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Scammed out of a machine

a13berger

Plastic
Joined
Dec 26, 2015
Hello fellow machinists,

Just would like to know what you guys would do in this situation.

I am 22 years old, was just thinking about starting my own machine shop business out of my garage. I work for my uncle now and have learned a lot and is now time to move on and start my dream of having my own shop.

So I was looking around at machines for many months and came across an Emco PC turn 155 online. So i contacted the guy and he made it seem like he had the machine on his shop floor. He even said I can come and view the machine.

This guys name is Brian from Himes Machinery located at 2831 St Rose Pkwy # 217, Henderson, NV 89052

So i decided I am going to buy the machine. It was $15,500 with shipping. So it be known that I have now given this guy the money. Only thing is now I started to get a weird feeling he started to take forever to reply and so (in short) i asked if I can get a refund for the machine because he still has it on his "shop floor" and he said he cant do that. He told me I can sell the machine back to him for $9,000 so I would be at a loss of over 6k or wait till he resells it for a full refund.

Well now that I told him i want to sell it back to him for 9K and just take the loss he has since not replied, I can not view his web site anymore himesmachinery.com and there is no answer on the phone.

What do I do?

I am thinking I just lost my ass.

That pretty much sums up what happened although there is more detail you guys can get the gist of it, I just am regretting being stupid and believing something like the BS this guy was feeding me.

And btw this happened about a month ago and I have since bought a Emco Maier E45 from my uncles friend, just trying to see how I can get some money back from my stupidity from before.

Any help would be great.

Alex
 
This was his first message when i asked about the machine.

The machine is in excellent condition, came out of a local college and was only
used for instructional purposes in a classroom setting. Hours unknown, but it was
never used in any production, so actual motion or cut hours would be only 1 or 2 hundred.
The C-Axis worked when we received it, not sure what's wrong with it as we have not had any time to
devote to it .. Since it worked perfectly when it arrived, we assume its something very minor.
and it was never used by the college either.
Whoever purchases this machine will be incredibly lucky to have it, its darn near new ..

Thank You,
Brian

and this his second email

we offer a 30 day return on ALL of our machinery
and we fully inspect every machine under power that comes through our doors.
You can also come in to inspect this machine yourself should you choose to do so.
This Emco is basically a " No Brainer " machine .. As I said previously, it came out
of a college classroom .. It's almost like new. This is one of the safest machine buys
you will ever make ..


As you can see he made it seem like he owns it and its at his place. I was fooled
-Alex
 
Sorry, you live in CA.
CA has a metric and imperial assload of machines.
Why buy from across the nation sight unseen?

I guess lesson learned.
OK...call the DA in his county, look up his business filings and get the owners address...but you are screwed depending on the State.
Get a lawyer to look over the paper trail.
 
It must be nice to be only 22 and able to take a 15k loss (or even 6k for nothing) so... calmly.

Realistically this is fraud. He promised you something, cashed your check and didn't deliver. The details don't matter. Find where he actually is (it won't be Nevada) and then call the sheriff there.
 
Fraud - Laws, Sentencing, Penalties | Criminal Law

Wire fraud (as in your case) is a Federal crime, if you chose to pursue this you could create a great deal of trouble for Mr Himes. Given his record, it's time someone took him down, and I bet he's been reported before.

This page: Financial Fraud Crime Victims | USAO-WDWA | Department of Justice gives you information on how to contest a fraudulent act. It's for Washington state, but there should be similar help pages in your state or the one where Himes lives (MA?).

Time to continue your education - make some calls to the appropriate agencies, take notes on who you speak with and when, make sure to follow through with any requests for information, including bank transfer data, timeline of calls and emails to Himes, etc. Be sure to pester the folks your dealing with for updates, being politely annoying will keep them active.

Let us know how things go for you. If you want to update us, make sure not to post information or opinions that could harm your case.
 
"He told me I can sell the machine back to him for $9,000 so I would be at a loss of over 6k or wait till he resells it for a full refund. "

Wow just wow......unreal!!!
 
http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/general/feedback-himes-machinery-249235/

Some suggestions;

.. call a lawyer near him, and ask them to drop buy and explain the situation.
2 hours of lawyer == 500$, and you might solve it with that, in 2 hours.

Call the local police (local to him), and explain that you are a victim of a deliberate con/fraud.
Ask them to go by and see if he is there.
Some might do it, given the amount, and your situation.

Small claims court.

He had plenty of links, facebook, web etc. now down, you can get them from google cache or wayback machine.
Do printouts asap.

Explaining anything to small claims, police, lawyer etc. it sure helps when your paperwork is in order, with a short summary/outline, of 1/2 page, what happened.
Copy of your payment.
Emails.
Etc..

If he skipped town, he is deliberately guilty, and those types of people often actually do have money to pay back.
 
Sell it back for a 6 K loss! WTF!!! That is stupid on steroids. Explain to this asshole that you are not going away and you will make his life a living hell unless you get a full refund. He committed wire fraud, a call to the FBI would be a good start.
 
I have to reply, even though I don't know what to say... Wow wow wow!
Why would you give someone 15,000$ without being there ready to pick up the merchandise?!? If he said anything close to "He told me I can sell the machine back to him for $9,000 so I would be at a loss of over 6k or wait till he resells it for a full refund. " You KNOW he is a crook! Why would you, which now OWNS the machine since you paid, need to wait for him to resell it for a refund?! I mean really WTF!!? :confused: :icon_bs:

I will second what has been said, CALL THE POLICE, CALL THE FBI, CALL SOME AUTHORITIES!! He deliberately is committing fraud, AND he has been reported before. Which brings me to another point, how the fuck do people get away with this??? What is wrong with our country and laws if he has done this before (with no apparent consequences) and IS STILL doing it... :(
 
Something about this thread rings strangely to me. When I was 22, I'm not sure if I made 15 grand in a whole year, so I'm reasonably sure I wouldn't have been able to compose such a calm-sounding post about it. If what the OP says is true, this was a criminal act, and the proper course of action seems clear to me. Because of the writing style of the OP, and the contradiction between his calmness and what is reported to have happened, I'm calling this a troll post in my mind- written by someone other than a 22 year old. If I have that wrong, my apologies to the OP and I wish you the best of luck in your funds recovery. If this is a troll post, I hope you find the replies sufficiently entertaining for your purposes.
 
Think you should go there and see the local police and file a complaint.
Do not threaten him in any way.. not even that you are going to prosecute as that is considered a threat and can loose your case..
The most you can say is "I am going to seek legal council on this."

He can come up with a number of excuses that will seem logical and be accepted in court for a delay..

Crooks know the law and hope you mess up.

* If not to late because of your agreements you could call him and tell him you have hired a shipper to pick it up.. and what day would be convenient for him..

Quote you: [This happened about a month ago and I have since bought a Emco Maier E45]

You may have jumped the gun with expecting the machine in a very short time... with a time not stated.. perhaps you are somewhat in error also.

* I can not view his web site anymore himesmachinery.com and there is no answer on the phone.

Can you try with another phone? He may be avoiding your number.
 
The guy still sells on ebay. I almost fell into his trap on a big amada saw owned by mohawk out of chicago. Nothing illegal with my brush but personally I dont think he has a showroom. A computer...yes.
 
You should post some proof your story is real-a copy of the payment you made, screen shots of e-mails/messages, etc. The story is so crazy its hard to believe. You should back it up with hard proof its true-that will go a long way in this being a solid warning.

If he's not responding, you need to take him to court-talk to a good lawyer. Mention that to him, as that might get him to take action.
 
You should post some proof your story is real-a copy of the payment you made, screen shots of e-mails/messages, etc. The story is so crazy its hard to believe. You should back it up with hard proof its true-that will go a long way in this being a solid warning.

If he's not responding, you need to take him to court-talk to a good lawyer. Mention that to him, as that might get him to take action.
Yes, post everything you have here, we will help. First off we need to establish for absolute sure this is the same Himes that brokers machines on eBay. Some here seem to assume it is, and it well may be...but may not be. Having said that, the eBay Himes email address was [email protected] and that "b" in there would indeed make the name "Brian" fit the bill.

But we still need to know for absolute sure before proceeding to hunt down and hound him. There is a guy named Babin for example that has a notorious reputation with regards to machine and tooling sales in CT....but there is another Babin, I think also in CT, that has nothing to do with the first one and is ok. I think the latter Babin may have a shop rather than selling machinery but I can't remember for sure.
 
http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/general/feedback-himes-machinery-249235/

Some suggestions;

.. call a lawyer near him, and ask them to drop buy and explain the situation.
2 hours of lawyer == 500$, and you might solve it with that, in 2 hours.

Call the local police (local to him), and explain that you are a victim of a deliberate con/fraud.
Ask them to go by and see if he is there.
Some might do it, given the amount, and your situation.

Small claims court.

He had plenty of links, facebook, web etc. now down, you can get them from google cache or wayback machine.
Do printouts asap.

Explaining anything to small claims, police, lawyer etc. it sure helps when your paperwork is in order, with a short summary/outline, of 1/2 page, what happened.
Copy of your payment.
Emails.
Etc..

If he skipped town, he is deliberately guilty, and those types of people often actually do have money to pay back.

I agree with getting paperwork together. You should also document to the best of your ability every contact you had with him. I had a lawyer tell me when it comes to courts and judges, often times documentation will often times win a case. Even unsubstantiated, it directs questioning and can lead a defendant to have disprove what your personal account asserts. Is it direct EVIDENCE? not usually. But it can be the heart of the case.
 








 
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