Unfortunately I had to make this blacklist page. I am doing this to protect other honest, hard working people from getting ripped off. Let me say that there are a lot of good people in this hobby. It is unfortunate that there are some crooks out there too. I am starting a list of people to avoid. Please be aware that it is hard to get on this list. If you have been ripped off, taken, scammed, conned, etc by someone in this hobby, let me know. I will review your situation and may put the scammer's info here.

I am going to start out with a deal that conned $1061.81 from me. 

Con Artist: Michael Corren

Email Address: iwish@netzero.com , iwish@netzero.net

Business: Corren Enterprises, Inc - AKA Ace Amusements

Address: 4628 Maureen Circle, El Paso, Texas 79924

Tel #: 1-915-253-2581

Scam: Replied to my want ad on Gameroom Classifieds for a Xenon pinball machine. He sent pictures of the Xenon talked to me on the phone, and also indicated in email that there is no wear on the playfield, the game is structurally sound, the game powers up to attract mode and the score displays work, the game is complete.

Here is what I received from him:

Backbox - Two drywall screws barely holding the backbox together on one side.

Legs - The machine came with three different style legs. Two bingo machine legs, a gold Williams leg, and a silver Williams leg.

Bolts - Missing all leg bolts

Playfield - Several major wear spots down to the wood. Ball swirl marks everywhere. Packing tape over wear areas. Ramp tube cracked and moldy. Light strip broken. Flipper bats laying loose on playfield. They were yellow Williams bats. Flipper linkage missing on both flippers. Playfield posts faded to pink or white, not blue. Game did not power up further than general illumination.

I found the source of the pictures he sent me. He stole them from an Ebay auction. Here is the link to the auction.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3264203544

I called Michael describing the situation and asked for help. He told me that I got a good deal and the pin was not misrepresented. Later, he proceeded to send me harassing emails because of this page. I decided to file complaints with several agencies to get this resolved. I contacted the Better Business Bureau, Consumer Protection, Paypal, Federal Trade Commission, USPS Mail Fraud, and Internet Fraud Complaint Center. About a month after the complaints were filed, I received information from these agencies. They were willing to help me. Two weeks after that, Michael offered to settle with me. I accepted $280 for my loss since I didn't want to send the game back at my expense, or take time off work, etc. I should have known better than buying a machine without seeing it in person. Lesson learned - Buying machines not local involves high risk. Know this before doing the deal.  I've attached some pictures of the machine in comparison to the ones he sent. 

Update: He continually sends me emails threatening to "chargeback" the refund he sent me because of this page. He has no recourse and I am keeping the investigation open with the mentioned agencies. I will continue to keep this info here to inform the public of his actions. If you are reading this Mike, keep it up and you'll be in prison over this :)

Here are the websites that can help you if you've been ripped off. Also, if you are paying with a Paypal account, ALWAYS USE A CREDIT CARD WITH CHARGEBACK FEATURE. This will allow you to dispute the charges.

Better Business Bureau - www.bbb.org

Federal Trade Commission - www.ftc.gov

Consumer Protection - www.ftc.gov/ftc/consumer.htm

US Mail Fraud - www.usps.com/postalinspectors/fraud

Internet Fraud Complaint Center - www.ifccfbi.gov

Michael sent me these pictures..

Pictures I took of the machine he sent..