BEWARE!!! SCAM ALERT! SCAM ON STAR TORTOISES, and HERMAN'S TORTOISES

BEWARE!!! Of someone calling himself Troy Patton, 614-878-5347, 4782 Willow Creek Drive, Grove City, OH 43124 E-mail: LindaP1232003@yahoo.con, and shannon71@columbus.rr.com , trying to sell 2.3 Indian Star Tortoises, and 2.3 Herman’s Tortoises (all for $400).
This character wants you to send the $400 VIA Western Union, and then he will send the animals. When I asked him for pics of the animals, he sends me a picture that WE took last March of the Herman’s, and a picture of the Star tortoises that he got off Kingsnake.com (http://market.kingsnake.com/detail.php?cat=50&de=66914 ). He says he is a paraplegic, and needs the money to fix his electric wheelchair. He says the animals belong to his brother (Jeremy) who is fighting overseas, and he has permission to sell the animals. Nice Try!
Ray Hunter, Manager
Exotic Reptiles Jungle
772-215-7625
RayHunter@bellsouth.net

He called us too but he wanted $400.00 for a pair of heman's and a pair of gila's
He claimed he was being sent to the war the next day and had to find someone to buy the animals that day! He said his name was shannon and this is the number he gave us: 614-878-5347

He wanted us to send the money western union as well!

I said it before and I will say it again: When something is to good to be true it is...

Thanks for the heads up!
Nicole Ellsier

That phone number is registered to the following

Estep, Michael
487 Candlestick Court
Columbus, OH 43085
(614) 878-5347

p.s.

I can't find a Willow creek in Grove city OH

Also beware of the name Ashley Patton, with the following contact information: Ashley Patton 4566 W Broad st. Columbus, oh 43228.
PH- 614.878.5347. Supposedly he has a brother named Shannon who is in on the deal as well.

These same scammers tried to get us too. On Wednesday, April 2nd, Ashley Patton from Columbus, Ohio contacted us to purchase several star tortoises, hermann's tortoises, and various arachnids from him for the sum of $1500. Half was to be paid up front, and half upon receipt of the animals. At first it seemed like a fair deal, but Ashley kept insisting that we Western Union the money, which we refused to do. Then he asked us to Paypal it to his friend's account (red flag #1). Ashley also gave us a sob story about being disabled, and that he desperately needed the money for treatment and that he was unable to properly care for the animals.

Despite our better judgement we PayPal'd the first $750 on Wednesday after speaking to him several times throughout the day, and the animals were going to be shipped that night. On Thursday we got a phone call from Ashley saying he was unable to send the shipment because he was in a wheelchair & it was hard for him to get around, but he would absolutely send the animals on Thursday for Friday delivery & call us with a tracking # later that day. No phone call ever took place, even though we tried to contact him several times (red flag #2). Guess what happened on Friday? No animals.

At that point, we tried contacting Ashley several times throughout the day on Friday (April 4th) letting him know that we would just prefer not to complete our transaction with him since he could not uphold his end of the deal, and that we were just going to reverse the Paypal transaction. The next communication we received from Ashley was an e-mail on Saturday the 5th letting us know that on that very morning they found out his brother may have been wounded in combat, and that a "box full of pissy tortoises was the last thing on his mind to say the least." Now we can understand being concerned over a loved one overseas fighting for our country, but this didn't seem to explain why the animals hadn't been sent days before the injury was said to have occured (red flag #3).

Yesterday we received a phone call from Ashley after sending an email requesting a refund of the money sent via Paypal. In that phone conversation we told him that his dealings with us were unsatisfactory and that we would be posting the course of this transaction on the Board of Inquiry, at which point he felt it necessary to use profanity & yell at one of us, and then hang up. Throughout the afternoon yesterday we received more harassing emails from him, at which point we had to ask him to quit contacting NERD.

Fortunately we were able to file a reversal of funds & fraud investigation through PayPal & will hopefully be receiving a refund in the not-too-distant future.

We have saved all emails in communication with Ashley Patton and will be all too happy to make them public if it helps to keep anyone else from getting screwed by him. It also really irks us that they are using the current war overseas as an excuse for their behavior.

Kevin McCurley & Kara Glasgow - NERD

Cna you believe this guy? now he has the nerver to threaten me with slander.
"actually, i feel your slandering me and have nothing to prove to you or anyone.....with that being said, and you not being out of anything, you have no right posting anything.....ill be making a post myself."

The police in Columbus Ohio are on to this guy. He not only got you, Kevin, he got some chick for $400 via western union. The detective said if people don't report these things, they can't do anything about it.

Well now it all comes together. Luckily my wife is not too coherent when contacted at 10:00 at night We received a call from someone named Shannon saying they were in the military and leaving for Iraq the following day, and of course needed to unload a bunch of animals cheaply and quickly (send the money overnight to him via Western Union).
My wife never wrote down the contact info, but I'll certainly check our call-box at home to see what the phone number was that made the call !

Pretty alarming when they are calling you at home to perpetrate a shady deal


Stephen Emerick
Napa Valley Snakes

Wow, it seems like this guy is calling everyone and their neighbors. Haven't heard from him yet but we'll definitely be keeping our eyes open now. Thanks for the heads-up everyone!

Celia Chien

Stephen -

Don't be surprised if the # doesn't show up on your caller ID. I went back & checked ours & all I got was "Private Caller" with no # listed. Just an FYI.

Kara Glasgow - NERD, Inc.