Ripped off...police report.

DonJuan

Not sure if this the right section so my apologies in advance if not. Purchased a gun at auction on 9/5 and paid through “cash app”. The seller was relatively new but had 12 solid reviews that looked legit. Got the runaround for weeks as to it being shipped, eventually no further contact from seller. We’re going on almost 2 months and I’m out $4,100 with no rifle. Tried filing a report online for Texas but they sent it back and said to file a report where I’m at (Nevada). Anyone provide advice as to where I should file or other steps to take? I’m sure I’m out the $4,100 but I know the name and relative location of the seller to provide the authorities to hopefully dish out some sort of justice. In Texas, that amount of theft is considered a felony from what I saw. There probably is a bunch of federal laws broken in regards to commerce etc as well. ANY advice is highly appreciated. Never again will I purchase with cash, credit card only in the future. Thanks.

bustedknee

DonJuan said:

.... I know the name and relative location of the seller ....

I know where I would take a short vacation.

montanajoe

Welcome to the forums.  
Was this auction through GunBroker or somewhere else?
GunBroker auction side and Forum side are two totally separate sites.  No one on the forum side can help with auction issues.
The forum does not allow discussion of problems and issues of the auction side.  It is usually  complaining and demanding with a bad attitude to boot.  Never ends well for the complainer.

Since you posted in a civil manner, asking for help and advice I'm going to leave this post open.  
Review the forum posting guidelines for future ref.
https://forums.gunbroker.com/discussion/1881593/posting-guidelines#latest

bpost

I would be in contact with every law enforcement agency from dog catcher to the Secret Service in the State he lives.  A letter to the Attorney General of his state might help too.  A call to his local police might shed some light on him.  The squeaky wheel gets the grease.  Just in case the worst happened check the obituary columns in his local paper and the Sheriff's jail records for the sellers name.

If you have his name and address you can do an internet search for him and glean background information if any public records exist for a few bucks.  File a small claims case in his county of residence.

$4,100 is a lot of money to let some guy just steal it with out feeling any heat.

Welcome to the forums, hang around and keep us posted.  GOOD LUCK!!!

mogley98

Man that is terrible but don't just give up GB provides some help as the Mod said use the link and see what you can do. Good luck

hillbille

you mailed $4100. in cash to someone you don't know????????

susie

https://forums.gunbroker.com/discussion/comment/11224286#Comment_11224286

Cash App is an online application for the transfer of funds, like Pay Pal and Venmo. That is what the OP used.

Warbirds

Never heard of Cash App.

checked their FAQ’s.

Q: Is it safe to send money to someone I don’t know?

A: No!

https://cash.app/help/us/en-us/6482-recognize-scams

nmyers

This is where you want to file your complaint:

https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/consumer-protection/file-consumer-complaint

Since you didn't give us a link to the auction, I assume that this activity had nothing to do with our host website.  But, your post is likely to be locked, as we are just a forum for gun talk, we can do nothing to help you with auction problems here or anywhere else.

Neal

Locust Fork

Is this from a Gun Broker seller?     Do they have other items listed on the website?    If you can show GB that you were ripped off it might help to keep other buyers from falling victim to this person so they can halt their sales.    If this was an "off site" sale, but still involving someone that has items posted I'm betting they still would be interested to know what this person has done.   

I'm sure with it being this level of money there will be charges against this person you can file.....it might take some time, but don't give up and follow it to the very end so they get what is coming to them.

DonJuan

Thanks to everyone including the moderators for their response and understanding. It was a gunbroker.com sale. Yeah, it’s a big chunk of change and definitely feel like an idiot for sending cash, but I talked to him on the phone, had his name, number, positive reviews etc. But yeah, still stupid. Normally I would always do a CC transaction for obvious reasons but it is what it is. I’ll give a link to the item I was burned on below. I left my review for his store with my experience for others. It looks like he’s ghosted for now as nothing currently up for sale.

A poster mentioned obituary and jail records, those are excellent ideas. You never know.

I paid for a background check on him and have his current address as well as birthdate. So, at this point, will file a police report with LVMPD (Nevada local), his county in Texas, FBI has a wire fraud/internet crime reporting site, FTC (why not?), and Texas attorney general (THANKS for that link). Further, I have looked up the process for filing suit in his county in small claims court, and have the forms already filled out to submit on Monday. With his address, birthdate, and full name, won’t be hard for the process server to find him I imagine. So if the above don’t work criminally, at least I’ll see what I can do civilly. Guess my next “vacation” is to Texas. Ha

Definitely not giving up on GB site! I get the purpose of it, and there will be bad actors out there always. I actually purchased from an established store in Arizona last month as well and was nothing but positive experience. Hopefully I can browse this forum and discuss other more enjoyable topics in the future. One positive of all this, is I did find this forum while looking for advice/input. Lol So again, thanks to all the help and the moderators for being understanding.

Item link:

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/877752984

nmyers

Reading the listing, I don't see any "red flags".  I still think that there's a good chance he's had a medical or family emergency, & that you will eventually get your rifle or a refund.

One thing you may want to try is phone his local police dept & request a "welfare check".  They will knock on his door, & tell him, "hey, your friend Mr Juan says he hasn't heard from you in a week, he just asked us to make sure that you are OK."

I'm no lawyer, but I suggest that you not go overboard in your complaints/filings.  When a Law Enforcement Agency finds out that you have filed a civil suit, it will be easiest for them to say, "We don't get involved with tortes.  Let small claims figure it out."  Same thing when the state finds out you have a case being handled by the feds.

Neal

44mag4

You might try filing charges with the ATF. 

DonJuan

Thanks Neal, interesting perspective as well. Yeah, there weren’t any red flags on my end either and he seemed genuine when I spoke with him. If he had a medical issue or emergency then I’ll feel like a real *. Although it has been almost 2 months now and he did assure me it was being shipped on 9/28 before falling silent completely. Anyway, would rather just have the rifle and everyone be happy, maybe something positive will come of this. Also agree, agencies do try to shift responsibility to other agencies and could screw me up in the future.

Not sure ATF would get involved since there was no weapon officially exchanged only the promise of one. But it’s an interesting thought to look at as well. Thanks for the input everyone

kannoneer

Looking at his feedback and some of the other pricey items he has sold, I would have trusted him as well. I really think this will turn out OK for you. Best of luck! 

select-fire

USPS Postal Inspectors. Oldest Law enforcement in USA. You used the mail to send money.

drobs

If you have his name and town / state, you can find all his friends and family members on this website:

https://www.familytreenow.com/

CaptFun

The Cash app acceptable use policy specifically prohibits...
 "use the Services for the sale of firearms, firearm parts, ammunition, weapons or other devices designed to cause physical harm;" So they will not be of any help.   If you have not already,  file a Buyers Protection claim with GunBroker at https://www.gunbroker.com/item/filebppclaim  

bpost

Captfun, GOOD TO SEE YOU POSTING, Sir. 

With that policy Cash app may be like a credit card company and do a charge back to the seller for the buyer.  My friend just got over $6,000 back from two credit card charges for a off road camper he ordered down South from a custom maker that did not deliver as promised, or at all for that matter.

tsavo303

It is a felony. You are corrected that the state that the scammer lives in holds more power. But you can still file charges in your local. ATF will not help. Watch the sellers other auctions. Hope you saved his address 

kimi

I have cousins living in and around Livingston, Texas...all over East Texas, top to bottom.

kimi

bpost said:

Captfun, GOOD TO SEE YOU POSTING, Sir. 

With that policy Cash app may be like a credit card company and do a charge back to the seller for the buyer.  My friend just got over $6,000 back from two credit card charges for a off road camper he ordered down South from a custom maker that did not deliver as promised, or at all for that matter.

+++

CaptFun

bpost said:

Captfun, GOOD TO SEE YOU POSTING, Sir. 

With that policy Cash app may be like a credit card company and do a charge back to the seller for the buyer.  My friend just got over $6,000 back from two credit card charges for a off road camper he ordered down South from a custom maker that did not deliver as promised, or at all for that matter.

Most of the time when companies like Square (who own the Cash App), Venmo, PayPal etc detect transactions that violate their Terms of Service they seize the funds and lock the sellers account.  Sometimes the buyers account as well.  Peer to Peer payment platforms do very little to protect against fraud.   Anybody remember the whole GunPal fiasco a few years ago?  A lot of people (Both sellers and buyers) got burned when the bank that was behind the whole operation realized what was going on and effectively seized all the operating cash.  I'm still amazed that the scheisters behind that  operation evaded the Grey bar hotel. 

chiefr

CaptFun said:

bpost said:

Captfun, GOOD TO SEE YOU POSTING, Sir. 

With that policy Cash app may be like a credit card company and do a charge back to the seller for the buyer.  My friend just got over $6,000 back from two credit card charges for a off road camper he ordered down South from a custom maker that did not deliver as promised, or at all for that matter.

Most of the time when companies like Square (who own the Cash App), Venmo, PayPal etc detect transactions that violate their Terms of Service they seize the funds and lock the sellers account.  Sometimes the buyers account as well.  Peer to Peer payment platforms do very little to protect against fraud.   Anybody remember the whole GunPal fiasco a few years ago?  A lot of people (Both sellers and buyers) got burned when the bank that was behind the whole operation realized what was going on and effectively seized all the operating cash.  I'm still amazed that the scheisters behind that  operation evaded the Grey bar hotel. 

Hey Capt, Seems I remember an incident where someone used PayPal here on GB for a gun purchase and had their funds seized for violating their terms of service. This was PP not GunPal. The buyer made a big stink about it on the forums wanting GB to reimburse him for his loss which didn't happen.

PayPal is now all over the place for both guns and ammo on GB. Sooner or later PP is going to wise up on this.

drobs

I note Zelle forbids its use for purchasing firearms, ammunition, and other weapons.

https://www.zellepay.com/user-service-agreement

However, Chase Quickpay with Zelle makes no statement.

https://www.chase.com/content/dam/mobile/en/legacy/documents/legal-docs/chasenet_la.pdf