The "Fire"

When word got out about the "fire", there seemed to be multiple stories. First, none (or few) of the games were in the warehouse at the time of the "fire". Then the number of games involved increased. Steven claimed not to know the extent of the damages to the games or how many were damaged, which then switched from very little damage (smoke and light water damage) to claims that all games were too damaged to be shipped, given his claims of their excellent condition pre-sale. Steven claimed holes had to be cut in the roof to let the heat escape and flames ravaged the entire warehouse, damaging not on the games, but other contents including two “classic” cars, one of which he claimed was valued at $120,000. He also told at least one buyer that Gresham FD had damaged a water main in the building, causing a flood which further damaged the games.

And the only thing Steven could say was that he was sorry and if he had the money to repay buyers, he would. As is his MO, he told roughly similar stories to various buyers, adding or deleting details depending on who he talked to, likely because he was not able to keep track of his various lies and half-truths. Essentially, he had spent the money, with some buyers stating Steven told them he had purchased property.

All of the contradictory and changing statements had buyers wondering if there even was a "fire". A call to the Gresham Fire Department a couple days after confirmed there was a fire at this address, but no further information was yet available. Steven used this confusion and lack of information to his advantage in early negotiations with some buyers. As can be seen by his own post, he immediately turned it into an “insurance issue.” Since he claimed he no longer had the funds, buyers could not expect him to return their money, that was up to the insurance company.

With many questioning the veracity of Steven’s story, he texted buyers the FD incident number. However, he probably did not consider, or care, that the report would be made public.

The Gresham FD Fire Report was released on 8/25/2022. It stated that the cause of the "fire" was an illegal marijuana growing operation in the warehouse, “The fire appears to have started around the grow light that was installed over a plant table and hot /melted material from the wiring dropped and dripped down on the plastic grow table igniting the table decomposing/burning the potted plants and containers that dropped to the concrete floor.” Most importantly, it described the severity and extent of the "fire". By the time the FD arrived, the fire had essentially burned out, though there was still much smoke. Responders had to exit the building due to a structural concern, but when they re-entered, the fire was already out. It was solely contained to the western-most area of the building and was not near any of the video games. The report indicates the value of damaged contents to be $5000 and that Steven indicated he had insurance, but he would not be making a claim. 

On 9/1/2022, the FD released photos taken at the scene, which help to visualize details mentioned in the report. The small extent of the fire itself is apparent; a single table and the marijuana plants on it were destroyed, along with damage to neighboring plants and a table; the video games were in a separate area of the warehouse. There are photos that show what appears to be a leaking hose coupling, which may be the basis for Steven’s claim that the FD damaged a water main and lead to some games being damaged. Examination of the photos show the floor near the area is wet, but there is no pooling water. This wet area was only near a couple of the games, as additional photos taken a few feet away show a completely dry floor.