!!! Mike Newton’s Tape Trading SCAM !!!

[Bruce Leroy]

Has any one Traded with this guy? I have heard that he doesn't make good on his trades,There is a thread on some other forums.
I would like to hear from anyone that has done Trades with him, Please post your experiences here.
Thanks-
Bruce

http://community-2.webtv.net/barneygoogles/MikeNewtons/

[Black Jack]

I have been wondering about this, I sent the guy some tapes I had, hoping to get a trade on some stuff that I saw, stuff I would not buy but would trade for, and it was awhile ago, and I have yet to get anything.

He seems like a real nice guy, but my radar is going up a bit, I am going to check my e-mail today, as I sent him a complaint, and see what he says.

I will post ther responses here.

Can you tell me where people are talking bad about his non-existant trades?

Thanks

[Wolfgang Kruger]

My "Trading" experiance with Mike is as follows:
I sent him 11 tapes MONTHS ago, rare stuff that he would never be able to get on his own elsewhere.

He was allways super nice and timely with his E-Mail responses, that is until I started asking for my tapes... I sent him Brand new Sony tapes recorded in SP mode. He finally sent me three tapes with a note saying that he is Very behind with sending out tapes and promised to get the rest out this week.

The three tapes he finally sent out, consisted of Two high Quaility Sony Tapes, And One Crappy RCA, all recorded in LP or EP mode. One tape had a title listing but was sent out BLANK!!!! Another had a title I already had, and did not ask for at all.I then sent off a E-mail requesting my tapes be recorded in SP mode like I sent him , and on Blank tapes ( He sent me one Used). Since then, He has Ignored at least 4 E-Mails. If by chance he makes good on his Agreement, I will Let you all know here. But He has had PLENTY of time to reply. I had fellow Martial Artist's mail him for a "Trade" and guess what? He replied Instantly!!!!
I gave him more than one chance Before posting a Negative comment. But, Sadly, He never learned Honor from the Martial Arts. "Trader Beware"
Thanks-
Wolfgang

[Black Jack]

Thats sucks Wolfgang,

I bet I am in for the same experiance, I sent out 5 very high video quality tapes to Mike in exchange for some stuff that I was wondering about getting, that was way over a month ago.

He has yet to respond back to my new e-mail regarding why my 5 tapes have not been sent out, my first complaint was addressed to the fact that he was very behind due to the nature that he has gotten so many tapes, but my tapes would be out shortly, though before I ordered he told me it only took 3 to 5 days to recieve my tapes.

The only good news is that it did not cost me anything, the tapes I sent him, I hated, but I am sure others would like them, I did not buy them, they were a gift from a friend who hated them, so I just sent the stupid originals, plus my company paid for the UPS postage.

If I knew the guy was going to flake on his good word, I would of just givin the dumb things away here for free.

I will send him another e-mail tommorow.

[Royal Dragon]

I suspected as much from the moment I heard about his site. Also, doesn't this reek of copywrite infringment? Are there authorities that can be called?

Welching on a trade is bad Karma, and deserves punishment if you ask me.

[Taomonkey]

Most of these trading guys are collectors, and retards, who only send back crap, and hold on the the best for themselves.
The worst out there is a guy named Tom Carnes, of Chico, Cali. THis guy pormised the sky, footage of my teachers long dead Master from the Islands, told stories about his great experience, his great certificates, how all these families named him inheritor, how he trained with Bruce Lee, and it went on. I figured this guy was a nut, but wanted the video he claimed he had. so I sent him a tape. some footage from comercial tapes and some of me doing a demo in downtown Tulsa. WHat I got back was junk, video of him, video of some philippino's where he claimed it was him, pictures of all his (forged) certificates (I checked several out) and an offer to come and do seminars for us for $500 plus bus fare. Oh and he sent me a rank certificate. I sent him that back. For a year the guy called my house almost weekly. then he sent me three more tapes of the same low quality crap, and told me about his great video system.
The moral,
If you want it, you probally have to buy it.
Dont ever send out vidoe of your teacher or yourself to some guy you dont know.
And if Mr. (self professed Master) Tom (Monkey Man) Carnes calls you, tell him he's a fake, and hang up.

[Wolfgang Kruger]

I sent Mike another E-Mail last night and told him that he is the topic of conversation on the Kung-Fu Forum.

I told him if he makes good on his Trades that I would post the information here.

As before, I received no Reply at all. If anything, at least this will serve as a Warning to everyone not to Deal with him. Maybe someone that lives in N.Y. could pay him a visit :-)

I will keep you all posted!

Wolfgang

[Budokan]

Here's the bottom line: If you're stupid enough to send your tapes out to somebody you don't even know, then you deserve whatever happens to you.

[Wolfgang Kruger]

Not True-
Not Everyone out there is a Scam Artist and out to Rip you off!
Unlike you, I have not given up on the Entire Human Race.
Unfortunately, a big portion of what it Means to be a True Martial Artist has been Lost in some People's Training and Teaching.
Mike claims to be a Mantis Stylist for 20 yrs , It's a wonder his Sifu doesn't give him a Lesson in Honor.Bottom line, If your Sifu knew you were up to a Scam like this, what would he say to you?
I'd say a Attitude adjustment would soon follow! If he Attends class in the Bronx area, It will soon be known, As a Search is already in the works- He will NOT get away with Ripping people off this time!
Take Care-
Wolfgang

[Royal Dragon]

I wouldn't just risk an original tape, I would just send a copy. That way, when it turns out to be a scam, I only loose a couple of Bucks in blank tape and shipping costs.

[Kempo Guy]

I've traded with him as well. Sent him quite a few tapes over a month ago... haven't seen sh*t yet. A couple of the tapes are quite rare too.

I have traded tapes in the past with pretty good luck and have only encountered this type of thing once before...
I guess I never learn...

KG

[PHILBERT]

If you contact the post master, they will track him down and bust him for fraud.

[Royal Dragon]

So it blows up when he plays it.

[Kevin73]

I had come across that site and marked it as a possibilty to contact him, but I just wasn't sure if it was legal or not to trade tapes like that.

I checked and the website isn't even up anymore. He must have gotten alot of videos for free from the sounds of it

[Wolfgang Kruger]

I was finally able to contact Mike Monday night and he claims he is shipping out what he owes me this up-Coming week.
Of course, while we were talking, his site was being removed page by page and is now gone, so who knows?
I'll keep you posted. Has anyone Else heard fom him as well?
Wolfgang

[sticky fingers]

Instead of juggling tapes, you should get on the peer to peer networks. Lots of Jet Li and Jackie Chan movies on those in Divx format, some in DVD quality too

[IronFist]

Guys, last I heard sending copies of copyrighted tapes through the mail is not only copyright infringement but also mail fraud.

Be careful.

IronFist

[buddhapalm]

Mike Newton’s Tape Trading SCAM !!!

Dear Martial brothers, let me tell you about one of the lowest martial arts scams you could imagine.

It started one day a few months ago when on an impulse I put up a posting asking if anyone knew of any footage of my schools lion dance or demonstrations from between 10 and 35 years ago. My Sifu and school had done many lion dances etc, so I assumed that someone out there may have some footage. My Sifu, passed away ten years ago.

I received an e-mail a day or so later by a Mr. Steven Tyler. He claimed to have footage of our school in numerous performances from San Francisco. Upon hearing this I was overjoyed, I truly wanted to find some footage of my long dead Sifu, who raised me as a god son. He said that he would be happy to send me the footage at no cost to me since he knew how sentimental it was to me. He claimed to have lived in San Francisco during the 70’s and 80’s and also seemed to know something about my Sifu. Being overjoyed I offered to give him some tapes from my collection. He said that that would be great, and he would send me my tapes soon.

Then he claimed to know a well known Mantis Sifu who I wont mention his name. He said this Mantis Sifu had old 8mm footage of my Sifu training in a Chinese Association in Chinatown. What a coincidence, my Sifu was learning from one of his Northern Shaolin Sifu’s in such an association in the 60’s, the same time period Steven Tyler mentioned. He also mentioned a sparring match which was filmed with my Sifu and another guy. The description of the bout sounded exactly like the kind of technique and ruthlessness of my Sifu. It sounded most convincing. This con guy is good.

Using the name of this well known Mantis Sifu, this guy Steven Tyler said that the Mantis Sifu would trade for the footage I wanted, he said the Mantis Sifu was eccentric and wanted some other kung fu tapes. I thought it was bizarre and a little unbelievable, but his story of the footage just seemed so convincing. So, taking a chance I sent some more tapes for Steven to hand to the Mantis Sifu for supposed exchange.

As you can imagine no tapes ever arrived at my office. He kept delaying me with pitiful excuses, then tried to get me excited with stories of tapes of my Grandmaster, my Great-Grandmaster and tapes of Ku Yu Cheung nonetheless. Now I knew I had been had. I was a sucker, yes I admit it. But this sucker never forgets.

Its not very NICE to cheat people using sentiments of their lost master. Not nice at all.

Anyway back to the story. I figure I would try to find out who this traitor (Fan Gwut Jai) is. I called many schools in the Bronx and New York to see if a Steven Tyler was enrolled, no luck. It seems the only Steven Tyler I could find was in the rock band (Aerosmith ?).

Next. I noticed a web page being posted advertising a kung fu tape trading site here on Kungfuonline.com. It seemed too unusual. I checked it out and saw it was run by a Mike Newton. Different name, same tapes. I waited to see if anyone complained about any cheating before I moved. Yesterday I went to the Martial Media and Popular Culture section and found many complaints on this trading site:

http://forum.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=12817

If I had seen these postings I would have acted sooner, as I usually hang out in the Shaolin Forum.

Anyway, for your information the person who is cheating us not a Steven Tyler nor is it a Mike Newton. It is someone else. I checked Mike Newtons (now disappeared) web site and dug around. I found on its side pages a number of resumes posted for a:

Mr. Luis Ginorio ...... of Puerto Rico

Could this perhaps be our man. Well I would not leave it to such simple circumstantial evidence alone, I went further. I called around New York and it was verified that Mr. Luis Ginorio was in fact a Preying Mantis practitioner. I checked address databases and found the address of Luis Ginorio matched the exact mailing address I had sent the tapes.

So we have matching mailing addresses for Luis Ginorio and Steven Tyler at 755 XXXXX St, Bronx New York. He is a Mantis player of ill repute and also sells/sold tapes on ebay under the handle “micromantis”, here is his “previously sold items” page on e-bay:

http://cgi6.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?MfcISAPICommand=ViewListedItems&userid=micromantis&include=0&since=30&sort=3&rows=25

(If you cannot open it properly, then go to search function on ebay, then type in micromantis and include completed auctions. )

He had sold some new Wing Lam tapes I sent him.

Anyway I would like to bring this traitor to full light. He cheats many honest martial artists, he cheats them using the love of a long dead Sifu, he hides behind fake names (Steven Tyler/Bane/Mike Newton) and he abuses the names or reputable masters and includes them in his scam, thus redirecting our hatred to them instead.

This is not the action of a martial artist, it is the action of a cacaracha ... a roach.

My eye is on you Luis Ginorio, as someone on the complaint post said…..you can run but you can’t hide.

A small world is it not Luis ?

I welcome you to San Francisco to see what you have entered into.

Cheers

Buddhapalm

[Black Jack]

I was stupid enough to send the ****-sucker some tapes of mine as well. The guy is a con artist, we should contact the postal inspectors for fraud or something like that, I wish he lived by me so I could tell this to him in person.

He ignored all of my e-mails, but again I was the one stupid enough to fall for it, I should of known better.

I hope the *******s dinky turns black and falls in the craper.

[buddhapalm]

Black Jack,
Just remember the name of Mr. Luis Ginorio of the Mantis Style.

Was the shipping address 755 White Plains as well ?

Buddhapalm

[Black Jack]

That was it.

All I wasted was shipping money, my tapes, some common sense, and a bit o' time.

I hope he gets caught and spends some jail time with a convict who likes fresh meat and tossed salads.

[diego]

He ignored all of my e-mails, but again I was the one stupid enough to fall for it, I should of known better. "

:cool: dont know if you should have known better?, as he was just one martial artist? who happens tobe a con, its not as bad in the sense of people watch out, if Criminal Ent. were into bootlegged personnal kf tapes :D

tis crap tho

[greendragon]

If i were you i would make a phone call to his sifu.

[Budokan]

Usually when something sounds too good to be true it often is. Now you're all a little wiser.

[Royal Dragon]

I sense a disturbance in the Force, Yeeeeeeeessssss, a Mob style burial, I see...................

[DelicateSound]

Plenty of little holes in the desert for cocksuckers like him.

[MaFuYee]

buddhapalm;
i've got a '70s demo tape, that i believe was filmed in sanfrancisco. - the only sifu i know is on the tape is y.c. wong. - i don't know the names of any of the other demonstrators, as there is no sound. - it is b&w. - i believe it was transfered from 16mm. - it seemed like a really big tourney/demo. - you can drop me an email at grandterminus@hotmail.com if you'd like a copy.

[buddhapalm]

MaFuYee,
Thanks, I think I have that one though. Does it have a whole bunch of Wong Jack Man performances, with lots of weapons, Northern Shaolin sets and two man sets. Does it have two filmings of the same demo ? Some beauty queens in it too.

If its different please let me know, I would be most interested.

Regarding Luis Ginorio/Mike Newton/Steven Tyler,
I dont mind him taking advantage of me with tapes so much, though it is an issue. What infuriates me most is leading me on that he had footage of my Sifu while he was learning.

I asked some masters in New York that knew of Luis Ginorio and they said that his present Sifu probably would not care if I reported the incidents to him. I did not get the present Sifu's name, but I would like to know too.

Does anyone here know Ginorio's current Sifu ? I am curious.

Buddhapalm

[MaFuYee]

(beauty queens) - it's probably (99%) the same tape.

i "traded" with steve/mike/louis, and ended up getting some tapes - not exactly as agreed, over one month later... (it could be because it would only be a short drive for me to go knock on his door... which i subtly reminded him.)

i don't think i'll have further dealings with him.

but, if as you say, he is a 'mantis' person... the teacher that comes to my mind, up in that area, is raul ortiz. - i'm sure there are others.

[Qi dup]

Save all the emails and call the police.

[buddhapalm]

That would be ok, but under what law can he be charged ? Tapes were not sold by mail, they were traded.....does this still constitute mail fraud ? Please advise, I would enjoy this.

Next. This boy needs to be brought to light. A member of the martial world who indulges in this kind of sneaky low behavior should be brought to full view. I have not disclosed all of the things he did and said, otherwise it would have been too long.

He operated with full confidence in the dark, now the lights are on. I am not the only one he duped.

Buddhapalm

[Stacey]

you have to question the intelligence of a man who cons martial artists.

anyway here are some solutions.

1. Call police.
2. Chain letter to martial artists warning them.
3. Write a blurb to a martial arts magazine.
4. contact e-Bay
5. Visit him and kick his ass, take his tapes and **** on his carpet.

[Wolfgang Kruger]

Greetings:
If anything, At least his website is History, and everyone has been Warned. I have been in Contact with alot of the People burned by this Lowlife, and No one is letting this slide.

There are many things in motion as we speak.

Take care-
Wolfgang

[RMAX.tv]

Please contact my corporate office at info@RMAX.tv

In the past, this individual has been caught manufacturing and distributing for profit copies of my video tapes. We issued a cease and desist, but found that he only changed the name listed on the video, and continues to sell copies.
We will be happy to assist.
Fraternal,
Scott Sonnon
RMAX Performance Solutions
http://www.RMAX.tv

[roughnready]

What he did was a bad thing. If you guys sent him tapes then you were also doing something illegal, so you guys would get into some trouble also. Especially if this guy kept your emails. My advice would be just to leave it alone and be thankful that you got the creep site taken off before he had a chance to get any more tapes.

From what I understand from viewing his site, you had to send first which means that the sender initiated the copying of the tapes. I guess both parties are at fault. Same thing happen to me once and I warned everyone about the guy and the guy then went away. So it's a good thing you guys warned us about this person that way we can't get fooled by him.

[RMAX.tv]

Hmmmm.... Welcome to the forum with legal advice for tape traders. :eek:

Actually, your assessment is not entirely accurate. What these people did was illegal ONLY if the footage was copyright protected.

For instance when Mr. Luis Ginorio (AKA Steven Tyler, AKA Mike Newton), 755 White Plains, Bronx New York, allegedly produced and sold unauthorized copies of my copyright protected intellectual property (videos,) this is illegal, which is why we have taken action through our attorney. :D

However, defrauding a contractual agreement, like Mr. Luis Ginorio has allegedly committed to the members stating to the effect here, is illegal. :mad:

Regards,
Scott Sonnon
RMAX Performance Solutions
http://www.RMAX.tv

[Royal Dragon]

on video of your dead master training in the park shot by some bystander. It's home video, not comercial. Or what if I sent him video of me in exchange for some other home shot stuff?

Anyway, that being said I knew the S#!t was going to hit the fan with this before. This guy needs to go down. It's un cool and down right wrong to rip people of off like that.

[rubthebuddha]

take all those steps earlier recommended, and pursue his immoral butt until it can't stink up this world anymore.

also, contact the Better Business Bureau if he's operating under any business format.

STACEY: your suggestions got bleeped out. should we pee or crap on his carpet (the four-letter versions don't meet with our sensors)?

[IronFist]

As was mentioned, if you sent copies of copyright protected tapes (Panther, etc.) you have commited copyright infringement and mail fraud. If you sent originals, then you didn't do anything illegal you just got screwed out of a tape.

So, I think it would be hard to get him in trouble without incriminating yourself since you broke the law too by sending him tapes.

IronFist

[Black Jack]

I sent orignals to the douchbag. I got them from a buddy who hated them so much he gave them to me for free, and in return I thought they sucked as well, so much that I just sent them to this con artist as I did not want to waste any time copying such junk.

The tapes were the 5 instructor course tapes to Bart Vale shootfighting.

That is why I am not so chapped, I lost about $9.00 in mail fees, but thats it.

Wolfgang, let me know if I can help. My email is ja411@iwon.com

I remeber he had on his site that if someone sent him a dvd player he would trade in tapes:rolleyes:

[diego]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Stacey
[B]you have to question the intelligence of a man who cons martial artists.

:eek:

[urban tea]

Wolfgang,

Could you please email me at

urbantea@hongkong.com ?

I'd like to talk with you.

BTW- thanks for the information regarding Mike. He told me that he had footage of Wong Hon Fun and I was about to send him 3 old school tapes...

[buddhapalm]

I had sent him some original footage of Wing Lam Hung Gar tapes, including 8 Gates Sparring, Iron Wire, Gung Gee Fook Fu and others.

Luckily I did not give him my good stuff yet ;-)))))

Scott, I will contact you, I have a number that may interest you.

I personally think the best revenge is "EVICTION" from the Martial World.

Do you think he will sign up in any of your tournaments ?

Do you think he will sign up in any of your schools ?

He now has to take on the same strategic posturing as Bin Laden did, with a thousand Marines and SEAL's hunting him down like a squeeling pig on all-terrain motorcycles through the Afghan highlands......................run baby run, can't you hear the engines ;-))))

Hasta la vista baby. Lets cook some pork, this ones not Kosher though, but it is in the Bronx.

Buddhapalm

[buddhapalm]

Hi Guys,
His name is not Mike Newton as advertised, but is Luis Ginorio of the Bronx, NY. Moderator please do not delete my posts as I am trying to educate the public about an immoral embarassment to the martial world. I have proof on this.

Cheers

Buddhapalm

[TRUUF SEEKER]

Seriously, watch out for Tom Carnes. From first hand experience I can tell you that he is a fraud, and borderline delusional. I've seen his JKD certificates. Did bruce make his students fill out their certificates themselves, in their own handwriting? Was he really an orphan raised at the Shaolin Temple and given the title "Master" in monkey kung fu? Too many of his stories seem contrived and do not match up. He does teach seminars, and there is no doubt he posseses skills and techniques, but I question background and credentials. I, and many others, have an uneasy fear of this man. If you have a similar experience, please post.

[gwa sow]

i posted this on another thread but i thought it would go great here. if you guys got a fast connection, try www.kungfu-torrents.com you need a torrent downloading program like azureus(spelling??) or bitcommet. lots of stuff, some good some bad. its still free but i dont know for how long.

[Ben Gash]

Are the downloads from peoples training collections or are they ripped off from commercial tapesets? I'm not keen to become involved in the next generation of Kaza style prosecutions.

[gwa sow]

a little of both. some books scanned and put into .pdf form. a few mantis instructional videos, some old videos of fanzi, tongbi, tai chi, misc kung fu, and some flashy wu-shu stuff. also some other non kungfu stuff. check it out. its not that big and commercial yet. dont think you have to worry about the legal stuff. you can always just register and see what they have. if it doesn't interest you dont download anything

[SimonM]

If you don't have any ethical reasons to avoid it I'd strongly suggest using the Kung Fu Torrent. It's nice but time-limited. They institute a fee as of October 1. It may not be much but witout a credit card I won't be able to use them any more. :(

[Buddhalife]

Buddhapalm please contact me. I have information that you might find useful.

Try the name at this location:

Lion's Roar Muay Thai camp located at:
2966 Jerome Ave, Bronx, NY 10468

[Syn7]

trading copyrighted material is illegal... if you call the police, you will be admitting that you were ripped off by the co-accused during the process of committing a crime... calling the police would amount to monumental idiocy... they probably wou;ld just tell you to fukc off anyways... or take a statement then file and forget about it... like every other minor theft or fraud... esspecially in a place like NY, or in a crime that crosses jurisdiction like most national mail fraud scams... the only people who really have authority here are too busy checking mail for explosives and other major nefarious activities...


all you can do is wage a PR attack against the guy by speaking up asmuch as possible, or go see him and let your hands tell him how you really feel about being taken advantage of... personally, i feel if you arent willing to do the second choice, just drop it...