Rich
I would say that you are exactly right about the Senator's son getting ripped off caused them to take action.
Obviously, politician's have more pull than us common folk.
As far as it being a civil matter versus a criminal matter, they told you right. Unfortunately, if you recieve product that is close to what you purchased it is civil. If you receive nothing for your money or a bag of rocks when you purchased an engine, then it is criminal.
The Fed's will not typically act on internet crime unless there are several thousand dollars involved. With thousands of thefts being commited over the internet every single day, unfortunately, it is hard for law enforcement to act on everything. The main problems w/ internet crimes are jurisdiction and manpower.
Anyway, thank your lucky stars that you are actually getting a little restitution. I'm glad they were able to get the punk for you.
I have my own opinions of what I think should be done, but I'll keep them to myself.
Knoxville
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1969 Camaro RS/SS L-78