Got scammed 765 dollars off Kickstarter from a company in Iowa.

U

undeadmerc3

New Member
Jurisdiction
Florida
I backed a project from Watermelon games, located in Muscatine, Iowa, called Paprium which was supposed to be a fund raise for Watermelon games to port Paprium to the consoles. I ordered 3 collectors editions and a specialized joystick. Fast forward a year later past the deadline which was at December 2022 I still never received it. I tried disputing the charge, but Kickstarter "validated" it while pretending they are a "legitimate" business. Worse is that a tweet was made on December 25th which I never noticed at the time, but a backer on Facebook saved it prior to the tweet being deleted. It showed that the developers were admitting to their backers that the project was a scam(see photos for details). This site should be seized by the FBI.


I received word that Watermelon games was going to start a Kickstarter campaign over their game Paprium. A game that was released in 2020. The Kickstarter campaign was to port Paprium to the consoles. I myself pledged 765 dollars for 3 collectors edition copies and a specialized joystick I wanted to sell on Ebay at top dollar, except I never received them. It was supposed to arrive on December 2022. It never came and was pledged to arrive on 2023. It never did. I eventually unearthed a tweet that was deleted where the company mocked those who backed the project "Thanks, for the money suckers!"

I have some details on the individuals behind the Kickstarter campaign. Although I have little information on Gwenael Godde who started the campaign, I have some info on people who may be connected to the kickstarter project.


I received word that Watermelon games was going to start a Kickstarter campaign over their game Paprium. A game that was released in 2020. The Kickstarter campaign was to port Paprium to the consoles. I myself pledged 765 dollars for 3 collectors edition copies and a specialized joystick I wanted to sell on Ebay at top dollar, except I never received them. It was supposed to arrive on December 2022. It never came.

I have some details on the individuals behind the Kickstarter campaign. Although I have little information on Gwenael Godde who started the campaign, I have some info on people who may be connected to the kickstarter project.

Because the company is located in Iowa i've been told by system I need to look up the proper venue for filing a lawsuit in Florida(Florida Statute § 47.011). However i've been all over the place looking for a lawyer that will take this case to no luck.
 
What is the amount of money you believe to have been scammed?
 
army judge said:
What is the amount of money you believe to have been scammed?
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765 dollars. The company is based in Iowa. I looked up it's address and despite it being the address from the website it seems to lead to a law firm called Nepel Law which seems to be the registration location of the company. I called them and the seem to be in contact with the scammer.
 
undeadmerc3 said:
it seems to lead to a law firm called Nepel Law which seems to be the registration location of the company.
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It might be worth your time and effort to report the matter to:

reportfraud.ftc.gov

Report Fraud

Protect your community by reporting fraud, scams, and bad business practices
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Where to report a scam

Have you experienced a scam and want to report it? Just answer a few questions to learn how to report the scam to the right place.

www.usa.gov

What type of scam do you need to report? | USAGov

Just answer a few questions with USAGov's scam reporting tool to find out where to report a scam and how to keep yourself safe.
www.usa.gov www.usa.gov

Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)


Internet Crime Complaint Center(IC3) | Home Page

The Internet Crime Complaint Center, or IC3, is the Nation’s central hub for reporting cyber crime. It is run by the FBI, the lead federal agency for investigating cyber crime.
www.ic3.gov


The Federal Trade Commission has launched a new website, ReportFraud.ftc.gov, where consumers can easily report fraud and all other consumer issues directly to the FTC.

At ReportFraud.ftc.gov, consumers will find a streamlined and user-friendly way to submit reports to the FTC about scams, frauds, and bad business practices. The FTC has long encouraged consumers to report these issues to the FTC when they encounter them—whether or not they lost money to the fraud.

www.ftc.gov

FTC Announces New Fraud Reporting Platform for Consumers: ReportFraud.ftc.gov

The Federal Trade Commission has launched a new website, ReportFraud.ftc.gov, where consumers can easily report fraud and all other consumer issues directly to the FTC.
www.ftc.gov www.ftc.gov

Contact for Consumers

Consumer Response Center
877-382-4357
https://reportfraud.ftc.gov





Did you mean:

Nepple Law, PLC


615 Cedar Street, Suite 101
Muscatine, IA 52761-3809
U.S.A.

Firm Details


Year Established:1999

Firm Size:3

State Bar Summary
Attorneys are members of the American Bar Association; Iowa State Bar Association; Illinois State Bar Association.

Representative Clients
Representative Clients: Stanley Consultants, Inc. and Affiliates; Strategic Advisory Group, LLC; Family Eye and Contacts Lens Center, P.C.; Kunau Implement, Inc.; River Rehabilitation Physical Therapy; Comprehensive Rehab, Inc.; Sprouse Distributing, Inc.; Nepple Electric, Inc.; Angel Investments, Inc.; Stanley Retirement Plan; Stanley Stock Bonus Plan; AAA Rents, Inc.; Wapello Fabrications Company; Alcove Farms, LLC; Bieri Farms, Inc.; Hy-Seen Farms, Inc.; Beatty & Sons, Inc.; MIPA Hog Farms, LLC; The Stanley Foundation; The Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts; Community Foundation of Greater Muscatine; The Diversity Service Center; Jani-Dhuna Foundation.
<=====================================>

Nepple Law, PLC - Muscatine, IA Law Firm | Lawyers.com

Nepple Law, PLC is a firm serving Muscatine, IA in Farms, Businesses and Corporate Law cases. View the law firm's profile for reviews, office locations, and contact information.
www.lawyers.com www.lawyers.com
 
undeadmerc3 said:
Because the company is located in Iowa i've been told by system I need to look up the proper venue for filing a lawsuit in Florida(Florida Statute § 47.011).
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The proper venue is where the court would have "personal jurisdiction" over the defendant.


undeadmerc3 said:
Because the company is located in Iowa i've been told by system I need to look up the proper venue for filing a lawsuit in Florida(Florida Statute § 47.011).
Click to expand...

Amazing how a statute can be cited without reading it.

47.011 Where actions may be begun.—Actions shall be brought only in the county where the defendant resides, where the cause of action accrued, or where the property in litigation is located. This section shall not apply to actions against nonresidents.

(Emphasis mine.)

undeadmerc3 said:
However i've been all over the place looking for a lawyer that will take this case to no luck.
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Did you offer to pay the attorney a retainer against his hourly rate (usually about $300 per hour)? Or did you expect to have an attorney work on contingency, which isn't going to happen.
 
adjusterjack said:
The proper venue is where the court would have "personal jurisdiction" over the defendant.




Amazing how a statute can be cited without reading it.

47.011 Where actions may be begun.—Actions shall be brought only in the county where the defendant resides, where the cause of action accrued, or where the property in litigation is located. This section shall not apply to actions against nonresidents.

(Emphasis mine.)



Did you offer to pay the attorney a retainer against his hourly rate (usually about $300 per hour)? Or did you expect to have an attorney work on contingency, which isn't going to happen.
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The problem is that I myself don't get any replies when I contacted the suggested lawyer and law firms. Any idea where I should go from here?
 
undeadmerc3 said:
Any idea where I should go from here?
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Sure, forget about getting a lawyer. You are out $765. It would cost you way more than that to try to collect the money unless you were to sue in small claims court yourself. I don't know if FL courts have jurisdiction in this case as this was an Internet transaction with a company that may not have a presence in FL. And even if the court did have jurisdiction and you got a judgement, you would still have to spend money to collect the judgement.

Is it really worth it for $765?

The best you can do is report the scam to all the state and Federal agencies and hope for best outcome and chalk it up to lessons learned.
 
undeadmerc3 said:
Sad. How come there's nothing I can do?
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There are things may do. Reporting the fraud to the various law enforcement agencies that army judge linked is pretty easy to do and costs you nothing. That probably won't get you your money back, but it might help land the criminals in prison.

You may try suing the operators of the scam in their state. The problem with that is you'd spend more money pursuing that than you'd get even if you managed to collect on the judgment you received. This is why buying things over the internet or by mail order from people/companies you don't know and who are located outside your state presents a risk, especially when it comes to smaller purchases.
 

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