Really tried to avoid this post but recent circumstances (or more precisely the lack of them) forced me to go public.

The person in question goes by the username of DianeAbbott.

The story: We agreed on a staking deal over 5.000€ for 50€ HUSNGs on Unibet, higher if fortune would allow us to. Early on he was downswinging a little bit, apparently in real life as well as on the poker tables. So the volume went down while he allegedly sorted things out in the real world, which I had no problems with. Last time I asked him for an update however (21.08.), he didn´t respond. After several days I started to contact him via other social media, as well as having a friend ask on my behalf. That seems to be the only message he responded to, claiming he was gone for a few days and he would contact me "tomorrow". It´s 9 "tomorrows" later and I still haven´t heard a thing yet. 24 hours ago I warned him I would go public if he didn´t contact me , he has been online several times in the mean time but no answer, so here we are.

This is a link to the original thread, asking for a stake:
https://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/1...86/?highlight=

Also, he told me he took another stake for 6 max hypers as well, maybe the backer knows more?!

Any thoughts on how to proceed? I still think there is a possibility for an innocent explanation to all of this but after weeks and weeks of silence I am starting to get suspicious.

update

a few days ago he sent me this message:

"Firstly, I apologise for the lack of contact recently. I ended up going away for 2 weeks and pretty much drinking the whole time. I didn’t check discord for over 2 weeks but obviously I get some insincere message from Mariusz about how I am. I have been in a deep depression for the past 3 weeks and possibly 3 months. I’ve had the most turbulent time in my personal life that I’ve wanted to end things on more occasions than I can even think of. I needed to get out of poker for a while and I know that’s not your fault but I handled it badly and just got pissed off at the whole situation (being down on the stake, feeling like I’m being hassled, struggling with everything in life).
I hadn’t read any of your 2p2 PMs until now. I’ve just seen the one where you threatened to sue me (lol - good luck with that). What exactly are you going to prove in court? Your costs would far exceed anything you’d get in return.

I suggest you get the mods to delete that post and I can send you back what’s in the balance. I’m done with poker, I’m done here.

Send me your bank details and I’ll transfer the money when the post is deleted."


Then, 24 hours ago, he deleted our group chat on discord, in which we were the only two users, and hasn´t been online since. I will now find myself forced to take legal action, shouldn´t he come forward within the next few hours.

Marketplace Approval removed.

Why not just appoint a lay representive in the UK (unless you live in the UK). You can file a civil money claim online and I think the fixed court fee is £185 for raising the action. This will be served on the defendent.

The papers will be formally served on the defendent and they will have 2 choices with a set deadline, to admit the claim and pay or defend the matter and incur their own costs and submit a defence. If it goes undefended you secure a judgement by default, regardless of the legal merit of the claim which can be enforced against them for the full amount of the claim + your expenses.

Worth looking into for £185, meh. He thinks he's a smart ass and you need to "prove" your claim. It's a civil dispute, nothing has to be proven. It's on the balance of probabilities and if he doesn't enter a legal defence you automatically secure a judgement (CCJ) by default. He has been watching too much TV.

I'm quite possibly entirely wrong about this, but what's the harm in looking into it...

I wouldn't normally suggest this action, but from his initial staking post, it's clear the intention was to scam you. He mentions in the initial staking post he is having personal issues (GF losing job, downswing etc).

That's really lame. I followed along with his pgc and posts and he seems like a reasonable/cool/smart guy. That PM is just complete BS, he's found a reason to get mad at you (threatening to sue him for not contacting, then rolling you) so he can justify not paying you back (lol). It sucks he's going through some personal stuff, life can be rough but it's not a reason to steal your money. Hope he realises he's in the wrong and pays you back so you don't have to go down the legal road, but if not you should definitely do what Punt Pigeon said if that's an option.

Thanks everybody. I contacted Citizen´s Advice and they told my something similar as @Punt Pigeon.

Have sent him a final warning to act before I take legal action. Let´s see what happens.

Is it this guy?

https://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/1...stars-1155452/

https://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/1...grind-1394128/

1st one is definitely him. Thanks a lot for the information

If the first one is him then I think the second one must be him as well. There are similarities between the two threads and definitely links between the two.

Good luck

Those two are almost certainly the same person.

The first link:

https://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/1...stars-1155452/

Later in the thread:

tottenham hotspur posts dozens of times in the thread after that post, and there is no denial that he is Michael Brock.

FWIW, credit where credit is due - he paid off the $4.5 K debt to the OP of that thread (although later it came to light someone else was stiffed for $200). Maybe hope for OP of this one?

Here's the second link:

https://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/1...grind-1394128/

Where he posts with the Jokerstarz 2+2 account that his Stars screen name is THFC29. Later in the thread, he is outed as Michael Brock, and as having scammed $kill Game.

So, the evidence seems strong that 2+2ers tottenham spur/brocky/JD800 (and others) are the same person as 2+2er Jokerstarz, who is said to be Michael Brock.

Whether DianeAbbott is the same person, I couldn't say, but OP seems certain that DianeAbbott is the same person as tottenham spur/brocky/JD800. Hopefully he can provide that link.

DianeAbbot is definitely Michael Brock. He sent me a copy of his ID.

a letter before action with a 14 day deadline has been sent. If he doesn´t respond it will be court action.

Dear "name",

With regards to your letter dated 15/09/2020 ref: Staking agreement - My legal representative has requested a copy of the contract plus any further communication that is relevant to the supposed agreement.

Please can you send this via email.

If I do not hear from you within 14 days I will assume that you hold no such agreement.

Kind regards,
Michael

his reply. I am honestly shocked about his wickedness.

Ask for the name and address of his legal representative and you will happily send. If he is being represented (which is he isn't), the solictior would be handling all correspondence.

FYI This is his first noob mistake. It's very important that you keep a copy of that e-mail because he does NOT deny he owes you the money. If he had any braincells he would just respond denying any knowledge of anything and asking who you are. This can be seen as a form of admittance. So he doesn't deny he owes you money just that it's unenforceable which on the balance of probabilities could go in your favour as this is civil dispute not a criminal (you must prove x and y).

What a shiitty situation :/. If Brock is telling the truth about his depression and drinking binge he needs to get help ASAP. Sounds quite serious and like he is far from being in a stable state of mind, he's probably too depressed to care about much let alone his debts at this point. But losing his reputation like this after such a long career is not remotely worth it.

At this point he should probably just send you the money like he said in his latest message and issue some sort of public apology, then take a proper break from poker.

Hopefully you can get your money back Maailman36!

Edit: Didn't notice the latest message you posted from him, that's really crappy from Brock. Seems like he has no intent of making things right

Whilst i understand your want to get this information out there, posting further information ITT will only serve to hinder you should you actually go to court.

Inevitably he will read this thread, you are basically showing him your hand and allowing him to tailor his defence around it (whether he is clever enough to do so or not remains to be seen) but just in case, maybe better not to put too much more information into this thread.

good point. I don´t think I have displayed anything unwise yet but it´s easy to slip. Will probably update once there is a proper development.

That Michael Brock guy in the Xereles thread lived in Sandhurst or Crowthorne in England at the time. Im pretty sure it was Sandhurst but may of been Crowthorne. I was living local to this at the time and remember finding his address for Xereles at the time. Just putting it out there for if its any help.

thanks, appreciate the offer, but I already have his address

For record i wasnt going to out his address, just though knowing his town could help with matching him to earlier scams.

Update: He has responded to my money claim. I quote:

"Mr *** and I did agree on a gambling staking deal, however, a staking deal is not "lending" money as Mr *** has stated. It is an agreement whereby the party providing the funds receives a percentage of the profit, if there is any, and takes the risk of the losses. I do not dispute the amount sent of £4,366.49, however these funds were lost and as Mr *** knows, he is liable for this risk."

"I disagree with Mr *** second piece of evidence. He claims I "mentioned the missing staking agreement". I did no such thing, I simply rhetorically asked for which terms I had supposedly broken. He failed to provide any contract which stipulates I have broken any terms. "


Edit: He did mention he has receipts to prove he lost the money, but I haven't seen them yet

The court date is set for 26.03.2021

Good luck!

thanks

Lost the case. The judge ignored or ruled out more or less all of my evidence for reasons I don't understand.