Taken In By A Con Man

[copied from Taken in by a con-man as that site may be shutting down]

Well, well, well - what an interesting weekend.

Last month, I invited an AMOK! instructor Ian Sadler (a great guy, talented instructor and not the con-man in question) up from Tauranga to Auckland to give a seminar, and invited a number of my colleagues and friends (including our own beloved Julian Pistorius). We had a blast, and learned a lot about practical reality-based self defense.

I was so taken with the AMOK! system that I decided I'd help set up a class / study group (known as a 'tribe') in Aukland, with one of the other atendees, Jason Ogle, acting as the instructor. Jason (one of the atendees at the seminar) claimed to have an extensive background in martial arts, including many years as an instructor to the Marine Corps and later the N.Z. Army, and claimed that he still worked on an ad-hoc basis with the U.S. Department of State (an entirely believable claim in the context of his background; I know of a number of civilian instructors who do). Other tidbits included winning national-level Karate tournaments, and serving for six months as uchidesi to a very senior Aikido sensei in Japan.

So, we got together for some training sessions, and invited Ian Sadler back up to Auckland to complete our introductory training, so that Jason could run regular classes, with regular attendance by either Ian of one of his senior students. I opened a business account with my bank to handle expenses ... all was looking rosy.

Then, yesterday, we met with Ian again to train, and afterwards I went back to Jason's place for dinner and to go hunting (possums). There was mail awaiting his return, a plain cardboard packet. He opened it, and took out some official-looking documents. These, he insisted, were the first part of his new 'posting' from the Dept. of State - the I.D. required for him to work in Russia. When I mentioned that there was no paperwork accompanying the I.D., he responded that it would be forthcoming later. His partner Elsie observed that the I.D. packaging didn't look very 'official'.

That's putting it mildly. In fact, the ensemble set every one of my alarm bells going. The packaging was hand-made, from cardboard. It bore only a N.Z. postmark, and a N.Z. stamp. I surreptitiously observed the sender's address on the back - the package claimed to have been mailed by a private individual living in Wanganui.

The clincher though was when he showed me the I.D. It was a blank K.G.B. identity card, complete with K.G.B. lapel badge. All of this was presented in incredible detail; he even translated the Russian phrases on the I.D. and the CCCP stamp it bore. However, what he didn't know is that I am fairly familiar with the history of the K.G.B. - in particular the dissolution of the K.G.B. and replacement by the F.S.B. in 1991, with the fall of the Soviet Union.

Needless to say, the item in question was a fake, probably purchased from eBay - a few minutes of searching on Google once I returned home turned up this auction, which is for an item absolutely identical to Jason's in every way, down to the circular CCCP stamp. These aren't sold for the purpose of fraud - they're a novelty item, for having a laugh with your mates, or possibly role-playing.

Suddenly, things began to make sense. I'd observed while we were hunting that I was a better shot than Jason with the air rifles we were using; an odd thing, I now realised, for someone with five years service with the USMC. Ande's comment (as an aikidoka with four years training in Sydney) that for a san-dan, his technique was less than inspiring to watch also suddenly took on a new importance. The more I thought about it, the more I found little inconsistencies and glossed-over details that were unimportant in isolation, but which all added up to a portrait of someone who is either a consummate liar, or a genuinely disturbed individual living in a fantasy world of his own creation.

So, this morning I called Ian and told him what had gone on. He agreed with my asessment of Jason's character, and while I wrote Jason to tell him that I was immediately ending our partnership, he called by Jason's house to reclaim all his training manuals, dummy knives, etc. When confronted with the question "how verifiable is your background?" Jason merely replied "fairly" in an indifferent manner ... no indignation, no anger, none of the type of behaviour I'd expect from someone wrongly accused of fraudulently misrepresenting his background and skill-set. Both myself and Ian expected anger and aggression, but the overwhelming sense was of quiet resignation.

In the future, I will be continuing to train with Ian, travelling down to Tauranga as I have the opportunity and budget, and hopefully inviting him up to Auckland as well (I know there are a number of people here in Auckland keen for more AMOK training). I will, hopefully, have nothing to do with Jason ever again.

The thing that scares me is quite how plausible Jason Ogle was; it was only after incontrivertible, concrete evidence of fraud that I realised just how easily I'd been taken in. It was a hell of way to learn about such individuals, but I think I've come out of it a wiser man.

Edited Tuesday Jan 7th, 2014: ... and he's still at it. Apparently, he's now in Hamilton & trying to weasel his way into the Airsoft community there, telling people he is starting an indoor Airsoft CQB business. I hope no-one has parted with any money; if you have, I suggest trying to retrieve it immediately.