At the moment there's a reasonable possibility that my roommates and I have been subjected to fraud that resulted in us losing around $400. That's not a sure thing yet.

I also realize that I was dumb to put myself in the situation. I saw warning flags and ignored them. My bad. Try not to harp on that.

So, without getting into details -- because I don't want to risk falsely accusing anybody of anything -- what's the best way to go about handling a basic, non-internet, check-related fraud case? Go straight to the RPD? Gather our own evidence first? Confront the perp?

I'd appreciate any kind of advice.

4/8/2006 3:33:57 AM

If you can still confront the person, that would be the first step.

The authorities don't seem to care too much about fraud, unless it's someone raking in many thousands of dollars from people (if news reports are to be believed). If this guy doesn't pick the interests of the cops or FBI, you would be better of gathering the info yourself, and then turning it in if you want him busted.

Also, are you talking about someone cashing a check and not delivering on a service, or washing a check and cashing it for another amount? If they didn't deliver on their service, you can sue them. If they were washing a check, that's illegal (obviously), and you should tell the bank and the cops.

4/8/2006 4:04:11 AM

washing a check
floating a check
bouncing a check

oh i love it so much

actually, i use paper checks that don't have the right physical properties to float, wash properly, or bounce

-ZiP!-

4/8/2006 4:10:00 AM

how did the canceling of the check go? should i get my gun?

4/8/2006 9:04:27 AM

Quote :

" If this guy doesn't pick the interests of the cops "

did you mean pique??

4/8/2006 9:21:15 AM

Quote :

"Go straight to the RPD?"

you're only wasting every single fucking bit of your time if you go to them

4/8/2006 9:39:50 AM

The situation is such that I was duped into giving him a check for a security deposit on a house that it looks like he may not even own. To my knowledge he hasn't tried to alter the check in any way, and I just called the bank to put a hold on it and it hasn't been cashed or deposited yet.

Of course, I made the check out to him, so either I know his real name and he's fucked or he has a pretty solid fake ID.

At the moment we already have a pretty robust body of evidence, including witnesses, documents, etc. There really shouldn't be much investigative work involved for the po-po...still think they'll be worthless?

4/8/2006 10:18:11 AM

I believe you can just put a stop payment on the check and he will never be able to cash it. (I'm not sure if a hold is the same thing.)

Go talk to your bank and see what they say. I imagine they would have a way to cancel the check.

4/8/2006 10:34:42 AM

I already put a stop on it, but:

1) It'll take a couple of days to go through, they said, and
2) My roommate paid cash.

So just stopping my check won't be enough even if it goes through in time.

4/8/2006 10:38:06 AM

why pay cash

4/8/2006 10:59:50 AM

Because he's not terribly bright. The guy didn't specifically ask for cash or anything; my friend just offered it for reasons beyond my understanding. Whatever. That's really kind of far from the point. I already made clear that we know what a pack of idiots we are. Telling us as much doesn't really help.

4/8/2006 11:03:07 AM

paying cash may have been a bad idea... unless you track the guy down you probably aren't going to get his money back. My brother did something similar and went to RPD (non emergency of course) and they were actually very helpful if you just explain your situation. You never know, they might actually be looking for this guy, the more info about the guy and your problem you give RPD the more they will be able to help you. If you just say "I was a victim of fraud" they will just say "Ok that's nice" but every little bit of information helps. Good luck

4/8/2006 11:08:37 AM

^^^^In that case I would go straight to him (assuming you can find him). Let him know that your pissed and you need him to give the money back. If he doesn't, just break $400 worth of his shit (car window/tires) and leave. You might get your money back, but if you don't, at least you know he lost money too.

Caution: Following the above advice may get you in trouble.

Seriously though, the police don't really care about a couple of college "kids" getting ripped off for a few hundred bucks. My advice would be to either take care of it yourself (talk to the guy) or chalk it up to experience and move on.

[Edited on April 8, 2006 at 11:10 AM. Reason : ^^^^]

4/8/2006 11:09:51 AM

If you find the guy on your own and you just need someone to take the money from him I will do it for 50 bucks

4/8/2006 11:52:02 AM

Slash his tires and call it an even trade.

He won't go to the cops.

4/8/2006 11:52:54 AM

^ Awesome Reply man that shit is funny

4/8/2006 11:54:09 AM

Let's say, hypothetically, that some sort of renumeration not involving the police was an option. I can't really see myself discussion that in a public forum. So, such references are not helpful.

I'm going to go to the RPD later this afternoon one way or the other. If they help me, great. If not, I'll come back here and discuss alternatives.

4/8/2006 12:08:10 PM

While in Charleston in 2003, I had a similar problem. I didn't need to confront the perp. Went straight the the police. Case closed.

4/8/2006 12:10:05 PM

Alright, in trying to be open to the possibility that we're wrong (even though that seems like a very small chance), I called him and left a message to this effect:

"Man, we need to have us a talk today about some of the shady shit that's been going on. (Lists some of the evidence against him) And I'd say we need to have that talk before 3:00 today, because that's when I'm going to have to go down to RPD just to cover my own ass in this mess. I don't want to, but as of right now you've got my friend's cash and my now-cancelled check, and until we get some answers that's unacceptable. So, give us a call."

If he doesn't call, cops. If he does call but won't meet, cops. If he meets and doesn't give us our money back and some damn good answers, cops. I'm comfortable with this arrangement.

4/8/2006 12:51:05 PM

sounds reasonable

4/8/2006 12:55:41 PM

if shit fall thru let me know, i'm pretty good at collections. i'll take care of it for a small fee.

4/8/2006 1:05:42 PM

^^^^ the kid that took their money is from charleston

4/8/2006 2:12:14 PM

call me back in 2 hours or im filing a report!!! talk about reasonable

4/8/2006 2:45:28 PM

he called back, and anyways, the guy is avoiding them and I'd do the same thing. He's lying to them, and has $400

4/8/2006 2:51:30 PM

Quote :

"did you mean pique?? "

It was 4AM!

4/8/2006 4:44:36 PM

Quote :

"call me back in 2 hours or im filing a report!!! talk about reasonable"

This shit has been going on for days, and for at least 24 hours he's known that police involvement was a strong possibility if he didn't start cooperating.

There isn't that much question as to his guilt...I think I'm being fairly generous (for once) in giving him so much as two hours to get out no harm, no foul.

He's supposed to come by in the next hour, according to our phone conversation. If he doesn't, well, it's too late to talk to a professional in the matter today, so I'll use my day off tomorrow for dealing with things.

4/8/2006 7:14:43 PM

You should post his photo and personal info on tww.

teh goon squad will take care of it.

4/8/2006 7:25:36 PM

Attn: TWW Mafia

4/8/2006 7:47:46 PM

what is teh verdict?

4/8/2006 9:25:09 PM

he hasn't called, and no one's heard from him or seen him at all today. Ian you should tell them his name(s) and where the house is.

4/8/2006 9:38:18 PM

Alright, he had originally said that he would come over around 8:00...I let it slide, because he can only run so far on the $400 he *might* have from us and the $100 he definitely does. I like sport. I'm willing to give him a head start -- especially when he's so evidently incompetent that tracking him will be so easy.

Anyway, the name he gave us -- and the name the check was made out to, so he must use this ID sometimes if he hopes to cash it -- is Brandon Bartholomew. The house is on Long and Windy Road -- I don't recall the exact address, but any house ad that refers to that road or the main roads nearby should be viewed with suspicion, especially if the deal seems to good.

The subject may also go by Brandon Smith.

Note that at this point that no judge has issued a warrant and, obviously, no jury has issued a verdict, so I cannot and will not say that he is guilty, but merely that the circumstances are extremely sketchy and that anyone considering doing business with the man might want to use some serious discretion. Also, if anyone knows him, information would be appreciated regarding his whereabouts or other relevant information. At this point we just want to talk, or at least get our money back. We would also appreciate any information on Ben Vester, a likely acquaintance who doesn't appear to be involved but who may know where to find the guy with our money. We will not take any course of action that is outside the law, if for no other reason than that my identity and my potential motives are so well known, to say nothing of the immorality of such action, regardless of how cavilierly it may be discussed online. I am, at the end of the day, a self-interested man, and the amount of money involved is not worth jailtime.

4/8/2006 11:29:55 PM

^ Are you a politician? If not, you should be.

4/9/2006 12:03:39 PM

he may also be living on Penny Lane.

4/9/2006 1:52:58 PM

You should go ahead and get the authorities involved with this if you can't reach him. If in fact he is taking deposits fraudulently he is most likely going to do it to a bunch of people and then skip town. Quick action on your part could keep someone else from being victimized and improve your chances of recovering the money.

[Edited on April 9, 2006 at 2:57 PM. Reason : ]

4/9/2006 2:56:30 PM

i found this map of long road off of lineberry


http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?formtype=address&country=US&popflag=0&latitude=&longitude=&name=&phone=&level=&addtohistory=&cat=&address=long+road&city=raleigh&state=nc&zipcode=


whats the exact name of the road? is it in raleigh proper?


edit: here it is for anyone interested

http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?formtype=address&addtohistory=&address=%5b2100%2d2258%5d%20Long%20And%20Winding%20Rd&city=Raleigh&state=NC&zipcode=27603&country=US&location=S%2bKm%2fe35RrpyzV7uMgpyGTcp94UpVtabHKwIms75wXyw%2bLAG%2fdNjwyM0TSRljuP4rk2uhocBPz99oWvkSJZcb%2bFT4I%2bNS0L1a7kTJOYCZIFUpI5jBVEkYS2vzvVJZJTn5pHIpmIGN1lspA3az16PQQ%3d%3d&ambiguity=1

[Edited on April 9, 2006 at 8:33 PM. Reason : .]


edit 2: haha, i think i found him

Name Sean Smith
Address 2412 Long And Winding Rd
City Raleigh
State NC


# 2 Addresses in RALEIGH, NC
# 1 Address in CARY, NC
# 1 Address in HUNTSVILLE, UT

https://find.intelius.com/search-name.php?searchform=name

[Edited on April 9, 2006 at 8:43 PM. Reason : haha]


http://maps.google.com/maps?q=2412+Long+And+Winding+Road,+Raleigh,+NC&t=h&ll=35.74887,-78.69197&spn=0.001091,0.003369

[Edited on April 9, 2006 at 8:49 PM. Reason : how many edits are you allowed?]

919-835-9446

here he is on facebook:
http://ncst.facebook.com/profile.php?id=11821387&hiq=smith%2Csean




[Edited on April 9, 2006 at 8:58 PM. Reason : .]

4/9/2006 8:32:20 PM

call him tell him you want to give him the deposit in cash, or some other BS line. Then kick his ass. RPD won't do shit for you, those guys could fuck up a wet dream.

4/9/2006 10:14:17 PM

the address is 2213 Long and Winding Road, Raleigh, 27603

Here's an update from a roommate: "turns out that brandon was wanting to rent the place for the past 2 months from travis (the owner), but never paid or signed the lease so travis called him april 1st and gave him a warning to get out or he would call the police. I'll meet the owner and file a report. also travis is the one that kicked in the door bc its his house and brandon stole his keys and travis threw my shit out thinking it was brandons. But brandon broke the garage door."

4/10/2006 2:44:07 PM

The short version of all that:

We now know he's guilty, there isn't any question. He's been illegally living in the house, and when time came to pay up, he decided to get his money by duping people. He isn't a professional, he's just desperate.

Description: Short, bulky (heavyset, a bit fat). Hair medium length, brown, looks unkempt. A little bit of facial hair. General appearance of face has been described as "gnomelike." He has a tendency to ramble and talk too much; his "neighbors" said they tried to avoid him because he was so talkative and creepy. Answers to Brandon.

If you know where this piece of shit is, let me know and we can talk about a reward.

4/10/2006 2:55:52 PM

ok one last post by me I swear, but I think his e-mail is either jeepguy@nc.rr.com (btw, where does nc.rr.com come from?) or wolfpackbs@hotmail.com.

I think the last one is a phony.

4/10/2006 4:52:41 PM

.rr is roadrunner internet service from Time Warner

4/10/2006 5:11:38 PM

this girl has 2213 Long and Winding road listed on her resume

http://www.wolfpackchicago.com/resume_ah.asp

4/10/2006 10:24:07 PM

i dont know if this has been said
but is he, by chance, the son of a nigerian business man who recently died

4/11/2006 12:13:55 AM

Did you file a police report for this? If you can provide all of his information to them the police should arrest him. I say that because depending on the circumstances it could be a felony like false pretense or something like that. If they won't consider it a felony you can have him locked up by taking all of your information to a magistrate. If you have all of the proof like returned checks and some kind of agreement I would think that RPD would take care of it. All of that being said you wouldn't be able to get your money back until after he goes to court and if he can pay.

4/11/2006 12:32:29 AM

So you put a stop payment on the check right????
so you aren't out any money?????
If you didn't lose anything You aren't a victim.
If theres no victim. theres no crime.
Have a nice day
---------------------------------------------------
ok so its not quite that simple but its 4am what do you expect?

4/11/2006 3:52:43 AM