Be careful who you do biz with... Peter Brotman

Psychologists should turn Brotman into a case study because he epitomizes how a human will turn off the thinking part of their brain, replaced instead with rationalizations such as "I won't get caught" and "these guys are so rich that they'll never notice that the money is gone" as well as "I'll just pull a bigger scam to pay back the guys that I like, but scammed earlier."

Hey d*uchebag, they'll notice. You'll get caught. You won't always be able to pull off a bigger scam in order to pay back your earlier victims.

Consequences?! Brotman is 47 years old; his knowledge base is classic cars. Now, no one will ever trust him...not that it will be an issue for the five years or so that he winds up behind bars.

He's gone from doing handshake deals with Cage to years behind bars. Does he get to keep any of the money? Nope.

So he's tossed away everything that he's earned and everything that he's learned and lost everyone who trusted him in exchange for years in jail.

Dumb.

So here's a tip to any other scammer out there: once you start telling yourself that you "won't get caught" or that "no one will notice," you should stop...you should slap yourself...because you've just told yourself one of the clues that your mind is no longer thinking...it's rationalizing.

Which is to say, you are no longer smart and you are at high risk of losing everything.

 

Classic con man stuff. Sounds like someone else we know that's been talked about extensively in the So. CA. section.

 

This is a scam I hear about all the time. If there's one lesson here it is that you should never consign a car unless you are dead certain about the dealership in question. For my money it'd have to have been around for about 30 years with the owner having some serious roots (ie; exigible assets) in the community before I'd even consider it. Even then I don't think I would. It would also be a good idea to demand proof that they are bonded in amounts sufficient to cover yours and other consigned cars on the lot.

 

It's true that you do hear about this scam a lot, but the funny part is that you don't hear about it working (for long).

These bozos go to jail on a regular basis.

 

That won't help you, or Nick Cage for that matter, get the money or the car back.

 

Not exactly true. Having been around this business a few years it amazes me how many have been Atilla the Hun, lay low a couple of years and are welcomed back. Some of the big names too. I see names here all the time that those in the business consider shysters of the highest order and are well spoken of buy the current buyers. History repeats itself over and over and over and.......................

 

My brother in law (well, ex actually) was intimately involved with the guy. He's one of the investors who got spanked in the deal, and will see NADA back ever.

Guy's a very sharp investor, very careful, and he got sucked in by Brotman. It cost him $600K+-.

I watched this from afar. I wondered how the guy could have so many great cars to broker, and he had a hell of a nice list.

Turns out to be a shell game. And lots of folks got burned. Apparently some cars were sold 2 or 3 times, in a short period of time, and obviously never delivered to any buyers.

What a mess. I'm not shocked to see him get some jail time. I'm sure the victims, none of whom will get their $$ back, pushed for it.

DM

 

How right you are! Peter Brotman is apparently out of jail early and working for Tom Papadopoulos at Autosport Design in Long Island, NY. Tom has a bad reputation, so I guess birds of a feather flock together.....I pity new buyers who fall into their hands!

 

+1. It is quite amazing. Although some of them (one in particular) was right before the "pre-Internet" era, so there isn't much out there. It's kind of a bizarre world, with an incredible amount of "forgiveness" and seemingly very short memories.

 

Mr. Brotman took possession of my 68 medium blue/blue 365gt and 73
Black/beige 3!?!?65gtc as consignment cars in 2004, immediately collecting
after that.

 

Brotman wholesaled the above cars, blew the cash and
I got nothing.I almost quit the hobby after this not to
Mention my wife thinks I am extremely dumb.

 

Interesting.................

 

No lights over Gotham City at night, no problem.

 

Wow! That sucks; sorry to read of your misfortune. Do you happen to remember the serial numbers of the two cars you consigned with Brotman?

 

Guess I'm a bit mistified how a guy can sell a car without documentation. Who would pay for a high end vehicle without getting proper papers at the time of closing. When consigning one of my cars to an auction company they want the title at registration. I only give them a certified copy of the title, and have my bank hold the real one. When the auction company pays my account in full to the bank, then and only then do they get the real title. As far a a consigner is concerned, I would trust no one with the documents period. These guys for the most part have nothing invested and are living of the fat of the land, and you trust them with your expensive investment. They promise the sky and get a seller all hyped up just to get their hands on your prize.

We had a scammer here in Seattle that took consignments and sold them without paying the actual owners. In most cases he also had the signed off title. So lets see you give up your toy and the title, and then you trust him to sell your car, and promtly bring you your money. now he has the cash and no incentive to pay you, so off he goes on yet another scam.

Follow my advice TRUST NO ONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! or as they say, if its too good to be true it most likely is.

Howard Musolf
1981 308gtsi
1982 400i Cabriolet
1988 Lotus Esprit Turbo
1920'2-30's Indy Cars
2 many brass era cars

 

kneecaps.

I am not kidding.

 

The bad news is, Brotman's accomplice is very
much still doing deals.

Step very carefully.

http://articles.philly.com/1996-01-21/business/25653349_1_bankruptcy-assets-nrg-energy

BHW

 

Don't you just love the guys who are caught, convicted, and sent before the judge when they say "I just made a bad decision". Nobody ever breaks the law anymore, they just make "bad decisions".

 

And then there is Donnie Calloway.

 

“That’s not who I am, your honor.”