I got scammed by a member here and so have several others.
What can I divulge on the forum here to warn others? I have done lots of research on this guy. I have received many helpful tips from other members who have been a victim of this guy. I have his previous aliases, real business name, his real name, name of person I had to send PayPal payment to, previous scams and how they are all linked together. I do not want to break any forum rules but I want to make sure there will be no more victims of this scammer.
Thank you.
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04:05 PM
PFF
System Bot
Tony Kania Member
Posts: 20794 From: The Inland Northwest Registered: Dec 2008
I have been watching this for many months now. I am sorry that this is happening to you. I do hope that you post up all information that is within rules.
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04:14 PM
Pete Matos Member
Posts: 2291 From: Port St. Lucie, Florida Registered: Jan 2010
Wow, wasn't hard to see this coming.....jeez. I really had hoped he was FINALLY gonna take care of business with the people that had been waiting so long. Here we were thinking that the delays were from him actually building the kit for you and apparently he just sent you back the parts you sent him in the first place. I can tell you that if he had ANY credibility at all with the people on this forum it is completely gone now....shame really....peace
Pete
------------------ "May the grins begin when you turn the key and hear the engine roar over your shoulder" ......Gall57 (slightly modified LOL)
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04:22 PM
nitroheadz28 Member
Posts: 4774 From: Brooklyn, NY Registered: Mar 2010
Is this individual by chance located in the state of Georgia?
------------------ " THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, custom ZZP /Frozen Boost Intercooler setup, 3.4" Pulley, Powerlog manifold, Northstar TB, LS1 MAF, 3" Flotech Afterburner Exhaust, Autolite 104's, MSD wires, Custom CAI, 4T65eHD w. custom axles, HP Tuners VCM Suite. "THE COLUSSUS" 87GT - ALL OUT 3.4L Turbocharged engine, Garrett Hybrid Turbo, MSD ign., modified TH125H " ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "
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06:30 PM
fieroguru Member
Posts: 12331 From: Champaign, IL Registered: Aug 2003
Ok, so what am I allowed to post and what is a no go?
PayPal account for this guy's girlfriend / wife. I had to send payment to her instead of the "business" or to him. Pictures of girlfriend's facebook account with this guy listed as a friend, and guy's father all with real names and holding the same daughter in several pictures. Establishing identity. Alias / Past forum name where this person scammed other PFF members in 2007 and used THE SAME EXCUSES! Company's real name as the on PFF is not registered anywhere. Company's address, Father's lawfirm's address (this is only pertinant to a past PFF scam) and proves that this guy never took over his dad's shop as he stated and gave us a sob story about. I have google maps street view of his house with Fiero's in the driveway that he has pictures of on PFF.
The list goes on.
This guy tried to scam others here in 2007. changed his name and came back in 2012-2013 to do it again and if not stopped will shut this alias down and do it all over again. He banks on people giving up the fight so he can keep the cash. I never give up....
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07:54 PM
NightMare Cruiser Member
Posts: 2041 From: Edison, NJ USA Registered: Aug 2009
Looking at his F23 mounts with the poor quality and design is what made me decide to start making them myself for more then just the customers cars I am working on. I say publish every thing you have there is nothing wrong or illegal about publishing the truth.
I lost over $14,000.00 dollars in cash and parts… hope you weren’t hurt as bad as I was.
Nowhere near that. Wow, I'm really sorry to hear about your missfortune. It's sad to see people that have the same common interests and who can potentialy get along so well take advantage of eachother like that... I hope you get you money back somehow..
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08:33 PM
BV MotorSports Member
Posts: 4821 From: Oak Hill, WV Registered: May 2001
Yeah and for some reason there's concern about publicly calling FoY out as RideZiLightning. I don't know anything for sure but that was where it was heading.
[This message has been edited by mptighe (edited 01-16-2013).]
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08:41 PM
IROCTAFIERO Member
Posts: 791 From: Montgomery, Al USA Registered: May 2005
It's been a bum deal all along in my opinion. Every day was "the day" yet there was ALWAYS some excuse. People jumped on me for saying this in Capt's thread
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08:45 PM
PFF
System Bot
IanT720 Member
Posts: 1703 From: Whitmore Lake, MI Registered: Sep 2010
When I saw this thread my heart sank, upon reading further I guessed correct. I received a modified thermostat housing, dogbone, and shifter adapter from said guy. All items took a long time to ship but, for my trouble he sent me a low mount alt bracket. I had to send back my dogbone to have him re-weld the arm in a different position because, I was using FieroX mounts and apparently they don't work with that dogbone. Again not his fault, he agreed to fix it for free so I sent it back. Well its been months and I still have no dogbone in my hands, I finally got in contact with him and I'm crossing my fingers that it arrives soon. I will keep you updated how it turns out, goodluck!
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08:55 PM
Tony Kania Member
Posts: 20794 From: The Inland Northwest Registered: Dec 2008
Yeah and for some reason there's concern about publicly calling FoY out as RideZiLightning. I don't know anything for sure but that was where it was heading.
Ok, so what am I allowed to post and what is a no go?
PayPal account for this guy's girlfriend / wife. I had to send payment to her instead of the "business" or to him. Pictures of girlfriend's facebook account with this guy listed as a friend, and guy's father all with real names and holding the same daughter in several pictures. Establishing identity. Alias / Past forum name where this person scammed other PFF members in 2007 and used THE SAME EXCUSES! Company's real name as the on PFF is not registered anywhere. Company's address, Father's lawfirm's address (this is only pertinant to a past PFF scam) and proves that this guy never took over his dad's shop as he stated and gave us a sob story about. I have google maps street view of his house with Fiero's in the driveway that he has pictures of on PFF.
The list goes on.
This guy tried to scam others here in 2007. changed his name and came back in 2012-2013 to do it again and if not stopped will shut this alias down and do it all over again. He banks on people giving up the fight so he can keep the cash. I never give up....
I would post the information you think is needed to keep other PFFers from being scammed. In this case, his PFF name (although I think everyone knows that) , real name , the various names he is/was doing business as, and the paypal address you used to pay should be enough. Don't get vindictive and personal on the forum as much as you might want to. Just my 2 cents.
It sounds like this person went thru some business/personal problems, but that is no excuse to not take care of the customers he had already committed to. EDIT- reading thru the old threads it sounds like he is just recycling his old excuses.
[This message has been edited by mrfred8 (edited 01-16-2013).]
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09:52 PM
Tony Kania Member
Posts: 20794 From: The Inland Northwest Registered: Dec 2008
RideZLightning! A past forum crook is friendofyours!
Yeah I guessed it in one of the threads after another member posted a past RideZiLightning thread telling Purple to read it. In Purple's defense he asked me and the other member to delete our posts and give FriendOfYours a chance to come through. The guy is a crook and is up to his old tricks apparently so it's time for everyone to know. Again this is hearsay as I haven't researched personally.
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10:32 PM
Pete Matos Member
Posts: 2291 From: Port St. Lucie, Florida Registered: Jan 2010
The response was a riot as well. "Certified welder, 100's of swaps, etc etc"
This is funny to me actually because when he first started posting the for sale ads I looked down thru them and thought the parts looked pretty poorly fabricated and questioned his comments to myself. It seemed like a few folks had bought the parts and seemed happy with them so I left it alone. I honestly hoped he was gonna be a good source for cool Fiero parts but apparently it was not meant to be. Peace
Pete
------------------ "May the grins begin when you turn the key and hear the engine roar over your shoulder" ......Gall57 (slightly modified LOL)
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10:38 PM
Mike Gonzalez Member
Posts: 5093 From: Colorado Springs, CO. USA Registered: Jul 2001
He almost got mei guess....doin my first 4.9swap so i was going to order some parts....his lack of communication not answering questions in PM's made me think twice so I started paying attention to threads that mentioned his name. Made me looks elsewhere rather quickly !
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10:42 PM
Tony Kania Member
Posts: 20794 From: The Inland Northwest Registered: Dec 2008
------------------ "Kilgore Trout once wrote a short story which was a dialogue between two pieces of yeast. They were discussing the possible purposes of life as they ate sugar and suffocated in their own excrement. Because of their limited intelligence, they never came close to guessing that they were making champagne." - Kurt Vonnegut
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11:38 PM
PFF
System Bot
Jan 17th, 2013
Dennis LaGrua Member
Posts: 15527 From: Hillsborough, NJ U.S.A. Registered: May 2000
Interesting info. So all a thief has to do is register a new forum name and he's clean to steal peoples money again. This forum has had more than its fair share of con artists over the years. Trouble is that by the time they are weeded out, they've done quite a bit of damage. From what I've read over the years I'd bet that $100,000 was easily stolen by various con artists on this forum..
------------------ " THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, custom ZZP /Frozen Boost Intercooler setup, 3.4" Pulley, Powerlog manifold, Northstar TB, LS1 MAF, 3" Flotech Afterburner Exhaust, Autolite 104's, MSD wires, Custom CAI, 4T65eHD w. custom axles, HP Tuners VCM Suite. "THE COLUSSUS" 87GT - ALL OUT 3.4L Turbocharged engine, Garrett Hybrid Turbo, MSD ign., modified TH125H " ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "
This is like how TEXASGT ripped me off then I found out he was REMIXGT and he had ripped others off as well. William (Will or Bill) Proper was his name. Against rules or not, I'll dime him out every time.
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01:16 PM
Tony Kania Member
Posts: 20794 From: The Inland Northwest Registered: Dec 2008
... Against rules or not, I'll dime him out every time.
Exactly how I feel. I will easily take a neg or two for telling the truth. My conscience is clear.
Theivery burns me to the core.
For the right price, I am willing to go knock on this guys door. Seriously. He is about 4 to 5 hours from me. Figure gas, lunch, and dinner. It may not get anywhere, but let's just say that I have a history of being in the "collection" business. I can surely add to my resume.
And, to anyone that does not approve of my methods, remember this, I would help anyone out. Anyone that is deserving that is.
Good luck folks, and sorry we did not catch this faster.
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01:23 PM
Purple86GT Member
Posts: 1592 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: Mar 2012
Exactly how I feel. I will easily take a neg or two for telling the truth. My conscience is clear.
Theivery burns me to the core.
For the right price, I am willing to go knock on this guys door. Seriously. He is about 4 to 5 hours from me. Figure gas, lunch, and dinner. It may not get anywhere, but let's just say that I have a history of being in the "collection" business. I can surely add to my resume.
And, to anyone that does not approve of my methods, remember this, I would help anyone out. Anyone that is deserving that is.
Good luck folks, and sorry we did not catch this faster.
Thanks for the offer! Assuming my own parts are being sent back to me as he stated, I'm squared away with him. He just wasted my time and tried to steal from me and he failed. He said he would make it up to me and ship me the swap kit i was supposed to get COD for only the shipping charges. Do i believe it's going to happen? Not likely.... He even accused me of blackmailing him... If i wanted to blackmail him, I would of done it long ago, I've been sitting on this information in hopes that he really was trying to do the right thing.
I'm not alone in this, I think I'm the one ho escaped most of the damage. Others are still waiting on their kits and one is even waiting on his car! We need to push this guy to square up on his deals. Get the people their money back or the kits they ordered!
I encourage others who have unresolved transactions with FriendOfYours to post here and give us daily status reports. don't let this thread fade away...
This is like how TEXASGT ripped me off then I found out he was REMIXGT and he had ripped others off as well. William (Will or Bill) Proper was his name. Against rules or not, I'll dime him out every time.
I tried to tell u....but the past is the past
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02:48 PM
darkhorizon Member
Posts: 12279 From: Flint Michigan Registered: Jan 2006
I thought his prices for the swap parts was pretty decent but when I saw the low mount alt bracket that was basically two pieces of angle iron roughly welded together I thought I would look somewhere else. I know some of these parts you can`t see once the engine is in but I would rather it start out looking good.