You are part of a criminal enterprise, what they call laundering cash.
So, you purchase two sets of tires,
you never received the tires.
He was, like, "Just send me whatever you have."
What the hell were you thinking?
You knew that this was a scam?
Yeah.
If you're buying something from a thief, you don't get to sue the thief.
You can smirk all you want. You are going to be doomed.
[narrator] Now on Tribunal Justice...
[theme music playing]
[narrator] Today's case was filed in Santa Ana, California.
Your Honor, this is Case #3108 on the calendar
in the matter of Gallage V. Guzman.
-Thank you, Byrd. -You're welcome, Judge.
Parties have been sworn in, you may be seated.
Mr. Gallage, you knew the Defendant, Mr. Guzman, since middle school,
but you kind of fell out of touch since then.
But you became aware of the social media account he had,
which offered discounted items for sale.
So you purchased two sets of tires.
One set of tires was for a 2018 BMW,
the other was for a Dodge Hellcat,
and you paid $1,400.
You maintain that you never received the tires,
and you further allege that the Defendant was actually running a scam.
And so you are suing him for the return of the $1,400.
Mr. Guzman, your defense is that you no longer own this site,
you don't owe him anything, and you don't have anything to do with any kind of scam,
and you know nothing about it.
-Correct, Your Honor. -Okay,
so, Mr. Gallage, I'm gonna start with you, sir.
You go on the site, it's the Defendant's social media account.
What was the handle on the account?
-The name was HKC. -[Acker] HKC.
-Yeah. -[Acker] How did you know it was his site?
[Ashen] Yeah, because he was the one who actually owned it.
Like a bunch of my mutual friends actually talked to him,
and they bought a bunch of stuff off of him, and it actually went through.
So you go on to this Instagram page,
what do you see, and how do you purchase items?
So basically, he would post, like, how to order,
like, on the evidence it says, "DM me with the format," like whatever you want,
delivery, restaurants, they need your address, phone number, all that.
And then they only take Zelle, CashApp, and crypto.
-So you DM them and say, "I want some tires"?
-Yeah. -I'm gonna now turn to you, Mr. Guzman.
Explain to me the operation of this site.
Okay. Yeah, so it's an Instagram account that I used to run.
I don't run it currently. I sold it off in early January.
When I was running it, how it would work is I would use AI
to scour the web for discount codes.
You know, there's certain discount codes on certain sites
that give you, you know, large amounts off,
which I would get, and then I would in return, order it for the customers,
and I would take the percentage off.
Say, if it was a 50% off discount code, I would give them a roughly, like, 30% off
and then just keep the remainder.
-The 20% was your profit? -Yes.
What was the name of the person who you sold it to?
I was not on a formal basis with this person.
-So, you didn't know a name? -No, I did not.
[Acker] How much did you sell it for?
-For $1,600. -[Acker] $1,600.
So this person, we'll just call them "Mr. X,"
is the person with whom you're in contact
after you say that this is the purchase that you want.
-Now, just so we're clear... -[Ashen] Mm-hmm.
...you purchased the tires through this platform?
And then you receive information from this mysterious Mr. X
who says, "Pay me and then go to this other location
to pick up the tires."
Yes.
And that was for the first set of tires you bought was $1000.
And then, when did you decide to buy
the second set of tires through this platform?
I believe it was two days after.
Two days after. So now you've given them $1,400?
-Yeah. -And what does this person tell you
about what you need to do in order to pick up the tires?
So, this is what he says. He's like,
"Oh, like, it's under someone else's name."
I'm, like, "Okay, what?"
-[Acker] You mean the tires you paid for. -Yeah, the tires.
-Yes. -He says, "They're at this location,
but they're under someone else's name.
Yeah, he told me this, like, at 4:00 am.
So, I work. I work at, like, at In-N-Out,
and I work from 4:00 am to 10:00 am,
and I texted him back.
He was like, "Oh, I gotta go out of country, bro,
I'm traveling with a bunch of homies to Colombia or something."
He was, like, "You gotta send me it right now."
Traveling with a bunch of homies to Colombia.
-I need the money right now! -Yeah...
[all laughing]
Yeah, he was, like, "Just send me whatever you have,
-and I'll get the appointment ready." -[Acker] How old are you?
-Eighteen. -You're 18.
Is it common now for people to engage in these transactions
and not know anybody's name?
I thought it was Jesse, like, this whole time.
Like, well, I didn't-- Like, he was, like, affiliated,
so that's why I was, like, okay, everything's safe.
You could actually see on the account, there's so many results,
-like, of people-- -And you knew people
-who had purchased items. -Yeah, I knew personally. Yes.
-Okay, so you go to a tire store. -Yeah.
And what this person has said to you is that the tires will be there,
but under not your name, even though you paid for them,
they will be there under somebody else's name.
Yeah.
So what happens when you go to try to pick them up?
I didn't go. So, it's like a day before, right?
I call the place.
I'm, like, "Hey, like, oh, like,
I'm going to pick up the tires, like I'm--" Like, I say my name,
and I'm, like, "Oh, like, I'm the person, uh, blah, blah, blah,
pick up the tires tomorrow, like, is it ready, like, is..."
And they were, like,
"No, the tires hasn't been ordered, I don't even know about your appointment,
like, there's nothing, like..."
[Acker] Basically, they're like, "Who are you?"
-[Ashen] Yeah! -We know nothing from you.
-Yeah. -We know nothing about these tires.
-What the heck are you talking about? -Yeah.
And then you reach out to your middle school acquaintance here,
and ask him for help.
And you tell him you don't own the site anymore,
but you're gonna try to rectify it.
If I may, he came to my house with another, uh, another friend,
and it was kind of on a like, a very aggressive approach, you know?
He was telling me to give him his money,
and I was kind of confused. I had just woken up.
I'm like, "What are you talking about?"
Uh, to where he kind of broke the situation down to me,
and I was, you know, just having woke up,
I was like, "Here's my number, go ahead and text me and we'll figure it out."
Which is where that conversation started.
In your answer, what you say is that after you allegedly sold the site
to this mysterious unnamed person,
that you retained some interest in the company,
which was that you got a commission on the sales.
But what you say is that you would take a portion of the sales,
or the money that was generated from the sales,
and convert it to crypto. Why were you doing that?
That's just how he wanted to be paid.
So you were paying some unnamed person
whose name you didn't know in cryptocurrency?
-Yes. -Why do you think this was a scam?
[dramatic music playing]
[narrator] Coming up, on Tribunal Justice...
You are a scammer, and I'm gonna tell you why.
[theme music playing]
[narrator] Ashen Gallage says he was scammed when he bought two sets of tires
through Jesse Guzman's online business, and never received them.
He's suing for the return of his $1,400, but Jesse claims he sold the business,
and Ashen is suing the wrong person.
Why do you think this was a scam?
I mean, what made you so suspicious, Mr. Gallage?
Uh, I was just suspicious, like, after he said all that.
I was like, "Crypto." And then, like, I don't know, like...
[Acker] In your complaint, you allege that the Defendant was running a scam
-with a small group of people. -Correct.
-And that they sell a course
where they teach people how to run the scam.
Correct. I have it all on video proof.
You submitted evidence. May we see the video, please?
[Acker] Who's that talking?
-Is that your voice, sir? -Yes, that is old video.
[Acker] You said, "As if you were using your own card,"
is what you're saying, yeah? -[Jesse] This is prior, Your Honor,
I don't do this.
[Ashen laughing]
-This is straight up illegal. -[laughing]
You are trying to instruct people
on how to use other people's financial information.
Like I said, this is past, and I don't see how it's relevant to the--
[Acker] It's relevant because I say it is, because I think--
-I don't think it's relevant. -I think not only were you a part
of something that deceived this young man,
you were engaged in a massive credit card scam in the country.
I have nothing else for you right now. Judge DiMango?
I just have to ask you, because Judge Acker said to you,
"What made you so suspicious?" And I'm sitting here thinking,
"What took you so damn long to become suspicious?"
What the hell were you thinking?
You call a guy who you don't know,
and you say, "Huh, bro, I'm waiting for you. All good?
How does this work?" He goes, "Send the bread."
And you send the bread!
You are a scammer. And I'm gonna tell you why.
Because this owner person whose name you don't know, you're the owner.
You're the one he's communicating with.
You're still running this whole thing.
-No, I'm not. Okay. -You can say whatever you want.
Who do you send the money to? What's the name?
-Jesse Guzman. -Jesse, that's his name.
-Yes. -Everything in here points to you.
-And you know why you use crypto? -It does not.
Of course, you're gonna say no. You won't say, "Yeah, you caught me!"
What do you think this is, Perry Mason?
-"You got me, Judge!" No. -[Jesse] Okay.
Maybe you just don't understand the evidence.
No, no, no, what I understand is criminality.
This here is about you. You know why you use crypto?
Because crypto is money that the government can't trace.
But it's entered my bank.
Well, it could, but you're gonna say something else.
There's trace of it in my bank.
So you're taking and you're pocketing this money in your bank account, right?
-Ten percent, yes. -Yeah. For a percent.
No, you are the owner.
-Owner. -I am not though.
You are!
-Both of these people. -All the evidence is there.
So the other guy, the owner whose name you don't know.
Okay. -He's the criminal, right?
-Yeah. -Right? Yeah.
But you know what you're doing? There's a term in the law,
which I'm sure you know.
"Acting in concert."
-Is that so? -And that makes you
equally responsible for the acts of the main actor in a crime.
But the bottom line is you are all the things
that you are saying in here that you're not.
You are part and parcel of this criminal enterprise.
That makes you as criminal as the owner.
You can smirk all you want, but if they come after you, sir,
you are going to be doomed.
Well, I've already done, I've already done, you know,
my, how can I say, consequences for that,
which is why I say that's in the past.
So what are your consequences? Did you get arrested and charged with a crime?
Um, I had to go to court for being involved.
I go to court, too. I visit, I come here,
but I'm not charged with a crime. So I asked you a direct question.
Were you charged with a crime?
I had to work out a deal.
You had to give somebody up.
You had to give up, because you are part of a criminal enterprise.
Using cryptocurrency to what they call laundering cash.
You're stealing from him. That's the illegal money that you get,
and you launder that money because there is no other person.
-He's just some made up-- You Honor, what? -Your Honor.
You seem pretty familiar, are you sure you're not the one behind it?
You know why I'm familiar because I spent 20 years
on the bench doing criminal cases, and I spent the 20 years before that
prosecuting criminal cases.
So I am very well-versed in this,
and that's why, sir, I do know you're the criminal in this case.
And if you think you've got it tough from me,
-you're up next, Judge Levy. -[audience laughs]
That's not true, I'm a nice guy.
What are you talking about?
All right, Mr. Guzman, you acknowledge
that you were in the past involved in illegal conduct
as we saw on the screen, right?
Yes, which I've strayed away from.
Okay. And you were contacted by the authorities?
-Yes. -That was in 2024?
-Yes. -And when the authorities came,
was that the feds that came, or was it state police?
No, it was state police. They didn't arrest me,
but they bring me in for questioning, and I had to talk to the DA.
-Okay. So you gave a proffer to the DA? -Yes.
And part of that proffer was telling them what you knew
-about this criminal organization. -Yes, sir, and to give it up,
and to ensure I wouldn't do it again.
Did the police indicate to you or did the DA indicate to you
that you may have to testify against people that are arrested
as a result of your cooperation?
They said that, but I was not having to testify.
-[Levy] Well, you haven't yet. -No. Not yet.
-How old were you when you went in? -Eighteen.
-No, 19, sorry. -You were 18. 19. And how old are you now?
-I'm 19. -So you're still 19 years old.
-Yes. -So, now, with this shock to you, right?
-That you could have gone to jail. -Yes.
It would seem to me that the smart thing to do at that time
would be to wash your hands completely.
Of course, Your Honor, but you know, greed gets to all of us,
and I thought keeping 10% would, you know, just keep me at a clean slate.
No, I get that. I represented criminals for 12 years,
and a lot of my clients said the same exact thing.
-It was just too good to give up. -Of course.
But here's the problem, Mr. Guzman.
You see, if the Plaintiff here loses this case, and you might,
what he knows now, 'cause I'm gonna tell him,
is that if you go to the DA's office and you let them know
that he's back up to his old tricks again,
they're gonna arrest him. Not only for this,
but for the first charge, too.
And with you as a complainant, they will get from you restitution
from him, because what they're gonna tell you, Mr. Guzman,
“We're going to prosecute you for the old case.
We're going to prosecute you for this case."
And the only way that you're going to avoid a lengthy prison sentence
is if you pay him back his money.
Because that's exactly what I think is going to happen,
because quite frankly, sir, I don't think you're a bona fide purchaser for value.
You knew that there was something shady about this deal.
You knew.
[narrator] Coming up, on Tribunal Justice...
Now this BMW, did you buy the car yourself?
I've been saving from 16.
-[Levy] What about the Hellcat? -That's my friend's car.
So this $400 that you spent was money that was given to you by your friend,
so it's not even your $400 you're suing for.
[theme music playing]
[narrator] Ashen Gallage says scam artist Jesse Guzman
owes him $1,400 for tires he bought and never received.
But Jesse says he sold his business before Ashen's purchase,
so he's suing the wrong person.
How much were these $1000 tires that you were buying?
They were for your BMW, right?
'Cause you had to go online and find them.
[Ashen] They were $2,000.
-Two thousand dollars? -Yeah.
You knew that this was a scam,
that there was something wrong going on, right?
-Uh, not really. -You knew. You knew.
You suspected it.
Yeah, I did, yes, Your Honor.
And that's why you're not a bona fide purchaser for value.
And I'm ruling against you for that reason,
not because I don't think you're a hard-working guy.
I think you are.
I like the way you came to court today in a suit and tie that shows respect,
-but it's also to teach you a lesson. -Yeah.
If something is too good to be true, it probably is.
And he's a bad guy.
So if you lose this case, the only way you're going to get your money back
is if you go to the DA's office and turn him in.
Then you'll get your money back.
Because DA's don't like it when Defendants get a break,
and then stick it back in the DA's eye by committing more crimes.
They don't like that. I think we're done.
-Thank you, Your Honor. -[Acker] Judge Levy made a good point.
Look, if you're buying something from a thief, and the thief says,
"Here's a Rolex for $300,"
and you know that it's a Rolex,
and you know he can't prove where it came from...
-Yeah. -...then you don't get to sue the thief
because he didn't give you the stolen Rolex,
and you gave him $300.
That means you're just both in bed with the bad business.
No idea-- I had no idea until later on, I found out.
Through a friend.
You didn't think it was a deal that was too good to be true?
Not really. I don't know.
Well, yeah, I was like, "Oh, yeah, that was a good deal, but..."
But you sent the money?
-Yeah, I sent the money, that's why. -[Acker] Yeah, we know he sent the money.
But why didn't you just send him the money back?
Because I no longer had it.
[Acker] Oh, right, right, it went to
-If I knew-- If I knew I was being sued... -...Mystery Man!
...and I was gonna go in front of a court, why would I not just send the money back?
-I don't know, why would you not? -Because I did not have it.
-[Acker] Mystery Man. -Why would I pay $1,400 out of my pocket
I didn't think I was entitled to pay back?
I got you, Mystery Man had it. Well, that clears that up.
I don't have anything else.
I want to go back to you for a second.
I guess we're trying to save you somehow.
You make a purchase of $1000,
then you make another purchase two days later for $400.
At that point when you were giving the money over,
did you believe that there was a scam there at that point?
-No. I know why. -[DiMango] Okay. Why?
Because there's a text that you get on your phone.
It's like your appointment has been set, you're all scheduled.
-And I was, like, "Okay, wow." -[DiMango] Okay, good.
And the scheduled appointment was at a business place.
Because you had actually found the businesses online,
and you said, "This is where I'd like to go."
-Would that be correct? -Yes, Your Honor.
And they said, "Fine, we'll set you up at those places, right?"
Yes, Your Honor. I didn't think of it as suspicious
until I went to his house and I talked to him.
-To his house? -Yeah.
So it was way after the transactions.
So at the point that you were making them,
you just thought you were making purchases of these tires.
Like a fire sale kind of thing?
So may be at that point in time,
there might be an argument that I could make
that you were a bona fide purchaser for value at that point.
And once you realized that you were being scammed,
it was already too late, because when you went to him,
he's giving you the runaround with, "You know..."
You're not even a good friend of his.
I could tell you guys were never friends.
You're Mr. Cool, Smooth Smart,
and you're Mr.-- We have a word in Italian, like, "jadrool,"
but you're one of these people, you just go through life
and you think everything's gonna be the way you think it is.
But you would be scammed by somebody like him.
All right, I don't have any other questions of you.
Yeah, this isn't as though you go on this Instagram account
and you say, "Just find me on the Internet
four tires for the BMW," right?
You, according to your texts,
you text and say, "This is the store that I wanna go to to pick up the tires."
Yeah. But it's on a-- On the-- He would, like, select a store.
Right. Now, this BMW, it's a 2018?
-Yeah. -And you work in In-N-Out?
-Yeah. -Did you buy the car yourself?
Uh, well, my parents helped me out a little bit,
and I've been saving up since 16.
-Since you're 16. -This is my dream car.
-I just bought it. -What about the Hellcat?
That's my friend's car.
So this $400 that you spent,
was money that was given to you by your friend
to get him tires the same way, right, that you had gotten tires?
-Yeah. -Right, so it's not even
your $400 you're suing for.
No-- Well, yeah, I guess.
-I got nothing further. -[scoffs]
You can't tell me this kid wasn't suckered in, come on...
[all laughing]
-[Acker laughing] -We're gonna retire to deliberate.
Thank you.
Court now stands in recess, this case will be recalled, parties are excused.
[dramatic music playing]
So, is he not a bona fide purchaser,
-or is just not the sharpest tack... -He can be both.
-[laughing] -He can be both,
he's not mutually exclusive.
That's true. In fact, to be the non bona fide purchaser,
you gotta be sharp.
I don't know, like, I-- When we got this case, I started going online
and taking a look at how these codes work,
and how people can buy these promotions.
I know there are some legit sites that do offer promo codes
that allow people to search for a wide variety of goods.
So, I'm really on the fence.
There's part of me that just sees him as a little bit of a naive, but...
-Well, if I may, just to jump in. -You can.
That with respect to the $400 that he just finally gave up,
just keep in mind, you know, when we're on that fence
about is he or is he not a bona fide purchaser for value,
he made it very clear in his statement to us, in his sworn statement
that was his money.
And but for that little inquiry at the end,
there may have been a decision to give him $1,400
that he was not otherwise entitled to, and he'd have been very happy taking that.
He thinks the money was stolen from him.
He's not entitled to the money because he admits it's not his,
but I don't think he put it in his papers,
because he is sophisticated enough to recognize
that just because the money came from his person...
-He might feel responsible for it. -Yes, exactly.
It's like, "I had the money, he took it from me."
You know, this guy is so malleable
that anything you would've said to him, after a while I'm thinking,
"Stop saying yes to Judge Levy. You're screwing yourself here.
What the hell are you doing?"
He's asking you, "So, did you take the money and set it on fire?
"Yeah. Yeah, I think I did, now. Now that I think about it."
But anyway, if you want to keep with the bona fide purchaser for value argument,
at the time he made the purchases,
he had no reason to believe, and he said it.
They sent him the thing that said "Yes, you're gonna go to this particular place,
you're gonna meet there, you're gonna--"
And he said to him, "Are you sure, bro?" "Yeah."
He goes, "It's like bringing your car someplace for your friend."
He quoted it in here, that's how st-- How unsophisticated he is.
The Defendant is, I'm telling you, I'm convinced the Defendant is the owner.
He is the runner of this criminal enterprise.
And this ju--, this dope here,
is just going along with... [laughs]
I can't help-- I get very Italian when I get mad!
He's just going along. I told you he would have sunk himself
if you kept asking him questions, I thought I had to save him.
And the argument that I would make even in favor of the $400
is that if I give you $400
to go buy something from Adam,
and then Adam steals it from you, I'm not looking at Adam. I'm looking at you.
-I gave you the money. -Exactly. Correct.
So you go back and get my money.
-You don't have to convince me. -You sue Adam.
-Give me my money, and then we're good. -[DiMango] Right.
-I'm with you. -Listen I don't mind--
-I am with you. -I certainly don't mind dissenting.
And to simply dismiss the Plaintiff's case,
I'll dissent on the one hand.
But on the other hand, I would also agree to dismiss the case without prejudice,
and to allow the Plaintiff to go and to file his complaint
and once he comes back with proof that he got law enforcement involved.
Whatever law enforcement chooses to do or not do,
that's up to law enforcement.
But at least we can show that not succeeding here on the merits,
we're giving him an out.
Which is simply do what you should have done to begin with,
which is go to the authorities and notify them.
If this guy's a scammer, he's still scamming people,
and more people are going to do it.
And then I would be willing to reevaluate when he came back.
-[Acker] All right. -I don't care how you dismiss his part,
I'm not dismissing, this kid's getting his money.
-We're on board for $1,400? -Yes.
-Okay. -All right.
Great deliberation.
[dramatic music playing]
Court is back in session. I remind both parties you're still under oath.
[Acker] Thank you, Byrd.
We had a very sparkly and lively deliberation,
and we're not at all unanimous.
The thing I'll point out is that the issue was you,
and was whether or not you were naive enough
to ignore some of these warning signs.
"I need the money now, I'm going to Colombia!"
And "Use this fake name!" You know, whether or not
there was some naivete there,
and Judge Levy came out exactly where he said he would.
Uh, he would dismiss your case in its entirety,
or alternatively, he would dismiss it without prejudice
affording you the opportunity to go to the police, make a report,
come back, and then prove that you were, in fact, victimized.
I can't remember the Italian word that Judge DiMango used,
but I think it translates into "young and naive,"
-and that's a very polite way. -That's a nice translation.
A nice translation of it is "young and naive."
We recognize that you got $400 from somebody else.
But again, we are going to award you that money
because again, if I give her some money,
and she gives it to Judge Levy and Judge Levy rips her off,
I'm going to come to her and say, "You know what, where's my money?
You dealt with him."
So, we are gonna award you back that $400.
We're also gonna award you the $1,000 that you're seeking.
And we're also going to hopefully try to award you some common sense,
like at some point, the warning bells have to go off.
You need to sharpen up a little bit.
We are giving you the benefit of the doubt here,
and we're entering judgment in your favor for $1,400.
Judge Levy is dissenting.
That's the verdict of the court.
Sir. I don't know what you're up to in life now,
but I hope you're doing better than taking things from people and victimizing folks
who work hard for their money.
That's the verdict of the court. Thank you.
This case is now concluded, parties are excused.
You may step out.
I know my prior actions probably didn't look the best,
but people change ways.
I was so angry, because it was $1,400, that was a lot for me.
Yeah, he confused me. He was upset, you know, he was banging on the door,
like, "Where's my money," I'm like, "What you talking about, I just woke up."
Aah! Like that.
That was just in the moment, you know, I could get this
off my hands and still get a commission.
I'm never buying tires online.
I'm just going to the tire shop, and I'm just getting them there.
[narrator] A former friend do you wrong?
Let Tribunal Justice buddy up to your case.
Find us on social media.
[theme music playing]