fraud

Open letter to thief who stole my debit card number and robbed $700

Dear Thief,

debittheft — Perhaps one day I'll have the pleasure of meeting the thief, and having his undivided attention/Thinkstock

First allow me to commend you on your craftiness.

Neither myself nor the lady from my bank had any clue as to how you succeeded in sneaking my debit card number and charging some $700 worth of random goods.

You could have nabbed it anywhere – from the kitschy souvenir shops in Michigan to the Best Buy in the heart of Tucson.

I knew I should not have answered all those personal questions just to get a Best Buy rewards card.

Or maybe you have a pal who doubles as an unscrupulous retail employee, stealing away debit and credit card numbers to share with his friends. Perhaps you dig through Dumpsters or somehow hack into Internet accounts. The list of possibilities rambles onward.

Your timing, too, was excellent. You managed to pull off an entire day and a half worth of charges before anyone even noticed. You are both crafty and quick, a real role model for society.

Secondly, allow me to show some understanding. Although my initial reaction was disbelief and rage, coupled with the extreme urge to poke nails deep into your eye sockets, let’s assume you have good reason for doing what you did.

The $50 at Duane Reade in Bayside, N.Y., was surely for life-saving medication for your elderly mother. Your $23 for the Long Island Railroad’s Jamaica, N.Y., station must have been for train fare to get that medication to your mother.

Of course, you then needed the parking fees you racked up at the LIRR train depots.

Glad, too, to see you got yourself $160 worth of groceries from Waldbaum’s in Stonybrook, charges which just showed up this morning after the card was canceled. Another bank lady said you must have chosen credit and the charges gone through before the cancellation did.

And no one can argue with the $195 charge at Toys R Us in glorious Valley Stream.

After all, kids these days just can’t live without the latest Barbie Dream Townhouse or full line of Ninja Warrior Hamsters. Your ailing mom may have benefited with a new mah-jong set or a yo-yo or two.

I’m still not sure what the $188 was for, but I know those Toys R US toys are surely more important to your darling family than paying my bills or meeting my mortgage could ever be to me.

I’ve also been known to waste my hard-earned money on frivolous things, like food or gas.

Thirdly, I must offer my sympathy, as I noted several charges were made in Queens, New York.

The only experience I have with that particular New York City borough is either getting stuck in the snow near Shea Stadium or meeting a man who would go on to stalk me and threaten my life.

I have come to associate Queens with things that are less than pleasant.

With such stomping grounds, I cannot really blame you for turning to a life of crime.

I do hope your other illegal endeavors, as I’m sure you must have a few, are equally as successful as robbing from my bank account was. And I do hope to meet you in person one day, perhaps over a stolen cup of coffee. Or perhaps over a nice wooden table in court.

Sincerely,

Ripped off and Teed off in Tucson, Arizona

P.S. Yes, my bank said the money you stole may be reimbursed but it will take some time for the claim to go through. In the meantime, since you’ve pretty much drained my entire bank account, I’m stuck eating oatmeal. Have a nice day.

[tnipoll]

What do you think?

Has anyone ever stolen your debit or credit card number?

Did they charge anything worthwhile at least?

Do debit cards bring more problems than straight up cash?

Would anything make you forgive a thief?

Do you suppose these thieves are ever even caught?

Tucson used car salesmen may face decades in prison for fraud

Two Tucson used car salesmen were busted for reportedly doing those nasty things we already think used car salesmen do.

Too bad this Hurricane Motors duo bolstered the negative stereotype, although the news release did not state if they took the stereotype to the limits and also wore cheap, brown suits.

David “Jay” Franklin, 47, and John D. Franklin, Sr., 72, allegedly bilked customers and a finance company out of nearly $200,000 through switched car titles and fraudulent loans. Maximum penalties Franklin and Franklin the elder could get if convicted are 85 and 62 years in prison, respectively.

Did they sell this thing?/Photo Ryn Gargulinski

Tucson Auto Dealers Charged with Fraud, Money Laundering, Arizona Attorney General news release

PHOENIX – Attorney General Terry Goddard announced the indictment of John David “Jay” Franklin, 47, of Tucson, and John D. Franklin, Sr., 72, of Tucson, on charges of fraudulent schemes and artifices, theft, illegally conducting an enterprise and money laundering.

The Franklins owned and operated Hurricane Motors, a used car dealership located (at 3100 N. Oracle Road) in Tucson. They are alleged to have stolen approximately $50,000 from Hurricane customers as well as $145,000 from Car Financial Services, Inc (“CFI”), a motor vehicle financing company.

According to investigators, Hurricane Motors allegedly defrauded individual buyers out of more than $50,000 through a scheme known as “shuffling titles.” The company allegedly assured buyers that the cars they were purchasing had clean titles, meaning there were no outstanding debts or liens on the cars. In many cases, there allegedly were significant existing liens on the cars.

When customers attempted to register their cars with the Arizona Motor Vehicle Department, they were unable to do so because of the existing lien. In addition, the customers who purchased the cars became responsible for the payment of the pre-existing lien.

When customers complained to Hurricane Motors, investigators say that Jay Franklin assured the customers that he would resolve the problem. However, after several unsuccessful attempts to obtain permanent registration, many buyers stopped payment on the cars. Consequently, Hurricane Motors would repossess the cars and, according to investigators, resell them using the same fraudulent tactics.

Additionally, the Franklins allegedly sold the auto financing agreements that individual buyers formed with Hurricane Motors to the financing company, CFI. CFI buys and services contracts from car dealers across the company, thereby absolving dealers of the expense of running a finance company and assuring the payment of contracts.

As a result of this arrangement, CFI became the holder of the financing agreements and stepped in as the replacement financier on the loans. CFI owned the cars until the individual buyers fully paid off the principal and interest on their loans.

Investigators said that the Franklins also established their own finance company, “Riteway,” to finance the end-user loans. All contracts with individual buyers that were financed were sold through loans offered by Riteway.

When the Franklins sold contracts to CFI, they allegedly did not inform many of their individual customers that the financing contracts had been sold and that all payments should be directed to CFI. As a result, Hurricane Motors, through its financing affiliate, Riteway, continued to collect monthly payments from individual buyers.

Further, when individual buyers questioned the new CFI bills they received in the mail, the Franklins allegedly assured them that they would forward payments to CFI and instructed buyers to continue to make payments to Riteway.

As a result, CFI did not receive payment on the cars and repossessed the vehicles. These repossessions led to numerous consumer complaints and ultimately led CFI to learn that Hurricane Motors and its affiliate Riteway never informed the customers that their contracts were sold.

If convicted on all charges, John David “Jay” Franklin faces between 15 and 85.6 years in prison, and John D. Franklin, Sr. faces between 10 and 62.8 years in prison.

My boss at an insurance agency where I worked would always say he liked used car salesmen. After all, he would qip, they are lower on the ladder than insurance agents.

Have you ever been shafted by a car salesman?
An insurance agent?
Do you think that VW bug featured in Crappy or Snappy was purchased at Hurricane Motors?

Arizona man busted for pretending to be a Marine

We’ve all know folks who exaggerate a bit, perhaps say they run a business when all they really do is run the business’s trash out the Dumpster.

But one Arizona guy went above and beyond simple exaggeration and claimed to be a highly decorated U.S. Marine.

John William Rodriguez, 31, didn’t save his faux boasting for dates or personal chats, either, but made it widely known to the masses.

This Scottsdale guy was even introduced at large functions as a decorated veteran.

That’s also how he got busted.

An authentic former Marine thought Rodriguez’s uniform looked a little less than authentic. He also found it odd that a 31-year-old would be donning the Navy Cross.

Once the Arizona Department of Public Safety started investigating they learned Rodriguez had been introduced as a decorated veteran at several functions. He also listed serving in the military on his driver’s license.

Arizona Department of Public Safety arrests suspected military impersonator, news release
John William Rodriquez, 31, of Scottsdale was booked into the Maricopa County Jail on 13 felony fraud schemes stemming from his impersonation of a highly decorated Marine. The arrest culminates a lengthy investigation which uncovered evidence that Rodriquez had been portraying himself as a U.S. Marine Gunnery Sergeant or Warrant Officer for at least a year.

Rodriquez faces possible federal charges in addition to his arrest for ARS Title 13 Felony Fraud Schemes.

Wow. That’s some heavy charges for pretending to be a Marine. Guess no one gets away with nabbing a military title if they haven’t been through boot camp.

Poor guy. I say “poor” because you have to be suffering from very low self-esteem to blow yourself up into a decorated veteran.

Not sure what the penalty will be, but maybe he should really be sent to boot camp. Either that, or shine the shoes of all the authentic decorated veterans out there.

Did you ever get busted pretending to be someone or something you are not?
Did it result in felony fraud charges?

fraud

Footer

Stay in the loop