Although the two men who scammed students with fake paintball vouchers received trespassing charges and have left the state, those who bought the vouchers will be able to redeem them at Xtreme Kombat Paintball in Durham, N.C .
They ardently denied their actions were fraudulent, but Campus Police and Xtreme Kombat Paintball have both confirmed it was a scam.
“In reference to the paintball scheme, it is a scam,” Jon Barnwell , Campus Police patrol division commander, said.
Campus Police spoke with Xtreme Paintball. The company did not commission the men to sell the vouchers, but the paintball company is planning to honor all of those sold, according to Barnwell .
“It’s our understanding that the paintball company will honor the vouchers,” Barnwell said.
As of Wednesday morning, police had contacted the district attorney to discuss how to move forward.
“We have already talked with the individuals and have consulted with the District Attorney’s office about the appropriate fraud charges,” Barnwell said.
However, around noon on Wednesday, there was a change in the case.
“It appears that the company in Durham is now giving those individuals permission to sell [vouchers]. They didn’t have permission before, but I don’t think it would lead to any charges based on the agreement between them,” Barnwell said.
The campus trespassing violation still stands. Campus Police Officer Melissa Woodard issued the violations on Centennial Campus.
“We got a report on Monday morning that a student saw the two guys in a chemistry building selling the tickets. I found one of the guys, and I sat him down and talked to him. We ended up trespassing him,” Woodard said.
Woodard could not find the other perpetrator initially, but he eventually showed up.
“The other guy eventually met with us. I guess he thought we were going to arrest him. When he finally [met with us], we trespassed him as well,” Woodard said.
The charges are campus violations only. State law enforcement agencies can take no action based on a University trespassing charge. However, the two will be arrested if they are ever caught on campus again.
From New York, the two admitted they knew they should not have been selling on-campus.
Non-student organizations that present on-campus are required to have a permit. When one professor asked if they had identification, they told the professor that someone on-campus was holding their credentials, and that they would get identification back upon leaving campus.
“Is it possible that we lied? Sure,” one of the men said. “We were not supposed to be selling in the school. I am aware of that.”
The two refused to provide their names. The vouchers they sold had their “business” name on the back, but did not show either of their names.
One of the men claimed since the hurricane occurred over the weekend, people at the paintball field were “out of town or preparing for the hurricane.” He said when officers called the paintball field, they got nervous because no one picked up.
“When the officer had called [ Xtreme ] about it, they got nervous, because they didn’t want to get themselves in trouble. They didn’t know we were selling on campus, but they know we were selling for them,” he said.
He said he has no plans to return to North Carolina or the University.
“I’m not worried about the police, believe me. I don’t live in the same state as them – good luck proving something,” he said. “I’m not worried about anything. I don’t live in North Carolina. I am never allowed to return to North Carolina State.”
Xtreme Kombat Paintball was contacted for comment, but did not return calls.