(OT) screwed?

Mail fraud?

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

TJim wrote:

Hmmm... that might work. I used USPS to mail him the check. I saved all his emails, too. I printed them all out for posterity.

Thanks. I think I'll pursue both those ideas if I don't hear from him real soon. Wish me luck.

try:

i've been almsot screwed tiwce, but received the items after reporting them to this site, and of course, TELLING them theyve been reported to "the fbi's internet fraud center"

most internet ripoffs arent hardened criminals.. so this usually scares them enough to send the item (after reccomending this to a friend, he received his products as well and the person was bending over backwards with contact information whereas the previous 3 months he had all but ignored him.

with you this may be harder since you say his emails are bouncing.

good luck.

-Steve 98 TJ

I don't think a bank would care. You gave him a check and he cashed it, which is legal as far as they are concerned.

You have his address? Get a lawyer buddy to cut him a "nasty-gram"

look him up in a phone book.

post his name hear. . .

83 CJ 8, a work in progress out the "XXX" to e-mail me

His name doesn't come up on a "white pages" search, but yes, I do have *an* address and the names of two towns he has lived in as well as several defunct email addresses (I've tried them all). I think what I'll do is to write him a "snail mail" note and give him a little more time to respond. It's possible that something happened on his end that has him completely distracted. (I'm trying to give the guy the benefit if the doubt here...) Thanks for all the suggestions. I intend to give them a try. I don't care if he just sends me a refund. It just pi$$es me off if he just expects me to lie down and take it. I won't. Wish me luck. (I could use some...) TJim

There might be a breakthrough this afternoon. I send one last email to every email address I have for this guy (7) and two of them didn't bounce and I got a "we'll answer as soon as we can" answer for one of them. Next, I'm sending him emails to the three addresses that seemed to work requesting receipts (which I *should* have done today), even though I know you can just refuse to return the receipt if you have OE. Maybe he'll actually have a reasonable excuse and we can work the whole thing out. (I tend to be optimistic until the last dog is hung.) Wish me luck.

I agree with this. There are a lot of places you could report it to, but let's face it, the local police, banks, FBI, etc., are not going to care about an amount of only $100.

Your best bet is the US Postal Service Inspector General's office. This kind of thing is their stock in trade. Inquire at your local post office how to go about it.

For a small dollar amount (to the USPS, although maybe it's not small to you,) here is what will most likely happen: They will spend about

10 minutes investigation contacting the bank and getting his SSN, driver's license #, etc. Then a warrant will be issued. And that's that; for an amount this small they won't actively pursue an arrest.

But, that info will lurk in government computers forever and ever, until one day, Mr. Fraud Artist is driving 56mph in a 55mph zone and gets pulled over, and the arrest warrant comes up, and it's off to jail he goes. At that point he will either have to pay restitution or serve it off in jail time or community service.

None of which guarantees that you will ever see your money again, but at least there's a chance, and it will make you feel better knowing that karma is waiting to pounce on him.

This is a case of mail fraud. Here's what you do:

Do some research. If he's done it to you, he's done it to someone else. Google him or dejanews him - find EVERY forum he has been in. Posy with HIS FULL NAME and E_MAIL account. Someone will know more, and you can make a list of people he has defrauded.

THEN, do a mass e-mail to every one. Get names, dates, addresses, etc. Then, set a date and get EVERYONE to go to their post office taht day. Make a mail fraud statement, and give the other people's names (all need to do this) as other people he has defrauded.

The postal inspectors should take care of the rest. Doesn't hurt for them to hear from you every couple of weeks.

Oh yeah - call him and let him know you are doing this AFTER you have done it!

"Bo"

TJim wrote:

so how did this get resolved?

It's not yet resolved. After doing some research, I have been in touch with several people who have had similar experiences with the individual (one case involved several thousand dollars!) and have been gathering information from various sources. (I now know quite a bit about this guy.) I am seriously considering mail fraud charges. It's been quite a while, but I'm finishing up getting my ducks in a row.

keep after him, don't let him get away with it.

If you and the g8uy are in the USA, go down to the post office, and complain. The mail fraud system has more teeth than a civil suit.

That's my plan. I also plan on getting statements from the others that the guy has ripped off, too. The postal inspector tends to get more aggressive if there is an apparent trend, rather than an isolated incident.

Hope you get that guy.. hate to see him keep suckering peeps.

consistent).