What can I do about this possible scam ?! Serious help needed here!

[Killercrush]

OK, here's the deal :

Back in december 2007, I bought an Oliver Powerflex 502 bass amp + cabinet for $1000. The seller, say Mr. X, wanted me to pay with a money order, which was sent to say, Mrs Y. I also asked him to take the unit to Mr. Jess Oliver, who lives near Brooklyn, for a repair job. He did and I thought that Mr. Oliver would take care of shipping but instead of that, Mr. Oliver asked Mr. X to pay for the repairs, which he did and then asked me to pay him back, also with a money order. I sent to Mrs. Y $750 to pay for repair + shipping + storage time. When she/he received the second money order, Mr. X asked me for my home address to ship it, along with a vintage JBL D140F 15 bass speaker ($250 value) I sent to Mr. Oliver for replacement, which he received and refused to work with so Mr.X was asked to keep it along the other stuff.

The seller, Mr. X doesn't live in NY anymore. He said that my stuff was in NY for storage so I assume that it was or still is in Mrs. Y apartment or it could be anywhere, pawn shops, shipping facilities or storage company.

All these events took place from December 07 to August 08 and I still haven't received anything yet, no tracking number, no communication since early August, nothing at all implying that any progress has been made.

I tried to call him several times, the first time, I talked with a lady (probably his wife or girlfriend) and now I never get a respond when I call or by email.

I'm pretty depressed now. I invested ~$2000 in this and I don't know what to do now so I'm asking if anyone living in this area can help me solve this, I would be forever grateful so please PM me if you're willing to do so. You can expect some kind of rewards if it all goes well and end well.

I just don't know how to take actions on the legal side against him. Any infos on this side would help me alot!

Thanks.

-Julien

[Fungi]

Wow, just wow. How the heck did you end up in that mess? The thing that confuses me the most is why Mrs. Y even got involved.

[Killercrush]

Wow, just wow. How the heck did you end up in that mess? The thing that confuses me the most is why Mrs. Y even got involved.

Mrs. Y is the person who received all my money orders. I bought the amp on eBay and it all went downhill from there...

Mr. X? our Mr. X?

No, that's not Marshall. It's just a name I'm using for discretion purposes.

[GPH]

Did Mr. X send you a receipt by email for the repairs that were done by Mr. Oliver? If the repairs were indeed done, perhaps you could contact Mr. Oliver and he could help you trace Mr. X. It's a long shot, but other than that, I don't know which direction you could take unless you know the street address of Mr. X.

[Killercrush]

Did Mr. X send you a receipt by email for the repairs that were done by Mr. Oliver? If the repairs were indeed done, perhaps you could contact Mr. Oliver and he could help you trace Mr. X. It's a long shot, but other than that, I don't know which direction you could take unless you know the street address of Mr. X.

He did, I still have the email which have the receipt in it but I don't think that Mr. Oliver can help me here. Mr. X dropped by there only to pick up all my stuff and he doesn't live in NY anymore so I don't know his street address, I only know Mrs. Y one, she's the person who received all my money.

[boomana]

I'd notify Mrs. Y and tell her you're filing a police report, and then do it. $2000 isn't a small sum.

[Killercrush]

I'd notify Mrs. Y and tell her you're filing a police report, and then do it. $2000 isn't a small sum.

Alright, I can do that, but how can I do so ?! Also, I don't have the $1000 money order proof, I only have the $750 one. The only way I can prove that $1000 was sent to her is by asking eBay to give me the proof that it was paid, which I don't know if that's a possible query.

[Grand Enigma]

Send an email to the person and say you will be in the area and would like to stop in and pick it up

[boomana]

Hate to say it, but without that receipt, you're probably screwed. Worth checking with ebay, but I'd get on it, and I would at least pressure Mrs. Y, and tell her that you're going to the police. Maybe she cares, and maybe not, but you've got nothing more to lose.

[Killercrush]

Send an email to the person and say you will be in the area and would like to stop in and pick it up

Like I said earlier, my emails & calls aren't being responded.

Hate to say it, but without that receipt, you're probably screwed. Worth checking with ebay, but I'd get on it, and I would at least pressure Mrs. Y, and tell her that you're going to the police. Maybe she cares, and maybe not, but you've got nothing more to lose.

The only way I can contact her is by mail I guess, I'm gonna check with eBay for that $1000 proof and contact the authorities (Which I don't know how or who... NYPD ?!).

[Killercrush]

I contacted eBay so I'm waiting for their response, I really hope this leads to something...