# Did you loose $750 to a lease in Morgan Co.?



## Lovetohunt (Aug 6, 2007)

Looking to find any new club members who paid $750 to hunt deer in Morgan County near Rutledge. We have been told that the land has sold and there will be no refund. If you paid to join this club as a new member or were an old member of the club, who paid again this year, please send me a PM. This was a 12 member club and I have made contact with several members who have paid. I am attempting to get all members together so that we may discuss options for getting our money back. I have left several messages for the so called "president of the club", but he will not return my calls. Something stinks here and I intend to find out what it is!!!!!


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## Sharpshooter (Aug 6, 2007)

PM sent.


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## BROWNING 260 (Aug 6, 2007)

Good luck to ya! There would be a refund one way or another if it was me!!!!


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## lineman 24 (Aug 6, 2007)

i second that notion!!!! I would get my money refunded or be making a house call!!!


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## sammy (Aug 6, 2007)

you got to be very carefull and smart when dealing with a issue like this because the law is ought to protect the crookes and not the inosent. i was involed with a simlar case i joined a club and i was told that there was 1200 acer of land with 18 members total but come to find out there was only 800 acers and 54 members and the guy in charge paid the lease on the 800 acers and took the rest of the money and went to florida. wish yall luck sammy


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## cardfan (Aug 6, 2007)

keep us posted....


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## Lovetohunt (Aug 7, 2007)

So far I have found 8 members thanks to you guys getting the word out and with the replys and pms. I appreciate it!!!! It looks as if we paid the lease but the lease didn't get paid if you know what I mean. Of course we are having a hard time getting in touch with the club president right now.

LTH


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## SuthernStix (Aug 7, 2007)

Hey Guys, *I'm not takin sides here and don't want to get in **the middle of something.* Just telling you some things I know. I know the land you are talking about and I know the president of this club. He has had this land for about 7 years and it has been sold and resold a couple times during this period. Each time he had to negotiate with the new owners...Just last week he was informed the land had been sold and the lease was no longer valid... Where do you go from here? I don't know. In my opinion the former land owner should refund the dues. With the lease running from Jan 07 to Dec 07 even a lawyer will tell you it will be difficult and unlikely to get your money back. Man, I'm glad I'm not in your shoes or the president, This is a bad situation for all...Just direct your anger and frustration at the previous land owner... I know the lease was paid.
Thanks


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## Sharpshooter (Aug 7, 2007)

Did he need all new members last year? Why if he had club for 7 years?


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## Lovetohunt (Aug 7, 2007)

Just thought everyone should know....

The land leased for a total of $8000 and was due on Jan 1st 2007. He told us that it was $9000 ($750 x12=9000). The president of the club collected $6750 from 9 members. 

He and his family have not paid for the year and are not missing any money. 

He paid the land owner $4000. 

Other members of the club besides myself have been in contact with the land owner. He is returning our calls. The president of the club is not.

He told us that he lost his phone and doesn't know how to get into contact with us all. As for the dues, he told me that he paid $4000 because some of the members have not paid.

I have spoken with 8 members that have paid and am looking for contact information on 1 other.

The 9 members have paid $6750. He paid $4000. WHERE IS THE OTHER $2750? 

The president failed to return the lease to the land owner when he paid our $4000. If he had, we could attempt to get our money back from the land owner. As it stands now, we have paid for the use of the land for 6 months and that is what we had.

I'm glad that you know the president of the club. Maybe you could get him to contact one of us so that we could discuss it with him. He won't take any of our calls or return our emails.


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## hookedonbass (Aug 7, 2007)

op2:


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## DYI hunting (Aug 7, 2007)

Always pay with a check.  Always get a receipt.  Always verify there is a partial refund policy if the property is sold before the lease is up.  If one of those is a no-go, the don't lease the property.

Hope it all works out for ya'll.


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## SuthernStix (Aug 7, 2007)

PM answered...man I hate getting in the middle of stuff...lol....good luck to all of you.


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## Arrow Flinger (Aug 7, 2007)

We went through something simalar several years ago.  We sub-leased from a man and he didn't pay the lease.  The only way we found out about it was the property manager called to see if we wanted to lease the land.  We ended up paying again to keep from loosing the land.  We took the guy to court and he was charged with theft by taking and fraud. He was sentanced to jail time and ordered to repay us monthly after his release.  He had done the same thing to 3 other clubs.That has been 4 years and I believe he has one more payment.  There has been seveal times that he didn't pay and we would have him picked up and he would come up with the money. It was a pain.


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## skeeterbit (Aug 7, 2007)

If the president is inoccent in this you would think he would return the calls or emails it does tend to make him look very guilty in my eyes!


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## Sharpshooter (Aug 7, 2007)

Or post on here!


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## thetrock (Aug 7, 2007)

I feel for you guys but I can't believe that you would pay $750 without seeing the lease from the land owner or talking to land owner.  If a president does not want to tell you who the land owner is and how much he is paying for lease, then you better walk!  I've seen too many club presidents that use a lease to pay for their own dues!  This is almost as bad as leasing property un-seen!


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## Sharpshooter (Aug 7, 2007)

This has nothing to do with the members of this club, even if they saw the lease, the "club president" scammed them after the fact. He gives all those who run clubs a bad name.


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## ponyboy (Aug 7, 2007)

if ya have a signed copy of the lease ....lay down a lean on the prop. .........go ta court with your documents n receipts .....


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## thetrock (Aug 7, 2007)

I'm not putting the blame on the members but if someone had pressed this guy to see the lease and maybe talk to the land owner, then this guy might have been exposed before he could steal all this money!  One of the hunters in our club was in a club with a friend that was the president.  Each year, he told the members that the dues had gone up another $100 per member.  They didn't think this guy would cheat them so they didn't bother to check further.  A couple members asked to see the lease but he would find some excuse.  After 3 years, one of the members talked to the land owner and found out the lease had been the same for past 3 years.  Their friend had been using their money to pay his dues!  

In our club we show every member the lease that we get from the timber company so they know exactly what they are paying and then we split all the other expenses.  I would never be in a club that I couldn't see the lease from the land owner to ensure integrity!


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## 01Foreman400 (Aug 8, 2007)

Was this club posted in the lease section a few months back?  

Darrell


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## dixie (Aug 8, 2007)

thetrock said:


> I'm not putting the blame on the members but if someone had pressed this guy to see the lease and maybe talk to the land owner, then this guy might have been exposed before he could steal all this money!  One of the hunters in our club was in a club with a friend that was the president.  Each year, he told the members that the dues had gone up another $100 per member.  They didn't think this guy would cheat them so they didn't bother to check further.  A couple members asked to see the lease but he would find some excuse.  After 3 years, one of the members talked to the land owner and found out the lease had been the same for past 3 years.  Their friend had been using their money to pay his dues!
> 
> In our club we show every member the lease that we get from the timber company so they know exactly what they are paying and then we split all the other expenses.  I would never be in a club that I couldn't see the lease from the land owner to ensure integrity!



This reminded me of a guy a few years ago, just below Macon I believe, that was showing land and taking money for a club that didn't exist!! He'd show people around, make everything sound on the up and up, took the money  and if I remember right, it was in the HIGH thousands of dollars and just disappeared. I never did hear if he was caught or not.


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## Sharpshooter (Aug 8, 2007)

01Foreman400 said:


> Was this club posted in the lease section a few months back?
> 
> Darrell



PM sent


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## gadeerwoman (Aug 8, 2007)

"We went through something simalar several years ago. We sub-leased from a man and he didn't pay the lease. The only way we found out about it was the property manager called to see if we wanted to lease the land. We ended up paying again to keep from loosing the land. We took the guy to court and he was charged with theft by taking and fraud. He was sentanced to jail time and ordered to repay us monthly after his release. He had done the same thing to 3 other clubs.That has been 4 years and I believe he has one more payment. There has been seveal times that he didn't pay and we would have him picked up and he would come up with the money. It was a pain."
AF, I went thru something similar. I am in the process of doing the same thing. I have all the written documentation with the leasor's promises of paying me back for the money I put on the lease ...that I never saw one penny of. I'm told I have a good case since I kept every copies of every piece of correspondence. I don't believe I am the first one that was taken either.


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## snuffy (Aug 8, 2007)

Was in a club in Henry Co. once and we were rabbit hunting after deer season ended. We ran up on some people bird hunting and went to run them off. Guess what, they owned the land. Come to find out the farmer that leased the farming rights had just that the farming rights, not the hunting rights.
The owners were nice about the whole thing, Let us finish rabbit hunting telling us NOT to shoot the birds.
That night we got a call from the farmer saying not to go back. Think he got a call that night?
Anyway we didn't get any money back and also didn't get to turkey hunt.


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## Lovetohunt (Aug 8, 2007)

Great news everyone! I spent my lunch hour at the Magistrates Office today. He says that this is a clear case of Theft By Taking and that he will issue a warrant for the president's arrest as soon as we file a police report. There are also grounds for a small claims suit to recover the money. We have given the president a deadline to contact us about repaying the money. If he doesn't contact us by the deadline we will go about this through the courts. He can't refuse to take their calls.


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## Jody Hawk (Aug 8, 2007)

Lovetohunt said:


> Great news everyone! I spent my lunch hour at the Magistrates Office today. He says that this is a clear case of Theft By Taking and that he will issue a warrant for the president's arrest as soon as we file a police report. There are also grounds for a small claims suit to recover the money. We have given the president a deadline to contact us about repaying the money. If he doesn't contact us by the deadline we will go about this through the courts. He can't refuse to take their calls.



Good luck in recovering y'alls loss !!!!!!!! I know another fellow who came close to joining this very club.


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## gawhitetail (Aug 13, 2007)

*Did we hear from everyone?*

Have we heard from all of the members that can be tracked down?

I think that there might be more.

Keep up the good work.  I'm with you all the way.


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## deerbandit (Aug 13, 2007)

Good luck thats my biggest concern about leaving the club I'm in know for a better one.


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## 11P&YBOWHUNTER (Aug 13, 2007)

is everyone not mentioning this, or is it just me that thinks this guy just screwed you all and thought you would not raise a stink about it?  Maybe he thought you would not contact the landowner?  Maybe he thought you lived in a world where internet and phones exist?  Maybe you need to file that police report and get this guy arrested...


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## Lovetohunt (Aug 14, 2007)

The president is on here and I have attempted to contact him at every telephone number he has, I have sent him emails at his home address and have sent him pm's from here. He has refused to answer all of them. 

We saw that he tried to buy a camera the other day and gave the telephone  number that he told us that he lost, as a contact number. We know he has seen this but still refuses to call us to work this out. The club meets in 9 days. On the 10th we will file charges.

Life is hard..... but it's harder when you are stupid!!!!


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## jblakehunter (Aug 14, 2007)

I know the situation stinks, but atleast you guys are able to do something to get your money back.  Good luck to you guys!


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## GA DAWG (Aug 14, 2007)

Well tell us who the pres is...... I sure as heck dont want to have any dealings with him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## jbi1104 (Aug 14, 2007)

I believe the person in question had an issue with sending goods a member paid for here as well.  If you use your search-foo powers the president will be revealed.


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## Arrow3 (Sep 3, 2007)

Im curious in how this is working out....


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## gawhitetail (Sep 5, 2007)

*Update?*

As a fellow victim, I was just wondering if you had heard anything.

Let us know.

Thanks again for heading this up!


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## kornbread (Sep 12, 2007)

has any phone call been made yet ?


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## Lowjack (Sep 12, 2007)

Your doing it right , I had a similar case and the first I contacted the prosecutor in the town he was a lot of help and although he knew the owner of the land he filed charges, when I got the money back $12,500, I then dropped the charges.
Now I Hunt with the prosecutor in his own land ,LOL


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## Jack Flynn (Sep 13, 2007)

Hopefully this case is being worked out. Several years ago a couple of buddies and myself leased right at 300 acres in Burke County. A week later we ran into someone that had also leased the same land. What a mess is all I can say. The land was left to this crackhead in a way that he could not sell it, and left in the hands of a land manager as far as trees go. I filed a claim in Burke County court and he didn't show for court. He has been in jail several times since and if he ever has any money coming too him the lein I put on the estate will pay us first, tree's that have to be cut for money or some of it sell by some chance. We should get our thousand+ dollars back. You really need to expose people like this so no one else will have any dealing with him.


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## LYNN (Sep 18, 2007)

Sweetwater Trophy Club Has A Treasurer And A President And Had Several Meetings A Year With Financial Reports. It May Not Be Bullet Proof But Is Seems To Work For The Last 35 Years Or So. I For One Do Not Want To Hunt With Crooks. 
 I Hope Your Pres Does Some Time.


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## 270 Sendero (Sep 21, 2007)

any new news


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## Lovetohunt (Sep 22, 2007)

Just wanted to give everyone an update. We have filed charges in Walton County where half of the land is located. We have a hearing scheduled for Oct. 15th. The president will be issued a summons to apprear in court to answer the charges.

We have all continued making attempts to contact him. He still refuses to return any calls, emails, or pm's. I guess he has crawled back into his hole and is hiding. I'm sure the Walton County S. O. will smoke him out.

I do want to thank everyone for all of the information and support we received. It really helped us to locate all of the members and gather info for the upcoming court date.


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## boneboy96 (Sep 22, 2007)

good luck.  I'll be looking for future updates!


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## Lovetohunt (Oct 8, 2007)

Update: 10/08/07

We found 3 more victims this weekend that the president charged not $750 to hunt but $800 per man. This brings the total up to $9150 that has flown the coop. I can't wait until Oct. 15th.


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## Sharpshooter (Oct 18, 2007)

Any new info on this?


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## Lovetohunt (Oct 19, 2007)

Started a new thread for all the updates. See President to spend opener in jail.

http://forum.gon.com/showthread.php?t=143968


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