Long story about a major Taron Langover scam.

Here's my story about what Taron Langhover did to me and others. spam_
First a little background. spam_Taron lives about 15 min. from me and I went to junior high/high school w/him. spam_His parents own a pet store and I worked for them for awhile. spam_We were off/on friends because of similar interests in baseball/animals. spam_He eventually talked me into working w/him on selling frogs over the internet and at shows. spam_We did very well for a few months and had a lot of happy customers. spam_Then, Taron's brother got a bunch of frogs and took them to a couple shows and kept them in deli cups for about 5 days straight. spam_I didn't know this, and I bought a few frogs from him. spam_I kept these in my basement w/my other frogs, but on the other end of the room as sort of a quarantine. spam_At the time, I had no reason to think they might be sick. spam_Then, Troy had some of his frogs get sick and die. spam_It turned out that the frogs that I had had the same thing, and they also got sick and died. spam_At first, we had no idea of what the problem was. spam_Troy sent some to a vet and the vet concluded that they developed a bacterial infection most likely from being kept in unsanitary conditions(deli cups for 5 days). spam_This infection turned out to be very contagious and it soon started infecting other frogs that I had in my basement. spam_Some of these were jointly owned by me and Taron and we were trying to sell them. spam_At this point, I decided that we should hang on to these animals because I did not want to ship sick and very contagious frogs to other people. spam_Taron wanted to just "unload" these frogs even though he knew full well that these were sick and would die. spam_They were in my basement, and I wasn't letting them out and I wasn't going to have my name attatched to any sick frogs. spam_I tried to treat these frogs and kept them in extremely clean conditions and treated them w/baytril. spam_All this did was extend their lives for awhile. spam_EVERY FROG that I owned ended up going down. spam_This was thousands of dollars worth of froglets and breeders. spam_While this was happening, Taron decided that it would be a good idea to steal the website and the email account that we had. spam_He changed the passwords. spam_I got them both back by answering the "secret questions" that allow you to change the passwords back w/out knowing the new password. spam_It didn't really matter that I got them back because at that point I decided to quit for awhile and I wasn't going to get any new frogs until I bleached everything and made 100% sure that the disease was gone. spam_I didn't own another frog for around 6 months. spam_Taron continued to sell frogs online and over this time is where he developed his bad reputation w/a lot of other people. spam_I no longer had any contact with him and we both went about our normal business. spam_He sold uroplatus and sick frogs online and got in troulbe w/a lot of people for it. spam_This doesn't have much to do with the real story here except that this is what I knew of him before all this and the reason that he didn't really like me. spam_
Now the most recent events. spam_
I had decided to get back into it and I was slowly building my collection back up and was in the market for adult frogs and breeding pairs. spam_These is a website called "frognet.org/ads" that has free advertising for dart frogs people. spam_At the time this website was called "hylaweb.com/ads." spam_On this site there were a couple of ads w/large amounts of frogs for sale, and I purchased a couple large groups. spam_One was for $2000 and was a collection that someone named "Jerome Matza" was selling. spam_I paid $1600 for it. spam_I contacted Taron for the first time since the other deal went down and offered to sell him some of this group. spam_He said that he would buy some. spam_I also purchased another ad from someone named "Jason White." spam_This was for $600. spam_I paid both via paypal w/credit except for $100 that I paid through my checking account. spam_
To make a long story short... spam_these ended up being scams. spam_Someone had used fake names and set up fake paypal accounts and had taken money from a few people and never shipped anything. spam_For a few reasons I had a hunch that Taron was behind this, but I had doubts because I didn't think Taron would attempt something this big. spam_Some of my reasons for suspicion were every time Taron was online I would receive emails from these people and the frog "azureus" was misspelled in every ad the same way, and exactly how Taron used to misspell it when I worked with him. spam_Taron also told me on an online conversation that he had sold the "Jerome Matza" guy some het red eyes and that they were really just normals. spam_He refered to this guys as a "sucker" I believe. spam_I told Taron that was wrong and that he shouldn't be doing that. spam_The whole reason he told me that was to give me some false hope that these people were real. spam_He copy and pasted some fake emails to me and got a fake address. spam_There were a few other reasons that I suspected him, but I had nothing that proved that he was behind this scam. spam_I eventually got some real proof. spam_When I was looking back through the old emails I found out that I received an email from Taron's email at uroplatus@uroplatusetc.com and from the Jason White email on the same night(nov. 24). spam_I compared the ISP's and they were IDENTICAL. spam_Since no one else in the world can have the same ISP at the same time, this proves that they came from the same computer. spam_I know for a fact that one of the emails was from Taron, so that shows that they both came from TARON LANGOVER. spam_I thought this was very interesting and I downloaded a simple tracing program that traces emails back to their servers and usually back to the city. spam_It turned out that Taron's, "Jason White's," and "Jerome Matza's" all traced back to Wichita and back to a web service called "Carrol's Web." spam_This was a local service provider and it only covers Wichita and the surrounding area. spam_There was also one more ad that I didn't buy from, but some other people got scammed from. spam_I also traced this one back and it went to the same place. spam_I contacted all of the people involved and got all of my evidence together. spam_I talked to Taron's mom, who is actually a really nice and really honest lady. spam_I went to her house and talked to both her and his dad and showed them all of the evidence. spam_They both agreed that Taron must have been behind it and they confronted him about it, and despite the evidence, he denies all of it. spam_Most of the people scammed got their money back and I got all of mine back except for 100 by cancelling the credit. spam_When you cancell credit through paypal it actually just takes the money from paypal, not from the person that you paid. spam_It does this because when you pay through paypal, you actually pay paypal and then they pay the other person. spam_So, I believe that paypal was probably out the money. spam_Most of the money was already out of the paypal accounts, so that means that Taron had to get the money out. spam_The only way to do this is to transfer funds to a bank account or to get a direct check to your house. spam_I'm guessing that since paypal had this info that they went directly to Taron and made him give the money back. spam_But, Taron did get away with around $600 that I know of from other people that did not cancel their payments. spam_Now I need to know what to do to make him pay for this. spam_It's not so much the money thing, but more that I want him to be forced to take responsibility for his actions. spam_I don't want him to continue to get away w/scamming people out of money. spam_Any comments or advice are appreciated. spam_Ask any questions as well, because this is a long story and I'm telling it off the top of my head. spam_I'm sure I left some stuff out. spam_The point is that Taron is a major A-Hole and I want him out of this business for good.
Thanks for reading.....
Lucas Denning

"Now I need to know what to do to make him pay for this"

You just did. Outing him to everyone makes everyone aware of the problem. This will make it harder for him to do business in this industry.

Now just stay as far away from his as possible so your name doesn't get attached to his.

Lucas,
Do you normally purchase from unknown people (especially at that large $ amount) without posting inquiry on them? I was trying to find where you posted an inquiry on them but unless I missed them. You might want to post the emails with the same IPs as to back your post.
Chris Pearson

HERE IS AN EMAIL FROM JASON WHITE

From :    
"Jason White" <jasonwhite10@hotmail.com> &nbsp;
&nbsp;Jason White (Offline)

&nbsp; &nbsp;
To : &nbsp; &nbsp;
yankeesblow02@hotmail.com &nbsp;
&nbsp;
Subject : &nbsp; &nbsp;
Re: &nbsp;
&nbsp;
Date : &nbsp; &nbsp;
Sat, 24 Nov 2001 17:10:22 +0000 &nbsp;
&nbsp;
&nbsp; MIME-Version: 1.0
X-Originating-IP: [65.66.92.170]
Received: from 65.66.92.170 by pv1fd.pav1.hotmail.msn.com with HTTP;Sat, 24 Nov 2001 17:10:22 GMT &nbsp;
&nbsp;Reply &nbsp;Reply All &nbsp;Forward &nbsp; &nbsp;Delete &nbsp;Put in Folder...InboxSent MessagesDraftsTrash Cancollege stuffdart stuffJerome MatzaKYLAMY REPLIESpumilio guyRandyreferencesrodtaron is a moron &nbsp; Printer Friendly Version &nbsp;
&nbsp;
I couldn't do any trades. &nbsp;i am actually trying to cut down on everything so i can rest.

Jason


HERE IS AN EMAIL FROM TARON LANGHOVER

From : &nbsp; &nbsp;
Uroplatus Etc and Dart Frogs Etc <uroplatus@uroplatusetc.com> &nbsp;
&nbsp; &nbsp;
To : &nbsp; &nbsp;
lucas denning <yankeesblow02@hotmail.com> &nbsp;
&nbsp;
Subject : &nbsp; &nbsp;
RE: &nbsp;
&nbsp;
Date : &nbsp; &nbsp;
Sat, 24 Nov 2001 08:58:24 -0800 &nbsp;
&nbsp;
&nbsp; MIME-Version: 1.0
Received: from [209.132.1.30] by hotmail.com (3.2) with ESMTP id MHotMailBDC91CB2008740043109D184011EF16A0; Sat, 24 Nov 2001 08:58:26 -0800
Received: from [65.66.92.170] by mail.san.yahoo.com with HTTP; Sat, 24 Nov 2001 08:58:24 -0800
From uroplatus@uroplatusetc.com Sat, 24 Nov 2001 08:58:47 -0800
Message-ID: <3BF98B1300001848@mail.san.yahoo.com>
In-Reply-To: <F177PEhGD1XyCTr9rf300000b76@hotmail.com> &nbsp;
&nbsp;Reply &nbsp;Reply All &nbsp;Forward &nbsp; &nbsp;Delete &nbsp;Put in Folder...InboxSent MessagesDraftsTrash Cancollege stuffdart stuffJerome MatzaKYLAMY REPLIESpumilio guyRandyreferencesrodtaron is a moron &nbsp; Printer Friendly Version &nbsp;
&nbsp;
If you think he is then ask for your money back or cancel don't let him
screw us. &nbsp;I don't think this guy is for real. &nbsp;He doesn't act right. &nbsp;Just
cancel. &nbsp;Plus his prices are way to low. He is probably a scam artist.

Let me know what you do.

&nbsp;Taron



-- Original Message --

>taron, call or email before you bring me the money, cause the guy is
>starting to think about pulling out i think. pissin me off big time, he

>called today, and i think i might have talked him into not pulling out,

>cause its breach of contract and all since i already sent the money..but
>i
>dunno
>
>
>Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp
>
>

Thanks & God Bless,
&nbsp;Taron Langhover

Uroplatus Etc & Dart Frogs Etc
9700 N. Woodlawn
Valley Center, KS 67147
316-744-0124
www.dartfrogs.homestead.com
www.uroplatus.homestead.com

If you look at the IP's you can see that they are both 65.66.92.170, meaning that they came from the same computer. &nbsp;
Chris, no I do not normally make large purchases from unknown people. &nbsp;This was obviously a lapse in judgement. &nbsp;I was, however, smart enough to pay through credit for all except $100. &nbsp;So, basically I was only risking $100, which I got burned on. &nbsp;The reason that I didn't post an inquiry on the BOI was because I didn't yet know about it. &nbsp;This was a while back and I actually heard about the BOI when someone suggested that I tell my story here. &nbsp;This was back a long time ago, so I just went and checked the site out, but didn't post what happened because at that point I didn't have any concrete evidence. &nbsp;
-Lucas Denning

Just an update.... &nbsp;I got a call from Taron's mom yesterday and he admited to scaming me. &nbsp;He still hasn't admited to scaming the other people yet, but we're supposed to have a little "meeting" between me, him and his parents next week to talk it all out. &nbsp;I'll update again after that happens.
Lucas Denning

Taron acts like a nice guy and had a nice site but it was all just a huge scam to suck you into his trap. I ordered 4 dart frogs from taron and that was before last Christmas and I keep calling and he wont send me my money.I would leave messages and he would never return them and he would avoid me. I would leave my number and he &nbsp;never called after 8 months. Taron Takes advantage of people and should be excluded by all hobbyists. He should be ashamed of what he did and he should pay. Luckily Lucas lives close by and may be able to help me out. &nbsp;

Kevin Przybyla

I can vouch that Taron is a fraud. (look at the old BOI post about him).

Just a quick question, how old is Taron? &nbsp;I mean because his parents are getting involved. &nbsp;If he is a grown man it just sounds weird to me to have your parents involved.
&nbsp; &nbsp;Anyway just wondering, he sounds like a slimy guy not to buy from! &nbsp;Great detective work Lucas!

Torie Miller

If I remember correctly, Taron is 17 years old. &nbsp;I could be wrong, but I definitely remember him being in his late teens and living at home.

His scam had transcended the amphibian market if I recall correctly. &nbsp;I remember seeing a Jerome Matza advertize on some of the free classified boards for an amazon basin emerald a long while ago. &nbsp;The price was suspicious and it turned out the little SOB was using someone else's picture to sell it.