• Responding to email notices you receive.
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  • IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!! About the Google Adsense ads being displayed

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    Want to get rid of them? Simple. Just become a Contributor level member or above and they will be gone. -> Please click HERE."

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    Google Adsense ad revenue for December, 2025 was just $30 over the cost of the lease for the server running this site. So, in effect, the money providing the incentive for me to continue running this site is coming SOLELY from the paid memberships and sponsorships here. Which honestly ain't much....

Bad Guy Groundpounder (Dustin Draper, Craig Davis, Chris Anderson, Eddie Lopez) SCAMMER!!

You know what, sorry I even posted. I only posted to warn others because I did a search on Bradley Chaney and found nothing. I tried to "do my homework" and found nothing. And I'm sorry I have so many friends in the military and some that I have personally helped find a home for their dog or cat because they HAD TO GO NOW. And I'm sorry that I bought into his lies and his story. But I am NOT sitting here boo hooing that I got scammed. I am admitting I was foolish in believing him, what else do you want me to say???

And no I do not have the texts any longer, nor did I pre-record all of our phone conversations. This guy strung me out for over a month before he finally changed his number LAST WEEK. So no, I do not have the texts. Someone told me I could call Verizon and have them pulled but other people told me they cannot do that without a court order (??) so I don't know.

Bottom line is I am just trying to do whatever I can now, after the fact, to ensure this doesn't happen to someone else. Get off my case, and if you have nothing helpful to say then do us all a favor and go to another thread. Yes, the deal was "too good to be true" and as far as a human being goes, apparently, so am I. Too nice, too trusting, too willing to buy into someone's military story to help them out when they are in need. Yep, I guess I am too good to be true as well. Guilty as charged.
 
Laura, in the future, try to deal with people who have substantial positive feedback and history instead of going with someone who just lacks the negative. I know you probably figured that out by now, but sometimes it's worth a little extra cash to buy from a well respected seller.

Also, I don't blame you for wanting to lash out at internet dealings, but I'd encourage you not to do so completely. It is true that Rich and/or the Fauna mods did not catch this guy before he got you, but it isn't reasonable to expect them to. I think one of the things that made Fauna safer in the past was the ability for all users to post on the ads of suspected scammers. This cast doubt on deals such as yours and could have saved some headaches, but those days are gone. It's buyer beware!!
 
MikeCurtin said:
Laura, in the future, try to deal with people who have substantial positive feedback and history instead of going with someone who just lacks the negative. I know you probably figured that out by now, but sometimes it's worth a little extra cash to buy from a well respected seller.
QUOTE]

:iagree: At $100. per snake you are in scamville's zip code for sure.
Click to expand...
 
Groundpounder was looked at when the account turned up....but the guy won't post pics, emails, phone numbers, etc anymore because he's been caught so many times.

At what point did you find out that you were not interacting with Brad Chaney (the name on the groundpounder account)? Why would you not check the phone number, address, or any other name you were given?
 
most of the all time sayings are true, especially the one "if it sounds or looks to good to be true", well we all know the rest.

sometimes they are true, but if one is lookin at a, say what should be a 1000 dollar snake or so, and selliing it for 350 bucks, they are practically tapping you on the shoulder saying, "hey, this is a scam and im a bad person"

unless they are very well known and reputable and have only good feedback, if something seems like a smokin deal, research, research, research, then if all seems legit and honest, go ahead and do it
 
Laura, I'm sorry for your situation. I also followed your other BOI for awhile. I'm not placing blame or judgement in either direction, but I think what everyone is trying to get at is where in your research did you discover that Brad Chaney (with no record) was found to be this person. Was it that he was pictured to be the same guy via? Or his number that he gave you was really registered to this other person? Or? Everyone is trying to understand the process through which you have discovered all of this person's alias. I know you've found his criminal records and all his phone numbers and such, but what was the thread you followed to get there? It's not that anyone's calling you a liar, just that we need to understand the situation better in order to help.
 
Laura, sorry to hear that this happened to you.
What phone number is/was he using to text you?
Did you send the money via "snail mail", Paypal, other? What was the address?
 
Laura,
A similar situation happened to me a while back and here is what I did. I contacted the sheriffs department in his county and filed a complaint. I gave whatever evidence I had, which wasn't much, mostly just a MO reciept and a few emails. The local SO was actually suprisingly helpful. Long story short...I got my money back, granted it took a while and came in small monthly installments. So here is what I would suggest...don't contact this guy at all from here on out. Contact the sheriffs office or local city PD in his area and file a formal complaint. Provide whatever evidence you have. Thats all you can do. Hope that helps. The only way to make sure that we cut down on this kind of stuff in the reptile hobby...its to involve the authorities. This isn't a case of caveat emptor, its flat out theft.
 
Piece of advice from a guy who just retired from the military - If someone says they are leaving for the military, ask for their MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) and THEN ask what base/post. They should know where they will go to basic, AND where they will go to AIT (Advanced Individual Training) Once they give you that information, you can cross reference.

Once it was said "He said he was leaving for the military", and you said Fort Bragg, He was lying, the end.

The ONLY AIT that happens at fort Bragg is 18 series, and that is the Special Forces.

Ranger? There are NO RANGERS at Fort Bragg. Now before anyone starts to argue, I am a REAL Ranger, meaning I was stationed at 3rd BN at Fort Benning, and 2nd BN at Fort Lewis. The only other Ranger BN is Hunter Army Airfield, Fort Stewart.

The tab is a school, nothing more. The SCROLL, on the other hand, is a way of LIFE.

Ranger qualified at Fort Bragg? Sure, tens of thousands of them. More Ranger School candidates come from Fort Bragg each cycle than any other Army post. Ranger Bn Ranger? NONE.

This guy reminds me eerily of a guy who robbed me blind on Veiled Chameleons in the mid nineties. I would be interested to find out his age.

Now, here is what you do legally to get this fucker. 400 dollars is over the limit for Grand Theft. The money crossed state lines, which makes it Federal. Call the FBI, and tell them the guy is running an International Scam, and send this piece of trash off to be traded for cigarettes and long warm wee hour of the morning showers with Bubba and his buddies, all taking a turn.
 
csmgibeau said:
Piece of advice from a guy who just retired from the military - If someone says they are leaving for the military, ask for their MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) and THEN ask what base/post. They should know where they will go to basic, AND where they will go to AIT (Advanced Individual Training) Once they give you that information, you can cross reference.
Click to expand...

Sorry but that does not pertain to all branches of the military so it would not work.
 
As much as I respect those in service, the military is populated by humans which means some of them are not going to be good people, just like any other profession (doctors, priests, janitors, whoever)

Frankly anyone who tries to use their profession as a key to trust is probably abusing it.

I wouldn't base business decisions just on what kind of work someone has (although in this case I guess it was supposed to be a reason he had to sell snakes suddenly, but in general)
 
I remember when the military was an alternative to being sentenced to jail time. :shrug01: Of course that doens't pertain to all, but not everyone is as noble as they are made out to be. I've seen at least three people get kicked out from child pron :rolleyes:
 
csmgibeau said:
Now, here is what you do legally to get this f*****. 400 dollars is over the limit for Grand Theft. The money crossed state lines, which makes it Federal. Call the FBI, and tell them the guy is running an International Scam, and send this piece of trash off to be traded for cigarettes and long warm wee hour of the morning showers with Bubba and his buddies, all taking a turn.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice, I just contacted both the Henry County Police Dept and they wrote up a report and gave me a case number. I also contacted the FBI fraud department and they also wrote up a case.

If anyone else has dealt with this jerk and wants to be added to the list or give them information please let me know and I will send you the phone numbers and my case numbers for you to add your info to. The more info they have and the more people the add to the case the better the chance they will nail him. Thank you again.
 
csmgibeau said:
Piece of advice from a guy who just retired from the military - If someone says they are leaving for the military, ask for their MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) and THEN ask what base/post. They should know where they will go to basic, AND where they will go to AIT (Advanced Individual Training) Once they give you that information, you can cross reference.

Once it was said "He said he was leaving for the military", and you said Fort Bragg, He was lying, the end.

The ONLY AIT that happens at fort Bragg is 18 series, and that is the Special Forces.

Ranger? There are NO RANGERS at Fort Bragg. Now before anyone starts to argue, I am a REAL Ranger, meaning I was stationed at 3rd BN at Fort Benning, and 2nd BN at Fort Lewis. The only other Ranger BN is Hunter Army Airfield, Fort Stewart.

The tab is a school, nothing more. The SCROLL, on the other hand, is a way of LIFE.

Ranger qualified at Fort Bragg? Sure, tens of thousands of them. More Ranger School candidates come from Fort Bragg each cycle than any other Army post. Ranger Bn Ranger? NONE.

This guy reminds me eerily of a guy who robbed me blind on Veiled Chameleons in the mid nineties. I would be interested to find out his age.

Now, here is what you do legally to get this fucker. 400 dollars is over the limit for Grand Theft. The money crossed state lines, which makes it Federal. Call the FBI, and tell them the guy is running an International Scam, and send this piece of trash off to be traded for cigarettes and long warm wee hour of the morning showers with Bubba and his buddies, all taking a turn.
Click to expand...

Unrelated to this thread, this Gibeau fella appears to be a poser. I would be very cautious about doing business with him. If a person is unethical in one area of life, they tend to be unethical in all areas of life. It would be a good idea to spread the word that this guy is a poser. Google his name, user name, and email addresses for more info. He's all over the web acting morally superior and flaunting his fake rank and military experience.

I am not sure if I should make a BIO thread specifically for him, since I haven't done business with him but I feel a e responsibility to warn people about him in case he's a con artist. If it is inappropriate to post this in other people's threads, please let me know.

http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=210500&page=2

_____________________

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/0...ng-forged.html


A 42-year-old man has been charged with forgery for filing with Pierce County Superior Court a letter that allegedly falsely claims he received a domestic-violence evaluation from a local Veterans Affairs office.

The letter contains other falsehoods, prosecutors contend, including that John Paul Gibeau retired from the Army as a senior enlisted man with multiple deployments to the Middle East after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Judge Susan Serko on Tuesday issued a warrant for Gibeau’s arrest.

Prosecutors wrote in court documents filed Monday that Gibeau submitted the letter to the court in December, claiming to have received a domestic-violence evaluation from a doctor at the American Lake Veterans Affairs office.

The letter indicates Gibeau was a sergeant major in the Special Forces who’d been deployed to numerous combat zones overseas. It also states Gibeau’s only child died in a car wreck in 2006.

Gibeau provided the letter as part of his sentence from a 2009 fourth-degree assault conviction.

He was sentenced to one year in jail, but the sentence was suspended provided he maintained law-abiding behavior and sought a domestic-violence evaluation.

The letter, signed by Dr. Thomas Smith and stamped with a VA seal, states that Gibeau is not dangerous and that requiring him to attend anger-management classes could “retard his progress with his depression.”

“Medication and individual therapy is the recommendation indicated by both testing and myself after five one-on-one sessions and a review of his military and military medical record,” the letter states.

A Pierce County court commissioner relied on the letter in closing the case and terminating the court’s supervision of Gibeau, court records show.

A witness later informed the Pierce County Clerk’s Office that the letter was a fake and that Gibeau’s child was alive and well, court records show.

That tip was turned over to Veterans Affairs investigators, who discovered Gibeau received a bad-conduct discharge from the Army in 1996 with the rank of specialist.

“In an email, the VA police officer who investigated the matter indicated that the document is definitely forged and that the MD who signed the document does not exist,” deputy prosecutor Grant Blinn wrote in a declaration of probable cause.

Adam Lynn: 253-597-8644 [email protected] blog.thenewstribune.com/crime


Read more: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/0...#ixzz1KvD3uCwE
 
Ranger???

Really is a shame what happened to you, and I hope this guy gets what's coming to him. If your friends told you this guy was legit, the led you astray. If he was going into the Army to be a Ranger he would have to go to FT. Benning first, pass OSUT, then go to RIP, or go to a Ranger Batt, go to RIP, then go through Ranger School (which starts in Benning), then he could call himself a Ranger. This guy is a turd. Again, sorry for what happened to you.
 
tikigator said:
You know what, sorry I even posted. I only posted to warn others because I did a search on Bradley Chaney and found nothing. I tried to "do my homework" and found nothing. And I'm sorry I have so many friends in the military and some that I have personally helped find a home for their dog or cat because they HAD TO GO NOW. And I'm sorry that I bought into his lies and his story. But I am NOT sitting here boo hooing that I got scammed. I am admitting I was foolish in believing him, what else do you want me to say???

And no I do not have the texts any longer, nor did I pre-record all of our phone conversations. This guy strung me out for over a month before he finally changed his number LAST WEEK. So no, I do not have the texts. Someone told me I could call Verizon and have them pulled but other people told me they cannot do that without a court order (??) so I don't know.

Bottom line is I am just trying to do whatever I can now, after the fact, to ensure this doesn't happen to someone else. Get off my case, and if you have nothing helpful to say then do us all a favor and go to another thread. Yes, the deal was "too good to be true" and as far as a human being goes, apparently, so am I. Too nice, too trusting, too willing to buy into someone's military story to help them out when they are in need. Yep, I guess I am too good to be true as well. Guilty as charged.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't feel sorry at all about what you did. You brought to light a f'ing Jerk who tries to pass himself off as somebody he is not. It's true that not everybody in the military is a saint. But considering less than two percent of the population has served in our current war on terror, the number of a-holes in the military is a rather small number. I mainly just lurk on the BOI, so this is just from my perspective, but, a lot of people on here are "holier than thou". Which is a shame as the BOI should be used as a tool, not a place to make you feel stupid. Just my thoughts though.
 
joshtrout said:
Yeah, but it does for the Army, and that is what this guy said.
Click to expand...

This would lead one to believe that it applies to ALL of the branches since he said MILITARY and not Army.

csmgibeau said:
Piece of advice from a guy who just retired from the military - If someone says they are leaving for the military, ask for their MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) and THEN ask what base/post. They should know where they will go to basic, AND where they will go to AIT (Advanced Individual Training) Once they give you that information, you can cross reference.
Click to expand...

Had he said Army, he would be right, but stating military could lead one to believe this applies to all branches and not just the Army. Someone else could use this "tool" on an honest person in another branch and be determined a scammer because this person does not have an MOS.

You are right, he did refer to the Army, however, at the time of that post, it was a general tip. It would not have helped the situation that already passed.
 
UPDATE

Just an update...there is a current investigation being conducted on Dustin Draper. I have been in close contact with the detective assigned to the investigation with the Henry County PD (actually spoke with him about 5 minutes ago). They are researching phone records from both my phone and Sprint (the numbers he was using). As of right now they are still gathering evidence and also waiting on a subpoena from Walmart to retrieve video footage of him and the wife picking up the money I sent.

I will keep you all posted.
 
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