• Responding to email notices you receive.
    **************************************************
    In short, DON'T! Email notices are to ONLY alert you of a reply to your private message or your ad on this site. Replying to the email just wastes your time as it goes NOWHERE, and probably pisses off the person you thought you replied to when they think you just ignored them. So instead of complaining to me about your messages not being replied to from this site via email, please READ that email notice that plainly states what you need to do in order to reply to who you are trying to converse with.

  • IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!! About the Google Adsense ads being displayed

    =====================
    Posted 08/15/2025
    =====================


    Yeah, I know. They are a pain in the butt. But they pay the bills to keep my server running. Just a fact of life, I am afraid.

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

    Is that too much for me to ask of you to keep this site running? Well, sorry about that. I too wish I could get everything for free. But alas.....

    =====================
    Addendum: 01/10/2026
    =====================


    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....

Top Shelf Exotics (Inquiry)

JIM, thank you so much !!!!

For some reason, as well intentioned as Nicholai and David may be, a modicum amount of common sense has to prevail here!
 
Wow!! I removed my vote primarily because I have never done any business with Chris. I would like to thank those who emailed me, those in need of help and make my offer public.....I will give 100 dollars to help fund leagal avenues for those seeking attorneys. I would also like to see others who have not been robbed by Chris to step up and help also. A trust would need to be set up, but I am willing to help from California!
 
I already have an attorney who is preparing the documents I need to file. The process isn't difficult but if you have friends you may as well ask for their help.

By the way my common sense tells me that my money is long gone so I might as well give up and move on.

Dave Schroeder
 
Dave, no one is suggesting that you "give up" but if you are going to spend money again that relates to "the adventures of Chris/TSE" make it a worthwhile financial venture. Having an attorney is the best course of action you can take as a first step. You are correct in that you will not see any monies out of this, but have the assurance of knowing that Chris will be pursued, and the outcome for him in the long term, will not be pleasant by any stretch of the imagination.
 
Laura Fopiano said:
I will give 100 dollars to help fund leagal avenues for those seeking attorneys. I would also like to see others who have not been robbed by Chris to step up and help also.
Click to expand...
Ya, I was thinking of auctioning off a group of 10 copies of the Cornsnake Morph Guide to help raise money for attorney fees. I am trying to figure out the best way to do that. Any suggestions?
 
The Blue Lagoon Pet Shop in Cheektowaga appears to have quite a reptile selection. Possibly they know Chris personally since he is in the same town and I believe it is the only pet shop.

Their tel. no. is public information since you can just google it. Don't know if it is ok to put it here though.



Kevin
 
Laura said:
I will give 100 dollars to help fund leagal avenues for those seeking attorneys. I would also like to see others who have not been robbed by Chris to step up and help also. A trust would need to be set up, but I am willing to help from California!
Click to expand...
Kelli said:
I would be willing to donate money to a fund to help out with any legal fees as well.
Click to expand...
Count me in as well.
 
KNOBTAIL said:
For some reason, as well intentioned as Nicholai and David may be, a modicum amount of common sense has to prevail here!
Click to expand...

The only problem with that logic is if someone doesn't move fast before he gets rid of everything or moves it elsewhere he can just say he sold it all and has nothing left, all the while he will be sitting on a 50-100,000 collection to get back into the trade with another name or company when he is done. What better way to prove to the court that he has valuable assets then to get video of photos of his business, reptiles, cars, and business. By the time the "LAWYER" or "ATTORNEY" get done with all the paper work and start legal proceedings he will appear to be destitute man who lost his business with no assets, no reptiles, no money, not even a pot to pee in.
What this all boils down to is you guys/gals as a group must figure out what is best for you collectively ( If that is your intention) in order to try and recover your money and possibly see him prosecuted for what he has done.
All of us on this thread that aren't financially tied in with this mess can only give you ideas and suggestions to help you out, which I can see we are all doing.
 
Nicholai, lets look at this intelligently! Get an attorney who is local, who knows the Erie County court system, and can represent several or all of you with a "bulldog mentality" Someone who may also have some pull in the DA's office.

Secondly, if Chris has any inventory, it is HIS! You cannot do anything until you have a judgement if its civil and then you can legally sieze whatever assets you can find. That would include his living animals, if they can be found, or even if you know where he is hiding them at other locations or other people holding them for him. But this is an unlikely scenerio. By now, I am sure , he must have sold off or taken his inventory underground , and they will never be found. He can easily claim they died, and he threw them out. So forget that approach. Your only recourse is that once you get a judgement, you can seize his assests if he opens a bank account, or attempt to place a lien on any property he may own. He cannot sell the property until he satisfies the judgement.
 
So I guess Rick, TC, and Higgins are out too?


All kidding aside, I would be interested in participating in a legal fund for those who were scammed by TSE.

I think a fund raising auction through Fauna would be a great way to get this done.
 

Attachments

  • not_magnum.jpg
    not_magnum.jpg
    5.2 KB · Views: 316
Nick,
Jerry is right about knowing where to focus. On top of it all, if you are trying to catch Chris "in the act" of something, he has already had seven days or so if he was going to "act", and has many many more to "act". So, are you going to pay for video surveillence for the next 20-30 days, to catch "something" on tape that may have already happened, and pony up $3K or so for a wild goose chase?
Jerry and I have traded some PM's on this, and without a doubt what Chris would hate the most is a local attorney putting some heat on him. He can ignore everything until it gets local.
As outlined before, and now with folks ready to offer some funds, one of you that has a claim and has some experience working with attorneys, can collect this money. Even if you are unsure of how to get a decent attorney up there, spend $100-150 for 30 minutes with a local attorney to get you a referral up there in NY. Then you will call that attorney, give them a brief outline, and he/she will tell you what they can do short-term, what you need to send info wise, and tell you how much to send as the initial retainer (my guess $500). They will likely want a one-page statement from each claimant who may be a party to any further action, to include receipts, PayPal statements, etc. Besides looking at the merit of the claims, the attorney will definitely research Chris's assets, and be a bit of a thorn in Chris's side.
Will you get anything? Only if there is something to be gotten. But you will have accomplished this much to date:

1) Chris is muzzled. That has to hurt.
2) Chris's income is severely crimped, especially the easy money from his internet scams. More than a few of us think that the reduced flow of income is hurting much much more than many realize.
3) A local attorney is his worst fear.

If nothing else, you'll have some answers. If you get nothing from him, you will at least know it was because there was nothing to be had, instead of thinking that Chris is sitting on a pile of assets and got away with your gold.
 
Since I have received animals, I'm not likely to benefit from a lawsuit against Chris. but I am willing to kick in a hundred for the attorney. I'll give two hundred for a picture of Chris in a jail cell. Let me know where to send the money.
 
Laura Fopiano said:
I will give 100 dollars to help fund leagal avenues for those seeking attorneys.
Click to expand...
KelliH said:
I would be willing to donate money to a fund to help out with any legal fees as well.
Click to expand...
Golden Gate Geckos said:
Count me in as well.
Click to expand...


If / when this gets set up, I'd appreciate it if someone let me know.
I'll contribute the same amount that I originally paid Chris for the geckos.
 
I think the outcome of this is much bigger than what happens to Chris/TSE. I think half the problem is that scammers don't see much in the way of consequences... there's really no deterrent because they just walk away laughing and counting their huge wad of ill-gotten cash.

Chameleon Company said:
But you will have accomplished this much to date:

1) Chris is muzzled. That has to hurt.
2) Chris's income is severely crimped, especially the easy money from his internet scams. More than a few of us think that the reduced flow of income is hurting much much more than many realize.
3) A local attorney is his worst fear.
Click to expand...
So I'd like to add to the list of what might be accomplished:

B) Instead of sending the message "future scammers beware: if you get caught you might have to give back a small fraction of the huge profits you made from scamming" it would actually send the message "if you scam you will be brought to justice."
 
I think a lot of attorneys offer a free initial consultation. They start charging if they take the case. Perhaps a few e-mails or phone calls to various New York attorneys will at least get a free referral or suggestion from one of them to an appropriate attorney.
 
A little off topic here, but is the poll on top of the page screwing things up for anyone else? Usually when I get a chance to log in I hit the "view first unread" button and pick up reading where i left off, since the poll was put up it just takes me to the last page. I think it is because i haven't voted in the poll, but there is no option to vote if you are merely following the situation. It is beginning to get tiresome trying to remember what page I left off at when trying to catch up to the latest posts in this thread. Maybe who ever started the poll can add a "just following the thread" vote or something along those lines. Thanks.
 
Back
Top