My Father passed away last year in a tragic accident. He had been married to my Mother for over forty years. He owned a company in the Cincinnati area called "Classic Scooters". My parents were High School sweethearts. My Mother is disabled and I am doing the best I can to care for her as I am an only child, as well as a single mother. She is grieving, has trouble standing and walking and is suffering from early/mid stage dementia. She has had great financial problems since my Father's passing. Her Dentist referred her to Bob Botsford. He offered to help her move some of my Father's scooters and a Harley Davidson motorcycle. He also purchased a 100 year old antique pool table from my mother for 2k under its assessed value. She sold her pool table to pay her electric bill, phone bill and to purchase oil for her home, as well as food and medication. She received 2k from this sale.
During the process of placing one of the scooters inside of my parents commercial building, Bob decided to take that scooter as well as another scooter from inside of the building. While disassembling the pool table at my Mother's home he and his hired help/crew removed many valuable antiques, two soda machines, collectibles, musical instruments, motorcycle parts, tools, hundreds of 1950's/1960's record albums, as well as numerous other items which have sentimental value to both me and my Mother. During this process he told my Mother he would like to buy the Heinkel Tourist Motor Scooter that was in her garage. He told her it was worth $100.00 and my Mother sold it to him for that amount. There are only 40 of these "classic" scooters left in the United States. Bob Botsford sold this scooter one week later on Ebay with the help of the Dentist who referred my Mother to him. He sold the scooter for approximately $7,000.00.
Bob Botsford stole $10,000.00 worth of scooters without my Mother's knowledge. He also stole several thousand dollars worth of items out of her home without her knowledge. We found out after seeing these items on Ebay and Craigslist on numerous occasions over the past three months. There are still items missing that have not yet shown up on the web.
She saw him "take" a few of the items and told him not too. He at one point held up my Father's 1965 Gibson Classic guitar in one hand and my Father's Bongo drums in the other and asked my Mother which one she wanted to keep. She chose to keep the Bongo drums. My Father used to play both for me when I was a little girl. It was terrible seeing the guitar for sale on Craigslist knowing I cannot afford to purchase it back and that it was stolen.
In April of the this year, my Father's Cream 1963 Vespa GL150 was for sale on Craigslist in Florida, Tennessee and California. This scooter should easily sell for $7,000.00 as it is in mint condition. Bob was selling this scooter out of town and stating he would only sell it with a "bill of sale". This is because the scooter is legally in my Father's name and belongs to his estate.
To summarize my report; Bob Botsford purchased $11,000.00 worth of items from my Mother for $2,100.00. He "stole" approximately $12,000.00 worth of items from her while moving the scooters from one location to another and when he disassembled the pool table to purchase it and move it from my parent's home. Mr. Botsford owes my Mother approximately $21,000.00 for the difference.
If there is anyone reading this who feels they may be able to help us in this situation, please contact me as soon as possible. Thank you for taking the time to read this report and please do not purchase anything from Bob Botsford.