I got ripped off. Kevin Olbrych

I've bought some things thru the years with no issues from him. I sent him 2900 for 1.2 Stars last week and he dropped off the face of the earth. I just found this:

http://openpasts.com/PublicRecord/KE.../1111345593999

He is in the slammer

I dont think he meant to be put in the slammer just to rip you off. How did you make the $2900? Can you reverse pymt?

No. But he offered me the stars after the booking date of Feb. 23. When he got busted for illegal wildlife (I think he had rattlers) I am sure they confiscated everything. Therefore he had no animals in possession. I mailed him a check which got cashed.

Did you research him here before you bought?
http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/foru...d.php?t=531796

Kevin was arrested again March 19th, 2017. They did not confiscate all his reptiles during the Feb. 23rd arrest(just box turtles and venomous from what I was told) and I saw he still had the Star Tortoises 7 days ago. Unfortunately I heard the scumbags have descended en mass to his residence to steal as much as possible while he's in jail which could be for a long time. Last time he bonded out in 2 days but much more serious this time so it might be a while. Hope this helps.

I may have jumped to conclusions as some of you have implied. Kevins GF finally responded to my messages saying she was working on his business. If I get the animals that I paid for, I will be sure to let this board know.

Kevin stopped taking Paypal last year, for some reason. He didn't really go into it. I, also, am owed 4 turtles, that I paid for last week. i saw photos, though I guess I don't know where and when they were taken. He's always come through in the past but getting any info at the moment has been tough. Somebody texted a few short lines. Not happy, though.

Originally Posted by capuzzi2

If I get the animals that I paid for, I will be sure to let this board know.

Originally Posted by PStein80

I, also, am owed 4 turtles, that I paid for last week.

Any update from either of you, it has been several months now? Did you get your animals?

Let's see, where did we end up? Kevin has been released from being held. There were quite a few charges, and I don't know how that will be settled. Many involved animal laws (number of Florida Box in captivity, venomous reptiles, etc.), and it's unclear whether they seized his animals, as had been reported by the news, but contradicted by his wife.

I have spoken to his lawyer at least three times. His name is Angelo M. Ferlita, (813)254-7047. I told Mr. Ferlita that I would pursue this legally, if I didn't at least receive a call from Kevin. My intention isn't to make the situation worse, but $1500 is a little too much for me to just forget about. Mr. Ferlita told me that Kevin's wife disappeared, that he didn't even have a cell phone, but that he would have him call me, and we could try to make some kind of plans. However, it's been more than 6 weeks, and despite several calls to the lawyer, I've heard nothing.

According to Connecticut, this is a civil matter. I can take him to court, where he obviously won't win the case, and have a lean put on any future business or property of his. It would have just been better if he had called me, and said that he was getting everything together, and come up with some kind of plan, which I wouldn't be adverse to working with. But hearing nothing, I feel like I was scammed. I certainly am not suggesting that Kevin did this deliberately. But likewise, I don't believe he has the animals he is selling. I think he is more of a broker, who takes payment, and then purchases the animals for the customers. So the 4 turtles that I was looking for are in the wind somewhere. At this point, I would rather receive a refund, but for the last three months, this situation hasn't looked promising. Kevin and I had done business in the past, and despite a couple of times that it took him a little longer to send animals that he promised, I wouldn't have expected this.

Any questions, anyone can certainly email me at PStein80@msn.com.

I would caution all of you who might consider dealing with Kevin in this way: he used to accept Paypal, which would have provided protection to the potential buyer. Had we used Paypal, we wouldn't be having this conversation. I don't know what went wrong with Paypal for Kevin, and why he was no longer using it, but switching to depositing cash in his Wells Fargo account, as I did on three or four separate occasions, wasn't something I preferred to do - not to mention the closest Wells Fargo bank is 30 minutes from my house. But if any of you do deal with him in the future, I would strongly suggest that you not do so, unless Kevin starts accepting Paypal again. It's not my intention to check the background of every turtle seller here, but when you get burned, everything changes.

Originally Posted by PStein80

However, it's been more than 6 weeks, and despite several calls to the lawyer, I've heard nothing...But hearing nothing, I feel like I was scammed.

In part I asked because he is posting classifieds ads as of this morning 6/22/17 with the phone number: 813-270-6282
kevinolbrych3@gmail.com

Have you tried this number before? Also, thanks for updating us all Peter.