FAIRLAY.COM SCAM REPORT! 1.235 depositted BTC STUCK WITH THEM

[betg]

What happened: Fairlay has been holding my deposit hostage for over 6 months now. I played with them for over a year without any major issues. Deposits and withdrawals were always almost instant. Sometimes, I withdrew my funds without playing. The primary reason for using them was for arbitrage betting. Any seasoned bettor knows that arbitrage opportunities are fleeting, and in most cases, lasts only for a few seconds or minutes. Whenever I deposited and the arbitrage opportunity is lost/gone, I simply withdrew my funds. Moreover, there was never any clause in their terms and conditions asking bettors to turnover deposits before withdrawing. As far as I know, I never broke any rules.

Out of the blue, without any warning, they stopped processing my withdrawals. After several emails exchanges, they arbitrarily decided that they will keep my bitcoins for themselves. I have 1.235 BTC with them. Please explain to me how this is justifiable? They claim I was using their platform as a free mixer, and that I was laundering my funds through them. Really? Lets pretend for a minute that their accusations are true, Does it give them the right to keep my hard earned money? Can a gambling platform seize deposits because they suspect that the funds were acquired illegally? How is it their business how I earned those coins? Are they the IRS or a Government entity with a mandate to go after illegal funds? My apologies, I digress.

Their final statement is that under no circumstances will they pay me back. As far as they are concerned this case is closed. Beware of Fairlay.com. Do not deposit there, their modus operandi is that they can decide to steal your deposit whenever it suits them with accusations that you are a money launderer. They don't need proof, nothing - They only need to suspect your activities, and that gives them the right to keep your coins and spend them as they wish. And oh, they may also request KYC and give you 2 days to submit them, otherwise you are in their opinion a scammer and a document forger. This, coming from a business that is not even licensed.


Scammers Profile Link: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=507872

Reference Link: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=673475.msg24338073#msg24338073

Amount Scammed:  1.235
 
Payment Method: Bitcoins

Proof of Payment: To be Updated

PM/Chat Logs: To be Updated

Additional Notes: I advise you to not deal with this user until this dispute is resolved.

[FairlaySupport]

We consider this case closed for quite a while now.  This was our last response regarding this matter:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=673475.msg22050784#msg22050784


 TL;DR    We suspect OP of money laundering, document forging, abuse and identity theft.

[spamsucks]

im sorry if I came late to this party, but help me understand...

You accuse this user of committing identity theft, and committing fraud. You ask for proof of who they are and set a deadline. When that deadline was not met, you kept the funds?



at the end of the day, unless you can show some reason you are entitled to this cash, you should be returning it, and banning the player for ever using your services again. In no sense whatsoever would you be able to keep the funds without proof you actually suffered some loss that you are covering. Ie... he used a stolen card to buy BTC from you, and the transaction was reversed...


If thats the case, and you are really keeping the money with no proof that it belongs to you, how would you make anyone feel safe about using your service ever again?

Im just asking cause I didnt see any of the real answers in the other thread... just that he didnt prove who he was fast enough. Unless I missed something and there was actual loss by your company.

[treather]

Hello Fairlay,
You cannot confiscate a players deposit because you "suspect" they are money laundering. What are you? A gambling platform or Le? Rather, you should report them to the authorities or ban the player from using your platform. Keeping betg's bitcoins is stealing, and I am amazed by the argument you are putting forward here. You don't have any evidence to back up your claims, and your actions are based on suspicion. Does it mean that you will seize deposits whenever you are suspicious a player?

[betg]

I have edited main post to follow scam accusations forum rules. Here's my older post:
Fairlay.com is holding 1.2BTC of my depositted funds for over 6 months now!
05/10/2017 06:39   mBTC   -598.00   0.00   Cashout (not processed)
05/10/2017 06:38   mBTC   -637.00   598.00   Cashout (not processed)
05/10/2017 06:29   mBTC   1,235.00   1,235.00   Other (here is deposit)
I have been playing with them like 1 year or more without any problems before this happens and withdrawals were instant, unfortunatelly I have been depositting and withdrawing many times without playing as instant deposits worked without any problems (tried to play arbs but they didn't work well these months) until this happened - they didn't process my last two withdrawall requests after my deposit of 1.235btc, was in argue with them many days (2 months or so) but finally never got my withdrawals and they have stopped replying to my e-mails saying it's money laundering, this is their final statement and that they won't pay.
Stay away from this sportsbook as if they think something you will have absolutely no chance to get your money back (no license, many many excuses to not pay and finally not replying to mails).

[betg]

We consider this case closed for quite a while now.

It's WAY AWAY from "closed" for me, I made deposit and You don't want to payout (with new fees rules) or let me wager for it or make anything to sort this out instead of trying to steal my money.

[cruso]

Very interesting read from the fairlay thread. These guys seem to be amateurs. I don't advice depositing here if this is their policy.

I have monitor this gentleman’s post for a while...

Indeed. Even your first post on this forum was about it  

he is definitely a fraudster as anyone legit would of provided docs requested immediately..

That's absolutely not true. There are many people who would be hesitant to provide their identification to some shady company. I mean, they're not even "Fairlay LLC" but rather "Fairlay S.L.R" and in their incorporation filing forms they say their company is for the purpose of "trade, real estate, investments, tourism, import/export and trade". Jeez, why would you not trust them.

also his deposit and withdrawal pattern does not match a legitimate player..

Are you saying that you are you privy to this?  

--

Anyway, my point isn't to defend betg. I know nothing about him, but as a casino owner I know it's not a casinos job to play judge, jury and executioner. If fairlay suspects there is money laundering or what not, it should be reported to the authorities and surrendered or investigated through the proper channels. It is absolutely not fair or reasonable for them to just pocket it.

Users should be wary of unlicensed gambling platforms demanding identity documents.

We won't pay out the money unless ordered by court or police.

Ha, that's funny. Reputable casinos have exact opposite policy  

But as you mentioned court order, I took a look at your site:

This agreement is made and entered into by and between you and Fairlay LLC, incorporated in the Republic of Costa Rica under ID number 3-101-736435 of the National Registery

So I was planning on requesting the full company / personnel details to give betg a legal avenue to make his claim, but there are no such records of a company existing. I guess it's no surprise as there are no LLC's in Costa Rica. Just  S.A. and S.R.L.'s.



There appears to be no problem with their site, as it is working for every other legitimately incorporated company that I have tried.

[Parodium]

We consider this case closed for quite a while now.  This was our last response regarding this matter:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=673475.msg22050784#msg22050784


 TL;DR    We suspect OP of money laundering, document forging, abuse and identity theft.

In order to protect the reputation of your website, I would suggest that you reopen the case and allow OP a further 7 days to provide ID. As it seems like this scam accusation is likely hurting your business.

To OP, it seems like Fairlay requested ID from you (reasonable under AML), and you did not provide it due to having no camera. Surely it is worth buying a camera just to get this money back? Use a friends camera, heck, even go to your nearest Apple store and use one of the display phones if you have to.

In any case, keeping the money does not seem to be the logical solution to this case, you suspect OP of using illicit funds, and yet now you think those illicit funds are somehow yours to keep?

[akamit]

We consider this case closed for quite a while now.  This was our last response regarding this matter:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=673475.msg22050784#msg22050784

 TL;DR    We suspect OP of money laundering, document forging, abuse and identity theft.

How do you came to a conclusion that the issue has been closed a while ago?
An issue can only be close when both parties agrees to a solution and that will be a happy ending.

You referred to your post > https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=673475.msg22050784#msg22050784
After your post I checked all the pages for a solution / happy ending, but there is none I found.
I also found that some other members posted regarding this issue and you haven't answered them, just referred them to your above post.

Why didn't you answered RHavar posts, RHavar have logic in his post if I am not wrong.
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=673475.msg22050895#msg22050895
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=673475.msg22051866#msg22051866

You are providing betting exchange service, and you are not court, police or any authorities to decide to hold another person's money.
In your above mentioned post, you said We won't pay out the money unless ordered by court, arbitrator or police.
So I want to know, have you contacted any authorities so far or not, as it is one month gone after your post?

I want to ask one question, this is just out of my curiosity.
My most earnings are from sig. campaign, which is bitcoin. So if I want to bet in your site how do I proof my income.
Who knows one day you will say that I am a money launderer or a criminal and you will hold my money?

Looking forward for DT members involvement in this issue.

[cdtc]

Scammy move by Fairlay.

They dont have a licence as far as i know. Why are you surprised that someone is not willing to send their ID to some random ass no-licence gambling website? You just stole his money as far as i am concerned.

[SyGambler]

I used to like fairlay a lot , it was like 2nd to me after nitro but this thing makes me cautious
IDK why you can accuse someone of fraud if he sometimes deposit and don't wager , arbitrage bettors can't bet when the opportunity is gone
you are taking fees so the process doesn't cost money , it's not nice even to ask for documents

sites that don't have withdrawals fee like Betcoin have some reason to do that , but when you are taking fee then this doesn't make sense 

[cdtc]

You cant label anyone is a "fraud" and take their BTC if they dont oblige to your demand of ID verification. You are not the police or the judge. You can ban players by IP/Account, but you cannot pocket their crypto! Low.

[TrumpD]

This is day light robbery fairlay  . If your lawyers really advised you on this course of action, then you should fire them. Sadly, you have handled this badly and it seems you have been badly advised.

You don't pocket a players money because you don't like their behavior or you think they are acting suspiciously. There are better ways of dealing with things like this without appearing like crooks, because you are looking like scammers now. I don't want to jump into conclusions but I hope you see reason and return the funds back to the betg, then look for ways to prevent him using your platform. If this re occurs after a warning, you may be right then to seize funds.

[FairlaySupport]

Our hands are tied as long as we cannot establish the identity of the user.  

The user aborted the KYC procedure when we asked for a simple proof that this documents were authentic.  Instead of getting a webcam, smartphone or simple camera to produce the proof the user aborted the KYC procedure and went on spending dozens of hours discrediting us.  

[FairlaySupport]

This is day light robbery fairlay  . If your lawyers really advised you on this course of action, then you should fire them. Sadly, you have handled this badly and it seems you have been badly advised.

You don't pocket a players money because you don't like their behavior or you think they are acting suspiciously. There are better ways of dealing with things like this without appearing like crooks, because you are looking like scammers now. I don't want to jump into conclusions but I hope you see reason and return the funds back to the betg, then look for ways to prevent him using your platform. If this re occurs after a warning, you may be right then to seize funds.

What other ways?

There are no ways of preventing him to access the platform again without establishing his identity.

[SyGambler]

Our hands are tied as long as we cannot establish the identity of the user.  

The user aborted the KYC procedure when we asked for a simple proof that this documents were authentic.  Instead of getting a webcam, smartphone or simple camera to produce the proof the user aborted the KYC procedure and went on spending dozens of hours discrediting us.  

may I know why you asked him for ID ?? is there anything that he did wrong ?? cause AFAIK there is nothing to be abused in fairlay right ??
while most sites have KYC in their TOS , I find it extremely shady to ask people for their IDs unless there is a reason of course
so hope you share more about this situation , why to ask for KYC ?? this is really the first time I see you asking for that

[FairlaySupport]

Our hands are tied as long as we cannot establish the identity of the user.  

The user aborted the KYC procedure when we asked for a simple proof that this documents were authentic.  Instead of getting a webcam, smartphone or simple camera to produce the proof the user aborted the KYC procedure and went on spending dozens of hours discrediting us.  

may I know why you asked him for ID ?? is there anything that he did wrong ?? cause AFAIK there is nothing to be abused in fairlay right ??
while most sites have KYC in their TOS , I find it extremely shady to ask people for their IDs unless there is a reason of course
so hope you share more about this situation , why to ask for KYC ?? this is really the first time I see you asking for that

It was a very substancial case of money laundering.

 And this was only the 2nd time we asked someone for documents. As long as you are not comitting betting fraud / money laundering  you are fine to use Fairlay  without KYC.

[akamit]

Our hands are tied as long as we cannot establish the identity of the user.  

The user aborted the KYC procedure when we asked for a simple proof that this documents were authentic.  Instead of getting a webcam, smartphone or simple camera to produce the proof the user aborted the KYC procedure and went on spending dozens of hours discrediting us.  

may I know why you asked him for ID ?? is there anything that he did wrong ?? cause AFAIK there is nothing to be abused in fairlay right ??
while most sites have KYC in their TOS , I find it extremely shady to ask people for their IDs unless there is a reason of course
so hope you share more about this situation , why to ask for KYC ?? this is really the first time I see you asking for that

It was a very substancial case of money laundering.

 And this was only the 2nd time we asked someone for documents. As long as you are not comitting betting fraud / money laundering  you are fine to use Fairlay  without KYC.

How do you found out that the user was a money launderer?
Is there any specific illegal act by the user? If so, please provide proof here. Your posts will not get any value without any proof.
If you fail to proof that the user was a money launderer by illegal act then you will probably lose your right to ask for kyc.
All I'm asking you to proof here by the procedure Fairlay has determined that the user is money launderer.

As long as you are not comitting betting fraud / money laundering  you are fine to use Fairlay  without KYC.

I afraid to believe your statement.
If I or any other user deposits and wins big later, then you will not accuse us as money launderer and ask for kyc?

Bitcoin is meant to be anonymous, right? 
So how money launderer accusation and kyc became part of Fairlay while you accept bitcoin as deposit option?

Why don't you move to fiat?

[SyGambler]

It was a very substancial case of money laundering.

 And this was only the 2nd time we asked someone for documents. As long as you are not comitting betting fraud / money laundering  you are fine to use Fairlay  without KYC.

money laundering is a big accusation and you can't simply go with that accusation
the user was using your site for arbitrage betting , that means if he deposit and then the opportunity disappears he will simply withdraw his money without wagering a single satoshi
This isn't enough to accuse a person for money laundering , there are many mixers if he wanted to do that but clearly this is not the case at all

[RHavar]

It was a very substancial case of money laundering.

I don't see how any of this can justify taking his money.

If you suspect his intentions were to mix coins, you could just send them back to the sending address (as he asked) which would defeat the purpose of his mixing, as well as file a suspicious activity report.

Or you could surrender them to a government authority, and provide him with the details so he can claim his money back.