Steven Salmon is a Scammer
The End? Not Quite.
Although Steven sent quite a bit in refunds and shipments after the reality of intervention by law enforcement set in, this stopped in late January and he has yet to make all buyers whole. One buyer has only received about half of the original purchase amount and has heard nothing further. The buyer who received Blasted and Night Slashers has also not heard anything further. Steven had the chance to make it right by sending more games or a refund, but chose not to, regardless of whatever agreement the buyer made while under duress. The buyer who received the Super Contra and Karnov reported Steven was to make up the difference in value with PCBs, but has not reported receiving them. The buyer who received the badly damaged Cheyenne recently contacted Steven about receiving a working board, the proper gun controller and a partial refund based on the lower value of the badly damaged cabinet, and received this response:
The status of the remaining buyers, who were not as forthcoming with their information, remains unknown. Unfortunately, not all victims shared their information, so the total dollar amount taken and the number and titles of the games remains incomplete. However, of the 75 games and PCBs originally purchased that were accounted for, merely 13 were received by buyers. Of these 13, seven (less than 10% of those purchased) were in the same general condition as originally described and were working.
Through this whole ordeal, Steven has held fast to 3 statements:
- There was a fire (verified) that damaged many games to the extent the sale could not be completed (disproven) and he has pictures of all the damaged games (remains to be seen)
- All buyers would receive either a refund or the games (well, if one considers substitute games acceptable; but as above, games and refunds remain outstanding for some )
- He did nothing wrong at all and would prove it (still waiting)
However, details of the scam continue to present themselves. As speculated would happen, someone stepped up to sell some of Steven's games, including those purchased and never shipped because they were "too damaged"... Steven's friend Kris Donohoo (pictured left).
Recall that when this scam broke, some believed that Kris could have some role in it. Although it could have been argued that Kris was an unintentional patsy caught up in this con because he was either too trusting of Steven, too dumb to know better, or both (having admitted in Aug 2022 he was aware of the "fire" and that Steven was selling games using pictures of his games), it seems unlikely Kris was unaware of anything else that went on in the ensuing months. This recent evidence strongly suggests he is directly involved and benefiting from it.
As mentioned earlier, there was one local buyer that picked up the purchase (2 games) in person. This is what was noted of the transaction (the "two" in reference are Steven Salmon and Kris Donohoo):
On 2/6/23, Kris listed a Donkey Kong II custom cabinet (left), which looks suspiciously like Steven's (right).
On 2/7/23, Kris (2 left photos) listed Steven's Star Wars Trilogy game (right photo). Notice the wear along the front edge of the control panel and residue on the coin door, in the exact same spots.
On 2/13/23, Kris (2 left photos) posted a listing for Gate of Doom, a game Steven had offered. The game was not purchased, but it can be seen in 2 photos (right) next to Zookeeper. Notice the green button on the upper kickplate, which is clearly visible in the photo from Kris' ad.
On 3/14/23, Kris (upper photos) posted a multi-game listing which included Eyes and Bionic Commando, also games Steven had offered but not sold. Kris directly indicates Bionic Commando is a Dan Sullivan cabinet, like many Steven had. In Steven's photos (lower), note the edge wear along the front control panel of Eyes and how it matches that of the photo in Kris' ad.
On 3/23/23, Kris (left and middle top photos) posted a multi-game listing which included a Mario Bros widebody cabinet, much like Steven's. Unfortunately, the only photo (top right) of Steven's game is a poorly lit one one from the FD. Mario Bros happened to be a sold game that Steven chose not to ship. Looking at the FD photo (2nd row), both Mario Bros and the Donkey Kong II (from above) were next to each other and were the closest games to the "water main leak" that apparently was also responsible for damaging games. If the two games closest to the "leak" were not damaged enough to prevent their sale, how could games further away or in a completely different part of the warehouse have more damage?
Also visible in Kris' ad is a nice condition, possibly reproduction, Space Dungeon (quite a rare game, especially in that condition), which Steven offered (pictured below).
Also on 3/23/23, Kris posted an ad for Mace The Dark Age. Notice the stains on left and front of the control panel (middle photo), then compare that to the control panel in the background of a photo Steven sent for a Nintendo PCB.
On 3/31/23, Kris (left two photos) posted a Nintendo Arm Wrestling for sale. Just like Steven's (right two photos) it is missing sideart and the two right control panel bolts are a lighter color than the left bolts.
Arm Wrestling is one with an odd story. The day before the "fire", with buyers anxious to finally have their games shipped, some received the photo below. It shows Arm Wrestling, Pigskin 621 AD and Smash TV in a truck, allegedly ready to make the trip to the local STI hub for transport to buyers. However, the next day Steven reported the "fire". If those games were already on the truck, how could they have been damaged in a "fire" which was contained to the warehouse? All previous photos of those games show them already at the warehouse, so there is no logical explanation to have them on a truck other than to transport to STI. Then after the "fire", when questioned about these games, Steven sent the video below. Take note of a few things. First, his impressive vocabulary and friendly demeanor. Second, that it includes all three games from the truck photo. Third, Steven says "talking about
we don't, I don't have the fucking games." Did Steven just make a mistake, or tell on himself? Could the other part of that "we" be Kris? Over time, Steven told the buyer of Arm Wrestling he would ship it, then told the buyer he had to pick it up in person as he would not release it to STI, and then told him he was not getting the game at all. So, even after clearly showing the Arm Wrestling was undamaged in the "fire" (as were all other games), Steven still refused to ship it and the buyer was eventually refunded. But perhaps the strangest thing is that Kris sold it for only $100 more than Steven was paid for it (most of Steven's games that Kris has listed were offered for near the same prices Steven originally asked). Had Steven shipped it (and the Smash TV & Pigskin) early on, at the least it might have bought him extra good will and understanding from the victims and allowed the scam to continue a bit longer. Steven eventually did ship the Pigskin to the original buyer but not the Smash TV.
On 4/5/23, Kris (left photos) posted two sale ads, for Escape From the Planet of the Robot Monsters and Chicken Shift. Steven never indicated that EFtPotRM was sold and the buyer who purchased Chicken Shift received a refund, though had been told at various times it was both water damaged and in good condition. As with other ads Kris posted for Steven's games, there is no mention of smoke or water damage. Steven's Paperboy game can also be seen in the background of the Chicken Shift photo. All three of those games were in Steven's "home gameroom", and this is the first time they have been shown at the Gresham location.
Additionally, over the past 4 months Kris has listed other titles that Steven also had for sale: Bubbles, Popeye, Snacks 'N Jaxson, VS Excitebike, Food Fight, Ghostbusters 3 Player & Splatterhouse, but pictures of Steven's games are not available for comparison. Perhaps this is all just coincidence? Kris Donohoo is clearly selling games that Steven claimed as his own. Why won't Steven sell his own games, aside from the obvious that he already "sold" them and they were trashed in a "fire"? Steven clearly does not value them.
Is it even possible (or believable) that Kris still
doesn't know the true story? Kris has been involved or at least had direct knowledge of this whole scam since the beginning. Any transactions with Kris could mean money is going directly to Steven Salmon, so all dealings with Kris Donohoo should be avoided as well. At the least, Kris' actions allow Steven to receive the benefits of having his games sold without having to deal with the consequences of this scam.