Anybody Considering SWC Products Read This

[jimmy frag]

SH and clams are ilegal to ship from indo Period. as for any coral and live rock you aply for cites through the correct channels with the indo government. there is a quota that is shared with exported that says how many of each piece can be shipped out per year. this guy could have ordered typical live dry rock with the correct paper work for a fee of $40 U.S. dollars. shipping costs are the same so i am confused as to why this rock was not shipped in legally unless its some kind of exotic rock we dont know about

 

[duecejt]

Building a fence.....Come on....We know what live rock used to sell for in 2007. 20,000lbs x $6/lb for premium rock. He should pay a fine that he can really afford to pay. $1 million is a bit much.

 

[dimitrge]

Thats an expensive fence he was building. Throw the book at him

 

[kurtyboh]

SH and clams are ilegal to ship from indo Period. as for any coral and live rock you aply for cites through the correct channels with the indo government. there is a quota that is shared with exported that says how many of each piece can be shipped out per year. this guy could have ordered typical live dry rock with the correct paper work for a fee of $40 U.S. dollars. shipping costs are the same so i am confused as to why this rock was not shipped in legally unless its some kind of exotic rock we dont know about

Because he didnt get a permit. Basicaly, he says he ordered the equivalent of gravel (albeit nice gravel), and isnt responsible for what he recieved.

 

[mickey204]

I'm glad this was posted in this forum.

SWC and jason must be boycotted.

I speak because I knew jason face to face as a buyer of his wares before I wised up and knew of what he was doing.

He has been doing this stuff for a while and always gotten away with it. Not only that, but the way he treats people is truely on a scumbag level.

It's one thing to read the article and be upset and say he gets what he deserves.

It's another to know jason and the way he is and then read the article and know he gets what he deserves.

He's had problems with the law alot.

This wasnt a case of "oop's I forgot or didnt get a permit"

If it was, he wouldnt be getting nailed for jail time and up to 1Mil in fines. Especially when this is the first big case to be brought up in Canada. If they're going to push and go after him for this to the extreme they are, he's done.

To think this was a matter of a permit not being filled is total ignorance.

This was intentional smuggling which caught up to him.

I dont direct any offence towards anyone on these threads...Just wish more people would use there common sence in a situation as such.

I havent gone near that store for almost 2 years now, and to see justice finally being done is fantastic.

 

[mickey204]

I'm glad this was posted in this forum.

SWC and jason must be boycotted.

I speak because I knew jason face to face as a buyer of his wares before I wised up and knew of what he was doing.

He has been doing this stuff for a while and always gotten away with it. Not only that, but the way he treats people is truely on a scumbag level.

It's one thing to read the article and be upset and say he gets what he deserves.

It's another to know jason and the way he is and then read the article and know he gets what he deserves.

He's had problems with the law alot.

This wasnt a case of "oop's I forgot or didnt get a permit"

If it was, he wouldnt be getting nailed for jail time and up to 1Mil in fines. Especially when this is the first big case to be brought up in Canada. If they're going to push and go after him for this to the extreme they are, he's done.

To think this was a matter of a permit not being filled is total ignorance.

This was intentional smuggling which caught up to him.

I dont direct any offence towards anyone on these threads...Just wish more people would use there common sence in a situation as such.

I havent gone near that store for almost 2 years now, and to see justice finally being done is fantastic.

 

[Psionicdragon]

if you ask too much question about his ware or his assistance, he gets b....y and then gives you a hard time =/ bad experience when i was looking for a skimmer.

 

[kurtyboh]

I hope nobody miscconstrewed what i was saying. He did not get a permit for the lr which made it an illegal trade activity. You can see from the report that he has done some shady things in the past and shouldnt be trusted. I dont believe he attempted to get a permit or even show record of his transactions at all.

 

[SethSPST]

THis read to me that he needed a permit to import LR, and the Canadian Law prohibits the import of seahorses and Clams, yet he brought that stuff in, and likely sold it to local reefers Same as in Hawaii, you cannot have any hard corals, nems, or clams. He broke the law, but how many in the US might do the same if suddenly all seahorses and clams were banned from importation or collection?

This is just IMO, and I'm in no way affiliated with SWC. Having lived in Hawaii and not be able to import any hard corals, nems, and inverts from the mainland, it can be tough when you see reefs online.

 

[kurtyboh]

he has been found guilty on previous accounts as illegally shipping seahorses and clams, this time it was for lr that had no permit. at least that is my understanding, which is why they are going for a severe punishment, it's not his first offense!

 

[ackee]

Does this mean it is now unethical to use my SWC skimmer? How about if I put duct tape over the name? Is that one million fine in Canadian or US dollars?

I'll bet if his merchandise had to be sold at a fraction of the original price it would fly out the door. The Canadian postal service would be overwhelmed. Boycotting all products made in China would be a more responsible thing to do. They are stripping the seas and rain forests at a horrific rate. And there are those phosphate operations in Florida. Only buy organic products, put those guys out of business. While you're at it, become a vegetarian. I did, years ago. The planet is collapsing under the hammer blows of meat eaters and heavy energy users. Of course, that may include most of us. Cast the first stone.

 

[tkeracer619]

But, but, but, but...

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=393+397&pcatid=397

Liveaquaria sells "scleractinian" rock all day long...

Yeah he might have broken the law, he might have doctored the paperwork, he just might be a jerk. He didn't have permits. Sorry but people kill people and get a few years. Hes looking up to a million and jail time for not having proper paper work.

Believe the media and cops that he doctored all this info, that he is a bad person, and the the world ends in 2012. Your welcome to your opinion. I won't take sides but if you have live rock you are part of the problem and it might be time to do some soul searching.

If your wondering. Here is some of this ultra rare illegal rock he smuggled.

I don't think anyone is telling the whole truth. Period.

BTW: I'm not defending him. I just think the hype that is starting to brew is pretty irrational. You have to play by the rules and he CLEARLY didn't. Now its time for him to pay the price.

 

[TheFishTeen]

Heres something to note:

This man is not your everyday salesman. Heres the story of a member on another forum. The following was posted on 12-18-2011:

I have a short story to share with everyone about a recent incident I had at my LFS

I am from winnipeg, SWC is a local fish store that I had been dealing with for the last year or two.

I purchased my LED fixtures there and when i had issues with bleaching corals i decided to go back to T5's so I purchased another fixture there.

I need the phone number to contact the store about a question i had for the fixture so I found his online store and got the phone number....then I noticed the exact same T5 fixture on the online store was $200 cheaper than he advertises in store. I got gouged $200 for being a local and regular customer.

I sent him an e-mail asking why i was charged so much more in store and it went un answered for 3 days.(suppose to return emails in 24Hrs)

So today I went down there to have a civilized conversation with the owner to find out why i paid so much more.

Well.....The owner got my email and knew why I was there. The first words out of his mouth were to Leave....while he sits there puffing on a cig.

I didn't even get to ask my question before he assaulted me in front of another customer. When he assaulted me, I quicky broke his hold from my jacket as he attempted to drag me out, and told him if he touched me again I would literary drop him on the spot.( i'm a big guy and do kick boxing 3 times a week so it would have been fun) I kept my cool and waited as he called the police.

The police came and I requested a copy of the stores video camera recording that shows the assault. I will be pressing charges on the store owner.

funny enough the officer that I dealt with told me it could be that hes in a bad mood cause he is facing a $1Million dollar fine now and possible imprisonment when he illegally imported some LR that he claimed he didn't know it was protected LR and he also gave the excuse that he was going to use it to build a fence....what a joke....

These are also quite recent for the charges...Dec 9 2011.

Check out the article:
Winnipeg man faces $1M in fines for smuggling coral

I am quite ashamed that I ever did business with this guy. He is as crooked as crooked gets! I didn't know he conducted business like this and hope others will not support SWC. If you still do, your having a hand in the destruction of the oceans coral reefs.

So, Im not saying he is innocent, I'm not saying he's guilty. What I am saying, is that he needs some sense knocked into him. Until then, we should not be buying his products. He does not deserve our money.

Just my thoughts.

 

[tkeracer619]

he needs some sense knocked into him.

That will be coming in the next few months when the judge drops the :hammer:

 

[TheFishTeen]

That will be coming in the next few months when the judge drops the :hammer:

Ya hopefully those steel bars will do the trick.

 

[kurtyboh]

If it was his first offense, it would be a diffeent story entirely, he was given a break when he illegaly sold the seahorse and clams, now hes a repeat offender. He deserves this punishment, it really doesnt matter that the rock can be legally sold the fact is it wasnt done in a legal manner. Only so much of the the rock can be harvested each yr, and if hes trying to hide the fact that its lr he may be hiding another company that is harvesting illegally.

 

[T Diddy]

great thread. permit/ no permit, fence/ no fence, "black market" or not, spin or not, first offense or not, my gut tells me that this douche got what was coming. I don't think that his punishment should be greater than that of a more heinous crime, though. As for the rest of us, we can choose not to spend money in a particular place. I have never, and now never will purchase anything from SWC. What a weasel...scleractinian fence?

 

[Gandolfe]

geesh and i was afraid when i put up a wood fence, that i was killing trees! Good thing i got it from Lowes...LOL

 

[SoLiD]

I had no idea that my beloved SWC skimmer was supporting such a dick! I can't stand people like that. I'm now glad I bought it used and not new.

 

[sandhog]

I am a Canadian and I to have swc products in my set up. I would buy them to support fellow Canadians . This sort of behaviour is not what Canadian public wants or will tolerate. I hope a man of money doing this sort of thing for status gets what he deserves. Great job Customs Canada.