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Bad Guy Paul Kurnava is at it again buyers beware

Well, guess he got me, too. Unfortunately I was unaware of this thread 'till it had already gone down & I Google'd his email address.
I've posted twice in the Monitor Classifieds looking for a Nile. Apparently he saw my want ad & emailed me. Here's how THAT went:

Paul Jr [email protected]
Aug 12 (11 days ago)

to me
I have a 2 foot Ornate Monitor if your interested. There just like niles but have different color tongs and have less spots on them, the do get the same size

PS3's FooF-Diesel
Aug 12 (11 days ago)

to Paul
Thanks for contacting me. I like Ornates as well. Is he/she healthy?
If so, what are you looking to get for him/her & where are you
located?
~Keith

Paul Jr [email protected]
Aug 12 (11 days ago)

to me
Asking $100 located in Cleveland Ohio Healthy as can be


PS3's FooF-Diesel
Aug 12 (11 days ago)

to Paul
Do you have a couple pictures?

Paul Jr [email protected]
Aug 12 (11 days ago)

*here he sent 2 pix of what looks like a Nile to me, not an Ornate, but I figured he was just an idiot*

PS3's FooF-Diesel
Aug 13 (10 days ago)

to Paul
Oh wow, gorgeous! Well, I'm really interested to say the least.
Unfortunatly I don't have the time/ability to make a trip to
Cleavland. If you wer in Toledo or somewhere closer I'd gladly make
the 3-4 hour trip, but Cleavland is a loooong way from where I'm at.
Would you consider shipping? I don't like to ask, but I don't see any
other option at present.

Paul Jr [email protected]
Aug 13 (10 days ago)

to me
Yes! I'm fine with shipping. With shipping it would be $175

PS3's FooF-Diesel
Aug 13 (10 days ago)

to Paul
I'd love to take it as long as you can hang on a few days for me to get the funds together! Let me know.
Thanks,
~KM

Paul Jr [email protected]
Aug 14 (9 days ago)

to me
OKay, when you are ready I'll send you my paypal account and send me your info


PS3's FooF-Diesel
Aug 14 (9 days ago)

to Paul
Will do. I'll be as quick as I can to round up the funds and let you know. Thanks again!
Just out of curiosity, you don't have any Tokay Geckos, do you?

Paul Jr [email protected]
Aug 14 (9 days ago)

to me
I do have quite a few. Males and females. I'd only get rid of the juvi TG. I have about 10.15 (10 males and 15 females) not sure I'd have to do a head count. I'd ask $20 a head plus shipping.

PS3's FooF-Diesel
Aug 16 (7 days ago)

to Paul
Hi Paul, just wanted to let you know that I will have payment in full ready for you first thing Monday morning if you still have the Monitor. I will have to get a pre-paid card to make a PayPal payment if you want it through PayPal. I could also Western Union you the money, saving you PayPal fees. Either way is fine, just let me know which is best for you. I remembered a few questions I had, too.
What is the Monitor eating at this time?
You mentioned it is 2' long, is that snout to vent or snout to tail-tip?
And are you sure it's an Ornate? An associate of mine agrees it looks a lot like his West African Nile. Either way I'm happy with it.
Thanks,
~KM

Paul [email protected]
Aug 17 (6 days ago)

to me
It is a ornate. Its eating eggs and rats you can use western union it would be a lot better.

PS3's FooF-Diesel
Aug 17 (6 days ago)

to Paul
Sounds good man! I don't know how Western Union works, but My wife works at K-Mart & deals with the WU machine all the time. She will be sending it around 7-8am Monday & said she needs your address. Then once she sends it she'll call me with the number you need to pick up the payment and you can pick it up at any Western Union within 50 miles of your zip code. So send me your address and a phone number I can contact you at to let you know the security number.
Thanks & talk to you Monday! :)

Paul [email protected]
Aug 17 (6 days ago)

to me
3845 east 71st 44105 Cleveland Ohio my cell phone number is 2163555773 if I don't answer keep calling. Thank you!

Paul [email protected]
Aug 19 (4 days ago)

to me
Just wondering about Monday.

PS3's FooF-Diesel
Aug 19 (4 days ago)

to Paul
All a go. My wife gets paid Sunday night and we'll get the Western Union sent when she goes in to work at 7am Monday morning. :) Will you be able to ship him Monday or will it be later? Just need to know when to be home for delivery. You shipping FedEx I'm assuming?
Thanks,
~Keith

Paul Jr [email protected]
Aug 19 (4 days ago)

to me
I would ship when I get the money (I don't know to much how WU works) if it's same day I'll ship that day or tuseday/wed.

PS3's FooF-Diesel
Aug 19 (4 days ago)

to Paul
Yup, I'll call you around 9 tomorrow morning with the #
and you can go pick up the cash right then.

Paul Jr [email protected]
Aug 19 (4 days ago)

to me
Oh wow, okay. I'll have to get up early haha. I'll be up at 8 so just call when ever.

PS3's FooF-Diesel
Aug 19 (4 days ago)

to Paul
If later in the day is better for you I can call later on. :)
My wife filled out the WU form today so it's ready to send tomorrow. There is a security/test answer, so if they ask what the "test answer" is, it's just "Monitor". I'll call when it's convenient for you tomorrow with the transaction number. Thanks again!
~Keith

Paul [email protected]
Aug 19 (4 days ago)

to me
Okay and no that's good I have a lot to do tomorrow so that will work perfect thanks!!

*Here is where I called him, around 9am Monday, Aug 20th 2012, then the next email is me sending him my shipping address*

PS3's FooF-Diesel
Aug 20 (3 days ago)

to Paul
Keith Marsh
206 McClellan Blvd.
Houghton Lake, MI 48629

PS3's FooF-Diesel
Aug 20 (3 days ago)

to Paul
Hey Paul. Just making sure everything went alright with the WU. Let me know. :) Tnx.
~KM

Paul [email protected]
Aug 20 (3 days ago)

to me
Yes it did I got caught up today I'll call you tomorrow with the info on the ornate

PS3's FooF-Diesel
Aug 20 (3 days ago)

to Paul
Great, sounds good! Talk to you then!

PS3's FooF-Diesel
Aug 21 (2 days ago)

to Paul
Any word?

Paul Jr [email protected]
Aug 21 (2 days ago)

to me
Sorry I lost your number. I'm forced to push back a day and tomorrow call me around 3pm and I'll give you the info. Sorry about the delay!

PS3's FooF-Diesel
Aug 21 (2 days ago)

to Paul
Hmm... alright, just try to make sure it gets sent tomorrow for
safety's sake. Don't want it sitting in the cold over a weekend or
something. My number is (989)-220-5919 if you need to call before 3,
otherwise I'll talk to you tomorrow @ 3. Thanks.
~KM

Paul Jr [email protected]
8:54 AM (21 hours ago)

to me
I'm unable to take your call at 3. Here is the number.
1z 2bq 947 16 2904 251 9

PS3's FooF-Diesel
12:44 PM (17 hours ago)

to Paul
Who did you ship with?
I got no result for that number at FedEx, UPS, USPS or DHL.
Maybe double check the number? Hmm...

*between the last email & the next, I called him twice. First time around 2pm, no answer. Second time around 6pm, he answered and used the excuse that he must have typed the number wrong and he'd double check it when he got home from work... every other word he said in the conversation was "uhh...".*

PS3's FooF-Diesel
12:13 AM (6 hours ago)

to Paul
Well, hey man, I hate to do it, but I've been SUPER patient with all your delays and your not calling and now not even responding to emails. When I called earlier you said you must have typed the tracking number wrong and you'd call me after work, but here it is 12am and nothing. You have to know how it looks from my perspective. My wife made sure to get you the full amount, which was 90% of her paycheck and even sent it Western Union to the tune of $12 more so that you would not only avoid PayPal fees, but ship the package on Monday, and still nothing. You claim you shipped, but then sent us an invalid UPS tracking number, which the customer service operator at UPS confirmed was not a valid number. If you did in fact send the package, then it will be here by 6pm Thursday. If I don't receive it by then and don't hear from you I'll have to file a police report to get my wife's money back. I have the entire email log & the WU receipt. If you did send and it arrives Thursday, I apologize completely and the issue will be dropped, but you should work on your communication & shipping habits before you offer to sell someone something.
Sorry, but I have a wife, 3 daughters and plenty of bills that money SHOULD have gone towards. I can't afford to just GIVE you $175. Feel free to call me if you can clear any of this up.
~Keith Marsh

*then I spent the day stressing over it only to Google his email around 5am today and find this thread. With my first Nile experience going poorly and now being ripped off for more than I could even afford to spend, I guess I'm just not supposed to have one* :'(
 
Western Union... wouldn't that be considered Wire Fraud? Maybe even conspiracy to commit mail fraud due to the fake tracking numbers. I'm just saying, he seems to be racking up quite a list of crimes.

Call the police:

Michael McGrath
Chief of Police
1300 Ontario St.
Cleveland, Ohio 44113
P: 216.623.5000

File a police report.

Or try it online: HERE (bottom of the page)

Try Facebook messaging his mother: http://www.facebook.com/ChrisyKurnava
 
Josh, I agree, he is really backing himself into a corner, not only in this tight-knit community, but in the legal sense, as well. Sorry to hear this happened to you as well. Ive been in the hobby for a long time now, and this is my first time getting scammed. Im usually way more alerted by what transpired with him and I, but for some reason, I went with my gut, and my gut (which is usually spot on with these things) was wrong.
 
He actually wasted his time responding:

"On Thu, Aug 23, 2012 at 12:29 PM, Paul Jr <[email protected]> wrote:
Sorry I moved lastnight, No longer in Cleveland. Here is my new address 8007 Kenton Avenue, Parma, OH. it's says you've revised it already."

Wait... what? "Revised"? I think hes trying to say i "received" the animal. However, of course, nothing. Oh and ReticGuy, that's just mindblowing that we got the exact same tracking number! What are the odds, eh?! Yyyyyeah, I kinda figured that statement would show up from someone. I agree though, he's the first one that's "got" me, too. I'll come back and share my results on trying to get my funds returned.
 
Since no one has mentioned doing so, I just sent his mother a message through FB, outlining the situation and providing a link to this thread. Most likely a pointless act, but who knows, maybe she cares enough to get involved and apply some peer pressure.
 
ByRandom said:
Call the police:

Michael McGrath
Chief of Police
1300 Ontario St.
Cleveland, Ohio 44113
P: 216.623.5000

File a police report.
Click to expand...

Well, I tried this first. I was transfered to another line where I was told to call back tomorrow between 6 & 7am to speak with the man who handles out of town fraud cases because he had left for the day. The number the woman I spoke with gave me is 216-621-1234
 
I just read all 20 pages and I feel like I read a book with no ending... lol Any updates? I'll never understand people that scam people.
 
the kidd is trying to become members of some facebook groups and he has been outted by Dave and myself with links to these threads........folks you must understand there is more than one place where scum can sell herps they dont have
 
John Apple said:
the kidd is trying to become members of some facebook groups and he has been outted by Dave and myself with links to these threads........folks you must understand there is more than one place where scum can sell herps they dont have
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot Facebook and craigslist.
 
Well, my outcome so far is just a waste of my time and effort. I contacted the Cleveland PD and spoke with the "Expediter" or whatever who files the reports for out-of-town things like this. He asked 50-60 questions regarding the incident, gathered all the information on the issue, had me put together all the information I had, period, and THE said "well, since it was such a SMALL AMOUNT OF MONEY, nothing will happen now unless I bring all the evidence to Cleveland, then we will put out a warrant on this guy". So yeah, being that Cleveland is about 7-8 hours from where I live, I'd have no way to go about it now. I love how almost my wife's entire paycheck is such a small amount of money to this guy. I'm sorry but I'm not rich and $175 is a LOT of money to my family. I dunno, I just give up. I'll never get a Nile Monitor I guess. I did correspond with this kid a couple more times and it went like this:

-----------------------------------

PS3's FooF-Diesel [email protected]
Sep 2 (6 days ago)

to Paul
So here's a question... no hate or BS, but... why would you pick the
reptile trade to do the stuff you pull? Really, I mean, isn't there
somewhere else you could profit more, or hell, even legitimately?
Straight up, real talk. I've done some sh*tty sh*t when I was younger,
too, so I feel you, but honestly, it's not worth it for the end
result. Sh*t has a way of catching up with you later on in life. I'm
supposed to turn in our email transcript to Cleveland PD via fax as a
follow-up to the report I filed & then a warrant can be issued.
However, I'd have to show up for court for them to prosecute you,
which would just cost me more money. It's open-ended, so if I decide
you're just being an a*shole in general, it might become worth my
costs, but I'd like to hear your story before any decisions are made.
Don't feed me any bullsh*t one line response, just tell me what
reason(s) you have for making your choices. I'm also not asking you to
say anything incriminating either. Be as discreet as you want, but do
respond.
Take care,
~Keith

Paul
Sep 2 (6 days ago)

to me
Okay well see I have a small collection my self of reptiles containing 1 ten foot retic, 1 fourteen foot albino Burmese python 2 4 foot Nile monitors and I also have a son. He is 4 years old and honestly it's next to impossible to make ends meet I'm only 18 and I work two jobs I still live with my mother. I pay rent, I put food on the table for my son and I just need the extra money so I can send him off to a good school and buy him the things he needs. I'm already selling all my reptiles, I've also sold my car. And I've done things I'm not proud of but it was the only way. I'm not sure if you can relate to what I'm going through but it's hard. My mom is kicking me out in 3 weeks and I still don't have the money I need to find a house to stay at. I didn't mean to do any harm but I just had to.

PS3's FooF-Diesel [email protected]
Sep 2 (6 days ago)

to Paul
Well, I disagree with "you had to", because there's always alternatives in life. You don't ever "have to" when it comes to stealing. Other than that, yeah, I can grasp the concept of feeling financially helpless. I've been there a few times in 32 years. Lived in my car when I was 17 for a year... a little a*s rusted Toyota... and I'm 6'5" & 260lbs... it was cramped to say the least. Depended on friends for a meal here and there, showers & occasional laundry. When I met my wife in 2002 we took off together and lived in a tent for months, then in her Explorer for a while. So yeah, I'm familiar with desperation & anxiety due to monetary insufficiency. I know what it's like to be scared of what tomorrow holds. I also know what it feels like to be constantly looking over your shoulder. It makes you sick at night. I've lived it. I wish I could give you sound advice but each person has to live their life and learn some things as they come. I also know what we will do for our children. I've been charged with retail fraud before... one particularly bad year... a couple weeks before Christmas. I have 3 daughters, 2, 6 & 8. I'm sure you see the connection. I'll stop rambling on, but for whatever it's worth, I have no intentions of going to Ohio to see a prosecutor in Cleveland. I can't afford it right now, and come February when I CAN afford it, I'd be surprised if I even gave a sh*t anymore. I don't think what you did to me was by any means acceptable or even forgivable. You're pretty douchey in my book. But there's no point in making you miserable... well... there is... but you know what I mean. Relax. Maybe you'll do me a solid one day. Only thing I can say is "find a new source of income". Eventually, someone less understanding WILL catch up to you, if the legal system doesn't first. Live & learn... both of us.
~KM

Paul
Sep 2 (6 days ago)

to me
Thank you for understanding. It's not everyday you find someone that has went through you you are going through... I don't plan on doing this any more. I have already looked into a 3 rd job and I have a buddy picking all my reptiles up tomorrow so that I'll still have them but not in my care. I know it wasn't the right thing to do but I've given so much up. I guess it's hard being a single parent. Once more, thank you. I promise you I will keep your email and when I do get back on my feet I'll pay you back.

---------------------------------
That was the last we'll probably ever speak, and who knows how much of his story is true, but whatever. I can't do anything more about it.
 
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