Well, I've been quiet about this up until now.  As many of you know,there was an ad on kijiji recently for an EATPM. I had kept quiet about it on here as I was dealing with him over phone and email and I've learned to keep my dealings to myself as there's a few backstabbers learking about (that's a whole other topic)

Everything was going great, I spoke with him over the phone several times, sent deposit, paid in full as of december 18. Called again, "machine's ready to go", all is looking good.  Well...  It wasn't shipped on monday like it was supposed to be. It wasn't shipped on tuesday.  I said I'd like a refund.  He said "ok, how would you like me to send the refund?".  I said an EMT was fine.

Hadn't heard from him at all.  I left messages this morning stating that if I didn't receive my money by noon today (est) then I'd have to get the police involved.  Well.. Just got a response (and keep in mind there's been no talk of MAACA before this.. Hell, he acted as though he didn't even know how to turn the damn machine on)

________________

good morning machine slave.although you are a bit off on your opening statement,i hope i am not too late in writing.i wanted you to get a chance to print this off for sparky or any other one of you maaca idiots.maybe you can fax this copy to the j.edgar hoover wanna b's on my end.let me refresh your memory a bit.there are two very good people here that you,that scum bastard teamatomics and the one and only big co-hort of yours,serge-aka:tartaliag,another goof maaca shithead,ripped off on mr.pinball.does the phantom of the opera ring a bell with the $1000 down payment and that person never heard from you fags again.how about your "mint" barb wire you posted for sale for $1200???does that ring a bell???money order sent and wow,what a surprise,no machine ever arrived.these were people that did not know much about this sport of pinball and you clowns were there like hawks,like you were on the elvira,right greedy bastard???i know your memory does not go back that far,but it is about 2 years.you have to remember fuckface,maaca is not some private club of yours,got it???i have several members that are more than willing to report your scams to alberta.some of you goofs really talk to much to each other thru PM and you don't even realize who is on the other end of that keyboard.i am pretty sure sparky would love to hear what you clowns are up to offsite.as a matter of fact,this email will be posted by a member soon.keep watching.now,let's go back to july of 07.do you remember a guy at your work introducing himself as walter???he drove the grey rental caddilac with alberta plates.you should,as you were outside.you are lucky he did not pummel you right there,you arrogant cunt.don't worry,we know all about you.teamatomics will receive a visit soon aswell.funny,he changed his ebay id and is not visiting maaca anymore.now listen&read very carefully you hypocrite f***.if i ever find out you ripped someone i know off,i will make sure it will never happen again.i realize your other two co-horts are probably going to lay low for a while,but rest assured,eyes are watching.if anyone from alberta tries to buy something from you goofs,you should give me a call and i will do a referance check.haha.by the way,we are not quite squared up yet,if my math is right.send the barb wire pin to alberta and we call off the dogs.here is a little riddle for you goofball.once arnold on t-2 pinball completes all 5 ramp modes,what does he say???????????
hypocrite1 : a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion


hypocrite1 : a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion 2 : a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings
________________

Now I have no idea what he's talking about, I've never even owned a Barb Wire (nor would I ever want to), and I barely know Craig, and I've never spoken to Serge in my life

If anyone has any leads on this guy, please PM me.

Needless to say, this whole ordeal has left a sour taste in my mouth.. I'll be finishing up my other pending deals and getting out of the trading game for a while.  I have no desire right now to even bother.. Thanks to all who have been kind with my previous deals.

Word to the wise:  deal locally.

What a story , I hope things straigten up with this guy, maybe Pinsonly or Hardcore or even Teamtonics knows this guy, I doute Craig would have anything to do with this whole story, he's a great guy.

I'd like to think that my comprehension of English is fairly good...
... but I have no idea what the hell this guy is rambling about ...

But if I get the gyst, he's under the assumption that you scammed him
before on some other games and is now trying to get back at you...
Seems like a case of mistaken idendity to me...

As for his reference to "Serge" as being "Tartagliag",
he obviously doesn't know what the hell he's talking about since the last "G"
in that user name stands for Giuseppe/Gus
... who the hell is Serge... ?

This guy seems to have a few gaps in his story...

Sorry to hear about your troubles...

S.

Hmm... odd. First of all, Craig is still on site. He hasn't changed his name at all. And Tartagliag is not really called Serge. And I know Gus enough that he is a stand-up guy.

As for what the guy wrote... email is a legal document. Threatening someone by email is just as bad as doing it to your face... and charges can be pressed.

As for me finding out what people do behind the scenes? To be honest, as long as you don't use MAACA as a vessel to illegal activities, I don't care... what you guys do between yourselves if your business and your business alone.

And I do welcome anyone to report any fraudulent activity. So why does this guy hesitate over 2 years to contact me?


Very odd...


Call the cops. Period. You have a written contract of sale (via email), he got the oney and openly refuses to deliver, and even threatens you. He has no basis to do so. So just call the cops. If he got ripped off by someone 2 years ago and never reported it, his problem. Don't do the same mistake. Just report him.

this guy owes you who ever he is get the cops involved especially with that letter. too many crazies not enough straight jackets.

I offer $300 to anyone in Calgar who can get my money back for me.

Quoted from machine.slave

I offer $300 to anyone in Calgar who can get my money back for me.

CALL THE POLICE!! they are the ones that know how to deal with this crap. I wouldn't suggest anyone  be a vigilante.

I have called the police..  And I'm not asking for a vigilante (that would be stupid).  He obviously knows people on the board, maybe someone can talk some sense into him.

Quoted from JD3

this guy owes you who ever he is get the cops involved especially with that letter. too many crazies not enough straight jackets.

I agree. I don't know how these deals become such a three ring circus.

1. I would see whether or not Alberta is just a red herring. We have very few guys from out there on the forum.

2. It sounds like a case of mistaken identity as Steph mentioned or this guys is a first rate B.S.er and is trying to run a good offense in order to knock down your defense regardless of how inaccurate his comments may be.

3. Look at the message. There are a handful of these A holes around. The WWW is global but this lower case text and bad punctuation is the way I was responded to before on an inquiry into a fake TAF advertised in T.O.  I would not be surprised if this guy is not where he says he is. If you can get an IP address you know where to start looking.

I *have* called the police, a few times in fact.  I'll be seeing them at the precinct shortly

He's definitely in calgary, his bank info and phone number all link to calgary.  Either that, or he's very good at covering his tracks

It's amazing how the rhetoric from these scammers always sounds the same, it's like they are a schizophrenic brotherhood, convinced that they are in the right and that you are in the wrong.  Maybe that's how they live with themselves.  Or maybe it's the lead/mercury/antimony in the solder...

Quoted from websherpa

It's amazing how the rhetoric from these scammers always sounds the same, it's like they are a schizophrenic brotherhood, convinced that they are in the right and that you are in the wrong.  Maybe that's how they live with themselves.  Or maybe it's the lead/mercury/antimony in the solder...

That  IS  how they live with themselves, I've been married with one of them for 16 years, I'm happy those days are over. And this time I'm not kidding.

Quoted from machine.slave

I have called the police..  And I'm not asking for a vigilante (that would be stupid).  ...

if nothing else, you'll have a greater appreciation of the opening scene of The  Godfather, where the undertaker asks Senore Corleone for some justice since the courts failed to provide any.


hope it turns out well for you...

You can also start to file your report here:

http://www.recol.ca/

It's a start I don't know if they can help you are not, but it is a place that you can document your side of the story with dates, facts and emails.

I know when I thought I was getting scammed I filed a report there, and then sent the information off the the offending party.  Once they saw I had filled the report the person sent the parts in question out the next day.  

Sorry to hear about your problems.  I tried reading the email but it was so incohernet I couldn't understand exactly what the person was trying to say.  

The unfortunete faq Craig probably does know this guy.
There is a guy in alberta that purchased his phantom of the operas on ebay said give him a 1000$ and will pay the rest when he has the money.
I beleive he sold the machine for 2100 then shipping.
Well he never did the other payment never contacted Craig he even tried on several attemps to call this guy with no anser.
Craig never said to f*** him but if you think about it it been over a year with no payment and dog F#@*#@# one of the many reasons he is fed up.
Craig was F#@*#@# confused with this guy and i seriously don't blame him.

Quoted from Sparky

Hmm... odd. First of all, Craig is still on site. He hasn't changed his name at all. And Tartagliag is not really called Serge. And I know Gus enough that he is a stand-up guy.

As for what the guy wrote... email is a legal document. Threatening someone by email is just as bad as doing it to your face... and charges can be pressed.

As for me finding out what people do behind the scenes? To be honest, as long as you don't use MAACA as a vessel to illegal activities, I don't care... what you guys do between yourselves if your business and your business alone.

And I do welcome anyone to report any fraudulent activity. So why does this guy hesitate over 2 years to contact me?


Very odd...


Call the cops. Period. You have a written contract of sale (via email), he got the oney and openly refuses to deliver, and even threatens you. He has no basis to do so. So just call the cops. If he got ripped off by someone 2 years ago and never reported it, his problem. Don't do the same mistake. Just report him.

Can you please post his info so we know who to avoid?

thank you

ahh christ Brock, sorry to hear man.

There were doubts, and you gave him the benefit of it, and got burned. These kind of a**hole people f*** it up for the rest of the honest ones out there.

Really too bad man, hope it gets sorted out as you really are one of the good guys in this hobby.

Sorry to hear of your bad luck.  Hang in there.  I'm sure you'll see a resolution to this.

Tartagliag?

Teamatomics?

Quoted from mark

Tartagliag?

Teamatomics?

I'm just reading this as of now....and I don't have a clue of what's going on....

Like Mrhide stated, who is he?

Sorry!

tartagliag

Sorry guys, here's the guy's info

autodlr89@yahoo.com

his name is Will Gartner

I spoke to the guy also on the phone, and he seemed quite normal to me, surprised this is the end result.  

I checked my cell phone log and he called me from this number 416-210-3998, and proceeded to tell me he was in High River, Alberta. I did not think much of it, but I decided I did not want to deal with the shipping issue so I let it go. I called the number now and it says it is not in service.  

Quoted from machine.slave

Sorry guys, here's the guy's info

autodlr89@yahoo.com

his name is Will Gartner

Welll THERE is the explanation... he's a car salesman!!!

Sparky:  Indeed..

Hey, HP5P, that number is a calling card, I've already looked into it.

Quoted from HP5P

I spoke to the guy also on the phone, and he seemed quite normal to me, surprised this is the end result.  

I checked my cell phone log and he called me from this number 416-210-3998, and proceeded to tell me he was in High River, Alberta. I did not think much of it, but I decided I did not want to deal with the shipping issue so I let it go. I called the number now and it says it is not in service.  

This phone number has a hell of a bad history... check it out:

http://whocallsme.com/Phone-Number.aspx/4162103998

It is a prepaid phone card transfer number...

*cough*

Calling card.

Oh man!! I hope you will reccover your money soon.

This really sux

Isn't it Toronto not bumf%#k Alberta since it's a 416 area code?

Hmm... does this thread ring a bell?

http://www.maaca.net/cgi-bin/Blah/Blah.pl?m-1229564844/

Quoted from necro_nemesis

Isn't it Toronto not bumf%#k Alberta since it's a 416 area code?

As mentioned above it's a prepaid calling card.  The number comes up as a Toronto number no matter where you call from.

Mike

Quoted from Sparky

Hmm... does this thread ring a bell?

http://www.maaca.net/cgi-bin/Blah/Blah.pl?m-1229564844/

Yup, that's the thread I was mentioning when I said I didn't want to chime in.

Did you get my PM?

Maybe this Diamond Auto? http://www.diamondauto.ca/

Deals in scrap cars... figures...

I typed "Diamond Auto pinball" in Google... found this:

http://www.gamesforum.ca/showthread.php?t=309236

forums.webmagic.com/ubbthreads/showthreaded.php?Cat=0&Number=819991&page=&vc=1

Bad Ebay trader...

Yup, I've done all that already.. but thank you.  

Quoted from machine.slave

Yup, that's the thread I was mentioning when I said I didn't want to chime in.

Did you get my PM?

Yyyyyyyup. Looking into it now.

The plot thickens...

of course, this could all go away with a simple refund.  Go figure.

If the emails were yahoo or hotmail check the header for ip.

The power of the internet is a beautiful (and scary) thing..

woozle wazzle?

Hey Machineslave, my godfather has a suggestion, he says, why don't you (and maybe others who have been scammed) put in an amount of money to have someone collect the guy. Know what what I mean?

I want to point out that this is not my suggestion, but his. he hates injustices, very good guy.

Quoted from MrMikeman

As mentioned above it's a prepaid calling card.  The number comes up as a Toronto number no matter where you call from.
Mike

That'll learn me for not reading the finer print.

Quoted from ALJO

why don't you (and maybe others who have been scammed) put in an amount of money to have someone collect the guy. Know what what I mean?

Last I heard "contract killing" or beating someone with a sack of oranges was still illegal.

Quoted from Bish

Last I heard "contract killing" or beating someone with a sack of oranges was still illegal.

What are you talking about??!! I never mentioned those words!

Personally satisfying, yes... but you still won't get your money back.

My opinion is to send the cops if he still resists paying you. Period. Give them all the info you have.  

Guys, if there's one thread that must stay on track, it's this one.. Please.

Did you call the RCMP? Or do they have an Alberta Provincial Police?

I wonder if we are seeing the return of Ivo Jebsen (the following is from the Mr.Pinball blacklist):

Names or alias: Ivo Jebsen, Martin Jebsen
Age: 36 (in April 2004) Locations: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
eBay ID: pinsnvidsguy

Mr. Jebsen defrauded several pinball collectors via eBay. He sold non-existing pinball/arcade machines. He was suspended by eBay for fraud. He was arrested by Calgary Police on April 28, 2004 and charged with fifteen counts of pinball/arcade-related fraud. His case is pending before the courts and a conviction is expected.

Mr. Jebsen also was being sought regarding automobile-related fraud where he would offer auto repairs for a steep discount, take a down payment for the needed "parts", and then turn around and sell the car to a second victim!

In December 2004, Mr. Jebsen was active in some arcade machine-related business. It is unknown as to whether fraud was intended as the deal was terminated due to the potential victim becoming aware of Mr. Jebsen's previous activities through this web page.
If you have more information about this individual, contact Calgary Police, Cst. J. Guigon or Cst. A. Martin at Distict 3, 1-403-284-3393.

Quoted from machine.slave

Guys, if there's one thread that must stay on track, it's this one.. Please.

OK, I agree. I was just talking to my Godfather of this and he wanted me to post this suggestion.

Ok... please read the following thread:

http://www.pinballpost.com/Default.aspx?g=posts&t=8379

1- same modus operandi

2- same fake last name (Gardner)

3- same area

I will let you all make your own conclusions. In the meantime, I will ban that IP for security measures. But if someone has any concrete info, call the cops, then contact Mr.Pinball... I am sure that Daina Pettit would LOVE to update is blacklist info...

Quoted from Sparky

Ok... please read the following thread:

http://www.pinballpost.com/Default.aspx?g=posts&t=8379

1- same modus operandi

2- same fake last name (Gardner)

3- same area

I will let you all make your own conclusions. In the meantime, I will ban that IP for security measures. But if someone has any concrete info, call the cops, then contact Mr.Pinball... I am sure that Daina Pettit would LOVE to update is blacklist info...

Hey! I once dealt with this guy on ebay, he's the one that bought my Bally Elektra pinball machine! He had paid me in full but only after 7 weeks of waiting for the paiement. I always wondered why he was'nt an Ebay member anymore too!!?? Now I understand, I guess I was lucky he ever paid me. I had even talked on the phone with him three times, he kept saying that paiement was coming soon.

Jesus, this is brutal...Brock, if I can help, I will...this guy has to be stopped.   First thing's first, let's get some facts organized if I can....this is important if only to highlight that the communication mysteries with this guy sound precisely the same as when he "dealt" with me, in terms of modus operandi....

I'm Teamatomics, my real name is Craig, always has been, always will be. My Ebay ID has always
been Teamatomics, my email has never changed, ever.

Now the guy in question, who's name I guess is Will gartner? Jebsen? .....wierd, he said his name was Shelby!?
He won my Phantom Pin auction in Nov of 2007 for $2100 and weeks later, after a lot of back and forth with shipping arrangements, he finally sent me the deposit to go ahead and crate the machine. It was just wierd, he took so long to give me a shipping address, how could it take so long for someone to give a destination address? There was always this wierd "delay" everytime I asked him for his info, and yet he "did" send me the deposit, so why would he be mysterious??

So...since he "did" send the deposit, I did my part, despite the oddities.  I rented a van, hired some people to help move it from my basement to crate it in my parents' garage, same as I did with the Kiss machine that I shipped to Australia. I e-mailed "Shelby" and even spoke to him on the phone to let him know when the machine was crated and ready...even if it was just to tell him I bought the materials, because I know when I've paid upfront long distance, I REALLY like to hear from the person that has my deposit money regularly, don't we all??

He said he'd work on getting the rest of the money for the machine...again, wierd, but I had a bit of faith in the deposit, fine, so I bought+cut all the wood and I crated the machine, and e-mailed him to ask for the rest of the money so I could ship it. Then things went wierder...he didn't get back to me. And even though he'd phone me, he wouldn't give me a number to call him back at....that's the wierdest part. Why would a guy send me a deposit and then not give me his home phone number? I always assume the best in people, I'm a bit naive I guess?? So I left it crated and e-mailed him repeatedly, from my single, and only e-mail address.......The same address I've always had, which is in my Maaca info still to this day, and Ebay.  Never changed, ever.

Months later....in the spring, I decided to sell my Twilight Zone, and guess who e-mailed me with a new Ebay ID, yes, Shelby, or Will! After I said the Phantom is still waiting if he wanted it, or, use his deposit toward the Twilight Zone. He said he was having some "problems" with Ebay, so he'd use his brother's Ebay ID to buy my
Twilight Zone...again, weird I thought, but he "did" actually give me the deposit, so I thought he was genuine...

So, this time, before I spent another fortune on moving,packing and crating the TZ, I asked Shelby for FULL payment before I crated it...and then it started again, no responses, or little responses, then, nothing. I
did the "contact buyer" correspondance, I mailed his old address, he contacted me to let me know he was taking out a line of credit to pay for it all, then I never got a reponse from him again...I gave up after about 2 months of  trying to contact him.

By this point, I had paid for Auction fees on about $5000 worth of TZ and Phantom auctions for Shelby, Paypal fees, building, moving and crating Phantom, and a lot of hours in labour. So I had to sell TZ, I couldn't afford to
keep it, and eventually sold it locally, and still, until this day, Shelby/Will hasn't responded to any of my emails, either through Ebay, or my regular hotmail address.

And  so the Phantom sat crated after a year, I pulled it apart to make sure the machine was still ok, I mean, it sat there for a year, and is still there in the same garage where weeks ago, Sparky came and picked up my dead Crystal Castles cocktail, which was 3 yards away from where the Phantom is still sitting, wrapped back up over a year later, waiting for the rest of the payment from Shelby, Will, Jebsen or whomever he is.  

I just don't get it....and now I've spent hundreds of dollars in labour, materials and auction fees on
two transactions that Shelby/Will/ Mr Jebsen hasn't followed through with. The Phantom is still here, waiting
for the rest of the payment, so I guess I'll keep waiting? what do I do?

Craig

Craig,

Clearly you should smash the phantom

bwahaha kidding.

I would just put it back up for sale, he loses the deposit. Seems more than fair.

Quoted from jeffo

Craig,

Clearly you should smash the phantom

bwahaha kidding.

I would just put it back up for sale, he loses the deposit. Seems more than fair.

Hi Jeffo, I even reposted it on Ebay because I figured Shelby/Jebsen/Will  would hopefully find the auction and contact me again to pay for it, like he contacted me for the TZ, but again, nothing. I posted it at a crazy price so that it would come up in the top price listings thinking maybe he'd see it, but he never saw it I guess.  

All this was even done through Ebay, which I thought would be smooth.  It's cost me a lot of money to pursue, move,crate and uncrate and repost this machine to try and get a response from him. I'm not sure what the legalities are, but I will hold up my end of the bargain until I find out. The Phantom's still here, awaiting the rest of the payment.

I really hope justice finds him for Machine Slave.

The good news is, Shelby/Will/Mr Jebsen "wants" to find me because he's convinced himself that I've "run" somewhere, when I've been at the same e-mail address all along, lol.

So I guess rest assured Machine Slave, if the hitman visits me, I'll ask him about your cash as well for you. I worked in Truck Warranty for years, so being shoved around and threatened by mechanics and Teamsters is not new to me, it's scary, but I still go out to meet them alone in the yard if that's where this is all going. We'll
solve this one just like the missing R2D2 telephone casefile.


Craig

To me I have a different take on it all from your story. I am thinking this guy may have problems with his previous ebay account because he has a different MO. I am thinking he may deliberately gives impression of limited contact. Provides for a limited deposit or the impression of late payment on the basis that the seller may in fact jump the gun and ship before full payment.

It sounds like you were very diligent in trying to contact him and go through each and every step of the lengthy process he created for you to send him this pin, and in doing so ended up where you did with partial payment and a pin wrapped up for a year. At any point had you not been so diligent and either canceled the deal or shipped the pin out of being expeditious, then you would have not ended up in dispute with this individual whose MO in the end cost him a deposit. Had things gone the other way that others lacking patients would have gone; he would have ended up with a free pin or one for just the price of deposit, or the deal would have been canceled due to the guy being unable to promptly fulfill his commitment.

Any way you look at it, if the guy buys your pin on Ebay, he shouldn't come to you as the seller and say he's trying to find a way to pay for what he just agreed to buy. The guy is a jerk to commit to the auction without the money in hand.

Quoted from necro_nemesis

Provides for a limited deposit or the impression of late payment on the basis that the seller may in fact jump the gun and ship before full payment.

Exactly !

I'm sure he was hoping that Craig would be naively trusting
and ship the pin before getting the full payment.

I do this often with eproms, but the most I stand to lose
if someone stiffs me is $10-20, not $2000 !

Seems like Craig did the very wise thing to hold off for the full payment
(... which he will no doubt never get at this point... ), and hang-on to the pin.

At this point, the likely most "noble" thing to do is refund the money
(...minus some cash for your time and expenses ) and re-sell the pin.

But honestly, if it were me, and I found out someone deliberately tried to screw me,
he could kiss his deposit goodbye.

It seems like Craig has a solid paper trail (via eBay) so that if the guy
ever did try to file a fraud complaint, he wouldn't have much to stand on..

I'd also contact the RCMP officer mentioned on the Blacklist notice.

This guy seems like a pretty shady character
(...oh, and I'm SURE he's reading this thread too... )

Steph

Quoted from Steph

At this point, the likely most "noble" thing to do is refund the money
(...minus some cash for your time and expenses ) and re-sell the pin.

Depends on how much deposit, what the conditions of the deposit were and how much you were out for doing all the work, paying the listing and holding up the sale.

In the end I would say in most cases where this amount of work is required to sell and prepare the game for shipment, the deposit should be non-refundable and sufficient enough to cover all costs should the buyer not continue through with his contractual agreement. Therefore an amount no more or no less than the expenses incurred including your time to prepare the game at reasonable movers charges, should the buyer back out of the deal.

Quoted from necro_nemesis

what the conditions of the deposit were

I think that is an important point to state some sort of reasonable deadline for full payment and terms of refund.   I always try to make a note  of when full payment is expected or else the deal becomes null and void.  

Quoted from necro_nemesis

Depends on how much deposit, what the conditions of the deposit were

If the original reply from the "buyer" is to be believed (see machine.slave's first post) ,  it was $1000.



Steph

Quoted from Steph

This guy seems like a pretty shady character
(...oh, and I'm SURE he's reading this thread too... )

Steph

Unless he uses another computer... NOPE.

Exerpts from the ban log:

74.210.72.46   Guest December 29, 2008, 3:27pm
74.210.72.46   Guest December 29, 2008, 3:28pm
74.210.72.46   Guest December 30, 2008, 7:40pm

Quoted from Steph

Exactly !

I'm sure he was hoping that Craig would be naively trusting
and ship the pin before getting the full payment.

I do this often with eproms, but the most I stand to lose
if someone stiffs me is $10-20, not $2000 !

Seems like Craig did the very wise thing to hold off for the full payment
(... which he will no doubt never get at this point... ), and hang-on to the pin.

At this point, the likely most "noble" thing to do is refund the money
(...minus some cash for your time and expenses ) and re-sell the pin.

Steph, you're quite right. Here's how it went down....I asked for the deposit because I knew the cost of
taking apart, moving, and crating a machine. I "was" going to cross ship it even! since he seemed
genuine with the deposit, even if it was slow to come. (around $1000 IIRC). Then when I contacted him
about the destination address, and he became oddly reluctant to provide the destination or give me his
phone number? I got red-flag scared...against my usual faith in humanity.

Then when the calls stopped coming, and he wouldn't answer my e-mails anymore, I went through possible scanarios, ( maybe he got hospitalized, maybe he lost his home, maybe....)  So I waited for him to contact me, and held on to the machine, since HE has ALWAYS had my e-,ail address, he'd get back to me when he came around...right?.....not quite...why would he not contact me? not even through Ebay?? Then he tried to burn me with the Twilight Zone....with the same promise that he'd get a line of credit....no payment came, then no responses.  

Also, as you can see from Machine Slave's post, the guy even referred to me as Teamatomics...so he's always known who I am....and I'm Teamatomics everywhere, RGVAC, KLOV, everywhere! He told me his name was Shelby, and we still really don't know what it is.

Now, at least, for Machine Slave's sake,  I have some deposit money after I invoice him for crating, de-crating, and auction fees on Phantom and the TZ, plus the lithium batteries I had to install so that if he took ANOTHER year to pay me, the boards would have a chance of survival, I have all the receipts for the materials, rentals, etc.

So if he contacts me for a refund, rest assured you'll be first to know what transpires.

Craig

The only part that does not equate is not providing you with an address to ship it to which would at least see him being able to acquire your machine. The only reason that would come to mind is he got into some hot water for other bad deals at about the time yours would have shipped and it would have added to his number of counts of commiting similar fraudulant activities should the authorities now be on him and watching his Ebay transactions.

By the way Sparky the address you posted is in Calgary.

http://tinyurl.com/9tzuqx

Look at the host information on the bottom left....

Indeed, that's where things came to a crawl.  I was running around getting shipping quotes to terminals in Calgary, and If I remember correctly, he suggested using Manitoulin Transport to ship it to a "terminal" or loading dock since he said he dealt with some people at Manitoulin regularly...I now remember insisting that
he provide me with a home phone number so that the shipper could contact him (standard procedure I thought) and then he became sketchy, not giving me his home phone number, not giving me the name of a contact at
Manitoulin...so, looking back, I guess "that" was the time  where he hoped I would just ship the Phantom to the docks of Manitoulin, then he'd simply never pay me the rest....god, I almost shipped it in good faith!

Then I stopped the press and waited for the rest of the payment for the machine, which never came.

Craig

Thanks to everyone's help so far (Tartagliag for helping me find his IP address, Sparky for checking his records of said address and banning.. and everyone else for their suggestions)

I've taken all collected info (and there is a LOT of it) and passed it on to all others who've sent money (and there are others), and we've all filed reports at our respective police departments.  

Now we wait...

This guy's been playing with fire for a very long time, it's about time he got burned.

Quoted from machine.slave

Now we wait...

This guy's been playing with fire for a very long time, it's about time he got burned.

Hang in there... The wheels of justice tend to turn very slowly at times. I think most of the experienced nefarious folk take this into account and plan on most victims giving up.

Also, a couple of months ago I listed my Karate Champ on Ebay, and it "sold" to a UserID from Alberta that I didn't recognize....IRRC...there were little, if any feedbacks with that winning bidder, which raised a flag naturally.

After it ended,I Contacted the buyer with the usual "congrats on winning the auction, please send your method of payment and shipping address" ......no response....then a week later I sent another....no response....I tried to file a "no payment" later but it was too early still.  I can't remember if I ever filed a no-pay, my dad died soon after, then I quit working as a tech, hence my "low profile" I guess.

I'll stick around to see if I can be some sort of help with this. I still have an outstanding invoice for Mr. Jebsen here, or Shelby, or Will, or whomever he is.

Hopefully you contacted John Guigon of the Calgary Police department.  Ivo's phone number when he scammed me back in Sept '03 was 403-274-7557 also a pay phone 403-245-9845.  I believe he used his mother/wife? Mirna Jebsens bank account at Scotia Bank.  I had a home address for him at 2619 14 St SW and Mirna at 20 Bergen Crescent NW.  If someone wants to go there and extract $900.15  Canadian plus interest from him I would be grateful.  I would  rather have my pound of flesh though.

I called the Calgary PD already, unfortunately Constable Guigon is no longer with their department.. also, because it's outside my own province, I had to file a report locally first.  Thanks for the info though, I'll follow that up

Cheers

- Brock

machine.slave you may be interested in this thread on RGP.

http://groups.google.ca/group/rec.games.pinball/browse_thread/thread/d2d3364507cbd577?hl=en#

heh.. well, that's me.  

But thank you

What I frankly don't understand is

1- why does this guy keep screwing people over and not end up in jail

and

2- why no one has just gone and kicked his a**???

I know I will get in trouble for saying this, but I am the "eye-for-an-eye" type. In college, I had a guy rip me off for 80$... he was supposed to get me Pink Floyd tickets. He didn't and proceeded to tell me to fawk off.

... I proceeded to remove the Momo magwheels off his Acura Integra at 2am and sold them to a guy for... you guessed it... 80$. Well, actually, I sold them for 100$... I did buy 4 blocks for 20$ to put the car on. I did have to at least cover my costs.

Sheesh... I know guys that have broken legs for a debt of less than 1000$... this guy is merely playing honest people. One day, he will screw the wrong type of guy. Hopefully sooner than later.

5 people have come forward so far... and those are only the people who've seen my APB's on Craigslist.  Who knows how many else are out there.

A recent offering to another unsuspecting victim... (thankfully they've backed out)

Quoted Text

From: autodlr89@yahoo.com
hi.i might have what you need.i have williams high speed and williams the getaway,which is high speed part 2.i might also be willing to part with my stern nascar pinball,depending on the offer.do you have a number and best time to call?i don't want to call and have hubby around to spoil the surprise.tell me the best time to call.thanks.

I'm in Calgary and haven't met this person yet.  This person may have emailed me before but email addresses are a dime a dozen like calling cards.  They hide their tracks and have some mental disorder to keep doing the same thing.  But honestly though, I have no motivation to deal with someone who I suspect may be a fraud.  Why would I want to have some wacko come to my house to see my stuff if I think there's a chance that this person is a fraud?  Just not worth it.  I hope machine.slave gets resolution just like I hope dino7c gets resolution with Mr Andersen.

Thanks, pinsRfun

and speaking of Mr. Andersen....

http://toronto.kijiji.ca/c-buy.....id-W0QQAdIdZ99616049

Jebsen not only screws pinball owners over, but also ATV owners too... I saw a complaint on his name in a 4x4 community.

As for why most don't know about him in Calgary... that is easy... it is always easier to fool someone far away, and there are less chances of retaliation. If I got screwed by this clown, I would be less enticed to "negotiate" with him with a Louisville Slugger due to the long drive.

As for Anderson, he only screws people that deal with him indirectly. Many have met him and have seen his stuff for sale. But if you buy from him online, kiss your money goodbye.

Apparently he's up to his old tricks again -- ebay userID Blast From the Past Ltd.

got a link?  I'm having trouble searching by that ID

If you need any help locally let me know.

Lance

Feedback is 100%, but he bid on a couple of machines that a friend of mine in the US was selling.

http://feedback.ebay.ca/ws/eBa.....eedback&items=25

Delayed 3.5 weeks, then sent minimal deposit, then explained that he couldn't send money via Paypal as they placed a limit on his account, etc, etc, etc. Kept offering to pay more for the inconvenience, etc, etc.

My friend got tired of the runaround and dinged him as an NPB. While requesting a refund of his deposit, he provided a pair of phone numbers:

403-483-8697
403-274-7557 <-- looks familiar

Buddy has made out OK -- he just needs to relist the cabs and wait for the chargeback of the deposit.

Ahh.. sounds like his MO for sure.

My scammer's # was 403-404-8697, which he's still using apparently.  Number's registered to an "M. Jebsen"  

Brock, Did you ever get a resolution to your issue with this guy? And did he suffer any legal reprocussions?

His MO is kinda strange, ditching deposits. That sounds like a mental patient or severe substance abuser.

Quoted from wbradley

Brock, Did you ever get a resolution to your issue with this guy? And did he suffer any legal reprocussions?

His MO is kinda strange, ditching deposits. That sounds like a mental patient or severe substance abuser.

no resolution as of yet, which is kinda sad really.. I provided the Calgary PD with his cell number, business name, Fed-Ex account, address used on the Fed-Ex account, his IP address, contact information of 3 other people (some of them members here) who fell victim to his scams.. simply amazing.  He's still operating though, he's recently scammed someone out of some hot tub repairs and some GnR tickets.

The Ebay MO is to convince people to ship the item with only a deposit and a promise of full payment while the item's in transit.. there's a few on RGP who've fallen for that one.

Hot tubs...hmmm that's an odd one.

If there's evidence I wonder why the hell the cops don't do anything? In this day and  age cyber fraud is huge and police should be fully prepared to enforce laws. Perhaps they had decided to treat this as a civil matter in which case you would need to file a claim for the courts (not sure in which province). To me this is clearly a deliberate criminal act but again I guess with cyber crime the resources are focussed on the biggest stuff as well as child porn, etc. Inter provincial crime is an RCMP matter I believe.

If several victims had signed afidavits, etc together perhaps the cops might have better recognized this individual as a known fraudster.

Both he and Stepehen Anderson might be regular lurkers on this forum as well as RGP.  

If nothing else, perhaps you can look up our friend Ivo Jebsen if you are in Calgary. It's funny how sometimes people suffer property damage for no apparent reason even though they swear they have made no enemies.  

Quoted from CheffoJeffo

Apparently he's up to his old tricks again -- ebay userID Blast From the Past Ltd.

i just had a similar experience with this clown.  he won my ebay auction and gave me every excuse in the book about how and when he will pay.  2.5 months later i still have no $.  he told me his name is carter.  i have his phone number but now he won't return calls and he recently is no longer a registered ebayer...at least under that name. A**HOLE!