1. Am I in trouble?
2. How can I get my money back if the seller doesn't cooperate?
3. What happens next?
1. You're not in trouble.
2. If the seller doesn't cooperate, you'll have to sue him. Whatever "agent" is involved in recovery will no doubt follow the paper trail back and try to find the one who stole the gun in the first place.
It would, by the way, be pretty dumb to "lose the gun" since it's already established that you received it. That would get you into trouble.
I'm with this guy 100 percent.
You are not in trouble. You bought it in good faith and not knowing.
The local police have nothing to do with you getting your money back!
You are not likely to get any money back from the seller. Actually everyone down the line would have to go back to the pawn shop. And he is not likely to reimburse you.
Calling a lawyer is even dumber than telling the police to get your money back. That will only cost you more money and make the $500 seem like it was very cheap.
If you bought it from a listing on Gunbroker they may reimburse you some.
Don't even think of "losing it" like someone said. That WILL get you arrested. Then the $500 will look very cheap compared to the lawyer fees and fines, etc. Paperwork already shows that you had possession.
Best of luck to you on this. Just be glad it wasn't more expensive.
I agree with most everything said here. Here's my opinion on this.
The only person you can get your money back from is the seller. You have no claims against who he bought it from. If he refunds the money, he in turn has to go after the person or business that sold it to him for whatever amount he paid for it.
Lawyer - nope. For $500.00 it's not worthwhile.
I truly doubt if local police will do anything to help you recover the money. That's not their job. The money end of it is a civil matter. The law enforcement officer invovled might make a suggestion to the seller to reimburse you, but that's as far as he could go with it.
As far as keeping the gun without pursuing this now - nope. It could come back to haunt you later. If you don't hear anything soon, contact the seller and ask for the name and contact info of the law enforcement officer that contacted him.
If the guy won't reimburse you - small claims court. IMO, it'd be a slam dunk as long as you had
all the proper paperwork to prove you unknowingly received stolen property. A copy of the ad, canceled check/proof of payment, FFL transfer and a police report detailing the circumstances.
One thing though. Winning in small claims court is not a guarantee that he'll actually pay you. There's other hoops to jump through if he doesn't choke the money up willingly.
edited to add: If the seller doesn't give you the contact info for the law enforcement officer involved ............ I'd be inclined to inquire whether it is stolen property or not with local law enforcement. Keeping a stolen firearm in your possession is not a good idea. I wouldn't want it.
