Would You Press Charges?

I keep an eye on the Just Listed coins with a Buy It Now on EBay sometimes. On occassion, I pick up some deeply discounted coins. About 25% of the time they are fakes and either the seller accepts the return or I ask PayPal to step in and I am always made whole under their guarantee.

Three weeks ago a $50 AGE was posted by a seller in Maine for $800. I bought it. Upon arrival it was a great counterfeit but a counterfeit nonetheless.

I let the seller know. Typically the Seller either didn't know or at least plays dumb to start the dance. This guy immediately lashed out at me and told me to go (you know what) to myself. He was aware it was fake.

I have since reached out to PayPal and I am sure I will be made whole. His attitude sat with me wrong though so I Googled him.

Well this 28 year old has a long history of theft and drugs. He is very popular in his hometown newspapers!

Just to see what would happen I submitted a very detailed statement complete with all documentation and photos to his local police dept. They knew his name immediately.

The detective told me he would gladly bring him in for questioning and more than likely charge him based on my evidence.

Here is my problem:

If I pursue this I may get a knucklehead off the streets for a bit. Maybe even make him change his ways, although not likely. If he pleads guilty then it is a piece of cake for me. On the other hand, if he pleads not guilty I will most likely be served a subpoena since I am the victim and would have to travel to ME from NC on my own dime.

If you were made whole for the fraudulent purchase by PayPal would you pursue this knowing you might end up spending over $1k to testify against one of the thousands of dishonest people that probably do this all the time? My costs would not be covered by the local PD.

Please dont turn this into a "dont buy coins on EBay thread". I am well aware of all the places coins can be purchased. I know what I am going to do in the end but am curious how you guys would handle?

Any similar experiences?

 

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Tough call. It shouldn't come out of your pocket to get another dirt bag off the street, but that's the way things play out sometimes. I think you did your duty by notifying the cops in this creeps jurisdiction.......see how things play out. They may not need your testimony.

 

Regarding costs, you could turn it into a kind of vacation while you're up there to better help justify the expense. Spend a night or two in Portland, a night in Augusta to tour the capitol building, spend some time in Acadia National Park and then a night or two exploring the area wherever it is that you need to testify. You could also take Greyhound or Amtrak to save on hotel stops getting up there (but then you'd need to weigh having to rent a car once you got there to make it easier to explore these different areas).

 

I work full time but perhaps I could plan a vacation around it next year if the DA is willing to cooperate! LOL

 

How about you first back it up and tell us exactly how you know, as so matter-of-factly stated, that he was indeed aware of the item being counterfeit. Did he openly admit it, or are you simply making an assumption?

Also, please show us photos of the item he sent you.

 

Yes, he stated it through EBay messenger and that was part of my documents submitted. Not sure why you need photos... it is a counterfeit coin.

 

Because we like photos. How about a link to the original auction?

 

I would take my money back and ru, if coin is a fraud!

 

He openly admitted to you via eBay messaging that he intentionally sold you a counterfeit? That strikes me as rather odd and certainly not the brightest move, but if he did do so, what's the problem? Get your money back and move on.

As for photos, perhaps because I've been around the block enough to understand that presenting actual evidence is better than relying upon conjecture, even on a coin forum.

 

As for pressing charges, in most cases it's rarely worth the stress and trouble.
I doubt you are the only person he has ever sold a fake to.

 

For an $800 theft, he won't see more than a day in jail. Prior criminal convictions may take him off the street for a longer term.
I'm sure the detective ask if you would be there for court. If you said yes, keep your word or chat with the officer and ask his opinion if the case is worth the states time or yours.

 

I was under the impression that if eBay was aware of a seller selling fakes, unless they make this known to the buyer as a reproduction coin etc, that the person would have his selling venue shut down. I may be wrong, but I think getting him shut down would be the best thing that would happen for the unwitting buyers, the newbies, and people looking for gifts for a coin collector. I would try the eBay route first, and try and get him booted off of there. Next , I would put his name on the beware lists of known fake sellers. As far as getting this person charged, it may turn into a situation where he claims he was unaware ,although you have the message he sent you , you got paid back through by Pay Pal so the courts may just give him a slap on the wrist . I would not spend another nickel on this joker , and make sure that you put out the goods on this guy, to help the people that are not aware of what they are purchasing. Another issue, I would like to ask you is to share the pics of the coins he sold you, for us on the forum, to learn from as well. By sharing these you are helping people like me that learns what to look for if your willing enough to do this. Finally, I would not travel that distance for what might be a disappointing time . Thanks more info would be appreciated. Dillan

 

You should be discussing this with the Police, in particular, the case officer. There are too many details that we CTers do not have. There are two sides to every story and we only have yours.

I'm just stating the facts. No offense meant but only you can make a decision regarding this. Best wishes.

 

As someone who also sits on newly listed BINs, fakes are part of the game. You can take time to do some research and avoid buying a fake, but also likely lose the item to someone else. Sure, you have every right to return it and get your money back, but pressing charges seems a bit over the top. In any case, I wouldn't want to provoke a career criminal who has a short fuse and knows my mailing address (unless it was a really serious matter).

 

I would check to see if you could testify via Skype, or have your testimony read in court. They make a lot of allowances for distance.

 

Lots of good points of view here. If it were me I'd settle for reimbursement from ebay or paypal and not go the legal route. The potential headaches and inconvenience if you have to travel to testify might not get you the end judicial result that you desire. The local police would have to make a case to the local DA that this $800 transaction, that you were made whole on, is worth them pursuing.

Just my two cants worth.

Joe

 

Do what you'd like, but trust me, based on many years of adverse experiences, you may rue your decisions. These types have nothing to lose.

We've been successful with the "big time" offenders, but generally the individual that steals less than a 7 figure amount will virtually go unpunished. It's too expensive, and the courts are saturated with these complaints.

I'm about to take action against an individual who has been involved in fraudulent efforts on this site and others, but the final results will be dependent on others who generally are reluctant.

I've been very busy trying to motivate Government Officials who know that the private citizen has no power, where they're only interested in 7-9 dollar figure actions for their agencies.

JMHO

 

You also have the very real possibility if you go forward with charges that you travel all the way there only to have the defendant get a continence and you have to go back home and come back another day. and then this may happen two or three times. That happened to my brother, had to travel from Ohio to St Louis three times for a court case that finally got dismissed because the arresting officer never bothered to show up.

 

Continuances/Postponements is a common action used by the local defence, with the court requiring a claimant to bring legal representation. A very expensive process when local lawyers claim "conflict of interest" or no interest, which I've experienced. A plea action!

JMHO