s over China-Burma… piloting over the Himalayas with no oxygen or pressurized cabins.

Robert’s brother, Rollin Binzer, served in the Marine Corps during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

The third brother, Capt. Solomon Vaughn Binzer, was an Army Captain in Pleiku, Vietnam  (300 miles north of where my brother Paul served in Cu Chi).

Captain Binzer’s experience & service are recorded and catalogued in the Library of Congress.

Growing up with such a distinguished military family heritage may have made Jon Binzer especially susceptible to the manipulation of the JDog sales organization.

The Veteran-targeting sales machine, headed by Vets Jerry Flanagan, Terry Corkery and Kevin Kopa, adeptly manipulates young Veterans like Jon Binzer to go deeply in debt to pay their exorbitant franchise fees and royalties.

The JDog franchise sellers convince their new franchisees that helping them sell franchises positively impacts Veterans by reducing Veteran unemployment, depression and suicide.

They get the enthusiastic Veterans to provide glowing testimonials while they’re still in the early honeymoon phase of their businesses.

And after Veteran franchisees like Jon Binzer (and Zac Turner, Matt & Shannon Scally, and others) and their families close their JDog franchises under a mountain of crushing debt,  Jerry Flanagan, Terry Corkery & commissioned broker Orion Talent shamelessly continue to use their honeymoon Webinars & testimonials to lure other Veterans into their high-turnover franchise scheme.

How Much Can JDog Franchisees Lose?  Total Losses Could Top $2M.

US Marine Corps Veteran Jon Binzer invested in JDog franchises with two goals in mind.

First, he wanted to build financial independence for his growing young family.

Second, he wanted to make a positive impact on the lives of his fellow Veterans.

Sadly, that first goal came to an abrupt end in December, 2023.

That’s when Jon and business partner, James McClure, defaulted on a $300,000 SBA loan they had obtained just a year earlier.

Jon, his wife Brittney, and James McClure were then sued by the lender, Cadence Bank.

The Binzers and McClure each filed for bankruptcy protection.

The combined liabilities listed in their bankruptcy filings total more than $1.2M.

Add to that:

• the loss of employment income for four years,
• Binzer and McClure’s initial cash investments,
• Binzer’s cash investments from his family and in-laws Greg & Dana Halfacre, and
• The investment of Jason Brown, his partner in the now-closed Huntsville, AL JDog franchise…

All told, the losses from Binzer’s JDog franchise investment likely reach or even exceed $2M.

It will be many years before the Binzer family recovers from the financial devastation that benefited a group of predatory Veterans expertly posing as Jon’s Band of Brothers.

In just 18 months, Marine Corps Veteran & JDog franchisee Jon Binzer’s American Dream turned into a financial and family nightmare.

The Binzer/McClure bankruptcy petitions list combined liabilities incurred from their 4 failed JDog Junk Removal and 3 JDog Carpet Cleaning franchises totaling $1,239,792.79.

And yet, (other than this blog post) Google serves up nothing but the inspiring Jon Binzer Veteran-Makes-And-Does-Good success story – as memorialized and frozen in time before Binzer’s dream collapsed in early 2023.

Local news stories and company press releases still tell how Jon Binzer and his father-in-law opened the Birmingham, AL franchise location in 2020 to help benefit his fellow Veterans.

A heavily promoted franchisee recruitment webinar, published by JDog & commissioned broker Orion Talent, recorded in Binzer’s honeymoon phase in summer, 2022, continues to broadcast Jon Binzer’s 27 minute testimonial.

In the 8/4/2022 Webinar, Jon Binzer states that he opened his business during COVID and, from the first day it was like being “shot out of a rocket:

”First month, we did OK.  2nd month, did OK, again  Then that month that we went full time we doubled our revenue. The following month, we doubled our revenue again. That was, that was crazy. It was a crazy summer, crazy year… But now we continue to grow.”

In that webinar, Binzer praises the JDog franchisor’s training, support, values & integrity.

Binzer affirms JDog’s Terry Corkery’s representation of a 45% to 55% profit margin (A likely violation of the FTC Franchise Rule).

JDog promotional websites & social media pages contain dozens of happy photographs Jon Binzer’s success are like a franchisee recruitment siren song, luring trusting sailors (and Army, Marine, Coast Guard & Air Force Veterans) to financial ruin:

• Smiling photos of Jon Binzer & James McClure holding JDog University diplomas alongside Jerry & Tracy Flanagan…
• Proud photos of Binzer and his team posing in front of his leased Cargo Van (a $78,632.00 owed),  Belmont High Sided Dump Trailer ($17,160.00 still owed), and Big Tex Dump Trailer ($14,572.00 still owed).
• There are family photos galore of he, Brittney and their four children, many posing in JDog garb, several of them holding up signs promoting JDog Carpet Cleaning next to their vehicles in a shopping center parking lot.
• There is one notable photo showing Jon, Brittney and his kids flexing their muscles in front of their fully JDog-wrapped 2022 RAM 2500 Crew Cab (a $57,000 liability in their bankruptcy filing).

Jon Binzer is Likely Afraid to Publicly Share His Experience or Opinion of JDog Franchises, LLC, Terry Corkery, Kevin Kopa & Jerry Flanagan

We don’t know how Jon Binzer feels about his testimonials and family photos being used to deceive trusting Veterans into the high-stakes, high-turnover rate JDog franchise trap.

We don’t know whether he made an effort to tell his story, or to get Jerry Flanagan and Terry Corkery to stop exploiting his family for franchise fees and royalties.

In fact, there’s only one small clue that Jon Binzer realizes that it was not entirely his fault, that he was led into a trap… ambushed… bushwhacked… fragged by those he mistook for his Band of Brothers.

That clue is the in the “Schedule A/B: Property” section of his bankruptcy petition.

Under “34. Other contingent and unliquidated claims of every nature, including counterclaims of the debtor and rights to set off claims” he’s listed:

Potential claim against Franchisor – JDog Franchise, Inc.

By now, the morally bankrupt bullies of Spadea Lignana Franchise Law (Tom Spadea) and/or The Franchise Firm (Evan Goldman, Adam Wasch) have likely coerced Marine Corps Veteran Jon Binzer into relinquishing his freedom of speech (NDA) and freedom to seek justice in civil court (General Release).

So that 7-word clue, buried deep in John & Brittney Binzer’s bankruptcy petition, is likely the only hint we’ll get from Jon Binzer that he now knows the truth and regrets providing that 27-minute endorsement.

Unfortunately, Jon Binzer no longer has control over his own words and opinions.

His freedom and his voice is now owned by the Band of Bandits at JDog Franchises, LLC

Franchise Truth & Franchise Truth for Veterans Initiative

The predatory JDog Junk Hauling franchise – which has resulted in over 300 Veteran franchise terminations – is just the tip of the iceberg.

There is currently no meaningful oversight or enforcement of franchise laws over the claims & representations franchise sellers tell trusting Veterans & other opportunity seekers.

Some of the most predatory franchise sellers are allowed to pass off high-failure rate  franchise investments as “Veteran-Friendly” franchises by virtue of their inclusion of deceptive “Best Franchises for Veterans” lists or endorsements by seemingly reputable organizations, like the International Franchise Association’s VetFran program.

Our initial analysis of more than 100 franchises currently promoted to Veterans through the VetFran program revealed that approximately 25% have 3-year franchisee turnover/attrition rates of more than 50%.

That indicates that a high percentage of Veterans being encouraged to invest in these “Veteran-Safe” franchise opportunities will not only lose their investments, savings, credit ratings, & perhaps their homes, some may lose the security clearances that gave them access to the good-paying government and contracting jobs they had prior to their franchise investment.

Contributions to the Franchise Truth & Franchise Truth for Veterans initiatives save countless Veterans from under-informed investment decisions.

Contribute to: Franchise Truth & Franchise Truth for Veterans Initiative

URL:  https://www.unhappyfranchisee.com/support-franchise-fairness/

THIS IS YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.  WHAT DO YOU THINK?  SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.

Documentation & More Information:

Franchise Warning: JDog Junk Hauling for Veterans (Index) JDOG Franchise Dream Ends in Veteran Suicide, Double Homicide JDog Franchise News & Discussion Newsletter Sign-Up List of JDog Franchisees With Closed or Failed Franchises – UPDATED OPEN INVITATION: Unhappy Franchisee extends an open invitation to all those discussed to provide corrections, explanations, clarifications and/or rebuttals.  We will correct factual errors & alternative views fairly.  Anonymous or signed comments are welcome below or can be emailed in confidence to UnhappyFranchisee[at]Gmail[dot]com. 

Sean Kelly is an independent investigative journalist with 35 years of franchise industry experience.  Since founding UnhappyFranchisee.Com in 2006, his reporting has exposed & shut down several predatory franchise & investment schemes.  Sean Kelly is a franchise watchdog who prompted and aided the FBI investigation that shut down the 165-victim multi-million-dollar NY Bagel franchise scam and landed perpetrators Dennis Mason & Joseph Smith in federal prison.  Sean was featured in the ABC Four Corners expose of 7-Eleven wage theft in Australia and has served as an advisor to Dateline NBC.  He has withstood bullying, intimidation & frivolous lawsuits as high as $35M and never lost.  His crack editorial staff and fact checkers include Chick, Gem, Red, Pru & Joanie the Rescue Chicken.

Contact the author at UnhappyFranchisee[at]Gmail[dot]com

TAGS:  Jon Binzer, Marine Corps Veteran, JDog franchise, JDog Junk Removal, JDog Carpet Cleaning, Birmingham AL, Franchise Truth for Veterans, Jerry Flanagan, Terry Corkery, Kevin Kopa, Bankruptcy, SBA loan, Veteran-owned businesses, Predatory practices, Orion Talent, Franchisee recruitment, JDog University, Freedom of Speech, NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement)