At A Crossroads

yeah that is exactly what I told him there’s no synchro for 1st, but there is for 2nd/3rd.  Every time I confronted him with facts he just deflected and finally told me the conversation was going nowhere and to go ahead and contact his CofC, that they wouldn’t do anything. 

Edited by Cinnabear - 07 July 2018 at 7:15am

Deliberate misrepresentation does sound kinda fraud-like, which leans toward the criminal... ask your local prosecutor for a legal opinion, just for the heck of it.

The guy didn’t tell you anything you didn’t already know, albeit the hard way.  So, here you are.  As an engineer I’m trained to dispassionately “work the problem”.  Anything that doesn’t forward a solution is wasted effort.  What follows is my opinion.

What he said above. You're going to eat yourself up over this if you let it. As a disabled vet, I imagine your health is not 100%. Ongoing angst over this could be more detrimental to your health than its worth. You have made your point with him. Its time to move on and focus your efforts on getting the jeep roadworthy. You have a good plan with Herm, move forward. The therapy of driving the repaired jeep will ease the pain.

I'm not saying that the guy isn't a scumbag.  I don't know him, so I can't speak for him.  But there are people who just don't really know what they are talking about.  Maybe he spent $10,000 on it.  A lot of people would think that, add some value for the labor and it ought to be worth $13,000.  We all know it's not, but maybe he didn't.  Everything else also COULD be that he thought is was great but just didn't have a clue.  Again, I'm not saying that's the case here, just offering another possibility.  If someone tells you something that's not true, it's only a lie if he knows it isn't true.

Edited by Nothing Special - 07 July 2018 at 2:05pm

This is a sad affair....on the one hand we have a less than 100% mechanically inclined buyer who took what the seller told him at face value and bought that POS. On the other hand we have an unscrupulous seller who either is the dumbest SOB or is smart like a fox (I tend to see the seller as the latter).

So, where to go from here? As I have gotten older I have learned to understand the phrase "caveat emptor" might mean to some that the buyer is at fault here for not being as mechanically as inclined as he needed to be to sort out this POS BEFORE forking over his money. It might also mean that the seller wasn't smart enough to know the faults of the vehicle and explain them in detail BEFORE the sale was completed in language even a novice could understand.

It can also mean that while the buyer needs to be as aware as possible about checking out the vehicle BEFORE buying it, there are "scumbags" who will knowingly sell a defective vehicle if they find a buyer who isn't sharp enough to sort that out BEFORE the sale.

I think this is the case here....Now, where to go from here? Well, you won't get your money back but unless your religion prevents you from exacting some retribution here, you are well within your rights to OUT this bum

I had a guy on the G503 site buy a GPA engine from me and he never completed the deal which was to provide me with a GPW engine. That's called theft in my book. Since he lives in Belgium, Jaap Reitveld is not easy to get at. He's ripped off so many people he doesn't announce the jeep meets he will attend or when he might "drop by" to pick up stuff he has bought.

I never got the engine, but I did raise awareness on G503 and...I got him permanently banned from the G503. That was the best I could do.

Bringing this back to your situation I am 100% behind the idea you send a letter to the Base Commander at Fallon and the JAG officer if they have one and very politely explain the issue in no more than TWO pages. Be sure that both of them know the other is getting a copy. Beyond that, I think it VERY important you post his name here and prevent another newbie from this guy.

He has no conscience obviously, but Base Commanders and the military in general don't allow con men/women in their ranks and certainly after getting a letter like this are reluctant to file it away and ignore it if the problem comes up later on. Maybe you can ask that YOUR letter be put into his file as a warning to any service persons considering him for anything that requires either some ethics or some honesty.

Print his name, rank and serial number if you have it and send the letters. Be sure you note that he dared you to send them as he believed nothing would happen to him if you did.

NCIS is on the base too. Let them know. The more the merrier. Make your case for fraud. They have jurisdiction in 50 states and can use wire fraud statutes.Micah 

His statement of everything being gone through are fraudulent and you have documents and, I hope some statements, to support it. He used an electronic communication device to further his fraudulent activities by posting it on the eWillys site and any emails you might have. If you lay it all out to NCIS, maybe they will open a case. The US Attorney's Office in Nevada will not prosecute. I'm familiar with what they will do. With that, they may take him to Captain's Mast for conduct unbecoming. Include a print out of this public forum in your submission. Take your time and make a logical documented submission. Usually, you have to spoon feed it to them.

Not to start any arguments, NCIS is not solely bound to enforcement under the UCMJ. They have authority under Title 18 USC. See Section 7 - Mission and Functions