garageshelf (garageshelf@aol.com) shantha somasundaram- did anyone buy from her on ebay and file the

LEAP269

i purchased a coin from garageshelf (garageshelf@aol.com). her real name is Shantha Somasundaram from Tumwater, WA 98511 United States on ebay. never got the coin. today i called the tumwater washingon police dept and they said about 100 people sent her money for gold american eagles and never received their merchadise. she has left the country; ebay has unlisted her as a seller, and her attorney is sending me 100 dollars to start to repay me back. i will not cash this. my local police dept, directed by the county attorney, will not press theft charges against mrs. somasundaram but the police dept is washington is working on a joint, group, meta, class action criminal case against her with the 100 buyers as a unit against her. the post office will not file mail fraud charges against her, although i sent a personal check thru the usps. her sister and mother, supposedly, are selling their land to pay all the buyers that got shafted.

any ideas what to do to get my money back?

ebay is worthless. the trust and safety dept just sends me another email telling me to contact her(does not answer her phone), my police dept(will not file charges), post office(will not file charges), her local police dept(building a theft charge case against her), and some org called the internet crime coalition or something like that. that is my next step.


what else can a man do?
thanks
leap269

Russ

This slimeball really knew how to run a con.

She used her About Me eBay page to prolong it while she made her getaway.

Russ, NCNE

maddogale

$15 mil of coins on eBay and only 600+ feedback?????

granddad

Unless you know or can verify, whom you are dealing with, do not buy coins or bridges on the internet.


Have a Great Day!
Louis

Thenewguy

15 million divided by 996 total feedback = $15060.24 per. Cut that in half for buyers/sellers that dont leave feedback and it would still be an average of $7530.12 per transaction..I seriously doubt it...

nankraut

"ebay is worthless. the trust and safety dept just sends me another email telling me to contact her(does not answer her phone), my police dept(will not file charges), post office(will not file charges), her local police dept(building a theft charge case against her), and some org called the internet crime coalition or something like that. that is my next step. "

Sounds just like what happened to me a year or so ago. I never did get my money back, although it was "only" $440 in my case. The guy who screwed me is still on EBAY: joebenton1

Bochiman

Ouch! That sucks

I wonder why her attorney would send out any money? Is it money she left him to do this so that, if anyone cashed it, they wouldn't be able to press any charges (something like this happened to a forum member recently...I forget who)?

My guess is that she went back to India (sounds like an Indian name) if she left the country.

66Tbird

Ah, the memories of my first 'got ripped off' with 'bullionone'. Took the thrill out of ASE roll collecting for me.

BAJJERFAN

funny that she/he/it could find time to list the stuff but not to ship it.

KoinDawg

Probably never had the stuff to ship and stole pics from other auctions for listings. Too easy but that's how it's done.

flashbang

<< <i>I wonder why her attorney would send out any money? Is it money she left him to do this so that, if anyone cashed it, they wouldn't be able to press any charges >>



That is exactly why. As soon as anyone accepts a penny to begin a 'resolution' process, criminal liability is obsolved and it becomes a civil matter. Refusal by someone to accept funds could only be used by her as a possible mitigating factor in a lesser sentence if prosecuted.

Bochiman

<< <i>

<< <i>I wonder why her attorney would send out any money? Is it money she left him to do this so that, if anyone cashed it, they wouldn't be able to press any charges >>



That is exactly why. As soon as anyone accepts a penny to begin a 'resolution' process, criminal liability is obsolved and it becomes a civil matter. Refusal by someone to accept funds could only be used by her as a possible mitigating factor in a lesser sentence if prosecuted. >>



So, this attorney wants to screw everyone....how nice......

flashbang

<< <i>So, this attorney wants to screw everyone....how nice...... >>



I think that is more a matter of perception. The attorney is protecting the best interest of his client. If everyone gets all of their money back, it's like saying "no harm, no foul". I'm not saying I agree with it, just that it is what it is.

ABC123

Kiss your money good-bye or put some aggravation back in your life and join the class-action suit to be filed against her----wait 2-3 years and settle for 5-10% of your $$$$

raycyca

You can also go online and file an internet fraud claim with the FBI. I started it one time, but wsa talked out of it. Wish I had now.... Good luck! Ray

FullStrike

This type of scam is just too too common on eBay. Does someone have a book out, detailing the methods for running a successful eBay scam? Seems like it - too many dirtbags are running the same type of scam. I've been burned a bunch of times. Sometimes patience and very subtle threats of legal action get me a refund.

Might be a future in organizing an "eBay Enforcement Company".

jdimmick

Chalk it up as lesson learned and move on. Every one who bought from this seller took up the arse!

Its unfortunate, but it happens all the time!!

roadrunner

this is exactly why you follow the 99-100% feedback rule, esp for current ones. Any recent neg feedback is a flag to be investigated.
Long and unhappy stories are also a flag. With so many good ebayers why waste time with someone who is not 99.9% FB and with no stories? This past week I was tempted to buy something from a guy with good FB but he had been inactive for several years and had started back up 2 months ago. With only 5 recent FB's, it just didn't feel right. And most of those 5 FB's were for things totally unrelated and far cheaper than the gold coin I was considering. I passed and let the other guys get the lot on the cheap. Maybe not cheap enough!

roadrunner

nankraut

"You can also go online and file an internet fraud claim with the FBI. I started it one time, but wsa talked out of it. Wish I had now.... Good luck! Ray "

I tried that too, but the FBI never did anything except send me one boilerplate reply to my complaint.

Conder101

<< <i>This type of scam is just too too common on eBay. Does someone have a book out, detailing the methods for running a successful eBay scam? Seems like it - too many dirtbags are running the same type of scam. >>


Who needs a book? Just come here and read the threads for a week. You'll see all kinds of scams listed, analyzed, the tip off clues identified (so you can avoid them) and even some tips on how to get away with them.

LEAP269

it turns out there is an ebay group devoted to the woes of this seller. go to ebay>community>groups>garageshelf to see the 3 discussions on her screwing people. i am the 35th person to register as being defrauded, and total losses to this seller are over 600,000. her attorney states there are at least 170 people she stole money from. what a loss. it is mentioned she was buying the gold on margin, using the new money to buy the gold to send to the previous buyers until she left the usa. possible money laundering and cult charges are being thrown around too.

i just want my money back. ebay is worthless in protecting the buyer from this type of person.

Sandhawk

all the more reason to use a CC when buying on ebay................