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A Ma Maniere

HipHopWired Featured Video

Source: Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty
Late last year, the sneaker world was shocked to learn that Social Status owner, James Whitner, was under investigation for reselling sneakers from his own clothing store to Chinese nationals. Now, it seems like Whitner is ready to take a massive loss in the ongoing back-and-forth with authorities.

According to Nice Kicks, Whitner is readying to forfeit up to $1.2 million dollars that was federally seized during the investigation after failing to file a claim for the money before the deadline of Sept. 20. After having previously asked for four extensions in the civil forfeiture, it seems like Whitner is ready to cut his losses and move forward however he feels is best for himself and his business.
Per Nice Kicks:

The focal point of the forfeiture action is $1,199,530 in cash seized from the apartment of Whitner’s close associate, Antwain Freeman, in August 2021. Prosecutors assert that this money was linked to an “unlicensed money transmitting business involving Chinese money couriers,” implicating Whitner, Freeman, and others.
The Whitaker Group issued a statement (located in full below) denying the allegations, emphasizing their commitment to legal compliance and transparency in inventory management. It also highlights the collaboration with Nike, a major partner headquartered in Oregon, and asserts that the allegations are baseless and unrelated to their business or community.
While Whitner and his partners are still under investigation for selling millions of dollars worth of sneakers to Chinese buyers in an apparent money laundering scheme, the Social Status owner feels he’ll ultimately be vindicated once all the facts come out in a court of law as he feels politics are at play here and he’s done nothing wrong.
We disagree with the USAO’s allegations concerning our business and remain appreciative of the extraordinary support our vendor partners have shown and continue to show throughout this process.  Our success has made us an easy target caught in the middle of a U.S. financial and regulatory war with China of which we have no part in.
We look forward to defending our business and operating model while continuing to proudly serve the communities that have embraced us over the last 20 years. This complaint will not deter us from continuing to tell our stories and build a legacy of excellence and we will continue to vigorously defend our business and all that they contribute to culture, commerce and the community.
Well, he’s definitely got his work cut out for him. When the U.S. government comes for your business, it’s going to get complicated and ugly.
What do y’all think of James Whitner maintaining his innocence in all of this? Let us know in the comments section below.

HipHopWired Featured Video

Source: @thesocialstatus / Instagram
Sneaker resellers have become a plague amongst the sneaker community as they’ve made it damn near impossible for heads to get their hands on grails for retail price. But now a businessman from Charlotte, NC has the feds on his ass for lowkey partaking in the practice, allegedly.

According to WOSC-TV, said businessman is under investigation by authorities for a money laundering scheme that involved Chinese money couriers which the Feds believe led to millions of dollars going through the spin cycle. The businessman at the heart of this investigation is said to have a few businesses under his umbrella including well-known high-end sneaker spot, Social Status.

Since the initial report, and citing the legal docs, multiple outlets have named the owner as James Whitner—which was easy to determine since he is the founder of The Whitaker Group, which owns Social Status and A Ma Maniere. But Whitner has not been charged with anything yet.
Allegedly, “someone” would take the sneakers Whitner would get directly from the plugs (Nike, Adidas, etc.), and sell them to a Chinese national who would then turn around and resell them on the secondary market. The exchange went on during a five-year period and authorities figure around $32 million was made throughout that time.
No wonder it was damn near impossible to hit on that website’s raffles, respectfully. The product was backdoored to China. And here we thought they were just backdooring the kicks to friends and family.
WOSC-TV reports:
Investigators said the group didn’t report cash payments over $10,000 like it was supposed to, lied to U.S. banks, and potentially broke federal anti-money laundering law.
The man does not face charges at this point.
Stoogenke reached out to him in three different ways on Monday and has yet to hear back.
In general, Stoogenke says money laundering organizations have become underground banking systems that have taken off over the last few years, “cleaning” money from romance scams, drug trafficking, and other crimes.
The Whitaker Group, the ownership of Social Status, issued a statement essentially saying that they have been cooperating. “The recent action by the US Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina (USAO) comes after significant cooperation and good-faith negotiations on our part,” reads the statement. “To be clear, while we take the allegations in the complaint seriously, they are unfounded, unrelated to our business or this community and unjustified. Our professional inventory management team runs a transparent process built on systems that are both legally compliant and consistent with industry standards. We have also complied with all tax obligations annually.”

Reportedly, the forfeiture actions stems from the almost $1.2 million in cash seized from Antwain Freeman, a friend of Whitaker’s, in New Jersey in 2021. The Feds claim the cash was part of the money transmitting scheme.
Don’t be surprised if everyone’s going to start hitting on those Social Status raffles this holiday season as they now know the jig is up, allegedly.
What do y’all think of this situation? Let us know in the comment section below.

HipHopWired Featured Video

Source: A Ma Maniere / AMM
Over the past few years the Air Jordan and A Ma Maniére collaborations has proven to be one of thee most popular sneaker releases in the game thanks to superb colorways and overall attention to detail.

Whether it was the Air Jordan 1 or the Air Jordan 3, sneakerheads had to add those A Ma Maniére collaborations to their collection and weekly rotation. Now with the release of their collaboration of the Air Jordan 12 amongst us, Hypebeast sat down with A Ma Maniére founder, James Whitner to talk about what his collaboration with Jordan Brand has meant to his team and the positive Black messages they bring with each iteration of a Jordan classic and of course what to expect with the AMM Air Jordan 12’s.

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Following A Ma Maniére’s Air Jordan 3, Air Jordan 1, Air Jordan 2 and Air Jordan 4 collaborations, these Air Jordan 12s are equipped with quilted liners and supple suede dyed in a signature burgundy hue. Accompanying the shoes is an apparel assemblage that includes a jacquard down-filled puffer, a nylon shirt and pant set, a suede knit tracksuit set and monogram jacquard hoodies and tees. To further express its feminist side, A Ma Maniére gave ladies first access to its in-store and online raffles.
While some of the Air Jordan x A Ma Maniére collaborations are made exclusively for women and even have messages just for them, men naturally have to have them and will go out and purchase the sizes that fit them as when it comes to sneakers, styles and colorways have no genders so long as they can fit in them. As to why Whitner goes this route for certain releases, there’s a pretty dope and straightforward thought process to that practice.
Black women move and shape the world. Period, point blank. Look at everything around you from how the world expresses itself, dresses and seeks inspiration — it’s all powered by the essence and creativity of Black women. Do they ever get credit for it? Hell no! They put the whole world on to what’s important, to what’s next, are the pulse of every community, and still have to deal with the compound issues of being a Black person in our day and age and the issues you face with that. So as we started this chapter, the focus had to be on “her,” because she is too important to be ignored — and if we have the platform then it’s our responsibility to always use it to speak to what we see and experience. And once again, this is less about me and more about the world, how we all experience it. Our team reflects this. The women of our team and business show up daily to inform the direction we go in. That’s why this moment is important.

Props, Mr. Whitner.
As for why the Air Jordan 12 was chosen to be the latest silhouette to get the A Ma Maniére treatment, James Whitner explained that, “The Air Jordan 12 is an iconic silhouette that already sits at the pinnacle of luxury. In all fairness, the essence of the work is already there and in place, so our approach was to zero in on the details. That resulted in the burgundy hairy suede adding lush, regal details and staying consistent with the ideals of how the Black woman is royalty. We wanted her to be grounded in that as she’s recognized, acknowledged and celebrated. You then add the quilted liner to go with the highest level of black suede and white leather for the upper, and the final look was exceptional. The perspective was “this should be the shoe that “she” puts men on to and gets to own and excite the world with. Too often, you see the process go into how to make it feminine — we don’t subscribe to that thinking. For us it was always about what we could execute that she’d hold up as her own.”
When breaking it down the way he did, we have to get our hands on a pair and rock them with pride out on the streets, but of course, ladies first.
Now that the A Ma Maniére x Air Jordan 12 is officially set to hit the streets, sneakerheads await the next collaboration from this dynamic duo and though nothing has been made official as of yet, rumors have it that the Air Jordan 5 is the next sneaker to get remixed by James Whitner and his talented team. We can’t wait.
The “Black/Burgundy” colorway will be officially released on February 24 with the apparel pieces while the “White/Burgundy” pair will drop on March 2 exclusively through A Ma Maniére.
Will you be trying to copp a pair? Let us know in the comments section below.