Ken Marino of Phoenix is a thief and scammer, beware!!

About a year ago I was contacted by Ken (George?) Marino about purchasing cyclura from him. The price was not bad, and I sent him a check for the amount agreed upon. I received the iguanas promptly and in great condition.
Fast forward to Fed. 2009. Marino contacted me again and offered to sell me $3,500 worth of Leopard and Sulcatta tortoises. The price was great and I once again sent him a check for the amount. He cashed the check two days later. I've been waiting for my tortoises since then. I have called him and texted him over and over. He usually responded to my calls, and gave me all kinds of excuses. First he's out of town. Then his phone won't work. Then he'll deliver them to a friend of mine in Phoenix, but nothing is ever arranged. Then he has no shipping supplies. Then he's lost my fed ex account #. Then the account # is invalid. Then it's ok again. I am fed up! I told him so. I told him he was out of time and I needed my tortoises or my money returned now. He responded by telling me to grow up. I responded with the promise of turning him into the police, the FBI, and his commanding officers, as it appears that he's in some type of Guard of some sort. This week I will be contacting the authorities, and will also track him down to pin point his address and who he works for and his military employment.

He's told me that the tortoises are in New Mexico. I offered to have some friends of mine in Portal AZ pick them up, but have gotten no response. I've had no response since Friday. I have had hopes that he would eventually send me the animals, since he has replied to most of my attempts to contact him. But it seems that I have been taken. I have spoken to several people over the weekend that have all confirmed that this man is a scam artist. The address I sent the check to turns out to be a mail drop location. I'm not even sure if he lives in Phoenix, but I promise I will find him.

So, my advice is to stay away from this man. He will promise you animals and keep your money and you'll have nothing to show for it. Warn your friends. I will find him. If anyone has any information on Ken Marino I'd be very happy to receive it. You can call me at 702-203-0983 any time. Or you can email me at Exoticpetslv@aol.com. I'd like to get this guy once and for all and be done with his crap. I have already written off my money, and I plan on spending even more money finding him and taking him down. If you can assist me that would be great. Thanks and take care

Hi Ken -

This asshole got me for a lot of money about six or seven years ago. I thought I had told everyone in the world to watch out for him. He offered me a great deal on a group of Pancake Tortoises and after receiving my money, he disappeared. I contacted the FBI, local police, and even an attorney in Phoenix and of course they all told me it wasn't worth their time and energy. (Around $3,000). It was the same scam he used on you. He told me the animals were in New Mexico and he was selling them for a friend who had a private zoo and was deaf (sick, right?) so didn't want to deal with the sales. Like an idiot, I sent the money because it was such a good deal and then began calling him and finally gave up after a year or so. I recall that part of his scam was giving a fake address but one that was close enough where someone at his local post office held the mail for him rather than send the envelope (and money order) back to me.

Ken - The sad part is that several of our "buddies" in Arizona and southern California do business with him throughout the year!

If you want to pursue legal action, I will give you my files on him and the deal he screwed me on, though it might be too late for me to recover anything.

To EVERYONE out there, especially in the southwestern United States - Do not do any business with Ken Marino, George Marino or any of his other aliases. You will lose your money!

And, as a wise friend always says . . . "If the deal sounds too good to be true, IT IS!"

Russ Gurley

Well Russ, we need to have these "buddies" help us out now. Email me a list of names and I'll have a chat with them. That is if they wish to stay buddies. The herp world is very small, and the turtle and tortoise part of it is even smaller yet. We have to help each other out. Marino has no clue what he's brought upon himself, but he will find out. We need anyone else ripped off by this guy to come forward so we can get our act together for when I catch him. I WILL CATCH HIM. The IRS will be interested in the unpaid taxes this guy owes for the money he profited from us. So far we're up to about $6,500 in untaxed profit. Just for starters.

Wow! This must be an un-official board mtg.

I KNOW who you guy's are talking about in AZ, and would be very surprised that they would deal with this guy.
I have heard of this scumbag in the past, and have avoided him.
Go after him him Ken!

Randal Berry

Randal, things are very quiet in AZ right now. You'd think that someone would be able to come up with something. There's a large group of tortoise people living down there, and so far not a peep from anyone. In the meantime, I'm getting more info by the hour, and we should have him pegged soon. If anyone out there has any info on Ken Marino at all please add your information to our file. Especially if you've been ripped off by this guy.

well i dont know the guy, i bet he prob will be at some shows because arizona doesnt have them too often. http://phxreptileexpo.com/ or another one in tucson around the same time. if u got a picture of him id be more than happy to scout him out for you i should be at one of the shows or maybe both.

Thanks very much for the offer. I don't have a photo of him yet, but I will. If I get one before one of the shows I'll forward it to you. Take care

whoa...whoa...whoa...back the horses up there Ken, it could be me , but this is starting to sound more like a "witch hunt" to me.

If he has scammed multiple people out of money, and Ken is trying to locate him to prosecute/turn him in to authorites.. I can't see how that's a witch hunt.
Please explain your reasoning? Thanks.
Any copies of money order receipts, email exchanges and such could also be posted as proof of his wrong-doing.

Originally Posted by fauxsanity

whoa...whoa...whoa...back the horses up there Ken, it could be me , but this is starting to sound more like a "witch hunt" to me.

The man is out three and a half thousand dollars. To me, that is a huge amount of money. I'd be looking to get my money back too.

Originally Posted by Ken Foose

I told him he was out of time and I needed my tortoises or my money returned now. He responded by telling me to grow up. I responded with the promise of turning him into the police, the FBI, and his commanding officers, as it appears that he's in some type of Guard of some sort.

If I sent $3,500 to someone and they told me to 'grow up' if I requested my merchandise or a refund, I'd be doing exactly what Ken is doing. More.

I absolutely think we have a right to try to find people who have done us wrong. And if a bunch of folks have been done out of money by one person as some of the folks here claim, it seems logical to gather together to try to plan how to set things right. Notifying the police with the gathered information would definitely be a good first step.

Sharing info and getting help, isn't that one of the purposes of coming here?