Victim Location 90019
Total money lost $950
Type of a scam Online Purchase
WARNING – BEWARE OF THIS PERSON/BUSINESS
It appears he uses the name, Merlin Malory, as a pseudonym – not as a real artist uses a pen name for privacy, but as a scam artist uses a veil for secrecy. I paid him some money upfront in order for him to provide VFX and Color Correction services via PayPal. His method is to require in his invoice that payment be made as "Friends and Family" rather than "Goods and Services." He went as far as to meet me in person to collect the hard drive, so I know that the suspect is a male. He did not deliver any of the VFX or color correction services he was paid to perform and absconded with both the money and my hard drive. He feigned cooperation to return both, but did not refund either my money or return my hard drive, which contains my footage. Both PayPal and the authorities have been notified, so some recourse may come for me but unlikely. Beware of his general modus operandi.