Yeah, looks like you are in a pretty sticky situation. Alone you are not going to be able to do anything to put him in jail. We are not going to be able to help you much because you are not providing any real information about the "scam". Millions of internet criminals get away for a lot more than $5k, the FBI is very very slow to respond to these type of amounts. Last year I witnessed a HYIP screw thousands of people out of their money, and that was for a few million, and it took the FBI over a year to shut that down. Sorry man, I wish you good luck, I don't want to say give up but it's an uphill battle that most people here are not going to be able to help you with.
Something similar happened to a friend of mine that was scammed on a car sale around the same amount and he was successful getting the scammer arrested. But not everyone will. To keep the story short what you can do is: - Go in person to the police station in the city or district where the crook lives in. Just calling will not be of much help as you noticed. - Talk to the friendliest and most receptive police officer you can. Small towns are better for that. - Explain your story to them in detail with facts, not your feelings, demonstrating it is a Criminal offense, so that they can act. - IF you get lucky, they MIGHT do something. HTH
wow 5k scam, i would find out where he lives and get it back myself. pm please about what he scammed you on and more information
You can sue people through a private criminal case. Not sure if you'll get damages. The whole thing may scare him to play fair game, though.
get a lawyer, a good lawyer gets you anything you need nowadays. Otherwise don't expect much of jacksquat unless you personally know the authoritarians.
You may not be able to put him in jail, but you can make their life difficult. Complain to the site the item was sold on (ebay, forum, etc.) and ruin their reputation so no one else buys from them. If you paid on a credit card report it and have them deal with him. That may be the best you can do for now.