Scammed by Jackson1320

[5-OH]

I thought this whole thing was going to play out much differently than it did. I thought the ex-wife probably reported the card stolen, and pointed the cops in the right direction as to where the parts were located as a way to get one final eff-you to the OP. Boy I was way off interesting thread none the less.

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[cerbomark]

I thought this whole thing was going to play out much differently than it did. I thought the ex-wife probably reported the card stolen, and pointed the cops in the right direction as to where the parts were located as a way to get one final eff-you to the OP. Boy I was way off interesting thread none the less.

you should write for TV, pretty good angle. AND happen s a lot.

 

[Angrey]

Let me guess, American Muscle, that's like their whole sales M.O.

haha, no. I already drug them through the ringer on the FB groups and as soon as they saw my posts, they magically responded (after ignoring me for several days) and I got my refund shortly after (rather than waiting the full 14 day PP response period). I removed my posts after they refunded. I'm not tryna wreck anyone's business, just either wanted my money back or what I ordered. I won't trash talk them, but I won't ever try to use them again either.

 

[Angrey]

Hire a PI with a sense of justice

I've never hired one, but I imagine that a good PI costs as much hourly as an attorney. Even at the bargain basement price of $100/hour. The guy works for a week and now you've spent as much as you're out on the scam. It'd have to really be about principle and vengeance at that point and money be damned.

 

[Mike Pfeifer]

That was much of the point of my long winded post. MOST LIKELY even if you try to pursue "criminal" charges, if the shitbag can show that he's some sort of business and that he's simply struggling, law enforcement will chalk it up to a civil matter. You'd have to PROVE that he intentionally defrauded (with preemption) rather than he's just defaulting on a business venture/interaction. Of course, that's easier if the LE conducts searches and raids of his documents, communications, etc. But they won't do that. They just don't GAF and they'll sleep soundly under the guise that it's just something for litigation to resolve.

Once you're in THAT circumstance, you start to realize you'll spend more on attorneys and representation than you did on the loss and despite all the TV lawyer shows, the reality is damages for legal expenses is a toss up and it's up to the judge. You can petition for it and try to recover and make the losing party pay for legal expenses but it's not a certainty at all. (in essence, even if you WIN your case, you COULD not get compensation for your legal expenses so EVEN IF you somehow collect, which is always a crap shoot as well, it could be that it's not even enough to pay your attorney fees).

It's complete bullshit the state of our legal system (both civil and criminal) in respect to this stuff. It's similar to grand theft auto. Cops and LE in general do not GAF about auto theft. They just don't. With all the zillions of cameras and footage, you could catch 99% of auto theft in even remotely urbanized locales (which is where it's most occurring) with some simple investigation work (and access to camera footage). But they won't do it. Why? That's what insurance is for (at least in their minds). The only time they'll GAF about it is if they happen to stumble onto the plates of a stolen vehicle or happen upon it in a different search warrant. They rarely actively pursue missing vehicles just for the sake of recovering a vehicle. Their attitude is "that's what insurance is for."

Maybe there is an avenue here since CA requires him to be registered as a repair shop and if he is not, then he can't claim to be a business.

 

[cerbomark]

If you have the time just go file the civil suit (probably in the county which he does business). Represent yourself, let it all play out. When he doesn't appear at least he ll have paper on him and maybe a judgment. Sure you MAY never see the money but some aggravation for him would be well served. You seem to have all the documents already. I wish you well!

I re state the above. Don t get involved in the vigilante crap. 99% of people don t have the ba$$s and wisely so. Not over parts at least.
A family member did 20 years for being involved in this type of thing. (then someone dies).
This is a smart group overall. The Oper also seems intelligent so stay on point even though I must admit it s entertaining , but remember it s at someone expense.

 

[illtal]

the street justice bit is merely tongue in cheek.
the PI isn't.
Courts isn't, police involvement isn't.
He's got all the evidence needed.

 

[Finally21]

The problem isn't this guy. The problem is our justice system. Police for profit now dominates everything. "Cops," law enforcement, whatever you want to refer to them as, don't GAF. They just don't.

Several years ago I was shopping for a high end TV. Made the mistake of wiring a company (with a legit website) the money before checking their BBB. After being led on for weeks, I reached out to the Sherriff's department where the address is located. Spoke with a detective who had multiple cases open on the same guy. You can imagine my frustration as to why they hadn't arrested him and charged him with any number of felonies. The detective basically told me that because he had a business and had serviced at least some customers, it's a civil matter. (so lesson here is, if you want to rob someone, just open a business, serve a few people, then take in money for goods or services and keep it. Make sure each individual you rob is less than say $4k and they're all far away. That way, when your victims learn their only path is to sue you, they'll have to weigh legal fees and representation (across the country) against the amount of money they're already owed.

Furthermore, the detective fully admitted that he'd done this many times, setup a business, screw people, let the bad reviews and anger pile up. Declare bankruptcy and then start a new business. Zero justice.

Couple years ago, my father had tools stolen from his workshop. He reported it to the county Sherriff's department. Then he went searching pawn shops. He found his tools (with invoices and matching serial number proof). Sherriff's deputy said "there's nothing we can do." Even though the pawn shop owner had bought stolen property, even though the person who sold it had to submit a copy of their driver's license, they would not reveal who it was and the dumbass cops refused to do anything. Apparently a few years ago they changed the state laws (at the lobby of pawn shop owners I'm sure) that the Pawn shop owner doesn't have to return the stolen property (some bullshit about creating a second victim). So my father has PROOF, they have the person that sold the items, but the cops say they can't do anything.

In a world where the laws and law enforcement are worth anything, he should be able to report this and they would arrest this douchebag and he'd either have to pay or stay in jail.

Ironically, the best protection now is to simply use a service/card/payment process that has ironclad reclaim policy. Paypal Goods and Services is about the best there is. You submit a claim and within 2 weeks, you have your money back in your account. I'll never purchase anything again from someone suspect that isn't PPG&S. Legit major purchases to reputable retailers, credit card is fine. Furthermore, the businesses/people that refuse PPG&S is a dead giveaway they've fucked over people in the past and PP revoked their privileges.

There's nothing more frustrated than being screwed over and KNOWING who did it and there's virtually NOTHING that law enforcement will do and of course if you take matters into your own hands, it'll be you in cuffs. It's one thing to be scammed by an anonymous/unknown, but when you KNOW who did it, it's a travesty of justice.

I always get a kick out of people who get themselves into a situation like this which is none of their own doing but then expect the cops to always bail them out. Cops, want them when we need them, want them invisible when we don't need them. There is only so much the cops can do, generally speaking when two persons mutually agree to buy/sell something and it goes wrong it is a civil matter. In many internet cases, the suspect operates out of state or even out of the country in some cases. States attorneys are not going to spend the money to extradite someone over an expensive tv. Saying cops don't GAF is probably true in some cases, but at the end of the day there is only so much they can do. Do your homework next time and move on.

 

[bankyf]

I thought this whole thing was going to play out much differently than it did. I thought the ex-wife probably reported the card stolen, and pointed the cops in the right direction as to where the parts were located as a way to get one final eff-you to the OP. Boy I was way off interesting thread none the less.

Not gonna lie, I did too.

 

[Angrey]

I always get a kick out of people who get themselves into a situation like this which is none of their own doing but then expect the cops to always bail them out. Cops, want them when we need them, want them invisible when we don't need them. There is only so much the cops can do, generally speaking when two persons mutually agree to buy/sell something and it goes wrong it is a civil matter. In many internet cases, the suspect operates out of state or even out of the country in some cases. States attorneys are not going to spend the money to extradite someone over an expensive tv. Saying cops don't GAF is probably true in some cases, but at the end of the day there is only so much they can do. Do your homework next time and move on.

You misunderstand. I expect cops to do something because the law prevents me from handling myself. I could easily handle it myself if the same cops who refuse to do something would leave me to my approach. But that's the cruel position we're placed in. Cops won't do anything (when it's pretty clear to anyone that a crime against another person is committed) and yet, if a citizen handles it, they're pursued or charged.

I only expect LE to handle it because they won't allow me to handle it myself.

 

[cerbomark]

I always get a kick out of people who get themselves into a situation like this which is none of their own doing but then expect the cops to always bail them out. Cops, want them when we need them, want them invisible when we don't need them. There is only so much the cops can do, generally speaking when two persons mutually agree to buy/sell something and it goes wrong it is a civil matter. In many internet cases, the suspect operates out of state or even out of the country in some cases. States attorneys are not going to spend the money to extradite someone over an expensive tv. Saying cops don't GAF is probably true in some cases, but at the end of the day there is only so much they can do. Do your homework next time and move on.

I agree. I have turned away many case like this. Just not able to handle all the business disputes. Not possible. It is a property crime. That s what civil court is for.. You entered an agreement that was not fulfilled (and then some I agree) Do these thing sometimes cross into criminal, certainly. Looks like maybe this started out as a legit deal and then it went wrong. No excuse for the ending on the part of the so called business .

 

[illtal]

ag

Not gonna lie, I did too.

agreed

 

[cerbomark]

just to add, the policy of not to handle what looks like civil case are decided way up above the officer you speak to. FYI.

 

[Cobra Jet]

That was much of the point of my long winded post. MOST LIKELY even if you try to pursue "criminal" charges, if the shitbag can show that he's some sort of business and that he's simply struggling, law enforcement will chalk it up to a civil matter. You'd have to PROVE that he intentionally defrauded (with preemption) rather than he's just defaulting on a business venture/interaction. Of course, that's easier if the LE conducts searches and raids of his documents, communications, etc. But they won't do that. They just don't GAF and they'll sleep soundly under the guise that it's just something for litigation to resolve.

Once you're in THAT circumstance, you start to realize you'll spend more on attorneys and representation than you did on the loss and despite all the TV lawyer shows, the reality is damages for legal expenses is a toss up and it's up to the judge. You can petition for it and try to recover and make the losing party pay for legal expenses but it's not a certainty at all. (in essence, even if you WIN your case, you COULD not get compensation for your legal expenses so EVEN IF you somehow collect, which is always a crap shoot as well, it could be that it's not even enough to pay your attorney fees).

It's complete bullshit the state of our legal system (both civil and criminal) in respect to this stuff. It's similar to grand theft auto. Cops and LE in general do not GAF about auto theft. They just don't. With all the zillions of cameras and footage, you could catch 99% of auto theft in even remotely urbanized locales (which is where it's most occurring) with some simple investigation work (and access to camera footage). But they won't do it. Why? That's what insurance is for (at least in their minds). The only time they'll GAF about it is if they happen to stumble onto the plates of a stolen vehicle or happen upon it in a different search warrant. They rarely actively pursue missing vehicles just for the sake of recovering a vehicle. Their attitude is "that's what insurance is for."

I hear local News Station Investigative Teams are very good at making visits and recovering cash, goods or getting restitution for those who were wronged... that's up to the OP, but just saying...

 

[Angrey]

I agree. I have turned away many case like this. Just not able to handle all the business disputes. Not possible. It is a property crime. That s what civil court is for.. You entered an agreement that was not fulfilled (and then some I agree) Do these thing sometimes cross into criminal, certainly. Looks like maybe this started out as a legit deal and then it went wrong. No excuse for the ending on the part of the so called business .

But many of these aren't some single business deal gone bad. Scammers rarely scam one person and done with it. Even in cases where MULTIPLE people have called asking for help, it's still "civil matter." Which as we've discussed and pointed out, is not practical for most people as the costs are usually as much or more than the theft/fraud. So the victim is left with virtually no practical recourse.

Thankfully, mechanisms like Paypal are screening out a lot of scammers. On one of the FB mustang forums a member posed as another scammer and had discussions with one based out of Cyprus. The guy was moaning about how business was slow for him because everyone was demanding PPG&S these days.

I don't expect LE to intervene for every business deal gone South, but when a detective tells me (yeah, we know this guy, we get calls all the time) we've gone from civil matter to hey, try helping us out here. But there's no money in solving property crime (or violent crime for that matter).

It's sad to say, but the best thing would be an anonymous tip that the scammer had a large amount of drugs or cash at his address. You'd have every cop within 10 miles at his door in 5 minutes.

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