I wish it were possible to list all the details about all the wrong-doings that happen with Brad Baer. There are too many for this website. However, I will describe the worst of what happened to us.
He pretended to be good friends of ours and subsequently scammed us into "buying out" his partner in the Hotel Todos Santos/Restaurante Santanas/Gypsys By the Sea B&B. We were shown income and expense numbers that just disappeared into thin air as soon as we moved to Mexico. All the previous documentation was no longer available and now the business was losing money and full of debt.
We were actively in the business for 30 days. We saw the customers. We saw the cash. We did the accounting. But somehow all these past debts kept popping up; debts that had never been revealed before, debts that had no previous record, debts that normally are paid in cash, upfront, but for some reason there was an exception made and they were 2-3 months behind!
Brad's explanation. "Yeah, yeah, we gotta look at that." or "You don't understand. Doing business here is not as easy as it looks." (as the local policia comes by to collect free pizzas twice a week)
Being that we were new to the country and didn't know Spanish very well, we backed down and requested our money back. "Yeah, yeah, I'm working on it. You'll get your money back."
Two and one half years later, a year long polka dance with the keystone cops (policia and various govt officials), a second lawsuit (based in the U.S. As the transaction occured between U.S. Banks), we are still fighting to get our money back.
Meanwhile, numerous others have been scammed in phoney land deals and phoney business ventures. On occasion someone will actually post their story on the internet, but most remain silent. I suppose it is easier to just walk away and be quiet when you lose $2,000 or even $5,000 in a foreign country, but for us it was much greater than that.
While we would like to see our money back in our bank account, it is more than that to us. It is about righting a wrong. It is about preventing others from being scammed like we were. It is about making sure that if we don't get our money back, they don't get to keep it either.
Remember, this is an American doing scams in Mexico and he can be held accountable. He is still an American. It is not easy to hold those accountable, but it is possible. Persistance and perserverance will yield reward.
Perhaps this forum will bring those, who were victimized while on vacation or visiting that quaint little town, forward to share their stories and hopefully help prevent any future potential victims.
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