What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? VA
This is kind of long, but I really do need some help so bear with me.
I buy/resell items online. This summer I met a man who offered the stock I was looking for at a great price. I live in VA, he claimed to live in Maryland and Pennsylvania. I placed two large orders with him ($500 and $1000) and we met up both times in Maryland to complete the transaction. The products he supplied were great and he spoke about his business and family often, so I started to feel comfortable doing business with him.
Fast forward to a month later. I placed a really large order with him (over $2,000) and he said he would ship it to me because it's hard for him to drive from Pennsylvania to Maryland every weekend. I normally do everything through PayPal because of the protection they offer, but he said his account was limited and he wanted me to send the money to him another way. It made sense to me so I asked what he had in mind, and he said a Wal-Mart money transfer because the fees weren't high. I sent him $1,400 in two separate transactions through the money wire. I also sent him $600 via PayPal after he said his account was working or whatever.
He provided me with the tracking number and the package arrived. The box held a pink shirt, two makeup compacts, and a plastic bag- not the $2,000+ order I paid for. I tried calling him and texting him at the two phone numbers he gave me and I even tried emailing him. I went to the police and they said that the case wouldn't be classified as a criminal case because he covered his a** with the bogus package he sent me. The cop said he didn't have to send me the correct order, he just had to send me something. I was advised to go to a small claims court and I've been doing some research on it for the past few months. I got the $600 back via PayPal, but it's the $1,400 I'm after.
Since then, I've confirmed his true identity (he used a fake name/address to conduct the scam). I know that he frequently travels to California and Mexico. He lives in California but has family in Pennsylvania so he travels there every so often. I found this information through Facebook but I'm at a dead end because I can't confirm an address for him. I also can't use the phone numbers to track him because they've been disconnected.
I would like to know what options I have- besides a private investigator because that's too expensive right now.
Thank you for taking the time to read this!
This is kind of long, but I really do need some help so bear with me.
I buy/resell items online. This summer I met a man who offered the stock I was looking for at a great price. I live in VA, he claimed to live in Maryland and Pennsylvania. I placed two large orders with him ($500 and $1000) and we met up both times in Maryland to complete the transaction. The products he supplied were great and he spoke about his business and family often, so I started to feel comfortable doing business with him.
Fast forward to a month later. I placed a really large order with him (over $2,000) and he said he would ship it to me because it's hard for him to drive from Pennsylvania to Maryland every weekend. I normally do everything through PayPal because of the protection they offer, but he said his account was limited and he wanted me to send the money to him another way. It made sense to me so I asked what he had in mind, and he said a Wal-Mart money transfer because the fees weren't high. I sent him $1,400 in two separate transactions through the money wire. I also sent him $600 via PayPal after he said his account was working or whatever.
He provided me with the tracking number and the package arrived. The box held a pink shirt, two makeup compacts, and a plastic bag- not the $2,000+ order I paid for. I tried calling him and texting him at the two phone numbers he gave me and I even tried emailing him. I went to the police and they said that the case wouldn't be classified as a criminal case because he covered his a** with the bogus package he sent me. The cop said he didn't have to send me the correct order, he just had to send me something. I was advised to go to a small claims court and I've been doing some research on it for the past few months. I got the $600 back via PayPal, but it's the $1,400 I'm after.
Since then, I've confirmed his true identity (he used a fake name/address to conduct the scam). I know that he frequently travels to California and Mexico. He lives in California but has family in Pennsylvania so he travels there every so often. I found this information through Facebook but I'm at a dead end because I can't confirm an address for him. I also can't use the phone numbers to track him because they've been disconnected.
I would like to know what options I have- besides a private investigator because that's too expensive right now.
Thank you for taking the time to read this!
