Heads up.....Do not deal with this guy

If Ed is really a great guy and a buddy of some of you, why don't you give him a call and let him know he's being an asshat and a piss-poor businessman and to knock it off if he wants his business to thrive and be successful? Letting a jerk be a jerk won't teach him anything and he'll never change.
People don't correct their mistakes if friends and relatives cover up for them. It's called "enabling".
What he did, like it or not, was UNETHICAL BUSINESS PRACTICE.