[meteorite-list] Warning about Lahcen Ait Ha

From: Michael Gilmer <meteoritemike_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed, 22 Jun 2011 18:20:16 -0400
Message-ID: <BANLkTimOGG1NrBbfLmxXj8g1Bt7yYy8unQ_at_mail.gmail.com>

Hi Gary and List,

I respect your patience and willingness to bring this out into the
open to warn others. You gave this dealer two months of chances to
make the deal right and if he had quietly gotten away with his scam,
other people would have gotten burned as well.

Whatever that material is, it is certainly not Taza, nor is it any
meteorite at all. I don't know what it is, but it looks very odd and
not very meteoritic. It is certainly not the same material pictured
in the initial offer photo.

Do you still have this bogus material? If so, maybe you get could
Blaine to shoot his "Element Gun" at it and get some idea of what that
stuff is. Is it some kind of sandblasted slag?

You may have little recourse to get your money back on this deal, but
look at it this way - the entire world via Google now knows about this
scammer. His chances of ripping off another buyer have just decreased
substantially. All of us should keep our eyes open, because he may
resurface later using another identity. This particular scammer has a
Facebook account and several list members are on his FB friends list.
Can any of those people verify for us that the scammer is still
actively posting on FB?

Best regards,

MikeG

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On 6/22/11, Gary Fujihara <fujmon at mac.com> wrote:
> Aloha all,
>
> I want to warn everyone about a dishonorable dealer of meteorites who lives
> in Morocco by the name of Lahcen Ait Ha.  Lahcen offered a 748g lot of NWA
> 859 Taza iron meteorites by showing me pictures of them by email.  I
> purchased the lot, but when I received his package, I realized that the
> material he sent me was not the same as the ones in the pictures.  Not only
> that, but I have doubts whether the material is meteoritic at all.  Needless
> to say, I returned the material immediately and contacted Lahcen to get a
> refund.   He has stalled and to this point has refused to return my money.
> Several honorable Moroccan meteorite dealers have contacted Lahcen to talk
> sense into him to return my money, but these efforts have been fruitless.  I
> have now waited over two months for resolution and yet there is no solution
> in sight, despite my efforts and those of my friends in Morocco.
>
> http://bigkahuna-meteorites.com/_BogusTaza.jpg
>
> I must say that the vast majority of meteorite dealers in Morocco are of
> unquestionable integrity and good character.  It is a pity that such a
> person is able to continue to perpetrate his fraudulent actions there.
>
> I implore all to NEVER DEAL WITH Lahcen Ait Ha.
>
> I never make posts like this because I have never had a need to do so.  But
> extenuating circumstances have forced me to make this public immediately to
> protect others from being victimized by this person.  Thank you for your
> understanding and caveat emptor.
>
> Gary Fujihara
> Big Kahuna Meteorites (IMCA#1693)
> 105 Puhili Place, Hilo, Hawai'i 96720
> http://bigkahuna-meteorites.com/
> http://shop.ebay.com/fujmon/m.html
> (808) 640-9161
>
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Received on Wed 22 Jun 2011 06:20:16 PM PDT