Fraud Alert

[tagalong]

I have called his cell phone and it sounds like an early 20's something guy.

I'm sorry - but with all due respect - why would you do this??!!

This is best left to the authorities and those who were involved - not to the rest of us who may have muddied things up and be walking a fine line between investigation and harrassment...

We are trying to find out what steps we can take, but it must be done the proper way. I have filed an online complaint with the webhost as well.
I also ask that no more people call, or email this individual. The proper authorities can deal with the individual, whether a child or adult, in the US or Over Seas.

Bolding mine. Exactly right. Well said.

 

[Amy]

I alos went to the link to see what horses were there-- says website does not exist -- it is gone.

 

[HGFarm]

My neighbors have filed a complaint through the site people and there was a note there that mentioned something about it would be forwarded to the police and my neighbors did request that.

Horsedude, I sent you a PM with their contact info in case you find anything more they might need to do or folks they need to contact.

 

[mininik]

Good grief! Right... because we know that those arial photographs are always current, and that if there doesn't look to be horse facilities on the property and the photo isn't current then there couldn't be facilities now or the horses couldn't be kept somewhere else... and we know everyone sounds their age on the phone... and certainly no high school aged kids take college courses!

What a mess. I hope some real detective work is done soon by those qualified to handle it.

 

[bingo]

I have called his cell phone and it sounds like an early 20's something guy.

I'm sorry - but with all due respect - why would you do this??!!

This is best left to the authorities and those who were involved - not to the rest of us who may have muddied things up and be walking a fine line between investigation and harrassment...

I must admit I wondered this as well. It didnt effect you if I am reading right and had none of your horses on the site why on earth would you call ?

 

[Az Gal]

I want to thank everyone who recognized my daughter's stallion "Desert Shadows Moon King" listed on the site as "Quiet Dells Snazzy Thunder" and let us know. Now, we need to know what steps we can take to stop this fraud.

Lenice

olneyfarms.com

 

[Miniv]

I wonder if MR. cody was doing this for a class at Mars Hill Technical College in VA?

I humbly disagree about this guy being a youth as I found Cody registered at Mars Hill Technical College in 2006 playing baseball in Virginia close to where they say they live. I have called his cell phone and it sounds like an early 20's something guy.

If you scan back to Marty's post.......The REAL Cody was 25 years old and was a junior baseball coach and has since passed away. What a sick mess........

 

[mininik]

Um, the REAL Cody? As if there can't be more than one person with the same or similar name out there? All we have is a first and last to go by, afterall. You know, my boyfriend celebrated his birthday last year on the same day an obituary was printed for a person who shared his name who lived here in the same, small city. They weren't related and didn't know eachother. I wonder who was the REAL _______ _______?

 

[tagalong]

I'm sorry guys - the REAL Cody??!! Some of this is getting seriously out of hand.

PLEASE read horsedude's comments about letting those involved and authorities handle it. Please stop making wild accusations, turning speculation into fact... and only making things murkier.

Nevermind - I'll repost horsedude's comments so that those who are intent are being Magnum PI do not need to break off their investigations to scroll back.... and I'll bold it and highlight as well...

We are trying to find out what steps we can take, but it must be done the proper way. I have filed an online complaint with the webhost as well.

I also ask that no more people call, or email this individual. The proper authorities can deal with the individual, whether a child or adult, in the US or Over Seas.

BTW - just as a demonstration - if you use the White Pages online you will see that there are at least 60 Cody Bowers listed across the country. Probably some more unlisted - or who are minors. Some of them may also sadly be deceased. And ALL of them - ALL OF THEM - are likely a "real" Cody....

[SIZE=8pt]ETA: I just had a terrible thought - and I pray that no one took it upon themselves to contact that bereaved family in TN to say that their Cody's identity was stolen... [/SIZE]

 

[Marty]

I sure don't think anyone should be calling this kid and should leave it up to the authorities.

Tag, the common denominator here is that the only person he chose to call that we know of

happens to live right down the road from me, here in Tennessee. And Cody Bowers was

in the news here in Tennessee a lot. That's why I think he is in this state just assuming a

false identity. Just a thought that it's not even his real name. I sure hope that no one has

been scammed out of any money. I'm sorry about this to all involved.

 

[tagalong]

Tag, the common denominator here is that the only person he chose to call that we know of happens to live right down the road from me, here in Tennessee. And Cody Bowers was

in the news here in Tennessee a lot. That's why I think he is in this state just assuming a

false identity. Just a thought that it's not even his real name. I sure hope that no one has

been scammed out of any money. I'm sorry about this to all involved.

Marty - as I noted above - there are many guys bearing that name. You just decided he was in Tennessee. Pure speculation and nothing else - and yet it has almost become fact - as comments like the REAL Cody demonstrate. He is likely where he says he is - in VA. Not that far from TN.

I'll bet there are many Michael Garrisons in TN, Marty

. And all of them are real, as well... and did not steal your Michael's name...

 

[MiniforFaith]

Did anyone save copies of his website before it was pulled?? I pray that someone did..

 

[Minimor]

If I google my own name I come up with an obituary for a 16 year old girl of the same name. After reading the above, I now have to wonder....was she the "real" one, or am I? Am I not entitled to my name????

 

[Lucky-C-Acres-Minis]

You'd be surprised how many people out there share the same name yet don't know each other, are not

related etc etc and yet, didn't "steal" one another's identity.. I went to school with a Michael Garrison, there's two girls in my sister's high school that have the same name yet not related, one's a freshman and ones a senior.. You wouldn't believe how many Ashley Smiths are out there, during when I was in high school there were at least two..

 

[Rauchmini's]

I'm not here to stir the pot but needed to say I have a email from the person "Cody", he wrote me about a mare I use to own named Dawsons Sara Sue that he currently owns. He wrote me on 3-5

I have never known,emailed or spoken to this person before and his email was very nice,I replied and tried helping him,he wrote again 3-12

I got on the forum later and read this post, I was shocked, so of course I saw the link to his site and clicked it, guess what Dawsons Sara Sue is NOT the horse he has advertised as her, in no way is it. He said he bought Sara from Angela Rector maybe she could help solve the case if someone may know her.

 

[bingo]

If you scan back to Marty's post.......The REAL Cody was 25 years old and was a junior baseball coach and has since passed away. What a sick mess........

Good Grief! The REAL Cody. Come on now with a very small amount of information we are now sure that there is no farm anywhere near that street with out buildings, that the person must go to college and we know what college he goes to. We are SURE we know that they really live overseas. We "know" that he is stealing the identity of a young adult who lived in TN.

COME ON FOLKS I have seen soap operas that have more reality in them. I realize everyone wants to help but talk about letting imaginations run wild and a mob mentality!

All we know is there is a web site out there with someone who claims to own horses and no one knows who or why the facts are very different then the speculation for sure and the speculation is a bit out of control!

 

[horsedude]

Good Morning Everyone.

I am going to try to put a kabosh on all of this DRAMA!!! I have seen this happen here far too many times on the forum. This is what keeps many people from posting on here, a simple thing gets exagerated, blown out of proportion, and taken way off track of the original topic. That has now happened on this very thread! This tread was started to make the Miniature Horse Industry aware of the fraud this individual was committing, and nothing more.

I appreciate all of the help people have been to us with advice and with forwarding any information they may have.

As of last night the website run by Cody has been shut down. I do not know if it was shut down by Piczo due to our complaints, or if the individual running this website shut it down because of the phone calls, emails, and guest book postings.

Thankfully I was able to figure out how to save the website to my laptop, page by page only minutes, and I do mean only minutes before the site disappeared forever. I was very lucky. I am sorry that a few individuals decided to take actions into their own hands instead of letting the individuals directly involved handle the situation. I guess that is the risk that one takes when posting information on a public forum. I do not believe anyone was trying to do anything intentionally, sometimes some people just get too involved in things that do not pertain to them. I can only hope these actions will not come back to bite us in the butt.

As far as who is the "Real Cody".....please stop the speculation. Yes identity theft is a possibility. But it is possible that it's just the kid pictured on the website. Yes, there are probably hundreds of individuals out there who share the same name and live in the same or different state. Some may be alive, some may be dead. I am a licensed funeral director and have cared for individuals who shared the same name in the same county and had no relation to one another. There are many possibilities one could speculate over. You know what they say about assume......

I have spoken with Martha and Liz and we have all agreed upon the course of action. I wanted to raise public awareness and I believe I accomplished just that. But thats not to say in a few months this will not happen again to othes. That is why we must all make wise decisions when conducting business on the internet. My website will be rebuilt to try to prevent this type of thing from ever happening to me again.

Thank you all again. Please, no more speculaton or drama. Everything is being handled! Just be sure to use this as a learning experience and to tell every horse owner that you know about Cody from Virginia.

 

[Riverdance]

If you scan back to Marty's post.......The REAL Cody was 25 years old and was a junior baseball coach and has since passed away. What a sick mess........

Good Grief! The REAL Cody. Come on now with a very small amount of information we are now sure that there is no farm anywhere near that street with out buildings, that the person must go to college and we know what college he goes to. We are SURE we know that they really live overseas. We "know" that he is stealing the identity of a young adult who lived in TN.

COME ON FOLKS I have seen soap operas that have more reality in them. I realize everyone wants to help but talk about letting imaginations run wild and a mob mentality!

All we know is there is a web site out there with someone who claims to own horses and no one knows who or why the facts are very different then the speculation for sure and the speculation is a bit out of control!

Actually, We do know what the farm looks like, as you can down load the aerial map. BUT, that does not mean it is his farm, just that this is the place that matched the address. We do not even know if Cody is his real name! For all we know he is using a fictitious name. Anyone who is sophisticated enought to build a web site, advertise in different horse publications, use a cell phone number that coresponds with the area he says he is living, and try to negotiate sales on non existant horses, is sophisticated enough to not use his real name.

 

[Flaxenacres]

The quarter horse on his web is not owned by cody it is owned byMark Dehave of hillsville Va.

 

[Katiean]

Tag, the common denominator here is that the only person he chose to call that we know of

happens to live right down the road from me, here in Tennessee. And Cody Bowers was

in the news here in Tennessee a lot. That's why I think he is in this state just assuming a

false identity. Just a thought that it's not even his real name. I sure hope that no one has

been scammed out of any money. I'm sorry about this to all involved.

Marty, I googled my name and found out someone by my name was assalted by a football player. So, since I am older than the woman mentioned did she steel my identity? Am I the real Kathy or is she?