"Traveller Metal Miniatures Scam by Ken Whitman & D20" Topic

Did a little more digging into this, since thankfully I missed this posting previously, so didn't buy into it.

As promised, a while back here on TMP, I thought I'd share info on this other scam I've run across while researching Ken Whitman and D20 Entertainment, and his various Traveller "projects".

Almost exactly one year ago, Ken was offering a three-ship, metal, Traveller Starship Miniatures Set for sale, as a "pre-order". Supposedly, this was limited to 100 sets.

The only problem is, they've never been cast up, or even sculpted in one case (the Gazelle-class Close Escort), more than a year after the initial offering.

See the ad below, which I found in the message archives (dated Oct. 29, 2014) for the failed, Spinward Traveller TV Pilot Kickstarter:

"d20E Now Offering Metal Miniatures

d20E is creating metal miniatures from the CGI models used in the Spinward Traveller show, then hand casted into high detailed metal miniatures. Because they are created by computers, you are going to see a high level of detail you can't get from hand sculpting.

They will come with a clear base, included in the ships will be the The Gazelle (1.5��), Beowulf (1.5��), and the Scout (1.25��). We are planing a 100 ship run of small minis and the ships will arrive for the holiday season!

To pre-order these ships, stop buy our online store. link "

Of course, he doesn't specify which "holiday season", so it could be in the year 2030, I guess.

Looks like they were sold directly to customers, and two of the three are available from Ad Astra now, directly, e.g. the Scout/Courier and the Beowulf Free Trader. Per Ad Astra on another forum (Starship Combat News Forum � link is provided further below), the Gazelle Close Escort was never sculpted, molded, or cast, and A.A. never provided the other metal ships to D20 or Ken Whitman, since he never paid for any of the work to be done.

Not sure if they were ever listed on the D20 Entertainment website, but they are not listed there now. He's also removed the resin, Traveller spaceship listings from the D20 site.

Here's the link to the d20E ad for the metal starships, I found (scroll down to Oct. 29, 2014, or search for "metal", and it should pop up).

link

In my personal opinion, getting customers to pay for these, and then never bothering to have them sculpted or cast a year later, is criminal fraud, and should be punished as such by the authorities.

Link to the Starship Combat News Forum discussions about Ken, and his non-payment for sculpting and cast minis being sold to customers:

link

So, if you've pre-paid for one of these Traveller, Metal Miniatures Sets, I suspect you'll have a bit longer to wait, assuming they ever get sculpted, molded, cast up, and shipped out to you.

People are having similar issues with all those resin Traveller ships he sold to others too, with many waiting as long as a year, or more for delivery, and no responses to their e-mail inquiries about their prepaid orders.

Caveat Emptor when dealing with Ken Whitman and D20 Entertainment. Don't become another victim.

If you want the metal Traveller ship minis, just buy direct from Ad Astra, instead, and save yourself some grief, and money.

For those burned by Mr Whitman in the U.S. I woulfd contact the U.S. post office. This may come under mail fraud laws. I would also contact the Attorney General for the state I live in. The worst they can say is they can't help.

Call the I.R.S, if he cheated people, then most certainly he cheated them, and the I.R.S. doesn't like being cheated, and with all the postings of folks asking for their stuff that they paid for, should be proof enough for them!

Has Marc Miller distanced himself from this guy yet?

i'm not trolling, but i don't get any of this. is this game even a "thing" anymore? mean to say, i bought the "little black books" about a year after the game came out, and we thought it was kinda "dry"…
is there a "audiance" for this dinosaur? and how many people did this guy con?
i'll have to dig out my black box. maybe i just did'nt get it.
could be, i was, what? 11 years old. i remember it had alot of math and very little DAKKA(not that i'm a warhammer 40k guy. not that dakka was a word back then. but you get my idea)…

Yes the game is a "THING" still. They just released T5 though it still needs tweaking. T20 also was interesting (RIP Hunter) and everything can be bought on CD from FFE (got all of the classic and T20 stuff myself).

Mako, you have been bombing COI and TMP for a while about this…I think we get the point now.

"Has Marc Miller distanced himself from this guy yet?".

I've inquired about that, and am told he is aware of complaints against Mr. Whitman.

However, I've also had a number of postings censored on the Traveller, Citizens of the Imperium forum, by some of the administrators there, who wanted to get Marc's take on things, before allowing them to be posted (they initially were, and then were removed). I've received no further updates about their conversations with Marc on the matter, and the postings are still nuked.

Interestingly, a number of other postings I've made have been moved to "more appropriate areas", under the guise of making them more relevant.

I think the real reason is to sweep these issues under the rug, and to have as few negative postings about Ken Whitman and D20 Entertainment as possible, visible to others, so the general public will be less aware of them.

Now too, there is a new policy on CotI that you can't create complaint posts (see the link below), or warnings to others, as I was attempting to do, since that is deemed to be "actions detrimental to the [Traveller] community". You can only post complaints on links where Ken has offered items for sale, in response to his original messages on the CotI forum.

link

Personally, in my opinion, the new policy is utter claptrap, and an attempt to whitewash the situation, to help cover up for Ken, and/or to keep CotI out of court, since he's allegedly been using their forum to commit fraud.

I, and many other posters there were simply trying to warn others about Ken Whitman's and D20 Entertainment's failure to make good on Kickstarters and direct sales offers of Traveller "products", so they don't become victims too.

I fail to see how knowledge of what in my opinion are his numerous financial scams, and total mismanagement of as many as six failed Kickstarter campaigns is "detrimental to the community".

If anything, it is very beneficial to the community, so people don't become victimized by this alleged con artist.

On the plus side, I do see where some people are finally getting some of their resin ships, so perhaps my shedding a little light on the subject has had a positive benefit for a few of his customers.

I was able to finally get my money back from Ken and D20 Entertainment, thru Paypal, after a little more than four months. He never responded to a single e-mail inquiry, or CotI message I posted regarding my order, and also didn't reply to the Paypal dispute and claims messages either, apparently.

Sadly, many others are beyond the 180 day claims window Paypal provides in their business terms.

You missed the whole KoTD live action tv show fiasco by him as well.

I don't always agree with Mako11 (or a lot of people I suppose) all the time but for those who are "offended" or unhappy with Mako11's post I suggest you can

A) Live with it because of his other valuable posts. I chose this one.

B) Hit the complaint button to Bill (although I don't see how this is a problem)

C) hit the Stifle and/or Ignore buttons for Mako11

Do I wonder if Mako11 has gone a bit ballistic on this subject? Well, maybe but his intent seems valid.

I have kept this name in I'm my "Warning Will Robinson" list when shopping for space ship miniatures. So, thanks for the warning, Mako11.

Caveat emptor.

Thank you, MB.

I posted about this metal minis issue, separately, since it is, in my humble opinion, another separate scam, from the resin models one being perpetrated by the guy, and relevant to Traveller, and/or other spaceship gamers.

I also didn't have the details about this "offer" from Ken, when I wrote the article on the resin Traveller starships he was "selling", but now you do, above.

At least one TMP member that I know of has burned by both offerings from Ken, e.g. the resin AND the metal Traveller starship minis offered by D20 Entertainment.

I'll leave it at that, unless others have questions about the info I've dug up on Ken Whitman.

See the following links for more info about Ken from others, that I have no connection with, but ran across when researching the guy, after I never received the minis I paid for back in mid-June:

link

notanotherdime.blogspot.com

Make sure to read the side-bar articles, and/or the comments in the six different Kickstarters he's set up, but allegedly mismanaged too, just for fun.

I think it says something when several people have created blogs solely about the same person, to warn them away from becoming victims of the guy, as well.

no need to white knight here, mute. i just found it odd that this "conman" managed to con so many.

If you have seen the Ken Whitman fiasco relating to the live-action Knights of the Dinner Table comic Kickstarter, you would realize Mako11's comments are highly restrained relatively speaking. Whatever his intentions, Whitman was virtually tarred and feathered by the RPG community over his handling of that Kickstarter campaign, and even Jolly Blackburn, the writer and creator of KODT, joined in to bash the guy.

The guy can't even get dots painted on pencils, and shipped out to customers.

How hard can custom pencil manufacturing, and distribution by a third party be?

Here's what I 'know'….and have the paypal receipts to 'prove'.

I paid Mr Ken Whitman via paypal on Nov 29th,2014, $105 USD ($5 was S&H) for three metal minis: Beowulf + Gazelle + Scout
and 1 unpainted 13 cm Resin Scout Ship, Item #39

On January 21st, 2015 I did an additional paypal payment to Mr. Whitman for another 3-ship metal mini set for $55 USD…($5 s&h)

On January 27th, 2015 I paid Ken Whitman, (via paypal), $55 USD for another 13cm Resin Scout Ship model.

On March 10th, 2015, I paid Ken Whitman (via paypal), $105 USD for another 13cm Resin Scoutship, via paypal.

I contacted him, several times about 'when'….and was assured, more than once….'it was on it's way'.

Then, finally about 2-3 weeks ago, I posted an open letter to Mr Whitman that he was close enough that, even though I was a disabled veteran on limited income, he was 'close enough' that I could make the 6-hour trip and arrange for a 'small-claims-court visit'. I also turned it all over to paypal, though most of the deadlines had passed. They did say they could close his (still open!) account and give him a 'black mark' etc….if there were others who would file complaints. I posted that information.

In less than a week, TWO seperate packages arrived from Mr Whitman, each with ONE, 13cm resin Scout starship model, a fact which I shared with others and on the site at the time. (credit, where credit is due). BUT, I had not received a refund for the difference OR metal ships or any other products, even though I gave him the option to cancel the debt by just sending me two resin merchant ships….at least so far.

I am still open to other options, small claims, continuing with paypal, post office or group legal action,class action suit, etc. But I also have to take some responsibility for not acting 'sooner' or not researching Mr Whitman's 'track record.' I was just excited about new 'Traveler' stuff, like ships. Other than having had two sculptors I once worked with when I had DGUSA, 'default' on me…..(where I lost money on 'commissions'), this is the worst example of 'money for nothing', I've been taken by. Hopefully, it will be the last. Caveat Emptor-Let the Buyer Beware (and use paypal/beware of the end/dispute dates!!!!!)

Sgt DWW-btod

I took the bait later than some and ordered some of the resin ships. After the recent stories and ships or comms, I gave also requested a refund vua paypal. Such a shame that such a simple thing could not be delivered. The only kickstarters I have been stung with to date are two other traveller and a promised Fatcat Far Trader merchant ship module

link

Guess I will steer clear of future traveller andeavours not driven directly by Marc Miller. I am 3 for 3 on misjumps with unrefined fuel.

why go with just small claims court and or the postal inspection service?
here is the FBI internet fraud reporting site
ic3.gov/default.aspx
also the federal justice department
link
or the federal trade commission
link

Yes, it is a shame, especially since I would have much preferred the minis, and the guy clearly has a pretty decent quantity of the resin ones in stock to ship, based upon photos he has posted on-line.

After a year of non-delivery (I'd prefer 60 days), he should refund all the money for the metal minis that haven't even been sculpted yet, or that he hasn't paid to have cast by Ad Astra. He should also do the same for the resin spaceships too, and the posters, books, scripts, pencils, CDs/DVDs, t-shirts, etc., etc., ad nauseum, as well.

If you want the Scout/Courier, and/or Beowulf in metal, go direct to them, since they're available now, and are quite nice. I recommend them.

I just assumed that since he had to have a Traveller license to produce these, that Marc Miller would provide a bit of oversight, and/or that the Citizens of the Imperium (CotI) moderators would help to keep people from becoming victimized.

At the very least, I never expected the CotI moderators to censor and delete some of my postings warning others about these issues so they didn't become victims too, and to move others, because "they are 'detrimental' to the community".

Clearly, my trust there was misplaced, especially given the new policy which was only instituted after I started warning people about these issues on CotI.

Wire fraud is a crime, and in my opinion, Ken Whitman is guilty of that.

Latest Update -

If the info posted by Ken on his Facebook page is correct, he has either moved, or fled to Atlanta, GA, from Kentucky, depending upon which of the above motivations you choose to believe.

There's some on-line speculation that, if the news is true, it is to try to avoid an investigation into his business practices by the KY attorney general.

Then again, perhaps it is just a ruse to make people think he is no longer in KY, so the process servers will stop looking for him there.

I don't have a clue which is actually true, but the sudden "move" news is certainly interesting, if it is true, and/or even if it is not.

Thanks keep us posted.

You're welcome.

Rumor has it he's using a new alias too, e.g. Whit Whitman, apparently in response to some of the bad PR he's received over all his alleged failures and mismanaged projects.

How original.

notanotherdime.blogspot.com

The D20 Entertainment site appears to be gone, and apparently, Ken's e-mail is no longer working.

Some of the commentary on the CotI, and/or Pencil Dice Kickstarter pages seem to suggest Ken is now trying to scrub his social network, and Kickstarter profiles.

Not sure if the above was shut down by him, or perhaps the respective companies, and/or authorities. At the very least, the D20 site being closed is good news, since he can't use that any more to scam others out of their money, at least directly.

Don't worry about Ken though, since it appears he'll be alright. He's, in my humble opinion, a very resourceful, con artist, with a flair for marketing, and non-delivery of promised products.

He's managing to keep that revenue stream running, using other people's money, allegedly, to fund books, spaceships, and other products/projects, and then keeping all the profits to himself. He even gets people to pay for shipping costs too (which of course he doesn't incur), and then doubles or triples his cash on hand by selling them a SECOND TIME to Noble Knight Games. They are then selling his Knights of the Dinner Table, "limited edition" books, and resin spaceships to others, directly, or via eBay:

notanotherdime.blogspot.com

I have no doubt though, that Ken will pop back up somewhere else, with another new name (perhaps even different than that brilliant pseudonym, Whit Whitman, he's occasionally used), and/or "project".

Given that he's posted he moved to Atlanta, GA (another source says Duluth really), I wonder if that isn't just a ruse to throw people off his scent, while he continues to reside in KY, or moves to another state.

I suspect there is more to this story, to come.

Perhaps he fancies himself to be a real-life "rogue trader", from Sci-Fi.

Pity someone can't sick some bounty hunters on his butt and bring him back to justice.

Mako
Thanks for he warnings.