Crestview Financial, Crestview Capital, Crestview Lenders
Complaint 43030 Details

A man representing himself as "Mr. Brown" of variously - Crestview Capital, Crestview Financial, Crestview Lending offered an unsecured 5% loan of $10,000.00 from his firm Crestview Financial, Houston, TX I checked out the firm, address and principal on line and all agreed with what was stated; even attempting to call Mr. Brown and being told he was away on business in Dallas.
In succeeding e-mails the "Mr. Brown" I was to learn was a fake, said he could take a few minutes out of his Dallas business trip to approve the loan to my wife and myself, we needed send photos of passports, wife's green-card, state drivers licenses and bank account info for the wire transfer. This was done; within hours he replied that the state of Texas required a surety or performance bond (I checked this out, and it was the case, so no suspicions were raised). He then set a date for the loan, but offered to pay the bond, e-mail me the info & copy of same, if I would send $935 to his subordinate, named John Jordan. I did so and there was an $86 fee attached through my bank... I was informed that the funds may not have gone to Houston, which made a couple trips to the bank un-necessary, but later learned from the WU manager that a man with no ID claiming to be John Jordan was refused - the only way he could therefore claim the money was to answer in 4-words a question/answer I would furnish WU. I did so; "Mr. Brown" was absent for a day afterward, but so too was the real Mr. Brown at Crestview Financial because his secretary M's Bruckner told me so.
Next day i received another e-mail from "Mr. Brown" saying they were $880 short in the needed bond amount for the state, and once I sent it the money would be transferred to my Bank by Cashiers check. That was suspicious - why not by wire? Inter-bank transfers cost only a few dollars - so I called Crestview Financial in Houston and talked to the real Mr. Brown who explained they'd had more than a dozen complaints that morning of someone using their company name(s) for illicit "loans" and he asked I contact the FBI. I did so - they agreed that "Mr. Brown" and Mr. Brown - both using the names of Crestview Financial, Capital, and lenders were under investigation. I furnished cell-phone numbers, e-mail copies used by "Mr. Brown", info from my bank, from Mr. Fernandez of the Houston WU... and anything else I could think of. Two days later (yesterday) I had a phone call from the real Mr. Brown's secretary, 's Bruckner, asking could they have the same info for their files as the FBI had seized some records in their office. I complied by e-mail and I added one thing - I ad received another e-mail from our "Mr. Brown" in which he stated since I was calling him a scammer and not sending the balance of payments for the bond, he would not fund the loan, but return my $935. Do you think I will ever see it? I don't even think they will catch this smart con-man as he seemed to be aware of almost every move made by the real Crestview Financial's owner and of state requirements for lenders. Ouch - this was the proverbial "straw that broke...". I am broke, and this may have far-reaching consequences in my personal life, as the loan was to bring my wife & I into a joint venture, rather than have her return to her native China after a dozen years in America. Phil Van Zandt - St. Pete, FL