Opus Safe Transactions OST, eViza Transactions, Monica Bennett Professional Scam ,Consignment and Escrow Services, Gardena & Nationwide California

I am hoping my story will save someone from losing their money after my family lost ours on this scam. 

We found a boat we were interested in (a 2006 Avalon Tropic 2023) on Craiglist for $5100.  We emailed them and received the following email back from a Monica Bennett: 

Hello,

I am sorry it took so long to get back to you, but your message was in my spam folder, glad I always check it before I clean up. Hopefully I am not too late and you're still looking.

It's still available, but unfortunately my sister was involved in a car crash last week and I had to come here,  she ended up with a broken arm and can't take care of things around the house, so I have to be here for a while. She can take care of herself but we have the little one to worry about LOL.

I'm not complaining or anything because I am selling this through OST anyway, so my situation has nothing to do with the actual sale, I was just clarifying that I won't be available for a while. If you are familiar with OST, then you know what I mean, if not I'll be happy to walk you through it.

Feel free to ask any questions.

Thanks

After learning that OST was short for Opus Safe Tranactions, I decided to do some research. I found many positive reviews, LinkedIn profiles for the employees, a company blog, everything to convince me that I was dealing with a legitimate consignment and escrow company that was quickly gaining popularity amongst the automotive industry. We decided to move forward.  The best thing about Opus was the online status, quick customer service replies and 7 day guarantee.  Hell, I even got a bill of sale through the online system. 

Now the bad:  

The craigslist ad, the Opus Safe Transaction company, the customer service, the escrow account, everything is operated by one very professional scam artist behind the scence.  You will be told that Western Union is not accepted because it is not safe and that the bank-to-bank transfer is being sent to Barclay's Bank (or another popular institution).  The logo is copy psated to the Opus website.  It is not going to that bank.  Once you have sent your money, it is gone. 

In this day and age of technology, you CAN NOT send your money to any person online without seeing the merchandise.  Nowadays, it IS a fair assumption that unless you are exchanging the money and merchandise at the same time, it IS a SCAM. 

Here are additional keywords from our experience to help you.  If any of these come up in your conversations, stay away: 

David Gantert, PhD

Erik Holcomb

David Lee

Jeff Hurley

Gale Andrew

Debbie Crowell

eViza Transactions

Monica C. Bennett

lemonidasaray@gmail.com

Ad: Has depthfinder, bimini top, 9 person capacity, no leaks, floor good, runs good, 176 hours on engine, wil pull skiers, 20-25 Mph. One burn place on seat as pictured, other wise great condition.