Complaints against Vanessa Tomsett
Bridgeman Rd. (also used 30245 13 Mile Rd) &
Isabel Price at 1296 Desiax in Bloomfield Hills, MI
Farmington Hills, Michigan , Southfield MI 48076 

**Important New Information at the Bottom of this page!

If you were a victim, please contact: U. S. Attorney's office is Sandy Palazzolo, phone 313-226-9510.

NEW: Amy Miller, Carolyn Jacobson, and "Art Memories" 
John Peterson - Orchard Lake, MI. 48324
taxman@kozmail.com, jfpete@hotmail.com, skyblue@graffiti.com

NEW:  Gabriella (Gabby) Swanson, j.f.mccarty, Jennifer mccarty, Laura Nelson,
Carol Crawford
Be aware of the names Frances Long, Evelyn Parker, Karen Silverton,
Lindsay Jacobs, V & L Gift Baskets, Thomas Randall,
franev92@spyring.com, k2silver@usa.net,
passonby@yahoo.com, tom99@lycosmail.com
 NEW: gswan@tech-center.com, j.f.mccarty@usa.net,
zap829@hotmail.com, ccraw@email.com
 
NEW ADDRESSES:
Burke Publishing PO Box 530023  
Livonia, Mi.  48153-0023
1955 Wellington Ave in Bloomfield Hills
P.O. Box 1215, Novi,MI 48376
P.O. Box 240381 - Orchard Lake, MI 48324

NEW ADDRESS
Using Vanessa Griffin Southfield, MI 48076
swan8@ucsd.com, vgriffin@ameritech.net

aka..Denise Griffin, Denise Tomsett, Mitzie Griffen, The Memory Secretary (address.. Orchard Lakr.Rd, Sylvan Lake, MI),  Isabelle Price, Jenifer Larson  
email addresses..tartan4@ameritech.net, dgriff19@yahoo.com, mloola@yahoo.com, tyedye13@yahoo.com, peace_lvn@yahoo.com, izzy.l@usa.net, v_girl19@lyahoo.com

If you have questions about the complaint, please
contact the person who it was filed by.

May/June, 1998
Complaint filed by: pedger10@coredcs.com (aka.. Gramma Pat)

Vanessa Tomsett agreed to purchase retired beanies from me on May 22, 1998. We agreed that she would send a money order and upon receipt, I would ship the beanies. On May 26, I received a check written on the business account of The Memory Secretary. It was for $10 more than we agreed upon with a notation to add the extra to cost of insurance. Unfortunately, being a trusting soul, I deposited the check and shipped the beanies. On June 5th the check from the Memory Secretary was returned by my credit union stamped "Account Closed". After sending an email to Vanessa with no response, I told her I was contacting authorities and she would be responsible for all expenses incurred. She immediately responded that she had business problems, and a money order would be in the mail first thing the next day. By June 11 I still hadn't heard anything. In the meantime I had contacted the WI police,(who contacted the FBI,) the MI police, the US Postal Service Internet Fraud Division, Detroit, and the bad trader lists and was about to contact the Attorney General's office. (Don't mess with me, guys! I pull out the big guns right away!) After continued postings on the Ty guestbook and the bad trader lists, I compiled a list of over a dozen others who were also scammed. She used various names and email addresses. Some of those are Denise Griffin, Vanessa Griffin, D. Griffin, Denise Tomsett, Mitzie Griffin, memsec@ yahoo.com, tartan4@ameritech.net, dgriff@yahoo.com. I emailed her daily informing her of the progress of the investigation with copies going to the Inspector. On June 22 I told her the WI police had contacted the FBI. The next day I received a message saying the first replacement money order she sent got lost in the mail and she was sending a Cashier's Check immediately. I received the Cashier's check on June 26 for $110 the total amount of the bad check. To my knowledge no one else has received reimbursement as of June 27. If you would like updates, please write to me.

I have spoken to Inspector Bob Lane several times. There is no mistake involved here. She closed the account back in April, knowingly wrote checks on a closed account. He knows of 6 or 7 others, another girl also emailed me this morning in response to my post on the GB, and she has also spoken to him. He said they should have enough to arrest her now, wants to know who all is involved and asked me to post the notice this morning. He is VERY nice and helpful, seems to really care about getting us our Beanies or money back from her. He wants copies of any emails you have between you and Vanessa and a copy of the returned check sent to him, faxed if possible. I'd suggest you call him, but I do have his fax number and mailing address if you'd rather.  My check is for $142, the other girl I "spoke to" this morning has one for $143, so this is adding up to quite a bit if there are several others involved.

I have no emails or a letter from her; just a returned closed account check. The email I sent The Memory Secretary came back yesterday as undelivered. This person really planned this out. I have lost $80 plus $7 in banking fees. Update..June 25... I received an email from Vanessa today saying that she is shipping my 4 beanies back with the $7 fee for my bank's surcharge. I'll let you know if they ever arrive.

Update: June 29, 1998 - I just wanted to let you know that I just received my 4 beanies back with $7 cash inside!

Vanessa or Denise whatever she goes by sent me a check instead of a money order. It was for twenty dollars more than our agreement. I put the check in my account and emailed her that I would have to wait until the check cleared the bank before I could mail her beanies. I never heard from her again and I got a notice from my bank and a charge of $4 for a check that came from a closed account. The Memory Secretary.

I placed a ad on the Ty Guestbook for 6 valentino's for $75.00 and I'll pay the postage. She answered the ad and I thought I made a sell to her. Then came the bad check. The rest you know. I'll keep an eye out for future updates.  

I sent Vanessa a NF Brown Teddy and Zip. She sent me a check for $118 that was written on a closed account. I had to pay $143 to NPC Check Services to cover her bad check and bank fees . Nothing has been resolved, I am out $143 and my 2 retired beanies.

Memory Secretary place an order with us on on April 27th. The order was for Garcia and the cost was $185 + $3 shipping for a total of $188. We received a personal check and sent Garcia Monday, May 4th. We received notice that the check was not honored by our bank. At that point, we tried to phone her (phone disconnected) and e-mail her at memsec.yahoo.com (never received a response.) After reading a post by Pat Edgerton on a bad traders list, we contacted Inspector Bob Lane at the US Postal Fraud Division and he is very aware of this matter. He has fax copies of all our correspondence with Vanessa. We sent a "final notice" to Vanessa requesting payment and used the address tartan4@ameritech.net as this address was provided by Pat. We will be filing a complaint with the Farmington Hills Police department tomorrow. She has not contacted us in any way to settle this matter, so we are still out $188 + $3 bank service charge fee for her returned check.

I was involved with a sale to"Mitzie Griffen" mloola@yahoo.com. She wanted 7 of my retired beanies for $175 plus $5 shipping. I asked for a money order, but she sent a business check from "the Memory Secretary" in May. The check was returned to me "account closed", and she has the beanies. She has said that she will send the beanies back to me, but so far, nothing has been returned. She has now stopped answering my emails.

After 42 terrific sales I ran into Vanessa. She ordered 6 Zips for 200.00 inc shipping, and she was to send an mo as that is what we agreed upon. When her payment arrived I realized that it was not an mo but an account looking like one so I wrote her back and said I would need to wait 10 days for it to clear as I had been warned to do by advice on the ty page and other sources also. I waited the ten days but because my husband was going out of town I checked with my bank on the eleventh day only to be told that they had just been notified to stop payment on the check. Had I checked one day earlier it would have appeared fine and I would have sent 6 Zips for zip in payment as she would have received them and I would have found out one day too late that the funds were not available. I later received her check back with account closed stamped on it and I was charged 4.50 for the problem acc. to our bank fees.  
 I emailed immediately in a neutral way asking her if there was a problem and she never responded, which of course was not a good sign. Of course, I have not heard anything since, but my Zips are safely at home and not in her possession. However, it was only by luck that I did not act on the tenth day and send them out.

She ripped me off ($122) as well...

I have had an unfortunate dealing with this Vanessa Tomsett, Denise Tomsett, Vanessa Griffin. I mailed her $200 worth of beanies in trade and she never mailed me hers. She used this e-mail address: tyedye13@yahoo.com. She also uses peace_lvn@yahoo.com and has had several other addresses. Her home address and phone number may be: 30245 13 Mile Rd., Farmington, MI 48334-2260. The woman answering this phone number is probably her- she denies knowing Denise Tomsett, or even having a computer, but Tomsett gave her e-mail address (peace_lvn@yahoo.com) as a reference to check. I received two replies from this address (saying she had had a great trade with Denise Tomsett!) and checked out the name and address using the internet white pages. V H & Rob Griffin 30245 13 Mile Rd., etc. The e-mail address is similar to Tomsett's (tyedye, peace_lvn, and both are yahoo.com). And of course, both mailing addresses are in Farmington a few miles from each other. I agreed to a trade with "Denise Tomsett" where she was to send me a mwmt Sting for my mwct Garcia and three lesser beanies. I sent mine priority insured, and she said she did the same-1st lie. Hers never did arrive and she said it must have been lost and claimed that the postal service would reclaim her money. (You have to wait at least two weeks before you can trace a package-2nd lie.) She then said she'd mail back my beanies which have never arrived-3rd lie. Her references all turned out to be non-existent or her own e-mail accounts. She has not replied to my msgs for about a week now.

I had an ad for Maple for sale and a person named Denise Griffen responded and said she was interested. We wrote back and forth and worked out a deal where I would ship Maple UPS COD cash only. She didn't want to save money on shipping by sending me a MO. I sent Maple and she never was home to receive the package. I am not out a lot, just $14 in shipping but she confirmed a deal she had no intention of going through with. I think she hoped I would screw up and not sent it COD. Meanwhile my Maple was traveling all over for 3 weeks for nothing.

We received a cheque in the mail from "The Memory Secretary" for the amount of $300.00US on June 2, 1998.  We always ask for money orders but she sent a cheque, so we deposited the cheque into the bank and waited for the bank to clear it. On June 17, 1998 we noticed the amount was taken out from the account. We inquired about this and we told from our bank "the account was closed".   Also when we did receive the cheque on June 2, 1998, we did email her to ask why she sent a cheque and not a money order but we received no reply. We did not send out our beanie babies, so we never lost any beanies but we might have bank charges and our time was lost.

I have done a trade with Vanessa. She sent me a check and now the Bank is calling telling me the account is closed. So now I have to pay it back.

I had a bad deal with Vanessa. She sent me a check for a Maple & Spot. I allowed a week & a half for the check to clear before mailing. The check came back account closed the Monday following the Friday I had mailed them.

I'd appreciate hearing from you concerning your payment of $171.95 Your checking account was closed and your phone #'s disconnected, please respond to make arrangements to pay for your 9 Beanies and 50 Tag Protectors that we shipped out on May 12th.

Response from Vanessa: this checking account has recently been closed and new arrangements will be made to compensate you immediately. ie: money order. please send shipping info.

This is the last I heard from her. I sent my address and she responded that it would be taken care of, it's been 10 days and no Money Order.

I had the run in with her from May to June and finally June 15th, she mailed mine back.. I did have quite a bout with her and fortunately some friends of mine did not let up on her and she finally got tired of (my dogs) as she would say. I did send all information to the Post Master in Florida and let them know she was defrauding people. I also contact the Police Dept. in Florida and in Farmington Hills, Michigan to let them know...All I could do was hire a PI to find out more information about her and file it in small claims court. The original agreement was she would send me Brittania, Righty and Lefty for my Coral, Sting, Manny and Sparky..she never sent hers and kept mine. I followed all her E-mail changes. Finally, Wed. June 17th I received my beanies back which she had only Mailed on Monday, the 15th..She did write several threatening e-mails to me (several name changes but all the same person).

I have seen many messages about Vanessa Tomsett aka Denise Griffin aka Memory Secretary in Farmington Hills Mi. She has ripped me off too.  Luckily I only ship COD cash so I got my package back but it cost me almost $14 to ship it.  I will pursue this through the Detroit police.  Her email WAS dgriff19@yahoo.com. but she changes it frequently.

I sold Denise Griffin of the Memory Secretary 2 absolutely mint beanies around the end of April/first of May. I sold her Bessie and Flash. On or about the 7th or 8th of May I received a personal check from the Memory Secretary. I went ahead and sent her the beanies and cashed the check. Approximately 2 weeks later I was notified by my bank that the check was bad and the account she had written it on was closed. After reading the bad traders list I found her name again and contacted Det. Lane. I wrote Denise on the same day and to my surprise was emailed right back. As of Sunday July 5th I have received no beanies or money back yet however she says she mailed them on July 3rd. I hope they are returned in the same condition as they left my home. I will keep you posted as to the result.

Update: July 6  - received Beanies back from Vanessa

I also had a bad experience with her, her email addy's are: tartan4@ameritech.net, MEMSEC@YAHOO.COM, v_girl19@yahoo.com, ness_19@yahoo.com (Name Vanessa Tomsett, also uses Company Name of Memory Secretary): Vanessa ordered beanies from me. She used a company check and I waited 10 days for it to clear then sent out the beanies. The next day, I get  a bounced check from my bank and that the acct. had been closed the same day that the check was written!!! I emailed her if it was a mistake or what... and she said with the confusion on changing acct's, etc.. That it had been an error. I requested payment via money order ASAP. I was charged by my bank for this, and needed it corrected. However, I have yet to receive any type of payment from her!!!!!!!!!! I emailed her many times and she would email back and say things like, "I have emailed you back after your emails." However, it shouldn't take 5 to 6 emails to get 1 response back from a person! She said she sent it Western Union and I was concerned and advised her to trace her money order... I'm sorry but it has been a long time since I have last heard from her... I have sent many emails to all her different email addresses!! I am afraid that I am out of the $$$ and my beanies!!

In response to a post on Lemon Lainey's Beanie Babies Bulletin Board I entered a good faith trade with one "Isabelle Price" - my MWBT Garcia, Coral, and Kuku for her MWBT Britannia. At "Isabelle's" request both trades were to be mailed on Thursday, July 2, 1998, via US Postal services priority mail. In good faith I sent my beanies (insured with return receipt requested), however to date I have not receive my Britannia nor do I receive any responses from "Isabelle." In addition to offering to trade or sell beanies "Isabelle" posted offers to sell CD ROM Beanie programs for $20.00 plus shipping.   I know of one other individual who also has an uncompleted trade with "Isabelle."   I have filed forms with the US Post Office and the Bloomfield Hills Police. The names I have are Isabelle Price, Jenifer Larson (signature on the return receipt form) and an unknown first name Griffin all at 1296 Desiax Avenue, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, 48302. The e-mail address used was izzy.l@usa.net.

I sent a package to Isabel Price at 1296 Desiax in Bloomfield Hills Mi on August 3, 1998. She answered an add on the lemonlaineydesign page saying she had a Grunt, a Garcia and a Tusk and maybe we could work out a deal. I wrote back saying I would trade 2 Glories,2 Fortunes, 2 Wise, 2 Gigis and 1 Erin for the Garcia and the Grunt and she agreed. Her references were Jane123@iamit.com and thepretty1@hotmail.com. I wrote to both and they both said that she was excellent. I shipped and never heard from her again.. Her E mail is izzy.l@usa.net. Today I heard from the Bloomfield Township Police. Her real name is Vanessa Thomsett and she lives at 34550 Bridgemon, Farmington Hills MI. and the address that she steals at of course are her parents and they claim it's her. I want to know why they accept packages addressed to their daughters fraudulent names and then sign Jennifer Larson to pick up packages.   Their names are Mr and Mrs. William Bramble. They live at the address that this so called Isabel Price lives at.

Message: I just read on the TY Guest Book that a lady (scammer) that scammed in in April 98 is still out there scamming people. I want to post my story so that any of you that need my input to your formal complaint may do so.  Here is goes.. Vanessa Tomsett ordered $262.25 (w/ shipping) of TY beanie retireds from me and wrote the check on a closed bank account:
MEMORY SECRETARY
Orchard Lake Rd
Sylvan Lak, MI 48320
BANK: NBD BANK, Town Square Office 664, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48302
ph#248-857-5914
ACC#: 000387 (this part is just the check#)-072000326-175001560515 (I still have the checked clearly marked "ACCOUNT CLOSED" if any of the officials need it in this investigation. She had her merchandise shipped to:
The Memory Secretary
34550 Bridgeman
Farmington Hills, MI 48335
She was married to a Duncan Tomsett. She had two different ph#s listed on the internet under Duncan Tomsett's name: 248-338-2128 (but really was a Brian Cameron at that ph#), but I think the real ph# for her was 248-888-1265 (now that # appears to be disconnected). There was a Detective Clancy (ph# I think may be 248-855-1973)supposedly investigating this Vanessa Tomsett (per Mrs. Cameron (Alveston St)who kept getting calls for Vanessa and her other scams and unpaid bills!) There was supposedly credit card fraud possibly going on also (per Mrs. Cameron who was getting all the calls and did not know Vanessa Tomsett at all). When I was scammed, Vanessa Tomsett used 2 different email addresses:
vanessa.tomsett@gte.nt
v_girl19@lyahoo.com
I hope my input can help some of you trying to recoup fraud from this scammer now. I can't believe she is still in operation! From what I read she has several new scamming names now too. I called about filing on her and the check was under $300 and I have to file in my State which does not extradite under $300 from another state. She is a liar and a scammer! Best of luck to the reportedly 20 or more folks currently trying to prosecute this Vanessa Tomsett scammer.

From: Robert M Lane <RMLane@uspis.gov
Date: Thursday, September 10, 1998 1:23 PM
Subject: Beanie case

If you could do me a favor, post a caution on your bulletin board concerning doing business with P.O. Box 1215, Novi,MI 48376.  Be aware of the names Frances Long, Evelyn Parker, V & L Gift Baskets, Vanessa Tomsett: these names are doing business at that post office box.  Require return receipts with any business transacted at that address and if sending any items, send it cash C.O.D. Thanks,
Bob Lane
Postal Inspectors
Detroit,MI
313-226-8246

Frances D Long got me for $250 a few weeks ago. Now I see she is Vanessa Tomsett. She has two PO Boxes in NOVI MI and the other is in Northville MI.  She is on EBAY now as FRANFRAN I have informed ebay of her. I don't know whats going to happen. It seems like this Bob Lane will do something.

I have been scammed by Vanessa Tomsett. She used the name Karen Silverton and the P.O. Box 1215 Novi, MI address. I was to trade my MWNT Manny and $25 (thank god I sent a check and have put a stop payment on it). She was to send me a MWMT Sting, well guess what, you guessed it no Sting. So I have been posting her name and recent e-mail on the trading boards (k2silver@usa.net) and have found 3 other people that have been scammed by her. I will be giving them your e-mail address if that is OK so that we can all combine in the effort to get this person prosecuted and behind bars where she should be. Hmm, I wonder if they allow you to have Beanie Babies in prison, I doubt it!!! LOL. Well, PLMK if there is anything you need. I have saved all correspondence with her and I did send my package via Certified mail, so she had to sign for it (Forgery??).

I sent a Money Order certified mail on Saturday 9-12-98 to a person in the name of Karen Silverton P.O.Box 1215 Novi Mi 48376-1215 and have not received my Beanie babie that she was paid $128.00 for.

I have today sent 425$ an erin and a glory to a Lindsay Jacobs who has the same p.o box no: as Vanessa Tomsett.  I live in the u.k and don't really know how to go about this.

looks like your bad trader has a new name of karen silverton.  k2silver@usa.net i tried a trade with her for my daughter who are 8 and 5 and we lost dearly. i've never had a problem and i am not sure what to do.

Strike up another one for the scammer Frances Long, Vanessa Tomsett or whatever alias she is using this week. Mailed Frances a money order ($415)at PO Box 1215 Novi, MI for Grunt, Digger, Kiwi, and Chops on August 21.  Money order company said it was cashed on August 27 and guess what, no beanies and of course she doesn't answer her email.

I saw Tamra Borsons message on the Beanie Trading post. I also have scammed by Vanessa calling herself Isabelle Price Of 1296 Desiax, Bloomfield Hills MI 48302. I bid on 2 item lots on you buy and won. She contacted me with her address and I mailed her a check for $260.50 on June 29th. I waited 3wks to allow the check to clear and e-mailed her several times to see when she had mailed my purchase. I heard nothing back so YOUBUY e-mailed her,after I had explained the situation them, and they suspended her selling rights. Then she contacted me explaining that she had 2 near deaths in her family and could not get it together and would mail the Beanies or return my money.That was July 31st. As yet nothing. I contacted her several times more explaining I was going to report her to the internet Fraud and the MI police. I am in the process of doing just that. My check was paid into the Standard Federal Bank Troy MI and she signed the back Isabelle Price # 0154002499 also written on the back of the check. Paid in July 6th. I have e-mailed Bob Lane with the details. Let me know if there is anything else I can do to stop this crook.

Im filing a complaint on this individual,after reviewing the bad traders list i see im not alone i sent mo for 800.00 dollars to po box  530023 in livonia michigan.she has a new alias, its thomas randall of burke publishing a mans name i got an address of 1955 wellington ave in bloomfeild hills michigan for the po box.i sent certified letter demanding my money back she signed it christine taylor another alias well my be on lookout for these new aliases any questions e-mail me----rob

new email used: tom99@lycosmail.com

What happened to me was that I was selling beanie babies on www.ebay.com the items I was selling was Splash and Flash, the auction # is 15273946. The final bid was for $125.00 plus $6.50 for S&H&I. Once I got the check I sent out the beanies, then a week or so later I got the check back. The named she used was Vanessa Griffen, her e-mail address was peace_lvn@yahoo.com, the address that I sent the beanies to was
34550 Bridgeman
Farmington Hills, MI 48335
The date that the auction ended was May 29, 1998. I contacted her on the 30th, then the date on the check was May 31, 1998, and the check was returned on June 12, 1998. So my total losses were $131.50, I had not bank charges. And the check was from Memory Secretary.

Add me to the list of people being ripped off by Vanessa Tomsett, known to me as "Justine Curtis." I answered an ad she had on a bulletin board for a Coral beanie for $125. She e-mailed me several refs, which I'm sure were all hers, and surprise, they check out! I sent $125 to the Burke Publishing address and of course, I never received my beanie. I am doing everything humanly possible to put this thief behind bars.

PO Box 530023
Livonia, MI. 48153-0023

This address matched Vanessa Tomsett's address. That is what tipped me but just a little to late.

204.233.143.2 writes:

I to was ripped off by this scammer. I won her auction on up4sale and sent her a MO the next day, but never heard another word from her. DO NOT have any dealings with this person. soulec@phibred.com

Watch Out for Tom99
Tuesday, 03-Nov-98 21:29:35

199.240.78.203 writes:

I'm responding on behalf of my daughter who was taken for $180 on a Britannia Bear by seller Tom99. On 9/24/98, my daughter was emailed by Tom99 that she had won the Britannia bear. My daughter in good faith mailed Tom99 $180, to include shipping, but never received the product. I was informed of the situation and attempted several times through email to get this person's attention but never did get a response. At that point, I contacted our local postal service and am in the process of a mail fraud case against this Tom99.

Word of Caution - DON'T DEAL WITH THIS PERSON. SHE IS BAD NEWS!!!

jbachand@mato.com

I have been scammed by carol crawford, going under the e-mail address of ccraw@email.com, phone number 248-818-0860, address p.o.box 530023,  Livonia MI 48153-0023, I sent her 80.00 for beanies that i have never received.  She has been answering my e-mails and said she didnt get to send out my order until late at night, but that she was going on a vacation to florida until after thanksgiving and when she came back would offer more deals on beanies. Just wanted to let someone know the infamous scammer Vaness Thomsett has posted new ads on KNK and other classified sites last night. She is now using the name Laura Nelson at zap829@hotmail.com. But she is still using the same p.o. box as carol crawford.

I had supposedly won this 2nd auction from her which included a Britannia bear and Erin beanie bears. She sent all of the items except for the most expensive one which, of course was Britannia. It was $375.00. I tried calling her from the phone number listed on her "haggle auction information".  It had been disconnected. I sent a money order to this address:
M. Griffin
34550 Bridgeman
Farmington Hills, MI 48335

This all took place on or about June 5, 1998. I sent several e-mails and they were all left unanswered. As you can tell she used 2 different names when contacting me. I hope that you find her and that we get our money back.  I did ask her to send me a refund, but I never got one or a response either.

207.7.26.29 writes:

Chalk one up for old Vanessa! Now she calls herself Carol Crawford. Same PO Box in Livonia. I contacted Bob Lane as well. I sent her $73 Money order for 4 newbies which I am sure I will never see. I was one day late in stopping payment, I was alerted after she cashed the Mo. I am in the process of receiving a copy of the cashed mo, and will forward that as well. Please, lets get something done about her. Maybe flood her parents address with stop ripping us off mail. Put the heat on her and make her feel like we all do now. I for one and getting the stamps out now!

I would like to add JOHN PETERSON to the bad traders list because of the following trade::In answer to JOHN PETERSON message I agreed to send money for LIBEARTY. It has been about two weeks and I have not hard anthing from him. If anyone had any info your help would be appreciated. The money order was sent on 12/28 prority mail. I have contacted the post office and connot put a trace on the money order until 30days.Beleive me I will follow up. I have leftwarrnings on the message I got the trade info off of. If you have any sugesstions how to handle please e-mail me.This is his last email to me:

Hi, John here! I received your message, and would be happy to continue this deal with you. here is my full name and an address where you can send the$. I will keep you informed on the arrival of the funds. thanks again. John John Peterson P.O. Box 240381 Orchard Lake, MI 48324

Just for other information I have e-mailed him a few time and also asked for information from his references. They are: Vincent Shevrio shevrio@prontomail.com, spam2@ohio-state.com (Brandi) They never responded to the request for informaiton but they did respond the first request for reference. My guess they are all working together.

I was the victim of this person back in the Summer and contacted Bob Lane, I have not heard anything from him and am in the UK so don't what is happening. I can't believe this lady (NOT!) is still getting away with this...Please beware everyone......My loss $330.00

I purchased two beanies on CityAuction, Libearty and Britannia and sent the money to Laura Nelson and Gabriella (Gabby) Swan as directed by money orders. Unfortunately, I didn't notice, because the money orders were mailed days apart, that they were sharing the same P.O. Box 240381 in Orchard Lake, MI. This is near Livonia and Farmington Hills, so I believe we're dealing with Vanessa Tomsett again. I'm out $340. The money orders were traced back, and I learned they were cashed in Farmington Hills on the same date.

Gabriella (Gabby) Swanson
P.O. Box 240381
Orchard Lake, MI 48324

email: gswan@tech-center.com

I've exchanged mail with Grammy Pat on this trader. She has forwarded my message to Bob Lane, the Detroit postal inspector assigned to the case.

thanks, Marge Hallyburton

No. havn't heard anything from him. As a matter of fact I have been sending him e-mails. Letting him know how helpful everyone has been in aiding me to find him. Even told him to send money or bear and I would leave him alone. I did let him know that I am not a person to give up. I even surched the net and found another e-mail address that might be his. I e-mailed also saying that I was waiting for the bear. I did not get a reply. That e-mail address is ( jfpete@hotmail.com ). I found it thought Big Foot search using name and zipcode. Cheryl

I was matched on MetaExchange with this person 12 days ago and still have not received my merchandise - Water Lily Barbie @ $79.40! MetaExchange informed me today of the possible problem. She has answered each of my e-mails and said she had the flu and had mailed the doll Jan. 24th. I paid with a money order rather than check and I have no idea if there is any way I can get my money back. I'm sure she's cashed it already - it's been 12 days. What am I supposed to do????? Donna Lambert Peterson


Update:  Jan. 31, 2000....Believe it or not, I received a U.S. Postal money order for $75 via FedEx early Saturday morning!

Hi Everyone! All of you were involved in Vanessa Tomsett's scam on the internet during the past two years. Some of you were reimbursed..most were not. Some of you are webmasters who received complaints on your websites.The good news is that Vanessa Tomsett was indicted in Michigan last Tuesday! Inspector Bob Lane of the Federal Postal Inspectors has worked diligently on this case, and has encountered unbelievable obstacles. He has asked that I pass this information along to you, and he is requesting your help. The following message is from Inspector Lane. Please write to him so he can update your files as quickly as possible. I would appreciate a copy of your message as well so we can update the files at www.traderlist.com. Send these copies to pedger10@coredcs.com. If you have discarded your email and need help in remembering the details of your case, please let me know...I have saved most correspondence with all of you. It has taken two years, but justice will finally be served! I know we all appreciate all the time Inspector Lane has spent on this. Thanks for your cooperation, also! You can follow the progress of this case at www.traderlist.com/Vanessa.html or by checking out www.traderlist.com/ScamBusters.html. Please also pass the word by posting on any message boards that you use. Sincerely,  Pat Edgerton (aka Gramma Pat) www.traderlist.com

From Postal Inspector Bob Lane:

Could you please post the following message on the beanie baby site for   me. We may be able to see if we have any other victims in this case:

From:U.S. Postal Inspectors
Detroit,MI

"If any one has experienced a bad trade or loss associated with the following addresses,please provide me with your name and type of loss you have experienced and the amount of the loss. This case goes back to early 1998 so please check your records:Please indicate what address was used, what name was used. Please provide a phone number for contact.
34550 Bridgeman
Farmington Hills, Michigan 48335

1296 Desiax
Bloomfield Hills,MI 48302

P.O. Box 1215
Novi,Michigan 48736

P.O. Box 530023
Livonia,Michigan 48153

P.O. Box 240381
Orchard Lake,Michigan 48324

P.O. Box 584
Keego Harbor,MI 48320

29209 Northwestern Hwy. #634
Southfield,MI 48034

6689 Orchard Lake # 349
West Bloomfield,Michigan 48322

20700 Civic Center Drive
suite 350
Southfield,Michigan 48076

This information is requested so that we can update our records and accurately reflect losses at the above addresses. Even if you have emailed me in the past, please email me again so I can update the record."

Thank You,
Robert M Lane
Postal Inspectors
Detroit,MI
RMLane@uspis.gov

Vanessa Tomsett has finally been sentenced. She previously pled guilty to mail fraud in Detroit federal court. The contact at the U. S. Attorney's office is Sandy Palazzolo, phone 313-226-9510.
Griffin was sentenced on June 22, 2001. She received 5 years probation, with electronic monitoring for the first 12 months, and was ordered to pay $19,843 in restitution.

Subject: many and various
traders_name: Vanessa Tomsett et al

Comments: The sky has fallen! I received a check in the mail today from the Federal District Court in Michigan in partial restitution for my claim against Vanessa. That means she has started to pay back the people she bilked, alleluia! Thanks again, Pat!!

Traders name: Vanessa Tomsett

It's been ten years since I first posted a complaint against this trader. Four years ago, I received a partial reimbursement through the US District Court in Detroit, and today I received another partial payment. It's wonderful to see that this seller is being held responsible. Thanks again, Gramma Pat and the U.S. Postal Inspector, Bob Lane.

all the best,

Marge Hallyburton

This person's Caution Page: Vanessa Tomsett