So I heard back from the PI today:
Hello Sam,
The DMV has nothing at all on this person by name, not a single trace of a record whatsoever. The license photo you sent looks real to me, but it may be fake?
I spoke to someone in enforcement at the DMV and the only thing they could do is "take it from there" if I bring a copy of this to them. We will not hear anything and by my experience there is likely very little they will do.
This guy is a ghost...but the license looks real......
Let me know what you would like to do next. I am willing to bet that a visit to that address results in nobody knowing this guy, but that would seem like the next logical step.
So, that pretty much clinches it then; this license is a fake and is proof that this was a scam from the start.
For what it's worth, I have posted a copy of the license below. I apologize for the poor quality of the image. When I originally negotiated with 'Tom' for him to reveal some form of official ID to me. He was extremely reluctant to do so (sighting fears that the SEC could somehow get hold of it - however remote the chance), so as part of the concessions on my part, I told him that he could obfuscate any detail he liked other than his name and address and that I would securely delete the file after I had viewed it - which I did. However, before I deleted it I printed it off on a laser printer (in hindsight I should have printed it on a higher quality printer, however, I was not expecting any issues and only printed it off as a 'just in case'). The image you have is a scan of the B&W laser print of the photo that Tom sent me of his DL - hence the quality issues.
So I am going to call the PI in the next couple of days to discuss the whole situation and get his views on what we can do from here, but TBH, I think they've got away with it clean. I still have a couple of minor leads to chase up, but I don't hold much hope of those getting me anywhere.
To 'Tom' & 'Jeff' et al:I know you will be reading this, hoping that I haven't stumbled on some crucial piece of information which may reveal who you really are. I'll give you this much; you ran a very believable operation and convinced a lot of people that you were legit, however, while you've got away with this scam, criminals like you tend to have very nervous dispositions, sleep with one eye open and feel the need to constantly look over their shoulder. It saddens me that you feel the need to put your hand to such low down schemes such as this in order to feel 'successful'. Unfortunately, the only thing you succeeded in achieving is to steal the hard-earned money of your honest shareholders, who's worst crime was taking you at your word.
I challenge you to get up right now, go stand in front of a mirror, look yourself in the eye and ask yourself if you're ok with what you've done. Ask yourself if you really want to be the kind of man who takes advantage of others, who lies, steals and steps on other people for his own gain. If your answer is 'no', then it's never too late to make amends, but if your answer is 'yes', then I truly fear for your future, because the road you are on only leads to one destination; destruction. When you finally find yourself facing the consequences of your actions, maybe not any time soon, but trust me, you will face them, think back to my words and my warning and lament that you didn't change your path then, back when you had a choice.
And beware; because karma's a bitch!
