I’ve been debating posting this story here, mainly because I didn’t think it would be terribly relevant to most of my readers (since only a handful of you are into reptile keeping as a hobby or business). However, a few things came out this morning that made me realize this has a much broader scope than reptile enthusiasts.
So first, let me ask you a question… Do you know these people?
You’re looking at Jeff and Christina Wise, AKA scum of the earth, but I’ll get to that in just a minute. Let me start at the beginning…
I lurk on a forum called Fauna Classifieds. I say lurk because I mostly read posts. In fact, I think I have less than a handful of posts over there, but I still check the site out every day. I don’t really participate in forums anymore (which is funny since I used to own a very popular one), I just lurk, and keep myself out of the fray.
On Fauna they have a section called the Board of Inquiry (the BOI). It’s a place where people can post to let others know when they get burned, or scammed, by someone in the reptile community. At times it’s just a warning to others who might consider doing business with that person. Other times, members participate to ferret out the truth of a situation, or help to recover stolen money and/or goods.
One member stood out among the crowd at Fauna. His nickname was Critical Bill; his real life name, Chuck Kimmel. I will readily admit that in my daily reading I sometimes found him extremely annoying, but I still respected and even admired him. He had a knack for seeing through the lies and misdirection that people posted and finding the truth. He was an interesting guy who was not afraid to speak his mind, and go to bat for the person who had been wronged. Even when, at times, it seemed like he was crazy, and appeared to be defending a thief. I’d like to state for the record, that in the end, I don’t think I ever saw him pick the wrong side. It usually came out in the wash that the apparent victim was full of lies and Chuck had seen through their BS.
About the time I started school, Chuck was hospitalized. I wasn’t following the forum as closely as I normally would have because of the daily tests at school, but when I returned to catch up one day, I was very sad to see that he had passed away.
The Fauna members wrapped his widow and children in their support and love, and started asking what they could do to help his family. Someone suggested a charity auction, and somehow the Wise’s started coordinating the fundraiser.
Money started pouring in, not only for Maggie Kimmel and her children, but also for another member whos step-daughter passed away around the same time. For whatever reason (hindsight is 20/20), the money went to the Wise’s paypal account, and they were to act as a clearing house sending the donations to the people in need. I believe at the time that it was argued that if there were any disputes over the auctions, that the grieving families should not have to deal with the problems that could occur. So the Wise’s were taking on that risk along with the responsibility of coordinating everything.
You already know this doesn’t end well… In fact, Jeff and Christina made off with over $3800 of the money intended to go to grieving families. They took advantage of people living through a nightmare, and preyed upon a community’s love and generosity for their own personal gain.
Now you know why they’re the scum of the earth. In fact, I think scum is better than these two people. I’m not sure there is a word in the dictionary to describe exactly how filthy they are.
When they were called on the carpet for their failure to pass along the proceeds from the auction, they faked a cashed check, and then implied that the grieving widow used the money for drugs.
Unfortunately, the money was used for drugs, but the widow in question was not the one buying them.
The whole disgusting story can be found here:
Jeff and Christina Wise (Wise Reptiles) Stole Money from Benefit Auctions for Maggie
Now, you may be asking yourself what this has to do with you, why I decided to go ahead and post this on my blog…
You see, it came out just this morning that Jeff and Christina Wise are not new to scamming people. People from Fauna had been posting the BOI link all over the net, and people from other places are beginning to tell their stories. They’ve been accused of faking a pregnancy with triplets in order to get donations of goods. They’ve also been reported as soliciting website design contracts when in fact they’ve never designed a completed website. I’m also sure there are many other stories that will come to light as information is complied to hand over to law enforcement officials.
So, do you know these people?
Christina Wise AKA: Christina Horn, cwise87, Mrs_wise_reptiles, Kinkygirl_Within, jesus_lives_within (the irony of that nickname is not lost on me)
Jeffery Wise AKA: WiseReptiles, Liquerpussy
They live in the area of Flint Michigan, or Grand Blanc Michigan, and they are known scammers! If you suspect they may be members of an online forum, and/or may be scamming another unsuspecting community, please leave a comment in this post letting me know how you can be contacted!
All information on their internet activity and/or scams is appreciated and will be turned over to the people heading the investigation. Your help is greatly appreciated!
Now, since I don’t want this post to end on a sour note, I want to let you know that even though the Fauna community had already been kicked in the teeth, they still rallied together and took care of their own. When Maggie posted that she was not going to be able to send her girls to summer school and pay her bills, everyone chipped in what little they had to help her out. Even I sent along the tiny amount I had saved in my paypal account. I wished I could have sent more; hell, I wish I could give those girls their daddy back, but eliminating the impossible, I did what I could. The last I heard, Maggie had received enough to sign her girls up for school, and take care of the pressing bills, letting her relax a little bit for another month or so.
That’s what I was hoping for, because even pennies can add up to a million dollars.
In closing, I’d like to give the Fauna community kudos for the outpouring of love and compassion they’ve shown. Sometimes when the whole world feels like a dark and terrible place, you see a beacon of light. This last week, you have been that beacon. You truly are an amazing group of people.
Hugs,
