Boosting the signal in regards to a felony theft

[Shadowborn]

Hey folks,

Imperial Armories makes handcrafted leather goods for Ren Faires and conventions. Recently they sold this piece, only to have the customer cancel the payment after receipt. They're now out about $3,000 and appear to be having trouble getting legal action taken against the culprit.

If you're a crafter, then take heed of this potential problem. If you're attending cons or fairs, then keep an eye out for this suit. Informing local law enforcement and giving them access to the above link and contact info for the vendor might help resolve this issue.

Thanks.

[Oladon]

With a tiny amount of digging, I'd recommend they contact Mr. Philip Laird. In a town of less than 15,000 people, people who share the same last name are fairly likely to know one another... and this contact has the added benefit of being a lawyer. In theory, that should give him an extra incentive to help bring justice to the culprit.

[Josh M.]

I'm not sure I understand. They shipped out the piece before payment was finalized?

[Loren Pechtel]

This sounds like a civil matter, not a criminal matter. That's probably why the cops aren't helping.

[LazarX]

Josh M. wrote:

I'm not sure I understand. They shipped out the piece before payment was finalized?

I suspect that the customer paid by credit card which processed and then yanked the payment after they got the item in question.

[Orthos]

Wishing them the best of luck. That's just dirty.

[Mad Alchemist]

They know the person's address. Now it's just a case of plausible deniability. Announcing they were ripped off was probably a step in the wrong direction for that though ;(

[Haladir]

I am not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice.

Recovering damages is a civil matter rather than a criminal matter. I would recommend that the crafter should hire a lawyer who specializes in credit disputes, and sue for the cost of the product, plus lost revenue, plus damages, plus legal fees. (so, like, $25,000)

That's in addition to the police report and pressing charges. (Theft of service, credit fraud, and possibly mail fraud if the armor was delivered by mail). The criminal prosecution is up to the district attorney, not the wronged party. There's no guarantee of recovery of stolen property in a criminal case, and any fines levied are paid to the government, not the victim.

[Drejk]

Josh M. wrote:

I'm not sure I understand. They shipped out the piece before payment was finalized?

According to what is written in Facebook post with the photo of the armor in question, the payment was done via PayPal. PayPal allows for canceling payments in certain period of time - in which case PayPal takes back the same sum of money from the recipient's PayPal account and transfers it back to the payer's account.

[Haladir]

PayPal's policies tend to favor the buyer.

The seller (or, preferably, the seller's lawyer) should contact PayPal with a grievance. I'm sure they have a policy in place for this situation.

[Shadowborn]

Latest post by the vendor says they've covered all legal avenues and are waiting for results, but can't go into details. They're still asking that if anyone sees someone with the armor in question at an event to notify them and the local authorities.