On August 11, while I was at the Nantucket Show, Julie Bell forwarded an email she received (I left all the errors contained in the emails):
Hello,
I would like to inquire about your piece titled Paradise Green “hopefully still available for sale,so we can proceed
Regards
Olivia&Andrew Shawn
I was very suspicious, but Julie wanted me to follow-up just in case so I sent this reply:
Olivia,
Thank you for your interest in Julie Bells work. Paradise Green is an excellent example and priced at $9,500. Please let me know if you have any further interest.
All the best,
Howard L. Rehs
I then sent Julie the following email:
Julie
I sent the person an email. It is a very odd email and it is my guess that this is a bogus one … but we shall see.
It was another 5 days before I received the following reply:
Hello
Thanks for getting back to me in a timely manner, I would like to go ahead with the purchase,I think it will be good piece to hang on the wall of our new home ,you can get back with the total price of the piece including the shipping quote to our address below.
Shipping Details Below
304 Mitchell Road
Greenville Sc 29615
We will be glad to remit the payment via cashiers check from our local bank, in the mean time you can get back with the following details for a smooth and legit transactions to avoid hassle from both side,
Information Needed Below
Name in full or Company name to remit payment
Physical Address to put the check into mail via our local post office with a tracking # to be provided A mobile phone # to get in touch in case of any lost of mail from both side or human error
Hope to read from you soon,
Regards ,
Olivia
Now I was 110% sure this was a scam; but I figured let’s see how far they would go. I needed a little entertainment and an article.
Before replying, I went online and typed in the home address … I discovered the home was for sale — $135,000 – and that it last sold in 2015 for $120,000. I also tried searching for the sender’s names and nothing came up. Both of these issues confirmed my conclusion – BOGUS!
I then sent the following:
Olivia
Thank you for your reply. The price quoted includes shipping and we can either accept a personal check (drawn on a US bank) or a wire transfer. You can send payment as follows:
For a check:
Rehs Contemporary Galleries, Inc.
5 East 57th Street – 8th Floor
New York, NY 10022
For wire transfer:
ABA #…
JPMorgan Chase Bank
450 PARK AVENUE
NEW YORK, NY 10022
FOR: REHS CONTEMPORARY GALLERIES, INC.
ACCOUNT #……
Once payment is received and funds have cleared our account the painting will be shipped via Federal Express.
Howard L. Rehs
After a few days with no reply I assumed this was over … but I was wrong. Guess they figured I was a live one! On the 23rd I received the following:
Hi Howard L,
Hope this message finds you well. Sorry I have not been able to get in touch for the past couple of days.Anyway, I will like to confirm that the payment was sent by my husband yesterday via USPS with tracking number 9405501699320090958390 and he was advise you will have it deliver on Thursday kindly be on the look out for it.the shipping fees was also included ,Acknowledge this email as soon as possible. Thank you.
Best Regards,
Deborah
The first thing I noticed, the email was signed Deborah – odd that they could not remember who they were! In addition, they included the shipping costs — my original email stated that shipping was included. Then I went to the USPS site to track the package … yes, there was a letter sent to us and it was going to be delivered on Wednesday. Since I was in Baltimore by this time I called Alyssa and asked her to please send me a photo of the check when it arrived.
Alyssa called on Wednesday and emailed me a copy of the check … it was made out for $12,450 – so I guess, in their mind, it was going to cost $1,950 to ship the painting to S.C. In addition, the remitter was an Andrea Martin — a new player.
I sent back the following email to Olivia/Deborah/Andrea:
Your check arrived … But you sent too much.
It was not too long until I received a reply:
Howard,
Good to hear back from you. I am so excited and can’t wait to have the paintings on my wall. I hope to give it a very good home and enjoy the paintings for many years. Let me know as soon as you put the paintings in the mail.
Meanwhile, I spoke with my husband and it seems he made a mistake and overpaid you. I am very sorry for the confusion but I will like you to go ahead and deposit the check, deduct the cost of the paintings plus shipping to my address below . Then you can forward the difference back to him.
304 Mitchell Road
Greenville Sc 29615
917 983 5008 [917 is a New York area code]
Kindly acknowledge this email as soon as you can. Thanks.
Best Regards,
Olivia
Paintings? There was only one. I started to wonder how many other galleries they contacted and how much copying and pasting they were doing. But hey, at least she got her name right this time!
I then decided to call Chemical Bank in Michigan to confirm that the check was in fact no good. I was able to reach an operator pretty quickly and after a short discussion of my situation her first question was: is the check drawn on a NY bank. I told her I was unable to determine where the check was from, but there was an image of the state of Michigan on the check. I then told her it was signed by Nicole Good … there was no hesitation —that check is no good. I guess they must have received a number of them already!
Then something strange happened – I received a text message from the 917 number telling me that they put a check in the mail on behalf of my wife I want to hope it arrived safely. My reply: Think we should end this. Bank said the check is no good.
The following day I received another email:
The payment arrived in the mail yesterday,can you please confirm with the recipient,
Thanks
I guess these scammers do not keep each other informed, so once again, I sent this: Please drop this. The bank confirmed the check is no good.
It has now been a few weeks and no follow-up from the, so I guess they got the message. Think I will frame that check!
Oh, on August 30th I did another search for the shipping address and discovered the listing was removed. Curiosity got the best of me so I called the listing broker who told me that the property is now under contract. Wonder how many packages are on their way to S.C. … those new owners might be getting a lot of HOT housewarming gifts.