[meteorite-list] Warning about Lahcen Ait Ha

From: meteoriteguy.com <mike_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu, 23 Jun 2011 06:36:09 +0200
Message-ID: <58363F8B-84B3-4E4A-8030-F054F3BC4115_at_meteoriteguy.com>

Actually he will still rip off buyers. We have many scammers who for years have been exposed on this list and are still active. The desire for a possible good deal drives people to abandon their senses.
Michael Farmer

Sent from my iPhone

On Jun 23, 2011, at 12:20 AM, Michael Gilmer <meteoritemike at gmail.com> wrote:

> 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
>
> --
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Galactic Stone & Ironworks - Meteorites & Amber (Michael Gilmer)
>
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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 Thu 23 Jun 2011 12:36:09 AM PDT