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Lost and Stolen SpecimensStolen Specimens
7th Mar 2017 09:48 UTCJILL BRUNNER
These two specimens have been stolen, valued at $2500, by a Matt Zusinas and Tamarah Rago. They go by the user name of Mzusinas on eBay where they run a syndicate targeting non US based sellers!
If you have any information please contact me.
These specimens have been reported stolen and a case has been opened with the USA police department.
Specimen information:
DIOPTASE, TSUMEB MINE, OTJIKOTO REGION, NAMIBIA. - 8.2cm x 3.5cm x 2.3cm
TOURMALINE ON QUARTZ FLOATER, OTJUA MINE, KARIBIB REGION, NAMIBIA - 8.5cm x 3.2cm x 2cm
28th Mar 2017 04:52 UTCTodd Welti
28th Mar 2017 08:37 UTCUwe Kolitsch Manager
28th Mar 2017 10:35 UTCJILL BRUNNER
these guys need to be stopped They did it to me a second time. They cleverly spaced out the purchases so that the 1st order was received, they then waited until the 2nd order was already shipped out and then only opened up the return requests for the 2nd order knowing there was no way for me to stop the parcel.
attached are the next two specimens stolen.
Lets hope other eBay sellers see these posts and don't get caught out!!
Good luck with eBay!
28th Mar 2017 18:23 UTCJessica Guichard (2)
https://www.facebook.com/tamarah.rago
https://www.facebook.com/zusinas
28th Mar 2017 18:49 UTCAndrew Debnam 🌟
Andrew
28th Mar 2017 21:35 UTCryan christensen
28th Mar 2017 22:09 UTCRudy Bolona Expert
28th Mar 2017 23:25 UTCryan christensen
29th Mar 2017 10:10 UTCUwe Kolitsch Manager
https://www.facebook.com/tamarah.rago/posts/1201697386603736:0
29th Mar 2017 10:44 UTCJILL BRUNNER
Andrew, I have blocked mzusinas in ebay. But they can obviously open up a new ebay account quiet easily.. these are the risks with selling online. . All other restrictions are in place.
Ryan, Matt knows exactly how to get his refund and keep the specimen.. he is crafty. He knows how the refund cases work..
I think they know the heat is on!! Hense the Facebook pages disappearing. I was advised by another collector that they have other business pages on Facebook trading as APPLIED METAPHYSICS
https://www.facebook.com/applied.meta/
They doesn't know how tight knit our community is..
Thanks again guys. .. any more news please keep me updated!
Jill
29th Mar 2017 18:16 UTCTodd Welti
I am at this very moment filing a police report. That is what Ebay said to do. Actually, it appears that Ebay has closed this with no refund to the buyer. If correct, that is good news. They can of course start a new Ebay account but will have to start over with their rating. I am tempted to post their address, but it might be blocked. It helps to band together against scum like this. Both Ebay and the police were very interested in this post, and I'm using it as evidence. Also they were interested in the police blotter showing Matt being arrested for breaking and entering. Search Matt Zusinas PA.
29th Mar 2017 18:18 UTCTodd Welti
29th Mar 2017 18:42 UTCTodd Welti
29th Mar 2017 19:50 UTCTodd Welti
PayPal has concluded our investigation of the following Buyer Complaint:
Buyer's name: Tamarah Rago
Buyer's email: rago.tamarah@gmail.com
Transaction ID: 7XU80070HD3916604
Transaction date: Mar 13, 2017
Transaction amount: $1,380.00 USD
Your transaction ID: 87530194NS897974T
Case number: PP-005-682-075-862
Refund amount: $1,380.00 USD
Because the buyer has reported that the claim has been amicably resolved,
this case has been closed.
Thank you for your cooperation with our investigation.
Sincerely,
Protection Services Department
29th Mar 2017 20:19 UTCTodd Welti
30th Mar 2017 02:41 UTCMatt Neuzil Expert
30th Mar 2017 06:43 UTCJessica Guichard (2)
30th Mar 2017 17:57 UTCTodd Welti
30th Mar 2017 20:53 UTCJILL BRUNNER
Paypal only facilitate the transaction.. since splitting from eBay they have nothing to do with cases opened in eBay..
30th Mar 2017 22:36 UTCAndrew Debnam 🌟
https://www.paypalobjects.com/webstatic/en_DE/ua/pdf/sellerprotection.pdf
31st Mar 2017 00:23 UTCAngela Wagner
Update 3/31/17. eBay has removed him but I'm not sure about PayPal but I did call and tell them what I found here. The new name on Facebook Taz Rago has also been deleted. . eBay lets anybody file a return for any reason and they get their money back . They know how ebay and PayPal not as described cases work in their favor. PayPal has 6 months to return something which is ridiculous.
31st Mar 2017 01:15 UTCAngela Wagner
31st Mar 2017 04:32 UTCTodd Welti
BTW Tamarah Rago is going by "Taz" Rago now. ALso found here on Etsy (she changed her bio to remove her name, but I looked under "cached" version of website and found her name on there. Full name is Tamarah Lynn Rago.
https://www.etsy.com/nz/people/tamarahlynne
3rd Apr 2017 11:45 UTCJILL BRUNNER
Great news! Matt's ebay account has been shut down! received post on fb.. amazing what can happen when we all pull together!!
We need to keep it up! This is the only way to rid the mineral world of thieving scum!
Thanks again for all your participation in the discussions in this forum. It brings the necessary attention and helps get the word out there!
Regards
Jill
Kalahari classics
4th Apr 2017 20:06 UTCScott Rider
Anyhoo, I hope those scumbags go to jail soon... If only I met them in person........wink wink
All of this was starting to scare me... I was thinking about selling a good portion of my duplicates in my collection in order to save for my prospecting tool fund and to obtain some classics (phosphophyllite, a good Lake George combo, Legrandite, etc)... But these stories had me worried.... I have sold many minerals on ebay in the past and was lucky, no bad buyers -- got burned only 1 time, when I tried to sell a cell phone to some crook in South America... Said he didn't get it about 45 days later (edit -- after it was delivered), and ebay forced me to refund...
4th Apr 2017 22:10 UTCAlfredo Petrov Manager
4th Apr 2017 22:45 UTCScott Rider
4th Apr 2017 22:56 UTCMatt Neuzil Expert
11th Apr 2017 15:47 UTCJILL BRUNNER
Matt is at it again. He has a new user name on ebay check out the message he is sending out on ebay.. Todd this info should be sent to the police.
11th Apr 2017 16:12 UTCAndrew Debnam 🌟
11th Apr 2017 19:18 UTCMatt Neuzil Expert
I always have to go and sign.
They sign they cant deny they didnt send it. Keeping the item is just theft. These people disgust me.
11th Apr 2017 19:50 UTCScott Rider
I HIGHLY recommend sellers on eBay to follow Andrew's instructions. This is one of the easiest, best defenses as bad buyers are kicked out of eBay all the time and then come back with a new names and cause havoc... Not allowing people with zero feedback may restrict some actual buyers though, which is the only caveat of restricting them. You can also restrict people with certain feedback scores and from certain parts of the world (albeit in this situation the latter won't help at all...).
When I sold a bunch of stuff in eBay, I had that option selected as well as restricting buyers from certain countries. I would randomly get an email for someone trying to buy an expensive item, never the cheap stuff. 9 times out of 10 the buyer's name was totally bogus sounding, it was something like this: dakdfj8391@email.com or skjfaj@blahblah.com... This saved me headaches down the road for sure!!!
12th Apr 2017 14:47 UTCJILL BRUNNER
He is sending this message to all the sellers he has unfinished business with.. pass it on please to as many people who sell on ebay!
15th Apr 2017 06:22 UTCJILL BRUNNER
Finally eBay is actually looking after its sellers!
Selling on eBay is not for the faint hearted.. you just have to trust that there are honest people out there. Fortunately I have a fantastic buyers :)
Thanks again guys! This just shows you how important it is to be part of this amazing community of rock lovers! We need to stick together and look after each other!
Happy easter!!!
Jill
16th Apr 2017 12:46 UTCJILL BRUNNER
I have just been informed that Matt has another ebay account..mineralcollector247. account has been active for less that a month.. all other information is a match!
Keep a look out for this one too.. Lets hope eBay does their job!
Jill
25th Apr 2017 08:37 UTCJILL BRUNNER
Tamarah Rago/Matt Zusinas are contacting sellers about orders placed with closed ebay accounts using the following user name: applied.meta-8.. Add it to your block list!!!
25th Apr 2017 16:39 UTCMatt Neuzil Expert
25th Apr 2017 20:12 UTCJolyon Ralph Founder
"Dear Mr. Ralph,
I realize this is quite a stretch, but as you are the webmaster of the site mindat.com, I would like to personally email you on this matter.
....
If there is any financial retribution I can offer to Mindat to show my appreciation of this I would be more than willing to oblige. "
So, he wanted to pay us to remove this thread.
25th Apr 2017 21:03 UTCWayne Corwin
Better ask for it in cash Jolyon !
26th Apr 2017 12:26 UTCUwe Kolitsch Manager
2nd May 2017 07:05 UTCJILL BRUNNER
Thanks Jolyon for sharing this with us!
Little do they know that in the mineral business reputation is everything!!!
9th May 2017 15:11 UTCJILL BRUNNER
User name is applies.meta-8. block this user if you are selling on eBay
17th May 2017 15:26 UTCJILL BRUNNER
I have contacted eBay and now waiting for confirmation.
17th May 2017 19:10 UTCSteve Hardinger 🌟 Expert
17th May 2017 19:40 UTCBob Harman
Following this thread there are some posts including the last one by JILL B that might be considered disparaging without absolute proof ("unconfirmed: but I do believe......"). This thread has gone on long enough. CHEERS.......BOB
17th May 2017 19:58 UTCUwe Kolitsch Manager
17th May 2017 22:40 UTCJolyon Ralph Founder
I assume, Steve, that you are NOT one of the dealers who has been burned by them.
Is mindat the right place for this? Well, if not, where? This is the community, and this is where the community gets together to discuss things, good and bad.
I would rather these things weren't brushed under the carpet and that we allow people to bring up these issues.
17th May 2017 23:34 UTCBob Harman
All the Mindat postings, in my opinion, should be added only after they can be substantiated so that any dealers are not wrongly or inadvertently disparaged. CHEERS.....BOB
18th May 2017 00:18 UTCGregg Little 🌟
In this forum, a little light should be shone in their dark corner.
18th May 2017 00:53 UTCDon Saathoff Expert
Don
18th May 2017 04:16 UTCWayne Corwin
18th May 2017 13:47 UTCAndrew Debnam 🌟
Jolyon & Katya Ralph Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> This has been, in the words of one mineral dealer
> who has talked to me about this issue, the only
> time this kind of thing has happened in over a
> decade of trading online. Before I let this
> thread develop I spoke to people to try to gauge
> how credible the story was. What I heard shocked
> me.
>
> I assume, Steve, that you are NOT one of the
> dealers who has been burned by them.
>
> Is mindat the right place for this? Well, if not,
> where? This is the community, and this is where
> the community gets together to discuss things,
> good and bad.
>
> I would rather these things weren't brushed under
> the carpet and that we allow people to bring up
> these issues.
31st May 2017 21:28 UTCTodd Welti
mineralogicalmuseum
This is a fact, since I have a couple of email messages from him, as mineralcollector247 and earlier, and it is definitely him. I have been contacting sellers who he is following and warning them. Excerpt of a message i got from Matt:
"Why make a new account when this one is clearly still working? It's good to know you're clearly paranoid and still wasting your time and energy on me. I'm not hiding? The biggest impact you've had in my life was saving me a few grand by keeping me from making a few select purchases, which I mean honestly, thanks."
So, it is good to know i have perhaps prevented at least one seller from getting ripped off. I'm guessing most people who got ripped off by him would agree with having this thread. I'm one.
Peace,
Todd
1st Jun 2017 00:08 UTCReiner Mielke Expert
16th Jun 2017 00:53 UTCTodd Welti
11th Jul 2017 14:03 UTCRoger Lang Manager
16th Dec 2017 05:13 UTCRonald Kendig
18th Dec 2017 17:25 UTCScott Rider
27th Feb 2019 00:56 UTCLinda Larson
I just got scammed by Matt Zusinas on eBay. This criminal is alive and operating again on eBay.
His new ebay name is .....xtlincauldron.
Please block asap. I have filed case with ebay but we all know they do not protect sellers.
He scammed me out of my sterling silver flatware. Claimed it was damaged and wanted some of his money back...I told him to return...so he filed return claiming damage and then sent a few steel forks back!!! Ebay gave him full refund so now he has my silver and all his money.
Everywhere I look online this creep is popping up.
I have filed with police, FBI and USPS and ebay
Thanks-
Linda
27th Feb 2019 01:32 UTCHiro Inukai
27th Feb 2019 02:00 UTCLinda Larson
BLOCK ASAP he is busy scamming lots of dealers on ebay....mainly buying
27th Feb 2019 17:10 UTCLinda Larson
Found a post stating he had been arrested for theft, robber & breaking and entering.
The real topper is the whole family has criminal records on file.
27th Feb 2019 18:51 UTCMichael Sommers
27th Feb 2019 19:06 UTCScott Rider
Unfortunately I think the best solution is to stop selling online. It is way to easy for fraudsters to disguise themselves and continue this crap. This particular scumbag will continue to get away with this until the authorities get some balls and prosecute and jail this horrible human being...
I guess the other solution other than giving up, is to vet each and every person that buys things from you. That would probably get really expensive and time consuming though... Good luck to all that sell online. I wish you all success and hope this piece of garbage person goes to jail. But for me, I'm done with selling on the Internet...
27th Feb 2019 22:14 UTCLinda Larson
27th Feb 2019 23:55 UTCPaul Brandes 🌟 Manager
28th Feb 2019 00:51 UTCLinda Larson
Ebay refunded his money. He now has my item and his money back.
There was no reason to think this person was dishonest...and because you cannot leave negative feedback for buyers...no one knows who the bad guys are.
So if someone is dishonest I am going to say something. If you stay mute... then you are allowing others to be victims.
So Paul you clearly do not understand my frustration. You are not the victim. I am. I sell to help pay bills as I am a disabled senior on fixed income.
28th Feb 2019 16:50 UTCScott Rider
I'm not even involved with sellers that have been defrauded, yet I really pissed off he's getting away with this... For all you sellers out there!!! Good luck! I hope you vet your customers and take care of the higher priced sales you make. My only real warning that is more practical (my last entry was really impractical) is to NEVER sell to people who have NO or little feedback. When I used to sell, I would block anyone that is new to ebay. After I did that I have much fewer problems (not 100% better tho)..
28th Feb 2019 21:12 UTCLinda Larson
I do not know how this has been going on for years but it has.
Hoping the FBI will step in and take over.
Thanks Scott
3rd Jun 2019 04:40 UTCkim you
3rd Jun 2019 04:43 UTCkim you
1st Aug 2019 04:18 UTCMatthew Droppleman
1st Aug 2019 22:55 UTCtodd Van Duren
https://www.etsy.com/shop/CrystalnCauldron
27th Jan 2023 06:19 UTCJenna Miller
27th Jan 2023 15:10 UTCDana Slaughter 🌟 Expert
2nd Feb 2023 02:18 UTCAlan L. Melbourne
2nd Feb 2023 04:09 UTCKeith Compton 🌟 Manager
Best to start a new thread
2nd Feb 2023 08:00 UTCLuís Martins 🌟
3rd Feb 2023 03:49 UTCJim Allen
8th Apr 2024 15:40 UTCAdam Kelly
Matt Zusinas is very active on Facebook nowadays. Even though I read this message post when it first popped up, I quickly forgot his name.
I commented on a post of his as I was interested in a mineral he had. I friend of mine reminded me of this thread, and needless to say I will spend my money elsewhere.
To be fair, I never had ANY experience with him in the past, good or bad, but be warned.
Adam,
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Copyright © mindat.org and the Hudson Institute of Mineralogy 1993-2024, except where stated. Most political location boundaries are © OpenStreetMap contributors. Mindat.org relies on the contributions of thousands of members and supporters. Founded in 2000 by Jolyon Ralph.
Privacy Policy - Terms & Conditions - Contact Us / DMCA issues - Report a bug/vulnerability Current server date and time: May 9, 2024 22:26:14