I am asking for help from any forum members in or around the Ft. Myers, FL area. Apparently a con man by the name of Paul S. Webster (the S is for Stephen) has taken myself and several others for several thousand dollars (almost $10,000) with a bogus gun auction here on the Campfire.

He ran or did run a finance executive search firm and his cell phone has been disconnected. I would appreciate any information anyone can dig up on him...including phone number, address, wife or ex-wife's name, etc. He was supposedly going through a divorce and that was his reason for selling the guns. This guy gives sellers on all forums a bad name. I have done many of these transactions with no problems until now.

Any help would be appreciated.

One other thing...his user name on this and other forums has either been Keez or KeezParrot. He has been on The Firing Line, Gunbroker, and here. This has been reported to the authorities but those of us who have been burned want to put as much heat on this scumbag as possible.

A thread about this is also in the Hunters Campfire forum with other information.

Get a Rope.....

Hope you nail the scum bag... I've been buying and selling stuff for years both on line and years ago through the Gunlist. I always had the impression or good fortune to find that gun owners as a whole a honest lot. This guy isn't a gun owner he is POS.

Easy money for a scam artist. Thats a shame. Take a good group of people who deal with honor, and honorable intentions, and steal from them. Individual acts like this can ruin the atmosphere of our forums, and that kind of theft can really put the hurt on an individual. Sorry to hear of your misfortune. I hope the catch the scumbag.

Very sorry to hear this.... Bump to the top...... sure hope he gets caught

What does the Ft. Myers PD say about this? I would also image the BATF would be interested in this as well. Could be a federal crime. Hopefully putting him away for a long time.

I actually offered him a few dollars less than the Buy it Now for the Sako. I am so glad that he was gready and rejected my offer. A Real Scumbag for sure.

I wish I was able to help.

Personally, I'd spend a thousand to recover a ten dollar bill that I was cheated out of. I'd suggest that all of those affected get up a caravan and head on down to Ft. Meyers and bring this matter to a head.

You probably won't find him if you go to Ft Myers... If you were smart enought to use the US Mail contact the Postal Inspectors. If you were even smarter and used a USPS Money Order then you might do even better with the Postal Inspectors.

Good luck...

$bob$

not to rub salt in anyone's wounds ... but unless I know the person pretty well, or am only sending about $25 or less, I always use a USPS money order and send thru the US Postal Service ... for exactly the reasons that Bob (LDHunter) stated above ...

Just another level of insurance in case of a snafu ...


I hope, just like everyone else, that this con artist gets his just-due ...

I always send usps money orders,although I have heard its not much help

I used USPS mo to this scumbag.

I've filed the forms (and paid the fee) to the post office I bought them from to have what ever type of proof of cashing the instrument they provide.

I've never filed a claim with the USPS for "mail fraud" so I'm guessing I have to have the proof the MOs were cashed before I move forward with the inspectors.

If any of you have filed a claim I'd like to hear about the process.

gary

as some one who lost $1500 to a guy like this several years ago ( on Gunbroker ) and I did use a US Postal Money order ,sent thru the US Mail i can tell you from first hand experiance the Postal Inspectors aren't going to do a danm thing, sure they will take a report and that will be about it

so if you want to get your money back you had better have some one in the area go get him in person

good luck , i never did get my money back nor did i ever receive my guns

well, I still think I am surrounded by a good group of guys here on the campfire.

if I get taken, it will be because I treated them the way I would treat a good friend. with honesty.

these guys make it simply no fun in our horse trading. but, I'll keep on shopping and enjoying it from you knuckle-heads.

Yeah, I agree.

Even if I don't get my money, I can say that I have come closer to a real nice bunch of guys.
And, I still think the the vast majority of the guys/gals here are straight up honest people.

1 apple doesn't spoil the bunch here!

Welcome to the Forum HAWK58

+1 In my mind the idea that a USPS money order provides you some sort of protection or options to get your money back is a myth. I have filed two claims with the USPS for substantial amounts of money and it did me absolutely no good.

Everytime I hear the mail fraud, Postal Money order stories and how people can file and be protected I chuckle. Not because I find people getting screwed funny, but because of the myth as yaderhey states surrounding the USPS giving a rats behind!


Bought a "98% condition/original" Atlas lathe bed and other related parts from a lying MN Ebay seller. Pd with a postal money order and mailed it USPS priority. Well bed was altered and useless. Filed a dispute with Ebay after he wouldn't return calls or emails. Ebay did nothing except cancel dispute on me despite him finally admitting he never knew it was altered and even offered a partial refund but never did send it. Called local PO and Postmaster gave me an eliminate red tape #. After 3 transfers I talked to a Beverly in USPS legal dept. I could file a claim but she didn't think it would fall into their criteria for mail fraud. She also knew of NO USPS regulations where paying someone with a Postal Money Order and getting screwed had any stiffer penalties then any other form of payment. Long story short, I have several hundred pounds of cast iron that cost me $400.

Moral of the story in resolving issues with internet thieves IS legal means and/or dealing with people with integrity or convincing them it is in their best interest to resolve the issue. Moral of the story IS NOT having faith in the USPS and its laws, regulations and employees giving a [bleep]!

EXACTLY!!! THEY ARE WORTHLESS AND SERVE NO PURPOSE I CAN DETECT. GREAT USE OF OUR TAX AND POSTAGE DOLLARS...NOT!! I WAS TAKEN BY TOM SCHNESK FOR $650.00, FILED A COMPLAINT AND WAS PROMPTLY IGNORED COMPLETELY.

THE USPS SUX AND IS GETTING WORSE EVERY DAY.

btt, there goes the trust on the USPS.

You know, this is kinda sneaky, but it worked for me. I had an SOB stick me for 600 bucks for a ham radio on Ebay (go figure) anyway, like you said USPS was no help. So I had a friend from another state send him a personal check for like 28 bucks with a note stating that the check was for some bogus item bought on Ebay. The dumb ass actually cashed the check! Gave that to the police and within about 3 weeks that bastard was behind bars. His own greed got him caught. Just my 2 cents (no pun intended)

Doug

Oh my God....that's awesome!!!

That's a wonderfully sneaky approach, and well worth another $28. Chalk one up for the good guys!

KEEZ---Probably headed for the KEYS in FL..If you catch my drift.

Keez stayed at a hotel called the Magnolia Mansion and posted about it on tripadvisor....

Maybe the Mansion has his info?

Here's where he posted.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUser...nolia_Mansion-New_Orleans_Louisiana.html

Send him a "certificate" that he won a free week stay at the hotel, and meet him there....

Greeting party of about 6 guys with baseball bats.

Don't hold your breath on Postal Inspectors, remember they are Fedreral employees. They prioritize cases based on monetary loss. Considering the millions the Chinese are stealing due to counterfeit Postal Money Orders your loss is a paltry sum.

It is brilliant. However if he's logging on here it won't work.

Guys... If you don't have any evidence to offer the Postal Inspectors then you're acting like a victim.

Before you send money to someone that doesn't have stellar reputation here or from some other reputable source you should get all their phone numbers and actually test them. Cross reference their home phone to make sure they're the listed person for that phone number and if it's serious money, check property records online.

Five minutes of research can save you a lot of grief later. If people aren't willing to share their home phone number that's registered to them, or can't let me call their work number and ask for them, I decline to do business with them.

Then if you have all that info you can turn it over to the Postal Inspectors and give them something to go on rather than your stupid move of sending money to some nobody that can easily just disappear because they own no property, have no roots, and have no job where employers have info on them.

Whining and crying because the USPS won't fix our stupid mistakes isn't very manly, or smart is it? Take responsibility for your own actions. The government doesn't have enough manpower to protect us from ourselves and our stupid actions.



$bob$

I just posted this link over on snipershide.com. Those fellas really hate con artists. Hopefully one of them will be able to help ya'll out.

I got stiffed for 400 once...USPS type affair...I pd the fee and filled out the paperwork...Months,maybe years later,I got a letter from the Fed's...stated I was one of about 10 people to put in a claim on the fella.He got arrested and convicted and sentenced to 3-4 years in TX,IIRC.I don't reckon I'll ever see the restitution that he was to pay.He had a bunch of aliases also.

Thinkin his name was Ronald Parker.