still no update from my bank since I mailed all the documents in.

I really hope they can get my money back from this scumbag.

I mean.. we'll never probably know his real name.. I think it is probably Josh Smith due to the other evidence of the 3-4 other scam kickstarters.. plus the reality TV appearance.. It all adds up to Josh Smith.
This is the unedited picture posted by Rattrap earlier in this thread.
It is the same exact address as Levandowski just posted.
So at the very least... we can see he lied about his name.

 

Reality TV appearance? I must have missed that.

 

David Lee Beast Wars Inferno, Terrorsaur, & others

 

Interesting. The more I learn about this the more fascinating the entire thing becomes.

 

The craziest thing about this whole situation is that we know exactly who this guy is and where he lives. His wife and his mom are active on Facebook, we know his address, there are records of his past criminal history, there's even an episode of a TV show that he appeared in up on Youtube. And yet even though he's been pulling this stuff for years, making only the most half-assed attempts to cover his tracks, it seems like nothing is ever done about him.

 

Ever watch a YouTube channel called Rob Wolcheck? He's an investigative reporter.

Basically, what I've learned is that you may get a judgement against a scumbag, and they may catch a record... but they'll never pay up if they're an actual scumbag... they'll just keep being delinquent. Scammers never get jail time because they scam small amounts continuously which aparantly is not easily punishable.

 

Yeah I imagine it's the adult version of how my most troublesome students will push the boundaries juuuust enough in numerous small ways to the point where disciplining them becomes awkward and obnoxious and harder to explain to their parents than if they had just straight up punched someone or whatever.

 

I'd forgotten all about this show. I think I remember him bowing out because he felt it would be too difficult to balance his family and work at the time? I wonder now if Sci-Fi doesn't do a subpar job vetting their reality TV cast members prior to filming, and he wasn't allowed to bow out in order to save face because of something that came to light during filming.

 

Finally check into this thread, after deciding not to invest in it, and HOLY HELL! I am so relieved right now! I hope you guys can get your money back from this jackwad! I was tempted by his Terrorsaur and Scorpnok molds!

RumbleFrenzy/Michael Accardi, and nah, F that guy! He stole $1k from me, and I tried to take him to Small Claims, but had to travel to NJ to do it since he lived there, which would've cost me an arm and leg to constantly trek back-and-forth. Now he hides behind his wife's name for their art academy/cafe in NJ.

 

Der plot thickens! Sorry that happened to you, bro. I recall lots of folks were trashin' the guy when that happened. Sucks when people turn out to be a let down.

I mean I get it, sh!t happens but I believe in restitution. I'm only as good as my name and if I let everybody down then my name and my word means nothing anymore. And nowadays it's even harder to come back from a bad reputation.

I do miss seeing the guy's customs. And this new guy is halfway decent when he applied himself. I dunno, I guess there's a couple of lessons to learn out of all this:

1) Maybe don't turn your hobby into your primary source of income if you can't commit to it. Share in the hobby, sure, but don't kid yourself into thinking you can do a whole factory's worth of work on the weekend.

2) Expectation leads to disappointment. I trust only in the worst in people. People get tired easily and tired people are sh!tty people and I'm tired of sh!tty people so I always look on the dark side so when people invariably disappoint it confirms my opinion of them, and if by some miracle they actually do what they say, then I'm actually happy to have been wrong and the world is only slightly less bitter, lol.

 

I'm all for second chances, but folks will also use them to continue to do it, if that's the road they're choosing. Easy cash is quite a temptation, especially if you know the laws and costs. In the case of the former customizer, he figured out Small Claims was a way to prevent people from taking legal action, as he was cool with returning money to people in the same state, but those ripped off were out of NJ, and with this customizer/scammer, considering this appears to be his fourth scam, that voids any second chances to be given as well.

 

Yeah he was one of the scammers I was talking about earlier. You'd get someone like him every couple years back in the day. Several would sell on ebay and post their works in radicons, That was how they start. Then it's take the money and run. I mainly customize 1/6 figures and there would be some sculptors who would do the same make some good head sculpts, sell them, the take preorders for future ones from a group, then never do them. (Which is why I don't buy till I see a proto, and worry then I still may be scammed). If you find a good one try to help support them. Buy while you can. One of my old favorites passed away from Covid last month. I was looking to get another head from him and saw none available in his store, so tried to look up what was going on and found his wife posted on Facebook that he passed away in September. Why is it always the good ones. We always seem to lose the good ones like TF Master and Vector.

Yet guys like these keep going.

 

You must be talking about Rick. He did some great sculpts and was a pleasure to talk to. Big loss to the 1/6 community.

Regarding this D-Bag, however; you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone around here that would mourn his loss.

I managed to get a full refund as well as the cast parts so I like to think I scammed the scammer there. Didn’t even need to make much of a case with Etsy. The fact he closed his store and ran was all the proof I needed.

Been modding the crap out of it and reinforcing every single joint so now I’m very slowly beginning the painting process. Probably only gonna manage a couple hours a week but I’ll get there by Xmas!

“We’ll, that’s just primed…”

 

Yeah I mostly knew him in my head as warrior's gate or William Shatner's Toupee due to some of his board handles and conversations we have had through PM's. Huge loss. Nice guy.

 

Man, if the only thing that comes from this is an awesome custom by you, I think it'll be... well, not WORTH it... but it'll be nice to see something come of all this at least.

 

Glad I have this mind set.
As I am reading back, you were all warned by others and gave shit to those who did it.
So ready to believe what you have seen posted without knowing nothing about the person behind it.
Hope that those who got scammed get their money back, next time invest when someone it really ready and producing items as @NOCV is doing.
Do not know this man and before I had the new job, shipping cost was too high but I have no problem making an order with him seeing what he has done.
That is how you do things, design it, make it, see if it works and put it up for sale.

 

good luck! I was hoping to get to do this too. Looks to be a nice kit.

 

So I’m posting the final update on my Infernus claim so that the information is out there for anyone who purchased these when this JO was still selling them on Shopify. After 5 chats and 3 phone calls, I was finally able to get this issue in front of a supervisor who re-opened the dispute and closed it in my favor. So I received the full amount refunded to my card! It took a lot of work to get that resolved. It turned out the first agent reviewing my case used the complete wrong information and incorrectly closed the claim as missing the deadline and then every other appeal ( 4 ) was utilizing that wrong information. What a mess. The supervisor who helped me did confirm that the buyer protection was 180 days regardless of the method ( Paypal button or Paypal Key ) at least it did when I made the purchase. Thank you to everyone that exposed this SOB and provided information to help everyone get their money back for this BS.

 

Has he started a new scam yet?

 

I'm planning to leave the site soon, so I decided I'd post it.

Keep in mind this is an unedited first draft.

\System restoration in progress\

\Damage critical\

\Error. Internal repair system failure. Retrying…\

\Error. Internal repair system failure. Retrying…\

\Error. Internal repair system failure. Retrying…\

\Executing backup subroutine\

\Success. System reboot in progress\


Infernus’ eyes slowly opened. The temperature was not only below his preference but dangerously so. The snow danced through the air like fireflies, the organic creatures of this strange planet sang their tales for all those willing to listen.

But all of this led to one conclusion. He was alive. Despite all the odds he had survived, and it was all thanks to his glorious monarch! Praise be unto him! All hail-

No. No, he had been betrayed, for all of his loyalty, for all the battles he had fought in the name of dethroning their hated enemies and what did he have to show for it? He pushed himself to his feet to gain his bearings.

He looked around until his eyes fell on Speedstriker. At least, what was left of him. The blast had reduced him to a smouldering ruin, used for all of his worth then incinerated like so much garbage. Served him right. If not for Infernus’ own protection against heat he would have met the same fate.

Good thing he did not! Get slagged mutant.

He converted to animal form and began the long journey home through the long grass and the seemingly endless deserts.

The remnants of the starship Knightmare sat among the ancient rock formations, damaged and abandoned. The queen of the Carnicons had abandoned his surviving soldiers in a mad last bid to win a war he had already lost. It was difficult for Infernus to admit, but there was no other logical conclusion.

The Carnicon dream was dead and his resolve had died with it. Infernus found himself in his robot mode, looking out over the infinite green of this planet. Whatever the royalty was up to now he should have been a part of, he should have been allowed to continue the fight on the homeworld. But he had been forgotten. He probably deserved it.

Infernus wasn’t entirely sure how long he stuck around before deciding to leave. It was certainly a long time. The sun had set when he arrived. it was rising when he left.

He crawled through the dirt in animal mode for hours, he wasn’t entirely sure where he was going, he just wanted to be somewhere else.

But something caught his eye. A tiny mound of dirt. He took himself back to his humanoid and looked it over. Thousands of tiny creatures working together, serving their queen to preserve their little society, fire ants. His people.

He say down next to them, careful not to hurt them. the spiders! The anteaters! They were still out here! Still threatening the colony! HOW DARE THEY!?

And thus did Infernus find his resolved to go on, a new colony to defend day and night, this was his resolve, this was his purpose! He was Infernus and he was a great warrior and defender of his people!