Right, let me start by saying I have in the past been hammered by people promising one thing and then not delivering, I have also been accussed of things that I had never done. But for those of you that know me, and there are a few on here, this seems to have gone way to far against this member.
Yes, it is without question that an attempt was made to defraud members here, I do not for one second doubt that. Quite rightly Mods and Admin jumped onto it as soon as it was reported. Now it has been investigated and it seems that the member was severly hacked and that someone used their ability to get into the system and try the fraud. This does not make the member guilty at all of attempted fraud!
The custom is in the UK as it is in the US, Canada, Australia, etc., that a person is innocent until proven guilty. Now in business of course as soon as alarm bells sound we take a step back and scrutinise our associates afresh, and rightly so. But a witch hunt is not what is needed, indeed it will simply make things worse.
Now the matter has been investigated, and apart from breaking the golden rule of 'not using the same password for multiple accounts' it would seem that Dobski (Lewis) is an injured innocent party in all of this.
Lewis must know that his reputation is now worse than that of a skunks at a picnic, I do not think he is a fool, and he will realise that the old adage about a good reputation is the hardest thing to acquire and the easiest lost. He may have lost his through no fault of his own, and now he faces a mountain to climb to get it back. But one thing is for sure with constant postings calling him out this will never be achieved, but I am sure the mods and Admins will look after that side.
I state clearly now that I will be putting some small jobs Lewis's way. Might I suggest that those who had/have deals with him continue to honour them, but under a strict time scale. This will give Lewis a chance to 'prove' himself and start on the extremely long haul that he now faces.
All I can do is hope that I am making the right move, and I am sure there will be some criticism of my post, but then again I would rather be proved wrong defending a guilty man than found wanting for not defending an innocent man.
This matter has been investigated and now we all have to ask do we move forward or let the vitriol spit forth?
If you have concerns about this matter please post them to the mods/admins who I am sure will keep a close eye on this matter.