Complaint Review: ANGELINE INTERNATIONAL LLC Is Scam - Gerber California

Please find the following paragraph with typing corrections:

I sincerely feel bad for my customers who lost money.  I never accepted money nor invoiced them, but I did take their orders, and of course, as all bad things do, it was a poor reflection on me.  I never scammed them, acted with any intentions of wrong doing, nor was an active or knowing part of any scams of Fred Gonsalves.  Afterwards I saw on several sites that he had a long history of scams by using his other family members names and bank accounts to get people to send him money, including his daughter.  Whether they were active parts of his scams or not, I cannot say.  I can just say that at the time, I had no idea what he was.

Some years ago I had the misfortune of working with Fred Gonsalves who proclaimed himself to be a supplier of Apple products, not knowing that he was a master scam artist.  I was working as a broker and had two customers orders in with him at the same time.  I encouraged the customers as I do all customers even today, to execute only secure payment methods, not because I knew Fred Gonsalves was a fraud, but because I care about my customers and believe it is the right thing to do.

The customers decided to make deposits to his Bank of America account.  Unfortunately, both customers lost their deposits to Fred Gonsalves, who after taking their money, started coming up with excuses of delays from the suppliers in China, and then excuses of losing money by them disappearing with the money he said he had sent for the product. He then at one point claimed that he had received a shipment from another supplier, but the goods were not there, only shoes!  He even sent me photos of some opened boxes to convince me he was on the up and up.  While he was telling me he was resolving the issues with the suppliers in China, he was just buying himself time and sympathy from me, letting me take the hot seat with the customers.

Even before I finally figured out that Fred Gonsalves was a scam artist, I tried desperately to try to get him to deliver the product to the two customers, or give them back their money without delay.  Always he kept telling me that he needed to get product, sell it and with the profit he could pay back my two customers.  His excuses were never ending and although he had every opportunity to do the right thing, he just kept rolling on with excuses but never forthcoming with the money.  I tried to get him to pay up, but had no way to force him.

I sincerely feel bad for my customers who lost money.  I never accepted money nor invoiced them, but I did take their orders, and of course, as all bad things do, it was a poor reflection on me.  I scammed them, acted with any intentions of wrong doing, nor was an active or knowing part of any scams of Fred Gonsalves.  Afterwards I saw on several sites that he had a long history of scams by using his other family members names and bank accounts to get people to send him money, including his daughter.  Whether they were active parts of his scams or not, I cannot say.  I can just say that at the time, I had no idea what he was.

All that i can attest to is that I never cheated anyone out of a penny in my life.  My company is active and in good standing all these years and I have never had a problem.  Since that experience I have a very strict policy of never working with suppliers who require payments or deposits directly to them, by credit card, paypal or any means other than escrow (usually through third party escrow freight forwarders) or ILC.  Suppliers are verified and customers cannot lose money to any type of fraud.  I never take payments unless I buy goods myself and resell them.

In business we all take risks and must trust at some point.  We all have good experiences and bad.  We never think we can be victims of scams, but it happens, even when you think it can't happen to you.  Know your suppliers.  Know your customers.  Do your own due diligence.  Protect yourselves.  It isn't a perfect world out there.  Not all that is written is true, but some is.  Fred Gonsalves was a definite fraud.  I was a victim of his too, not a willing and knowing party to his scams.