Hunter's Butcher - Scammer? Help?

[Swamprat]

Man what a scumbag. 

File charges in the town that this occurred. 

Hang this dude by his nutz. Uuugghhh. I hate shit like this. 

If this was a deer my kids harvested....the dude would be leaking. Damn. Frustrating to read this. 

[Hunter115522]

You can at least take solace in the fact that karma will eventually get him. You can't screw people the way he did, for so long, and not answer for it. He'll get his. 

[Lphunsjr]

I know it doesn't help the situation, but try Big Dog's in the future. He's in the same vicinity. There's no way that meat was donated. Hopefully, the credit card method works. Good luck

[Larry O'Donnell]

Thanks for all the words of encouragement and advice, I did have a great time getting back into the field and will be back again next year.  Fish and Game are going to pay him a visit tomorrow, see what is up and rattle some sabers.  As soon as I told the officer "I think I've been scammed by a deer butcher" they said, "Hunter's Butcher in Howell, right?" without skipping a beat.  Apparently, this guy's reputation precedes him all over the state.  Fish and Game indicated that my meat probably got turned into dog food and I'd have to sue him. 

I doubt very much I'll be getting any meat, at this point I probably wouldn't trust it either based on reviews.  Recent dog food reviews on Google and Facebook indicate animals are getting sick left and right off his products.  I hope that the police/fish and game pursue that aspect of things and shut him the hell down for good.

After calling the police and fish and game, I made contact with Hunters Helping the Hungry (HHH) as he said "His deer are at the food bank" to the cops.  Bud at HHH has been most helpful in trying to figure out what actually happened.  

Apparently, he made contact with HHH and told them he was closing up his butcher shop to "focus on his dog food business".  He then abruptly closed at some point in December (possibly while under investigation), didn't call anyone with active orders (13 deer, 3 of them mine) and ditched the meat at a food bank.  HHH had no idea what was going and felt his actions were very suspect at the time.  As meat stores were low at the time, they were likely eaten right away.  The guy at HHH found a receipt for my order that said: "NOT PICKED UP" next to my instructions on how to make contact once the order was finished.  His website clearly stated, "We will text you when your order is complete".  I also left specific instructions via email and on the e-commerce bill on how to reach me or my NJ friend.    No contact was ever made to me and by the time I reached out to him a week or two later, he had shuttered the business and stopped taking calls.

 

Long story short, whatever of my meat didn't get skimmed or turned into dog food was given to a local NJ foodbank and probably made for some very nice holiday dinners.  I will be pursuing a chargeback on my VISA card for the processing fees and am somewhat confident that I will get those dollars back based on the conversation I had with the e-commerce store.  As for the value of the meat, I am going to talk to my accountant and likely take out the market value of three butchered deer from my taxes as HHH is a registered 501c3 charity.  Silver Lining I suppose.

I was perhaps a little naive in all this, but he came recommended by a friend and, being out of state with limited time on my hands, just went by his word.  It wasn't until I got home that I read the horror stories and poor reviews, but by that time I was hundreds of miles away with my deer already in his freezer.

 

All in all, I'm still pretty damn mad about the whole scenario, but am glad that some less fortunate people got to enjoy my harvest.  If I get my money refunded I probably won't take legal action against him myself, but I will be filing reports with all agencies that I can.  I really hope that an investigation can get him and all his shady business shut down for good.  In the meantime, everyone should steer clear of Raaw Energy Dog Food and tell your friends to do the same.  What a crook.

 

[Booner]

One of the the agencies you mite want to contact is the IRS. Even with the e store, you know cash is being used. I'm sure that doesn't make his earn income column.                               

   Just mite be another way to insure he gets what he deserves.

[hunterbob1]

14 hours ago, archer36 said:

That guy is a real A-hole.  Don't know how he lasted that long. 

Red tape.Investigation and evidence will finally prevail. Hope he gets alpo in jail!https://www.newjerseyhunter.com/forums/73-general-comments-information/289161-hunters-butcher-f-d-up-everything.html

[Bowhunter444]

If you need deer meat and want to travel back down to the Howell area I have 3 freezers full and can hook you up with some

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[bushden]

That really is a S__t situation but getting $360 back will cost you more in time and legal fees then its worth, Chalk it up as a lesson learned.  Get feedback before you use any butcher, contractor and business and NEVER PAY BEFORE RECEIPT of product or service.