A Colorado man borrowed $20,000 to buy a John Deere backhoe he found online. The machine never arrived, and when he and his son drove to the address where the seller claimed to operate, they found an empty lot.
Steve Hunt, who lives southeast of Calhan in El Paso County, wanted the backhoe to help build a home on his 37-acre property. His son came across the listing while searching for equipment, and Hunt said the website identifying itself as Platte Machinery Group looked convincing enough that he moved ahead with the purchase.
The John Deere 310 backhoe was advertised for $21,000, according to Hunt’s separate interview with Denver7. He negotiated the price down to $20,000, borrowed the money from his bank and was instructed to send it by wire transfer to a Wells Fargo account in San Francisco.
Hunt reported the loss to the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office. FOX21 News reported that the Sheriff’s Office described the case as active and said it had been transferred to financial-crimes detectives in the Investigations Division.
A $21,000 Listing Became a $20,000 Wire
Hunt had bought equipment through auctions before without experiencing a similar problem. Hunt said the approximately $20,000 price was in the range he had expected to spend, so the listing did not immediately stand out to him.
He told FOX21 that he showed the website to his banker before sending the money and that the banker did not see an obvious problem. Hunt later told Denver7 that the site appeared to use details that made it look connected to a real equipment business.
The seller agreed to reduce the asking price from $21,000 to $20,000 and offered to have the machine delivered, Hunt told Denver7. He then wired the purchase money to the San Francisco account.
Delivery Excuses Ended With an Empty Lot
The backhoe was supposed to arrive on a Thursday evening in March. When it did not appear, Hunt contacted the seller the following morning and was told there had been a mix-up while the machine was being loaded. Delivery was pushed into the weekend.
Monday arrived without the backhoe. Hunt said communication with the seller then stopped.
After his son was out of the hospital, the two drove to Denver and visited the address associated with the equipment site. Hunt told both FOX21 and Denver7 that they found an empty lot instead of a machinery business.
Hunt also said they spoke with a worker at a business across the road. According to Hunt’s account, the worker told them that people had been encountering similar problems connected with the location for roughly a year and a half to two years.
Hunt Says the Wire Went From San Francisco to Overseas
After reporting the loss, Hunt said a deputy traced the payment to the Wells Fargo account in San Francisco. He told Denver7 that investigators said the money was then transferred internationally shortly after the original wire arrived.
FOX21 separately reported that the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the case was still active and had been assigned to financial-crimes detectives. Hunt said the Sheriff’s Office also succeeded in getting the website he used taken down.
Hunt said he is still responsible for repaying the bank loan he took out to buy the machine.
He had planned to use the backhoe to excavate and move material while building a home on his property. Hunt told FOX21 that losing the money could push the project back five to seven years.
The FTC Warned About Fake Farm Equipment Businesses
The Federal Trade Commission issued a consumer alert on September 15 describing scams in which criminals impersonate farm-equipment businesses online. Buyers see machinery advertised through websites, online searches or social-media ads, receive purchase documents, send thousands of dollars and are given a delivery date.
The delivery then fails to arrive. The FTC said scammers may stop responding or offer an excuse involving the delivery before disappearing with the payment.
The agency recommends searching a company’s name together with terms such as “scam” or “complaint” before buying. It also warns that paid search results can be purchased by scammers, so buyers should look beyond sponsored listings when confirming a company’s real website and contact information.
The FTC specifically warns against sending money when a seller insists on payment by wire transfer, gift card, cryptocurrency or payment app because those methods can make recovering the money extremely difficult. People who encounter an impersonation scam can report it through ReportFraud.ftc.gov.