Bad Guy Beware of Derril Geller the Scammer!

[TexasSnake]

I've been meaning to post this for a while since I found out about this site and the BOI. I purchased a baby Snowglow from Derril Geller of Lehigh Acres, FL 33973 that arrived on August 21, 2012 with the following conditions:

1) Its head didn't have muscle mass as it should and was basically skin on bone.

2) The neck was disfigured (picture attached).

3) The snake was abnormally bloated (vet believes is outside the intestines).

4) It wass really dehydrated.

5) It was lethargic and didn't come close to having responsive and natural behaviors as it should.

6) The umbilical area/hole appeared to be infected.

7) It was infested with mites.


Derril was extremely responsive and available by phone, email, and text until I made payment and received this poor sickly snake. Then it was like trying to reach the President, evasive, short response emails saying he was busy. He tried telling me that he's had several clutches with babies with deformed (sunken in necks) and that this was common and they all lived.

He began trying to replace it with another (supposedly identical but healthy) so I (against my instinct) agreed. Then he tells me his partner didn't agree with the decision and started offering me other adult snakes that I had no interest in. He basically fell off the earth until I started sending him emails threatening him with an attorney, or me making a personal trip to his house.

At no point did Derril ever mention the deformation prior to me purchasing and sent pics from an angle impossible to see. When asked why he didn't mention the deformed snake multiple times he avoided the question every time. He said he didn't believe me about any of the other conditions, though I had taken the snake to the vet for an evaluation that was documented (vet's disposition attached).

I had to file a dispute with PayPal and escalate to a claim and fortunately they acted quick. In the end I got my $1600 refunded but only for the sake of PayPal. I was out a $60 vet bill, $50 for shipping the snake back, and a lot of frustrating hours/days dealing with Derril.

I later learned that he tried selling the same snake to other local breeders in Florida that were more fortunate than me. They didn't fall for the ridiculously low price like I did which was still $1600.00

Stay away from this guy...there is another thread on here where he misrepresented a snake (blood) and got called out. I wish someone could have warned me about him before I went through several days of stress, a waste of time, and a waste of money.

Not sure if he will have a different story but I saved all our emails and can provide documentation in addition to attached picture and vet disposition.

Take care everyone...
Justin R. Wright

 

[ShadowAceD]

That's just ... I don't even have words for that.

Is the animal still alive?

 

[TexasSnake]

I'm not sure of the status of the snake...I decided not to be pen pals with this jerk after this. I really wanted to pay him a visit as I have his address when I flew to Ft. Lauderdale to pick up my baby capuchin but ran short on time...I'll be making a trip again and am not someone to screw over...looking forward to meeting him in person!

 

[tommyhil4_6]

Justin.... Dang brother. Derrill approached me by phone (I had over a dozen high end bci's listed) and solicited a trade for over 3k worth of snakes on my end including 2 moonglows and snows etc.

He DID state to me over the phone that this snake had a genetic issue (and that he ate and shed fine), so at this information I requested said pics of the snake showing the exact deformity. This is why he said he was selling it at a one time price of 2600.00. (IE: this snake at 1600.00 should have been a major red flag, glad you got it back).

I requested the photos and stated that one of my good acquaintances was a DVM from the University of Colorado and wanted her to evaluate this condition.

Never got the pics. After the information was told to me I already decided in my head to move on from the trade possibility, but I was curious as to the condition anyway.

Very unfortunate and shows un-selective breeding IMO. I have since always stuck with the big names and well known/referred from the well known. I shoot myself in the foot as saying such (since I am a little guy hopefully up and coming), but I am fortunate to have many contacts at this point in the game!

Again, happy you were able to get the refund and unfortunately the 100+ for bills and shipping is a pill i'd swallow to wash my hands of it, although you should not have to.

Good luck Justin.

P.S. There are several SG's available currently if you ask around. P.M. me if you'd like me to lead you in a great direction as I have a huge sharp stock so I have been looking for months are them. Recently picked up 2 myself from a reputable breeder.

 

[Shadera]

I'm not sure of the status of the snake...I decided not to be pen pals with this jerk after this. I really wanted to pay him a visit as I have his address when I flew to Ft. Lauderdale to pick up my baby capuchin but ran short on time...I'll be making a trip again and am not someone to screw over...looking forward to meeting him in person!

Do you not still have it?

Might wanna can the thinly veiled threat. I understand passions can run high when animals and money are involved, but that sort of talk will get you into trouble quickly here.

 

[tommyhil4_6]

Do you not still have it?

Might wanna can the thinly veiled threat. I understand passions can run high when animals and money are involved, but that sort of talk will get you into trouble quickly here.

Sounds like he shipped it back to the seller and achieved a refund via paypal.

 

[Skanakis]

dude....I dealt with that guy. He sold me a sick sick Jungle jag. My blood is boiling only thinking about this right now. I hope to god me and him are face to face one more time. Just one more time. Jag died. We tried our hardest to help it. It just died.

 

[TexasSnake]

Justin.... Dang brother. Derrill approached me by phone (I had over a dozen high end bci's listed) and solicited a trade for over 3k worth of snakes on my end including 2 moonglows and snows etc.

He DID state to me over the phone that this snake had a genetic issue (and that he ate and shed fine), so at this information I requested said pics of the snake showing the exact deformity. This is why he said he was selling it at a one time price of 2600.00. (IE: this snake at 1600.00 should have been a major red flag, glad you got it back).

I requested the photos and stated that one of my good acquaintances was a DVM from the University of Colorado and wanted her to evaluate this condition.

Never got the pics. After the information was told to me I already decided in my head to move on from the trade possibility, but I was curious as to the condition anyway.

Very unfortunate and shows un-selective breeding IMO. I have since always stuck with the big names and well known/referred from the well known. I shoot myself in the foot as saying such (since I am a little guy hopefully up and coming), but I am fortunate to have many contacts at this point in the game!

Again, happy you were able to get the refund and unfortunately the 100+ for bills and shipping is a pill i'd swallow to wash my hands of it, although you should not have to.

Good luck Justin.

P.S. There are several SG's available currently if you ask around. P.M. me if you'd like me to lead you in a great direction as I have a huge sharp stock so I have been looking for months are them. Recently picked up 2 myself from a reputable breeder.

Tommy,

I'm really glad you didn't fall for it and have faith you wouldn't have if you would have been able to see the entire snake in person first. It was ridiculously bloated, skinny head, lethargic, and refused live pinky mice as I was stuck with it for a week. I was worried it would die in my possession as he kept stalling, saying he was going out of town, blah, blah, blah. Then he made a threat that he is not a pencil pushing guy and referenced a firearm in one email. He emailed me back (as if to brag) that he received the snake and it ate just fine...no way in hell do I believe that for a second. I forgot to mention I threw away all the caging and husbandtry as to not risk passing something (i.e. crypto) to my other snakes.

What were the dates (if it's not too much trouble to retrieve) that you and he discussed this snake and he admitted to the deformation? Just curious if he started warning people after I sent out a mass email to everyone I knew at the time in the snake industry/hobby and copied him on it with all the same info as my thread starter.

Again, I'm glad you didn't fall for it Tommy...I wouldn't wish this creep on anyone.

dude....I dealt with that guy. He sold me a sick sick Jungle jag. My blood is boiling only thinking about this right now. I hope to god me and him are face to face one more time. Just one more time. Jag died. We tried our hardest to help it. It just died.

Sorry to hear this...so did you get a refund? How did he handle it?

 

[tommyhil4_6]

Tommy,

I'm really glad you didn't fall for it and have faith you wouldn't have if you would have been able to see the entire snake in person first. It was ridiculously bloated, skinny head, lethargic, and refused live pinky mice as I was stuck with it for a week. I was worried it would die in my possession as he kept stalling, saying he was going out of town, blah, blah, blah. Then he made a threat that he is not a pencil pushing guy and referenced a firearm in one email. He emailed me back (as if to brag) that he received the snake and it ate just fine...no way in hell do I believe that for a second. I forgot to mention I threw away all the caging and husbandtry as to not risk passing something (i.e. crypto) to my other snakes.

What were the dates (if it's not too much trouble to retrieve) that you and he discussed this snake and he admitted to the deformation? Just curious if he started warning people after I sent out a mass email to everyone I knew at the time in the snake industry/hobby and copied him on it with all the same info as my thread starter.

Again, I'm glad you didn't fall for it Tommy...I wouldn't wish this creep on anyone.



Sorry to hear this...so did you get a refund? How did he handle it?

Justin,

This was probably actually about 2 months ago. I saw him post on KS several times (can't remember if I ever saw it here on Fauna) and at first it was priced at 3.6 (which I thought eh isn't bad at the time), but I wasn't willing to dump 3.6k on a snake AT THAT MOMENT haha. Good thing.

He then dropped it to 2.8k, and I thought "dang that's a 1k drop, must NEED to move it" and i'm all about opportunity. Fortunately I dumped a couple grand into other stuff and figured i'd hold off for a bit.

Then saw a ONE NIGHT DEAL at 2.6k cash or trade. I had previously asked about the snake well before this was posted and he saw one of my ads on several Moonglows and Snows etc I had up. I deleted the texts (so exact dates are no good unless you have a cell number I can correlate to my phone bill, didn't need to keep as we didn't do business).

He then called me and we actually talked at length, came to an agreement on the SG for several of my MG's and Snows as a straight trade (no cash involved). After we came to a conclusion on the deal, he then said "I do want to tell you this snake does have one SMALL problem". He then continued to describe the scenario etc at which point as I describe above told him that I have a good friend that's a DVM and needed pics.

We concluded the call and he never sent pics. I'm not in this game to buy sickly or deformed animals so I knew I'd already pass, but honestly it's worse then I expected seeing your pics.

On top of that... mites... Can't believe it. Just a head shaking moment man.

 

[tommyhil4_6]

First Correspondence was August 14th. Just found it in my email. I approached him on a trade possibility when he was listed at 2.9k. We actually came to an agreement apparently (it's 3 months I completely forgot) for 2 Moonglows and 2 snows (frank martins), but last minute he backed out and said he sold him.

Then he RE-APPROACHED me and tried to strike a deal again.

IF the emails are necessary I will absolutely post them. I will attach a pic shortly that he sent me. This pic is as Justin said, in favor of the snake hiding the deformity all together.

Really dodged a bullet here looking back. Oh being a beginner. LoL

 

[tommyhil4_6]

His FIRST mention ever, was after our 1 and only phone conversation, well after initial (first) deal being struck via email correspondence.

It seems he would have been completely willing to send the deformed snake for my 4 healthy snakes valued over 3k at the time, initially. Maybe it was my "I am excited to meet the good people in this hobby" speech, that made him become honest abe all of a sudden.

 

[tommyhil4_6]

First mention of the "deformity" that is.

 

[Frenchy89]

Please post the emails.... It will only help strengthen your case post ANY PROOF YOU HAVE. You already seem to have a solid boi case but make it stronger.... Plus id love to see this guys email about his firearms.

 

[tommyhil4_6]

I'm not the original OP, just someone who was almost duped by the same guy. Had firearm braggarts as well. How old are we? LoL

When I have time to weed through them all I will get them in chronological order and throw em up.

Again I wasn't the original poster, but someone who does have a bit of interest as Derrill attempted to do "business" with me as well.

 

[tommyhil4_6]

Hate* firearm braggarts.

 

[TexasSnake]

Please post the emails.... It will only help strengthen your case post ANY PROOF YOU HAVE. You already seem to have a solid boi case but make it stronger.... Plus id love to see this guys email about his firearms.

Frenchy,

I think my first post, pic, and vet disposition speaks enough for this and to be honest as much time as I've invested into this jerk...going back through emails would just be indirectly investing more time into him.

I just wanted to warn people about this guy because if I can save 1 person from going through this guy's b.s. it's worth it. I've actually been PM'ing another guy (not Tommy) who bought a sickly snake from him that died...he was scammed too...I hope he creates a separate thread once he is 100% sure it's the same guy...he is almost sure but still investigating.

You can also see another thread where this jackass tried to sell a Blood with inaccuate info on it (do a search for his name)...another attempted scam.

This guy deserves more than just being talked about on here...I wish he could get criminal charges...or BETTER!

Justin

 

[AbsoluteApril]

I've actually been PM'ing another guy (not Tommy) who bought a sickly snake from him that died...he was scammed too...

Anonymous statements are not allowed on the BOI. Name the person (or have them post to take ownership) or you may be subject to infraction.

I hope he creates a separate thread once he is 100% sure it's the same guy...

It is preferred if people use the EXISTING threads instead of creating new ones so as much information as possible is in one place.

 

[TexasSnake]

Anonymous statements are not allowed on the BOI. Name the person (or have them post to take ownership) or you may be subject to infraction.

That's what I was hoping they would do is take ownership...which is what I was promoting. I'm not going to post someone's name because it would be unethical and I wouldn't appreciate someone quoting me without my consent.




It is preferred if people use the EXISTING threads instead of creating new ones so as much information as possible is in one place.

I would think if there are separate occurrences involving the same party, it would be better to post them separately so their name shows up more frequently in searches and the individual issues don't get overlooked, being in encompassed in one thread. Ideally, it would make sense for someone to post a link in someone else's thread leading others to their thread. This way you now have 2 avenues to find out about a specific event and the thread stays on topic about the specific event.

I know I'm new here and hate that oftentimes in forums (other than just this one) people develop a perception of someone's wisdom based on the number of posts someone makes. I just had to conclude with this so that maybe my suggestions will be considered and not immediately shot down due to my limited number of posts.

Thanks for the feedback and I look forward to any response. Have a wonderful day...

Justin

 

[TexasSnake]

Anonymous statements are not allowed on the BOI. Name the person (or have them post to take ownership) or you may be subject to infraction.




It is preferred if people use the EXISTING threads instead of creating new ones so as much information as possible is in one place.

I would think if there are separate occurrences involving the same party, it would be better to post them separately so their name shows up more frequently in searches and the individual issues don't get overlooked, being in encompassed in one thread. Ideally, it would make sense for someone to post a link in someone else's thread leading others to their thread. This way you now have 2 avenues to find out about a specific event and the thread stays on topic about the specific event.

I know I'm new here and hate that oftentimes in forums (other than just this one) people develop a perception of someone's wisdom based on the number of posts someone makes. I just had to conclude with this so that maybe my suggestions will be considered and not immediately shot down due to my limited number of posts.

Thanks for the feedback and I look forward to any response. Have a wonderful day...

Justin

I obviously didn't use the correct quote format...please don't overlook my other response in the text box in the above post.

Thanks,
Justin

 

[AbsoluteApril]

I would think if there are separate occurrences involving the same party, it would be better to post them separately so their name shows up more frequently in searches and the individual issues don't get overlooked, being in encompassed in one thread.

Nope, as I stated, we prefer everything in one thread. From the 'Rules for posting on the BOI' shown below, if you have any questions or wish to continue discussion on this topic, let's move that to the Fauna Feedback Forum please so it doesn't become off topic here. http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8880:
"Please utilize the SEARCH function as much as possible before starting a new thread (topic line). In many instances, it is much better to continue an existing thread rather than starting a new one in order to preserve continuity in the information about a person or business. Most readers are much more inclined to read a single long thread, rather than dozens of smaller ones scattered all over the BOI. So don't let your message get lost in the clutter by ignoring this simple rule."

Are you going to name the source for the other statement you made?