Local Doral Scuba Op Accused Of Fraud Shut Down

[iamrushman]

what's up with this.....


MIAMI (CBSMiami/AP) – A scuba shop in Doral has been shut down by the state.
State Attorney General investigators found Ocean Hunters Inc.and its owner, Abdiel Falcon, intentionally misled people who purchased scuba diving certification courses.
The probe into the business practices of Ocean Hunters was initiated after several consumers filed claims alleging fraud and the issuance of counterfeit diving certifications.
Under an agreement filed in Miami-Dade Circuit Court, Ocean Hunters and Falcon are permanently barred from doing any type of scuba diving business, including instruction and charter trips. Falcon also agreed to pay $50,000 in restitution.

 

[billinwilliamston]

What's really scary to me is there is a Tripadvisor review from December 2013 about fake training that the poster experienced in July of 2013. That indicates that this had been going on for at least two years. On the plus side, he did use a Groupon, so I'm sure the price was right.
Ocean Hunters Dive Center (Doral, FL): Address, Phone Number, Scuba & Snorkeling Reviews - TripAdvisor

AND this is from PADI from over a year ago. Fraud Warning The wheels of justice grind slowly I guess.

 

[boulderjohn]

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/sc...n-miami-guy-sells-fake-course-padi-cards.html

 

[iamrushman]

did they think no one would notice a fake card sooner or later?

 

[boulderjohn]

did they think no one would notice a fake card sooner or later?

It is interesting, isn't it?

The old thread to which I linked got off on a really stupid tangent, with people questioning whether or not a person who was not professionally qualified could be capable of delivering quality instruction. That misses the point. If someone is capable of delivering quality instruction, then that person should certainly be capable of getting authentic instructor certification and running a business that does not have to resort to fraud in order to get customers. There are plenty of legitimate shops in that area.

There is another fraudulent dive shop that is the focus of occasional threads on ScubaBoard: Aquastrophics - Online Scuba lessons and equipment sales. Perhaps looking at that case may give an idea.

In this case, the owner has created his own agency, but it is an agency of questionable legitimacy. The last I checked (a couple of years ago), the agency address was a vacant lot. There is certainly fraud in the claims on his various web sites, but at least he is not claiming to be offering certification from a mainline agency like PADI. Perhaps that is why he has somehow evaded prosecution. So let's ask why he, too, has chosen not to be a part of a mainline agency. IMO, the answer is likely that he can't. The owner was once a NAUI instructor, but that agency banned him for unspecified reasons. I suspect any attempts to become an instructor for another mainline agency would have go through that part of his past.

I do not know the situation in the case of the subject of this thread, but it seems likely to me that there was some barrier that prevented him from being a legitimate instructor and led him to perpetrate this fraud.

 

[SinkFloridaSink]

this is an old story that has resurfaced.
Ripoff Report | Ocean Hunters Complaint Review Doral, Florida: 1095337

 

[boulderjohn]

this is an old story that has resurfaced.
Ripoff Report | Ocean Hunters Complaint Review Doral, Florida: 1095337

No, it is a new story.

What you posted was a link to an old and (then) unsubstantiated complaint. This thread is a new report on the result of those complaints--complaints have been substantiated and the shop has been shut down.

Doral Scuba Op Accused Of Fraud Shut Down « CBS Miami

 

[EL Pistoffo]

Fraud occurring in Miami, shouldn't come as a big surprise to anyone. I guess the Medicaid fraud market there is too competitive. LOL