LIARS & THIEVES: Troy and Kellie Wikel (aka exotics2aquatics, Swift, Whiteboro, etc.)

This couple, who used to have a pet shop in the Nashville area and shut it down owing suppliers a great deal of money, pulled a scam this past weekend in Nashville ("Greater Nashville Reptile Show"). They promoted a show where they made the outrageous lie of having pre-sold 6000 tickets, lied about vendor tables being near sell-out when over half were vacant and had to be removed (even after allowing vendors to spread out as much as possible), promised to split raffle money with a reptile rescue shelter but stole it all, wrote bad checks to cover expenses, left the show early (supposedly before paying their help). They promised some vendors that they would be the exclusive vendor of their primary animal and lied, booking other vendors selling the same. They promised the public a petting zoo, yet didn't have one. They told a cricket supplier to bring 500 boxes and that they would buy the excess, but neglected to make good on that promise either. They promoted the appearance of a "rising country star", but instead had some hack play a couple of songs each day with their kid singing along to make it worse.

To view their in print claim of pre-selling 6000 tickets please visit their Vendor Info webpage at: http://www.nashvillereptileshow.city...ge/2049266.htm. In case they take the site down it reads "This looks to be a large show possibility of over 15,000 ("we have already sold over 6000 advance purchase tickets") spectator".

To learn more about these criminals please visit the thread in this site's Events thread at: http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/foru...ad.php?t=69642.

Cheers,

Michael Jacobi

I just cut and pasted my entry from the other thread so this may be a little redundant but here's my experience.


I have never been lied to in such a ridiculous way before. Aside from the supposed 6000 pre-sold tickets they stabbed their vendors in the back. They talked their cricket supplier into bring 1/2 million crickets to the show with the promises that 1 he would be the only vendor with crickets and 2 they would buy any left overs and sell them to local pet stores. I was set up next to him and would be surprised if he sold 10 of the 500 boxes that he brought. I was not surprised that they failed to buy any crickets from him after the show. They also allowed another vendor to place crickets next to his half dead animals and sell them for $6 less per thousand. $13 per 1000 is a pretty good show price and they allowed another vendor to sell them for $7 per 1000. Mike (the cricket guy) also built their website for them for free. He checked Saturday and with the guy hosting it and only 2 tickets had been pre sold through their site. A far cry from 6000. They told the rodent vendor he would be exclusive yet their were 2 rodent vendors. I was told that I would be the only sugar glider vendor yet there was another that they signed this week. While I am fine with them signing another glider vendor not only did they fail to inform me I would no longer be exclusive they also told the other vendor that no one else was bringing gliders. When I signed up to do their show I called 2 other vendors and encouraged them to also do the show. They took he vendors that I sent them and gave them a table price of $50 per table while charging me $75 per table. I had also, at my own expense, printed flyers and passed them out to vendors and customers the week prior in St Louis. They were constantly walking by and telling us inflated numbers of how many had been through the door. As Mike mentioned earlier another vendor was paying someone to count people. When their count was at 500 on Saturday his was at 149. Another vendor told me they were bragging about their $30,000 advertising budget. Saturday they came around announcing that television news crews were coming by to do live spots from the show. I was really hoping they showed up as they could have been made aware of the largest scandal being perpetrated in TN that weekend. I witnessed the argument between Mike and Troy and it happened as he said. I felt bad for the people they continued to charge at the door while vendor vehicles were in the isles loading 4-5 hours before they show ended. While I do not wish this to be a personal attack on Kelli or Troy they cost vendors thousands of dollars in expenses due to their lies. I harbor no ill feeling towards any of the other vendors their as we were all lied to and manipulated this weekend. I think I can state with a certainty that there will be no Dec show in Nashville. I spoke with about all the vendors and didn't find one that wasn't offended or that was willing to come back.I really think now that it would be appropriate to place the events that transpired this weekend on the BOI as they are in the group of scam artists and the word should get out. I am certain I will not be the last vendor to share their story.

When I left ALL paid help was waiting to get paid. People who had worked all weekend didn't get paid. I will say that I think that they really wanted this show to be a success. The food was great for the vendors. I just think they tried to do too much and went about everything the wrong way.

In defense of the "rising country star" he wasn't that bad and I really hate country music. I did think the autographed photos were a little over the top. I don't think he got paid either and he lives with Kellie and Troy.

I feel for anyone who tries to do another show in Nashville. The way this was advertised it was "bring your kids to the zoo day". If they would have just placed a free ad in Reptiles magazine maybe it would have helped. I paid in cash on Friday for my tables. I wish it had been a check or I had waited until they bolted early on Sunday.

Wow, That sounds like a vendors worst nightmare..I am sorry to hear this..Shows are having a hard time as it is surviving without a blackeye like this..I was planning on going but decided against it..I had a feeling.

I posted this on another forum (Events) but am glad that Michael Jacobi from The Spider Shoppe started this thread on the BOI. When Kellie (who used the last name Whiteboro with us) contacted us about a month ago to get a table, we told her no. Her husband then talked to mine and said they would donate a table to us if we would come and do a presentation with our animals and bring some of our shelter animals to show. She also said she would be doing raffles and they would split the money with us with our "half" being donated to the shelter. We agreed to going on Saturday. A few days before the show, she called and was insistent we be there for the whole three days. I finally told her we would do Sat and Sun but I had another commitment on Friday and wouldn't be there. On Saturday, I was stunned to see so few vendors, especially when she kept saying there were almost 200 vendors and she was almost sold out with tables and had pre-sold 6000 tickets. Fortunately, we live 1 1/2 hours away so we just drove back and forth and didn't have lodging expenses.

Now, where were the newscrews from channel 2 and 4??? A security person came to tell us they were coming through and Kellie told us but I never saw anyone. What I did see were vendors out a lot of money, especially those who had to buy a $275 wildlife permit to sell colubrids and didn't sell enough colubrids to make up even part of that expense, much less the other expenses.

Oh, the raffle money they said they would split with our reptile shelter??? Well, it left with them....all of it. They snuck out way before all the vendors left. We looked for them before we left and found nothing left of them...not even their kids.

Kellie, you didn't rip me off when you stole the shelter's half of the raffle money you promised (by the way, who else did you promise it to???). You ripped off the shelter's residents. But I guess you really needed the money since you wrote worthless checks to a lot of people. Do you realize that writing bad checks is a criminal offense??? I see bars in your future...and not the drinking kind, either.

I met some vendors there that I hope to see at other shows in the future, especially the guys from KC and the cricket man and even though I live near Tom of glasscages.com, we've never gotten to talk before but we had lots of time to talk over the weekend.

Oh, and one of the things that was raffled off was a green annie. My friend won one of the drawings. I went to the front with her. They told her to choose between the annie and a volcano mister. I told my friend to take the annie. My friend, who has never owned a snake, thought I was nuts. She later realized I wanted the annie before a child or someone who has never had a snake before took it. The annie was donated by an individual who lives in Nashville. The annie is at our house right now and at least we are knowledgeable and capable of taking care of the snake. Someone else may not have and the animal would have suffered.

We weren't there to sell animals or products. Unfortunately, the other vendors were there for that purpose and they were lured in by blatant lies and I think it's a safe bet to say that no one sold enough to cover the expenses they put out to be at the show.

bumpdedebumpbump

Hey, Michael.

By the way, I couldn't make myself come over to your table before you left. I don't do spiders and every time I found myself heading in your direction, I automatically veered off again. Ugh!

Originally Posted by Sherry Howell

Hey, Michael.

By the way, I couldn't make myself come over to your table before you left. I don't do spiders and every time I found myself heading in your direction, I automatically veered off again. Ugh!

Hi Sherry,

If you would have approached from the other direction you would have seen adorable little dart frogs and crested geckos and gargoyle geckos. I'm not only about BIG HAIRY SPIDERS!

Cheers, Michael

Well, heck. I really missed out. I love crested geckos!

Gene, if first and last names are not in the actual post you run the risk of having it deleted by the moderators and possibly getting a few warning points from them as well.

that something like this would happen. With the little I know about Tennessee Herp laws, and the claims I had heard, I'm not surprised. I feel sorry for that anyone who attended, especially the cricket guy. They pulled off one heck of a con though.