E-Bay Ripoff Scammer Only Sends A Picture
By John Hancock
Investigative Reporter
Los Angeles- Scamers live in the shadows. It's a rare occurrence when one actually appears in court to defend their scam. Appearing on national television is tantamount to legal and public suicide, but that's exactly with Kelli Filkins did and she did it on 'Judge Judy'.
Filkins then sent two pictures of the cell phones (no actual phones) to the Davenports in Orlando, Florida. Filkins defense was that the Davenports could not read.
Filkins attempted to convince Judge Judy that all she was actually selling was in fact, pictures of the cell phones, but no actual phones.
Judge Sheinlin was visible agitated and repeatedly told the defendant that she was a scammer, a thief and an outrageous person. Judge Sheinlin inferred that she was sure that the IRS would be interested in Filkins and her husband's business dealings on eBay.
The Davenports told the judge that the Attorney General (in Florida) was investigating her case as well as three others. Davenport also said that eight other people had also been scammed by Filkins in the same eBay auctions.
To add insult to injury, when Davenport called Filkins's home demanding the phones or a refund, Filkins husband told her that she got what she paid for and thanks for the spending spree.
Filkins then placed derogatory feedback against Davenport and her daughter. Filkins posted a statement calling Davenport a scam artist, claiming that Davenport had paid counterfeit postal money orders from Nigeria.
Judge Sheinlin, in a brilliant move found a major mistake that Filkins overlooked in her auction. Judge Sheinlin pointed out that in the accompanying specifications for the cell phone, that the weight of the I-80 cell phones was 4.9oz but the two pictures and envelope together weighed much less and therefore was not the product advertised. It's reasonable to assume that law enforcement will use that fact as a basis to bring felony charges against Filkins and her husband.
Los Angeles Current
