Net54baseball id "Sportscollector"

[Leon]

I just got off the phone with the Secret Service. There are allegedly (I was just told) multiple victims of this guy.....need I say more?

[ullmandds]

oh sh$t!

[Wite3]

Classic long con...sell a few legit...then rip off on the higher $$$...hope it works out though

[EvilKing00]

OMFG! Perma ban

[ATP]

Thoughts then for those of us who transacted with him?
Best,
Jeff

[Leon]

Originally Posted by ATP

Thoughts then for those of us who transacted with him?
Best,
Jeff

I have had quite a few PMs and emails saying transactions this person did with them were fine. I can't say about ones already done. It seems like a lot were good and many, I have no specifics on, were not so good.....If anyone is in the middle of a deal, and nothing has been exchanged yet, I would strongly recommend not doing it. If what I was told is true, and I have to believe it is, this guy might not be able to finish deals pretty soon.....just sayin'.....

[ATP]

Are we talking more long con issues where he doesn't deliver after payment and disappears, or that his previous victims cards he is now selling to us...meaning that they are stolen.

[Sean1125]

Originally Posted by Leon

I just got off the phone with the Secret Service. There are allegedly (I was just told) multiple victims of this guy.....need I say more?

[Zone91]

And I thought I was bad by paying 99% of the time for items I purchase...had to say it Leon!! (FYI I know in reality this is no joking matter)

Ever since I saw him offer the Uzit card I had a gut felling this guy was trying to draw people in with smaller purchases first by doing good business then turning the table on them when it came to higher priced cards...but who would have believed me anyway (I was actually going to say it here but then I feared a all out war against me if it had not been true). The only deal I have done here...me and the seller agreed to do it threw Ebay for both our safety.

I would be very careful for those who gave their home address to this guy who knows who this guys knows...maybe robbers looking to do home break ins...just saying!! Gaining peoples trust here first to find out their collecting habits and such things to then later plan a robbery on them.

Post # 5

[nolemmings]

Sorry to hear this but am puzzled by why the Secret Service would get involved. It was my understanding that their focus, to the extent they investigate crime, was countertfeiting, although they sometimes get involved in cases of massive fraud. FBI and others I could more readily understand, even the Postmaster General, but a division of Homeland Security? Strange IMO.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by nolemmings

Sorry to hear this but am puzzled by why the Secret Service would get involved. It was my understanding that their focus, to the extent they investigate crime, was countertfeiting, although they sometimes get involved in cases of massive fraud. FBI and others I could more readily understand, even the Postmaster General, but a division of Homeland Security? Strange IMO.

I am guessing there is counterfeiting involved, from what I have heard, and massive fraud. I too was surprised it was the SS....but it is. I have already given the contact info to one board member....I am not making it up....

[thunderdan]

Leon, thanks for the PM last night. I was suspicious of this guy when his N54 name didn't match his email name, and he took over a week to send me any pics. Decided not to go through with the 1957 Topps Frank Robinson deal. You saved me a major headache with paypal. Thank you.

[ullmandds]

In my transaction with this guy...the negotiations went rather smoothly...I thought it was odd that his net54 name didn't match the name he was using in correspondence...and I actually asked him what his name was. He gave me a name claiming john was his dad...yet his name is a very long middle eastern sounding name...once I paid him he took 2 days to send the card...which scared me a little.

I DID receive the card...which he sent express mail.

For the life of me the card looks totally real...I've owned goudeys but never 34 wwg. I never even considered that maybe he was selling stolen goods.

Card has just been overnighted to sgc...so we shall know if it's real in a few days.

pete

ps thanks Leon for the correspondences

[arc2q]

Leon, did the Secret Service contact you because of the posts on this board? Are they monitoring his user names and internet boards?

This is the same guy who was trying to out another guy who sold him a 1981 Topps FB case in a 1984 box...he wrote that post like he was an innocent victim. Man, I'm naive about who is scamming whom in this whole thing. You got accused scammers claiming other people are scamming him...

This is just an innocent question from a relative neophyte. It seems there has been an explosion recently in accusations / stories about baseball card scams. Is this just part of any business that deals in lucrative commodities or would long-timers say the recent threads and arguments about scams, bad deals, bad sellers, etc. are an abberation.

[steve B]

Originally Posted by arc2q

Leon, did the Secret Service contact you because of the posts on this board? Are they monitoring his user names and internet boards?

This is the same guy who was trying to out another guy who sold him a 1981 Topps FB case in a 1984 box...he wrote that post like he was an innocent victim. Man, I'm naive about who is scamming whom in this whole thing. You got accused scammers claiming other people are scamming him...

This is just an innocent question from a relative neophyte. It seems there has been an explosion recently in accusations / stories about baseball card scams. Is this just part of any business that deals in lucrative commodities or would long-timers say the recent threads and arguments about scams, bad deals, bad sellers, etc. are an abberation.

Whenever there's enough money in it that sort of person will also be there. Sometimes even if there's only a little money. That box he griped about was probably originally from a dealer who pulled most of the good packs and then resold the box full of packs that wouldn't have stars, and for sure none showing. So a small time thing- although if someone did enough of that there'd be some nice profit.

The first fake card I bought was in 1978. Cost all of $2.

Steve B

[vintagetoppsguy]

Originally Posted by Leon

I just got off the phone with the Secret Service. There are allegedly (I was just told) multiple victims of this guy.....need I say more?

This is the same guy that cried "FRAUF" in this thread...

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=168643

[the 'stache]

Originally Posted by Leon

I just got off the phone with the Secret Service. There are allegedly (I was just told) multiple victims of this guy.....need I say more?

Wow. Just....wow.

I don't know what else to say but thank you for being on top of this, Leon.

There is a special circle in hell for people like this guy.

[ullmandds]

On the urging of a fellow board member...I just attempted to open a dispute with paypal...but it appears as I am screwed as the invoice Den sent me was for an instant transfer...not goods and/or services...and apparently this cannot be disputed.

Does anyone know if I have any recourse?

Still waiting for response from SGC BTW!?

[Taxman]

How did you fund the transfer? If by CC you could have some rights with the CC company.

[Wite3]

Was it funds from a linked bank account or credit card? If credit card...you might have some recourse with the cc company.

[ullmandds]

unfortunately...it was through my bank acct?!?!!?

[Taxman]

Since it "could" be fraud, call the bank.

[Leon]

This whole thing is going to get a bit bigger. My understanding is that this is a ring of scammers. I am told by a reliable source that Den was arrested 2 days ago and charged with 4 felony counts of fraud. My understanding is he is a pawn, along with others, in the scheme and the mastermind is now making himself out to be Den. Den supposedly is currently residing in a San Diego jail. I haven't confirmed it yet. Also, I am told this could get into 7 figure fraud territory, including thousand(s) of counterfeit cards. I do think the deals done recently on the board are going to be ok (not positive).....though there could be an alteration here or there. It will be interesting to see how this shakes out. Of course this person using Den's name has a Magic Jack phone which can't be traced. He is believed to be in Mexico going back and forth across the border into California. I haven't confirmed any of this but this is what I am being told.

[botn]

Originally Posted by ullmandds

unfortunately...it was through my bank acct?!?!!?

Sure there are lawyers on here who know better but the type of electronic transfer of funds you did is not protected by this type of fraud. The bank can retrieve money if the transfer was not one you authorized. ETFs do not have the recourse we are afforded through credit card purchases. Obviously this guy thought about that when he structured your deal. At this point, assuming the card does not grade, your only recourse would be to sue or hope he/they are made to pay restitution, which ends up being pennies on the dollar. Just ask JP Cohen.

[vintagetoppsguy]

Originally Posted by ullmandds

but it appears as I am screwed as the invoice Den sent me was for an instant transfer...not goods and/or services...and apparently this cannot be disputed.

Scott recently disputed one that wasn't for goods/services in this thread and he won. You might PM him for more details.

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthr...ghlight=paypal

[sb1]

Originally Posted by ullmandds

On the urging of a fellow board member...I just attempted to open a dispute with paypal...but it appears as I am screwed as the invoice Den sent me was for an instant transfer...not goods and/or services...and apparently this cannot be disputed.

Does anyone know if I have any recourse?

Still waiting for response from SGC BTW!?

Peter,

Call paypal directly, I did when the Hope for Charities deal hit the fan, it too was out of the normal purchases realm. They made an exception and filed for a refund which I obtained after the standard waiting period.

Scott

[vintagetoppsguy]

There is something that I don't understand unless I just missed it. He was arrested 2 days ago, but was logged onto this site yesterday. How does that happen? Multiple people sharing the same account?

[Leon]

Originally Posted by vintagetoppsguy

There is something that I don't understand unless I just missed it. He was arrested 2 days ago, but was logged onto this site yesterday. How does that happen? Multiple people sharing the same account?

Short answer is yes. My guess, and this is only a guess, is that John Perez aka Den Prak, wasn't really Den Prak at all...nor John Perez, but in fact the ring leader whose name is unknown right now. There is a chance they gave each other login info on the board. It seems they were sharing some info between them with paypal, ebay or other accounts. Allegedly Den and several others are this ringleaders pawns. All that being said, I am only sure that Den is residing in jail, as evidenced by the above posts. Everything else is conjecture. I hope the whole kit and kaboodle get thrown in jail. My guess is that the ringleader is going to be difficult to catch unless there is cooperation from the Mexican authorities. It's a very tangled web....and a very large one.

[Sean1125]

If anyone needs paypal help please PM me.

[Zone91]

Leon

Great job on this case!!! Now he can be a big time loser in jail!!!

Post # 1

[CW]

Originally Posted by vintagetoppsguy

There is something that I don't understand unless I just missed it. He was arrested 2 days ago, but was logged onto this site yesterday. How does that happen? Multiple people sharing the same account?

Perhaps he used his "one phone call" from jail so he could log onto Net54 and post his "goodbye, I'm leaving" thread?



Good to hear Paypal is working with you, Peter (this hobby should be nothing but fun and it sucks when you have to deal with this crap).

It's crazy to think the secret service is involved, but it's good to know they have our back!

[MBMiller25]

It's interesting to me that these scams always seem to involve PSA graded cards/ holders. Hypothetically If your were PSA and were supposedly the biggest TPG out there, wouldn't you address the fact that your holder is easily breached, etc?

It's not hard to tell when a SGC holder has been cracked open, and frankly Beckett holders are damn near bomb proof and are destroyed when/if the holder is cracked.

I own many high end cards in PSA holders, and would frankly be a bit more at peace with their product if I wasn't left wondering if my cards might be fake, etc...

[Taxman]

If you talked to them and paypal does not honor the refund. You might try filing a claim with the San Jose Better Business Bureau. It worked for me on a bad deal(resealed wax) about 3 years ago.

[ullmandds]

everyone...thanks for your advice...it's going to be a busy afternoon!!!

[Theo_450]

Originally Posted by ullmandds

everyone...thanks for your advice...it's going to be a busy afternoon!!!

File a police report! You need that sort of documentation.

[thehoodedcoder]

Originally Posted by ullmandds

On the urging of a fellow board member...I just attempted to open a dispute with paypal...but it appears as I am screwed as the invoice Den sent me was for an instant transfer...not goods and/or services...and apparently this cannot be disputed.

Does anyone know if I have any recourse?

Still waiting for response from SGC BTW!?

you should always pay with a credit card. paypal succumbs to them.

pay with a credit card, if you have a problem open your case with the credit card company. once you open the claim with paypal, you lose some of the power from the credit card company.

the credit card company will instantly credit you the money, then ask questions later. that is what you get for the 6 to 22 percent interest they charge on unpaid balances. they take the fraud hit on them, instead of leaving it on you. don't be fooled, if you pay with a bank card and the transaction is put through as a debit, then you have way less power in the dispute, then if it is put through as a cc transaction on the card.

kevin