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Two week ago I shipped two guitars COD to Long Beach, CA to a man identifying himself as Jonathan Silk (likely not his real name). Payment was made by Bank of America cashiers checks. It took UPS almost two weeks to get the checks to me, and another week for the bank to mail a notice to me they they had bounced. Then after getting handed around to three people at the bank, someone was finally able to tell me that these were forged checks.

Here are photos of the two guitars. They are one of a kind. They say "Klepper" on the headstocks.

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

That totally sucks. I live in Michigan but I'll keep my eyes and ears peeled just in case.

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http://www.birkonium.com CNC Products for Luthiers
http://banduramaker.blogspot.com

Well, it seems Jonathan has been on a run. Very sorry to hear about your situation, Howard. You, obviously, are not alone.

This is from a post at DelCamp.net.
"Hill Guitars Stolen

Postby hillguitar » Tue Jan 27, 2009 3:48 pm
Dear Friends,

I want to make you aware of two stolen Hill Signature guitars, #2687 and #2684. Both are Brazilian rosewood, one with spruce top, one with cedar.

The circumstance are that the customer ordered them by phone and paid with counterfeit bank checks from Bank of America. The checks were very convincing to me, but the bank was not convinced.

The customer's name is:
Jonathan Silk
1915 San Francisco Ave
Long Beach CA 90806.

213-446-4206
213-446-0862"

I believe it was mentioned here, but I don't know if the details were posted.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

This really sucks Howard - sorry this happened to you my friend.

That is really awful, Howard. I hope you can recover something.

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"Building guitars looks hard, but it's actually much harder than it looks." Tom Buck

Well I will be darned this is terrible. Have you called the Long Beach police yet? Let me guess. Was someone that attended one of the Consortium parties during NAMM?

Sorry for your frustration Howard.

Delcamp.net ??????????? never heard of it.

I am insured, and am in the process of dealing with the authorities.

The checks were convincing to a BofA teller, and even now were only determined to be fraudulent because they were drawn on a nonexiting account--i.e., they were not identified by the security features in the paper.

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

Sorry to hear about that Howard, that really is a kick in the .....! I don't need to tell you but keep an eye on eBay.

Colin

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

I can't think of any thief that is lower than one who steals the work of another man's hands. I am truly sorry for you Howard and hope that the guitars are recovered.

Mike Franks
www.mjfranksguitar.com

Part of the "Hill" post I did not quote up there, is that, apparently, Kenny spoke to this person, and he seemed well informed about the guitars. Hard to believe he used the same name. He must have gone to a lot of trouble to have checks forged under that name, somehow.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Sorry about that..the guy is a thieving #$%^@#
But he does have good taste in guitars
Hope you get them back somehow

Check here:

http://hillguitar.blogspot.com/

Read all the way down to the postscript. Seems Jonathan Silk is a victim identity theft.

Matt

Howard that is a cryin' shame. I am sorry to hear about it. Your guitars consistently inspire me. Hopefully everything will work out.

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http://www.booneguitars.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stephen-Boone-guitar-builder/488208541257210

Sorry, Howard. That sucks.

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Mike

"The Dude abides. I don't know about you but I take comfort in that. It's good knowin' he's out there. The Dude. Takin' 'er easy for all us sinners. Shoosh." The Stranger

Howard,

Very bad news!

This SOB has got to be stopped! I posted the Hill theft here last Thursday and he has struck again.

You may want to reach out to Kenny and share any info that may assist the authorities??

Again, real sorry to here about this and hopefully we can all be on the lookout for these instruments if the thief tries to sell them!

Ray

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Guitar Building = Continuous Improvement Process

I was just about to post the Hill link when I saw someone else do it; my stomach sunk when I saw that Ken Hill wasn't the only victim of this guy. What a terrible human being.

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Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services

Sorry to hear this happened to you Howard. I myself was caught up with some fraudulant activity last year. It had nothing to do with guitars though. The so called white collar crime really pays in America. If you are ever caught you do little or no time and the payback is non existant. Now, if you walk into a convenient store and even pretend to have a gun to rob the place, you are going down!

Thanks all. Spoke with Kenny; exact same person and MO. Sounded authentic, etc.
Heritage insurance is telling us both that we are not covered, which came as a shock to me.
Wire transfers only from now on (they can't be reversed once they get to your bank, right?)

I'm doing all the appropriate things.

_________________
Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

Oh Howard - terrible news!!!
Is that one that was stolen "Mad Rose"? or one very similar to it?
That model is one of the guitars I admire most in your gallery....
what a shame!
This bugger will get caught, what a massive jerk... My language is obviously tamed for forum printing!!!
Im so sorry this happened to you and the other victim (so far) that is known to have been ripped Mr. Hill!!!
It seems like he is targeting California luthiers doesnt it?
I certainly hoped they are retrieved and this scumwad is made to face the music!!
Cheers
Charlie

So, so sorry Howard.
You have my sympathy.
Best, Evan

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http://www.NewYorkGuitarRepair.com

So sorry Howard, that is just awful.

My suspicion is that these guitars will never set foot on US soil again. I suspect that they will be shipped overseas somewhere and sold to collectors. Total speculation, but my gut tells me, this is how things like this go.

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"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

The scumbag thief could peruse these forums for targets and knowledge.

Good luck and sorry to hear of your situation.

Hard Luck Howard. I'm very sorry. I'll alert the store I sell at in Minneapolis.
TJK

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

Sorry to hear about another person falling to this skumbag.I hope they catch him.He has to be stopped.I hope they will catch him and retreive your guitars for you.

Again I am very sorry Howard.

Regarding wire transfers they are conducted under international agreements AND individual agreements between larger banks who sell their services to smaller banks.

The thing to know is that a wire transfer CAN be reversed and the agreements between the banks generally say this. This is also the case with direct deposit as well. If an employer pays an employee via direct deposit and makes an error over paying said employee they may unilaterally be the determining party of the error and also unilaterally reverse funds back out of a previous direct deposit.

So what does this mean to you and the rest of us. It's a good idea to have a second and separate bank account that is only used for the purposes of receiving wire transfers. Once a wire has been received and can be liquid physically go to the bank, remove the funds, and deposit them in your primary bank account. This way you receive the cash and the wire transferring parties have no information about your actual bank account numbers.

I understand that the above is not what people generally believe to be happening with a wire transfer but it is possible and does happen. Be safe and insulate your primary account from all parties but you and those you authorize and use a second account just for transfers.