Guy sold me bogus gift cards and won't refund money, how do I sue?

[StartupGuy]

What is the name of your state? CA California.

I bought 10k worth of American Airlines gift card codes from a seller at a discount, for my own use and for use by people I know. Many of the cards turned out to be fraudulent. American Airlines has refused to honor many of the tickets bought with the cards. In one case, my friend had to pay for his wife and child at the airport at the time of check in, and this was very stressful.

The seller now claims he was only "doing me a favor" by getting me the giftcards at a discount from his "source" and will not refund my money. I think he intended to defraud from the outset and might be part of a credit card scam group.

He operates using an alias, but gave me a name, address and bank account number to deposit money. So I have his real name, phone number, 50+ emails documenting the transaction, bank slips showing I paid him at the account number he gave me, and two of his addresses. Based on this, I have also obtained his California Driver License number and Date of Birth.

To get back my money, should I sue him in small claims court or in regular court? (Small Claims in California has a 7,500 limit.)

What category should I sue under? Fraud? Breach of contract?

Do I need to get an attorney to represent me? If so, who would be responsible for attorney fees?

I am currently reading the pro-se handbook for US District Court Northern District of California. I am very new to lawsuits, will the local public library have something I can read or watch to familiarize myself?

Should I file a police report for a criminal offense?

Thanks in advance!

 

[moburkes]

You bought gift CODES or gift CARDS? Are you allowed to buy and sell gift CODES? How did you know this person, that you gave him $10k without checking to see if he was legit?

 

[StartupGuy]

You bought gift CODES or gift CARDS? Are you allowed to buy and sell gift CODES? How did you know this person, that you gave him $10k without checking to see if he was legit?

Round 1: I met the guy, he gave me actual cards for a store, those worked.

Round 2: Some weeks later, he "sold" me codes for the airline cards, as in I gave him the money and he gave me the codes that turned out to be bogus.

I guess you can call it a con.

 

[StartupGuy]

I think it would be highly entertaining to see the results of a lawsuit for breach of contract, stemming from a conspiracy to defraud. (one conspirator sueing the other... LOL) Try it. Post back with the results.

How am I to know he intended to defraud? I bought them for actual use.

Sure. Make certain you have enough bail money on hand.

Why do I need money for bail bonds? I just bought some codes for airline cards for my own use. Is it now a criminal offense in this country to buy American Airlines codes -- the ones they sell on their website via email?

Kindly explain more what my risk is if I file a police complaint against the guy who scammed me out of nearly $7k.

Thanks.

 

[StartupGuy]

He bought codes for gift cards.

Correct.

Uh, NO.

This is what happens when idiots get involved in scams. By purchasing something from a "source", instead of directly from the company... especially in such a large quantity... he's opened himself up to the possibility of a Conspiracy to Defraud criminal charge. Not just defrauding American Airlines, but anyone else he subsequently sells the card codes to.

This is little different than buying a pallet load of boxed DVD players, that "fell off the back of the truck", only to open a few boxes and finding bricks inside.

Caveat Emptor.

Agreed, I am an idiot and I fell for a scam.

But if you sell me a pallet of DVD players off the back of your truck, and they turn out to be bricks, then why should i not go after you for scamming me?

 

[moburkes]

What is the link for the airline website where they sell their own codes?

 

[moburkes]

Correct.



Agreed, I am an idiot and I fell for a scam.

But if you sell me a pallet of DVD players off the back of your truck, and they turn out to be bricks, then why should i not go after you for scamming me?

Because you should KNOW that the DVDs sold off the back of the truck, even if not bricks, were bootleg.

 

[StartupGuy]

What is the link for the airline website where they sell their own codes?

Here you go:

https://giftcards.aa.com/order.jsp?giftcard=Virtual

The cards are virtual and are only sent via email.

 

[StartupGuy]

Receiving stolen property is a crime.

Agreed.

How am I to evaluate whether the Virtual AA card someone sells me is stolen or not?

And now that ti turns out that it was stolen, what recourse do I have, other than eating the loss?

AA and American express have both said that they are not interested in being involved. Amex stopped payment to AA, and AA invalidated the ticket(s) and asked for payment again. Unfortunately there is no way for me to pass the buck backward because, sucker that I am, I already paid the guy the whole amount.

 

[StartupGuy]

he's opened himself up to the possibility of a Conspiracy to Defraud criminal charge. Not just defrauding American Airlines, but anyone else he subsequently sells the card codes to.

The two guys, to whom I sold the "AA Virtual Gift Cards", both bought legit tickets, which were declined by AA, and I've refunded their money entirely. That is how I came to know this whole thing was fraudulent -- I've not had much time or reason to fly this year, unlike last year when I flew more than 50k miles on AA.

Both of them have offered to be witnesses in a potential lawsuit, if needed. I am not worried of being sued by them.

As of the moment I have no codes to sell anyone, so the parties involved here are:
(1) My two buyers -- willing to act as witnesses
(2) Me
(3) The guy I bought from
(4+) His mysterious "sources", about whom I have no knowledge.
...
(?) American Airlines ---> Original seller, said it has no interest in prosecuting the fraud.

My question remains: What is the best course of legal action for me?

Edit: Remove wild speculation.

 

[wayne-o]

american airlines doesnt want to get involved because they probably did not sell the codes anyway. I work at a retail store that sells gift cards....we have people write bad checks for the cards all the time they then sell them or trade them for drugs.. When we realise the check is bad (sometimes too late) we invalidate the cards. The guy gave you a good gift card first so you would trust him and it worked.

 

[StartupGuy]

(1) american airlines doesnt want to get involved because they probably did not sell the codes anyway.
(2)The guy gave you a good gift card first so you would trust him and it worked.

(1) is not true. Electronic codes can only originate directly at "AA.com". The guy or his source bought it using an American Express credit card at AA.com, sold it to me, waited a month and then called American Express Credit card to dispute the charge. Either that or the credit card was stolen and the actual owner disputed it. In either case, the gift codes were issued by American Airlines and they confirmed the validity on the phone as well accepted it for ticketing. Later AA revoked the codes when American Express informed them of the billing dispute, and all the tickets had to be paid for again.

(2) Exactly. He gave me gift cards to a retail store and we confirmed at a retail store that they worked, so that I would trust him and then he gave me these virtual gift codes. This is a classic con, and I admit I am dumb that I fell for it.

But my question still is: what are my options now?

 

[moburkes]

He apparently sold you stolen codes. You can sue him, if you'd like.

 

[StartupGuy]

Sue in small claims or regular court? That's what confuses me.
Also will it help if I file a police report?

 

[Zigner]

Kindly explain more what my risk is if I file a police complaint against the guy who scammed me out of nearly $7k.

Thanks.

This is a small claims matter.

On a different not, I am curious how, in California, that you were able to get the guys drivers license information...


Edit: Oh, by the way, you're likely going to lose...Google "unclean hands"