Latest news with #DavidLevi
CNN
2 days ago
- Business
- CNN
Small business owner suing Trump over tariffs speaks out
Small business owner suing Trump over tariffs speaks out CNN's Erin Burnett talks with David Levi, the founder of toy company MicroKits and one of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit suing the Trump administration over its tariffs. 01:51 - Source: CNN Automated CNN Shorts 11 videos Small business owner suing Trump over tariffs speaks out CNN's Erin Burnett talks with David Levi, the founder of toy company MicroKits and one of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit suing the Trump administration over its tariffs. 01:51 - Source: CNN Sen. Rand Paul: This part of Trump's bill gives me 'heartburn' Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) told reporters he would vote yes on President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill" if it doesn't include raising the debt ceiling. 01:03 - Source: CNN Anonymous 'Diddy' employee testifies alleging sexual assault Prosecutors called a witness identified as 'Mia,' a pseudonym being used in court to protect her identity, to the stand Thursday at the federal criminal trial for Sean 'Diddy' Combs. Mia, a former assistant for Sean 'Diddy' Combs, described what she called a 'chaotic' and 'toxic' work environment, testifying that Combs committed acts of violence and sexual assault against her. If you or someone you know is struggling with intimate partner violence, there are resources available, including the National Domestic Violence Hotline. 02:23 - Source: CNN Elephant seal in Cape Town wanders into suburbia, stops traffic and wins the hearts of locals A Southern elephant seal makes a surprise visit to the residential neighborhood of Gordon's Bay in Cape Town, South Africa, and triggers an almost nine-hour rescue effort to return him to the coast. 00:57 - Source: CNN Nathan Fielder on FAA response to his show: 'They're dumb' Comedian Nathan Fielder discusses his new HBO docu-comedy series, 'The Rehearsal' with CNN's Wolf Blitzer & Pamela Brown. Fielder's show explores whether miscommunication between pilots could be a hidden factor in plane crashes. 02:27 - Source: CNN Why e.l.f. just bought Hailey Bieber's beauty brand for $1 billion e.l.f. Beauty is buying Hailey Bieber's makeup brand, Rhode, for $1 billion. Founded in 2022, Bieber's brand racked up $212 million in net sales in its last fiscal year. 01:11 - Source: CNN President Trump's timeline for things seems to almost always be 'in two weeks' President Donald Trump told reporters it will take about 'two weeks' to determine whether Russian President Vladimir Putin is serious about ending the war in Ukraine. That two week timeline, CNN's Abby Phillip says, is a familiar one. 01:48 - Source: CNN Contestants risk injury in cheese wheel competition An annual race held in England has attracted thousands around the world. It's been described as the world's most dangerous race: a 200-yard dash after a wheel of Gloucester cheese. 01:15 - Source: CNN Desperate scenes at community kitchen in northern Gaza Chaotic scenes broke out at this community-run kitchen in Gaza City, in the north, as Palestinians desperate for a meal rushed to receive food. More than 2 million Palestinians have been pushed towards famine after an 11-week blockade on aid by Israel. US and Israeli-backed aid distribution centers have only been opened in the center and the south of the strip. 01:18 - Source: CNN Harvard President gets standing ovation at commencement Harvard President Alan Garber received warm applause at the university's commencement ceremony as Harvard's legal fight against the Trump administration continues. Garber was loudly applauded again after making an indirect reference to the university's legal pushback against the White House's effort to make it impossible for Harvard to accept international students. 01:14 - Source: CNN Glacier partially collapses and buries Swiss village Video shows a glacier in the Swiss Alps partially collapsing, causing ice, mud and rocks to bury part of a mountain village that was evacuated earlier this month. 00:45 - Source: CNN
CNN
2 days ago
- Business
- CNN
Small business owner suing Trump over tariffs speaks out
Small business owner suing Trump over tariffs speaks out CNN's Erin Burnett talks with David Levi, the founder of toy company MicroKits and one of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit suing the Trump administration over its tariffs. 01:51 - Source: CNN Automated CNN Shorts 11 videos Small business owner suing Trump over tariffs speaks out CNN's Erin Burnett talks with David Levi, the founder of toy company MicroKits and one of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit suing the Trump administration over its tariffs. 01:51 - Source: CNN Sen. Rand Paul: This part of Trump's bill gives me 'heartburn' Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) told reporters he would vote yes on President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill" if it doesn't include raising the debt ceiling. 01:03 - Source: CNN Anonymous 'Diddy' employee testifies alleging sexual assault Prosecutors called a witness identified as 'Mia,' a pseudonym being used in court to protect her identity, to the stand Thursday at the federal criminal trial for Sean 'Diddy' Combs. Mia, a former assistant for Sean 'Diddy' Combs, described what she called a 'chaotic' and 'toxic' work environment, testifying that Combs committed acts of violence and sexual assault against her. If you or someone you know is struggling with intimate partner violence, there are resources available, including the National Domestic Violence Hotline. 02:23 - Source: CNN Elephant seal in Cape Town wanders into suburbia, stops traffic and wins the hearts of locals A Southern elephant seal makes a surprise visit to the residential neighborhood of Gordon's Bay in Cape Town, South Africa, and triggers an almost nine-hour rescue effort to return him to the coast. 00:57 - Source: CNN Nathan Fielder on FAA response to his show: 'They're dumb' Comedian Nathan Fielder discusses his new HBO docu-comedy series, 'The Rehearsal' with CNN's Wolf Blitzer & Pamela Brown. Fielder's show explores whether miscommunication between pilots could be a hidden factor in plane crashes. 02:27 - Source: CNN Why e.l.f. just bought Hailey Bieber's beauty brand for $1 billion e.l.f. Beauty is buying Hailey Bieber's makeup brand, Rhode, for $1 billion. Founded in 2022, Bieber's brand racked up $212 million in net sales in its last fiscal year. 01:11 - Source: CNN President Trump's timeline for things seems to almost always be 'in two weeks' President Donald Trump told reporters it will take about 'two weeks' to determine whether Russian President Vladimir Putin is serious about ending the war in Ukraine. That two week timeline, CNN's Abby Phillip says, is a familiar one. 01:48 - Source: CNN Contestants risk injury in cheese wheel competition An annual race held in England has attracted thousands around the world. It's been described as the world's most dangerous race: a 200-yard dash after a wheel of Gloucester cheese. 01:15 - Source: CNN Desperate scenes at community kitchen in northern Gaza Chaotic scenes broke out at this community-run kitchen in Gaza City, in the north, as Palestinians desperate for a meal rushed to receive food. More than 2 million Palestinians have been pushed towards famine after an 11-week blockade on aid by Israel. US and Israeli-backed aid distribution centers have only been opened in the center and the south of the strip. 01:18 - Source: CNN Harvard President gets standing ovation at commencement Harvard President Alan Garber received warm applause at the university's commencement ceremony as Harvard's legal fight against the Trump administration continues. Garber was loudly applauded again after making an indirect reference to the university's legal pushback against the White House's effort to make it impossible for Harvard to accept international students. 01:14 - Source: CNN Glacier partially collapses and buries Swiss village Video shows a glacier in the Swiss Alps partially collapsing, causing ice, mud and rocks to bury part of a mountain village that was evacuated earlier this month. 00:45 - Source: CNN
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Daily Mail
Heartless Pudsey Bear conmen who pilfered over £500,000 of money people thought was for charity are ordered to pay £100,000 to the good causes
Heartless conmen who dressed up as Pudsey Bear to pilfer more than £500,000 from kindhearted members of the public have been ordered to pay back £100,000. The gang was led by David Levi who would wear the beloved Children In Need's yellow bear costume outside supermarkets to con shoppers into making phony donations. He used his ill-gotten gains to fund a life of luxury by buying expensive cars and holidays. He appeared at Preston Crown Court last year where he was jailed for five years after admitting to fraud and money laundering. Now the 49-year-old and fellow bogus collector Stephen Chesterman, 64, have been told to pay back some of the cash or face more time behind bars. The gang collected for charities including Great Ormond Street Hospital, Children in Need and Comic Relief. Levi, from Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, has been ordered to pay back £4,438. If he doesn't pay back the money, the fraudster could face an extra three months in prison. Fellow gang member Chesterman, from Benfleet, Essex, has been given three months to pay back £102,618. If he doesn't, he could face an 18 months jail sentence on top of his previous 22 months in jail. The money recovered will be paid to Children in Need, The Children's Society, Mind, and Great Ormond Street Hospital. The fake charity collectors travelled across the country to solicit donations outside supermarkets, and would threaten to go to the media or report employees if they were challenged. Prosecutors identified a total of approximately £500,000 in cash deposits which had been made in to the accounts of members of the group of seven. Adrian Foster, Chief Crown Prosecutor of the CPS Proceeds of Crime Division, said: 'These men preyed on the good will of members of the public, who believed their money was going to help people. 'Instead, the money was stolen to fund their own lifestyles. 'We are pleased that the money obtained by fraud is finally being given to the deserved charities, and the defendants have not benefitted from their ill-gotten gains.' In emails to the BBC, following his conviction, the Pudsey Bear scammer Levi said he enjoys raising money for good causes and 'fully intends' to fundraise again in the future. Levi even produced fake badges and marketing material to make his scam appear legitimate. When he was caught, he claimed he had made his wealth through escorting, and was lucky at casinos and bookies. 'I can make a grand a week', he told officers upon his arrest. In reality, the court heard he targeted supermarkets to make 'bucket collections' which had not been authorised. Sentencing Levi last year, Judge Andrew Jeffries KC said less than 10 per cent of the £500,000 traced through the conman's bank accounts made its way to the charities it was intended to help. He said Levi and his gang 'preyed upon the public's generosity - and in many cases, private grief.' 'The British public is always ready to give to a good cause and especially to any charity which helps children who are sick, those with cancer and Children in Need', he said. 'They give generously, even when many may not have much themselves.' He vowed to ensure no other scammers could operate in the way Levi and his gang had by passing deterrent sentences. 'The words despicable and brazen have been used and I echo those here', he said. 'The court will endeavour to ensure that no further bogus collections are made for charity so that members of the public can give with confidence as they have in the past.' The biggest loser was the BBC, whose Children In Need charity lost out on £47,000 donated by kind-hearted members of the public. In an email exchange from behind bars, Levi denied being a scammer and claimed he and his six codefendents simply pocketed expenses for their fundraising activities - which 'ran into thousands.' An audio recording shows Levi telling police he received much of his money from 'escorting' when he was really conning Brits out of thousands of pounds. 'I don't know where it's come from but it's not charity money,' he said. 'I was doing a bit of escorting as well at the time, which I wasn't going to bring up, which is very good money.' When asked by police if he had records for his escorting, Levi said: 'Clients don't like [...] receipts. They like discretion.' He added: 'Escorting, on the odd times that I did it, you can make a grand a week, sometimes two grand a week.' To try to cover his tracks Levi would contact each charity, obtain a fundraising pack and use this to claim he was a genuine collector in case he was questioned by store staff or the police, with collections taking place all over the country. Even when supermarket staff challenged the fraudsters about the bogus collections they were told they would lose their jobs or be reported to the national press. Also involved in the scam were Howard Collins, 73, who helped organise collections and went out collecting. He introduced a number of people to GOSH and wrote letters claiming to be from the North of England Events Office - which did not exist. William Ormand went out collecting, but the court heard that he was also involved in paying other collectors and appears to have assisted Levi. Martin Ebanks, 59, and Robert Roy Ferguson, 63, also collected for the conspiracy.
Forbes
15-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Small Toymaker - Whose Business Was Blown Up By Tariffs
David Levi, the owner of MikroKits, a small toymaker, joined a suit against the Trump ... More Administration's tariffs David Levi began designing an educational electronic musical toy kit in 2020. Initially, he made batches of a few hundred at a time and sold them on Amazon. As sales grew, he rented a workshop and small warehouse in Charlottesville, Virginia, bought some light production machines, and hired his first worker. Because of the lag between buying components and selling his products, his family agreed to loan him money to help with cash flow. He ploughed all the money earned back into the business until last year, when he finally started to take a salary for himself. This year, 'I was just starting to get to the payoff zone, where all the investment that I put in of my own money, and all the money I could have been making from a corporate job, was paying off. Now everything's really slowed down because of the tariffs,' Mr. Levi exclaimed. Last year, the business shipped 16,000 units. Mr. Levi's business – MikroKits - was looking to make 20,000 units this year. But with rush orders because of the looming tariffs, MikroKits was only able to buy the components for 11,000 units. But Mr. Levi was not willing to take this lying down. He joined a lawsuit with four other small owner-operated businesses to challenge the tariffs. The case - V.O.S. Selections v. Trump – went before the U.S. Court of International Trade. on Wednesday. An independent observer doesn't think things went well for the Trump administration. Mr. Levi got into electronics as a sophomore in high school. 'I found this weird musical instrument called the theremin,' Mr. Levi explained. 'I saw a video of someone waving their hands in the air, then as you move your hands near the antenna, it changes the volume and the pitch., I thought, oh, this video is fake. They're just putting audio over it. There's no way that you can just get a little circuit with a little antenna,' and use it to create music. It is, Mr. Levi added, 'very difficult to play.' Mr. Levi decided to build his own circuit to see if 'this thing is real. That's what got me really interested in electronics. This is 'really cool from a physics standpoint.' 'So yeah, as a high schooler, I tried to build my own. It was really complicated. I had to order a circuit board from one place, then order components from another place. Eventually, I did get it working. But that's sparked my interest in electronics.' 'I kept building circuits. I got a degree in electrical engineering' from CalPoly in San Luis Obispo. CalPoly's motto is 'learn by doing.' This was just the kind of education Mr. Levi was looking for. Mr. Levi ended up working at some big toy companies. He was part of a design team working on Barbie and another team that worked on Transformers. 'I had experience making toys light up and play noises.' Mr. Levi was laid off in 2020 during the pandemic, which gave him time to design my own Theremin kit. There was an upside to being laid off during the pandemic. 'I,' Mr. Levi said, 'had time to design it right.' PCWorld reviewed the product in 2023. The subtitle of the article was 'This is a Lot of Fun!' The author added 'it's wonderfully easy to assemble' and 'ridiculously fun to play.' It was also educational. The author - Ashley Biancuzzo - added 'I have a better understanding of circuitry.' Since then, Mr. Levi has designed the Synth-a-Sette, a cassette-sized synthesizer. It is a circuit board shaped like a cassette. This device turns everyday objects into musical keys by clipping them to the device. It can be connected to virtually anything conductive, even items you would not think were conductive, like bananas, and play notes. 'I haven't yet figured out if I'm tricking electrical people to get interested in music,' Mr. Levi said. 'Or if I'm tricking music people to get interested in electronics. It's a little bit of both.' But Mr. Levi does want to help inspire the next generation of electrical engineers. Mr. Levi said it took years to develop the MikroKits supply chain. These electrical kits are assembled with imported parts from a number of different countries, including China, Mexico, and Thailand. 60% of the parts do come from China. According to the suit, these parts 'are not readily available from United States suppliers at all, without substantial additional costs, or without having to redesign its products.' For a startup business, getting the right employees – employee in this case – and keeping them happy is critical. 'I've designed my business,' Mr. Levi explained, around the worker who assembles the kits. 'My goal has always been to have Debbie work constantly throughout the year.' The business planning is based on working backwards to keep her working. This determines when and how many parts are ordered and when and how hard to run marketing campaigns. Products are built all year long and stored. Most get sold during the holiday season. Before the tariffs, Mr. Levi was considering adding a new employee. Now he can't keep the employee he has fully employed. Even though tariffs on Chinese goods have now been lowered to 30% from 125%, this is still barely tenable. Mr. Levi had stopped buying components when prices soared. His warehouse is empty. Usually, it takes 10 weeks to get goods from China. But with everyone now placing rush orders, it is apt to take considerably longer. This limits his ability to build his finished goods inventory for the Christmas selling season. 'I am only going to have a couple of months of real production time before September and October, when I need to ship things out.' There is a cutoff because of the time it takes retailers to get goods into their stores for the holiday. Mr. Levi has been forced to raise prices. The Theremin kit was $40, the Synth-a-Sette used to be $50. $10 added to the price of both products. It is not just higher production costs driving the price increase. Higher production costs ripple through the sales and marketing value chain in ways one would not expect. 'When you sell in a retail store, the price you sell the product to the retail store is typically half of what the actual price the customer pays. So, if I have to pay an extra $5 in tariffs,' the final price ends up being $10 more. Marketing costs associated with Amazon sales also increase. An ad placed higher in the Amazon search queue generates much higher sales. While the exact algorithms Amazon uses for ordering ads are not known, the more revenue a product generates is undoubtedly part of the math. If higher production costs lead to lower sales, then prices must be raised even more to generate the same revenues as before. Small businesses have fewer options in dealing with tariffs. Cash flow can be improved by using bonded warehouses. If MikroKits had a bonded warehouse in the U.S., the company could delay payments of the duties until the goods were released from the warehouse. 'I don't have the bandwidth to figure out how to set up a bonded warehouse,' Mr. Levi said. And higher shipping costs are coming as well. Jena Santoro, Senior Manager of Global Risk Intelligence at Everstream Analytics, says that one main impact to anticipate with the 90-day tariff pause will be higher maritime shipping rates. 'While the tariffs are relaxed, we'll see a surge of advanced shipments to restock & replenish inventories, and thus a spike in freight costs.' Higher costs, of course, lead to less demand. 'We're going to have fewer units to sell, which means that there are going to be kids this Christmas season who, instead of getting a cool science kit for Christmas, they're going to spend more time on their iPad. That's kind of sad, because I'm trying to get kids and students interested in electronics,' Mr. Levi bemoaned. One of the goals of the new tariffs is to boost manufacturing in the U.S. For MikroKits, the better solution might be to do light assembly in the U.K. The U.K. has low tariffs on Chinese electronic components. If goods were assembled in the U.K. and then exported to the U.S., the tariffs would be significantly lower than those associated with building the goods in the U.S. While Mr. Levi was initially dismayed and discouraged by the tariffs, that did not stop him from acting. He became one of the plaintiffs in the V.O.S. Selections v. Trump lawsuit. On April 14, the Liberty Justice Center filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration's authority to unilaterally issue the 'Liberation Day' tariffs, which are 'devastating small businesses across the country. The lawsuit argues that the Administration has no authority to issue across-the-board worldwide tariffs without congressional approval.' The President invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to justify the 'Liberation Day' tariffs. But under that law, the President may invoke emergency economic powers only after declaring a national emergency in response to an 'unusual and extraordinary threat' to national security, foreign policy, or the U.S. economy originating outside the United States. The lawsuit argues that the Administration's justification— a trade deficit in goods—is neither an emergency nor an unusual or extraordinary threat. Trade deficits have existed for decades, and do not constitute a national emergency or threat to security. Ian Millhiser, a senior correspondent at Vox, focuses on the Supreme Court and Legal Issues. He reports that while it is unclear how the three-judge panel will rule, 'it appears somewhat more likely than not that they will rule that the tariffs are unlawful. All three of the judges, who sit on the U.S. Court of International Trade, appeared troubled by the Trump administration's claim that the judiciary may not review the legality of the tariffs at all. But the lawyer representing several small businesses challenging the tariffs also faced many skeptical questions.' One judge pushed the plaintiff's lawyer to define a standard that the court could use to decide whether Trump's emergency declaration was lawful, but the lawyer argued that a definition was unnecessary considering the unprecedented nature of the case. 'I'm asking the court to be an umpire and call a strike, and you're asking me, 'What's the strike zone, is it at the knees or slightly below the knees?'' Jeffrey Schwab said. 'I'm saying it's a wild pitch, it's on the other side of the batter and hit the backstop. So we don't need to debate the difference between the strike zone.' Some of the judges sounded offended when the lawyer for the Trump administration claimed that the question of what constitutes an extraordinary threat is a 'political question' — a legal term meaning that the courts aren't allowed to decide that matter. As Judge Jane Restani, a Reagan appointee, told Hamilton, his argument suggests that there is 'no limit' to the president's power to impose tariffs, even if the president claims that a peanut butter shortage is a national emergency. The overall picture presented by the argument is that all three judges (the third is Judge Timothy Reif, a Trump appointee) are troubled by the broad power Trump claims in this case. But they were also frustrated by a lack of guidance — both from existing case law and from Schwab and Hamilton's arguments — on whether Trump can legally claim the power to issue such sweeping tariffs. If the Trump administration loses, they are sure to appeal. However, Riley Stephens with the Liberty Justice Center says the appeals process may be faster because the case appeared before the Court of International Trade. The Court of International Trade is a specialty court that deals specifically with trade issues. In other tariff cases appearing in federal courts, the government is filing motions to move the case to this court.
