Isaac Marchionna
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 13, 2012
- Messages
- 1,281
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 0
- Location
- Portland, Oregon
- Website
- www.lawndartdesign.com
It pains me to have to write this, especially as a junior member, but I need to try to warn folks from a scammer on the prowl.
Long story short, the night of the price drop I decided to sell my Scarlet to help fund an Epic. Obviously I was eager to trade if anyone wanted to trade down to a Scarlet. And that evening I was contacted by David Myers (http://www.reduser.net/forum/member.php?137233-David-Myers) about trading. The deal didn't seem too good to be true, it was in line with similar trade ups/downs I had seen. He had a potential local trade in the LA area, but agreed to keep me in the running if that first buyer passed. We haggled on cost for what would come with his Epic, and my Scarlet. His Epic-X was claimed to be 115 hours on the clock, etc etc. He claimed he works for the Weinstein Company, as part of their Dimension Extreme Films division.
The next day, November 5th, he decided to pass on the first seller, and I was on deck. We agreed I'd do a down payment, the Epic would go to RED for a transfer of ownership, at which point when verified it was at RED I would send my Scarlet and the remainder of the funds. He had an LA phone number, wasn't asking me to send him a western union money gram, as it was going to an actual bank account with an actual person attached. He provided proof of life on the Epic (though it turned out to be bogus).
That's where things started to go pear shaped, and I'll fully admit I should have known better. I've sold and purchased a lot on the internet, and this is the first time I've been flat out scammed. Basically when his phone number was revealed to be something he was using for call forwarding, so I didn't have a legit hard line to him, nor an address. At this point I became worried when his text messages became increasingly sporadic, and he claimed he'd get further information on the camera, and it would be dropped off at RED right after Veterans Day. At this point I'm worried, and call my bank about stopping the wire transfer, but due to the holiday the couldn't help. I called RED to verify the camera was dropped off at their Hollywood storefront. Nothing. At this point I start getting emails now claiming his personal assistant will help with business, but that day his assistant Kelly now claims David Myers suffered a medical emergency, she's in TX for the election to vote, etc etc. Things now stink to high heaven to be sure.
Long story short I'm on the phone with my bank to recover this money. Where it gets weird is that at this point they have my money, but every few days I'm receiving an email in earnest from his assistant claiming they'll get me a refund. Sunday the 11th was the last communication claiming that my funds would be returned. Obviously they haven't if I'm writing this. I lost a fair chunk of change (I don't want to openly disclose the amount, but it hurts to say the least). My bank is working very hard (Bank of America) to have that recipient bank return the funds. I have filed police reports in Portland Oregon, and with LAPD, as well as contacting the IC3, and FBI. Turning over all emails, txt message logs, email IP numbers, etc. I hope this can lead towards some resolution.
My main point in making this post is that I want folks to watch out for this person. Do I think I will get my money back? If I had to put money on it (oh wait I do) then I'd say no. This sets back my purchase of a few things quite a bit, and especially hurts coming into the holidays. I'm working with the mod staff to try to make sure this person can't strike again.
I thought I was dealing with someone solid, especially on a forum of solid individuals. My first post on this forum was to sell some un-needed gear, so someone put blind trust in me at one point. I'm not going to say this is all the fault of the scammer, as it takes two to tango, and I feel embarrassed for getting taken for a ride. I just want others to avoid what has happened to me.
Thank you.
MODS: I didn't know exactly where to put this, so I hope it's placed well enough.
Long story short, the night of the price drop I decided to sell my Scarlet to help fund an Epic. Obviously I was eager to trade if anyone wanted to trade down to a Scarlet. And that evening I was contacted by David Myers (http://www.reduser.net/forum/member.php?137233-David-Myers) about trading. The deal didn't seem too good to be true, it was in line with similar trade ups/downs I had seen. He had a potential local trade in the LA area, but agreed to keep me in the running if that first buyer passed. We haggled on cost for what would come with his Epic, and my Scarlet. His Epic-X was claimed to be 115 hours on the clock, etc etc. He claimed he works for the Weinstein Company, as part of their Dimension Extreme Films division.
The next day, November 5th, he decided to pass on the first seller, and I was on deck. We agreed I'd do a down payment, the Epic would go to RED for a transfer of ownership, at which point when verified it was at RED I would send my Scarlet and the remainder of the funds. He had an LA phone number, wasn't asking me to send him a western union money gram, as it was going to an actual bank account with an actual person attached. He provided proof of life on the Epic (though it turned out to be bogus).
That's where things started to go pear shaped, and I'll fully admit I should have known better. I've sold and purchased a lot on the internet, and this is the first time I've been flat out scammed. Basically when his phone number was revealed to be something he was using for call forwarding, so I didn't have a legit hard line to him, nor an address. At this point I became worried when his text messages became increasingly sporadic, and he claimed he'd get further information on the camera, and it would be dropped off at RED right after Veterans Day. At this point I'm worried, and call my bank about stopping the wire transfer, but due to the holiday the couldn't help. I called RED to verify the camera was dropped off at their Hollywood storefront. Nothing. At this point I start getting emails now claiming his personal assistant will help with business, but that day his assistant Kelly now claims David Myers suffered a medical emergency, she's in TX for the election to vote, etc etc. Things now stink to high heaven to be sure.
Long story short I'm on the phone with my bank to recover this money. Where it gets weird is that at this point they have my money, but every few days I'm receiving an email in earnest from his assistant claiming they'll get me a refund. Sunday the 11th was the last communication claiming that my funds would be returned. Obviously they haven't if I'm writing this. I lost a fair chunk of change (I don't want to openly disclose the amount, but it hurts to say the least). My bank is working very hard (Bank of America) to have that recipient bank return the funds. I have filed police reports in Portland Oregon, and with LAPD, as well as contacting the IC3, and FBI. Turning over all emails, txt message logs, email IP numbers, etc. I hope this can lead towards some resolution.
My main point in making this post is that I want folks to watch out for this person. Do I think I will get my money back? If I had to put money on it (oh wait I do) then I'd say no. This sets back my purchase of a few things quite a bit, and especially hurts coming into the holidays. I'm working with the mod staff to try to make sure this person can't strike again.
I thought I was dealing with someone solid, especially on a forum of solid individuals. My first post on this forum was to sell some un-needed gear, so someone put blind trust in me at one point. I'm not going to say this is all the fault of the scammer, as it takes two to tango, and I feel embarrassed for getting taken for a ride. I just want others to avoid what has happened to me.
Thank you.
MODS: I didn't know exactly where to put this, so I hope it's placed well enough.
