Today is August 18.
On June 24 we signed a retainer agreement at our house with 49-year-old Gary Fiorelli (videographer) to video our upcoming wedding on November 5. The total charge was for $865 total (for the entire day with editing, titles, love story, etc.). Gary did a heck of an award-winning performance at our in-house demo presentation. He bragged about his professional work, claiming that he had worked for the Arch Bishop and received special recognition for his work.
Gary stated that he was able to give us such a good deal only because someone had canceled their contract with him on our wedding date and he had kept their deposit. He asked for a $500.00 deposit, which we paid him in a check and he was gone.
He cashed my check the same day.
Approximately 3 weeks later, he called to say that due to some family emergency (hell of a psychic huh?), he would be out of the country the weekend of our wedding so he would be unable to do it. Gary offered to pay someone else to video the wedding and stated that he could still do the editing. He also gave us the option of returning our full $500 deposit.
When I looked for an address for Gary, all he had on his contract was a P.O. Box. (p.O. Box 384, Dana Point, CA 92629-0384). (That should have been a big, red flag.)
Needless to say, I was very upset that he backed out of the contract. I asked him, "How many times have you done this to people?" He replied, "This is the first time in 22 years."
We told him that we wanted our full deposit back and Gary stated that he would send us a cashier's check by the end of the week. I called him on Thurs, Aug 28 to confirm that he had sent the check out. Gary lied and said that he sent it out that afternoon. He stated, "You'll probably receive it by either Saturday or Monday at the latest." Of course... We have yet to receive our $500 back.
My fiance and I called several times a day and left numerous messages when we realized that the check was never "in the mail". Of course, Gary never answered his phone after that. My fiance then began to do some research on the internet and found several people who had been scammed by Gary.
After finding out all of this information about Gary, my fiance called him back repeatedly and told him that we knew about his scams and his mother's (71-year-old Shirley Ann Fiorelli) involvement with his scams. Gary is now finally returning my fiance's numerous calls. At first, Gary told my fiance that he didn't have the money and that his business was going under. (Mildly interesting to us.)
Yesterday (Aug 17), my fiance called Gary again. Gary stated, "I'm at the bank right now and you'll be getting your money today." Well... Surprise, surprise... We have not.
We are not going to stop calling and we are not going to let him keep scamming couples out of their money or wedding videos. So far, we have found several other Victims and are communicating with them via email.
Now, we have a little more than just a business dispute. This is now escalated to a crime—fraud. I will pursue Gary until this matter is resolved.
PLEASE spread the word about this scam artist and do NOT retain his services NOR pay him a penny! He'll take your money!
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