US Dealer Involved in Smuggling revealed in court documents

[thebugwife]

I got caught doing something wrong…I had little choice but to try to make good on my behavior.
lets not get this twisted..I had not been charged when I made that post last week,

Ok, but you knew you were involved, instead you lied and blamed your fellow Dealers and the hobby of slander. Hmmm?

My stock is legitimate(I have papers to prove it), everything I had received illegally was taken by the FWS . The shipments I received from Sven occurred a long time ago..

so since it happened last year its over now?

My prices today do not indicate anything with regards to smuggling.. Just a lower mark up…I truly care about this hobby and love the Pet Industry.

Yeah your prices are higher this year then last, why is that?

The pet business is all I know.. Like I said earlier.. I did not file the correct importation documents.

Or bring them through customs at a point of entry....

This was a mistake and I take full responsibility.

but you refused to last week?

The best thing can do at this point is to admit to every one of my wrong doing

.
but you refused to last week?

People make mistakes..I am one of them. This doesn’t mean that I am a bad person, Just Human.

Yup I agree

The posting from last week that I put up was my true feelings…..I realize there is competition here and that’s a good thing, but to discredit based on hearsay is a little low..

But you lied to Everyone and blamed others....Just because the physical proof was not available yet does not mean it did not exist!

Georgi
Wife to Ken and Owner of Ken The Bug Guy, if you guys didn't know....

 

[KenTheBugGuy]

apology

This apology should have happened a long time ago not after you are backed into a corner with no where else to go. You got caught, helped entrap others, pointed fingers to everyone else so on and so on.

You owe the other dealers an apology not just the hobbyist. You lied to the hobbyist and tried to make all the other dealers look like the bad guys in the post on the other thread. I would not have felt so strongly and posted this everywhere had you not tried to blame us all for your mistakes.

 

[kylestl]

I think it is one of those "I am sorry because I got caught" situations.

 

[Bill S]

Frankly, I'm way more upset about the fact that once he got caught receiving undocumented goods FROM SOMEONE ELSE, he encouraged an entirely different party to violate the same laws, and then offered them a "guest appearance" at his tarantula store and sent him a gratis airfare ticket to make sure he got arrested in the U.S.

This is not what actually happened. Paul got caught, and the feds then took over his e-mail and used it to entrap Sven. Paul did not encourage Sven to break the law - the feds did using Paul's account. Paul did not invite Sven to the "guest appearance" - the feds did using Paul's e-mail account. Paul did not send Sven the airfare ticket - the feds did (posing as Paul). Paul has already acknowledged his guilt in this episode, but it's not fair to blame him for what the feds did using his e-mail account and name. He had no choice in that. If he had tipped Sven off that the feds were using his name and account to entrap him he would have been arrested and charged with an array of violations.

 

[Iason]

I agree with Xhexdx....

 

[KenTheBugGuy]

This is not what actually happened. Paul got caught, and the feds then took over his e-mail and used it to entrap Sven. Paul did not encourage Sven to break the law - the feds did using Paul's account. Paul did not invite Sven to the "guest appearance" - the feds did using Paul's e-mail account. Paul did not send Sven the airfare ticket - the feds did (posing as Paul). Paul has already acknowledged his guilt in this episode, but it's not fair to blame him for what the feds did using his e-mail account and name. He had no choice in that. If he had tipped Sven off that the feds were using his name and account to entrap him he would have been arrested and charged with an array of violations.

Bill I don't think they took over his email or he could not have run his business still.....now did they force him with a plea to do it...well only Paul can answer those questions I think.

 

[kylestl]

Bill I don't think they took over his email or he could not have run his business still.....now did they force him with a plea to do it...well only Paul can answer those questions I think.

I wouldn't get your hopes up :/

 

[xenesthis]

He cheated in order to compete

If Paul didn't engage in these illegal activities, not once, but over and over, Big Brother would not have been in his life and business to set up Koppler. Paul brought this upon himself.

Using Paul's sob story, let me give you a contrast. This past year, my Dad died. My two special pets, a 19 yr. and a 16 yr. old siamese cats died. My vehicle blew up on the highway. The economy hasn't been good and all brown box smuggling going on with Becker leading the pack hasn't helped - but the difference is that I understand wildlife from other country needs to be declared to customs and inspected by USFWS or I need to purchase from another importer that understands and complies with that as well. I let others know these laws and regs and encourage people to just say no to these foreign sellers soliciting U.S. hobbyists to engage in illegal business.

Every week, dealers like Ken and myself get petitioned by foreign sellers to engage in illegal activities. It's real simple. You say one word. NO. You tell them what the legal requirements are to import/export wildlife. You do your own imports with a permit, have the shipment go via air cargo and declare it with customs and get a USFWS inspection done and clearance. Yes, you pay $800+ in import overhead, but that is what you do. OR you purchase from another legal importer that does all the above.

Paul didn't do that. According to the court docs posted at the beginning of this thread, he used different names and addresses and seeked out every illegal advantage he could obtain in the market.

It's a difference in people. Some play by the rules. Others, don't. They "cheat" in order to compete. When they do, bad karma will come back on them and in this case, it did. Paul has brought Big Brother into our hobby and trade in a way that they are here to stay. Big Brother thinks everybody in wildlife commerce is crooked. Paul didn't help that sterotype. He has brought shame upon our hobby and trade.

The biggest problem is the internet. It is so easy now-a-days for foreign sellers post on U.S. forums every week soliciting and encouraging U.S. residents to take a shipment in the mail from them without declaring the stock to customs and USFWS and having the shipment go via air cargo. Any week, you can find ads on all the major U.S. invert sites doing this. Sites have disclaimers, rules and moderators to prevent this, but....every week, we still ads up soliciting U.S. residents to buy wildlife and have it shipped via "E.M.S."

Some U.S. residents don't know the laws and regulations. Others like Paul Becker, know them, but choose to cheat in order to compete. I said four yrs. ago when Becker emerged from the underground from bad dealings before (old school hobbyists will remember all that, yes remember the G. pulchra that grew up to be B. albopilosum?) that he would fall on his face again because he can't compete. Then, after six months, I saw the low prices on rare stock and knew he was smuggling. He could not compete. With a bad economy, he made the strategy of undercutting every seller in the market so he could solicit newbies shopping on lowest price alone. He became the cheap price/newbie "darling" dealer the last few years with this practice while other dealers keep seeing unbelievable price drops on rare/high value species. We all started to suspect that Paul was brown-boxing in order to not incur the $800+ import overhead. He was cheating. He didn't just cheat once, but numerous times. When caught, he pointed fingers at all his competitors and posted lies to hobbyists to cover his activities that many of us were very aware of.

Tonight, we get the sob story please feel sorry for me act. No way. He got caught. He lied to hobbyists. He smeared his competition. He inflated price values in the Koppler case to make Koppler's activities to look worse and bigger than they were.

Paul Becker had to cheat in order to compete. That is it. Don't you dare feel sorry for him. Not one tear.

 

[Offkillter]

This whole thing just sucks!My first purchase in the hobby was through Paul.The prime reason for this was because he volunteered phone number and encourages you to call with any questions.This is more than most dealers are willing to do.I talked to him several times during the course of the transaction and found him to be helpful,courteous and down to earth.So yeah these recent developments are very discouraging.But should he get his affairs in order and run his business in a respectable manner I don't see any reason Paul can't continue to provide the same level of customer service that his customers have raved about for years.Price be damned,the only reason I went through him is because he struck me as one of the few customer oriented dealers currently available.Does this make what he's done right?No and this is not the point of my post.This is coming from a man who growing up personally committed more crimes than I even care admit.After all was said and done though I was able to change and become a man I can respect.It took time and loads of it,but had all the people in my life cast me out for my wrong doings I truly would have been lost.People can change and should be given the chance to.

 

[MrEMojo]

Paul, your words hold no weight. You have tainted your reputation and your credibility.
I don't believe your appollogy is genuine.

I pitty you

 

[Anastasia]

This is not what actually happened. Paul got caught, and the feds then took over his e-mail and used it to entrap Sven. Paul did not encourage Sven to break the law - the feds did using Paul's account. Paul did not invite Sven to the "guest appearance" - the feds did using Paul's e-mail account. Paul did not send Sven the airfare ticket - the feds did (posing as Paul). Paul has already acknowledged his guilt in this episode, but it's not fair to blame him for what the feds did using his e-mail account and name. He had no choice in that. If he had tipped Sven off that the feds were using his name and account to entrap him he would have been arrested and charged with an array of violations.

Bill,
and how do you know this end of story? please care to share
Thank you

 

[Chris_Skeleton]

Even if his email was used by the Feds, there was no entrapment going on.

 

[0siris]

Bill I don't think they took over his email or he could not have run his business still.....now did they force him with a plea to do it...well only Paul can answer those questions I think.

Have you considered thinking about it this way?

Perhaps in repentance Paul decided to cooperate with the authorities to bring down a smuggler. He could have said no, letting Sven continue doing what he was doing. He would have probably done time for it, but he said he takes full responsibility for his actions. If his post was sincere; which I think it was, he wanted to do the right thing. I think dodging charges was just a bonus for his cooperation. Even now he stated that he's awaiting the federal court's decision regarding the matter.

Some of you seem very hostile regarding this situation. I encourage you to step back and look at the situation with a clear head. I sincerely doubt that, what was it...108k in 3 years? profit from selling illegally imported wildlife was worth the risk. 18 bucks an hour? no benefits? that's a fools salary.

Let me ask you guys this. Have you ever downloaded a copyrighted file from the internet? A song, a picture, a movie, software? I'd wager most of us have, and if we were judged by the same standards as we are judging Paul, then we are all horrible people. Think about that before you destroy this guy's name.

 

[DamoK21]

Yes iv also done bad things, but not this, iv been in fights, iv done abit of speeding, yet here is how it went down

Fights in school when growing up, and one in a pub when i was so drunk, i dropped my drink and some guy was annoyed about it, like he paid for it NO

Speeding, done on a TRACK DAY !!

see how this is done.... I had a few fights in school, and 1 bar fight which was taken to court and i was found not guilty and was infact self defence, as i did NOT throw the first punch....

Some can say oh you make mistakes, oh this that and the other...
A mistake is were you knock somone over accidently, a mistake is putting 3 instead of 5

Breaking the law is NOT a mistake but a delibrate act. You cant go and rape/murder somone and say to the community, "Oh it was a mistake, i fell", because im having troubles in my life. WHO DOESNT HAVE TROUBLES ??

When my dad was slowerly dieing of cancer, riddled in the stuff, in pain 24 hours a day, seeing him squirming in pain, begging for it to just end, meanwhile my mum gets cancer also, money becomes non existing, struggleing to get through the day bla bla bla, Did i go out and break the law NO. You cant justify your actions and place blame on somone who is dieing..

I did not go about saying i got into that fight or i broke the law because..... My dad is dieing, and my mum has cancer now also no. I was there for them, not out there breaking the law, and i was being the person they wanted me to be, a good decent person not out there to break laws, because im bored or because of extra proffit and so on. Not good enough, non of the excuses are, they're guilty, simple as that, and they did it in purpose of greed, so stop blaming your troubles, and take it on your own back, stop blaming everyone else, and blame your self

 

[xenesthis]

destroy

"Think about that before you destroy this guy's name. "

- Do you know that he tried to destroy over nine dealer's names? He told multiple lies to save his own tail. He tried to destroy his competition with his lies. People, especially those he did this to, have a right to be mad.

Anybody see the significant things Paul Becker has in common with Casey Anthony "Tot Mom" in her multiple lies here? Too many lies told to save his own tail, to the big lie he told the hobby in his propaganda post on the Koppler thread on this site to tonight's sob story? What's it going to be tomorrow?

 

[DamoK21]

Have you considered thinking about it this way?

Perhaps in repentance Paul decided to cooperate with the authorities to bring down a smuggler. He could have said no, letting Sven continue doing what he was doing. He would have probably done time for it, 1) but he said he takes full responsibility for his actions. If his post was sincere; which I think it was, he wanted to do the right thing. I think dodging charges was just a bonus for his cooperation. Even now he stated that he's awaiting the federal court's decision regarding the matter.

Some of you seem very hostile regarding this situation. I encourage you to step back and look at the situation with a clear head. I sincerely doubt that, what was it...108k in 3 years? profit from selling illegally imported wildlife was worth the risk. 18 bucks an hour? no benefits? that's a fools salary.

2) Let me ask you guys this. Have you ever downloaded a copyrighted file from the internet? A song, a picture, a movie, software? I'd wager most of us have, and if we were judged by the same standards as we are judging Paul, then we are all horrible people. Think about that before you destroy this guy's name.

1) No he clearly blamed his parent/s who unfortinatly have a terminol illness, and other issues, he also blamed people like you a couple of days ago.

2) iv never done this personally, but dowloading CD's/music, software and so on from the internet, is not exactly a live animal is it

 

[OphidianDelight]

what was it...108k in 3 years? profit from selling illegally imported wildlife

Think about this with a clear head--how much more food on the table does that 30k +- annually take from the breeders playing by the rules? How much more financial security does it bring to legitimate businesses so they can continue to serve us in a way that keeps our names off of lists (Post #69)? This situation affects me only as far as it has given our hobby's reputation a blemish, but I wholeheartedly understand the motivation behind other folks' anger.

 

[MrEMojo]

Anthony Weiner comes to mind

 

[gromgrom]

It's easy to point fingers at Paul, (Trust me, I dont like him either right now), but how many hobbyists brown box knowlingly every day?

For example, the [scorpion] breeders in Asia/Europe that advertise their animals here.... allow US hobbyists to purchase them full well knowing what they're doing by not going through customs.

I don't care how much you think you're "helping the hobby", you're looking to make a buck off of stuff no one else has and getting it illegally. Moreso, what happens when you get caught "helping the hobby"? It's gonna hurt alot more than help those few lucky species you got to procreate.

My personal opinion.

 

[Richard McJimsey]

For once, and probably only this once, I am going to have to agree with Todd.
That was the biggest bull<crap> half-ass apology/admitting-I-did-it-only-because-I-got-caught statement I've seen to date.
And to have the audacity to mention your mothers finances to somehow attempt to justify your actions? Lots of us have personal problems, but do we break federal law? No.

You left a big skid mark on this hobby.

Congrats.