Due to unpopular demand, and cries for justice we have been forced to
acknowledge that bad guys do exist in the world of pinball. Mr. Pinball
sincerely regrets having to list anybody on this page.
The Worst of the Worst--Certified Crooks
Below we have listed those who are actively being sought by law enforcement,
or have an legal judgement against them. Do not deal with these
people--CALL THE POLICE!
If you know someone who should be listed below please let us know. It is
very hard to get on this list. Everyone has sold a 'lemon', or has had a
deal go sour. Honest individuals will try hard to compensate for these
things happening. Dishonest people make a living doing this. Please do not
nominate someone because they shipped you something and it had a scratch on
it.
If you are aware of any incorrect information listed below or have
additional information we should include please contact us.Name: Stephen Anderson Aliases: Mark Uttley, Marc Uterly, Mark David Uttley, Mark Seed (8/2007), Marc, Mark Bridges,
David Simmonds, Doug, NeetStuff4u, Dave, David, Ann Seed, Paul Winters, Serge,
Darina Ana Bokrosova (an acquaintance who was tricked into providing him Internet access),
Larrs Stanton, Andrew Denton, Steve McPhee. Sometimes uses friend's name--Ross. Sometimes uses an
innocent individual, Tim Vandalen, to help him with machines. Claims to be
related to a Christopher Seed 1-905-928-6631, but the person on the phone
claims they don't know Mr. Anderson (who claimed to be Dave Seed at the time.) On-line Forum IDs: audioasis, and mustang sammy on canuckaudiomart.com
pinutts and pinutts73 on MAACA. See this
and this
for discussion about his true identity being disclosed in August, 2006.
Has used madeinengland73, valvehifi, turnsmywheel, pin_doc, classichevy57,
analog_corner, monte710, m_mechanical (8/2006), the_sound_barrier (12/2006),
beam_echo (3/2007), mrfixxxxxxxxxxit (4/2007), gladioly68 (an account stolen
from a former acquaintance--6/2007), doc_brown1955 (8/2007), weird_stuff_ca (12/2007), and pinball_doc (2/2008) as eBay IDs.
Some of these IDs no longer exist. May have used 6893jenn as an eBay ID, but
not confirmed. Business Names: Mr. Amusement Canada, MDU Electronics, King
Amusements (worked for the owner, David King, for a while), Pinballs Are Us
(NOT RELATED to the Atlanta, Georgia-based company which runs
PinballsAreUs.com)
As of August 2006 is operating out of the basement of a golf discount store close to
Limeridge Mall on Limeridge Road in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Phone: 1-(905) 628-4528 Ext. 9 (3/2007), 1-519-648-2039, 1-905-547-4592, 1-905-523-1406,
1-519-648-3475, 1-905-659-0054, 1-905-547-6122 (King Amusements),
1-905-920-1829 (Cell), 1-905-549-0748 (4/01), 1-905-574-3867 (Tim Vandalen 6/01),
1-905-690-3032 (8/03), 1-905-690-0962 (Dave Simmonds 2/04 or Doug 4/04,
Dave/David 10/04), 1-289-439-9600 (Ann 11/04), 1-905-627-5003, 1-905-807-5003 (8/07),
(905) 628-4528 ext.: 16 (4/07), (905) 531-4862 (6/07), 905-807-6275 (4/08) Location: Oakville/Flambro Burlington Ontario (1/06), mail box in
Hamilton (and/or Puslinch) Ontario,
Canada. Brantford, Ontario, Canada (although phone given was a Hamilton
number.) Burlington, Ontario, Canada LOR 1H2 (10/04).
Also has been to auction in Starburst.
In May 2005 had a victim wire around $2,000.00 US to a bank in Waterdown,
Ontario, Canada to pay for a pair of Tannoy red 15" dual concentric drivers
(speakers) that were never shipped.
In May 2006 had a victim wire over $4,000.00 US to a bank in Dundas, Ontario,
Canada for a 1950s Wurlitzer jukebox. Mailing addresses used are:
16 Anne Street
Dundas, Ontario L9H-2N5
Canada (4/2007--Maybe not his residence but a mailing address he uses a
lot.)
Physical Description: About 6'1", about 300 lbs. with light hair.
Was wearing a visor and driving his mid-90s green Suburban. Was travelling
with a woman that he lead some to believe was his wife. It is unknown if he
is married.
Mr. Anderson has been using the alias Mark Uttley for many years and many
only know him by that alias. He is known in his local area as a 'lying
thief' and a professional con artist. When a call was made to defend him in
rec.games.pinball, no one stepped forward to say anything good about
him. Only horror stories have come forth.
Mr. Anderson often pops up on-line under a new alias often claiming to have
rare and mint condition games, parts, and audio equipment and located in
Ontario, Canada.
Mr. Anderson is accused of mail fraud. He accepted payment for the
following items from four different customers and did not ship:
NOS Eight Ball Deluxe playfield
Eight Ball DeLuxe pop bumper cap
The right lane clear plastic lane divider (divides outlane and flipper return lane)
Bally lockbar
NOS Comet playfield
display driver board for Black Knight
Marantz 7 T Preamp
These represent several hundreds of dollars of items. This is only a partial
list of items fraudulently 'sold' by Mr. Anderson.
In 2005 he received
audio equipment, a Leak Point one Pre and ST-20 amp, but paid for it
with a bad check. The local police arrested him and searched his apartment,
locating this and other stolen property. His court appearance was to be in
March 2005 and he is expected to spend time in jail.
Mr. Anderson apparently spent little time in jail, if any, and as of March
2006 is still commiting
fraud.
Apparently he also has a court order to not do any Internet sales, which he
has been violating.
As of April 2007 he is running several
ads on Kijiji Canada for Audio equipment, pinball machines, and jukeboxes wanted.
In May 2007 he may have been attempting to sell a KISS pinball on the Toronto Craigslist, but this has not been confirmed.
In June and July 2007 he was actively trying to buy and sell on Toronto Craigslist.com.
In August 2007 'Mr. Uttley' scammed someone for $500 worth of Genesis tickets.
In February 2008 'Dave' was actively trying to sell on eBay, and Kijiji Toronto and Hamilton.
If you are aware of the results of the above prosecution or his current
whereabouts, please let us
know.
Last updated April 29, 2008
Names or alias: Stefan Desimone, Mike Diano, Steven Diano, David Gasper Business Names:none-used Age: 36 (in December 2003, birthdate is unknown) Race: Caucasian Phone: (617) 331-0655 (cell?), (401) 274-6044, (401) 480-8915, (401)
621-1662 (most current, using alias David Gasper) Locations: Boston, Massachusetts; Providence, Rhode Island;
Pawtucket, Rhode Island; Warwick, Rhode Island; Port Orange, Florida Mailing addresses:
8 Park Plaza #176, Boston MA 02116 USA
86 Jewett St., Providence, RI 02908 USA
717 Niver St., Port Orange, FL 32127 USA
1 Waycross Dr., Warwick, RI 02888 USA
Postal Center USA, 695 Beverage Hill Dr., Suite 214, Pawtucket, RI 02861 USA Bank: (used for receiving wired money)
Bank Boston
116 Cambridge St.
Boston, MA 02114
Acct. #011000390-18727238 under the name 'Stefan Defimone' Email: kisskreak@prodigy.net, lotofink@aol.com, kiss@aol.com,
k1ssrocks@aol.com, acekiss1@aol.com, stixiv@aol.com, (claimed that he used
to own stefspinball.com) Other: He claims to have a brother who works for the Boston Transit
Authority on a project called 'Big Dig'.
Mr. Desimone is wanted by the FBI in Rhode Island (he has 3 outstanding
warrants there), warrants in California, and he's been jailed in Florida.
He has duped several people by claiming to have certain items for sale, not
just pinball items. After receiving payment he disappears and of course
does not ship. He is accused of fraudulently selling at least the
following:
1994 Data East Tommy pinball machine
1982 Gottlieb Haunted House pinball machine
1996 Capcom Big Bang Bar pinball machine
KISS memorabilia
Automobile parts
This is only a partial list of items fraudulently 'sold' by Mr. Desimone.
If Stefan chooses to make good on these and other 'sales' by providing
restitution, this entry in the blacklist will be gladly dropped, and
apologies issued.
If you have more information about Mr. Desimone please contact any of the
following:
Beverly Bartzer, FBI--Rhode Island, 401-272-8310, Fax 401-272-8335
Providence RI Police, 401-272-3121
Pawtucket RI Police, 401-727-9100
On April 28, 2003 Mr. Desimone was released from Federal Prison where his
Federal Inmate Number is 04830-070. His current location is unknown.
Note: another individual with a similar name, Stefan C. DeSimone,
lives in Maine and is not the criminal described above. However, this
individual had a few problems with his cell phones business and he has been
issuing refunds to solve the problems. He owns the domain 207wireless.net
(but no longer has a website for this domain.) If you have an outstanding
complaint about this Stefan DeSimone, then contact him directly. He is
available and willing to work out any problems with anyone.
Last updated February 25, 2006
Names or alias: Ray E. Dequenne Sr. Business Names:Ray E. Dequenne Sr. Distributing Phone: (814) 634-0908 Locations: Garret, Pennsylvania; Newark, New Jersey, USA Mailing addresses:
3401 Mason Dixon Hwy, Garret, PA 15542-8506 Email:redequenne@aol.com, redequenne3@cs.com
Mr. Dequenne has numerous liens against him for thousands of dollars. He
has declared bankruptcy and has defaulted on a number of loans. He says that
any assets that he has he keeps in his son-in-law's name to avoid any claims
against him. He has threatened at least one individual with harm if he
pursued a sheriff's sale or criminal charges.
A judgement on April 9, 1999, was for $6,000.00 which was received by
Mr. Dequenne on January 13, 1999 for 4 pinball machines, including delivery,
which were never delivered.
Mr. Dequenne resurfaced on August 8, 2000 attempting to sell a 1980 Bally
Dixieland (bingo) pinball using his PA phone number, but a location of
Newark, NJ.
Mr. Dequenne in early 2001 was listed as a Pennsylvania distributor and in
late 2001 is listed in the REPLAY and PLAYMETER directory issues, but was
not supposed to be. He currently does not claim to be an authorized
distributor of any factories but advertises gaming-styled machines. In
early 2002 he is using his latest email address with cs.com.
In December 2006 it was reported that Mr. Dequenne has a warehouse on route
219 in Meyersdale, PA.
If you have more information about Mr. Dequenne, or more information about
other of his fraudulent dealings please contact us.
Names or alias: Wayne Randolph Hendler Jr., Randy Buffalo, Randy Faye Business Names:Buffalo Shipping Phone: (919) 365-3288 (disconnected 7/28/00) Locations: Zebulon, North Carolina; Apopka, Florida; Pompano Beach,
Florida; Rumor is that he is currently in jail for an unrelated domestic charge. Mailing addresses:
Rhonda Faye, P.O. Box 1272, Zebulon, NC 27597
1000 Gunwale Court, Wendell, NC 27591 (may be living here)
2923 Hanover Court, Apopka, FL 32703-4968 (may be his father's address)
17179 S. Main St., Pompano Beach, FL (may be living here) Other ID: Florida Drivers License Number is H53489669220 Email:buffalofan@mindspring.com, and some anonymous accounts.
Mr. Hendler's business, Buffalo Shipping, seemed to start out as
legitimate. He started moving coin-op machines, mostly videos and pinballs,
and was so successful that demand was greater than he could handle. He
hired drivers and rented trucks to keep up with demand. After a while, the
hired drivers started leaving, claiming that they were not paid. He ended
up with a situation where he had dozens of machines scattered around the
country waiting to be delivered and he had no money to do so. Complaints
were filed and Mr. Hendler became hard-to-find.
At one time Buffalo Shipping had games stored at Cornerstone Storage
919-365-6448 on Highway 97 in Wendell, NC. It is unknown whether any games
are still there.
APOP became aware of the locations of
some of the machines and was able to raise donations to pay for discounted
delivery using other freight companies for most of the stranded machines.
APOP's effort is now over and a few machines are still to be located and
shipped to their owners.
The FBI has been contacted and is investigating the case. The FBI case
number is I00072118278698.
If you have been taken by Mr. Hendler/Buffalo Shipping and would like to add
your complaint to the FBI case, contact them at internetfraud%40ifccfbi.gov.
Prior to the pinball and arcade transportation scam, Mr. Hendler operated by
'repairing' washers, refrigerators and selling them through classified ads.
Has a violent temper, but first comes across as your best friend.
Mr. Hendler's next court date is August 8, 2001 at the Wake County
Courthouse in North Carolina (919) 755-4107. If you have a complaint you
may be able to have him served papers at that time.
Names or alias: Paul Hyden, Andrew Hyden, David Cope, Aaron Business Names:Daredevil Amusements Phone: 706-549-3570, 706-714-4104 Locations: 'Near Atlanta'; Athens, Georgia. Mailing addresses:
105 E. Whitehall Rd., Athens, GA 30605 (now obviously abandoned)
960 Oconee, Athens, GA Email:paulsgameroom@yahoo.com,
andrew_hyden@yahoo.com, daredevil_amusement@yahoo.com,
sexybarry34@hotmail.com.
Paul and David Cope contacted several people who were seeking unusual
pinball parts, older backglasses and playfields, and took their money and
didn't ship anything. Paul may have used the alias of Andrew Hyden. David
Cope appears to be a separate individual that is also involved.
On September 5, 2001 several customers were contacted by someone claiming to
be Paul's brother Andrew stating that Paul was killed in a motorcycle
accident on August 23, 2001 and that he was settling Paul's remaining
business. However, one customer received his last email from Paul on August
24. Another customer last had contact with Paul in mid-September 2001 and his
money order was cashed on September 28, 2001. No one has received refunds
or merchandise.
Mr. Cope is now in the Athens-Clarke County Jail in Georgia. Mr. Paul Hyden
is being investigated.
In April 2007 we were contacted by someone claiming to be Paul Hyden. He
said that David Cope, was a neighbor of his, broke into his house
and stole his and his son's (Andrew), Social Security cards. This would
explain the multiple aliases used by Mr. Code.
If you have been taken by someone that matches this description, please contact us and we will
refer you to the detective working on the case.
Last updated April 23, 2007
Names or alias: Ivo Jebsen, Martin Jebsen Age: 36 (in April 2004)
Locations: Calgary, Alberta, Canada eBay ID: pinsnvidsguy
Mr. Jebsen defrauded several pinball collectors via eBay. He sold
non-existing pinball/arcade machines. He was suspended by eBay for fraud.
He was arrested by Calgary Police on April 28, 2004 and charged with fifteen
counts of pinball/arcade-related fraud. His case is pending before the
courts and a conviction is expected.
Mr. Jebsen also was being sought regarding automobile-related fraud where he
would offer auto repairs for a steep discount, take a down payment for the
needed "parts", and then turn around and sell the car to a second victim!
In December 2004, Mr. Jebsen was active in some arcade machine-related
business. It is unknown as to whether fraud was intended as the deal was
terminated due to the potential victim becoming aware of Mr. Jebsen's
previous activities through this web page.
If you have more information about this individual, contact Calgary Police,
Cst. J. Guigon or Cst. A. Martin at Distict 3, 1-403-284-3393.
Names or alias: Remus Daniel Marin, John Fennema, Andy Croft, Karl
Denilson Location: London, United Kingdom, OR
Ave. Gregorio Gea; Nr.20, Pta.20
Mislata-Valencia
46046
Spain Email: karldenilsonk@yahoo.com, coinchoiui@yahoo.com
This person or persons have been accused of running a scam by advertising an
Addams Family GOLD pinball and not delivering after receiving payment. This
scam was run in October 2004. The thief appears to be located in Spain as
the money was wired to a bank in Valencia, Spain. If you have more
information about this scam please
contact us.
Name: Frank Lindner Aliases: Walter Kedzorian, Walter Kedzeore, Walter Kedziora Location: Chicago, Illinois (possibly in Norridge, a suburb, living
with business partner, Walter Kedzorian or this could be just an alias.)
Used to be located at 420 W. Columbus Rd, S. Charlston, Ohio. Phone: (937) 462-8156 (no longer valid)
(224) 616-1762 (T-mobile cell phone)
(224) 612-6178 Fax: (937) 462-9336 (assumed no longer valid) Email: art@s73d.com eBay ID: walterhdtv, blaker10 (maybe)
Mr. Lindner did reproduction backglasses and plastics. He claimed to have a
digital technique that is unique and faithful to the original. Some of
those that have received backglasses and plastics from him have been happy
with the results. Others complain about the poor color matching. Most
complain about receiving nothing.
The problem is that he has accepted pre-payment for several items that he
has failed to deliver. Months have gone by and he has not made good on
several deals he agreed to.
In addition, Mr. Lindner has received several backglasses from trusting
individuals who expected him to copy the glass and return it. He has
disappeared with the money and the backglasses. He may have been selling
these glasses off on eBay using the walterhdtv identity.
He has been acting like a scammer--not answering emails, not answering the
phone, not returning phone calls, moving suddenly, and saying something was
ready or shipped when it was not.
We do not recommend dealing with this individual.
Mr. Lindner used to call us every few weeks with an update to his printing
technique. We have encouraged him to make good on his commitments, but he
appears to have failed. We have not heard from him since September 2006.
At that point Frank said he was overwhelmed with work and is not taking new
orders and is slowly taking care of existing orders and expected to be
caught up by November 2006. We do not believe he has delivered anything
since mid-summer 2006. As of March 2007 he has not been located and has not
done restitution.
If you locate Mr. Lindner, you may contact the S. Charlston Police (937) 462-8822
who are looking for him.
In early Fall 2006 we were contacted by a private investigator who was
trying to track down Mr. Lindner. Apparently he has defrauded Ford Motor
Co. and is being sought by them as well. He may drive a red Ford pickup and
that may have something to do with his problem with Ford.
Most victims have told us that they don't want Mr. Lindner to go to jail. They
just want their money and their backglasses back.
Last updated March 20, 2007
The Probably Bad--Almost Crooks
Below we have listed those who are currently being investigated by law
enforcement, or have someone initiating legal judgement against them. We
advise against dealing with these people for the time being.
If you are aware of any incorrect information listed below or have
additional information we should include please contact us.Name: Bogdan Szkrobol Location: Strumien/Raciborz, Poland Email: bomax@interia.pl, bomax2@wp.pl
This person has had problems either selling items more than once, or just
not shipping the items. Use caution in dealing with this individual.
This person listed several machines for sale on our web site in Fall 2006.
He sold a Black Knight 2000 in November 2006, but did not deliver the
machine and has given excuses instead of delivering the machine or refunding
the money.
Common Scams
Below are listed a few popular scams to watch for. We have no names for the
individuals that run these, so you'll just have to be careful and watch for
these. Like most scams, these prey upon people's eagerness to get more than
they deserve. Remember, if it's too good to be true, it is likely a
scam. Please don't report names and email addresses for these scams to
us. The names are always phoney, and the email addresses are always
temporary throw away ones anyway.
If you know of more scams or variations on one of the scams listed below, please let us know.
Cashiers Check & Money Order Fraud--This scam starts with someone
offering you a substantial amount over what is fair for an item you have for
sale. Their excuse being that they received too much money from a contract or
whatever, and you can help them out. Not only will they pay extra for the
item, they'll send you several hundred or thousands more and you'll just
need to refund the extra to them. They'll send you a forged cashier's
check or money order (they don't tell you it's bad) and you're supposed to
deposit it and wire the overpayment amount to their foreign bank. A week or two
later when your bank discovers the forgery, they charge your account for the
full amount and you're out the item and the amount you wired them!
This scam is usually run from outside the US, often from Nigeria, other
West African countries, or even Europe, so prosecution is impossible in most
cases. If you send these thieves your pinball machine you'll be depressed
to know that they are not only enjoying your machine, but are spending your
money. If you send them parts, then you can rest assured that they'll have
no use for the parts and will throw them away.
The following is the text of an email sent to someone who posted a playfield
for sale on Mr. Pinball so you know what the scam looks like (the details
have been changed to protect the innocent and mock the guilty.)
Subj: Re: INTERESTED!!! Buck Rogers playfield
Date: 2/4/2003 12:09:07 AM Eastern Standard Time
From: sinnoe_murk@yahoo.com.uk
To: victim@victim.isp
Thanks for your mail. i will instruct a client of mine who is owing me
$4,000 to issue a cashiers check in your name and once the check clears your
bank, you deduct cost of the goods and my balance is sent back to me through
western union money transfer or money gram transfer. I will send you enoung
money that will cover both shipping and handing. as soon as the check is
sent out to you, i shall let you know. I want you to send it through a
courier service and deduct the money from my check, the delivery address is
to personal assistance who will be at hand to received the goods and the money.
ABADSCAM IMACROOK
# 7 NOTOK STREET,
FALLFORIT LAGOS
NIGERIA
Another popular scam arises on eBay (a stolen good account) or elsewhere
when someone outside the US (England, Romania, Africa, anywhere!) offers to
sell a very expensive game for a huge discount. Be very cautious and
suspicious about deals with individuals outside the US, especially when
popular machines are heavily discounted. These thieves are counting on
suckers who are stupid, impatient, and/or greedy. A legitimate buyer or
seller is not in so much of a hurry that they have to have money wired to
them using Western Union. You should never, ever use Western Union
to send money.
For other popular scams see Snopes Urban Legend Scams,
Scam-o-rama, and Quatloos.
Please see our List of Deadbeats. These
people/businesses have received goods or services, promised to pay for them
and never did.
If you have been taken by someone and would like to file charges, be sure to
save evidence related to your situation. Evidence may include canceled
checks, credit card receipts, phone bills, faxes, pamphlets or brochures,
mailing envelopes, certified or other mail receipts, a printed copy of a Web
site, chat room, or newsgroup text, or similar items. Keep items in a safe
location until you are requested to provide them for investigative or
prosecutive evidence. If requested to provide evidence, only send
copies, not originals.
If your case involves US Mail in any way (payment or solicitation) the USPS
would like to know and may prosecute.
For more information you may contact us by email or by phone at (801)
277-6296 (voice and message), or (801) 277-0888 (message).
